Easy Wall Art

We made some fantabulous canvas wall art that goes for big bucks at Pottery Barn and Pier 1, but was pretty cheap and VERY easy to make. If you want the project to be more involved, you can really go to town with different mediums and embellishments. We'll give instructions for the easy way, then extra tips for the more extravagant route. (For ideas on the more extravagant route, check out these ladies at http://winborgdesign.blogspot.com/)

You Will Need:

• Stretched Canvas, any size or dimension (available at craft and art stores, we got ours on sale at JoAnne's for half price)
• Mod Podge or other craft glue. This will be used to glue and seal our project so make sure that it is a glue that dries clear.
• Sponge brush (also available in craft stores, but also at Walmart, usually 3 for $1)
  
• Scrapbook papers
• (Optional) Cheap acrylic paints that match your papers (you can get these at walmart for about $1 a piece, and you only need a few)
• (Optional) Paint brush (something big and chunky will do the trick)

Creating the Art:

• Decide what you want on your canvas. Emily got her inspiration from some Pottery Barn flower art. You could do animals, geometric shapes, something related to your child's hobby, anything! We saw a very cute one on 3 canvases that was a catarpillar with 2 big green paper circles of different patterns on each canvas, and little feet painted on. Get Creative!
• Cut out your paper in the shape/size that you want (we made a template first so as not to make mistakes on our cute paper).
• (Optional) Use paint in matching/accenting colors to add shadow, contrast or pizazz to your shape- especially if you will be layering multiple papers.
  
• Let dry
  
• Use your sponge brush to cover the back of your paper image with glue, making sure the entire shape is well covered.
• Place in desired location on canvas and carefully smooth out any bubbles or bumps.
• Once all pieces are in place, load sponge brush heavily with glue and begin brushing over the entire canvas. Go slowly over papered areas to prevent tearing or wrinkling. It is best to work brush strokes in one direction (up and down or side to side) for a more uniform look. Brush strokes will be visible once dry, but this is part of the "look."
• Let dry, and hang!

Tips for Extravagance:

• Add pictures to your art the same way you add paper. Black and white are particularly eye-catching in wall art
• Scrapbook paper can be art in itself, create a collage of coordinating papers in different shapes and sizes, glue them on, seal with glue for a finished look and hang.
• Distress: use sandpaper to rough up the edges of papers and pictures, Ink edges with black or brown stamp pads, water down white paint and fade a picture by brushing on a light whitewash, tear papers or even pictures (gasp!) to complete that vintage look.
• Embellish: Stamp or write letters, slogans or phrases, add brads, eyelettes, decorated tags. You can also paint or ink large chipboard letters for a more stand-out look.
  
• Glue on decorative jewels after the project has been sealed to really make your project pop!
  

Making a Princess

This is a VERY long post, as we made tutus and all the accessories necessary for a princess. We'll start with the tutus, then move on to crowns and wands!

Toddler Tutus

The amount of Tulle needed will depend on the size of your baby/toddler and how long and/or full you want the tutu to be. You can also buy your tulle in just one color, or as many colors as you would like. To see some examples, click HERE.

• 2 year old: 6 yards for a full, floor-length tutu, 3 yards for a full knee-length tutu
• 1 year old: 3 yards for a full or knee-length tutu, 1 1/2 yards for a very short, traditional tutu.
• Elastic for waist (measure her waist for exact measurement)

Optional Tutu accessories

• Ribbon for tying into Tutu (you can get organdy ribbon in the bridal isle of craft stores for 99 cents a spool)
• Flowers from the dollar store (we will be making accessory flower clips for the tutus, but these can also be used to be stitched straight onto the tutu

Making the Tutus:

• 
• Cut your tulle into 4" wide strips, length depending on how long you want your tutu to be **Remember, we will be knotting the tulle in half over the waist elastic, so cut your tulle twice as long as you want your tutu to be**
  
• Cut your waist elastic to the desired length
• Tie elastic to two chairs, then separate the chairs so the elastic is stretched tight.
• Fold one strip of tulle in half. Hold doubled strip under elastic, then pull free ends over the elastic and down through the loop formed by the folded end. (sorry, that's hard to explain, but the pictures will give you a better idea...).
• continue with all tulle strips until finished
• To close, you can knot or sew your elastic ends together. I wanted mine to be adjustable, so I tied a bell to one end of elastic and made a loop out of the other, that way I can tighten or loosen it depending on how the loop is tied.
• Embellish with bells, flowers, ribbons, beads, etc.

Extra tips:

• If you want a fluffier tutu that doesn't tangle as easily (tulle is not very stiff and the strips can tangle) tie 3 or 4 strips together in each knot. This will keep the fluffiness but keep them straightened out better.
  
• Tulle vs. Netting: If you can afford it, netting might be better than tulle just because the tulle is so lightweight, it takes more to make it puffy and it can tangle, but Tulle is not as itchy as netting.
• I have also seen tutus made of pure ribbon (wired ribbon). Again, if you can afford it, those are beautiful as well.

Wands & Crowns

Here are the things you may need, depending on which style you choose:

• headband
• silk flowers
• dowel (12 inches)
  
• tulle (netting)
• satin ribbon to wrap dowel
• organdy ribbon for streamers
• curling ribbon for streamers
• rhinestones
• wire
• beads
• bells
  
• paint (if you want to paint dowel instead of wrapping)
• glue gun
• terrifically tacky tape
• glitter spray

Making the Wands:

• 
• Run two strips of Tacky Tape the length of your dowel (one on either side). This will keep the ribbon from slipping.
• Hot glue the ribbon to the side of one of the dowel ends.
• Pull the ribbon over the end and begin wrapping dowel with ribbon, continuing to end.
  
• Hot glue ribbon over end of dowel.
• Wand Embellishments: We put large beads on pipe cleaners, shaped them, and glued them to our dowels BEFORE gluing on ribbon (so ribbon will cover up pipe cleaner ends). We then tied ribbon and pieces of tulle, pearls, etc to our creation.

Making the Crowns:

• We bought soft, fabric covered headbands at Walmart (so they would be less irritating to our girls heads) (I believe the were $1.99 for 5), and because the colors matched our tulle color choices, we did not cover them with ribbon. If you want to cover yours with ribbon, we suggest putting tacky tape on your headband, and then using hot glue to wrap it the same as the wand.
• For beaded shapes on your crown, string beads onto a pipe cleaner, create the desired shape, and then hot glue the pipe cleaner to the headband.
  
• Tie strips of tulle to your headband in the same way you did for the tutu (if you did beads with pipe cleaners, this will cover up your pipe cleaners!). Add a dab of hot glue to the knot to keep it in place.
• Embellishments: You can glue on flowers, strands of pearls, or other embellishments as you wish.
  

Easy Single Stitch Beanies

(For whatever size head you're looking to make)

This pattern is not a crochet how-to post, just a pattern for those who already know the basics of crochet. Really all you need to know for this is how to do a single stitch, and how to work in rounds. The 9 rounds given here should be big enough for the average toddler's head.

Time for a math refresher! This pattern is all about multiplication by 6's. Until reaching the point of the beanie size desired, you'll be counting/multiplying by 2's- 9's (give or take beanie size) and keeping multiplying until reaching #6. Then you are done with that round.

Round 1; 6 single stitches in 1st loop (6)

Round 2; 2 stitches in each single stitch (12)

Round 3; 2 stitches in 1st, 1 stitch in next; repeat (18)
(Stitch pattern= 2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1 etc..)

Round 4; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 2, repeat (24)
(SP= 2,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1...)

Round 5; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 3, repeat (30)
(SP= 2,1,1,1,2,1,1,1,2.....)

Round 6; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 4, repeat (36)

Round 7; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 5, repeat (42)

Round 8; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 6, repeat (48)

Round 9; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 7, repeat (54)

• When your beanie has a round "placemat" look and it's about the size of the crown of the head you are making it for. (It's the size of the crown when it looks like the small head covering Jewish men wear) Finish the Round you are on and then stop adding stitches and do only single stitches until the beanie is the length desired.
• When finished, tie off the yarn and cut it a generous distance from the knot. Then use a yarn needle to thread the remainder up through the weave of the beanie.
• The tightness of your yarn will play a huge roll in how many Rounds will be needed in your beanie. Example- tight stitches will equal more rounds.
• The goal is to gradually "grow" the beanie so there won't be bumps or lumps.
• For beanies to fit a larger sized head, continue adding a single stitch between the double stitches as you've done before. (example: Round 10; 2 stitches in 1st, single stitch in next 8, repeat (60) )

More Girlie Hair Clips

Since our girls seem to have a knack for losing their clips, we decided to extend our adventures in hair clips and try some new ideas, both for the clips themselves and their uses.

Bow Clips:

For these you will need some floral wire (or any very fine wire) and everything listed on the original girlie hairclips post.

• Cover your clip with ribbon
  
• For a traditional bow, fold your ribbon into a long rectangle, and pinch in the middle, forming little dimples on each side of your fingers.
• For a layered bow (like the red one pictured at right), fold your ribbon into a rectangle, pinch in the middle, and
  continue folding back and forth across the center until you have the desired number of layers. (for patterned ribbon you will have to twist the ribbon at the center each time you fold to keep the pattern face-up)
• Wrap pinched center with wire 2 or 3 times to hold shape
• Cover wire with a short strip of ribbon hotglued at the back of the bow
• Glue bow to clip

Other Tips and Ideas:

I made the large flower clip pictured at right entirely out of embellishments bought from the dollar store. Because it is spring, they had TONS of beautiful flowers for $1 a stem and about 8 flowers per stem. The jewel center was part of a cell-phone decorating kit I found (15 jewels per kit, also $1) and hot glued to my center. Beauty CAN be cheap!

On cold days, embellish a beanie with a big flower clip like the one pictured here. It can turn even the most boring beanie into a fashion statement! (These beanies are also very easy to make if you use the Knifty Knitter- you can easily make one for a little girl in about an hour)

For play-time, clip them into the waist of a dress-up tu-tu (tutorial on making the tu-tus coming soon...) as interchangeable accessories!

The possibilities are endless..... :)

Look, No hands!

Oh-so-fancy Baby Slings

What you will need:

• Fabric: You will need a total of 3-4 yards of fabric- Either 3-4 yards of one fabric, or 1.5-2 yards each of two coordinating fabrics.
  Sizing: Kelli is an XXS and her sling is 21" x 52". This will take about 1.5 yards of each fabric. You can adjust the amount of fabric you will need depending on your bust, shoulder width, hips, and height.
  Choose a heavier-weight woven fabric (one that doesn't stretch)


• Note: 3-4 yards of fabric will be enough to sew 2 complete slings -but you need to buy that much to get the length for two different prints.
  
• Pattern
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Cotton Piping: about 12 inches of 3/4 inch thick (this is about the thickness of a Crayola marker).

Pre-wash and dry fabric.

Making the Sling:

• Fold fabric in half and place short end of pattern along fold. Pin pattern in place and cut fabric. (repeat for 2nd fabric if you have it)
• Place cut fabric right sides together and stitch around all sides, leaving a small hole open for turning.
• Turn and press.
• Optional Step: When carrying a toddler in the sling, the fabric can hurt the back of their knees where they sit. We added piping to one side of the sling as padding for their knees. To add padding, insert piping into open hole used for turning. Center piping along one of the long sides of the fabric and pin in place. Stitch a casing around piping to hold it in place.
• Close hole (tuck in edges of fabric and stitch through them as close to the edge as possible.)
• Top stitch 1/4" from edge around all sides.
• Fold fabric in half and line up curved edges. Pin along curved edge.
• Stitch along curved edge, following top-stitch line already sewn.
• Open up sling behind curved edge. Fold curved edge to the side so it lays flat with the rest of the fabric. Pin and stitch as close to the edge as possible. (this way your seam will lie flat with your fabric when you wear the sling, and adds strength to your seam.)
• Load up your baby and go!

Extra Tips

• Before you insert your piping, make sure and tape the ends to prevent fraying. Also, if you have to cut it, tape above where you will cut, and then cut. (It's easier!)
• Our sling pattern is about a size small. If you need to make a sling for a taller/bustier mom, just make it longer (not wider). The width fits the baby, length fits you.

Felt Cookies

What you will need:

• Cream or Chocolate colored felt squares (5 for $1 at JoAnne's fabric) for the cookie, pink, purple or other pastel colored squares for the frosting.
• Ecru or Chocolate colored embroidery thread
• Polyfill batting
• Puff paints in colors that coordinate with the frosting colors chosen
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Quilting needle

Making the Cookies

• Find a cup or small bowl that is the desired size of the cookie you want to make and trace circles onto the Cream or Chocolate felt squares, and cut out.
• Find another cup slightly smaller than the first, and trace circles onto the pastel squares.
• Staying within the lines of circle on the pastel squares, cut out a wiggly-lined circle for the frosting.
• Use the puff-paint to put "sprinkles" on the frosting and let dry.
• With the hot glue gun, glue the outer edges of two cream colored circles together (leaving the middle and a small edge section unglued for stuffing.
• Stuff cookie with batting to desired puffiness, then glue shut.
• Once dry, glue frosting to top of cookie.
• Use a blanket stitch to stitch the outside edge of the cookie all the way around.
• "Serve" and enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Primrose Design embroidary tutorials

ABC Quiet Books

We're always looking for great ways to keep our kids entertained and quiet during church. Hopefully this next project will do that while teaching them at the same time. The idea comes from The Idea Door. It is an ABC book with a page of pictures and words for every letter of the alphabet. All of the pictures are gospel based, so it's great for Sundays! They provided a pdf document with the graphics in 8 1/2 x 11 size. I imported them into a word document and made them smaller so they will fit in little photo protectors and make a perfect size book for little hands. The pages are about 4x5. The file can be emailed to anyone who would like to use it.

Here's what you need:

• Printout of pages-get from email. Print in color on white cardstock-there are 8 pages including title page.
• Paper cutter or scissors
• Adhesive (glue stick, rubber cement, photo squares, etc.)
• 27 Photo Savers-laminating pouches. Or plan to laminate book before binding. You can get these at Staples or any office supply store. If you have a hard time finding them, I think I could get some for you, but they might be kind of pricey :)
  
• 
• Pictures: I just printed these out with my printer onto cardstock, but you can use pictures that you have developed. See instructions below.
  
• A is for Angel (optional)- this page has its own pictures, but I had one of Lydia dressed up like an angel for our nativity program, so I used that.
  
• D is for Daddy- I printed 2 pictures of Daddy to cover the ones already on the page.
• E is for eternity- 1 or 2 pictures of you on your wedding day or the family at the temple.
• F is for family- 1 or 2 pictures of the family
• G is for grandparents- pictures of all grandparents
• I is for I am a child of God- 1 or 2 pictures of your kids, I put one in of cousins on this page.
• M is for Mommy- 1 or 2 pictures of Mommy
• P is for prophet- I changed this one because it had two pictures of President Hinckley. I put Joseph Smith and President Monson. I also changed the text. If you want it to be different than the way I did it, print out whatever you want :)
• W is for wisemen- (optional) 1 or 2 pictures of family members dressed like wise men (maybe from Christmas).
• Y is for you- 1 or 2 pictures of your baby/child or both.
• Graphics are provided on all of the pages.
  
• Plan to bind book at copy store, or
  
• Hole punch and multi-purpose rings

To print the right size pictures in WORD:

• Import the pictures into document(Insert, Picture, From File OR copy and paste)
  
• Crop them using the image tools.
• To make them the perfect size, double click on the picture, select the size tab. Type in the size that you want the picture to be. I measured the space I wanted to fill in the book and chose sizes accordingly.

Instructions:

1. Take page printouts and cut each page to 5 1/4 x 4 inches.
2. Crop pictures with scissors or paper cutter.
3. Glue pictures to pages with adhesive
4. Take laminating pouches and position page inside. ***Make sure you line it up so that the crease is on the RIGHT side of the page-this will keep your book together. The binding will be along the side of the laminating pouch that opens. *** Make sure it's right before doing next step.
   
5. Peel off grid liner and firmly seal around page.
6. Take to copy store to have spiral bound OR punch holes and use multi-purpose rings. It cost me 3.99 at Kinkos to get my book bound. I would recommend calling elsewhere to see if you can get a better deal.
   
7. You're Done! If you have a highly destructive child (like mine) don't leave her alone with it in the back seat, or your pages will be bent before you even get home from Kinkos.
   

Toddler Aprons Continued...

You Will Need:

• 1 yard of fabric. Get 1/2 yard of each coordinating fabric if you want 2 fabrics on your apron (like the one pictured)
  
• 2 yards of ribbon (I used 2 different colors of ribbon and bought 2 yards of each)
  
• Thread
  
• Sewing Machine
  
• Any embellishments you would like to use: Buttons, silk or felt flowers, etc

Getting Started:

• Put your fabric wrong sides together, pin on the pattern and cut. Do this twice (for front and back panels)
  
• If you would like pockets, fold your fabric in half and cut your desired pocket shape out of both layers.
  
• Ribbon: cut four 6-inch strips, and two 24-inch strips
  

Sewing the Pocket:

• Put your pocket fabric wrong sides together and sew around all sides, leaving a small gap open.
  
• Turn right side out, push out corners, press with iron and close gap.
  
• Select apron panel piece that you would like to be the front, and pin pocket(s) into desired location.
  
• Sew pocket(s) to apron on three sides, leaving top open

Sewing the Panels:

• Take 2 of the four panel pieces and place them wrong sides together (one of each pattern, if using 2)
• On each shoulder, place one 6" strip of ribbon between the pieces of fabric so only a little bit of the ribbon shows out the top, and pin in place (it will seem that you are sewing the ribbon inside the panels, but when you turn them inside out, you will have sewn the ribbon into the shoulder, leaving the majority free to use for tying)
  
• Sew completely around entire panel, leaving a small gap open
  
• With scissors, snip seam around curves of neckline every inch or so to add some give to the neckline.
  
• Turn fabric right side out, push out corners, press and close gap.
  
• Repeat all steps for second panel.

Adding the Waist Ribbon:

• Using one piece of 24" ribbon, mark center of ribbon with a pin, then pin across panel at desired chest height.
  
• Attach ribbon to panel by stitching along length of ribbon
  
• Attach ribbon to second panel (make sure both panel ribbon placements match!)
  
• Knot shoulder ribbons, joining the panels, and you're done!

Extra Tips:

• Stitching an extra line of stitching at the edges of the pocket opening and where the waist ribbon leaves the fabric will prevent future tearing.
  
• Treating the ends of your ribbon with "fray check" or "fray no more" will prevent unraveling.

The Pattern:

Ok everyone, I tried for MONTHS to try and figure out a way to post the pattern so that it would print "actual size." I drew it out on three separate sheets of paper so you could print it and then tape it together and cut it out. Sorry, but it didn't work! I finally had to just photograph the pages to post them. I included measurements on the pattern, so hopefully you can still create your own without too much trouble. Also, the pattern is only one half of the apron. You can use the dimensions to draw out a whole pattern on a big piece of paper, or you can just do the half pattern, fold your fabric, and place the long dotted line of the pattern along the fold of your fabric to cut. If you get stuck or need help, just post a comment and I'll try to answer you ASAP :)