lunch baggies

The perfect Eco-friendly container that's perfect for lunches or trips to the park.

To get started you will need. Fabric, Ripstop nylon, Ribbon, Velcro: fabric supplies.

1. Cut two rectangles of patterned fabric and ripstop nylon, each 13x7".

2. Pin right sides of fabric together, with nylon on the outside.

3. Fold two pieces of 5" ribbon in half and pin them, centered on each short side. The loop should be toward the inside and approximately 1 1/2" of the tails should be showing (so the tabs can be reinforced when you stitch the Velcro).

4. Stitch each short side using a 1/2" seam allowance.



5. Turn right side out and iron the fabric side on a warm setting.

6. Pin Velcro to each short end on the ripstop nylon side, approximately 1/4" from the seam edge, as well as 1/4" from each raw edge (this will cut down on the bulk in the finished side seam).

7. Stitch Velcro in place using two lines of stitching.

8. Fold in half, right sides together, and stitch down both sides approximately 1/4" from the edge.

9. Turn right side out, press and stitch down each edge with just slightly more than a 1/4" seam, enclosing the inside seam.

These snack baggies are even machine washable- turn them inside out, place an extra piece of loop Velcro over the hook Velcro so it doesn't catch on other items, then Wash and dry as normal with like colors.



paper beads

I remember making these when I was a little girl. So I thought that it would be great to teach my daughter how to make them. Better yet she loved them so much that we are making them for her American Girl Tea Party coming up this weekend. I think that the girls will fall in love with this fun craft. And they can go home and make many more.

Supplies                                

Paper (any kind)

Glue stick

toothpick

scissors

stretchy elastic

To begin you wan to cut your paper into small triangles as show in the picture. A 1/2in x 7 1/2in triangle. Keep in mind that the wider your triangle the  longer your bead and the longer your triangle the thicker your bead.  So it would be fun to have some bigger and smaller.  After you have cut your paper you begin with the fat end as you begin to roll it around the toothpick glue as you go. That will help your bead stay together. Pull it off of the toothpick and you will see that you have a nice hole to thread your bead on to your elastic.

Happy beading!

headband from fabric bits and scraps

I have seen so many great repurposing ideas with a t-shirt that I started holding on to a few before they were on there way out to the DI.  Some might have stains or holes or just don't fit anyone anymore.  Don't throw them away!!  They can turned into something fabulous.  

Here is a fun project for today.  I have been looking for a headband that is comfortable to wear.  I have some of the elastic ones that I can only handle for about 2 hours and then I feel like by brain in shrinking.  I started with some scraps of a t-shirt from the box. 

Cut two pieces about 12 in long and about 1/2 in wide.  The softer and stretchier (if that's a real word) knit will work a little better.  When you stretch them out long they will roll up on themselves.

Cut one more 12 in piece a little wider, about 1 in thick.  I cut it in half so each piece is 6 in.  (one for each end).  Wrap this around the two pieces and stitch across.  This could easily be a no sew project if you want to glue it instead.  

It is ready to wear or you could attach your favorite flower.  

This flower is also made from a scrap of fabric about an 1 1/2 in wide and 45 in long.  Just cut a little slit and then rip a long piece off the edge.  

If one end is a little skinnier than the other that is even better.  Use the skinny end to start.

 Tie a knot in the end and twist up the fabric and then start to wrap it around itself using a hot glue gun to secure it every once and a while.

   If you want a smaller flower use a shorter piece of fabric.  

swap and shop party

A few weeks ago I let you know that I was in the party mood and I had one in the works.  Well I am so excited to show you what I did. And with it being recycle week here at Simply Home and Family what a better time to share my Swap and Shop Party. Times are tough these days and what girl doesn't love going shopping with friends?  The idea of the party was just that. I invited a few friends and had them each bring 5-7 fabulous things that they just don't love any more. They wrote a description or selling point of their item on a tag and then attached it to them. We placed all the items on long tables for everyone to see. I set it up like a boutique. We had some fun things.  A basket with movies and popcorn for a date night, ice cream maker, s-more maker with all the fixings, clothes, jewelry, books, house hold items, toys and much more. I told them to be creative with their items.

After everyone showed up and had a chance to look at all the fun stuff. We visited and ate yummy finger food.

Let the game begin!  All the ladies where given 7 clothes pins to write their name on. This was their frequency to buy the items. I then told them they have 15 min to put their clothes pins on the items that they wanted. After the time was up I held up the item and called out the name of the girl who chose that item so that everyone could see what they got. If there was more than one clothes pin on an item. I put all the clothes pins in a bowl and drew out the winner. I then gave the clothes pins back to the girls who didn't win for them to go place on another item. Everyone got fun stuff and it was all FREE!!

 

We had so much fun and the decorations were a hit as well. I got my inspiration from a roll of wrapping paper (brown and pastel poke a dot). I wanted to keep it as cheep as possible. all of the decorations cost me $20. I shopped at the thrift store and found pink and green plates the I turned up side down for a cake plate look. I used 1/2 pint Mason jars for the glassed. I made my banner, napkin rings, and table runner with the wrapping paper. The Pom poms were from a post we did earlier. I also went through my house and collected any think that was in the color scheme. Everyone had such a good time. I will definitely be doing it again. Thanks ladies for making it so much fun.

summer skirt

I found this cute skirt over at MADE and I just had to make one for my daughter. It is the perfect skirt for the summer and so easy to make.

I adjusted the pattern by adding a few more inches to each piece to make it bigger. This pattern is easy to make smaller or bigger as needed.  Click here for the complete set of instruction by Dana from MADE. A great skirt for spinning.

my family tree

Who doesn't love looking at pictures of your family. Well I was on a mission to find the perfect family tree for me. So I came a cross this idea at Studio 5 made by Kelly White from Heartland Paper. It is so fun! Plus I can use all of those Christmas cards with family photos on them for this project. It is also magnetic so that the pictures can be changed or added to.

I added a leaf to each picture to give it a three dimensional look, that includes their name . You can even included their birthdays too. The picture on the left better shows what the leaf looks like, and on the right the picture is on the tree.
to make this:

14 x 26 piece of sheet metal                                                    
2 pieces of scrapbook paper for background
2 pieces of scrapbook paper for border
scrapbook paper for tree
1 x 1 pieces of wood (to glue pictures on)
magnets
Mod podge
Letters for OUR FAMILY TREE (used Cricut)
glue stick
hotglue gun
Click Here for the tree pattern, and Kelly also gives a step by step instructions as well. (note: I made my tree twice as big. The pattern will fit on a 14 x 14 piece of metal so just cut the trunk on the fold and double the branches. You may need to make minor adjustments.)

Directions:  After you have cut all the pieces that will be needed. Mod poge on to the sheet metal.  I then glued every thing where I wanted it and mod poged the whole thing. Let it dry over night.  Cut and glue pictures on to the wood squares and hot glue magnets on to the back of each of the pictures. Cut out leaves and write names on them, then attach them on to the pictures as well. Once your magnetic family tree is dry add all of your pictures.

This is a great gift idea for all those people who seem to have everything. I made one for my grandmother and she loves it.

a new pocket for polly

Before

The New Pocket

Have you noticed the many fun projects and toys are made with this clear plastic vinyl? Seeing so many, I also started to notice how many small items are packaged in it: socks, underpants, and many others. I bought these little mesh bags at the dollar store and I was about to throw the package away when I had this idea.

I covered the cardboard insert with scrapbook paper and then added a little handle with a hole punch and some ribbon. I thought that this would work great for all those little Polly Pockets, Playmobils, Legos, and any other treasure your little ones want to tote around.

skirt to sundress

I have recently seen so many great re-purposing ideas out there. I found a great tutorial on Make It and Love It for a cute sundress made from a men's dress shirt. After looking at this I decided to try it with a skirt I had. I love the pattern but every time I tried it on I didn't love the fit soooo... it became a sundress.
I cut off a strip from the top to make straps, gathered the top with some elastic, and sewed the straps on. I did not have enough fabric to make the cute flower like on the other one so I just stacked some flowers together, added a button, and then attached it to the dress with a bar pin. (I will post a tutorial on these flowers soon along with the many way that you can use them.)

twirly jean skirt

My little ones each had a few pair of jeans that had holes in the knees. I had been keeping them in my mending pile trying to figure out some way to still use them and then I found a tutorial for this cute little twirly jean skirt while I was blog jogging.

I love the way it turned out and as you can see it is great for twirling.