Accordian Wallet

I've been looking for an accordian wallet for our cash budget, and haven't been able to find one I liked. I finally found this tutorial for sale online, and decided to give it a try. Since there are only five slots, I had to make dividers for my cash, but the dividers are cute too. Yay for digital scrapbooking! This turned out to be really cute and nice, and is working great for me so far. I think I will also try this Coupon Clutch from the Moda Bake Shop, but this is working awesome until I get around to it.

Baby Apron and Chef's Hat

This was a fun project! It was one of those rare deals where I didn't have to do any seam ripping or starting over - love it! This will be Cadence's Halloween costume, and then she can wear it anytime while we cook or bake together.

This isn't really a detailed explanation or tutorial, but I did include some general instructions for the apron.

First I traced the shape I wanted on newspaper, then cut it out of nice sturdy fabric. I used canvas so I wouldn't have to line it or anything.


For the ruffle I measured around the outside and cut about a four inch wide piece of fabric double the length measured.

Fold the ruffle in half, wrong sides together, and iron flat. Put your sewing machine on the longest stitch setting. Sew down the side with the raw edges, without backstitching. Be sure to leave a long length of thread at the end.

Pull the back thread to form the ruffle, working it until approximately even. Pin in place around the apron, right sides together, raw edges together, and sew in place.

I combined the binding and straps. This time I used a two and a half inch strip, leaving plenty of excess for the ties. Fold in half and stitch down the length, right sides together. Turn right side out. For the top, iron in half and stitch to either side. Trim off excess. For the side pieces, iron in half just on the section you will use as binding. Stitch this part only, so it is attatched on the front and back. Repeat with the other side.

Trim ties to desired length. Fold ends inside and stitch shut.

I used velcro for the neck tie, and left the back tie plain to just put in a bow. I also added a pocket, but technically you could be done at this point.

Cadence modeling her new apron. It is a little big, but I guess that just means she gets to wear it longer :)

For the chef's hat, I used this tutorial from The Tutorial Phone Book. It was easy to follow. I did have to make it much smaller, since it is designed for an adult head, but that was straightforward. I also used binder clips instead of pins to hold the poofy part in place as I gathered it - so much easier!

Since Cadence will only leave hats on if we are outside, we headed out to take some pictures. Can't wait to wear it some more!

More Party Decorations

These were also for Cadence's first birthday, one for each party. I decided I didn't want forks scattered all over the table (there wasn't really room...) so I lined a Lipton tea box with tissue paper and wrapped scrapbook paper around it to hold it in place. Super easy and they looked cute on the cake table. The scrapbook paper matched the page I made for each party in Cadence's scrapbook. I put the pages out where people could sign them at the parties, so we will always remember who was there.

Ladybug and Butterfly Cakes!

I made these for Cadence birthday parties. We had a party here in Moore with a butterfly theme, and a party in Tulsa with a ladybug theme. I loved having two parties, because it meant I got to have fun with two different themes. Next year I'm thinking bright colors with lots of balloons and huge lollipops... but of course that will change every week or so :D

Both of these cakes only require round cake pans and cupcake pans.

The ladybug just needs two round cakes, one layer each. Cut off about a third of one cake in a crescent shape. Put it together with the whole cake and cover together with icing for the body. Use the remaining oval as the head.


I mixed oreos into a white cake mix and then used them for all the black decorations... oh, it was sooo yummy!

It had been a long time since I used cake decorating tips, so I practiced on some sugar cookies. This is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever found! I will have to share it some time. It is labor intensive, but well worth it!

The shaping of this cake is super easy. Just cut two round cakes in half and place them on your cake board for wings, then line four cupcakes down the middle for the body. I saw this one in a magezine, but I can't remember which one! So much for giving credit where credit is due...

Stray Sock Catcher

I recently "repurposed" a small box to hold socks with no mates. I just covered it in cute scrapbook paper, and now it cheers me up every time I pull a sock out of the dryer and can't find it's mate.

Stroller Cup Holder

We've started using Cadence's umbrella stroller instead of the one her carseat hooks onto. It's great, but it doesn't have any cupholders or storage places. Instead I had to make something that would hang from the handles (without falling on Cadence's head like the diaper bag does when I try to hook it there). This is what I cam up with. It works great, and was super easy. I plan to make a couple more, one for my water bottle, etc. I also slid a clip onto the loop of ribbon for my cell phone and keys.

To make your own, cut a rectangle of fabric that will wrap around your cup or water bottle, going most of the way up the side so it will be properly balanced. Fold the top seam down a little wider than a piece of elastic and stitch. Fold the fabric in half right sides together and stitch along the bottom and sides, leaving the folded over part unstitched. Turn right side out and thread elastic through the folded part. Stitch the ends of the elastic together, at the same time stitching in a loop of ribbon so it is connected firmly to the elastic. That's it! I didn't mess with trying to close up the opening where I threaded the elastic through, and you can't even tell.

Not the fanciest project ever, but easy and very useful!

Laundry Apron

This was a Christmas present for Kristina last year. She was going to make one for herself and I thought, "Hey, that sounds easy and cheap! *Ahem* I mean, um, that sounds fun and cute and meaningful!" It was all of the above :) I found the tutorial at "My Byrd House."

It is all two pieces, and the whole front is one big pocket, making it easy access for things like clothespins.



A lovely and completely random picture of my dearly beloved pretending to choke himself on the apron strings...