Boutique in the Barn

13010 South 71st St Tempe, AZ 85284

Come by and see us!

three weeks of non-stop sewing later...

...and we were ready for this! The Indie Chic @ 10th Street was a success! The whole thing was a very validating experience for us - you know...we think the stuff we make is cute and cool...but we were a little afraid that other people wouldn't really think so - but they did and we got some very complimentary feed back and offers, and met some really great people - and most importantly made some sales! So yes...all in all it was a day worth spent sitting in the coldest area of ASU possible...seriously it was a refrigerator down there!

If you stopped by and saw something you like but didn't have the cash or needed to think about it we are going to have our etsy shop up soon...but if you would like something before Christmas leave a comment with your email and we will arrange something!

These are some pictures and prices of our items if you had something in mind...not that great of pictures we know...better pictures to come later!
Slings -$45
Washclothes - $3 each or 3 for $8, Burpcloths - $4 each or 3 for $10

scarves - $15, Headbands - $10, flower snap clips $2 each, zipper pouches - depending on size $2, $4, $5, or $7

Felt pillows - $15-20

Totes - $25

Indie Chic @ 10th Street

Mark your calendars!
December 5th
10am-5pm
Ceri and I are so excited to participate in our first craft fair!!
Lime-made will be sticking to what we do best - totes, slings, and some other fun things!!

I {heart} ruffles!

Somebody's turning 2!

Last year I thought it would be fun to make E a little outfit for her first birthday...but then that never happened - the pattern I chose was too complicated it was all patchworky and after cutting all the fabric I lost interest...boo.

This year I refused to buy anything and just used scrap fabric I had lying around and this is what I came up with...ta-da! Something about not using a pattern and not buying anything makes it more interesting don't you think?

I wish I could totally pull of wearing a skirt like this...buy I should probably just leave it to my very soon to be 2 year old. (sniff...where does the time go?)

The top (okay...i did buy the pink shirt)

sassy...just like E

due to an uncooperative toddler there will be no model picture for this post - bummer.

Refashioned Rollee Pollee Pack

I'm feeling kind of proud of myself over this one...no tutorial...no instructions...just a hand-me-down pack, a seam ripper, some stock fabric, ribbon and Berdi (my sewing machine).

E started pre-school and I received a "Rollee Pollee" that the school had left over from a previous student for free (yeah!) - I knew the family that had used it and I trust it was clean and gently used! :) The nap-time blanket was in excellent condition but the clear plastic backpack that you put it in was pretty beat up...and I just couldn't have E toting around just anything, could I?

So I rumaged through my stash of fabric, seam ripped the beat up plastic thing to use as a patern (saving the arm straps...because some how those stayed in pretty good condition) and ta-da!!

E is so stylin'!

STELLA! Pillows

Even my little girl has her moments...for those special tantrums when I need her to hit/bite something other than me or my furniture I've made her these t-shirt pillows. Super easy, no cost (used some worn t-shirts E had grown out of), and totally effective. When the girl's frustrated she's just got to let it out...and now she let's it loose on something other than my furniture - so after this whole terrible two stage is over I'll still have all my couch pillows intact - yeah!

Ceri saw the pillows last night and she suggested making little purses out of old little girl shirts. Cute idea huh? I'll have to put that on the to-do list!

(The Name inspired by Marlon Brando and his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire.)

Oh! Where did you get that?!

Pardon the completely cheesy edit job on this picture...but for some reason corsage shirt screamed "1960's" to me

I love when I wear something I've made and a person asks were they can get one...It makes me feel like I made something worthy of notice....ahhh...refreshing! Thank you enthusiastic stranger for the compliment and thank you Little Birdie Secrects for the totally rad re-fashion tutorial! Best of all I only spent 6 bucks!

Tip: If you hurry Old Navy has there simple t's on sale for $3 each. (You could even do it cheaper if you wanted to go in with a friend...I only used 1/2 of my second shirt for the corsage...and if you get the size bigger there would be more than enough to share!)

I'm thinking this would be a good Craft Night project! We'll see....Ceri's in labor as I type (YEAH!!!)...it may be a while until she's up to a craft night - but I would be willing to fly solo if there are people who are interested!

Totes...Lots and lots of Totes...

So lately I've been making a lot of totes...totes for friends...totes for raffle gifts....etc. I think they came out pretty cute! Ceri's going to be making a GATHERED TOTE TUTORIAL soon...Yeah! The tutorial that we used got pulled so I'm glad we learned how to make it before it disappeared! I love this bag!

Two of the bags we made for the diaper raffle...Ceri made two others for her other shower...they were pretty adorable!!! I wonder if she took a picture...

I am completely in love with this print...I'm thinking of making some curtains out of it for E's room...adorable! I thought the felt broach was a cute addition!

Blood, Sweat, and Gilmore Girls

My latest project I have been working on has been a carseat cover for little boy. After seeing MADE'S fabulous carseat covers and getting some instruction from her, and finding THIS tutorial on ETSY, I knew I could make my own. It took many hours and frustrating moments. Thank goodness for Gilmore Girls, because I don't know what I would do during the hours of seam ripping! I probably spent more time seam ripping than sewing! But in the end, it was all worth it! It was worth all of the broken needles, extra fabric, wounded fingers, and almost tears because now I have this to show for it:

Blessing Outfit

One of our good friends just had a baby and asked me to make an outfit for his blessing. I appliqued a tie on a onesie, and made a matching pair of pants and booties. It looks like I made the pants a little too long, but I think it turned out pretty well! Isn't he adorable!

Un Petit français

Translation: A Little French

This skirt reminds me of something that should be worn on a trip to France...don't you think?
I love how it turned out! I used Made's new Market skirt tutorial. I altered the sizing a bit and added the ribbon detail for kicks. The bloomers are the cherry on top for me! Agh! So cute!

After A Lot Of Seam Ripping....

E was being shy for the camera...

Outside, Inside, Wrapped and Ready!

I had a few problems understanding the Scandi Mei Tai Tutorial....maybe it was due to my inexperience....or maybe the instructions were just not as clear as they could have been (but you have to understand that NO instructions are clear for me....I usually have to get Ceri to interpret) . Anyways, after 2 late nights of seam ripping and 5 episodes of Gilmore Girls. The Mei Tai is complete and it turned out beautiful!!!

So excited....

...to recover my carseat! When registering for a carseat, I could not find a carseat that had a cover that I really loved. So instead of waiting it out, we registered for one and I decided to try my hand at making one. I had seen MADE make these adorable carseat covers, and since she is no longer taking orders for them, I e-mailed her and she gave me all the information I needed to make one of my own.

After reading her instructions, I realized that my sewing skills are probably not yet up to par and I would need more detailed instructions. I searched through ETSY to find a tutorial and came across this. Of course I had to get it, and I look forward to starting this soon! Now off to the fabric store to find adorable fabric for my boy's carseat!

Lesson Learned...

I'm making a beautiful Scandi Mei Tai Carrier for my sister's baby shower....no worries...she already knows (I'm horrible at keeping surprises...especially when I want her input on fabric). Now I'm 2 hours into the project and I'm getting confused so I go through the WHOLE tutorial this time and realize that I've made the straps all wrong. And to add salt to the wound I just realized that not only did I make them wrong I made them inside out (in my defense Linen in tough to tell - right?)

Sooo...I guess all there is to do is pop in Gilmore Girls and seam rip away.

Single Layer Ring Sling - Tutorial

There are quite a few tutorials on-line about how to make Ring Slings and they are all pretty good...I've tried most of them. This is the way I make them now after using bits and pieces of others ideas. I don't know the names of the folds...so I hope the pictures are self-explanatory! If something is confusing leave a comment and I'll try to explain better! Enjoy!

NOTE: This tutorial is intended for PERSONAL USE ONLY.

First you need your materials:
2 1/2 yards of a sturdy fabric of your choice. I chose to use Linen this time around.
*Fabrics with no stretch are the best - ie: 100% cotton, Linen. Also, when making a single layer
sling choose a fabric with no "wrong" side. Both sides of the fabric will be showing.
*Don't forget to pre-wash!!!
2 Aluminum Rings
* I purchase mine at slingrings.com
Cutting mat
Rotary cutter
ruler(s)
Thread
Sewing Machine (I've named mine Berdi - she's totally old school and totally awesome!)

**As you can see this projects is relatively inexpensive...especially when you think about how much stores charge!***

Fold your fabric and use your mat and rotary cutter to cut fabric 33inches wide. You want to end up with a large piece of fabric that is 2 1/2 yards x 33inches.

Iron around all 4 sides a 1/4 inch hem, then fold under and iron another 1/4 inch hem (so there is no exposed edges)

Sew around all 4 sides
Fold in half the long way (hot dog style)
*I'm only picky about the side that I will be folding and ironing - I don't worry much about the tail.
Iron down the crease - this crease is just to mark the middle point on the fabric
Open the fabric and then fold the 2 outside edges inward so they meet in the middle. Iron down the creases.
Fold the creased outside edges inward so the meet in the middle again (the width of your fabric is getting smaller). Iron creases of the fold.
Take a marking tool (i don't have anything fancy...i just use a pencil) and mark 15 inches from your folded, ironed end.
Pull the two aluminum rings through the folded fabric.
Match the end to your markings
Smooth down and pin into place.
*I also pin farther down the tail to give the sling some more stability until it's all sewn down.
Go to your machine and line up the pinned edge with the left side of your sewing foot. This first line always ends up matching up pretty close to the stitching of the hem. Sew across the folds.
*I always make sure to back stitch on either side to ensure stability.
Next match up the edge of the sling to the stitching that you just made and go across again.
Third time's a charm for me. Some times I only do two. But this time I did three. Again, I lined up my sewing foot with the previous stitching.

And Voila! Now you just need an adorable child to put in there!
Other tutorials that you may like:
Maya Wrap
Everything In Its Place
Stand and Deliver

YOU TUBE Ring Sling Wearing Instructions

Patriotic

4th of July is my favorite holiday (what's not to like: fireworks, hot dogs, flags, parades....) and I thought it would be fun to make E a little patriotic outfit for the festivities! I got the idea from MADE's bird skirts. Super cute! It was my first attempt at making a skirt and I was surprised at how easy (and fast) it was to put together. The appliqued star shirt added a nice touch. I used THIS blog for direction on doing that...because again, it was the first of hopefully many more appliqueing projects.

Pictures taken by Ceri's husband, John

Here we go!

A year ago we picked up crafting as a hobby in hopes of improving our spare time and have completely fallen in love. We love Crafting of all kinds and hope to use this blog to keep track of all of our projects instead of clogging up our family blogs with them! So...we invite you to come and enjoy the ride with us. Maybe...just maybe someone will get a good idea from this blog - it would make us feel good, seeing as we've enjoyed so many other ideas from other crafters.