An Antique Grandmother!!!

Melva Cazier

What does the word Antique mean?  Unique, special valuable when hearing the word antique it resembles these and it’s also very high in price if u want to sell it or buy it. (wiki.answers.com)

I also know that for an item to actually be called an antique it needs to be 100 years old or older.

Wikipedia tells us this… An Antique  (Latin: antiquus; old) is an old collectible item, It is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human society. It is common practice to define “Antique” as applying to objects at least 100 years old.

My husband Tyce and I love to go Antique shopping and to see all the neat objects before our time as well as spark memories. Our children also enjoy going, they have learned over the years you do not touch the small frail and neatly placed items, that these items hold irreplaceable value…both those at the antique malls and in our home as well as their grandmothers.

           

            Today I want to share a special antique with you…Her name is Melva Petersen Cazier, Yes she was an antique…She was 100 plus years, she was rare, in great condition and represents a previous era and time period in human society. There are many people who live to be 100 years old. But not everyday do you know, talk or are related to one. This Friday the 13^th of January marks the two years that she has passed on. (January 13, 2009). So in memory of her I thought Id share some fun things about her. Melva is my husbands (Tyce Jensen) Grandmother, She turned 100 years old  in May 17, 2008 Yes she was born in 1908. 

  Now although she had reached triple digits of age she didn’t allow it to stop her at all. At age 100 she could bowl a 200 on the wii, her Grandchildren and great grandchildren didn’t have a chance against her, it didn’t matter how much we practiced! The other reason this is so amazing to us is that when she was 8 years old, he brother asked her to hold a target while he shot an arrow (made out of a needle) at the target, and an accident happened it shot into her eye. Their parents were gone on a trip for a few days and they had no phone, or vehicle to get her to the doctor, so they waited until their parents came home and by then it was too late to save the eye. 

  Later in life this same brother felt awful for what he had caused his younger sister, he offered to pay for surgery or what ever she wanted to have done, but she had refused. She forgave him, because it was merely an accident, and knew he had never meant to hurt her. So she always had a glass eye. As well as she become legally blind in her good eye later in her life. So to bowl a 200 simply amazed us. 

  Melva always walked on her own, and not until her last week of life did she ever use a cane or a walker. She was a strong gal. She would crack us up, she would tell the great-grandchildren come sit on my lap for a horsey ride…(I can hear her voice as I think of these words)  We would always say “Grandma, they are much too big “ But she would insist and so my Jocelyn being the youngest (at age 5 when she passed away)  would climb upon her knee and smile. Grandma lived at the Apple Tree in Kaysville, Utah, it was an assisted living, but they took care of themselves, and it was like a big frat house of older senior citizens…they were always having parties, and playing games, going on tours in Utah and shopping, they always had a friend and she had her older (Yes I said older) sister Aunt Lodie who lived across the hall for a couple years before she passed away. She sure had a ball there, she made so many friends and she was in better fit then all of them as well. Melva was the exercise lady at  the Apple Tree, she would teach a daily class to help ‘get those old bones moving”, this is what she would tell me. She would always tell everyone you just have to keep moving, and eat some real food! Grandma also tied the huge Christmas bows at the Apple tree for their Christmas tree, oh how she would tie some of the most beautiful bows ever. Ksl  5 news would come do news pieces on her about her age and how fit she was and the crafts she would make. She use to work as a floral design specialist and make beautiful boutonniere and cordages, she made several for everyone at the Center and taught classes on floral arranging there as well. We would go and pick Grandma up and everyone was always saying oh Melva what a beautiful family you have…she was their STAR shining so brightly there. 

  The Apple Tree had a banana tree and she would share the bananas when they were ripe and she always had lots of candy…she would have huge zip lock bags full of them, because she really didn’t care about candy, but never wanted anything to go to waste. Grandma was at everything Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the birthday parties…it was always nice to see her, she wore costume jewelry all the time,cute flowers in her hair, big rings and sparkly necklaces, she was always a doll. All the great-Grand-kids just loved her to pieces; mine still talk about her as if she is just at apple Tree having the time of her life.

Melva with her two youngest Great-Granddaughters

   I sometimes look over at her spot at the counter where she always sat and I fight back the tears. She made us laugh so many times…she would tell us stories of the farm and silly animals and once they had a two head sheep born on their farm, and she kept it alive for a while, a university was coming to get it to study it, but with the snow storms they didn’t make it. Before moving back here to Utah Melva and Earl Cazier lived up in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. It is the tip top of Idaho just a half hour or so across the border to Canada. Grandma would always talk about Bonner's Ferry and all the people and many, many memories there.

   In September 2010 Tyce and I took our 4 children along with Tyces parents (Eddo and Donna) on a road trip we stopped to see Glacier National Forest and went into Canada and then into Bonners Ferry, It was Donna’s High school reunion and while there she showed us her old homes she lived in and the old farm, schools etc. They had two different farms when they lived in Bonners Ferry. One of them was on the back side of a large water canal system and one year it broke and it flooded roof high, until it evaporated. Donna was an infant then (she was their youngest child) and they used the cattle’s water trough to float around and gather their belongings. It had a long stretch of miles and miles of road out there before you would hit the little city and Melva walked it to get to the hospital while she was in labor with Donna.

   Years after the flood they moved over on the outskirts of Bonner's Ferry and They had around 500 acres of land and if you have ever been to Bonner's Ferry there is trees so thick there, and they grow easily, so Grandpa Earl had to clear the land so they could grow feed for their cattle, they started a dairy farm and had turned the barn into a milking house. When we went to see it, I think Grandpa would have rolled over in his grave as now it is a tree farm, I kind of  giggle, its funny how one person doesn’t want trees there and worked and sweated many hours to get it cleared, then years later it’s a tree farm. It is also bear country up there and Donna told us some stories on that. It was a blessing to see all the many places that Grandma had talked about all these years. Melva and Earl had 3 children Gloria, Jerry and Donna . 

  Uncle Jerry died in Bonner's Ferry, it is said that his car hit black ice and he fell down the side of the mountain, and they weren’t ever able to recover the car, with all the trees, steep hill and the debris, so they left it and trees grew through it, then they put in a new bridge and buried the car many years later. While there we visited Jerry’s grave, he was 22 when he passed away, which led to Grandpa selling the farm because he couldn’t do it all alone anymore. They moved into the city of Bonners Ferry until Donna was a Junior in High school then they returned here to Utah. Gloria their oldest never could have any children, so Donna is the one that had any, She had two sons (I married the youngest of the two).  Grandma ended up with 2 grandsons and 7 great-grandchildern. Melva and Earl met while she worked at a hamburger stand and he was working in the fields and he would come by everyday to talk with her. One day he asked her if she wanted to go on a trip with him, and that they should get married because that’s the right thing to do….so They got married on January 4^th, 1933 in Brigham City, Utah. They worked side by side with all their farming. They were always with one another until Grandpa passed away July 1^st, 1998 I was able to know him for nearly a year before he died. He was funny and we still point at the salt n pepper and grunt that was his way of saying “Please pass the salt and pepper”. The first time I met Tyce’s grandparents was the first Thanksgiving we were dating and it was at his parents home in Sunset, Utah . I walked in and Tyce introduced me and Grandma said “Oh that’s Earl, he can’t hear much!” and Grandpa said “She can’t see too much either!” That’s just how funny they were.

            Tyce and I were married a year after he had died. We never realized it was the exact day that he had died, until almost our 1^st anniversary. She lived in her Clearfield home for 3 or so years after Earl passed away, before she decided to sell her home and move to the Apple Tree. She did so many things in her life and helped a lot of people as well. She graduated from Bear River  High School and served many callings in the LDS church, her and Grandpa Earl served as Stake Missionaries. She was a 4-H leader and PTA President. She could grow anything, and everything she touched seemed to grow even better.  She always had a beautiful vegetable garden as well. Melva was told she was the jack of all trades she painted, sewed and made beautiful arrangements, crafted many things, loved to cook…infact she would always offer me head cheese , They were sheep or cows brains, I always managed to get out of eating it, but at times I wished I had tried it. She liked to walk, bike, and exercise and of course bowling…she and Earl were on many bowling leagues. Melva was always a well kept lady, always wearing some fancy suit and hair all done up with of course her jewelry and even her packages were neat and pretty just like herself.  No doubt she had witnessed many things and many changes in the world and she remembered them as well, she had a good memory and could talk to anyone and tell you stories for hours. She also loved T.V. she liked learning new things. When I received my Real Estate license we all went out to eat and celebrated, she was so proud of me and she said “ I think I would like to sell houses, maybe I should go to school too.” I replied with “You should Grandma and we would make a great team”!  I just loved that she never stopped living she knew there was never a limit to what you could learn and was always willing to try new things.

  A little over a year before she died she was very ill, and they told us to say our good bye’s to her … I remember going up and seeing her at the hospital and whispering “ Don’t die now, look how close you are to that 100^th birthday…Hang in there Grandma”! She was a bit out it and I am not sure she remembered much because she woke up and was like “Where am I ,where are my things”? So they sent her back to Apple Tree and she was just fine. We were able to have a huge party in her honor and her sister Roma in Washington was able to make it down to her birthday to spend it with her… There were hundreds of people that came to say hi to her and she greeted everyone with such grace and a beautiful smile. Grandma always liked to be the center of attention. We then went outside and released 100 balloons with her! What a great day it was.

I am grateful that she was able to spend one more Christmas with us before she moved on to her next great adventure…What a treasure and a true antique this lady was and I hope that her stories and her strength lasts as my children tell their children about their Great-Grandma… 

Melva With Great-Grandchildren (Tyce and my kids)

Quick & Easy Bags!

Quick and Easy Bags!

I have a small bag that I use for my scriptures and everyone asks where I got it,(Which was at a yard sale for $0.25) so after seeing a way tiny version at a craft boutique I thought I could make one. It works best with patio fabric, upholstery or stiffer material, but you can make it out of any kind of fabric, and just add a stiff fabric to the inside, or layers. My daughters have gone crazy trying to figure out which bag they want to use. It’s really inexpensive to make and super easy! Hey I made it! With the help of Tyce Jensen (my sweet hubby) I figured out how easy it actually is. Tyce is the one that helped me with the corners of the bag! It doesn’t take much time once you figure it all out! You could use it for your Kindle, Scriptures, diaper bag, exercise bag, laptop, the sky is the limit so get sewing! I sure had fun with this one! Feel free to repost on Facebook, and share with family and friends!

Step 1:

Cut your exterior bag material. Mine is cut so the fold is at the bottom of the bag. You won’t want a seam on the bottom…SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FOLD! I did the bag 14” wide and 14” tall. So cut main material 10" tall by 14" wide. Fold at bottom. This will need to be doubled. Or of material is laid out flat measurement will be 20" x 14"  (I made several different sizes…Everyone of them turned out well!)

Step 2:

Cut the top of bag 4” tall by 14” wide. (You need two pieces, one for both sides) This will bring your total bag height to 14” tall!

Step 3: 

Sew the Top of material on to the top of main material, faced together. You can pin it. But by using the upholstery material or stiffer fabric, its easy to line up.

Step 4: 

This is how it should look, Make sure you do both sides!

Step 5: 

So this is how your bag should look at this point.

Step 6:

Now take it and fold it inside out with the fold at the bottom of the bag.

Step 7:

Sew down edges (both edges) give it about a ½” seam allowance. I did a close straight stitch (on my machine it was a number 3).

Step 8:

Now is the part that makes it have the bag look. So at the bottom of the bag, where the fold is, fan it out and sew it across…giving it a triangle effect. I make my bags corner 1 ½” from the tip of the corner to the  inside. Make sure it is nice and straight, I turn mine right side out to make sure it has the look I want, before moving on. Do this to both sides.

Step 9:

This is how the bag looks inside out.

Step 10:

Now time to work on the straps. This length all depends on your liking. I cut mine 4” wide by 18” long, doubled for each strap. (4 total)~ (you will need two, for each strap. (Or you can do just one and give it a different look). You could cut material so it's 8" x 18" and this will make less sewing for you!

Step 11:

Take two pieces of your strap material and sew it right sides together, down both sides of strap, leaving the ends open to turn them, I gave very little seam allowances, but enough that is wont fray. Once again I did a nice close stitch. If you cut your strap 8" wide, stitch down just the one side needing to make it a tube. The 8" one will give you a fold on the left, so only the right will need to be sewn.

Step 12:

Turn the straps, right side out!

Step 13:

Now press (Iron) the straps, so stitch is on the sides, and its nice and flat. Do this to both straps

Step 14:

Now stitch the edges of the straps to give it that finished look. I did this on both sides of each of the straps.

Step 15:

This is how it should looked finished, before being sewn in the bag.

Step 16:

This is the interior of your bag; you sew it just like in steps 1 through 9! You will want it measured 14” tall by 14” wide. Remember the fold at the bottom, and sew inside out, down both sides, and sew the corners as triangles, don't turn it right side out. Then you place it inside the exterior part of the bag, there shouldn't be any seams seen looking down in the bag.

Step 17:

This is how your bag looks now. The inside should be in the bag as well.

Step 18:

Take your straps and decide where you want them placed, pin them down low so they don’t shift when you’re doing the rest of your pinning. The straps will go in between both bags, so you do not see them on the outside or the inside.

Step 19:

After placing your straps, turn the top of the bag on the exterior in and the interior out, to make a folded seam together, this is where your pins come in handy! 

Step 20:

This is how the top should look, all pinned. Do as many pins or as little as you need!

Step 21:

Sew the top with the two folds together…Now look close at my picture, I have my straps wrong, this causes you to have to move the straps…which is not fun. You want to sew the top of it with the straps facing the machine as if you were hanging the bag from your arm, or fingers. Both ways work, the straps out of the way is better! Match thread to exterior color of bag!

 

Final step, cut all loose threads, and time to put it to use! Here is what it should look similar to…

They are so addicting and easy to make! I have about 20 more in the works. You can add any material and as many layers as you want. The thinner the material, I added stiff material to the inside, or sections of felt in between the interior and exterior of the bag...works great. 

This is one that I added felt in between the sections!  

Here is a smaller bag and with only one strap!

Small Town Has a Peice of my Heart!

I recently went back to my aunt’s town Wendell, Idaho it is a very small town. There is a lot of farm land all around it and it has one theater that has been open and then closes on and off. It has grown some since my younger days hanging out with my cousins there. But I remember spending a lot of summers there. The have a local pool “Wendell Pool” and we would throw our towels over a shoulder and walk down the street and go swimming all day. (You know the movie the sandlot…when they go to the pool…ya well this is just like that!) after a full day of swimming we would purchase lemon heads, fireballs and licorice ropes and eat them on the way home. There was a great park just a block or so from my aunts home and we would spend hours on the little merry go round…We would lay on our back and look at the sky as another kid would spin us as fast as they could and jump on. Not sure I could do that now and not lose my lunch but I can’t think of anything greater then spinning that fast! Wendell had Dairy Days where they have a parade and then a carnival at the park…as a child I thought this was the greatest thing ever…They gave us free milk and all sorts of fun “Milk” items.

The town now has a subway and a couple other convinces now then what was there when I was growing up. But one place that is the trade mark for me was “SIMERLY’S” Oh how I love to see that store. My cousins and I would walk up to the store to get odds and ends my aunt had forgotten earlier in the day, and sometimes my older cousin would just get paid from milking cows for the week and we would walk up there with him and he would buy us all sorts of candy, idaho spuds, sixlets, pixie sticks…and cigarette gum (shhh…we weren’t suppose to buy those, oh and mom if your reading this…it was only like twice!) and chew…the gum that resembled chewing tobacco. Which parents weren’t fond of either. The thing to know about Simerly’s is it wasn’t just a Grocery store, it was also a clothing store, garden center, and toy store and upstairs it had the coolest thing ever…a hunting and tackle store!!! I get so excited just thinking about it, even at my age now…We would pretty much skip up those stairs and go straight to the tackle part, where there were salamanders for fishing. They had all sorts of them, pink ones, green ones, neon, and even glitter ones. We would buy several and I am sure the cashiers thought “Oh no, here are those kids again”… I laugh as being an adult at how silly we must have looked. So salamanders in bags and candy in hand walking back on the road to the house to play with these rubbery weird critters happy as ever…I guess there is just something about growing up in a small town that has a special feeling to it. All the little hang out spots and our favorite places. So I was in Wendell visiting family when we were driving by Simerly’s and my husband turned to me and said lets go in and see if it’s the same. So we went in and I held his hand basically skipping all around telling him the stories of my childhood…The tackle and hunting store is down stairs now (main floor)…I was a little sad to see they no longer carry salamanders. If so I would have bought some, that’s for sure! It has changed some over the years. The check out and the entrance is the same and still has that Simerly’s smell. When we came out of the store, I chuckled as I seen a group of young boys on their bikes standing at the soda machine drinking their pops talking about what they wanted to do that day…It sure put a smile on my face. Simerly’s is still one of the prime hang out places…When I see the sign I feel at home, even if it was a few holidays and several summers, that I got to be a part of it. The town might be small but has a big spot in my heart!

The side view of the store!

The Stores corner...Local boys stop for a drink!

What a Girl wants!

What a Girl wants!

It was just a couple months ago…Tyce and I took all the kids school shopping and I had found some really cute shoes for myself in the Target shoe department…I was trying them on, and my girls were trying heels on too. After I decided which ones I wanted, I told them to put the shoes back, and let’s go. Alexis put hers back and then my youngest child Jocelyn (age 6 at the time) held tightly to a pair of red high heels. I said “You need to put those back on the shelf, its time to go” she turned to me with the biggest eyes and said “But mooom, I want these!” I looked at them and said “Don’t be silly, they don’t even fit you and they are too tall for you.” She started to pout as I put them back on the shelf and we walked away. Later in another isle she continued to beg for these pair of high heels that were a size 5 ½ in women’s and she was a size 12 in girls. I thought she is just being so silly. Her sad face then turned into huge tears streaming down her face. Then her dad said “You know what I will buy them IF, they fit you! I thought she would give up on the shoes at this point…but NO way, a burst of sunlight lit her whole face as if it were Christmas morning! She ran back to the shoes faster than we could even turn around. When we got back to where I had set them down, she had already put them on and was walking back and forth. She was bellowing out at the top of her lungs in song “See they fit…Yay, yay I get high heels!” She then picked up her old shoes and said “I will wear them out!” Tyce (her father) kneeled down to her level and said “Sweet heart, they don’t fit, look at the back of your foot, its inches from the back of the shoe.” Tears; once again, began streaming down her face as she defended these Lipstick Red heels “My toes fit perfectly dad, look!” By this time there were many people peeking around the isle to see what all the excitement then sadness was all about! One lady whispered loudly from isles over “Oh come on just buy them for her”! Jocelyn was not going down without a fight. She still had them on, grasping them as tightly as she could. Tyce stood up and looked over at me and said “Now what?” …. I thought a minute and then turned to Jocelyn and said “If this is what you want, and you absolutely think that life cannot go on with out them. I will buy them on a few conditions”…. A smile stretched from ear to ear. “Ok yes I will, what?” she exclaimed. Thinking I was being clever I said “This will be your only birthday gift from us AND they will be put away until your birthday, AND you can only wear them in the house until your feet actually fit them and then you can wear them to church, or somewhere nice, do you understand?” I looked at her with big eyes and a very serious look on my face.  At this point I am thinking she will clearly think this is a horrible deal and put them back on the shelf…to my dismay she yells out “DEAL” with a squeal of excitement. I believe my jaw really did drop on the floor. Her siblings were shocked too. Tyce stood there laughing… saying “she does walk pretty well in them”! I looked at Jocelyn and said “Are you sure this isn’t an impulse buy?” “Nope, I want them, this is all I want for my birthday!” she announced as she switched back to her old shoes and hugged the red shoes. Jocelyn kept a tight hug on them as we checked out and all the way home! She handed them to me once in the house and said “Okay mom, save them for me!” I took the shoes, wrapped them in a plastic bag and put them away. Figuring she would forget about them over time.  Not one day passed that she would talk about these shoes. I would over hear her talking to her older sister…”by my Birthday I will fit my red heels” and things like this on and on. She also would look for them frantically through the house. Several different mornings she would walk to the side of my bed fairly early and say “pppst Mom, I haven’t seen my red heels, where did you put them?” “Jocelyn you know the deal, you have to wait!” Is all I would say rolling back over. Several times she would ask me, or her dad, “Where’s my shoes” her dad would always say “In the mud room”! “Not those shoes Dad, the special ones, those beautiful high heels!” She seriously drove me nuts; I thought buying them would keep her happy and that she honestly would forget about them. About a month back, Jocelyn and I were doing homework and in the middle of the story she was reading she turned to me and said “I know what you did with those high heels!” I said “You do?” and she got a sad look on her face and said “You took my shoes back to the store when I was at school, didn’t you!” I laughed a little because yes I did think about doing that from time to time. “No, I didn’t take them back, but you need to have a little faith and patience until I give them to you!” Every once in a while she would say “I can’t wait until my birthday”! Which; I have never seen another soul, as excited as this little girl about her birthdays. When she was around 18 months old she caught on to what birthdays were, and everyday she would ask us “Is my birthday today?” without skipping a beat. For her 2^nd birthday we bought her a special birthday shirt. She wore it every chance she could get. We told her she could wear it on other people’s birthdays and then when she was three years old it was a birthday bow and she still wears it on everyone’s birthday! Jocelyn is such a happy little girl and gets so excited over the simplest things! So as her birthday slowly approached she would blurt out “Is it ever going to be November 15th!” As time passed in November we talked about the cake she wanted, what kind of treats she wanted to take to school, etc. So a couple days before her birthday I thought “WOW, she actually forgot about her shoes!” Minutes before everyone came over to help us celebrate, I snuck down stairs to where I hid the red shoes and slipped them in a sack and covered it with tissue paper and quietly set it in the corner. Later that evening after she opened all her presents she opened up the sack and once again it was Christmas morning all over her face she cut the tags off and wore them the rest of the evening. Even while wearing her pajamas, she even tried sleeping with them on. The minute she gets home from school she is wearing them, until we ask her to put them away! So I guess it wasn’t an impulse buy like I had thought. That’s what my little girl wanted with her whole heart and she is delighted to have a pair of her very own high heels (that are too big for her)! That just goes to show when a girl makes up her mind…its set!  Happy 7^th Birthday to my sweet little Baby Jocelyn that no matter how big she thinks she is….she will always be her daddy’s and mommy’s little baby girl!

~Jocelyn Annie~

How to make: A Happy Birthday Slipcover!

Happy Birthday Slip cover.......

I have wanted to make something like this for years…along with all the other great ideas in my head. I think I got the idea from a teacher I had in grade school. I believe it was 2^nd grade, the teacher pulled out a pillow case that had a lot of colors  ( It was the 80’s) and placed it on a chair when it was a child’s birthday, boy I was so excited I was always the first to have my birthday each year. It really stuck with me. The thing was, it wasn’t fancy at all, but it made each one of us feel special.

A few notes on this project. I always go forward sewing, and then back up to make my ends stronger. Some people can sew right over there pins, I cannot, so I remove them as I go. I checked the measurements on my chair several times, I checked after I sewed my slip cover sides on to see if it will fit just right. I made this to fit my chunky chairs and my bar stools, so it works for either. You could use a pillow case, I couldn’t find one I liked and I thought they were rather big. I drew the cup cake so you could even come up with something with your own style. The lettering is the font Karaoke superstar. I kind of cheated on this step, I own a vinyl cutter and cut out vinyl and stuck it on my material, then cut it out. This saved me the step of cutting out all the letters twice (once from paper, then second from material). You may want a simpler font for the lettering as well, or to say something else.

I bought my ribbon from Michaels, flannel from Jo anns and fat quarters glue and buttons from Walmart. Remember to always use coupons!

Shopping List:

These are what I used

Ribbon:

*Red ribbon 18” long

*Orange with white polka dots 18”

*Blue ribbon 5” (Don’t cut this until you fit to cupcake)

*Brown with pink polka dots 4” (Don’t cut this until you fit to cupcake)

Material:

* Tiny piece of green for leaf

*The red for the bottom 4” x 21” (fold over and iron to make 2”)

Side strips of slip cover 3” x 18” (My Slip cover is 18” x 18”, adding the sides give it a nice fit)

*Netting (tulle) to over lap red bottom 2.5” tall x 70” long (you bunch it up)

*Pastel yellow flannel (for the chair slip cover) 18” x 18” (half a yard) Also another idea is a pillow case.

*Material for the letters 3 or more colors of ¼ yard each. I only used a small amount; I bought fat quarters and used such a small portion, that I will be using leftovers for something else as well. I bought 4 different ones. If you bought ¼ a yard of several, you will have plenty. The mistake I made here was I used material that frays; I suggest you use printed flannel. If you’re not worried about the fraying then go for it!

*The pink for the frosting on the cupcake, were scraps I had. 4” x 4”

*Brown 4” x 4” flannel

*4 white buttons

*1 pink button

Items needed to complete project:

I used a cutting mat and rotary cutter (you can do this with scissors though)

Pins

Material scissors

Sewing machine

Iron

Thread, you can do any color you want, I suggest colors of material you will be sewing.

Needle (Needed to sew on buttons. You could glue buttons on as well)

Fabric glue

Iron if needed

                                      Step 1: Gather all your items, so you are ready to begin!

Step 2: Measure and cut the main material (the base material of chair slip cover) Iron it if needed before. I left the top of mine folded so I wouldn’t need to do any sewing at the top. 

Measure it 18” x 18”

 

Step 3:  Cutting Patterns

Cut out patterns and then pin them to the material you want for each item. Then cut out all of them. Letters (I went in a pattern alternating colors ..see pictures, then I traced a cupcake base pattern and pinned it to brown, top of cupcake I did pink and cherry on red, the leaf on green. Have all your design parts cut.

Also cut the side strips 3” wide x 18” long. (2 pieces needed)

The bottom skirting part cut (Red material) 4” x 21”

Also cut Netting (tulle) (if not already cut) to measure 2.5” x 70” long 

Step 4: Arrange your now cut out patterns the way you will want them. Set it aside.

Step 5: Hem one side on the slip cover…this will be the part that touches the inside of the chair at the bottom. Fold it over a ¼” in and sew, it to give it a finished look where the child’s back will be…You can see the pink thread in step 5 photo of mine. After that we will sew the sides. Now at the top of the material (yellow material) where there was the fold, line up the (side material the 3” x 18”) take one strip and pin it to match the fold and go straight down. Sew. (Now don’t be alarmed, the side that we just hemmed will be shorter. This will give a skirt look to the slip cover)

Step 6:  Now working on the same strip we just sewed, pin the top of the strip to the yellow material and follow it down on opposite side, pinning all the way down. This will give it a square top effect. Do this and step 5 to the both sides of the slip cover.

Step 7: This is how it should look after you have sewed each side, after this you can turn it right side out. Make sure you cut any unwanted strings before turning right side out.

Step 8: You will have extra material at the bottom, also see how the front and back of the slip cover are different lengths this is what you want to make it skirt around the chair.

Step 9: You can hem the extra and cut it off… or what I did was. I folded up like shown in picture and sewed down the left side, then turned it right side out and tucked the corner in. It gave it a nice corner finish.

 

Step 10: Notice the finish look on left corner (I used pink thread, to show you where my inside hem is, as done in step 5). The long part is where we will be adding the skirting.

 

 Step 11: Take red material, fold short side over ¼” and press with iron, and sew. (Note: you will only want 18” in length once all the hemming is completed) Hem on both sides of the red piece. Short ends only. After, fold in half,  right side out and press it with an iron. Set aside.

Step 12: Now we will be working with the netting (tulle) this piece is to be 2.5” x 70” long. Cut it and have it ready. Then thread your needle and start weaving it in and out of the material to create a bunch of the material. The tighter weaves the better. (Note; you will want the thread to be 18” long) This will be the length of the bottom of the slipcover.

Step 13: After you have it all bunched up on the string, then pin it to the red that we sewed in step 11. Pin it well, to keep it from shifting while sewing.

 

Step 14; I pinned and sewed my netting backwards because I found it easier, than the netting catching on the foot and fighting the red material. Make sure you can see your pins, so you don’t break your sewing needles. Sew from one end to the other.

Step 15: Now that your skirt is on. Take the red ribbon and place it on the top just barely over lapping the yellow and red, pin it and sew down the ribbon with one sew strip.

Step 16: Lay out the now slip cover on a surface that is height comfortable for you. I did this on my iron board. Take the fabric glue and glue the orange ribbon on top of the thread line that you just sewed the red ribbon on. Then place the letters and cupcake and all the fun things that you spent the time cutting out in step 3 and place them where you want them. You may need a tape measure to get it centered. (It took me a few times moving everything) Then bend the letter over half way holding it down with your left hand and dab glue on the side flipped over, then lay it down on the material and flatten it out. Its okay if the fabric glue oozes out a little from the sides…It dries clear. Do this with all pieces. The cupcake base brown, then blue ribbon, then the brown with pink dots, is layered and I glued each piece. Note: stick a piece of paper or cardboard underneath the part you are gluing so it doesn’t stick to the other side of the slip cover.

 

Step 17: Now time to glue on the buttons or sew them on, remember not to sew through both sides!

Step 18:

You did it! Now everyone can have a fun way to eat their birthday breakfast, lunch and dinner…just to make it even more special!

These are on regular sized paper. The letters measure 2 1/4" tall by 1 1/2" wide (this is measuring the "H")

Base of Cupcake measures 3.75" wide and 2.5" tall. Frosting is 3" tall 4" wide. I was hoping to have it so you can just print them out. I apologize if you cannot! You can print letters off from your computer and the cupcake is really easy to draw...Simple!