I was a crafter long before I was a blogger. It never occurred to me then that one day I would wish I'd taken pictures of my process. That would have seemed ridiculous. And slowed me down. Plus, truth be told, I don't really have a process - I just figure it out as I go and sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't.
When my daughter turned one I didn't want to spend money on toys and she had more than enough clothes. And, being one, she didn't know what she wanted so I could get away with anything - we all know it's about the wrapping paper anyway.
{Let's pause for a moment and bask in the unbelievable cuteness that was Noa Riley Joy,
diving into her birthday waffles on the morning of her first birthday...}
I am not a sewer. I am a hacker. But I can fake it enough to get by.
1. Make a pattern. I created my pattern on an empty cereal box, drew the letters free hand and cut them out. I made them bigger than what I actually wanted to allow for a half inch seam.
2. Cut your pieces. I used a blue and white cotton gingham for one side and a pink flannel for the other. Following my cardboard pattern, I cut out my 6 pieces - 2 for each letter.
3. Make it 'fancy'. I wanted a little extra bit on my middle letter 'O' so I cut a patch out of the gingham and sewed it onto the flannel 'O' with a straight stitch - remember to fold the edges under!
4. Sew it. Placing the right sides face to face, I pinned the letters together, being careful to add in a strip of folded ribbon to create a loop I could hang them from, then I sewed them with a zigzag stitch, leaving a small opening for the cotton batting.
5. Bling it. I turned the pillow forms right side out and then decided the 'O' patch needed some buttons to dress it up and make it cute.
6. Stuff it. Push the cotton batting through the opening. I used the eraser end of a pencil to push it into the corners.
7. Close it. I sewed up the opening with a needle and thread.
What I did wrong:
I wanted my 'O' to have a heart in the middle but I didn't account for the seam allowance. If I did it again, I would make it's shape much more pronounced because it ended up looking nothing like a heart and everything like a mistake.
They're kind of lumpy. I don't know why.
What I did right:
This was a $0 birthday present. Everything I used was something I already had. The gingham was from an old tablecloth. The flannel was a sheet that had a tear in it. The buttons were from the trusty and ever practical button jar. The batting was leftover from some other project.
Four years later and they still hold a place of prominence in her room. And they helped her learn to spell her name.
{Now, because I'm feeling all nostalgic from looking back at this old project,
I will leave you with more of the darling who inspired this craft.
Goodness, she was adorable!}
Have you made any money saving projects for gifts? Share them in the comments!Happy crafting!
{I'm linking up here}
