DIY Lunch Notes with Cricut Explore One

As I'm sure a lot of you already know, Michaels recently released a brand new Cricut - the Cricut Explore One.  I had the opportunity to try out the machine to create these adorable Frozen Lunch Notes!

This Cricut comes with the free Cricut Design Space software that allows you to cut printable images, upload your own images and fonts, and has 25+ free 1-click projects and 50+ free images built in.

I decided to make these little lunch notes for my sisters-in-law to put in my nieces and nephews lunches.  My mom always used to put little Suzy Zoo notes in my lunches for me and I adored it.  I still have some of them!  These are most definitely more extravagant than what we had back in the day, but so worth it if you have the Cricut!


I decided to do the multi-layer images because... well, they're fun.  I cut down on the number of colors in them, though... one feature I love about the Design Space software.  You can sort and group the coloreds pieces for cutting.

I also love that the software is cloud-based.  So you can work on your ipad, then finish up on your computer.  It's SO convenient!

Another thing that I find AMAZING about this machine is that it can cut felt AND leather! Whaaaaat?  I will for sure be utilizing that feature in the future.  I have some very cute leather cuff ideas floating around in my head.

 Now of course, I chose some of the most intricately detailed designs available in the Frozen cartridge... just a word to the wise.. don't use these ones unless you're doing them on a large scale.  I did them WAY too small and had to leave some of the details out.  I'm still happy with the result, fortunately... you can still tell it's Elsa and Anna!  What are your favorite projects to use your Cricut for?

Faux Button Placket (No Buttonholes Involved!)

With an ever-growing to-do list, I'm always looking for short cuts. Which leads me to a confession....

I hate buttonholes.

Phew, glad I got that off my chest! For the longest time, I refused to sew buttonholes. I think my fear stems mostly from the fact that I've been sewing for the last 5 1/2 years on a basic sewing machine, and my sewing machine hates buttonholes. What I mean is, my machine knows how to make buttonholes, it just flat out refuses to make them. And when it does, it usually takes me 2-3 times of unpicking stitches before I have semi-presentable results.

And who wants to spend an hour on buttonholes? Ain't nobody got time for that. That's how I came up with an idea to make a faux button placket!

Now, I'm not going to promise you that this method cuts your buttonhole making time in half or anything like that (and actually it may take a little bit longer), but if you're like me and have a machine that just doesn't like to make buttonholes, or if you're not ready to make the plunge into making buttonholes, this tutorial will give you a finished button placket that people will never guess is a fake. Plus, since we're using velcro, a faux placket makes it much easier for little ones to dress themselves.

Ready to add a faux placket to everything??

SUPPLIES: finished top, velcro, disappearing ink marker, buttons at least 1 inch in diameter or more, sewing machine, needle and thread.

First, you'll need a finished top that needs a button placket. This particular top above is a peplum top I made as part of The Sewing Rabbit's fall 2013 collection, minus the piping. (Come visit me on The Sewing Rabbit to learn how to make a peplum top next week!)

ONE: first, measure your shirt from neckline to the bottom and subtract an inch.
TWO: next, separate your velcro so that the "hook" part, or the scratchy part, is separate from the soft "loop" part of the velcro. Cut a length of the loop portion of the velcro only,  as long as the measurement you wrote down above.
THREE: pin your loop tape to your shirt, leaving a 1/2 inch margin on both the top and bottom.
FOUR: sew around all sides of your tape to attach it to your shirt.

FIVE: now you'll need to cut squares of the "hook" portion of the velcro to attach to the other side of your button placket. You'll want each square of hook tape to be slightly smaller that your button (so people won't be able to see your stitch lines), so trim if needed.
SIX: cut out as many squares of hook tape as you have buttons. See how my hook tape is slightly smaller than my button?
SEVEN: now use your disappearing ink marker to make marks where you want your buttons to go on the underside of your button placket.
EIGHT: pin each square of hook tape on the marks you just made and sew to secure.

Here is what the other side of your button placket will look like as soon as you've sewn your hook squares down! Now all that's left is to sew your buttons on right on top of your squares to hide your stitches.

And now you have a beautiful faux button placket with no buttonholes involved! I'll be no one will even notice it's a fake :)

Slouchy Diamond Raglan

After making the "Hug It Out" Raglan shirt for Connor, Haley needed a new sweater as well. She is like her Daddy, warm blooded and rarely cold. Many days, I will be sitting downstairs in the living room and Haley will go to her room and swap out her pants for a skirt in the middle of winter while I'm cuddled under a giant blanket with the fire on. If I had let her, she would probably be wearing a skirt in this picture as well :)

For my warm-blooded munchkin, I decided to make a short-sleeved raglan sweater, but with a looser, more relaxed fit than the "Hug It Out" raglan I made for Connor. While I was at it,  I also added a gold geometric heart on the front using Silhouette's glittery gold heat transfer material. I'm totally on a gold kick lately, and I'm sure this won't be the last thing I add gold to :)

I absolutely love this design - it's the "heart diamond filigree" from the Silhouette Design Store, and it really makes the sweater I think. I can't wait to use it on other things, maybe something for me?

If you want to make a slouchy raglan sweater, you can refer to my tutorial on how to draft your own raglan then tweak from there, or you could always modify one of your favorite raglan patterns - one of my all-time favorites, if not my very favorite pattern ever, is See Kate Sew's Recess Raglan. I love me a good unisex pattern :) Just remember - you'll want your pattern that you plan to modify to be more of a fitted one because we're going to be adding width to the neckline and sides. If your beginning pattern is too loose, you may end up with a neckline that is too wide resulting in an off-the-shoulder top. And that's cool too, just not quite what I was going for.

SUPPLIES: 3/4 yard sweatshirt knit (for a size 6, more or less depending on the size you're making), 1/4 yard ribbing for neckline, iron on heat transfer material for the design on the front (optional)

To Modify Your Bodice:


ONE: first, fold your fabric in half. Take your bodice pattern and place it 1/2-3/4 from the fold. Cut and repeat to make a front and a back.

To Modify Your Sleeves:

ONE: take your original sleeve pattern and cut it down the middle as shown.
TWO: insert a rectangle of fabric 1/2-3/4 inches wide in the middle and tape.
THREE: this is what your new sleeve should look like! Cut two.

Now refer to my raglan tutorial to assemble your shirt!

For the cuffs and hem of the shirt, I simply folded the hems to the outside, rather than the inside, to add some visual interest. You can see how much looser and more comfy this shirt is than a traditional raglan.

The perfect sweater for my girl who wants to stay warm in the winter, but not too warm :)




Here's to more warm winter days like we had 2 weeks ago! Sadly, I think that's just wishful thinking, but a girl can dream can't she?

"Hug It Out" Raglan Tutorial

Phew! I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little more than happy that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating and being with family around the holidays, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt like I wanted to pull my hair out more than once. I took a much needed blog break to get my shopping done and make what was left of my Christmas gifts, and now I'm feeling rejuvenated and ready to get back into routine again, which means more sewing for the kiddos (and maybe a little bit for me!)

High on my list of to-do's was to make Connor a sweatshirt even though the weather has been more like fall than winter around here (not complaining!) I know this warmer weather won't last though, so I decided to finally cut into the gray sweatshirt fabric that I found at an estate sale ages ago. While I was at it, I also decided to do some freezer paper stenciling ombre-style, and came up with this awesome "Hug It Out" shirt that we both love.




Holy cuteness. Er, I mean toughness.

I just love the bold graphic on the front. Since I was making the shirt already, I thought I may as well do a tutorial on how to make a raglan shirt so you can make one too! I also included the "Hug It Out" template as well if you'd like to do some freezer paper stenciling.

SUPPLIES: shirt that fits your child well, freezer paper for tracing and making template, scissors, 1/2 yard + knit fabric for size 3T (depending on the size you may need more), 1/4 yard rib knit for neckline and cuffs, fabric paint, sponge brushes, sewing machine, 'Hug It Out' template here, iron and ironing board.

Creating Your Pattern:

ONE: first, take your existing shirt and fold it in half with the sleeves tucked in. Lay the shirt on some freezer paper (or paper of your choice), and trace around it, adding 1/2 inch all around for seam allowance, and 1 inch on the bottom for hemming.
TWO: draw a line from the bottom of the armhole to the top of the shirt, slightly into the neckline (see picture above.)
THREE: draw a dotted line slightly lower than your neckline to indicate where your front neckline should lay, then cut out your bodice piece.

FOUR: lay your shirt sleeve on the paper and trace around it adding 1/2 inch for seam allowance, except for at the bottom edge of your sleeve since we will be adding cuffs later. Trace the bottom edge of your sleeve 3 inches shorter than your RTW shirt.
FIVE: here is what your sleeve should look like so far.
SIX: using the bodice piece you just drew as a guide, adjust the arm hole of your sleeve to be angled like a raglan sleeve. The top of the armhole should be curved to follow the neckline of your shirt.
SEVEN: here is your finished raglan sleeve.
EIGHT: I laid my sleeve on top of my shirt to make sure the fit was good and adjusted as necessary. Note: I ended up going back and cutting my sleeve shorter than what is shown in the picture.

Cut out the following pattern pieces: 2 bodice pieces on the fold - 1 front and one back, 2 raglan sleeves cut on the fold, 2 cuff pieces from your accent fabric or ribbing (cut the width of your sleeve and 6 1/2 inches long.

Adding Wording:

ONE: you can use my free template provided here, or make your own. I cut my wording out with my Silhouette Cameo, but if you don't have a cutting machine, simply trace your wording onto the back of a piece of freezer paper (make sure to mirror your wording!), then use an X-Acto knife to cut out the lettering and iron it onto the front of your shirt.
TWO: I started out with a light color of turquoise for the word "out", and kept adding more green to give it an ombre effect as I moved upwards.
THREE: use your foam brush to carefully paint from the outside edge in to prevent pain bleeding.
FOUR: let dry according to the instructions on your paint bottle.

Shirt Construction:

ONE: after your paint has dried completely, place your sleeves right sides together (RST) on top of the front of your shirt and pin the edges. Sew the edges of your sleeves on.
TWO: when you unfold your sleeves, your shirt will look like this.
THREE: lay the back of your shirt on top of the front, RST, and pin the other edge of your sleeves to the back of your shirt with RST. Sew.
FOUR: This is how your shirt should look when you open it up. At this point, I would suggest trying your shirt on your child to make sure the neck hole is big enough. Adjust as necessary.

FIVE: measure your neck hole and subtract 1 1/2 inches. cut a piece of ribbing 2 inches wide by that number long, and place the short ends together. Sew.
SIX: fold your ribbing in half long ways to create your neck binding.
SEVEN: pin the raw edges of your binding to the raw edges of your shirt all around, stretching as needed. sew using a zig-zag stitch.
EIGHT: top stitch around your neckline to secure your ribbing to your neckline and to make sure it lays properly.
NINE: fold your shirt inside out with RST and sew from your sleeve to the bottom of your shirt on each side.

TEN: now to make your cuffs, measure the diameter of your sleeve hole and cut out two pieces of ribbing 6 inches long, and as wide as your sleeve diameter. Pin the short sides together and sew using a zig-zag stitch.
ELEVEN: fold your sleeve in half, concealing the sewn edge inside.
TWELVE: pin the raw edge of your cuff to the raw edge of your sleeve and use a zig-zag stitch to sew all around. Hem the bottom of your shirt and you're done!

And there you go, a cool shirt for a cool kid.

Some Happy Buns!

More PJ's? Always PJ's, if you ask me. Especially when they have an adorable little bum panel like these Happy Buns Britches by Peek-a-Boo Patterns (affiliate) do. I told you I had an unhealthy obsession with making PJ's, and I'd be lying if I said this is the last pair I'd be making anytime soon.

This moose print and stripe print (both by Girl Charlee) were just begging to be made into PJ's, so who am I to ignore that call? I mean, seriously, the cuteness of that little bum.

We've had plenty of chilly days laying around the house watching TV and eating popcorn lately, so snuggly PJ's were just the thing this little guy needed. And the little bum panel on the Happy Buns Britches was the perfect solution for my out of control scrap pile. You only need a small scrap for the back, and there's even an option for a larger panel if you little one wears cloth diapers (which mine does not.)

The Happy Buns Britches are on sale for 15% off today only, so snag your discounted copy while you can. And psst, they're great for girls too. I love a good unisex pattern!

A Pretty Party Dress

Long time no see! It may seem like I've been sitting on my hands, but it's actually been quite the opposite. Between starting a new job and sewing for a wedding, Halloween, winter, my daughter's first piano recital, and making gifts for Christmas (yep, that's happening already) I've had my hands full! I have so many posts that are partially started, so hopefully one day very soon I'll be able to catch my breath and share all that I've been making with you.

One thing that I actually got a head start on, is making this beautiful lace holiday dress by Peek-a-Boo Patterns (affiliate) for my daughter

This is the Gloria Party Dress, and it's a versatile pattern that can be both a dressy party dress or a comfy play dress, depending on what material you want to use. I opted to make the fancy version, which has a sheer stretch lace overlay with knit underneath, so it's still a super comfortable dress compared to a lot of the stiff holiday dresses you see out there.

I love the peek-a-boo back!

The gorgeous stretch lace is from Girl Charlee, but it looks like this particular one is no longer in stock. You can find other colors here though. The lining is a navy knit from Jo-Ann Fabrics, and the navy ribbon is from there as well. The gray and navy together give the dress a more sophisticated look that I love. 

This girl loves her dresses, so she was thrilled with this one and with how comfortable it was, and demanded to wear it all day. I'm a mean mommy and made her take it off at dinner though so she wouldn't get spaghetti all over her new dress :)

You can snag your copy of the Gloria Party Dress in the shop today for 15% off (today only)! Go get a head start on your holiday dress making!

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