Make a Christmas Fairy Cottage

It's time for another fun project, but this time with a Christmas twist. I've joined with bloggers around the world to bring you a few weeks worth of Christmas fairy projects (see the complete list at the end of this post).  

Today, I'm sharing with you how to make a Christmas fairy cottage.  This makes a cute decoration or toy or it can easily be turned into a night light by adding an LED light.

Do you want to join in the fun?  To begin this project, download this free Christmas fairy cottage pattern here. You'll also want to go to this post for additional free patterns and instruction to make this and other snugly fairy abodes.

Supplies needed:

• 4) .875" (2.22 cm) bells
• Embroidery floss:  green (several shades), brown, white
• Felt scraps, green(s) and white
• Pipe cleaners, any color
• Scissors
• Needle
• 1 wool sweater or felt
• Scrap of netting or tulle
• Batting
• Heavy pellon interfacing
• Empty salt container

If you're using an old sweater, you'll need to shrink it in hot water and then dry it using a hot dryer setting. A wool sweater work best. Now, cut off one of the sleeves.  I cut my sleeve down to 17 inches long.  This sleeve will be the basis for your Christmas fairy house. If you're using felt, cut a rectangle the width of your container and the height of your container plus 8 inches to wrap all the way around the container. 

Cut out 2 pieces of your felt scraps and one of interfacing to make a door.  Sandwich the interfacing between the felt and sew using a blanket stitch, either by hand or with a machine, all around the door.  Stitch by hand around felt leaves (I used 7 leaves) and cover the door by slip stitching these leaves in place.

Cut out two windows and sew some tulle onto the wrong side of the openings.  To hide the stitching, hand embroider around the windows using a blanket stitch.

Embroider around the door frame using a blanket stitch.  Now pin the door in place.  Sew the leaf door to the door frame.  Add a bead door knob and a latch because a fairy needs to keep the cold out of their house in the winter.

Decorate your cottage with additional felt and embroidered leaves, snowflakes and at least one felt Christmas stocking.

At the top of the sleeve, cut four even stripes 8 inches long by around two inches wide. Sew pipe cleaners into the top stripes making a tube.  The pipe cleaners allow the top pieces to curl and take shape.

Take your empty salt container and with the tip of a seam ripper or large needle, poke holes around the Windows and door opening.  Using an exacto knife, cut out the openings.

Slide the decorated sleeve/felt onto the prepared salt container matching up the openings and glue or stitch these two items together.

For the base, layer one piece of heavy pellon between two layers of batting.  Sew around the edges using white thread.  Now, sew the cottage to the base, tucking the raw edges of the sweater (or felt) under the salt container.

Fairy cottages are just so much fun to make because there's no right or wrong way to do it.  If you make one, make sure you leave the door open at night so a fairy can have a warm place to spend a winter's night.  

Please plan to visit all our Fairy Merry Chistmas Participants!   xoxo Grandma 

Nov 16: Millie @ 2 Crochet Hooks  "Kids and Fairy Doors"
Nov 17: Maria @ Sew Travel Inspired 
Nov 19: Joanita @ Creative Crochet Workshop
Nov 20: Alayna @ Alayna’s Creations
Nov 23: Laura @ My Husband has too many Hobbies
Nov 24: Sarah @ Sarah Celebrates
Nov 25: Stella @ Purfylle
Nov 27: Beverly @ Across the Blvd
Nov 30: T’onna @ USS Crafty
Dec 1: Joanita @ Creative Crochet Workshop
Dec 2: Keri @ One Mama’s Daily Drama
Dec 3: Darlene @ Let it Shine
Dec 4: Donna @ Two Chicks and a Mom
Dec 8: Sarah @ Sarah Celebrates
Dec 9: Stella @ Purfylle
Dec 10: Pili @ Sweet Things
Dec 11: Millie @ 2 Crochet Hooks

Autumn Overalls - a Refashion

These autumn overalls started with a pair of adult jeans, which I could have sworn I took a "before" photo of, but imagine with me coral women's skinny jeans.  I took those skinny jeans and turned them into warm looking autumn overalls, perfect for a toddler.

These jeans once belonged to this little girl's mother (my daughter).  While I was at her house, helping with her new baby, I consulted with my daughter about using these old jeans to make these darling overalls.  I even took my daughter fabric shopping and she found this black and white plaid shirting flannel to use as a compliment to the coral jean fabric.

I first unpicked the original pants back pockets and scaled those down to fit a toddler.  For the pattern, I used a pair of my granddaughter's jeans and then laid them on top of those old skinny jeans and cut away.  One portion of the original waistband was used for her waistband in the back of the overalls. The rest of the waistband was turned into the straps.  The bib was formed by opening up an inside seam and centering the bib so that the middle of the outside seam was in the middle of the bib.  

I used this wonderful flannel fabric for pant cuffs, pockets, and to line the bib and the straps.

I made the mistake of adding elastic to the back of the overalls and then sewed a stitch up the middle of the elastic.  When these overalls came off my granddaughter, I confiscated them, pulled out my seam ripper, and ripped that mistake away.  They look so much better without that seam and the elastic.

I foresee that these overalls will be perfect for autumn and maybe into winter or until she becomes potty trained and has to learn to unbutton these straps herself! Didn't they turn out so cute?  xoxo Grandma

1 1/2 Hour Toddler Dress

This cute little dress you see here is another project I finished in time to take to my granddaughter on my latest trip overseas. Notice the sand sculpture on the right side of the photo? My grandson and I created that sand gecko one morning.  I laughed when I came back to the beach later that day and saw that others decided to embellish our creation with a little seaweed on it's head! Now back to this simple dress....

In an hour and a half, I turned a men's button down dress shirt into this cute toddler dress.  Grab a men's shirt and have a little fun dolling it up for your favorite toddler!

Supplies needed:  

1 men's dress shirt

1/3" wide white lace

3" wide lace x 3 1/4 long (for pocket)

Single fold bias tape about 8"

Thread

Pattern:  Holiday Dress by Stitched by Crystal (bodice - add two inches to the length of the bodice).

Cut 10 - 12" from the bottom of the shirt up - depending on the length of your toddler's waist to knee measurement plus 1/2" for the seam allowance. 
1 1/2" x 8" rectangle cut on the bias for the skirt placket

Cutting basics:

Once you have cut the skirt from the bottom of the shirt, cut out the bodice and the lining as follows:

After cutting everything out, you'll embellish the buttonhole placket by adding 1/3" wide white lace, stitching along both edges.  The lace adds a lot of charm to this dress.

Next, pin the 3" wide lace onto the right side of the bodice (the side with the buttonhole placket. Turn all edges except the top under 1/4" to form a nice pocket. Sew the pocket in place next to the edges.  For the bodice sewing details, see Stitched by Crystal's instructions.  

To the top center of the skirt, you'll need to add a placket.  I found a good tutorial on how to do that step at Sew Sweet Patterns.  Once the placket has been added, gather the skirt and pin it onto the bodice.  The skirt placket needs to be lined up with the button placket on one side and the buttonhole packet on the other side.  

Baste the skirt to the bodice.  Once happy with how that looks, trim the seam to around 1/4", restitch this seam with a finishing edge and iron. Hand stitch the bodice lining to the bodice enclosing all the seams inside - which gives you a nice finished look.  

Now, on the outside of the bodice, topstitch 1/4" from the seam's edge.  Guess what, you're finished!  How long did this dress take you from start to finish? 

The best part of making this dress is that it looks like you spent a lot of time creating it, but you didn't because the buttons, buttonholes and skirt seams were already finished for you.
  

Now is all you have to do is sit back and enjoy whatever sun is left in your part of the world!  xoxo Grandma

Linked to: Threading My Way

Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My, What a Refashion!

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! This was a fun refashion project!  If you'd like to have some fun with old tee shirts, this is the refashion for you. Gather together five old tee shirts: yellow/gold, orange, brown, white and a small piece of black. Or whatever color combination suits you best.  

Next, you'll want to download the free pattern for your lion, tiger and bear here.

Now grab some scissors and cut out around the outside lines of the patterns. Pin the patterns onto the appropriate tee shirt scraps and grab a Clorox bleach pen.

 Follow the instructions found here. Once the design has bleached through the fabric, wash the bleach out with soap and water.  When the fabric has dried, you'll need an orange and brown permanent marker, a paint brush and rubbing alcohol.  Let's start with the lion.  Take the brown permanent marker and lightly outline the lion's details.  Add a little marker for shading around it's ear, nose and tail. 

Now, time to play with your tiger.

Using this technique, you'll draw details onto the tee shirt fabric by adding a little orange and brown ink to the areas as shown above.  Don't laugh, but I drew on my fabric upside down and realized it when I went to add the stripes. It didn't really effect the outcome except I had to re-bleach a couple of the areas.

Use a glue stick and small shapes of black knit fabric which has been cut into tiger stripes.  To make the tiger stripes, just cut a bunch a random shapes that have a point on one end.  Glue the stripes onto the bleached tiger shape using the glue stick. Press the stripes in place.  

Using a really small zig zag stitch, sew the stripes onto the tiger. I fluctuated my zig zag stitch from 1.5 to 2.5 wide.

And here's a close-up of the bear which was bleached right onto the fabric of the bottom layer of the dress:

For the pattern, I used a peasant dress style, Simplicity 2377.

Between the animals, I machine embroidered a leaf design and then the words, "OH MY".  

The brown knit tee shirt I used had a sheer chiffon fabric as an overlay. I used that fabric to make the sleeves. The only thing I changed from the original pattern was to the bodice area. It just hung really baggy on my granddaughter, so I made a casing which allowed me to take that area in with elastic.

The headband was made from 1" stripes of the remaining brown knit tee shirt. I found a good tutorial on how to make it here.

Knit dresses are super comfortable. As we walked around the yard taking photos, I couldn't help myself and chanted to this cutie, "Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!" She's never seen the "Wizard of Oz" movie yet, I'm not sure how a four year old would deal with the wicked witch or the flying monkeys... which really scared her aunts and to this day they hate that movie! What do you think, is she too young for this movie? We'll probably hold off. For now. -xoxo Grandma

Linked to:  USS Crafty, Project Run and Play, Craft Gossip

It All Started With Butterfly Leggings - A Refashion

This project all started when I saw these adorable butterfly footless leggings at the store the other day. Aren't they the cutest thing?  I immediately knew I needed them... or I should say, I immediately knew a certain granddaughter of mine needed them. Once I purchased them, I had visions running through my head of the adorable top I could refashion to wear with these fun leggings. That, of course, lead me to this fun refashion.

A while back, one of my daughters gave me this blue and white women's button up shirt to reuse. It turns out, the colorful butterfly pattern and this cute stripped top coordinated perfectly. Here's how the child's tunic looked after the refashion:

If you'd like to refashion a button-up dress shirt into a girl's tunic, here's how to transform it:

• Cut the sleeves from the shirt.
• Fold the shirt in half
• Cut a new neckline using a shirt that fits the child.

• Cut two, 1 1/4" stripes of fabric.  Sew these together at a diagonal and press.
• Cut down the sleeves to fit your child.
• Sew the sleeves back into place.

• Sew the seam tape around the neck's opening. 
• Topstitch along the bottom of the seam tape.

• For extra pizzazz, cut out a butterfly shape from white fabric.
• Machine embroider the butterfly shaped fabric onto the shirt.

• Draw the embroidery details using a water soluble pen.
• Pull out some embroidery thread and stitch away.  It took me three tries before I got the butterfly to look like I wanted it to.  So don't despair, stitch and unpick if needed.

• Next at the waistline, add a belt loop to each side of the tunic by doing the following:
• Thread three strands of embroidery thread through a needle, pull the thread to the middle and tie the thread so that there are six strands of thread knotted at the end.  

Through the wrong side of the tunic, push the needle into the center of the side seam.  Make a loop that goes loosely around the belt.  Then stitch loop chains all around the thread pulling the thread tight after each loop.   

This is how that belt loop will look before you tie off the threads. The loops keep the belt in place quite nicely.

This belt was also refashioned from one of my old belts.  I cut the length of the belt down to about four inches larger than my granddaughter's waist. Then I reshaped the end of the belt into a new point. Finally, I added five new holes using a hole puncher, called a Crop-a-Dile, which will punch through anything!

Out of the two fall outfits I made for this little girl, this is my personal favorite. 

Of course, this cute girl's favorite part of the outfit was the candy bracelet. Within about 15 minutes of driving us around her new state, when we went to visit last week, she had this bracelet entirely consumed! Oh, how I love this girl! xoxo Grandma

Linked to Straight-Grain, Threading My Way, Creating My Way to Success, Project Run and Play, Totally Tutorials

You also might like these Fall outfits:

Teacher's Pet Dress

Falling For Denim

Designing Boys Shirts

Oh Matilda!