Stitch Market

.::patriotic dresses::.

2011-07-02T18:24:00.000-04:00

Due to all my re-upholstery projects this spring, I haven't had the desire to do any other sewing. Last weekend, the boys were away at a baseball tournament and so I used my "free" time to whip up a couple dresses for the girls. They are growing up too quickly and I know that these days are going to be ending soon where they will wear something homemade......at least until they start going to high school dances and can't find a dress they like :)

I also have stepped back a bit when it comes to sewing projects and have decided that unless I can reasonably create something that can't be bought or doesn't look too homemade, it isn't worth my time. It seems like fabric is getting more expensive and clothes are getting cheaper, especially if you buy things on sale. I just don't have time to try every tutorial/craft I come across and so I have just been waiting until I see something that really stands out to me. I normally stay away from pillowcase dresses because they tend to look cheap. But, I ran across a photo on Pinterest that I couldn't get out of my head.

Source: aestheticnest.com via Sharese on Pinterest

Cute, huh?? Originally, I was going to try and find a print like she used but couldn't find anything I loved at the fabric store. I decided to just stick with solids and picked up some red, white, and blue Kona cotton.

This is what I came up with for my girls. I'm just realizing now that their ties are way too long after looking at both pictures. Luckily, its an easy fix!

If you click on my inspriation photo, there is a great tutorial which I am going to refer you to. I followed her directions and just altered the size since my girls are quite a bit older. I just used a couple dresses that my girls wear and matched up the fabric for the length. The white stripes are just strips of fabric with the edges pressed under and then sewn directly onto the dress........you can see that I didn't line them up perfectly.

Yes, the ties do need to be shortened! And, we have quickly entered into the "bad teeth" era. My younger daughter closely resembles Nanny McPhee at the moment :)

So there you have it.....my twist on the patriotic pillowcase dress. Happy 4th of July!!!

pinterest addiction

2011-05-24T16:31:00.000-04:00

Source: paperkitten.tumblr.com via Sharese on Pinterest

This photo makes me smile.........I can totally relate:)

I have to admit to a slight pinterest addiction! For years I have just had folders on my desktop where I drag photos and ideas I want to try and pinterest works so much better. Mostly because it keeps things nice and neatly organized, while also allowing me to link back to the original source........something that I couldn't keep track of before.

Follow me here and I'm looking for lots more like-minded people to follow so tell me if you share my addiction as well!

a shared room

2011-05-14T11:48:00.000-04:00

I started a little room re-do a few months ago for my two youngest who share a room. This room used to be shared by my two girls and was done in yellows, pinks, and blues. My older daughter decided she really wanted her own room and it was time to move my little guy out of his crib, so we decided to do a little room swapping. It took me a while to decide on something that would work for both of them. I was going to paint the room a more neutral coordinating color but my wise friend said, "leave it yellow! you don't want everything to match!" She has never led me astray so yellow it stayed and I think it works just fine. I have been getting catalogs from Serena and Lily for a while and really love their striped duvet covers for boys. I drew heavy inspriation from their "Asher" collection.

The duvets and pillows and just long strips of alternating brown and white cotton with some red piping around the edges. I had the red/white stripe and tan polka dot fabric already and just made some simple pillowcases and shams with them. I couldn't get a good photo of the windows but I just did a simple valance with the polka dot fabric and some brown bias tape along the bottom.

These photos aren't the best, I am definitely not a good "stager" by any means but time doesn't exist for me to press everything perfectly! The letters are from Hobby Lobby......they were originally gold and I just spray painted them red.

The other side of the room is in progress and may be that way for a while until I can break away from other projects and finish in here. At the moment, their dressers are being styled with Junie B Jones books and truck collections.

truck party

2011-04-12T17:29:00.000-04:00

I am trying to be better at documenting......I haven't posted much on here in the last nine months. Not because I haven't had projects going, but because I haven't been able to take the extra step of documenting. But I am vowing to do better because it will be fun to have a visual history someday of all these little things. What I wouldn't give for photos and thoughts from all my mom's projects from when I was growing up. I can't count how many quilts, articles of clothing, pot holders, etc.. that she has done over the years. And since my love of sewing/creating comes from her, it would be fun to see those things again.

My little guy turned three last week and naturally we had to have a truck party! He loves all things transportation but really favors garbage trucks. Since we own just about every garbage truck on the market, we did a little combo party to branch out a bit.

Here is the invite:

I love the simple look and it was very easy. I just used some clip art I found on etsy and played around with some different fonts. I had them printed as 5x7s at Costco for around $3. Easy!

I didn't get any good pictures of the little guy, he hasn't been the most agreeable child since turning three and spent the night hitting his cousins with sticks and pouring lemonade on their dresses. Just a precursor for the year to come, I'm afraid.

We had a simple dinner....a must when there are 8 adults and 13 kids running amok. The kids played outside and then came in for treats. My friend gave me the idea of making a "dump" cake and the kids thought it was great.

I found this dump truck at Target in their sand toy section, cleaned out the back really well, and then loaded in the "dirt". It is just pieces of chocolate cake on the botom, a layer of chocolate pudding, and then oreo crumbs on top. And, some gummy worms to add to the effect.

After treats, we had fun playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii........not really part of the theme but good entertainment nonetheless. I am not the best at planning party games and luckily it was a family party so no pressure! These little dump trucks were sent home as party favors (also in the Target sand toy aisle).

Whew! And, now I don't have to plan any birthdays until July.......

reupholstery 101

2011-04-10T15:43:00.000-04:00

My in-laws gave me a pair of these wing back chairs quite a few years ago. They are in great condition but the color just didn't go with anything in my house. I called around to local upholsterers when we first got them and couldn't find anyone who would recover them for under $500. It seemed silly to me to pay that much when I could get a new chair for the same price. So, they have traveled from room to room for the past 5+ years as a "someday" project.

With the economic slowdown, I finally found a place that was willing to do the job for $250. I was super excited and ready to send them off. It took a while to find the right fabric but I finally found one I liked while browsing the decorator samples at JoAnns. It is called "Square Pegs" by Robert Allen and has a great thick texture and rich color.

They had it listed for around $79/yard. Ouch!! Luckily after some googling and internet research, I was able to find the same fabric for under $10/yard. I ordered it and was all ready to go but then got distracted by some painting projects and then lost to motivation to spend more money on reupholstery. I ended up ordering a great book on Amazon called, Complete Step by Step Upholstery by David Sowle. After reading through the book, I felt empowered and ready to take on the project by myself. I have never done any sort of reupholstery but I really enjoy figuring things out on my own.

I spend about six hours removing all the old fabric off, taking care to pay attention to how it had been attached and in what order. I'm sure there is an easier way to remove staples but I just used a flathead screwdriver and levered each one off.......there had to be several hundred and my fingers lost all feeling for the next few days!

After everything was off, I started in reverse order by putting the new fabric on in the same way, just using the old fabric as a pattern. I have to say that reading the book and paying attention to how the chair had been put together was very helpful. The only "special" tools I bought were some T-pins and some curved needles. And, they were essential for the pieces that were sewn into place at the end.

And, here is the finished project!! I am so excited and proud because this is something I never thought I could do. I added a box pleated skirt and then felt like the chair was a bit "tweedy" and masculine so I added an easy pillow to liven things up.

I wanted something graphic and bold and this is what popped into my head. I'm still trying to think of a good story to use. Avid Red Cross supporter?? Swiss heritage??

Here are a few detail shots.......the cushion was the most challenging part for me. I had to do a lot of unpicking and repinning before it lined up just right.

Now I get to start all over on the other one!! If there is any interest, I will do a step by step guide when I do the other chair. This was one of the most satisfying projects I have ever done and it is much simpler than it seems! You can do it too!!

::little white dress::

2010-09-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

I am guessing everyone out there has already discovered the delightful emersonmade website. I could (and have), spent a whole lot of time looking at each and every beautiful photo. I love her style and simple, clean look. I truly wish I could afford to buy a flower in every color and style but alas, I had to figure out a way to do it myself. I cut out a bunch of templates and then bought a rainbow's worth of fabric to test things out. Along the way, a friend asked me to help with her daughter's baptism dress......I am pretty sure I steered the design selfishly so that I could try these out! We went with a simple silk-shantung dress with a little cluster of fabric flowers at the shoulder.

This was such a fun project for me to do. And, for a beautiful little girl on a special day.

Now, to build up the courage to wear one myself!

summer "sewing"

2010-08-18T16:47:00.001-04:00

I usually tend to put a big hold on most creative endeavors over the summer. There is just simply not enough time to keep four kids entertained and fed, the house clean (I am using that word very liberally), laundry done, and surviving our busy sports schedule.

I occasionally do make a few exceptions.

In this case, I was handed 20+ baseball jerseys with a pile of patches by my extremely generous husband. By generous, I mean that he is "generous" with my time and talents, ha! I am usually copied in on all the team emails he sends out but I must have mistakenly been left off the one where he told everyone to bring their jerseys to the next practice so that I could sew on the patches before our World Series. Not that I minded, it just added to the hilarity of my to-do list on the day before we left for Puerto Rico, where the team was playing.

Funny, it actually felt good to sit down at the machine, after I managed to find it under the piles of fabric and other such nonsense that had piled up over the last few months.

And, even though it really didn't put my skills or brain to much work, I enjoyed the process of centering, pinning, and backstitching my way around each patch. Such a nerd, I know.

My little guy even kept me company throughout the process.

So, there you have it......the extent of my sewing this summer. Although, I just stumbled upon a new project that caught my eye, and my sister asked me to help with flower girl dresses for her upcoming wedding. I can't wait! More details to come....after school starts, of course.

For the teachers

2010-05-31T19:59:00.000-04:00

One of these years, I am determined to have all my kids' teacher gifts ready before the last day of school. This year school got out a week earlier than usual so it was a bit hectic trying to fit in all the end of year parties, field days, and presentations. By the time all that was done, it was the last day and I was caught yet again empty-handed and unprepared. Lucky for me, I have a good friend and neighbor who is always on top of things like this. She sent me a great link to a blog named eighteen25. I know there are a lot of great sites out there with good ideas but I love that they offer printables so that I can pass them off as my own......it is something I seem to excel at. I mean, why try to come up with something original when someone else has already gone to the work of doing it and sharing it with the world??

Here are the ones I ended up using:

I bought the glass jars at Wal-Mart and then just printed out the labels and used glue dots to secure them.

I filled up these colorful bags and a few cellophane bags with wrapped gumballs/starburst for the peripherals........you know, the gym/art/music/library teachers, bus drivers, and other people who work with my kids.

So thank you ladies at eighteen25....you saved all our teachers from getting gift cards without anything pretty to go with them! I am sure I will be stopping by more often to "borrow" some more of their good ideas!

Catching up......

2010-05-25T15:36:00.000-04:00

This is the time of year that I really don't have much time for creativity........

I am putting in some serious hours at the baseball/soccer fields. Of course, when

you spend a lot of time at practices and games, you also spend a lot of time

hanging out with Mr. Clorox and Mrs. Tide. So, between laundry, sports,

and school getting out......my sewing "corner" is a dusty neglected place.

I knew that if I didn't post something soon, it would get easier and easier to keep putting it off.

So, in lieu of any recent projects, I am catching up on a few that I meant to

blog about and never got around to it.

Some friends of ours hosted a fun evening at their home last fall and

gave "serious" food assignments to all who were invited. Serious, as in....

it better be good, or don't bother:) I was assigned to help with dessert and

really, is there such a thing as just dessert anymore? I mean, these days

desserts are far more suited to their own table with coordinating decor

and multiple choices for all the guests.

I didn't get any good pictures but I wanted to share a few that were taken by

our host and some from my phone. We had a great time putting it all together and

it really wasn't all that much work.

We went with a brown, orange, and white theme. I covered a piece of plywood with

some orange/white Amy Butler polka dot fabric and then just used a piece of

brown cotton for the main table cover and then folded up an orange matelasse fabric

for some contrast in the middle.

The treats were all quite simple, the colors and white dishes just tied everything together.

If you haven't tried making cake pops yet, I recommend doing them this

way on the first go around. It was much easier and left a lot of room

for error.

Again, I apologize for the poor picture quality. I completely forgot

to bring my camera!

I am not sure if this counts as a true crafty project but it was a lot

of fun and a change from the norm for me.

{The white cake stands are Martha Stewart from Macy's and the

other pieces are from Southern Living at Home.}

St. Paddy's Day fun

2010-03-19T23:27:00.001-04:00

I am usually pretty practical with the sewing projects I take on.

But, this year, when my daughter came to me with the idea of making green outfits for

St. Patrick's Day......I must have had a sudden brain lapse. She had it all planned out

in her head and even found some shamrock fabric that I bought a couple of years ago.

So, I thought it would be a fun project to do since it was her idea

and I knew she would be excited about it.

I used a Sandi Henderson pattern for the ruffle pants (which I highly recommend).

I have several of her patterns and find them to be very well put together with

easy-to-understand explanations and good illustrations. Plus, one pattern

covers a wide range of sizes, from infant to 8 years old.

My younger daughter wanted a skirt and I didn't feel like using a pattern so I came up with this

based on simple Gymboree skirt I saw last fall. I just kept the fabric folded in half like it

comes from the store and cut the length I wanted for her. Then I cut along the fold so I had

two rectangles, each around 22 inches wide. I sewed the sides together,

then just rounded off the bottom edges,

gathered a strip that was twice the width of the skirt, and sewed it onto the bottom edge.

For the waist, I folded over the top, pressed, and sewed a basic casing for elastic,

and voila! Easy skirt in around 30 minutes. (Good thing when using shamrock fabric!)

For their shirts, they wanted something fancy appliqued but I knew they wouldn't wear

them again so I just made some simple fabric flower pins from a tutorial

on katiedid. For their hair, I had run out of fabric and had lots of

felt leftover from the playhouse I did a couple of months ago.

I cut out two shamrocks for each girl and sewed each pair together

with wide stitches of embroidery thread and then glued an

alligator clip to the bottom. Easy and different than their usual

hair ribbons.

I had fun with this project and it seems my girls will be

celebrating this holiday all year long!

A Special Dress

2010-02-11T16:20:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I began my search

for the perfect baptism dress for my daughter. After

scrolling through pages and pages of frilly, over the

top dresses online, and having no luck at the mall, I

finally stumbled upon the Crewcuts site and found

quite a few dresses that were a bit more age appropriate

and less "wedding-dress from the 80's" looking. The only

problem was that I wasn't about to fork out the $150+ it would

cost to get one of their dresses for my 8 year old.

This is the one I was drooling over. The simple design, paired with

the dainty, slightly imperfect ruffles had me at hello.

I was feeling adventurous, even though I have very little experience

working with "fancy" fabric. I stopped at the fabric store and

walked out with a yard and a half of white douponi silk for $15 and not

a clue what I was going to do.

I used one of my go-to vintage patterns for the main shaping, the sleeves, and

sizing. After cutting out the front bodice, I eyeballed a line a couple of

inches below the armholes and cut straight across. This piece now became

my template for the placing of the ruffles. I cut five strips of varying sizes and

just started gathering. (FYI, douponi silk gathers on the grain, so your strips

must be cut lengthwise along the selvedge) I found this out the hard way.

Other than a few stressful moments with the zipper and more than a

few problems with the lining....also a first.....I was happy

with the results. When it was complete, I took it to my

dry cleaner and he steamed it for me for a few dollars. I

didn't even want to mess with trying to press it and he

really gave it the finished look that I wanted.

So, here it is. A genuine Crewcuts knock-off dress.

Possibly the first of many......

And, of course we had to accessorize!

..:wedding attire:..

2010-01-07T00:47:00.003-05:00

Last week, my brother-in-law tied the knot with his beautiful bride

at their lovely wedding in Phoenix. As the youngest of five, he has

the good fortune of being the "cool" uncle to 11.5 adoring

nieces and nephews.

I am not quite sure why I volunteered to take on the

daunting project of outfitting these wonderful

children. I think it had to do something with

the fact that black/white/periwinkle are nearly extinct hues

for youngsters during the winter months. Also, it

is quite difficult to find coordinating dress-wear

for the age range of 9 months up to 10 years old.

And, maybe I kind of wanted to take on the challenge.

I blame it on my independent, oldest child, Idahoan

nature that makes me do such things to myself.

Here is the whole motley crew, in what can only

be called a miracle shot, being that they are all

together and happy. Even if they are all looking

at different cameras.......

My niece, Abigail, was happy to strike a pose. She is

a natural in front of the camera, I found.

Here are the girls (minus one very hungry baby).

Please disregard my daughter's navy flower, I have some

color issues. Also, I thought it would be fun to mix

things up with two in skirts and the others in

dresses but after seeing them all together,

I think all dresses would have been the way to go.

I used a simple vintage A-line dress pattern, added a slight

mock-neck collar and some puffy sleeves, and some bias trim

for a contrasting hem.

And, the boys. I made their ties using this tutorial. It was my first time with ties

so they weren't perfect but I found the instructions easy

to follow and I will definitely try it again. My little

guy got a bow tie which was surprisingly easy, a good thing

since it was a 1 a.m.-night-before-leaving-project.

Now, I think I am going to send my beloved Bernina on a little

vacation. At least for a few months because I really

thought she was ready to blow at some point in

mid-December.....

cupcake apron

2010-01-07T00:40:00.002-05:00

I made this fun apron for a teacher at my kids' school.

Ric-rac just has the ability to make things a whole

lot better.

My New Years Resolution:

Use More Ric Rac.

....as the (sewing) world turns....

2010-01-07T00:26:00.002-05:00

Whew! It has been a while. Not for lack of projects, rather, for lack of any time to blog about them. It seems like once October starts, I need to strap myself down tightly in preparation for the wild ride of self-imposed creative stress that comes with the holidays falling right on top of each other until this moment. Now, as the new year begins, I am able to look back and wonder what all the fuss was about and dream of somehow getting an early start next time around.

Back at the beginning of October, a friend invited me to be a part of a local craft show. It sounded innocent enough at the time so I enthusiastically agreed. Fast forward to a couple of days before the show in December, and I was in an absolute panic. Where had all my time gone? I don't know, but there were a lot of aprons and girly head decor whipped up in a matter of hours.

The funny thing is, that after all the stress of wanting everything to be just right, the craft show was not well attended and only a few of my things actually went home with new owners. I was disappointed mostly in the hours I had wasted and the sleep that I missed out on. Luckily within a week, everything I had prepared was sold via word-of-mouth or given away as holiday gifts. I didn't even get a photo of everything but here is a smattering of apron-fun......

last minute Christmas wish fulfilled!

2010-01-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

My daughter only had one item

on her Christmas list this year:

Her very own "workshop"

I wasn't sure what she had in mind,

but I was determined not to add any more

store-bought mammoth contraptions

into our house. I just managed to

get rid of my girls' beauty shop

and baby care center, and the kids

kitchen will be the next to go.

I saw this card table playhouse idea

a couple of weeks before the big day,

and then skedaddled to get myself

some felt!

After being heavily inspired by this cute etsy shop,

I sketched out my four walls and started cutting.

After reading through a bunch of tutorials, I think the best

advice was to finish each of the four walls separately

and then sew them all together at the end.

My goal was to make it fun and cute but

not so feminine that the little brother

couldn't hang out as well.

In the end, my daughter was so

excited and proceeded to drag

all of her other gifts inside to

open at her leisure.

She spent most of the day in her

little "workshop" and even

dragged her blankets inside

for a campout that night. I

put little tap lights under the table

which really boosted the fun factor.

Not bad for a gift under $30. Luckily,

felt (and 5 year olds) are very forgiving so the

stress/time were pretty minimal.

.:new dresses:.

2009-09-28T14:50:00.004-04:00

I have been saving this Amy Butler fabric for a couple of years, waiting for the right

project to inspire me to cut into it.

I used a vintage pattern from the 60's for the first dress and then made one to coordinate for my younger daughter in a more simple style.

I wish I had more time and creativity to do this more often. I know that they won't

be excited to wear my projects for much longer=)

::a "tiny" party::

2009-09-05T21:46:00.004-04:00

Martha Stewart is a good woman.

I picked up one of her party kits at Michael's on clearance last year and had almost forgotten about it sitting in my basement gathering dust.

One of my daughters turned five last week so we pulled it out a few days before her party and I was so glad we did.

The theme was a "tiny" party which worked out great for my tiny girl and a few of her friends that were invited with tiny invitations.

When they first arrived, they had some tiny playtime with polly pockets and a dollhouse and colored pictures on tiny pieces of paper. Then they played a few tiny games like sardines and birdie, birdie, mouse (the tiny animals they thought of in lieu of ducks or a goose).

Then, they had a tiny lunch with tiny plates, cups, and forks. We served mini pizzas, tater tots, baby carrots, grapes, baby goldfish, stick pretzels, and mini marshmallows.

We finished things off with some tiny cupcakes, tiny party hats, and goodie boxes to send home.

She opened a few presents and then they all got on the bus together, headed for kindergarten. It was very simple, the girls had a great time, and there was minimal stress and clean up afterwards. I'm not sure if it was the lack of a character to plan around or the novelty of something different but I actually enjoyed the planning AND the execution of everything. And, that doesn't happen very often.

Thank you, Martha.

.::Bake Sale::.

2009-07-16T23:10:00.004-04:00

My projects have been few and far between this summer, with the kids all at home and needing my complete attention. So, I have to take the few opportunities I can find, and run with them. My son's baseball team hosted a tournament this past weekend and as a fundraiser, a few of us crazy moms decided to host a bake sale. And, really........can you have a bake sale without matching aprons for the help?? I didn't think so.

Halle modeled for us while Amy (visiting from Spain!!) got her photo/crafty fix behind the camera. Oh, the fun we would have and the time we would waste if she were here all the time.

Work it, girl.

The lovely ladies before the big sale, and the big rain, and the lack of customers.........

They made up for it by going mobile......and for good reason. Could you resist these gals and a box of donuts??

C {squared}

2009-06-21T23:21:00.002-04:00

My neighbor has boy/girl twins who just turned one a couple of days ago. I refer to them as C-squared:) I have been wanting to do something like this for them for a while and their mom and I finally put our heads together and came up with these shirts. I used a blanket stitch around the edges for a change because I am a bit tired of the zigzag stitch and fighting with puckering/tension issues. I like how they turned out AND I get to watch and see how they hold up after going through the wash a few times.

b is for bella

2009-06-03T23:47:00.002-04:00

What is it about 1st graders and their teachers? My daugher, Emma, absolutely adores her teacher and hangs on every last word that she speaks. Her teacher has a 1 year old daughter named Bella and Emma has been begging me to make her something all year. Telling me that her teacher had "requested" certain things (me knowing that Emma had graciously offered my services on a daily basis). So, last night when I realized that it was the last opportunity to fulfill her wish, at 12:30 am no less, I pulled out my fabric and started thinking.

Luckily I had a spare white t-shirt and some big ideas. What started out as a simple applique quickly turned into a three hour project with ruffle pants to complete her look. Why is it that all the good ideas come in the twilight hours? Anyhow, I snapped a few pictures this morning just to make sure that it all wasn't a dream, and then sent off a very happy 7-year-old girl to her last day of 1st grade. It was a long night but I have to take advantage of this limited time I have before she doesn't think I'm cool anymore.

2009-05-28T10:48:00.005-04:00

I haven't had much time for the last few weeks to sit down at my sewing machine. Luckily, a good friend had a birthday and so I had an excuse to use this fabric I have been saving for a while. It seems like aprons are all I have time to make lately but I have big ambitions to get some fun dresses/skirts done for my girls in the near future. I didn't use a pattern for this one, just inspiration from a party an amazing friend threw for her daughter (she made aprons for all the little girls)

sewing lessons

2009-05-18T10:01:00.004-04:00

I have great memories of my mom patiently teaching me to sew. We had a big family so I know that her time was very limited but I am so glad that I learned the basics of quilting, window treatments, embroidery, following a pattern, and sewing. Aside from those skills, I think the most valuable thing I learned was to have a desire to create in my own way. I find it very satisfying to see a project through from the vision inside my head, all the way to completion. Most of the time, my finished product isn't exactly what I had pictured but I learn something new every time I try.

My 7-year-old daughter has been begging me for her own sewing lessons lately and I have a hard time finding quiet moments to teach her. I am not ready to let her have free reign over my precious Bernina so I have not been sure where to start. A good friend suggested letting her draw a picture on some fabric and then putting it into a hoop to learn embroidery. We tried it out yesterday and she was in heaven. It kept her occupied for a long time and she has big plans for future designs. I really want my girls to enjoy being creative and to develop an attitude of wanting to figure out how to do something on their own rather than just buying it off of the shelf. (Even if it is cheaper and quicker to do so)

Rugby, anyone??

2009-03-30T21:52:00.003-04:00

These window treatments have been bouncing around in my head for the last 6 months or so. I was dying to incorporate some sort of rugby stripe into the room and this is what I finally came up with. One thing is for sure, I am NEVER going to repurpose old curtains into something new. I had picked up a few packages of red Pottery Barn panels at the outlet for cheap with the idea of cutting them up for a future project. That was mistake #1. None of the lines were straight and it was a mess trying to get everything to line up the way I wanted it to. Mistake #2 was trying to use the old boards from my former window treatments. They were 2" too wide so I had to take them all apart, have a nice neighbor cut them to the right size, and then rebuild them from scratch again.

I had a hard time getting a good picture of the three windows in the room but here they are. I am SO glad to have this project done!

fun felt applique

2009-03-30T21:46:00.002-04:00

I have been doing a lot of the fabric letter appliques and wanted to experiment with felt. Some friends of mine (who are sisters) both had babies within a week of each other so these were a perfect little gift for them. They have a "J" thing going.......now into the third generation. After ironing them on, I thought they needed a little something extra so I hand-stitched around the letters with embroidery thread and I think they look a lot better. Although, next time I think I would have done the hand-stitching before the adhesive because it was a pain sewing through all the layers.

Aprons for Auction

2009-02-28T21:01:00.008-05:00

I went out on a limb and made a couple of aprons for a fundraiser we are having for our baseball team. I don't know why I have such a fear of "selling" my handmade items. I even have an etsy shop that remains empty to this day. I guess it comes from not having any formal training other than lessons from my mom or online tutorials/library books. Maybe I just worry that they will fall apart or not last through the first washing. Silly. But, its something I need to get over if I want to keep creating. I think my first ambition would be to just sell enough things to pay for my fabric addiction......especially because my friends and family are going to get sick of the same gifts for every holiday!

I made a matching mother/daughter apron and included two rolling pins and Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious". It's funny because I wasn't too excited about this fabric while it has been on my shelf but I love how they turned out. Now I am going to cross my fingers that someone actually bids on this at our auction!

Cake pops

2009-02-26T00:03:00.000-05:00

My kids' favorite treat to take to school for their birthdays are these fun little cake pops. This week we had a half-birthday at preschool to celebrate and we had enough left over to send in for a baby "sprinkle" for another teacher. These treats are time consuming and messy BUT, so fun to make and look at when I am done. I do have to say that they get easier each time and I have learned several tricks to make the process smoother.

Hoopin it up

2009-02-15T22:08:00.002-05:00

Amid the craziness that is birthday planning, I decided that we couldn't very well have a basketball party without personalized jerseys to send home with each guest. Due to the lack of tank top selection in early February, I ended up having to buy a couple 3 packs of Hanes tanks to get the job done. These were not my finest work but they were fun to have hanging on the railing as the guests arrived. They each had their own letter and we snapped a photo of each guest for my idea of turning their photo into a mini trading card to send with their thank you note (which may or may not ever happen) These were a late night-before project with shockingly shoddy construction and most likely won't make it through more than one washing. but they served their purpose!

twirly skirt

2009-01-22T21:57:00.004-05:00

I made this outfit for my little niece's birthday. I have been looking for a good twirly skirt tutorial and found a great one here ( I used the extra twirly version) I changed up the hem a bit and then added a fun little headband. I was so tempted to keep going and do a fun fabric flower for the headband or some matchy-matchy bows but I am working on knowing when to stop.......THAT is the hard part.

Teacher gifts

2009-01-09T22:53:00.005-05:00

Back in the summer, I thought it would be lovely to give handmade gifts to my kids' teachers and to a few friends. I'm not sure what happened over the next few months but there I was, the night before, churning out 10-12 aprons in record time. Thanks to a good friend, I had an amazing book to get ideas from, A is for Apron. Since time was of the essence, there was no patterns being used, no measuring, just lots of eyeballing, pressing, and guesstimating going on. These are a few of the ones we gave away. And I am not making another apron for a while!

Delectable Desserts

2008-12-07T22:35:00.003-05:00

I got to put together a fun dessert table for a church get together last week. I was totally inspired by Amy Atlas. I want to be like her, to have a reason to have a table like hers at my house permanently. In the beginning I just was going to do everything red and white but then decided to add in a little green, per my friend Amy's advice. I wish that I could take better pictures and just snapped a few quick ones before everyone got there......just to prove that it actually happened.

My original plan was to buy some silk hydrangeas for the table backdrop but after pricing them out, I realized that it wouldn't be very practical for our budget. I googled tissue paper flowers and was amazed at all the great ideas out there. Martha Stewart had some amazing ones and after reading a ton of tutorials, these are the ones I came up with. They were super easy and really added a pop to the table. And at $5 total, much easier on the budget.

I found this great wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby and had to incorporate it into the table, the gift boxes added some height and color.

White fudge covered oreos on a stick

Yummy Christmas goodies in vintage style candy jars with a scoop adorned with ribbon and a large jingle bell.

Now......I just wish I wasn't so overwhelmed by decorating my house. A table is manageable, fun, and simple to do.

another apron

2008-11-22T22:17:00.004-05:00

I can't stop. Apron making is apparently addictive......and the funny thing is that I don't even wear them. (need to work on that!) I made this one for my sister in law and I love it. I found these fabrics by Brother Sister Design Studio at my local Hobby Lobby and I love them. Forgive the bad pictures, it really isn't rumply like it looks. This was actually one of those sewing projects that I finished in under an hour, nothing went wrong, and all my stitches lined up without any unpicking needed. Yeah! Love when that happens.

Vintage patterns: my new addiction

2008-11-22T21:59:00.004-05:00

I am slowly discovering all the treasures that etsy has to offer. Most recently I have been perusing the vintage and supply sections and found some great stuff. I just bought a bunch of vintage dress patterns for my girls and can't wait to try them out. I really like using these because they tend to be very straightforward and easy to follow. I have a lot to learn when it comes to sewing and have found that this is a good place to start. So, here are a few of my most recent finds.

My personal favorite. Love the pleating and simple style. I found a great website with the most darling kids clothing, Neige, love these clothes but won't be shelling out the big bucks anytime soon. So, I am trying to find a few patterns to recreate a few in my own style.

Love this one, too.

Hmmm, now I just need to figure out how to add another couple of hours to each day so that I can actually work on some of these.

And, figure out a way to get my girls to appreciate MY style.

A couple of aprons

2008-11-01T21:19:00.004-04:00

I know that the apron craze has come and almost gone but when I saw this tutorial, I had to give it a try. These were so fun to put together and make. No zippers, buttons, or fittings to worry about and something cute to show for it. I think I might have a new addiction! Luckily these make great gifts so if you have a birthday coming up.........be warned, and get ready to bring some style to the kitchen!

Yummy Fall Decor

2008-10-03T14:29:00.004-04:00

Fall is my very favorite time of year. I don't put up a ton of decorations for any holiday but these are my favorites and I love that they get to be up from September until the end of November.

I love these white pumpkins. I would love to just leave them up all year long.

My mantle still needs some work.

Girls' Room

2008-10-03T14:25:00.001-04:00

Master

2008-09-28T16:30:00.005-04:00

I did my master bedroom in white and yellow/gold. The furniture is the typical Queen Anne dark cherry so I wanted to do something simple and non-busy. I am still looking for the right fabric to use for my bedroom curtains. I am thinking white or maybe a dark brown?

I love this dark brown paint. (Also in my son's nursery.) I found this gold fabric to go with the bedroom colors and although I have struggled with making pleated treatments in the past, these actually turned out almost like what they looked like in my head.

Eli's room

2008-05-23T22:13:00.004-04:00

I love the colors in Eli's room. This brown is addicting and has made it on the walls of my master bath as well. I also love these letters I found on eBay with the brown stitching around the edges.

And of course we had to incorporate baseball into the room but I am happy with the vintage Babe Ruth print I found. I also saw this idea of displaying non-traditional items in glass apothecary jars at Pottery Barn and thought it looked pretty cool with the baseballs. (We just happened to have a few lying around.)

I had so much fun making these curtains and they make me smile whenever I go into his room. I just cut out circles in different shapes and fabrics that went with his bedding and then ironed them on in a funky pattern. Someday I will go back and put some stitching around each one when I have some extra time. Right. ....... He will most likely be 5 when that happens.

Kansas Bows

2005-12-10T22:09:00.000-05:00

On a trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, I met the AD's wife. (we are all about connections here.....especially when it involves the Jayhawks) She wanted to get some hairbows like the ones I had made for my girls. Here are a few of the ones I made to send to her. Rock Chalk!