Just Another Tutu Tutorial

My baby girl will be one year old in less than a month! I cannot believe it! She will be getting her first birthday pictures made next Sunday afternoon. I wanted her to have one of those really cute tutu outfits with a "1" onesie, but I really didn't want to spend $16-30 ordering one from a website, especially when I already know how to make tutus!! I've been asked how to make them, so I decided to take pictures of each step as I made this tutu so that I could share it with anyone who wanted to learn! This tutu is VERY simple to make!

So here we go.

You will need:
Scissors
Elastic --3/4" Knit Elastic (or whatever you prefer)
Tulle -- One or more colors (as many colors as you want)
Needle and Thread
Tape Measure
 
I started by measuring my little, almost-one-year-old girl's waist. She measured 18.5in around. I cut the elastic to size, and sewed the ends together. I sewed about a quarter inch from the edge, so the elastic will end up at 18in around. You can do a quick stitch with the sewing machine, or just sew by hand.  Easy either way!

Next, you cut the tulle. Here is how to figure out how much tulle you need:
Measure how long you want the tulle to be on the child (start from waist). I want mine to be 8 inches. You then double that number, because the tulle will be folded in half. Mine becomes 16 inches. Then you add 1 inch for the knot. So, the length of my tulle becomes 17 inches.
The spool of tulle I bought was 15 yards. I used the entire spool for the tutu. Don't worry about cutting all of the pieces of tulle EXACTLY the same length, but try to get them pretty close.

Time for the knotting. First, make sure to turn your elastic to where the extra "edge" faces in:

 

Then, take a piece of tulle and fold it in half to make a U:

Stick the bottom part of the "U" to the inside of the elastic:

Fold the ends of the tulle down over the front of the elastic (the U stays behind the elastic:

Tuck the ends of the tulle through the U:

And pull the ends of the tulle downward while pushing the "U" up towards the elastic:

Be sure not to make the knot too tight. You don't want your elastic to fold up.
Here is what it looks like after the first couple of knots:

Repeat the knots until you have gone all the way around the elastic:

 

Trim up any long ends if needed and.....
Tada! You have made your tutu! Be proud!

**Just a few other tips and suggestions**
~If you spread the tulle out over the elastic it looks better at the end
~You can put a little ribbon bow on by sliding the edge of a ribbon through one of the knots and then tie a bow!
~For multi-colored tutus, simply cut different colors of tulle and alternate the colors around the elastic!
~If you made a pile of tulle it is good to pull from different areas of the pile as you go along, that way if there are any varying sizes of tulle, they will be mixed up well throughout.

Glittery tulle users, BEWARE! The glitter gets EVERYWHERE!!!!

HAPPY TUTU MAKING!

Pin-Tested

I have been very busy for a couple of months, but I have managed to tackle some random pinterest projects.  Some were fabulous, others were failures! I will cover 5 in this blog and will have more Pin-Test blogs to come!  These are just my opinions on the Pins, so feel free to try them yourself and tell me if they pass or fail in your opinion!
Here are 5 of the Pins I have tried:

1.  Original pinner said "Just arrange your clothes on hanging Shelves To Go and drop them into your suitcase. When you arrive at your hotel, just hang them in the closet. No need to unpack."  

Find original pin HERE

I was actually very excited about this idea.  I tried it back in October while packing for our Florida vacation.  I found that while this sounded good in writing, it was not an efficient way to pack.  The "shelves" did not lay flat, so as you added more days of clothing, it ended up sitting funny in the suitcase.  Much to my disappointment, this did not work for me.

In my opinion this was a Pin-Fail. 

 

2. Original pinner said "Elmers glue and food colouring"

Find original pin HERE

 This one I tackled back in August; I was excited to have all the supplies that I needed on hand.  I painted a flower vase.  It streaks a little with drips and it is NOT meant to be washed afterwards, or touched with wet hands.  But, it definitely looks like sea-glass.  Here is what mine looked like:

This is now a decoration in my guest bathroom!

 

In my opinion:  Pin-Pass!

 3.  Original pinner said "Wine rack to hold bath towels"

Find original pin HERE

If you have read any of my other blog posts, you know that I recently updated my guest bathroom.  This is one thing I used.  I was concerned about how hard it would be to put the towels in and remove them for use, but it is actually very simple!  Here is the one I have in my bathroom:

 Clearly, this one is a Pin-Pass, in my opinion!

 4.  Original pinner said "Best Cookie Pie EVER!! Great for Kids Birthdays, and my Fiance would LOVE this at any time. MMMM"

Find original pin HERE

 These tasted like they were missing something.  I double and triple checked the recipe to make sure I added everything (I did).  However, I did cook them a few minutes longer than it said (on accident), so it wouldn't be fair to make my judgment based on that one experience.  I'll have to try again!

Pin- Undecided, I'll get post this again once I retry it! (If you try it before I get to, please let me know what you think!)

5. Original pinner said "pizza casserole" 

Find original pin HERE

 This was delicious!  I actually cut the recipe in half because I was only cooking for my husband and myself.  I put it in a square casserole dish.  I will be making this one again for sure!! 

Pin-Passed 

October-November

HOGWARTS!

Okay--so I have not been blogging as much as I intended to!  So many things have happened during the months of October and November. 
In October we took a vacation to Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee, Florida!  We went to Universal Island of Adventures.  We were stoked to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but ended up slightly disappointed.

My favorite section in Island of Adventures was Dr. Suess.  Avery rode on a carousel for the first time.  He hated it!

While we were in Florida, my baby turned 5 months old:

Then Halloween was on our doorstep before we knew it!

And then comes November.  My baby girl turned 1/2 a year old, and the kiddos Aunt Ashley came for a visit!

Now, here we are in the middle of November (not sure how September all of a sudden became November) and we are getting ready for the Holidays!  I am excited to start some Christmas Pinterest projects!

My next post will be about Pins I have tested and whether they passed for failed!!

"Diaper Cycle"

This "diaper cycle" was made for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's baby shower.  This one was geared towards the daddy.  I got this idea from pinterest, of course!

Here is what I used:

• 28 diapers (I used Parents Choice size 2)
• 2 rubber bands
• Ribbon (I used tulle)
• 2 receiving blankets
• 1 link toy
• Bottle
• Baby washcloth
• 2 bibs
• A pair of socks
• Stuffed animal

I started by layering the diapers in the cake pan:

Then, I put a rubber band around the diapers, adjusting them to keep the right shape. (Don't forget to make 2 of these!!)

 Next, I tied tulle (ribbon can be used also) around each "tire" to hide the rubber band:

 Make sure that you have left a hole in the center of each tire:

 I then rolled up one of the receiving blankets and fed it through the front tire:

And through the back tire.  Once you have done that, be sure to hide the ends of the receiving blanket in the back tire:

Next, I rolled up the second receiving blanket and also fed it through the front tire.  This one will become the handle bars:

  Add one bib "fender" to each tire:

Wrap a bottle "head light" in a wash cloth:

Next bring the handle bars together and slide a linking toy around them:

Position the headlight and push the link down to hold it in place:

Add socks (stuffed with tissue paper to keep shape) and position the handle bars:

Finish it off with a stuffed animal:

Here are the instructions I followed.