Sew Sweet Boutique

Slam Dunk!

2011-05-31T14:44:00.002-05:00

I made this outfit for Noah back when the Grizzlies were on their winning streak. He loves it! Most mornings he says, I wanna wear "bassetball". I'll put it on him and he'll then say "where's my free??"

There it is...his "three". I figure he's going to be three this summer so what better number for him :)

I got this set from Walmart. Their granimals brand makes GREAT play clothes and they are so inexpensive that I could seriously go overboard making stuff for my kids. I just merged a font to spell out dunk it and tilted the letters until they curved with the basketball. It turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. Hope you are having a great start to your summer break!

Summer Fun

2011-05-10T17:36:00.004-05:00

I think I have a new favorite design!! This is the Raggy Flower from Applique Market and I

L-O-V-E

it!!

It's perfect for a mommy daughter matching outfit! I think I'm gonna have to make myself one now! It doesn't get much cuter than this!!!

This canoe is from Applique Cafe. Makes me reminisce about summer camp!

Are you ready for summer? We are looking forward to the sprinkler park, vacations, popscicles, trips to the zoo, and no school !!!! :)

Take Me Out to the Game!

2011-04-05T13:36:00.004-05:00

Baseball is America's favorite pastime and so I figured Noah needed something like this to wear to his first Redbird's game this summer. Here's a tip for you: The shirt and shorts came from Walmart. They are only $3.50 each. Buy the size shorts you need for your child to wear. Then, buy an additional pair but in a larger size. You will use this pair of shorts for its fabric (applique). And there you have a perfectly coordinated outfit for a total of $10.50. You will have plenty of applique fabric for your project plus more to spare...so if you were going to make another outfit for a sibling or friend's child, the cost is even less!

PLAY BALL!!!

Hippity-Hoppity

2011-04-02T16:41:00.002-05:00

Well...it's April and with April comes EASTER! This year, Easter is pretty late so I'm counting on it being warm! I got busy and finished up these cute little bunnies for my youngest two. This is Applique Cafe's Boy Bunny design but I made Maggie's a little girlie with a cute little ribbon on it's ear. The boy shorts I made from the Easy Fit Pants pattern (only I took off about an inch of width because they are very full.) The girl shorts are another great find I happened upon at a consignment sale.

More Short Sets

2011-04-02T16:27:00.003-05:00

Here are two more short sets I got done today. I love Applique Cafe's bait applique! It's so cute and you can personalize it with your child's name like I did, or you can put something cute like bait 25 cents! Last season I got a bunch of gingham shorts marked WAY down on clearance from Remember Nguyen. I love their stuff and you can really get some great deals there! This circle frame design is FREE. You can find it at GG Designs. Then, just merge in the letter of your choice and you have a precious, quick and easy shirt you'd most likely pay big bucks for in any boutique store. These shorts I got at a consignment sale last fall. They were brand new! It's amazing what great things you can get at consignment and clearance sales.

Girls Short Sets

2011-04-01T17:11:00.003-05:00

The weather is supposed to be beautiful here this weekend, so maybe my girls can wear these cute little short outfits I made for them! If only the weather would stay... :)

Children's Place is having a big sale on some cute things! I got the pink striped shorts there and made the zig zag butterfly top to match. All the other shorts you see are ruffled shorts I made from the Lettie pattern by Children's Corner.

This is my Kelly's Kids knock off :) You'll see this same blowfish in the current catalog. Love it!

Fore!

2011-03-22T14:12:00.003-05:00

Head's up! It's officially spring and yes, I realize I haven't made a post since Christmas...no snowmen this year. OOPS. Life's been crazy with four, but I'm trying my best to get things together for spring and summer. Here's the first thing I've managed to get done: This is Applique Cafe's raggy golf ball applique. LOVE how it turned out and loved even more that it matched some shorts I bought the boys last year off the clearance rack at Gymboree!!

Checking My List

2010-12-14T16:01:00.004-06:00

It's 11 days til Christmas, I am not even close to being finished with gift shopping, but I CAN mark off Christmas sewing from my to do list! Here's what I've managed to complete:

My 1st Christmas bib for my little Maggie. You can find this design at Planet Applique. It's $1 right now.....run...click....buy!
I love this design from Lynnie Pinnie. It comes with two options: all embroidery as I stitched out here and appplique. Iactually made this for myself to wear to work. (I work at a children's hospital and they loved it) It's $1.50 right now!

The reindeer applique alphabet was one of my favs this year. It's from Planet Applique and it's $8.00 right now.

Embroidery Boutique's Reindeer-$2 right now.

This is one of my favorites! It's Applique Cafe's manger ($2 right now). I also took a pair of Maggie's jeans that had gotten too short and added some length to them with this ruffle. This is an easy way to make clothes last a little longer. First, cut the finished edge off your pants or jeans. Then, all you have to do is decide how wide you want your finished ruffle to be and double that number plus 1/2 inch (allowing for a 1/4 inch seam allowance). This number will be how wide to cut your fabric. Next, cut your length. A good figure to go by is:

22 inches for sizes 0-12 months

26 inches for 2T

30 inches for 3T-4T

34 inches for 5T-6

Obviously, you can adjust this as you want to depending on how "ruffly" you want your ruffle to turn out.

Sew each ruffle in half, right sides together. Press seam allowance. Fold ruffle in half wrong sides together and press. Next, run a basting stitch through the raw edge of the ruffle then pull the top string to "gather." Slide ruffle onto pant leg matching up seams and adjusting the gathers. Pin edge of ruffle to edge of pants (that you cut, remember?) Stitch through all layers 1/4" from edge. Zig zag stitch along raw edge to "finish" edge. If you are lucky enough to have a serger, pull it out and make use of it! Now, all you have to do is stitch on the right side of your pants just above the ruffle. This helps that edge lay down flat underneath. That's all there is to it, so go give it a try!

Seriously, does it get cuter than this?? I love me some Riley Blake fabric and this Funky Tree design from Applique Alley!

This design is FREE...yep....you heard right. Go get it at Swak.

She knows what it takes to get the toys :)

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and are able to get all your Christmas stitching desires completed! I'm already looking forward to next year cause there are so many more cute designs I have just begging to be sewn! With January is going to come lots and lots of snowmen so be sure to check back!

Naughty or Nice?

2010-12-10T08:41:00.003-06:00

These are for my boys and after yesterday's "falling out in the floor first class tantrum" my two year old threw in front of everyone at MDO....I'd say naughty will be appropriate on him when he sees Santa tonight :)

Teacher Gifts on a Budget

2010-12-07T14:48:00.004-06:00

If you have children, I have a feeling you're gonna like this post. I have two school aged children and one in Mother's Day Out as of this year. That brings my grand total to 7 teachers between all of my little ones. If you are like me, budgeting has become a necessity in this day and age. I made teacher gifts this year that are pretty unique, don't include 5,000 calories, and can be enjoyed for years to come for the low price of $5 plus some change...total. Now you're curious huh? Well, here it is:

You wanna do this too? Yeah, I thought you might. So I'll tell you how so you can...that is unless you have a child in one of my children's classes and then, well, sorry :)

I first got the idea from a wonderful blog called The Idea Room. I have her linked over to the side under "other creative blogs" as well. She is full of great ideas that are great for my wallet. I mean, one person should seriously not be so creative. It's just not right :)

So, I expanded on her idea and made a little goody box complete with a hand towel and hand sanitizer. I happened to have these waffle weave kitchen towels that I got for around $3 each from Embroider This. You can also find great waffle weave Kitchen towels at Walmart that come in a 2 pack for $3.50...an even better deal. I picked an easy applique seeing as I was doing 7 of them. This simple zig zag cross has only 3 steps and is done in a flash! Turns out super cute too, see?

You can get instructions for how to make your personalized hand sanitizer here. I got the hand sanitizer from The Dollar Store and printed the "hand in hand" document at Fed Ex Kinko's for .75 cents per transparency page. I will say that she has you put your transparency paper in an empty bottle. That was just too much trouble for me having to figure out how to get all that hand sanitizer back in the bottle, so I just did it while the sanitizer was still inside the bottle. I used the handle of a wooden spoon to push the transparency paper up against the front of the inside of the bottle and it worked like a charm. Then I found some Christmasy ribbon in my gigantic unorganized craft bin (I really need to work on that) and VOILA!
Oh yeah...the cute little box...where did that come from you ask? Target's dollar bin. Yep. Love me some Target. So there you have it:

Hand Sanitizer-$1.00
Hand in Hand transparency label-0.75 cents per page (I put 2 "labels" on a page...could have put more but they charged extra to digitize all that-good grief?!?!)
Kitchen Towel-$3.00 roughly
Box- $1.00

I don't know about you, but my budget is saying thank you, Candice. And I'm loving this gift. Hopefully, all my (and your) children's teachers do to! Teachers are amazing people and I am so grateful for ours! Truly, they are one in a million! Merry Christmas!!

Mission Accomplished!

2010-12-02T10:49:00.007-06:00

My children have their school Christmas concert this Friday...yes, as in tomorrow. There are two rules: 1. Wear a dress or skirt (girls) and 2. Wear Christmas colors. That's no big deal...unless you have neither and it's the day before the big event!!!! I think I just enjoy working under pressure. To be completely honest, some of my best work is turned out when I'm under pressure. For example: I finally got around to making Maggie (my youngest) a Thanksgiving shirt THE MORNING OF THANKSGIVING!!! Check it out:

How cute is this?? I LOVE how it turned out.

So back to my mission: I had to come up with something and if I didn't have to buy anything that would be fabulous! So here's what I came up with...

I bought this little number at a consignment sale quite a while back. It's a green houndstooth jumper made by Kelly's Kids. Simple, but it doesn't exactly scream CHRISTMAS!! to me.

So, I took it and did this to it:

It had to be something simple cause all that green houndstooth is quite busy. I needed to incorporate more Christmas colors too...like the all important RED. I have to say I'm pretty excited with how it turned out. It was like a game, a challenge, and I can say mission accomplish for under $10 (the cost of the dress). Not bad for the day before...

Now, hopefully I can focus on Christmas themed attire for my little ones and get them posted BEFORE Christmas day :)

Gobble Gobble

2010-11-17T19:54:00.005-06:00

I love the holidays, but I swear there are less hours in the day during the holiday season than any other time of year! It is all I can do to crank out what I want to make for my own kids. Here are a few things I've managed to put a big fat red DONE! stamp on:

I love this My 1st Turkey Day design! Maggie will look so cute in it eating her Thanksgiving dinner :) Go to Planet Applique right now cause this design is only 99 CENTS!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Polka Dots

2010-10-14T13:43:00.004-05:00

Have you noticed that Polka Dots are all the rage lately? I saw this pique fabric in brown and white and knew it would be perfect for fall. This is what became of my fabric find:

Cute little ruffled pants and a matching brown polka dot initialed shirt. It's a bit big on her but at least it'll fit all winter! FYI: In case I haven't mentioned it before, Monag brand blanks run BIG! REALLY REALLY BIG!

Pumpkin Patch Tee

2010-10-11T21:08:00.004-05:00

Applique Alley has the cutest pumpkin applique. It's called simple pumpkin and it's my favorite for this year!!

Grab this design for $3.50 and make your little one something perfect for those pumpkin patch pictures.

We went with the cousins! Aren't they the cutest?!!?

My First BOO!

2010-10-08T08:48:00.003-05:00

My little Mags is gettin' her Halloween on!

Party Favors

2010-10-04T23:08:00.003-05:00

So Sorry, it's been a while! Things have been crazy around here! We are in full birthday swing right now. My oldest is turning 7 on the 8th and if any of you are like us, birthdays last an entire week. We had his friend party this past weekend. I'm going to be posting on that pretty soon on Duffy Clan so check in there soon for details. This next weekend will be spent celebrating with family, and then there's all the fun stuff in between like taking some type of birthday treat to school. I mean, seriously, I'm birthday'd out just thinking about it!

Back to the theme of this blog...party favors. We had a Monster themed party (cute furry fun monsters!) so I came up with one perfect party favor...

Remember those Taggy Monsters I blogged about here? Well...they made some pretty great party favors for our Monster themed birthday party! If you want to make them, go to GG Designs and download it instantly for only $7! I sewed out the 5X7 sized monster and only used ribbon for the arms on these little guys. Everyone got a different one (I made 18) and everyone seemed to love them.

Short & Sweet

2010-09-15T14:34:00.005-05:00

This is going to be short and sweet...check out my most recent family blog post. You can thank me later :)

Witch Boots

2010-08-31T15:10:00.005-05:00

My daughter came up to me several weeks ago and said, "Mommy, for halloween, I need some witch boots." Well, thank you Rosemary Gulledge (Applique Cafe) for making my daughter one happy girl with this design. She got her witch boots...

I paired it with some coordinating ruffled pants and it turned out super cute!

Remember Nguyen is a children's boutique clothing site that I have fallen head over heels in love with. They have some AMAZING sales several times a year. I recently hit the jackpot at their back to school sale where I got the next two outfits for practically next to nothing. They were in the clearance section, and then the site was having (in addition) a 40% off everything sale. If your kids are like mine and wear clothes that are in line with their age (or smaller) definitely order a size down. I've found these run a tad big.

How much did this girl's pants set put me back you ask? A whopping $11.39! Thanks to Applique Alley's 99 CENT simple pumpkin design (sale) and a free square patch, this turned into one cute fall outfit for Ella Kate!

And this longall for Noah cost me a whopping $9.30. I can't even make them myself that cheap!

This is my favorite! You can find it at Applique Frenzy.
I paired it with some cute corduroy pants and Noah is ready for the pumpkin patch.

The shirt I used for this outfit is a Monag shirt. I absolutely love these shirts as they are such a good quality shirt to applique on, however, if you ever have the opportunity to get one, buy a size SMALLER! These shirts run insanely large. Noah's shirt is a 2 and I have to roll the sleeves up a good 4 inches! I'm gonna try washing his on the hottest setting and drying with the hottest air in an attempt to shrink it a bit, but I guess on the bright side, we get 2 years wear out of this shirt without a doubt! I guess two out of my four have a good headstart on cute fall clothes. I better get moving on the others! Happy sewing!

Do It Yourself!

2010-08-25T16:24:00.005-05:00

Lately, I have a thing for do it yourself tutorials. It's amazing what you can find when you just google what you want. For example: I wanted to make a paci clip so I googled "pacifier clip tutorial" and this is the blog I came across: This & That. She does a little bit of everything. I've skimmed through sewing, photography, cooking. I mean, she seems to do it all!! The part I love the most is her tutorial link. That is where I found a tutorial on how to make a paci clip.

Not bad...

There are a few other tutorials on her website that I'm dying to try such as A Christmas Ball, A Hanging Letter, Magnetic ABC's, A Super Cute Binder, A Clipboard, Hostess Apron, and an Ouchie Bag...just to name a few. Such fun things and not enough time to spend doing it. Ahhhh...someday!

Say What?

2010-08-19T15:07:00.003-05:00

Do you ever get those orders where you sit back, and go "say what?" It doesn't happen too terribly often, but recently a friend of mine wanted a baby gift for a friend of hers. She says, "So I want a wipes case to match the baby's room." Ok, easy enough. No...she then goes on to say, "Well, here's the kicker: the baby's room is TENNESSEE orange, royal blue....and....PENGUINS!" I don't remember my exact reaction but I'm pretty sure it consisted of disbelief. So, I sat back at my machine and pondered how in the world I was going to pull this off in a cute kind of way. This is what I came up with...not bad....not my idea of cutesty baby....but not bad with what I had to go on :)

This next one had the stipulation of chocolate brown, green, and daddy is a hunter :) I LOVE it!
And what little boy doesn't like puppies...or as my Noah likes to call them-"woof woofs."

Back To School

2010-08-18T17:24:00.004-05:00

I got this cute school house from Applique Cafe. It was perfect for our back to school teacher gift!

You can put your school's name or initials above the door to personalize it even more!

Napmats

2010-08-06T10:31:00.003-05:00

My son Noah is starting MDO on Monday. I made him this napmat cover and it turned out super cute! This pattern is made to fit a Kindermat which you can find at Walmart or Target this time of year. I got the tutorial here. I love this website. So many fun projects that are so easy. Noah loves monkeys, so when we went to the fabric store he picked out a soft flannel with monkeys on it.

Somebody's ready for school!

This and That

2010-08-06T10:09:00.004-05:00

I've been keeping busy lately with a few baby shower gifts. Seems everyone is having sweet little girls lately!

Love this Applique Cafe jellyfish!
This dress is called "Mary". I love it cause it's so simple to turn out. Sometimes I add a ruffle to the edge to frill it up.

This blanket turned out super cute but it's the last time I will attempt putting these fabrics together. Sewing knit, minky fabric and satin together is INCREDIBLY HARD! It all wants to slip and slide even when pinned. I've wanted to try this bib pattern I've had for months and finally took the opportunity. The chenille is something different and I like different :)

Can't have enough of these!

Happy Birthday to a sweet little 2 year old girl!

LOVE LOVE LOVE how this turned out! I think I'm gonna have to make one for my Maggie Beth.

Custom Wipes Cases

2010-07-20T23:32:00.003-05:00

I've wanted to tackle this new project for a while now: custom wipes cases. They are super easy to make and the thought of how much fun I can have with these really gets me excited! The options are endless as I can just make them plain and simple or get super creative with appliques and monograms. I did learn something from my little experiment. I like the shape of the Huggies travel case as opposed to the Pampers travel case. The Pampers case is bigger and for whatever reason just not as easy to work with. I think the Huggies case just ends up looking better in the end. So...keep that in mind if you decide to go make your own now. You can purchase a tutorial here...or REALLY...you can just flat out figure this one out. You really can't mess it up. There's no sewing involved, so just pull out your glue gun and your creative streak and have fun!

This first picture is the one I prefer (the Huggies case):

And this is the one I did with the Pampers case. Still cute but my OCD really comes out cause it just doesn't look as smooth and "finished".
Both turned out pretty cute so if there is a little girl or a die hard Tennessee fan out there, these can be yours! These are $10 each. First come first serve :)

I'm off to Target soon to get me some Huggies cases so I can make more!

For The Boys

2010-07-15T13:59:00.007-05:00

My son is turning 2 in just a few weeks. I made this for him for his birthday. It's a great idea-something that says "I'm TWO!" but can be worn all during the year. I have to give credit where credit is due though. My friend Jenny came up with this concept. It's Embroidery Boutique's truck n' tree design, but she merged the 2 into the bed of the truck. When you go to stitch it out, just skip the tree step. She is full of creative ideas like this one and I am very appreciative she let me copy this one of hers! Go check out her cute work at Sassy Little Stitches. You're sure to get a good idea or two....hundred :)

Noah is in a big "CHEESE" stage. Anytime I pull out the camera this is the face I get:
While I was at it, I whipped up this little whale short set for him:

Burp cloths and bibs are a must when you have a new baby. Here are a few more I did recently for a little man named Connor

Customer Creations

2010-07-10T17:41:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of items I made this weekend:

I seriously am in LOVE with these hooded towels. So many fun options!
I posted these backpacks a while back. They are perfect for Mother's Day Out or daycare!

The Best Hooded Towels EVER!

2010-07-08T12:55:00.005-05:00

I am so excited with how these turned out! I've been wanting to do them for some time and finally got around to it! Here is the link to the tutorial I used if you want to try them yourself:

Hooded Bath Towels

My little ones can't wait til bath time tonight!

So there ya go...now go have fun and make your own cute little creation for bathtime!

Baby Blankets

2010-07-07T20:21:00.003-05:00

Minky Dot is my favorite! It's so incredibly soft and makes for some great baby blankets! Here are a few I've done:

This one is Applique Cafe's puppy patch on green Minky. The back side of the blanket was a contrasting brown. This is my personal favorite.

Celebrate America!

2010-07-03T17:16:00.002-05:00

Happy 4th of July! Here is a kitchen towel I made for my own kitchen :

I made this outfit last year for Ella Kate to wear. I'm not sure what she's doing. She looks like she's being sworn in-LOL!
I saved the best for last. We have a family friend in the service who was deployed this last year. I made these shirts for his three little girls last Fourth of July.

The girls wore their shirts when their daddy came home from Iraq...brought me to tears! So, while you are celebrating with your family, remember to say a prayer for those who serve who aren't able to be with their families this year. They are sacrificing for us to be able to enjoy that beautiful thing called FREEDOM! God bless you and yours.

Perfect Touches

2010-07-03T17:06:00.003-05:00

I bought alot of outfits from Remember Nguyen last Thanksgiving when they had their Black Friday blowout sale. Things were practically next to nothing to start out and then you got another 50% off at checkout. I felt like I'd hit the jackpot on smocked/boutique clothing for summer! Here is one example of matching sister outfits I bought for Ella Kate and Maggie Beth. I embroidered their first name initial and it was definitely the perfect touch!

I love this outfit for Maggie. I put her monogram on it using my Monogram Wizard software.

Taggy Toys

2010-07-02T18:09:00.003-05:00

These have to be the cutest things I've ever gotten to make! It is so simple and fun. I got the "in the hoop" pattern from GG Designs Embroidery. I also have a baseball taggy toy that you can personalize with a name. Why I don't have a picture is beyond me. Guess I'll have to make more :)

Sock Monkeys

2010-07-02T18:05:00.002-05:00

Normally I'm not a huge fan of sock monkeys but this design I like. I got it for FREE. I have no idea where, so don't ask :) I remember googling sock monkey and happening upon this sweet find! Get to googling yourself and see what you can find for free. You'd be surprised. What would we ever do without Google, honestly?

Sippy Cups

2010-07-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

So Big!

2010-07-02T17:50:00.001-05:00

I made this for a little boy who would stretch his arms out wide and say "So Big!" when people asked how big he was. I love kids!

Easter Designs

2010-07-02T17:42:00.002-05:00

These bunny bibs were some of the first things I did on my embroidery machine.

I know I've already shown this picture like twice, but I really do like this design ALOT! It's simple and perfect.
Easter Kitchen Towel

Merry Christmas!

2010-07-02T17:24:00.004-05:00

I have so many Christmas designs it's not even funny! Here are a few designs from this past Christmas:

I did this for a friend of mine. She has 3 girls so each one wore a shirt with a letter on it to spell JOY-neat idea!

This snowflake was great cause it can be worn all winter!

I love this truck and tree. I did it for my boys, but I did the truck a brown corduroy and the tree a dark green gingham so they could wear it all winter and not just at Christmas.

OK-can I say this idea is WONDERFUL!!!! It was a request from a friend of mine. She wanted something that spoke the true meaning of Christmas but still had the traditional Christmas colors. This is what we came up with and I love it!

Merry Christmas kitchen towel-these are so easy and make GREAT teacher gifts!

This grinch is too cute and my favorite is the Grinch font I used to coordinate with the design.

Another kitchen towel

Turkey Talk

2010-07-02T17:08:00.004-05:00

Kitchen Towel for fall/Thanksgiving

A Turkey is always a popular applique for Thanksgiving.
I made this indian for my boys this past year. I put it on the left chest of the T-shirt where a pocket would be. I liked that it was something different from the normal turkey.

I couldn't pass up this turkey. It was a little different from my other ones and by sewing a cute little bow on her head, you had a turkey perfect for a little girl.

Pumpkins

2010-07-02T16:54:00.002-05:00

It's pretty sad that I literally stitched out at least 30 Raggy Pumpkins this past fall and don't seem to have a close up of one. I guess I can stick that on my to do list for this fall. The Raggy Pumpkin is great on any age:child or adult. I even gave t shirts as teacher gifts and they loved them!

And here's a tip for you: If your children tend to be like mine and outgrow the length of their pants before the width of them (we don't own a pair of pants that doesn't have an adjustable waist!) just cut the hem off and sew on some coordinating fabric like I did here with my daughter's jeans from last year. Voila! You have a new pair of pants and it didn't cost you much of anything.

sPookTAcuLaR!!!

2010-07-02T16:45:00.002-05:00

Here are a few halloween designs:

Onesies and Gowns

2010-07-02T16:33:00.004-05:00

You can really get creative with infant onesies and newborn gowns. I prefer Carter's onesies to sew on cause they are a bit thicker than other brands. I get my gowns at Embroider This. They have them in white, blue and pink.

This sheep patch is one of my favorites for baby gifts. The patch can be blue or pink gingham (or any other color you desire). Here I used white minky dot fabric for the sheep so he's nice and fluffy!

Name It!

2010-07-02T16:24:00.003-05:00

Simple is usually best when it comes to applique. Simple design and simple fabrics. These name shirts show just how cute simple can be.

Girls Girls Girls

2010-07-02T13:54:00.002-05:00

Here are some cute ideas for the little girl in your life:

I made my daughter this shirt and then made a matching one for me. She thought it was so special for the two of us to match...I wonder how long that will last :)

I got tshirts at Target for $5 each and then embroidered this FREE princess design from Embroidery Designs on them and gave them as party favors at my daughter's birthday. They were a hit!

A friend of mine brought me the clothes in the next two pictures. She had purchased them at Target. She asked me to do something with them and this is what I came up with. I mean really, can you beat a good Target deal??

I find most of my tshirts at Walmart, Target, and Old Navy. They are a great quality and thickness for sewing on. Most of the time I pay between $3-5 for a plain tshirt. It's such a deal!

ELMO!

2010-07-02T13:47:00.002-05:00

LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA, ELmo's World!

I made this tshirt for my neice when she was head over heels for Elmo. I mean, what 2 year old isn't? I love the fuzzy red "hair" fabric although it made a complete mess of my sewing room!

Bathtime!

2010-07-02T13:24:00.004-05:00

Hooded towels and washcloths make great baby gifts. This particular brand is Apples and Oranges and comes in white with various colored trim (pink, blue, yellow and green).

You can also make your own hooded towel and then applique on it. I personally haven't done it but here are a couple of sites where you can follow a tutorial. I can't wait to try them!

Hooded Towel #1-This one looks awesome because it folds up into a backpack which would be FABULOUS when I'm toting my four across the beach!

Hooded Towel #2-This one would be good for bathtime at home.

Bloomers

2010-07-02T13:13:00.002-05:00

You can get these plain white eyelet laced diaper covers from Embroider This then personalize and applique to your hearts content! There are boutique stores around here that charge $25 for ONE of these! It's robbery I tell ya!

Go TEAM!

2010-07-02T12:38:00.004-05:00

Sports themes are a popular applique and a fun way to show your team spirit.

Football/Cheerleading matching monogrammed brother sister outfits. They were ready for the big game!

Johnnys

2010-07-02T12:28:00.004-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post about the Johnny pattern. Here are a few more I've done:

This was my son's Easter Johnny. I made a matching dress for his sister as you see in the picture.

I made this one for him to wear to the beach. I LOVE this embroidery design!

Again, Johnnys can be made short length or pant length so it's an outfit you can customize no matter the season! You can put snaps in them or sew them up-your choice. I usually put snaps in them until they are potty trained. And YES, my first son was in Johnnys til he was 4!! Every little southern boy needs a few of these!

Bubble Suits

2010-07-02T12:18:00.002-05:00

I love a good bubble suit! I use a pattern called Taylor made by Children's Corner. It can be customized for a girl or boy and is not difficult at all. The one just below is one I made last year for my son to wear to the beach. Have you seen Kelly's Kid's summer line this year? This was one of their items. I couldn't believe it when I saw it.

These bubble suits were made for boy/girl twins. I added ric rac to the outside edge of the girl's bubble as well as a little extra fabric at the leg elastic gives a nice little ruffle.

Swimwear

2010-07-02T12:03:00.005-05:00

Swimsuits are not the easiest thing to monogram but if you can tame the fabric long enough to do it, you can make a $10 suit look like a $30 suit! I pin the area I'm going to monogram to the hooped stabilizer. That seems to work the best for me.

Coverups are another thing you can get super cheap. I found these at Target over the past couple of years and turned them into something precious for my daughter to wear to the beach.

Decorator Towels

2010-07-02T01:24:00.004-05:00

This makes a nice addition to your bathroom. This particular one was made for a door prize and was a HUGE request by some of my family members! This particular embroidery design is called Calvary and is FREE at Embroidery Designs.

Here's a close-up. I merged the "I Believe" text underneath the image using Monogram Wizard font software. My merging software is called Sew What Pro. You can get a free trial here.

Just For Boys

2010-07-02T01:07:00.006-05:00

These are some cute appliques for boys. Make a pair of matching shorts or pants and you've got a custom outfit you'd pay a fortune for in any boutique store!

This pattern is called "Johnny" and it's made by children's corner. I absolutely love it. You can make a longall or a shortall with this one pattern. This is my little boy in one I made him for Easter. The embroidery design is called Calvary and was FREE on Embroidery Designs.

I appliqued this little snorkel boy on a T to match my son's swim trunks.

Custom Girl Outfits

2010-07-02T00:46:00.004-05:00

These are some girl sets I've made:

There's not much simpler than an A-Line dress. You can turn one out in less than 2 hours!

Personalized Bags

2010-07-02T00:40:00.003-05:00

These small toddler backpacks are perfect for Mother's Day Out! I found these in pink and blue at Hobby Lobby for less than $8.

This canvas bag came from the dollar bin at Target for $2.50!! Personalize it and you have a great little gift!

Happy Birthday!

2010-07-02T00:25:00.002-05:00

You can do so much for birthdays. I made this cupcake shirt/shorts outfit and matching hat for my little man, Noah on his first birthday.

This was a matching birthday set for twins. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pants pattern. It is so versatile and can be made for girls (with or without a ruffle) or boys, pants or shorts. Super easy too! It's called "easy fit pants" and you can get the pattern at You Can Make This.

Maternity T's

2010-07-02T00:19:00.002-05:00

Here are some fun maternity t's I've done:

I LOVE this one! I wore this when pregnant with my little girl. What's Kickin' is across the chest and then the little baby feet are on the belly. Stitched in pink for girl...blue for boy. Cute Cute!!

Brother-Sister T's

2010-07-02T00:09:00.003-05:00

These are some Brother-Sister T's I've made. I've had some friends use these to tell their family the good news. I made some for my kids to wear up to the hospital when they met their little sister for the first time.

Burps and Bibs

2010-07-01T16:26:00.009-05:00

Here are some burp cloths I've made for family and friends who were expecting their own sweet little ones:

The next three photos are burp cloths I made for my own little baby of the family, Maggie Beth.

Babies are wearing bibs all day long it seems (especially when teething) so they might as well have on something cute!

These were the first bibs I ever made when I got my 1st embroidery machine. Who knew how much fun I would have!