Chocolate Bunny Headband Tutorial

Looking for something sweet this Easter?  This little chocolate bunny is perfect for any age because of it's classic silhouette.  I'm seriously thinking I will be borrowing this from Nadia!

What you need-
Satin elastic, enough to go around the head
Felt of choice (the higher quality your felt the longer your headband will last).  I used pink and brown (obviously)
Ric Rack (I used white)
Coordinating embroidery floss with needle and basic running stitch skill (seriously, nothing complicated about this step so don't fret)
Favorite glue (I use Fabri-Tac)
Bit of very thin ribbon for bow on bunny
Templates (below)

Print and cut out the templates.  You will need to cut out one bunny and two backplates.
I didn't take a ton of photos because this is really quite easy to assemble.  First, with one of your backplates, glue the ric rack around the backside to create the scallop on the front.  Using your backplate colored embroidery thread, run a stitch along the outside catching bits of the ric rack to further secure it.  Then with your bunny colored thread, secure your bunny to the backplate.

Shown above are two as I made two at a time, so don't be confused, you are only working with one of your backplates right now.  This just shows the front and back so you can see anything that may be unclear.

Tie yourself a tiny bow (use a long ribbon and trim down once your bow is tied, much easier than trying to tie a tiny bow with a tiny ribbon).  Tack it down to your bunny.

With your bunny face down, attach one end of your elastic with your glue of choice, then overlap a bit and attach the other end.  The overlap will cause your headband to become a bit snug and stay in place since we cut it to the size of our head to start.

Sandwich the headband now by gluing on your second backplate.

Allow to dry, if the glue your using gets stiff once dry make sure you kind of bend your felt pieces to the curve of your head to dry.

Very Serious little girl isn't she! LOL.

DIY Hair Accessories

I mentioned on Friday I had turned myself into a hair accessory making factory for my niece's birthday gift.

It was so much fun I ended up making some for me, my little girl, and my other two niece's who's birthdays are coming up very soon!

 I'm really excited about how this little bunny turned out..... I have a tutorial coming on Wednesday!

I made so many that I had to make a larger clip holder!  I will post some pics of the new one soon too!

Call for April Sponsors!

Good Monday morning!  As I'm preparing for April I thought I would let you know that I have openings for a few new sponsors.  I mentioned a week or so ago that MJ&G is seeing so much traffic that I had to do some upgrading of my accounts.  Due to the upgrade I'm now able to offer a few new spots in my sponsor section!

Why advertise on MJ&G?

• If you love this site, chances are your business is of similar style or interest and other MJ&G readers will be interested in it as well!

• It's easy!  If you have never had an ad, maybe your etsy shop is just starting out and your new to this, I'm happy to help out walking you through the process.

• 150,000 page views per month, and growing! 

• Affordable!  Sponsor posts are affordable to accommodate every budget and business. 

Have questions?  Don't hesitate to contact me.  I can provide you with more information or answer any questions you may have about the process.  But hurry, it's almost April!

Gathered Flower Tutorial

When I posted about this necklace....

There was a lot of interest in how I made the cream, more poofy, flower.  It really is super simple and very similar to the rolled rose technique (easier I think!).

You will need a strip of stain, silk, any fabric like that about 2.5 inches wide by at least 12-18 inches long.  The longer your strip the larger your flower.  You will see the one I made for this tutorial is a bit smaller because my fabric wasn't all that long.

Alright, so fold your fabric in half the long way.

With your favorite glue (hot or fabric, I use fabri-tac), dab some glue along the bottom raw edges and start to gather and coil your strip.

Run a longer line of glue across the bottom and continue to gather your strip as you coil around the center you just created.

Bunch and turn, bunch and turn, tacking with glue as you go until you reach the end.

Again, my strip of fabric was shorter for this tutorial than my original flower was.  The bottom of your flower should be a bit of a hot mess.

Tack down any loose bits.  This one made it's way onto a really fun, bright headband for my niece who has a birthday this weekend!  I've been a hair accessory making machine the last couple days (not a procrastinator, just short notice on the party). Can't wait to show you all the cute things I've been making, and share a tutorial for the sweetest (if I do say so myself) Easter Bunny headband!  So loving it.  I will have all that up next week.  Have a great weekend!

Meet Bei Fiori!

Had to take a moment to show off an etsy shop I was recently introduced to!  With a little bit of everything to offer, Bei Fiori has a fun style and something for everyone.  This scarf is made of light weight jersey so it's light and breathable for spring, and I love ruffles!

Speaking of spring, check out this adorable bird tote.  I love totes, this one is perfect for the farmers market!

The burlap Eiffel Tower image is from a pillow cover.  Bei Fiori offers lots of different cute pillow cover options.  Mothers day is coming up, I encourage you to check out Bei Fiori for gifts!  Happy Shopping.

Sew a Ruffle Camera Strap Cover- Tutorial

I'm sure there are probably a lot of camera strap tutorials out there.  If you need to make a complete strap (rather than a cover) there is a great ruffled strap tutorial here.  A quick Google search brings up lot's of options.  But since I didn't use a tutorial, I thought I would share what worked for me to get this.....

Great for spring and so easy I will have a new strap cover for every season (or mood)!

What you need-

• Base fabric, I used 100% cotton Dimensions- three inches longer than the woven portion of your strap by 2x the width plus 1inch (I really hope that makes sense, if it doesn't let me know and I will re-word)

• Knit fabric strips, one slightly wider than the other, two times the length of your base fabric.  I used an old t-shirt for this fabric, use what you have lying around.

• Fusible interfacing (slightly smaller than your base fabric) 

• Sewing machine

• Iron

Iron your interfacing onto your base fabric.  Then fold your base fabric in half, long ways, right sides together and press to find the center point.

Knowing where the middle is will help you place your ruffle.  Lay the thinner strip of knit on top of the wider piece.  With a long stitch length, run a line down the center of these strips.  Do Not lock your stitches, this thread will be removed in a bit, it's just temporary.  Gather the fabric by pulling one of these threads.

Pin your ruffle down the center of the front half of the base fabric (remember to account for your seam allowance down the one side).   Flatten out the last two inches of the ruffle and pin, this section will get folded over.

Sew your ruffle on with a line right next to your temporary thread.  Once it's attached, remove the temporary gathering thread. 

Fold each end over 1.5 inches and run two lines of stitching to secure.

Fold the whole ting in half length wise again.  Sew with a 3/8 inch seam allowance.  I went a step further (after this picture was taken) and surged my edge also, you can run a zig zag stitch if you don't have a surger.

Turn it right side out and your ready to wear it!

Enjoy!

Photo Time Capsule

What a fun way to remember what we (or our kids!) were like at certain ages!  I came across this idea on flikr and had to try it out.  When my kids were born I started trying to write little letters to them or about them so that we would remember these little things, but I found that I wasn't good at keeping up on it.  I love how quick and easy it was to create this little time capsule and I love how it looks!

In case your unsure of how to do this.....
Find (or take) a photo of the person with them to the far side of the image and a large blank area (wall or otherwise) next to them.  Open your image in a photo editing program (which ever one you prefer) and grab your text tool.  Write out all your little thoughts, vary size and fonts, then drag each word where you want it.  I'm a bit of a font addict, if your looking for some fun (free) fonts dafont is usually my first stop. 

Winter Boots

I know, your thinking "it's almost spring, why are you talking about winter boots!".  BUT I happen to think this is the BEST time to buy winter boots.  End of season clearance sales, need I say more?  So I am now the happy owner of Whooga Ugg boots.  I'll admit, I was a bit behind on the Ugg boot trend, but in my defense I did not get my Whooga boots for trend purposes, they are REALLY warm and SUPER comfy.......and okay, they are CUTE! Maybe you didn't know that Whooga was an authentic Ugg brand, they are! These aren't knock offs, they are warm, cozy, authentic Ugg boots, and they are on clearance right now!

Last year I didn't find any clearance boots I loved, so I spent this past winter in a pair of generic Ugg boots.  They were okay, they got me through, but I will tell you there was more than one embarrassing moment where I was brought to my bum because they had ZERO traction.  In fact, I think the tread design actually ADDED to the slippery effect.  I was so relieved to find my Whooga boots actually have a tread pattern that keeps me on my feet.  That's not the only difference between my Whooga boots and my generic Uggs.....

So if your going strictly for style, you may get away with the generic brands just fine.  BUT if you want warm, cozy feet, (I live in Wisconsin so I'm not messing around, we get a ton of snow here people) then you want to order some REAL boots and I suggest you take advantage of the deals going on as we head into warmer seasons.  You'll thank me next winter when you pull out those boots that you got for a steal.

Oh..... I also want to mention, I have an issue with large calves and boots.  Whooga had this whole section with measurements to take so that you can choose the best style for your fit (they offer tall, short, and mini).  I really wanted the tall, but I took their advice and went with the short because of the calve issue.  I'm glad I did, there was a moment where I was trying to convince myself that the tall ones would stretch like my generic ones did, but the short aren't as short as I had imagined and they fit like a glove (a very comfortable glove).  So if your wondering which style you should order, take a moment to read the boot sizing guide.

OH NO! I broke it!

I'm still learning in this world of blogging and running a website.  I never imagined I would know anything about html code or how to fudge it enough to get it to do what I want and still actually work!  But with frazzled mommy brain and a late night hurried decision I managed to..... um......well.....kinda, sorta..... BREAK MY BUTTON!  

WHOOPS!  So if you were ever so kind as to add my button to your site (I knew we were friends!) you are now seeing a big ugly photobucket ad :(  The good news is, I have a working button, that will not break because on a brighter note MJ&G is now seeing so much traffic that I had to actually purchase an image hosting account.   Crazy!  So I have a HUGE favor to ask of you....... if you did have my button (or you didn't and you want to start showing it off!) would you please grab the new code from the sidebar :)  I've made it very easy, just cut and paste it where ever you like.  It's all ready to go and oh so cute.

♥Thanks so much!

Color Inspiration

If you visit my Pinterest boards you will see one called "Pretty things to inspire".  This is where I put things that catch my eye, usually for the colors in the image.  I used to use a website to pull colors from images, I love that it tells you exactly what code each color is.  The problem with that was that you had no control over which colors were pulled from the image, it chooses for you.  But if you don't have photoshop or PSE, the website is a great resource for you to try this out.  If you DO have one of these programs, skip your excited little butt over to The CoffeShop Blog and get this template (it's FREE!).   You will thank me, because now you can CHOOSE which colors to pull out of the images, but I warn you, it's addictive.

All of the images I've shown as my examples here are from sources that are linked on my Pinterest board.  Go there if you want to see the original source. Next time your looking for a color palette, find an image that calls to you, it's probably the colors that your drawn to!

Life

Ryah Sofia Giveaway! (and Winner from Earring Nation)

Mondays are starting to feel like giveaway day! Don't get TOO used to it, but it's fun to have a little giveaway run as we go into spring and everyone is trying to shake the cabin fever.  So before I tell you about today's giveaway, we should finish up with last weeks :)  Eli was my lucky winner who said "What pretty jewelry!".  So have fun picking out your new jewelry Eli!

So you guys know that rolled roses are all the rage.  I mentioned I finally jumped on the band wagon about a week ago and made some bib necklaces.  It seems the trend will be in full force this spring and I'm excited to share Ryah Sofia hair accessories with you today!

If you follow me on Pinterest you probably saw that adorable brunette and her headband pinned a while back.  I just love the headband shes wearing (and that hair!). 

Ryah Sofia accessories are made so that they can be worn two ways, as a headband or as a clip.

I was lucky enough to get to try out the "Molly" (from the spring 2011 collection) in person, let me tell you, they are very well made! The clip is heavy duty yet comfortable to wear.  Mine came with a metal headband which has a little pad on it to keep the clip in place when worn together. 

The colors are so fun for spring.  There are lots to choose from, with some still in stock from fall and all the new spring designs.  Now that your drooling......

One lucky reader will will a $20 gift card to spend as you like at Ryah Sofia.  Just tell me which design you would choose if you won!  Giveaway ends March 20th at midnight!  Good luck!

Carving Your Own Stamps

When I was really little my mom started my first collection..... rubber stamps.  I remember at the time thinking it was an odd thing to collect, but I loved getting to pick out a new stamp when we occasionally stopped by my favorite child boutique.  Bins full of bouncy balls, wooden puzzles lining the shelves, definitely no lack of Hello Kitty products, I was in heaven.  Sadly the shop is no longer anything like that, but I've grown to cherish my rubber stamp collection and no longer think it's such an odd thing to collect!

Now not only does my collection include a ton of stamps from all different places, but a few gems I've carved myself, and it' a lot easier than those linoleum carvings you did in high school art class!  Here's my most recent creation.

What you need....

 You will also need something to rub your transfer onto the block as shown below.  I use the Speedball linoleum cutter and Artist carving blocks that I ordered online, your local hobby shop may carry these items. Trace your image (no real drawing skills required!  Find an image online and print it out) onto tracing paper with a thick heavy pencil line.  Then with pencil side down, rub onto your carving block.

With your smallest carving tool, start going around your pencil lines.  You want to carve out anything that doesn't have pencil, so the pencil portion should be all you have left on the surface when your done.  Work you way around slowly, a little at a time being careful not to cut anything you want to be part of your finished image.  These blocks are super easy to cut through (you can also do this with an eraser if you like, use them to make really little stamps).  

Once you have it all carved out, use an exacto knife to cut away the extra block.  Save any pieces large enough to make another stamp with!  Ink up your stamp and lay it down on some paper.  You will find some spots that you need to go back and trim some more.  Carve them down and ink again.  Do this until you get an image your happy with.  Below you will see the bottom image was stamped first, has some rough spots.  Then the top image was after I cleaned those spots up.

Thank of all the cools stamps you can make now!   Start your own collection, have fun!