Girlie Dinosaur Shirt

So there aren't many dinosaur shirts out there for girls.  At least not cheap ones :)  I found a photo or two online of girlie shirts with a dino on them so I decided to give it a whirl and make it myself.  EASY PEASY!  No step by step photos like some fancy blogs, just my good 'ol written instructions:
Need:
cotton shirt (I found mine at Walmart for $2)
cotton or knit fabric---like the smallest amount you can cut.  Even scraps if you have them since it's for a kiddie shirt.
Wonder Under
Cutsie hair bow (I found mine in the ribbon aisle at Joann fabrics.  They come in a pack of like 6 for less than $2)
Needle/thread/sewing machine

Follow Wonder Under instructions.  Trace image you are going to applique on the paper side of the wonder under after you fuse it to the fabric.  *NOTE*  When you trace on the back of the wonder under, be sure your image is "flipped", like mirror image on the computer since you'll be using the right side of the fabric for the applique and that is on the other side).  Cut out image.  Follow wonder under instructions to fuse it to your shirt.  Zig zag around the applique once it's fused to the shirt.  (I used a cotton fabric so the edges would fray if I didn't zig zag, but if I used knit fabric I would have just done a straight stitch close to the edge of the fabric since the knit won't fray).  I suppose depending on the shape of the applique you choose, you could just hand stitch it as well.  I hand sewed on a little tiny bow in the dino's "hair" so you have NO DOUBT she is a girlie dinosaur!  All done.
Next time: I'll use knit fabric, I think it might be cuter.  I'll also use a little bit brighter thread, you can hardly see the pink zig zags in this photo.  Sometimes the stitches are just as cute and make the project look cute!  I do happen to have an extra white tank top for Sydney too...and another dino, already cut out... :)

Easy Skirt

My 3 year old daughter is skirt crazy.  That is all that she wants to wear... I haven't even bought any shorts this summer as she will only throw a fit!  When I saw this tutorial on www.dana-made-it.com, I knew that I had to make it.  It was so easy that I have multiple plans going on in my head for more! And I learned how to zigzag seams to make them not fray!  Love it!  I can't wait to get some fall material and make up some for preschool this fall! 

My daughter LOVED it!  We are having a hard time getting it washed as she wants to wear it every day :)  I went to Walmart and found some basic white tanks to go with it for $2 each... You can't beat it!

Party Decorations

I just did THIS fun and easy craft for Sydney's upcoming birthday party.  It was the best: 1. cheap  2. easy  3. INSTANT gratification!!  No waiting for stuff to dry, no pinning here and pinning there and waiting for something to come together.  You sew, you see the crepe paper ruffle up.  While I was at the Goodwill today (shocker.) I found a gallon size ziplock bag with some new and half used colored crepe paper for .69.  I thought, hey, I'll give this a shot for less than a buck.  Awesome!  I'm going to buy more tomorrow!  I'll post some pics after the party when I have them up. 

A Few Easy Crafts

So, I have several little crafts that I'm going to post. Nothing fancy by any means but just easy stuff plus one kiddie craft. Here we go:

EASY RIBBON HEADBAND
I did this in like 15 or so mins at my most recent MOPS meeting. It is just a ribbon and two hair elastics "tied" together. I measured my head with a sewing type tape measure just where I wanted the headband to be on my head. I then subtracted 5 inches (Next time I'll do six, it's a bit loose) and cut the ribbon. Take two hair elastics and attach them together by looping them around eachother (kind of hard to explain but look at the pic for more detail). Take one ribbon end and fold over the hair elastic. Hand sew in place. Do the same for the other side. THAT'S IT! I think I'll be picking up some of these elastics at the dollar store and then some ribbon by the yard at Hobby Lobby this week. I can think of lots of different types of ribbon that would look cute!!

HAIRBOW RIBBON HOLDER

This was super easy. Having said that, I made some mistakes along the way that I'll do differently the next time around. Yes, there will be a next time around. This is obviously too small for the current amount of Sydney's hair bows. I used this tutorial but made some of my own changes. Instead of Mod Podge I used my trusty hot glue gun. I'm not really sure why you'd fuss with the mess of Mod Podge with this project. I suppose if you want a satin type of finish on the frame? I don't know. Nicole? You are a Mod Podge girl, do you know? Anyway, I just cut like it said (except I cut right through one of the sides so it is pieced together. I started with Mod Podge but I didn't think the fabric "stuck" very well so I just started hot gluing instead and it worked fine and less messy. I hot glued the ribbon (I will add one more when I do it over). This is like a 20 minute craft. Too bad it was my second frame (1st one not big enough and not "flat" enough) and I paid too much for the fabric (should have used a coupon but Hobby Lobby doesn't accept competitor's coupons (they are so much closer than Joann's). I'll stop complaining now....I like how it turned out, really!

KIDDIE CRAFT FOR ST. PATTY'S DAY (OR ANY HOLIDAY)

Kole LOVES to use glue. I looked online for a craft to do tonight and found an idea of sewing two felt shamrocks together and tying a ribbon at the top. I figured I'd cut out two felt shamrocks, put some watered down glue in a bowl, hand Kole a foam paint brush and have him "paint" glue on the shamrocks and then put them together. I precut a slit through both shamrocks so we could put either a ribbon or a pipe cleaner through and hang it up. Kole added some green and white pony beads (which is his new favorite thing to do; stringing beads. The pipe cleaner works great since its a little sturdier for his little hands). Twisted the pipe cleaner around to make a loop and then added some glitter glue for fun (Koley wanted random shapes so he held the tube while I squeezed and guided his chubby fingers). He thought he was so cool! I think we'll do some easter eggs like this too and maybe send them out to the grandparents!

*sidenote*

So you know how I LOVE the Goodwill stores, right? My new favorite thing to look for is ribbon. I found an entire spool of cute pink grosgrain tonight for $.59. I've found some other spools here and there as well, sometimes full sometimes half full. For less than a dollar, it's worth it!!

New Purse!

I did it!  I finally made a Buttercup Bag that I found on Made by Rae.  I love it.  I think the next one I'm going to have to use heavier interfacing to make the magnetic snaps sturdier, but I think that this turned out great for the first try!  I did use this tutorial which was very helpful!

Yummy Recipe with a "New" Ingredient

So...have you ever tried Jicama?? I've heard of it but never gave it much thought. I became friends with a person from high school last week on Facebook and she has a website/blog that she documents what she and her family eat for dinner. One of her "recipes" (she doesn't usually post the actual recipe, just what she put in the dish) looked yummy and I thought I'd give it a whirl. If you don't know, I STRUGGLE in the kitchen so this was out of the box for me. Anyway, I made it and it was DELISH!!! Here is the "recipe":

Chicken and Jicama Wraps with Spinach and Avacado

*The key is the jicama slaw. It's best when you let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight*

SLAW:

1/2 to 3/4 of one large Jicama cut in small cubes. up to 2 colored peppers cut in small cubes.

a couple of tablespoons of minced fresh ginger (don't use the dried kind). a couple of tablespoons of lime juice. a tablespoon or so of chili powder. green onion, finely diced. cilantro. a couple of tablespoons of mayo. salt and pepper.

I used rotisserie chicken shredded up with a tiny bit of cheese and put it on a whole wheat tortilla and warmed it in the microwave for less than 30 seconds. Add some spinach leaves to the wrap and top with the slaw and a slice or two of avocado and wrap it up. YUMMMM!!!

Check it out... I won

Check out my other blog,I don't want to repost ;) , but I do want to say that I finally won something!
http://thursdaynightsupper.blogspot.com/