Burned-edge Flower Pins

I learned how to make these beautiful fabric flowers and now I'm obsessed!

These are burned-edge flowers and you can make them into pins or headbands or hair clips or purse clips or shoe clips or cards.  The possibilities are endless!

The first step is cutting coordinating fabric circles of graduating sizes from 100% Polyester fabric. The polyester fabric singes well along the edges.

Light a candle, and carefully singe the edge of a circle, while rotating it until the whole circle is singed. Trust me on this- it sounds scary, but it's not- just try it and you'll see that the edges will curl up pretty quickly. (I tried to get a picture, but burning flammable fabric with one hand and taking a picture with the other proved to be a really dumb thing to do:)

Your circles will look sort of like these.

Layer the circles together graduating from smallest to biggest. Find a pearl, charm, bead or button you like. Then, using a needle and thread, just sew the whole flower together in the center while attaching the bead.

I made most of mine into pins by hot-gluing craft pins (Michael's) to the back, but I have seen these types of flowers on headbands and hair clips too. Good luck and have fun!

How to Make Cloth Diaper Burp Cloths

I always thought using cloth diapers was the best thing for soaking up spit up, however it wasn't always attractive to have a burp cloth hanging off my shoulder. Adding a little bit of flannel to the center strip of a cloth diaper makes these both cute and functional. And have you checked out flannel lately? It has definitely come a long way from the little checks and baby bottle selection I used to see. Thank you for giving us options people!

If you are a beginning sewer, this is a perfect project for you! It's very simple.

You will need:

- a pack of cloth diapers (usually comes in a 10 pack).

- 20" by 6" of flannel per burp cloth.

- 40" of coordinating ribbon per burp cloth (you sew the ribbon on both sides of the flannel).
- coordinating thread.

Simply prewash and dry your diapers and flannel to prevent shrinking.

Looking at your diaper vertically, fold the outside edges in to meet the lines on the outside of the center padded part. Pin the edges in place, like so:Sew the folded part in place, along the inside vertical line, and on the top and bottom edges (to close the two pieces). This makes the outside edges thicker and more absorbent. Next, measure and cut your flannel, leaving 1/2 " extra on either end, to tuck underneath so you won't have a raw edge. Iron the 1/2" fold on both ends. Then pin the flannel in place with the top and bottom edges folded under, and sew around all four edges. (The side edges will be raw at this point, but you are going to cover them with ribbon!)Next, measure your ribbon, leaving 1/2" extra on both ends, iron it folded under so it stays while you sew (just like you did with the flannel), pin it in place, and sew it up and down either edge. Ric Rac Option: If you want to make a ric rac ribbon, you will sew the ric rac onto the ribbon first, and then fold the top and bottom edges under, pin in place, and sew up and down both sides of the ribbon to secure. Super Cute!A stack of burp cloths makes a great baby shower gift!

Melting Crayon Art

This art project is super fun for children of all ages, and is extremely simple to do!

You will need:

-light cardstock

- Crayons

- hot pad

- electric griddle set at lowest temperature setting Simply plug in your electric griddle and start with it set to the lowest heat temperature setting. Put a piece of cardstock on the griddle and start to draw with a crayon. If it is warm enough, the crayon will start to slide and melt as you draw, spreading into neat patterns. If the crayon doesn't melt as you draw, turn up the heat setting until you achieve the desired result.

Young children should be supervised exceptionally well for this project! I had my three year old (who draws with her right hand) put a hot pad on her left hand so she wasn't tempted to touch the griddle, and if she did, it wouldn't burn her.

My kids loved doing this! We hung them in the windows and they really lit up with the sun going through them, sort of like stained glass. Have fun!

Happy Birthday Banner

I cut the squares of fabric 4 1/2" by 6 1/2" so that after a 1/4" seam on all sides, the finished squares were 4" by 6". First, I traced the letters (backwards) on the back side of Heat n Bond. Then, I fused it to black fabric and cut the letters out. Next, I sewed the aforementioned squares together, and ironed the letters to the squares, with the Heat n Bond side down. Finally, I sewed the top of each square between double folded bias tape, and I had an instant, reusable Happy Birthday Banner!

Preschool Graduation Caps

I made these graduation caps for Madeline's preschool and they were a hit. The tassle was gone before the ceremony was over, but that's okay! The kids loved them.

If you want to reproduce some, you will need paper bowls for the caps (the bigger, the better), square plates (I got my colorful striped ones at Target), yarn for stringing, fruit loops, and a large brad for attaching them all together. Happy Graduation!