Thrifty Little Apron Tutorial and Giveaway

What can you do with some curtains, sheets or even an old muumuu? Lots of things, of course! I got a pretty flat sheet from the thrift store and made it into this:

Do you want it? I am giving it away this week at Thrifty Decorating! Leave a comment at her blog this evening through Thursday and you can enter to win it Friday! Follow me and leave a comment that you did so and receive an extra entry! Follow her and leave a comment that you did so and receive an extra entry! That is three chances!

Tutorial:

First let me apologize for the dark pictures. Sometimes, my sewing is done late at night once the kids are in bed :)

Using a flat sheet (because of the finished hems), an old curtain to use for trim, and ric rac and two d-rings I had here, I made up this thrifty little tutorial so that you too can make this apron. 

(please don't gauge the pieces in picture to actual measurements for apron. there's extra pieces and different sizes of fabric. this is just an example of the three coordinating fabrics you will use.)

For Apron Body, you will need two pieces

• for top, cut 13 inches W x 12 1/2 long. 
• for bottom, cut 24 inches x 24 inches

For straps you will need: 

• 2 d rings
•  2 fabric pieces 4 inch x 36 inch long (side straps)
• 1 piece 4 inch x 3 inch long (for d rings)
• 1 piece 4 inch x 24 inch long (neck strap)

For pocket you will need:

• 1 7x7 cut on fold, or 7x14 not cut on fold
• 1 7x3 cut on fold or 1 7x6 not cut on fold
• ric rac

Bottom Edge

• 1 4 inch x 25 inch piece
• ric rac 

Let's start cutting and sewing! 

For the top, see how i used the top of the sheet for my top hem? it makes it sturdier because the hem is bigger than the bottom of the sheet would be. 

now fold this in half and cut diagonally 2 1/2 inches at your starting point

Open your piece back up and you should have a trapezoid. 

(trapezoid in case you need a picture :))

Now fold over 1/4 an inch on sides, iron and fold again, and iron. Sew. This is your side hems for the top. (Your bottom edge of the top should still be raw)

Now let's make a pocket. I am using old gingam fabric and an old curtain for the pocket and the straps. 

Cut your pocket on the fold 7x7 (sorry i dont have a picture of this)

The cut your trim piece on the fold, 7x3 (or you can just cut 7x6 and fold it)

Trim piece:

now fold into the center on both sides and iron.

The fold again and iron

insert your pocket into the trim piece so that the trim pieces sandwich the raw edges. the fold of the pocket should be at the bottom. 

now sew the trim on:

add ric rac over the sewn line: pin and sew

fold side edges in on wrong side of pocket and iron

Pin it in the center of your top portion of your apron and then sew all three sides on, leaving top.

Pocket is complete!

Now lets work on top straps.

 Fold over right sides together and sew shut to make a long tube:

Using a safety pin, turn right side out:

Then iron flat and top stitch the long sides, leaving the ends open.

Now take your tiny strap piece, slide d-rings on and sew into place across d rings:

Pin onto the top of your top piece like this:

and sew on:

Sew on your neck strap on the other edge of the top piece and then finish the edge not sewn on by folding over and ironing and then folding into a diagonal. sew into place.

top is finished! Let's work on the bottom.

Your bottom edge of the bottom piece should already be hemmed, thanks to the sheet's edge. All you need to do is the two side pieces. Fold over 1/4 inch, iron, fold again and iron, then sew for both sides.

Now we are going to take the top raw edge of the bottom piece and make pleats. If you do not want to make pleats, you can also gather it the width of the bottom of the top piece. 

Fold a 1/2 inch and pin every couple of inches until your pleats are all symmetrical and the width matches the width of your bottom top piece.

Iron pleats

and sew across 1/4 inch down from edge

Now pin right sides together, and sew top of apron onto bottom of apron:

top stitch.

Tada! Main body piece is finished! Now for side straps:

Using same method as the neck straps, do both side straps, then sew onto the sides of the bottom portion of apron where top was sewn on like this:

Side straps are finished!

Now, you can stop and be done since your bottom edge is hemmed for you, or you can add more of the curtain and ric rac to finish the edge. 

Fold over your 4 inch x 25 inch bottom edge and iron.

For side edges: fold 1/4 inch, iron and repeat. Sew into place. Do this for both edges.

Pin piece onto bottom of apron and sew on

Then add ric rac where you just sewed.

Your apron is now finished! Step back and admire your thrifty work!

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Love for the Father

Hi guys! I just wanted to post this written by my husband. Really stops and makes you think.

I saw a video today that flat messed me up man...had me working really hard to not let the people around me know that I was flat out sobbing!

A few years ago, I don't think that a video like that would have really affected me, probably because I'm getting old and soft...and because I have kids now. The video is of soldiers coming home to their kids and loved ones and surprising them. Some of the reactions are absolutely priceless...raw...just real...

It makes me think about my kids and how (most of the time) they are happy to see me when I get home from work and I'm only gone for hours. I can't imagine what the people who have been away from home for long extended periods of time must feel!

Why do I or those people in the video feel that way? Cause we love our kids or family members and they love us. I know this because I had my wife ask my boys if they love me. My youngest son said "he loves me because he wants to fight me". nice (you'd have to know jj) and the oldest said he loves me because I'm the best builder (recently built them a new loft bed). Not exactly the perfect illustration I was looking for, but at least they didn't say no right?

As a Christian, love should take on many different meanings for us...it should be central to everything we do and who we are. Jesus said love God with all that you are...and love your neighbor...

Paul said that the love of Christ "compeled" them...some translations say "controls" them...later in the text it talks about being a new creation...the idea that everything they did as a Christian was because the love that Jesus showed them...not because it was "the Christian thing to do" or because they were afraid of judgement (there is no fear in love 1 john 4:18). I had to ask myself is this how I live my life? Does the love of Christ compel me?

2 Cor 5:14 ‘For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.’ ¹⁵and he died for all,^V)">(V) that those who live might no longer live for themselves but^W)">(W) for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Do I live as an actual child of God? Is that a mindset, something I know, or just some type of metaphor to me?

Do I live my life everyday realizing the love that God has for me that He showed me through Jesus?

Do I live my life for myself?

Do (live like) I know that there is no greater love?

Do (live like) I know that Jesus loves me as much as He loves The Father?

Do (live like) I know that The Father loves me as much as He loves His Son?

Do I live like He's coming back?

Ephesians 5:1-2 [1] Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children [2] and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:9-10 ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.’

John 17:23 ‘I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’

John 14:2,3 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

I read this question in a book and it sticks with me:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”

yikes...

so to get back to that video that I mentioned in the beginning...would I have that same type of real, crazy emotion in my heart if I saw Jesus...if I got to heaven and saw Him...and could just run up to Him with a huge bear hug, or have my emotions just start pouring out...would that be my first reaction?

Here's the video... http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/part-2-soldiers-surprising-their-loved-ones

Peace.

(much love to all the service members out there...)

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Don't Push My Buttons! -guest post

My husband, Micah, wrote something this morning after being asked an interesting question. So, he is "guest posting" today with his answer to "What do you do when someone is pushing your buttons?"

DONT PUSH MY BUTTONS!!

Someone recently asked me, "does anyone ever push my buttons or what do i do if they push my buttons".  I said "they don't" and then laughed cause we all know, that's not a very likely answer.  I didn't really get a chance to answer the question and it's been in my head...what do I do?

I used to let this happen to me A LOT.  I used to be a different person, too though.  How I dealt with it and the thinking behind the response are two different issues, I think.  First, depending on how hard you pushed my buttons, a couple of different things would happen.  I can share a few different examples (unfortunately). 

When I used to play ball all the time and someone would try to get me, I would start playing extremely hard.  Do everything I could to score, or stop someone from scoring...start playing rough and fouling...start talking a lot of trash. 

If someone was just trying to mess with me in a general setting, I would have most likely gone off in one of two possible ways (equally as nasty).  A) You would have probably gotten an ugly little string of expletives running right at you in a who do you think you are sense... or B) An all out verbal assault of put downs and insults flying at you like a rabid cat on crack.  Both of which unfortunatly could just flow right out of my nasty little mouth all too naturally.

Probably my most common response is, I would be done with you.  You could expect to not hear from me anymore at all.  I had this strange little tick where I could literally not talk.  For hours, days, weeks...maybe even months, and just shut anyone out.

Here's the one that I am working on right now...and it hurts my feelings to even talk about it.  My kids...  Sometimes, my fuse is way too short.  There are times when anger needs to be shown, so young ones can learn, but this is not always the case.  If one of my boys doesn't listen when I'm asking them to do something I can start yelling, or have been known to grab someone and physically move them into my face so I can "talk" to them.   

Now that my business is out there, let's talk about MY responses and reasons and maybe they can help you a little bit.  WARNING:  I'm writing from a Christian perspective, so if you can't handle Biblical truth and you need help, this might be the time to go find Dr. Phil's blog.

If you look at the underlying common theme, it's pride.  The nasty little beast, kind of like the orange hunger monster from the weight watchers commercials.

Here's how he sounds... 

How dare they treat you like that?  Don't they know who you are?  Do you they think they have the right to hurt your feelings?  Don't they know that you are better than they are and do not have time to be bothered with their nonsense?  That was dumb.  They are just stupid and annoying.  Can you believe they have the audacity to be so lame around you.  They had better listen and respond to you NOW.  You ARE the parent!  Go ahead, LET THEM HAVE IT!  In the words of Maximus "Unleash Hell!"

Yeesh.  How ugly is that right?  But isn't that really what we do when we say someone is -"pushing MY buttons"?  My certain set of conditions and circumstances that you are not allowed to violate? 

What does the Bible say about pride?  Pride goes before the fall?

Yeah, but let's look at the actual scripture: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty (disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant) spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. -Proverbs 16:18-19

Then we try to play it off by saying, no it's not really pride...whatever just bugged me...and we create more cool little sayings, like I just need to blow off some steam and I'm ok.  Go ahead and try justify what you are doing.

The Bible says that God HATES pride Proverbs 8:13 (that's right, look it up).  The danger is that pride can and will keep you away from God.  

The wicked in his pround countence (appearance) does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. -Psalms 10:4

Jesus said humility is what God seeks:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 5:3

If you want to know what kind of damage your verbal retaliations are you can read James.

Don't get me wrong...there are times to be upset about things, but I'm guessing most of those don't all under the general "pushing my buttons" heading. 

What I do is pray for patience, and when I start to get upset...instead of the old stand by counting to 10, I count the fruits of the spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.  If you make it through those and are still upset, you better hit your knees now cause you have a few more issues going on!

Ultimately we need to realize we are nothing apart from God.  All glory in our lives has to go to Him.  If we can make this our focus, our pride will start to shrink, and I think that people pushing our buttons will become less of and then no issue at all.

Peace.

Micah

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