I was planning to make one of these great backpacks for my daughter. When it was completed, I asked her to try it on, to check the length of the drawstring. She told me that she would rather have it a bit longer. I laughed at her, as she was asking me to make it so that it hung just about 4 inches below her waist. So, I said, “You mean you want it where it will be banging your butt all day?” (That would drive me crazy!) Thus, the “Butt Banging Backpack” was born!

Whether you are headed to the library or the beach, this lightweight
drawstring backpack is the perfect carry-all.

Don’t want to carry your purse?

Just toss your essentials in this pack,
sling it on your back, and off you go!

(more…)

Even though he’s too nice to admit it, I’m sure my husband has wondered why he ever bought me the sewing machine I begged him for!  I would do an occasional project, but for the most part, it sat unused on my craft table for months at a time.  But not anymore!  I have found a ton of easy summer sewing patterns online.  Plus, I heard through flickr that WalMart is getting rid of their fabric departments so there will be lots of fabric sales this summer.  Anyway, here is a run down of some patterns that should be simple enough for sewing novices like me!

Turn a men’s shirt into a cute fitted cap-sleeve top with the help of this tutorial on craftster.org.  I haven’t tried this one yet, but I raided my husband’s old clothes and have a shirt to use for it.

Another one on Craftster that uses a men’s shirt is this adorable button down shirt into a toddler dress tutorial.  This one I have done, and my daughter loves it!  I was able to do the whole thing during her naptime.  I took a couple of quick photos of her this morning:

Here’s another one that I want to try as soon as I get some grosgrain ribbon to match my fabric…this easy circle skirt tutorial.

This last one might be a little bit more complicated (at least, it will be for me!) but I definitely want to try it.  There is a tutorial for making a shirred top for yourself and a shirred sundress for a little girl.

I think the best part about finding these tutorials online is the fact that so many people leave helpful hints and discussions in the comments.  I am NOT good at sewing, not at all, so these tutorials are much easier to understand than patterns!