A MONSTER TOOTH FAIRY PILLOW

My littlest monster lost his first tooth last week. 

I was so excited for him (and sad at the same time, he is really growing up). He has been waiting for that moment for a year.  When you have 2 big brothers it's hard not to want to be doing all things they are, even if it's losing teeth. 

To help celebrate the big event I made him a monster tooth fairy pillow.  I pinned this pillow a while back and knew that my littlest monster would love something similar.  I combined that monster with the monster from a shirt I made last year for my nephew and voila!

It came together rather quickly and I was able to use scraps from his All Star quilt...bonus!! 

He can't wait to lose more teeth!

Smiles~Beth

A LOOK AT MY DESIGN WALL

Ever since I finished my littlest monster's quilt I have been getting requests from the other 2 monsters for quilts for their beds as well. 

My oldest monster recently got a new bed and freshly painted walls.  I think some new bedding will finish it off perfectly.

So, here is a look at what I have so far.

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I am using the Impromptu pattern by Rachel @ PS I Quilt but changing it up a bit with the color blocking.  Nathan wanted some red.  I think it will add just enough color when it's all done. 

What are you working on?

Smiles~Beth

DR SEUSS QUILT TOP & BACK

I started this wonky (block tutorial here) quilt top a couple of weeks ago when my best friend, Terra, came in town for a sewing weekend (have you ever had a sewing weekend with a friend?  Up til 4 a.m. & lots of giggles, it was a blast! You can read more about the here). 

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I am so happy to have it finished and super excited about the way it turned out, all of those Seuss characters make me smile. 

One of my favorite prints.

I couldn't help but to get started on the back right away and I am just as excited about it as I am about the front!

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I don't usually buy panels but I am so glad I did this time.

Now I just need to get it quilted and binded so it can be loved by all my boys :)

I am linking this fun quilt up to these fabulous blogs:

Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Smiles~Beth

DR SEUSS SHIRT {TEMPLATE}

Dr. Seuss books are a favorite in our house.   I could on and on about them but I am sure you already know how great they are ;)

When I realized the author's birthday was coming up (March 2) I knew I wanted to help celebrate the day with a special shirt for Adam to wear to school.

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Wanna make one too?  There is no sewing required :)

Please read entire post before beginning

Here is what you will need:

Shirt (got ours at The Children's Place)

1/4 yard of white fabric (you will have extra)

1/8 yard or scraps of red fabric

Wonder Under (available at most craft stores)

Heat n' Bond fusible stabilizer (optional, I didn't use any on this shirt)

 Scissors

Iron

Pencil

Black Thread (optional)

Templates (below)

Paper (I used cardstock)

When printing the templates be sure to right click on the pictures, save them to your computer, then open your saved version and print.

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After you have printed your templates, cut them out and follow these instructions. 

FYI~I ironed the white fabric to the shirt first and then ironed the red pieces right on top.

If you decide not to zigzag stitch around the pieces, don't worry, it will still look great (and it won't take as long!).

I would love to know if you make one!! 

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I will reply asap.

Linking up to:

Happy Birthday Author

Smiles~Beth

100th DAY OF SCHOOL

Today is the 100th day of school for my boys.  To help celebrate I made my littlest monster a simple little shirt, using my Silhouette (of course!).

I used white heat tranfer vinyl and the font is called Applause.  If you haven't ever used heat transfer vinyl before I highly recommend it.  I was able to whip this up this morning in less than 10 minutes!

Happy Friday!
Smiles~Beth

A FINISHED QUILT FOR MY SUNSHINE

I was almost too embarrassed to post about this quilt but the feeling of getting it crossed off of my to~do list after it had been there for 3 1/2 years made me not care how long it took me to finish it!   I am so excited that it's FINALLY done and will soon be in the arms of my middle monster...yay!

Backing fabric is solid black Robert Kaufman flannel

I bought the fabric at Hancock Fabrics 3 1/2 years ago in West Des Moines, Iowa.  I was there for the week visiting my bestie and she had just taught me how to sew.  I was super excited to start a quilt and couldn't pass up those adorable little pirates.  I started off strong but when I ran out of the red sashing & couldn't find it ANYWHERE I put it away and forgot about it.  After some prompting from my bestie I went on a mission to find something that would work.  Can you believe I had to go back to Iowa to find it?!  It's not a perfect match but it's close enough that most people won't notice (can you tell?).  I wish I could remember the name of the quilt store I got it from, they were so friendly and helpful there. 

I was a little nervous that my son wouldn't like the fabric anymore since he is a big 9 years old now but when I asked him recently about it he simply said "I still love it Mom, please finish it soon!".   This baby is going in the wash and should be ready for him when he gets home from school today :)

What's the longest time you have had something on your WIP list?

Smiles~Beth

 

LOTS OF JAMMIES (CHRISTMAS GIFTS)

Every year since I started sewing I have made the boys Christmas jammies/pj's.  They are always made of snuggle flannel.  This year I discovered some fabulously soft flannel at JoAnns called Plaiditudes.  It washes up wonderfully without balling and somehow gets even softer after each wash (so soft that I even bought some for myself!!).  And they just happened to have a perfect plaid for Christmas jammies...yay!  In addition to those I had a few special requests by my nephews for their own pair. Some even asked for matching shirts :)

You can't see them but those Christmas jammies looked great paired with these plan tees (can't believe I didn't get the jammies in the pic...geez!)

For Logan
I made the soccer ball with Silhouette soccer_C00212_20387 & Silhouette fabric paint

For Zach
I used Silhouette skull_C01416_17986 & Silhouette fabric ink

The jammies were all a hit. I have another pair on my list for one of my nephews who has a birthday coming up in early February (he had requested a monster shirt for Christmas but immediately knew he wanted some jammies for his birthday after seeing his brother Zach's set).  It always amazing that these boys look forward to their handmade Aunt Beth gifts.  It makes my heart happy :)

Happy Tuesday!
Smiles~Beth



EPIC MONSTERS ROBOTS & MORE {FOR CHRISTMAS}

I hope everyone is having fun so far in 2012!

I had wanted to get pics posted of these before Christmas but just getting them done was a big enough accomplishment for me...ha! 

For Connor

For Brandon

For Kyle~made with my Silhouette and Silhouette fabric ink

For Luke

For Patrick (he specifically asked for a robot shirt)
Made with Silhouette orange_robot_C00080_31857
& heat transfer vinyl

For Gage
made with my Silhouette & Silhouette fabric paint

For Logan

For Cole

For Owen

For the hubs :)
Made with my Silhouette & Silhouette fabric ink

I will be posting more Christmas gifts this week!

Smiles~Beth

WINTER DINO HAT {FOR MY LITTLE GUY}

It's starting to feel a little more like Fall around here.  With the colder weather coming I thought it was time to make my little guy a new warm hat. 

The bottom scale isn't really all crumpled...guess I should have fixed that, oops!

I followed this great tutorial by Christine at From an Igloo, thanks Christine!  It has been in my favorites and then moved to one of my Pinterest boards for awhile now.  I love that it easily covers his ears and the back of his neck so I don't have to worry about him being warm enough at recess.  It went together so quickly that I may just make him another one but maybe a monster version...we love monsters around here! 

 (The only thing I did differently to the hat was to add a tacking stitch in the top of the hat to help keep both layers together while taking it off his head.)

In case your wondering, my little guy LOVES it!

He is such a goofball!

Happy Tuesday!

Smiles~Beth

 

Linking up to:

 

Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

 

GIFTS FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOY

One of my little guys turned 9 this week (yeah, I know, not so little anymore).  After seeing the monster shirt I made his cousin he requested his own.  I don't typically put the same monster on their shirts but it's what Sam wanted so that is what his Mama made him (honestly, I think he wanted the same monster because his brother designed it).  The only changes made were the colors (I do my best do use their favorites). 

I also made him a wallet.  He has been asking for one for a while now.  This seemed like the perfect time to get my rear in gear and make one for him.  I followed this great tutorial by Noodlehead.

Perfect for all the moolah and gift cards he received :)

(sheesh...I wish I was 9 again!!)

I am curious, do your kiddos request handmade gifts from you?

Smiles~Beth

Linking up to:

Finish it Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts
Lolly Jane Boutique

MONSTER SHIRT {YEP, ANOTHER ONE!}

One of my nephews celebrated his 9th birthday recently.  When asked what he wanted he replied "Another monster shirt!!!".  It makes my heart smile to know the boys still enjoy something handmade by their Aunt Beth. 

I have to admit though, it's getting harder to come up with new monsters now that they are getting older.  Thankfully, I had some help from my oldest monster, Nathan.  He designed the monster and I brought it to life. 

I am happy to say that it was a hit!!  A big thanks to Nathan for helping me out!  I think he may be the new official monster designer ;)

You can see some of the other monster shirts I have made here, here, here, here, & here.

Hope your Wednesday is good to you!

Smiles~Beth

SIMPLE {SILHOUETTE FOOTBALL SHIRT}

I am still working on those flower applique' and monster shirts. I don't know about you but I get a little bored when I am making several of the same thing (in this case, about a dozen of each).  I needed a quick & simple project to make me feel like I accomplished something.  So, I took a small break and turned this plain old brown tee...

Yeah, I know it's backwards.  I forgot to take a 'before' picture...oops!

Into this cute cool football shirt for my littlest monster, Adam.

football_stitch_border_C00372_19547
6/08/2010

You probably won't be surprised when I tell you that I used my silhouette (along with some white flocked heat transfer vinyl) to create this simple football shirt.  It took me less than 10 minutes to make, from picking the design to ironing it on...now that's fast!  But you don't need a silhouette to make your own.  You could easily cut out the design yourself using an exacto knife (found at most craft stores).  Now it's back to sewing!

Happy Friday!

Linking up to~

Smiles~Beth

ALL THINGS MONSTER

Looking for the Gathered Clutch {100th post giveaway}?

Click here.

My sister and her family moved last Sunday.  And not just across town but 8 hours away!  (I am not going to talk about it now because I am still too sad).  I wanted to give each of her boys a little something special from Auntie Beth before they left.  Having all nephews, I figured I couldn't go wrong with monsters.

My oldest nephew loved this monster shirt I made him a while back but he has outgrown it.  He thoughtfully handed it down to his cousin but I thought it would be fun to upcycle the shirt into a pillow and give it back to him. 

Another of my nephews enjoys collecting all things dirty.  Ya know...rocks, sticks, worms, etc.  I made him this purse bag to put them into.  It is mostly made of oilcloth (purchased at Fabric.com).  I used some window screen scraps for the bottom so some of the dirt can fall through.  The zipper serves as a mouth so the monster can eat all of the new found treasures ;-)

(I saw this idea somewhere out there in bloglansd but cannot seem to find it online anymore. If you know who originally came up with this great idea please leave their name or blog in a comment so I can give them proper credit...thanks!).

Lastly, I made this monster shirt for another nephew. It's the first of it's kind (most of my monster shirts look like the one I turned into a pillow). My nephew knew this and so it made him feel pretty darn special (and he is!!). It was much easier to make since there was no sewing involved (I used heat transfer vinyl). I will definately be making more soon.

The baby didn't get anything handmade but I did give him a special Aden + Anais blanket.  It's made of muslin and is perfect for a baby in this hot weather!! 

Do you have any fun monster ideas?

Smiles
~Beth