Just needed a little boost

I have a confession… my 4 year old was still sitting in a highchair at dinner time. We used to eat at our counter/bar, which only has room for two adults, so we would just pull her up beside us and she’d eat on her tray. When the new little arrived we decided that family dinner was an important time, even for the members of the family that didn’t “eat” yet. So now, we eat at our table… go figure… baby in the highchair and 4 year old in a chair. So what does that have to do with anything?! Aside from the fact that I have to have my sewing accoutrement put away so as to rid the dinner table of sharp objects and designer fabric (no one wants to see Mommy in a fit of panic when my latest pretty is doused with spaghetti sauce), it also gave me an excuse to buy the laminated cotton I’ve been lusting after. Enter the booster seat from the new One Yard Wonders wonder:

This is a pretty simple project; however I did manage to mess up 2 of the corners on my first attempt. If you don’t want to ruin a piece of fabric like I did (seam ripping isn’t really an option since the holes would stay in the fabric/lamination and show), be sure to measure the corners from the edge side of the triangle, and not the folded side… that will hopefully make sense to you when you’re working through the pattern… you all do these projects with me right? Right?? Also, I couldn’t find any reasonably priced buckwheat hulls, so I doubled the width of the foam insert and went with 4 lbs of plastic pellets (the kind they put in beanie babies) instead. It’s comfy and soft and I don’t feel guilty about using plastic instead of an organic material because it is laminated fabric stuffed with foam in the first place after all. My last little tid bit is that after I turned it right side out, and before I stuffed it, I added a handle to one side so that we can carry it with us and she won’t have to sit in those sticky/dirty/when was the last time this thing was cleaned?? booster seats ever again!

Look! I made it through that entire post without whining about having to hand sew the booster closed… I so deserve a gold star!

OK, I give!

If I haven't mentioned it before, I live in Florida. I moved here from Illinois more than 10 years ago. Since I grew up in IL, I'm all too familiar with the cold and something I like to refer to as cold weather amnesia. That's where every Winter people like to say "THIS is the coldest Winter EVER!" But seriously, I'm not kidding, no joke, this really is the coldest Winter I've experienced in Florida! Usually we have cold "snaps" here... it gets cold, maybe even a frost for a night or two at the max and then we're back to the weather everyone covets. Not this year! It's been cold for at least two weeks straight. So I finally caved... after washing and re-washing the 4 sets of warm clothing my girls have I decided to make some leg warmers. Our sunny but cool afternoons are perfect for leg warmers paired with a skirt!

I haven't made leg warmers before because I've been happy with the sets I've bought for Winters past from the FateGoddess Etsy shop and also because I don't have a serger, so I steer clear of working with knits. But these couple weeks of cold weather constituted an emergency. So, I found this great tutorial, on the Daisy Designs Shop blog, followed it step by step and whaa laa!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below... just a couple days left!

I made a bag for you: Scrunchie Bag Giveaway!!

OK so I made the “scrunchie bag” from the One Yard Wonders book. It came together pretty quickly and the pattern was easy to follow. I absolutely love the IKEA décor weight print I used for the outside and the black print on the inside pops up in my projects quite often.
It’s a nice bag, a great size, and it turned out perfectly, but here’s the thing… the fabric I chose made it just too happy for me. I made a beach bag with this fabric as well and I love it for that purpose, but I’m not cheery enough to incorporate this bag into my day to day wear. Sooooo, if you’re the happy, cheery, friendly type, I’d probably like to be your friend… it’s true, I’m not terribly cheery but I have lots of other redeeming qualities ;)… and not only that, I’d like to give you this bag! Isn’t that friendly of me?!

All you have to do is tell me what your favorite thing in my shop is.

You can also get 2 extra entries for following my blog.

Leave your comment(s) by midnight Jan 15th I’ll announce the winner on the 16th.
Good Luck!

One Yard Wonders - Laptop Sleeve

My Doug got me the One Yard Wonders book for Christmas this year. I couldn’t believe he picked it out all on his own… really… I didn’t even leave the laptop open with the amazon page pulled up, mention it loudly to a friend on the phone, or anything!

I spent a couple hours curled up with it and my sticky flags (something about those colorful little flags make a book look serious) marking all the projects I wanted to do. It should provide plenty of blog material in the weeks to come. Without further ado, the laptop sleeve:

One of the things I love about this book is that even though it’s called One Yard Wonders, several of the projects don’t actually require a full yard of fabric… especially if you’re resourceful. I had that yummy import fabric with the scooters left over from a craft apron I made, but not a full yard of it. So, instead of lining the sleeve in the same fabric as the outside, as the book suggests, I used an orange felt (left over from the glowing pumpkin Halloween bag I made) for the lining. I quilted the scooter fabric, bamboo batting, and felt together with a dark invisible thread. The book has instructions and a pattern to add a cutsie little wiener dog applique to the flap, but I thought the fabric and the quilting made the sleeve as “busy” as I’d like, and decided to omit it. I'm sure the appliqué would have given the flap a finished feel/look, but without it, I’m not in love with the way the flap is. If you decide to make this one for yourself, my suggestion is to at least top stitch the flap… maybe even quilting in the opposite direction as the body of the sleeve would be nice.

Next up is the beach towel bag made with a décor weight IKEA fabric. Stay tuned!

Rolling Purse Pocket Organizer Thingie

My Mom told me the other day about a purse organizer she saw on t.v. and although she wanted it, was able to refrain… which I’m told is quite a feet once you’ve experienced the pull of the home shopping network. I did a little snooping online and I’m not sure if I found exactly what she was referring to, but it seemed like something that would be best custom made. So here you have it… a rolling purse pocket organizer thingie:

Cut two strips of coordinating fabric & a piece of quilt batting 8” x 25”

Place your batting on the table with a piece of the fabric on top, face up

Place your second fabric face down on top of the other fabric and batting

Sew the fabric and batting together, leaving a 3” opening in one of the long sides to turn it through

Turn your fabric right sides out and top stitch all around

Fold the bottom long edge up 3 inches and sew the sides together (like you’re making one big pocket)

Now figure out what you want to keep in your handy new accessory and line it all up in the pocket

Mark where the edges of the pockets should be with a pin and draw lines from the pocket edge to the fold

Stitch on your lines to create the individual pockets

Fill the pockets with your goodies & roll it up.

Now it’ll be super easy to rotate all those handbags into your wardrobe… accessorize to your hearts content!

A Pink & Green Welcome

The birth of a baby is an occasion to be celebrated… even if they’re the 2nd or more to join the family. I couldn’t let my little Liv come in without fan fair! We didn’t need tons of new baby items, I wanted everyone to meet our newest addition, and a party should include men, women, and kiddos too. An open house was the perfect solution!

With all the sewing I did in preparation for Liv's arrival, is it any surprise that fabric was the inspiration for the party theme?! Specifically, this bright and cheery Michael Miller print called Disco Dots in Sorbet:


The party was planned for 8 weeks after Liv’s birth, so sending the invites with her birth announcement was perfect timing. GreenApplePaperie designed and made the invitations, favor tags, & thank you notes in the same colors as the fabric.


The decorations were my favorite part! I made the oh so popular and super easy tissue pom-poms (see the tutorial here). My Doug hung them from the ceiling above the food and at the front porch with invisible thread and 3M hooks.

Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Crafts inspired the lime rind candles (I used wax left over from tea pot candles I made for Elle’s party… post coming soon).

I also picked up the quintessential party décor; balloons and crepe paper.

The food was pink and green too. Chip dips were served in huge wine glasses rimmed with colored salt. I made guacamole (get the recipes and the serving details here), a pink potato chip dip, and because displays are always more aesthetically pleasing in threes, I added some store bought green salsa too. I served pink lemonade in a glass jug with lime slices floating in it & cupcakes frosted in colors that matched our theme perfectly (I brought a fabric swatch to the baker… I’m not afraid of being “the crazy lady”.)


Since fabric was the inspiration for the theme it was easy for the girls to coordinate with the party. A simple pillowcase top for Elle and an appliquéd onesie for Liv made for cute pictures.



I made sure we got a picture of each of our guests. A photo album with space on each page to write a little something, served as the guest book and commemoration of the day.

No party is complete without a thank you for your guests. I got a huge container of powdered lemonade mix, poured it into ball jars, and topped them with the theme fabric embroidered with “thank you”.

This isn’t the first party I’ve planned around a color and dots (check out some posts about Elle’s 2nd birthday party here and here), it’s a fun theme and one that’s easy to run with!

I’m always on the look out for great party ideas. Leave me some links in the comments!

Guacamole

I usually keep this blog all craft related, but I have the recipe for the yummiest guacamole ever and I’ll throw in a crafty bit for gifting and/or serving it. Justification accomplished, here’s my yummy guacamole recipe:

4 ripe avocados
2 lemons
6 green onions
1 fresh red chili
1 clove of garlic
A drop of Tequila
2 envelopes of guacamole seasoning mix (I use Old El Paso)
Tortilla Chips

Squeeze the lemons’ juice into a cup (if you warm the lemons in the microwave for just a bit and roll them on the counter top before cutting & squeezing them, you’ll get more juice). Scoop the insides of the avocados into a bowl and pour some of the lemon juice on top to keep them from discoloring. Add the smashed clove of garlic, a drop or two of tequila, & the spices. Combine with a hand mixer (I like it a little chunky, so I don’t blend it until it’s completely smooth). Remove the seeds from the chili & cut into really small strips. Cut the onions small too. Mix the chili and onions in. scrape the sides of the bowl, smooth the surface of the guacamole, & cover it with lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with tortilla chips.

We used to have an avocado tree in our back yard that produced an insane amount of fruit, which presented a wonderful opportunity to make friends at work. While you’re at it, you may as well show off your crafty skills! Print the recipe on cardstock, cut it out, punch a hole in the top and thread a ribbon through. Toss 4 small or 3 large avocados in a brown paper lunch sack, fold the top down, punch a hole in the folded section and attach the recipe card. If you’re feeling especially generous you could even include an airport sized bottle of tequila (I don’t recommend that if you’re handing them out at work!).

Liv’s “welcome to the world” party was a pink and green theme so of course even the food needed to be pink and green. I made this yummy guacamole and served it in an extra large wine glass (you can pick one up at Michael’s… it’s not really for drinking from… unless you drink an entire bottle at once and use both hands to lift the glass). I dyed some rock salt pink by shaking it up in a zip top bag with a couple drops of food coloring, dumped it onto a paper plate, wet the rim of the glass, ran it through the salt & poured the guacamole in.

Don’t forget the corn chips!

Advent Paper Chain Kit

Just in time for December 1st I’ve put together an advent paper chain kit to make as a little Thanksgiving treat for the kiddos. It’s a fun project to put together and a visual way to count down the days to Christmas. I even made some templates so you can DIY. I LOVE this idea!

Step 1 – Print this document on the back side of some Holiday themed scrapbook paper (there are 7 pages)
Step 2 – Cut out the strips
Step 3 – Print the Thanksgiving bag topper & the Paper Chain Kit Instructions on card stock
Step 4 – Cut the bag toppers so that there’s room (about 2 inches) above the design to fold it over like a name tent
Step 5 – Put the Dec. 1st-25th strips & the instructions in a zip top baggie. Fold the bag topper over the top of the bag and staple

I don’t think this is the last you’ve seen of this advent paper chain idea… the wheels are turning… stay tuned.

Library Tote

Perusing book shelves, whispering to each other, and hunting down favorite reads, has become Elle and my favorite way to spend a Tuesday afternoon. We usually head home with a tote bag so laden with books, audio books, and DVDs, that it’s too heavy for Elle to carry. Good thing we carry a sturdy (and adorable too) tote like this one made by the very talented Red Marionette! One of Elle’s friends happens to enjoy the library as much as we do, so a tote of her own made a special birthday gift. It’s an easy project, a good excuse to use some of your favorite fabric, and makes a thoughtful gift when paired with a good book or two.

So here you go, a simple tote that’s just the right size for the smarty pants in your life:

1)Measure. I measured one of Elle’s largest books and added 2 inches to each side to come up with the measurement for my tote. Mine was 12” x 15” but you can make it in whatever size you like.

2)Cut two of the outside print and two of the lining (I ironed a fusible stabilizer to the lining pieces before I cut them… you can skip this step if you’d like. It makes it a bit sturdier though, so I prefer it) the size of your measurement from #1. Cut two strips of your outside fabric 8” wide x however long you would like the straps to be

3)Press the strips into double fold bias tape (press it in half, open it up and press each edge into the middle, fold it in half again, encasing the raw edges)

4)Sew body of the bag. With right sides facing each other, sew 3 sides of the two pieces of the outside fabric together. Leave one of the short sides un-sewn. Repeat with the lining fabric, leaving a 3” opening in sewn short side.
5)Sew straps. Sew along the edges of each long side of the straps

6)Bottom of the bag – With right sides still facing, open the body of the bag up and squeeze the bottom corner together so that the side seam and the bottom seam are touching each other. Sew perpendicular to the seams about 1.5” from the corner (the blue line in the picture above). Cut off the top of the triangle to lessen the bulk. Repeat for both bottom corners of outside fabric and lining.

7)Pin. Flip the outside fabric right sides out and place it inside the lining pieces so that the lining and the outside fabric is right sides together. Place the handles between the outside and lining pieces and pin them on both sides of the bag with the ends about 2.5” from the side seam. Pin the rest of the top raw edges together.
8)Sew around the top of the bag.

9)Pull the outside of the bag through the opening in the lining. Sew the opening in the bottom of the lining shut. Push the lining into the bottom of the bag.
10)Top Stitch around the top of the bag (You don’t have to do this step, but it gives the tote a finished look and rounds out these instructions to 10)

Bo Peep

Why do I always forget how much I dislike sewing clothes from a pattern? If I decide to do it again in the future I really must take a class because there has got to be some secret trick I’m missing. They NEVER fit according to the size indicated on the pattern. Every time I make an outfit I try it on once I get the main pieces together and it’s always off by a mile. Elle’s Bo Peep costume was no different. Here’s what it should look like according to the pattern I bought (McCall's M5728):

I started with the vest. When I tried it on her, I could grab about 8” of material in the back. If I tried to make the back smaller the arm holes got too small. So, I decided to cut the sleeves off and make it a strapless top. I finished the top, made the white shirt, and the hat. I would’ve made a white tutu, but I’ve been seriously busy lately and decided to just cut down a long tutu I made for her for another costume she wore… even though it was sort of purpley… I figured “it’ll be dark when people see the costume anyway” (except for on my blog… duh!).

I finish everything and try it on her… the vest without sleeves (a.k.a. a strapless top) isn’t long enough. If she wears it up under her arms the peplum thingies stick out from her rib cage. Sooo, she had to wear it low Oktoberfest/slutty Halloween costume bustiere style:

So it didn’t turn out exactly like I had envisioned, but I’m happy with it over all. She got so many compliments on her costume! She spent the entire night saying “Thank you. My Mommy made it for me” and “Mommy, everyone loves my costume!”

Oh, and apparently sewing your own Bo Peep costume is the only way to do it these days because you can’t purchase one at a Halloween store. I thought we would be able to pick up a crook somewhere, but no... knives that spurt blood, bullet shot wounds,and machetes yes, wholesome story book character accessories no. Daddy had to get creative and heat up some PVC tubing, bend it into a crook, and put a rubber stopper on the bottom. I sewed a white satin sleeve for it and hot glued ribbon & bow around it.

Of course there also has to be a sheep… in the stroller. Cotton balls glued to a onesie with fabric glue and a cutesy lamb ear hat crocheted by Grandma made for the cutest sheep around.

I love this picture! I need to add the caption "Ha ha very funny... have you had your fun yet... hmmm??"