Owie Owl and Boo Boo Bear

Bug is at that age where he falls multiple times a day.  All summer he had scraped knees.  He would always point out his boo boos.  He's bonked his head multiple times and has even had his first fat lip due to a mishap on his cousin's scooter.  It's a good thing he loves his helmet.

Whenever he falls its really hard to hold ice on the area.  It's too cold and he doesn't like it.

I started looking around Pinterest to find some type of "ice pack" that I could make.  I found a great tutorial for an Owie Owl and a Boo Boo Bear.

The directions were easy to follow and they were easy to make.  I made them both from fabric I already had, so it was an inexpensive project also.  

They are filled with rice, so they can also be heated for a warm compress if needed.  Now we are ready to go the next time Bug falls down.

Baby Shower Gift

I'm an auntie again!  My sister-in-law had a baby girl last week...3 weeks early.  I am so excited for our growing family and that The Bug has another cousin..

When I found out she was pregnant, I started a list of gift ideas.  As the due date got closer, the list got longer.  I decided to make a few of the them for the shower to make a cute little gift basket.

The divided basket is from a Noodlehead pattern.  I thought that it was going to be difficult, but it was pretty easy.  It was the last part of the project and I got it done in one night.

I put in a few of my favorite burp cloths that I give to everyone that I know.  I do not leave home without these.
 

The biggest project was the quilt.  It was the third quilt that I had made.  I wanted to try a new type of quilt and came across this tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.  I thought that it would be perfect.  It looks complicated, but was actually pretty easy.

The Bug loves blankets.  When he saw this on the back of my sewing chair he grabbed it and decided he needed to test it out.

So it has been cousin tested....

and peek-a-boo approved.

Stuffed Elephant

I've had elephants on my mind after I made the gift set for my friend. I wanted to find something else to make with the patchwork fabric. I thought it would be cute to make a little stuffed elephant. To go beyond just a stuffed animal, I decided to add some sensory elements. It took a little figuring out (and a late night run to Petco for a squeaker) but in the end it turned out better than I expected.

He has two different textures of fabric, ribbon ears, crinkle ears and a squeaky tail.  Bug was excited to figure out how to squeak the tail

Beach Bag

Last summer we had two beach trips planned.  I wanted a new beach bag to take with us.  I found a great tutorial at Elle Apparel.

It was an easy tutorial to follow.  I even copied her and got my fabric from Ikea.  It was my first time buying there, but it was cheap and perfect for this project.

It's a large bag which is great.  It holds everything that my husband and I need for a day at the beach.  I have even used it for road trips to keep computer, Ipad, magazines, etc. handy while in the car.

I made one little change to her tutorial.  She only had an outside pocket, but I added an inside pocket too.

The pocket is perfect for my phone, chap stick, keys, etc.  Having two pockets also means that I get a pocket and my husband gets his own.

I love this bag.  It has now made one trip to Mexico, two trips to Hawaii, and many trips to my mom's pool.  I see many more vacations in this bags future.

2 in 1 Fold Over Clutch

I've made myself a few purses.  You can check them out here and here.  Uncle Kevin and I were getting ready to go wine tasting with some friends and neither of them were right for wine tasting.  I love them both, but they were too big for what I wanted.

I had seen this pattern on Pinterest months ago and thought it would be perfect.

Last summer, I had bought some great mint and gray chevron fabric that I knew I wanted to turn into a purse, so I was all set to go.

I made the inside yellow for some contrast.  It has a pocket inside and a magnet to keep it closed.

It's the perfect size for a night out or when you don't need to lug around a lot of stuff. 

Princess and the Popstar Outfit

My four year old niece LOVES the movie "Princess and the Popstar".  She has watched it more times than we can count and has the entire movie memorized.  Popstar, Kiera, is her favorite character.  While watching the movie, she loves to sing along to all of the songs.

She has a wonderful imagination and loves to play dress up.  She uses one of her ballerina outfits with a superhero cape around her waist as her "Kiera" outfit (the black hair is a wig.)

One day, she asked my sister if she could get a real Kiera outfit.  My sister did not like anything that she found online, so she came to me and asked if I could make something as her Christmas gift. Of course I had to make it. I couldn't disappoint her.

She sent me this picture as my inspiration.

I didn't have a pattern, but had some ideas that I thought would work.  I went to Joann's and got three different purple, sparkly fabrics and got to work.

It turned out just as I imagined and she loved it.  As soon as she opened it on Christmas morning she put it on and put on a show.

I used a couple of different tutorials to make the outfit.  For the skirt, I used the Simple Skirt from Made.  Mine has three layers.  The top two are the tulle and the bottom is a shiny purple fabric liner.  I skipped the waistband and attached the skirt to a tank top using this tutorial from A Small Snippet.

After making the dress, I then had to make the removable longer piece.  I cut two rectangles of the sequined and shiny fabric. I sewed them with the right sides together.  Then I turned it right side out and top stitched around the whole thing making sure to close the opening.  For the waistband, I followed the instructions from the Simple Skirt tutorial.  I attached some velcro to elastic and it was complete.

The Popstar is ready for her performance!

Amy Butler Cosmo Bag

Last year my students gave me an Amazon gift card for Christmas.  Whenever I get gift cards, I like to buy things that I want, but wouldn't buy for myself.  One thing I got was Amy Butler's Style Stitches. 

I love her fabric and her designs. My first project was the cover project, the Cosmo Bag.

I'm really into yellow and gray right now, so I chose some Amy Butler yellow and gray fabric. 

I love it.  It has 5 pockets on the inside and 2 on the outside.  Sometimes, I think it has too many pockets because I can't remember which pocket I put my keys in.

It wasn't that difficult to make, but definitely not a beginner project.  I think that it took me just as long to cut out all of the pieces as it did to sew the bag.  I can't wait to make another bag from the book.

My First Quilt: Downy Quilts for Kids

My aunt is a quilter.  A real quilter...she hand quilts. My whole life I remember her talking about quilts. Because of this, quilting seemed very daunting to me.

After I began sewing, I thought that I wanted to try quilting.  I was scared to try it.  Then I saw this blog post about Downy Quilts for Kids.  They send you a kit to make a quilt that then gets sent to kids that are hospitalized.  The kit comes with all of the fabric and instructions.  I decided this would be a great introduction to quilting and went to a great cause, so I ordered a kit.

When my kit arrived I was really excited.  The fabric would not have been my first pick of fabric, but I guess I can't be too picky.  It was the last week of school though, so I had to wait until I had some free time. 

When I finally sat down to work on it, the directions a little confusing.  I think they were written for someone that had quilting experience. Luckily Ashley at Make It and Love It had a great tutorial with a lot of pictures. 

I think that it turned out great.  I'm excited that my first quilt went to someone that could really use something homemade.  I'll definitely make another one.  Maybe I'll buy my own fabric so that it is even cuter!!

Toddler Blanket

My 2 1/2 year old niece loves Yo Gabba Gabba.  A few months ago I was fabric shopping in San Luis Obispo and found some Yo Gabba Gabba flannel.  I knew I had to get it and make her something.

Originally, I thought that I would make a pillow case.  Unfortunately, the design went the wrong direction.  I was making a receiving blanket and thought that I could make her a blanket too.

I've never used minky and I thought that I would try it for this.  It is very soft, but not super thick.  I really like the way it turned out.

I used the twin needle to top stitch this also.  It looks a little more professional, I think.

We were going on vacation with my husband's family, so I took it with us to give to her.  I gave it to her on the first day and she used it the whole time we were there.  Throughout the week she would randomly come up to me, give me a hug and say "Thank you for my blanket Auntie Caiti"  I'd say she liked it.

Receiving Blanket and Burp Cloths

When I first started sewing my sister sent me a link about some super soft burp cloths.  She was pregnant at the time, so I think she was hoping I'd make some for her.  Of course I did and for many other friends.  They have become my go to baby gift.  I love looking for cute flannels and the backing that I found is so soft. 

Then I decided to make a coordinating blanket to go with the burp cloths.  I gave the first set to a friend and within weeks of her son being born she asked if I could make her another one.  She said they were her favorite blankets. 

My brother's friend recently had a baby boy.  My mom asked if I would make some burp cloths to send to him.  I made a coordinating blanket too.

I recently learned how to use the twin needle on my machine.  I thought that using it for the blanket would be a nice added detail rather than a single top stitch.

I think it turned out great.  I hope that baby Graeme likes them!

Barbie Superhero Jammie Movie Birthday Party

My niece, R, decided that she wanted a Barbie Superhero Jammie Movie Birthday Party for her fourth birthday.  My sister started planning and I volunteered to help.  The plan was that I would make a Barbie Cake, cupcakes, and superhero capes for all of the kids.

The birthday girl with her cape, crown, and super hero jammies

I was very excited about making the Barbie cake.  I have wanted to make one ever since I got my Pampered Chef Classic Batter Bowl about 12 years ago.  R was very specific that the cake had to be purple and the cupcakes pink.  Barbie also had to have a superhero cape.

My sister had kettle corn for the kids to snack on during the movie.  I also made some cake balls with the extra cake from the Barbie.

She set up a "theater" in her garage and projected the movie on the wall.

Banner made by our mom.

The kids wore their capes over their jammies.

Even Little E got a cape.

For My Nieces: Pinafore Dress and Simple Skirt

My sister sent me a link to a pattern for a cute little outfit that she wanted me to make for my niece.  I knew that I had seen something similar and I found a tutorial at Smashed Peas and Carrots.

I went shopping and found some great fabric at Joann's.  It was near the end of the bolt so if I bought the restI got a discount.  I figured why not.  With the fabric I made the dress and a matching skirt for her older sister.  I also made a skirt for other niece. Everything turned out so cute.

 
To go with the dress I made a little diaper cover also.  I used a tutorial from MADE.

The skirt is also a tutorial from MADE. She calls it a Simple Skirt and it really is.

Everything turned out really great and it looks so cute on them.