Easy Tube Pillowcase Tutorial

Today I'm linking up to Dare to do it yourself @

Today I'm sharing how I've learned to sew pillow cases.

This is a great project for a beginner sewer, it's all straight lines and very basic.

(I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas two years ago and I've taught myself to sew using You Tube and all the great tutorials online.  I am not an expert!  If I can do this you can too :)

This pillowcase is for my nephew's birthday.  He will be going into a big boy bed soon and these will go great with all the airplane decor in his bedroom.  

For one pillowcase you will need:

27 inches of fabric for the body of the pillow

and 9 inches for the cuff

(Double this if you are making a pair of cases)

Tropicals and Converstaionals Fighter Plane Black from

Fabric.com

Kona Cotton Iron Gray from Fabric.com

Iron the 9 inch cuff fabric in half

Lay it face up on the floor or a large table

Take the body fabric (airplane) and carefully line it up with the top of the cuff fabric.

Roll up the bottom of the body fabric until it is in the middle of the cuff piece as shown above

You are going to line up the bottom of the cuff piece to the top where the two pieces are already line up.  You want to make sure it is straight and even before you start to pin.

Pin all three pieces together

(top of cuff, body and bottom of cuff)

The body piece will remain rolled up inside of this

Sew all the way down from the top to the bottom, backstitching at the top and bottom.

This is what the "tube" will look like once it is sewn

Pull the main fabric out from the inisde of the tube, pulling it inside right. 

All of your stitching will then become inside and the seams will not show

Now take your fabric and turn it inside out and pin together making sure to line up where the two cuff pieces will be touching. 

Sew around the whole pillow starting at the top of the cuff, backstitching both at the beginning and end of the pillowcase.

Clip your corners before turning it inisde right to make for neater corners. 

And there you have a cute pillowcase for a happy airplane loving little boy!!

 {Now I just need to get this to the post office to mail them off.}

I hope this tutorial made sense, let me know if you have any questions!!

 

Posy Lane Toddler Backpack Review

I've been looking for a super cute toddler sized back pack for Little Sis since she is now potty trained!!  See here "Potty Training in our Happy House", to see how we potty trained in 3 days :) I contacted Kerrie and Nathen at Posy Lane and they sent me this adorable Stephen Joseph Quilted Toddler Backpack.  I had a hard time picking out my favorite because there are many great bags to choose from. 

They personalized her bag and sent it to me in just a few days, GREAT customer service and fast shipping keeps this Momma happy! 

The weather here today was absolutely gorgeous, so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to our local park.  She is in love with her new "backpack" and wanted to carry it all over the playground. 

 

 

We had a fun time at the park with her new bag.

Thanks Posy Lane for great service and products!

After checking out their website some more I may be ordering some of their Children's Plates for Christmas gifts. 

 

First Hair Cut!

Today was a big day, our baby had her first haircut.  Whenever she has a "first" its bittersweet because she is our last.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we won't be going through that baby stage again, but to think of all of her firsts as my lasts just kind of gets to me!  I'm sure you Momma's out there can appreciate that one.

{BEFORE}

I loved those sweet whispy locks but they were getting to the point where they didn't look healthy anymore, they needed to be trimmed.  I had a little taken off the back because the sides are shorter than the back was.  That way eventually it will all be one length. 

{DURING}

She looked so serious during the trim, she did pretty good.  She did get a little wiggly towards the end but that's to be expected for a 2.5 year old!!  Nothing a little dum-dum lollipop couldn't help ;)

{AFTER}

WOW!!  It's amazing that a little hair cut makes her look so much older to me!

Does she really look older or is it all in my head?

 

I didn't get a great shot of the back because she was done with the pictures!

 

Big Sis and her walk with God

This weekend Big Sis finished her "Communicant Class" at church, she is now an official member.

She and the other new members, both adults and the students in her class, stood up at a brunch and gave their belief statements.  This is what she said:

 

"God the Father is our Savior.  He died on the cross to fogrive our sin.  I was born into a Christian family.  To me being a christian means having eternal life.  I want to become a member here so that I can have a church family and be closer to God.  The role of the church is to teach God's word.  I think that God is using me by having me go to church and serve my community."

 

Congratulations sweetheart we are so very proud of you!!!

 

Easy Deployment Recipes

 

One thing I don't look forward to when Daddy deploys is cooking, he typically grills a couple of times a week for me and I LOVE him for that!  For some reason when he leaves, my desire to cook goes with him.  I don't want the girls and I to eat out all the time so I keep easy meals in mind for this time. The girls know that when Daddy is gone we usually have breakfast for dinner once a week (like my Fluffy Freezer Pancakes) and other easy meals. Here are a few of my favorites:

Happy Home Fairy's Pizza Bubble

We just tried this and we LOVE it!! 

My house smelled so good while it cooked :)

You could add other ingredients to the bubbles to change it up a bit.

Comfy in the Kitchen's Crescent Chicken

Another family favorite!  Simple and Yummy!!

I usually bring this to family's I'm bringing a meal

 who just had a baby, is sick or just in need of some lovins ;)

Comfy in the Kitchen's Spaghetti Sauce

This makes a big pot of sauce so I freeze

 the leftovers and usually have enough to freeze

 containers for two more meals for our Happy House.

Repeat Crafter Me's Crock Pot Chicken Taco

I found a recipe somewhere on pinterest for these easy

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos and couldn't find the same link

but found the same one on this blog.  Super easy is the name of my deployment dinners :)

Chicken Parmesean Meatloaf

Very tasty and simple, I make some pasta and a veggie to go with it. 

You could make two and freeze one for later or give it to someone :)

 

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as our Happy House has!! 

 

 

Deployment Countdown Printable

November is Military Family Appreciation month so I'll be doing some deployment posts.  As a Coast Guard Spouse I am proud to have my husband serve our country!  Friends all over Facebook are going through or ending deployments.  I keep all my military friends in my prayers because dealing with deployment is such a sacrifice for the entire family.  I'm so grateful for all of the military families out there who keep us safe!

Here is an adorable Deployment Countdown printable, it could also be used for Daddy's who aren't in the military and are working out of town! 

Just print out this freebie, cut and staple

the colorful strips and you have a very cute countdown!

click her button here to get this cute free printable!

 

Our Happy House at Halloween

Happy November 1st!  I can't believe it is November already, time seems to fly faster and faster every year.  This Halloween we had a Little Bo Peep, a 50's girl and an 80's girl for costumes.

We had a fun night with our neighbors trick or treating and so thankful Daddy was home for it!!

Middle Sis wore her Aunt's poodle skirt from when she was a little girl,  it's been hanging out in our dress up bin for a few years now...thanks Aunt Bee!

Little Sis was Little Bo Peep.

I found this adorable costume at Home Goods, love that it has the hoop skirt built into it!

She wasn't too fond of the hat but I got a couple of pictures of her wearing it at least. 

She did so good trick or treating, we brought along a stroller but she walked almost the entire neighborhood and carried her bucket by herself.  She walked up to every door and said "Happy Halloween, trick or treat" and "Thank you!"

I'm waiting for the day that Big Sis says she is too old to dress up and go trick or treating, but thankfully it wasn't this year.  This year she was an 80's girl.  I cut one of Daddy's white t-shirts for that 80's off the shoulder look and paired it with neon pink leggings and leg warmers!

 

Our three trick-or-treaters

Middle Sis filled her bucket comepletely full this year!

"Mom!  Don't take my picture, I'm finally getting a piece of my candy!"

We hope your family had a Happy Halloween too.