Child Size Bean Bag Chair -DIY Video Tutorial

I've had this project on my mind for a very long time... just never set aside the time to figure it all out and do it.  So when a new sponsor- Shannon Fabrics reached out to me about trying out their Cuddle Fabric I knew this was the perfect project for it!

I also provide you with the template you need to create the bags for FREE! Just click HERE to access it.  Make sure you "download" the project from the Google Doc file before you try to print it.  It needs to be printed while it's open in the Adobe PDF reader. The full template is 3 printed (8.5" x 11") sheets of paper and I included a 1" x 1" square for you to make sure your printers settings are printing it correctly. Do not adjust the page settings to "fit to page" for printing.
I wanted to make these specifically for our homeschool classroom for the kids to "read" on. As you can see they love 'em! I especially like that they are light enough to be moved out of the way or stacked in a corner.

No matter your sewing skill level I think you will be able to easily finish this project with the help of step-by-step video tutorial. It's 15 minutes long but I did my best to cover as much info as I could. Trust me when I tell you it is NOT easy to edit down hours of footage into 15 minutes. Phew!

The outer shell of the bean bag chairs is made of Cuddle Fabric by Shannon Fabrics. It is sooooo soft and as the name suggests- Cuddly! It's machine washable/dryable and they make it in dozens of different colors, prints and textures. You can find Cuddle Fabric HERE, at your local fabric/quilt shop, or at a number of other online retailers.

To fill the bean bag chair I used Fairfield's Poly-Fill® Bean Bag Filler. Which you can get at 20% off if you use our exclusive code: CG13BB and order from HERE.  This code is valid until September 1, 2013 and is limited to one use per customer.

For the closure I tried two different methods and they both worked fine: For my daughter's bean bag I used my handy plastic snap kit {get it HERE} which I show you how to do in the video and for my son's I used hook and loop tape.

These should last us a good long time.  Just remember to keep flipping the bean bag around so the Poly-Fil® Bean Bag Filler doesn't get compressed over time.

Hope you enjoy the video tutorial and thanks for following my crafty projects!

Click HERE to watch the video tutorial. 

How to make a pair of leggings- DIY Tutorial

WOW. I cannot believe I totally forgot to blog about a video tutorial I posted last month where I show you how to take a pair of leggings you already have and create a pattern from it so you can recreate as many new pairs as you want! My apologies if you missed out on it.   

{side note- If you would like to receive email notifications every time I upload a new video to my YouTube channel go ahead and click HERE to subscribe to my channel. It's absolutely free. Subscriptions are just an easier way to manage all the YouTube channels you like to follow without having to visit each channel to see if a new video has been posted.}

Anyway, here it is! Click HERE to watch the video tutorial.

As you can see I make these in all kinds of fabrics and even enjoy tie-dyeing them with Rit liquid dye. To learn more about how I tie-dye my leggings click HERE for a step-by-step video tutorial.

This video is Part 1 in a two part series where I first show you how to make the leggings and then in Part 2 I show you how to tie-dye them and give them new life! Check out the before and after picture below.

Believe it or not... those are the exact same pair of leggings!

Watch the video and start making dozens of these leggings. They are perfect to wear all year round!

Happy sewing!

How to Tie Dye Leggings with RIT Dye & GIVEAWAY!

Last month I posted a video tutorial on DIY leggings.  If you missed it you can check it out HERE. This week I'm back with Part 2 of that series where I'm taking the plain ol' white leggings I created in the first video and give them some life with a cool tie-dye effect using Rit liquid dye. 

If you have never tie-dyed before get ready... it is soooooooooooo easy! I love that Rit dye is non-toxic and is pretty straight forward to use.

BEFORE: I would never wear these white leggings out in public.  They make my thighs look bigger and the fabric is semi-sheer so you can see everything.

AFTER: I totally feel comfortable wearing these out and I love that I can top them with a hi-lo tank like the one I'm wearing in the pic to allow more of the tie-dye design on the front to show but at the same time cover up my backside.

I think this project is a great example of what a little inexpensive bottle of dye can do to boost your wardrobe. I only used the Black RIT liquid dye bottle but you could use multiple dyes to get a funkier look.  Totally experiment with it and no matter what you get it will be fabulous!

Hat: Kingston Crochet Hat {made by me from this tutorial}
Top: Hi-lo hem tank {bought at Target, similar ones HERE and HERE}
Leggings: 98% rayon 2% Lycra fabric {Made by me using this tutorial, tie-dyed by me using this tutorial}
Shoes: Hot pink canvas sneakers {Got at Target on clearance, similar ones HERE}

I'm totally loving this chill outfit. Shows my fashion style while being comfortable enough to chase two preschoolers around.
 
GIVEAWAY: This week I'm also hosting a giveaway thanks to my friends at Rit! One lucky winner will get the 6 bottles of Rit Liquid Dye you see in this picture. Are they awesome or what?!

 For details on how you can enter to win click HERE to watch the video tutorial. All details are in the video.  

Giveaway is open to worldwide viewers and ends Wednesday, May 15th at 11:59PM EDT. 
Hope you enjoy the video and will give tie-dyeing a try with Rit dye.  Click HERE to watch my video tutorial on how I made my cute leggings.

HAPPY DYEING!

Denim Quilt Backing? Yes, please!

I loooooooove uisng lightweight denim fabric for my picnic quilt backings.  They are so pretty and different looking and hold up great on rough terrain like grass, dirt and sand. 

In this video I bring you Video #4 in my Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Series.  If you want to watch the entire video series (4 videos) just click HERE and I'll send you to the playlist.  You'll be able to watch the videos in order without having to search all of YouTube for each one individually.

Here are a couple of pictures of our picnic quilts. We really do use them all the time!

Baby Allie taking a nap on my Starry Picnic quilt at the splash park.

Reading the kids my son's favorite book at a homeschool playdate on the farm.

I've already purchased the denim backing fabric for my Locally Grown picnic quilt and I wanted to share with you a few things to keep in mind if you're wanting to give it a try. 

Have you ever used denim for quilt backing? I'd love to hear your responses below!

Click HERE to watch the video tutorial on denim backing.

My son's first quilt!

My 3.5 yr old son has finished his first quilt! 

This is his "Snake Quilt." We submitted the finished quilt yesterday to be entered in a local quilt show that will take place next weekend.  If you are in the North Central Florida area you should check it out! Lots of amazing & gorgeous quilts will be on display. Jonathan's will be on display in the Youth category.  The kids' quilts don't get judged. They all receive participation ribbons which is great because my baby worked hard to make his first quilt. I know he will be beyond excited to get his ribbon.

{For more Quilt Show info click HERE.}

He designed and pieced the entire quilt top including:
•selecting fabrics
•piecing the snake together
•appliqueing the snake to the leaves in the background
•piecing the sky to the ground scenery (and the seam is pretty darn straight!)
• helping me cut out the clouds with pinking shears
•placement of each cloud, etc.

Here are some action shots of him working on his snake quilt!

Selecting his fabrics from my scrap bins.

"Mama, this kinda look like a snake skin!" -a great choice, indeed!

Piecing the snake together.

"Mama, snakes like to hide in the leaves." Putting the snake on the leaves background he chose. Another great fabric choice!

Appliqueing the snake to the leaves fabric.

Piecing the sky to the leaves fabric. 

Placement of clouds in sky.

Then I took it to my longarm machine and finished it off for him to get it ready for the quilt show!

If you have a child in your life who is expressing interest in learning how to sew or quilt I suggest checking out my Teaching Kids to Sew video to learn some of the tips & tricks I practice when I'm teaching my son to use his sewing machine.  The video is really cute and you'll get to see my son in one of his sewing lessons. Click HERE to watch the video.

Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Along Series - Part 3

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted but I've been taking things a little easy these past few weeks. I'll explain more in an upcoming post. For now, I wanted to make sure you all received Part 3 of the Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Video Quilt Along series. I posted the video a few weeks back to my YouTube channel but never got around to creating a blog post to go with it. Sorry about that!

So, here it is!  I hope you enjoy seeing how versatile this simple block design is.  Let me know if you plan to piece your quilt top in one of the different designs I show in the video or if you came up with your own orientation. I'd love to see your quilts!

Happy Quilting!

Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Along- Part 2

I'm moving right along into Part 2 of my Locally Grown Picnic Quilt video series.  In this video I'll show you how to cut all the patchwork pieces for all 16 blocks. It's nothing but cutting strips... making this a GREAT beginner quilting project! I promise once you see how EASY it is to make these blocks you will want to make one of these picnic quilts!

If you are new to this series you can find the entire collection of videos in this series HERE.

Click HERE to watch video #2.

Turban Inspired Headband-DIY Tutorial

If you need a quickie hair accessory this is the project for you! 

Super easy to make and a great beginner project! Even kids can make these really cool turbands!

This is the perfect project to use up your stretch knit scraps because it requires such a small amount of fabric. I say you start making these now and start your own collection or give them as gifts. I'm going to make some for my little girl too. I love how these look on my curly hair, too!

Click HERE to watch the step-by-step video tutorial.

Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Along Series

A new video quilt along is here! Who's ready?!

We are working with the most adorable fabric collection ever!

Locally Grown by Marisa and Creative Thursday for Andover Fabrics  
Contact your local & independent quilt shops for this gorgeous collection!
If they don't carry it you can find it online HERE.

This time around we are working on a picnic quilt! This project is perfect just in time for the warmer weather headed our way. 

Some quick details on the quilt we'll be making:

- measures 64" x 64"

- requires only one quilt block (repeated multiple times)

- super sized blocks for quick piecing

- super easy to make

- great beginner project

-cutting only squares and strips

-fun modern geometric design

Locally Grown Picnic Quilt design

Fabrics you'll need are listed below... click on links for purchasing info.

6051-N: 1 7/8 yards (sheep fabric in light brown)
6053-RY: 7/8 yard (chickens in yellow background)
6058-R: 1/2 yard (binding- flowers in red background)
6056-RT: 1 3/8 yards (chicks & eggs in aqua background)
6057-RG:  3/8 yard (chicks on green grass background)

 I like to give my picnic quilts special treatment with a little something extra that none of my other quilts get. To find out what my secret is... be sure to watch the video series HERE.

Learn all about this project and quilting tips and tricks by watching the video series.

Video #1 in the Locally Grown Picnic Quilt Series is now live HERE!

Reversible Fleece Beanie Hat - DIY Tutorial & Free Pattern

 

Believe it or not it's still pretty chilly here in Florida. It's wreaking havoc on my spring planting schedule and I can't wait for it to really be Spring! High 30ºs-40ºs at night is NOT what I was expecting this late in March... oh well! To help me stay toasty I decided to whip up a reversible fleece beanie hat and create a tutorial for you!  It's pretty much the same as my other fleece hat tutorial but this one doesn't have the ear flaps. For that tutorial you can click HERE.   

In this video I also teach you some basics about sewing with fleece fabric including how to tell the pretty side from the ugly (wrong) side, how to lay out your fabric so the stretch is running along the correct grain line, etc.  The FREE pattern is also provided for this project right HERE on my patterns page.

This is a SUPER easy and fun beginner project. It would be great to make with kids and I know a lot of you live in colder places that I so you could still make one to wear this year.  

*BONUS- It's fully reversible so you can make two hats in one!*

 

The fabric I use in this video tutorial was provided by my latest video sponsor: 

www.fabricdiva.com

They have a ridiculous variety of fleece (and other fabrics) and really affordable prices so it's definitely worth jumping over there to check it out.   Click right HERE to see what they got! They even have a fleece hat kit they are selling for my followers! The kits are smaller pieces of coordinating fleece fabric in just the right size to make either of my fleece hats! These kits are a great bargain and she's offering FREE SHIPPING in the U.S. for you too!

Click HERE to view the kit sales!

Straight from the FabricDiva.com website! Choose a solid fleece hat kit or a print/solid combo! FREE SHIPPING in U.S.!

Take advantage of the sale at FabricDiva.com and enjoy my step-by-step video tutorial!

Click HERE to watch the video! 

{p.s.- There is a giveaway mentioned in the video.}

DIY Hair Headband Video Tutorial & GIVEAWAY!

I love quick and easy projects! If you do too then I bet you'll enjoy this week's tutorial. 

My baby girl rockin' her new headband.

I'm teaching you how to make these really cute and ridiculously easy headbands.  A few inexpensive supplies and you'll be pumping these out by the dozen in no time. They are comfortable too! This would also be a great side business idea to try out.  Fancy boutique quality headbands sell for $$$$$ and when you see how inexpensive {and easy} they are to make you may decide to start up a small business! Let me know if you do.

My baby girl loves playing in muddy puddles!

Can't believe she is 18 months old already!

The embellishments I use in the tutorial can be found on Simplicity's website right HERE. Check them out! Many of them are a dollar and some change! Super affordable and you will want to stock up on 'em.

A huge thanks to Simplicity for also helping me host a giveaway this week for 3 bundles of 5 different hair accessories. I will select 3 random winners when the giveaway ends on Sunday, March 17, 2013 ay 11:59PM EST. For the complete details on how you can enter for your chance to win please watch the entire video tutorial on YouTube by clicking HERE.

As you will see in the video I have a pretty big collection of fold over elastic (FOE) so I make these kinds of headbands all the time. For a ridiculous variety of FOE sold by the yard in different widths click HERE.  

Here are the embellishment bundles I'm giving away! Aren't they cute?!

Here are a few combinations of headband and embellishments to help you get some ideas.

BEST sewing machine for beginners!

In this week's video I'm answering the #1 question I am asked by you!

"What is a great & affordable sewing machine for beginners?"

Here it is! The Kenmore 19106 (or Janome 11542).  This is my personal recommendation based on years of experience with a lot of different machines. I currently have 11 sewing machines in my studio and this one is one of my go-to machines, for sure!

Kenmore 19106 sewing machine

This machine is lightweight but one of my more heavy duty workhorses. You need to watch my video review to understand what I mean. You will shocked and amazed to see what this little 11 -pound machine can do! But the best part is the price! 

Tuesday Morning sells this machine for only $59.99! 

Yes, that is correct. No typo.  $59.99.  Tuesday Morning is the only place I've been able to find this machine at such a low price.  You may come across it elsewhere but the price will be 2-3 times what Tuesday Morning sells it for. If $59.99 is not an affordable price point for a quality machine I don't know what is! Trust me people... it's worth looking into.  I have 3 of these machines and love them!

To buy this machine from Tuesday Morning you can visit a local store in your area.  To find the local store click HERE.  Or, you can also purchase directly from their website by clicking HERE.

Just so you know this is the exact same model as the Janome 11542 which I have been using in my video tutorials for a few years now.  I recently found out that Janome manufacturers the newer Kenmore machines. So, you are getting Janome quality with the Kenmore name on it.  

Same machine just different brand names on it.

Ok, enough rambling. Watch the video and learn why I love it so much!