Re-purposed Pan

Okay, so maybe I'm better at posting once a month... Well, we have been SLIGHTLY productive. My booger britches is about 95% potty trained! WAHOO!!! Haven't had to buy a package of pull-ups in a couple of weeks because she only wears them at night time! I believe the whole potty prize thing was a great incentive and we eventually took our cue from her when she didn't want to keep her pee-pee pull-ups on RIGHT after she wet them. We kept the potty prize bucket well-stocked for a couple of weeks and now we're just letting them dwindle away since she doesn't expect a prize every time. SOOOO proud of her. Ah, and we graduated from her princess potty to the big potty with the toddler seat. She uses her princess potty as a step :). She does GREAT when we go out and about and lets us know if she has to go potty. So, there is the update on potty training!

Now, let's move on to something new...

Christmas is next month. Still don't know what to get the grandparents? Well, we've got a great, EASY project for you! How many of us have at least one beaten up, rusty-looking cookie sheet? Come on, be honest! When I was little, we used them to sled down our driveway! Oh, those were the days! Now, I have to give credit to my husband for this idea. He knows that our daughter LOVES to be in the kitchen with me and "help" me cook and bake. One day we looked at our very first baking sheet (about 4yrs old) right after it came out of the dishwasher. That poor thing looked like it has had a rough life. Granted, with me cooking, it probably did have a rough life! So my husband gets this look. You know the one, you can hear the gears grinding ;). "Why don't you and Clare paint this? And then you can hang it in the kitchen." Brilliant! Our daughter LOVES to paint. So we got our supplies together and we let Clare in on the plan.

Here's what you'll need:
- Old cookie sheet (Or other overly-loved metal pan/pot)
- Killz base paint (Or any other base paint)

- Clear-coat spray paint

- Acrylic paints

- Paint brushes

- Paint "palette" (we used a scrap of cardboard)

- Water to clean brushes and paper towels to dry them

- At least one creative kiddo!

- And newspaper or a large trash bag to protect the artist's workspace

1. First is to prep the "canvas". I believe my husband put three coats of Killz to make everything an even white.

Step 1: Prep the pan. This is with 3 coats of Killz

2. Let the artist(s) do their thing!

Step 2: Let the creativity begin!

Be prepared for several brushes to be used at once... and be prepared to help the artist clean them... often lol!

 3. Be a good assistant and enjoy the smiles and giggles and listen to what your artist is capturing. My artist eventually painted "Punzel" and "Belle". She's very abstract ;)

Step 3: Soak in that happiness!

4. Let the artist's work dry, then clear-coat it!

Step 4: Clear-coat after the artist's paint dries.

 5. Add the date and any wording you'd like! I used a Sharpie and I'd recommend a paint pen or something else because my Sharpie wanted to quit lol. (I think I actually wrote on the pan before the clear-coat and that caused the marker to "crackle")

Step 5: Add the date and a message if you wish!

I LOVE this. If you're giving as a gift, you could include the "Artist's notes" (aka, a description of what they painted). You can attach ribbon or wire to hang the pan, OR, you can add a couple of magnets to the back and hang it on the fridge!

Until next time,
Stay creative!

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!

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

Potty Journey

Ah yes, Potty Training.

Some of you remember it well. Some of you are thankful it's over. Some of you are thankful you don't remember it, haha. And some of you are approaching it, or currently going through it (like us). As Merriam-Webster defines it, a journey is "something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another." Well, our journey is a slow moving one, but probably right on track. We have MANY setbacks, but, we're making progress from diapers to big-girl undies. I tried this venture months ago, and it was TERRIBLE! My baby girl and I both needed a break. So in the meantime I did some research. About two weeks ago I bought some Huggies Pull-Ups and then my daughter and I sat down together to watch the "Huggies Pull-Ups Big Kid Central Potty Training Success DVD". Yes, it was super cheesy and the woman's pasted-on smile made MY cheeks hurt, but, it was very informative. And there were songs and activities on the DVD that my daughter LOVED. We did the Potty Dance. Yes, WE. Mommy was crossing her legs and stumbling all over the living room, clapping and celebrating (which elicited HILARIOUS giggles). We did that dance at LEAST ten times. And I became aware of myself humming the song while we were at the store a couple of hours later... But after doing the activities and dancing, my daughter WANTED to wear the Pull-Ups. I thought, "Psh, why did I buy these? They're JUST like diapers." No, no, they're not. Ah, and let me be clear, you can do this with Pampers, or similar off-brands, I just chose the Huggies because they were cheaper and had Minnie Mouse and Princesses on them :). Yes, I love the easy-open sides, but that's not how I check. I yank the back open to check for number two's and I pat the front for number one's haha. The cool thing about the Pull-Ups is the wetness indicator. Different types have different designs, but the basic idea is the design will disappear after the child pee pees. What I LOVE about the Pull-Ups? You put them on like real undies. So my daughter is getting the hang of standing and putting on undies, but still has the protection of a diaper. We're working on timing now. I ask her over and over again if she has to go pee pee or poo poo. One day, I apparently asked her too many times. She stood outside my craft room door, with hand on hip, and spoke to me with annoyance in her own gibberish as if to say, "Mom, I got this. Stop bugging me and let me play with my babies." Well, alrighty then!

We aren't just doing the Pull-Up thing, either. My daughter was having one of "those" days where NOTHING was working for her. She didn't want to wear a Pull-Up. She didn't want to wear a diaper. So I grabbed a towel for her to sit on and thought for a minute. "Don't go ANYWHERE," I told her, "if you have to go pee pee or poo poo, sit on your potty." (Her potty is a pink princess potty that sits right in the middle of the living room, by the way, lol. Gotta be on their level.) I ran to her room and whipped open the top drawer and grabbed some of her big girl undies. Then I decided to grab them ALL and ran back to her. I asked her if she wanted to wear her big girl panties. She was excited, but she didn't want to wear them. She wanted to look at the cool designs and unfold them, and fold them, and sort them, etc. She ran around the house, literally "butt"-naked, for a couple of hours. No accidents. This inspired me for the next day. After we woke up and I took off her nighttime diaper, I stood her up and sent her on her merry way. I think we went four hours with no accidents. No ANYTHING, actually. But it was something. As the days went by, we finally had success and she pee-peed in the potty. She was ecstatic and so was I. This time I toned down my excitement since it was our downfall the first time we tried potty-training. Yes, I had scared her with my cheering and she avoided the potty like the plague for months. Anyway, this time, we had success, on both sides. I told her she did so great that she could have a potty prize. She got a lollipop AND a big prize for her first success. Then we called Daddy and Nana B to share in the excitement so she would know it was a big deal. She thought that was cool.

Now I know what some of ya'll are thinking. Some are saying, "We have carpet. My child will not be running around naked!" We have carpet, too! I had the shampooer on stand-by. Others are saying, "Wait, you bribed your kid?" I don't like to think of it as bribery, even if it's the very definition. I think of it as positive reinforcement, praising a good behavior. It's an incentive. I keep her potty prizes where she can see them, and I decorated the basket so she knows what they're for.

I added clipart that was related to potty training to her Potty Prize basket.

 

 

As you see from the picture, I added a couple of pictures of other kids potty-training so it would normalize it for her. I also added a picture of her big-girl undies so she could make that connection as well.

Stickers, lollipops, chocolates, and a book

These are her regular potty prizes. Simple, but something she doesn't get all the time. We have her "Super-Duper" potty prizes in the linen closet for when she eventually goes poo poo in the potty. Those prizes include a big doll, a Minnie Mouse toy with changeable clothes, a small princess doll with changeable clothes, and a stuffed animal. Whenever she has a success, depending on what it is, she gets to choose from her prizes. I'm also working on a progress chart that she'll be able to put stickers on every time she has a success. You don't have to spend a fortune to do this. And if you don't agree with this system, that's okay. I was able to get the basket/bucket for $1 at our PX, but I'm sure Target or Hobby Lobby has something similar. The Dum Dums were less than $2. You can definitely use something healthier.

Don't be disheartened if it feels like forever and you'll be buying your child Depends because they'll never be potty trained. They will. Just don't force it. Encourage it. We still have a LONG road ahead of us, but we've already had signs that what we're doing is working. We were at a convention this past weekend and I had to go potty. So I push the stroller into the large stall and my daughter yells "Care go potty!" And I'm a little shocked and ask, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" "YES!" was her excited reply. Heck yeah! I fixed up the potty to make it as clean as possible for a public restroom and pulled her Pull-Up down and sat her on the potty and held her. She was just jabbering away and all of a sudden I heard the awesome tinkling sound. I gasped, animatedly, "Did you just got pee pee in the potty?!" "Care went poopie!" Okay, so we still have to sort out which is which, but the point is, SHE DID IT! She asked to do it. She asked to do it in a place she had never been before! I was (and still am) one super happy mommy. After we washed our hands and went to find Daddy to tell him the big news (which was still poopie, lol), I asked if she wanted a prize. She had been talking about a light-up sword for a good half hour and we decided to get it for her. Then she saw the light-up butterfly wand, that also plays music... We bought that for her, later to regret it lol. For the 45 minute ride home, I listened to some ear-splitting blend of anime and screaming banshee. I still have no idea what they're singing, but luckily my daughter is content with the various light patterns.

Yesterday we had another great success when my daughter wanted to watch Puss In Boots. I started the movie and she was doing a dance. Then she started to go behind my husband's chair. That is a sure sign something is about to happen in the diaper-zone. I cheerfully asked her if she wanted to go potty. No answer. So I told her, "Hey, let's sit on the potty real quick before the movie starts." She came back around smiling and dancing around her potty trying to tug at her Pull-Up so I helped her and sat her down. She kicked off her Pull-Up and then was glued to the tv. After a few minutes I asked if I could check her potty and she grinned and nodded "yes". I was so happy to see pee pee in her potty even though I was HOPING for a poo poo. Who says that? "I was hoping for a poo poo"? A mommy who's trying to potty-train a toddler, that's who! And she was rewarded with a lollipop and was perfectly content.

As we take this journey together, don't lose hope, and don't lose your mind. There will be accidents. After my daughter peed in four pairs of big-girl undies in one day, we put the Pull-Ups back on. But no harm done. It's a process. It won't happen over night. Just keep asking your child if they have to go potty and then TELL them occasionally that it's time to sit on the potty. Let them sit for a few minutes. If at all possible, park their potty in front of the tv or an activity table, or play games with them, sing with them, etc. Keep it entertaining. Don't punish them for having accidents. They aren't dogs, you can't rub their nose in it or pop them with a newspaper. They're children learning something VERY different from what they've been use to for so long. Patience and understanding are key. Just tell them to let you know next time, or try to be more attentive and watch for signs. Like I mentioned, my daughter does a little dance before she pees and then she almost ALWAYS runs behind Daddy's chair to poop. We can do this, Mommies and Daddies!

I'll update on this topic after we have some more notable success. Until next time, don't lose your sanity. And do the Potty Dance if you do lose it ;)

Family Jeans

Well, Hello there!

It's a lazy Sunday here so I thought I'd edit photos for a tutorial. Who all has a favorite pair of jeans that is just beyond repair, but you can't make yourself throw them out? I know I have a few. But then I was inspired. Who says my favorite jeans have to end with me? Why can't my daughter enjoy them too? 

Now, grab your old jeans, some scissors and a pattern of your choice and upcycle those babies!

Here are my super old, ripped-to-shreds, size 10 Short jeans. (By the way, these were JUST the right size to make my daughter's 2T pants)

You just can't recover from a rip like that. Thank you, top-loading washing machine.

Next, get a pattern or use a pre-existing pair of your child's pants as a guide. I used the Brianna's Tiered Ruffle Pants from Create Kids Couture. LOVE THEM! Be forewarned, you WILL become addicted to their patterns. So easy to follow and beginner friendly! I laid the pattern piece for the pants on the widest part of my jeans and traced the outline with quilter's chalk. You can also use a washable ink pen. If you're using a pair of your child's pants as a guide, be sure to add about 1/4" seam allowance.

Voila! Both legs are stacked on top of each other. The "straight" side is still attached just as they were before.

If your pattern has other pieces to cut out, go ahead and do that now.
 

My pattern is for tiered pants so I've cut the required fabric

Next, make sure your folded side is "solid". On these, I had to cut a little on the folded side. Easy fix, just sew up that part and serge, or zigzag stitch to make it a bit sturdier. If you have to do this, make sure you merge your seam with the existing seam as smoothly as possible to avoid a bulge/semi-corner poking out when you turn your jeans right-side out.

The green line is the pre-existing seam in the jeans. The red lines are where I had to cut excess off. This is where we're going to sew and merge our seam with the existing seam.

Yellow line is our seam we just sewed. We want it to flow easily with the existing seam with the LEAST amount of angling as possible so we don't have a weird poke-out on the outside.

Now continue with your pattern. Don't have a pattern and just winging it? Alrighty! I don't have pictures for this next part, but I can make another pair of pants just for pictures if need be :). What you want to do is take your two pants pieces and lay them RIGHT sides together. Pin along the two CURVED sides. Sew down both the curved sides. Serge or zigzag stitch. Now adjust your pants so that the seams you JUST sewed are stacked and your "folded" edges are now on either side. The crotch of the pants hasn't been sewn yet and it should be at the center and bottom of what is in front of you. line up the edges making sure the seams you JUST sewed are lined up. Sew the crotch seam and serge/zigzag stitch. Now you can turn the pants right side out and make your hems. At the bottom of the legs, turn under about 1/4" and press with an iron. Turn under another 1/2" and press. Sew close to the folded edge. At the top of the pants, turn under 1/4" and press, then turn under another 1" and press. Sew close to the folded edge leaving a 1" gap. Measure your child's waist and add an inch to that measurement. Cut that measurement out of 3/4" elastic. Feed elastic through the waist of the pants with a safety pin. Be careful not to feed in the loose end (I pin the loose end at the 1" opening so it doesn't go in the casing). Once you feed the elastic all the way through, overlap the two ends and sew them together (I usually overlap about an inch to one and a half). Once both ends of elastic are sewn together, distribute the pants fabric evenly and sew up the 1" opening. Now your old jeans should have a new life!

My daughter can now wear my old jeans!

Once I finished these jeans I still couldn't part with the remnants of my old jeans, so I continued to upcycle :) I used Suzie's Twirly Halter Top and Dress pattern and made a top to match!

My Etsy shop is ASilentRank and my FaceBook page is A Silent Rank.

See how great those torn up jeans look now!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Hopefully you can find the strength to take scissors to your old pants, haha! You can even do this with thrift store finds! Hopefully my instructions were clear enough. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

The Introduction

Hello, Readers!

For my first post, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Courtney. Does that tell you anything about me? Perhaps I should be more specific. I'm a wife and a stay at home mom (SAHM). I LOVE to sew. I love to bake. I... like to cook (not my favorite). I get lost in historical romance novels. I can probably recite every episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins word-for-word. I'm allergic to household chores (who isn't?). I suppose that's good enough for an introduction, right?

So, what is all this about? Why did I decide to make a blog? Well, I want to spread the wealth of knowledge that I've picked up over the years. "Wealth" might be a little hefty of a word. But I'd like to help others with little things that I know. Things I've learned sewing. My go-to recipes and amazing discoveries (and not-so-brilliant disasters). Funny family stories. Mommy moments. Basically, one mom/wife sharing what she knows to let others know they're not entirely crazy. And maybe my hobbies will help others fill that "need-to-do-something" void. As I continue to blog, don't hesitate to recommend a topic, or ask for clarification. I plan on doing plenty of sewing tutorials, some baking blogs, and maybe some crocheting posts as well. And we're in the process of potty training, so, might share some tips and tricks about that as well... if we're successful haha. Being the sentimental person I am, I may even do a few strolls down memory lane. Stay tuned and you may learn something new, or let loose a giggle or two, or nod your head in a sympathetic "been there", or get watery eyes because you will be there soon.

Until next time,
Laugh instead of cry, and put your projects away for a few hours to clear your head. Play with your kids and don't be too serious.