The MommyTrade » HandmadeOnBudget

Our Handmade Halloween Costume

Aimee — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:34:44 +0000

I mentioned a while back that I was going to make a butterfly costume for Joy-joy and I finally have it all finished and ready for trick or treating tomorrow night. We tried it on tonight and I took pictures so I thought I’d show you.

This picture is of me – probably around 4 years old. This is my FAVORITE costume from when I was a kid. My mom even made a cocoon for us to walk around in first and then we came out and were these beautiful butterflies! The picture isn’t that great because our heads got cut off but you can get the idea!

And this is little Joy-joy’s costume! It’s funny because I hadn’t looked at the picture when I thought of making the arms this way – and then we my mom and I dug the picture of me out it all made sense!

Can you tell that she likes to be a butterfly??

This costume cost me about $2 for the fabric and $2 for the puffy paint to trim the edges so they wouldn’t fray. My mom helped me cut the shape and then she did some quick sewing and did the arms. I think it turned out great! All in all pretty simple and quick to make!

Hope you have a safe and fun Halloween!

Homemade on a Budget: First of Fall

Aimee — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:58:15 +0000

Handmade on a Budget is a monthly feature here on The MommyTrade. It is written by Nicole - a wonderful friend, woman of God, wife, mommy to her dog and lover of all things crafty! In addition to that she is the author of Case de Leche. I hope you’ll enjoy as she helps us do Handmade crafts on a budget!

As I mentioned in my last post, I adore Fall!! I love decorating with all the fall colors, it makes the house so warm and welcoming. Another reason why i love fall so much, Pumpkins!!! I love to decorate with them, eat them in yummy recipes, drink them in delicious lattes, and smell them in sensational potpourris.

I know its not quite fall yet, nor is the weather fall-like, but once Labor day passes all the fall decor boxes come out and the fall crafting begins. I spent this last weekend dreaming about the fall items i would make for my home. I started with this lovely fabric pumpkin! I had all the ingredients to whip up this lovely piece of decor in less than an hour.

The instructions are pretty easy to follow, the only thing it doesn’t really explain is how to cinch the ends. Have you ever made a fabric yo-yo (here are some great instructions by Heather Bailey, love her fabric!)? well, its similar to that method for both ends. I tied a brown thin ribbon onto the stem and viola, my first fall decor craft of the season. I want to make 50 of these and put them everywhere in the house, all different sizes of course!

Cold and flu season are just around the corner and to be prepared I found this easy, takes-no-time-at-all, way to beautify those little to-go tissues.

Tissue Caddies

What you need:

1 rectangle of favorite fabric 6 1/4 by 5 1/4
sewing machine or embroidery thread and needle
1 to-go purse size tissues

****note: if you do not have any of these items, you are in luck. The supplies will cost you less then $10 (minus the sewing machine), and with that you can probably make 4 or 5 of these cuties. Go to your local fabric store and purchase one fat quarter of fabric, embroidery needles, and embroidery thread.

Step 1:
Cut out your rectangle

Step 2: iron down short ends of rectangle and sew with a 1/4 inch inseam.

Step 3: Put the right side of fabric facing up. Now fold each end to the middle without overlapping

Step 4: Sew long ends together to seal holder.

Step 5: Turn right side out and insert tissues!

Step 6: Enjoy using your cute tissue holder everywhere you go, or give it as a gift to your most favorite person!

For an even easier method check out Martha Stewart’s version here!

Email me (or leave a comment below with a link) of your beautiful fall decor ideas and pictures of your tissue caddies!

Handmade on a Budget: Essentials

Aimee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:40:02 +0000

Summer is almost over, and fall is fast approaching. Fall is my favorite season, mainly because of the colors that I get to decorate with, olives, oranges, deep reds, yellows. Oh it excites me. Fall is definitely my favorite color scheme.

So, what are the supplies you will need to start with? There are some one time purchases you should make in order to help your handmade on a budget adventures be a success. Now, this is going off of my personal handmade stash and you could be thinking, I don’t want to sew or crochet or decoupage. That is quite alright. The supplies listed below are a few items that are universal for all crafty styles.

Handmade Supplies:

A good, sharp pair of scissors
Measuring tape
A straight line ruler
A jar of Modge Podge
A few favorite ribbon styles
Hot glue gun and sticks

These are just a few of the many things you will need to make handmade gifts. You will find that when you want to do a craft, there might be a few items that you are missing. Try to find these items with coupons and when sales arrive. If you have a Joann’s fabrics by you, they usually have coupons at the door when you walk in. AND, they are 40% off. Killer deal!!! If you find a craft that requires you to buy all on-time use items, you may want to skip it and move on, unless the items are low cost.

Another helpful tool is a sewing machine. I love to sew! Sewing is my number one crafting and creating method, but I didn’t always have a sewing machine. Fortunately, I asked for one from my husband for Christmas. He didn’t buy an expensive one, he probably bought the cheapest one he could find, and possibly at Walmart, but it works and I have had it for two years. My point is, if you want to buy a machine, you DO NOT need one with all the bells and whistles, just the basics!

Now that you know the essentials I want to introduce you to some great ladies that blog tutorials and craft ideas quite often. Below are their links and a few of their projects that are my favorites and that I’ve tried or plan on trying soon.

Lipstick and Laundry

First is Jen over at Lipstick and Laundry. She is very talented, helping us decorate for the patriotic holiday this past summer. Thankfully, you can make this craft your own by changing up the materials, different color ribbon, and napkin, and add an initial in the middle, and boom, your very own gift/decoration. (click on the image for the tutorial)

Little Birdie Secrets

These little gems from Little Birdie Secrets are so cute for party favors, treats, and gifts. Easy and fun to make as well, plus you probably have half of the items needed at home already.

My Mama Made It

Do you have a sewing machine, thread, pins, and an old longsleeve shirt in the giveaway pile? Well then you are set to make this lovely piece from My Mama Made It. I have tried it and I LOVE IT!! I want to make all my long sleeves into these, but then I wouldn’t have anything to wear for winter.

Here is a picture of Alexis’ refashion

Here is a picture of my refashion, using her tutorial

Be sure to come back next month for the next Handmade on a Budget adventure!

Homemade on a Budget & Giveaway!

Aimee — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:55:31 +0000

Welcome to the first edition of Homemade on a Budget. This will be a monthly post written by a DEAR friend of mine Nicole! She is a wonderful friend, woman of God, wife, mommy to her dog and lover of all things crafty! I am excited that she is going to write this monthly post for me because she is FABULOUS with crafts and loves making them more than just about anything else! I think you’ll enjoy reading her ideas and trying them out for yourself!

To kick things off right Nicole has GRACIOUSLY sponsored a giveaway of some of her creations for sale at her store Olive Blue! Oh how I love giveaways – and of such cute stuff. My girls often wear her hair bows! So what are we giving away? You’ll have to read Nicole’s post first! All the details of the giveaway are after this great reading…

Handmade items are quickly becoming “the thing to buy” for most people. What you get from handmade, you can’t get from retail stores. You get someones unique talent manifested into a present. No, the items are not always perfect, but that’s the beauty of handmade, imperfection at its best. Another thing I love about handmade is that you can find the perfect gift for even the hardest person to shop for. Sure, you can buy a purse anywhere, but with handmade purses you can find them in all different fabrics, designs, and color pallets.

Hi, my name is Nicole, and I want to help spread the handmade love. I want to offer you an alternative to purchasing a present from a retail store. Handmade items are awesome and my first choice when giving a gift, however with this economy, I can hardly afford it. That is why I have created Handmade on a Budget. This is a new idea for buying and making items. In these articles, you will find different cost saving ideas on making handmade gifts, decor, and even treats for yourself. I will also be featuring many different Handmade on a Budget shop supporters. Don’t miss a beat, check out my Etsy shop (Olive Blue) for great prices and quality items for yourself and those special people in your life. If you have any handy, cost saving tips for crafting, sewing, or shopping handmade, please email me. Check out my blog Casa de Leche by click here .

———————————————————————————————————————

Doesn’t that just wet your whistle for her next post? Well you’ll have to wait until August for that! (I know, we are SOOO mean!)

Now for the detail on how to enter the giveaway! Here is what you are entering to win:

Giveaway includes 2 Summer hair bows and 1 Ladies REVERSIBLE headband!

So cute, huh? Well to enter you need to do the following:

Visit Olive Blue and pick your favorite item that is for sale –

then come back and leave a comment telling us your favorite!

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following:

Subscribe to The MommyTrade feed via RSS or subscribe via email (don’t forget to verify your subscription) – leave a comment telling me which you did. (If you already subscribe just tell me that)
Subscribe to Nicoles Blog “Casa de Leche” . There is a Subscribe button in her sidebar.
Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Leave a comment below with a link going directly to your post. You can grab the image in the text box above.
Leave a comment below telling Nicole and I your color suggestions for a bow (2 colors)
Become a fan of The MommyTrade on Facebook.

This Giveaway is open for entries from the time this post is up until NOON on Friday July 24th. I will post the winner that night. (Winner will be chosen at random from the comments on this post)