Bow Tie Tutorial

I love bow ties on my little guys!  I made easy clip on ones here, but I like these real ones better.  They are a pain to tie, but they look so much fuller.  And I use elastic on the back so I only needed to tie them one time and just keep them tied.  Another great thing is that they can be worn on any size person.  Meaning you can make one for your baby and for your husband this father's day.

Go here to check out my skinny tie tutorial or here for a more traditional tie tutorial.

Materials Needed:

1/4 yard fabric

1/8 yard interfacing

sewing machine and thread

elastic

pattern

1) Print your Martha Stewart pattern or create your own, its very simple.  Cut out 4 pieces of your material.

2) Iron interfacing on two tie pieces.  Make sure you iron it to the back of your fabric.

3) Pin right sides together, using the other two tie pieces.  Sew around the entire thing except for the ends

4) Turn it inside out.  Now you can finish it off if you made it long enough.  But I prefer to finish the tie by folding the ends under and attaching one 6" piece of elastic to both ends.

Now you just have to tie the tie!  I used this tutorial, but there ar hundreds out there.

I totally need like 6 more!

Newborn/Baby, Toddler/kid, and Adult Skinny Tie Tutorial

Now that I have two little boys I like to make matching Ties for them.  And I thought hey, since I am making ties why not make one for my husband as well? So I did.  This has got to be the easiest way to make a tie.  So if you want to know how to make a newborn or baby skinny tie, a kid sized skinny tie, or even an adult skinny tie check out this tutorial.

This project is very easy and it could be the perfect father's day present.  What dad doesn't want a tie for fathers day?  I think some of them expect it.  I like how much more variety you can get when you make your own ties.

Materials needed:

1/4 yard fabric (I used cotton)

sewing machine

elastic (child/newborn size only)

1) Cut your fabric.  You will need three pieces for the elastic ones (a front and back for the tie, and one for the neck piece) or just a front and back if making the adult size.

Sizes:
Neck Piece- 3" by 6"
newborn/toddler- 13" long, fat end 1 3/4" wide skinny end 1" wide
kid- 22" long fat end 2" wide skinny end 1 1/4" wide
adult- 66"long (or use half pieces hooked together) fat end 3" wide back end 1 1/2" wide

Once you know your measurements just draw straight lines from the front end of the tie to the back end. It should taper.  Then ad in a point in the front or just leave it square.  Your pieces should look like a regular tie shape.

2) Pin right sides together.

3) Sew three sides of the tie leaving the very small end open.  Then sew along the long part of the neck piece leaving both ends open.

4) Turn both pieces inside out, so they are now the right way.  Iron it flat.

5) Fold the ends in and sew it shut.  I just used the machine because no one should see this part anyway.

6) Figure out how long you need the elastic (I did about 8"), tuck it into the ends and sew them shut.

7) Tie the tie onto the neck piece.

Now I just need to make a few more.

Baby Sling Tutorial

Now that I have four kids I really needed a way to walk around with them all.  We have a double stroller that Penelope and Scarlett ride in.  Tucker walks but I still needed something for Leon.  My first thought was to make Penelope walk and put Leon in the stroller, the only problem is that we need to walk along a busy road to pick Tucker up from school.  I tried walking with her along the road and she just got really scared and cried.  So I knew that wasn't going to work.  Now with the sling, I have one walker, two in the stroller, and one strapped onto my chest.

This sling is supper easy to make; it is basically a large rectangle with rings on one end.  And it is perfect for newborns.  They can sleep comfortably in it without having their arms and legs sticking out. Plus it makes keeping them warm outside easy.

Materials Needed:

2 1/2 yards x 33 inches of thick non stretchy fabric

sewing machine

2" steel rings from Lowes

 1) Fold the edges over two times and sew around the entire thing making a large rectangle.

 2) On one of the shorter sides create 2" pleats.  Iron and pin them.

 3) Sew along the end just below the fold.

 4) Fed the fabric through both rings.

5) Fold it back over both rings and sew it in place.  I went over my sewing here two times because it will hold a lot of weight and I wanted to make sure it wouldn't rip.

You are done!

To use the sling, take the end without the rings and put it through both rings and over then back through just one ring.

When I wear it I put the rings up by my shoulder and the babies head goes near there.  Then your baby should be sitting in the fabric.

DIY Chore Chart

Hi, I'm Sarah and I blog over at The Winthrop Chronicles. I am so excited to be here with you today! I am a stay at home mom of three little ones. I love it and stay pretty busy, but have always loved crafting and decorating, so I do that any chance I get. I would love for you to stop by my blog for my Share It Link Party on Tuesdays or follow me on Facebook or Pinterest!

My kids are getting to the age where they can be in charge of completing chores during the day. So I made this chore chart to help keep track of the kids chores and also a reward system for when they do their chores or other good things. {They each get to put a little pebble in their jar when they do their chore for that day, and if they are disobedient, then they get a pebble taken out, when they fill their jar they get to pick a prize like going out for ice cream or having a movie night, etc.} Overall I think it works and will work even better when the kids are older.

To Make:

first. Cut some slats of wood from an old pallet or you could use regular common board that you have stained.

second. Nail some scrap wood to the back to keep all of the pallet slats together.

third. Buy these pipe clamps in the plumbing section of a hardware store. You want to make sure that they are the same size as the little mason jars you use. 

Then attach them to your wood. I just hammered a nail in the clamp. You could also screw it in, but I think the nail was easier and would work fine. If you did a bigger jar, you may want to use a screw or do two to make sure that it supports the weight.  

I bought some mason jars from Hobby Lobby. You can slide the mason jar in the clamp and just tighten the clamp to get the mason jar to fit snug.

fourth. For the paint, I just taped off the areas I wanted painted white. {I really like frogger tape, I think it's way better than the blue painter's tape} After the paint dried, I sanded it a little with a medium grit sandpaper to get a distressed look.

fifth. To get the words on there, you could use vinyl lettering or stenciling, but I chose to do a stamping technique that I often use. You just type up the words you want in PowerPoint or something and then reverse the image so that it appears backwards {don't forget this step because when you transfer the words to your wood they will appear backwards if you don't switch it on the computer} Then print it on to the shiny side of some freezer paper in your printer. Immediately press the wet ink side of the paper on to your boards. When you lift up the paper, you will be left with a light stamp on your boards. For some reason, this appeared very light {I think some of the ink absorbed in to the wood} so I went back and filled it in with a sharpie. {If this is your first time stamping something like this, you should definitely practice on another piece of paper or something instead of your wood because there is a bit of a learning curve}

sixth. I hot glued these metal clips to the board. This way I can change out their chore lists at any time. I also covered the clips with some washi tape.

seventh. I picked up some pebbles from Ikea and we were all set!

Valentines Day Heart Pigtails Hair Tutorial

Need a quick valentines hairdo for your little girl?  These heart pigtails are soooooo easy and barely take any time at all.  Even if you don't think you are good at doing hair just ahead and give them a try, you will be surprised what you can do.

1) Brush out the hair.

2) Make pigtails

3) Do an upside down topsy tail.  Separate the hair into two groups and twist each group toward the head.  Then secure underneath with a rubber band.  Repeat on the other side.

Watch the video to see it done!

I am making an ebook full of hairstyles for your little girl.  I have over 40 done but this is one of my favorites.  I can't wait for it to be finished so you all can check it out.