{free printable & tutorial} Parchment Paper Candy Egg Bundles

These pseudo transparent parchment bundles are just what I would have loved as a kid.  I absolutely adore that you can see the candy through the parchment paper and you know what you're about to devour.  Plus, they were such a cinch to make.

First-- download, print, and cut the Easter egg template. (see link to download below).  Another fun thing about parchment paper-- you could cut it to printer paper size and print the actual template onto it if you like, but then you won't be able to see through the paper. That would still be super cute, though!  I also thought about letting the kidlets color the cut out parchment paper eggs before sewing with crayons or markers, but then I realized it was bedtime and I was out of mommy/kid crafting time.

 Next, trace the egg template onto the parchment paper and cut the stencils out, making sure to cut out two eggs per candy  bundle.

Now, pin the parchment eggs together and sew around the edges, leaving a spot in the top to insert the candy.

Drop the candy in and sew the egg up.   I tried a few different eggs and while the one compartment egg was certainly the easiest I really like the look of separating the candies by sewing in between each layer.

Tip-- don't overfill the eggs with candy.  Leave a bit of room for the sewing machine foot.  If the candy is butted right up to the edge the sewing machine foot ripped my paper because it was too tight of a fit.  OR lift your sewing machine foot altogether and eliminate it from even touching the parchment paper.

Now, all that is needed is to hide these fun candy bundles on Easter morning and watch the kids tear into them with wide eyes to see their yummy surprises.

 If you want to use the Easter Egg template click the button below to download.

{project share} DIY Stegosaurus Hoodie

Inspired by Whatever Dee Dee Wants and liberally using her tutorial, I decided to have my own run at this fun DIY dinosaur hoodie.  Not to mention it made me break out my brand new serger, that has been sitting in the box over a year now.  I don't know why, but just the thought of serging fabrics intimidated me.  Once the threading process was finished, which took forever, it was relatively easy to maneuver.

 I decided to use two differing shades of green felt for the stegosaurus spikes.  I sewed two of the sides, then stuffed them with batting and stitched them back into the hoodie using my serger.  One of the fastest sewing projects I've ever done.

These two little sillies just love their dinosaurs and this hoodie was very much appreciated by my little one.

Side Note:  I was a little concerned how the washing process would effect the felt spikes, but after washing it numerous times already I can see that they're going to hold up fine.  The batting has stayed fluffy and has not balled up and the felt hasn't shrunken at all.

ROAAAAAAAAAR!  If you have some dino-lovers in your family this has been a huge hit and I highly recommend it for your little ones.

{tutorial} Super Hero Shirts with Velcro Capes

 

Well, that's the cutest superhero I've ever seen if I do say so myself!  These superhero shirts with velcro capes are the simplest sewing project-- even the most beginner sewer can manage these. Promise.  The only sewing required is to attach four pieces of velcro and you could even do that by hand stitching if you don't have a machine.

{free printable} Potterybarn Inspired Easter Banner

I set out to make my very own Easter banner after being inspired by this simple and elegant Potterybarn Easter garland.

After cutting out felt Easter shapes I determined it would take too long and I would need to cut out a bajillion to make a garland. Now, if I had a silhouette cutting machine I could have snapped my fingers and 1-2-3 it would have been done for me. Alas, I do not! So, with my scissors in hand I began to cut squares to attach them to.

All you need to make this simple banner is:

• scissors
• felt(I recommend the wool sturdy stuff not the acrylic, but if that's all you have it will work too)
• heat bond (ultra strong)
• iron
• printer paper (to cut out your shapes)
• double folded bias tape (not shown in the picture below)
• thread and sewing machine

I personally liked the shapes Potterybarn used so I free handed mine.

I am NOT an artist by any means as you can see. I had to draw and redraw the picture a few times before I got the actual shape I wanted.

First, you adhere the felt to the heat bond with the iron. When using felt you have to iron the heat bond onto it a tad bit longer because the fabric is thicker. After the heat bond is attached, trace and cut out your shapes. Next, cut out enough 5" squares of felt in coordinating colors. Then, pull the paper off of the head bonded felt shapes and iron the shapes onto the squares (make sure the heat bonded sticky side is against the felt square-- we don't want to be attaching any felt Easter shapes to your iron). Afterwards you will need to pin and sew the bias tape onto your felt shaped squares. Seriously that's it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Side note from the peanut gallery (aka my husband): he thinks my hand-cut chicks look like our newfoundland dog, named Tug. He may be right. I did say I'm NOT an artist, didn't I?

Okay so I know we're cutting it close to Easter and some of us may not have time to sew a banner, nor do some of us want to. So... I made this printable that resembles the one I sewed above. I love how simple it is. I found these simple Easter shapes online HERE, but you can download my PDF version HERE if you want to use them to freehand cut your shapes.

So here it is! the Easter banner printable. Two squares print/page and depending on how long you want the banner will determine how many pages you print out.

Happy banner making! Whether it's sewn or printed!

Download the banner HERE

Hospital Headbands

I have to admit most of my crafty ideas are not my own. I read the blog homemade by jill and since she is pregnant herself and due within weeks of me she has posted all sorts of crafty pregnant/new baby stuff that I have wanted to do. However, hospital headbands to help with bed head is the only thing I could muster these last days. The smaller one on the left is brown leather strips braided and attached with some elastic to slip over the head easier. The one on the right are three muslin sewn flowers hot glued onto a black leather store bought headband-- super easy. Wish us luck-- these headbands are packed and ready to go for tomorrow's induction. Wahooo!