{ elastic waist dress }

Halloween is in only a few days and I'm

barely getting my kids' costumes made! Kaj wanted

to be a witch ("a nice one, not a scary one") this year.

I made this simple dress

that can be dressed up with a witches hat and broom.

But.. I made is so that it didn't have to be a costume! She'll be wearing

this more often than just the holiday! It's too cute for only

one occasion! I can't wait to make more in different colors!

What you'll need:

1. Fabric and scissors
2. Narrow elastic (1/4 inch)
3. Sewing machine and thread
4. Bias tape, ribbon or twill (for straps;optional)

I made this dress to fit my 3 year old. So measurements may

be different for you or your child.

Start by doubling your fabric. I cut mine 20 inches wide. Then I

held it up to my daughter, under her arm, and cut it about an

inch longer than I wanted her dress to be. It was 21 inches long.

Now that you have two pieces, match them up, right sides

together and decide which sides are top and bottom

and which are the left and right sides.

Sew down each side with a 1/2 inch seam.

Now, hem the top and bottom by folding the edges over 1/2 inch

and sewing it down with a 3/8 inch seam.

 

Next, take your elastic and wrap it around the waist

and under arms of the person wearing the dress.

cut your elastic this length.

Now lay your piece out (inside out still).

Measure yourself or your child to decide where the
waist will be. My daughter's was 4" down from the top.

I used my measuring tape and marked around both sides
with chalk.

Now you  are going sew your elastic onto the waist of the dress.

 Start on the seam (you are sewing this to the wrong side

of the fabric). Lay the end of your elastic on the

seam and back stitch.

Now pull your elastic tight and hold it to the fabric.

Sew down the center of the elastic while you are still holding it

stretched out. Do this until you've gone around the whole dress.

You will notice that once you have sewn the elastic, it

shrinks back to size and ruffles the fabric. This is what it's

supposed to do.

Now, sew your second piece of elastic to the top hem

of your dress the same way you sewed

 it to the waist (wrong side of fabric).

 

Now you can leave it like this as a cute strapless dress,

or add straps. I hate sewing straps so I always

use ribbon or bias tape or twill! I used black twill on

this dress.

Put the dress on the person it's being made for. Use

a measuring tape and measure from front to back how

long your straps need to be. Cut two at this length.

While you're measuring, mark where you want them

sewn.

Sew these straps to the dress, on the inside.

I made a V in the back. You can do a more

traditional strap or even an X. Just measure

it accordingly!

 

That's it! A lot of words to explain but very simple

to actually make! I'll be making my self a shirt next!

{ pumpkins in a jar } Halloween

I found this jar at Goodwill for a dollar and

had to find something to put in it. Mini pumpkins were

a perfect fit!

What you'll need:

1. Glass jar with a latch lid
2. Mini pumpkins
3. Spray paint

I removed the latch from the jar because it's

blue and doesn't match anything. It's pretty

simple to remove. Just squeeze and it loosens

everything up!

I spray painted it black.

Then I put it back onto the jar.

Now for the pumpkins. Make sure when

you buy them that they are the smallest ones. You

want to be sure they'll fit in the jar.

My husband put mine in cause i just grabbed

pumpkins with no purpose and they

fit pretty snug.

He said it was easiest to turn on their side

to push them through.

Make sure you break the stem off, too, so they'll

sit on top of each other nicely.

{ cylinder vase cover }

Here is an easy way to change up the look of

a simple cylinder vase. I'm sorry but I don't have

picturesof it being made!

 But I'll explain the best I can with

the photos I have!

What you'll need:

1. glass cylinder vase
2. pattern fabric and coordinating felt
3. coordinating fringe
4. hot glue

Start with your cylinder vase.

Wrap your fabric around it and cut

it down to size. You want to leave about

a quarter inch extra on top and bottom to

wrap over. Glue into place.

Now fold the top and bottom over and glue into

place.

Glue a felt circle to the bottom of the vase.

 

Now glue your fringe around the top of the vase!

 You can put something in the vase but I chose not to!

{ crackled clock }

This DIY project is fun! I made one of these

clocks for my living room a few years ago. It is

3 feet in diameter and I love it (everyone always

asks if it really works)! The clocks I'm showing you

today do NOT really work! They are just for

decoration on my Halloween shelf!

What you'll need:

1. A bowl
2. Thin wood or cardboard (and a way to cut it out)
3. Contrasting paint ( black and white)
4. Crackle paint or white school glue
5. Magic marker or vinyl

Start by tracing your bowls onto your wood or cardboard.

Cut out your circle. If you use wood ( I did) you will

want to sand the edges smooth.

Now paint your circle with the dark paint. I used black

spray paint for my dark layer.

Once that has dried, apply your crackle paint or Elmer's

glue! For full instructions on how to use Elmer's glue

as a crackling paint, click here!

Don't let this layer dry all the way. When it is tacky but

not really wet, apply your second color of paint. I

used antique white acrylic paint. Try not to use a

lot of brush strokes.

Once it begins to dry, you will start to see the
cracks in your white paint and the black will

 show through.

I also smeared a little black paint around the

edges to separate the light color against my light

color walls.

Once the paint was completely dry, I  marked

around the circle where the number should be.

Then used black Sharpie to write the numbers.

This is for my Halloween decor so i wanted

it to look... well... a little creepy I guess!

I used tally marks for my numbers

on one and roman numerals on the other.

If you're making this clock to "really work", then

you can cut vinyl numbers with your Cricut or

purchase them from a vinyl or T-shirt shop.

(This is my real clock)

Next you have to find the center of your circle.

Mark it. I just drew hands onto my fake clocks.

Again, if you're making yours to "really work",

you can purchase a clock mechanism from Ben

Franklin crafts for cheap! They even carry ones big enough

for a 3 foot clock!

That's it! If you want to hang it, add a hanger to the back.

Mine are just propped up on the shelf.



{ tulle and lace wreath } Halloween

( Just in case I haven't mentioned)

I love Halloween!

I finally made my wreath today!

It took a little time but i finished!

what you'll need:

1. Wreath form
2. A variety of black and white tulle and lace

So the first thing you'll want to do is cover your form.

I used a fine black tulle with sparkles! I just wrapped

long strips around and tied them to each other.

I really wanted to spray paint it with black

sparkly spray but I couldn't find it ANYWHERE

on this island! So this will do!

Wondering where to get a wreath form? You can

click here to see an easy way to make your own! And

it costs less than $2!

Cut all of your tulle and lace into strips. Mine are

anywhere from 1 inch to 3 inches wide. The length

will depend on how thick your form is. I think mine

 were anywhere from 10'' to 14'' long.

(I cut a lot more than this picture shows!)



I started with the tulle that looks more like chicken wire!

Tie each piece around the form and make a double knot.

You can actually tie them 2 or 3 at a time to save time.

Next, I added strips of the soft sparkly tulle.

I used almost twice as much of this tulle than

the bigger tulle. Make it nice and full.

 I added white lace next. I didn't use very

much because I didn't want it to over power

the black.

And finally I added thin white tulle to the mix.

Now it's time to add your stripes.

I cut shorter strips of white lace and tied them into

place, securing them on the backside

of the wreath.

And your done! I hung mine with a long strip of

lace and sparkly tulle.

Then I added a pumpkin :) 

I just tied a long piece of lace around it and 

tied it to the nail so it is suspended in

the center of the wreath.

Happy Halloween!

You can click here to find out how to make

your own wreath form for less than $2!