More Homemade Goodies

Now that Christmas is well over, I figured I'd share a few of the gifts I made this season. In the past I have made banners, shirts, bags and aprons for family members during the holidays. This year I wanted to try my hand at some new things. I have seen dozens of how-to's on tutus and I decided to mix different techniques together to make some for my cousin's adorable girls.

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out. They are both primarily purple tulle, with a little white mixed in. Then I added a deep purple ribbon to one along with a white rose and the second tutu has a sheer white ribbon with a bold purple flower. The flowers are attached with hair clips, so the girls can wear them on their tutus or put them in their hair.

These are very simple to make too! I didn't take step-by-step photos, but it's fairly self explanatory. Once you know the size of the child's waist, sew a piece of elastic together for the waist band (I do this by hand, but you could easily use a sewing machine as well).

Next you need to cut the tulle. For a baby/toddler tutu, I cut the tulle in 15 inch segments. The easiest way to do so is cut a piece of cardboard 15 inches long and then just wrap the tulle around the cardboard. Once you are done, secure the tulle on each end with a rubber band. Then proceed to cut the tulle on each end of the cardboard. Viola- nice, even pieces of tulle!

Next, use a slip knot to tie each piece of tulle to the waistband. You have to play with it as you go, bunching the tulle together. Once I had the tulle on, I went back and used the same process to cut and add the ribbon. Overall, it took me about two hours to make both of them.

For the adults I made Christmas wreaths. I took 1/4 inch pipe insulation and secured the ends together with duct tape. Then I used burlap to cover the foam. I cut strips about one inch wide by about 2 inch long. They were not precise by any means :) I secured the strips with hot glue overlapping each strip by about a 1/4 inch. Then I just used a variety of decorations I picked up at Hobby Lobby, along with flowers I've made and ribbon I had laying around the house.

Each one turned out unique and different. The possibilities with these babies are endless! I may need to make some for the summer months later this year...