Items for Vacation

 There are only nine days left until our vacation starts! We are heading to the Outer Banks with my in-laws, though the kids don't know where we are going. We are taking two and a half days to get there which means a lot of time in the car. Last year when we went to Arkansas the kids had little boxes with crayons in them to use with their plastic lap easels. They were a disaster! Crayons were everywhere and the kids couldn't rip and pull the paper so I had to constantly climb to the back and help them. NO MORE!

I started by making some lap desks using the second half of  this tutorial. I knew I didn't want the crayons to get away this time, so during my brainstorming I had come up with a way to keep them all together. We use the Twistable Crayons at our house since there's no paper to peel, no broken crayons, and my youngest can't eat them. I test drilled the clear end of one and fit pull-chain through it and my idea took off. I had my husband drill three new packages of crayons (I could have done it, but wanted him to have some part in it. Turns out he didn't really care.) I bought a package of pull-chain and some connectors at Wal-mart and also some lanyards. I looped the lanyard through the hole on the clipboard, strung the crayons on the chain and then put it on the key ring at the end of the lanyard. TA-DA! Instant crayon leash! :) I also got some spiral-bound drawing pads at Wal-mart for $2 each so they don't have to worry about losing paper all over.

The kids also needed some new pillows. They used to have small pillows I found at a dollar store, but even as small as they were they were too big. Plus, they kept dropping them! (A common problem with my kids.) For months now they've been pillow-less which makes it especially hard for my daughter to sleep since she has no back to her carseat to rest her head on. I remembered having seen this tutorial a long while ago, so going from memory (because I was too lazy to look it up) I ended up with this:

It's a lot smaller than the one in the tutorial, but I think it will work just fine for my kiddos. Plus, I added the ribbon to tie it to the headrest adjustment bar. That way if they don't want to use it, then can just throw it behind the seat and pull it up when they want to use it. No more pillows, or crayons, on the floor! :)

A spur of the moment project was this beach bag. While we were shopping I saw a woven beach bag which go me thinking about carrying our towels or whatever to and from the beach. But since I'm frugal, I didn't want to pay $8 for it so I headed off to the fabric department to check the remnants. I hit the JACKPOT! I found a piece of 72"x 2 yard piece of yellow netting for $1.56!!!! Although it was a pain in the butt to work with, I managed a decent bag with tons of extra. I already had material I knew would go great with it for the handle and also for the top binding. I whipped it up while the kids slept and although it isn't the prettiest, it will serve it's purpose, and for a lot less than $8. :)

I have, hopefully, just one more thing to sew before we leave and then it's off to the ocean, which I have never seen. :)

A Portable DVD Bag

I was always against DVD players in the car. I grew up without one and didn't see why kids needed to watch movies in the car. But then I had kids of my own and drove a three hour drive without one. Never again! So back in September we broke down and bought a portable DVD player. It definitley made the ride to Arkansas a LOT easier. The only think I didn't like was that it kept getting bumped around since it didn't have a nice cozy bag to keep it safe. I know we didn't buy the top of the line model, but I still want to protect my investment.

So for out trip to North Carolina this summer I decided to do something about it. I knew theat Ashley at Make It and Love It had a tutorial for a portable DVD player tote so I decided to give it a try. I didn't have exactly the same materials she had which I think is what made mine a bit more difficult. So after all was said and done, I wish I would have done it my way. Don't get me wrong, her tutorial is very easy to understand, I just don't always see things the same way other people do. Anyway, here is the finished product. (I know, more polka dots. It's the only sturdy fabric I had in my stash.)

I opted to leave out the strap.

A nice big pocket to hold all the cables

And my DVD player and external speaker nice and snug. :)

More Shirts Tonight

Now I see why so many people I have talked to say that once you start freezer-paper stenciling you won't be able to stop! Here's a couple more shirts I made for me and the hubby this evening. His is an inside joke with some friends of ours about the men's inability to make fire without some sort of accelerant. And mine, although it is Scriptural, was inspired (unfortunately) by  the beer slogan "This Bud's for you."  I personally like mine better. :)



This is without the flash so the navy looks grey, but oh well, you get the idea.

Again, without the flash.



Today's Creations

A quick pillow I threw together in literally like 10 minutes. I didn't measure, pin, or even make sure the edges were straight. I just folded cut and sewed. It is quite obvious too, but that's okay. I also didn't really have enough stuffing for it, but again that's okay.  I think it looks great sitting in my rocker.

This is my second attempt at freezer-paper stenciling. The first one didn't turn out the prettiest, though my hubby still wears it because he loves me. This one looks MUCH better so far, though it's not yet totally dry and I haven't heat set it yet. I hand drew the robot, again in like five minutes, thus is why it isn't the fanciest thing ever. The General says he wants it to be Optimus Prime, and that's just fine with me!

Some bags I threw together

So I don't claim to be a seamstress, but I am trying to learn the ropes of sewing. So what better way than to start with a bag, right? Nice, easy straight lines.

This first bag I made in the late evening hours several months agao. I decided at like 9 o'clock at night I wanted to make something. I decided that my daughter needed a bag to carry her Bible-book to church and to bring toys and papers she gets there back home again. So I dug through my scraps and found some material that I thought coordinated and got to work. I didn't measure anything and just kind of eye-balled it, but it turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself. And since I didn't know what I was doing, it turned out accidentally reversible.  I even put in a small pocket inside to hold her Bible Bucks she gets in Junior Church. But it fit her book perfectly and she loved it. And that's what matters, right?

 The next one I made just last night. It took about three hours total, though if my thread hadn't kept breaking and I hadn't had to wind a bobbin and keep tearing out the threads because they kept screwing up and had to stop to cook dinner and everything else, it would have taken much less. Plus, I added some stitching detail and a handle, which added a bit of time as well. I am so happy about the way it turned out, and as you can see it easily holds three diapers and wipes. Perfect for when you just need the essentials!