Turn One Curtain Panel into Two!

When I was working on the girls' shared bedroom makeover, I found a great deal on some long curtain panels for their window. When I got them home I was faced with a surprise challenge that led me to making one panel into two! Here's how it all went down:

I found some white curtain panels on clearance for $8 each and was excited to take them home and hem them to a shorter length that would fit the girls' bedroom!

DIY Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Here's how we made these cute DIY Tic-Tac-Toe Games!

This was a great little sewing project for my girls to be involved in, leading up to Christmas. They made gifts for their pen pals and some of their long-distance cousins. I originally found this Tic Tac Toe craft idea among other sewing projects for kids on parents.com. It would be a great gift any time of the year and is a good easy sewing project for kids.  

Talia's Talent Show ( #NikonMOMents Part 1)

It was the last day of school for Talia. I didn't have time to snap a shot of Katrina on her last day of school, so I had her pose with Talia, wearing her backpack (haha). So, this is kind of a fake last-day-of-school photo (at least for Katrina).

(If you didn't catch my first post about being a Nikon Mom, I'm trying out a new Nikon D3300 Digital SLR camera with a 35mm lens.. which I am loving so far!)

I'll be sharing 5 posts with you throughout the year, where I'll share photos from 5 different events. Talia's talent show is the first! (although let's be honest, beyond those 5 official posts, you'll be seeing lots of photos from me & this camera ;) Here's one example that I already posted.

See the bag in Talia's hand above? Inside is the stuffed Unicorn that I helped her to make for her teacher who loves them. It turned out so well! (If you're looking for the pattern and a great tutorial, we found it here).

The last day of school was also a school talent show. Talia would be performing some dances with her class as well as a special piano piece by herself. The Talent Show took place during the school day, so Ken, Katrina & I showed up while the kids were outside for recess and got seats. Here Katrina is patiently waiting for the show to start while I test out some settings on my new camera, to see how I want to shoot in the gym.

One of my favourite things to capture with photography is a genuine facial expression that shows you the emotion that was felt at that moment. Talia's class was the first to perform so they were standing on the stage in their places while the other students filed in, to watch. I walked right up to the front of the room and stood off to her side of the stage and talked to her briefly (she needed me to go and get her piano music that she had left in her backpack). Before I went back to my seat, I snapped this shot of her. She and her friends were giddy with excitement and I love that I've captured that moment to remember!

When the show got started, I moved to the side of the gym, closer to the front, so that I could catch some photos of Talia's class as they preformed their dances. I had my 35mm lens (which doesn't have a zoom), so I needed to "zoom with my feet". ;) Katrina wanted to come with me, so we watched together while Ken watched from his seat.

A little photography fact for you: a lens like this (that doesn't zoom) is called a prime lens.  Prime lenses are capable of wider apertures, which mean that you can pull off shallower depths of field (a photo where something is in focus, and something else is out of focus) and can handle lower light (because a wide aperture lets more light in).  I love these qualities and think they're worth having to use your feet more in most cases.  In a situation like this though, it might have been nice to have a zoom lens to get in closer on Talia on the stage (because I wasn`t about to stand in front of the audience to get a close-up of my daughter)... something I may need to invest in in the future... ;) (One more bonus to having a camera like this is being able to switch out different lenses!)

It was so cute to watch the different styles of dance that her class had learned. :) I loved that I could get nice photos in the dim light of the gym (with zero natural light). I just set my ISO higher and the camera handled the low light really well! (You just can't get quality like that, in dim light, from a cell phone camera or a point & shoot camera!) I would not have been able to capture those moments this well without a camera like this!

I also caught some video of their last dance (to the song "What Does The Fox Say?").  It was so cute!  I can't wait to play more with video on this camera.  I have never had an SLR that will take video, so this will be fun!

Katrina was so cute, watching Talia's class. She even danced along a few times (telling me that Talia had taught her). I turned around after one of their dances and caught her clapping :) I love moments like this in photos because it's not just a shot of Katrina clapping, but a glimpse into her little mind.. I look at it and I know that she is watching her big sister and looking up to her.

Next up was a little girl who sang a song (which we mostly missed because we were running to Talia's backpack to get her piano music that she had left in her classroom).  We got back just in time for Talia to tape her music to the under-side of the piano and confuse the audience by laying down backwards on the piano bench! ;)

She played Yankee Doodle (and got through it really smoothly- hurray!) but of course the impressive part was that she played it upside down! :)

I was so happy for her when she stood up, and saw all of the kids cheering and clapping for her! :)  (and extremely happy to have caught her expression in this photo! :)  She had expressed some concern about some kids who had teased her at a practise for the talent show.  There was no sign of teasing when the show happened and later Ken told us that a bunch of kids were talking to each other, saying "Did you see that?  Her hands were like this!", etc.  I was so happy for Talia to have had this positive experience! :)

I can't wait to share more photos and memories with you.  I am loving this camera so far (not just for its quality though- its light weight is saving my hands a lot of pain)!  I used my larger camera the other day because I needed an external flash for something I was shooting and I don't have an external Nikon flash* (though I am seriously thinking about the possibility of getting some more Nikon accessories to go with this camera) & was immediately surprised by its weight.  The D3300 makes my hands very happy!  This also means that I am more likely to both bring it with me places and pick it up and use it for quick moments, so I'm capturing more memories now than before!


* I just want to mention that the D3300 does have a pop-up flash. 

Disclosure: I am part of the Mom Central Canada Nikon MOMents team and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Please subscribe or follow to keep in touch.

How to Turn Your Old Holey Jeans into Shorts

I had two pairs of jeans that I loved- they were so comfortable! I wore them a lot- until they both had holes in the knees.. which wasn't really the look I was going for. So when my mom and I got an afternoon to ourselves, we set out to turn those old holey jeans into shorts!

Here's what we did:

Here's how we did it:

1. Start by cutting the jeans just above the hole. Then try them on and figure out how long you want them to be, how much of a roll you want at the end (if you want a roll), and trim your first pant leg.

2. Carefully line up your jeans and use the first pant leg as a guide for the second.

3. Choose the zigzag setting on your machine.

4. Sew along the cut edges to prevent fraying.

5. Try the jeans on, roll them the way you want them and pin them.

6. You can machine or hand sew up & down along the inside and outside edges of each pant leg (near the seam), just along the fold, to keep the folds in place. (Or you can skip this step & if your shorts unroll at the bottom, just re-roll them).

It's that easy!

Now I have two new pairs of jean shorts and I didn't have to throw out my holey jeans! :)

I hope this tutorial is helpful to you if you'd like to try the same thing on your pants, or on your kids'!
(This would be great for kids' pants that are too short but still fit around the bum!)

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Please subscribe or follow to keep in touch.

4 Great Repurposing Tutorials (and free coupons!)

Over the time I have spent posting over at HowDoesShe, I have shared several "up-cycle"/repurposing ideas. It's so fun to take something old and turn it into something new! Here are a few of the fun repurposing things I've shared:

Turn a Broken Umbrella into a Parachute!
We just pulled this play parachute out for Victoria Day when we met at a park with a bunch of cousins and family. It was a hit! To see my tutorial on how to make one, click here.



Turn a Woman's Tank Top into a Girl's Skirt!
For a tutorial on how I did this, click on over here.



Turn a Trampoline into a Greenhouse!
This idea and project was my mother-in-law's and you can find details in my post over here.



Make a Memory Quilt from Old Clothes!
I love this quilt I made out of well-loved clothes that my children or I had grown out of or worn out. For details on how I made mine without buying any new materials, click here.




Now, while we're on the subject of taking old things (that are good) and making them into really great new things...

Let me tell you about the brand-new Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch cereal! :)
This new cereal is celebrating the classic Honey Nut Cheerios you know and love, and mixing it up with crispy oat flakes and delicious nut clusters.

My girls love Honey Nut Cheerios, and as expected, the new Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch has been added to their list of favourite cereals (we are totally cereal people at our house).

Also, guess what! If you have your own "up-cycle" tip, you can share it for a chance to get a box of the new cereal for free! You can do this immediately (on my blog, below) or through a coupon on www.facebook.com/LifeMadeDelicious


[Contest is now Closed]



Disclosure – I am participating in the Honey Nut Cheerios Hearty Oat Crunch Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of General Mills, and received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own

5 Cute Sewing Projects (Featuring YOU!)

There were some really cute projects linked up this month that involved fabric, so I wanted to feature some of them. Check these cute things out & visit the blogs for more details! :)

Road Trip Pillowcase by I Dig Pinterest and I Did it Too


E-Reader Cover by Blissful Sewing


Ruffle Curtains by Crafting in the Rain


Reupholstered Chair by The Pink Lab


Easy Peasy Summer Skirt (with Free Pattern!) by Blissful Sewing


Thanks to everyone who continues to link up to Sharing Time, I love to see what you're up to!

If you were featured today, feel free to grab the featured button from the bottom of my sidebar, and add it to your blog if you'd like :)

Tutorial Tuesday ( Make a Girl's Skirt from a Woman's Top )

I made a skirt for Katrina out of a woman's tank top yesterday:

It was quite easy & didn't take very long!
I'm posting a tutorial over at HowDoesShe today, so go on over & take a look! :)

Tutorial (Easy to Make Window Seat Cushion for IKEA Trofast Storage)

Here comes the promised step-by-step tutorial for how to make a window seat style cushion for the top of IKEA's trofast storage!
(You could do this for any flat bench though!)


(The fabric cover for the cushion is removable and involves no zipper)

Here's what we did:

1. I wanted a 2 inch thick cushion, but it was way cheaper to buy a big piece of 1 inch foam and double up (once you have the two pieces on top of each other, they don't slide around)


2. I bought fabric (I guessed on the amount- get enough to wrap around your foam like you're wrapping a gift)

3. When you get home, cut the foam to the size of the top of your bench (you can cut 1 inch foam with a pair of scissors)

4. Lay the foam on top of the fabric and wrap the fabric around the foam (like wrapping a gift) and make sure you have an overlap on top of the foam. (I made the fabric cover kind of like a pillow sham, so that you can take the cushion in & out, to wash the fabric. The overlap will not be sewn- it will be the opening for the foam)


5. Cut any extra fabric off (use the above picture as a guide to see how much fabric you need on the ends, taking into account that you'll be folding the edge over and pressing it as shown below)



6. Fold the ends (as shown above) and press. When I did mine, I worked it out so that the part that goes lengthwise across the cushion is the selvage, so it didn't need to be folded & pressed to finish it.

Time to Pin
7. Now we'll fold & pin the corners. Fold your first corner up (as shown in the photo below)


8A. Pin into place as shown. (you can pin right into the foam if that helps)
8B. Un-pin the part shown in 8B (you don't have to pin & then un-pin it, I just did that to show you closely how to pin it so that you can do the next fold)
8C. Bring the fabric up as shown, so that you have a straight line across the top edge & side edge.
8D. Pin into place & repeat for the other corners.


9. Pin the edges up as shown:


Okay, now you're done pinning- yay!
Time to SEW!

Sewing Steps

You're going to sew by hand, and you're going to sew the foam right into the cover (don't worry- you can get it out later- I've already had to wash my cover once!)

1. Start at the top corner of one end. Tie a knot at the end of your thread and start (I tried to show you in the photo below)


2. Do a blind stitch (as shown below) to close up the side and top edges of the ends of the cushion.

3. Now you're done sewing!
Here's what your little overlapping pillow-sham-like opening will look like:



And here's the IKEA bench cushion finished project!
A cute little seat for my girls to read on... or put their dolls to sleep on :)




I hope this tutorial was easy to follow- let me know if I need to clarify anything!

You can find other sewing ideas & tutorials here.