Last month I was a guest on Ucreate making this wonderful chicken wire basket out of an old unused lampshade.  I am reposting it on Make it Do so I have it in my archives.  If you missed it on Ucreate… you are in for a treat.  This is a fabulous project… easy and recycled […]

Here is an easy way to add a little loveliness your bathroom. The plain old hand towel in my bathroom was just that.  PLAIN.  I decided it needed a little makeover. I started with a simple white towel and added three rows of ruffles using a white 100% cotton fabric. You can buy premade ruffles, […]

I created this zig zag pillow tutorial for a guest post on Ucreate a while back, but I wanted to share it here as well. Not long ago, I was strolling through Anthropologie online and noticed a wonderful zig zag pillow that really got my wheels turning.  The zig zags were so fresh: geometric and […]

Whenever a new season rolls around, I love to give my kitchen a lift by hanging up a new dishtowel.  It’s a small thing, but it’s always a welcome change. When I spotted the Farmdale fabrics from Alexander Henry at a local quilt shop it spoke autumn to me. I just had to bring a […]

I have been thinking of writing a series of posts on mending for a while.  Last year, I wrote about how to mend jeans with a rip in the rear… that really rolls off the tongue…. which was practical, but not at all stylish. For those mending projects I don’t have a clue on- such […]

Holy cow, it’s almost time for my kids to head back to school… and that means one thing: My project list is very long. Since I might be the most hairdo challenged person on the planet (my girls can only dream of french braids), the only hope my girls have of looking cute is hair […]

Emma and Lily have worn their babushkas everyday since I made them last week.  They are fun and practical… and apparently quite comfortable… since they won’t take them off. Here’s how to make one (or 2 or 3):  This tutorial is for a child sized babushka, but it can easily be made larger for an […]

The inspiration for this project came from the talented Mayaluna of maya*made.  She posted a tutorial on making a picnic bowl cover strap, made out of an old shirt, no less. I loved her tutorial so much, I decided to make a whole cover for a picnic salad bowl to match my picnic basket. This […]

“Never eat more than you can lift.” -Miss Piggy Very good advice for a picnic Miss Piggy.  I’ll try to remember that. But sometimes a little weight at a picnic comes in handy…. like on a breezy day for instance. Here’s what I did to solve the windy-day-fly-away tablecloth dilemma:  This tutorial can be used […]

It’s Picnic Week at Make it Do.  I’ve got some fun projects and recipes I can’t wait to share. Our family loves going on a picnic.  So this year, I decided it was time to invest in a set of Melamine plates, instead of continuing to use wasteful disposable plates.  At only $2 per plate […]

I love the 4th of July and this time of year I start thinking of all things red, white and blue. The look of a classic bunting is on my mind.  So this morning I pulled out some of my supplies of ribbon and fabrics and started to play around. This little bunting inspired ribbon […]

Hurray, I finally finished this post!  Making this apron was so much easier than writing about it.  How many times can you get interrupted, I ask you?  And still keep your head in the game?  But all’s well that ends well.  So here’s my apron tutorial. This apron is just perfect for the garden… or […]

I’ve been on the go with my sewing class and needed a safe place to keep my needles. The solution was this cute little Matchbook Needle Keeper.  It’s so easy to make, it only takes a few minutes. Here’s how to make one: Cut a piece of scrapbook cardstock weight paper 5 3/4″ x 2″. […]

Making a fabric headband cover is easier than you think.  It all starts with inexpensive thin headbands from the grocery store. For this project you will need a small piece of fabric…. mine was 15 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ and your cheap headband.  Oh, and a sewing machine. The first step is to measure your […]

Top of the Mornin’ to ya.  First off I wanted to thank you all for your encouraging words in response to yesterday’s post.  Even though I had determined myself not to let criticism bother me… your support really lifted my spirits.  Thank you. Now to a bit of St. Paddy’s Day fun. After I finish […]

I hope there are a few other beginning quilters out there who can benefit from the lessons I’m learning from my mom as I make a quilt for my son.  Choosing fabrics was the first in my series of posts on beginning quilting. My next step is to cut all my fabrics and get them […]

Last week, when I was fiddling with making my Pom Poms and Hearts Brooch, I made some fabric covered buttons.  I wanted to incorporate them into the brooch.  But after fiddling, I decided they didn’t work. I had to find another way to use these cute buttons.  And the obvious answer was to make hair […]

Earlier in the week, I showed the Girly Skirts I made for my girls.  But I wanted to add a little extra something sweet to the outfits for Valentine’s Day. Then I had an idea at 2:00 am that seemed brilliant and I wanted to give it a try. Like most ideas I have at […]

My sister-in-law Marcie inspired this cheery little project (She wanted to make one for her home).  This January has been so dreary… I think I’m craving a bit of color to brighten up my house.  A Valentine Bunting seemed like the perfect thing.  And it project uses fairly small pieces of fabric and can be […]

I wanted a quick easy, dish towel for February- a “keep it simple” project.  This little dish towel took me 20 minutes to make.  A few months ago I ran across this fabric at a quilt shop and bought enough for one towel, thinking to make a towel for Christmas.  But  that didn’t happen.  And […]

This car seat cover was a quick, fun project for me.  It makes a perfect gift for a new baby.  Mine is for my new baby nephew, Isaac.  A cover is wonderful for keeping a baby asleep, warm and safe from germs when out in public. This is a project where you can definitely employ […]

When my parents-in-law were newly married and both in school, they faced decorating their Christmas tree with no money to buy ornaments. The solution came from what they, as young students had in abundance… white typewriter paper.  They folded and cut and soon their tree was blanketed in beautiful, elegant snowflakes. As the years passed […]

Yesterday, my girls and I were working on a few Christmas gifts for their friends.  One thing led to another and I found myself making yet another flower pin.  This time a Poinsettia.  I loved this project and ended up making two for my girls, and plan on making more.  They are perfect as a […]

My Mom learned to bake her pie crusts 40 years ago.  Her mother had passed away and my Mom needed to step up and take over the tradition of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for her family of 7 brothers. My Mom was lucky enough to have a neighbor who was kind of like a local Julia […]

Last year we received a snowman kit from one of my dear friends as a Christmas gift.  A few days after the gift arrived, we had an epic storm and the kids spent hours playing in the snow and building their wonderful snowman. It was such a fun idea, and I was sure I could […]

A cozy bed warmer is one of my favorite things.  Put them in the microwave for a few minutes and they work wonders for cold feet, aches and pains, or plain old stress relief.  Bed warmers make a such a wonderful gift.  They are easy to make, inexpensive, and both pampering and useful. For years […]

Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble. – William Shakespeare It’s getting spooky around here… and the little witches love it.  Even though she can hardly see above the rim of the cauldron. I always look forward to decorating for Halloween… and I love that many Halloween decorations don’t have to cost […]

Making a decorative dish towel is really easy and a great way to decorate your kitchen on a budget.  A decorative dish towel makes a wonderful gift and is easy to customize.  Try one with pom poms instead of rick rack or use an owl, bird or fruit template for the design.  You can even […]

My kids started school last Thursday.  I started sewing school bags for them on Wednesday and optimistically thought I might be able to finish their bags that day.  But I didn’t.  It took me until Sunday to get them finished.  And it wasn’t because they were hard…  they weren’t.  In fact they were really fun […]

I have so much lavender in my garden, and I love finding ways to use it.  Making a lavender eye pillow is a perfect fast project… and they make a wonderful homemade gift for friends.  You’ll also want one or two for yourself of course. I harvest my lavender in the morning on a dry […]

My kitchen table is in need of some serious sprucing up for the 4th of July.  I went looking for ideas and, as I often do, ended up at Martha Stewart’s website. I wanted a project that wouldn’t cost a lot to make.  These firework pom poms were just what I was looking for. But […]

Lavender is one of my favorite “Make it Do” flowers… as useful as it is pretty.  This hardy, easy to grow herb that has been valued for centuries for it’s wonderful scent.  I grow mostly Munstead and Hidcote varieties of lavender in my garden.  And I love the Blue Cushion lavender I have planted in […]

I love gifts that are personal and homemade.  But making a gift for my husband is always a challenge for me.  Anything too cutsy is just not him.  Every once in a while I hit it just right… like the year I made him a reading/TV quilt.  He uses that a lot. This year I […]

I thought with pretty good certainty that the last corsage I would ever pin on was at Senior Prom in High School. But I was wrong.  A few weeks ago I visited the Quilting Cottage in American Fork, Utah.  I love the Quilting Cottage, which is not only a quaint little store, but they have […]

Do you remember the skirts I made for Lily and Emma out of scraps?  After they were done, I still had leftover fabric.  I couldn’t just let it go to waste.  I found the perfect way to use them when a friend showed me the handmade book covers her daughters had received as gifts. With […]

Hoodie towels are a tradition in my family that goes back to my childhood.  I still remember getting out of the bath and wrapping up in my warm hoodie. Every new baby in our family gets one.  I received a few store bought baby towels as gifts and they were so thin that I never […]

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.  – Jill Churchill I really need to remember this quote on days like today.  My kids got up at the crack of dawn… I went to bed late… not the best combination.  It was just one of […]

The weekend weather was cold, rainy, with some snow.  I don’t know what was worse, Ben’s baseball game in the cold wind or his soccer game in pouring rain.  It made him feel tough to play in the weather, and was a great excuse for hot chocolate, so he didn’t mind. Instead of doing yard […]

After making several quilts using polka dot fabrics, my Mom had some great scraps.  So we got together yesterday to “Use Them Up.”  The fabrics were mostly small pieces, so we had to be creative.  The end result was this wonderful table runner just in time for Easter. You can make your own Runner using […]

Lily and Emma have been talking about Brookie’s ugly doll for weeks…  “Brookie shared her ugly doll with me on the bus.  Will you help me make an ugly doll like Brookie?” Brooke is our darling 8 year old neighbor.  Santa brought her a sewing machine for Christmas.  And she has been putting it to […]