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embrace the camera {playing tractors}

January 20, 2011

My little guys favorite thing to do is play with these cheap little tractors that santa brought him. It occupies our time for hours a day, most days of the week. He begged me to go out and get some grass to play with. Somehow he had forgotten we had a foot of snow on the ground. So I went into the cupboards in search of the perfect hay and grass. Thankfully, he was loved what I came up with. So here we are playing with hay (spaghetti) and grass or sometimes it’s cow poop (rice).

This little tractor is permanently implanted in his hands. Seriously, we can’t go anywhere without it.

Once our missy girl woke up, she joined in on the fun. All was well for a bit, til she decided to eat the grass. When I told him that his sister was eating the grass, he says “No, that’s not grass… that’s cow poop!” Of course it was! That little missy girl just shook her head “naww,” shrugged her shoulders, and went on eating it. Gosh, I love that girl!

Yup, as you can imagine that caused a lot of drama, and quickly all of the rice was on the floor.

Which lead us to our second favorite thing to do…play with momma’s vacuum. Wow, our days are eventful and so exciting. Guess that is the day of a stay-at-home momma, at least this ones!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway, it ends today!

January 19, 2011

Just a quick reminder that the giveaway ends tomorrow (Thursday).

And, I wanted to give you a little peek at what we will be making this week for fat quarter friday…

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and ideas. You definitely gave me some great ones to work with. Now I just hope I don’t disappoint y’all. I have to admit I’m a bit nervous now, especially with all the requests for doll clothes. Yikes! I’ve never made doll clothes before but I’m sure I can figure it out. After all, I have two little girls, that are going to need clothes for their dolls too.

https://www.2littlehooligans.com/2011/01/19/just-quick-reminder-that-giveaway-ends/

fat quarter friday {ruffled wristlet tutorial and a giveaway}

January 14, 2011

Welcome to fat quarter friday!

Now that we all know what a fat quarter is, let’s get started with our first tutorial.

Ruffled Wristlet Tutorial

(Allow 1-2 hours to complete project)

Materials Needed:

* two fat quarters or one fat quarter and a scrap piece of fabric.
* 7″ zipper
* 3/4″ D ring
* clasp
* flannel, batting or stabilizer (I will be using flannel)

From one fat quarter (main fabric) cut the following:

*2 pieces at 6″ x 4″ (inside pocket)
*4 pieces at 8″ x 6″ (bag)
*1 piece at 15″ x 2″ (handle)

From another fat quarter (contrasting fabric) or scrap piece cut the following:
*1 piece at 18″ x 4″ (ruffle)
*1 piece at 4″ x 1 1/2″ (tip of handle)

Cut batting or flannel to the following sizes:
*1 piece at 6″ x 4″ (inside pocket)
*2 pieces at 8″ x 6″ (bag)

Now that all your pieces are cut out, let’s get started!

Get the 18″ x 4″ piece of fabric, we are going to make the ruffle with it.

Fold wrong sides together and sew edge.

Iron so that the sewn edge is in the center. Change the stitch length on your machine to a length of 4 and stitch the piece of fabric down the center. Gently pull one of the threads to gather and cause it to ruffle.

Now that you have a ruffle, iron it slightly and place it on top of a 8″ x 6″ piece of fabric. Place the ruffle about 1 1/2″ to 2″ up from the bottom. Sew ruffle in place on the top edge and the bottom edge.

Seam rip the thread that you used to make the ruffle. Set aside.

Now we are going to make the pocket for the inside of the bag. Gather the two 6″ x 4″ pieces of fabric and the 6″ x 4″ piece of flannel.

Layer the three pieces like so. The flannel piece on the bottom, next a fabric piece right side up, and a fabric piece wrong side up. Sew around all edges, while leaving a 2″ opening for turning right side out.

Trim edges and square off corners.

Turn right side out, iron flat and top stitch just on the top edge of pocket.

Take another 8″ x 6″ piece of fabric and place the pocket piece you just sewed, on top of it about 1 1/2″ up from the bottom. Make sure the pocket is centered as well.

Sew in place on all three sides.
Set aside.

Take the 15″ x 2″ piece of fabric and sew right sides together.

Trim excess fabric. Place a pin on one end and push inside to turn right side out. Iron and top stitch on the right and left side.

Trim off a 2″ piece, this will be used to attach the D ring onto the bag.

Set aside.

Gather the 4″ x 1 1/2″ piece of fabric.

With right sides together sew, leaving one edge open.

Turn right side out and fold raw edge in about a 1″ or so.

Now place the handle piece through the clasp and sew in place as close to the clasp as possible. Now take the raw edges from the handle piece and tuck them into the little pocket that you just made.

Sew pocket piece in place like so. It should look like this now.

Take the 2″ piece that you cut off from the handle piece and pull through the D ring.

Sew the D ring in place like above. Make sure you sew as close to the edge as possible.

Now let’s put the bag together.

Take the piece of fabric that has the pocket sewn on it and lay it right side up.

Place the zipper on top, with the teeth on top. Make sure it is even with top edge.

Then place a piece of fabric wrong side up on top of the zipper. Lastly, place a 8″ x 6″ piece of flannel on top.

Make sure they are layered like in the picture above.

Time to sew them together. If you have a zipper foot, go ahead and sew them together. If you don’t have a zipper foot (that’s me) just place the edge of foot against the edge of the zipper teeth. Move the position of the needle. You want it as close to the zipper as possible. See picture above. Sew until you get to the zipper, then stop.

With the needle still in the fabric and the foot is down, unzip the zipper and move it out of the way. Line up edges again and finish stitching. Easy right?

Looks like this now. Unfold so that fabric pieces are right sides facing out.

Iron and top stitch the top edge. Stitch as close to the zipper as possible.

Gather the last 8″ x 6″ piece of fabric. Lay right side up. Place the piece that you just attached the zipper to (zipper side up) on top.

Then take the ruffle piece and lay wrong side up ontop of the zipper piece. Make sure they are layered like the picture above. Notice the D ring and where it is.

Now place flannel piece on top. Make sure they are all lined up at the top. Pin and sew zipper on like you did before.

Unfold, iron flat, and top stitch close to zipper like you did before.

This will be the outside of bag.

And this is going to be the inside of the bag.

Take and trim up the edges with your rotary cutter. Make sure they are even and straight.

Now it is time to sew the bag together.

Lay pieces like so. The pieces that make up the inside of the bag should have their right sides facing and are on top of one another. (See them pictured on the left side above?) Now the pieces that make up the outside of the bag along with the flannel should be on top of one another with right sides facing. (See them on the right.)

**Note: this part is important.**

When sewing the sides together, make sure that the zipper is lined up and folded together like above. It is more important for the zipper to be lined up perfectly then for the fabric edges to be lined up.This is how you will make sure your zipper works correctly. Again, noticed how the fabric is lined up and the zipper is folded.

Sew on all sides while leaving a 2 1/2″ opening on the pieces that do not have the flannel, see them on the right? These are the pieces that make up the inside of the bag. The opening will allow you to pull the bag right side out. Don’t pull right side out just yet.

First you want to square off the edges, this will give the bag it’s shape. Measure in about 1″ from the tip of the triangle, draw a line and sew on top of line. Trim off excess fabric.

Repeat for all four sides.

Should look like this now. Pull right sides out through opening.

Stitch opening shut as close to the edge as possible. Push fabric into the bag and give it it’s shape.

Here is the bag all finished. Now just attach the clasp to the D ring and your finished!

And there you have it! Two fat quarters and some flannel and now you have a cute little ruffled wristlet!

**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo’s, just be kind and give credit where credit is due.**
Any questions or comments please do not hesitat to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please send me an email or add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it!

Ok, so lets have a giveaway!

Anyone interested in winning this little ruffled wristlet?

To enter, just leave me a comment telling me what you would like to see here on fat quarter friday.

Giveaway ends January, 20th 2011

January 14, 2011

Welcome to the first friday of fat quarter friday!

Every friday I will be posting tutorials for projects that can be made by using those cute little fat quarters that everyone loves, yet aren’t exactly sure what to do with. Some projects we will be making will require one fat quarter to be used, while some other projects will require the use of a few fat quarters. You may also need to use some batting or stabilizer with some of our projects, along with some other crafty items that you probably already have on hand. I’m guessing that we will be finding some non-sewing projects to use up those fat quarters on. What if you don’t have any fat quarters? Don’t fret, you can use whatever fabric you have on hand, it just has to be big enough to cut the required pieces out of. So no, you wont have to go out and specifically buy fat quarters to make our projects. But if you are looking for a good excuse to buy some new fabric, then by all means, use fat quarter friday as your excuse, I’ll be the last person to judge you!

So before we get started with fat quarter friday, I had a few people confused on what a fat quarter was. Well we can’t have fat quarter friday if you don’t know what a fat quarter is right? And for those you that already know, just hang in.

Below is a picture of a yard of fabric that was cut straight from the bolt. This is what it looks like when you buy a yard of fabric in the store.

(Selvage edges are the edges that are cut in the store.)

A yard of fabric usually measures 36″ x 44″ but may vary depending on the type of fabric.

Here is a 1/2 yard of fabric.

A 1/2 yard of fabric is the same width as a yard of fabric but the length is 18″.

So here we have the fat quarter

A fat quarter is the result of cutting a yard of fabric into four pieces. Most fat quarters are 18″ x 22″ but will vary depending on the type of fabric. You can see now how a fat quarter is perfect for creating small projects.

So now that we all know what a fat quarter is, let’s get to the real reason we are here… a ruffled wristlet tutorial!

https://www.2littlehooligans.com/2011/01/14/welcome-to-first-friday-of-fat-quarter/

embrace the camera {my baby girl}

January 13, 2011

For those of you that are new here, every thursday we embrace the camera with those over at the anderson crew.

My little guy with the camera this morning. Just me and the baby hanging out in our J’s. Then again, we spend all day just hanging out in our J’s.

Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for fat quarter friday. I’ll have a great tutorial and giveaway for y’all!

toddler dress turned momma apron {part 2}

January 10, 2011

Remember the toddler dress that I refashioned into this mommas apron? Well, I finally finished the matching apron for my niece using the leftover fabric from that one toddler dress.

As you can see I had to use more solid fabric then fabric from the dress, but nonetheless I think it is adorable and I still used less than a yard of fabric to make both aprons.

The flowered strip around the waist and on the bottom of the apron are the leftover ties from the dress. And the little pockets are actually the sleeves from the dress.

I just love the way the two of them look together.

I used up every little bit of fabric that was leftover from that toddler dress. I think I definitely got my moneys worth, not to mention made a pretty cute matching apron set for my sister-in-law and little niece.

After making these, I totally look at little girl’s dresses in a whole new light. I never new refashioning could be so fun!

Gabe’s Gifts

January 10, 2011

Gabe’s Gifts is a year long blanket drive to give handmade blankets to Project Linus, WHILE helping one AMAZING momma heal from the loss of her son Gabe.

Gabe’s gifts starts this January and will contune for a whole year. Each Monday Amanda will feature a blanket tutorial on her blog todays top 20 and the last Monday of each month she will be hosting a linky party showcasing any blankets made. She and all of us, hope that in a years time there will be a HUGE donation made to Porject Linus in her son’s name. We are hoping that these homemade blankets give “love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill or traumatized” AND along the way, we are hoping she finds some comfort and is able to heal from the loss of her son.

Amanda, here is the first of my blankets that I am donating in honor of you son Gabe. Im sure there will be more on the way. I hope that all of you will be able to make atleast one blanket. One blanket can do a lot. Think of that child all cozy and warm , bundled in your handmade blanket.

To read more about her story and for questions or comments head on over to her blog.

Go here to learn more about Project Linus.

coming soon to 2 little hooligans…

January 7, 2011

That’s right, every friday is going to be all about fat quarters over here at 2 little hooligans!

Let’s show those little fat quarters some love. They may be small, cheap, and fast to work with, but they sure do make some pretty things that we all swoon over.

So I hope you will all join me next friday for our first fat quarter friday. I have a great tutorial and giveaway planned. You won’t want to miss it! (can you say wristlet?)

If you have any ideas or tutorials you would like to share using fat quarters please send me an email at tw****************@ya***.com

embrace the camera {hide and seek}

January 7, 2011

Embrace the camera and capture memories of you and your little ones!

So here we are, a day late to the party, but we have been doing some MAJOR organizing and cleaning! Plus I had to finish up this tutorial for ya’ll! I used mine last night, and yup FABULOUS!

So like I said our days have been spent cleaning and reorganizing. Surprisingly the kids have been a huge help. They have been putting in major miles back and forth from mommy to the trash. Lucky for me, they think it’s fun. But once that gets too old, they beg me to stop for a few games of hide and seek. For those of you that know my little guy, you know that he can be RELENTLOUS and for my sanity, I have to give in.

So we play hide and seek!

My little girl always hides with me and we always hide in the same spot. You know the unfinished hole in the wall that is under our stairs? Yeah that is where we hide, yeah, its fun. I cramm my behind into this tiny little hole in the wall and have to sit on top of all the toys that are piled in there. Then my little girl plumps her little body onto my lap. We sit and giggle while brother does his counting. Then he pretends to look for us while he sings “dashing through the stores with a chipmunks Christmas song” (I don’t know where that came from but nonetheless it makes me smile everytime he sings it.)

“Oh no, he found us again!” Duh, we hide he everytime!