Right Start coming back

Well some good news now. The Right Start is coming back. The website will reopen later this month and the following stores will be reopening soon. No word on Babystyle yet.


Manhattan Beach - Opening July 8th

Santa Monica - Opening July 8th

Walnut Creek - Opening Mid July

Sherman Oaks - Opening July 8th

San Francisco - Opening Mid July

Pasadena - Opening July 1st

Chicago - Opening Late July

Houston - Opening Late July

Dallas - Opening Late July

"hip" cover up for girls

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. . .

we got to meet judi of judikins!

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!