7 Reasons you need a Little Free Library (Plus 3 things to get you started!)

I don't know what it is about books, but I just L O V E them.  I will even admit that I love them (shopping for them, looking at them, holding them, storing them, decorating with them, owning them) even more than I love reading them. So stupid and lazy of me..moving on.

So about a year ago, a mama friend of mine introduced me to what is called a Little Free Library, and you guys....I need to convert EVERYONE!

A Little Free Library (or you can really call it whatever you want) is a little, outdoor, open-to-the-public bird house type of tiny-ish, weatherproof building where you put books you are willing to let go of and share with the community.  Then people stop by, and can take any book they want (and keep if they want), and other people (or the same people) BRING books that they are willing to share with the community as well.  So, there is ideally a constant flow of books coming in and going out. Very succinctly, the official tagline of the "official" Little Free Library  is "Take a book, Leave a book."

We built one for our front lawn last spring and you guys, it has been so much fun!!!  So here are my 7 reasons YOU need to start your own Little Free Library, along with some photos to spark some ideas!

1. It is a place you can "donate" books you no longer want -- Spring Cleaning is around the corner!

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2. It's a place to share doubles of books that you received as gifts, etc.

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(I just love LFL's that are tiny replicas of the home behind it!)

3. It's a place to find new books or maybe even old books you've always wanted to read - and they are free!

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4.. It's an awesome neighborhood community builder.  It spreads neighborhood pride, good will, and promotes an atmosphere of community awareness and sharing.  Generosity is a contagious thing...and I want THAT going around my neighborhood.

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A few weeks after we had ours up, I met a neighbor and after I explained where I lived she said "Oh! You are the one with the little library!! I posted a picture of it on Facebook and EVERYONE kept commenting on how they wished they had one in their neighborhood!!"

5. It's a cool way to meet people in your neighborhood - especially families with young kids (if you have kids, this is Very Good Information)! Seriously, we have now met almost everyone in our neighborhood because they stop by the little library with their kids (and we spend a good amount of time on our front lawn), or at neighborhood potlucks and things we are always introduced by others as "the ones with the cute little library in their front yard."  People then remember us, stop by to check it out and say hi!

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Numerous older couples have even stopped by to make sure to thank us for adding something so nice to the hood. I feel like I have gained so much more than I have put into this!

6. It teaches not only us adults, but our KIDS about sharing, community involvement, and a love for books. I can't wait to take Mia and my future kids on regular library outings, but wouldn't it also be so cool to have a mini library you can stop by within walking distance to your house - or in your front lawn??!!

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The answer is yes.  Most days when we head out to the front lawn with some toys and a blanket, Mia wants to go grab a few books from the library, which usually has a a few new ones inside.  How fun is that!?

And when she gets older, she'll learn to understand that the books, even though they are in our front lawn, aren't "our" books but for the community to share.  What a cool teaching tool, right?

7. I have not spoken to anyone who knows anything about property valuation, but in my humble opinion, I honestly think that having a Little Free Library "anywhere" in one's neighborhood ups the property value for the entire hood.

Think about it.  If you are in the market for a house, and two blocks down from a house that is for sale there is a Little Free Library - what does that tell you about the people in that neighborhood?  To me, it says : "we are generous, we are trustworthy, we are community oriented, and you will love living here!"

What could be a better way to Build, Grow, and Show a community spirit than a Little Free Library?!

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OK, so now you want one, don't you.  I know you do. Here are a few things to know, and the only 3 things you need to get started!

Good to know: 
--"Little Free Library" is a trademarked name that denotes one such library that is a part of the official LFL Network.  Being a member of this network is a $30 one-time fee, and comes with an official wooden sign you can attach to the library, as well as puts your LFL on a nationwide map.  There are also tips, brochures you can put in the library, a shop you can purchase a library from if you don't want to make your own, and a few other things that help you get started, however...

--You absolutely do not need to be a part of this network to start your own library.  You can call it whatever you want, make your own sign, etc etc.  I personally joined the network to have the sign and be on the map because I wanted to "donate" to the nonprofit that helps promote these, and I thought that was super fun and worth it to me to have the sign and be on the map, but again...absolutely Not Necessary.

--One of the things that the LFL network really stresses is that to have one such Library on your property, the idea of stewardship is really important.  Now, whether or not you join this network, I still think it is worth mentioning.

They emphasize that the owners of the library are really the Steward of the library, taking care of any needed upkeep, maybe keeping it looking nice, filled with books if it gets low, obviously providing the initial materials, etc., but it is not "their" library where others borrow books "from them."  In other words, it is the Neighborhood's Library, and the "owner" has volunteered to take care of it for everyone.

I think this is such a cool concept as well, one that I think casts a super generous and positive spirit over the whole thing, and encourages others to have a little tiny bit of ownership in it as well. Again...promoting that community spirit.

SO - here are the 3 things you need!!

Our LFL just after my dad built it, before I painted it.

That's my sister, Little Mia, and my two nieces!

1. A weatherproof, especially waterproof, box.  Most LFL's have a glass door on the front so the books can be seen.  I LOVE looking at the Little Free Library Instagram feed and #littlefreelibrary IG hashtag...especially when I was trying to design ours, but even still - they are so creative and make me so happy to see!

My dad built ours from a bunch of scrap wood, very few pieces he needed to purchase, and a picture frame for the front door!

2. Books! When we first built the library, besides adding a few books I already owned and didn't need anymore, I went down to a local thrift store and bought about $5 worth of books on a 50% off day - which was about 30 books!  I started by filling it with kids books, and now it is about 50-50 kids and adult books.

3. A sign that explains how it works.  This is super important, as even still, people ask me to explain how it works.  It just needs to be something that explains - "Please take a book to keep or borrow, and/or leave a book you would like donate" (making sure they understand they may never see this book again).

I have even considered adding a little chalk board paint to the top front of the library to explain a little more, because even the LFL Netowork's sign that says "Take a book, Leave a book" still leaves people not quite sure.  Or maybe it just needs to be in bigger letters...I'm still experimenting.

And that's it!!  This post was *not* sponsored at all....I just really love the idea of the Little Free Library and think that every neighborhood needs one.  :)

Check out the Little Free Library website for more cool photos, ideas and resources!!

And head over to the rest of the 7 Quick Takes Party at This Ain't the Lyceum!!

Answer Me This: Hip hop socks and a 2 lb. chocolate bar

Before I show up fashionably late to the party at Kendra's today, I just need to say that I am so glad that Facebook hasn't taken down my baby bum photo (yet), since I hear that's happening around the net lately.  Maybe they were impressed with my spanglish? 

Ok, getting to the questions.  It's my first time! Thanks for hosting Kendra!


1. What’s something you've won and how did you win it?

I won a 2 lb. chocolate bar for being a top seller of chocolate for a junior high band fundraiser.  I'm pretty sure I sold an inordinate amount of chocolate covered almonds to my parents, but it didn't matter who you sold to soo...I won.  :)

I also played in many sports growing up - basketball, volleyball, softball, golf, tennis, and ran in track, so naturally I won many times doing that also.  :)  The main "win" I remember was being on an undefeated 4 x 100M relay team in junior high.

Now that I think about it, it sounds like junior high was quite the competetive peak for me. (??)

2. Do you save old greeting cards and letters, or throw them all away? Why?

I keep about 30% of these.  I have kept many notes and letters from my mom that she sends along with packages from back home in South Dakota.  She often has something funny to say or an update about somebody I know from back home, and always the weather update.  I think I'll like to look at these when I'm older.

I have also kept some thank-yous and affirmation notes that I received from household sisters in college, or from those I served with at Maggie's Place. 

I keep Christmas cards up until spring (much to the annoyance of my husband).  I then move them to a folder until next year, and then I throw them away.  I have no idea why I do this.

3. When you’re at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

I am almost always barefoot at home, except during the "winter" months (here in the desert) when I wear socks.  

These were a gift from Joel - my all-time favorite "around the house" socks, especially because they have those awesome grippers on the bottom.  And they make me smile when I read them of course.

4. Who’s the most famous person you have ever met? 

This was a hard question for me, basically because I have met very few famous people that I can recall.  I blame my husband for this, since he often works with famous people and usually doesn't tell me who they are until after the fact.  I guess he forgets our wedding vows on those days?  They definitely mention something about this.

Since I couldn't come up with one "big one", here is the short, not-overly-famous list:

-- At an Emerson Drive concert at the South Dakota State Fair when I was 18, the lead singer came down from the stage (we were near the front in the grass) and serenaded me and kissed me on the cheek during a song.  Not technically "meeting" but close? Better? Incredibly embarrassing?
-- I met Brenda Warner, Kurt Warner's (since-then retired football QB) wife and author twice at Maggie's Place related events

-- I met Matthew Kelly (author) at a book signing

-- I sat next to Bishop Olmsted at a Maggie's Place luncheon one time
-- I had plenty of face time with  Scott Hahn who was one of my professors at Franciscan University

Wow I need to take a break from all that excitement.

5. What has been your best work of art?

You may remember a certain craft book I got for my birthday a few months ago.  I guess the paper flowers I've made from the book would be my "favorite" work of art...they make me super happy whenever I see them around my house.

6.  What’s your strongest sense?

Well I thought I had a strong sense of smell before I read about Kendra's ant-smelling skills.  Now I'm feeling quite inferior so I'll tell you a weird related fact.

I have a mild version of this "sense" thing called synesthesia, which is defined by wikipedia as "a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway."  
Phenomenon is a strong word in my case, but here's an example - many people who have this see a specific color when they see letters and numbers - like, all a's are red and all b's are blue.

Mine is more what they call "spacial sequence" synesthesia where I see dates, especially months and years, in this physical world in my head.  I won't go into detail or you'll think I'm cray, but I thought that everyone saw dates and numbers like this until about a year ago when I heard Tsh Oxenreider talk about it on one of her podcast episodes.

I also have strong gender associations to certain inanimate objects (example: spoons are always girls, forks always boys...is that the weirdest thing you've ever heard?), which I think is part of the same thing.

On that strange note - have a great week friends! 

TV Cabinet Makeover

You guys, my life is now complete.

I have a great husband...
I have a beautiful baby...
And I have an awesome place to put my craft supplies.

This is all I need!

So, let's rewind back to December when I asked my good friend Chariti to keep an eye out for a large piece of furniture for my Stuff.  Soon after that she texted me a photo of a TV stand that she thought had potential.

Sold.

I had zero experience in furniture painting, restoration, repurposing, you name it.  But I am confident in following directions, and in the power of Pinterest.

#ThankYouPinterest!!

Then after I started my new Stay At Home gig this spring, I had some time to actually finish it.

So here's what I did:

1. Sanded and primed the exterior, and painted the entire piece 

2. Added shelves in the large (former) TV area by screwing in square dowels and placing the shelves on top.

Like this:

I will probably add additional dowels on the back of the cabinet to hold up the middle.  I would highly recommend this, to avoid bowing if your shelf is on the thinner (read: less expensive) side.

3. Replaced the knobs and pulls with new hardware.

I found the knobs and labeled drawer pulls on Etsy.  Here's a close-up of the labeled pulls, which I love:

4. Added a ribbon holder on the inside door.

This is actually a bathroom towel rack from IKEA - I think it works great.

And there you have it!  There are so many other things you could do - maybe add some cork board to the other inside door, or other ways to hang things and utilize even more space.

Now if I didn't have my one thing I need to do today, I would go find a craft or 10 to work on.

Have an awesome day friends!

{And go visit more awesome inspirational ideas, projects and recipes at the Inspire Me Please blog party!}  

Fabric Travel High Chair

For the past 3 weeks I have been planning on going to a free sewing class at Joann's (2 free classes came with purchasing a sewing machine there).  I had Joel's schedule all synced up to be home with Mia; I had the materials I needed all cut out and ironed; I had my bobbins locked and loaded; I had everything ready until 5 minutes before I was about to leave when I realized I never called to put my name down for the class.  I quickly called the store to see if there was still room in the class.....and there wasn't.

Needless to say I was in the mood to sew.  SO,  I decided to take my novice skillz and dive into something I needed (wanted) for our upcoming trip to Georgia: a fabric travel high chair.  And if you don't look too closely at the stitches, I think I did alright!  It will work perfectly for layovers in airports, visits to relatives, and will pack like a CHAMP.

First of all, I got the awesome tutorial here.  I altered it a bit by adding longer tie straps because I didn't feel like going with the velcro. Maybe I would change my mind if I did it all over again, but it still works great and I think it's even a tiny bit more toddler-proof with the tie in the back.

For the material, I bought 12'' of quilting fabric for $3.60 after a 50% off coupon at Joann's.  I cut the inside and longer ties' material from a sheet set I bought at Goodwill for $5.00, which turned out to be about $.25 worth of that.  There's so much extra I could go The Sound of Music on that ish and make Mia some play clothes.

I followed the tutorial step by step {plus added the longer straps}, and voila!

If anyone has any great toddler travel tips, leave a comment!  And have a great week! :)

{UPDATE}
After putting together the travel chair I realized it irritates one of my pet peeves: carriers / wraps / baby gear that has straps and pullies and arms and legs flying everywhere with no good compact way to store them or throw them in your bag.  Does this make sense? 

Basically, I end up throwing this into my bag:

Which I hate.

So I decided to add a cute little toggle button and leather loop to the seat so I can wrap it up nice and secure.

Um..next time I will work on the tiny detail they call "centering." But nonetheless -- Pet Peeve Solved!

Now go check out the other great posts at the Inspire Me Please linkup at House of Rose!

7 Quick Takes about books, sewing, gifts, and hair bows for sale...

Linking up with Jen for some Quick Takes!

1.
As you may remember, Joel got me an awesome Sewing Machine for my birthday!  I have been playing around with it here and there for the past few weeks and have successfully completed 3 projects. I have decided to bore you with the details.

a) I added button holes and buttons to close the opening to a duvet cover.  Not sure why the company thought it looked fine with it open, but, problem solved.
b) I made a pillow cover that I am a little too proud about, even though Joel asked me the other day: "So....what are these pillows for again?" They're pillows, Joel. 
c) I hemmed a cupboard skirt (I'm not sure if that's an official name?) that I have had up for 2 years to cover a bottom cupboard that doesn't have a door.  Of course nobody notices that it's hemmed, but I just know that it's hemmed. 

After crushing these beginner projects I'm about to give in to my beaming confidence and make Mia a dress. Enough of this kiddie pool swimming, I'm ready for the high dive!

2.
I've also been making more hair bows lately, for Mia and for gifts. Many people have told me I should sell them, so here we go: If you want a hair bow just shoot me an email! I'd love to make something for you, and have tons of different colors and kinds of fabric, elastics, hair clips, pins, etc.  Here are a few examples, and they cost $5 each.

I also wrote a tutorial about making fabric flower headbands - if you'd rather make one yourself here it is!

3.  Mia got a little blow-up pool for her birthday from my parents, and wow - she loves it.  I just wish it was big enough for me to play in it, and especially go down the slide.  Since it's been 108* out lately, water is definitely our friend.  We also have incredibly kind and generous neighbors who let us use their pool anytime.  I'm pretty sure Mia will grow up thinking it's normal to waltz over to your neighbor's back yard basically whenever you want.  We might have to clarify that at some point.

4.  Ok.  Does anyone else love reading books, but seldom actually reads? Or starts 5 books, all at the same time, and doesn't ever finish them?  That's usually been me.  Until recently.  It all started when I read Jen's Something Other Than God, and turned into a book-finishing-marathoner. I just realized how much I love reading, and how much more fulfilled I feel after having done so, as opposed to how I feel after watching TV.  Bleh.

So in the past 4 weeks I have read 2 books and finished another one I had started months ago.  You may think, wow, Kristin, what are you some kind of Awesome Reading Professional?  But listen people, this is a lot of non-internet-based reading for me.  And since I would recommend them highly, here's what they were:

1. #SOTG as noted above, awesome book
2. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (much different than the Netflix version. MUCH. )
3. Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, a gift given to me by a friend that I am SO grateful for.  It reminded me of The Last Lecture, in that it was just chock full of wisdom. I didn't agree with 100% of it, but I loved it all anyway.  I read on her blog that she's working on another book, and I will definitely be reading it.

I have also started Dad is Fat, by the funniest of the funny Jim Gaffigan, which was dropped off at my Little Free Library! I was literally about to buy the kindle version (that I read from an iPhone app: game changer), but it showed up in the library a few days later. I call that Amazingly Awesome.

Joel and I decided on a new "norm" to shut off the TV (most nights) for a 9-10pm reading hour.  Kind of like Happy Hour, but, no, wait, that's way different.

5. I ALSO want to find a few of these at the library this summer, especially the audio versions.  What a great list for a business-y dork like me.  

Summer reading is taken to a whole new level here in Phoenix, where we spend most June-August indoors gazing at Facebook pictures of our friends at backyard BBQs.   SO, instead of that, (ahem) I have set a goal for myself to read or listen to 10 books between now and August 31st. I'm typing it out loud so I will stick with it.  Hopefully this tactic works.  Stay tuned for the report!

6. My dear sister Maddy turned 20 a few weeks ago.  

This is her surprising me at the airport back in April for Mia's Baptism

I'm not sure if you all know how excited I get at every one of her birthdays, but it's exCITED.  I am just so ready for her to be an adult and for us to be able to be a new kind of "friends!"  Like real, peer-to-peer friends.  Being 9 years apart was fun and all when I was 9-15. But now we get to be adults together, forever, and age and life stages won't really be that big of a deal.  And next year I can buy her a cocktail! I just can't wait.  Happy Birthday Maddy!!!

7. As mentioned already, we are very blessed to have some awesome neighbors.  The family that lets us use their pool has a daughter who Mia just adores.  One day she asked if she could take a picture of Mia for a project at school.  Then, months later she gave me this:

Oh my heart. It is just the cutest thing in the world. I told her, in complete honesty, that I have very few things I would grab from my house if it were on fire, and this will now be added to that hypothetical list. 

People are awesome.  Let's be more awesome to each other.

Have a great weekend!

Framed Magazine Clippings Quote

I was reading my friend Sheena's awesome blog, like, a minute ago, and realized while reading her post about using cool pictures from a magazine as art that I have YET to post about a gift I made last Christmas!

So, instead of waiting until November to be more seasonally appropriate (maybe my plan all along. You'll never know.), here it is..

It was for my work's Secret Santa homemade gift exchange, with a $15 cap on spending.

Here's what I put together:

--Colorful magazine pictures, ads, graphics, etc. that I cut into letters (free)
--Cream-colored fabric (already had - free)
--Glitter paper (Michael's, $1.99)
--Frame (Michael's, $8 after 40% off coupon)
--Glue, scissors (already had)

I knew my Secret Santa giftee liked St. Catherine of Siena and so I figured a quote from her would be perfect.

Also, I got the inspiration for this framed-quote-using-magazine-clippings idea from a picture of one, believe it or not, in a magazine, with the quote

Do

What

You

LOVE

What 

You 

Do

I thought this was a great quote too, but went with St. Catherine instead.  You could of course also use the actual printed letters from magazines as well for framed quotes!

Anyway here's a close-up.  I was going for a multi-textured look by using the fabric, but you can always just use some clean white paper, or any color for that matter.  

Now go see Sheena's awesome Magazine Art idea too!

Crib Rail Cover DIY

The other day I went into Mia's room, thinking, "boy, I thought I would have needed a crib rail cover by now."  I had casually kept my eye on the the top of it for teeth marks, and still didn't see anything..

Then I decided to look inside "just in case," and found...

EEEKKKK!!!!!!!

What a mistake I had made.  A Big. Big. Mistake.  She's had teeth for 6 months..what was I thinking!

I went straight (humor me here) to Joann's to get some fabric to cover these babies up.  It was so easy! Here are the simple, no-sew steps:

1. I laid the fabric (I only bought 1 yard, and had plenty extra) over the railing to measure how much I needed to cut.  I wish I had cut some extra length-wise, since it pulls towards the middle once you start tying the knots.  Also, make sure you cut at least 4-5 inches past the bottom of the top rail for the strips that you'll tie together.

This is what I mean:

2. I cut the fabric into a long rectangle.  (Don't cut the strips just yet.)

3. I laid it back over the railing, and cut the strips in between each rail (I cut the back strip and front strip at the same time).  To make sure the fabric didn't shift around while I cut, I first cut the strips on each end and tied them, and then I cut the ones in the middle. Here's a closer look:

4. Then I tied the knots.

5. And lastly, I cut these remaining strips:

My strips were just the right length so I didn't need to trim the ties, but if you need to trim the ties, this is your last step.

And there you have it!

I sort of wish I had chosen a solid color, since the wallpaper is so busy in the background, but oh well.  

This project cost me $4.00, was a perfect no-sew solution, and once I got back from the store it took me mayyybbeee 30 minutes.  And there's enough fabric to cover the side rails too if I need to.

Done!

Mia's Nursery

[This post is dedicated to the employee at Home Depot who, when I asked him where the wallpaper glue was he replied, "Oh, are you wallpapering your grandma's house?"  I told you - wallpaper is back!]

Alright.  As many of you probably know, we did not know the sex of our baby until she came out.  This of course poses all sorts of planning issues (which I think are totally worth the surprise!), one of which being the decorating of the nursery.

And since the room looked like THIS:

Do you notice the Baby Blue?
On the Ceiling?
On the baseboards?
In the closet?
On the doors?
On the Trim????

Dear baby Jesus.

I scoured Google images and Pinterest for the best gender neutral nursery ideas I could find, but ultimately only found the same ol' greens and yellows.

Since I was looking for something a little more "cool," I kept looking.  I ended up watching countless episodes of Ask Genevieve on HGTV on my laptop, and stumbled upon a playroom / guestroom combo episode that totally inspired me.  I remember her describing the room as "childlike, but not baby" and that hit the nail the head...the exact description I was intending for our nursery.

After all, the baby is only a "baby" for what..2 years?  I am not about to re-do this room so soon after all this work.

I also started thinking about the idea of a black-and-white theme and adding in pops of color, instead of choosing a color for the walls and having to live with it indefinitely.  With black and white, I could add in any colors I wanted.  

Lastly - because of that Ask Genevieve episode, I had my heart set on wallpaper with letters and numbers on it.  Which, was by far the most intense internet search I've done since buying wedding dresses over the internet days.

But I finally found the perfect wallpaper...from a company in the UK that cannot be found anywhere else. Paying for something over the internet in another currency- Check.

Next it was time to paint and wallpaper!  I was just papering one wall (thank goodness), but I have never wallpapered before and I knew nobody who had except my parents (way back from 1993 of course), but they live in South Dakota (of course).

So I rounded up my good friend Kim, a generous soul, and we learned how to wallpaper by watching this handy video 10 times, and then just doing it.  (Nike if you'd like to sponsor me, my contact info is here.)

Plus, I couldn't have covered up the rest of all that hideous food-splattered baby blue without my friends Ashley and Liz.  Thanks guys!

As far as furniture goes, I went with the mix-matched look because I like to mix-match, and I like to save some moolah.

[I apologize in advance for the quality of these photos!]

Crib: Baby Mod, Walmart

Drawers / changing table: Maggie's Thrift

Hanging wall shelf: IKEA

Bookshelf: IKEA, found at a yard sale

Baskets: IKEA

Metal Truck: Gift

Mounted hooks: IKEA

Picture Frames and frame shelf: IKEA

Fabric in the top frames: Etsy

(Immediate family from SD and GA in smaller frames)

Rocking Chair: Walmart

Lamp: Cost Plus World Market

And there you have it.  I have added in some pinks and other girly things little by little now that Mia is here, and am glad I have the flexibility to easily change the room colors to whatever and whenever I want. 

If you have any other creative gender neutral baby ideas I'd love to hear about them!

Fabric Flower Headband Time

Guess what day it is??

That's right - College Football Game Day!  And not just "any" college football, but more importantly - 

Notre Dame Game Day!

And the first one of the season at that!!

Now, I am a big fan of ND and all, but I still sometimes need me a little project-o to do whilst watching the 3 + hour game.  Today, I decided to finally (Finally!) make Miss Mia a flower headband.  (Something I thought I would have done 6-ish months ago or so).

And here she is in all her glory!

Her new trick is shoving her fist in her mouth, so I wanted to document that here. (i.e. I don't have many pics without her fist in her mouth).

If you want to learn how...Thiss is howw we doo iiiiit:

Materials:

-Fabric

-Needle

-Matching string

-Good Fabric Scissors

-Hot Glue & Gun (optional but helpful)

-Um I think that's it

-Oh! The TV tuned into ND / your fave team!

Step #1: Find some fabric and get to cutting.  I decided to use an old, super soft t-shirt my husband was going to donate (sorry Goodwill).  It's the perfect fabric for flower and headband making - stretchy, soft, good color, good condition, etc.

I cut up the t-shirt first so it's easier to cut in nice straight lines.

Step #2: Cut a long strip and fold it up into about 4-6 layers (or however many your scissors can handle).  This should match about the size of flower you want to end up with.  I like to secure with a pin to help the process go smoother but you don't have to if you are a Professional.

Step # 3: Cut out some petals.  For most flowers I make it takes 11 petals.  Sometimes I do the 5-clover type, sometimes the circle type, but this time I did 4-clover just because it's a small-ish flower and the style of the round petal is different.  

They do NOT need to be perfectly symmetrical - I personally don't like to spend the energy on something nobody will notice, but it's up to you!  I also like the slight variation in size.

Step # 4: This is where your creativity and practice comes into play.  Take 1 petal (A) and fold it in half (B).  Then fold it in half again (C), and sew to another petal (D).  This "other petal" will be the base you sew all petals to.

Step #5:  Keep going around 3 more times so you have sort of a circle.  Again, this first layer does not have to be perfect.  

Step # 6: Add a second layer with 4 more petals, placing the middle of each one on top of where two others meet.  If that sounded confusing, see pic below...where these two petals meet (see arrow), place another petal smack dab on top.  Then keep going around with the other 3 doing the same thing.

  

Step #7: Take your final two petals and sew them right in the middle - it doesn't matter where they face.  You will stand them up in the next step..

Step #8: Take your hot glue gun (or if you are skilled enough with a needle and thread you can do this sans hot glue...but the hot glue is just so dang easy!) and your flower.  Manipulate the petals to where you want them - stand up the middle ones, adjust some ones below, fan some out, etc. and decide where the glue will go.

I've found that the best way to utilize the glue is to stick 3 petals together with one dot - it helps them all stand up.  For example, the arrow below is pointing to a place where I put a dot of glue to hold the petals up.  Do this a couple times till it looks the way you want it (this flower took just 3 extra dots of glue to hold the petals up).

And your flower is done!  Now it's time to make the band and stick it all together.

Step #9: Cut out a band of fabric as wide as you want.  Measure your baby's / friend's / own head to know how long it needs to be.

Step #10: Connect the fabric to make a headband.  I chose to use hot glue, plus some extra sewing for added security.  You could probably do just one or the other.

Step #11: Hot glue the flower to the band in the same spot you glued / sewed the band together.  Tadaa!

       

Now, back to the game.  GO IRISH!