Thursday, April 8, 2010

Naptime Crafts.

I am a mom and I am 30. You know what that means?

It means I wear Bermuda shorts to partially conceal my spider-veiny legs. It also means I only wash my hair every other day because it's too much work to dry and straighten it every day. It means my eyebrows don't get plucked like they should and my toenail polish is always half gone. It also means I go to zumba with all the other desperate housewives where we pretend we're 18 in a club and shake our jiggly tail feathers in the semi-dark with a disco ball going and leave feeling fabulous even though we only burned 40 calories. (Every time I hear Tik Tok I lose control and break out my zumba moves. It doesn't matter where I am. I have no dignity.)

It also means I do nap time crafts. Lots of them.

I always have something in the works, but lately it's been several things all at once. My craft supplies are taking over the (very small) apartment. I don't post about many of my projects on here because 1) I honestly don't consider myself a crafty person, I just like to make things and 2) I don't want to turn this into a craft blog and get crafty people's expectations up and 3) when I think about crafts I think about crocheted Kleenex box holders and we all know those are just stupid. Then again, maybe when I'm a retiree I will suddenly feel an overwelming urge to outfit my bathroom in crocheted splendour. I'll find out when I get there.

Anyway, I've had several inquiries about Skylar's birthday outfit, so I thought I would share how I made it so that you can see how easy it is. It all started last year on her first birthday when I ordered a "1" shirt. Thus began the tradition of the number shirt/tutu combo. I plan to dress her in a number shirt and tutu every year until she is either too old or too cool, whichever comes first.

The thing is, once I got her shirt in the mail, I realized I could have totally made that myself. So this year I did.

All you need is a t-shirt or onsie. I already had a leftover pack of white 18 month onsies on hand, so that's what I used. Then grab some fabric, whatever you like. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for 40% off, which made it $4 a yard. You don't need much fabric, a half of a yard is enough to make a batch of these. Don't forget to pre-shrink your shirt and your fabric. Then pick up a pack of this stuff:

There are so many different kinds of iron-on adhesives out there, some of them come on bolts. I honestly don't know what the differences are. Just ask the people that work there and they can explain it to you. I would advise against the heavy duty kind since it would be too stiff for this.

All I did was go to Word and pick a font and then I blew up a giant number 2 (I think it was font size 580). Then you just print it off and cut it out. (I actually had to trace it off the computer screen because our printer isn't working. again.) You could certainly draw it by hand if your cool like that. Once you've cut it out, you have your pattern.

Just follow the instructions that come with your iron-on adhesive (I won't put it all on here, just know it's very straight forward). Then stitch around the perimeter with a sewing machine to make it machine-washable. You can whip-stitch it by hand but that takes FOREVER. I know because I tried it. Find someone with a machine if you don't have one. Or find an adhesive that is strong enough to be washed without reinforcing it with stitching.

I had a three pack of onsies, so of course I made three of them......

........And I think that is enough craft nerdiness for one day!

7 comments:

  1. Will you PU-LEASE think about starting a craft blog?

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  2. I agree with Angela...you might as well! I love the fabric! So you! Thanks for sharing cause I was thinking about doing this for Ethan's 2nd b-day too, but of course no polk-a-dots or flowers =) I so need a little girl!

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  3. Keri, this is exactly why I need a little girl. So that I can make cute little onsies and shirts for her. Oh well... the boys could do with a cute little crafty shirt or two. Steve would probably laugh at me, but that's cool.

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  4. Amanda and Mary-Anne, everyone needs a little girl and I hope you both get yours!

    Angela, one blog is enough to keep up with. Besides, that would be too much crafting pressure. And I don't have the patience to do step by step tutorials with pictures, I'd much rather show people how to do things in person. That's why I usually only post about my projects when I can link to somebody elses tutorial! But thanks:)

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  5. I loved this...you are too clever! I think a tutu at 16 will work! Who knows, she might be a Lady Gaga...Hmmmm
    I don't care what she wears..neither will the horses..hint hint...
    Love you
    We are so blessed! HUGS to all!
    BIG KISS for Skylar

    Gayle

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  6. First, I love that your Micah's mom just referenced Lady Gaga. Second, I expect your blog to one day be as big and popular as the Pioneer Woman's (my current obsession!). So I'll be the third vote for more crafts, though, I personally prefer your recipes. Yum!

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  7. HI there!!! I agree. you should start a craft blog. I have one.( fairly new). You already have the name for it. "Nap time crafts" You also have a model.. so your a couple steps ahead of the game.

    feel free to visit my blog. http://nanasteaandcrafts.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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