"Congratulations" Banner with Tutorial

How many times have I said to myself, "Ugh, I'm so tired of my boring crate paper and balloon go-to decorating for showers I throw! I wish I had a big ticket decoration that I could reuse and something that looks pretty and finished (but mostly pretty :) ...)." So I decided to stop whining, and actually make something, in advance, for a baby shower for our dear friend, Angela.

With the help of Natalie from A Tale of Two People, who donated the gorgeous fabric to the cause, I made this little beaut!

Here's all I needed to make this happen:

- A total of one yard of three different fabrics (I just used Natalie's scraps, and didn't have a ton of the orange, so I staggered the colors).

-1/3 yard fabric for letters (if using Cricut)

-6 Yards of coordinating bias tape

-one yard of lightweight interfacing (optional for between layers of each flag)

-pinking shears

-iron

-Cricut for cutting letters

-Heat 'n Bond

-thread, scissors, and sewing machine

Step 1: Prep all fabric by ironing smooth. Then, on wrong side of fabric, measure down 8.25", fold, then press the entire length of the fabric on that fold. You should have 8.25" of the right side of fabric showing. *

*(I forgot to take a picture of this step while making the banner, so here's a photo using different (and wrinkly) fabric just to show you what I mean)

From here, you can measure across the fold 10", and that's the length of each flag. Cut as many across as you can on the fold, then move down the fabric and fold and cut again. By folding the fabric, you're able to make two flags at a time, with wrong sides of fabric facing, and the top of the flag is attached (if you unfold the flag, it'll be one long diamond shape). And, the banner can be reversible!

Step 2: Now you've measured and marked every 10" across (leave about 1/4" between each 10" segment), Find the middle of each 10"segment (5"), and that'll be the point of your triangle. Each triangle is 10" across, and 8" down.

Step 3: Cut triangles with pinking shears.
Step 4: Topstitch all three sides of flag. Pinking shears dramatically reduces the potential of fraying, but still try to stitch closely to edges of fabric.
Step 5: Cut 12" x 12" squares of fabric for letters. Iron on 12" x 12" squares of Heat 'n Bond, and place on Cricut mat. Cut letters.
Step 6: Iron on each letter to each finished flag.
Step 7: Find middle of 6" bias tape and sew on the middle triangle (letter U). Sew each banner on from there!

Isn't that easy! I'm so stoked about it, and I love it to pieces!

It was a hit!

Julie's Jewelry Frames

My friend, Julie, has a TON of beautiful jewelry! So she repurposed some frames to make not one, but THREE jewelry frames. For her long necklaces, she added hooks to the bottoms of the frames so they can just hang.

Great job Julie!

DIY "Moby" Wrap Tutorial

My little lady is 2 years old now, and too mobile and heavy to carry in any sort of wrap. She enjoys the Kelty pack only because she's carried high enough over our shoulders to not miss out on anything.

I've seen a lot of my friends with infants using this style of wrap- the Moby Wrap.

Isn't that sweet?! When my friend had her baby boy, I immediately knew what I was going to give her. Since these wraps seemed a bit spendy for what they actually are, I decided to make my own.

Here's all you need. Pencils ready...

~5-6 yards of fabric (I prefer jersey knit)

~Scissors

That's it! It's super easy, and my friends have gotten a TON of use out of them from church, to parks, to getting things done at home.

Step 1: Fold fabric in half lengthwise ("hotdog fold" for you educators out there)

Step 2: Cut along fold to make one looooong strip of up to 30" wide fabric.

The edges don't fray with the jersey knit (but do roll a bit), and it stretches nicely as you're doing the wrapping. Click here for directions on all the different wraps, and if you're giving this as a gift, be sure to print these off for the mommy so she'll know what the heck to do with all this fabric!