DIY Plush Fabric Pumpkins

 Aren't these just the cutest little things?!

These adorable little pumpkins are easy to make and I'm going to show you how!

 I grabbed my girlfriend and 1/2 yard (each color) 

of this minky soft fleece at my local Hobby Lobby. 

We gathered up the following supplies and then got to work; 

Thread in my three colors and a nice thick-ish needle.

Dry beans (for weight). This is what I had in the pantry. Any kind of bean will do.

 Pumpkin stems (found at the bottom on the bin where pumpkins are sold!) 

You can also use sticks, they'll look cute too!

Two large trays (19" and 16") and a dinner plate to trace for each size pumpkin.

You'll also need some polyfill (stuffing) or plastic bags and a glue gun.

 Start by tracing out your circle on the back side of the fabric.

 I used this fancy Disapearing Ink/Mark-be-Gone pen (found at craft and fabric stores), 

but you could use a pencil and it would work just the same.

 Cut out the fabric circle.

 Stitch around the fabric circle with big wide stitches so it's easy to gather.

 When you come back around to where you started, pull the thread to gather the fabric.

 Before you close it up, add a handfull of beans 

(maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a cup depending on your pumpkin size). 

Then add the polyfill or pastic bags.

 Close up the hole by hand stitching back and forth. 

Making it nice and tight so it's hard to see the seam.

Hot glue your fabric stem to the top of the pumpkin.

 Voila! 

And in no time at all you can make a bunch of theses adorable Plush Fabric Pumpkins!

 This could be a great project to get the kids involved in too!

 I love displaying them in a group.

Between my friend and I, we each made 8 and I still have some fabric left!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Vintage Inspired Fabric Banner

It's that time of the year to celebrate. 

And what better way to do that then with a cute Vintage Inspired Fabric Banner. 

 It's really easy to do and I'm going to show you how!

I found these great fabrics at Hobby Lobby. I bought 1/4 of a yard of each.

 I used a heavy piece of cardstock to create a template.

Using a ruler I measured out how large I wanted each pennant on the banner to be.
It's roughly 4" wide and 6.5" wide (when folded).

 It's helpful to have this pattern-I'm sure I will use it again!

For the template a heavy cardstock is a good idea, but not necessary.

After folding the fabric I layed the template down...

I traced around my template with this "special" disappearing ink marker (sold at fabric stores) 

although a pencil will work fine too...

After a couple minutes my purple line will disappear!

 I cut out each of my pennants. 

I was able to get 4 (folded) pennants out of each piece of fabric.

With a hot iron, I pressed each pennant to get it nice and smooth and ready for sewing.

I already had this vintage looking yellow and white bakers twine, 

but just about anything would look good (rick-rack, yarn, thin rope, gross-grain ribbon...)

I layed part of the twine under the folded part of my pennant...

And then sewed over the twine and very close to the edges, all the way around the pennant.

However, I did not think it's necessary to sew along the top. I measured 2" in between each pennant and continued to sew them all on the same piece of twine until I had used all my fabric pieces.

You can see that the edges are a little frayed. And I like them that way. 

It adds to the charm and character-the vintage look I was going for.

I love the way it turned out!

And I think it will be great for lots of occassions!

Check out some of the other banner's I've made, 

Birthday Banner at the Mustashe Party

Burlap Banner at the Vintage Circus Party

Burlap Banner Valentine's Day "Love One Another"

Fabric Banner at the Rainbow Party

Square Bean Bag Chair

Check out my DIY Square Bean Bag Chair!

It's the perfect addition to my little girls room.

We needed a little reading nook for Katelyn's room and

 I looked all over for something. I couldn't find anything I loved,
so I decided to create something myself!

Here's how I did it:

I started with four cotton fabrics.

AND

White Duck

2 long zippers (about 25" long)

2 1/2 bags of Bean Bag Filler (found them here at Wal-mart).

First I made a plain square out of white duck for the inside layer. I wanted it to be thick and durable. 

I made the square like this (I sketched it out for you!)

The square measuring roughly 30 x 15 for the four sides 

and 30 x 30 for the top and bottom. 

I sewed all the pieces together (making a big square).

Adding the zipper to one of the sides. 

When I was all done I had two squares, one in the duck the other in my printed fabrics.

Wait until you are completely done to add the bean bag filler (I made this mistake and it was really hard to get the cover over the inside square that was full of the little beans!)

It also doubles as a dog bed! I find Ginger taking naps here.

I used some of the left over fabric and re-created the bunting 

on this canopy Katelyn grabbed at a yard sale.

Lot's of reading to be done here.

And a little snuggling with the pooch.