Jack O Lantern Jars

Repost from 10/12/2009.  I wanted to update it with the link that I used for the pumpkin faces.

I used the site Scissor Crafts and it refers you to a site called Paper Pumpkins, there I downloaded and printed many different Jack O'Lantern faces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We made these Jack O Lantern jars at work. They are a really cute candy holder.

You'll Need:
canning jars or baby food jars
green acrylic paint
black craft foam sheets or black acrylic paint
craft glue or hot glue gun
green ribbon or raffia
orange candy.

How to Make It:Cover your work surface. Remove the lid from the jar and paint it with the green paint. Cut the face pieces from craft foam and attach them to the jar with craft glue. To make it even easier, we used sticky backed craft foam sheets to make the jack-o-lantern face. No glue needed!You can also paint the face on the jar.

Fill the jar with the orange candies all the way up to the top. Secure the dry painted lid on the top and tie the ribbon around the edges for an extra decorative touch.

For the faces I printed off about a dozen pumpkin carving patterns and the kids drew the faces on the black foam.

Denim skirt (recycled)

This morning I went in search of a free denim skirt pattern for Miss V's doll.  I found this one on a site called Dolly Outfitters.

It is made from a pair of old jeans.  Luckily I had some in my closet.  The directions were very clear and easy to follow.  My only issue is that my jeans were old Levi's and the material is thick and especially at the seams. 

The most important thing is...that Miss V is very happy with it!

Skirts from Simplicity 4297 & a recycle

Here is what I sewed up today.  The skirts are Simplicity Pattern 4297 and the top is the Trendy Tank.  Now the cool thing about the tank top is that the material is from one of my husband's polo shirts that was in the rag bag.  It had all sorts of little bleach spots from cleaning the pool.  He has a few more that I am going to cut up and make more little shirts.

This fabric was from a package of Disney Fabric Squares that I have had for YEARS!  I never found a good use for it until now.  I am going to go through the rag bag to see if I can find something that may match this.

Simplicity 4297 continued.....

I got up early this morning and cut out 6 more skirts and ironed where the casing would be.  Then headed off for a busy day with Miss V.

So when we finally got home around 2 I started assembling the skirts...the problem was I ran out of elastic on the second skirt.  ACK!  So I whipped up a blue shirt to go along with the polka dotted skirt.  I used the trendy tank shirt and cut it a little bigger since I used cotton fabric not a knit.

Miss V told me that Kathleen LOVES all her new clothes.

Simplicity 4297

I picked up the Simplicity 4297 pattern today and Miss V picked out some cute fabric.

I just made one of the little skirts and I think it came out adorable.  Click on the picture and you can see the print a little better on the skirt.  It is lime green with pink and white flowers.

Yesterday's sewing projects

Yesterday's sewing projects for Miss V's AG Doll, Kathleen.  I made an orange top, a pink top and another drawsting dress.  This time I used a striped fabric and made the armhole bands and ties in a matchin lime green fabric.



Trendy Tank for American Girl Doll

Since I am now on a sewing kick for my daughter's American Girl Doll, I figure she would need a new shirt.  I found a free pattern called Trendy Tank from Liberty Jane.

The fabric for this actually came from one of Miss V's outgrown Justice tank tops.

It came out pretty cute and it was fairly easy.  I just need to finish the back when I pick up some velcro.

Drawstring Dress for an American Girl Doll

Well I haven't been able to find furniture for Miss V's new American Girl Doll yet so I moved on to fashions!  I went searching high and low online and found a site that had a couple free patterns.  The site is called Heritage Doll Fashions.

So I dug through one bin of  scrap fabric and decided to attempt a dress for Kathleen.

Kathleen sitting with the pattern all cut out.

 She decided that she would like a purple dress to match her purple ballet flats.

Her new pretty drawstring dress!  It is a bit short and when I make the next one I will add a bit of length to it.

Victoria decided that Kathleen's new dress should have a little white belt.

 Two happy little girls.

Picture frame redo

Miss V has an old picture frame that holds her pins from Disney.  I covered the cardboard with a plush white fabric.  Then push the pins through it and put the backs on them. 

Anyway it was a pastel yellow that matched her princess room.  Well now the yellow just doesn't go well with her new theme. 

I took it apart this morning and gave it a light sanding and whipped out a can of Key Lime spray paint and got to spraying!

I think it came out really cute.  Now I am going to find a picture hanger on the back and put it on the wall, but for now it is just sitting on top of her armoire.

Bedroom makeover 95% done

We have just about, ok 95% finished Miss V's bedroom makeover.  Here are some pictures of the progress.


Took down the Princess border and started to empty her room.

Next came color....the two choices were Sherwin Williams Slick Blue or Spa.

I wasn't totally sure, so I asked my friends on FB.  It was split 50/50 until one of my neighbors suggested Sherwin Williams Blue Bauble, which is one shade lighter than Slick Blue.  The more I thought about it and looked at it, the more I liked it.  When Miss V came home, I asked her to pick one of the three and she immediately picked the Blue Bauble.  Ok...Blue Bauble it will be!

So on April 20th we dropped Miss V off at school and went to Home Depot to get sod.  Well that was a huge no go so I went and picked up two gallons of Behr paint with the primer in it.  I love how they will match other brands.  We came home and got to work.  I was secretly worried about how well it would do covering the pink and purple.  Well the paint is really thick and did a great job of covering the old paint.

Now that is a big difference in colors.

I really like how it matches her old quilt.  I am storing the quilt in the closet to use as a back up if need be.

Finished painting her room and let it dry over night.  The following day I put her new Bobby Jack, Going Dotty bedding on.  I also purchased two espresso brown panels from walmart.  They are from Eclipse and they are room darkening.  That side of the house is absolutely brutal in the summer.  Her room never feels cooler than mid 80's.  Over the panels, I added the Bobby Jack Going Dotty Valance.

Also brought her bookcase back in and it looks great with the new paint color.

I also found cute fabric bins at Target and they work wonderful in her wire cubes.  Miss V also sorted through her toys and came up with a big bag of things to donate.  Yeah!!

She also sorted through her stuffed animals and I told her that she could keep a few down and the rest would go in bins and be stored away.  I told her that in a few months that I would get the bins down and she can pick different animals and the rest get stored away.

I found these nice lime green bins at Walmart.

Last night Marcel put her armoire back in her room.  It looks so much cuter in white with green nobs!

The only things left are to refinish/paint the bed, which may have to wait until fall when it isn't so muggy here in SW Florida.  I also want to get a BIG magnetic white board, but waiting for a Michael's coupon and some sort of brown rug.

Some thing I learned....the Behr paint and primer in one IS fantastic.  But you can still smell the fumes.  Each day the smell is getting lighter and lighter.

Room Makeover part 2

This week I thought I would tackle refinishing Miss V's Armoire.

I took out the drawers, removed the door and got to sanding and painting.  This time I used Behr's Premium Plus Ultra paint.  The color was Smart White and the finish was Satin.  This made my project go a little quick. 

I only needed to use two coats of paint instead of a coat of primer and two coats of paint.  This paint is a lot thicker than regular paint.  It also cleaned up very easily.

I am really happy with the way the armoire came and what is more important...Miss V is very happy!  For now the armoire is in the hallway until we can paint her room and shampoo the carpet.

Speaking of RustOleum Key Lime

Speaking of RustOleum Key Lime...I thought I would update the drawer pulls.  I found some plain wooden ones at Home Depot for $0.94 a piece.  I picked up seven for the armoire.

Then came my dilemma....how can I spray them without making a huge mess or messing them up.  I thought about it for a few minutes and came up with a solution.  A Capri Sun Box!!!  Use the screws that come with your drawer pulls and push them from the inside of the box to the outside and screw on the pulls just a tiny bit.

Then spray away....