Idea Queen Tips & News

Since our house has been sick for the last few weeks, I had an idea today for a new kind of pillow to sew. You may have heard of “dream pillows” that contain special types of herbs and oils for good dreams and sleep. This is similar, with a slightly different twist.

The main problem with the dream pillows is they eventually lose their scent and effectiveness. So instead of sewing a regular pillow, I made one with a pocket on the front with a velcro tab.
Eucalyptus is a staple in our house. It’s wonderful for congestion and stuffy noses. So I took a cotton ball and dabbed eucalyptus oil on it. It goes right into the pocket of the pillow and will be put in the pillow tonight.

You can put anything you want into the pocket of this pillow - oils, herbs, or flowers. Lavender is another oil that is great for relaxing, so would go perfect in the pocket. At any time you need to change the scent or replace it, it’s not a problem.

These would make wonderful gifts for those who suffer from allergies, or get the occasional winter cold (aka everyone!).  If you need to stock up on essential oils or other herbs, be sure to see Shaman Shop.

Enjoy!

For the last few weeks, I’ve been stuck on the groups at Cafe Mom. Looking through all the groups, it’s amazing to see how many different diverse groups there really are. It’s also nice to see people with the same priorities as us moms with similar interests. Personally I feel like I’m now “allowed” to have my own personal interests aside from my normal mommy duties.

There’s two groups in particular that I’d like to share. One of them is actually mine, and the other I just like to poke around in. Before checking out these specific groups, be sure to first join CafeMom.com.

Help with Dreams & Dream Meanings

Since dreams are a personal interest of mine, I started this group. I have a pretty strong belief in the fact we are the only one who can fully understand and find the meaning in our dreams. However, just getting it out in the open sometimes can help us figuring it out a little more. This group is open to anyone just as long as all members and their dreams are respected. No religious affiliation is attached to this group.

Details on the group at:
http://www.cafemom.com/group/dreamjournals

Sewing Moms!

A fun group where moms can get advice and projects on sewing, plus show off their latest creations. I love this group, and have seen a LOT of great ideas and tips. (And you know how much we love ideas and tips!). For the sewing mamas, this is a must-see group!

Details on the group at:
http://www.cafemom.com/group/Sewingmamas

These are just two small groups at Cafe Mom, and there are MANY more to check out. I absolutely love this place, so really it’s worth signing up even if you aren’t interested in the two above. Do be sure to go join CafeMom.com right now!

This box could be used for just about anything, but I used it as somewhat of a bread box. It was actually given to my uncle and his girlfriend with their homemade bread. It was a simple box with a velcro latch. I could have added some extras and made a slightly different design, but I ran out of time. Really you can do whatever you’d like with this.

To start, you’ll need 4 squares (about 7×7 for a large box, but you can adjust this size) all the same size of one fabric, and 4 squares all the same size of another (I used a plain white as the lining). These will make your three sides and the bottom. Now cut another piece of each fabric that’s the same size wide, but more than twice as long (about 7×15). This will be your 4th side,   and flap that will cover the the top.

Start by sewing the two different fabrics together (right sides together), making individual sides of your box. One fabric will be your outside of the box, the other will be your inside. Leave one side open so you can turn it inside out. Do not sew just yet! Do this with all 5 pieces.

Next take cardboard and cut to fit inside 4 of the pieces (excluding the bottom). Make sure the cardboard is slightly smaller than your sides so they fit. It’s alright if they are quite a bit smaller, they are only to give the box a shape. All 4 pieces of cardboard should be identical - your flap should not have cardboard inside.

Now it’s time to sew it all together! Start with one side and the bottom sewing them together (right sides together). Sew another side to that side, and so on. Finish by sewing the sides to the bottom. Flip your box right side out.

For the finishing touches, take a piece of velcro and sew to your flap. Sew the other part of the velcro to the opposite side. Adding a handle is optional (this is something I wanted to do with mine, but ran out of time).

To make a handle, cut out a thick strip of each of your fabrics (At least 2 inches thick).  Sew together (right sides together). Turn right side out, and sew to each side of your box on the inside.

That’s it! Now you have a decorative place to store your bread, or a nice gift box for homemade bread.

As promised, we’re posting the After Christmas sales as we find them! This first one comes from Fabric.com, one of our favorite places to shop for fabric online. They always have some pretty good deals on nice fabric, and their clearance area isn’t bad either.

If you are a new customer, you can get $2.95 flat rate shipping. But for everyone they are offering 20% off everything until Jan 3rd. All their available coupons can be found at Fabric.com Coupon Corner
.

Happy shopping!

If you are needing a few last minute gifts and want to sew them yourself, hopefully this post will give you some ideas.

Scented Dryer Pads
My favorite sewing project this year had to be the scented dryer pads.  It was so fast and easy to do these, they can be done at the very last minute. Heck it might even take you longer to wrap it! You can see the details of that project here.

Pillows
These are so easy to make, it really doesn’t take but an hour or so to get them done. Especially if you do a simple pillow with only two pieces of fabric. Who doesn’t use throw pillows?

Doll Quilts or Blankets
These work nice if you have left over fabrics or batting from big quilts. Because they are much smaller than normal size blankets and quilts, they can be finished a lot faster.
So these may not be any new projects, but they ARE fast ones. Since there’s only a few days left before Christmas, we really have to hurry!  There’s no time to start a big project now, so the idea of this post  was to give you a few ideas of some really quick projects. Hope it helps you out!

Here’s a quick idea for a cute handmade decoration. You have probably seen lots of sewing crafts for Christmas stockings, but how about scaling it down? Instead of making a full size stocking, make a smaller one to hang on the tree. All you need is felt or fleece in red and white, and possibly a pattern.

Stockings aren’t too hard to draw, but it might be better to practice on a piece of paper first before you draw one on your fabric. Don’t forget to add a loop so you can hang your mini-stocking on the tree!

I try my best to avoid Jo-Ann.com, because it’s so hard for me not to buy something when I get there. When I saw the email this morning about free shipping though, I knew I had to take advantage of it. After all, I was in need of a whole lot of stuff to finish sewing projects.

Use the code DECFSE72 from now until December 12th to get free shipping on any order. A few restrictions apply, but I didn’t run into them just buying fabric and notions. Standard shipping takes 4-8 days, so I should have it all within the next week or so. I can’t wait!

Nope, no new pages on Idea Queen this time. I thought about it, but figured I had better just link to where this particular idea came from.

I was browsing around this site yesterday trying to come up with extra ideas for homemade gifts. This one in particular stood out to me, and I knew it would be something super easy for me to get done.

Clothes dryer pads are an EXCELLENT idea for a Christmas gift, since they are both personal and useful. Since we make candles, there is no shortage of fragrance oil here! Plus I had extra batting from my son’s quilt, so thought this was a perfect project and Christmas gift for several on my list.

Now just because I have access to 70+ scents doesn’t mean you can’t easily get fragrance oil or essential oil. Check your local craft shore or even health food store. Actually, you can even find quite a few options on Amazon.com if you don’t want to hunt all over town (and with gas prices the way they are, this is probably a MUCH cheaper option).

So if you are looking for a gift for the person that has everything (and believe me, my grandparents have EVERYTHING), this is a PERFECT gift for them!

I realize not everyone can sew, but it happens to be something I enjoy doing. I love to be able to make something by hand, and take pride in it. Not everything I’ve attempted has come out as planned, but that’s alright. It’s how we learn.

Because I like to try out all kinds of different projects, I have a lot of scraps. I use them for several different smaller projects, which I’ll list here.

Doll Clothes
Since some doll clothes have small pieces, a scrap will sometimes work. Scraps are easier to use when working with smaller doll clothes such as those for Barbie dolls. If nothing else, you could always make a scrap fabric dress out of all those little scraps you’ve got.

Scrap Pillows
This project I absolutely love, because there are really no rules. Just as long as you end up with a square or rectangle, it doesn’t matter what you add to it. I’m actually planning to make a scrap pillow to go along with my son’s quilt. It will be from all the scraps in the quilt, so it will match.

Doll Quilts
What better way to use up those scraps then to make a doll quilt? If you’ve made a full size quilt, you can make a doll quilt with what you’ve got left. This works especially well since you’ll probably have extra batting.

These are just a few different projects with scrap fabric to get you started. Have fun!

I know I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m making quite a few of my kids Christmas gifts. I do every year. It’s less expensive and means a whole lot more than some expensive toy that will break in a few months. Believe me, my kids have enough toys!

So here’s the homemade side of my kids Christmas list. I hope you’ll find some ideas here of things you can make for your kids!

Doll Clothes
My little girl loves her baby dolls. She also loves clothes. So I have to make her at least one or two outfits for her babies. There’s two patterns I’ve made myself, and a few others I’ve bought. With all the different types of fabric we’ve got, it’s not hard to come up with all kinds of different clothes. If you need some help planning this out or need some patterns, be sure to check out our doll clothes project at Idea Queen.

Quilts
So this one might not be a quick and easy project, but it might be if you’ve got a sewing machine. I decided to hand sew most of this quilt, or at least the blocks. When I put it all together I was going to use the sewing machine, but it’s now missing a piece. So I guess the entire thing will be hand sewn. Not to worry, all the blocks are done so it’s now just a matter of putting it all together. Which is already about half done. I think I’ll finish it in less than a month!

I also made a mini-quilt for my daughter’s baby dolls with extra batting. It was actually my very first quilt, and the extra batting was from a friend whom I helped pin up a quilt last year. It was just the perfect size for her dolls and it gave me practice before attempting the big one!

Clothes
I found the most perfect fabric for my daughter, and decided we needed to make a dress out of it. It’s just about finished! There’s only one more side to sew. Again I was going to use the sewing machine, but I guess it’s going to be hand-sewn. Not a big deal, it’s not that much.

Tote Bags
So I need to confess - I probably could have easily made a tote bag for my kids, but I bought one instead. It was sitting at a craft show for only $5, and it featured my daughter’s favorite character (Dora). With all the things I needed to finish right now, I knew I probably wouldn’t have enough time to make one. So I grabbed it. But if YOU have time, then by all means look into making one!

Now I know all these ideas require sewing, but it just happens to be the skill I have. Really it’s not that hard to do, and can be quite fun if you enjoy doing it. These are also some time consuming projects, so make sure you don’t get overwhelmed. Most of the projects I have sitting here are almost done, and stuff I started probably over a year ago. I just haven’t had time (or the energy) to pick up sewing for some time. Except the doll clothes - those are pretty quick to do. I guess seeing prices of Christmas gifts gets me in the mood!