Pool Cool Toy Bag

My girls loves to bring their toys to take a bath (off course I made sure that the toys are safe to put inside the water first). Bath time is always a fun time for them with the toys around. After a while it was so troublesome to keep the toys that scaterred all over the bathroom. The bathroom look a mess and it was difficult to clean the bathroom.

When I saw this pattern, I immediately like the idea and plan to make this right away. This can solve my problem. My bathroom looks tidy and it looks cute too. If you want to make it, here is the link to the free pattern.

The Dog-Food Bag Project

When I saw this project, I think this is very clever idea. Not only you have opportunity to recycle, in the end you also got yourself a very big and sturdy grocery bag. I don't like small and shallow grocery bag, I want my grocery bag big and deep enough to put all my grocery stuffs inside. Not only this bag meet my criteria, but it is actually sturdy enough to stand up by itself.

If you decided to make this project, don't forget to block out the UPC code on the bottom of the bag to avoid you being charged of a full bag of dog food.

Roll Warmer

Do you serve breakfast in the morning? If you see in the movie, you can always see how nicely they prepare the breakfast in the table. It is totally different from my breakfast table. Every morning, it's always a big mess.

I found this pattern yesterday. Do you think if I make this, it will improve my table? If you want to make one also, you can find the pattern here.

Quilted Metal Hot Pad

Do you like to recycle? Then I think this is a perfect project for you. All you need is: soda cans, fat quarters of yellow and green cotton fabric, scrap of cotton batting, fusible web, press cloth and basic sewing supplies

Note: Use heavy-duty craft scissors for metal--not your sewing scissors! I also recommend wearing protective gloves when cutting metal.

Carefully cut apart three soda cans, removing the top and bottom sections. Press fusible web to the back of the metal pieces using a press cloth to protect the painted surface of the soda can.

Cut nine 2 inch squares from the fused metal. Remove the paper backing from the fusible web and center the metal pieces right side up on top of an 8-inch square of cotton fabric. Press using a press cloth to protect the painted surface.

Cut four 1 1/2 x 8-inch strips of green fabric. Turn under 3/8 inch along both edges and press down the entire 8-length. Lay two of the strips across the width of the fabric square, covering the edges of the metal squares. Pin the fabric strip to the fabric backing. Stitch down either side of the fabric strip through all layers of fabric and the metal squares. Repeat, stitching the remaining two strips vertically. Note: Be careful to not pin through the metal squares.

Cut four 1 1/2 x 10-inch strips of yellow fabric. With right sides together, stitch two of the strips of fabric to the sides of the metal fabric layer (hot-pad top layer) using a 1/4-inch seam. Press the fabric strip out from the edges of the hot pad top. Trim the strips even with the hot-pad top. Repeat stitching the remaining two strips to the opposite sides of the hot-pad top.

Cut four 1 1/2 x 10-inch strips of lime green fabric. With right sides together, stitch two of the strips of fabric to the sides of the hot pad using a 1/4-inch seam. Press the fabric strip out from the edges of the hot-pad top. Trim the strips even with the hot-pad top. Repeat stitching the remaining two strips to the opposite sides of the hot-pad top.

Measure the hot-pad top and cut two squares, one from the yellow fabric and the other from cotton batting. Lay the yellow square of fabric right side up on a flat surface; place the metal fabric layer on top, right sides down. Top with the cotton batting square. Pin together, being careful not to pin through the metal squares. Stitch around all sides using a 1/4-inch seam and leaving a 3-inch opening along one side. Turn right side out and hand-stitch the opening closed.

Quilt the layers together by stitching around the borders and down the centers of the green strips of fabric. Remove any stray threads and press the hot pad using a press cloth.

I want to make this as soon as I read what is high availability about.

Needlework Set

I found this wonderful needlework set in the internet with the instruction how to make it. It said only takes 4 hour to make (although probably more than 4 hours for me to make). I think this is a wonderful gift to give to somebody that like to sew or to quilt. It's pretty and and not long to make. I want to make this if I have time.

Simple Dolly

What about if your daughter asks you to make dolly or teddy bear and you just learn how to sew? No need to worry, I just found the solution. You just went to the fabric store and buy fabric with dolly or teddy bear prints on it. Cut the the outline of the dolly or teddy bear, stitch it and put some stuffing and you are done! It’s super easy.

Fat Quarter

If you are a quilter, you may already be familiar with this term and the benefits of using fat quarters. However, if you're unfamiliar with quilting, you may not know how much fabric you need when you see "fat quarter" listed in a project's materials list.

When you purchase fabric off a bolt, it is generally folded in half with the selvage edges matching. A 1/4 yard cut of fabric is a 9-inch-wide strip cut across the width of the fabric (usually 44 inches wide, for cotton quilting fabrics). A 1/4 yard cut typically measures 9 x 44 inches. A fat quarter of fabric is made by cutting an 18-inch-wide strip across the width of the fabric, and then cutting the strip in half again, but this time along the fold to yield two fat quarter pieces, each 18 x 22 inches.

Depending on what you're making, it might be more advantageous to purchase fat quarters, rather than traditional yardage cuts for your project. Some benefits of fat quarters include:

The ability to cut pieces up to 18 inches long, rather than only 9 inches long
Fat quarters are often packaged together with coordinates from the same fabric line, making it easy to select a group of fabrics that go with each other.

Ultimate Home Accessories

Making new throw pillows is an easy and inexpensive way to give your decorating scheme a fresh updated look. I use lots of pillows throughout my home and find them to be one of the best home accessories for the following reasons:

Homes are full of hard building materials, such as wood, stone, brick and tile. They also have many hard architectural features, such as windows, doors, cabinets and fireplaces. In addition, many furniture pieces in our homes are hard and boxy. Because pillows are made of fabric and have a soft appearance, they help to break up the hard elements and give your home a cozy feel.

Pillows are a great place to repeat colors found elsewhere in the room. Repeating colors can help to unify a color scheme and create eye movement throughout the space.

Pillows can lessen the impact of a very large furniture item in a room. For example, a large sofa or bed could seem overpowering for a particular space. By breaking up the large item with a scattering of throw pillows you can help keep eye movement flowing throughout the room, and prevent a large piece of furniture from becoming too dominant.

When the pillow covering becomes worn out, you can replace the outer pillow cover only and reuse the old pillow form, making it inexpensive to freshen up your decor.
To make a basic pillow cover, follow the steps below:

- Measure the pillow form in both directions and cut two pieces of fabric 1 inch larger than the form in each direction to allow for 1/2 inch seam allowances all around. For example, for a 12 x 16 inch pillow form, cut two rectangles of fabric 13 x 17 inches.
- Pin the fabric rectangles right sides together and stitch 1/2 inch from the raw edges all around, leaving an opening on one side for turning and inserting the pillow form.
- Trim the seam allowances to 1/4 inch all around and clip across the corners. Turn the pillow cover right side out and press.
- Insert the pillow form and slipstitch the opening closed.