Mini Crib Sheet Tutorial

I got a great hand me down mini crib from my cousin. We're painting it lime green for Ally's room. To go with the mini crib, I needed sheets. All the sheets I found online were around $20-$30 for ONE! I'm not about to pay that for ONE sheet! So I searched around the internet and found a few tutorials. I didn't really like any of them, so my sister and I figured out how to make one ourselves. AND I was able to make 4 for under $25! I could have done it cheaper but I really liked these fabrics and had to have them. :) This tutorial has elastic ALL THE WAY around the underside, not just on the corners. I found out that this sheet will also fit my pack and play! Double happiness!

To make a mini crib sheet (38"x24"x6" deep) you'll need (if yours is a different size, scroll down for how to get the measurements you need):
1.5 yd fabric
matching thread
54" of 1/4" elastic

Directions:
1. Wash and dry your fabrics. I used flannel for this one but plan to make a new that are just cotton.

2. Cut your fabric to be 38"x52"

3. Fold over into 4's so that the open corners are all together.
4. Pin a 7" square of paper to the corner to give you a cutting line.
5. Remove the 7" square of fabric.
6. Match up the edges of the corner you just removed and pin. Do this on all 4 corners.
7. Stitch closed with a 1/4" seam (or there abouts, I used my sewing foot to get a straight line. Again, do this on all 4 corners.

8. At this point, if you want to, you can zig zag or serge all the way around to give a nice finished edge. I don't have a serger and really didn't want to take the time to zig zag. We'll see how well these sheets wash and if they fray.
9. Fold over 3/4" and iron all the way around. I pinned it too because I'm ultra anal about having things straight.
10. Iron all the way around so you have a nice straight edge to stitch against.

11. Stitch a casing using 1/2" seam allowance. I used my quilting thingie (I know it's got a proper name but I don't know it) to get a consistent 1/2". Don't forget to leave a space to thread the elastic. I like to do this at the beginning so I don't forget down the line.
12. Thread your 1/4" elastic thru it being sure to pin it at the far end so it doesn't slip into the casing. Yes, I know this from experience. LOL.
13. Tie a knot or stitch the ends of the elastic together and slide it back into the casing a bit.

14. Sew the opening shut and stand back to admire your brand new sheet. :)



Note: this is for MY specific mattress. If your mattress is a different size you're going to have to adjust the measurements. See below.

Here's how I did it.
1.I took the length of my fabric and subtracted the length of my mattress, then subtracted the depth of my mattress x 2, then subtracted the seam allowance x 2.

2. I then took the width of my fabric and subtracted the width of the mattress, then subtracted the depth of my mattress x 2, then subtracted the same seam allowance x 2 from step 1.

3. You want to make sure that you have the same size on each piece to cut out so you may have to do a little "wiggle room" math and trim it down a bit to get it figured out

4. To figure out the square you need to remove, add the depth of the fabric and 1 of the seam allowances. If you use the seam allowance x 2 you will have too small of a sheet. Again, experience here.

So, for mine-
mattress length is 38", 38+6+6+1+1=52" which is the length of fabric I started with
mattress width is 24", 24+6+6+1+1= 38" which is the width of fabric I started with
mattress depth is 6", 6+1=7" which is the side length of the square I removed.

Any questions or corrections please email me! Thanks for checking out my tutorial. :)

My Dad's iPad 2 case

My dad just got an iPad 2. He LOVES it but needed a cover for it. Thus the birth of this "one hour" cover. Let me just tell you, it did NOT take an hour! I made it over 2 days (ran out of thread, ran out of velcro.) It would have taken me a full day of sewing to make it but I sew REALLY slowly. I also didn't have enough fabric to make the flap from the piece I quilted so I had to improvise and added on to it. I really like the way it turned out actually! Happy mistake there. :)

Both the inside and outside are quilted with warm and natural quilt batting. The outside is a solid blue cotton fabric and the inside is a soft blue mottled flannel. I LOVE it! There's a hidden jeans pocket (yes, from a real pair of jeans) that closes with velcro to hold all the cords and whatever. The flap folds over and secures with velcro to hold it shut and keep the iPad inside. I put a grab handle on it made from left over quilt binding from my quilt I made for Ally. I think it's manly enough to not be a "bag" but still VERY usable. The handle can also be slung over a door knob. Not having an iPad to actually make it around, I hope it fits when I give it to him!

Outside of the iPad2 case

Opened up to show off the lining and hidden pocket

Close up of the pocket I added

I really like this little tote and think I might just make one for myself eventho I don't have an iPad. it's neat. I've never done anything with the jeans pockets I took off the TONS of pairs of jeans I used for Ally's rag quilt. I have plans for SOME of the pockets but I have almost 30 pockets to use!

I loosely used the tutorial from One Shabby Chick to make this tote. I had to call dad to find out the exact dimensions of his iPad and ended up trimming down the fabric a bit to make sure it all fit properly. I made the outside 1/4" larger all around because of the bulk of the layers of batting and fabric. I also stitched the flap to the lining and then shoved it inside the outside and stitched those together. I used stitch witchery to hold the tops down so I could stitch them together. I don't like the whole "leave a hole to turn the whole thing right side out" and prefer to make complete bags and then fold over and sew the tops together.

Thanks for checking out my iPad tote. If you'd like one email me! :)

Cloth Napkins w/Mitered Corners

My sister has a blog for her sewing group and she's got some challenges up for us to do. This is the first challenge she has for us and I FINALLY got to work on it. They're for her so shhhhh don't tell! :) I think they turned out really nice seeing as it's my first attempt and all. Next time I think I'll do 1/2" fold under tho instead of 1/4" that's recommended in the blog because my little finger tips got singed a bit from the steam of the iron. I made 6 and LOVE the way they turned out. The mitered corners aren't PERFECT but they look just fine. It's a great way to bust thru my stash of fabric too. :)

Yes, that's my baby belly showing in the bottom of the picture. LOL

Everything Old is New Again

"Everything Old is New Again" was the theme for this round of beading bloggers from artbeads.com. I chose to do a "steampunk" theme since I LOVE the looks of it and have never really been brave enough to try it. I had a hard time figuring out what to do but ended up with some REALLY great beads and findings to play with.

This is all the brass/antique brass stuff I picked out.

There are some gears, a great butterfly, a very cool clasp, chain, wire and of course swarovski crystals. I can't seem to make ANYTHING without using crystals! I didn't end up using the wire as it was shiny brass and it didn't work with the antique brass. I'm sure I'll use it on another project. I also used some Tim Holtz gears and a spring ring and head pins (that I cut the ends off to use as wire) and a few extra little red crystals I had in my stash.

"Brass Butterfly"

This is all the copper stuff I picked out.

In the copper I picked out some chain, bead frames, a clasp, some crystal rivoli settings, and the rivoli crystals to go into the settings. Let me tell you, those crystals are GORGEOUS in the sunlight! I used GS Hypo to glue the crystals into the bezels. To make this I also added in some 8 mm clear swarovski rounds, some Tim Holtz gears I glued together with my GS Hypo to make a center piece and a few others I had laying around and used copper wire and split rings from my stash to hold it all together. I really love copper stuff. I see myself wearing this pretty frequently.

"Copper Chains and Crystals"

Thanks for checking out my latest projects. I LOVE being a beading blogger partner! It's always fun to challenge myself with new and different products.

Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I received all beads pictured in the first photos posted above free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

The Long Awaited Belly Pictures

8 weeks

Not much of a belly so to speak.
Hope I can look like this again one day! :)

12 weeks

Just a little bit of a belly.
Note that you can see the door knob.

16 weeks
The door knob is disappearing.

20 weeks
No more door knob. LOL
HALF WAY THERE!

24 weeks

Still in my regular jeans with the help of a hair band.

So far I've gained about 17 lbs.
I'm very pleased.
The kiddo is rolling around a bit more than she was but not like I thought she would be.
I know that's coming soon enough tho.

Baby's Floor Quilt

I made this quilt for us to throw on the floor and play on or to drag outside and put on the ground. The back is denim, the front is soft and cuddly flannel. I still have to "rag" it but I need to figure out what to do with the edges before I do that. The denim is from old pairs of jeans that Greg and I gave to my nana to use and I got back when she moved to Chico. So, how geeky is it that our kid who has our genes gets a quilt made from our jeans?

This is what 16 pairs of jeans looks like when cut into 169 6.5" squares

169 flannel pieces cut from 14 different fabrics

The flannel and denim paired up. It's quite scary looking

All sewn together, this is the front side

All sewn together, this is the back side

Now to figure out how I want to finish the edges- do I bind it or just rag it?
If I bind it, what should I do it with? Denim? Flannel scraps? Cotton fabric?

FINALLY got a sunny day

So, this is my OTHER piece for the Beading Bloggers over at Artbeads, it's called "Green Hills" because the colors remind me of my morning (and afternoon) drive to and from work. In the summer the hills are all brown and icky looking, not very lively or inspiring. BUT when it starts raining EVERYTHING comes alive. The grasses start growing, the little creeks start flowing, life is actually visible.

For the necklace part of this project I used some wonderfully green Chrysoprase gemstones from Artbeads. I used a beautiful green and yellow focal bead as the center piece. The clasp is a cool gunmetal pewter wave pattern. I used black parawire to do the wirewrapping. For the bracelet I used the same Chrysoprase gemstones and parawire combined with a "hitch clasp" that I had in my stash.

Here are pictures from along my drive. I get to enjoy this for 25.8 miles of driving each way.

AND these are pictures of my awesome "Green Hills" necklace and bracelet.

Green Hills Necklace

Green Hills Bracelet

Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I received all beads pictured in the first photo posted above free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.