DIY Pinecone and Ribbon Tutorial

This is a stray away from my typical sewing posts but I wanted to share this adorable idea with you!!!



Last year I remember seeing Shutterfly promote some of their Holiday pictures with hanging pinecones and I LOVED the idea!  I was selected again this year to host a Shutterfly House Party and I thought it would be perfect to string some of these up in the backyard and take some pictures for the friends that come to my par-tay!  If you're not familiar with House Parties, basically a company sends you promotional materials and freebies in exchange for you talking about their product!  Since I pretty much pay a small fortune to Shutterfly each year I'm always on the lookout for more coupons and freebies!

Also, something I did a little differently than what might be expected - I created satin bias ribbon instead of buying ribbon at the store.  Depending on how much you need, this can be a much more affordable craft if you get a half yard of fabric rather than several yards of ribbon!

For me, this project cost a whopping $0.00 since I picked the pinecones from the backyard of the cabin we stayed at in Gatlinburg!

MATERIALS:
1/2 yard satin fabric
Cutting mat and rotary cutter (optional - use scissors if you don't have this!)
Pinecones!

To illustrate how I cut the ribbon, I used a sample square of the fabric to show you how to fold.  When I tried to use my yardage it just looked so messy and confusing!

Take your fabric and fold one corner to another this folded edge is your bias grain.

Fold again, taking the bottom of the folded edge up to the top.

Cut along this folded edge half - the first cut will be half of what you want your width since it's on the folded edge. 

Continue cutting strips - you may want to try a project based on the No Big Dill - It's "OK to be Biased" Skirt!  I used several kinds of bias strips for last season's PR&P sew along challenge!

You can attach to the pinecones in various ways!  I took two long strips and tied a bow and attached to the pinecones by wrapping it around the top.  You could also attach at the top with a pin or tack.

 

 

Hang at different lengths from the tree branches and you have an adorable photo prop! 

And for the last step, find an adorable model!  Happy 11 months Eva Mae! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Other link parties:
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2012/11/transformation-thursday-no-177.html
http://www.momnivores-dilemma.com/2012/11/creative-juice-thursday-features-and-link-up-2.html
http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/11/creating-homemade-holiday-link-party.html

More cute outfits! Toddlers, Turkey and a Tour!

This is a combined design I put together for my best friend's son!!!  He was so adorable at his birthday party and I was so happy that the outfit turned out so well!

 

Happy birthday little buddy!!!!  I can't believe how fast you're growing! :)

I also finished up another turkey for a friend's client.  I need to make one of these for Eva Mae!!!  Now I just have to find the time to do it! lol!

 

Happy November!!!

I also will have a cute review later this month!  Amy at Naptime Crafters has a pattern shop and she will have a blog tour of great patterns for Holiday use!
 

Halloween

Halloween 2012!

We had a great time with our circus theme!  Eva Mae was the circus "Ruffleump" in her cute homemade costume!  I blogged a tutorial here on how I made her dress!


To complete her look I bought an elephant hat but she was not a fan!

          

I can't believe how lucky I got with such a sweet baby!!!  She is so easy going and sweet!  Just look at those eyes! 

 

And here's the ringmaster!!!  I wanted him to wear a mustache but he did not like that idea!
Here is the post on his outfit!

"Oh Ruffleump, where are you?  There you are!  I will tame you with the powers of my mind!"

           

I love this picture!  Eva Mae is saying - "why is brother giving me a hug?" 

 

My two circus cuties!


The fam

"Trick or Treat!!!"

 

Trick or Treat Bags!

I stayed up way too late last night making these totes for Halloween!!!  I made a bag last year for Christian but I hot glued a little applique on the front!  This year I can do the REAL thing! lol!  I love how these turned out!
 

I ordered a bunch of this chevron thinking I would use it for clothes but it's just too thick.  I'll make bags with them and give as gifts!  I think the blue chevron would look really cute with a red monogram!

 

Stay tuned for pics next week of our Trick or Treating night!!!  The kids are going to be so cute! :)

More fun with my Singer Futura! :)

 I have been keeping pretty busy with my embroidery machine and it's so much fun to sit and relax while creating something new!!! lol!

I just LOVE how the entire design is embroidered instead of appliqued.  We were going to go with an applique "N" but decided this look seemed a little more classic!

This is the latest fully handmade outfit I've created!  I bought the blue gingham fabric from JoAnn's craft store and lined it with a soft flannel so that Noah can wear it through the winter!  His mommy is going to take some professional quality pictures that I'll be able to use if I ever open up an etsy store! :)

The pattern is Children's Corner Johnny - It's been my tried and true Jon-Jon and Long-all pattern since Christian was a baby!  At first glance it seems big but I held up one of Eva Mae's 18 month sleepers and it matched the length and width - hopefully the fit will work when Noah tries it on! :)

In other news, my friend Veronica over at SewVery has been experimenting with embroidery and applique!  It's so much fun to see fellow moms using crafty talent to make beautiful clothing!!!  She had problems with the Brother PE770 that she ordered from Amazon (BROTHER PE770 SEW Embroider Machine with USB (Google Affiliate Ad)) but after using medium weight cutaway stabilizer instead of tear away I think it will end up working just fine for her!  I might create a link back to her site when she does her first blog post on embroidery!  We have so much fun when we meet up to let our little 3 year olds play!!!  They used up a ton of energy at the zoo yesterday!  I hate that I forgot my camera again.  Next time I'm going to snap some pics!  They were adorable holding hands as Ella tried to get Christian to climb the rope ladder!

I have 4 more appliques to take pictures of this weekend and I'll blog about them soon!!!  And I'm excited to work on Eva Mae and Christian's Christmas jammies!!!  ADORBS!!! :)

Day 6 KCWC

So it's day 6 and I finally finished the jacket!!!  I will take better pics tomorrow in the natural light with her matching ruffle pants! :)  It took me several days to finish the jacket but I love how it turned out!



I was hoping to have one more outfit done (Pristine Swing by Melly Sews) but I don't think I'll have much time to sew tomorrow.  We'll see!  I need to clean the house this weekend too!!! LOL! 

 

 

You can tell baby girl was fighting sleep - I had her model before I put her down to bed! :)

My review of the pattern is this:
SUPER CUTE!!!  However, I noticed some of the measurements weren't exact.  If you can be flexible with your seam allowance everything will turn out fine!

The fit is spot on - I did the 18 months and it fits her perfectly!  It might be a little snug for what I was hoping but I think it's adorable!

I used woven cotton as the outside and a pink jersey knit as the lining.  Some of the things I did a little different - I rolled the cuffs for the hem and I used ribbon for the button loops.

All the directions were really clear and the pictures were great!  If you like the style of the jacket you should go check out the pattern here!!!

 

 BONUS PICS! :)
Here are some better pics of the outfit I finished yesterday for my BFF! :)