Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Introducing.....

TWO New patterns for you to sew!!
Available for INSTANT download on Craftsy and Etsy

*you may want to check out our Facebook Page for a really awesome deal on patterns this week!
The Abigail Tunic and the Ace Vest and Bowtie
are now ready for YOU to sew for your little ones.



The Tunic is available in sizes 12 Months-10

The Vest and Tie are available in sizes 12 Months- 12


Casual and cool, or sharply dressed.



Both of these are easy-to-sew patterns, perfect for beginners wanting to sew some clothing. They sew up in just a couple of hours each! Talk about a naptime project.

Happy Sewing




Friday, February 21, 2014

The Abigail Tunic: Coming Soon

I couldn't sew something up for baby boy without making something for my sweet girl. And of course.... I wanted to share with my lovely readers!
 
The Abigail Tunic PDF pattern is coming soon!


 
With a swingy fit it's the perfect shirt for play!
 
And of course...completely monogram appropriate.

 
The tunic length and 3/4 sleeves make it a go-to shirt for spring and fall months!
Dress it up or down with your fabric choice too.
 
I found this lobster print cotton lawn at our fabric store and HAD to have it.
 
 
I think Goldilocks likes it too.

 
The neck is gathered for a girly look, and there is a button closure in the back, for easy on and off.
 
This lobster version needed an orange button for a little pop of color. I love it.

 
The finishing touches are going on the pattern now.... it WILL be ready for your spring sewing!




Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Ace Vest and Bowtie: Coming Soon

Who's ready for a new BOY pattern??
 
With spring and Easter quickly approaching, I know we'll be thinking about sewing up our sweet boys some handsome new clothes. What's more perfect than a vest and bowtie?

 
Wear it buttoned, or unbuttoned....with our without a tie!
 
I love this gingham and khaki version. The perfect southern gentleman.

 
A longer fit keeps it more casual for days when you just want to feel a little fancy in your jeans.

 
There is something insanely handsome about this boy in his "big boy" outfit.
I could just eat him up!!!!!
 
He didn't even try to rip the bowtie off. Score for me!

 
The pattern is in it's final stages and will be available soon in sizes 12 months- Boys 12.




Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Organizing Girls' Accessories

How many of you have a pile of ribbons, bows, elastics, and hair clips laying around your bathroom??

You must have a little girl living in your house too!!

No matter what you do, there always seems to be hidden clips and bows under the furniture, in the bathroom floors, in the car, and everywhere else.

I needed some way to give baby girl a CLEAR place to put her hairbows, so she could help keep them organized. So far it's working pretty well.


I started by making somewhere for headbands to go.

Here's how to make your own headband AND bow holder!

Start with a large empty oatmeal container and some scrapbook or wrapping paper.


Cut a rectangle of your paper and tape it around the container. Trim it to make sure the lid will still fit.


The container creates secret storage for all of those bows that don't fit on a bow holder (like french clips)


LOTS of bows will fit in this thing, and the headbands will slide right on and stay in place.


Instead of elastics laying all over the counter tops, I took an empty spool of tulle ribbon (or a toiler paper roll would work) and covered it in the same paper. The great thing about the tulle roll is that it has a base to stand up. The elastics fit nicely and we can see what color to grab without digging through a pile.


For bows on alligator clips, a simple bow holder makes a great and useful decoration. Find a pretty letter at a craft store, attach a long ribbon to the bottom and hang it on the wall or on the door.


For those tiny little clippies and elastics, we have a small dollar store basket that stays next to the headband holder. It's a good catch-all for things that don't have another place.


It can be very difficult to get toddlers to keep up with anything, especially tiny little hair accessories, but these have worked out great for us while adding some color to baby girl's room.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Learning with Craftsy

Have you taken a Craftsy class yet?

I was given the opportunity to take a class of my choosing, and after pouring for what seemed like HOURS through all of the classes they have to offer...I decided that it was time to learn a new skill!

I decided to take a Beginners Knitting Class!

Online Knitting Class
 
I have never held knitting needles in my life, and don't know anyone who knits who could teach me, so this was the perfect opportunity.
 
The instructor was fun to watch and listen to, and made learning to knit very manageable!
 
The beauty of these online classes through Craftsy is one very important feature....
 
The REWIND button!
 
I must have watched the first few lessons 20 times trying to get my hands to do what they should have been doing. I've never taken a live class, but I'm sure the instructor would not show you 20 times how to do something.
 
It took me an embarrassing 2 weeks to knit a short little section of scarf, pausing, rewinding, pulling out stitches. BUT, after completing that section, and watching my videos a few more times, I did the second half of my scarf with confidence. It only took me a few hours!
 
This class showed basic stitches and techniques, and included a few projects for us to try on our own. There is also a community feature with each class, allowing you to ask questions to your instructor, and each other. It really makes the experience of learning a new craft feel more complete knowing you are learning with others too.
 
If you're not quite ready to enter the world of a full-blown class, or learning a whole new skill, there are tons of FREE classes you can take to get a feel of how they work. I have already enjoyed LOTS of these classes ranging from photography, to quilting, to sewing skills. These classes are shorter but offer the same great teaching and community as the paid classes.
 
I have a wishlist full of classes I'm excited about taking.
 
Head on over to Craftsy to see what you can learn today!
 
 
 
*This post contains affiliate links*
 
 





Monday, February 17, 2014

This Year's Goal

Each year I try to make it a "new years resolution" to try something new. This year is no different, but it took me a while to come up with this year's new "thing to do". I'm back and forth now between freaking out and being super excited because....
I'm training for a half marathon!

That's right. Me and the road for 13.1 miles. Yikes.
I used to LOVE running and played a lot of "running" sports in school. Then after having baby girl, I decided to run my first 5K to get into shape. I've run several since then, some alone, and a few with Hubby too! Those are fun, but I wanted more of a challenge.
So now, it's in the internet universe, in black and white. Now I HAVE to do it, or there will be a record of me backing out.  I have a fun race in mind, and am keeping my eyes on the calendar and my feet on the road until then.
Wish me luck!!


Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Rainbow Quilt: Finished


The Rainbow Quilt is finished! I love all of the brilliant colors.
 
 
11 Rainbow blocks in all of their scrappy goodness.
 
 
For the backing I chose a simple turquoise and white dot. The colors are pretty gender neutral, so I thought the backing should be too.

 
It's quilted with an all over grid, outlining the main seams of the quilt top. The quilting adds a nice weight to the quilt.

 
The binding is my favorite part by far. A very simple black and white stripe, but it makes a bold statement as the frame for the finished quilt. It is machine bound for extra durability.


 
This quilt would be beautiful on a couch or chair for display, or even more beautiful in a child's room.


 
It measures 35" x 45" so it's the perfect size for a crib blanket, playmat, or a toddler quilt.

 
As beautiful as it is, I've decided to sell it so someone else can enjoy it's beauty.
 
You can find it in my Etsy Shop.
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 

Friday, February 14, 2014

Rainbow Quilt: More Progress

I've added the sashings to the Rainbow Quilt. It came together quickly and nicely.

 
It's going to be a good lap size, or toddler size once it's quilted.

 
I just love those string blocks. So colorful and happy. It could almost be gender neutral, but with that one block of pink, it may be a little girly. Either way, I love it.

 
It is now basted and ready for quilting. The backing will be a vibrant teal, and I think I'm going with something really contrasting for the binding.  I can't wait to see the finished product!


Thursday, February 13, 2014

A Rainbow Quilt: Progress

While organizing I realized that I have a ridiculous number of fabric scraps. Some are from quilts, but most are from clothing that I've made for the babies. This has resulted in LOTS of very colorful scraps.

I love a good scrapbusting project, so I decided it was time to do another quilt, and maybe make a major dent in my stash. So one night I got out my stash of scraps, and sorted them by color. This was a very pretty mess! Then I got to cutting. I decided to make some string blocks to use as many scraps as possible.

I sewed the strips together by color family, and ended up with 11 big pieces of scrappy fabric.


Every color of the rainbow made it in.



I cut 2 6" blocks out of each color piece, cut those into triangles, and reassembled them into scrappy squares that measure about 8 1/2". Aren't they pretty??


I'm having a hard time deciding on a favorite right now, but it's a close tie between the dark blue and the teal block.

Hubby loves the gray one.


Random, scrappy, and colorful.

Too bad this didn't even kind of make a dent in my scraps. I guess I've got a lot more scrappy projects coming my way to get rid of some of that scrap!


I'm adding sashings now, then it will hit the machine to be quilted. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Monday, February 10, 2014

LOVE with Baby Feet

Ya'll know one of my favorite things in the whole world is baby feet. I can't get enough of them. And the bigger my babies get, the more I realize those little baby feet aren't going to be so tiny for much longer.
 
A couple of years ago I made this Baby Feet Halloween Art. We still use it and love it.
 
With TWO babies now, it was time to paint more feet.
 
I used the same method as the Halloween piece, so you can follow that tutorial if you need instructions!

 
I put baby boy in the Bumbo to keep him kind of still (yeah right) and Goldilocks sat in a chair.
 
Their little feet made great "V's" for our LOVE sign.
 
 
Her feet are getting longer and skinnier, with high arches apparently.

 
And his are still wonderfully short, fat and flat.

 
We don't usually celebrate Valentine's Day around the house, but we do celebrate LOVE!



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