DIY Superhero Cape Party Favors

Posted on November 11, 2013 by jewelsathome

Here’s a quick summary of the recent Superhero-related posts:

For J’s recent superhero birthday party, I decided to make capes as party favors. I always try to make one bigger gift instead of goody bags with lots of small items.

The capes were very simple to make, though I will admit that making them for 10 kids took longer than I anticipated. It all worked out, though, and it was adorable to see all the little heroes running around our house and yard in their super capes! J and L wanted to be Superman and Batman, so I made them capes specifically for that, but the rest of the capes were a mix of fun colors and patterns.

You can make your own cape pattern that fits kids from about two to seven years old:

Materials:

For the body of the cape, I cut a piece of fabric that was 32″ long. It was 29″ in wide at bottom, tapering to 19″ wide at top, and I cut a curve for the neckline.
The neckline is finished with bias binding in a matching color to the body of the cape.
For the accent fabric, I cut a strip of fabric that was 5″ wide and 29″ long.
I used a short section (about 1 inch) of velcro for the top.

Instructions:

I ironed down a 1/2″ hem on both long sides of the accent fabric strip and sewed it to the body of the cape, near the bottom edge.
I finished the neckline of the cape with bias binding
I hemmed the bottom and sides of the cape
Finally, I added velcro to the top corners to close the cape.

I love the variety of each of these. I even made a little baby version for my “niece” C.

DIY Superhero capes for a birthday party! Jewels at Home

C’s baby cape is so cute!

Birthday boy, also known as Superman!

The kids have been wearing their capes all around our home and beyond.

Super baby!

You don’t have to make the capes yourself to have a fun costume party. I have found great costumes of all kinds at low prices on Zulily:

Have fun saving the world, little ones! Happy birthday, J!

“Jewels”

Superman Birthday Party

Posted on November 11, 2013 by jewelsathome

Here’s a quick summary of the recent Superhero-related posts:

The passions of a toddler are as fleeting as they are deep. At the time of last year’s party, I was convinced little J was going to grow up to become a firefighter, and he still is mesmerized by those trucks, but his current obsession is with superheroes, especially Superman. This theme for the party worked out, since J’s birthday falls a few weeks before Halloween, and J and L wanted to dress as Superman and Batman to go trick-or-treating.

To set the theme, our family dressed in costume, and we invited our guests to do the same. I had extra capes for all the little ones to wear at the party and take home as party favors.

Besides the superhero capes I sewed for our little guests to wear, I also had a photo backdrop. The backdrop is made from a blue queen-sized flat sheet with a black skyline appliqued to the bottom. Most of the skyline is random buildings – I actually cut two skylines at once to be efficient (pictured below).

Superhero birthday party with tons of DIY ideas for your little one | Jewels at Home

Basic skyline for the photo backdrop. I cut out two copies (one in reverse) and used them to assemble the background.

To customize the skyline, I added the Transamerica pyramid and Coit Tower. Up in the sky, I sewed some clouds, and ta-da!

Photo backdrop with San Francisco skyline.

We used the photo backdrop two ways – hung up for action poses and, later in the party, laid out on the floor for some “flying” scenes. I tried to set up the photo booth I created for our Mad Men party, but the pictures didn’t turn out that well outside. If I had had more time, I wanted to re-decorate it as a telephone booth, to fit with our Clark Kent-Superman theme. That would be so cool, I want to throw another superhero party just to do it!

Superhero birthday party with tons of DIY ideas for your little one | Jewels at Home

The fun comic word photo props added a lot of excitement to the photos. I bought the downloadable images from Etsy – there are lots of options. I printed mine out, mounted them on adhesive craft foam, and glued large craft sticks to the back to make handles (pictured below).

It took a while for the kids to figure out how to do the flying scenes, but then they started having fun with it.

Another cool photo prop for our little superheroes was this fake barbell, made from a paper towel roll, bubble wrap, and duct tape. I couldn’t decide which of these heroic expressions I loved the most, so I posted them all.

I thought it would be clever to have the kids toss balls to knock over this “kryptonite” made from empty green plastic bottles, but I admit this one went over the head of the three-year-old crowd.

Inside our house, I customized our birthday banner, but it didn’t feel quite festive enough, until I hung up some of the birthday pictures that L drew for his little brother J.

These drink wraps were also purchased on Etsy.

Finally, the cake… I found this Superman cake topper in one of our toy boxes. I have no idea where it came from, but I washed it up, and it worked out perfectly!

And so, another fun year has flown by!

“Jewels”

Elegant Ottoman Makeover

Posted on November 9, 2013 by jewelsathome

Okay, so I will admit that I had a very low starting point with these inexpensive storage cubes that I found on sale at Target. In their original colors, they’re so garish that it’s hard to imagine how anyone would have chosen to manufacture and sell them to begin with. I believe they were marketed towards the back-to-college dorm crowd, but I have more faith than that in the youth of today.

Not surprisingly, there were a large number of these fabric ottomans on clearance for $9.99 each at our local store. I had been looking for some storage cubes to serve as toy storage and double as seating in our family room. Even though the fluorescent colors were far from what I wanted, the size and functionality were perfect! Luckily, I had also just purchased a large remnant of beautiful ikat fabric to do projects in that room, and so this project was born!

I measured and cut fabric to cover the bases and lids of the cubes with extra allowance to fold under the edges. Because of the large-scale design, I was careful to match the pattern, so that the two cubes would work well together. Because of the very bright color of the original fabric on the cubes, I also cut out plain white fabric to go behind my print and hide the original color. For the base of the cubes, I sewed a tube that would slip over the cube (pictured below).

I wrapped the top edge of the fabric around the top of the cube, folded under a small hem, and used a staple gun to secure it to the frame on the inside of the cube. I started by placing a staple in the center of each side and then worked towards the corners. I then did the same to secure the bottom edge of the fabric to the bottom of the cube (pictured below) and to the lids of the cubes. It helps to trim fabric from the corners, so it doesn’t get too bulky.

And here they are, full of boys… I mean toys! Our family room seems to be constantly changing as the kids grow, but I’m happy with this bright and comfortable space for now.

“Jewels”

“Thankful Leaves” Fabric Garland for Thanksgiving

Posted on November 8, 2013 by jewelsathome

At Thanksgiving, I love the idea of creating a record of what we are thankful for, to help us reflect and to look back at over the years. I’ve seen this done on tablecloths or paper leaves hung on branches or strung in a garland. To make out garland more durable, I wanted to make it out of fabric.

Materials:

unbleached muslin and canvas
felt and fabric in fall colors
Heat’n Bond Ultra Hold
Sharpies or fabric markers

Instructions:

iron the Heat’n Bond to the felt or fabric and then iron on to the muslin or canvas, according to the instructions on the package. (left picture below)
make paper templates of a variety of leaf shapes. (right picture below)
trace the leaves with pencil onto the muslin and cut out.

Let each family member choose a leaf and write their message with Sharpie or fabric markers on the muslin.

Tutorial for Thanksgiving felt leaf garland with muslin backing to write what we're thankful for. {from Jewels at Home}

The boys writing on their “thankful leaves” to hang on the garland.

To hang the leaves, I used this sweet print that I bought on a birthday shopping spree. I didn’t even know what I would use it for when I bought it (don’t judge!), but it’s perfect for this project, with the orange-y red color and the tree silhouettes.

For each garland, I cut two strips of 4.25″ wide fabric and joined it into a long strip. I folded and ironed it in half length-wise, with the right sides facing. I used pins to mark every five inches where I would leave an opening to insert a leaf, with room for 15 leaves on each garland.

I sewed around the edge of the fabric, leaving a gap at each pin a 10″ opening in the center.

I then turned the hanging strip right side out, and slipped in the leaves. I sewed in the ones we had already written on, and I pinned the rest with safety pins, so we can take them down to write on before sewing into the garland in years to come.

Here are the garlands in our dining room, getting us in the mood for fall ,though the weather is decidedly warm! Together with the metallic painted pumpkins I created last year, the garlands are bringing the colors of the season into our home.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have as much to be thankful for as we do!

“Jewels”

Collecting Card Binders

Posted on November 5, 2013 by jewelsathome

As the kids get older, their parties have evolved. These days, there are no streamers and balloons, but there is a pack of tousle-haired tweens holed up wrestling and trading jokes over cards games.

Last year, we did an outdoor movie party for the big boys, and I made fleece blankets for each of them. Since we had a similar crowd this year, I wanted to change up our special party favor, so I made these binders for the boys to organize their Yugioh and Magic cards.

I printed out their names on colored paper and pieced together done fun patterned paper to make each cover unique.

I then wrapped each insert in clear contact paper. This isn’t necessary, but the printer ink will often transfer to the binder cover, if you don’t.

The inserts slipped into be front of binders, and I included some Ultra Pro 9-Pocket Trading Card Pages in each.

The boys were very excited to get their binders, and I think it might even be making a dent in the piles of loose cards around our house!

“Jewels”

Dreamy DIY Daybed

Posted on September 18, 2013 by jewelsathome

I have a serious thing for daybeds. There is something so primally cozy about curling up on a deep bed, surrounded by cushions.

Daybeds are practical, too. I have one in my craft studio, which is also our guest room. It’s a twin bed for our single guests, and there is a pop-up trundle below that can be combined with the main bed to make a king bed for couples and families.

When we added built-in closets to our master bedroom, they created a little alcove under the windows that was perfect for a window seat. Rather than a narrow bench, I decided to fill this space with a deep daybed, perfect for reading, napping, or lounging and taking in the view.

This space will also work out for those nights when a nightmare brings a little one into our room in the middle of the night… see, practical!

I considered building something myself, but I was nervous that that kind of project might never get done, with three kids running around. So, I did a lot of browsing and measuring to find ready-made materials that would fit together into an almost-built-in deep window seat and then added handmade touches with the pillows and storage boxes.

I found that three of these Closetmaid 3 Cube White Storage Benches filled the space almost end to end, leaving just enough room to access the electrical outlets on the walls at either end. The benches I bought are only 14″ deep, but I was able to add extra depth with some existing pieces boxes and shelves around the house, to create a luxurious 30″ deep daybed. To top it all off, I used two basic crib mattresses which fit perfectly across and provide great support. This Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams White Crib Mattress is reasonably priced and on the larger side (did you know crib mattresses were not a standard size?!), so it fills up the bench nicely.

Although I used benches out of a box and ready-made mattresses, this project has lots of handmade touches as well:

seat cushion cover
round bolster pillows and other decorative pillows – I used a variety of fabrics that capture the color scheme of the room – warm neutral gray with accents in red and turquoise.
fabric-covered storage boxes – JJ is potty-trained now, except for overnight, and these are overnight diaper boxes, that fit perfectly inside the cubbies, with just a half inch trimmed from the top. I have complete instructions for these and other storage boxes in another post.

I’m beyond happy with out new window seat and am looking forward to enjoying many quiet moments here.

“Jewels”

Pillows for Dressing a Daybed

Posted on September 5, 2013 by jewelsathome

I’m making a daybed window seat in our master bedroom, and it makes me so happy!! This is going to sound weird, but I think I like to look at it as much as I like to sit on it…

The whole seat just about done now, so I will get the final pictures up soon. So far, I have shared the bench cushions, and today, I’ll show you some of the special pillows I sewed to dress it up: round bolsters, flanged shams, and a ribbon-bordered pillow.

I’m not going to go into the basics of how to sew throw pillows, as you can find that in this old post.

Ribbon-bordered pillow

This was just a basic pillow, and I used to add ribbon the same way I did for our master bath curtains. This time, I did sew down the ribbon as well.

Round bolster pillows

Okay, I’m pretty proud of these. I was feeling intimidated by sewing the circles, but now that they are done, I’m so pleased! I made these round bolsters out of the same fabric, Robert Allen Souk in Dove, that I used for the bench seat. They sit on either end and really make the daybed feel finished.

The pilllow design is very simple, with just three pieces and some velcro. For each pillow that has a finished size of 24″x 8″ diameter, I cut a rectangle that is 25″ wide by 27″ long. I cut two circles that are 9″ in diameter (pictured below). I hemmed the short ends of the rectangle and finished all the other edges with a zig-zag stitch.

Pillows for dressing a daybed. Instructions for sewing round bolster pillows. Jewels at Home

Three simple pieces for sewing a round bolster pillow.

Next, I joined the two short ends of the rectangle, with one inch overlapping, to make a cylinder and pinned this in place. Then, I fitted a circle into the open end, with right sides facing. I used a lot of pins, to make sure that it fit evenly (pictured below).

Form a cylinder with the rectangular piece and fit a circle into the open end.

I sewed the circle into place by hand (pictured below). You could definitely try this by machine, but my fabric was quite stiff, and I thought I would just end up with a jagged circle and unpicking it 10 times. Repeat on the other end.

Stitch the circle onto the open end of the cylinder.

Last, I added Velcro to the long opening to hold the pillow closed (pictured below).

Add velcro for the pillow closure.

What’s inside my bolster pillows? You can purchase these forms, but I was able to construct some pillow forms from supplies I already had in the house. Yes, that’s right. While I may fantasize about being on HGTV, I think I have a better shot at getting on Hoarders. I used one thick piece of foam and two thinner strips for the core of the pillow, wrapped it all in batting and then stuffed it all in a simple tube sewn from scrap fabric (pictured below).

Making a pillow form for a round bolster pillow.

And here’s the finished bolster pillow. Something about conquering those circles is very satisfying!

Flanged pillow sham

I wanted pillows of different sizes on the daybed, so I beefed up some standard 20″x26″ pillows by sewing flanged covers.

For this project, you’ll need fabric, fusible interfacing, velcro, and thread.

I cut a large rectangle 29″ wide x 70″ long and hemmed the two short ends. I cut the fusible interfacing into 3″ strips and ironed the strips into place along the long sides of the rectangle and cut 6″ strips to sew, as show below, where the sides of the pillow will be.

Pillows for dressing a daybed. Instructions for sewing flanged pillow sham covers. Jewels at Home

Iron strips of interfacing onto the inside of the pillow cover.

I folded the rectangle as show below, so the hem overlaps on the back where the closure will be. I stitched along the top and bottom edges.

Fold the rectangle to make the pillow cover, and sew with the right sides together and the interfacing on the outside.

Then, turn the pillow cover right side out, iron, and sew around the pillow 2 1/2″ from the edge. I put a strip of painter’s tape on my machine to mark this distance (shown below).

Sew around the pillow cover on the outside, 2 1/2″ from the edge.

Ta-da! Pillow cover with edges that will stand up nice and crisp!

And here’s how the window seat is looking so far, with all the pillows and throws. I just need to finish the storage boxes to go below, and I’ll be done! This is one of the projects that got me so excited I could barely sleep, so it feels good to be almost done… I might need to catch up on sleep with a nap on this cozy daybed!

The blue pillow and knit throw tie into the art in the master bathroom. Ahhh….

Not much longer until I’ll show you the finished project with all the details!

“Jewels”

Window Seat Bench Cushion

Posted on September 3, 2013 by jewelsathome

I occasionally get obsessed with a project that I just can’t get out of my head. The window seat daybed in our master bedroom was definitely one of these! The daybed itself was easy to assemble from purchased benches and crib mattresses, but projects for this cozy alcove went on and on! One of the biggest was sewing the covers for the daybed mattresses. I love the Robert Allen Souk fabric in Dove, and I’ll show you how to make these covers yourself.

As a guideline, I used these instructions from Kate at the Centsational Girl blog to sew the covers. My dimensions are different, and I didn’t see how she did the back corners, so I’ll show all the steps here.

Supplies for covering two crib mattresses:

5 yards of 54″ wide fabric
Velcro – total of 104″ sew-on strips for both mattresses
thread, scissors, pins, general sewing supplies

Because the daybed is made from crib mattresses that are 52″ long, I was able to use the full width of a standard 54″ wide decorator fabric across the mattress. For each mattress, I cut a 70″ long x 54″ wide (full width) section of fabric and zig-zagged the raw edges of each piece.

I laid the fabric over the mattress and marked where the front seams would be. (Pictured below)

Instructions for sewing an cushion cover to make a daybed out of a crib mattress | Jewels at Home

Mark the fabric to where the front seams will be.

I then folded the fabric at the seam and sewed with a 3/8″ seam allowance to create a clean seam for the front edges of the cushion. (Pictured below)

Fold and sew to create the front seams.

Each mattress required two 6.5″x 32″ side panels, and I again zig-zagged the edges. These are longer than the width of the mattress, so they can wrap around the back to keep any of the mattress from showing.

To attach the side panels, line up the end of the side panels with the front of the main panel (between the seams) and sew that small section with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. (top left picture below)

Next, turn and pin the long edge of the side panels in place and sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Since the side panels are longer than the mattress, I marked on the main panel where the back edge of the cushion should be and sewed up to that point. (top right picture below)

Adding the side panels to the cushion cover. Sew the front edge first and then the side seams.

After attaching all the side panels, I finished the ends of the panels by folding under a 1/2 inch hem and stitching. (Top left picture below)

For the back closure, I had one short flap and one long one, so the closure was along the edge of the cushion. While this looks very neat when finished, in retrospect, I would have centered the closure on the back, so I could flip the cushion over if it gets worn without any of the closure showing at the edge.

I sewed one side of the Velcro to the outside of the short flap and the other side to the inside of the long flap. (Top right picture below) It looks very neat when done!

Finishing the cushion cover. Finish the edges of the side panels, so they can wrap around the back of the cushion. Sew velcro to the inside of one back flap and the outside of the other. Ta-da!

I’m so happy with how these new cushion covers fit and look! A neat tip: to keep the cushions from moving around, I used a rug pad underneath.

We’ve already started hanging out on our new window seat already, and there are just a few more projects left to finish up this cozy alcove!

I’ve got more cushions planned, including round bolsters to finish off the ends of the bench. I’m looking forward to showing you the finishing touches soon!

“Jewels”

Wipeable Fabric Bib Tutorial

Posted on July 14, 2013 by jewelsathome

Do you do this? We had several friends who had babies recently. I’ve been wanting to make something special, but I haven’t had the time, so the result of my best intentions is that I have not given them anything at all yet. Boo!

Well, I finally got motivated, because Lucas’ teacher is expecting her first baby this fall. She has been absolutely amazing. We were lucky enough to have her in pre-kindergarten and then again in first grade. She has that perfect mix of wisdom, energy, and affection that wins over parents and children alike.

I’ve sewn bibs before, but I tried something new this time, by making them wipeable. This is also a great project for using up those scraps of fabric that are too small to make a project on their own, but look great mixed together.

Materials:

fabric, including scraps
Thermoweb Heat’n Bond Iron-On Vinyl
Velcro

Instructions:

I created a bib template that is 17″ high (the width of the vinyl) and 11″ wide.

For the backs of the bibs, I used a single piece of plain fabric.

For the fronts of the bibs, I joined together two or three strips of coordinating fabrics into 11″x17″ rectangles and ironed on the Thermoweb Heat’n Bond Iron-On Vinyl according to the instructions.

I cut the template out of the joined and coated piece (pictured below)

Wipeable baby bib tutorial | Jewels at Home

Join together scraps of fun fabric to make 11″x17″ rectangles. Cut the bib template out from the joined piece.

I then sewed the fronts and backs together, right sides facing, with a half inch seam allowance and leaving about four inches open on the side to turn the bib right side out (pictured below).

With right sides facing sew the back and front pieces together, leaving a 4″ gap on one side to turn the piece.

To help create smooth curves, clip the seam allowances at all the curves, as shown below.

Clip the seam allowance around the curves, as shown.

To finish, turn the bib right side out and iron again, Stitch all the way around close to the edge, and add the 1.5″ velcro strips to the top.

Here are the finished bibs. I love the way the different fabrics work together!

To wrap it all up, I created another custom gift bag, like these bags I made for my nieces last year.

Congratulations to all the wonderful mamas and mamas-to-be in my life!

“Jewels”

Pillowcase Dresses for Girls

Posted on June 19, 2013 by jewelsathome

These little “pillowcase” dresses have been catching my eye for a while. The style is very simple to sew, and the results are so cute! Not to mention that for growing kids, you can’t beat a style that will grow along with them!

For my birthday, Steve and I went to an amazing fabric store in Berkeley, Stone Mountain and Daughter, and among other treasures, I found this cute Japanese-style rabbit print.

I have a weakness for anything rabbit-themed for my little nieces, who were born in the year of the rabbit. You may remember the custom gift bags and silhouette Christmas ornaments that I made for them.

For the basic pattern, I used this tutorial from the Aesthetic Nest. I did alter the pattern in a couple of ways.

Here’s what you will need to make your own unique designs in size 2T:

1/2 yard of 45″ quilting cotton for the main fabric, if the print has no direction or runs across the width of the fabric. You will need 2/3 of a yard, if the pattern runs the length of the fabric.
1/4 yard of solid fabric for the tie
bias binding to match your main fabric
thread to match your main fabric and tie fabric

Instructions:

Prewash and iron your fabric
Fold the main fabric in half and cut into to two pieces that are 18″ wide x 22″ long each. You can see here why they’re called pillowcase dresses. It would be fun to find some pillowcases with a great design for dresses, though the pattern is usually oriented the other direction.
Cut armholes from the top corners: 4″ from the top and 2″ from the side, as show below:

Girl's pillowcase dress tutorial. Sweet and simple design | Jewels at Home

Cut armholes from the top corners of the front and back panels.

Next, join the front and back panels using a French seam:

First, with wrong sides together, sew a 1/4 inch seam along the sides of the dress (top left picture below).
Iron the seam open, turn the dress inside out, and sew a 3/8″ seam with the wrong sides facing (top right picture below).
Turn the dress right side out again, and you can see your dress taking shape (bottom picture below)!

To finish off the edges, start with adding bias binding to the armholes. I didn’t get good pictures of this with the dresses, so the picture below is from the pillowcase top I made for myself:

Open the folded bias binding and line up one edge to the edge of the armhole on the right side. Stitch along the crease nearest the edge.
Clip the seam allowance in the curve, to allow it to lie flat. Fold the binding to the wrong side and iron the binding flat.
Sew around the armhole to sew down the binding.

For the neck casing:

zig-zag the top edges of both panels, unless you were able to line the selvedge up here (top picture below)
Fold down 1 3/4″ from the top edge and iron (second picture below)
Fold back up 1/4″, so that you have a 1/2″ casing (third picture below)
Sew along the bottom edge of the casing and voila (bottom picture below)!

For the bottom hem, fold up 2″ towards the inside of the dress and fold back under 1/4″. Iron and stitch the hem in place.

For the tie, I started with two 3″ thick strips of fabric, each 42″ wide.

I joined the strips end to end (top left picture below)
I the folded open the joint and sewed the seam allowances down (top right picture below)
I finished the tie all the way around by folding under a 1/8″ twice and sewing it down. I didn’t measure this part exactly, but I did put a piece of painter’s tape down on my machine, to make sure I was keeping approximately the same finished width all the way (bottom picture below).