Bandana Halter Top Tutorial

Bandana Halter Top Tutorial

I live in the South - it's very hot down here and Serenity is still wearing her Summer clothes. 
I bought a few bandanas earlier this Summer and finally got around to making a halter top for her. 
It's so simple and quick to sew and you only use one bandana! 
I bought the pretty glitter butterfly bandana I'm using in my project at Hobby Lobby for around $1.99. 
What I like best about this halter top is how easy it will adjust to fit a growing child!

Materials:
1 bandana (or piece of fabric aprox. 20" x 20")
thread to match
needle
1"W x 60"L of ribbon
fray check
bodkin (or safety pin)
rotary blade (or scissors)
cutting mat
ruler
dritz ezy-hem (optional)
lighter (optional)

On a corner, cut off a 5" triangle on a 45° angle. 
Repeat the
cut on 2 more corners. 
Leave one corner alone!


Serge the cut edges. Or make a rolled hem or a double-turned hem.
If you are using a 20" x 20" piece of fabric, make sure to serge or
sew a hem on all your sides!


If you serged or rolled hemmed the edges, thread all the
"tails" back through. 
Add a dot of fray check.


The neckline will be the cut edge opposite the only uncut
edge! 
Fold down 1" & iron. 
Fold over once more & iron.


On both of the remaining cut edges, (these will be your sides),
fold down 1/2" & iron. 
Fold over once more & iron.


Stitch all the folds you just made near the edges to form a casing.
Don't forget to back stitch!


Using a bodkin (or a safety pin), "thread" the ribbon through the
casings. 
Adjust to fit. 
Cut off some of your ribbon if it's too long.
Use a lighter or fray check on the ends.


All done! 
You're going to tuck the remaining corner (in the front), under the top.
You can crisscross the ribbon in the back or not. 
It's up to you!



The top looks great with a pair leggings too!

Learn how to:
Make an Easy No Sew Tutu Tutorial
DIY: Satin Wrap A Tutu
Cut Tulle for a Tutu QUICK and EASY!



Have fun!

Courtney Inspired!

Here's a few more pictures of my Darling Stinker posing sweet for Mommy in her dresses by courtneycourtney! I'm having so much fun taking pictures of Serenity wearing her funky little dresses. I'm learning all kinds of new stuff about my camera and how to get pictures that are memorable and striking!











My most favorite Photoshop actions are still the Pioneer Woman Actions Sets. I love them! I use them for every photo - you just can't beat free! Ree has recently updated them too - awesome! I've told you about Ree's blog, The Pioneer Woman, right? It's one of the best blogs I've ever read, I can read it for hours - and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Ree was recently featured in The Los Angles Times - go read the article. Do you know she has a cookbook too? The Pioneer Woman Cooks is available for pre-order over at Amazon.com. I ordered my copy today!

Have fun!

Embroidered Felt Hair Clip

I tried making embroidered felt hair clips and I love how they turned out.
They are so quick and easy to make too!



Materials needed:
felt
(I used craft felt - 25¢/piece)
embroidery floss
2" snap clip
scissors
pins
hair clip template
(download here)



Pin the template to your felt and cut 2 pieces.

Fold one piece of the felt in half lengthwise and make a small cut near the top of the felt.



Slip the hair clip in the cut you just made, center, and snap it closed.

Embroidery a cute doodle on the other piece of felt, then sandwich your clip between both pieces.
Embroidery a blanket stitch around the edge.

Here's another good blanket stitch tutorial too!



All done!

See how cute it looks on Serenity!
She's been wearing her "Princess" dress all day.
It's her favorite dress-up outfit!

POST-IT-NOTE:
I bought hair clips from Wal-Mart in the sewing notions section.
You can get 30 of them for around $3!
Each finished clip costs less than 15¢.
If you use 100% wool or a wool/rayon felt blend the costs will go up a few pennies.

If your local Wal-Mart doesn't sell them, the Ebay store, Bonita Girl Shop sells a 100 pack for $4.99 + $2.75 s/h.
That's 7¢ apiece!

Oh!
And don't laugh at my embroidery!
I'm still learning!

Primrose Design posts so many wonderful detailed stitch tutorials!
It's great for you beginners like me.
She answered questions I had that I couldn't find in all three of the books I've been reading!


I would like give a big thank you to 10marifet.org for linking this post!



Have fun!

Quick Chicken 'n Dumplings

This is a fast (and cheap!) method of cooking "chicken 'n dumplings".
Have you heard of it? You only use one pot - what could be easier?
Your kids will love it too - Serenity does and she's a picky eater!


Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
2 tbsp of olive oil
3 cups broad egg noodles
2 lbs chicken breasts
1 26-oz can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cans of water



Cut the chicken in cubes, add pepper, tiny bit
of salt (or not!), and brown in olive oil on high
heat until the chicken is fully cooked!



Add the soup and water. Stir.



Add the noodles, stir and bring to a boil. Lower
the heat to medium-high. Cook for 9 minutes;
giving it a stir a couple of times.



Enjoy!



Have fun!

Felt Pop Tarts

I'm completely addicted to making felt food! My latest are a couple of delicious pop tarts with sprinkles. They are pretty simple to make too - I'm still sticking with the basics for now.

Here's how I made Pop Tarts for Serenity:


Materials needed:
2 pieces of 4 1/2 " l x 3 1/2" w light brown felt
2 pieces of 3 1/2" l x 2 1/2" w white felt
colorful tiny beads
upholstery thread
embroidery thread
needles and pins (not pictured)
scissors



Sew the beads on a piece of white felt:



Arrange both pieces of white felt in the center of one piece of
brown felt and sew (machine or hand stitch) around the edges.



Place both pieces of brown felt together and embroidery
around the edges using a blanket stitch.



All done!



Simple, huh? Serenity likes them! Wouldn't it be neat to make chocolate, strawberry, and blueberry pop tarts too?!

POST-IT-NOTE: I used craft felt but I really, really want to try 100% wool felt! I hear it's so much easier to work with and your results are much nicer! I need to start searching for places to get it online!

POST-IT-NOTE 2: I would like give a HUGE thank you to One Pretty Thing for linking this post!


More felt foods I've made:
Felt Bow-Tie Pasta
Felt Agnolotti Pasta
Felt Tortelloni Pasta and Tin
Felt Valentine's Day Fortune Cookies
NO-SEW Felt Cheese & Spinach Ravioli
Felt Eggplant Spinach & Tomato Lasagna

I hope y'all like this latest felt-food addition!

Have fun!