Little Girls First Book Bag

Thats right, our 7 year old asked for a book bag! Not a backpack because aren't cool anymore?
Yikes.
So I asked what she was going to use her book bag for. She has a journal she writes in every day. She writes about her day, her favourite things that happened during the day, what she is thankful for from that day and what she wants to do for tomorrow.

Anyways... this bag needed to be cute, have pink (of course) and have a shoulder strap that can be adjustable.

My solution? My giant pyjama pants that were not being used! This is a great beginners project! Upycling AND FREE!

Whoops, took a picture after it was cut... I used the leg of the jammers with the hem being the top of the bag. I sewed the bottom of the bag together creating a rectangle with one open edge.

 I then matched up the seams on each bottom corner of the bag and sewed right across giving the bag a little more base.

 Finally I sewed 2 rings to either side of the bag and attached a strap like with an adjuster so she can either put it over one shoulder or over her head.

Her journal fits perfectly! She loves her new heart book bag :) I might make a bag for myself.

Happy sewing!

How to get rid of Dog Smell!

Yes! I have kicked the pup smell in the butt! Its Thrifty, Natural, and DIY!

We have a fully carpeted home... (I cannot wait until its all hardwood or at least snap together laminate!) Our pup started shedding and my sister has a pup too that comes over and tends to shed too... That is a whole lot of dog hair that gets vacuumed every couple days. With dog hair comes a certain smell... I love my little pup with my everything but that blasted smell I could absolutely live without!

Money does not allow me to rip out the carpet just yet so I had to think of another alternative, a natural alternative, of course!

So I went into my cupboards and used some information that I have learned over the last couple months. Baking soda is the best invention ever! Oooo and lemon! Both great things!!!!

This is all you need! Baking Soda, Shaker container, and Lemon! (you can use any scent I just prefer real lemon)

I filled the container with baking soda squeezed about half a lemon into it. Shook the heck out of the container to ensure it was completely mixed. Sprinkle the mixture all over the carpet. Let it sit for about 15 min (don't worry your little pup can sniff and lick as much as he wants... it wont hurt him) Then vacuum it up! I do this once a week while the pups are in shedding season. Sometimes more often depending if there are little ones crawling on the carpet.

SMELL BE GONE! Huzzah!

Girls leggings from moms stretchy pants

Another DIY thrifty project! Sewing and most importantly Upcycling! I just saved myself $20! Which is not much... but if you keep adding that $20 over and over again it adds up... right? My little cookie is not much of a jeans wearer... When she picks out her clothing the bottom part is always leggings! Did you know even at Walmart little girl leggings are $10! Common! Its the tiniest bit of fabric... how can it be that much? I can buy a meter of fabric for $2!... Wait, thats not a bad idea...

I went to the mall and they have adult leggings in every colour you could imagine on sale! Ahem, Urban Planet, Thank you! They were $2 each! So I purchased... a few...

Not for me of course... well except the black ones... and the brown ones... and the grey ones... but the other colours were for another project...

Project leggings for our little cookie!

She is a size 6-7ish depending on the store, but 7 years old.

I found the tutorial here.

I laid down her own leggings (that fit her) folded one leg into the other onto the newly purchased leggings and cut around them leaving 1/4 inch for sewing. I made 2 sets of little girl leggings from each pair of purchased pants! That means I spent $1 on her leggings. To top it off I unpicked the waistband from the purchased leggings and sewed them right into her new ones! I have also made her leggings out of stretchy pants that don't fit me anymore. Yes, that means FREE

Now when I ask her to get dressed in the morning, the first thing she pulls out is her NEW leggings! She now coordinates her shirts to match them too! Kids love handmade things from their parents! Try it out! You can't go wrong with this project!

Happy sewing and up cycling

How to clean an oven naturally... after a much needed clean!

Thats right, its time to clean the oven. Its getting cold out and no one wants to go outside in the rain. Why not clean your oven? BEFORE it starts on fire... Thats right, I said fire...

My girly friend came over the other night with pizza. It was this giant pizza, with tomatoes spinach and lots of cheese! (I know, not part of my healthy choices)... anyways... I heated up the oven and we started our much needed girly chat at the table in the kitchen.

I looked over at the oven and smoke was coming out of the elements. My thought, "this cannot be good." Seconds later smoke was billowing out of the sides of the door of the oven... "Ok, definitely NOT good!" I opened the oven to see how bad the damage was and flames flew out at me! (I am skipping the ridiculous conversation my friend and I had or the amount of time we let the fire continue) I quickly closed the oven door, grabbed my giant container of baking soda (and I mean GIANT) and emptied it into the oven covering the flames. Surprisingly, it wasn't enough to put the fire out so I grabbed my extra large container of flour, and started scooping handfuls of it throwing it in the oven... Blast! What a MESS!!! Yes, we do have a fire extinguisher... but I was told it makes a real mess... I don't think it can be messier then this...

Baking soda and flour was EVERYWHERE!

The worst part, We didn't even get to put our pizza in the oven to cook... and my goodness were we both sooooooo hungry!!!

 Until I realized I have a mini oven. We sliced up the pizza and put a couple slices in there at a time... The first round. Burnt. Black on the bottom...

 Anyways... back to my oven. I told you this whole using the oven and cooking was new to me and now I realize how dirty it gets when you use it so often. The oven fire was caused from my first homemade turkey! I left it for 3 days dreading the day I will clean it up. Not only because it was a HUGE mess but I was told and researched how bad using an oven cleaner was for your health... Did you know they suggest a mask and opening all windows and doors and the use of a fan while using oven cleaner? Yikes. Oven cleaner is NOT good stuff... Good to know. It is also soooo expensive. At my grocery store it cost $20... much too much for a part-time worker! Especially when I can do the same job using non-toxic chemicals for free! Yay to being Thrifty!

So I looked up what our people of the past used to clean the ovens. Good ol' arm and hammer baking soda, white vinegar and lemon! Best inventions ever! I obviously had to pick some more up as I used my other stuff in the fire...
I first took a rag and wiped up the stuff that created the fire. Turkey grease from Thanksgiving!
Then I dusted the baking soda all over the oven.
Next I grabbed an old spray bottle and poured vinegar in it. I sprayed the vinegar all over the baking soda and let it fuzz and sit for 2 hours. This loosened up the grime I couldn't remove with the rag. 2 hours later I grabbed my scrubby that has no metals and scrubbed the heck outta the oven. It really wasn't that much work! My trusty natural cleaners did most of the work!

 I took a pic of my oven door half cleaned. I just wanted to show you how it just came off with a little elbow grease. Look how dirty this oven is...

I tackled this next... 

Yay a  clean oven door! By the way, did you know your oven door comes off of most models? I didn't until I accidentally almost pulled it off... Good to know.

 This is my cleanish oven! I know there is still grime on it but it looks worse in the picture then in real life. Promise!

And from  now on I am using this tinfoil liner I bought from the dollar store (but I am sure you could lay tinfoil down...

I put the door back on, cut the lemon in half covered them in water and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 min. The leftover grease comes off with a rag after the oven cools enough for you to wipe.
And your home is left with that scrump citrus smell!

Upcycle? T-shirt to Workout top!

Yeah upcycling!!!!

This is a new term I have only learned a month ago. I know, shocking! I have been upcycling everything in our home thanks to Pinterest! I mean I upcycle things like containers for other packaging leftovers for family members to take home and stuff, but there is a whole world of upcycling out there that I didn't know evern existed! 

Upcycling is defined as the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value. 

I upcycled a workout top from my mans t-shirt. I am just soo proud right now.

You can get the tutorial here. The only thing I didn't do was cut the bottom. I think it looks weird... Otherwise best clothing upcycle I have done yet. Its fitted, but still loose and just awesome!

 First, you cut following the seams of the sleeves and neckline. 

 Then cut 3 strips about this width (2inches) from the leftover sleeve to tie the back piece together

 Stretch it out by just pulling on it!

You wrap the fabric around the back to bring it together which creates the workout top look!

And Ta-da you have your very own workout top from a unused t-shirt!

Happy upcycling!

How to cover up holes in leggings

Have a hole in an adorable piece of clothing? Patch it!

Children get holes in their pants. They play on the playground, kneel in dirt, drag their legs on the floor and soooo much more!

I have a very thrifty idea to cover up the holes in leggings that is such a cute idea, plus your little girl will love the new design!

She only had one hole in one of the legs, but it looked funny just adding a patch of fabric to one leg... Can you guess which one? Haha the knee of course!
I cut out her favourite shape (heart) out of plain fabric I had just lying around.  I pulled out the ol' hand needle and thread (doubled the thread to add thickness). I started from inside the pant leg and just went around the heart. Piece of cake? Piece of pie!

Yay for simple fixes and DIY for newbies!

How to make a maxi skirt in 2 hours

Lately I have been going through this sewing frenzy... I want to sew everything, until I remember I am a beginner and should take things slowly... Slowly Jessica, Common!

I saw soo many women in these maxi skirts that I think look good on some people and not so good on others. I thought I would be in the 'other' group. So I never even tried one on at the stores as they were much to long and I did not own a sewing machine and didn't want to take it to get hemmed. Sooo that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Anyways, I decided to make one using this and this tutorial.

(In the corner is my little pups ears.)

I found a pretty stretchy fabric at Fabricland for a whopping $2 for 2 meters! that I was a little worried about but couldn't help but buy it as it was sooo soft and silky! It isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be working with such a stretchy fabric. If I don't have to worry neither do you! This is a perfect beginners project!

I loved it so much and the little cookie loved it so much I decided to make 2! One for her one for me :) I bought too much fabric (you only need 1 meter if your about a size 5 women's) She is 7 and I still had sooooo much left over fabric! I wonder what else I can use this silky soft fabric for? Any ideas?

You can see I used the yoga band style for my little cookies dress and the 3 inch elastic waistband for me. For my future maxi skirts I will be making the yoga band waistband its sooooo comfy!!!

Happy sewing friends!

Beautifying little girls clothing

I hate it when tops get too short! I am sooo happy that long tops are the cool thing right now because I do not like belly tops. Not at all! Not for older people, not for children and ESPECIALLY not for men... (not that this is a problem...)

Recently I have noticed some of my little cookies tops have been getting a little on the short side and instead of getting rid of them (they fit everywhere else on her) I decided to do a little makeover! Her tops are so cute and almost new so why not add some length? This is a double bonus in my opinion as she prefers long tops and tights. She is definitely NOT a jeans girl! 

I didn't follow any of the measurements that were suggested, just measured the shirt and her to see how far I wanted the ruffles to go.

I got the tutorial from here. 

We have a HUGE stash of tights that I have made for her (for another post) and these long tops will be perfect to mix with!

She is one happy little girl in her brand new shirt!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I had the opportunity to make my very first Turkey! Now you should know, I am NOT much of a cook. My loving man pretty much cooks everything... Until now. I am learning to do it all! Remember, everything in this blog is all new experiences... So if I can do it, so can you!

For the last couple years on thanksgiving and christmas everyone comes to our house and my very talented man cooks us an amazing meal! Turkey and all the fixings!

Anyways back to my turkey.

My momma went through cancer 2 years ago and it was hormone driven. That means the hormone estrogen (in her case) was over producing. I have learnt through research that there are a ridiculous amount of animals that are pumped with hormones. Most animals from big commercial farms are forced to do this from the buyers (not us little people, the big buyers that sell to us little people) or else they will loose everything. Anyways, our turkey was organic and local. Meaning no butterball pre-made anything... Even the man only used butterballs in the past.

I looked around known food places to find out how to make turkey meat juicy.
All Recipes and Youtube to my Rescue again!

I highly recommend this recipe and watch this youtube video to enjoy the most delicious organic and local homemade turkey you will every eat! The only thing I did differently was put garlic and dried parsley into the mashed up butter.

Remember, if I can make a turkey dinner, so can you!

Happy turkey eating!

Cinnamon? Good! Candle? Good!

I LOVE summer with all my heart, but I LOVE fall for all the colours! There are soo many holidays in fall that I love too. Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas (well this one doesn't really count as its in winter... but we don't get much snow here so winter is included in fall). My most favourite part is getting all the family together over at our house and preparing a giant turkey and ham and all the fixings.

Anyways, back to Cinnamon and Candles.

When I think of cinnamon I think of baking, egg nog, blankets snuggled on the couch and finally I think of FALL. So here is my fall gift to you!

It's cinnamon sticks tied to a candle! Yeah thats right, its that easy to create a scrump smell in your home. Now why would I go out an buy a cinnamon smelling candle you ask? Duh, this is soooo much prettier! This is my prototype as I only had a giant candle on hand. I grabbed some string I had around the house and just tied it all together.

This little glorious thing smells soooo great! It all the holidays, season, and food wrapped into one candle.

Make one for your home or wrap it up and gift one to a friend!

What you need:
Candle of almost any size
Cinnamon sticks from the baking section
String that looks pretty (you can also use an elastic band

I found when I raised the cinnamon sticks higher they let off a more profound cinnamon smell. Three days later and the candle still smells just as good as the first day.

MMmm, careful though this will make you in a better mood as cinnamon is one of the scents that is proven to be more calming.

I think I am going to make some ginger snap cookies!
What is your favourite thing about fall?

Happy Crafting!

A Little Skirt for a Little Girl

I LOVE sewing! I feel like I can finally create something that is actually useful. This project is perfect for beginners! I brought my little cookie to the fabric store and showed her the giant wall of on sale fabrics. I told her she could pick any 2 fabrics on this giant wall at Fabricland. She thought this was the coolest thing. Her little eyes spotted a great deal!

She chose these 2 fabrics

We purchased 1 yard of each fabric to make a total cost of $3.45 (this is WAY MORE fabric then what you need). I also needed some elastic for the waist which cost $3.00 and was WAY more then what I needed so I am estimating a cost of $.25. I used less then 1/4 of both fabrics so how much would that be? Math isn't my strongest... so $1.00 for this skirt? Is that right?

I wanted to make something pretty easy for my first clothing project so I chose a rectangle ruffled skirt. with a separate gather on the bottom. I found the pattern from here. I didn't add the extra layer on the bottom though.

Here is my interpretation. Next time I will add a little more fabric around her waist to gather :)
She is now one very happy little girl!

Have you made a skirt for any age? Send me your pictures or comment on how it went!


Happy Sewing

Does your clothing Smell?

Lately my clothes have been stinking up my house. No not because I am smelly!!!! Common. My washing machine is making everything stink and it is progressively getting worse... The stink is kinda damp moldish smell... The bottom line is that my clothes stink.

I thought this new fangled front loading washer was going to save hydro, water, and cleaning products and clean itself?! Apparently not...

So I grabbed my washer manual out of my over stuffed filing cabinet and opened it to "so your clothes smell like damp mold huh?" page, I guess you are supposed to wipe down the lip of the washer after every cycle. Uh, I thought this thing was supposed to clean itself was my only response. Yes I said it out loud... I continued reading... You need to drain this little thing that opens when you turn it. Its filled with stinky water that doesn't drain. You need to do that once a week? Oh, also once a month you are supposed to run a tub clean... and you need to purchase a very expensive very specific cleaner once a month to have a clean washing machine. Pardon? All I read was time consuming and expensive. Blast.

So out I went to buy some tub cleaner thinking this is the part where my washing machine cleans itself. It cost $20 and I am supposed to do it once a week until my washer is clean and then every month... Uh oh. This might start costing... I used it anyways as I was slightly desperate and a little frustrated. I did a load of laundry and clothes still smelled! I don't know about you but some of these stinky clothing I actually like!

Nothing a little googling couldn't fix!

I started with draining that gross little plug at the bottom of the washer. They were right, freaking smelly water came out of it! So drain that thing! Next, grab that baking soda that is sitting in your fridge and mix 4 tbsp with 3 cups of warm water. Take a rag and wash the inside and around the lip of the washer. By lip I mean that rubber trap that harbours gunk. Yay homemade/natural things that does not cost a penny! Next, do an empty load on hot with vinegar in the bleach spot. Fill to the max line (about 1/4 cup). 

Now its time to de-stinkify your towels/clothing! Put any clothing in (I do not separate anything...Don't judge) In the detergent section put in whatever you use. And in the bleach section put in vinegar until you hit the max line. Wait for the load to be finished and your clothing will smell like amazing laundry soap. Not vinegar, I promise!

Stink be gone!!!!!

I now wash my clothing with vinegar once a month for a week. Vinegar? Yeah I know strange...  but there is no vinegar smell! Just great smelling clothing! I also keep my washer door open to air dry and keep the mould out. Finally I wipe the inside of the door and outside of the lip with a dry rag. This keeps everything just that much cleaner. 

Huzzah! I just saved on chemical cleaner again! I am saving the environment from this junk and saving my pocket of money! Success! I am back to loving my washing machine all over again. It looks and smells brand new again!