Crafting, Cooking and Creativity
Fitbit DIY Wristband
Well, I haven't been able to wear my Fitbit wristband/watch due to eczema covering my hands and wrists. It has been clearing up (thanks to major diet changes) and I tried to wear it about a month ago but it still causes irritation to my skin. So, I had the idea to make a nice soft and cozy cover for it. It literally took me maybe 20 minutes to make and hopefully it will work out well. Check out the pics below to see how it turned out.
Here is an overall view of what the case looks like on the Fitbit.
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Halloween Bags
I have been holding on to some halloween fabric for probably a couple years now. So, I finally decided this was the year to make the bags for the kids. I thought it was the perfect opportunity for my eldest daughter to practice her straight line sewing. She did extraordinarily well! Four bags later, the kids were excited to go out trick or treating. We started out by preparing our fabric with some homemade starch spray and ironing.  Once the straps were cut, my daughter started sewing them. We did pretty sides together, sewed down the long side and then across one short side. Mommy was in charge of turning them inside out and ironing them flat.  While my eldest worked on sewing the straps, mommy and lil sis continued preparing the remaining fabric for the other bags.  We decided to go ahead and finish at least one bag on the first day. Here my daughter is sewing up the sides of her bag. Prior to doing the sides we made a small seam along the top edges of the bag, inserted the straps and sewed the seam in place.  We managed to get three sets of straps completed and my daughter's bag all in one day. I was surprised she hung in there for that long without getting bored. She was quite the trooper.  The next day she insisted on finishing the remaining bags with minimal assistance from mommy. So she completed the last set of straps and three bags.  They turned out really great! Just in time for Halloween!  Until next time... Happy Crafting! |
Taking up Crocheting
I don't know if you have seen them, but I have seen a lot of pictures of these blanket mermaid tails. Well, Jo Ann Fabrics sent an email with a tutorial on how to crochet one (for a toddler) and wouldn't you know it, I couldn't resist! So I have decided to take up crocheting and in the process of looking for the materials I also bought some of the Sashay yarn from Red Heart. It was on clearance and they had ones that were great for the halloween theme! It is a very frilly yarn that my niece used to teach me how to make infinity scarfs via hand knitting. Well, I wanted to utilize the filly look of the material and found the following two tutorials: I told the girls that I would make them each a scrunchie and a scarf. Well, my eldest daughter, of course, didn't want me to make it for her. She wanted to learn to do it herself. So I set her up with the scarf video above and we walked through the process a couple of times. She was quickly off and running on her own. She was able to finish her scarf in just one day!  It turned out beautiful! I am still working on the "practice" mermaid tail. Turns out, I was a little too excited to get started and didn't pay attention to the details of the pattern. I bought the wrong yarn so mine will not fit a real person and so it will be a gift to my younger daughter's baby doll. She is loving it. We will have a birthday celebration for her baby once it is complete. Then of course I have also decided I will make the girls some real ones, once my practice is done. This time I plan to pay attention to the pattern requirements! Here are the tutorials I will be following: For the girls: and can't leave the boys out so.. For the boys: Until next time... Happy Crafting! |
Camera Bag
Last Christmas my daughter received a sewing machine from Santa. She is super excited to learn how to sew with mommy (and occasionally grandma too). For our first project we decided to make a camera case for her new Frozen Camera. Here are pictures from our adventure. We traced the camera on tissue paper to make our pattern. We then cut two squares along the folded edge of the fabric using our pattern pieces. One slightly smaller than the other to make the bag and the cover of the bag. It will resemble a mini messenger bag once we are done.  Here my daughter is cutting the fabric for her camera bag. We sewed the hem on the main compartment of the bag and then the edges of the cover, reversing the fold so pretty sides were together. We did a straight stitch first, then a zig-zag stitch to reinforce the seam. We then sewed the cover to the main compartment and sewed the edges of the main compartment just as we did for the cover. 
Here she is sewing along the edge of the bag. Along the way we try to reinforce good habits such as making sure the needle is all the way up before we remove our project from our sewing machine. 
Starting those good habits, checking to ensure the needle is up! Whew, the hard work is over. The bag is done. We still want to add a strap and a button closure. Those should be fairly simple steps to complete.  My daughter showing off her new camera bag.
To add the strap we used a long piece of ribbon. We sewed the ribbon to the fabric by stitching a square with an X through the middle on both sides of the bag.
Showing off the (almost) finished product!
You can see the cover doesn't quite stay closed. We will be adding a snowflake button for this special camera bag. It will be done soon. We really enjoyed our first project on her new sewing machine. Next she will probably make bags for her brother and sister's cameras as well. This was a great first project! |
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