Jessie Hat Tutorial

Today I am sharing a quick tutorial on how to make a Jessie hat. I am going to go ahead and apologize for not taking better pictures. I got so excited during the process that I forgot to take pictures along the way.

Anyway, the supplies you will need.

Cowboy Hat(I already had one left over from E's b-day party, but they have some at Hobby Lobby)

Red Spray Paint(if the hat isn't red already)

Red Yarn

Needle and Thread

Yellow Hair bow, or yellow ribbon

1" White Grosgrain Ribbon

And the really thin ribbon...not sure the size on it. 

Hot Glue Gun

I started out by spray painting the hat. I don't have step-by-step pictures. I just laid the hat on some newspaper, and sprayed a few coats on. Top and inside the brim. I didn't worry with the inside of the hat b/c no one will see that part.

Unwind the yarn and decide on a length for the ponytail. Remember to leave a little extra on the length because you will be braiding the ponytail. You will also need to decide on the thickness you want it to be.

Once you have figured out the length and thickness, tie the top off with a small piece of yarn.

Trim the bottom, so that there aren't any loops. Find something to lay on the yarn, and section the yarn into thirds. Start braiding.

When you are done, take another small piece of yarn and tie the bottom off.

The next step didn't get a picture either...sorry:o/

You will sew the braid to the inside back of the hat. You will want to use coordinating thread if possible. Just make sure that it is in there securely. After you have the braid sewn in, take the grosgrain ribbon and wrap it around the crown. Use your hot glue gun to secure the ribbon.

After that is all complete, it's time to sew in the thin ribbon. 

When sewing this in, make sure to leave it "loopy."  Such a funny word;o) When you have made it all the way around the hat, slide the needle thru a little piece of the brim on the underside so that you can tie it off. The picture shows you what I am talking about.

Tie a small little knot and trim.

Add a yellow hair bow at the bottom of the braid, and enjoy your little one in all of her cuteness:o)

See that pumpkin? I'll share the other pumpkins we carved tomorrow...They are awesome!

Bible Cover Tutorial

I have been dying to have a Bible cover for the longest time, but have never gotten around to making one. I always have a thousand things on my to-do list and never remember to make a Bible Cover until I am sitting in church. Well I finally took the time to make one during nap time. I already have one, but it's store bought, and boring. I wanted something a little more flashy...sounds like something I really need in worship...huh?;o)

Anyway, I thought I would put together a tute for any of you who might want to make one of these yourselves.

Here's what you need:

1/2 yard of fabric

Double Fold Bias Tape

Thread

Low Pile Batting

Velcro

My Bible measures at 15"x10". When I decided to make this cover, I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I only have a short period of time to work with since nap time is getting shorter and shorter these days:o)

Here's the break down of how to assemble the cover

Cut your fabric according to the dimensions of you Bible.

You will need:

 2 Large rectangles (front cover and inside cover) size will depend on Bible measurements

1 rectangle cut to size of covers from batting

2 straps measuring 4"x 22"

2 pockets. My pockets were 10 1/4" tall by 4" wide

2 -3 1/2"x10" rectangles for enclosure

You will need to sandwich the batting between the two large rectangles, right sides facing outward.

Now I never pin anything together b/c I am lazy, and I have lost a lot of machine needles from sewing across pins. But for this, I did pin. Only because when quilting, the fabric will move and nobody wants to take the time to pick out all those stitches:o) So starting from left to right pin the fabric in place, and make sure the fabric is laying flat, and that there isn't any bunching.

Now quilt. I kept my seams about an inch and half from one another. One tip to remember when quilting. Roll the fabric up, so that it's easier to feed the material thru so that you can keep a straight stitch.

When you have sewn all your squares, there will be some fabric that is hanging over, like the picture below.

Trim that off. You want all the edges to be the same.

Next you will want to prepare the straps, pockets and the enclosure. For the straps, just use your iron to press it into place.

Fold in half length wise. Press.

Fold the outer edges in and press.

Sew a seam as close to the edge as possible but making sure to catch all of the fabric.

The pockets for the inside of the cover will need some bias tape. All you do here is open the bias tape up, and slide the raw edge of your fabric inside and stitch.

The enclosure is simple. Place right sides together. Run a 5/8" seam around the two long sides and one short side, leaving the other short side open.

Trim corners off

Turn right side out and press.

Now it's time to put everything together. You will want to line everything up where it's supposed to go and use a basting stitch to hold it all in place. So much easier than trying to pin everything:o)

(A basting stitch is the one where the stitches are wider and further apart)

Time for the bias tape. Now I tried using a 1/4" wide tape,and boy was that a mistake. I ended up using a 1/4" tape on the pockets and a 1/2" tape on the outer edges. Do it the same way you did the pockets, just open it up and keep all raw edges inside the tape. The corners are a little tricky so go slow there:o)

And here is the finished product.

I didn't put the velcro on until the very end because I needed to see how far the enclosure would overlap. I used the bow and button to cover the stitches from the velcro.

I love that the straps are long enough that I can carry it on my shoulder...now I have my hands free to carry little ones or their treasures from Bible class:o)

Let me know what you think...I am really digging this:o)

Linking up to

under the table and dreaming

Pillow Tutorial and a Toy Barn

Sorry that this post is coming so late in the day. I normally can get my act together, but there is a lot going on this week. I have the Cultural Arts Fair on Thursday, and on Saturday we will be celebrating E's birthday(a few days early:o)).

So I am posting a quick tutorial on how to make a pillow in the easiest way possible using place mats.

I found these place mats at T J Maxx for $5.99 for the pair. I really liked the texture of the faux leather.

So all that you do is rip the seams out of one end of the place mat, and stuff it with poly fil.

Then sew a straight seam up the side, and you're done!

Easy peasy:o)

I am going to use this pillow tute as part of my demonstration on Thursday for the C.A.F.

Here is a toy barn that I will be entering in the Toy category:

 Closed

Open. 

I found the cute little animals at Target. I searched every where that I could think of for farm animals, and Target was the 4th place on the list to look. I almost didn't find them either...So glad I did. I don't expect this to win anything, but I did want to get it done for E's birthday, so I used the C.A.F. as my deadline. I figured why not enter it anyway:o) It's not that impressive...for the full tutorial, visit UK Lass in US. I actually didn't really follow the directions like I was supposed to, so it didn't really turn out the way it should have:o) Guess that's what happens when you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them in.

I know that I said I would have a give away ready for today, but I just don't. There are too many things that I am semi-focused on(b/c I have a hard time fully focusing), that I just haven't gotten a give away together. Be on the look out though. I do have in mind what I want to do. It's just finding the time to do it:o) Hope to be sharing some of E's party stuff the rest of the week. 

Menu Board Tutorial

For Updated Info on this Post, 
Click HERE.

I know that I normally save my tutorials for Tuesdays, but I finally got this thing hung and wanted to share it with you now:o) I just couldn't wait. This is my menu board:

This piece of wood has been sitting in our garage for quite some time now. It was a scrap piece of wood left over from S.R.'s Dollhouse Bookshelf. I thought I was going to make it into one of those antique looking clock faces that Pottery Barn had on the front of their catalog for ages. So I painted it. The board was so thin, that after being painted it started to draw up on itself. The hubs decided to make a frame for it on the backside to make it more sturdy. He did an excellent job. I tried my hardest to get a good even circle, but that was a waste of time and energy. So I had to totally scratch the idea of an antique clock face. 

One day while staring at this blank board, I finally got the idea to turn it into a menu board. Not sure where the idea came from, but I knew that I had to do it.

So this is what I started with

My blank board and

My trusty chalkboard spray paint. This stuff lasts forever. This is the 3rd project I have used it on. Unbelievable!

I taped off the board into 6 sections. Why 6 and not 7? I don't cook on Sundays. That is my day of rest where I do absolutely nothing but Glorify the Heavenly Father and eat like waaaay too much food:o) Hallelujah, praise God!

Once the sections were taped off, I covered the top and bottom with newspaper to catch the over spray.

When all the paint was dry, I removed the tape very carefully and got this:

Don't you just love the clean lines that tape leaves. I always get a little giddy after seeing a straight line pulled off:o)

Now this board sat for a very long time with it looking like this. I really didn't know what I wanted to do. Then the Hank Williams song "Hey Good Lookin' " started running thru my head and I knew that was what needed to be on the board. 

I borrowed my neighbor's Cricut machine....(thanks Holly!!!)....and cut all the letters out of black & white vinyl. While I was at it, I went ahead and made labels for all of my jars too. It makes things so much easier now when I am baking. I never second guess myself:o)  

Here is a closer look at some of the lettering

I just hand painted the scrolly work at the corners. Nothing too professional:o)

(This was last week's menu...appetizing, eh?)

So here's the before of this area in my kitchen

Nothing too spectacular 

And the after

More fabulous than not...HA! And just so you know, the board is hanging straight, I just can't hold a camera straight;o)

The board is a little on the blendy side with the wall color, but I am hoping to fix that shortly. Not sure on the paint color, but I do know that there will be COLOR:o)

Hope you guys like it and I hope you have a great day!!
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Updated Color:

(don't pay attention to the terrible lines across the ceiling....the painters were there to patch the ceiling and they messed up my beautiful straight lines:( It's all better now, though)

LINKING UP TO THESE PARTIES:

AND

Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello