christmas sewing project

 one of the things on my birthday list this year was to make some of my christmas gifts. i made two...and for me....that counts! i have been eyeing these awesome fort kits for months!   http://www.saltwater-kids.com/2010/12/thrifty-gifts-fort-building-kit.html 
...so i decided to make my own version because there is NOTHING my kids love more...than to get out all of the blankets and sheets they can find and start building! 
 i have talked about learning how to sew numerous times on this blog...so it's like beating a dead horse...but i'll just keep it short and sweet. i finally learned. period. the end.  (that is another post for another day!)
 anyway...around oct. i was completing my daily walk through target,  and i spotted these...and check out that price! score!

 an entire sheet set with a drawstring bag for $4.48! i knew i could use them for SOMETHING...but that SOMETHING took a minute to make its way into my head! and when it did,(FORT KIT!) i grabbed four of them and threw them into my cart. and then when i got home i put them in the top of my guest room closet and forgot about them until about a week before christmas! oops!


 i decided that i would just use the flat sheet out of each bag(anyone need 4 fitted polka dot sheets?)...to make it easier on me...the "i just started sewing" lady. then i took two of the pillow cases and did some surgery. i cut them  into 1 1/2 inch strips. then i folded and ironed and folded and ironed and then sewed....

 so they looked like this.... and THEN i sewed the strips on to the four corners and the middle(on each side) of the sheet....and let's be real...it wasn't pretty, but it works...and hopefully my son and my niece won't be judging my amazing sewing skills. WOOT!

 i folded this baby all up and tried to stuff him in the drawstring bag(which was my original plan) but quickly realized that 2 sheets, clips, clothespins, and a book light weren't going to fit! so that's when i moved to plan B.
 i got the OTHER two pillowcases, chopped off about a 1/3, sliced off the top, cut the top strip in half, hemmed it up, and made it into two handles. then i sewed the handles onto the top of the pillow case...and BOOM! i had a perfect bag for my fort goodies!

miller lite...to ease the pain...

once the bag was finished, i built my "kit". one flat sheet, one flat sheet with ties, clothespins,  4 clamps(from home depot), a book light, and a small chalkboard with chalk.
(and NO...i did NOT take a picture of the kit completed because in all of my excitement, the camera was the last thing on my mind!) fail!

i made one for my niece and one for hutton. and i'm proud to say, the kids made a huge fort the day after christmas that they LOVED! and...my sister-in-law told me that my niece loves hers! yay!

so...now i can mark ANOTHER thing off of my bday list...with pride.

ps. i know you could quite possibly be scarred for life because of the high quality of my pictures and the extremely intelligent way i explain things....and for that...i am sorry. just close your eyes...and breathe.


pps. i know i need to change my header and that christmas is over. i'm workin' on it...after i get away from pinterest....