My "New" Dress Form

The other day my hubby and I were driving around and we passed an antiques store. The store had four dress forms just sitting outside! So my hubby pulled over and I hopped out to see what they were asking for one. Turns out the guy only wanted $20!!! I was so excited. This is what it looked like when I got it.

These measurements are way off from being mine so I had to "plump" it up a little. I took an old pillow and used the stuffing to fill out the form. I was having a hard time with the, um, upper body so I had to use an old bra to help me out lol!

Once it was all stuffed I took some material I had and covered it. Thankfully I had started to make a top out of this knit fabric, but then I changed my mind, so I had the perfect piece already cut and mostly sewn to fit the dress form.

As you can see it's super lumpy! I smoothed everything out and then stitched the bottom shut. Now I don't have to try everything I make on a million times before I'm finished! 

A Day at The Farm

Now that the weather is getting warmer, and my babies are getting bigger, I've been looking for different places we can visit that are educational and fun. One of the awesome things about living where we do is that if we travel in one direction we can visit big cities and museums; then head in the other direction to visit farms and small towns. We live in a city, but this farm is only like 15 minutes from our house and it was totally free!

'B' thought all the animals were just so funny

The farm had chickens just running around and B loved it while A was scared. As long at they stayed at a safe distance from her she was fine, but as soon as one got too close she would freak out.

This was a safe distance lol

After I took this shot she tried to jump on the chicken! 

Another really cool thing about this farm is how close we were able to get to the animals. We could of literally touched them. We didn't, lol, but we could of. I've never been so close to a cow before in my life. It was awesome. I think the hubs and I had just as much fun as the kids.

I thought this calf was just the cutest thing!

Do you have plans for fun and/or educational trips planned for this spring/summer?

Point and Shoot Camera Neck Strap

I love taking pictures! And if you follow me on twitter (which you should, just click the button with the bird to the right) Then you know that I just got a new 1-hour battery charger for my camera. Usually it takes my camera battery 5 hours to charge! So if I don't prepare ahead of time there is no way I'm getting to take any pictures. 

In light of this new camera charger coming I decided to make a neck strap for my camera. The little wrist strap that came with it just doesn't cut it for me. If we're out and I'm chasing down a kid, or pushing someone on a swing, I can't have my camera on my wrist. But a neck strap is perfect for me!

I didn't measure the length I needed for the strap, and then ended up having to take it apart and add an extra piece for length. So measure out the length that's best for you before you cut anything! For me 35 inches was best. Cut two pieces of material 3 inches wide and half the length you measured. Sew those two pieces right sides together along the short side. Then sew it right sides together down the long side.

Turn it right side out.

Take apart the wrist strap that came with your camera. 

Cut down the end of your new strap so it can fit inside the plastic piece.

Slide the small string piece that wraps around the little bar on your camera, onto one of the new straps. 

Stitch a portion of the small piece of your strap closed. Then pull the stringy piece down and stitch the rest closed. I used a zigzag stitch so that I could sort of "fake a serge" around the edges. 

Now thread your strap through the plastic piece, I used a hair pin to pull it through, and attach it to your camera! 

What do you think?

DIY: Book Sling

 

I saw this when I was looking around on Pinterest and just knew I had to make it. All the tutorials I saw for this required that the sling be bolted to the wall. Like this one I found at Penny Carnival, which is what I based my sling portion off of.  But we rent and can't really do much to change how our place looks. So I figured out a way to put the sling up, without messing up the walls. 

To start you need to gather your supplies. For the sling you need fabric, wooden dowels, thread, and pins. For mounting it to the wall you need two double rod brackets, some sort of wall safe adhesive, and wood to act as a buffer. I used Oval Rossette fittings. 

For the sling portion I just took some fabric sewed it up right sides together, snipped the corners (to reduce bulk), turned it right side out, and top stitched the opening closed. here are some pictures to help you see what I did. 

Then once that was all sewn up I used the dowels to measure out the casing.

After I finished up the sling I started on the mounting. I took my wood piece and my rod brackets (that I got at walmart for $.97!) and put them together. If you get a different kind of bracket just attach it to the wood as you would to the wall.

Then I took my UGlu (that I won in a giveaway! Yay!) and attached it to the back of the wood. You can use any kind of wall safe adhesive just make sure that it will hold the weight of the books.

 Next I measured the space where I wanted to put the sling and "glued" the wood with the brackets to the wall. I ended up with a great storage solution and a cute addition to my girls' play space! 

What do you think would you make this? 

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DIY: Fabric Refresher

Source

I don't know about you, but around here I'm constantly needing a to refresh something. Whether it's our couch, carpet, or curtains. With two kids things get messy and start to not smell so fresh. It's normal in our house to keep a bottle of fabric refresher spray on hand. But to be honest I don't like the smell of them. Or spending the money on them. So I decided to create my own! 

It was really easy to make and it's safe on pretty much any fabric (do a fabric check before hand just to be sure).  All you need is a spray bottle, baking soda, and your favorite fabric softener. 

First I put about two tablespoons of baking soda in a water bottle.

Then I added 12oz of fabric softener.

Lastly I added warm water to the mix and shook it up. 

That's it! It couldn't any easier. The baking soda absorbs any odors and the fabric softener leaves a nice fresh smell. I love using this stuff and the scent lasts longer than most commercial fabric refresher sprays. This has become my secret cleaning weapon. After I finish cleaning my living room I give my couch and curtains a quick spritz and the house smells great!

Is this something you would try?

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