{FREE} American Girl Doll Sleeping Bag Pattern

If you child is like mine, if she has a sleeping bag, she wants Caroline, her doll, to have a sleeping bag. This is a very easy project for a beginning sewer. Download the free pattern HERE

Sweet Dreams!!
~Julia

Tooth Fairy Fun! {Free Pattern}

My oldest, Natalie, officially lost her first tooth! I have been preparing for this moment for quite some time, as most of the kids her age have already lost multiple teeth. Natalie has been longing (somewhat apprehensively) to join the toothless club. Find my free pattern for this adorable Tooth Fairy pillow: HERE

Check out my Pinterest board 

full of fun, tooth losing ideas: Tooth Fairy Fun

Find these adorable printables or easy to sew tooth pouch at Howdoesshe.com

For $25 you can purchase a set of these cute record keeping charts at chasingfireflies.com

Find some cute girl or boy version printables at thepolkadotposie.com

I have been listening to the discussion over the going rate for a tooth fairy visit. 5 to 10 dollars these days? Hmmm, well, I really didn't want to set the bar that high for the first one, so I figured if it was a sparkly dollar, it would be just as exciting!

Natalie had been told by a friend that if you wanted to keep your tooth, 

you have to write the Tooth Fairy a note!

The Tooth Fairy and Santa

Disclaimer: This is my own personal opinion and I in no way look down on anyone else that has chosen to go about things differently! Our stance on the Tooth Fairy is very similar to our belief in Santa. We enjoy the fun interaction and imaginative play that comes along with these memorable childhood traditions, but never do we lead our children on to believe these characters are real. In my opinion, outright lies and deception that play on a child's natural sense of wonder and belief, is wrong. When our kids ask if Santa or the Tooth Fairy are real, we will usually say "no, he's not real, but it's fun to pretend!" I think there is a small part of each of my kids that want to believe Santa is real, which I find adorable. But, I want my kids to trust that what I tell them is true and dependable, which includes what I tell them about Jesus and stories from the Bible. I want them to believe the Bible is true, that it is not just an other made up fairy tale that parents tell their kids when they are young.

Check out my Pinterest board 

full of fun, tooth losing ideas: Tooth Fairy Fun

DIY Easy American Girl Ball Gown

My daughter, Natalie loves to sew with me, and she loves having clothes made for her American Girl Doll. I try to tell her not every little girl gets a new outfit each week, but it does not seem to sink in. So, almost every day she is asking to make something for Caroline and something for her to match. Last time I was at Goodwill I saw two matching skirts and jumped on it. 

 I pinned the skirt on Natalie wrong side out and then just cut straight down. 

Because the fabric was so fine, I decided to do a french seam. Here's a tutorial on how to do a french seam. Again the hem was already done and everything!

 

Once I started to measure, Natalie loved the ball gown look on Caroline, so they aren't an exact match, but that was easier for me because then I didn't need to hem this one either.

 

I cut it 12 inches wide, and sewed the side seam. I used a french seam again, so you would want to try it on the doll if you don't because it would be about 5/8th's smaller with just a regular stitch. 

 I sewed the front straps on first. I sewed the unfinished edge of the ribbon to the dress, and then folded the ribbon up and sewed along the edges of the ribbon to reinforce and keep the shape of the ribbon. I did the same thing on the back, but decided to do a criss-cross design. It is tight to get on. If your daughter needs to get it on more easily, you could attach with Velcro.

Matching Outfits!! ~Julia

DIY Water Bottle Holder and Giveaway!

My daughter, Natalie loves to sew. I am always hunting for easy projects that she can do. Sewing School 2 is an excellent book for beginner sewers.  It comes with the patterns in a pouch in the back and very detailed easy to follow instructions complete with pictures.

Natalie chose a water bottle holder on page 139.  I love to repurpose, so we used an old dress. In 12 steps, she had a finished product that she is still wearing :) Sewing School 2 is a great resource for "Summer School", too. What's even better is we have one to giveaway with Rafflecopter below!!

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more inspiration, check out these blogs 

who are also participating in this Blog Tour.

July 7 – Our Busy Homeschool

July 8 – Scrumdilydo

July 9 – Crafty Mom Share

July 10 – Jane of All Trades

July 11 – Windy Lou

July 12 – Adventures of a DIY Mom

July 13 – Our Improve Diary

July 16 – He Sowed She Sewed

July 17 – Teach Beside Me

July 18 – All Things with Purpose

July 19 – The Crafty Crow The Crafty Crow

July 20 – Family Style School

July 21 – Such Designs

July 22 – Red Bird Crafts

July 23 – The Long Thread

July 25 - Maya Made

No Paper, Paper Towels

I bought this fabric with seed packets on the front because when I saw it I immediately thought of a friend who loves to garden. Fast forward a year and a half and I was headed to visit her and still couldn't decide what to do with it.  I wanted to do something different. So, I turned to Pinterest and found exactly what I was looking for: No Paper, Paper Towels!!  With a day to complete the project, amidst packing, three kids and cleaning the house I carved out two hours.

I watched this video tutorial for easy step by step video. I saw several posts out there using Velcro. Now, while that sounds easier DO NOT DO IT!! If you feel tempted, think about the bibs and clothes that have Velcro on them and when you put them through the wash they always attach themselves to one of your shirts or unmentionables and end up destroying something. I have always wanted to get the snap thing, so this was the perfect excuse. You can use old towel, but several years ago I bought a bunch of yellow terry cloth fabric, so I had that on hand. I pieced the seed pack fabric with a coordinating green fabric to make it the same size as the paper towel. *TIP: Make them a half paper towel size. 

I also watched this video on Babyville Snaps. When I went to JoAnn's they had silver pliers with

their notions, but the snaps were unbearably plain :) So I headed over to their cloth diaper section and found the Babyville Snaps and pliers. You are constrained by the colors they offer, but at least they have colors, right?

I'm off to make a set for myself per my husband's request!!

~Julia

DIY Fabric Books $.99 Easy Gifts

These panels are so easy and fun. They can be purchased for as little as $1.00.

Trim the edges leaving a consistent seam allowance.

Each panel comes instructions of what pages should be sewn together.

Sew them together and press.

Trim the corners, so when you turn them the corners will be square.

Turn the pages right side out.

Sew down the center of the book creating a binding and connecting the pages.

~Julia

Machine Quilting a Small Quilt

Here's another great idea for a gift or something to use at home.  I had two pieces of fabric that were given to me. The front is the United States and at the bottom of the post is the back the World. I improvised to make the two fit and came up with this arrangement. My kids love pockets, so I added two. At this stage of my life, I was not able to get a picture without the help of two youngsters :) I laid the top and bottom fabric pieces out and cut them  to match evenly.

I hand tacked the two pieces together with batting between.  Or you can use pins. I stabbed myself once while sewing them together because I used so many pins and forgot to be careful. If you do not do this step, then the two fabric layers are likely to shift while you are sewing them together.

Then I started to sew the layers together using a quilting foot. You do not have to have a quilting foot it just gives a more finished look. Good tools help with a good finish.

I used a disappearing ink pen to draw sewing lines six inches apart on the front panel piece.

 

Roll your fabric as you sew, so it will fit in the arm of your sewing machine.

Instead of quilting diagonally across my pockets, I simply followed the pocket seams to attach the fabric, batting and fabric layers.

Once you have finished quilting, turn the bottom piece of fabric, aka binding, over. I made my 3/4 of an inch because that's the amount of fabric I had. You can determine the width based on your liking.

When I got to the corner, I just folded the two edges and sewed at a slight angle to reinforce it.

This is the finished product from the back.

Get Quilting!!

~Julia