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| Christmas Eve with the Parellos |
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| laughing with daddy |
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| Bean's first cannoli |
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| Christmas morning |
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| panda slippers from Auntie Erin |
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| when the pandas invaded our Christmas |
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| of all the gifts, her books are still the favorite |
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| and someone got a new camera! |
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Thursday, December 26, 2013
Merry Christmas!
I hope all of you that celebrate had a Merry Christmas! We had a great time. We're up in Massachusetts for a few days, but I thought I'd pop in to post some pictures of our Christmas Eve/Day.
Enjoy your holidays....I'll be back soon. In the meantime, you can follow along on Instagram.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Stuffed Animal Harness - Great Stocking Stuffer
I've mentioned Ozzie the Adventure Kitty a few times lately, so I thought I'd shed a little light on his now famous harness.
We do a lot of hiking and Bean rides along in a backpack on my husband's back. She wanted to bring her panda with her on a hike one day, but I vetoed that since he is way too big for her to hold onto. Instead I told her she could bring her Ozzie Kitty. She wasn't sold on the idea until we called him Ozzie the Adventure Kitty who loved the great outdoors.
Unfortunately, Ozzie also "loved" jumping up to see the birds, and trees, and plants, and rocks, and well.... you get the picture. I had to follow behind picking Ozzie up every time he just HAD to see something and he launched himself out of the backpack.
A harness was the best idea I could come up with the keep him securely attached, yet still give him some freedom to "explore" his surroundings. I also wanted it to be able to fit some of her other similarly sized stuffed animals in case Ozzie wasn't the only one keen on adventure.
When I made this Baja Hoody I made a bunch of bias tape using this fun mushrooms fabric by Aneela Hoey from A Walk in the Woods. I used some of the leftovers to construct this super easy harness. Since this would make a great stocking stuffer I thought I'd make Ozzie a new Christmas harness and post the super easy way I made it.
For a harness that fits a standard Beanie Baby sized animal all you'll need is:
30" bias tape
2 snaps (I used the great Babyville ones I bought for this project)
Carabiner
Start by sewing the bias tape together along the folded edges, turning under the ends as you go, to completely enclose the raw edges.
Fold the bias tape in half and pin 7.5" from the fold. Stitch a rectangle from the pin, to about 1" from the fold, and then back to the pin.
Attach the female side of the snaps facing down (as shown in the picture above) at the ends of the harness. Attach the male side of the snaps facing up at the start of the Y, right below the sewn rectangle.
To put the harness on:
Step 1: start with the Y at the base of the neck
Step 2: flip the animal over, bringing the ends under the arms, crossing in front, and up to the shoulders
Step 3: flip the animal back over and snap the ends to the snaps at the base of the Y
Step 4: rejoice!
Add a carabiner (or another method of securing the harness - a velcro tab would work) and your harness is complete! Super easy, right?
If you have a larger or smaller animal the following is how you can customize the harness to fit.
After sewing the binding together to conceal all the raw edges, you will need to wrap the harness around the animal as follows to make sure you have the correct sizing.
Step 1: fold the bias tape in half, mark the center with a pin, and with the stuffed animal on its back, cross the two ends, making an X
Step 2: flip the animal over and pull the two ends over the shoulder area until they meet the rest of the harness (which wrapped under the arms) at the back
Step 3: squeeze the folded together middle section at the back making sure that the pin you placed in Step 1 is still at the center of the folded end (pin not pictured)
Step 4: Pin the two pieces together where you squeezed. This pin replaces the 7.5" mark from the rectangle step above. Proceed with the rest of the instructions as is after sewing your customized rectangle.
We love Ozzie's little harness. It means he can go a lot of places with us where I would otherwise be too worried about losing him. We just attach him to one of the buttons of her coat and he's good to go.
Having Ozzie with her out and about makes her seem more relaxed and he gives her a little more courage. She has the doctor listen to his heart and then it's not quite so scary when she has to have her own listened to too. She brings him to story time and she's less shy and wants to tell people about her kitty. If we don't have him with us now, and someone talks to her while we're out, she'll say Ozzie is in the jeep, hehe.
Next time you have some leftover bias tape, you should try making one of your own. It makes a great (easy!) last minute addition to a stuffed animal gift.
As usual, linking up to:
We do a lot of hiking and Bean rides along in a backpack on my husband's back. She wanted to bring her panda with her on a hike one day, but I vetoed that since he is way too big for her to hold onto. Instead I told her she could bring her Ozzie Kitty. She wasn't sold on the idea until we called him Ozzie the Adventure Kitty who loved the great outdoors.
Unfortunately, Ozzie also "loved" jumping up to see the birds, and trees, and plants, and rocks, and well.... you get the picture. I had to follow behind picking Ozzie up every time he just HAD to see something and he launched himself out of the backpack.
A harness was the best idea I could come up with the keep him securely attached, yet still give him some freedom to "explore" his surroundings. I also wanted it to be able to fit some of her other similarly sized stuffed animals in case Ozzie wasn't the only one keen on adventure.
When I made this Baja Hoody I made a bunch of bias tape using this fun mushrooms fabric by Aneela Hoey from A Walk in the Woods. I used some of the leftovers to construct this super easy harness. Since this would make a great stocking stuffer I thought I'd make Ozzie a new Christmas harness and post the super easy way I made it.
For a harness that fits a standard Beanie Baby sized animal all you'll need is:
30" bias tape
2 snaps (I used the great Babyville ones I bought for this project)
Carabiner
Start by sewing the bias tape together along the folded edges, turning under the ends as you go, to completely enclose the raw edges.
Fold the bias tape in half and pin 7.5" from the fold. Stitch a rectangle from the pin, to about 1" from the fold, and then back to the pin. 
Attach the female side of the snaps facing down (as shown in the picture above) at the ends of the harness. Attach the male side of the snaps facing up at the start of the Y, right below the sewn rectangle.
To put the harness on:
Step 1: start with the Y at the base of the neck
Step 2: flip the animal over, bringing the ends under the arms, crossing in front, and up to the shoulders
Step 3: flip the animal back over and snap the ends to the snaps at the base of the Y
Step 4: rejoice!
Add a carabiner (or another method of securing the harness - a velcro tab would work) and your harness is complete! Super easy, right?
If you have a larger or smaller animal the following is how you can customize the harness to fit.
After sewing the binding together to conceal all the raw edges, you will need to wrap the harness around the animal as follows to make sure you have the correct sizing.
Step 1: fold the bias tape in half, mark the center with a pin, and with the stuffed animal on its back, cross the two ends, making an X
Step 2: flip the animal over and pull the two ends over the shoulder area until they meet the rest of the harness (which wrapped under the arms) at the back
Step 3: squeeze the folded together middle section at the back making sure that the pin you placed in Step 1 is still at the center of the folded end (pin not pictured)
Step 4: Pin the two pieces together where you squeezed. This pin replaces the 7.5" mark from the rectangle step above. Proceed with the rest of the instructions as is after sewing your customized rectangle.
We love Ozzie's little harness. It means he can go a lot of places with us where I would otherwise be too worried about losing him. We just attach him to one of the buttons of her coat and he's good to go.
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| walking in the snow with daddy |
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| riding on the Santa Train with mama |
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| being coy with pafa |
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| and of course, Ikea |
Next time you have some leftover bias tape, you should try making one of your own. It makes a great (easy!) last minute addition to a stuffed animal gift.
As usual, linking up to:
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Fabulously Festive - Glitter Toms
This month's Jo-Ann Fabrics Celebrate the Season theme is Fabulously Festive. I thought it was the perfect theme for a craft I've been meaning to do since Halloween. This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are mine.
I broke down and bought a pair of Toms this summer and they quickly became my favorite go-to shoes. The light grey was perfect for summer, but I they didn't translate well to fall and winter. Then after the pouring rain and muddy mess of Halloween night, they didn't look so great so I decided to buy a new pair for the winter months. After seeing some fun fabric glitter from JoAnn I thought I could try altering them myself before buying a whole new pair.
So here is what I started with. Even after a good cleaning they look dingy, right? I scrubbed them up pretty good, but now you see why I planned to buy a new pair. The good news is that this would work even on a new or gently worn pair of fabric shoes so you don't have to wait until yours are at this stage, hehe.
The supplies you'll need to make your own are:
Martha Stewart Crafts Fabric Medium
acrylic paint
Tulip Glitter Fabric Spray Paint (just look at all of those fun colors!)
paint brush
painter's tape (not pictured)
fray check (optional)
My first step was to fix a small tear that had formed on the side of one shoe, but if yours are already good to go you can skip ahead to the "start."
Since the tear didn't go through to the inside of the shoe, I used some Fray Check to prevent the tear from getting any worse, which should keep everything together for a while. I was concerned how well the paint and glitter would cover the Fray Checked area, but it worked a treat. I would definitely recommend this method if you have any fraying on your shoe.
To start make sure your shoes are washed clean of all dirt and fully dried. Using painter's tape which is easily removed, tape all the spots you don't want covered in paint (or glitter). Since the inside of my shoes were already worn, I wasn't too worried about paint getting to the spots that wouldn't be seen once I had them on. If yours are newer I would recommend filling the space with tissue or newspaper.
1. Mix your paint with the Fabric Medium according to the bottle directions. Paint the entire shoe being careful not to miss any spots. Since you are painting on fabric, some of the paint will absorb immediately so make sure you wait a minute and check for any tiny spots that need another drop of paint.
2. Allow your shoes to dry at least 8 hours. The bottle recommends 24 hours, but since we have another step, the 8 hour window is enough.
3. Using a bottle of the Glitter Fabric Spray Paint spray the entire shoe. For this step I did use some tissue on the inside because I wasn't sure if the glitter would stick to my feet later (spoiler alert: it wouldn't!).
4. Heavily soak the shoe with the Glitter Fabric Spray Paint. At this point I was nervous that these would turn out a gloopy gloppy mess, but I wanted them fully covered so I sprayed and sprayed.
Wait another 8 hours and check to see if the shoes are dry to the touch. If they are, then it's a good time to remove the tape. If you wait too long to remove the tape it can dry into the paint which makes it really tough to remove without damaging the painted area, so you want to remove it even if it's a little tacky still. Once the tape is fully removed, let the shoes dry completely. Since the Fabric Medium says to heat set the paint once dry, I put the shoes in a pillow case and ran them through a hot dryer. You could try an iron with a pressing cloth if you are worried about your shoes shrinking in the dryer. Mine turned out great.
Tada! It's hard to picture just how sparkly and wonderful these shoes are, but you'll have to trust me. I am completely in love with my new Festive Toms. The black paint shows through enough to make the silver glitter really stand out. And all of the paint and glitter glue seemed to incorporate into the fabric because there is no stiff paint feeling at all. Seriously. These nicely worn in Toms feel exactly the same as they did before I started. It's kind of magical.
And the best part? The glitter stays put! These are my hands after pulling off all of the tape which meant I was rubbing them all over the glittery spots. Absolutely not a speck of glitter. I'm pretty shocked actually.
Look at how great these shoes are now! From completely trashable to fun and festive.
I have pretty much not taken them off since I finished them last week. They aren't the smartest snow shoes, but they sure are pretty, hehe.
If you want to make some of your own (think really fun little girl holiday shoes!!) you can use this coupon to get 50% off through December 31st. I've known for a while how great the Martha Stewart Fabric Medium works, but this Tulip Fabric Glitter Spray Paint is my new favorite.
And for other Fabulously Festive inspiration check out JoAnn's Simply Creative Christmas catalog or visit the Celebrate the Season page. You can also look for the hashtag #fabulouslyfestive to find this and other projects on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
I broke down and bought a pair of Toms this summer and they quickly became my favorite go-to shoes. The light grey was perfect for summer, but I they didn't translate well to fall and winter. Then after the pouring rain and muddy mess of Halloween night, they didn't look so great so I decided to buy a new pair for the winter months. After seeing some fun fabric glitter from JoAnn I thought I could try altering them myself before buying a whole new pair.
So here is what I started with. Even after a good cleaning they look dingy, right? I scrubbed them up pretty good, but now you see why I planned to buy a new pair. The good news is that this would work even on a new or gently worn pair of fabric shoes so you don't have to wait until yours are at this stage, hehe.
The supplies you'll need to make your own are:
Martha Stewart Crafts Fabric Medium
acrylic paint
Tulip Glitter Fabric Spray Paint (just look at all of those fun colors!)
paint brush
painter's tape (not pictured)
fray check (optional)
My first step was to fix a small tear that had formed on the side of one shoe, but if yours are already good to go you can skip ahead to the "start."
Since the tear didn't go through to the inside of the shoe, I used some Fray Check to prevent the tear from getting any worse, which should keep everything together for a while. I was concerned how well the paint and glitter would cover the Fray Checked area, but it worked a treat. I would definitely recommend this method if you have any fraying on your shoe.
To start make sure your shoes are washed clean of all dirt and fully dried. Using painter's tape which is easily removed, tape all the spots you don't want covered in paint (or glitter). Since the inside of my shoes were already worn, I wasn't too worried about paint getting to the spots that wouldn't be seen once I had them on. If yours are newer I would recommend filling the space with tissue or newspaper.
1. Mix your paint with the Fabric Medium according to the bottle directions. Paint the entire shoe being careful not to miss any spots. Since you are painting on fabric, some of the paint will absorb immediately so make sure you wait a minute and check for any tiny spots that need another drop of paint.
2. Allow your shoes to dry at least 8 hours. The bottle recommends 24 hours, but since we have another step, the 8 hour window is enough.
3. Using a bottle of the Glitter Fabric Spray Paint spray the entire shoe. For this step I did use some tissue on the inside because I wasn't sure if the glitter would stick to my feet later (spoiler alert: it wouldn't!).
4. Heavily soak the shoe with the Glitter Fabric Spray Paint. At this point I was nervous that these would turn out a gloopy gloppy mess, but I wanted them fully covered so I sprayed and sprayed.
Wait another 8 hours and check to see if the shoes are dry to the touch. If they are, then it's a good time to remove the tape. If you wait too long to remove the tape it can dry into the paint which makes it really tough to remove without damaging the painted area, so you want to remove it even if it's a little tacky still. Once the tape is fully removed, let the shoes dry completely. Since the Fabric Medium says to heat set the paint once dry, I put the shoes in a pillow case and ran them through a hot dryer. You could try an iron with a pressing cloth if you are worried about your shoes shrinking in the dryer. Mine turned out great.
Tada! It's hard to picture just how sparkly and wonderful these shoes are, but you'll have to trust me. I am completely in love with my new Festive Toms. The black paint shows through enough to make the silver glitter really stand out. And all of the paint and glitter glue seemed to incorporate into the fabric because there is no stiff paint feeling at all. Seriously. These nicely worn in Toms feel exactly the same as they did before I started. It's kind of magical.
And the best part? The glitter stays put! These are my hands after pulling off all of the tape which meant I was rubbing them all over the glittery spots. Absolutely not a speck of glitter. I'm pretty shocked actually.
Look at how great these shoes are now! From completely trashable to fun and festive.
I have pretty much not taken them off since I finished them last week. They aren't the smartest snow shoes, but they sure are pretty, hehe.
If you want to make some of your own (think really fun little girl holiday shoes!!) you can use this coupon to get 50% off through December 31st. I've known for a while how great the Martha Stewart Fabric Medium works, but this Tulip Fabric Glitter Spray Paint is my new favorite.
And for other Fabulously Festive inspiration check out JoAnn's Simply Creative Christmas catalog or visit the Celebrate the Season page. You can also look for the hashtag #fabulouslyfestive to find this and other projects on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Paisley Roots' a Giving Christmas
Today I'm over at Paisley Roots for Karly's fun series A Giving Christmas.
Karly is an old bloggy friend of mine and I'm excited to see her compete in the upcoming Project Run & Play season which starts in January! Come see what Bean and I created to help share the spirit of the season.
Karly is an old bloggy friend of mine and I'm excited to see her compete in the upcoming Project Run & Play season which starts in January! Come see what Bean and I created to help share the spirit of the season.
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