Applique

Applique is the best way to get  cute t-shirt for a specific event.  There are a couple methods I have used

Wunder Under with machine sewing on top (I never had luck with wunder under alone)

 I used a tutorial found here  to cut this from my cricut.  The head and bond is more secure and I did not sew this one.

Again with the heat and bond and my cricut, but I did hand stitch these letters as they were a little smaller and I like the stitched look.

 This shape I bought from etsy precut, but it did not last long.  The colors bled all over the white shirts and the appliques fell off after a few washes... (pillow next to him is one of my cross stitch creations - lots of Christmas decorations in cross stitch)

Applique is a quick and easy way to dress up a cheap t-shirt just the way you want it.

Cakes

I love baking.  But even more I love decorating cakes. This habit is about to get worse as a cricut cake arrived on my front porch today (I love ebay).  I don't have pictures of a lot of my cakes, but I do have my lightening mcqueen which left dye all over my kitchen for days...

For the third birthday I was pregnant with number two so I went with the easier route and did a dirt cake - and of course a dirt cake can only be served in a dump truck..

More cakes to come in the near future.

Halloween Froggy

I love Halloween.  When we were little my mom used to make all our costumes.  For my son's second Halloween I decided I should do the same.  I found a pattern for a Tom Arma tree frog and knew I needed to make this.  It took a lot of time, and a lot of help from my mom, and at the end it probably would have been cheaper to buy, but I did it.  I made a damn cute frog costume..

This may be a rare item as last year's halloween attempts ended up half sew in a crate in the basement.  I'm not a great seamstress and it takes a lot of coordination to get my mom's help with no little people involved.  At least I can say I did it once.

Knitting inspiration

When my first son was born I stumbled upon "cranky pants"

I NEEDED my son to have these pants.  But they were $80, and at the time they weren't being produced.  I tried to contact another knitter to make them for me, but I got no response.  So it was time to take matters into my own hands.  I went to Barnes and Nobles and bought Debbie Stoller's Stitch n' Bitch.  Paired up with some needles and a ball of yarn and I taught myself to knit.  Once I had the basics down I moved toward my goal - -the cranky pants...

 I used some graph paper to draw a chart for the monster face and mangled some form of color work (nobody needs to see the insides...)  But they worked.  And they fit.  And they satisfied my need to put these pants on my first born.  Who knew it was the start of a knitting obsession..