Free August Dress Sewing Pattern 2 – 9 yrs.

Aug 30, 2021 | DIY Projects, FREE Patterns

Girls would fully agree with us that you can never have too many dresses. In this post, we’re bringing you a completely FREE August Dress sewing pattern, from a really talented designer, for a simple and cute dress for your little girls.

With this pattern, you can create a dress with so many different looks. There are many choices, especially when it comes to combining different styles and patterns of fabrics. You can use the same colors or a variety of fabrics. In the picture below you can see that you can make this dress shorter as a tunic for your little girl who can wear it in combination with leggings.

The great thing about the August Dress sewing pattern is that there is no need for buttonholes, zippers, or other closures since the hand-sewn buttons hold the front in place. The buttons keep the top attached and are far enough over to one side to allow space to fit the dress over your child’s head.

You can add your own touch to this pattern as there are many button options, that come in different colors, shapes and sizes. Depending on the size of the dress, you can decide how many buttons you want to add to it. You can add fancy buttons or more whimsical buttons or whatever you or your daughter wants.

The FREE August Dress sewing pattern comes in sizes from 2 years up to 9 years old. It’s quite easy to sew as the pattern comes with thorough step-by-step instructions and lots of useful pictures.

It is an ideal dress for warm spring and hot summer days. We believe your little girl is going to love it.

SUPPLIES THAT YOU WILL NEED FOR SEWING:-

Print out the August Dress Pattern PDF
1/2 yard of the main fabric for the top (or less for each piece if you use different fabrics)
1/2 yard of fabric for the lining
For bottom: 1/2 yd for size 2/3, 1 yd for size 4/5, 1.5 yds. for size 6/7, and 2 yds. for size 8/9 (You can, of course, make it shorter and make this a top. That would obviously use less fabric if you choose to do this).
Buttons of your choice
Basic sewing supplies
A sewing machine.

DIY Family Collage

Apr 19, 2021 | DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns, FREE Printables

Kids and their parents can craft a collaborative family tree using paper and glue.

At our house, you won’t find family photos hanging on the walls. But you will find art. Lots and lots of art.

And although we (my husband, my mom, my kiddo and I) all make art on a regular basis, we rarely collaborate on pieces.

Until now.

Before he passed away, my dad became interested in genealogy and started piecing together a family history of sorts. I’ve always loved the idea of creating a family tree and have plans to (someday) organize the information my father collected to design something informative and decorative. However, until that day comes, I thought it would be fun to make a mini version – as a family – using materials we have kicking around the house.

To make your own collage – unique to your kin – all you need is a willingness to get messy, a desire to tear some paper, a few enthusiastic family participants and the following supplies…

A variety of paper (construction paper, tissue paper, wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper, etc.)
A canvas board or piece of cardboard (something stiff)
Scissors
An old paintbrush and a yogurt (or similar) container
Mod Podge® (this is an all-in-one glue, sealer and finish but if you can’t find it, use watered-down craft glue instead)
Old magazines
Wax paper (to protect your work surface)

First, select some texture-rich paper and cut it into shapes. We decided on long and short rectangles, but that doesn’t mean you have to.

Using an old paintbrush, slather the canvas with Mod Podge®, lay down the paper and paint more Mod Podge® on top. In this case, more is more. Don’t be afraid to use LOTS of glue.

Once the first layer has dried, glue some torn tissue paper over top of the textured paper until you feel happy.

Next, each family member can start cutting out some shapes. Our collage features figures made up of long, narrow rectangles and three different-sized circles. I think they are reminiscent of people, or trees. My daughter insists they are lollipops.

Meanwhile, someone can start cutting out letters from old magazines for everyone’s titles. This is a pretty tedious task so I’ll come clean right here and tell you that after we cut and pieced together several letters, I went to my computer and printed out the rest. These were all glued (using my kiddo’s glue stick) onto rectangular pieces of paper.

I included my late father because – although he’s been gone for seven years – I like to think he still drops in from time to time.

Then, everyone can start to place the paper cutouts onto the prepared background.

One at a time, remove the shapes, paint a layer of Mod Podge®, replace the shapes and finish with another layer.

Voila! A wonderful keepsake for you and your kid(s) that you will be proud to put on display. Unlike our family photos. Kidding. Not kidding.

This post first appeared on YMC with the title: A Genius Way to Bring Your Family History to Life.

Crocheted Valentine Gnomes – Free Patterns

Feb 1, 2021 | DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns, Valentine's Day

Lately I’ve been really into Gnomes. I think it started last Thanksgiving with my Gnomies sign! And it’s been all about Gnomes ever since!

So with Valentine’s Day just around the corner I thought I’d make some crocheted Gnomes for my grandkids. Then they were so easy to make that I made a small one for my family room too! (That was after pricing small gnome plushies first. It was simply cheaper to make it then to shell out almost $10 for a small plush gnome to add to my tablescape. I used yarn scraps so it was actually free!)

But I digress. Yes, you heard me crocheted Gnomes are very easy to make. In fact you can probably whip one out in a day or so.

Now I made to gnomes to look slightly different, mostly by varying the hat and body colors. And of course the gender. I made boy gnomes and girl gnomes. I also varied the hats, some had longer hats that trailed down and others had the shorter version or the one that stood up to a point.

To make these gnomes I used a couple of different free patterns I found on the internet. (You could of course purchase patterns on Etsy or other crafting sites.) I sort of mixed and matched the patterns to suit my needs. I used the basic gnome pattern from one, used the hat pattern from the other, and used the feet and legs from one pattern to add to the basic gnome I made from the first pattern.

Also the patterns I used are either for a St. Patrick’s Day gnome or for Christmas Gnomes, but since I was using them patterns to create Valentine’s Day gnomes I simply changed the colors to fit my theme and added a heart to the hat or body.

I followed the instructions on one of the patterns to make the beard. The one where you unravel each strand to make the beard fluffy. That took me longer to do than to crochet the entire gnome!. But you can use the beard on the second pattern, it’s not fluffy, but faster to do.

For the hats I varied the lengths by simply making less rounds.

To make the girl gnome I made braids instead of a beard. There are no instructions for braids on these patterns, but it’s simple enough.

Cut about 24 yarn strands for each side. The strands should be about 24″ long, you can adjust the length to what you want.

Then fold strands in half and attach the same way as you would the beard. Then braid each section and secure.

Here are the links to the patterns I used.

Crochet Gnome

Crochet Christmas Gnome

And lastly here’s a link to the heart pattern I stitched on to my gnomes!

Easy Crochet Hearts

Have a great time making your Valentine Gnomes! We’d love to see your creations! Please share them in the comments below!

Music and Twine Bottles

Dec 21, 2020 | Christmas, Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Patterns, FREE Printables

I have a neat tutorial to share with you that can really be expounded upon in so many different ways, your creativity can go rampant. We all know about my urge to save glass bottles and jars and have gone as far as enlisting family members to do the same. So when inspiration strikes, bottles of all sorts are available.

Here’s a list of what I used for this project: Glass bottle, sheet music, glitter, Mod Podge, jute twine, snowflake ornament, jingle bells.

I was given several of these schnapps bottles, that have really taken me a while to come up with a use for. They are tall and flat and can’t really be used for my Waterless Snow globes…but finally inspiration hit in the form of ‘Altered Bottle’ which is fancy for saying decorating the bottle to serve some sort of purpose beyond it’s intended use. SO I washed up the bottle, removed the label with handy dandy Goo-Gone (thank goodness for that stuff!!) and a pretty bottle is what you have. It no long looks like a schnapps bottle…but in my mind looks like a ‘message in a bottle’ type of bottle…cue The Police Just a castaway
An island lost at sea, oh.. I didn’t use the lids and used wire cutters to cut off the little ring left around the neck.

I have been lucky enough to find some old sheet music and believe me when I say this book is happy to be given a second chance at life in the form of art…the pages were so weakened with age and fragile….it just couldn’t be used anymore. In fact, when I tried to use my paper cutter, it just shredded the paper, so I ended up just scoring and tearing. The idea is to use the music paper to create a label of sorts around the bottle, so I tore the paper to fit the center of the bottle, leaving a little glass on the bottom and the neck of the bottle still exposed. Slather the back of the page with Mod Podge:

Eye-ball it on the center of the bottle:

Do the same for the back so you have something that looks like this:

Be sure to smooth it on well. Next, to soften the edges of the ‘label’ and for a little glitz, use Mod Podge and glitter around the edge ( I used a paint brush and spooned on the glitter). This a messier way to do it, if you want, you can use glitter glue or something similar. Once dry, use a soft dry brush to remove excess glitter.

Next, wrap twine around the center of the bottle, leaving two ends for tying. I used about three yards of jute twine. If twine isn’t your thing, ribbon would also look good.

I needed a focal point and found it by way of snowflakes. I found this package of small glittered snowflakes at Hobby Lobby…but you can use several different things….if you crochet, crochet a snowflake…stiffened doily….just something in proportion and creates a focal point.

Tie the twine through the snowflake:

String jingle bells on the twine (I just love the sound of jingle bells!)

Tie a shoestring bow, tightening the bells up and giving the snowflake a finished look. Like I said though, you can get really creative…see what you can come up with!

I think these would make great gifts, bud vases, candle holders….

…or how about writing a message rolling it up and putting in there for a loved one to read. Wouldn’t it be fun to write your yearly Family Letter and put it in there and share with your extended family. Write hope and dreams and put in there. Lots of different things can be done…..or really, it’s just pretty to look at.

Whatever you do, the bottle has been given a second life and been made into something beautiful.

What bottles do you have that can be altered?

***

It is almost Thanksgiving and I really cannot believe it! I know I haven’t been around much this past week, but I sure do appreciate you for being here. If I don’t talk to you before then I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving spending it with the people you love and cherish. Give your kids an extra hug and your husband an extra kiss, that is what I will be doing….and hopefully eating pumpkin pie! Love to all of you!

Fun Thanksgiving Activities For Kids

Nov 2, 2020 | Corner, DIY Crafts, DIY Holiday Crafts, DIY Projects, FREE Patterns, FREE Printables, Thanksgiving

These fun Thanksgiving activities for kids include crafts for 2 year olds, preschoolers and elementary aged children, Thanksgiving sensory bins, crafts, coloring pages, turkey themed ideas and more.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that may not get as much attention from kids. It is getting together with family to eat but also much more. There is meaning behind the food filled holiday and can be a fantastic focus for activities. I have included some of my favorite activities that I have found that center around Thanksgiving, turkeys, the may flower and being thankful. These Thanksgiving activities include science, sensory, gross motor, math, crafts and literacy. All are activities that kids will enjoy doing this Thanksgiving season!

THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Whether you are looking for thanksgiving activities for toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarten students or elementary kids.. this post has you covered!

Also, don’t forget to check out the 20 best Thanksgiving board books for kids!

Kids will love to watch corn dance. This is a simple science experiment that requires only a few supplies and won’t make too much of a mess!

Corn on the cob is from a plant and can do some magical things with time. This corn experiment looks so much fun to explore and observe!

The Mayflower is an important aspect of Thanksgiving that may easily get forgotten. This is a fantastic experiment and activity that can help you teach kids all about the Mayflower and it’s significance!

Cranberries are often served for Thanksgiving dinner and used as decorations during the Thanksgiving season. What is the big deal? Follow this experiment plan and explore all about cranberries!

If your kids love slime, this pumpkin slime is a perfect sensory activity for anytime during Fall. It’s ooey gooey feeling plus the addition of pumpkin seeds makes it look even more festive!

I love that this Thanksgiving Sensory Bin not only has corn, pumpkins, and gourds but a Thanksgiving scented candle (unlit obviously) to add to the sense of smell! How fun!

Playdough is a classic sensory activity and a perfect base for creating fun Thanksgiving books . It’s a perfect holiday inspired invitation to create!

Sensory bins are a fabulous way to encourage sensory exploration for kids. This Thanksgiving bin is so colorful and could be a fabulous invitation for kids!

Sunflower Granny Square Blanket – Free Pattern

Sep 14, 2020 | Corner, DIY Crafts, FREE Patterns

Lately I’ve been pretty much staying home as much as possible, I’m sure many of you are too. I’m not complaining, but finding things to do is getting more difficult as the days and weeks go by. After all I’ve been home since March!

I’ve been cooking, baking, canning, sewing, painting, drawing, and doing just about everything I can think of just to stay busy and productive; after I get all my “real” work done because I have also been working from home. Anyway in the spring when the lock down began I made some crocheted turtles for my grandsons in Italy using some of the yarn in my “stash”. Since then I’ve been looking for other crochet projects.

Recently I came across this free pattern from Crochet 365 Knit too. The pattern is call Sunburst Granny Square, then she changed up the colors and made this cute Sunflower Granny Square, it’s amazing what a difference the color changes made!

The sunflower part of the pattern uses puff and bobble stitches worked in rounds. Once the flower is complete it’s framed in a square making it a granny square. The squares in the pattern were stitched together to make a really cute bag. But I though how cute it would to join squares to make a small lap blanket or throw.

I made 36 Sunflower Granny Squares which I joined together using the Zipper method. I joined 6 squares across and 6 down to use all 36 squares. Then I crocheted 5 rounds of boarder using a combination of single and double crochet rounds.

I used Red Heart Medium weight yarn in Coffee, Chamois, Goldrod, and White. The first 3 colors were from my scrap yarn stash (which was a good thing because yarn seems to be hard to find recently, at least in my state of Hawaii). The white used the most yarn, but I always have multiple skeins of white yarn. If you don’t have these colors or simple can’t find any at the store, no worries, use whatever yarn colors you have on hand. Keep in mind that sunflowers come in different shades of yellow!

The pattern I used for the Sunflower Granny Squares is by Crochet 365 Knit Too! It’s free! Click hear for the pattern.

The Zipper method of joining squares is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Here’s a step-by-step on how to do it from Look What I Made.

As for the border I wanted to keep it simple so I used a dc in every stitch after joining the squares. In the corners I did 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc. The last DC was joined the to beginning DC. Then I made 4 rounds of SC using 3 sc, ch 2, 3 sc in the corners. If you prefer a different border you can use any style you want.

This cute lap blanket is perfect for those chilly autumn evenings!

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