We're so glad you stopped by today, but you'll have to go here to check out today's post! We recently partnered with one of our favorite blogs, Make and Takes, and every month we'll be guest blogging over there! Make and Takes has tons of great handmade ideas for kids and families. But we'll be supplying some "grownup" crafts for their readers. So check out our post, then check out the rest of the Make and Takes blog. You will love it. Just don't get lost and forget to come back here once in a while!

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I think these are a brilliant idea. They're perfect for hiding underwear and muffin tops that are often visible with today's lose-rise jeans, without having to wear a t-shirt or tank. Unfortunately, these hip cover ups are for grown woman. Anyone with a tween daughter will know that younger girls could use this too. Why, oh why do clothing companies make low rise or ultra low rise pants for little girls? Sheesh! I didn’t want my sweetie showing the world her underwear every time she bent over so I decided to make one just for her.







"Hip" Cover Up Tutorial

Supplies:

*You will need a stretchy knit fabric. You can find this in the apparel section of your craft store or next to the dancewear fabric. I think I got mine for $3.99 a yard. I only bought half a yard and still had a ton left over.

*Stretchy sequins or lace (optional). My daughter wanted to make her cover up a bit snazzy so we also bought some stretchy sequin trim. You can also purchase stretch lace. The stretch part is really important. Regular lace and sequins will not work. The lace or sequins need to be able to expand over your child’s hips.

*Matching thread and sewing machine

Step One: Measure your child’s waist. My daughter’s waist was 23 inches. Then cut your fabric how tall you would like it. I used a good 10 inches. So my measurements were 23 inches by 10 inches.


Step Two: Cut your stretch lace or sequins one inch longer than your child’s waist measurement. I cut mine at 24 inches since my daughter's waist measurement was 23 inches. You can skip this step if you are not interested in adding this.

Step Three: Sew the two short sides together. I used my serger, but you can use a sewing machine. Be sure to use the appropriate needle for knit fabric.

Step Four: I left the top of the cover alone since it is a knit and will not fray. It may roll down a bit, but should be just fine left alone. You can fold it over and hem it if you like.

Step Five: Roll the bottom of the cover up ¼ to ½ inch (whatever you prefer) twice to make a nice hem. Pin in place. This is where you will attach your stretch lace or sequins so pin them down too, overlapping and tucking them in so you don't see the ends.


Step Six: With coordinating thread sew the hem and lace/sequins down.



Now layer it under a favorite tee. One simple cover up.


These are perfect for expectant moms who want to make a belly band so they can wear their normal jeans a little longer. . .

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Celebrity sighting! Guess who we met at the Redmond Ben Franklin store? A true papercrafting celebrity. She's an amazing artist, and we got to see her creating beautiful works of art in person. Her name is Judi Watanabe, and she is the genius behind the company JudiKins. We've touted her Diamond Glaze in the past (it's a staple at our jewelry classes!), but her product line is so much more than that. JudiKins makes rubber stamps, inks, and tons of other cool papercrafting and art supplies. She is uber talented and totally spunky--so much fun to watch! We asked her that day if we could post about our meeting, and she was so sweet to pose with us!


We were lucky enough to see her demonstrate her Mica Gloss inks with a brayer and some stamps. So cool!



Here's a link to a video of Judi playing with Mica Gloss, which is metallic pigment inks that come in a bottle. I love how the colors are so rich and lustrous, unlike anything you get from a regular stamp pad. Check out this how-to video from her Web site to see how she does it! She is a great teacher, always mentioning tips to make things easier.

She has a ton of other how-to videos with cool techniques and awesome crafts on Judikins.com. I'm only about halfway through them, but my head is about to explode with all the new ideas she's given me! You can also watch older episodes by searching "Judikins as seen on tv-weekly.com" on Google video.



So if you're totally jealous that we got to meet Judi and you didn't (we know, we're cool), you should check out the list of upcoming events on their site as well. If there's an event in your area, we highly recommend you check it out!

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I know last week I gave you a recipe for apple dip, but I couldn't resist sharing another dip with you this week. We have been BBQing a lot lately and I love a good dip to go with my grilled meal. I may be biased since I grew up on this recipe, but this raw vegetable dip is my absolute favorite veggie dip. I have never found another that compares to it. It tastes great with just about any veggie, so pick your favorite assortment. This recipe would be perfect to try with all your friends for your fourth of July bash!

Raw Vegetable Dip

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dillweed
1 tablespoon bon appetit

Mix together and refrigerate a few hours before serving. You can make it and serve right away, but it is better if it sits for a few hours so all of the flavors can come together.

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We're sure lots of you out there already know how to make those curled ribbon hair bows, but we thought we'd put a princess spin on it. Perfect for a fairy party or dress up.


Fairy Princess Ribbon Wand Tutorial

What you'll need:

*5 or 6 Dowels (we used 12" dowels)
*Hand-held drill
*Wood clothespins
*Cookie sheet and oven
*Assorted ribbons
*Wire
*Extreme Glitter Paint from Plaid

Step One: Drill a small hole in one end of a 12" dowel. With the remaining dowels, use a clothespin to clip one end of ribbon to the end. Tightly wrap the ribbon around the dowel and use another clothespin pin it in place. Wrap all of your dowels with your ribbon.



Step Two: Place on a cookie sheet and bake in your oven for 20 minutes at 275 degrees.


Step Three: While your ribbons are baking, paint the dowel with the hole in it with glitter paint. We like Plaid's Folk Art Extreme Glitter. It's a transparent paint full of fine glitter that gives your project a little sugar. We painted it directly on the wood, but you could also paint your dowel with an acrylic paint and then finish it off with a layer or two of Extreme Glitter on top.


Step Four: Slowly unwrap the ribbon and cut to your desired length. Apply Fray Check or similar product to ribbon ends to prevent fraying. You can also heat set them with a heat gun or a flame (be careful not to burn yourself or start your ribbon on fire though!).



Step Five: Lay the ribbons out evenly and use a clip (I used a large salon clip from the beauty supply store) to hold them all in place. Take another thin piece of ribbon or string and tie all the pieces together. Double knot it.





Step Six: Run a piece of wire through the hole in your painted dowel. Then run the wire under and around the thin ribbon you used to hold the spirals together. Wrap the ends of the wire around the dowel so it will not move. If you want, you can also use glitter spray to spray the ribbons to make it even more dazzling.


That's it! Magical, isn't it?

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Thanks to everyone who entered our Cloudy Day Creations giveaway. A special thanks to Dani for offering this wonderful giveaway to our readers. The winner of 4 bows or clippies of your choice is...



Michelle of Michelle Chappell Photography

Congrats! Please contact us at littlebirdiesecrets@gmail.com so we can put you in touch with Dani for your great prize.

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I love apples. I also love something sweet to dip them in. A few years ago when I tasted this apple dip at my mother-in-law's house, I was in love. I asked her for the recipe and I was in awe of how easy it was. I have been making it for my family ever since and they all love it. It is perfect for anytime of year, but I especially love it in the summer and fall when we are doing lots of BBQs. Make sure you have lots of apples on hand when you make this dip, because they will fly out of the bowl!

Easy Apple Dip

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat together until smooth and creamy.

See....I told you it was easy! Enjoy!

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Can’t help it. This sunny weather makes me want to sew skirts and sweetie loves to wear them. Unfortunately, she doesn’t like to pose for pictures so a little M&M bribe was in order. I am in love with this free Oliver + S tutorial. It is so easy to follow and really quick to whip up. I decided to make it a bit more frou frou by adding some fun ruffles.

Basic Ruffle Instructions
Before adding the elastic waist to the skirt, I marked the skirt in 1 ½ inch intervals to help me see where to sew on my ruffles. I then took a contrasting fabric and cut them into 1 ½ inch pieces, selvage to selvage (about 44 inches). You need about two of these pieces per ruffle tier on your skirt. I then used my serger to finish the edges of my ruffles so they won’t fray. If you like the frayed look you may want to skip this step. If you don't have a serger, you can either zig zag or overcast stitch your ruffle pieces with your sewing machine.

Next, using my sewing machine and some tweezers, I scrunched up the ruffles as I sewed them down to the skirt using my marked lines. (This keeps your fingers out from under the needle!) Once the ruffles were on, I added the elastic. I made this skirt a little big for my girl because I want her to be able to wear it longer than a month—kids grow so fast!


Inspired by this tutorial from Pink Picket Fence, I decided to make a similar skirt using tulle. I cut my tulle pieces a little wider and I layered them for a fuller look. Again, I just scrunched up the tulle as I went. I love how full this skirt is. Either of these skirts would be super cool for bigger girls and adults, too!

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I love parties and I love celebrating. We often buy those little party poppers to add to the festive mood. They're fun, but I sometimes get bored with the little confetti or tissue paper crowns that come out of them (and sick of cleaning them up!). So, I decided to make my own. This way I can put my own prizes in the middle and make them really fun. These party "crackers" are traditionally used at Christmas and New Year's, but they would be really fun for a Fourth of July barbecue or as a birthday party favor!

Party Poppers Tutorial

What you'll need:

*Toilet paper/paper towel roll

*Cracker Snaps--I bought mine at my local Packaging Specialties store. (They have locations in Seattle and Redmond WA, and Portland, OR.) You can find them online at some packaging/party supply sites, like Olde English Crackers. They're about $4.25 for 25 crackers.

*Tissue paper

*Ribbon*Cardstock

*Tape or glue

*Goodies to go inside the tube (candy, money, small toys, etc.)

1. Fill your tube with all the goodies. You can choose to put a small piece of tape over the openings to prevent them from falling out. I didn’t, but then I had to be really careful when finishing the party poppers.

2. Cut your tissue paper to your desired size.

3. Wrap the roll in tissue paper. Place the cracker snap on the outside of the roll after you wrap it in tissue paper. After some experimenting I found that the cracker snaps better if it is between the tissue paper and your card stock.

4. Cut your card stock to your desired length and attach to the outside of your roll. Glue or tape shut so it stays on.

5. Tie the ends of your roll off with coordinating ribbon. I used pinking shears to finish off my tissue paper edges, but this is not necessary.

6. Throw a fun party so you can use them! Get creative. This would be such a fun way to tell others you are getting married or you are expecting. I stuffed mine with dollar bills. My oldest daughter would like this much more than little toys or candy (meee tooo!).

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Here's another fun giveaway for you this week! Dani Cloud is the creator of Cloudy Day Creations, selling sweet hair clips and totally darling diaper cakes. She lives near us in Western Washington, so Mrs. Cloud really knows the meaning of "cloudy day!" It's a good thing her creations are so sunny. Here are a few samples. . .





Dani says she truly enjoys what she does and loves the things she makes. All of her bows and clippies are mounted on a double pronged clip. Each one has a non-slip grip to ensure that it will stay put in the finest baby hair. Buyers can request their items to be out on a french clip at no additional cost, which is perfect for thicker hair. For the bows and clippies that have crystals on them, she uses real Swarovski crystals. And all of her ribbons are heat sealed so they will not fray. Her diaper cakes really speak for themselves. She only uses name brand items to ensure they are good quality. They are a perfectly unique gift that any expecting mom would love!


Cloudy Day is bringing us some sunshine with a giveaway for 4 bows or clippies of the winner's choice. Just check out her blog and leave us a comment with your favorite item. Entries must be received by Saturday, June 27 at 11:59pm PDT. Good luck!

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