TuTu for You You

my cute little neice turned 3 last week! i honestly can't believe it! she LOVES to dress up as princesses and ballerinas so i got a little creative for her birthday this year and made her a tutu! it was SO easy and turned out SO cute!

i started with sparkle tulle, i bought it at hobby lobby for $5.00 and a 1" elastic for $2.00! and that was all i needed!!! Start by measureing a small waist. i secretly used her's while she was over here playing. cut the elastic and pin it where you will later sew.

then, cut the fabric in stripes. this part is totally up to you. the shorter the fabric the more poofy the tutu, the longer the fabric....well, the longer the tutu! (but remember you'll be folding them in half, so whatever length you want, double it.) my length was around 20'' total, i think!

fold the piece in half, hold the folded part on the bottom edge of the elastic. loop the rest of the strip behind the elastic and through the fold!! see...NO SEWING! you're just tying knots.

i used two different colors and alternated every other one.
whe you're getting close to the end, sew the ends of the elastic together.
the easiest way to do this, sew a square with an "x" through it. it will ensure that your elastic never comes undone. (as you can see the blue thread from my burp rags was still in the sewing machine....oh well!)
trim off the loose strings and finish knotting the rest of your fabric around the elastic. if you pull the knots too tight, the elastic will fold. and you don't want that! but pull them through tight enough to stay! (if that makes any sense!) you can sew along the inside knots, threw the elastic if you're having a hard time with the elastic staying unfolded. i didn't though!

and lastly, see how it works. as you know, i only have a BoY! so he was the tester of my latest product. at first he was a little reluctant....
.....but then he really liked it! he ran all over the house pulling out some of his sweetest dance moves to date!!

all in all, it's a fun, easy craft even the kids could make! it only took about a half hour and a small amount of patience!

the tutu was a HIT at the party! and she loved her new dress up attire!!

remember this stuff....

this sad excuse for kitchen cupboard decor was EVERYWHERE in the early 90's! but if you lived in the northern parts of the state (utah that is!), its abundance was even more recognizable! the saddest part about these dust infested twigs was it took some prying to get them off my mothers entertainment center. (in 2001!!) but as i was cleaning out my own belongings in her basement one night i decided to give the poor thing another chance. and this is what i came up with.....

a simple round wreath for my simple style. i think i like it. what do you think. now instead of screaming to the world "Utahn from the 90's" maybe it can say..."eco-friendly, earth-loving, goin'-green winter wreath!"

a project!

since when did colds last three weeks? i started to think it was gone {completely} besides the fact that i coughed all through my kickboxing class. but i woke up this morning unable to breath. (i know what you're thinking....'good thing you woke up'! and it's true!) and now my nose is running like a faucet. seriously, i need to find me one of those tp hats. but enough about my cold. i did manage to pull out ONE PROJECT during it all! it was a first and i think this is one of those projects that i'll get better at with practice. so i think i'll try it again. {later}

here are all the supplies needed:

1. canvas, 2. enlarged photo to fit canvas, 3. the cheapo black foam brushes, and 4. liquitex medium matt finish.

paint the canvas with the 'perfect amount' of matt finish. (i know, it's a trial and error kinda thing) lay picture face down on canvas and make sure there are NO bubbles. let dry for 24 hours. (ALL 24 hours!) then spray with water bottle and press until you start to see the picture through the paper. peel off the paper, and wala!

i was only a little disappointed because of the scuffs and scraps on all our faces. but maybe it's just a vintage look. so tell me what you think. should i use this one to hang on my wall, or start over and try not to get so many scuffs? and, should i get a black frame, dark brown frame, or no frame at all?

help me out fellow crafters!

to the comments: for those of you who asked about the cost, and i'm so sorry i didn't say it before. here's the breakdown.

photo: FREE! (i have good friends!)

enlarged photo: $20.00 (i have since called around and you can do it a couple dollars cheaper, i went to kinkos for this one!)

canvas: $8.99 at hobby lobby.

matt finish: $10.99 at hobby lobby. there is plenty left over for other projects!

brushes: 4 for $3.00 at hobby lobby.