Tutorial | Tie Bell Sleeve Shirt

I think it's time for a sewing tutorial and with it being the beginning of the new year, and everyone all excited about resolutions and such, why not make THIS a resolution? After wearing this at least four days in a row after its completion, I can say that it'd be a good one to resolve to make!

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Tutorial | Insta-Frames

What's the hardest part of moving?

a. Packing
b. Selling the old house
c. Saying goodbye to the old house
d. Redecorating the new house

When we moved out of our beloved first home where we welcomed two of our babies and made so many wonderful memories, everything on the list was hard. Prepping the house with three little ones is no small task, and saying goodbye to friends and neighbors was heart-breaking. I remember when we moved into that old house, I immediately felt those warm, fuzzy, at-home feelings. The new house, on the other hand, I didn't.

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Tutorial | Flutter Sleeve

click here for the wrap dress tutorial.

The flutter sleeve is one of my absolute favorite sleeves, especially for summer. It's just so breezy and feminine. I first made them on my maternity dress when I was pregnant with Barrett and it really wasn't too tricky, so I'm excited to share this quick tutorial with you!

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Tutorial | Wrap Dress

It feels SO GOOD to be writing a tutorial again! It has been way too long, but with my graphic design class wrapping up (this is my last week!) I feel like I can finally give my blog and my readers (you!) the TLC that it needs!

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Christmas 2016 | How to throw a Gingerbread House party!

The moment we arrived at my sister Becky's house, I was all smiles! I was definitely feeling all the Christmas-y family feels, yo.

Having a Gingerbread House making party can be a pretty daunting task, especially if you've got about 20 children running around, but there were a few things I noticed that made this family construction work/run smoothly!

Buy pre-made
I'm all for the home-made stuff, but when you're expecting a lot of people over at your house, you probably have a lot of other things on your mind. So taking something big off of your plate, like baking a bunch of gingerbread isn't a bad idea!

Ask for help
The sets we had provided some candy, but not nearly enough for our sweet tooths... I mean, teeths... teeth? Ask everyone to bring a bag or two of candy to contribute!

Be observant
Pay attention to the people around you. Does anyone need a little extra help?

Food
Soup is a great option for a large group of people and you can ask other people to bring things for the soup or another soup option as well!

Prepping your house + Toys/Games
Prep your house with areas for entertaining the kiddos who get bored of the house-building and also to get them out of the kitchen (maybe outside?) while the adults do some cleanup!

Use the buddy system!
When I wasn't making the gingerbread house (or taking pictures!) I was watching my kiddos and Andrew was stepping in to help and vice versa. I couldn't do these things and have nearly as much fun without my partner in crime, er, construction, in this case.

And don't forget the family picture!

The main thing to remember is to make sure you're as present as possible. Be prepared so that you can participate and make memories with your family/friends, too. I hope your Christmases were every bit as wonderful as you are! Thanks for reading today and I'll catch ya next time!!!

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Tutorial | Circle shirt

A while back, I was walking through Joann's and every now and then, I find fabric that is so beautiful, I simply cannot pass up the opportunity to make something out of it!

This fabric is so soft and thick and warm and is perfect for the dry Utah weather we've been experiencing!

Alright, seamstress gals out there! Ready for a tutorial?!

You will need:
2.5-3 yards fabric (depends on the length of your sleeves)
Matching thread
Contrasting fabric for elbow patches
Model shirt (fits well at neck and arms)
Scissors, tape measure, etc.

Step 1: Pieces

Use a shirt that fits well at the neck and arms as a pattern, then, instead of following the model shirt's side seam, take it out to the side (like in the drawing). Measure from the arm-pit of the shirt to the length you want it, to determine how far to take the circle shirt out then curve down to the fold, making it the same length from your chest to the hem as it is from the armpit to the outside edge. And don't forget to add seam allowance!

Step 2: Sew
Pin the shirt pieces with right sides together at the shoulders and side seams. Sew.
*If you're doing the optional elbow patches, now's the time to sew them on! Just pin the patches to the sleeve pieces and zig zag stitch them on!
Pin the sleeve piece along the length of the sleeve with right sides together. Sew, and repeat with the other sleeve piece.
Turn the sleeves right sides out and pin it to the arm holes of the shirt with right sides together. Sew.

Step 3: Neckline/Collar
Measure around the neckline of the shirt and subtract 2-4 inches (depending on the stretch-ability of your fabric). Sew the two shorter ends of the collar, right sides together. Fold the collar in half with wrong sides together, hot-dog style, and iron flat. Line up the seam of the collar with the center of the back on the neckline. Pin the collar to the neckline, stretching to make it fit. Sew.

Step 4: Hem
Hem around the entire circle of your shirt (the shirt is probably more like an oval than a circle, but let's not be too technical!) and around the wrists and you're done!

I don't always try to look perfect for pictures! ;)

Good luck!

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Tutorial | Slouchy Beanie DIY

The following statement is 100% true: Slouchy beanies are the reason I wanted a baby boy. ;) That's not to say that girls can't wear slouchy beanies, but there's just something so juicy about a baby boy in a slouchy beanie, amiright?

As soon as fall time rolled around, I was more than ready to buy him one online, but then I do what I normally do and decided to make it myself, and you know what? It was SEW easy! And now I'm going to share how I did it with you so you can make the world a better place for anyone who sees your adorable babe wearing one of these!

*if you're not a sewer, stick around, because you're not going to want to miss the announcement at the end!

Basically, I used a fitted beanie that I already had and lengthened it a couple of inches. Just have confidence and be grateful this isn't a HUGE investment in fabric money!

For this tutorial, you will need...
Fabric (about 1/3 yard)*
Scissors
Coordinating thread
Pattern beanie

*The key to making these slouchy beanies is the type of fabric you use. Find a nice, thick, soft, stretchy knit. I'm pretty sure I used a cotton spandex knit.

 Step 1 - cut

Use your pattern beanie (the one you already have) and lay it out on your fabric. Cut around the bottom and sides of the beanie with a half inch buffer (this is called seam allowance). If you're using a regular sized beanie, extend a couple of inches (about three or 4). Shape the top of the piece you're cutting out like in the picture above. Find the center of the beanie piece and cut a 2-inch heart-point, like in the picture above. Cut out four of these pieces.

Step 2 - sew

Pin two beanie pieces together around the sides up to the peaks at the top with right-sides-together. Use a straight stitch with a 1/4" seam allowance to stitch the sides*. Next, bring the side seams at the top (peaks) together to pull the opening closed. Pin in place, and sew the opening closed with a 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat with the other two beanie pieces.

*to promote good stretch in your beanie, lower the tension of your thread in your machine.

Step 3 - attatch
Turn one beanie piece-duo right-side-out, and slide it inside the piece-duo that is right-side-in, aligning the side seams. Now the two-piece-duos are right-sides-together! Pin around the opening of the beanie and sew with a half inch seam allowance, but leave a 1 or 2 inch opening! So you can turn the beanie right-side-out! Anyone getting dash-sick? AH! I did it - again... ;)

Step 4 - sew opening closed
Reach into that tiny opening  you made and pull all the fabric out so that the whole beanie is right-side-out. Tuck the interior of the beanie inside the exterior, pin the opening closed and sew.

FINISHED!

A N N O U N C E M E N T !

One of my lucky Instagram and Facebook followers will receive not one, but TWO of these 6-9 month size beanies for... FREE!!! That's right friends! One for you and one for a friend! So hop on over to my Instagram and/or Facebook to see how to enter!

instagram

facebook

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Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Chandler, Arizona and surrounding cities. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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Tutorial | Boots to Booties DIY

A couple of years ago, I purchased these boots off of Amazon and have loved them since day one. They're not the kind of boots you expect to last much longer than a couple of years, so when the zipper broke, I can't say I was too surprised, but I was a little bummed. Those boots were good to me.

I was literally on my way out to the garbage can to throw the old things away when it just hit me. Why throw them away when there is still so much potential?!

So before you throw out your old boots, give this a try first! It was so easy and all you need is some scissors, felt, and a hot glue gun!

You will need -
Scissors (I also suggest an X-acto knife)
Complimenting color of Felt*
Hot Glue Gun

*you could easily substitute a fun complimentary fabric or even pom poms instead of felt!

Difficulty level - very easy

Step 1 - cut

Decide what type of booties you want. My boots had a natural seam line that I decided would work perfectly for a peep-side type of bootie, so I just followed the seam line. An X-acto knife turned out to be my best option for my boots, but I know that I could have done the job exclusively with scissors.

Step 2 - felt

Cut pieces of felt that are about a half inch wide and heat up your glue gun. Line up the pieces of felt to measure the length of the section around the inside of the boot you're doing, then run the glue gun about a quarter inch away from the edge in the inside of the boot and stick on the felt. Do this around the entire interior edge of the bootie.

Step 3 - glue

The felt is glued in place, but now apply a second line of glue to fully close the opening you made in the boot with your scissors.

Then I just glued the belt buckle back on and voila!

Finished!

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Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Chandler, Arizona and surrounding cities. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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Rope and Circle Mirror DIY | Barrett's Nursery Tutorial

Have you seen these mirrors around? I discovered it first on Amazon and loved it, but $36.00? Eeeeeeeeeee... that's a bit of a stretch for me.

I thought it would look amazing on my wall with a boxwood wreath (I ended up buying a boxwood tile topper that was WAY cheaper) and my clock, but kind of gave up on it until an idea trickled into my brain. I knew that Hobby Lobby sold circular candle plates and rope, but I just had to think of something to make a brim around the mirror. That's when the embroidery hoop just popped into my mind!

The whole thing cost me about $10.00 and it was REALLY easy to make. Get ready for a tutorial!

You will need:
Circular mirror (like this one from Hobby Lobby that I used my 40% off coupon on)
Embroidery hoop (same size as the mirror)
Natural Rope (I purchased the same rope trim for this as my rope + wood frame and picked the stitches out to separate it from the lip)
Glue gun
Super Glue
Sand Paper
Stain
Foam brush
**I thought I wanted to use the screw eyes/cup holders to attach my rope, but decided that it would end up looking too much like Mickey Mouse. So ignore those pretty gold cup holders in the pic above.

Step 1: sand and stain hoop
Use the foam brush to apply the stain and follow the directions provided.

Step 2: Glue

Set the mirror face down on top of the back side of the embroidery hoop and use your glue gun to glue the hoop to the mirror. Glue around the outside edge so that none of the glue seeps to the inside of the brim.

Step 3: Rope

Trim your rope to just the right size and super glue the ends so it won't fray. Use the glue gun to glue the rope to the mirror.
**I also hammered the ends of my rope to make them lay flat**

Step 4: Hang
Easiest tutorial ever, right? And I LOVE the end result!

So give it a shot and let me know how it goes! Share a picture and tag @suesnews. I'd love to see how yours turns out!

click here to see the rest of the nursery!

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Susan is a birth photographer/videographer serving Chandler, Arizona and surrounding cities. Considering a photographer for your birth? Contact Susan for EDD availability.

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