A Sleepy Halloween

A few weeks ago for a date night, my husband and I built this doll bed for Kitty using the plans from Ana White. I love that lady's website. So many things to build, so little space/time/money... 

I still haven't finished the bed yet. I need to pick up some more wood filler and then I will paint it white. Until then it is already well loved. Not only is it good for sleepy little marsupials, but I have seen a couple of kids sitting on it like a bench. It is certainly sturdy.

Yesterday, after watching General Conference, I had the desire to sew something. I've had a stash of Halloween fabric sitting around for a while now, and as I was looking at it, and then saw the bare doll bed, I suddenly decided that it was perfectly acceptable to have seasonal bedding. I may need to seek therapy for my Halloween fetish.

Meanwhile, I shall share with you how I made my mattress and bedding. (Mostly so I have a record and don't forget, but also in case anyone else wants a little more guidance in that department).

I started with some foam. I wanted a 1" thick sheet of foam that was 11"x 18 3/4". But foam can get pricey. Then I discovered at Walmart some Foam Seat Cushions in a 4 pack. They were 16" x 16" and, if I remember correctly, around $6 or so. Since I knew I was going to be making a few beds, that worked perfectly for me. I just cut the foam to the width I wanted and added a strip to the end to make it the correct measurements.

 I may have used a highly technical method for joining the two:)

 Then I realized that with adding batting, it would make my mattress fatter than I wanted, so I trimmed 1/2" off the length and width. If you want to spare yourself this step, just start out with the mattress measuring 10 1/2"X 18 1/4". This fits the modified version of the Ana White Farmhouse Doll Bed plan with only 4 slats.

 I wrapped quilt batting around one and a half times (because that is what I had and it looked good and covered).

 I trimmed along the long edge even with the side.

 Then I bent up the ends and trimmed the excess there.

 Then I stitched with a quick whip stitch around the edges.

 On the ends I tucked them up and in and gave it a nice boxy finish.

 Here is another view- I tucked the top down and folded up the bottom, with the sides trimmed so it was square.

 This is what it looked like when I was finished.

 Next I took some plain white fabric and cut two rectangles and 20 3/4" x 13". To get that measurement I simply added 1" for seam allowances ( 1/2" seam allowance on each side) and 1" for the thickness of my mattress to the size I wanted the final product to be.

 I sewed all the edges, leaving a gap to insert the mattress into, and trimmed the corners.

 To make the box corners, I opened the corners out and flattened them with the seams lined up in the center. Then I measured down until I had a 1" line and drew along that line with a fabric marker.

 I sewed along the line I had drawn and trimmed the corner. I repeated this step for all four corners.

 After I was done with that step, I turned the fabric so that it was right-side out and stuffed the mattress inside.

 I got the corners all lined up and everything where I wanted it and then used a blind stitch to close the opening.

All finished with the mattress!

After I had the mattress done, I needed some pillows. I wanted some good king size doll pillows for the Koalas to sleep on.

 This fabric is actually folded along the bottom edge. I cut it out at 8" x 11". If you wanted to sew all 4 sides then you would just add and extra 1/2" (and cut 2 at 8"x 6").

 I sewed along the edges with my 1/2" seam allowance, leaving an opening for turning and stuffing, then trimmed the corners.

 I even ironed before I stuffed my pillow:) Then I used a blind stitch to close the opening.

 For the pillowcases, I was using an end piece of fabric, so I did my measurements the long way. I started with a piece of fabric 17" x 6 1/2".

 I folded it it half and ironed it. Then I ironed the ends under- I folded it in about 1/2" and ironed, then folded it again that much and ironed again for a nice clean edge.

 I sewed along the top and bottom edges.

 Because I anticipate the pillowcases being taken off frequently (I know my children), I decided to do a french seam to finish off my pillow. I started by sewing about an 1/8" seam with the right sides facing out- this is after I folded the pillowcase in half so that it now looked more like a pillowcase.

 Then I turned the pillowcase wrong-side out and sewed about a 3/8" seam along the edge.

 Finished pillowcase after I turned it right-side out again.

For the sheet I took two pieces of fabric, 20" x 20". On one side I sewed some 1" bias tape about 2" down.

After I had the bias tape on one side, I put the two pieces of fabric right-sides together and sewed with a 1/2" seam allowance around the outside edges, leaving about a 3" gap. I clipped the corners, turned right-side out, and ran an 1/8" seam around the outside edges, closing the gap and finishing it off.

I ran out of fabric that I wanted to use for sheets, or else I would have made a fitted sheet as well.

My husband commented that it might be a little scary to sleep in. Hopefully Kawana and Kierra don't have too many nightmares.

 This was my first attempt at piece quilting. I went off of the instructions on this website and made 3" squares, sewn together with a 1/4" seam allowance. The binding instruction was not so clear so I found this binding tutorial to finish the edges.

 It is even reversible. Now I just have to finish the bed:)

Pioneer Children (ate lot's of Halloween Candy)

 A few months ago, a friend called and asked if I would sew a pioneer dress for their daughter- they had just been to Nauvoo and she wanted to be a Pioneer Girl for Halloween.

She picked out the fabric, and I sewed the dress, apron, bonnet, and bloomers (Simplicity 3725). With some of the leftover fabric I made a little rag doll.

I didn't have a pattern for the doll- I just took one that Kitty had and copied it the best I could. The little pioneer was adorable at the Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Whooo'm Shall I Serve?

 I have a confession to make. Actually it isn't much of a secret, because many people are well aware of the fact that I am a LOUSY visiting teacher. I happen to have two very amazing women who visit me religiously every month, so it isn't from lack of example (those same two women have watched my children for me on numerous occasions and frequently bring me gifts and are always there for me. Love them). It isn't because I don't like the women I am suppose to visit- they are also amazing women who have probably done more for me than I have ever done for them. I am just lazy.

So this month I am attempting to repent. I googled Visiting Teaching handouts and saw an adorable owl one (that can be found here). Since I didn't have any wooden owl cutouts I decided to make a felt owl. A quick google search came up with this adorable guy (tutorial here). I just took up embroidery to make him and I am afraid it could be a very bad thing- I already have too many other things to do to take up another hobby, but he was so fun and cute.

The colors reminded me of M&M's so I picked up a little bag to add to the pile. Now I need to go make myself a whole tree full of the little owls. It might be addicting.

Monster Clock

Tiger starts kindergarten in a few days. To help him get up on time, I got him a clock (I know he can't read it yet, but hopefully sometime in the next year). Because my son loves monsters (scary monsters none the less),  when I saw this clock in the Disney Family Fun magazine I thought of him.

 The instructions are here. I just used things that I already had around the house, so if you happen to have some fun fur lying around, some googly eyes, some cardboard, (I added felt), and a glue stick you too could have a scary monster clock.

I decided that I wanted to cover the back of my cardboard with felt so that it didn't look like a cheap cardboard project. I did the felt first, and then did the fur. Tiger likes it. Hopefully he doesn't mind it waking him up too much.

Travel Doll House- 2nd attempt

 This was my second attempt (1st attempt) at making the dollhouse from here. It turned out much better I felt. Pardon the lack of interior and exterior decorating- I gave it to a little girl who was leaving for long travels and didn't have time to add any embellishments.

This time I went with 1/8" clearance all around the plastic (with 1/2" seam allowance on sides that were sewn). Because I was in a hurry and forgot it in the beginning, I also just wrapped the batting around the plastic canvas and put it in that way. 

Stuffed Animal Zoo Cage

 Inspired by this pin, I finally got around to making a storage area for all of the many stuffed animals that my children have collected over the years. And I confess, it probably still wouldn't be done, except all of my laundry baskets had been stolen to hold their stuffed animals and my clothes pile was starting to rival Mount Everest.

I had some help.  They went with me to Home Depot to pick up the boards. They helped me screw them together, and they had fun playing in it until I evicted them all so I could stain it (I wanted it to match the girls' bunk bed cause I am like that). I think I am going to like it. Now, off to do some laundry.

*UPDATE*

or "How I Built My Stuffed Animal Cage"

Materials:

2:2x2x8- cut in half, for a total of 4 2x2x4 (actual measurements of a 2x2 are more like 1.5x1.5. Lumber is silly like that)

3:1x2x8 furring strips- cut 6@1', 6@2'

Wood screws (as soon as I find the package, I will tell you what size they were. They were probably around 1 5/8"". I got them in a pack of 100 at Walmart for just under $5. They just need to be long enough to securely attach the furring strips to the 2x2 supports without going all the way through.

50' of rope (will have left over but that was the size the package came in. I bought a 1' nylon rope that was a pain to tie off, but it was the least expensive way to go- it was also the most expensive part of the project at around $13 at Home Depot).

at least 24- 1" cup hooks (this would have been better if I could have found full rings to run my rope through, but all the full rings I saw would have run clear through my furring strip. Because they are not, the ropes can come out. If it bugs me too much I may take some twist ties to it, but so far it hasn't been a huge deal)

sanding paper, wood filler, paint of stain, etc.

The guy at Home Depot was nice enough to cut my boards for me. I brought them home and screwed them together (I predrilled my holes to make sure they wouldn't split out on me). I started with the sides. For each side, I took two of the support posts (the 4x2x2's) and three of the 1' boards. The bottom and top I lined up with the support post, the middle one I measured 2' up from the bottom and then measured .75" down from that so that my board was centered. After I had my sides screwed together, I then attached my front and back boards, this time lining them up not with the support posts, but with the side boards (you can sort of see how in the pictures above- sorry, I didn't take pictures while I was doing it). Make sure to off-set your screws so that they don't run into each other. After I was all done with this part, I ended up putting in a second screw on the front and back going into the side boards (as pictured in the unfinished photo).

Then I started sanding. And did some more sanding. And then some more. This is where I wish I had invested in one of those little hand sanders. I think I have heard they are only like $20 for a cheap one. It might have been worth it. I rounded all the corners a little so that if a child bonked their head it wouldn't be quite as painful. I also filled in my screw holes and any other knots and dents with some stainable wood filler.

After it was all sanded down yet again (and my arms were good and sore), I stained it. Let it dry. Stained it again. Let it dry. Touched up some spots. Let it dry. Varnished it. Let it Dry. Varnished it again. Let it dry. Decided that was good enough.

The next step was to put the cup holder hooks in. Using a highly technical measuring method (I took my flexible sewing tape measure because that was the only one I could find at the moment, measured the distance on the inside between my boards, and folded my tape measure in half to get my center point) I found the center of all the boards and screwed the cup holders. Using that same measuring method on the front and back boards, I put in another cup holder centered between the center and the edge (that was a confusing sentence. Basically, it means I had three hooks in each board on the front and back, evenly spaced, and only one in the center on the sides).

The last step was stringing the rope. Because I didn't want to deal with cutting and tying my rope, I just ran it in a continuous loop (I started so that my knot would be on the bottom). At the top, I used some more hooks to tack the rope in the corners so that it would be open, but didn't bother doing the same for the bottom (see picture below). Then the only thing left was to toss all the stuffed animals in. 

It has been nice, because even the littlest one understands how to put the animals back. Sure they still get strewn around the room, but I can say "put the stuffed animals back" and they do. Now if I could only get them to do the same with the rest of their toys...

Portable Doll House

 Kitty was invited to a birthday party (four year-old girl). While I was debating what to make, I remembered this dollhouse that I had seen here. I have been wanting to make one ever since and figured this was the perfect excuse. I am going to admit, it isn't my favorite work. I was very disappointed in how my project turned out. When I have a little time later, I think I shall try again.

 The tutorial is found here. It is pretty good for getting the pieces of plastic canvas, but leaves much room for interpretation on the fabric pieces. I made a guess (I went with a 1" buffer on each side- I shall try .75" next time), and think it was a little too big- My house ended up more puffy than I wanted.

 Next time I think I will also double up the plastic canvas pieces and have two in each side- it just seemed a little flimsy to me.

My husband assures me that the little girl will still love it, and since the party is today and I don't have time to do anything else, I hope he is right.

Meow! Cat Neck Pillow

I know, I have done a lousy job at posting lately. I blame Laziness. Pure Laziness. I have done several projects, just haven't done a very good job of taking pictures or documenting them. Oh, well.

This cute little cat was a birthday present for a five-year old girl. I found out about the party Thursday evening, and the party was Saturday afternoon. So Friday, I whipped this kitty up, mostly from stuff I had on hand. I did have to go and pick up some batting, and I got some buttons for the eyes. All my children wanted to keep it and hold it (I think I will be making more if I ever get around to it). If you are wondering where to get a pattern so you can make your very own, this one is the Simplicity 5310 view A (the pattern also has alternations for a puppy, monkey, and lion).

Sink the Pirate Ship

I went through many ideas in my head for how to make my Sink the Pirate Ship game. I thought about using some of that foam poster board stuff (I decided that would make my ship smaller than I thought my target audience would be capable of hitting), I thought of finding a large appliance box (that one sounded like lots of effort to find someone tossing out big boxes), and finally settled on buying a thin sheet of plywood and painting it (I even looking it up online- it would have been about $6). But then three things got in the way of that plan- #1: I was impatient, #2: I rarely have a desire to go to Home Depot with children, and #3: I was feeling cheap. As I was wandering around my house admiring my new fence (It is beautiful by the way), I stumbled over the PVC pipe remains of our chicken coup, and a new idea came to mind.

The finished product. How did I get there? I shall show you.

 First, I went through my fabric stash and pulled out anything that looked like it might work. I laid them out to get an idea.

 After sewing my sky and water together, I cut out a ship outline. My "reference" was the pirate ship I can cut with the Paper Dolls Dress Up Cricut cartridge, but any picture or clip art image will do.

 I spray mounted the ship so that it would stay somewhat in place and then went around all the edges with a zig zag stitch to keep it in place. I did the same thing with the sails (except the upper sails, those I just stitched a straight line across the top). The flag and port holes I spray mounted on, but I ended up painting around their edges with puff paint instead of sewing them (the skull on the Jolly Roger was painted on as well).

 I used my small plates for hole placement and size. Yup, they are the same plates that I used to make the cannonballs.

 This is what it looked like cut out.

 I took more fabric and sewed big pockets that I attached to my holes (just make sure that the circumference of the pocket is at least as big as the circumference of the hole- a little bit bigger is OK since you can gather the pocket to make it fit much easier than stretching the pocket to fit the hole. I might have had to unpick all of the first pockets that I made and make them larger so that they would look better. As you can see in the picture above the pockets are hanging kind of funny). This step is optional. I just didn't want to have to go chasing all over my yard for stray balls. It also finished the look. (You could use this same idea to make those picture prop thingies (technical term I am sure) with the face cutouts. You also don't have to do a pirate theme- it would work for whatever you want.)

 I took another piece of fabric the same size as my picture for the back and sewed the two together. I would actually recommend attaching the two together before sewing in the pockets so that you can cut holes in the back fabric easier. This step could also be skipped if you wanted to just sew velcro or straps or sleeves for the posts to go through. As long as you can attach it to the PVC it should be fine.

I almost forgot to mention the upper sails. To finish them, I just folded them up, accordion style, and tacked them in place with some hand stitches. It gave it a nice little 3D touch.

After I had my fabric all finished, complete with dried paint (I added a few birds too- they are hard to see) I made a simple frame from the PVC. For mine, I was using 1" PVC pipe (that is what I had on hand) and I figured I would need to cut the horizontal posts 4" shorter to account for the elbows on the corners. I probably could have gotten away with closer to 3", but it works just fine the way it is. The other measurements weren't technical- just enough to get it off the ground. My ground braces are a little long, but my husband was cutting them and I just told him to cut me four shorter pieces whatever length would be the easiest. That is what he brought me. I ended up using 6 elbows and 4 tees in addition to the pipe. I think my finished horizontal measurement was 41". The height was a little more than that.

 The back view. To finish the edges on the back I did sew some bias tape around them. That was purely because I am silly like that. I also sewed a finishing seam around my pockets from the front. 

 Even the little Monkey has had fun playing with the pirate ship. She is pretty good from this distance.

My changed plans came with a bonus that I didn't even realize in the beginning- storage is going to be so much easier than if I had bought a sheet of plywood. It collapses down quite nicely. Another bonus is that the frame is interchangeable. I could make other bean bag toss games, or photo booth type thingies (I'm sure they must have a name, but I don't know what it is). The possibilities are endless.