Uncategorized Archives - Page 57 of 77

Pattern Review: Simplicity 2876

September 29, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 9 Comments

This coat turns out way cute, but this is quite possibly the worst pattern I’ve ever used.

If you make it, here’s what you’ll need to be aware of:

Every single part of the coat or jacket is listed separately (jacket/coat, collar, sleeve, sleeve cuff, yoke and front facing). You’ll need to tally up ALL these to figure out how much fabric to buy. I somehow missed the yoke and front facing but after 2 trips to the fabric store, I didn’t care. Luckily, the amount of yardage they tell you to get is way over estimated and it was fine…at least on the size 10.

If you make the jacket, the cutting layout will tell you to cut out pockets. Don’t. You can’t put pockets in the jacket, only the coat.

The front half of the lining comes with it’s own pattern piece. That back does not. You just cut out the same piece that’s used for that back of the jacket. This makes the back lining about 1.5″ longer than the front lining. You’ll have to cut it off and even it up for the finishing instructions to have any chance of working out.

If sewing the sleeve lining confuses you, safety pin it the way it will need to be sewed and then pull the sleeve back through the lining and sew it.

Back view:

And I really should have gotten a shot showing the fabric Macy picked for the lining. VERY orange.

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Stuff I’m loving

September 28, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 19 Comments

Bath and Body Works’ foaming hand soap in Fresh Lime Basil. Do not, however, get Herb Garden. Campbell came out of the bathroom demanding to know “why it smell like ‘lantro in here”.

Cover Girl’s Lash Blast mascara. The first words out of BC’s mouth when he walked in the door were “Are you wearing mascara?” My lashes were THAT much longer and more defined. Truth be told, I’m more likely to be wearing someone else’s snot on my shirt than mascara, so that could be why he noticed, but we’re going to go with the other angle.

Champion Pique Sneakers from Payless. These have become my every day shoes for fall. Super comfy and cuter on than in the pictures. Also, I got mine during BOGO and had a 20% off coupon, so they were CHEAP.

And last, but certainly not least…

my new rug!

It turns out the Anthropologie rug of my dreams was not that cute in real life. I found and ordered this one instead. And it was on clearance. And it sat in the warehouse for 2 weeks without anyone calling us and telling us it was in. And I was mad. And I voiced my displeasure to the manager of the store. And we got another 10% off.

Company C is the rug company. Mine specifically is Carousel, but it’s been discontinued.

What are you loving?

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Freaky Friday: Somewhat Simple

September 25, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 7 Comments

***If anyone wants What a Woman Wants show tickets, one of my readers was kind enough to share an email-able version. Email me at [email protected] if you’d like me to send it to you***

Hey there fellow fans of Char and her awesome blog!
My name is Stephanie and I am the busy creator over at somewhat simple.

I am honored to be taking over this blog today!Char and I have had this swap in the works for a month now!

A little bit about me:

I am a stay at home mom of 3 fantastic kids, and a wife to my very best friend. I teach preschool from my home a couple days a week and I love it! Teaching little ones is awesome! We are OC transplants who have been living in Arizona for the past 4 years. We do miss the California weather (is summer over yet?) but everything else about Phoenix is fantastic and we are happy to call this great place our home.

I started somewhat simple this past summer- it is my little corner of the universe where I share yummy recipes, craft tutorials and all things creative!

I put together something special just for this swap. I know I am not the only one out there with a million baby showers penciled in on my calendar, so for those of you wondering what to get the next mom-to-be of a little girl, hopefully this gift idea will help spark your creative minds and give the shower attendees something to oohhh and ahhh over!

Here is what you need:

…wait, did I mention this gift is also very budget friendly? Not only do I love all things frugal, I get invited to a baby show every other week so if these items were all expensive, I would be in the poor house!

Pictured above is:
-A small plastic crate ($1 from Dollar Tree)
- Bows (I make these all the time and keep them on hand)
- Ribbon & Tule (for the crate)
- Stretchy lace (to make all the bows into infant headbands)
- A covered wipee case (Again, something I make often and keep on hand. Tutorial found HERE)
- Several little girl outfits- Don’t let this fool you into thinking you have to drop a ton of money on this! I bought all 5 of these outfits last week on clearance at Target. They were priced at $1.87 or $2.49 each!!! Keep your eyes out for good deals then stock up!

So I took all these fun items…

…rolled the outfits up and wrapped a matching headband and bow around each one…

…wrote a small note to baby Jenna…

…and stuck it in the front of the crate (which I weaved with ribbon and embellished with her name in pink vinyl…

…I stuffed the crate with all the goodies…

… tied it up with some tulle…

…and that’s it!

Super simple, and super cute!

If you want to see what else I have up my creative sleeves, hop on over to somewhat simple. I post something different every week day, so there is always something new and exciting! Giveaways, contests, monthly challenges, and of course craft ideas and yummy recipes.

Anyway, come join in the fun and get inspired!

I hope to see each of you soon! Thanks again Char for swapping with me today! I love all your CRAP! (which, lets be honest, isn’t very crappy!)

Have a great weekend!!!

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And the winners are…

September 24, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 2 Comments

(via Random.org)

Comment #21/Dani

and

Comment #15/Amanda

Email me at [email protected] to find out how to pick up your tickets!

OK…just kidding! I already emailed both of you!

Guest blogger in the morning….good night!

EDIT: A reader named Brooke has an email-able ticket I can send each and every one of you. If you didn’t win and you want the email one, email me at [email protected] and I’ll send it to you! Thanks Brooke!

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Pajamas

September 24, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 5 Comments

If you will be in Utah this weekend, don’t forget to entere the giveaway before 10:00 tonight!

How to turn this:

Into these:

I’m not good at just winging it when it comes to sewing clothing. I liked the little ruffley draw string waistband, so I picked this pattern. I did want contrasting fabric at the bottom, but not SO MUCH. I also wanted the waistband to contrast. When I cut out the pattern (2 pieces, seriously easy) I added 1″ straight up the top and 9″ straight off the bottom. You may need more or less on the bottom, depending on how long you need your pants to be. I drew the lines with a pencil right on to the fabric because my fabric marker is MIA.

I also chose to make my own drawstrings. You’ll need a 1.5″ X 60″ piece of fabric. Make sure you pin your pattern pieces close to the fold and then you can just rip the drawstring piece along the selvage edge. Fold in half the long way and press. Then, open it and fold in both long edges about 1/4″ and press, tuck in the short ends about 1/4″ and press, then fold and press on the center fold again. Edge stitch on the long edge.

I assembled the pattern according to the directions. Once I was through the waistband stitching (not elastic-ed or draw string-ed yet), I laid the pajamas flat and cut the tops off, about 1.5″ below the bottom stitching on the waistband. Then, I swapped waistbands and sewed them on to the other pair of pants, using a 1/2″ seam (1/2″ on the waistband + 1/2″ on the pants = the extra 1″ we added to the top of the pattern when we cut it out).

Follow the pattern directions for inserting the elastic and drawstring.

I tried the pants on the recipients at this point and marked where they needed to be hemmed. I cut 1.25″ below that and hemmed them according to the pattern directions. Then, I took the parts I cut off and cut a 3.25″ tube. I folded the raw edges in about 1/4″ on top and bottom and pressed. I put the tubes on the pants cuffs, up about 1/2″ from the hem, matching seams, and edgestitched them in place.

And one last shot featuring my lovely assistant…

Fabrics are Joel Dewberry’s Deer Valley line.

Sew Mama, Sew! Pajama Party

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Giveaway! What a Woman Wants tickets!

September 23, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 27 Comments

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

I have TWO sets of tickets to the Utah What a Woman Wants Show going on this weekend at the South Towne Expo Center!

How do you enter?

1) Leave a comment on this post (that’s one entry)

2) Become a follower and leave another comment telling me you are a follower (that’s another entry).

Contest closes tomorrow night (Thursday) at 10:00 MST! I’ll pick 2 winners.

Tickets courtesy of Seasons Boutique.

If you don’t win, and you still want to go for free….you can!

Wear your pajamas and show up Saturday morning between 8:00 and 10:00.

The vendors will be in pajamas, too.

Look for my sister and step mom in these:

Good luck!

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Raingutter bookshelves

September 22, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 25 Comments

This is another old project from cleaning off the memory card.

I found the idea originally in Family Fun magazine, directions here.

It’s SUPER easy. It’s been 3 years or so, but I’m pretty sure my sister (yes, the one who set my cake on fire) and I whipped the ones in the top picture out by ourselves in under an hour.

I loved them so much that I put more up in my playroom a month or two later. Great way to use the wasted space behind the door, right?

Kari over at UCreate featured some full wall length ones recently, too.

We have a giant roll of paper on the opposite wall in my play room. I’m thinking about putting a long one under it to hold pencils and crayons. You could use one to hold chalk and eraser on a chalkboard painted wall, too.

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34?

September 20, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 27 Comments

My sister was in charge of the candles on my cake. She decided 34 was WAY TOO MANY candles. (She’s 20. What does she know?)

She decided to write my name with candles instead. That took 39 candles, thank you very much.

And when she lit them?

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Finally!

September 19, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 21 Comments

Guess who’s an aunt!

This sweet baby girl made her appearance at 8:31 this morning….only 13 days late.

Congratulations to my brother and his wife!

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Cashew Cookies

September 17, 2009 By Char @ Crap I've Made 19 Comments

So, in addition to our sewing group, my awesome neighborhood also has a cooking group. The theme this month? COOKIES! This recipe is a family secret and I might get disowned for sharing it, but it’s a chance I’m taking. Plus, that would mean my mom would actually have to comment on my blog. Ha! These suckers are delicious. My mom used to make my grandpa a batch every year for his birthday. One year, when she lived in Florida, I made them for him instead. He took the container from me and went straight in the other room to hide them so he wouldn’t have to share. THAT is how good they are….kind of like a carmel cashew shake in cookie form.