Adorable, Simple Drawstring Backpacks

Recently I shared this tutorial over at The Ribbon Retreat and thought I'd share it with you here today! These cute, simple drawstring backpacks for kids have really been a go-to for gifts for me.

I once sewed one literally right before we walked out of the door for our niece's birthday party. Also whipped them up by the midnight oil one night when my friend had a baby and I was watching her boy's while they were at the hospital. I LOVE this awesome fabric and ribbon I got to make these ones with too! :)

For the ones I made for this tutorial, I chose:

Hot Pink and White small chevron by Riley Blake

Rainbow Hexi Print by Riley Blake (I LOVED this fabric when I first saw it- cutest thing ever!)

Lime and Pink polka dot ribbon, 7/8"

Blue Cars and Blue Dots from Scenic Route by Riley Blake

Orange and white striped ribbon, 7/8"

Simple Fleece Face Guards: Gifts Under $20

Today I'm happily in the company of #myfavoritebloggers again! This time we've set out to each share a gift under $20. The one I chose had been on my list for a long time.... and is WELL under that $20 price point. Maybe more like under $5 even...

 

Shabby Flower Headband and Giveaway

Recently, I was sent a fat quarter of fabric and a few segments of ribbon as part of a new monthly Fat Quarter Challenge. Jesse's site is brand new and I wanted to be part of helping spread the word. I always really enjoy exchanges and swaps and such, so I thought this would be fun too.

With my pieces, I decided to make a shabby flower headband. I'd recently seen a flower that I really liked and wanted to try and replicate. I love that this is flat- for some reason I just feel kinda weird when my hair stuff sticks off my head too far. I know, I'm goofy. :)

Pretty Pair Halloween Garlands

Today I'm excited to be starting a new little series with my blogging friend Emily from The Benson Street! She is a fellow Idaho Falls area creative blogger and is SO, SO, SO talented! I was thrilled when she asked me to participate with her in a monthly series- I really think you''ll love and be able to use what we came up with together! (We really are a rather pretty pair, eh?) ;)

Each month, we'll get together and spend no more then $10 on the materials to create a project. We'll each create something with what we find in less than an hour and then share them with you! Ten dollars and just one hour- that kind of project is right up my alley! And I really hope it'll be something you feel like you can pull off too- because you can!

Basic Collapsible Play Tents

This post was recently shared on The Ribbon Retreat Blog as part of their awesome Oh Boy! Series and I thought I'd share here as well. If I do say so myself, the series was pretty perfect for me... (boys are kinda my specialty) ;) When you're surrounded by them, they pretty much hafta be, ya know? The project I chose to share is one I've been wanting to make for a long while. And Coop and Ry have been loving them! And I LOVE working as a contributor for The Ribbon Retreat- they really are wonderful!

Boys and forts just kinda go together, right? They're sure a popular form of boredom control around here :) I wanted something that we could take outside, or set up quicker than normal inside. Something that I wouldn't necessarily have to take apart when it wasn't being used, but could still store easily. I think these basic collapsible play tents hit the mark! They fold together to be stored at the side of a closet or (in our case) under the bed. They are big enough with just a few yards of fabric to give my little guys lots of room for fun inside. And super easy sewing and frame construction- anyone can manage these :)

Easy Diaper and Wipes Carrier

My friend Heather is about to have a baby girl!

Which means I've gotten to create with girly fabrics and make baby gear lately :)

It's surely only just begun too!

This diaper and wipes holder is something that I used with my boys. I loved not having to look like I was packing a diaper and wipes when I was packing a diaper and wipes, ya know? It also worked awesome when they were a bit older and I didn't need the whole diaper bag. These are really easy to make- as usual, if I can sew it, anyone can!

Simple Treasure Pocket T-shirts

This post was originally shared a couple of week ago over at one of my favorite blogs, Twin Dragonfly Designs, for Heather's awesome All for the Boys T-shirt Week! Awesome shirts shared- I'm hoping I can get it in gear to make my boys some of the fun camping ones!

For my contribution, I used Cooper's fun handwriting

and let the boys choose what they each wanted on a new treasure pocket shirt!

They both turned out so cute and totally show their personalities :)

Cute and Simple Baby Burp Rags

When Cooper was born, my Aunt made me the cutest burp rags that I just loved!

They were simple, but so cute. Because I liked them so well, I used one of them to create a pattern and make them myself to give as baby gifts. These are a great way to bust your flannel fabric stash! (Or, a good excuse for choosing cute flannel to buy while I'm waiting in line at the fabric cutting counter...)

I have a friend that is expecting a baby girl, so I got to actually use these cute prints I've been hoarding! If you are a crocheter, these are also perfect for adding a pretty edge! They are super easy and this little tutorial will make it even moreso...

Simple Camera Strap Cover Tutorial

Tonight I am going somewhere fun as a blogger!

I am excited to get to know some other area bloggers better and

do some laughing with- get this- Girls!

Hopefully I can handle it ;)

Truthfully I really am not very comfortable in social situations- the times when I should be having the most fun can be the times when I feel the most out of place kinda. But not tonight, right?! No, no, no :)

I am excited to be taking fun pictures of my little blogger soiree and will surely have my camera around my neck. I got looking and... well....

Boys Treasure Pocket Scarves

I recently made these cute scarves for the boys using this tutorial from Living With Punks.

They found them in their mailboxes one morning :)

I liked how bright and fun they turned out!

I knew the boys would like the treasure pocket on the back of them and,

indeed, that was the highlight!

Cute Fabric Valentine Snakes

Hooray for sharing my first Valentine idea of the year!

We LOVE, love, love Valentines season around here- yes, indeed, it is a season, not just a day :) This is Cooper's favorite holiday and he loves helping come up with ideas for what to give his classmates. Recently we laid in bed together, when he was supposed to be falling asleep, and came up with a fun Valentines idea that is right up his alley- these adorable candy-filled fabric snakes!

Simple Square Bean Bags

So it's about time I posted something crafty-ish, eh?

For quite awhile now, I've wanted to make the little boys a beanbag.

The big sham pillows from our bed had long since been sequestered to serve as their cushions for TV watching, fort building, slamming each other over the head while pillow fighting... ya know, boy life. :) Anyhow, I decided I'd make them my homemade Christmas present to them this year. I really liked the ones I saw at this post- I love the square shape for a beanbag!

Halloween Fun!

I feel like it's been Halloween for the entire last month! All the work made for a really fun night, though :) 

The boys woke up to these fun little treat bags, which I made using these printables:

Inside they found these fun jack-o-lantern juices and some Halloween stickers :)

Then I made fun pancakes again, only without the red dye like last year ;)

This year Cooper wanted to be a lizard and Ryder, well... he wanted to be about 65 different things.

Sooo... I had to just kinda roll with one of them...

I decided his "rocket ship" idea was one I could do. Sooo... I did:

Fun, eh? I thought it turned out cute- something original! The thing is though... he didn't.

Every time I put it on him to adjust this, that or the other- he hated it.

He couldn't wait to get out of his little costume jail.

Sooo.... two days before Halloween, I began a whole new costume for him-

with, ya know, 64 other options to choose from. He became the cutest green dinosaur ever :)

Could you die over his tail?!! It kept Stephen and I laughing all night long!

I used this awesome tutorial at Running with Scissors to make it-

just subbed ribbon for he straps for the sake of time ;)

He had fun shakin' his tooshie for sure :) It bobbed along behind him cuter than cute :)

For his hat, I just winged it based on the lumberjack style  hat he wears for real.

Cooper's costume was certainly more intricate, but also more straightforward too. It was based largely on this one found at Stumbles and Stitches- without the posts regarding the costume she made, I would've been really stumped on where to even start! As I got going, I felt more confident in doing things my own way, like the belly portion, his hat and his feet.

I would go in to look at our leopard geckos on occasion for inspiration too- their bellies are ribbed, not circular patterned like my inspiration. They also don't have spikes on their head, just more scales.  And I got the shape for his feet from watching a new "gecko power" episode of Wild Kratts with the boys- they really added to the whole thing! 

 In the end, he was thrilled as thrilled!

You get the lizard effect best when he's crawling around like this one above :)

He got to wear it to school earlier in the day also-

he thought it was so cool to get to have a snack at school! (His teacher had cupcakes for them) :)

I couldn't have been more pleased watching the two of them enjoy Halloween together! Having made three costumes, I was glad for it to get here- no matter what, my two little men made it so worth it! They got lots and lots of nice comments on their costumes- it was pretty handy having them both be green for keeping track of them in the parking lot! Cooper did great at letting Ryder stick with him and taking care of him all night...

I daresay next year, we'll skip this part of the night and stick to traditional trick or treating, but it was okay too- fun to see a few kids we knew :) After we went to Grandma Laura's in Rigby- they made her night for sure! Then we went to a nearby neighborhood and they got to go from house to house- which they seemed to like much better! Stephen and I laughing over Ry's bouncy tail all the while :)

Love them :) Hope your Halloween was great too!

Quick Dollar Store Bike Baskets!

I recently whipped up these cutey bike baskets for the boys and love how they turned out!

When Cooper got his new bike for his birthday, he was immediately asking me for a basket for it. They love having a way to carry things and gather treasures when they ride!

There are multiple cute bike basket ideas and options out there, but using an actual basket and only sewing a lining makes it faster (and more sturdy) for sure, which I needed! I also could've just tied on the basket without the liner, but it gives it personality and is lots more fun this way :) 

(These pics were all taken just the morning before his training wheels came off!)

For anyone else's kiddos out there who might like a quick bike basket too, I thought I'd share how I made these. :) If you frequent Dollar Tree much at all, these baskets probably look rather familiar! They really are an awesome size for kid's bikes.

I laid them out to create a pattern, which you can grab HERE :) Woo hoo for my first downloadable pattern! ((Insert novice disclaimer here)) Obviously your printer will prevent you from seeing the edges, since it takes up about every bit of the page. Set your margins to narrow and you should be able to fill in no problem though. :) So... you'll cut four of that piece, which is the sides and the top/ fold over section. Then cut one 6"x6" square of the same fabric as well.

This is not a double sided basket liner, by the way! I wasn't worried about my wrong sides showing, since they are inside the basket. If it bugs you, cut double of everything :)

These are the supplies I used- pattern pieces (side piece HERE and one 6"x6" square), fabric (my boys picked these out themselves- this would be a good project for the sometimes funky prints kids like to choose when they're tagging along at the fabric store!), baskets from Dollar Tree and the basic sewing goodies). Oh and ribbon that isn't shown. It was at this point that I kinda stopped taking pics of the process- oops! But, I did try to capture some details later...

Oh, and if you should want to not use this exact basket, you can obviously easily make your own pattern piece. Just be sure to choose a basket than has holes on all sides! It needs them in order for you to be able to tie it on to the bike :)

So, sew the side pieces with right sides together, one piece/side at a time, until you come back around to create the body of the basket liner. I had to think about this for maybe 8 seconds or so... no doubt you'll only need three or four to get it all pieced just right. :P Then pin your 6"x6" square, right sides together, at the bottom of the portion you just created, and sew each side one at a time- be careful not to catch any extra fabric, putting your needle down and turning as you go!  :) I trimmed all my excess with pinking shears, after "trying it on" first.

To finish, I added some ribbon along the top hem. I actually trimmed the fabric very slightly with pinking shears, then added the ribbon with a zig zag stitch for this one. I used a straight stitch for the other, so whichever you prefer :) To add the ribbon, you'll work with right side facing up, but the whole thing still inside out. You'll actually not turn it around at all- the inside as it is is what needs to be seen!

See how the top of the basket liner you just made kinda narrows again? This will make it look much nicer- I figured that out the hard way- but it does make it tougher to get on. In order to fold the top part down over the rim of your basket, you'll need to kinda squish it like this. Don't worry, the baskets were no worse for the wear and you'll only need to do it once!

Alright, you're pretty well done! See why I called it "quick"? Seriously, one of the fastest sewing projects ever! You'll probably notice that it's not perfect- it needs to be pushed in at the corners and the fold-over part fitted right and all. There will be a titch of space at the bottom like below. The wrong side is showing through the holes like below too. This wasn't a big deal at all for me, but if want to create a lining by doing what you just did again and then sewing the two right sides together and flipping right side out, you won't have that.

To actually attach it to the bikes, I got the liner fitted on the basket like above, then used the sharp tip of my fabric scissors to poke through both layers of fabric, in the spots where the side holes of the basket were. I threaded about 10-12" of ribbon through each hole, catching both layers of fabric and the basket. Hopefully you can see what I mean in the pic above. Then below is what it looks like on the right side...

Then I held the basket in place, grabbed the loose ribbon pieces, wrapped them around the bike sections like the pics below and tied!

If I were more picky or concerned about these lasting a long time, I would've marked and sewn actual button holes to lace the ribbon through. But, for me, time is of the essence always and I have no problem with how these raw holes look. Only a few months and the bikes will become garage ornaments again, then next year, there will be new fabric requests, so this works :)

Ryder's ribbon strands are left long so I can move his to his other training wheel bike soon :) You could tie with several strands of ribbon for a fun, froofy look too. :) Honestly, all of this will come really natural as you just do it- surely my trying to spell it all out only makes it seem confusing or goofy, buy it's totally not! If I can sew this, truly anyone can! For real.

Didn't it turn out cute as cute?!?

It could be made both girly and masculine for sure :)

If I had a girl to make one for, I surely would've added a ruffle instead of the ribbon for trim on the top!

I was happy that these ones didn't strike me as feminine at all!

Perfect for bringing Mom weed bouquets :)

And carrying rocks. And Kidizoom Cameras and popsicles and action figures and more rocks :)

And just looking cool... while still getting the hang of this pedaling thing ;)

Hope this is helpful and fun for you too!

Happy cutesy biking!