Painting Aprons

A few years ago I was babysitting a friend of mines little boy around Mothers Day and decided I wanted to do something really nice for her and fun for her little boy and my little girl. I bought some plain white Aprons and had the children, using felt paints, paint their handprints on the Apron it was lovely. I still have mine and love using it.

I think these make fantastic Mothers Day gifts for any fathers out there reading our blog!!

NEW WAY to tie a fleece blanket

i was shown by a volunteer last week at the project linus blanket night how to tie a fleece blanket that's MUCH easier than the original tied way. so here we go...

start with your fleece. i bought 1 1/2 yds for the top with a coordinating 1 1/2 yds for the backing.

square up your corners and cut a 4x4 inch square.
to make your ties, cut 4 inch strips, 1 inch wide.

fold both layers of the tie up and cut a slit around 1/4-1/2 inch long.

lay your tie back out flat.

pull both layers of fleece up and through the slit

this is what it should look like...

continue that all the way around the 4 sides and you're all done!

Pocket Tissue Holder

I have been looking for something to give my my daughters teachers at the end of the school year (here in the UK they dont finish until the end of July). I have decided to make them each an Apron and a tissue holder. I thought I would post the tissue holder on here to start with it was so simple to make and only took about 10 minutes. Plus it turned out really cute.I found this simple pattern on Skiptpmylou. Anyway here is the simple tutorial!! Enjoy!

you will need two pieces of fabric 6 1/2" x 7"


With right sides together stitch 1/4 inch from the edge all around the outside of the fabric. Leave about 1-2″ opening on the LONG side for turning.


Turn and iron. Make sure that you iron the opening to the inside.

Bring short edges to the middle. Place the fabric you want on the outside in the inside. At this point you can choose whether you want the opening to over lap a little or to leave a little slit for the tissue. On mine I have over lapped it. Only because I dont really want to see the tissue on the inside.

Stitch 1/4 inch from the edge along each end.


Turn your tissue holder right side out and fill with your little pack of pocket tissue. On Skip to my lou she says to put a slit in the pack of tissues so that it is easier to get the tissues out. I in fact took the tissues out of the packaging and placed them in the holder.



I sewed some buttons across the slit of mine but only for decoration on the top slit. I thought it added a little to mine. Obviously you be creative and if you have a really cool idea please tell us about it in our comments I would love to know what you do!!

Pillow Case Apron

So I have been wanting to make an apron and could not find my pattern so I found this website http://tipnut.com/56-free-apron-patterns-you-can-make/ that has 52 apron patterns for free. I just wanted to do a quick one and had some pillow cases hanging around the house so I finally found a use for them. It took me about an hour to do this one because I had not done one before but You can easily make it faster and cuter if you have a pillowcase that has designs on it.

Rag Blankets

While in the states this month I made rag blankets. My sister has already listed on here how to do them. Have a look at this link Anyway I thought I would post mine on here. On thing I will say is that the smaller you cut the fringe the better they look. I LOVED Making these and cant wait to make some more in the next few weeks!

Scrabble Tile Necklaces

I made a couple of these necklaces for Christmas gifts. They turn out so cute and they're pretty easy to make. They're just scrabble tiles. You cut out scrapbook paper or a photo or whatever you want, glue it to the tile, let it dry and cut around the edges. Then you file the edges so they are smooth (just a metal nail file works), then mod podge it, let it dry for a few minutes and cover it with diamond glaze. You have to let them dry for quite a while but when they're done, glue on a bail and slide it on a chain and there you have it.

Hot Chocolate Cones - Thrifty Gift:)

This is from Oprah.com. Cute and Yummy!

With 15 nieces and nephews, Kellie in Houston had to come up with a great gift that's both thrifty and sweet. "Who doesn't love hot chocolate?" Kellie says. To put a twist on this classic winter treat, Kellie created her own hot chocolate mixes. Using a plastic piping bag to hold the mix, Kellie says to start with a layer of cocoa, add marshmallows, and top with chocolate chips. Tie the top with a ribbon, and voilà! "It looks like an ice cream cone," Kellie says. "It's so easy."