Sunday, October 20, 2013

Jama Jon Jons

It dawned on me that I really don't have many boy patterns. I was looking at one of the groups I'm apart of and one of the ladies had asked if there were any cute boutiques nearby that could make matching outfits for Christmas. She has a daughter and two sons. I thought, "Hm... some people probably pass up my little shop because I have nothing for little boys!" She was looking for someone who makes Jon Jons. I searched through one of the awesome PDF Sewing groups on FaceBook and found an AWESOME pattern. If you haven't heard of Whimsy Couture, you should definitely check them out. I bought their Jon Jon pattern and LOVED how simple it was when I read through it. Soooo I came up with this awesome idea. My husband doesn't have the fun-spirited side that allows him to wear crazy pj's. I, however, have been known to wear Halloween socks in May and Easter socks in November. I love fun clothing like that :). Anywho, I saved my husband's Christmas pajamas that he was going to give away. And they were the PERFECT thing for this pattern! I upcycled pajamas into some super cute Christmas overalls for my daughter :).

First things first, print out your pattern and piece it together. I used the 2T pattern pieces and size small pjs.

Pattern pieces and pajama bottoms
 Next, make sure the pajamas you're using will be big enough for the Jon Jons you're making. I measured the width of the leg and doubled it to get the total width of fabric, then I measured the pattern piece for the size I needed. If you're using a larger pattern piece, also measure the length of the pajamas.
Measure leg width to make sure they'll work for the size you need
 If the pjs will work, go ahead and seam rip those puppies! Now, this is VERY IMPORTANT... make sure you seam rip the INSEAM, not the outer seam. Once I finished seam-ripping the legs, I seam ripped the crotch. I ended up just cutting the bottom hems and the drawstring area off.
Seam rip the INSEAM, NOT the outer seam
 Below, you will see all the fabric I get to work with for my pattern :).
Seam-ripped PJ bottoms.
 Next, cut out your pattern pieces, making sure to cut one right side and one reverse (or however your pattern instructs you if you're using a different one).
Cut out your pattern pieces.
Follow the instructions on constructing your Jon Jons and you should end up with some super cute, one of a kind, overalls!
Upcycled pajamas turned into cute Christmas Jon Jons!
I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial! Please feel free to ask me questions if you're lost on any part of this. Not much of a seamstress? Stay tuned and you'll see a really neat tutorial on what to do with an old cookie sheet!

Until next time,
Stay Creative!

Friday, October 4, 2013

Holsters, Halloween & Housing, Oh My!

It's been a minute, hasn't it? Well, we've been pretty busy here! First, my posting was delayed because I was helping my husband start up his own little business, Demon Carry Holsters. We make custom holsters to fit your firearm and YOU! Super comfy holsters that are super practical.


This holster fits a Taurus PT 738
This holster fits a Taurus PT 738 WITH a Crimson Trace laser
Not only can we custom fit your firearm, but we can custom fit your firearm with any accessories like lasers.

Not sure how they'll work for conceal carry? Here is a picture of my slim/athletic build husband concealing a 1911.
Slim/athletic build concealing a 1911

IWB universal holster with a 1911
My husband is wearing our Universal Large IWB holster.
Universal Large IWB holster
But how do they look on an average female?
Concealing a S&W Bodyguard

Holster for S&W Bodyguard
They're really great and REALLY comfortable!

So, we've been making holsters, but that's not all that's kept me from posting. I've also done some selfish sewing. The best kind. Though, my selfish sewing is almost ALWAYS for my daughter. So I decided I'd get a head-start on her Halloween costume. She's OBSESSED with Tangled and "Punzel" so I thought she just might like to be "Punzel" for Halloween.
"Punzel"

Pretty simple to make, and she LOVES it. I don't think it'll make it to Halloween with how much she wears it. "How do I make something like this?!" VERY simple. As you all know, Create Kids Couture is my go-to for patterns. I looked through the patterns I already owned and Molly's jumped out at me. So I tweaked it a smidge. Basically just leaving off the lace and ribbon. I used CKC's tutorial on Princess Sleeves. But they didn't say how to get the stripes! I just cut 2in strips of fabric and sewed them together until I had enough for the width.
And once the dress was complete, I went through Megan's Accessory Pack and found the corset sash.
LOVE the detail. Oh, and where I was instructed to top-stitch, I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine and used gold embroidery thread on top.
I absolutely love this dress and so glad I took a break from everything else to make it. My daughter wore it for 3 days straight and was VERY upset when I told her I had to wash it.

Now, what else? Oh yes, recently our house has decided to hate us, once again (we previously had a terrible sugar ant problem IN the house). Well, our yard is FULL of fire ants. MEAN ones at that. They've bitten my daughter two separate times and both were equally bad. I just want to gas the whole yard. Anywho, I've been trying EVERYTHING. Amdro was a no-go. Cornmeal, nada. I'm using a baking soda/powdered sugar mixture right now and they're taking the bait, but they still exist... I just want them GONE. But that's not all. Not only can we not play outside, but our ceiling is now leaking something AWFUL. It started as this...
 Then it grew...
 And grew until it starting leaking elsewhere...
 Then maintenance came and popped the bubble and ripped off some paint...
 And now it's leaking worse...
 See the lovely trail of bubbled paint connecting those droplets and our beautiful, exposed ceiling?
 Doing our best to contain what is now messier. Thanks a bunch, maintenance.
It's just constantly dripping... And it stinks... *Sigh*

So we've been SLIGHTLY busy here. But hopefully I'll be posting once a week again and bringing some more tutorials to you all! And the recipes I've been cooking up. Mmmm, yum!

Until next time, we'll try to stay dry lol