Creative Mom Cafe

It’s officially December, are you pulling out the Christmas sweaters yet? You know, the tacky, bejeweled, sparkly sweaters. Usually covered in bells, ornaments, and glitter. Blech! I know that some people might like them, but I’m not one of those people. Give me a plain, simple sweater any day.

My friend Christine showed off her mad recon skills by turning a cute sweater into something more fab. I don’t have any sweaters in my closet that are ready to be converted into something cool, so I’m plotting a thrift shop run. There’s nothing like getting a bag of old sweaters for a few dollars to turn into fun. Earlier this year I got a gorgeous, nearly new wool sweater for pocket change and turned it into wool pants for my youngest son. Any moms that use cloth diapers know the joys of wool pants, or wool longies, during the winter months.

Though, if you’re looking for something much cooler to do with a sweater I’d suggest you head over to Threadbanger. Here’s an awesome video from them on turning a plain sweater into a cute shrug and matching skirt. I know some preteen girls who would LOVE this! Are you pulling out the sweaters yet? Or are you attempting to make one?

sweaters, reconstructed clothes

Embroidery is something I’ve wanted to try. In fact a couple years ago I found a basket full of thread and tiny seed beads along with a half finished angel for $2 at a garage sale. I took it home, decided the angel was too difficult and tried something else. A cute cartoon mouse holding balloons. Oh I had grand plans, that quickly fizzled. Somewhere along the way my mouse disappeared, along with the wooden hoop it was still on.

Hopefully others will succeed where I’ve failed with embroidery. This one is simple, make a set of prsonalized hand towels. All you need are some nice towels, a pattern, embroidery thread, and a sewing needle. You can even buy beginner’s kits to get you started. This is a great gift for anyone in a new home this holiday season, a nice set of towels that they can use and that are decorative.

There is a great article here with photos on embroidering on towels so that your design stays beautiful through washing and use. Though it is aimed at machine embroidery the same tips on stablirs can be used in hand embroidry, or cross stitch, as well. If you are an absolute beginner in cross stitching, like me, there is a simple 5 minute tutorial that will get you started. And here are several free cross stitch patterns you can use.

embroidery, cross stitch, 30 Gifts in 30 Days

I shared yesterday a fun knit project to give to mothers who wear their babies in carriers. It was for a blanket type thing that buttons onto the mother’s coat to help keep her little one warm. Today I wanted to share how to make a simple ring sling that you can give as a gift also. Ring sling carrirs are by far the easiest to make and to use. It is just a long piece of fabric that wraps around the baby and mother and is held firmly in place by two metal rings.

What you will need is 2 1/4 yards of your choice of fabric and a pair of metal rings. I prefer using aluminum rings as they end to be stronger and hold better. For the fabric you can use just about anything you want. Just remember that the fabric must be able to withstand every day use. Some fabrics, such as quilting fabrics, do not hold up well with the wear and tear over time. If you choose a stretchy fabric such as interlock or jersey you can shorten the length needed.

You will want to cut your fabric down to a good width to hold your baby. For a full term infant up to a toddler you will need your fabric to be between 30″ and 36″ wide. If you are making a sling for a mother to wear a preemie you will need a small sling, about 25″ wide. Once you have it cut down hem along one of th short end edges and along both of the long edges. You will have one, unfinished end. This unhemmed edge is where your rings will go.

There are many varriations on how to put in your rings. Some people fan the fabric to create a pleated look while others simple fold it over and sew. The choice is yours. You want the rings to be sewn in securely as this is what will be holding the weight of the baby. Here is a great set of detailed instructions on how to make a ring sling. You can also find other patterns for carriers here and here.

When I was looking at all the awesome recycled purses from my post earlier the cutest denim tote bag stuck out at me. I’m generally not a demin purse person myself. I just do not gt into the whole “jean” look, other than wearing jeans themselves. There are no denim shirts, skirts, or bags in my collection.

But I know some people that love denim. And, honestly I have this pair of jeans that I hate to part with but have ripped out just below the pockets. Despite my teasing that I’m going to cut them off into shorts and wear them in public, they have been sitting at the bottom of the “to-do” pile for a while. So I desided that I’m going to convert them into a new purse! I need to run to the thrift store and see if I can find some zippers to use, and deside which fabric I am going to use to line the purse with. But here is what I have done so far.

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So I decided to take my own advice about the personalized quiltsand make one for my niece. She is an absolute girly girl in every way, completely in love with pink, and has been obsessed with soft fabrics since she was a few months old. She is also incredibly petite, so that normal sized blankets overwhelm her. I planned to put it all together and make her a quilt smaller than a normal sized one, made of the girly-est fabric I could find,and backed with an ultrasoft fleece. Everything seemed perfect as I pieced it together.

However, somewhere along the way I messed up. And didn’t realize it until it was too late. I suppose that is what I get for quilting while my kids were up playing, but the sewing machine is loud and keeps them up so I dared not try after bed. Now the seems are all off. Badly off. I dare not show a photo of the uneven, mismatched mess.

Anyone want a pink quilt, slightly small, uneven seams? I didn’t think so.

So now I must decide: accept the flaws as part of it’s charms and gift it anyway, or toss it in the donation box at the thrift shop and try again?

quilt, quilting, sewing, gift

Every Wednesday is “Half Price Day” at my local thrift shop. And every time I go in I find something I want. The last time I walked out with 2 large rolls of material. It’s polyester, horribly retro, and I love it! Last night I finally rolled it out and found more than enough to make a funky shirt from. There is probably enough to make two or three but I’m giving the rest to another crafty friend of mine to see what she can do with it. I can’t wait to compare what we got from the same material.

Because of how retro the material was I wanted to go back in time with it. It’s not exactly what some would think of when they hear the word retro. Think more along the lines of 1981. That’s right, I went to the 80’s. Big hair, fun fashion, Madonna was still in her prime. I just can’t help myself!

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Aren’t these dreamy? I found them in the clearance section while making a quick run for cat food. Normally I just like to get in and out but today the clearance rack called to me. With good reason. If only I had more time. There was a roll of beautiful redish-brown leafy print and some soft powder blue material that I was comparing also. If I’m lucky they will still be there when I get a chance to go back.

Of course the next question is “What to do with them?”

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I have been staring at this small square of material for weeks. It is light and dark orange with tiny black dots. I’ve been wanting to do something with it but wasn’t sure what. The color reminded me so much of Halloween, but I didn’t have any great ideas in mind. Then yesterday afternoon I came across a perfect craft idea. A pumpkin garden flag! I picked out a great white and black pocka dot background and some green material to make a stem.

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