pillow mattress i had plans to sew from scratch this cool mattress that accordian folded up so it could be a chair too. well, i decided i did not have time for that, and remembered seeing the pillow mattress idea on pinterest. first, i looked thru all our linens actually thinking that i might have enough old pillow cases and pillows to make this for free. but alas, i could not find any two pillow cases that were the same size and no extra pillows. so i found the cheapest pillow cases i could on amazon - plus i love how these ones zipper, keeping more dirt out and the cheapest pillows i could find. i used 4 pillow cases and pillows to make this mattress and it’s more than enough for our tall girl. i prewashed the pillow cases and simply sewed the sides together - being careful to have all the zippers on the same side of the mattress and in the same direction (not that it matters for functioning, but still, why not.) and that’s it, it’s done. and it’s great being able to fold up two of the pillows making it into a pseudo lounge chair as well. and it can get dirty and easily thrown into the washing machine.
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pillow mattress

i had plans to sew from scratch this cool mattress that accordian folded up so it could be a chair too. well, i decided i did not have time for that, and remembered seeing the pillow mattress idea on pinterest. first, i looked thru all our linens actually thinking that i might have enough old pillow cases and pillows to make this for free. but alas, i could not find any two pillow cases that were the same size and no extra pillows. so i found the cheapest pillow cases i could on amazon - plus i love how these ones zipper, keeping more dirt out and the cheapest pillows i could find. i used 4 pillow cases and pillows to make this mattress and it’s more than enough for our tall girl. i prewashed the pillow cases and simply sewed the sides together - being careful to have all the zippers on the same side of the mattress and in the same direction (not that it matters for functioning, but still, why not.) and that’s it, it’s done. and it’s great being able to fold up two of the pillows making it into a pseudo lounge chair as well. and it can get dirty and easily thrown into the washing machine.

father’s day screenprints here are the shirts i made last year for father’s day gifts. i designed them in photoshop and used my yudu to create the screen and print them. i have to give credit for the idea to my sister-in-law: she didn’t come up with the saying, but the idea to put them on shirts for gifts. the saying…well, my husband started that one. i’m not sure when it started exactly, but when tooting his own horn he liked to joke and say “busy being right.” he thinks he’s hilarious, and of course his brother thought it was great too. somehow it started turning into a thing. then, one day on vacation, my husband did something really nice (not sure if he caught a fish or fixed the causeway or what exactly) and my daughter responded by saying “daddy is busy being best.” haha, so cute, but of course that sealed the deal on that phrase. so then my sister-in-law thought it would be a fun idea to give our husbands shirts that say “busy being right.” and give the kids shirts that say “my daddy is busy being best.” it was a great idea and really sweet for the kids’ shirts. now, i should think of a good one for the women :)
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father’s day screenprints

here are the shirts i made last year for father’s day gifts. i designed them in photoshop and used my yudu to create the screen and print them. i have to give credit for the idea to my sister-in-law: she didn’t come up with the saying, but the idea to put them on shirts for gifts. the saying…well, my husband started that one. i’m not sure when it started exactly, but when tooting his own horn he liked to joke and say “busy being right.” he thinks he’s hilarious, and of course his brother thought it was great too. somehow it started turning into a thing. then, one day on vacation, my husband did something really nice (not sure if he caught a fish or fixed the causeway or what exactly) and my daughter responded by saying “daddy is busy being best.” haha, so cute, but of course that sealed the deal on that phrase. so then my sister-in-law thought it would be a fun idea to give our husbands shirts that say “busy being right.” and give the kids shirts that say “my daddy is busy being best.” it was a great idea and really sweet for the kids’ shirts. now, i should think of a good one for the women :)

snowmen ornaments i’m just now getting around to showing you the ornaments that alex made for gifts this past christmas. these actually aren’t the finished snowmen, i can’t seem to find a picture of a finished one. after this shot, we glued on some red gingham or red satin bows above the buttons and tied red twine to hang. i love these little natural wood peg people for crafting. alex painted the bodies, it’s a winter white color. i added the metal screws in the top to hang. alex and i both did the eyes and noses and buttons - she’d do some and get a little too creative with them when she got tired so i’d help do some. i thought these made for such cute little handmade gifts from alex for the holidays.
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snowmen ornaments

i’m just now getting around to showing you the ornaments that alex made for gifts this past christmas. these actually aren’t the finished snowmen, i can’t seem to find a picture of a finished one. after this shot, we glued on some red gingham or red satin bows above the buttons and tied red twine to hang. i love these little natural wood peg people for crafting. alex painted the bodies, it’s a winter white color. i added the metal screws in the top to hang. alex and i both did the eyes and noses and buttons - she’d do some and get a little too creative with them when she got tired so i’d help do some. i thought these made for such cute little handmade gifts from alex for the holidays.

mystery machine skirt alex loves scooby doo - especially the original series. and she loves to have pockets. so i made her this mystery machine inspired market skirt. i made the fabric and had it printed with spoonflower. i’ve done posts on market skirts before - they’re so simple. it’s basically two rectangles of fabric with elastic sewn in between those layers for the waist and an easy sew pocket added. i also had extra pom pom fringe left from making her birthday party hats and decided that was some fun flair to add to the bottom hem. again, i did most of the sewing with my serger - which makes this skirt an even faster, easier project. http://boogiebeans.blogspot.com/2012/09/super-easy-carnival-skirt.html here, you can find my post of the same skirt with carnival fabrics and a little more description on process.
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mystery machine skirt

alex loves scooby doo - especially the original series. and she loves to have pockets. so i made her this mystery machine inspired market skirt. i made the fabric and had it printed with spoonflower. i’ve done posts on market skirts before - they’re so simple. it’s basically two rectangles of fabric with elastic sewn in between those layers for the waist and an easy sew pocket added. i also had extra pom pom fringe left from making her birthday party hats and decided that was some fun flair to add to the bottom hem. again, i did most of the sewing with my serger - which makes this skirt an even faster, easier project. http://boogiebeans.blogspot.com/2012/09/super-easy-carnival-skirt.html here, you can find my post of the same skirt with carnival fabrics and a little more description on process.

fabric flower headbands

alex just loves wearing headbands, we have a ton. and we’ve lost a few along the way so i’m always looking to add more headbands to the collection. plus i needed to test make some fabric flowers for another project. i had already ordered some fun elastic to make those little knot pony tail holders that seem to be everywhere these days (which are super easy to make and super cheap and great to use for kids’ hair.) i let alex pick out which elastic she wanted to use and which scrap fabric she wanted for the flowers. the top fabric is scrap from when i made her vintage suitcase (it has A’s on it and flowers and of course, it’s mainly green) and the second fabric is scrap from my pillow case that i absolutely love love love (pantone fabric from penny candy on spoonflower.) i started by cutting out 2” felt circles - 2 for each headband. i measured alex’s head for the elastic, adding an inch for overlap. and finally cut out 3” fabric circles - about 18 for each flower. i sewed the elastic to one felt circle - overlapping the inch of elastic - and make sure not to twist your elastic when sewing the second end onto the felt circle. then on the other felt circle you start sewing your flower petals. fold a fabric circle in half with wrong sides facing, then in half again. pin 5 petals around the circle of the felt piece with the petals about a half inch in - see photo above. 
then sew the tips of the petals to the felt circle. pin a second layer of 5 petals to the felt circle, in between the first row petals and in a little towards the center, stitch those petals. then one more row of 5 petals filling in most of the felt area. i then folded 3 more petals per flower and stitched the tips together (separate from the felt.) then glue the 3 last petals to the center of your flower and let dry. your flower is done now (optional: i’ve seen places where they say to place random drops of glue in the flower petals and scrunch for some added fluff.) to finish the headbands, just glue the bottom felt part of your flower to the felt elastic headband circle (sandwiching in the elastic ends of the headband section.) once that’s dry, you’re done! yay, alex loves it and has been wearing one or the other every day since (of course, the glitter rainbow one is her favorite - while the neon with pantone flower is mine.)