Repurpose baby blankets



I made myself a blankie. Yep, this one's mine. All my kids have their own "snuggle" blankies. I thought it was about time I made one for me! 

It's extra special to me because I made it out of my youngest daughter's crib bedding. I didn't feel the need to keep all that bulky bedding around, but it was still sentimental to me. So I reluctantly cut it allllll up.

I couldn't find a picture of her bedding, so I found this one, which is pretty close.

I got this image from-
http://www.distinctivenurseries.com/Lola-by-Maddie-Boo--4-Piece-Crib-Collection_p_3357.html



 I actually bought her set at Target about 4 years ago. Does anyone remember the cute Lola dots and stripes collection? Loved it.

Still do. :)

I cut it into 10" squares, arranged and sewed them together, backed it with pink Soft & Comfy Bubble Velour (A.K.A. Minky), and tied it with white string. I didn't even use batting. It really didn't need it (I live in a very warm climate, though. If you DO want to add batting for warmth, I suggest Warm & White Cotton).

NOW, you should go & dig up those old blankets and get workin'! :)

Felt & Fabric Flowers with Feathers Wreath in a Frame

Tongue twister!

No, that's not why I put an F on my wreath...

just coincidental. Haha! ;) Our last name is Foster.

Here's a little tutorial I've put together for ya. Complete with instructions/links on how to make each flower on this baby.

This is the finished product.

This is what it looked like before I decided to add a little to it. I thought it needed more presence.

I've been told I can't leave well enough alone. Oh well!

 THIS is what it looked like yesterday when I got it.

I intercepted it as it was destined for the thrift store.

I couldn't wait to transform it!

 I peeled off it's pink tinsel layers and found the wreath to be like new!

I loved that one part was thicker than the rest, too! Perfect place to put the flowers.

 I wrapped it in 2" wide black satin ribbon,

 gathered my fabric/felt/ribbon/feather scraps,

 and made these flowers.

The tutorials for these are

HERE (Big Ruffled Silver one),

HERE (Two-toned Red & Black ones),

HERE (Black Petal one on far left)

HERE (Small Rolled Rosettes), and

HERE (Fluffy, Loopy Felt ones).

 I hot glued them right on the ribbon.

 Here are all the flowers on it.

 Then I added the feathers.

 This was originally the finished product.

By the way,

HERE's a tutorial on how to turn your regular, short, plain dollar store wreath hanger into this ribbon hanger.

But then I decided I wanted to add an "F" for Foster.

So, I (very sloppily) cut it out of some pre-used foam core.

 The pics uploaded sideways. Oh well.

I wrapped it in torn fabric strips,

 then added a flower and some feathers.

 I glued the F onto the wreath, and hot-glued the wreath onto an empty picture frame.

 And now it hangs on my door.

:)

Petal Felt Flower Tutorial

This is a fun one, too! The picture doesn't do it justice. It really is a cute flower!

First, cut out a bunch of petal shapes.

Put a line of glue on the bottom of the first petal.

Roll up and add a couple more petals, doing the same thing. This makes your center.

 Continue to add one petal at a time...pinching the base of each petal together before adding it to the flower--to pucker it a little.

 Add as many as you'd like. I made my flower kind of small--only because I ran out of felt. Haha! I'd normally run to the store, but I do most of my crafting in the middle of the night while my kiddos are sleeping.

I added a pearl to the center so it would match my project.

HERE's the finished project, if you'd like to see it all together.

Ruffled, Singed-edge Fabric Flower Tutorial

This is one of my FAVORITE fabric flowers ever!

For this one in the picture, I used taffeta, but you can use any fabric that will singe.

First, you tear a 2" strip. I probably used about 24" in length for this big flower here.

Singe the edges...only be kinda messy about it.

 I love the rustic look of these edges! Especially when made into a flower!

 Next, sew a basting stitch down the center. Don't worry if you're off a little.

I think it looks better with a little irregularity to it-- more natural. Ya know?

Now gather it.

 Fold it in half length-wise, using the stitching as your fold-line. I folded the gray sides together. You can lightly iron it if you have a hard time keeping your fold together.

Now, put a dab of glue on your starting edge, and coil it to form a center.

 Continue to glue and coil until desired size is reached. Glue bottom of flower to a felt circle...to keep it clean and give it a little extra integrity.

Done! Fancy, eh? I especially love two-sided fabrics for these!
Click HERE if you'd like to see what I ended up making with these.

Double-layer Spiral Felt Rosette Tutorial

This is such an inexpensive and easy flower to make!

I bought the felt at the dollar store. But since it was so thin, I decided to stack it...

This is the result. I love the two-toned look!

Okay, so first, I cut the circles. I used a CD as a guide.

 Then, you cut a spiral, leaving about an 1 1/2 circle (or oval in my case).

*The thinner you cut your spiral, the bigger in diameter your flower will be, but it will be shorter.

 Then, taking the tapered end, put a dab of glue on it and roll it. No need for glue between layers. It'll stay together. You'll notice that the top piece will become longer than the underneath piece. No bigs. You can re-trim your center circle.

 When you've gotten to that point, glue each layer together on the center circle.

And VOILA! It's done! You can hot-glue a button, bead, pearl, or whatever in the center of these, too! These flowers are cute for just about any use-- wreaths, hair flowers, brooches, topiaries, embellish pillows & clothing, etc!
Click HERE if you'd like to see the project these flowers ended up on.

Cute, matchy wash cloths/burp rags

 I made these cuties to go with THIS, THIS, and THIS as a baby gift.

They are so EASY and only cost about 30 cents a piece to make!

These are perfect to keep in the pocket of your reversible car seat COVER-IT-ALL.

EASY Bib/Painting smock with pocket

Tada!

 *If you'd like to applique stars on the front, follow THIS tutorial before continuing on (I didn't really applique stars on this bib. I just added them with this editing program to show you what it could look like if you did. I'm a HUGE applique' fan! I just didn't take the time to do it on this bib).

You can buy packages of plain bibs for a bargain.

Start with one and choose a coordinating fabric for pocket.

TO MAKE POCKET, follow step 5 in THIS tutorial.

Not too bad, right? You can also use these as children's painting smocks.

They can keep brushes or other art supplies in their pockets.

5-minute STAR ONESIE applique'

SO EASY!

I bought this plain onesie at the dollar store.

By adding this quick and easy little applique', it's much cuter for VERY LITTLE COST!

Plus, it matches the rest of my baby gift since I used my other project's scraps.

Here's the tutorial- Click on pictures to enlarge.

 You can use this technique for MANY different uses!
I made these below for my kid's Christmas pajamas.

 I made a whoooole bunch of pajama pants (using my Black Friday flannel purchase).

Then I bought a shirt to match each pair (from the dollar store! A BUCK, people! Awesome!)

 Next, I used the above applique' technique,

 Only, I did a straight stitch around the shapes. If you don't atleast do that, they eventually come off in the wash. Though I believe a tight zig-zag (AKA applique' stitch) LOOKS better, a simple straight stitch holds up just fine. Can you imagine how much time this would've taken me to do a tight zig-zag around ALL SEVENTEEN PAIRS?

 They turned out great!

On this one, I appliqued the bottom flower, then I stacked smaller ones on top and attached in the center. A button would've been a perfect finishing touch, except my little girl has a tendency to bite them and tugs until they pop off. No more buttons for her.



Aren't they fun, though? All it takes it trying applique' once, and you'll be looking for all kinds of things to embellish! I absolutely LOVE it!

The Reversible CAR SEAT COVER-IT-ALL

This is a REVERSIBLE Nursing cover, a REVERSIBLE Car seat canopy w/ 2 pockets, and a Toy hanger!

For short, I'm just callin' it the reversible COVER-IT-ALL.

Well, it has so many functions; it pretty much covers it all!

Even the the tabs on the underside of your cover have a function, too!

They can be used to hang rattles & fun things for your baby to look at and play with!

Okay, let's face it. When you have a new baby, life changes (for the better, I MUST add). It takes some time to adjust to the lack of sleep and the constant juggle of things life throws at you. Sometimes it makes us kinda loopy (okay, well maybe that's just me)... and WE NEED OUTINGS. And when it comes to getting ready to head out, 

the less mom has to remember, the better. Right?

By keeping this COVER-IT-ALL attached to your car seat at all times (with the nursing cover strap, the pacifier and the burp cloths tucked in it's outer pocket. Plus, diapers, wipes, and whatever else in the inner pocket, AND toys hanging from the inner tabs), all you have to remember is the baby! Haha!

Hey, it makes mom life a little easier! Want to make one, too?

Let me show you! I've broken it into 8 BASIC STEPS.

Okay, I decided to break it down even further to make it easier to understand.

There are steps within each step; hopefully it all makes sense! Click on the images to enlarge (FYI).

Step 1- *TOP*

Let's start with piecing the green top.

For the reverse side, you could repeat above steps,

use a SOLID back, or just piece it however you'd like...

as long as it ends up 35" x 42"

Step 2- *TABS*

 Now let's make the tabs

 Step 3- *VELCRO*

Let's add the Velcro.

 Step 4- *ATTACH*

Position and attach tabs.

Step 5- *POCKETS*

Now for the pockets

 Step 6- *COVER'S EDGES*

Line up top and bottom of cover, trim, and pin.

Clip, iron, pin.

 Step 7- *FINAL TOUCHES*

Sew around edges, and secure cover's center.

 Step 8- *NURSING COVER STRAP*

This is one of the easiest, most beneficial additions!

You can keep it just inside one of the pockets, too!

 These Suspender/Mitten Clips are what make this work!

You can buy them at most fabric stores!

*YOU'RE DONE!!!

 

Enjoy! I also made THIS, THIS, and THIS to be gifted as a set.

I'm linkin' up HERE, HERE, and HERE