Blankets

For a beginner at the sewing machine, I felt like these turned out not so bad! Each of my kids got a blanket for Christmas this year. I cut 6 inch squares because I am lazy and the clear thing that goes over my rotary board is 6 inches wide.....6 inches on a TWIN size quilt is small. Next time I'll be less lazy!

Girl #1

Girl #2

Boy #1

Boy #2 (The baby, that's why it's smaller.)

Car Seat Cover

I started seeing these everywhere this summer and then I found a GREAT tutorial from Make It And Love It so I decided I'd take a shot at making one! This one is attached with grosgrain ribbon, however I have seen other designs with buttons or velcro straps at the top. (I have not yet figured out how to sew button holes on my machine, so I stuck with the velcro.....beginner sewer here!)

1. Buy 2 pieces of fabric 1 1/4 yard each. (I used flannel because the patterns were cute and it's cozier than cotton.)
2. Lay pieces together with the right sides together. (the pretty sides touching, ugly sides on the outside.) Cut any excess fabric so you have a perfect rectangle. Pin around edges.
3. Sew along the edges of the fabric leaving a 5 inch hole when you get to the end.
4. Turn the blanket right-side-out through the hole you left. Hand stich the hole shut.
5. Measure from the top of your blanket (long ways) 22 inches down. Mark with a pin.
6. Measure your blanket short-ways and mark the middle. Then measure 4 inches out on each side. Mark with a pin. (You are locating the two places where you will sew the ribbons and you want them to be even.)
7. Measure two strands of ribbon 22 inches long each. Use a match to seal the ends of the ribbon so it won't fray later on.
8. Find the middle of the ribbon and sew each one to the two places you just marked.

I LOVE this car seat cover because I can take it off and use it as a blanket or a bottle prop if I don't have anything else to use. Fabric on sale at Joanne's is $3 a yard, so with all the other stuff you need to make it, this Car Seat Cover costs less than $10 to make yourself!! Can't beat that in ANY store!

Recipe Box Mod Podged

(Sorry for not taking pictures along the way! I tried that and decided I will just show you my project and TELL you how to do it. If you have questions after that, don't be afraid to ask!!)

I got these recipe boxes at Michael's for $5 a piece! Here are the basic directions for Mod Podging the box:

1. Trace scrapbook paper to fit outside pieces.
2. Paint inside of box the color you want. Make sure to dry it with the lid open or it will dry shut! And don't paint the hinges!
3. Mod Podge paper to outside of box. I had to let it dry a while before doing the top/bottom. Be careful with Mod Podge, if you put a glued side flat side down on your table it will stick and your paper will look bad so let it dry before setting it down.
4. Let it dry a day or so and then spray the entire thing with Acrylic Spray. Don't set anything on top of the box for at least a week to make sure it's DRY DRY!
5. Embellish with ribbons, stickers, letters, buttons, flowers, bows, etc!! Go Crazy!!!
6. I traced recipe dividers out of cardstock and labeled them with stickers.

This is functional, but also pretty if you need a good kitchen decoration. Have fun with it!!

Clip Board Mod Podged

This clipboard matches the recipe box in the next post. Not that I really USE a clipboard (If I was still teaching maybe!) but this is SUCH a cute gift for teachers!! I got a super cute one with the cutest little girl in the corner and my name. I hung it by my desk rather than actually used it. None the less, it was ADORABLE!!

1. Measure scrapbook paper to fit your clipboard.
2. Mod Podge paper to clipboard.
3. Let dry for a day or so and spray with Acrylic Spray.
4. Glue a strip of ribbon (velvet would be SO cute, I used polka dot) to the seam of the two papers.
5. Embellish with buttons, bows, stickers, words, etc. SO CUTE!

Family Home Evening Chart

I saw something like this on display at Robert's MONTHS ago and bought the plaque but never got around to it. I decided this would be a CUTE Christmas present for my brother and his family so here it is!! Sorry I didn't take pictures along the way, but I'll tell you how I did it. (The plaque is usually $20, but it was on sale for $12, AND I had a 50% off coupon!)


1. Measure your paper and cut it to the correct size to cover the metal sheet. Remember your seams and how you want them to look. (i.e. Try to make stripes match in the middle etc.)

2. Paint the wood whatever color you want. I choose dark dark brown. It's ok if you get paint on the metal because you can scratch it off with your fingernail. Paint front and back with 2-3 coats.

3. Mod-Podge your paper to the sheet metal. This can be tricky if you've never Mod Podged before!!

4. Let the whole thing dry for a couple of hours before you mess with it again. While it dries you can prepare your name plates/job plates.

5. Place the family name and FHE words on the wood. I used stickers from American Crafts (Thanks to the M-I-L!) because I don't have a cricuit but I imagine a Cricuit would be PERFECT for this job because you can customize the size/font you want.

6. Spray over the whole front and back with Acrylic Spray. Let it sit for a few hours before touching it and DO NOT lay anything on top of it for a few days!

7. Measure the ribbon and tie it through the holes. I used green grosgrain.


Name Plates:
1. Buy the needed number of name plates and the color of paper you want to cover the front. I bought wooden rectangles from Robert's for $.40 each. I also included a couple extra for when the family has more kids.

2. Measure the paper for the front of the name plate. Paint the sides and back of the name plate the color you want. (I used brown, the same as the wood.) Repaint with 2-3 coats.

3. Let the paint dry, then Mod Podge the paper to the fronts of the name plates. Do not stack them or lay them upside down for at least 4 days! If my paper ends up hanging off of the sides on parts, I turn it upside down WHEN IT IS A FEW DAYS DRY and razor blade the extra paper off. (The problem with this is I usually knick the wood and have to retouch up the paint on those parts, but the paper fits better.)

4. When your name plates have dried a few days, put you stickers/vinyl names on. To make sure the name is in the middle, I put the middle letter or letters on first right in the middle of the rectangle, then work my way out.

5. Spray your name plates with Acrylic Sealer. ($5 at Michaels.) Spray front and let dry a few hours before you spray the back.

6. Glue a magnet onto the back of each name plate.


Job Plates

1. Buy the needed number of mirrors for your FHE chart. (You could use wooden pieces too, but I thought mirrors would look different!)

2. Apply your letters. (I used Coffee House sticker rolls from Robert's. $.50) You can use vinyl letters from a Cricuit or rub on letters ($8 from Robert's). I tried using the rub on letters first, but there is no way to really seal them on, so if the letters get knicked they will look crappy. Vinyl would be ideal, but stickers did it for me. I had a hard time finding letters small enough for that little mirror!

3. Glue a magnet onto the back of each mirror.

Put your name plates/mirrors into place and you have yourself a pretty dang cute, changable, add-to-able, take-away-able FHE chart!!!