TreasuresInTerraCotta

The kids are all ready for summer fun!  My sister found this  Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial at MADE  and we decided the six cousins needed matching shirts for all the sumer fun we have coming up in July.  We picked up shirts in various shades of blue, dug out some old fabric paint, bought a humongous roll of freezer paper and then the debate began.  What should the stencil be?  There was much discussion, second-guessing and internet searching for clip art while trying to find something that was: ~easy to cut ~visually appealing ~gender-neutral ~summer-y ~and fun We finally settled on a simple camp fire.  All of the kids (except the 2 year old) painted their own shirts.  Each one is slightly different but they are all adorable.  (I'll post more pictures when we get the kids all together.) I wish we had done this craft earlier in the summer so the kids would have had "camp shirts" for all the out-and-abo...

It is an unwritten law of the universe:  If you have a truck people ask you to help them move. Akin to this is:  If you have a sewing machine people ask you to make costumes. I have certainly used my machine to make plenty of costumes for the kids and adults around this house.  So when my 13 year old friend asked me to help her make Bubble Skirts for the Taylor Swift concert I was game.  I ended up with three adorable skirts, but in the process I actually made five skirts!  First I tried to copy a design I had on hand, but I quickly realized I needed more of a tutorial.  I finally found two that, when combined, were exceptionally helpful.  But in an effort to make the learning curve shorter for someone else (and to remember what I did when I try to sew another one) I thought I would write a tutorial of my own.  Supplies: Fabric for the outer skirt Fabric for the lining Matching/coordinating thread Elastic (3/...

It is very easy to make a superhero cape.  I found multiple tutorials on-line.  Don't let anyone convince you that it is any harder than what it is.  t-shirt scissors felt superhero emblem glue done! This is a great project for old t-shirts. I used shirts that were a couple sizes bigger than the kid I was sewing for.  I have seen multiple people suggest using XLarge men's t-shirts.  That would be fine for bigger kids, but unnecessary for the littler kids.  Cut off the sleeves. Cut up the sides and lay flat. Leaving the neck intact, cut off the front of the shirt.  Round the edges toward the shoulder seam and the back of the shirt. Cut off the bottom hem and round the bottom edge of the cape. There is no need to hem or otherwise "finish" the edge of the cape. Be creative with superhero emblems.  The colored pieces are felt sheets I picked up at the craft store.  Trust me, you can cut out a circle!  Or a star....