Front:

Back:

And our matching shirts:

The directions for those of you who want to try it:
What you’ll need:
One adult size t-shirt
One tank top that fits your child (to use as a pattern)
Scissors
Thread
Sewing machine

1. Lay the adult t-shirt flat. Cut up the side seams so you have one piece of material connected by the neck hole.
2. Lay the tank top on top of the front panel. Cut around the tank top, leaving about 1/2 inch seam allowance.
3. Repeat for the back of the shirt – lay the tank top on the back and cut around.
4. Cut off the hems of the original shirt (bottom of the shirt and neck.)
5. The ribbing from the neck makes the binding for the top of the tank top – sew that on the front and back now.
6. The hem of the shirt makes the binding for the arm holes and the straps. sew that on now, leaving 5+ inches at the top to create the straps.
7. Sew the front and back of the shirt together.
8. Measure desired length for the straps and either a) sew them together or b) tie them.
9. Sew a new hem around the bottom of the shirt.
10. Done.

1. I have discovered that making jewelry is more fun than I first thought.

2. Copper Boom is now supporting charity:water. I will be paying myself what it cost to buy the supplies for the product. The rest of the money will go to charity:water. And, just so everyone knows, many, many, many of the items I make are from supplies I’ve gotten for free which means 100% of the sales from over half the items will go to charity:water.

Happy shopping.

When you are doing all your gift buying this year, consider buying handmade.

Here are some of my favorite shops (most are etsy shops):

CopperBoom
Future Leaders of Ghana
Gub Factory
Junk Posse
Water4Christmas
LadyBird
Bean Forest

But don’t forget, the first gift you buy this year, buy it November 13.
$10 for water.

In addition, I’ve listed several items in my shop with the tag “water4christmas”. 100% of the sales from those items will go directly to charity:water.

If you have an etsy shop and you’d like to donate items to charity:water just tag the items with water4christmas and leave a comment here.

Happy Shopping.

They have ornaments, t-shirts, headbands, jewelry, blankets, and more. It’s all handmade and it’s for a great cause.

Here’s Lexi’s costume (it’s hanging funny because it’s on an adult size hanger, not a kid one.)

And here’s Milo’s.

When we go trick-or-treating, I’ll get pictures of the kids in the costumes.

What I did find was some serious vintage fabrics and a lot of it. I’m not sure what it’s going to end up being but I do know that a lot of it will turn up in my shop in one form or another. Any suggestions?

These are my favorites (especially the two on the far left)

And the other half of my favorites (the two flowery ones on the far right? How cute are they?)

And after sifting through 5 boxes here’s what I was left with:

Anyone have any idea what I should make with orange camo print?

Last week Lexi and I hit up a church rummage sale. We spent $6.75. Lexi came home with a toy phone, a basketball and a book. I came home with this (and a pair of knitting needles that didn’t make the picture):

I know you are curious so here’s a sample of what’s for sale:

A twirly skirt.

Gadget cases.

Cute hats.

I’ve also got a few more ideas lined up and (if I can find the time) I’ll be loading up the shop with great Christmas gifts.

Copper Boom, Baby!

For those of you unfamiliar with babywearing, it’s amazing. It’s a great way to bond with your baby, it allows you to have your hands free while you carry your baby around with you and in general makes life with a baby a little easier.

I originally thought I would sell my slings but honestly, I don’t really like to sell my stuff. It’s much more fun to sew when I’m not trying to make a profit. Instead I posted on an adoption forum that I am on a message stating that if anyone wanted a ring sling to contact me and I’d make them one.

So far, it’s been great. I’ve got about 20 slings to make and I’m done with about 9 of them. But there’s no rush – most of the people waiting for a sling probably won’t hear about their baby until late winter or early spring this year.

I’ve been gathering up fabric to use and I’ve got quite a bit. My brainstorm that bedsheets would work was a good guess, they make great slings. And then there is my freecycle stash. A lady I picked up fabric from must have bought stuff by the bolt because I have yards and yards of material that will work. And I’ve got lots of scrap material and ribbon that is adding a few finishing touches to each sling – just to make them a little different from each other.

Here are some I’ve done that I really like:

I was buying a bunch of yarn for my latest project and by chance I found this yarn. (It’s the color “summer fields if you’re really curious.) Okay so this may not seem that exciting but about 4 or 5 years ago my sister-in-law made me a scarf for Christmas using this yarn. And I’ve been wanting a hat to match. Now I can make one. I’m going to make this one or http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/kwetq-scarfHat.html or this one…what do you think? Oh, I forgot the best part. It usually sells for about $5.99 I got it for a $1. It was on clearance. Score.

I also came up with the idea of making ring slings from old bed sheets. Cotton bed sheets are nice and soft, they breath well and hold up to being washed. All good qualities for a baby sling. They are also hemmed on all four sides so if I cut them right, there is much less hemming for me to do. Another bonus. I’ll let you know how it goes.