DIY Scrunch Belt |

I made this really cute 'scrunch belt' yesterday!

Somehow awhile ago I stumbled across a tutorial on youtube about how to make this type of belt.

It looked really simple and I just happened to be at Fabricland yesterday during a 50% off sale so I picked up the items needed (fabric, elastic band and a belt clasp). I got everything I needed to make the belt for around $5.00!!

It was so easy to make - I think I will make more to give as gifts and even to sell on Etsy! Might be a good project for up at the cottage on my summer holiday this year!

Photos Of MY Belt |

Belt Making Tutorial |

DIY Pillow Covers |

I had purchased some pillows from Walmart when we first got out house. I thought they would match the colour scheme of the house, but once we got everything painted and decorated they really didn't match well! The style didn't compliment the design / feel of our living room either, and on top of all this the seems in the pillows were starting to fall apart!!

So I decide to 'up-cycle' and make pillow covers to put over top of the old pillows, using them as the 'pillow form' instead of buying new pillow forms.

I got the fabric at Fabricland and it was 40% off!! The colours of the stripes on the fabric match our wall colours perfectly. The yellow stripe is the exact colour of our living room walls, the brown ties in nicely with out couch colour and accents in the room, and the red stripe is the same colour as our dinning room (which is right across the hall).

The fabric is linen and so it goes a lot better with the casual / rustic / cozy style of our living room's decor!

I followed the tutorial below when making my 'Envelope' style pillow covers:

Here is what the old pillows looked like:


And here they are with the new pillow covers on them:

DIY Outdoor Pillows |

I have been on the search for outdoor pillows for a few weeks now.

I wanted pillows for on our new Muskoka chairs that we got for our back porch.
I also wanted the pillows to be green, to match our 'Green Party' that is coming up, and I wanted them to have a nice pattern to them as well (as apposed to plain green or simple stripes).

I was either finding really expensive outdoor pillows ($40 per pillow!!) or plain green pillows with basic stripes on them.

SO when I came across this gorgeous outdoor fabric at Fabricland I thought "Why don't I just make my own?"

It helped too that Fabricland is having a 'Birthday Sale' and all of their regular priced fabric is %40 off.
The pillow forms were also %40 off!

So I ended up getting 1meter of fabric (enough for two 16x16 pillows) for only $8.40 and then I got the two 16x16 pillow forms for only $11.39.

There was also enough fabric left over to make a table runner for our patio table - so now I will have a matching patio set.

So for $19.79 I got two really nice outdoor pillows and a table runner to match!

They only took me about 1 hour to make and I followed the 'Envelope Style Pillow Cover' method that I found on Youtube (tutorial below).




Here are how my pillows and table runner turned out:

The Table Runner:

Creative Mommy | Janine Costello

This is Janine and her adorable son Isaiah!

Janine is a GREAT example of a "Creative Mommy on a Budget" as she has completed many beautiful DIY projects to giver her son's nursery a unique, custom, homey and inviting feel that looks so high-end but is in-fact DIY on a budget. She has also created some adorable clothing items for her son that make him the most stylish baby in town!

Below are photos and descriptions of her awesome projects! And be sure to see the photos at the end of the post of how the overall nursery came together!

Baby Quilt|

I bought half a meter of 6 different materials, and two meters of a solid material for the back. I also bought piping for the edges. I cut the squares 6x6 and arranged them all on the floor. Then starting at the top I sewed row by row. I then cut the back panel 3 inches larger than the front panel on all sides. I placed quilt batting between the two layers and attached the edges of the back to the front using piping. I then top-stitched about one inch from the edge.

The material was about $10 a meter on average so I spent about $50 on material, $15 on piping, $7 on batting and $3 on thread. So the total for this project was about $75. However, I had extra material left over that I was able to make other projects for the nursery with.

I used ideas from three different quilts I found online to create mine, taking different aspects that I liked from each of them. They ranged from $120-$200 in cost!

Savings: $175.00!

Jungle Paintings|

I found a picture of similar paintings on the Internet and printed it off.
I bought 3 white canvases and drew the pictures directly onto each canvas and then painted the pictures.

The cost was $10 for the canvases (I already had paint and brushes).

Similar paintings retail for about $50 for the collection!

Savings: $40.00

Wooden Baby Name Letters |

I purchased the letters for my son’s name at Dollar Giant and painted them green. I bought brown ribbon from Walmart and cut 1-foot pieces (2 for each letter). Using a hot glue gun, I glued one end of each ribbon to the back of the letters, so each letter had two long pieces hanging off. I then tied the two pieces in a bow.

Buying custom wooden letters online cost anywhere from 6$-8$ per letter which would mean Isaiah's name would cost on average $42.00 plus shipping!

Savings: $32.00

Toy Sling |

I used left over material from the quilt to make this awesome Toy Sling for the side of Isaiah's Crib.

1. I sewed two large half circles together, leaving the flat edge open.

2. I took 2 long pieces of material (about 4 feet long each) and folded

them in half (pretty sides together) and sewed along the open seam

3. Then, using a safety pin, I pulled the material through so the right sides were facing out making 2 tubes.

4. I then attached piping to each side of the half circles’ open edges.

5. I centered and pinned the tubes on the half circles so about 1 foot of material was hanging from each side.

6. I attached the tubes to the other side of the piping. The tubes work as the ties to attach the sling to the crib.

Since I used leftover material the cost was $0!!

However, about 1 meter of solid material would be needed for the sling and approx. half a meter for the ties and some piping. So it would around $15-$20 to make if you have to buy the material.

Toy slings cost about $60 at Sears.

My Savings: $60.00!

Your Savings (if material needed to be purchased): $40.00

Personalized Laundry Bag |

My son had no place for dirty laundry in his room, so using leftover material from the quilt, I sewed a large drawstring bag.
I personalized it by adding a block with the letter “I” for my son’s name.
I top stitched the block and letter on to the bag.

The cost of the project was $0 as I used scrap material!

However it would probably cost around $10 if one had to buy the material.

Handemade Baby Laundry bags on Etsy cost $40.00 on average.

My Savings: $40.00

Your Savings (If materials need to be purchased): $30.00

Snake Stuffed Animal |

For Valentine’s Day I decided to make by son a homemade gift.
I had left over material from curtains I sewed for his room, the material reminded me of a snake, and since his room was jungle themed I decided to make him a giant stuffed snake.

I cut two long pieces of material in the shape of a wide snake. Then placing right sides together I sewed the pieces together but left the mouth opening un-sewn. I then top stitched a heart on the side of the snake and hand stitched the eyes on (I used beads). I then took 2 pieces of material and sewed a tongue and attached it to the center of the mouth. I then stuffed the snake and hand stitched the mouth closed.

This project would cost approximately $10-15 for material and stuffing.

I found a similar Snake Sutffed animal on Etsy for $19.00 plus $12.00 shipping ($31.00)

My Savings: $31.00

Your Savings (If material needs to be purchased): $21-$16

Little Man's Hat & Tie |

For Easter I wanted to dress my little boy up for church. So I decided to make him a hat and tie.
I bought a pattern on Etsy for $8, the pattern included both the hate and tie.
I found the patterns to be VERY easy to follow taking me about 3 hours to complete both projects.

The cost was about $20 total, for the pattern, material and notions. I purchased the amount of material recommended by the pattern and have PLENTLY left over so I plan to make some hats and ties for gifts in the future.

To buy a hat and tie like this would be an average $40.00

Savings: $20.00

Tie Onesie |


I bought a package of plain white onesies and using left over material from another project cut the material in the shape of a tie.
I then zigzagged the “tie” to the onesie.
VERY easy to make.

I have seen these sold at craft sales and mom to mom shows. They usually cost between $10-20. I bought a package of 6 onesies for $12 and used scrap material for the tie. So the cost per shirt was about $2 a great gift idea!

Savings: $10

Brown Dress Pants |

I had left over material from the hat and decided to make matching pants. I bought a pattern from Etsy, the pants were VERY easy to make, taking less than 2 hours.

I added a blue trim to the pockets to match them with the tie and hat I had already made.

The pattern cost $4 and I bought elastic for the waistline.

Using left over material this project cost me $5. Most baby pants cost about $15.

Savings: $10

My Total Savings on all of these awesome DIY projects: $418.00!

WOW Janine, you have done a fabulous job in creating some awesome, custom & unique items for your sweet baby and I am sure you are an inspiration to young moms everywhere showing them that they can DIY on a budget to get high end looks for their babies at a lower cost.

I am sure Isaiah will grow up knowing that he is truly loved and cared about because of all of the time and effort you put into hand-making all of these items especially for him!

Check out Janine's Blog HERE

Creative Quilter | Debbie Lindsay

Debbie's work is the exact essence of my 'Creative Women on a Budget' post series because her quilting style is what she refers to as 'ScrapPileStyle'.

What exactly does this mean?
Well Debbie creates quilts and also designs and sells patterns that are written to assist quilters to create projects utilizing their leftover fabrics.


Debbie's work is impressive for several reasons:

1. One of Debbie's designs, the “Circa Charmer” (pictured below), was recently published in the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of “The Quilter” magazine. This quilt was designed with reproduction fabrics from the circa era and is a quilt style that would utilize a quilter's stash...to make a beautiful frugal quilt.


2. Debbie has an ETSY shop called
'Scrap Pile Styles Patterns'
where she sells her patterns and some of her DIY projects
sharing this style of quilting with others.


3. Debbie is currently working on publishing her new book "Quilting with Scraps" and she has gracefully shared the introduction to this book with us!
(Read this introduction at the bottom of the post).


Here is a description of one of Debbie's ScrapPileStyle projects:

Cabin Trails Placemat - Skill Level: Easy

This log cabin block placemat is simple and fun to make, with only strips to cut, assembly of this placemat is quick, as sections are cut to length as you attach them. Purchase pre-cut strips or dig through those remnants my detailed instructions will walk even a beginning quilter through all aspects of quilt making with specific instructions that teach how to make and attach your own binding using either square and mitred corners – A potential stash buster project!

- Debbie Lindsay

Why Debbie has a passion for this budget friendly DIY Style of quilting:

"I grew up in the scrap box of my mother’s sewing room, dressing up dolls, dogs and little brothers, completing my first quilt at 16.

A career in financial management, attending college, a family business, and three small children continually outgrowing clothes; piecing scraps together became a way of life. The art of fabricating treasured gifts from remnants became a passion. Wedding and baby quilts have become cherished gifts, each creation stitched with memories, prayers and love.

My lifelong passion of quilting and “making the most of” leftover fabrics inspired me to share this gift by providing patterns that appeal to quilters of every skill level. Simplifying the steps of the process with reference charts and instructions I walk quilters step by step, as they utilize the resources of their scraps, creating unique quilting projects – ScrapPileStyle."

- Debbie Lindsay

The Introduction to Debbie's upcoming book:

Quilting with Scraps...

A Scrap Management Resource with guidelines, techniques and interchangeable patterns.

Leftover fabric is described as: scraps, bits & pieces, a stash, remnants, leftovers, waste, surplus, extra, remaining, additional, excessive… I prefer to think of them as “essential potential thrifty projects”. In today’s “go green” world, making use of leftover material is not only appealing, but in keeping with the “reduce, reuse and recycle” philosophy. Women when faced with hard times found it a necessity to piece every last bit of fabric to create necessities. Fortunately today, most of us are not faced with such devastating hardships; we are however exposed to the adversity of rising costs and overflowing landfills. Learning to utilize leftover remnants is the art of being innovative, frugal and environmentally conscious, reminding us of our grandmother’s words “waste not, want not”.

You will find a broad range of unique and exciting projects; small enough to complete in a reasonable time frame, but large enough to use up some of those highly treasured leftovers! The question becomes what “can we” do with these remaining…excessive pieces of fabric. This dilemma, in essence, was the inspiration that motivated me to put together a book with a unique selection of inspiring quilting projects that walk the reader through an assortment of interchangeable patterns with numerous variations as I demonstrate the potential in utilizing that untapped resource of scraps.

You will find this book an indispensable resource of guiding principles, interchangeable blocks, multiple layouts, finishing options and techniques along with strategies for organizing and integrating scraps into a variety of intriguing projects. Unique, as it guides quilters through the concept of creating their own pre-cuts and project packages. Charts for fabric calculations, binding estimates and guidelines for quilting “scrap pile style”, along with instructions for adaptable finishing and border techniques all clearly outlined for some 38+ quilting projects. From potholders, table quilts and cloths, placemats, pillowcases, front door decor, lap and crib quilts and my most popular “Block of the Month - Scrap Pile Style Quilts”, I’m sure you will find these and many more treasures to quilt out of those colourful, excessive leftovers from that ever overflowing corner in your sewing room.

"How do you ScrapPileStyle?"


Interested in ordering one of Debbie's patterns?

Click HERE to visit her Etsy Shop

Have a question for Debbie?

Email her at | debbielindsay57@gmail.com

My Sewing Room |

Yesterday I made a new Valance for my "sewing room".

I put "sewing room" in quotations because it is not just my sewing room. It is technically a guest bedroom BUT since it has two big closets in it it is also my 'closet' / wardrobe room.

And recently I put my sewing machine in it.

The room came with a VERY floral wallpaper when we bought the house and it hasn't been a priority for us to change it yet. SO I brought in some of my old baby dolls / stuffed animals, put a pink quilt on the bed, made a purple 'sewing' themed valance and put my pink sewing machine in the room.

So I guess overall it is the 'Girly Room' in the house! :D --> Flowers, Clothes, Pink, Sewing, Dolls...

Fabric Love |

It seems to be BABY SEASON. So many couples I know are having babies!

So with my new found love for Spoonflower Fabrics (see post below) I decided to do a post on baby fabrics!

I found some unique and someone unconventional boy and girl fabrics as well as some great gender neutral fabrics for those parents who are leaving their little one's gender a surprise!

There are SO many cute fabrics that I think I would create a room full of cute pillows for my baby with all different patterns on them so that I didn't have to choose just one!

Baby Girl:






Baby Boy:







Gender Neutral:

Check out the awesome fabrics on this site! Spoonflower