My Reversible Skirt is Back!

Craftzine.com featured my Reversible Skirt Project from way back in the day. So fun to see projects still being circulated and appreciated. Miss my shorter locks, but still rock my reversible skirts and red heels! You can download and sew your own reversible skirt here.

Bonnie's Thimbles

My aunt Phyllis contacted me recently to let me know that she came across a small box of my grandmother's vintage thimble collection and wanted to know if I'd be interested in acquiring them. I didn't hesitate for one minute, having no idea what beautifully intricate thimbles were coming my way. When I saw the box in the mail yesterday my heart skipped a beat and my children watched me open the little package as if a magical troll was going to appear. I was amazed at her 6-piece collection with intricately designed thimbles in varying shades of silver. One was even from a Life Insurance company. It's the little treasures in life that bring the biggest smiles to our faces - thanks Bonnie!

Sew Proud to be Five!

When my daughter opened her big gift for her fifth birthday, my heart nearly burst as she unwrapped her first sewing machine. She has been asking for one for awhile so I did a lot of research to find a quality machine that will grow with her.
Janome makes an adorable 3/4-sized Hello Kitty machine that came with rave reviews. I was sold and my daughter was over the moon. And it wouldn't be complete without a sewing kit filled with thread & needles.

Hankie-Pankie

Looking for a craft for the kids on a sniffly, cold, wet, rainy day? Customized hankies, of course! Crayola makes fabric crayons which are so easy to use. Simply have the kids draw a picture on a blank white sheet of paper (don't forget that the image will reverse, so help them write any words backwards!). Put the paper face-down on the hankie and iron on a hot setting. Be sure to find hankies that are made of synthetic fibers rather than cotton, as the ink will not hold up in the wash! To frame their little masterpieces I added an embroidered trim.

Lovebirds Galore!

Making valentine cards with my kids is beginning to rival the joy I feel making their Halloween costumes. I like the collaborative effort along with the handmade creations. My 2-yr-old's class is studying music this year, so we decided to make these framed art cards with a wooden bird whistle attached.
I found the wooden bird whistles at Oriental Trading Company and the foam frames at Joann Fabrics. The art is straight from Cooper's heart.
For my 5-yr-old's cards, we changes our original plan of making lollipop flowers with heart petals (via Martha Stewart's website). I realized that candy is frowned upon in her classroom, so we used the cut heart petals to make flower cards. The stems are metallic ribbon strips and we finished the centers with various white buttons. They came out adorable, even sugar-free.

Love Yourself

Couldn't resist making this adorable crocheted heart brooch for myself today. I used a gold metallic leather to make the arrow with a grey felt backing.

Martha Made Me Do It

Every year I troll the internet for fun, crafty, kid-friendly valentines to mass-produce for my kid's classmates. This year I was inspired by Martha Stewart's lollipop valentine project. It's a clever use of paper-cut hearts as petals around a lollipop. Will post pics once we make some more progress.

Operation Comfort Doll

This weekend I had the opportunity to craft with local ladies Rachel Carlson & Kate Matlock at SewPo. It was a night of crafting with a cause, sewing these adorable plush dolls for Operation Comfort Doll. The finished dolls are distributed to women who reside in domestic abuse shelters around the U.S. Not only was it heartwarming to make a charitable craft, but inspiring meeting more local crafty ladies!

Happy Halloween from Angus & the Majorette

Kids under the age of 3 are the best candidates for Halloween costumes because they really don't have an opinion yet - nor do they mind if you dress them as up as someone they have never heard of before. Sooooo, I chose to transform my 2-yr-old as Angus Young. Since my husband is a rock history nerd, we had to do the costume justice by adding the felt Gibson SG.
The hat, blazer and shorts were mostly taken from vintage patterns for reference, then I added a reconstructed thrift store tie which was the perfect color. Hell's Bells he looked amazing!
At age 4, most girls want a costume that is pink and has some glitter or shine component. I added a retro twist by turning her on to this baton majorette idea. She even came with me to the fabric store to pick out the pink glitter lining and silver sequin trim.
The hat was constructed out of poster board paper and was the trickiest part. Ironically, finding a baton was the biggest challenge! We ended up having to order one online. I LOVE making costumes for Halloween - as one blogger posted today, "Halloween is my Fashion Week." So true...

Pendant Cluster Necklace

When your last name is "DeHart" you tend to acquire quite a few heart-related pendants and other jewelry. I decided to cluster a few of my favorite heart lockets to create a vintage-inspired necklace.