Quick, No-Sew Valentine's Headband

Valentine's Day is upon us and my babies are ready, with a couple of outfits that didn't cost a thing to make. I upcycled a plain shirt for my son here and used this wonderful tutorial to make my daughter a beautiful bubble dress. From a onesie that was too short and an old maternity dress...

Valentine's Day Refashion - Boy's (or Girl's) Shirt!

It's almost Valentine's Day, friends, and I realized that I didn't have any Valentine's Day attire for my littles! What I do have though, are t-shirts and fabric, and a nifty new sewing machine, so I got to work on a no-cost "refashion"!  This one is meant for my son, but it is completely unisex. Of course, I think anything is, but that's personal preference.  

Easy Upcycle: Baby-Led Weaning Helper

Our little girl is 7 months old, and we were a bit late on solids—just started them a couple of weeks ago. We tend to have a relaxed approach to solids—we mix feeding purées with baby-led weaning (BLW), heavier on the latter approach. A more detailed explanation of BLW can be found here  but it's just allowing baby to eat what you eat. They gum down banana, chomp small bites of fish, eat small bits of pasta, all under careful supervision, of course.  It worked well for our youngest son (I didn't know about it with my oldest), and has been going great with our daughter.

Making Boot Socks Out of an Old Sweater

Last week, I upcycled a sweater that was too tight into a soft infinity scarf. It was a no-brainer that I could upcycle the sleeves, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a hat or boot socks for me, or even leggings for my daughter. I finally decided to go with the boot socks.

Upcycling a Too-Small Sweater into an Infinity Scarf

Most of us have it: that beautiful sweater that we washed incorrectly and is now too small, or the one that's simply too small, but we're holding on to it, remembering the days we used to fit into it. (Nostalgic sigh.)

Upcycled Valentine's Day Door Hanger

I never thought I would upcycle an upcycled project, but that is exactly what I did to create an adorable Valentine's day door hanger.

You guys may remember the fun I had with a wire hanger and cut up strips of t-shirts. I made this Halloween wreath this way, and this candy cane door hanger. 

5 Ways to Upcycle Dole Fruit Cups

I really like the convenience of fruit cups, but I do not like the waste the plastic little bowls make, so I reuse them as much as possible. After you finish them, wash  well in hot, soapy water, of course. Also, I have washed them on the top rack of my dishwasher with no problem!

Fun, Upcycled Button Holder

I'm setting up a sewing/crafting corner and am on the hunt for pretty storage solutions.

This can was just begging to be reused, and when I got a great pack of buttons for Christmas, I knew it could be perfect for them.

Round-up of Hand-made Christmas Gifts

Like my hoop art? Purchase it here.

I hope all of my readers had an amazing holiday, filled with family and friends! 

I thought it would be fun to do a "round-up" of Christmas gifts I gave this year, that were hand-made. Some I blogged about and others I didn't, but all were fun to do and well-received.

Upcycled Seat Belt Pillow

My 14 year-old is constantly falling asleep in the worst positions in the car. We travel a couple of times a month and this makes for some very uncomfortable sleep for him. Also, sometimes he even moves the belt completely out of the way, which is very unsafe.  In an effort to solve all of that, I thought a seat belt pillow would be ideal. It's just a long, skinny pillow with thin ties that tie on to the seat belt. The long ones I've seen have been running $25, but my version was free!

Upcycled Sewing Caddy

Lately, I have been having so much fun with hand embroidery. It's pretty surprising, since I am quite impatient (just ask my husband) and embroidery is very slow-going, but I just love the pictures the thread creates. My first try at embroidery was sprucing up a sweater destined for the donate pile; a Charlie Brown Christmas tree:

No-Sew Warm Baby Headband From Fleece Scraps

This morning, I was getting my baby girl dressed and reached for a headband, but with the temperatures in the forties today, I wondered if there were something warmer I could make for her (besides a bulky hat).

Upcycled Baby's First Ornament

A couple of years ago, I made my son a baby's first ornament. I went to a big retail store, bought a fancy ornament, and followed the process I'll write out here. I love seeing it on our tree.

Easy, No-Cost Candy Cane Rag Wreath

I really liked how my Halloween rag wreath came out and wanted to do something similar for Christmas, although I did eye a white curtain and consider doing one like my fall shabby chic wreath. However, I already have a cute door decoration that I love, so knew that I wanted to work around it. I thought that a candy cane would be the perfect shape.

Fun Sweater Update Using Old Sweatpants

Like the last tutorial, this post was inspired by a product I would love to buy, but can't justify spending the money on.  This sweater is fun and exactly my style. Sadly, it's also $69. I don't spend $69 on clothes.

I had seen a picture of a sweater on Pinterest of a sweatshirt with a giant heart on it.  There was no tutorial to it, just the image, but I sent my BFF a text, showing her the image and asking if she thought I could do that myself.  Since she's an optimistic sort, she immediately said, "yes", and that was all the encouragement I needed!

Easy Upcycled "Silk" Fabric Flower Headband

I love the look of this headband. 

It's classy and really elegant but I just couldn't justify spending that amount right now. So, the hunt for a tutorial on how to make these beautiful flowers began! I found lots, but most had many steps that I felt I could exclude, so once I had the procedure down--which I got from this blog--I set out to make my own (less elegant than my inspirational photo above) silk flower headband.

Upcycled Newborn Headband into an Embellishment

I had mentioned in my first blog entry that we did not find out our baby girl's gender during our pregnancy. As a result, and because I am not overly find of pink, I had a ton of neutral clothes. This didn't bother me at all, but I decided it might be fun to "dress up" a few shirts.

Upcycled Baby Food Jar

I saved many of the baby food jars from when my son was smaller, initially just because they made great bowls for mashed foods, and now are great for snacks like raisins and cheerios. Still, I have a lot, and am always trying to think of new ways to use them.

An Old Curtain Becomes a Shabby Chic Fall Wreath

Last week, I decided it was time to change out my Halloween rag wreath for a Fall wreath. As I was looking through old shirts, I came across an old curtain panel that I haven't used in years.

Then, I remembered seeing this tutorial on threading burlap through a wire hanger. Burlap has a great weave for doing this, but my thin sheet of cotton definitely does not, so I had to get creative.

Upcycled Turkey Hair Clip

I am practicing hair designs, since I adore many of the Etsy hair clips and bows, but just can't spend the money right now, during holiday season. This design has many flaws, but thankfully, my sister is there to accept my less-than-perfect practice attempts (if I feel it's too big for my baby girl, which this one is).