Tiny Dazzles

I have been M.I.A here on the blog and these cute bow ties are part of the reason. A few weeks ago, I decided to start a new business and we named it TINY DAZZLES.

Tiny Dazzles is an online store specializing in mommy and baby accessories. I am wayyyyyyyyyyyyy excited for this new adventure. I am loving every minute of it and I am overwhelmed with gratitude because of the help and support I have received from family and friends. I am grateful to have people believe me, I feel really blessed.

The 'grand opening' is next week Monday, the 15th of July. So, come back Monday and see what we have in stock. Our goal is to make mommy and baby happy. Lets face it, when mommy is happy, everyone is happy! and when baby is happy everyone is happier:) at least that's the case in our home...

There is a cute story related to the naming of the business which involves no other than miss Diana:). One day, we were watching Bill Cosby (my old time favorite show) and Mrs Cosby was baby sitting a small baby. Diana was less than a foot away from the screen, very taken with the show. Then she turned around and said, 'mommy, I want a baby.' Her little brother Eli was about 10 months old then. So I relpied, 'we don't need another baby, we have Eli already' She looked at me again and said, 'no, I want a tiny baby I can hold in my hands like this (with her little hands very close together)' Eli was weighing 24 lbs at the time, so I guess he didn't qualify to be called a baby. I laughed my head off but the answer was still no! Anyway,that was the birth of Tiny Dazzles; dazzling accessories for mommy and tiny babies..

My husband also got accepted into the Finance Maters program at The U. We decided to move closer to downtown SLC. We plan to get out of here within a few weeks.So all my sewing and my kids projects, here and here have come to a halt. I won't commence until we find another place because I am certain the floor plan will be different and hopefully I won't have to make major adjustments.

See you soon!

Stained T-Shirt refashion

A few months ago, I came across some colorful t-shirts for just $5 each. I grabbed 5 different colors, Diana looks awesome in anything but 'awesomer' in bright colors; or maybe mommy just loves color:)
My daughter has been very 'artistic lately', she has been writing and drawing and cutting whatever she can get her hands on, she was wearing this T-shirt on one of her missions. She is only 3 and I guess its a phase for her, hopefully it passes soon.

I like how this colorblock 'combo' turned out

So, this is how Diana refashioned her tee

We tried to watch off the stains but wasn't successful. So I cut off the stained part. Lucky the top was ok

Use the cut off tee to measure the replacement knit fabric. Sew on both sides as shown. After sewing along the sides both pieces should be of equal width. Then turn the striped fabric out, so the wrong sides are facing.

From the 'head side' insert the lower piece

Make sure the edges on both pieces are evenly aligned.

Use pins to attach the 2 pieces. Then sew around the shirt above the pins. Then sew the bottom of the shirt and you are done.

Isn't she the cutest thing EVER?! I just followed her around and got some cute poses.

 

Baby Doll Crib

A doll crib was a perfect birthday present for my 3 year old daughter, Diana. She turned 3 on the 05/26/2013. I had all the supplies I needed for this little crib. I only spent $6

It turned out well and it is very loved. It's cute to see her put her baby to sleep every night after bedtime stories

Diana's favorite thing this past spring was picking up flowers. She picked every dandelion she could find around our home and gave them to me. Diana is the best daughter ever. She constantly cracks us up with her humor. She has a cute personality and is loved every where she goes. She is an awesome big sister to Eli and I love to watch them play together. I feel very blessed to have this little girl in my life.

For her birthday, I went online and searched for a perfect gift for her. I came across these cute doll cribs and knew Diana would enjoy playing with one. 1 - Overstock/2 - Pottery Barn

Then I went and searched for DIY cribs and I came across this awesome plan from  Ana White, pictured below.

I tweaked the crib plan because I don't have a Kreg jig. I am noticing that almost every project calls for a Kreg Jig and its definitely on my Birthday/Christmas wishlist. I added a changing table and a place for her to store her baby's blankets and accessories.

Here are some pictures of the doll crib I made:

 Instead of using the kreg jig, here is what I used:
1/4" Dowel pins
Drill driver with 1/4" speedbor flat bit 
Wood glue

Using a drill driver with a flat bit, I made 1/4" holes in the rails and the base and top

Then I put together the 2 pieces (the rails and the bottom and top rails).
Then I stuck the dowel pins into the holes and added some glue.

The crib is very steady and am glad I didn't have to use the kreg jig. You can find the rest of the tutorial here

The doll crib from Pottery Barn and Overstock are around $75 each. The price is very reasonable, and I would have purchased either one of the cribs  if I didn't have the supplies I needed to make one on my own. My doll crib cost $6, not too bad, right?

The instructions on how I made the changing table can be found here.

 

Striped maxi skirt tutorial

I am back with yet another maxi skirt tutorial. I have always loved maxis. I had c-sections with my pregnancies and elasticated skirts were the way to go for me. So I fell in love with maxis even more. They are comfortable and I think they will never go out of fashion, at least in my world. A couple of months ago, I came across a ton of knit fabric from fabric.com and so I have many more maxis to come..

First of all, I apologize for the poor quality of my photos.

I used a slightly different approach from my previous maxi skirts, here and here. Check out my toe nails, my 3 year old daughter painted them!

1. My fabric was 58" wide. My length from waist to floor is 43" long and I added 3 inches seam allowance for the bottom and elastic at the waist.
2. I folded my fabric in half (hotdog style), then in half again.
3. At the fold, I placed my old maxi skirt as a guide. I cut out the shape as illustrated in the picture.
4. Then I had 2 pieces. With the right sides in (facing each other), I sewed the 2 pieces together, the bottom and the top and added my elastic..

I love this particular knit fabric. It is a sherbet color, perfect summer color. It is light weight and thus very see-through and so I added a light weight slip inside.

Featured on Knock off Decor!

Have I mentioned how much I love Beckie from Infarrantly Creative? She is a very creative woman and I greatly admire her work. She is super famous in the blogging industry and has been very kind and supportive of me and my work. I sent her an email a while ago and she was quick to respond. She took a look at my blog and gave me some awesome advise. She has featured a few of my projects on another blog she owns, Knock off Decor, a blog where she "showcases the amazing work of some seriously talented designers while giving those with less of a budget a chance to mimic them." I love both her blogs, I can spend hours admiring her great talent and the work of those she features. Go check her out!

Here are some of my past projects that have been featured on Knock off Decor:

Kids play kitchen - Inspired by Pottery Barn

Whale wall decor - Pottery Barn Knock off

Swing Shelf - Pottery Barn knock off

Ship steering wheel - Hobby Lobby Knock off

Thanx Beckie, you are a wonderful person and an inspiration to me

You can find more details and tutorials here:
Kids play kitchen
Whale
Swing shelf
Ship steering wheel

 

Happy Mothers Day

I hope all the mothers and mothers to be had a wonderful mothers day. I had a great day. My husband and kids made me breakfast, got me a card, some beautiful roses, The Remarkable Soul of a Woman, a book by Elder Uchtdorf and a bathroom makeover. I love my little family. They give life and meaning to my existence. A big thank you to them for making my life a bliss on earth and a another thank you to my own mom, mother-in-law and all the women that continue to inspire me.

My favorite thing so far in the master bedroom are the towels. I love love love chevron, yellow and gray; such a perfect trio. I stole those flowers from Diana's room, I still have to get some accessories for my bathroom, exciting!..

source

Thank you

Ballard Designs 'knock off' wish list

Yesterday, I spent some time day dreaming as I looked through a Ballard Designs catalog. I absolutely  love everything they sell there. As a result, I came up with my 'knock off wish list'. One day I will find time to make some of these goodies. Total price about $2,200 (wow)! not me, am sure something can be done about this:)

1. Rope mirror /2. Square pillow /3. Ruffle pillow /4. Burlap ottoman /5. Wall clock /6. Wall art /7.Seahorse wood plaque    /8. Bin /9. Storage bench /10. Book vase /11. Shower curtain

Have a very happy May:)