Custodians of Beauty

This DIY is a great project for reusing worn or oversized tees. Last spring, I found a couple  jersey knit shirts  at Dig n' Save . The shirt I used for the baby leggings had a cutesy flower and paisley pattern. I also made a knotted headband out of the same fabric to match the leggings.  Look at those baby toes Instead of searching for a pattern online, I just used a pair of leggings that fit my baby. First, I  folded her leggings in half and smoothed out the bumps . Then I  traced a pattern leaving an inch seam allowance.   I used the original hem of the shirt for the bottom of the leggings. Looking back on this project, I see that I am missing step by step photos. I can't remember how it all came together after this photo, but as you can see in the later photos, the leggings turned out just fine. Note: Next time I make these, I will be a bit more generous with the back measurements. (more room for baby's di...

Who can resist seeing a baby in a cute knotted headband? I've had this project on my "to sew list" for a couple of months.  Instead of buying fabric, I thought I'd make  a trip to Dig and Save to search for a couple of jersey knit shirts. Those of you who have been to Dig and Save know that you go there to, quite literally, DIG . All the clothes are dumped into huge bins/boxes. Nothing is sorted. There is no order whatsoever. You just pick a bin, and dig till you find something you like. And when you find that one-of-a-kind Ralph Lauren leather jacket, it's like finding the diamond in the rough!  Shirts I found at Dig and Save After digging around in the clothes bin I was happy to find a polka dot halter top, an extra large salmon-colored shirt that had tiny paisleys and flowers on it, and an off-white floral/dot patterned nighty.   Score! And I found these three items in less then 10 minutes of digging! What luck! Clothes are only $1 a pound he...

While my husband finishes up his speaker project, I've taken this opportunity to spend my evenings working on flower inspired crafts. After the babies are fed and put to sleep, I reclaim the kitchen table (removing crusted oatmeal off chairs and floor) and set up shop. I've seen several felt flower headbands, but what I like about this one  is that it is more realistic. The  small cluster of white petals  reminds me of the blooming hydrangea bushes that grew along the brick facade of the house I lived in as a youngster. Lovely, are't they? For starters, I cut out ten white blossoms and four leaves. Using yellow embroidery thread, I fastened the blossoms onto an oval base overlapping them so that they bunch together. The stretchy lavender hair band has been sitting in my bathroom drawer for the longest time. Now it can finally see the light of day! There are two other stretchy bands left in the drawer, a dark pink and a white one. I...

For my second attempt to sew baby wear, I made this matching set. I purchased the white polka dot fabric recently; the other fabric was from my stash.  This  was a great project for reusing fabric "odds and ends".  The bib pattern was simple. To make the bib durable, a piece of felt was sewn between the fabric layers. Snaps are my new favorite. Love how easy it is to add them to clothing! And you can buy a large box of them for a couple bucks.  The wrap around snap was positioned  on the side of the bib to better accommodate little girls with longer hair. (I find it difficult to get bibs on my girls when the fastener is at the back of their head. Their hair always gets stuck in the snap.) I purchased a packet of colored suspender clips from Amazon. In my opinion, these metal clips stay on much better than the plastic clips found at Target. Want to make some clips like these? Well, here's the blog I found for inspiration on mak...