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The DIY Play Parachute Backyard Summer Fun free tutorial post has been relocated to PostalThreads. You can find it under The "Sew Up A Storm Alphabet Series" under P is for... Play Parachute, or follow this link, here.

Thank you!
Lisa

H is for... Hexagon Pillow

I love to sew, but I do not consider myself a quilter--I have not delved much further than this pillow. But this project was the perfect amount of piecing for me! :) Thanks to Kim at Retro Mama, and her easy-to-follow tutorial, complete with clear instructions and beautiful photos, here, I sewed a hexagon pillow!


G is for... "Give Thanks" banner

What I Did: Pulled together some Fall/Thanksgiving fabric from stash, along with a few odds-and-ends---scraps of lace, buttons, wooden beads, etc. Cut out the pennants, & burlap letters; sewed burlap letters to front pennants, then sewed them front to back, right sides together, flipped them, pressed each one, made "bias tape" with my bias tape maker--I just cut it on the crosswise grain, though; and pinned it to the pennants. I wish I would have over lapped them a little differently than I did, like left OVER right, instead, but oh well.










What I Did NOT Know Until Long After This Project Was Complete!: Walmart carries di-cut alphabet packages of burlap letters!!! That would have been nice to know seeing as I found a font in outline form that I liked, printed it off, and then cut every single letter out of paper and burlap, individually!...oh well! [And! Just now, I learned they carry seasonal red burlap di-cut letter packages besides these natural color letters.] By the way, if you sew with these di-cut letters, realize they have adhesive, so don't let the gunk build up too much on your needle, and be careful getting it off.

Adhesive Die-Cut Burlap, Alphabet, Natural, 2 Packs

Adhesive Die-Cut Burlap, Alphabet, Natural, 2 Packs

A Few Notes About Bunting & Banners: I believe it was around the time of this project, or not long after that I came across my ALL TIME FAVORITE simple YouTube tutorial on making your own pennant bunting. Measurements in this tutorial are given in centimeters; if it bothers you, convert it to inches, but realize you just follow the same principle of doubling or halving. It will make more sense after you watch the 3:19 minute video. Also, if you are not adding any little "extras" to the pennants, then having your fabric right sides together to begin with saves time, by saving you from having to turn and match triangles.

And just for fun, I found this cute post on Miss Party, called "Buntings, Banners, Pennants and Garlands -- What's the difference?" here, if you're interested.

G is for..."Give Thanks" Banner....and garland, and grommets, and so on!

F is for... Fairy Tale Theme Decor

We hosted a "Fairytale Mystery Menu 'Breakfast For Dinner'" party for the 8-11 year old girls from church. I had fun making decorations. This is what came together:

  • The Seven Dwarfs, inspired by Tissue Tube Dwarfs at Disney Family [Thorough tutorial! Love it.]
  • Talking Doorknob, from Disney Family, here.
  • The cutest egg carton mushroom/toadstools ever! Inspired by a photo from this Egg Carton Gallery on Flickr. [Great way to use up an egg carton stash! Painted red with foam brush & applied white dots with cue-tips]
  •  Center Pieces: Each girl took home a dollar store butterfly "flower" (these came in bunches, so that worked out great). Crayons inside candle votive, with white beans. Crayons were for their fairy tale"place mats"--Printed at the local library--5 cents/page on 11x17 paper.
  • "Little Red Riding Hood" cape & basket from our Easter decorations box (Cape featured in upcoming "L is for... Little Red Riding Hood cape")
A good time was had by all!



F is for... Felt Bows--Perfect felt stash buster & links to free templates!

My cousin introduced me to these adorable felt bows. We made a whole bunch one afternoon. The two styles along with free templates came from the following places: Six Sisters Stuff, here, and KikiComin, here. Pull out your felt scraps and off you go! Enjoy!


E is for... Envelopes


Once you have made one, you might as well make all 14 for a countdown to Valentine's Day. These fabric envelopes are charming.



What I Did: I rounded up all the reds & pinks & whites or cream color fabrics I could find in my fabric stash. I also selected a few buttons from my stash. Then I splurged and bought some seasonal Valentine's fabric from the store, and a few more buttons. I used a stiffer fusible interfacing that I already had rather than the fusible fleece that the tutorial suggests (see tutorial details below). And then I went for it. Any time there is a project where you make the same thing over and over again, and whatever it is, is "soooo cute!" I seem to really get into it, and I begin to imagine grand schemes of making what ever it is, for every sister-in-law and friend or neighbor I know! Usually I do not get that far and am mighty proud of completing one finished project. So here it is!

Inspiration & Tutorial Details: Thank you, Bev, from Flamingo Toes who is the featured sewing contributor to Kristyn's blog, Lil' Luna.  Click on either blog link to take you to Bev's tutorial and beautiful photos! I love the ideas Bev shares for love notes or acts of kindness ideas to place in each envelope!

By the way, here, Martha Stewart also shares a version of a fabric envelope tutorial. However, it does involve decoupage, which may or may not suit your fancy!

D is for... Diaper Stacker--A Gift in the Guest Room For Only One Yard!


We had a lot of family in town last summer. I made this diaper stacker for my brother & sister-in-law & their Little One, who occupied a tiny guest room. This was a perfect space-saver to hang from a hook on the back of their bedroom door. I found the dimensions for the project from my "new favorite" library book: Little One Yard Wonders (see details below).

Little one-yard wonders : irresistible clothes, toys, and accessories you can make for babies and kids
By Rebecca Yaker & Patricia Hoskins
ISBN: 9781612121246
Physical Description: 359 pages : color illustrations ; 22 x 23 cm + 6 sheets of patterns.

The instructions were easy to follow. And what's amazing is this only took one yard of fabric!