DIY Sew an Elmo Sun Hat

This might not be the most thorough tutorial, but I wanted to post it just to give readers an idea of what I did.  To make a normal reversible sun hat, I found a tutorial on another blog.  (Sorry, I searched for awhile and I cannot remember which one it was!)  I picked Sesame Street fabric for one side and plain red fabric for the other side so I could add the Elmo face.  

Before I completely sewed the entire hat together, I started working on the Elmo face so I could make sure it fit on the hat.  I printed out a picture of his face that was resized to fit the hat.

I used some little scraps of fabric for the eyes, nose and mouth and two black buttons for the eyes.

Using my printout as a guide, I cut out the face shapes and ironed some fusible interfacing on the back to make them a little more stiff.  I sewed the buttons onto the eyes by hand and then used the machine to do the rest.

I carefully pinned the face pieces onto the hat and then used a zig-zag stitch to embroider them onto the hat.  Unfortunately, my sewing machine had a mind of its own that day, so the stitches don't look as nice as I wanted them to.

Here he is showing off the Elmo face on one side...

And the Sesame Street print on the other...

I love how it turned out and it's great to have two different hats in one!

Happy Little Pleasures

I think everyone needs to remember to take some time to focus on the Happy Little Pleasures in life. I'm guilty of hardly ever doing this, so I decided it was time for another HLP post. Here's what made me happy recently...

Pesto Sauce
I recently re-discovered pesto when we had some left after a recipe. I used to eat this stuff all the time in high school and I kinda forgot about it. In the last week, I finished off the jar and now I'm onto the next one! I love it mixed with some fresh cold pasta and a little parmesan cheese. Not the healthiest, but it's SO good!

Spring Crafts
Winter sucks. We just had a major blizzard and I'm over the snow and the cold. For the past few weeks, I've been inspired to start working on spring crafts to get ready for next season. Get excited because there's some cute & springy crafts on their way! For right now, I'll just daydream about the garden flag I made last year and hope I can put it out soon!

Trader Joe's Ravioli
I could do an entire post just on the amazing food at Trader Joe's, but I'll start with this one fabulous meal. These seem so simple and ordinary. I don't know what it is, but they are awesome! I dream about these things! They're good hot or cold, plain or with sauce, and fresh or leftover. I have to refrain from eating these every day!
Blue Bloods
I haven't been very impressed with a lot of the new tv shows this year, but this one got my attention. You may not have heard of this great tv show, so I wanted to share a little about it. Dramatic, great acting, good storylines, etc.

Here's some info from CBS: BLUE BLOODS is a drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York City Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. A source of pride and concern for Frank is his eldest son Danny, a seasoned detective, family man, and Iraqi War vet who on occasion uses dubious tactics to solve cases. The sole Reagan woman in the family, Erin, is a N.Y. Assistant D.A. and newly single parent, who also serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father. Jamie is the youngest Reagan, fresh out of Harvard Law and the family's "golden boy;" however, unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie decided to give up a lucrative future in law and is now a newly minted cop.

What are your Happy Little Pleasures this week?