Sponge Bob Cart Cover

Back when I was pregnant and we were filling out our registry at BabiesRUs... I was really disappointed with the selection and cost of the cart covers.  They were either super girly or super lame.  It didn't take long for me to snuff my nose at them and declare that I could make one cuter.  Fast forward to few weeks ago when Jack graduated to his big boy car seat and all the sudden we couldn't just tote him around in his carrier anymore.  Crap.  One raised-eyebrow-smart-alecky-humorous-look from Josh and I went to Joanns on a mission.   Sponge Bob is big in our house - Josh and the girls LOVE him, and I think hearing him all the time while he was still in my tummy, Jack has loved Sponge Bob from the day his eyes could focus on the TV screen. So when I saw this fabric, I grabbed it.

Then it sat on my sewing desk for a month.  Enter more raised-eyebrow-smart-alecky-humorous-looks from Josh.  Ok so the problem was... I got a McCalls pattern but it was way more complex than I needed - pockets.. ruffles (ruffles for Jack? ahno) and I'm horrible and winging it so I kept putting it off.  Then Josh reminded me that I spent a grand total of $8 on fabric and if it doesn't work, then there really isn't much lost.  So I went for it. 

Whatya know, it turned out!  Here is what I did:

I cut a 45in square out of both pieces of fabric (sponge bob, and coordinating fleece for some added softness), rounding the corners.  I measured 16 inches in (based on internet searches for cart measurements) and cut two 5 inches squares for leg holes.  I put right sides together (like a pillow case) and stitched all the way around, leaving a few inches to be able to flip it right side out.   

This next step you can do as I did but I don't recommend:  While right sides are still together, stitch leg holes together using a thick zig zag - realize that you hadn't turned it right side out yet, try and rip the stitches out but since you did a thick zig zag it's not going anywhere, and have to cut your 5 inch holes to 5.5 inches.

Once I flipped it right side out, I stitched the leg holes (again)... since I wasn't sure if this was even going to work, I left the edges raw.  I did choose the zig zag stitch because I thought it might reinforce it a little better than a regular stitch.  If I were making this for someone else, I'd go the extra step to hem it. 

Next I went back to the hem around the edge, going in about an inch and creating another hem all the way around.  I did this so the elastic would stay in place. Once it was stitched, I fed the elastic through, sewed the ends together, and stitched up the hole I left at the beginning and it was done!

I might be biased, but isn't he so stinkin' cute?! 

Linking to:

Monogrammed Wreath

I made one of these over the holidays for my sister, and have been wanting to do one for our home ever since.  I don't share the last name yet, but figured close enough, I don't feel like waiting! 

 They are ridiculously easy to make.  I got the wreath at Joanns for $3.  I spray painted it black because I really liked the way it looked when I did Lizzie's.  I was purposely sloppy about it so some brown showed thru.   I made a bunch of fabric flowers (and managed to burn the crap out of my finger on the very last one thank you very much), and added some shells I had on hand.  I got the V (again, from Joanns) for $1, and painted it a deep plum color that I love.  Attached some ribbon and thats it!

Canvas Art

For the longest time our bedroom was in a very sad state. I always ended up spending the time on all the other rooms in the house. It managed to fall into this room of just a bed and a dresser and a place to stash a pile of clutter here and there when unexpected company showed up. Little by little we have been adding things and making more of our space... I'm loving the process! It's funny how new linens can make you just want to sink into bed for 5 minutes longer each morning and the chore of making your bed not so bad for a while. I noticed the other day we had absolutely nothing on the walls, except for some lovely art work from Kali. ;) More on that another time.

I've been on the "little birdie" popular band wagon for a while now.. so after seeing a few similar ideas on line, I decided to try painting a tree branch on canvas and adding a few touches.

Here's how it turned out:

I painted the canvas a light blue that I liked and added some white streaks just because it seemed like a good idea. Now, for the next part, I totally admit I cheated. I found an image I liked, and then I used a projector to trace the image, and painted off of that. Crafty I am, an artist I am not!

I knew I wanted to add birdies, and the image seemed a little flat. So I decided to cut the birds out using my silhouette. I love how they turned out! I didn't take a close up shot, but I purposely printed on plain white card stock and then painted them to add a little texture. in person you really see it.

I'm so pleased at how they turned out!! As usual I was anxious to get the girls' approval and ego-boosting ooohs and ahhs... however, since just Kenzie was here last week, her response was a little lackluster (she's still got that little kid brutal honesty), so I'm happily awaiting Kali's return on Friday to see what she thinks. ;)

On the birdie route, here was something else I picked up at Michaels. They were half off! So cute! I decided to add the mason jar and flowers for good measure. I love the little touch of spring it brings to our room.

Now I need to tackle curtains!  Wish me luck!

Sisters, Sisters...

So many projects, so little time.  I have so much stuff I want to share but barely have a moment it seems to even pull pictures off my camera.  So shhh, I'm taking a mini break at work and using an iphone pic!  Life has just been crazy busy, and this last week was no exception - although nothing that we thought it would be.

Last week was Spring Break for the girls, and we were supposed to pick them up Wednesday around lunch time and have them thru Sunday.  We had big plans.. one is still top secret because it is post poned, and the other was a surprise overnight trip to Disneyland.  Josh and I have been waiting forever to do this and were so excited we could barely see straight.

Then Monday afternoon we got a horrible phone call.  Kali took a nasty spill on her bike and broke her leg. Not just a horrible afternoon at the doctor and get a cast kind of break either... she was in the hospital until Wednesday night.  Talk about a flurry of emotions.  I am happy to report that she is doing great today, and did not need surgery.  She broke her leg in 2 places and will need a full leg cast, that she'll hopefully get today assuming the swelling has gone down enough.   

Poor Mackenzie has just been beside herself.  She and Kali are so close, she really leans on Kali for just about everything - down to what shirt to wear and what snack to have.  So we were a bit surprised when Kenzie said she still wanted to spend the week with us, without Kali.   She was a trooper and we managed to have some fun on our own. :)

Kenzie asked if we could make Kali something.... so here you go, those who made it thru my long winded intro:  our craft project for Kali.

Kenzie chose this picture from a recent hiking trip we took.  She painted a board hot pink (of course!) and we thought of a bunch of cute sister-duo sayings to cut out of vinyl on my Silhouette.  Drilled some holes, hung some wire, and we were good to go.  Kenzie brought it back to her mom's house and reported that Kali loved it.

Linking to Christina's Adventures

Cost Break Down:

Wooden plaque from Joann's $3.99 (with 50% off coupon)
Pink paint $.59
Vinyl lettering - used Silhouette, already had vinyl
Wire to hang - already had on hand
Picture - $.20 to print

Total cost:  $4.78