Bows From Tights

I spent the morning going through my daughter's closet and her dresser. We tried on all the shorts, skirts and jeans she had. Then we went through her shirts, dresses, sweaters and jackets.

I do not really need to go school clothes shopping this year. She has received some new shirts over the summer and had some new ones in her closet. She also had some shorts that I picked up on sale a while back.

While going through everything, I came across some tights that no longer fit. While I could just as easily put them in the donation pile, they looked fit to be made bows!
These bows can easily be made without sewing, but I like the added strength that sewing adds to the bows. (I have been knows to make bows right before school. In those cases I have used a small elastic to gather the ribbon and then just hot glue.)

Here is how it went:

The tights I found.

I love the color of the spots.

Cut off the top of the tights.

Cut the side seam of the "panty" part.

Cut along the waistband and the center seam.

Overlap the toe of the leg with the cut end.

Pinch and stitch.

Take the part cut from the panty and fold it over itself.

Use the panty to cover the center of the bow.

Now, I just hot glued the hair clip onto the bow at this point. I didn't get a picture of this yet, but promise to update it.

Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for stopping by.

Yadi

Making a doll area wall or floor

I have been spending quality time with Pintrest looking at American Girl crafts. I noticed that it is common to make an American Doll play area since a doll house needed for 18" dolls is huge.

On a trip to our local Dollar Tree I noticed they had some decal back splash which would make a great floor.

With a dollar store foam core and a decal back splash I made a floor/ wall for my daughter.

I lined up the decal on one corner of the board. I attached this corner and slowly pulled away the decal back. I had to apply a little tension to prevent bubbles.

Here is the package

I pulled the backing off slowly to prevent bubbles.

Finished!

In all the project took a few minutes and my daughter loves it! I picked up some wood grain contact paper for $2.00 at Big Lots. Just need another foam board and I have another floor/wall...think 70s wood paneling.  

Here is the finished foam board in action!! Bet I could l make it too sided as well. Enjoy :)

Here it is as a wall.

Here it is as a floor.

From Toddler Dress to Two Doll Dresses

With my daughter's birthday just around the corner, I have been busy making things for her Journey Girl. I took a little trip to our local Ikea yesterday to pick up a couple of doll beds. I have been looking online at what is available for 18" dolls. Ikea has beds for $20. Make me smile. (Here is their bed listing.)

Then of course, I had to make new pillows for her bed since the ones it came with where flat...literally. I see making a foam mattress in my near future as well.

I have also been going by Goodwill and looking for little girl clothes I can alter to fit her Journey Girl. I came across a really cute 2T dress that was perfect! Here is how I made two doll dresses out of this one toddler dress. (Just FYI: Journey Girls are a little thinner than American Girls. While a 2T worked great for our JG, it may be too tight on an AG doll. I would suggest maybe 3T or 4T dress if you are looking to redo it for an AG doll. )


Here is the dress. It is not a tube, but rather has seams along each side.

I just lined up the seams and pinned down the center. I tried it on the doll to make sure it would fit.

I did not use a "seam allowance." I just put my presser foot right up against the edge of the lined up seams. (I should state hear that I am an amateur at sewing so this is really something a beginner can do.)

Where the dress was shirred, I did a back stitch over each line. Sorry for the blurry picture, I hope you can still see what I mean. I did not know if the shirring would come undone with a single stitch, so I didn't take any chances.

 I cut right next to the seam and the dress was almost done!

I put it back on the doll to check the strap placement. I just cut the straps off the dress and pinned them where I wanted them. Then you just stitch them in place and the dress is done.

For the second dress I just folded up the length. I used my flat iron to press the bottom seam. (Way faster than my iron.) I then just sewed it up.

(I will take a finished picture on the doll and upload later.)

Hope you give this a try. Let me know how it came out!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

American Girl Purse

My local dollar store (99cents only store) has a really neat selection of duck tape. I picked up a few rolls just to see what I could make. Then came the whole American Girl craze to our house. As I stated before, we purchased a Journey Girl for our daughter. Next thing I know, I am on Pintrest looking at all things AG related.

I am going to make some skirts and a tutu for her doll. This will be part of her birthday gift. I also began to see some really cute accessories for the dolls. That got me to thinking about the duck tape I picked up.

I decided to start simple and made a duck tape purse for her doll. Then, because I can't help myself, I decided to make special goody bags for her friends with AG dolls. These goody bags will each include a purse as well. So here I am making a dozen purses. I have completed 7. The only reason I haven't finished is because I got distracted. I decided to make AG necklaces, bracelets and headbands as well. I make a couple of purses and the then shift gear to something else.

Making purses is really easy. I am sharing my process. Think of this as a starting point.

Here are the duck tape cuts you will need:

3 6" pieces (body)
1 3 1/2" piece (body) -- cut in half for 2 pieces 3 1/2"
1 4" piece (purse flap)
1 3" or so (flap hold) -- cut in half for 2 3" pieces
1 10" pieces (handles) or 7" for a shoulder bag -- cut in half for 2 pieces 10" or 7"
Some extra to tape down the handles and the flap hold.

Attach the 3 6" pieces to make a large square.

Then fold this in half and trim as needed. This is the body of the purse.

Take a 3 1/2" piece (which is half of the original piece I cut) to close up the side of the purse. You just trim off the extra.

Now the body is done for now. On to the handles.

Cut a 10" piece of duct tape and then cut it in half. Each of these long pieces gets folded onto itself to make the handle.

Tape the completed handle to the inside of the purse. Repeat for the other side.

Now take a 4" piece and fold it over leaving about an inch of exposed sticky side. This is the flap for the purse. Trim it up to make sure it fits between the handles and round the edges to give it a finished look. Just tape it onto the back of the purse.

To hold the flap down, cut a piece of tape as long as my purse and cut it in half. One of these gets folded in on itself. Trim it if needed and tape it to the front of the purse taking care to make sure the flap can slide in and out.

The purse is now done. You can add some sticky jewels or leave it as is. You will also notice that on some of the purses I used two color duct tapes to add contrast. Please let me know if you have any questions or any problems.

Also, let me know if  you would like me to post a tutorial on the AG necklace, bracelet or headband.

Thanks for stopping by!!