TaylorMade

DIY, Home Decor & Sewing

Tealight Flight

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*New Update* Thank you all for your comments,  anytime that fire is involved, please be careful! Also, the tea-lights are in a metal container and I have never had a tea-light burn the metal. Also, this goes in my fireplace so even if it did, perfect place right :) If you are too worried then please don’t make this project
Taking junk and turning it into something beautiful, what’s not to like? The first thing that came to my mind was the huge bag of used plastic Easter Eggs taking up space in my pantry. It felt wrong to throw them away and I am glad I didn’t. After some brainstorming, I came up with…. The Tealight Flight. It was super simple and came out really modern and classic looking.
Here is how I did it:
I took 12 egg bottoms (which I only ended up using 11).
I spray painted the top side and waited for that to dry, then painted the bottom side. Make sure to use a spray paint that is specifically for plastic. It took me about 3-4 coats; waiting 20 minutes between coats.
I waited for them to dry overnight before I started the next step. Then, I found a piece of scrap wood in our garage. It was flawless looking and I didn’t even need to sand it or anything. Make sure your eggs are fully covered by the spray paint.
Start by gluing the center egg to the center of the board. I used E6000, which is super strong. Use a tiny dot in the bottom if the egg then use a dot on each side of the egg to connect the ones side by side.
Keep doing this until you have glued all of your eggs down.
Wait 24 hrs before you place your tealights in!

Find the perfect spot, I put mine in my fireplace…

Union Jack Card

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London Calling…
Are you still bitter about not getting invited to the Royal Wedding? Well tell someone about it, in a Union Jack Card. The Wedding is only hours away, and today I heard that over 1 billion people will be tuning in. The most watched televised event in history. Crazy.

Here is what you need to feel involved :)

  • Red, White and Blue Cardstock
  • Blank Note card
  • Sewing Machine
  • Red Thread

Cut a blue piece of cardstock the size of your Note card, mine was 5.5″ x 4.5″.
Cut out the following strips:

  • 2 thick white
  • 2 slightly thinner red
  • 2 thin white
  • 2 slightly thinner red
Place a thin white strip under a thin red strip and place it corner to corner on the blue card, sew a line down the card. Isn’t there something fun about sewing on paper? Do this again across to the other corners.
Now you have an “X” on your card and we need to add the “+” over that.
1. Place the 2 thick white strips in a cross over the “X”
2. Place the thick red strips over the whites
3. Sew down both lines
Trim the excess strips and tape your flag onto the notecard.
Here’s to William and Kate…

Little Boy Shorts

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This year I had the bright idea that I would dress my boys in matching shorts for Easter. I mean how much longer are two boys going to let me do this, right (but really how much longer)? So, I found some adorable plaid fabric and decided to make them some Little Boy Shorts. I know that the best way to make a pattern is to take another article of clothing apart and trace the pieces, so that is just what I did. Add length to the top (about 1.5″) and the the bottom of the shorts (about 3″) My sons wear 2T and 6mo.

Supplies:
1/2 yd fabric
1/2” elastic
white paper for pattern
safety pin & sewing pins

1 – Trace an old pair of shorts onto a piece of paper
2 – Pin the pattern pieces to your fabric
3 – Cut the new pieces out

This is the first pair of shorts I have made for the boys and I kind of just sat there after this step. I had a million ideas for the order of construction but because I was making these the night before Easter (oops) I didn’t have time for that. I remembered that one of my favorite blogs MADE has a tutorial for a Basic Kids Pants and thought it had to be pretty similar. So thanks MADE!
She says the easiest thing (which totally makes sense) is to sew up the crotch of the pants first because they are already together. If you have a fabric with a right and wrong side, flip your fabric before sewing.
After every step, serge the seam if you have a serger and press with your iron for a more professional look.
Next, pin and sew the inseam together. Then again,serge the seam and press it down.
Next, pin and sew the legs together. Serge that seam as well.
Next, I serged around the top of the pants and the bottoms of the legs because I had to try them on the boys and I didn’t want them to fray. Dana (from MADE) said that the front of the pants will be lower than the back, which is something I had never noticed. She said it will make for a more comfortable fit, so on the 6mo shorts, I actually just cut a little dip after I took this picture.
Next, we will add the elastic. Measure your little boy’s waist and add one inch. For example my oldest son’s waist is 18.5″ so I cut my elastic to 19.5″. Fold down the top of the pants with about 1/4″ overlap and use the elastic as your guide as you pin. Leave an opening of about 1″ and take the elastic out. Sew to top of the shorts closed but remember to leave that 1″ opening to put the elastic back in.
Now insert the elastic using a safety pin. Make sure it is flat all the way around. The elastic will be shorter in length that the shorts. Scrunch the shorts up, pull the elastic out a little and sew the elastic together. I used a zig-zag stitch in 2 places to make sure the elastic stays together.
Lastly, turn the shorts inside out and sew the bottom of the shorts. I sewed in two places. On the top of the serged line and on the bottom right next to the seam.
I added my fabric labels to the back.
Look at these sweet boys in their matching Little Boy Shorts.
Perfect for Egg Hunting
Stay tuned next week for an exciting project because I am a contestant on Season 3 of One Month to Win it! Woo Hoo!

Black Bean Salad

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Are you feeling springy yet? I sure hope so and if you are I’m jealous because I am feeling summery already and I don’t like it. If you know me, you know that I am extremely hot natured and wear my flip flops all winter long. So, I’m not happy that it has been in the upper 80’s all week, Houston, its April… you are killing me!

What does this ramble have to do with Black Bean Salad? Its hot, and when its hot I like cold food. So I made Black Bean Salad the other night on the side of our Chipotle Pork Tenderloin and Baked Sweet Potatoes. Its simple, healthy, cold and Finn couldn’t stop eating it!

Black Bean Salad:
– 2 cans of Black Beans
– 1 avocado
– cilantro (I love a ton but add as much or as little as you like)
– 4 scallions
– juice from 2 limes
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– salt to taste

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