Birthday Gifts for my Niece

Here's what I made with the links to where I got the ideas!

Child's Apron ~ This was by far much easier than I thought it would be. I whipped this one out pretty quick too. LOVE IT! I made a matching one for my sister to wear when her and my niece bake and decorate cookies together. This is not my niece in this. This is my youngest daughter. I anticipate this will be a tad big on my niece but she'll get a few years use out of it!


Crayon Pouch ~ This was super easy to make. Cindy at Skip to My Lou really made a great tutorial here. I didn't have any interfacing on hand and I really wanted to get this done so I used a piece of flannel that I had and it worked great. It takes no time at all to put this little gem together!

Tote Bag ~ I used this link as inspiration. I made it smaller since my niece is just turning 2. It's a great tutorial and super easy to follow. I whipped this bag up in an about an hour and a half.

I also made her a blanket. The back is just the plain pink fleece.

Yes, I became a little obsessed with the brown and pink circle fabric. My niece's room is in brown and pink and there was just something about this fabric that I loved.

Burp clothes for my nephew

Nothing fancy and if you can sew a straight line, you can make one of these. I just had a little bit of the John Deere fabric left from the blanket I made and whipped this up for my little 3 week old buddy who I am watching today. My sister-in-law was at the hospital for a blood clot (luckily not admitted) and I made her go home and rest while I keep her boys. He needed a 3 week old present! Any excuse to sew, right?


Just a cloth diaper, a bit of fabric and voila! A fancy burp cloth.

A sweet tote

I'm addicted to making totes from this tutorial I found from Moda Bake Shop. It's such a quick and easy to follow tutorial! You can just make whatever size bag you want and go with it. The straps on this are a tad long but from my daughter's smile, I don't think she cares. She LOVES it. When I showed her, she took off running with it to show her Daddy and brothers and sister. Then came running back, gave me a huge hug and kiss and said she loves it and loves me. Yup, I love making totes.

Finally! A summer skirt for my girls!

I finally found an easy tutorial for a cute, quick and sweet twirly skirt for my girls. I whipped this up in about 30 minutes for my youngest daughter. I can't wait for my older daughter to get home from school so I can figure out how long to make her skirt. It's exactly the skirt I've been looking for (ya know ~ not too short or too tight! *insert rolling eye dude here*).


Check out Oliver + S for her Lazy Days Skirt pattern! Now I'm off to see how many of these I can whip out with all the awesome Tutti Frutti fabrics I got on major sale ($1.99/yard vs $6.99/yd normally) to make skirts once I found a pattern I liked.

A blanket for my new nephew, Brandon

Last Friday, my sister-in-law gave birth to her second son, Brandon. He wasn't due until the end of the month so I thought I had a little more time to whip up his blanket but Brandon had other plans. I spent a bit of time today pulling this together. My brother-in-law is a huge John Deere fan and they have just about everything John Deere. My older nephew, Chad, has his own John Deere blanket I made him as well. I actually found the soft yellow minky material at JoAnn's the other day in the remnants section and knew it would be perfect for his first blanket.

Do you ever visit that remnants section?? I just love it. I find all kinds of neat little treasures in there. I even got a nice piece of a pink and green material with the already done shirring on it (does it have a name because I sure don't know it). I didn't know it was this. I just saw this really pretty pink and green material that I planned on making my older daughter a skirt with. Upon getting home, I unbundled it and found this great hidden treasure and it's the PERFECT size for her and I got it for less than $3! So excited.

So back to my nephew's blanket... The back side is just plain green fleece.

Welcome to the world Brandon Richard!
May 15, 2009 at 10:23 am
6 lbs .4 oz, 19 inches

Tutorial & Idea Links

I have a ton of projects bookmarked and I have never gotten around to making any of them. *sigh* I thought I'd share all the wonderful patterns and tutorials I've found. I'm more likely to check them here and use them than lost in bookmark land.

Children's Clothing

• Tons of free patterns for all sorts of things
• Twirly Skirt
  
• Girls' Twirly Skirt
• Another Twirly Skirt
• Double-layered Twirly Skirt
  
• Girls' Ruffled Skirt
• Apron Dress
• Lazy Days Skirt
• Tiered Skirt
• Pillowcase Dress
• Bell Skirt
• Peasant Skirt
• Double-layered Skirt
• Super Simple Ruffled Skirt
• Kimono
• Ripped Shirt? Check this out!
• Jeans ripped or too short? Check this out!
  
• Patchwork Skirt
• Ruffled Skirt from Jeans
• Easy Skirt
• Bandanna Skirt
• Easy Circle Skirt
• Tiered Bohemian Skirt
• Tiered Skirt (online calculator to determine skirt size)
  

Toys & Things

• Clothes Diapers
  
• Diaper Bag
  
• The New Kid (a neat-o hang-y bag ~ check it out!)
• Revoluzzzionary Monster
• The Gift Pocket
• Baby Blocks
• Fabric Beach Balls
• Diaper Burp Clothes (I already make these. Such an easy and fun gift for baby showers. First time I've seen it in a blog. I also add ribbon down each side of the fabric. Adds a cute twist.)
• Super hero cap
• Children's Apron
• Pencil and Art Bag
• Reusable Snack Tote
• Fabric Tote
• Toddler Purse
• Jordy Tote
• Fabric Headband
• Baby Blanket Gift Set ~ Part 1 & Part 2
• Diaper Clutch
• Reusable Sandwich Bag
• Bunny Easter Basket
• Kids' Apron & Hat Set
• Child's Wallet with Zip Pouch
• Dish Towel Totes
• Drawstring Backpack
• Water Bottle Holder
• Ribbon Key Fob
• Stuffed Mouse
• Pillowcase Tote
• Fabric Basket
• Summertime Car Seat Cover
• Charming Handbag
• 6 Pocket Tote
• Another Cool Tote (Can you really have too many totes?)
• Can Cozy
• Key Cord
• Envelope Pillow
  

Cozy, Cuddly Blankets

My girls picked out some polar fleece material MONTHS ago for me to make them some warm and cozy blankets. Nothing fancy. Just throwing two pieces together. They absolutely love them. Honestly, I have to restrain myself from stealing one to use at night because they are so warm and cuddly. My youngest son wants one and he is so excited to know that the fleece comes in camouflage (he's a hunter just like my husband so if it comes in camo, rest assured, my son has it). It's on sale at JoAnn's right now so I'll be hitting there tomorrow to get his.

Jenna's blanket



Jasmine's blanket