How to turn an Ergobaby Carrier into a TARDIS

It's been over a year since I posted a blog and something fantastic has happened since then; I gave birth to a baby girl! Arielle Eve was born at home on May 1 after an intense labor. Like many babies, she wants to be held and we have started over with Adventures in Babywearing. A new carrier I've tried this time is a linen ring sling, ours made by Willow Tree Slings. Jenn was kind enough to make me a "plain" one and I embellished it with this Van Gogh inspired Doctor Who fabric pocket. 

Apparently, this was not enough to satisfy my need to mix babywearing and Doctor Who. When I learned that Ergobaby carriers are fairly easy to dye, I had to try it out with our Galaxy Gray Ergo. Even the name, galaxy gray, sounds like it is describing the lonely, ageless space traveler and I thought it would be perfect to turn into a TARDIS. 

First, I gathered all the dyeing supplies I would need: Plastic bin to tub dye in, Super Washing Soda to help fix the color, a nylon ladle to mix and distribute the dye, three packets of Dylon brand dye in Jean Blue, non-iodized sea salt to add to the dye mix, kitchen gloves, a large measuring cup and a recently washed Ergo. I also got a seam ripper and took off the tags from the hood and pocket of the carrier. Next I soaked the Ergo in a mixture of 1 gallon warm water and 1 1/3 cups Super Washing Soda for 30 minutes (not pictured). I then drained off the mixture, wrung out the Ergo and let it sit over night so I could dye it the next morning while my daughter was napping. Then I dyed the Ergo with the 3 packets of Dylon dye, 12 tablespoons salt and 12 cups of lukewarm water. Mix the salt into the water then add the dye packets. Stir thoroughly until the dye is fully incorporated and not "crunchy" at all. Add the soda soaked damp Ergo to the dye and swish it around in the tub for 45 minutes. Don't let it sit in one spot for more than a couple minutes or the dye job might be uneven. I also threw in a couple onesies so they would match the Ergo. Then rinse with cold water for forever. Ok, not quite that long but until the water is totally clear which is going to take a while. Give it a wash in hot water and liquid detergent and air dry. Now your Ergo is Tardis blue! The stars don't dye because they are polyester and the color reactive dye only works on the natural fiber of the cotton on the rest of the Ergo. 

Now I wanted to add the appropriate wording to the Tardis colored hood. I ordered these patches from Pandora Productions on Etsy.  The Police Box patch is 7x1.25 inches and the Pull to Open patch is 2.53x2.04 inches. All I needed was to make the windows out of felt!

For this step, I would recommend using a rotary cutting tool and a self healing mat to cut your windows. Mine were supposed to be 3 inches long by 2 inches high but I eye balled this and cut them a little short. Use the grid on the mat to help mark off one inch squares with a disappearing ink fabric pen. 

I then used all six strands of embroidery floss to back stitch the outline for the windows.

I decided to use permanent, washable fabric glue to apply the patches so I didn't have to sew them through the hood. Placing the patches was difficult because the hood of the Ergo is not flat. The easiest way I found to do this was to buckle the carrier around a chair and poof it out like there was a baby in it. Then you get a sense of how the fabric falls when it's actually worn. The line in the "P" for Public was the center line of the Police Box patch and I used the seam in the hood as a center guide. After it was pinned, I glued it carefully with Fabric-Tac, paying close attention to the corners of the patches.   

I let the glue dry while it hung on the chair. 

I really love how it turned out. I plan to have a friend knit a blue hat with a white pom pom on top so that baby's head is the light at the top of the Tardis. Add a pair of navy Babylegs and it's an awesome Doctor Who babywearing Halloween costume. I can't wait to take this fun Ergo through time and space. Allons-y!

~Brittany  

Felt Marshmallow and Roasting Stick Tutorial

Ah, summertime. Warmth is in the air and and the days are long. I wanted to create something felt foody that gave ode to this wonderful time of year. Enter charcoal fire bowl and the roasting marshmallow. 

I noticed an abundance of felt BBQ grills (some taken straight from Jeanette Lim's awesome pattern book) and campfire logs. But I'm dying to get a fire bowl for our back yard. So if I can't have one in real life, I can definitely make one out of felt. But the ultimate accessory is surely the soft, gooey, sweet roasted marshmallow (which could be enjoyed year round if I had said fire bowl. Just sayin'.) I also made the roasting stick with a pipe cleaner. I saw lots of wooden dowels out there in the felt food s'more world but I am reticent to give my two year old a long tapered wooden stick. It's all fun and games until someone pokes their eye out! So here is how to make your own felt food marshmallow and (non wooden) roasting stick: 

The Ingredients: 

- 1 large pipe cleaner, 9 inches long

- roasting stick casing,  8 inches long and 1 inch wide, in dark brown felt

- 2 cream or white felt circles for marshmallow top and bottom, 1.25 inches wide

- outer casing, cream or white felt, 4.75 inches long by 1.75 inches wide

-inner casing, 1.5 inches tall and 1.75 inches wide

The Recipe:

The first step is one I did not originally do up front but should have. Fold over about a half inch of pipe cleaner on both top and bottom loosely so that the raw wire isn't sticking up. Take a scrap of felt and cover the pipe cleaner end. Sew both sides so the pipe cleaner has a little cap at both ends. This will help keep the pipe cleaner from shifting too much and keep the wire from readily poking through. 

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Next, fold the roasting stick casing in half, position the pipe cleaner inside, and sew up the sides. As you can see my pipe cleaner ends are not covered but yours should be. 

Then, take your inner marshmallow piece and wrap it around the roasting stick, leaving about an 1/8 of an inch overhang at the top. Sew up to the piece and when you get to the top, close the seam. 

Next, take the inner piece that was just finished and trace the bottom of it on to one of the felt circles. My circle was about a half inch wide. Cut the circle out from the middle of the piece, which is now the bottom of the marshmallow. 

Position the opening of the inner piece in the middle circle of the bottom we just cut out and sew the two together as shown. 

Now, sew the outer marshmallow rectangle piece around the bottom circle. Trim this piece as needed when you sew it around. 

Stitch up the side seam towards the top of the marshmallow. 

Next, add stuffing. Be careful not to over stuff  and throw the inside piece off. I suggest putting the marshmallow on the roasting stick and then adding the stuffing so it maintains the proper shape. 

Lastly, stitch the last circle on to the top of the marshmallow. If you wanted to add a dark brown or black piece to the top/side of your marshmallow for a burned or melted look, you can do that too. But I was lazy and wanted to get out and roast my mallow. 

Yum!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

DIY Felt Rose Ring Bearer Pillow

Since my son is going to be a ring bearer for the first time in his Aunt's wedding, I wanted to make him a special ring bearer pillow. I used the felt rose pattern from The Purlbee. Those roses are so easy and cute, no need to make up something new. I chose white and dark red to match the decor, but this could easily be changed to what ever colors were necessary. Andie over at American Felt and Craft has compiled a great Pin board of felt flower tutorials HERE. You can modify the center flowers to match a wedding theme. 

The Ingredients: 

-3 Felt Purlbee roses in the color of your choice

- Felt Pillow Square front and back, mine is about 7 inches on each side

- Ribbon for tying rings, about 18 inches long, I used organdy but satin works well. Use a lighter to lightly seal the edges of the ribbon to keep it from running.

-Ribbon for holding the pillow on the underside, 8.5 inches long. I used 1.5 inch wide satin ribbon

-Coordinating embroidery floss

-Polyfil Stuffing

The Recipe: 

Find the center of your pillow top piece and sew the ring ribbon (folded in half) with an X. 

Next, stitch together the three roses to form a small bunch. 

Position the rose bunch over the ring ribbon. Be sure to pull the ribbon up through the center between the flowers. Stitch the roses in place on the front pillow piece. 

Mark the back pillow piece where the hand hold ribbon needs to go to be evenly centered.

Start sewing your front and back pillow pieces together. When you get to the marked spot where the ribbon goes, keep a half inch of the ribbon down between the felt and carefully sew it between the layers. 

Keep sewing around to the opposite side and attach the other end of the holder ribbon to the back. Make sure you angle your needle down when you sew through the ribbon so it doesn't stitch through the top. 

As a special detail, I embroidered the wedding date and the bride and groom's initials on the back for a personalized touch before I finished sewing the pillow up.

When you get half way through sewing the final side of the pillow, add all the stuffing. Use a stuffing dowel to make sure the fluff gets into all the corners. Finish sewing the pillow shut. 

 The back of the completed pillow, 

and the front. This pillow is easy, pretty and inexpensive while creating a special hand sewn keepsake.

Happy Wedding Crafting!

~Brittany 

Easy DIY Glass Cupcake Stand

My sister-in-law is getting married this August. Thanks to the ridiculousness that is Pinterest, I have spent many hours looking at all the wedding pretties on far too many pin boards. Since cupcakes are being used as wedding favors, I thought it would be a fun idea to display the cupcakes as a table centerpiece. Enter this DIY cupcake stand. It turns out Dollar Tree stores have a great selection of glassware and you can order in bulk on their website and pick it up in store for free, a handy feature for the spendthrift bride.

To construct the cupcake stand, I got two of these taper candle holder sticks:

and one of these 10 inch cut glass plates: 

The plate is surprising sturdy and pretty. All of these items were a buck a piece (so we're up to $3 worth of material, if you are keeping count).

To glue all this together, I used E-6000 craft glue. You can find this at pretty much any craft store for about $5 and it is pretty awesome. It does have a strong smell so I recommend using it in a well ventilated area. 

Start by cleaning and drying all your glass pieces. Place a small amount of glue around the rim of one of the candlestick holder tops. Flip the other candlestick over and place it on the gluey piece. Any excess glue can be wiped away with nail polish remover. I let this candle holder pillar sit for about an hour. It was still tacky so take care not to bump it too much. 

Find the center of the underside of the plate. This is easy on this particular one because the candle stick top fits right around the perimeter of the flowery star burst design in the center. Add a small amount of glue around the rim of the candlestick pillar then carefully set it to the underside of the plate. Let this dry for at least 24 hours, though the glue says it can take up to 72 hours to cure, so be careful with it until then.

 And Viola! Here is the stand with some of my felt food on it. I can't wait to see it with real cupcakes. This stand would also be great for displaying brunch goodies if  a wedding isn't really on your radar.

Happy Crafting!

~Brittany

     

Easy DIY Wool Dryer Balls

I have been wanting to try wool dryer balls for a while now. Fabric softener sheets are expensive, wasteful and covered in chemicals. Wool dryer balls are easy to make, reduce your drying time (and energy consumption), cut static cling, soften fabric and are totally reusable.  A look around Etsy showed a variety of balls for sale, but they were all pretty expensive. I found 100% wool yarn for $3.49 a skein on sale at Joann's Fabrics and bought two. 

There are a multitude of tutorials on how to make your own dryer balls, so there was no need to reinvent the wheel. I followed this one from The Goodmama, so I didn't take photos of every step since she has them laid out pretty clearly. 

Here are the balls after the first go round with the yarn. I used all of the first skein and a little off the second to get the balls the right size. I didn't have a crochet hook to tuck the ends under, so I got a little creative. I knotted some embroidery thread, which I always have around, to the end of the yarn and used a regular needle to tuck the yarn under. Then I pulled tightly and cut the embroidery thread off. Worked perfectly!

Here are the balls ready to go in the wash for their first felting. I washed them in hot water with these towels. 

Here are the balls after the first felting with the second go round of yarn on them. They were about 9 inches around each before the final felting, about baseball size. The two skeins of yarn (310 yards in all) were enough to make all three balls. 

Ready for the final felting in an old thigh high nylon. I also used leftover cotton embroidery floss to tie off the nylon between the balls. 

Here are the completed balls, after the second felting in the washer and dryer. I can tell these are definitely going to help reduce my drying time. I put them in with a big load of sheets and everything only needed one 30 minute cycle when that normally would have needed at least 60 minutes in the dryer. Wool balls are great to use with cloth diapers, when the use of liquid fabric soften is generally discouraged as it can cause your diapers to repel rather than absorb. They are a fun shape and texture and my toddler wanted to play with them, too. I chose a very neutral yarn color but if you want to hand dye your wool, check out this tutorial from Slightly Crunchy Mom. 

Happy Wool Winding!

~Brittany