Reversible Valentines Pants Tutorial

I came across this wonderful tutorial for Tiny Heiny Valentiny Reversible Pants over at I Make Stuff.  Aren't these darling?!!  These are reversible and the extra layer of fabric will make them warmer for winter, plus you get 2 looks in 1 pair of pants!  Definitely another project for the 'To Try' list...

 

Photo from I Make Stuff

Etsy Sale!

I wanted to announce a special "Pay It Forward - PIF" sale happening now in my Etsy shop.  I've added some cute hair clippies and will have some rosette necklaces listed very soon.  Please visit and buy some Valentine goodies for your girls!

Finally Sewing Again!

I have a mile-long list of projects to do and finally crossed a few off my list today!  I want to share them with you but will have to pace myself :)

I finally replaced my green & gold pillow covers with ones to match my new home's decor.  I had purchased the fabric months ago and the red makes me so happy!  They are just a simple cover with overlapping flaps in the back for washing and easy changes.  There are many tutorials on the web for making pillowcases and I still want to try this one for a Gathered Pillow from Make It and Love It from a satin sheet we're using as Drew's room divider.  Here's what I ended up with...they make me smile.

 

Next, I finished another Lil Blue Boo dress using the 'Sienna' and 'Hoodie' patterns using recycled t-shirts.  I call this one the Supergirl Dress.  It has a removable cape on the back, which attaches with two buttons.  I am a novice at sewing stretch knits and forgot to add interfacing where I wanted the button holes, so they are not very pretty but functional.  I added freezer-paper stenciled stripes to the bottom of the cape and a star in the middle of the cape.  It's an shiny blue paint and looks great!  I'm thrilled with how the hoodie part turned out, too.  It came together easily and I think this is my new favorite dress.  Mallory loves it, too, but was has not been in the mood for modeling lately.  Here's the lastest of my entries into the Lil Blue Boo/Dharma Trading Co. Challenge!

Handmade Olympics 2010

Enter your favorite handmade creation in 8 different categories to win $2000 in prizes!  Visit the Rikrak Studio for more info.

Granny Square Love

Photo from Meet Me At Mikes

Meet Me At Mikes is hosting a Granny a Day Challenge.  I absolutely love granny squares!  I made a tote bag last year using them and have collected many patterns.  This will also help with my efforts to de-stash in 2010. Click the button below to learn more about the De-Stash.   I have a trunk full of yarn in storage and am looking forward to having access to it again after we move in February!  I'm hoping to make a granny afgan this year.

School Tote Tutorial

I found this tutorial over at Running With Scissors.  Isn't it wonderful?  She also made a cute owl-stenciled
bag with the same design.  I've added this one to my 'Projects to Try' list.  It keeps growing :)

Photo from Running With Scissors

Adorable Tiny Hearts

I found this tutorial over at Julie K's blog for tiny crochet hearts.  Aren't they darling?!  I need to bring out my hooks and whip up a few!

(photo from Julie K's blog)

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Bella who said, "Thank you for the fun giveaway! I am taking baby steps into the sewing world, so I will be following your blog!"  I'm thankful for the 85 comments I received and hope my new followers will visit often.  I love to read your comments!  I'm  planning my next giveaway, so stay in touch :)

Giveaway Ends 1/25

If you're looking for the fabric covered planner and note-taker giveaway it's here.  Contest ends Monday 1/25.

Flower Power Sienna Dress

I am seriously infatuated with the Lil Blue Boo Sienna dress pattern!  This is my 3rd dress using the pattern and I keep thinking of ideas for more. For this one, I used reverse embroidery for the daisy flower then added a fabric yo-yo and button for its center.  The little ruffle on the bottom is sewed on top of the skirt and little ruffled neckline give it a shabby-chic look.  I love it and Mally does too!  She's wearing her hee-highls again :)

Here's a preview of the next Lil Blue Boo pattern I'm working on...  I can't wait to share it with you once it's done!  It may be even better than the Coral Ruffles Dress.

Crafty Girls Fat Quarter Pack Giveaway!

Whimsy Couture's hosting a Crafty Girls giveaway for a fat quarter set.  Contest open thru 1/25.  Check it out here!

Coral Ruffles Dress

Here's my second entry for the Lil Blue Boo/ Dharma Trading Challenge, the Coral Ruffle Dress. I used the Sienna pattern to transform 4 coral t-shirts into this precious ruffle dress for Mally. The shirts were part of an Ebay lot I had bought and the wrong color for my tone, but they look great on Mally!

I was inspired by the Turkey (now Can-Can) Skirt by MADE. I love her chiffon ruffles, but thought I could make it work with a recycled T and it worked!  I also added some ruffles to the sleeves and added a tuxedo ruffle with buttons to the front.  I accidentally caught the back side when adding the tuxedo ruffle, so I added another ruffle to the back to cover my mistake after tearing that out.  It turned out so cute and Mally loves it! She was quite the stinker while I was trying to get a photo of her in the dress...Amazing what you can do with some old t-shirts :)

Support for Haiti

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and send aid however you can.  I just found this great Etsy shop called 'Craft Hope for Haiti' that is sending 100% of their proceeds to Doctors Without Borders for medical support in Haiti.  Their items have been donated by crafters around the country.  Over $4000 has already been raised thanks to generous donations and buyers. I'm donating a covered planner and several boutique items from my Etsy shop, so if you've been wanting one this is a great reason to buy. Stop by and check out their assorted handcrafted goodies!

Love is a New Dress- Part 2

Mallory woke up and found her dress, then tried to put it on! She's wearing it with baby legs, felt hair clippies and her favorite crocheted hat.  The best accessory of all is her "hee highls"!  This girl cracks me up :)

 

Here are links to the tutorials/patterns I used for this outfit:
Sienna Dress by Lil Blue Boo;
Baby Legs by Lil Birdies Nest
Felt Hair Clippies by Wee Folk Art
Crochet Hat by Mama Lusco

This dress is entered into Lil Blue Boo/ Dharma Trading Design Challenge.  Go see what it's about!

Love is a New Dress

I finally ponied up and bought the Sienna Dress Pattern from Lil Blue Boo!  I've been admiring it for quite some time and after reading about the Lil Blue Boo/ Dharma Trading Challenge I decided to jump in.  I must admit that I'm a novice when it comes to sewing knits and have never used fabrics paints or screen printing techniques.  The sewing was no problem, but I was a little intimidated about the painting.  As a baby step, I bought a few colors of fabric paint and made a heart stencil from freezer paper.  It ironed on beautifully and I brushed on the paint with a foam brush.  Turned out pretty cute, huh?!  I can't wait to show it to Mallory in the morning.  She could hardly keep her hands out of the paint when I was working on the hearts :)

 

I have some more ideas about embellishments for other dresses I want to make.  I'm excited to share them with you in the days & weeks to come.  I would highly recommend this pattern.  It was well written and included many hints about sewing knits and step-by-step pictures.  Why not try something new and join the challenge, too!

Tote Bags, Again!

If you've been reading Lusco Land, then you already know how much I like Sew, Mama, Sew's Classic Tote Bag tutorial.  It is the best do-it-all bag.  I used them to hold/wrap Christmas gifts, for grocery shopping, library books, toys, overnight bag, and the list can go on.  They come together in about an hour and the tutorial is very easy to follow.  I made these two yesterday to send off to my sister-in-laws.  These are both from upholstery fabric and would be great shopping totes.  Hope they like them! 

Organizers for 2010 & Giveaway!

I finished 5 covered planners with note takers.  The design was based on Crafty Tammy's Hold Everything notepad, which I was lucky enough to win!  I had purchased smaller planners, so I scaled down the pieces and only made one pocket to hold a notepad or tuck your coupons behind the pad.  I plan to give a few as gifts and listed 2 in my shops. How about I give away one, too?!

Up for grabs is a smaller version of the ones for sale.  This one is approx. 8" x 5" and includes a 2 year planner and small note pad.  It has a snapping page marker for the planner and slot for your pen, along with a button and elastic closure.  To enter, please become a follower of this blog.  Make sure I have a way to contact you, either through your blog profile or leave it in your comment.  Winner will be chosen randomly on Jan. 25th.  Good luck!

 

Welcome!

Welcome to Mama Lusco's blog!  I've been blogging for 1 1/2 years over at Lusco Land, but decided it was time to devote a separate blog to my crafting and sewing.  I began blogging as a way to document our family life and in the process have discovered a wonderful network of crafty bloggers like myself.  I enjoy sewing for my girls and making handbags & accessories, along with some crochet and needlework.  On Lusco Land, I had a long list of free tutorials in my 'Projects to Try' category.  I'm working on transferring most of those links to this site.  I am so thankful for the talented bloggers who share their patterns & tutorials! I hope you find some great ideas from this list and share some of your favorites with me :)

I have 2 online shops and I hope you will visit them  www.mamalusco.etsy.com and www.artfire.com/users/MamaLusco.  Check back here often to learn about specials and new items. 

Thank you for stopping by!  I love to read your comments and hear your feedback.  I welcome custom orders, so if you like something you see, I could probably make it for you!