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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

$5.00 Infinity Scarf

I've been seeing all these adorable infinity scarves on Pinterest.
This flannel one caught my eye...very simple and cozy.

Photo courtesy of Brittanymakes.com
Scarves are honestly the best. Pair them with jeans, 
flats, stud earrings and a plain tee and you've got a simple,
comfortable outfit. Perfect for any mom on the go!!

Comfy Classic


Now I'm in love with the pink & cream sweater scarf...
I need to find material like that!

Back to the tutorial....
I, however, didn't have a pair of old flannel pants so I hit up
Joann's and got 1yd of flannel fabric for about $5 (with coupon). 



Here's a short tutorial on how to make your own!

1.) First lay your fabric out flat and fold it over, hot dog style, 
right sides together

2.) Sew along the longest edge. 

3.) There are two sides left unsewn, so right now it's a tube.
Take one edge and bring it through the tube to the other edge, again
right sides together. **Leave a 3 inch gab at the end, so you
can turn your scarf right side out.

4.) Turn scarf right side out through gap.

5.) Slip stitch or machine stitch the gap closed. 

And....you're done!!

So simple, so easy, so cute. 



It even can be worn as a hood on those frigidly cold winter days!


If you love this, but don't want to make it yourself. I'll be selling
some, on request, for $12-$15. Just email me at
giarosedesigns@gmail.com!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

DIY Cast for Doctor's Kit

Awhile ago, I made Gianna a Doctor's coat to go with her 
Doctor's kit I bought her for Christmas. 



And then this weekend my mom had this genius idea, to add her kit...
a DIY play cast!!

She bought some Go-Go boot covers on clearance after
Halloween.  First they were just going to be thrown in Gianna's
dress up bin, but they she mentioned I should just make them into a cast
for her doctor's kit! Can you say, genius?!

Mine were similiar to this, only it already had the elastic around the bottom.


I added elastic to the top, to keep it up the teeny tiny kiddo thighs. 
And ta da! Cheap, easy DIY Cast. The kids are going to love playing with this!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Items for Sale

I have a few items for sale that Gianna has outgrown.
Trying to make room for a few new patterns!!

Prices are negotiable and multiple item discount
is available! 

All the items have small defects, since Gianna gets to 
be the guinea pig for all my patterns! 

Email me at giarosedesigns@gmail.com if you are interested!

Here's the link.....

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Dress Up Bin

One of Gianna's big Christmas presents was a 
DIY Dress Up Bin. I love.love.love how it turned out.



My wonderful husband build, with a little help from Ana-White!
You can find the plans, building material list, approx. 
cost of materials, etc on Ana-White.com. Just search

I painted mine with left over paint from Gianna's Birthday Kitchen
and used my Cricut to cut out the letters. 

I also added two hooks, to keep hats, jewerly and other accessories!



The fun part was finding odds & ends to put in the dress up bin!
The 'bin' part is perfect to hold all those extra stuff you can't hang up!

I bought a few things from The Dollar Tree; a tutu, princess slippers,
crown, a clown tie (to dress up as a business man), and jewelry. 



I found a few good things (old costumes, mostly) at Goodwill, Craigslist and
 Garage Sales. It's a bit late now, but I picked out a few old costumes from
the clearance section at Walmart and Target. You can't beat $2 for a pretty
princess dress! 

Of course, I had to make a few things too! An apron/chef hat and, my 
favorite, the doctor coat! This week Walgreen's has BOGO Free
on some toys, including a great doctor's set! Talk about a cheap gift :-)




When Gianna's a bit older, and can really appreciate it, I'll make her
some beautiful princess gowns to add to her dress up bin! 

Photo courtesy of HomadebyJill


I can't wait to see her playing with all her new dress up clothes and 
accessories. I'm positive she'll love it!!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Funky Elmo Pj Pants

I need to stop thinking of Christmas presents so early. Because
I just keep finding more ideas! Seriously, Gianna is beyond 
spoiled this year. It's getting a bit ridiculous. 

With that said, Jeff or I have made all her presents!
Stayed tuned, I'll be posting pictures of everything as
they get done!

Back to the Funky Elmo Pj pants!
 

I made Gianna and her dolly some matching pjs. 

For her doll (American Girl Bitty Baby) I used The Blueberry Moon's
Nakey Baby Pant Pattern. She even has a print out pattern,
which makes sewing up a pair of doll pants incredibly easy!
Her blog also features some other doll clothes, which all include
free printable patterns! Definitely jump over there and check it out!


For the top I took a newborn onesie and cut off the bottom,
to make it into a top for the doll. Then I appliqued a square
from the fabric! Easy peasy!!



Now onto Gianna's Funky pj pants! I'll admit, they are a bit...wild.
But no one will see them but us, so who cares?! Plus, G can't 
resist anything with Elmo. 

I found this pattern for free on Pinterest, you can bring it off
and then there's a tutorial on sewing it up. Super easy. 
Thanks FleeceFun for some great free patterns!

Photo from FleeceFun.com
The pink with lace is pretty cute!


Gianna is in size 12-18month (18 months old). I used the 2T
pattern but took off a 1/2 inch on the sides. I shouldn't have done 
that though. Right now they fit perfect, but probably not for long!

I tried them on Gianna, just quick enough to snap a few pics
and make sure they fit. She won't remember on Christmas, right?!



They look a bit crazy and wild! Next time I'll make them with 
a simpler fabric. Otherwise, they are the perfect pj's! 

I may have to make her a pair like the ones pictured about...they are 
pretty dang cute!






Monday, November 14, 2011

The Lovebird Tunic

When I saw the "Lovebird Tunic' that Jess over at
Craftiness is Not Optional made, I knew I had to make one!

Better yet, I knew that I had some fabric in my stash that would work perfect!

Keepsake Calico Fabric-Green Berries
from Joann's

Jess has a tutorial to make your own Lovebird Tunic. I made one 
for G, and although the neckline is a bit messed up, I love it!




She wore it the other day with jeggings and boots...oh my goodness.
She looked freakin adorable! I snuck some pics at the mall of her. 
Yup, I'm that crazy mom.

Checking herself out in the mirror at Gap.
Gotta be just like mom! Putting
on some lip gloss after lunch!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Felt Flower Clips



Gianna is getting a bit of a mullet. I always have to pull her bangs 
back so her hairs looks a bit more 'tamed' (if that's even possible!)

A crafty friend of mine, Lindsey, at My Handmade Gifts
crocheted these adorable little flowers for me! I love them, 
and best of all they are so inexpensive (6/$8)!! Plus, they 
don't slip out of fine/thin baby hair because of the felt!
(Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited about this)

Here's a little tutorial on how to make your own. 

Supplies:
felt
crochet flower
embroidery floss
needle
hot glue
hair clip

First trace your hair clip onto the felt, twice. And cut them out.

Then you'll cut a little slit in one of the felt pieces, because
you'll slide the top part of the clip through it. 
(See picture for better explanation!)

Next glue the top piece onto the barrett. Try to 
stay away from the edges where the embroidery floss will be;
the glue makes it harder to stitch through.

Also, do not glue the felt onto the widest part of the barrett.
(again, see below)
Don't glue that part down yet!

Hair clip closed....
Hair clip opened, after gluing. 
Next you'll take your needle and embroidery floss.
Thread your needle and stitch around the edges, through both
pieces of felt. This is just decorative stitching for looks. 

Next you'll take the ends of your embroidery floss
and glue it between the felt and the wide part of the barrett.
This will just keep the floss from unraveling. 
Take the ends and hot glue it to the felt and barrett.


After gluing!
Next you'll glue your crocheted flower to the top of the barrett! 
And your done!! Tada!!


And don't forget to order your flowers from 
My Handmade Gifts! If Lindsey doesn't have any available
in her Etsy shop, just email her! She's so great 
and so fast at completely orders!

(And no, she did not ask or pay me to do this review!)
(I just love her stuff so much, I had to share!)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Upcycling Infant Sleepers into Doll Clothes

Gianna is really getting into playing with her dolls. Of course, my mom
has to spoil her for Christmas and get her an American Girl Bitty Baby!

I have one from when I was little and it's getting a little worn out. 
I'm glad I have it though, because that means I can make clothes 
for her baby as Christmas presents! 

While browsing Pinterest the other day I found this great 
tutorial, from Obsessively Stitching, on taking a infant sleeper and
 turning it into a doll sleeper!  It's very easy to do!



I started with a sleeper that I didn't care about and went to work. 
The snaps were a bit difficult to cut around, it would definitely be 
easier if I had zipper sleepers but for some reason we have none!

I also picked a  sleeper that was newborn size, so the neck/collar
area would not need to be sized down. 

Overall, it was really easy to do. Plus, dolls (and their mommies!)
aren't really picky on how perfect their clothes are made. That makes
it easier, small mistakes can be overlooked ;-)

I had to take a morning picture of
G and her baby! The outfit was then
whipped of her bitty baby and put with
in the present stash. She won't remember,
right?!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

"Cheater" Embroidery

My very best friend from highschool is having a little boy
and I could not be more excited for her!! 

I made her a basket full of goodies...burp clothes,
clothes, onesie, a moby wrap (because every momma 
needs one!) and my favorite part of all, 
a personalized blanket. 


 I have no idea how to embroider so I made up 
my own way of doing it! And it turned out pretty awesome, 
ifIdosaysomyself! 

Here's the 'cheater' way that I embroidered.

First-I bought an embroidery ring from Hobby Lobby for under
$2.00. I also bought embroidery floss (.47 cents) and
took one of my hand sewing needles. 

I then used my Cricut to cut out the name Henry onto freezer paper. 
I used the 'wrong' side of the paper because I ironed it onto
the blanket backwards. If you're not familiar with freezer paper, 
that means I had it cut on the wax side instead of the paper side.

I then placed my freezer paper on my fabric, wax side down, 
and ironed. This was going to be my stencil for embroidering. 


I then traced around the letters on the freezer paper with a pen (you could
also use the dissolving ink pens, if you have one on hand). 
Then you can remove your freezer paper. 

After the letters were traced, again on the wrong side of 
the fabric, I started to stitch!

I did a long stitch on the right side of the fabric and a 
short stitch on the wrong side. See picture above,
you don't see alot of the thread. Verse the picture
below where you see alot of the stitching. 


I continued stitching the whole name. Once I was done
I used a iron-on interfacing. This keeps the stitches from coming
out during wear/washes. Just iron it onto the wrong side
of the fabric, where the embroidering is. 

Then, I sewed my blanket together! 


It was so simple and easy. This may be a staple for future
baby showers! 

And bare with me, this probably wasn't the 
easiest tutorial. Please feel free to contact me if you have
any questions!

Ana White- 6 cube bookshelf

Have you been to Ana-White.com? If not, stop what you're doing
and go there...now!! 

This site is amazing. It has step by step tutorials on making
just about any furniture item you can think of! I'm addicted
and hope to never buy a piece of furniture again....ok,
that's a lie. I just bought an amazing island for my kitchen.
But somethings I'm just not capable of making! 

Back to the bookcase. We have a corner in our living room
that I wanted to make into a little nook for Gianna to keep her 
toys and books. However, the bookcase that I wanted was a bit
too expensive for me. 
Target $189.99


Then I found the exact.same.bookcase on
Ana-White.com for half the price! Right away I sent Jeff to the 
hardware store for supplies!



The total cost of the project was around $60 and took Jeff (and his 
friend Alec) about 3hrs to make. It fits perfectly in the corner and my
favorite part is that it hold the cloth bins from Target!


And for the finished pictures.....

TaDa!!



Gianna's pink chair is from Amazon.com. They
have a bunch of different colors available! 
We really love it, I only wished that the cover
came off for easy washing!

The only thing this bookcase needs is a little 
something on top. I'm thinking about doing some 
yarn wrapped letters similiar to these...

photo from sarahortega.com

Maybe have it say "READ"...