Pants to Capris

 

Just a quick, brief picture "tutorial" of how K* and I turned a pair of her jeans into capris Monday morning.

She asked me if I could turn more of her jeans into capris the next day.  All things considered our May in Houston has been "mild", but it is definitely heating up and I don't think her jeans will fit length wise into the Fall much {and I already have the next size up waiting in the closet}, so I think I'll tackle a few more asap.

I used another pair of capri pants she already had to gauge the length and added 1/2 inch for seam allowance.  I cut the cuffs at about 2 inches.  I lightly stretched the bottom leg opening to fit the cuffs while I was sewing {matching up the side seams as best I could by pinning before sewing} because the cuff opening was a bit larger than the leg opening. After turning them right side out, I tacked the cuffs down in a few spots to keep them rolled up. No raw edges showing!

Two baby Quilts from 2008

While looking for something on my computer the other day, I came across these two baby quilts that I made back in 2008 and thought I'd share them now.

 

 

Pattern: Baby Loveys by Black Cat Creations; cute & simple

Fabric: Middle print from JoAnn's; Border prints various from It's A Stitch

Tied with embroidery floss

 

Pattern: One of the big four {Maybe after we move, I'll find the pattern and update this}

Fabric: From JoAnn's {I think}

 

I used to frequently make simple/easy baby blankets & quilts & burp cloths and hooded towels for my friends having babies, but I guess most of my closest friends are done {or almost done} adding to their families.  But I do get four new nieces and/or nephews this year!

New Look 6043 Diamond Eyes Top

 

Pattern: NewLook 6043

Alterations to the pattern: shortened length to a tunic top, size 6 with a size 4 front neckline, omitted bodice loop/gather detail, fully lined {so no need for bias trim to finish inside seams}, elastic loop & button back closure {from craftinessisnotoptional}, and bias trim

Fabric: Diamond Eyes by Alexander Henry from JoAnn Fabrics

 

I decided to make this for my sweet K* to wear to school when she presents her zebra project later this week.  I know, I know a zebra applique on a tee shirt would have sufficed and been quicker.

 

 Using fabric like this for her is out of the norm for me {we're usually all floraly, pink & girly} but I am really happy with how this top turned out.  And it looks like it will fit for awhile.  Maybe I will be able to sew clothes when she's older that are still "cool" to wear.

 

Rag Quilt

My first rag quilt {sort of}.

I say sort of because, lucky me, all I had to do was sew the pieces together.  This rag quilt is for a graduating senior at church.  Others picked the fabric, cut the pieces and did the applique squares.  I just laid it out (pattern by a friend) and sewed the pieces together.  Then I handed it off for someone else to clip the seams to make it "raggy".

I was in a hurry to pick the kids of from school and didn't notice the left side was laying funny for the picture, oh well.

Happiness in Family Life & Other Activity Day Ideas

 

This week for our activity day activity, we are making these wooden blocks as a Mother's Day gift.

I first saw the idea at ldsactivitydayideas. There is a free download for the quote, making it super easy for that part: print & cut.

The wood blocks are 5 1/2 in. by 7 in. painted with matte black craft paint.  The paper is a light cream, cut to 5 in. sq.  I lightly distressed the edges with walnut stain distressing ink.  The ribbon is a light cream 5/8 in. grosgrain from HobbyLobby about 35 in. to leave plenty of room for a bow or to trim however the girls would like it to be.

 

Another cute version found at strawberrypearlstudios.

 

We believe the family is ordained of God

 

I am also going to print out scripture stickers like the ones at meckmom (I bought the sticker paper from her etsy shop).  I downloaded the most current edition of The Family a Proclamation to the World  and converted it to black & white to use.

 

In April, we did a scavenger hunt based on the 13th Article of Faith/My Gospel Standards inspired by this one at abushelandapeck. I changed/added a few things for our scavenger hunt and had some things printed off from For the Strength of the Youth that went along with the categories.  We also used a sudoku puzzle, a crossword puzzle and a page from the Friend on the 13th Article of Faith.

Also this from the New Era and this from a General Young Women meeting.

 

In April we also had an activity about budgeting.  The girls brought a plastic container to label to use as a place to save money for a certain item they'd like to earn and save money for.  We talked about several categories they should think about allocating money to: savings, tithing/fast offerings/mission fund, saving for an item and spending money.

We also played a game where we brought several items and had them write down how much they thought each item cost to give them an idea of how much items they use daily/weekly really cost.  This idea was also inspired by blogs with LDS activity day ideas.

Some articles we used were:

Making sense of dollars and cents

The doll dilemma

A dollar here, a dollar there

 

Other activities we've had this year include:

 

Babysitting. 

We gave them a small bag and a few items and forms to start a babysitting kit.  We went over things they should do & ask about when someone asks the to babysit, what information to make sure they have while they are babysitting and just some general things that are a good idea to do & be aware of while they are babysitting.

Some ideas:

"Bee" a great sitter

Babysitting kits

Babysitting bags

 

The Sacrament.

Based on the conference talk Blessings of the Sacrament.  We actually watched a video clip of Elder Clarke giving the talk.  We discussed ways to be more reverent each Sunday.

I made a handout with the main points from the talk.

Why is the sacrament important?

How should I behave in sacrament meeting?

 

 

 

Missionary Night.

We invited the sister missionaries to meet with us and tell the girls a bit about serving a mission and to answer some of their questions.

We also had the girls write to the missionaries from our ward.

ldsactivtydayideas

 

Personality posters & washer jewelry.

We had a poster board taped on the wall for each girl, had her stand in front of it and traced around her head and shoulders.  Then everyone went around writing things they liked about one another on each other's posters.  I then took a photo of each girl in front of her written on poster.

While I was snapping pictures, the girls made washer necklaces & bracelets with cute scrapbook paper.

Idea from here.

 

Music.

The other leader I work with is a talented musician.  She went over some music and music leading basics with the girls and we played a game about some of the musical items we went over to see if the girls could recognize what they were.  We also practiced the song I'm learning the Ways of Jesus to sing in sacrament meeting. 

 

These have also been great to use for family home evening ideas.