Drea Wood

Category Archives: sewing

DIY Place Mat

Written on 05/16/2011 by Dreawood in crafts, house keeping, sewing

Well, I got crafty again this week :)
I decided to make some DIY Place mats for our kitchen table.

Heres what I did….

1) ~~1/2 yard~~ of two different fabrics. It btw was not enough, so go ahead and get 1 yard each.
- The fabric I got was 1 cotton print and then the other one was an upholstery print, so its heavier duty.

2) Pre-wash and dry the fabric. I do this so I dont have shrinkage when I wash and dry it finished.

3) Cut your fabric into a large rectangle. I don’t know the exact size I used. The reason being is I used a cheap place mat I already had as the blueprints for my pattern. You really can make it any size you want. To make sure I cut the different prints the same, I cut out both fabrics laying flat on each other.

4) Iron the Fabric Pieces so they are nice and flat :)

5) Place the prints facing each other then pin together. (so the outside fabric that you would not want to show would be on the outside – and the print you want to show on the inside.

6) Sew around the fabric leaving about a 4 inch opening on one side. This is what you will use to turn the fabrics right side out.

7) Snip the corners of the fabric off before turning it right side out.

8) Once right side out flatten it out as best you can then sew the opening you left shut, continuing around the rest of the place mat.

and… thats it! :)

I’m not good at giving directions so hopefully that made sense.
I hope to make 2 more. I only have 2 done… I ran out of fabric ;-) – So I plan to go back and get more fabric to finish. I also plan to make Caleb, Taite and Owen their own fun place mat that fits their personality more. Im sure it will involve pirates, sharks, super hero’s and possible trucks. Have fun!

Owen JUST woke up so I am now off to feed him :) – Then enjoy a dinner with Aliesha and her family. :)
Wonder if my husband will let me go fabric shopping tonight too ;-) hmmm….

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A simple craft can be so personal

Written on 05/02/2011 by Dreawood in caleb, crafts, friends, Owen, sewing

I love handmade gifts…
and this past week I made one myself :) for a friend.

It came out so fun and I look forward to making many more in the future for friends.

As well as trying out new techniques with my own children’s clothing.

Who knew just a little bit of felt…

A fun striped shirt (or plain)

a needle and some thread (with a sewing machine or not)

could equal such cuteness.

& as you can see my sewing is far from perfect.
I like to think that it adds character to this boy-ish fun shirt :)

& yes, the wipe case was another fun craft I do often :) – Its easy enough too and you can learn to make your own on “Make It & Love It”

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Shirt #2

Written on 08/28/2010 by Dreawood in sewing

Ok so I got crafty again.
Another $.25 cent find at the bargin shop :-)

Im going to be a tease and post the before now and the after tomorrow
This before pic is SO FUNNY!! and you all cant complain about me teasing :) since you get to see the kitchen in this pic haha

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My 1st Shirt Job

Written on 08/24/2010 by Dreawood in sewing

Sooooo…

I decided to be crafty today & grabbed some fabric….

A few buttons….

and my lil’ singer sewing machine.

I wasnt really sure what I was doing…

I didn’t know any measurements…

I didnt have one of those cool body figure things they use on project runway to pin things up before hand…

I wasn’t even really sure how to thread my bobbin in my sewing machine.

BUT! I was determined to make something…

and that something was a shirt.

So what do you think?

Its a tad snug on the arms…
and chest…

Yeah.. well it doesnt fit at all on the arms or chest (go ahead and look again – see – a little snug…), I had to squeeze in it with some butter… but the fabrics cute huh?

Did I do ok?

Im…

Just kidding :-)

I didn’t make that shirt.

I found it today at a bargin shop for $ . 25 cent! – woo!
I loved the fabric and had to have it.

After reading this blog way to much – I was determined to try some dresses myself. Although I honestly can only sew a straight line haha… I figured the worse I could do is ruin an already ugly dress. Right?

Im pleased with how it turned out though!!

What do you think?

I thought it was a great look for lounging around the house, its super comfortable & the fabric is worn in, meaning VERY SOFT! I think this is a much better look than wearing an old T-Shirt of my husbands ;-)

I picked up like 5 dresses btw… I dont intend on doing a dress a day for a year like my inspiration girl does, but it is fun to try!

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Scandi Mei Tai – Where it goes down :-) [long post!]

Written on 12/31/2007 by Dreawood in babywearing, caleb, house keeping, mei tai, random, sewing, Taite, travis

Alright… so…
Today was spent inside… it rained… poured actually. We needed it :-)
I skipped out on going to church w/ the boys due to their stomach flu issues. Taite so far hasnt thrown up… but hes had MAJOR diaper issues lately… resulting in a rash so bad it actually blistered!! Caleb still has poo issues as well but thankfully no more throwing up.

Im not sure we are in the clear yet.. so thats the reason I decided we should just stay home. Why risk passing the germie bugs (what Caleb calls them) onto other families.. or get more ourselves :-)

So!
While home I sewed during my down time.
Like my dad (thanks… Travis hates this about me haha) I have to finish something right away once its started. I dont like to put things off once I get the ball rolling.

My mom helped me pick out the fabric this past week… but we never found time to actually start the sewing. I was a bit concerned with the project at 1st :-) I thought it be a bit difficult for my newbie sewing skills… but it wasnt!

I had no problems at all making this. Only lil struggle was understanding her directions some but because Ive made other Mei Tais I just tweaked them a bit to fit my liking. I also made the sleepy hood a tad small.. it works but next one ill make wider.

I love the colors! their total opposites but go so well together. (close up of Mei Tai)

This Mei Tai is a little different than traditional ones. It has a padded waist… the lady who is giving away the pattern tells a little about it HERE. They’re called Scandi Mei Tais and are sold for over $200.00 in some places! CRAZY!! :-D

It is very comfortable. I look forward to making more for friends who have babies.
I’ll try and take some better photos later in the week. These were just quick snap shots I took today because I couldnt wait to show it off :-) My hair looks so beautiful doesn’t it ::hah::

Some may be curious what the good ol‘ Hubby got me for Christmas. I always wonder what my friends get from their husbands… so heres one item…
well two, kinda :-)

A SEWING TABLE! Its nothing fancy but its perfect for what I am doing. Its light weight, yet sturdy. Its easy to move. The right amount of space I need :-) Sure beats that TV stand tray I was using to sew on before :-)

He also technically got the sewing machine for me … but it was opened like 1 month before Christmas… and I kinda sorta helped pay for it.. so it was more like Christmas gift to me :-) from me heehee.

He got me a few other goodies… and actually one thing he bought himself was a Garmin Nuvi Navigation thing.. I wasnt won over initially due to the price… but I tell you… THEY ROCK!! I love ours… helps out so much when you get lost or cant find a specific store. Its like your own personal phone book/map quest in the car.. but better because map quest gives awful directions!

Another lil goodie my mom got me is THIS (such a neat tool for knitters.. keeps your yarn in place and a place to store your project/needle when you travel. This way the ball of yarn isnt rolling around or getting stuck on things :-) Its so cute!

During the week we put Taites pack-n-play in Calebs room. They normally sleep in separate rooms. I just thought this would work better for now since Taites so little… but because my mom came to stay for a few days we had no choice really. SOOO the adventure began and… they did so well! the 1st day was rough. Taite didnt like it.. he kept crying because he knew he wasnt in HIS room. But after day 2 he was totally transitioned :-)

Now here we are at day 5 I believe and both Caleb and Taite seem to love their rooming accommodations. Caleb even asked me to put Taite in his room.

Naps sometimes dont work out… Taite sometimes goes to bed earlier or later.. so they bump heads some in that area… good thing is we have a guestbed/room so if thats the case Caleb can just sleep on that bed.

Their room had to be re-arranged some to fit Taites bed… but it doesnt look bad. They still have plenty of room to play with their zillions of toys (which BTW I got rid of a HUGE box full… they just had an insane amount…)

Heres a top view from Calebs bunk bed.
And a view entering the room now.

So even though we were inside a lot… we accomplished a lot :-)
Sewing room set up..
Mei Tai finished
Kids room re-arranged and cleaned.
Now its time to relax… because Im feeling a bit weird…

Ow boy.. probably the stomach bug :-\

Night!

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