Dirt Bike Valentines

 Here are the Valentines Landon passed out this year. They were fun, and very easy to make! I designed the Valentine and had them printed at Walmart's 1 hour photo.

The pictures are cut out and attached to scrapbook paper to make the bag toppers. I found these cute zip-lock bags at the Dollar Tree, along with some candy.

 These are address labels I had sitting around, I ran them through the printer and wrapped them around Hershey's Nuggets.

 Landon stuffed the candy and I helped staple the toppers to the bags.

Happy Valentine's day!

Oversized Cross Stitch

I made this over-sized cross stitch at a craft night with friends a while back.  All you need is a canvas, paint, embroidery thread, and a needle.  First, I painted the canvas a metallic copper color and let it dry.

 I then chose a cross stitch pattern I liked, enlarged it, and printed it. You may need to print it on several sheets of paper then tape them together, depending on the size.  I put the pattern on the canvas and used a pin to poke holes through the paper and canvas at each corner of the squares in the design (where each "x" would go).

Then, I used a brown embroidery thread and followed the pattern.  Just sew like you would a normal cross stitch, tying off the last stitch on the back of the canvas.The result is an inexpensive, unique piece of art!

Painted DIY Roman Shades: On a Budget

SOOOO, this is what happens when you rent a house full of mini-blinds AND share that house with a curious cat: 

Obviously, it got a little uncomfortable to live fully exposed to the neighbors so I needed a quick fix.  Beautiful, sturdy, wooden blinds would be my preferred solution but too costly for a rental. Instead, I found 1 pack of THESE curtains at Ikea (discounted at $14.99 which equals about $2.30/yard), 5 yards of muslin ($0.90/yard) at Dallas's CHEAPEST fabric store, and THIS awesome tutorial on pinterest. With the cost of the fabric glue, my end product: 5 Roman shade window treatments for about $5 each.

I got a bit ambitious on the first shade and decided to paint THIS print on it. I like to call the finished look "free-hand weathered" basically because I didn't know what I was doing. So if any of y'all have tips on how to paint fabric, feel free to share! Here is what I did:

 1. Print off desired shape and trace with a pencil or chalk the same color of the paint. (I used a pen the color of the fabric but it shows through the paint... bad idea)

 2. Lay fabric flat on cardboard since the paint will bleed through.

 3. Dilute the fabric paint just slightly with water (the more water you add, the more it will bleed) and paint over stenciled outline.

4. Let dry for a couple hours and then follow steps in Roman shades tutorial linked above.

Now, even when I forget to raise the blinds, Horatio can weasel his was under the fabric without ruining the fixture.

(randomly foggy day in Dallas)

Pattern Review: Simplicity 2599

I made this top using the Simplicity Pattern 2599.

This pattern is a really great, basic pattern.  It is good for people who are just learning to sew, because there are no buttons or zippers- hooray!  It is also amazing for those who like to experiment with altering patterns.

For my top, I started by cutting the bodice front and back.  I decided to taper the width of the bodice from under the darts to the bottom hem to make the top less baggy.

I wanted the sleeves to be a little longer with a band and have a little puff to them.  I traced the sleeve pattern on tissue paper, and added a couple inches to the bottom.  Then, I followed  this puffy sleeve tutorial.  Anyone else instantly think of Anne of Green Gables when they say or hear "puffed sleeves"?

I topstitched some trim on the front bodice piece before I sewed the front and back bodice pieces together.  I also sewed trim on to the sleeve bands.

I would love try and make this pattern into a cute shift dress- just and width and length to the bottom of the pattern.  It would also like to try it with some of the cute collar tutorials that are out there.

WARNING: This pattern did seem to run a little large, so make a size or two smaller than the measurements recommend.  Even after I tapered in the width, the top is a little boxy.  I will be sure to go down an extra size next time.

If you have tried this pattern, or decide to in the future, we want to see your finished product!!  What did you think of the pattern? What changes did you make?

Easiest Way to Fancy Up a Shirt

Congrats ANNE, you're the giveaway winner! Please send us your mailing address.

And to anyone who's ever wanted to dress up a boring tee without having any skills or exerting any effort whatsoever, here's a solution. Go to a fabric or craft store (we love SAS in Tempe or Phoenix) and look at the fancypants old lady casino appliqués and find that one that speaks to you. Purchase it, hot glue it to a t-shirt, and boom. 

Mines looking a little ratty after several washes and a 9-month-old that likes sparkly things, but if you let it air dry, it should be no problem. Heck, you could even appliqué it on the way you're supposed to. 

Sorry for the boob shot. 

Valentine Giveaway

NOW CLOSED

Readers, we LOVE you- like, A LOT!!!  Valentine's Day is about a month away- and what better way to celebrate our love for you than a little DIY giveaway?

One follower of the Sisterhood of the Crafty Pants blog will win a diy valentine kit.

The kit includes:

12- 6" squares of adorable scrapbook paper (6 varieties)

6 different ribbons

8 white, scalloped cards

8 white envelopes

A handful of felt heart stickers

All followers of the blog are welcome to enter! Not a follower yet? Sign up on the side bar, and leave us a comment.

Extra entries:

• Post about the giveaway on Facebook
• Pin one of our Logos

• Pin a photo from one of our posts (some favorites here, here, here & here).
• Link our blog on your blog.
• Tweet about the blog.

For each entry, write a separate comment with a link to where you posted.
The winner will be chosen January 18th... just in time to make cards for all your valentines!

Remember- we love you!

Goodly Parents Poster

I really liked the talk "Becoming Goodly Parents" by L. Tom Perry since I'm new to the whole parenting thing and being bombarded with advice--some helpful, some not so much. His advice is some I actually want to follow, but knew I wouldn't remember it unless I had a visual reminder, so I put together this little poster (inspired by this design):

Feel free to download and print your own!

More colors HERE