Missionary Christmas Stocking

When my "little" bro was on his mission, {gah it was so hard to have him gone for 2 full years!!} all I wanted to do in that time was keep him close however I could. With some dedication and creativity, I managed to do just that via a blog, care packages {that were quite creative in content}, letters...etc.

I wasn't as crafty at that time, {Full time jobs will do that to ya. Working ladies, y'all know what I mean!} but oh if I was, the things I might have dreamt up {or copied from pinterest ;-)} would have been so much fun to make and send out to him.

Over Thanksgiving, my aunt approached me with a crafty gift idea {shocking as it may be, NOT from pinterest} that a friend of hers had come up with. She showed me the cutest little pic of a missionary-stocking that her friend had sent out to her own son in his Christmas care package from home. It was darling, so of course we had to make one for my cousin too! {He's serving in Texas right now, we're so proud of him!}

There was no tutorial, but I'm a resourceful gal. ;)
I printed off this simple stocking pattern that I had pinned last Christmas as a basic guide, {below} and got to work!

Source: prudentbaby.com via Jamie on Pinterest

The pattern I used.

Super cute huh?! I love it.
I wish I'd taken pics throughout the process so I could throw together a little tutorial, but alas, I did not. Next time maybe. :)

PS. I know right, yet another glorious example of iPhone photography. Better days are coming my friends.

**edit**
Tutorial - no pics.  :*(

Supplies:
White felt (1/4 yard should be more than enough of each felt)
Black felt
Ribbon (for the "belt")
red cotton fabric (for the tie, or just buy a kid's tie to clip on, glue on or tie on)
2 small white buttons

Tools:
Hot glue gun
Sewing machine
Scissors
Chalk (you can skip the chalk, but it makes it a little easier to be precise)

Directions:

1. Print off, cut out & assemble this stocking pattern on plain paper
2. Using the paper pattern, trace the top of the stocking pattern onto your white felt, (so everything but the foot part) add about 4 inches to the top of the stocking beyond the pattern (So you have enough to fold down into a collar) and cut out 2 of these white felt pieces.
3. Trace the foot of the stocking onto your black felt, and cut it out. (make 2 of these pieces as well.)
4. Now you'll sew the first white piece to the first black piece to complete one side of the stocking. Do this right sides together, and use 1/4" seam allowance or smaller if you comfortably can. 
5. For the back, repeat step 4, but first align the pieces to make sure they will face the right way so you don't end up with seams on the outside of your stocking! :)
6. Lay out the front piece, with the front side facing you. Measure the width of your stocking, and add 1 inch. This will be the length of your ribbon.
7. Using a thin line of hot glue, attach the ribbon to the seam where the black bottom and white top meet, leaving 1/2 in overhang on each side of your stocking front. Wait for the glue to dry. (The overhanging ribbon will be sewn into your seam and will give the stocking a much more polished look.)
8. With right sides together, sew the front and back of your stocking together. *Don't sew all the way up the sides! Leave that extra 4 inches we added to the top un-sewn.
9. Turn stocking right side out.
10. Fold the extra felt on top down so it over-laps by about 2 inches.
11. Find the center of the stocking, and make a 2 inch cut in the fold. 
12. Now fold the collar back up, DO NOT turn inside out. 
13. Cut a 4 inch strip of ribbon, fold it in half (right side facing out) and pin it between the unsewn edges at the top of the stocking, (raw edges sticking outside of the seam, with the loop inside the stocking.) This will be the hanging loop!
14. Sew together the 4 inches we left unsewn in step 8, bringing the stitch in at a slight angle through the last inch on each side. (This will keep the "collar" from flaring out when it is finished!) 
15. Fold the collar down. (The hanging loop of ribbon should be facing up and out, with the seam hidden under the fold)
16. Adjust the corners of the collar as desired, and using a teeny dab of glue on each, tack them down so they give that slightly raised/rounded collar flap-look.
17. Glue the small white buttons to the collar points. 
18. Position and attach the tie. (I free-handed my tie, it was super basic. You could even cut a tie-shape out of red felt and call that good. Here's a fabulous tutorial on making a child-sized tie if you're feeling extra crafty!)
    
    Source: veryhomemade.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest
    ...
19. Done. (You can add a name tag, or not... whatever you feel like doing!) :)

Quilting for a cause

I love quilting, I love my friends, and I love helping others.

Love, love, love.

So of course, when a very good friend of mine asked if I could make a little something to auction off at a fundraiser she is putting on, I jumped up off the couch and got to work.

A family she goes to church with recently found out that the husband has leukemia. Again. So she has taken it upon herself to put together a couple fundraiser events to support them in this difficult time. She's amazing. 

I'm always a little nervous making things for others... I'm mostly self-taught and my skill-set is pretty amateur, but I love quilting. Especially when things come out well. :)

So here's what I came up with. It's one of those wonky/crazy-cut quilts that I love so much. :) I had everything on hand except the minky back. Hobby Lobby and that 40% off coupon of theirs were there for me with that one. 

I finished it pretty quickly and wanted to get it to her right away, so it's a bit wrinkled from getting stuffed in a bag, but you get the idea. 

If you'd like more info on the fundraiser, to donate or participate in the auction, visit http://www.teamjackrapp.blogspot.com. :) Every little bit counts!

Flares into Skinnies!

Hooray for cute pants!!
I snagged these great pink corduroy Abercrombie pants from a Savers near by for $5.00 the other day. I especially liked the way they fit my waist, hips and thighs, but I decided they needed to be skinny. So I finally took a stab at the whole refashioning-flared-pants-into-skinny-pants thing.
I hesitated at first because I don't have a serger. (Add that to my list of "tools" to acquire. Its right up there with getting a fricken DSLR camera.) Then I just decided to go for it anyway.

SO. Easiest project ever. Even if you are NOT a seamstress. Here's my steps in a tiny bit more detail in case anyone reading this is doubting the ease of this project. ;)

First thing I did was toss them in the wash. (Always wash thrifted clothing... just in case!)
Ok all clean. Next I checked out the seams on both sides of the pant leg to determine which side would be easier to disguise my alterations.

Then I turned them inside out, laid them out, and used a pair of skinny jeans I like as a "pattern". When the project and the pattern are lined up, pin where you will be sewing your straight line. (Here you can use chalk or a light marker to draw a line along the pins for accuracy, or you can be a rebel like me and just go for it.)

I sewed two seams for reinforcement purposes. That's what you do when you don't have a fancy-pants serger! (Going over your seam with a zig zag stitch is also a good option here.) Then I tried them on to make sure the fit was right, and I took a pic because the attractiveness just had to be documented.

Only when I was sure that the fit was right did I snip off the excess.

Turn them right side out and wear your creation with pride!

I think one of these days I may go over the seams with my mother-in-law's serger, and I might even go to the trouble of re-doing the bottom hem to make it feel a bit more pro-fesh. (shrug) Or not. They're pretty great just like this!
If anyone else does try this project, please share your results with me! I'd love to see the transformations.
Happy crafting my friends :)

DIY Skirt

I made a skirt!
I've never made one before, so this is HUGE.
Then, I actually wore the thing... twice. Thats funny because when I first finished it I was like, okayyy... not sure about this thing. I mean, I used this free tutorial I found on Pinterest, so I wasn't expecting it to be like profesh-quality or anything, but even then the whole process was a bit throw-caution-to-the-wind-ish. I even found myself just ignoring the tutorial for the second half and sewing away.
So it turned out well under the circumstances :) At least it's unique and wearable.
My mom even asked me to make her one for her birthday. I think for that one I'll get a real pattern ;) So we'll see how that goes!