Two T-shirt Totes

I am so thankful for the men and women who have given their lives for this beautiful land I call home.  Thanks to those of you who are still giving of yourselves in this way.  We are certainly a blessed country!
For those of you that had the privilege of relaxing on this day...I hope it was all you wanted it to be!
Our day was a little different...although I got to relax, it was not really what I had in mind!

Let's just say Jillian Michaels and I got into it and she won...Oh, well.  I'll be back at it soon.
My men worked in the 90 degree temperatures putting on my new steel roof.  So I sat, watched, and of course supervised.

They got the garage done and it looks wonderful!  Next, on to the house roof.  I'll show you pics when we're all finished.
Anyway, on to the project of the day...today I'll show you how to make two tote bags made from old t-shirts.  One is an over the shoulder bag and the other is more like the grocery bag style.

First, the grocery bag style
Start with an old t-shirt...we seem to have plenty of these lying around...stained, too small, or whatever.

Next cut off the sleeves.

Take a plate...I used my regular dinner plate and trace and cut a semi-circle at the top of the shirt.  If you want a smaller opening for your bag, just use the neck hole that is already there.

 The top will become your opening and handles.

Next, turn the t-shirt inside out and pin and sew up the bottom of it.  I made two seams in the bottom for extra strength.  I know my sewing accuracy is still lacking...
After you sew the bottom, just turn them right side out and they are ready for use.

They can be used for grocery bags, goodie bags, or whatever you need a tote for.
The next tote is the over the shoulder one.  This is my favorite.

Take an old t-shirt and cut it as seen below.

Cut just under the sleeve with a rounded edge.  This gives you a rectangle with curved edges at the top.  Depending on which side you want facing out when your bag is complete, you may need to turn your shirt inside out before you begin sewing.  Now sew along the top of the rectangle where the curved edge is.  (The part you just cut off from the sleeves) I made two seams here too...I want to be able to hold lots of stuff in these bags without the bottom ripping out!

Now you flip your t-shirt around where the bottom of the t-shirt has a nice hem in it from the store...this will be the top of your bag.

 You can draw a line and then cut approximately 7 inches across the t-shirt.  This of course will depend on what size t-shirt you use.  This is a men's medium.  Leave 2 1/2 to 3 inches uncut on each side.  This long slit will be the over the shoulder hole.  It may look small...trust me...it will stretch.

Once you get this done, carefully (without ripping out the bottom of your bag) stretch out your t-shirt tote.  Once you start adding contents it will stretch out some more.

 

The one below wasn't as stretchy of a t-shirt so I cut some extra slits in it.  It would work great for produce from the Farmer's Market or flip flops and toys for the beach.

That's what you do!  They are really easy...taking only a few minutes each and come in super handy!  So, go search for some old t-shirts...I know you've got 'em!

Blessings,

Linking up to some of these parties:
 Sunday: 
 Under the Table and Dreaming ,  DIY Showoff ,  Nifty Thrifty Things,  Homemaker on a Dime , Embellishing Life, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, DIY Home Sweet Home, Blissful Domestic

 Monday:

  Skip to my Lou ,  Craft O Maniac ,  It's so Very Cheri ,  Keeping it Simple,  Creating Really Awesome Free Things,  Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  Between Naps on the Porch ,  The Girl Creative      Singing Three Little Birds ,  Mad in Crafts , Organize with Sandy ,  Ask Anna, I'm An Organizing Junkie, Add a Pinch, A Southern Fairytale, Polly Want a Crafter, Sew Can Do, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Cherished Bliss, Making the World Cuter, The Gunny Sack, Mrs Happy Homemaker

Tuesday: 

  Coastal Charm,  A Bowl Full of Lemons ,  Tip Junkie ,  Sugar Bee Crafts ,  Not Just a Housewife ,  Today's Creative Blog ,  Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ,  5 Minutes for Mom ,  Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,  DIY by Design    Hope Studios ,  Reasons to Skip the Housework , Time Warp Wife , Chef in Training

Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Raising 4 Princesses, Celebrating Family, Organizing Home Life, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Blackberry Vine, Carolyn's Homework, The Kurtz Corner, Mommy By Day Crafter by Night, Sassy Sites, Rook No. 17

Wednesday: 

 Raising Homemakers , Crystal & Co. ,  We Are THAT Family ,  Women Living Well , The Trendy Treehouse , Passionately Artistic ,  Night Owl Crafting ,  Handy Man, Crafty Woman  Someday Crafts ,  Fabric Bows and More ,  This Chick Cooks ,  Seven Thirty Three,  Sugar & Dots A Creative Princess ,  Dragonfly Designs ,  The Thrifty Home ,  Creations by Kara, Gingersnap Crafts ,  A Little Tipsy , One Chatty Chic, Uncommonly Yours, My Girlish Whims, Oopsey Daisy

Thursday:

 A Little Knick Knack  Shabby Creek Cottage  ,  Delightful Order ,  Somewhat Simple ,  House of Hepworths,  Saved by Love Creations ,  It's a Keeper ,  Thrifty Decorating ,  The Frugal Girls ,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage ,  The Thirty Sixth Avenue,   Raising Mighty Arrows, Thrifty 101, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, Beyond the Picket Fence, A Glimpse Inside, Something Swanky

Friday:

The Shabby Nest ,  Fingerprints on the Fridge ,  Chic on a Shoestring, Life as Mom ,  Miss Mustard Seed ,  Tidy Mom ,  Whipperberry ,  At the Picket Fence ,  French Country Cottage  30 Handmade Days ,  Creation Corner ,  Finding Fabulous ,  Just a Girl ,  Stuff and Nonsense ,  Naptime Crafters Tatertots and Jello, My Romantic Home , While He was Napping , Comfy in the Kitchen,  Bacon Time with the Hungry, Hungry Hippo,  The Country Cook, Pocket Full of Pink Six Sister's Stuff, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Ann Kroeker Writer, Grocery Cart Challenge, Remodelaholic, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Craft Junkie Too, Simply Designing, Happy Hour Projects

 Saturday:

  Funky Junk Interiors,  Young and Crafty ,  Be Different, Act Normal ,  A Vision to Remember, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, It's Overflowing, The Artsy Girl Connection, Craft Envy, Too Much Time On My Hands

Ruffled Apron Made from Old Clothes

My Princess loves dress up.  She has a box full of thrift store and hand-me-down dress up clothes.  But wanted an apron to use while she helps me cook.

So I came up with this apron using clothes that didn't fit anymore and scraps of material...costing me...nothing!

I started with this old shirt of mine.

And cut off the bottom of the shirt, using it as my base. It already had the strings attached from the tie-back shirt.

Next, I made and sewed on ruffles from

an old skirt,

a scrap of material.

 

and the last one was from an old shirt.

It was really simple and could be used for an adult too.

Blessings,

Linking up to some of these parties:

 Sunday:

  Under the Table and Dreaming ,  DIY Showoff ,  Nifty Thrifty Things,  Homemaker on a Dime , Embellishing Life, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, DIY Home Sweet Home, Blissful Domestic

 Monday:

  Skip to my Lou ,  Craft O Maniac ,  It's so Very Cheri ,  Keeping it Simple,  Creating Really Awesome Free Things,  Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  Between Naps on the Porch ,  The Girl Creative      Singing Three Little Birds ,  Mad in Crafts , Organize with Sandy ,  Ask Anna, I'm An Organizing Junkie, Add a Pinch, A Southern Fairytale, Polly Want a Crafter, Sew Can Do, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Cherished Bliss, Making the World Cuter, The Gunny Sack, Mrs Happy Homemaker

Tuesday: 

  Coastal Charm,  A Bowl Full of Lemons ,  Tip Junkie ,  Sugar Bee Crafts ,  Not Just a Housewife ,  Today's Creative Blog ,  Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ,  5 Minutes for Mom ,  Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,  DIY by Design    Hope Studios ,  Reasons to Skip the Housework , Time Warp Wife , Chef in Training

Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Raising 4 Princesses, Celebrating Family, Organizing Home Life, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Blackberry Vine, Carolyn's Homework, The Kurtz Corner, Mommy By Day Crafter by Night, Sassy Sites, Rook No. 17

Wednesday: 

 Raising Homemakers , Crystal & Co. ,  We Are THAT Family ,  Women Living Well , The Trendy Treehouse , Passionately Artistic ,  Night Owl Crafting ,  Handy Man, Crafty Woman  Someday Crafts ,  Fabric Bows and More ,  This Chick Cooks ,  Seven Thirty Three,  Sugar & Dots A Creative Princess ,  Dragonfly Designs ,  The Thrifty Home ,  Creations by Kara, Gingersnap Crafts ,  A Little Tipsy , One Chatty Chic, Uncommonly Yours, My Girlish Whims, Oopsey Daisy

Thursday:

 A Little Knick Knack  Shabby Creek Cottage  ,  Delightful Order ,  Somewhat Simple ,  House of Hepworths,  Saved by Love Creations ,  It's a Keeper ,  Thrifty Decorating ,  The Frugal Girls ,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage ,  The Thirty Sixth Avenue,   Raising Mighty Arrows, Thrifty 101, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, Beyond the Picket Fence, A Glimpse Inside, Something Swanky

Friday:

The Shabby Nest ,  Fingerprints on the Fridge ,  Chic on a Shoestring, Life as Mom ,  Miss Mustard Seed ,  Tidy Mom ,  Whipperberry ,  At the Picket Fence ,  French Country Cottage  30 Handmade Days ,  Creation Corner ,  Finding Fabulous ,  Just a Girl ,  Stuff and Nonsense ,  Naptime Crafters Tatertots and Jello, My Romantic Home , While He was Napping , Comfy in the Kitchen,  Bacon Time with the Hungry, Hungry Hippo,  The Country Cook, Pocket Full of Pink Six Sister's Stuff, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Ann Kroeker Writer, Grocery Cart Challenge, Remodelaholic, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Craft Junkie Too, Simply Designing, Happy Hour Projects

 Saturday:

  Funky Junk Interiors,  Young and Crafty ,  Be Different, Act Normal ,  A Vision to Remember, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, It's Overflowing, The Artsy Girl Connection, Craft Envy, Too Much Time On My Hands

What I Got for Mother's Day

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day.  I sure did.  The day was gorgeous and after church, we spent most all of it outside.  It was a great day with family and friends.  Before we headed to church we had a fun photo shoot with LOTS of laughs

And my kids and Better Half gave me my Mother's Day present.  I have to show you because well frankly my man never ceases to amaze me!

He used an old window and painted L-O-V-E on it and scraped off the paint in between pictures and had each of the kiddos hold the window for a picture...to look like this:

Pretty amazing, huh??

I will cherish these pictures always.

Blessings,

Linking up to these parties:
 Sunday:

  Under the Table and Dreaming ,  DIY Showoff ,  Nifty Thrifty Things,  Homemaker on a Dime , Embellishing Life, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, DIY Home Sweet Home, Blissful Domestic

 Monday:

  Skip to my Lou ,  Craft O Maniac ,  It's so Very Cheri ,  Keeping it Simple,  Creating Really Awesome Free Things,  Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  Between Naps on the Porch ,  The Girl Creative      Singing Three Little Birds ,  Mad in Crafts , Organize with Sandy ,  Ask Anna, I'm An Organizing Junkie, Add a Pinch, A Southern Fairytale, Polly Want a Crafter, Sew Can Do, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Cherished Bliss, Making the World Cuter, The Gunny Sack, Mrs Happy Homemaker

Tuesday: 

  Coastal Charm,  A Bowl Full of Lemons ,  Tip Junkie ,  Sugar Bee Crafts ,  Not Just a Housewife ,  Today's Creative Blog ,  Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ,  5 Minutes for Mom ,  Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,  DIY by Design    Hope Studios ,  Reasons to Skip the Housework , Time Warp Wife , Chef in Training

Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Raising 4 Princesses, Celebrating Family, Organizing Home Life, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Blackberry Vine, Carolyn's Homework, The Kurtz Corner, Mommy By Day Crafter by Night, Sassy Sites, Rook No. 17

Wednesday: 

 Raising Homemakers , Crystal & Co. ,  We Are THAT Family ,  Women Living Well , The Trendy Treehouse , Passionately Artistic ,  Night Owl Crafting ,  Handy Man, Crafty Woman  Someday Crafts ,  Fabric Bows and More ,  This Chick Cooks ,  Seven Thirty Three,  Sugar & Dots A Creative Princess ,  Dragonfly Designs ,  The Thrifty Home ,  Creations by Kara, Gingersnap Crafts ,  A Little Tipsy , One Chatty Chic, Uncommonly Yours, My Girlish Whims, Oopsey Daisy

Thursday:

 A Little Knick Knack  Shabby Creek Cottage  ,  Delightful Order ,  Somewhat Simple ,  House of Hepworths,  Saved by Love Creations ,  It's a Keeper ,  Thrifty Decorating ,  The Frugal Girls ,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage ,  The Thirty Sixth Avenue,   Raising Mighty Arrows, Thrifty 101, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, Beyond the Picket Fence, A Glimpse Inside, Something Swanky

Friday:

The Shabby Nest ,  Fingerprints on the Fridge ,  Chic on a Shoestring, Life as Mom ,  Miss Mustard Seed ,  Tidy Mom ,  Whipperberry ,  At the Picket Fence ,  French Country Cottage  30 Handmade Days ,  Creation Corner ,  Finding Fabulous ,  Just a Girl ,  Stuff and Nonsense ,  Naptime Crafters Tatertots and Jello, My Romantic Home , While He was Napping , Comfy in the Kitchen,  Bacon Time with the Hungry, Hungry Hippo,  The Country Cook, Pocket Full of Pink Six Sister's Stuff, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Ann Kroeker Writer, Grocery Cart Challenge, Remodelaholic, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Craft Junkie Too, Simply Designing, Happy Hour Projects

 Saturday:

  Funky Junk Interiors,  Young and Crafty ,  Be Different, Act Normal ,  A Vision to Remember, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, It's Overflowing, The Artsy Girl Connection, Craft Envy, Too Much Time On My Hands

Organizing the Book, Game, and School Shelves

Well, I'm back to organizing.  We have had a bunch of other projects on the plate so my organizing got pushed to the back burner.  We got rid of our cable tv for various reasons and so we've been playing more games and doing things together.  Our game shelf had gotten pretty messy and didn't have enough space to hold all of our games.

I decided to move the games to our school shelf but by doing that I needed to organize that shelf too.  Since we're coming down to the end of the school year, our school shelf has seen better days.
So I moved stuff from here to there and there to here and purged a TON of games and books!!

After all that, here's what these spaces look like now.

For our newly organized gaming shelf, I made this little wall hanging.  I've seen these Scrabble piece decorations all over blog land so I thought I'd make one of my own.

I used a cabinet door I got at ReStore and my princess painted it.

I had bought a scrabble game at a thrift store and we found all the letters for the words "family, fun, games, special, and times".

Then I just decorated up the door by cutting little pieces of ribbon and then glued my Scrabble tiles on with the design I wanted.

It's just perfect for this little spot in my basement and now that it's organized, it looks nice and hopefully it will get more use too.

Blessings,

Linking up to these parties:
 Sunday:

  Under the Table and Dreaming ,  DIY Showoff ,  Nifty Thrifty Things,  Homemaker on a Dime , Embellishing Life, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, DIY Home Sweet Home, Blissful Domestic

 Monday:

  Skip to my Lou ,  Craft O Maniac ,  It's so Very Cheri ,  Keeping it Simple,  Creating Really Awesome Free Things,  Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms  Between Naps on the Porch ,  The Girl Creative      Singing Three Little Birds ,  Mad in Crafts , Organize with Sandy ,  Ask Anna, I'm An Organizing Junkie, Add a Pinch, A Southern Fairytale, Polly Want a Crafter, Sew Can Do, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Cherished Bliss, Making the World Cuter, The Gunny Sack, Mrs Happy Homemaker

Tuesday: 

  Coastal Charm,  A Bowl Full of Lemons ,  Tip Junkie ,  Sugar Bee Crafts ,  Not Just a Housewife ,  Today's Creative Blog ,  Balancing Beauty and Bedlam ,  5 Minutes for Mom ,  Funky Polkadot Giraffe ,  DIY by Design    Hope Studios ,  Reasons to Skip the Housework , Time Warp Wife , Chef in Training

Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Raising 4 Princesses, Celebrating Family, Organizing Home Life, Vintage Wanna Bee, The Blackberry Vine, Carolyn's Homework, The Kurtz Corner, Mommy By Day Crafter by Night, Sassy Sites, Rook No. 17

Wednesday: 

 Raising Homemakers , Crystal & Co. ,  We Are THAT Family ,  Women Living Well , The Trendy Treehouse , Passionately Artistic ,  Night Owl Crafting ,  Handy Man, Crafty Woman  Someday Crafts ,  Fabric Bows and More ,  This Chick Cooks ,  Seven Thirty Three,  Sugar & Dots A Creative Princess ,  Dragonfly Designs ,  The Thrifty Home ,  Creations by Kara, Gingersnap Crafts ,  A Little Tipsy , One Chatty Chic, Uncommonly Yours, My Girlish Whims, Oopsey Daisy

Thursday:

 A Little Knick Knack  Shabby Creek Cottage  ,  Delightful Order ,  Somewhat Simple ,  House of Hepworths,  Saved by Love Creations ,  It's a Keeper ,  Thrifty Decorating ,  The Frugal Girls ,  Miz Helen's Country Cottage ,  The Thirty Sixth Avenue,   Raising Mighty Arrows, Thrifty 101, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, Beyond the Picket Fence, A Glimpse Inside, Something Swanky

Friday:

The Shabby Nest ,  Fingerprints on the Fridge ,  Chic on a Shoestring, Life as Mom ,  Miss Mustard Seed ,  Tidy Mom ,  Whipperberry ,  At the Picket Fence ,  French Country Cottage  30 Handmade Days ,  Creation Corner ,  Finding Fabulous ,  Just a Girl ,  Stuff and Nonsense ,  Naptime Crafters Tatertots and Jello, My Romantic Home , While He was Napping , Comfy in the Kitchen,  Bacon Time with the Hungry, Hungry Hippo,  The Country Cook, Pocket Full of Pink Six Sister's Stuff, Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons, Ann Kroeker Writer, Grocery Cart Challenge, Remodelaholic, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Craft Junkie Too, Simply Designing, Happy Hour Projects

 Saturday:

  Funky Junk Interiors,  Young and Crafty ,  Be Different, Act Normal ,  A Vision to Remember, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, I Heart Naptime, Positively Splendid, It's Overflowing, The Artsy Girl Connection, Craft Envy, Too Much Time On My Hands