Our Guest blogger for the day is someone I’ve known for years…..Brittany of Craft Phesine. Wondering what a Phesine is? Head to her site and she’ll tell you!
Brittany is one of those people that my creative brain just clicks with. Like when I’m brainstorming about something in my head….and if I ask her about it, we can continually bounce ideas off of each other. We speak each other’s creative language I suppose!
As a Craft Phesine, she’s very skilled at what she does. She isn’t afraid to try something new and tackle new fabric textiles. And well, she just sees something and does it. She figures it out. And she makes it look spectacular.
If you lived anywhere on this planet in November, you would have been the envy of your Team Edward or Team Jacob party with her Twilight coin purses and mirrors:
And if you’re a mom of boys, you’ve come to the right spot! Brittany has two sons and not only does she sew for them but she let’s them get in on the action too! I’m not that nice of a mother….yet, I think. Today she has a project that (selfishly) I’m really looking forward to. I guess I asked her to make this tutorial just for me! Because though I’ve done it before, I can never remember how to do it the next time around. But we’ll let Brittany tell you all about it…..
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I grew up in a family where the females outnumbered the males six to two. Now I’m the lone female in my own family of two little boys (and one big boy). I love it. And if I’m not sewing for the boys, then I’m usually at least sewing with them: with the younger one on my lap or the older one “helping” by working the pedal for me. Sometimes both.
With all the adorable girly stuff out there in the crafting world some may say it’s hard to find fun boy projects. But I’m never at a loss. In fact, I can’t scrounge up enough time to do all the projects I have planned for my boys. Together my boys and I paint little peg people and Christmas ornaments, color birthday banners and holiday countdowns, sew costumes and little softie animals for birthday presents. Then blog all about it, of course. Although crafting goes much slower with a kid, it is also very rewarding and worth all the effort. We get to spend time together and I get to experience them learning and watch as their skills grow. Besides, it’s likely I wouldn’t get much chance for sewing and crafting in the first place if they weren’t somehow involved.
As for projects for my boys, I like to make them clothes, toys and other fun things because it’s so much more meaningful than mass-produced, storebought stuff.
My older son got a felt pizza set for Christmas that we love to play with together. My younger son came home from the hospital wearing a little monkey onesie and cap that I had sewn for him (nevermind that it was so small I had to cut it off of him the next day). I hope that, at least eventually, they will appreciate that I made these one-of-a-kind gifts especially for them, the same way I cherish the handmade gifts my mom made for me.
One of my favorite sewing projects for my boys is to make button-up shirts and rompers from some of the awesome boy fabric I’ve found….here, here, and here.
I enjoy making patterns from my boys’ purchased shirts, discovering how they’re made, figuring out how to make my own, and tweaking them to my liking. Not only do I get my creative fix, but I can take pride in having made something nice-looking and practical for my growing boys to wear.
“Button-up shirt?” you say, sceptically.“Doesn’t that involve a collar?”
Yes!
“But collars are tricky. The inside shows when the top button is undone!”
That’s okay. I’ll show you some tips to help you avoid button-up collar blues and cover up any mistakes you do make (I always make plenty, as you’re about to find out!). Come with me and make a cute button-up shirt for the boy in your life!
You can find Brittany’s tutorial for a Boy’s Dress Shirt Collar HERE on Craft Phesine.
————————————————————————-Looking for a Boy Round-up? Shannon from Luvinthemommyhood is showing it off HERE on Made by Rae.
