DIY Baby Crinkle/Taggie Toy Tutorial

Recently I've become interested in sewing a baby krinkle-taggie toy for a baby gift.  After doing alittle online research, I was so surprised to find out that the "crinkle" inside these toys is nothing more than a piece of cellophane or an empty, clean bag! Bingo!  I can do this!  Off to JoAnns for some delicious fabrics and ribbons.  I love that this juvenile print isn't specifically baby, but will be eye-catching to the little baby girl I made it for, and the minky side is very soft for little fingers and faces.

It's quite easy to make, so let's get started.  Buy about 12-15 inches of a pretty woven print and a coordinating soft minky fabric.  Also be sure you have several colors of matching ribbon  and ric rac in different textures.  I used my Corelle luncheon plates, which are 9" across, to trace a circle onto the print, with a fabric pen, then cut it out.

Delicious colors!

I got so excited making this toy that I sometimes forgot to take photos along the way!  :)  But you'll also want to cut out the same sized circle of the minky and one of the cellophane or clean cookie/candy bag.  Then I decided to cut 3 ribbon/ric rac strips of each of the four I was using.  This worked out really well for the 9" circle.  I made the ribbons alittle bit different lengths and widths, just for variety and interest. They are about 3"-4" long.

Then pin the ribbons which are folded in half, in equal distances around the circle.  Mine had about 1.5" in between each one.

Next I laid the minky fabric, right side down, on top of the right side of the flowered fabric, and put the clean crinkle circle on top of that.  Pin them for sewing all 3 layers together.

And here's where I got excited and didn't take photos of the sewing.  Sorry!  But I sewed around the circle, with a seam allowance of about 5/8 inch so that even if a layer shifted a bit, all edges would be caught.  Leave a 1.5"-2" opening for turning the fabric right side out.  And before turning it, I trimmed the seam to about 1/4" and cut little slits from the edge to just near the seam, so the circle curves would lay flat when turned out.

After the circle was turned right side out and I saw that everything was good, I hand sewed the opening closed, attaching that last ribbon in that spot.  Then a careful line of top stitching all around the circle, about 3/8 inch from the edge, for the nice look of it and to be sure the ribbons are all secured.  Do you love the polka-dotted ric rac?!  Hobby Lobby.  The other ribbons came from JoAnns, some gross grain and some satin smooth.

And here she is, complete!  It's bright, colorful, and makes that wonderful crinkly sound that babies love.  It's safe for little mouths, and can be washed over and over...just do not put in the dryer, in order to keep the 'crinkle', crinkly!!  :)

Whenever you make something for the first time, you learn little tricks to try for the next one.  Next time I will try making the crinkle circle inside smaller, and NOT sewing it to the fabrics.  Perhaps it will lay flatter then, and be alittle easier to work with. It's just the cookie bag inside that isn't perfectly flat.  

Are you inspired?  What a cute gift!  And I like that it is circular...that's just a bit unique.  A triangular one would be fun too.  I think I'll be making some of these for my etsy shop, PerfectDarlings, in case you don't care to make one yourself.  But if you like to sew...this was really fun, and was complete in an hour.

Blessings!
Donna


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Today's Creative Blog

Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin

 Are you ready to 'shop the house' and make a cute craft? 

All you need is a new roll of toilet paper, a square of fallish fabric that is about 18x18 inches (or a fat quarter), a thick stick, and some jute, twine, or raffia.

Open your fabric and turn it upside down.  I didn't even iron this piece, and it won't show.  Put the roll of paper right in the center.

Then begin taking the corners of the fabric and tucking it into the hole of the roll of paper.  You can work at this and redo it if you want to til you like the folds and tucks that the fabric makes.

More tucking...

Nearly done tucking...

I left a corner of the fabric up to serve as a leaf.  :)  Then used a thick stick stuck into the middle to be the stem.

And there she is!

I decided to make a little tag to hang on the pumpkin.  This is a gift tag that said "thanks"  on it, but I layered 3 colored shapes over it, added a button for the flower, and then the word 'fall.'

I hung it from the stem by jute, and she's done!  My mom in law, who doesn't think she is crafty, made one too!

Cute!


So, give it a try!  Fun craft to make with kids, youth, or a group of friends.  And when you are ready to take it apart, the toilet paper is still good to use, and the fabric is in perfect condition to use for something else.  

Enjoy!


(PS...I decided I liked the pumpkin better without the tag adornment...so the tag is now off the pumpkin and propped up against the real gourd to the side.  I love the tag, but just not on the pumpkin...rather as a part of the vignette!)
Blessings,
Donna

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Cute Carry All Tote from Sam's Club

I get an allowance every month.  : )  I'm a stay-at-home-mom and home school teacher, so I don't have opportunity to make much 'mad money' but I do give myself a monthly allowance which I can spend on anything I want.  Not alot...$20 a month is plenty b/c we have other money set aside for clothes, shoes, outings, etc.  So being a simple girl that doesn't need alot to be happy, $20 is plenty.  At Sam's Club, I recently found the perfect thing to spend 1/2 of my allowance on.  The cutest Carry All Tote.  It folds up all small like this:

It is kept together for storage by these snaps.

The snaps undo...

And the little beauty unfolds....

Til she looks like this!

Sturdy, beautiful, and so so roomy.

There's even a little zippered pocket for small, important things such as money or jewelry.  

I bought this tote specifically for taking toiletries on road trips.  I like to take all my comforts from home and they are tall and bulky.

Wow...OTC meds, toiletries, and my blow dryer are already in and there is still plenty of room for my makeup bag.

Gracie, our dog, approves!

I love it!  Right now, she is storing vintage books in our bedroom.  She's too cute to put away in between trips.  :)  She'd be great for toting craft projects, baby supplies, and more.
Girls, this is a great gift idea for the holidays!  I hope Sam's Club still has them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Donna

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Felt Pumpkin

I've been a busy girl.  Making little felt quiet book pages for my etsy shop, Perfect Darlings.  So much fun!

I am making 10 or more page designs and my customers can chose any 5 of them for a custom felt book for their favorite little people.

This pumpkin page is one of my favorites, and I'd like to talk you through how to make one of these with felt or paper.  You could put the pumpkin on a pillow cover and have some new fall decor.  Or use paper and make this for the front of a greeting card.  The possibilities are endless!

This sweet little gourd is made with 3 identically-sized orange ovals.  So using a stencil or template, make a paper pattern of the size oval you want.  Next, using the pattern, cut out three ovals of felt, fabric, or paper.  Put 2 of them side by side or overlapping each other a bit, then the third one goes on top.  You can hand sew the ovals to your felt or fabric...or you can glue them if they are paper.  The stem is just hand cut without a pattern.  Now for the vine tendrils.  I used a green embroidery thread, all 6 strands together.  I sewed them onto the stem, leaving the ends of the thread unknotted and loose for the tendrils.  Then using paper to cover the pumpking for protection, I dipped my finger in mod podge, coated the thread, and wrapped the thread around a pencil.  Do that for the other one as well.  Let dry for a few minutes, then carefully slide the pencil out of your curly thread.  If it does not stay nicely in a coil, you can wet the thread with a drop of water and try it again.  Once you have the tendrills coiled, just let them dry.  When fully dry you can pull on them a bit til they are loose curls.  So so cute and the 3D aspect adds alot to the outcome.  

Wouldn't this make a cute piece of wall art, mounted on a mat and framed?  Or you could cut out a piece of felt the right size and shape to be the back of the pumpkin, sewing the front and back together with a bit of stuffing in the middle.  Let me know if you make this pumpkin and how it turns out!  I'm pretty sure I'll be making one for my house.  Cute, chubby pumpkins are darling!

Blessings!



Donna

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Miniature Jar Candles Become Spice Jars

Have you tried those little $1 jar candles from Walmart?  Love! Them!  The price is great, so I don't feel like I have to be stingy with how long I burn it.  I love that they are in cute little jars.  And they have a nice fragrance.  Well, when you are finished with them, you can remove the wax, wash them well, and they become GREAT little spice jars!

To remove the wax while it is still alittle bit soft, cut the remaining wax disc at the bottom into 4 pieces and pop them out.  Or pop the whole jar into the freezer for an hour, and the frozen wax is easy to pop out, break apart, and remove.  Then hot water and dish soap will remove the remaining residue.

This week I needed Pumpkin Pie Spice.  And as usual, I didn't have any...this happened to me last fall too.  So I googled a recipe for making your own, put those 4 ingredients together, and popped them into an empty candle jar.  Our label maker was handy and quick, so I made a label and now I have enough for the whole season!  Wouldn't this make a cute gift?

These jars are wide mouthed, so it is easy to scoop out the needed measurement of each spice.  And if you feel crafty, go ahead and print out some labels on your computer, mat them on cute scrapbook paper, and attach with a neat slice of clear packing tape over it all.

You can easily see when it's time to stock up on a spice, too!

Did you know that pumpkin pie spice is just cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and nutmeg?  I figure I saved several dollars by making it myself at home.

The little jar to the right that contains cilantro is one I probably bought at Hobby Lobby.  But actually I prefer these 'free' jars for their size, shape, and easy lid removal.  So from now on I'll be accumulating them til I have all that I need for the spices of which I keep larger amounts.  I need one for my large stash of dried rosemary next.
There are good recipes online for homemade steak seasoning too.  It would look so savory in a jar, and with a cute label would make such a fun gift or party favor.

Can't wait to pick out my next new $1 candle at Walmart!  Something spicy and fall-ish, for sure.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Blessings!
Donna

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A Fun Little Cloche

Sometime this past summer I saw a new-to-me-idea that was so cute and easy. I've been enjoying this new piece of decor, and see lots of possibilities for changing it up for each season. If I knew where I first saw this online, I would be glad to give them the credit...but of course, I don't have a clue!

And here it is!  This is a large candleholder that I made by gluing a glass candlestick to the bottom of a glass candle holder...both of the glass pieces were from the Dollar Store.  I have 2 of these, and have used them on my mantel with seasonal fillers and candles.  But what a cool change up to turn it upside down and use it as a cloche for a little display!

I decided to put a little crocheted doily on the bottom, then a vintage tape measure all rolled up, a vintage hook and eye card standing in the back, and 3 vintage wooden spools of thread pyramided on top of it all!

On the top of the display there is room for a tea light candle or some other little treasure.  I put one of the tulle wrapped party favors that I made for my mom's 70th b-day luncheon, which you can view HERE.

It's the cutest little display...made from things I already had...and won't it be fun to put a miniature pumpkin, some leaves, and acorns in this for fall?  With some little fallish treasure on top...maybe a pumpkin scented tea light.

Thanks for stopping by!  Your comments always make me smile!

Blessings!
Donna

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A Perfect Darlings Facebook Drawing

Vintage things.  Retro things.  Children's things.  Vintage inspired things.  And free shipping!  These are what you will find at my Perfect Darlings Etsy Shop.

I've started a facebook page for my etsy shop, and am looking for 50 new followers there.  Please check it out, and join my page to be automatically entered into my drawing.  When 50  fine folks have 'LIKED' my Perfect Darlings facebook page, I will have a drawing for a prize from my shop.  :)


Please follow this link:  Perfect Darlings


Thank you for stopping by!  Blessings all over you today!


Donna