A Thrifty Mom

Last night at around midnight I was doing my late night Pinterest searching and while browsing my favorite DIY &Caft section and I saw this picture straight from my blog it was edited really cute and I thought *Where did this come from. So I clicked it and of coarse it was from A Thrifty Mom I have had a bunch of features on her blog and every time I am featured I am very humbled and still get very excited. I love how many people read my blog now I have almost reached 20,000 views and from all over the world. I love making crafts and blogging about my family traditions for friends and family. I am starting something new and will be selling handmade jewelry and some of the crafts I have made for those who like my crafts but would rather have someone else make it haha so right now I am working hard on all of that and I want to post the link to the feature. Be sure to leave a comment and if you make one I would love to see and hear how it came out!

Athriftymom Feature

Lace Headband Tutorial

You will need:

Lace (mine was not stretch

Jersey Knit 

Sewing Machine

Scissors 

Elastic

First cut your jersey fabric into a strip about 6 inches wide then fold in half hot dog style and measure around your head then subtract an inch and cut. Sew along the raw edges from end to end and when your finished pull the tube right side out and slide that seam to the middle so it is not visible and flat on one side. Pin and sew the lace on. Final step you will now measure what you have around your head again and figure out the length of elastic you need cut it and tuck it into the opening on both ends and sew shut. VOILA YOUR DONE!

Knot Top Tutorial

I have been wanting to make this FOREVER and finally I did! I have to say since I fractured my wrist I am pretty freaking amazing at doing everything with my left hand!!!! I sewed this using my left hand only and if I can do it anybody can. First get some Jersey Knit fabric then you want to cut two rectangles exactly the same and you can use a pattern you already own or just use a t shirt with the fit you like and add an inch for seam allowance this shirt is supposed to be loose so don't worry if you think it looks to wide.I cut a long stip 5 inches wide by 50"long and just pulled through the top and for the full tutorial you can go to Bow Top that will help you make a pattern if you dont have one already.You sew the two sides together then flip right side out then you need to make the "tube" or casing for the tie to go through I folded in an inch then again 2-3" and sewed after this pull your long piece through tube and wear it. Since the shirt was Jersey fabric you dont need to hem the bottom or arm area It looks so cute and a perfect starter project for a beginner.

Update

Thank you to my fil who dropped everything to watch the kids so I can gt X-rays your rock. I was told to pretty much rest completely before my big solo trip which will be in less then two weeks so I can't cook,clean,do dishes anything and hopefully it gets better before then. I am in horrible pain and my hand is getting no circulation and turns purple often this is my final update for a bit since it hurts just the positioning of the keyboard and my left hand....hubby has doctors orders to take care of all household chores so that seems like a plus haha but that's it I can't keep texting friends because now my left hand hurts but call and I will pick up.hope everyone has a wonderful night and thanks for all the concerns and warm wishes.

Accident

Around 9 pm last night I was walking into my kitchen and my wrist just slammed into the table I was in so much pain and played it off like I was ok to my husband then I looked down to find a ball like bulge under my skin i iced it and today it is still there and my wrists hurts more then last night this could not have come at a worst time with my trip coming up and me being the only adult carrying two children and a carry on im so worried and frankly can't afford to get an xray so hopefully my doctor has good news at my appointment tomorrow....so no more crafting for a bit and i will have to learn to type with my left hand! FUN

Fabric Snack Bag Tutorial

I am a mother of two wonderful boys and EVERYDAY I am packing plastic snack and sandwich bags full of snacks so that I can "tame" my children at the store or just keep them calm in the car but the amount of bags I use actually adds up and I am spending WAY to much money on bags. I decided to go a little green and make Reusable Snack Bags the best part is this is a great project for all those scraps you save and when it gets dirty or stained you just pop them in the washer and VOILA like brand new. I decided to add a flower embellishment to mine and this bag only took me 20 min to make.I wanted to share this fun easy craft because it is by far one of my favorites.

To make this bag go to:

Reusable Snack Bag

To make the fabric flower just cut a piece of fabric really long fold it in half and make a gather stitch the length of the piece where the folded raw edges meet* don't back stitch* then pull and sew in place 

Travel Activity Bag Tutorial

Ok so I have been wanting to make something for my kids that will carry all of the following a notebook,stickers,crayons,candy and printable coloring pages I got from the internet. One important thing for me was the style the function and I wanted the elastic and button closure. My only problem was I could NOT find any tutorial or project just like I wanted or using the fabric and layout I wanted. UNTIL  I stumbled upon the blog From An Igloo! I was elated and my husband was like finally this madness will end haha I am a beginner sewer and don't get the whole "sewing terms" so this was driving me crazy trying to make it myself with just a thought. I then kept reading the tutorial on that site and found that it was entirely TO BIG and I wanted something smaller to fit on my carry on which for me is a huge DIAPER BAG and with my fibro and two boys the bag is so heavy and I end up carrying them when I have to rush to the next gate so I decided to use her tutorial with some size modifications which I know you will enjoy! Her bag was about the size of a laptop case and the one I made is about 8"w x 9"l when folded and closed like a book!And to make mine a frugal project I used craft felt as my batting and did not make handle straps for my bag so if you want to know how to construct this amazing little Travel Activity Bag go to the link http://fromanigloo.blogspot.com after you read through her steps you will be able to make it easy but in order to get the one I made bellow you will need to cut to my measurements:

Main Fabric:Use a 1/4 seam allowance

2 pieces of 17"x9.75" 

Fusible Fleece:

2 pieces 17"x9.75"

Contrasting Fabric:(for the pockets and only need 1 piece each)

6.5"x9.75(crayon pocket)

4"x9.75"(smallest pocket above crayon pocket)

12"x9.75"(Large pocket)

You will need 2-3 inches of elastic and a button to sew on at last step

Isn't this adorable? and it fits in your purse you can use it for a road trip or like me for a plane trip and if it gets dirty throw it in the wash!!!

This is an inside view you can see where I sewed up the middle which makes it fold like a book and keeps it  in place!

Leave me a comment if you liked how it came out!!!!

10 Min. Cell Phone Case Tutorial

While online I stumbled upon a bunch of cell phone case tutorials I liked but none as simple and cute as this one and it only took me ten min to make!!! for the full tutorial go to easy phone-sleeve-tutorial! Here is mine...I also have to add if your cell phone has silicone on the outside you might want to make the case 1/4" wider because mine fits snug but it is very hard to get out because of the texture of my phone.

Toothbrush Travel Pouch Tutorial

My next few posts will ALL be travel related and this one I have been wanting to do for a while after getting the idea from Pintrest so I decided to make an actual "tutorial" for this. This project is SO EASY and will take anyone about 5-10 min!! and the best part it will only cost you ONE DOLLAR to do. I was at my local dollar store when I saw this hand towel that was a beautiful baby blue and it was same thickness as a Walmart hand towel so I grabbed one in blue and one in a pastel green. 

You will need:

Towel 

Ribbon

Sewing machine and thread 

Scissors 

Chalk 

Pins

TTP Tutorial:

First lay the towel out on a table 

Then using a new toothbrush or one you have lay the brush on the towel and fold over to the desired pocket size then since mine was a hand towel you will have to cut the top quite a bit.

Take your ribbon and cut two long pieces you can always trim after your done! and wedge the ribbon into one side of the pocket *like shown*

Pin it up really well (on a side note I had a mommy moment and for some reason cut my two pieces of ribbon and put one on each side....DO NOT DO THAT!!! you want two pieces together on ONE side)

I used chalk and marked four even pockets *you can see my lines very faintly in this picture but it helps keep my lines straight!!

Sew up the four pockets then since I had the raw edge at the top I just folded it 1/4 inch and again then pinned *in other words hem it* 

And that is it....roll it up and tie it then toss it in your suitcase. (Do you see what I did wrong? just forget you see that extra ribbon I just cut it off and it was an easy fix!)

Here it is rolled up

And a better picture of the baby blue color

You can make more pockets if your would like and even put your deodorant and face wash in it

Easy Diaper Clutch Tutorial!

I will be taking my two children on a very long trip this month and my youngest is NOT fully potty trained so I wanted to make a Diaper Clutch but I just wanted it to be simple and I could not find a decent tutorial for a beginner sewer like myself to understand so I decided to make a pattern myself and post the tutorial for the one I created for everyone to see!!!*click to enlarge pictures*

You will need:

fabric(I used flannel)

sewing machine

thread 

scissors 

Diaper Clutch Tutorial:

1.Cut two pieces of fabric 26"x13"

2.Take the two rectangles and place them right sides together and pin.

3.Sew the two sides using a 1/4" seam allowance.

4.Cut extra and flip right side out and iron.

5.Take the raw edges on ends and fold inward to create a hem then iron flat.

6.Now pin all four sides and sew all around the entire rectangle *like shown in the picture* 

(A helpful hint for getting straight lines is to use a pencil and mark the inside and use as guide when sewing the best part is no one will see it!*

7.Measure 5 1/2" on both ends inward to create the pockets to hold the diapers and wipes * the 5 1/2" mark will be where your pocket creases*

8.Pin pockets just folded and sew the pockets sides closed *use the picture below for reference and simply sew on top of stitch already created or whip stitch the sides shut* 

THAT IS IT! Fill it with diapers and wipes and enjoy.

Crayon Roll Tutorial

I will be going on a very very very long trip soon and a whole day of flights and two children I am going crazy trying to think of how to make my flights more organized so I decided to do a Crayon Roll...I know you have seen them I mean who hasn't? But I wanted to make one specifically for BEGINNER SEWERS < like myself so here is what I did:

You will need:

Scissors 

Sewing Machine

Thread

Button 

Crayons

Fabric 

Elastic 

Interfacing 

Needle

Now on how to make it:

1.First I cut 3 rectangles 6"x 18"

* I cut two of those rectangles using the same fabric(flannel Baseball Print) and one white cotton fabric for contrast!

2.Then you will cut one rectangle 6"x18" of felt ( I am always wanting to save some money and all you need is two sheets of felt then cut and it will cost you only 40 cents versus getting fusible interfacing)

3.You will take your contrasting fabric rectangle(white on mine) and fold in half to make the pouch for the crayons then iron flat.

4.Then you will start from the left side and measure 1 1/2" in and mark your fabric then you will mark every 1" from the first line until you get to the end I ended up with 16 pouches for crayons...*the first and last pouches will be larger then the others but you can't tell and you can add more crayons to them!!

5.Then you will be taking your felt rectangle and you will place it on the wrong side of the fabric say for instance you will place the felt on a table then you will place the fabric on top right side facing up at you and then the white fabric and line them up really good PIN REALLY WELL and sew those lines you drew for the crayons to go *you will only sew from top to bottom of white piece like i show on the picture above!

6.Then you will cut 2-3 inches of elastic and place in the middle of crayon roll and on the left side! 

7.Now make a fabric sandwich and place the two main pieces right sides together PIN TOGETHER really well and leave a 3 inch opening on one side of the rectangle when sewing around to flip it right sides out when done!! using a 1/4" seam allowance.

8.Clip the excess on the corners and turn it right sides out! 

It should look like this ^......then for added stability because i used two pieces of felt I sewed two straight lines going all the way up so it wouldn't bunch up. I just counted 4 squares and used the line of the fourth pouch as a guide and sewed all the way up. I counted another four squares and did the same one more time and your DONE! just roll it up and mark where you want your button and hand stitch that baby on and ENJOY!!

I really hope this was a good tutorial due to the fact that I was chasing my children around the house and sewing I did not take pictures during...if you have any questions please leave a comment!!!!