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I’m slowly getting back into my blogging groove, but to get me through today, I have a little bit of a repost from the archives. Not my archives, but rather, Caroline’s archives! This is a little guest post I did for her way back when… enjoy!
What you need:
one sheet of felt in your favorite color
ruffled ribbon {or any ribbon or choice!}
sewing machine {or thread and needle if you don’t have one!}
Step One:
fold the felt into a square and cut off that little extra piece to make one large square
cut large square into four smaller squares
Step Two:
pin ribbon to felt square
you can do this part however you like. I took four strips of ribbon and sewed them on each individually, or you could make one continuous strip that you fold the corners down and you sew with one stitch. heck, you can do whatever you want!
just make sure you don’t put the ribbon through the middle or anything or you won’t be able to rest a glass on it!
Step Three:
sew ribbon onto felt square
And you’re done!
Now you have cute little coasters that you definitely can’t find in a store!
Hope you enjoy the little project as much as I did!
This post was originally seen here.
This past fall, I was a little preoccupied in being a new mama that I kind of forgot about the fact that I was hosting Thanksgiving. I did almost all of my fall decorating in the two weeks before the holiday. Though I’m sure my guests wouldn’t have minded an undecorated house, but I wanted to do it anyway. My mom and I found this wonderful patterned fabric at JoAnn’s and I decided it needed to be a fall table runner in our dining room. I figured it couldn’t be too hard, right?
Supplies:
2 different fabrics, coordinating
{see measuring below}
coordinating thread
scissors or rotary cutter
sewing machine
{unless you just LOVE handstitching}
iron
How much fabric do you need?
For determining how much fabric to get, first you should measure the length of your table (we’ll call this “L“). Table runners generally fall about 12 inches past the edge of the table, but I think that is a little long. So decide how much extra length you want past the table (let’s call this “T“). You’ll multiply that number by 2 as you need it on both ends of the table. You’ll also want to add in room for your seams. I do 1/2 inch seams (so add 1 inch to the length).
(1+L+(Tx2)) = length of fabric required.
For this tutorial, L=68 and T=6.
(1+68+(6×2)) = 81 inches = 2 1/4 yards
Hopefully that makes sense! For what it is worth, you’ll mostly find 90 inch table runners out there, but since this is a DIY, you can make it whatever length you want!
As for width, go with whatever you think looks right based off the width of your table. I wanted my finished product to be 12 inches wide, so I cut 13 inches wide to account for seams.
Step 1.
Cut fabric to 81 inches x 13 inches {see measuring guide above}. Pin right sides together.
sorry, it was hard to take a photo of that!
Step 2.
Sew 1/2 inch seams along the edges, leaving open a few inches to turning. Trim your corners.
Step 3.
Turn fabric right side in. Iron the opening in the seam so it lays flat, making it easier to sew shut.
Step 4.
If you are a perfectionist, you’ll want to slip stitch the opening shut. There are great tutorials out there for how to slip stitch… have at it. However! If you’re like me, and you don’t mind a little thread showing, go ahead and top stitch the opening shut. That’s where it is key to having coordinating thread!
Yep, coordinating thread.
Step 5.
Iron all the kinks out and you’re done!
don’t mind the baby’s stuff in the corners of the photo…
oh and don’t mind that awful cup ring on the table… eesh!
See? It did end up being pretty easy.. didn’t it? If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to help you out as I can!
We’ve already chatted about how we use cloth diapers to save money. It only follows that we would also use cloth wipes. Using disposable wipes with cloth diapers is kind of silly… you would need two pails – one for cloth and one for trash! I decided I would make my own cloth wipes instead of buying any. I don’t think I saved much money, but I did save a little at least! Here is the DIY, even though they were super easy. Enjoy!
Supplies:
Flannel Fabric
Cotton Terry Cloth Fabric
{Depending on how many wipes you want to make, I think I got 2 yards of each maybe?}
Snips, Thread, Sewing Machine
I cut 9×9 squares of each fabric. I suggest cutting both at the same time, but put them right sides together unlike what I did. Oh and yes, that is my baby’s butt in the Moby wrap sticking out there. It’s like being pregnant all over again!
Take all of your little squares and sew them WRONG sides together leaving a little opening for turning. {See the next step} I did about a half inch seam, which would result in wipes that are 8×8, perfect to fit in a standard wipes container.
In order to flip them right side out, you’ll need to clip your corners {I usually just trip along the entire seam I just made} and flip through the opening you left in Step 2.
Then top stitch over the entire wipe. Partly for appeal, mostly to close up that hole you left for turning!
Now the cloth wipe is DONE! Woohoo! Go you. I told you it was easy. If you want to see how it goes into the wipes container, continue on.
Pretty self explanatory, right?
I think that makes sense…
oooo how pretty.
Any standard wipes container will do!
Tah Dah!
See? Super easy. Now enjoy using them with your favorite wipes solution {or whatever you use!}. I keep mine in a spray bottle {the one I packed in my hospital bag!}
A few tips:
Keep a lint roller handy. That terry cloth makes a mess!
I rounded my corners because I wanted to practice, but to make it easier, you can just make straight normal corners.
Don’t try to cut fabric on the floor while wearing a baby. Extremely sore back will result.
You really only need one of these wipes per diaper change. I rarely use two. I have about 20 wipes on hand and I get through my normal wash cycle just fine! I would say 24 is plenty!
PS – We recently stopped using the wipes container. I found it super helpful for organization, but J didn’t like it. If not using it means he changes more diapers, I will sacrifice the organization. 
PPS – I know many bloggers are participating in a day of silence today in memory of the victims in Newtown, CT. I schedule posts ahead of time and I didn’t think to stop this one and participate. My heart of course goes out to all of the victims. I may post about it soon, I may not. Nothing I say or don’t say changes the tragedy.
I’ll admit it, I am not the biggest fan of Halloween. However, it is starting to grow on me. I only have 3 measly little Halloween decorations and to be honest, two of them I got just this year. So if I really wanted to go all out for the holiday, I wouldn’t have much to work with! Here are a few DIYs that I’d totally be interested in… maybe for next year!
Frightfully Fun Frames
{tutorial by eighteen25}
Halloween Garland
{tutorial by Please Note}
Tin Can Luminaries
{tutorial by Jolly Mom}
I may have to make a couple of luminaries for our front door… it is our first Halloween when we may actually have trick-or-treaters and honestly, I am super excited!
The nursery is finally done! I absolutely love how it turned out. I wanted something gender neutral but really hate the typical cutesy baby stuff. You know the light green, baby yellow, duck-filled stuff? Yeah. Not a fan. Anyway, here it is! M’s little gray and yellow elephant filled nursery!
His crib, complete with his initials {made by his Aunt Jess!} I need to mess with the ribbons a bit, but they’re good for now! My mom made the crib skirt and both of us made the bumpers. I was hoping to use stripes instead of chevron as the room was already a little too trendy for my liking, but I still like the way it turned out. The main fabric there is this. Absolutely love it.
Next up is the rocking chair corner. The chair is super comfy and I love just sitting and rocking in it. I can’t wait to hang out there with a little toddler reading books {okay, I can wait, but it will be so fun!} I already read some books to him but its more to keep me from being bored while the kid eats. There are a few things I want to hang from that little white shelf as well as a little elephant cross stitch I want hung right below it.
Then we have the dresser, twin bed, and awesome elephant prints. Sorry the picture is super blurry! You remember the dresser redo that I worked so hard on! So far it is working out perfectly. Thanks to a tip from my cousin Stefanie, the old wooden drawers open smoothly now with a little canning wax on them. Also, those curtains are made from the same elephant fabric as the bumpers. I’d take credit for them, but they were all my momma’s work! Oh and that bed will have some throw pillows on it soon enough!
And here’s the changing table. Nothing too exciting… just the usual! I love the hamper we got though and of course, the nightlight {thanks Linds!}
Here’s my biggest problem area… that bookshelf! I need to find a good vase for those fake flowers {preferably an unbreakable one.} I also want a little CD player or something, but there is no outlet nearby. I will figure it out soon enough!
There you have it! Our sweet boy’s nursery! I’m so excited to see him grow up in it and to use it for future children {even if the room may have to move a couple of times!} Anywho, what do you think?
picture
