Simple Child Pillows

I know I know you're thinking, hey I want to learn how to make that doll! The pattern is found in Meg McElwee's Book Growing up Sew Liberated
I'm showing you how to make the pillow. . Yes I know cheezy easy anyone can do it . . Here we go

Now since I didn't actually take pictures of the project my descriptions will have to be enough (they should be this is easy peasy lemon squeezy!)

Start with two pieces of fabric cut to 1/2 in longer and 1/2 inch wider than you want your final pillow to be (keep in mind that the stuffing will make it "smaller" as well when you are determining your size)

Place the fabrics right side together and sew almost completely around the border leaving about a 3 inch gap for turning and stuffing. I like to leave my gaps in the center of the end rather than at corners so that I can get a clean corner!

Turn your pillow so that the pretty fabric is on the outside.

Stuff your pillow with fiberfil or the guts from an old pillow (my daughter had a blast ripping apart an old pillow to stuff inside her new one!)

Slip stitch your seam closed.

You now have an easy pillow that id the perfect fit for your child (or project or you or you know whatever)

Baby Showers and Handmade Gifts

My husbands family has this thing it seems where every year there must be a new baby added (granted the last two years were my girls, but hey) so this means that in order for me to keep my sterling rep as a creative aunt, I make baby gifts. . . Blankets, toys, helpful items (maybe, hopefully?).

This time around it's my husbands little brothers first baby and it's a boy. This couple is quite a bit like us as they LOVE the outdoors and camping and all those things that might just leave this one in need of a really warm blanket. So we made a quilt-gan. Car seat sized.

I made a baby afgan and the face of a flannel quilt in baby colors and sewed them back to back for warmth. I could have also added a liner, but for the thickness and warmth the two layers had, I didn't see the need for another layer.

And then for good measure I made a stuffed turtle in the same fabrics to go with it using this tutorial (I eyeballed the pattern though)

What do you think?

What kind of baby projects do you make when attending baby showers?

Indoor Kid Fishing Sets

So this Christmas me being the crazy person I am, decided to make magnetic fishing sets for all the kids in our lives for Christmas (they are all under the age of 5) They actually were quite fun to make! Here are the individual pieces :o)

The Fish:

I cut a fish body out of felt and a few circles and triangles for eyes and fins. I sewed all of these together and stuffed them with Fiberfil. I made a braided loop with jute and glued a magnet into the edge. I then sewed the loop into the mouth of the fish to give kids two ways to catch the fish. They can be caught by the magnet or by the loop.

The Pole:

I had my amazing husband saw a couple of these bamboo garden stakes in two pieces (about 2.5-3 foot each) after sanding off the rough edges I wrapped the bottom (handle) in jute using hot glue to put a “grip” on the pole. Then I tied (and glued) a long piece of jute for the fishing line.

The Hook:

This was quite the challenge! I needed something that wasn’t going to cause severe damage if it was flung by a kid, be able to house a magnet and not be sharp edged like a traditional fishhook would be. I tried salt dough but my husband’s uncle (my kids’ godfather) proved that that wasn’t going to cut it by dropping it and watching it shatter into pieces. He then quickly twisted a hook out of thick copper wire that was almost perfect! The Magnet had to be wedged into the ends of the wire and wrapped in jute to hide, but the copper works well, is light, no sharp edges and well looks good!

The Bag:

My Simple Produce Bag pattern only made out of muslin and measured to the length of the pole.

Ta Da!! Full fishing sets for the babies!

Felt Magnet ABC’s

Somewhere on Pinterest (I can’t remember where or I’d point you there) I found a post for these adorable felt letters to help kids learn their letters. When I saw these I instantly thought how awesome would it be to have fridge letter magnets that wouldn’t leave dents in foreheads when kids got mad and threw them at each other? So I decided to take it one step farther and make felt stuffed fridge magnet letters! 

I started with different colored pieces of felt and cut fat letter shapes (two of each letter) out of the felt. I then hand sewed the edges using a blanket stitch. I made sure that as I was sewing them together I stuffed them with polyfil and a magnet.

 

I know I know sounds so simple and easy. It’s not. It’s painstaking and tedious but . . . 

They turned out so adorable! Don’t you just love them?

Toddler TeePee

Not to make every one sad now, but this post is more meant to share this awesome project than to tutorialize it. Even though I mostly made this teepee on my own pattern drawn from the back of my head it was inspired by Meg McElwee's book Growing Up Sew Liberated I figured it wouldn't be fair to give up her basic pattern.

  This TeePee has a door and round window, is made from a heavy muslin and outdoor fabric, and is supported by bamboo stakes from the garden department at home depot. And . . .

My girls (or should I say my oldest and her cousins) love it!!

Happy Projecting!

Stephie