"fancy party" invites & envelopes

again, i have to apologize for the poor quality of these pics. someday when i stop dropping cameras and breaking them, i'm going to get a decent camera that takes fabulous pictures for me.


ok, on to the post...

my little lily is about to turn 4 (*sniff*), and has had her heart set on having a "fancy nancy" party for nearly a year. then when her sister had a pink party, lily changed her mind and then wanted a "fancy nancy pink party". only she still doesn't say her r's and says, "pouty" instead of party. so cute.

so for the invites i went gaudy: glitter paper, iridescent paper and rhinestones. i really wanted to add some tacky lace around the edge, but the cost was already getting up there, so i opted out. i also planned on using that purple glitter spray up there, but it didn't work out either. i'm sure i'll find somewhere to use it at the party, though.

because i made the invites myself and didn't pay any attention to the finished size of them, i didn't have envelopes to fit them, nor did i want to search around town or order ones to fit. so i decided to make them myself. how hard can it be? just before i made my first attempt at the envelopes i stumbled upon amy at angry chicken. she did a little video tutorial on making envelopes from a magazine page. perfect! check out her video, or use my tutorial for making envelopes from wrapping paper (left over from this shower).

i started by cutting a strip of paper a couple few inches wider than my invite, then folded in each edge a bit.

then i folded in the other side, just making sure the invite still fit.

next i folded up the bottom until it just covered the top of the invite.


the i folded in each of the upper corners to the center.

it didn't quite make a point, but that's ok.

then i just taped down the flaps.

i also taped down the sides with 2 pieces of tape on each side.


then i stuck in the invite, folded down the flap...

and taped it down.



the i slapped on a label for the guest and sent them off in the mail.

in a couple weeks i'll have some very gaudy, over-the-top, ultra girly party ideas for you...

-lindsey

zippety do da

it has been way too long since i've made these! it was so fun getting back in the groove this weekend with these bags. i am loving the ruffles, ricrac and buttons right now! you non-sewers out there may shrug your shoulders at the scissors print, but it makes me giddy! i'm trying to come up with a reason why i need a fourth zippered pouch in my purse. right now i have one for cosmetics, on for "personal" items, and one for receipts. maybe i'll put some tiny toys in one for the kids! they really help to organize my purse.

oh yeah, these zippered pouches are available NOW!

-lindsey

ok, take a deep breath...

you may even want to sit down.
oh, wait. you're probably already sitting down in front of your computer.
well, hold on to your knickers because...


amy butler has a new line of rugs!!!


not that i could ever justify the price tag, but oh. they are so beautiful!
to have her amazing art in such a grand scale would be amazing!

i don't think i'd even want a couch - i'd just lay all day on the rug!
oooh, that sounds like a good way to justify the rug: i don't need a new couch and rug, just the rug!
perfect.

-lindsey

want some free posies?

head on over here!

-lindsey

can you guess what my next project is?

image via magpie lovely

image via magpie lovely

image via my mama made it

image via my mama made it

image via my mama made it

image via jcrew

image via jcrew

image via jcrew

i've got a few new plain shirts that are crying out from my closet to be dolled up. these are my inspiration. as my son would say: "can't wait!"

-lindsey

book bag for lulu

lily (lulu) needed a book bag last night for cubbies (the preschool version of awana). gracie already had one that was a handmade gift (thanks aunt nicole!), so i knew lily would do no less than freak out if her's wasn't handmade as well. thankfully, nicole unloaded a bunch of these basic tote bags on me.



i think i'm getting a bit lazy in my tutorials - sorry! i have a few steps i did at the beginning that i didn't take pics of because it wasn't until i really got into this that i thought of blogging about it. forgive me. and the pictures are horrid! like i said, i wasn't planning on blogging this!


materials needed for a really fast book bag:
1 premade cheap-o tote bag
a scrap of fabric big enough to be an initial on the bag
wonder under
thread
pressing cloth (old tea towel)

#1 - go onto your word processor and type in your letter you want to enlarge and applique. enlarge it so it fills the screen, say 500 pts or so. format the font to print in outline only, unless you like to waste a bunch of ink.

#2 - print. then trace around the outline with a pencil a few times so that the outline is pretty well covered.

#3 - take scrap fabric and make sure initial will fit in it. iron wonder under to the wrong side of the fabric, following manufacturer's directions.

#4 - now flip over the paper with the outlined, traced initial onto the paper side of your fabric scrap (the wrong side). get your pencil and you can kind of see through the paper to where the outlined initial is. trace the outline and you will have the reverse initial on the back of your fabric. (i am well aware this makes no sense at all. i have no idea how to make it more clear!)

#5 - cut out fabric along outline and peel off paper.


#6 - put premade bag on ironing board and iron flat. decide where you want your initial - i centered mine, but in a lower corner could be really cute, too. place initial there.


#7 - cover initial in a pressing cloth and squirt with a spray bottle until you can see through the cloth to your design. then press. i just let my iron (no steam) press the applique until the water had been steamed out from under, just about 10 seconds or so. then lift and move iron to cover the rest of the area. DO NOT SLIDE IRON! it can bunch up the initial and ruin everything in the whole wide world. for reals. (can you tell i have a 3 year-old?)


#8 - take off press cloth then press again for a few seconds to get out any extra moisture.

#9 - now you need to stitch down the applique, but it won't fit easily into a sewing machine because it is already sewn. so i just cut off the seam of one side, right next to the stitches.


#10 - i used a really tight zigzag stitch in a contrasting color, but you don't have to do a stitch so tight. you could even do a straight stitch if you want. or a fancy schmancy stitch.


#11 - turn bag inside out and sew up the edge that you cut apart.

#12 - hand the finished bag to your little one and watch for a great reaction!


- the best mommy in the whole wide world. for reals.

family rules canvas

you all remember this one, right? or maybe you're new here and visiting from just a girl or jeannett's blog. if so, welcome! i get sooo many emails asking for more details on how my best friend nicole did this, so i thought i'd just post it again with a few more helpful hints and some more detailed pictures. i have had a canvas all ready to do this project, i even have the wall for it picked out, but i haven't taken the plunge yet. maybe this'll help me finally get to it!

Here is how she did it (in her words, with lots of my own added in that are italicized)…

1. get a huge canvas. nicole's was 30" x 40". mine is a little smaller, but not much. get it on sale please. Paint the canvas (you see the paint on the border and on the sides). its best if the canvas is wrapped all around the edges rather than the exposed wood. just paint it sloppily - no need to be perfect, just make sure all the edges are covered.

2. Spend a whole lot of time at the paper store picking out paper you cannot resist. nicole felt some of her papers, although she loves them, were maybe a bit to dark or had too much contrast in them for the final writing to come out really clear. so remember: less contrast, not too dark. got it?

3. Write your rules. Be careful of what you put. My kids often refer to the canvas. My favorite is…”Daddy, hug mommy”. A rule is a rule, ya know? I should have put HUSBAND- MASSAGE YOUR WIFE’S BACK DAILY. check out the links above to the blogs. they also have a few suggestions for rules. i think i will steal most of mine, but add in things like, "tummy to the table".

4. Now, cut that beautiful paper into strips. I varied the widths, used “torn” scissors, scalloped scissors, and so on. Use glue, mod podge, or spray adhesive to lay it out on the canvas. i would definitely recommend mod podge the most on this.

5. I then went on to the computer and typed all the rules in different fonts. I am a font junky thanks to lindsey’s sister, Jennifer, showing us how to download free fonts. Do it…get hooked! It is easy and wonderful! just google "free fonts" and you'll get more than you'll ever need.

6. I printed them and “eyed” or copied them onto my papers with black and white paint pens.
and here's where all the questions come in: "the canvas is obviously wider than standard 12 x 12 paper. how did she fit this in the printer/get the words on?" she cut her paper in half - it's not actually one long strip. you can kind of see it in the pic below where it says "forgiveness is mandatory". maybe she taped them together in the middle? i've done that a bunch, and if you are really careful it will work and you can still carefully take the tape off when you're done. just make sure to change the settings on your computer for your page layout before you print to allow for a larger paper size. when she says she "eyed" them, she did just that. she'd print out the rule in a font she wanted on plain paper, then look at it and copy it with a paint pen directly onto her fancy paper. most of us can't do that. she's just good. but i would still print it on one long strip of paper and go over it again with a paint pen just to thicken up the font's lines. just a thought - i think that's what she did.

***edited to add!!!: do a layer of mod podge on your canvas, add paper, smooth out, then let dry. then add another layer of mod podge on top to seal. let dry, then add another. it will still probably be a little bubbly.****

7. Cover that baby in mod podge and make your man hang it! do a couple few layers of mod podge. did you know there are different sheens of mod podge? i think nicole prefers matte, but there are also ones with more gloss to them.

in case you couldn't read all her rules, here they are:

ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH

HAVE FUN, BE KIND, ASK FIRST, NO FUSSING, NO WHINING

BE CREATIVE AT ALL TIMES

ENCOURAGE YOUR SIBLINGS...SHARE IN THEIR JOY

HUSBAND-HUG YOUR WIFE DAILY & WIFE- ALWAYS BE ON HIS SIDE

OBEY YOUR PARENTS

NEVER LEAVE ANGRY

SING SILLY, DANCE CRAZY, HUG OFTEN, SNUGGLE OFTEN, SAY I LOVE YOU

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

USE YOUR MANNERS- YES, PLEASE...NO, THANK YOU

ALWAYS GIVE TO OTHERS FIRST

TOO MUCH TV IS BAD...TOO MUCH READING IS GOOD

USE NICE WORDS...IGNORE DIRTY WORDS

BLESS YOUR FOOD, BE GRATEFUL, EAT TOGETHER, CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF

SHARE EVERYTHING EXCEPT BAD IDEAS

SAY YOUR PRAYERS...THANK GOD FOR THIS FAMILY

so there you have it! i hope i have answered all your questions, although i'm pretty sure i just confused a bunch of you even more. sorry!

**ooh! i have an idea! if any of you get to this project, come back here and leave a comment linking to pics of your project. thanks!**

i am going to test this using fabric. i wonder how it'll work?! (**edited - i did it! lookie here!**)

-lindsey (and nicole)

"just a little bit longer..."

"please, please, just a little bit more." anyone remember the movie "dirty dancing"? how could you forget it if you ever saw it, seriously. and how sad about patrick swayze. but really, this post is not about all this, i just tend to think of post titles with song lines in them.

i'm talking about my blog roll, or my google reader list that is getting oh so long. and i am way backed up with reading it, too. i think i have nearly 800 posts to catch up on. and let me tell you, that ain't happenin'. but i keep stumbling upon more and more fabulous blogs! i find them random searches, to blog hopping, to reader recommendations. so this week has been a little out of control, but i thought i'd let you in on a few of my newest reads:

my mama made it

just a girl

blonde designs blog

the lettered cottage

100 layer cake

ok, no more for now. this post took me well over an hour to write because i had to look over every blog i recommended to you! seriously, they are amazing, so get ready to not only waste precious time neither of us have, but to be ridiculously inspired. you're welcome.

-lindsey

holy jeans, batman!

so i have this favorite pair of jeans. i've had them for at least a few years and i wear them all. the. time. so they are getting a bit worn out. in fact, i have already had to do some repairs on the fraying edges.

as you may or may not be able to see in this very blurry photo, i used jadeite-colored embroidery floss to stitch up the pocket that was shredding each time i stuck my hand in it.

the hem of the jeans were all frayed and raggedy, too, so i stitched them up a bit so they wouldn't unravel like a cartoon sweater. not that jeans could, but whatever. also, because the jeans are so old and worn they get a bit saggy after wearing them for a bit and the drop lower to the ground. so i end up stepping on them a bit and a long skinny hole was forming just above the hem. that's why there's a second row of stitches at the hem.

then one day, this happened. not that a hole is a big deal, but i tried to get away with wearing these jeans everywhere. and every time i stuck my leg in the pants to pull them on, i inevitably snagged my foot on the ever-growing hole and ripped it open more. i didn't want to end up with a floppy piece of fabric at the knee.

to make matters worse, i was wearing out the bum. not stretching out, do you hear me? wearing out.

so i had to address this issue right away. ok, not really. i actually planned to patch these before i actually broke holes in them, but i was lazy, and therefor too late.

i've had the fabric sitting on my night stand to patch these jeans for a couple months now. but everytime i went to do it i wanted to wear the jeans instead of patching them.

i started with the big hole in the knee. i cut a patch of fabric large enough to cover it, then some more to make it cute. the bird i planned to cut down after i ironed on the wonder under.

and here's the bum patch. another useful patch paired with a cute one.

so i didn't show the next step, but you iron wonder under to the wrong side of your patch, then trim it to the exact size you want. i always put a scrap towel on my ironing board when i use wonder under because i always get the stuff stuck to it otherwise. then i peeled off the paper backing of the wonder under that was fused to the back of the patch and layed the patch in place on my jeans. i took an old tea towel, layed it over the patch, spritzed it with water, and pressed it with my iron for about 10-15 seconds. then it was stuck down. oh, and i used the light weight wonder under because i knew i'd also be stitching it and i don't like how stiff the heavy duty stuff is.

now, i am no fancy embroiderer, i just do what seems right, which really may be wrong, but again, whatever. i tied a double knot at one end of the embroidery floss and made sure the know wasn't somewhere that would bug me when i was wearing the jeans. then i did a running stitch (?) around the perimeter of the patch. i didn't go right at the edge because it would fray past the edge and the stitches would be useless. so just go in a bit.

then, since i was doing this in the car on our way to the beach and i still had a few minutes, i decided to fill in around the little "flower". easy peasy.

on to the buns. same same. did you notice i didn't add the bird to the knee in front? i'm still undecided about it, but i can totally add it on later. but i do love how the little butterfly turned out. so does my husband ;)

so here it is in real life.

and now you have all seen my buns. and my undies, too, as i noticed after taking this picture that there is a little pink showing at the top right corner of the right pocket. that would be another hole. another hole that needs another patch...

-linds