Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Denim Christmas Stocking Tutorial

So this is it. My Denim Christmas Stocking Tutorial. I LOVE to recycle and reuse things and this is one of my favorite reuse projects. So here we go...........

I am on the "hand me down" list of a couple of great "cowboy" types who will give me their old Wrangler jeans when they have seen a little too much time in the saddle. So take an old pair of jeans and cut up the legs of the INSIDE leg seam.
Open the pant leg and trace a pattern from your favorite stocking or use a pattern that you already have. Place the front pattern piece on the right leg of the pants and the back pattern piece on the left leg of the pants.
Make sure that the center of the pattern is on the OUTSIDE seam of the pants and trace and cut out.

Follow the same steps for the back using the left leg of the pants.
Then closely trim out a pocket from the pants. I like to use the one with the tag on it but you can use what ever you prefer.

Then flip the pocket over and remove the inside piece to leave only the stitching and the front piece. This will reduce the weight and bulk of the pocket.

Then pin the pocket approximately 2 1/1 inches from the top of the front piece of the stocking.

Start stitching the pocket to the front piece just below the grommet of the pocket with dark thread in the outside seam so that your stitching doesn't show. Go all the way around the three sides of the pocket and then go to the top of the pocket and stitch just to the left or right of the grommet to secure the top portion. Part of the fabric next to the grommet can be hand stitched later if desired. I leave it undone.

Then pin right sides together matching up seams from the pants.

I use a 1/4 inch seam allowance so that there isn't a lot of bulk inside of the stocking. Seam all the way around the three sides of the stocking being careful of the original pants outside seams. It will be VERY bulky and you will need to take your time to go over it. You may wish to clip the seam allowance on the curves of the stocking to make it easier to turn right side out. Turn stocking right side out and smooth the seams with an iron.

At the top of the stocking trim the seam allowance at an angle to reduce bulk.

For the loop to hang the stocking remove a belt loop from the pants.
Pick out the stitching from the top and bottom of the loop where it was attached to the pants but leave the other stitching.

Attach and sew the loop as shown. Make sure to sew over the loops several times for strength.

Add a cute bandanna for fun and you are done!

This stocking can also be adapted for a girl by removing the pocket and cutting an extra toe section. Add lace to the toe section and double stitch for decoration. Then add lace at the top and use a double strand of ribbon for the loop!

Monday, December 21, 2009

I am in my Happy Place!!!

So here in Crafty Camper Girl Land it has been a balmy 65 to 70 degrees. This is perfect ironing in the garden weather. I hate to iron clothes. It is my 2nd to least favorite chore (#1, cleaning bathrooms!). So I decided a few years ago that it would be a happier chore if I could do it outside in my beautiful garden.
So when we remodeled our back yard I had an electrician come in and put an outlet in the garden for Christmas lights and for me to iron in the garden. (Yes I know that this was a ridiculous expense but, the fountain had to have electricity anyway so it wasn't much to just run a line so that I could enjoy being outside in my Happy Place.)
So I enjoyed my ironing in the garden (which could have only been better if my water fountain was working but it is temporarily out of order), while my sweet little girl took her quiet time in the play set watching a movie. It was such a fun day and I got my chores done too!!!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

My Project Completed!!!

Well I have finally completed this fun project. I found out that this was not a flea market find but a family piece from my step mom's mother. I love it even more now!!!
It was originally white with glass for the shelves. I wanted to use it on my back porch for when we entertain to put the cups and spoons and plates on or what ever else I could think of. So white just wasn't the color.
So I spray painted it black along with the bottoms of the tiles and my sweet husband cut the tiles for me!!!
So here is the finished project. I think it turned out great and just in time to host Thanksgiving at my house. I used it to hold the games and coloring projects for the little kidos who came to eat my first Thanksgiving Turkey!!!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Fun Holiday Garland from Angry Chicken

I saw this cute holiday garland and just had to share. I am always looking for a fun craft to do with my kidos during winter break and I found one today. Head over to the Angry Chicken site and download the pdf file. I love to visit Amy's site and drool over her fun ideas. Enjoy!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween Fairy

So in our family we have a tradition. 24 hours after Halloween the children have the option of leaving their left over Halloween candy for the Halloween Fairy. The night after Halloween the children (if they choose) leave their left over Halloween candy on the front porch for the Halloween Fairy, and in the morning a nice new toy appears. This is a great way to get rid of the candy so the sugar highs don't continue for days and days!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Crafty Cousins Halloween Fun!!!

Many years ago I received a cute Christmas pillow case as a gift from my fabulous college roommate Heidi K.'s step mom Susan. (Thanks Susan I still have it!!) Ever since then I have wanted to make some fun pillow cases for the holidays. Well now that I am married and have kidos of my own I decided that now was the time!

So I invited my niece and nephew over for Crafty Cousins Halloween Pillow Case Day. We had sooooo much fun. My little man got his done almost all by him self and I helped the two little girls with theirs. My sweet little nephew was just having too much fun playing so I just made his for him. I think this might become a new family tradition. We got them all done in about an hour. Aren't they sooo cute!!! I know you want to try one. We adapted the pillow case tutorial from my friend Jona over at Fabritopia, so check it out!!!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Crafty Halloween Fun

So I have been wanting to try this Pink Fig pattern and knew that my sweet little girl just "needed" a new something to wear for Halloween. Joann's was having 50% off their Halloween fabric so I knew this would be the perfect time to try it! ( I even got the pattern on sale!!)
I loved the results!!! Top stitching was not my favorite, but it really make it come out nicely. I did run out of bobbin thread 8 inches short of my original starting point when I was making the gathering stitch so I took that as a sign and stopped for the day and went and bought some more thread.
She loves the twirl factor of this skirt and can't help but just twirl around when she has it on! Seriously it is almost horizontal when she spins around!!!

I found some cute leggings with sparkles and it just completed the look!!!

Projects Update

The Crafty Camper Girl has been very busy for the past 2 weeks but here are a few highlights of what I have been doing!

So I took Jona's Spray Paint Challenge (from Fabritopia.com) and decided that now was the time to get this cute plant shelf project done! I found a can of spray paint in the garage that was the exact color I wanted (Yeah for freebie left overs!!!) and started the project. Well I ran out of spray paint on the last shelf and had to stop so that I could go and get more. But it is all painted now and I am just waiting for my other freebie find (tile for each shelf because I don't like the glass it came with) and then I can take pics of the finished project. I love this shelf for entertaining, I put the plates and forks and cups etc on it. I can't wait to get it finished!!!My next project was this Halloween Spider Quilt that I have had in the closet for 4 years. I got all of the print fabric cut and most of the stripe fabric sewn and cut. This is huge progress!!!
But unfortunately two other projects took over and this one is on the back burner again but I am truly pleased with my progress. Maybe next year I will actually get around to sewing the spider webs together. I spent a good portion of a day embroidering some baptism towels for some kidos in my primary class as well as finished a super cute Halloween skirt (using my new Pink Fig Stripwork Skirt Pattern) for my sweet little girl. (I will post more pics of this later when I down load my camera again). Not to mention that we have had Fall Break for two weeks and have been busy having fun! We got together with our cousins and made Halloween Pillow Cases!!! (More on this later). Anyway lots of fun projects here in Crafty Camper Land!!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Cutie Apron

My sweet daughter was invited to a "Pinkalicious" book club party. They were going to read the book and then make cup cakes. Soooooo being the OCD crafty camper that I am, I just had to make her a new apron to wear for the event.
I have been wanting to make her a new apron using this Michael Miller fabric that I bought on my "Mommy Vacation to Kansas" and so I knew this was the perfect time to make it. I used McCall's Fashion Accessories pattern M5997 to make the apron.
I think it turned out sooooo cute. I added some vintage red buttons from my Grandmothers button jar that I have had forever. It is soooo sweet and my little one just loves it. I have enough fabric left over to make a chef hat for her and maybe even something for me!!! I LOVE being crafty!!!!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Mushroom and Red Wine Cube Steak

Cube Steak is such an inexpensive alternative to steaks right now. So I decided to try a new recipe and went to Rachel Ray's website and found a yummy one!!! You can find the full recipe here. I made a few changes to the recipe for my non-alcoholoic version. Instead of using beef stock and red wine I used beef broth and balsamic vinegar. (I used a little more beef broth and balsamic vinegar to taste) It turned out sooooooo good!!! Even my kidos liked it!!!

Monday, August 31, 2009

A New First Day of School Tradition

Having a sweet little girl is so much fun. I decided to start a new tradition in our family. On the first day of school I have always taken a picture of my kidos and have loved looking back at how much they have grown. With my sweet daughter I came up with an additional tradition..... First Day of School Cutie Toes!!! How fun is this. For the first day of school we do our toe nails so that they are super cute!!!! When she gets a little older we might go to a salon and get them done together but for now what fun memories...... her first day of school cutie toes!!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

My New Skirt

I took a skirt that I loved and traced a pattern from it and then adapted it to what I wanted and Wah-La!!! My sweet little girl loves that we have matching skirts, and told everyone so at the baptism that we recently attended. I think I feel a few more matching skirts coming on!!!



Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Jill Woolley's Infamous Rolls

I am posting this recipe for my sister who was looking for a crescent roll recipe. This is not truly a crescent roll but it is shaped like it and is light and fluffy too!!!

Step 1
In small bowl, place together and set aside:
2 TBL yeast (or 2 yeast packets)
1/2 cup luke warm water
Step 2
In a large bowl, mix thoroughly together:
1 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
Then add and mix:
1 cup boiling water
(The shortening mixture will melt into liquid form.)
Step 3
Once the shortening mixture has cooled a little, blend in:
4 eggs
Then stir in the yeast mixture from Step 1 (using a wooden spoon)
Step 4
Using the wooden spoon, add and stir:
7 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cold water
Be sure to alternate flour and water until all have been mixed together thoroughly.
Step 5
Spray the top of dough with non-stick cooking spray and place plastic wrap directly over the dough, covering it completely. lace a towel over the bowl and place in the refrigerator over night.
Step 6
Time to roll out the dough! Flour a flat surface and divide the dough into five parts. Roll each part into a circle. Spread melted margarine or butter on top. Use a pizza cutter to cut into 12 pie-shaped pieces. Roll each piece into a crescent by rolling the wide end toward narrow end. Place rolls on 2 large greased cookies sheets. (Make 5 rows of 6 rolls on each pan, yielding a total of 5 dozen rolls.) Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours.
Step 7
Uncover and bake at 400 degrees fro 10-12 minutes. Eat to your hearts content.
Options
For orange rolls, mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, and 2 grated orange rinds. Use as a filling in place for the melted butter.

*****Use a wooden spoon and cover the dough with plastic wrap. This dough is so delicate that it will take on the taste of the fabric softner in your dish towels and get a funny taste from a metal spoon.*****

What We Had For Dinner Tonight


Chicken Salsa Black Bean Soup in the crock pot!!!! It was sooo yummy! I gave it to two of my neighbors and they loved it too. Check out this blog
A Year of Slow Cooking to get the recipe! I used Archer Farms peach mango salsa and it was de-lish!!!
You will LOVE it!!!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

My Daughter's New Skirt

I got the cutest pattern from fabritopia.com called the "Edith Twirl Skirt" and made a super cute skirt for my sweet little girl.

She was really annoyed that I was trying to measure her during her nap but the finished product was a huge hit! She loves it!!!
She danced and twirled around the front yard while we waited for brother to come home from school today. (Don't you just love the belly button on this kid!!!)

Well a special thanks to Jona at fabritopia.com for designing such a cute pattern, she really knows how to dress a girl cute!!! I can't wait to make one for me too!!!!


Man Fabric

This is the pillow case that I made for my sweet husband. I love this fabric!!!! I got the fabric at fabritopia.com.
I think that I might get some more fabric and make some matching ties for my boys!!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Fun New Boy or Should I Say Man Fabric!!!

I was browsing one of my favorite fabric sites Fabritopia.com and found this cute "Be a Man Fabric" by Douglas Day. I made my nephew a pillow case for his birthday and will be making my sweet husband a travel pillow case out of some of the other fabric from that line. I thought it was so.... (well I can't say cute for a man/boy) ......handsome!!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

My Greatest Craigslist Deal Ever!!!

Ok, so I have been looking to replace my entertainment center for a long time now but just couldn't find what I wanted in the price range I could afford. Then one magic day I saw this on craigslist and about died. It's 11 feet long and 7 feet tall. It is solid wood and heavy!!! So guess how much I paid for it???????????? $1000.............$500.............nope I paid a whopping $250!!!
It fits perfectly in the room and I now have uber amounts of storage space!!!!!!!!!
I am the Crafty Deal Getter!!!!!!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Safe Summer Car Seat Buckles

Here in Arizona car seats can get very hot during the summer. So I devised a cute Car Seat Ice Pack that I leave over the buckles of my daughters car seat when I go shopping or to church so they are not burning hot when we get back in the car.

I purchased a Flexible Polar Ice Pack from my chiropractor a few years ago and realized that this would also be the perfect fit for a car seat because it can bend and fit the shape of the seat.
So I took some cute flannel and made a pocket for the ice pack and put a Velcro closure at the top and tah-dah, instant cutified ice pack. It is so practical and cute all at the same time. The ice pack has completely melted by the time we get out of church but the flannel absorbs the water and it dries quickly in the heat, but the buckles are nice and cool to the touch.

Friday, June 26, 2009

True Crafty Camper Project

So when I went to girls camp I forgot my pillow. I found a nice sized travel pillow at Wally World and just loved it. I wanted to have a fun sewing project with my kids this summer so I tried to get them the same pillow but no go. I called 3 Wally Worlds in 3 different towns and finally gave up. So I took a standard sized pillow and cut in in half and made the kids pillows.
They each got to choose their own fabric and then we made the pillow cases. My son did an excellent job and even used my serger!!!! I am soooo proud!!!!
Well this is the final project. I am very excited to use them when we go to visit Grandparents. Now we don't have so much bulk in the truck with every one's big pillows!!!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Fun Sewing Tip

I saw this idea on the Internet and thought it was so great. I am always trying to find ways to store my bobbins so that they are not unraveling all over the place. Well the web site was selling Bobbin Cozies. They looked just like the little girls fabric hair ties to me so while I was shopping this morning I picked up a big package for $2.

It works perfectly! I tried to color match the pony tail holder to the color of the bobbin thread to make it easier to tell what color thread was on the bobbin. It works soooo great and I got some new hair accessories for my little girl too!! I love a multi tasking product!!!!!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

My New Scissors!!!


I am soooo excited! I got myself a new pair of Rag Quilting Scissors!!! They cut like butter, even through 5 layers of denim! I have a quilt to make and am so excited to not have my scissors make my hands cramp.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Last Minuet Mothers Day Idea

So I meant to post this earlier in the week but had some domestic issues. My washing machine has been broken for almost two weeks! But you will see more on that later. So here is the scoop, this is a great Mothers Day gift idea. It's a perpetual birthday calendar book.
Items Needed:
1 3-ring binder
13 page protectors
Computer
Scrap book paper
Die cuts
Craftyness
Imagination

I made a cover page for my book. I personalized the cover page for the ones I gave to my Moms.
You go into you Word program and make a page with 3 columns, and add numbers and lines as shown above. (I do have one I can send you that you can change for each month. Leave me a comment with your email address and I will email it to you, sorry I haven't had time to figure out down loads on my blog yet, I am the crafty camper not the computer camper). You make one for each month and write in the birthdays. Put them in the page protectors on the left hand side of the book.

Now you get crafty!!!!!! Make a cute page for each month that will hold the cards. Be creative. You could even put a scrap book page of all the people that have birthdays that month.
So this is how I use this book. At the beginning of each year or month I sit down and look at the book. I look at each birthday and write in my planner (yes I still use a paper planner not a PDA much to my sweet husbands dismay) the day I need to send the card. Depending where that person lives will depend on how many days I count back from their birthday to remind myself to send the card. (See if I had a PDA I would only have to do this once and it would remind me every year..... hummmm) Then I go to my card stash and choose the card for that person, write their name on a sticky tab and put it on the card and place the card in the month page protector. (I send my nieces and nephews cash for their b-day so I also place the cash with the card so I know that I have it when I need it.)
That's it! Because the calendar is generic and not specific to that year you can use it over and over again!!! Now you just need to organize a card swap and you got yourself a sweet new organization idea for you and your moms!!!