Febuary Sewing Project: Pillowcase Dresses Part II

Love love love it! My 2nd completed dress! I was terrified but determined to do the pleated trim at the bottom and guess what..it was way easy! Yay! 

I used scrap fabric from my collection for this dress so didn't have enough of the polka dot to do the tie as originally planned but a little black grosgrain ribbon did the trick nicely! 

I just love the colors and how this one came out! I can't wait to finish the other two I have on the go! One has to be done by Saturday as it's a gift for my niece and well I already have the supplies for my March project so I need to get the 4th one done too! 

Believe it or not this month I even snuck in an additional  Valentine's day project that I'll show you all very soon! I'm kinda loving this sewing thing....who knew!

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17 comments | Posted in: Girls,Sewing

Tutorial: Drab to Fab Vintage Silk Flowers

It may be a miracle folks, but I thought I'd squeeze in one last tutorial for the year! Maybe you'll even have time to throw one of these together to coordinate with your New Year's outfit! Unless your outfit resembles mine this new years...the hub's p.j. pants and a cozy sweater! I hope your new years plans are much more exciting!

So as you know my marketing director and I have been working hard to get the new website up for my photography business www.jacquilynavery.com (Which is now live so check it out!!) Well January also means the opening of my very own studio! I have some incredible sponsors decking it out with handmade props and I wanted to add to the action! Since I don't have girls to dress up I love making headbands for when I get the chance to photograph sweet little princesses! So today was a headband making day!

I wanted something using silk flowers but didn't just want to stick a drab silk flower on a headband I wanted something with a little more oomph!  Then I found these gorgeous brown/tan flowers and I knew I wanted to go vintage...with a little bling! This is what I came up with:

Tutorial:

Drab to Fab Vintage Silk Flowers

Step One:

Pick up an assortment of silk flowers & detach from stem. They should just pop right off. 
(I found mine at Joann's)

Step Two:

Pull  green backing & center cluster off so you can separate the petals.

Step Three:
Separate the back petal from the group and hot glue a small felt circle to the back. Careful not to apply glue over the hole in the center. Thread your needle and loop thread at double thickness with a knot at the end. Feed through the felt/hole in petal. (The felt acts as an anchor.)

Step Four:
Thread up through the center hole in your cluster of loose petals reattaching bottom petal to group.

Step Five:

Thread through a button for bling then back down through hole. Repeat this step a few times for strength. Tie off at back when done.

Step Six:
Attach to clip, elastic or headband of your choice and voila! A gorgeous vintage silk flower! I played around with cutting lace petals and adding in randomly. I haven't glued them in yet as I'm still on the fence about it!

Here is another one I made using petals from two different silk flowers some brown feathers and of course a little button bling! (Buttons also from Joann's)

 -Jax

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16 comments | Posted in: Girls,Headbands,Jacquilyn Avery Photography,Tutorials

Tutorial Tuesday: Interchangeable Fabric Headband Tutorial

 

Grab your hammers ladies! I originally bought these snaps for use on vinyl bibs but then had a light bulb moment when wanting to make another fabric headband and not having a sewing machine to use. Why not use a snap...then it could even be interchangeable!!!
Here is what I did:

Step One: Order some headband elastic from this awesome Etsy shop:
Deepwater Trading Co.

Step Two: Make some pretty fabric flowers etc to use on your headband.

Step Three: Measure your elastic to your head size. You want it to fig snug however, if making a flapper style headband watch to make sure it doesn't indent your forehead! Not a cute look if you end up taking it off or in my case when Asher rips it off my head and claims it his new teething toy...bad baby!

Step Four: Cut a felt circle to fit the back of your flower and follow snap instructions to attach the top snap side.
(This is where your hammer comes in!)

Step Five: Use hot glue to attach felt circle/snap to the underside of your flower.

Step Six: Follow snap instructions to attach the under side of the snap to your elastic.
(I folded the top side over once to add some weight for the snap.)

Voila! Snap your elastic to your flower and you're in business! Now you can make various flowers and use various colored elastic to mix it up. You can also try gluing the snap to a metal hair clip!

 Cool right!?! I'm super excited about this, and can't wait to snap out all my flowers!

Linking up with These Great Blogs including The Boardwalk Bragfest!

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35 comments | Posted in: Chic Mommy,Girls,Headbands,Tutorials

Tutorial Tuesday: Handmade Birthday Gifts

So technically not a tutorial today but I wanted to share the beautiful handmade birthday gifts I received Sunday and hopefully give you some inspiration for future gift giving! I know I'm inspired!

Mason Jar Potted Flowers & Matching Card

My friend Breanne is my Goodwill partner in crime and knows I always head strait to the glass section in search for Mason & other old fashioned jars! I just loved how she incorporated my love of jars into this beautiful gift and I love the simple matching card, it's beautiful!

Gorgeous Paper Keepsake Box

My friend Alyeska & family came for a photoshoot Saturday and surprised me with this gorgeous paper box. I simply must learn how to make this, it's absolutely stunning! The quote made me tear up, it's so special!

Engraved Burlap Wall Hanging

Ashley from {Cute as a Fox} gave me this amazing wall hanging! She actually engraved the burlap with her laser! Incredible! I can't wait to hang it up! Check out {her post} for more info on how she made it!

Sister's Cross Stitch Magnet

My little sis made me this beautiful cross stitch and mounted it in a magnet frame! It looks so good on my fridge and I love seeing it multiple times throughout the day. I forgot to ask about this one but she does most of her cross stitch with out a pattern it's amazing! She even made custom labels for our Christmas stockings this last year!

Beautiful Embossed Card

My bestie Claire gave me the most beautiful earrings this year along with a beautiful handmade card of course! She seriously is incredible with card making and is totally my inspiration!

Adorable Crochet Flowers

I had used one of Claire's crochet flowers while card making on our Montana trip and when my mom saw it she said, "I could totally make those!" Well since my birthday was right around the corner I asked her to do just that! For my 27th birthday I received (among a ton of other craft supplies!) 27 crocheted flowers! All different sizes and colors all equip with brads ready to be attached to cards!  Check out {this post} to see a few cards I've already made with them!

Thank you to all my friends and family for the wonderful and generous gifts, handmade and otherwise! I was thoroughly spoiled and had a wonderful birthday! 

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8 comments | Posted in: Cards,Crafts,Features,Girls,Random Fun Stuff,Tutorials

Field Trip Friday with Seven Thirty Three---A Creative Blog

Hi Aly & Ash friends! I'm Kim from seven thirty three - - - a creative blog.  I'm so excited to be guest posting here today!  Thanks for having me Jax.
Let me take a quick second to tell you about the goings on at seven thirty three.

I host a Sugar & Spice Weekly Link Party every Wednesday for all of your adorable girl crafts and Thursdays are for our little men with the What are little boys made of? Weekly Party.
I offer blog design for reasonable prices, so if you are in need for a new header or button, I'm your girl!

Or maybe you are looking for some helpful blog tips? Yup, I do that too! Every Sunday I post a tip to help you personalize your blog. Send me an email if you have a question you would like answered!

Here are a few of my recent projects:

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:
hello baby! banner with coffee filter "flower"
stylish cropped pants
freezer paper stencil shirts
superhero invitation
Quick bit of personal info: I am a Marketing Director by day and a mommy blogger by night. I have three gorgeous kiddos that make me smile everyday and I have a wonderful husband that supports my crafting (although right now he is crabbing about needing the computer...).
Oh and because I like you people I have decided to give you a SNEAK PEEK at my daughters 1st Birthday Party... make sure to stop by tomorrow for the FULL DETAILS!

I also have a giveaway for Father's Day starting tomorrow, so make sure not to miss it.


Alright, onto today's craft...woodland creature masks!

I am hosting a camping themed baby shower for my SIL and what camping trip isn't complete without an animal or two?  The little kids invited to the party will fill in the party nicely with these.

This tutorial is showing you how to make a Bear Mask, but see the other pictures above for the other creatures!  All were created with the same template with tweaks here and there.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

2 sheets of Felt (2 coordinating colors)

Elastic

Wonder Under or similar Fusible Web (optional)

First you will want to make a template on paper.  I just freehanded one, cut it out and measured it against my sons face to make sure it fit.  I also marked the eyes at the same time and cut those out.

Next you will want to iron your fusible web onto one of the pieces of felt (the interfacing will create a sturdier mask, but I only used it on two of my masks and didn't have a problem with the others)  Trace your mask template onto the paper of the fusible web, remove the paper backing and cut it out.  Now trace your mask again and cut out the second piece.

Iron the two pieces together. On the back of the mask (the part that will touch your childs face, trace the eyes - I did this BEFORE I ironed the pieces together and ended up having the marks transfer to my ironing board cover - OOPS!).

Cut out the inner ear pieces.  Sew them onto the mask with a zigzag stitch (you can do this BEFORE you iron the two pieces together if you don't want to see the stitch on the back of the mask).

Zigzap stitch the entire edge of your mask.  Cut out the eyes and zigzag stitch around them.  Measure the elastic against your childs head and sew it onto your mask (make sure it is nice and secure), and now you are done! 

FYI: I also attemped to add the elastic before sewing the edges, which is doable, but I didn't mind seeing the elastic on the back of the mask since it doesn't show when the child is wearing it.

I managed to break my bobbin holder half way through the masks so switched to handsewing... although it took longer it was still just as easy - so no machine required!

 For the duck and blue bird (not pictured) masks, I cut out a triangle for the beak and inserted it between the two pieces of the mask at the nose curve and just sewed around the edge of the mask as normal.

Hopefully these instructions were clear.  If you have any questions feel free to email me!

Hopefully I'll see a few of you over at seven thirty three today (and tomorrow - don't forget that giveaway!).

Happy Friday!

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3 comments | Posted in: Boys,Field Trip Fridays,Girls,Tutorials

See It Again Saturday: Little Lace Flower

If you missed the Field Trip this week at A Few of My Favorite Things this is what we did:
Little Lace Flower 

What you'll need:

Lace Trim - Felt - Glue Gun

Step One: Trace and cut two circles out of your felt.

Step Two: Apply a thin bead of glue to the outside of your felt circle.

Step Three: Stick the inside edge of your lace trim to the glue.

Step Four: Continue steps 2&3 in small increments. 

(I used an old thimble to prevent burning my fingers on the hot glue.)

Step Five: When you get to the center just cut your trim and glue end down.

Optional Steps: Now you can either leave the lace flower as is or embellish the center:

(I found these adorable brads at Target)

You will want to make a pilot hole with your craft knife, then add your brad.

Now you have a cute little lace flower!

Isn't she pretty! You can use this so many different ways!
I choose to put it on a large bobby pin.

(When I make soft headbands I sew the elastic with a long overlap and opening so I can slide these puppies right in!)

To secure to the bobby pin slide you 2nd piece on felt through the center.

Now glue your lace flower on top!

Tada! I love the vintage feel & can't wait to wear it!

{Linking up with these great blogs} including The Boardwalk Bragfest

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86 comments | Posted in: Girls,Headbands,Tutorials