The Jubilee of Trees

My mother in law is one of the directors for the Jubilee of Trees. Last year I got roped into helping a little. This year I got roped into helping a little more. My sweet hubby got roped into helping EVEN more.... it is his mother after all.

My mother in law is the Director of the Facilities Decor. However, this year she was also in charge of the "Festive Furnishings" booth... which is basically a craft booth.

I suggested making some fun 2x4 crafts. So, we made 30 of these cute green trees. My job was to cut and sand all the wood.

We also made 30 of the cute snowmen... (I cut and sanded the wood)
I got to paint a few more banners....
My sweet hubby got to help build a canopy or two....
He also got to build walls....
And I must also include a picture of my mother in law's tree... of course my photography doesn't do it justice.
The whole place ends up looking AMAZING!!! But, I have to say, I'm kind of glad it's over and we can have time to focus on our own Christmas!!!

The "Scientest is in"

I finally finished the science room!!! Well, it's been a few weeks, but I finally cleaned and took pictures of the science room. My little scientist loves it. To complete his room, he made himself a super cute sign for the outside of his door... I love it!!!
My main objective was just to have bright colors... I think I accomplished that with his bedding.
We had fun collecting a few things for the science shelf. He insisted on eyeballs and brains in jars. It worked out nice since it was Halloween. The molecule and flasks were things I had collected from teaching.
I haven't figured out what to put on his dresser. Right now it's just a place for him to collect his junk.... or display his Lego creations and Lowe's crafts.
I love magnet boards so my kids have a place to display their artwork. And I wanted to have a place for them to hang things... like jackets, library bags, etc. I even found a fun old telescope at a yard sale.
I love how it turned out and my little scientist does too! Most of the time, the under-bed bins full of Legos are out and all over the floor:)

Repurposed T-shirt Ruffle Scarf Tutorial

Do you want to know how to make the easiest scarf ever??? And super cute, I might add. And super cheap, I might add.
First things first, you MUST buy a gathering foot. (You don't really have to buy one, but it will make your life much easier. I would suggest ordering one online. They are different prices depending on the brand... anywhere from $5 and up. Totally worth the price. I got the original idea for the scarf from MADE. Let me just say, that I tried making this scarf a number of methods. I tried elastic thread, gathering by pulling the bobbin thread, gathering by hand... the list goes on. Using the gathering foot it what made it super easy.)
Now, you could just go to a fabric store and buy about 1/2 yard of knit. I chose to cut up an old t-shirt. The reason I chose knit was because I didn't want to have to hem anything... I was trying to make it super easy. I cut my scarf into strips about 3 inches wide. You can really do any width you want. I have done anywhere from3"-6" wide. I like all of the different widths and it makes them look a little different. Because I was cutting up an old t-shirt, I needed it to be as narrow as possible.
I took all of my pieces of fabric and sewed them into one long pieces using the regular foot on my sewing machine. You will want your piece to be between 4 and 5 yards long. I know it seems ridiculous for it to be that long, but once it's gathered, it won't be!

Okay, now put your Gathering Foot on your sewing machine. There are a few tips and tricks involved with a gathering foot. One of the things is stitch length. The longer the stitch length, the more it will gather. I had my stitch length at 5... that is the highest it would go. The second thing is the thread tension. The tighter the tension the more it will gather. I had mine on about an 8. However, the other thing that you need to realize is the thickness of the fabric. The thinner fabric will automatically gather more. So, you are good with a stitch length of about 5 and a thread tension doesn't need to be too high. But when you get thick fabrics, you need to turn the thread tension up higher. I would suggest messing around with the stitch length and thread tension on some scraps until you think you have the amount of gathering correct. If it gathers too much, you will have a really short scarf.

This is where the miracle happens. You just start sewing down the middle of the scarf with the gathering foot and it gathers the scarf up for you. I back stitch at the beginning and end and snip the threads and I'm done!!
It is so dang cute!!! I love it and my growing collection of scarves. I will probably never wear them... because I'm not much of an accessories kind of gal, but I think they are so cute.
So, if you don't have a gathering foot, get online and order one. And while you're waiting for it to ship, start cutting your favorite t-shirt up into 3" strips!!!

Leave a comment if you have any questions.

-Anisa