Geometrical corner bookmarks - tutorial and pattern

Hello, and welcome. At the beginning of this new week I'm going to show you how to make corner bookmarks - the easy way, of course.

These bookmarks are very useful for book lovers (especially if they're like me and have more than one book going at the same time), but they also make a cute small gift. And if you need original party favors on the go, these are great too. 

And they are really, really easy to make. 

DIY Bunny Softies - with pattern

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing two sweet bunny softies. I made them a couple of months ago as a gift for my cousin's baby girl and now I have finally finished drafting the pattern and putting together a tutorial.

They are really very easy to make. All you need is some cute fabric and a little bit of time, and you can create a lovely homemade gift. 

Reversible bag with pocket - tutorial & pattern

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing with you a great summer tote bag - with cute pockets and 100% reversible.

Scroll down for the tutorial the link to download the pattern.

 

My Sailboat Pillow Pattern is now on Etsy!

I'm so happy to finally have a pattern for sale on Esty!

While I love sharing free patterns with all of you, realistically speaking (Keeping it Real here, remember?) I just don't have time to do it all.

So, while I will still be sharing as many free patters as I can here on the blog, an updated and improved version of my sailboat pillow pattern is now available on Craftsy, complete with the materials list and instructions, for a symbolic price.

The original post on the blog (you can find it here) is still up and running and still includes the detailed photo tutorial, but the pattern is now accessible only here. 

Originally I made these two sailboats for each of my kids, but they make such a cute summer decor that I'm thinking about making a few more soon!

Enjoy,

My Little Girl Bag made the top 100!

I'm so happy, I just got an email saying that one of my projects made it to the AllFreeSewing's Top 100 sewing projects list for 2017. 

There are lots of amazing projects there, so I'm really proud that my Little Girl Bag was included!

Below is the link to the original post (click on the image): 

And here is the link to the AllFreeSewing project page: https://www.allfreesewing.com/Bags-and-Purses/Little-Girl-Purse-with-Flap

Great way to start 2018, right?

Education.com Worksheets - free download

Hello and welcome. Today I'm taking a break from sharing craft tutorials to let you know about Education.com. 

 

I don't home school my kids. I know it's a great fit for some families and I really admire that, but even if I didn't work full time out of the house I don't think it would be a good fit for me. Actually, after a few years of experience (I have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader) what seems to work best for us is having the kids work by themselves with supervision. I can't be with them all the time while they are working and studying because I just lack the patience to do it. It's not an easy confession, and I've been improving along the years, but it's the truth. So, for them to have some time of supervised studying at home I usually search for free worksheets, let them work on their own and then I just check the results, correct if necessary and provide an explanation if they have questions. 

When I became aware of Education.com and their resources, I jumped to the chance to try them. There are lots of worksheets to choose from, but you can find below an example for you to download. Clicking on one of the images below will allow you to open a zip file which contains one worksheet and one correction sheet.

Jump into fun with this Autumn leaves division worksheet. The learning continues over at Education.com with awesome division resources and more!

Happy Tuesday,

This post was written in partnership with Education.com. Images come from the Education.com website and as such are not owned by me. I was provided with the free pdfs of the division worksheets to share on the blog. All opinions are my own.  

DIY Play Food - cheese slices

Following up on last week's felt play hamburgers, today I'm showing you how to make simple cheese slices for your kids to play with. Because when it comes to toys, keeping things simple is often the best.

These can be made in next to to nothing and the kids can help in the process too. 

Here's the tutorial:

Two Toned Elephant Softie

My kids are growing up but their love for soft toys doesn't seem to be decreasing so far. So when my daughter received her first sewing kit on her birthday, she decided she wanted an elephant softie. Off we went in search of an easy pattern - we printed a few but in the end I decided to make our own.

And then I asked her if she wanted a boy elephant or a girl elephant. Well, she couldn't decide and then said she wanted one of each. So we compromised with a blue and pink elephant (it's blue on one side and pink on the other).

Here's a small tutorial in case you want to make one too.

Materials needed: 

• soft felt in two contrasting colors (you can also use fleece)
• the pattern - download here
• sewing thread
• two buttons for the eyes (if you're making this for a baby, replace the buttons for a small circle of felt in the color of your choice and sew it tightly)
• polyester filling 

Instructions:

• print and cut the pattern 
• place the pattern over the felt and trace all around
• cut the elephant pieces
• sew the ears first - make sure they mirror each other

• place the body pieces one on top of the other, wrong sides together, and sew with a simple stitch or a blanket stitch, adding the filling as you go. 

I usually prefer to sew all around and leave just an opening for filling, but in this case due to the size of the trunk and the legs, it's easier to fill them while you are sewing for better access.

This elephant is still nameless, but has been following my daughter everywhere so I'm guessing she's happy with the result. And proud too, because she helped with the pattern drawing and cutting and with the filling as well.  

Happy Monday,

DIY Felt play food - hamburgers

When it comes to play food, there are two approaches you can use. One is to make your pieces a work of art, and there are many examples of those on Pinterest. The other is just to assume that these will be things for your kids to play with and therefore, as long as they're minimally realistic, they're just fine.

As I'm always pressed for time, you can guess that I don't follow the works-of-art approach. So today I'm going to show you how you can make simple felt hamburgers. These can be made in less than ten minutes and the kids can help in the process too, which doubles the fun.

Here's the tutorial:

Crochet mini lap blanket

Today I'm back here to show you a quick project I completed during out summer vacation. It's a mini lap blanket, totally made with yarn scraps. My mother is an avid knitter and once in a while sends a bag of yarn leftovers my way. And then I need to come up with ways to use them. 

I made this mini blanket as large as I could using only those colors and even if it didn't turn out very big, I still love the color combination. 

My daughter, on the other hand, thinks it's just the right size to be used as a blanket for her dolls. 

Some of the stitches look a bit wonky, but that's just because not all the yarn was of the same quality. Actually, what in the photos looks white is actually a mix of white and beige.

This mini blanket is crochet in a simple wave pattern. Here are the instructions in case you want to make one too: 

• Create a chain as long as you want your blanket to be, just make sure your total number of chains is a multiple of four. 
• Chain two and then add one double crochet in each of the following three chains (starting on the third chain from hook)
• Skip two chains and add four double crochets, on in each of the following chains. Chain two and add one more double crochet on the same chain you added the last one. 
• Repeat until the end. 
• In each of the following rows, repeat exactly the same as the row before, alternating the colors - skip two stitches where you skipped on the previous row, and and chain two over the chain in the previous row. 
• Repeat for as many rows as you want (or, if you're using scraps like me, for as long as your yarn lasts).

 

This being said, I'm just as bad writing patterns as I am following them, so if you're trying it and it doesn't work, the fault is all mine - just drop me a line and I'll try to help you the best I can. 

Happy Tuesday,

Summer tote bag with pocket

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing with you my new summer tote bag, including the tutorial and the pattern in case you want to sew one for yourself too.

 

Summer means spending more time outdoors, so I designed this one with a large pocket, which is great to carry sunglasses, the book I'm currently reading or my latest craft project.

The Spring Bag - with tutorial

Spring is one of my favorite seasons and this year I decided that I needed a new bag to celebrate it! I'd been toying with a pattern for a while, wanting it to be cute, but at the same time functional and really easy to make. 

Well, I'm finally ready to reveal my new 2016 Spring Bag!

This is the perfect bag for spring weekends spent at the park (or at the beach). It easily carries my wallet, cell phone and keys, and still has enough room to add the book I'm currently reading or my latest crochet project. 

 

I made a small tutorial, in case anyone wants to replicate the process. It's not very detailed, so if you're trying to make the bag and have any questions, just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail.   

Check it out below!

Felt Easter Bunnies - Tutorial & Pattern

This year I've been too busy to tackle a lot of Eater projects, but because I always like to have something handmade for my kids on Easter Sunday, I decided to make some felt bunnies.

They are a cute gift, but they also make a great Easter decor, and if I have time I may try to make a few more to spread around the house. 

If you want to make one too, check the tutorial below:

DIY Play Food: A Bowl of Apples

Welcome to the second week of December, and to the fourth installment of the DIY Play Food series. After the box of doughnuts, the felt cupcakes and the bag of candy, today I decided to bring you a healthier option: apples. Made entirely of felt, of course!

 
Check out below  how to make these apples!

 

6 terrifyingly cute Halloween crochet projects

I know I've said it before, but I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. Actually, anything even remotely creepy has me running in the other direction. 

So, this week I decided to search for the cute side of Halloween (yes, there i one!) and mix it with one of my favorite hobbies: crochet. The result? Some very nice small and easy crochet projects that anyone can make for Halloween. 

As usual, I picked projects that do not take a lot of time (anything that takes longer than a day to make is just not going to get done in my house right now) and with clear instructions or self explanatory pictures. And a lot of cuteness, of course!

Easy zig-zag crochet cowl - with instructions

Hi everyone. I'm back from our (always too short) vacation and my head is spinning with all the new projects I want to tackle. I'm sure that as as soon as I'm back at work, time will be so scarce again that half of them will stay on the shelves indefinitely, but at least the good news is that while on vacation I managed to finish my new cowl.

The Panda Pillow - with pattern!

We've had a very busy weekend and while I still found time for a little crafting, I didn't finish any projects worth bragging about here. 

But, while going through all the patterns I have stashed in my craft closet (with the purpose of getting rid of the ones I won't use anymore - or never have), I found a hand drafted pattern for a pillow I made years ago for my son: the Panda Pillow. 

So today I decided to take a trip down memory lane and share the story of how this pillow came to be. I've also copied the pattern onto clean sheets and made a pdf out of it for anyone who wants to use it (though it's still a handmade pattern, so not very high quality).

Sailboat pillow - tutorial & pattern

Last week I had a few days off work and I took the opportunity to finish a series of projects that I had planned for quite some time. One of them was the sailboat pillow. Because it's almost summer and sailboats rock! 

I ended up making two of them, one for each of my kids (of course) and then I decided to make a pattern and share it here in case anyone wants to try it too (this pattern is no longer free - an improved version of the pattern is now available on Etsy)

Cross stitch potholder - with pattern!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a slow day for us. We attended my cousin's marriage on Saturday, got home late, the weather has been terrible these last weeks and so we decided to stay at home with the kids.

While searching for something to do in my (huge) unfinished projects pile I came to this potholder I bought a long time ago with the intention of embroidering something on it and then give it as a gift.

Since I wasn't in the mood for anything else and cross stitch or crochet are the only crafts I'm able to carry out while watching the kids, I decided to go ahead and finish it for myself.

I rarely change the decorations in my house according to seasons (except on Christmas) but I opened an exception and went looking for a fall design. I ended up settling for this one (top left corner):

Although it looks fall-ish it is still bright enough to cheer the dark stone wall above my kitchen counter:

(it looks kind of lonely hanging in there, though, so I may be adding a kitchen towel or another potholder with the same design - if I can find the time).

I didn't make the potholder itself, just added the cross stitch, but looking at the pictures now it does not seem very hard to replicate, so maybe one of these days I will try to do that as well.

Anyway, the cross stitch is small and easy enough that you can finish it in a rainy afternoon and is a great addition to any kitchen. In case you are interested in the pattern, I scanned it and you can download it here.

Enjoy,