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Lunchbox Napkins

Every year I make some new napkins for the kids. In addition to liking the idea of not wasting paper napkins, I just think it’s cute! So head over to Alpha Mom for my quick instructions on how to make these simple small napkins. This is the perfect project for a beginner. For more napkin projects with detailed instructions and illustrations, you can check out the first chapter of 1, 2, 3 Sew, where you’ll learn folded corners, then mitered corners and finally work on a table runner with mitered corners and pockets. And of course napkins can have endless variations.

Sadly, this is my last post for Alpha Mom. I have loved working with Isabel and being part of the site with such a great line-up of crafters, but since I can’t add any hours to the day, something had to give. I’ll still continue to keep up with what’s going on over there and I’ll be sure to include the fun kids’ craft projects in my regular round-ups.

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Back to School

The kids headed back to school today and I got in some late night sewing last night to make new lunch pouches. I have spent an inordinate amount of time looking for the perfect lunch box, but am now discovering that the kids naturally have different preferences. My older daughter loves her laptop lunch box, but we needed a new case, so of course I sewed one for both kids. My younger daughter prefers her Lunch Sack that I made her last month (you can get the pattern for that one here). But she used this one all through kindergarten last year and loved it too.

Anyway, I made a simple pouch with insulation and waterproof lining and outer fabric. Basically I used the same method that I used for making the Polka Dot Pouch from 1, 2, 3 Sew (pictured below), but basted straps to the zipper before sewing and added Insul-Bright lining between the water-resistant fabric layers. The box fits perfectly with an ice pack. And as much as I dislike waking up early again and making lunches, it’s nice to get back into our school routine and get back to work again. Stay tuned for another quick back-to-school sewing project tomorrow.

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Pixel Painting Tote Bag

Head over to Alpha Mom and check out my tutorial for this pixel painting project that I did with my 6-year-old. Here I made a tote bag (front and back views above), but you could paint pixels on pretty much any surface.

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Girl’s World

I’m happy to be part of the Girl’s World blog tour today! Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom, along with Dolin O’Shea and photographer Tim Geaney have created a charming and delightful book for fancy girls everywhere.

Published by my favorite publisher, Chronicle Books (I’m a bit biased here), the well-crafted book is as beautiful in its design as it is in content. I love the use of Jennifer’s fabric designs throughout the book, as well as the fancy lettering, silhouette artwork and the special details like the pink satin ribbon that ties the book together.

I had the opportunity to meet Jennifer and buy an autographed copy of the book from her a few weeks ago at Intown Quilters here in Atlanta. There are 21 projects in all including dresses, accessories and home décor. One of my favorites is a cute puppy dog named George that looks so easy to make, you could probably whip up a bunch of them as party favors. The dog, as well as some other crafty projects in the book, could easily be made with your child.

The clothing patterns in the book include four dresses, two aprons, and a ballet skirt. I decided to make the most simple of the dresses, the Tallulah Halter Dress (see photos below).

Since I started at 8pm last night, it’s a good thing that it was an easy one. The dress came together in just over an hour and has an easy-wear style perfect for hot summer days. This time I stuck to the pattern pretty closely, which is a pretty amazing feat for me. I used a size small pattern (4-5) for my petite six-year-old and it worked out really well with no adjustments needed. The instructions were clear and well-illustrated.

I used a vintage-inspired floral from Urban Chik’s Dream On collection for Moda.

If you have a girly-girl in your life who loves frilly, sparkly things, you’ll love this book! Here’s the full blog tour schedule, so you can check out some of the previous posts and keep up with those coming up.

Monday, June 13: Easy Crafts

Tuesday, June 14: Li’l Magoolie

Wednesday, June 15: Whip Up

Thursday, June 16: Patterns by Figgys

Friday, June 17: The Long Thread

Sunday, June 19: Mod Podge Rocks!

Monday, June 20: Babble.com

Tuesday, June 21: Bolt Neighborhood

Wednesday, June 22: West Coast Crafty

Thursday, June 23: Everything Etsy

Friday, June 24: Hodge Podge Farm

Monday, June 27:  CraftSanity

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Tiny Vinyl Tutorial

More miniature stuff! This is a completely non-functional, somewhat strange craft, but here goes. My husband is an avid record collector and we’re getting him a record store gift certificate for Father’s Day, so I thought it might be fun to make some tiny vinyl records to go with the gift!

I made the version above after the Pet Sounds album from the Beach Boys. The goat photo was borrowed from the internet, but I wish I’d had time to get to the girls to the petting zoo to get a photo. Then I just changed the names of some songs by bands he likes (“December Gurls” references the Big Star song, but December because our daughters were both born in that month). Once you start substituting the word “Daddy” for other words in song titles, things can get pretty strange.

You can see the cute version made by my younger daughter in my post on Alpha Mom, along with the instructions and template. My older daughter is busy thinking up all kinds of funny song titles for hers that we’ll finish up in the next few days (like the soon-to-be hit “Daddy is Not Stinky”).