To celebrate Derby Day last year my Horse Shoe Pillow Pattern was featured over at Sew Mama Sew. This was super exciting since Sew Mama Sew is such a great sewing industry resource. I used one of my favorite lines called Derby Style by The Polkadot Chair.
Sew Mama Sew also did an introduction of me you can read here.
Patty Young from MODKID is back with another vibrant and colorful line for Riley Blake Designs. It is called Acorn Valley and is full of colorful hues and whimsical motifs. There are friendly foxes, beautiful butterflies, and sweet forests. I absolutely love the blues used in this collection. The fabric is available in both flannel and knit. When the MODKID team reached out to me to so if I was interested in participating in this tour, I took one look at the butterflies and said YES! My girls are wild about butterflies and I really had fun using this print.
They were also kind enough to provide me with a pattern from MODKID. I choose the Penny dress because it looked like a simple dress that would get a lot of wear in my house. And even better, was what a fast sew it was. I didn’t realize it at the time I picked it out, but there are no set in sleeves to put in, just a simple dolmen style sleeve. I added the ruffle to the bottom with a rolled hem because what little girl doesn’t like ruffles, for real?
The kiddo was more than happy to model the dress but wouldn’t let go of the blow pop. Whatev’s its totally a photo prop 😉 And I finally got to stop off at this little trail near out house with the most lovely little bridge to take pictures. I drive by it everyday and have been wanting to use the lovely symmetrical lines of the bridge in pictures but never seem to time it right with the sun.
As I was shooting a storm was just passing overhead so I was trying to get some nice pictures before the harsh sun came back out. I managed to get some cute ones and then I took her for a quick bike ride while the clouds were still providing shade. I love exploring new spots to take pictures and the kids love to collect rocks and whatever else when I find one which makes for a fun outing (and they don’t complain that I’m always taking pictures, hehe).
To celebrate the release of her new line there is an Acorn Valley Fabric Blog tour with some great bloggers. You can see a list below with links to their site. There is also a Giveaway and discount code for 25% off the MODKID Etsy shop. Scroll down to the bottom to see all the goodies!
It’s still summer and I have a Knot Bow Free Girls Romper Pattern made with knit fabric so it is comfy and cozy and can stretch with an active child.
I am super-de-dupity excited to share this Free Girls Romper pattern with you. You might remember the Knot Bow Headband Pattern I released last year. I was playing with some of these headbands and realized how cute it would be as a romper!
And when Fabricworm reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in working with their new line Swan Lake, I knew that these would be a perfect combo. Their organic interlock knit is one of my favorite fabrics to work with, you can see them here and here.
My kids are now getting a little bit picky about what they wear so when I show Ava the options she quickly picked out the “pink” one with swans, also known as Bevy Shell.
The Knot Bow Romper Free Girls Romper Pattern comes in sizes 2-8 for girls, although one of my testers did the cutest little boys version (pics to come later)! It uses a variety of knits including jersey knit, interlock knit, french terry, and cotton lycra. There is no stretch requirement on the fabric since it fits pretty loose.
Sizing is based on the standard American sizing. And it should be pretty easy to grade up or down a size if your kiddo is tall or short. AND, probably my favorite aspect is it is a quick sew. Like one hour from cutting to finish! Whoop-whoop!
Give this girl a song and she will dance it out for ya! This was a serious T-Swift jam!
And…now we conversate. Ha! This kid is a hoot!
I think this might have been her whip-nah-nah. Hehe.
Its officially summer! And that means sun, and swimming, and of course juicy watermelon! So here are 25 DIY Watermelon Craft Ideas. It just so happens that my older daughter McKenna is a summer baby. Which means summer fun party! We spent a little while brainstorming for co-ed friendly party themes, since the boys weren’t going to be digging unicorns and mermaids and landed on watermelon. I went to town scouring the internet for party inspiration and found so many great watermelon ideas and DIY sewing and crafts that I wanted to round them up and share all these gorgeous projects with you!
DIY Watermelon Mini Pinata by Shoes Off Please
MOD Melons FREE Quilt Pattern by Suzy Quilts
Watermelon Baby Blanket DIY by The Sewing Rabbit
Watermelon Garland Bunting from Minieco
Felt DIY Watermelon Cake Toppers from A Subtle Revelry
DIY Watermelon Headband from Stylefrizz
Watermelon Wreath from The Scrap Shoppe Blog
Watermelon Pinata DIY from Minted.
Watermelon Umbrella DIY from Stephanie White
Watermelon Party Hats from Project Nursery
Mini Watermelon Bags from Delineate Your Dwelling
Watermelon Stamped Door Mat DIY from Ehow
DIY Watermelon Shorts from The Science of Happy
DIY Watermelon Coasters from Kittenhood
DIY Watermelon Gift Wrap from Jillson Roberts
Felt DIY Watermelon Pincushion Pattern and Kit from The Make Arcade
DIY Watermelon Skirt from Delightfully Tacky
Watermelon Coin Purse Tutorial from Just Between Friends
Watermelon Peter Pan Collar for The House That Lars Built
Watermelon Free Cross Stitch Pattern from Country Living
DIY Watermelon Poms from Mr. Printables
DIY Hand Painted Watermelon Wall Art from A Charming Project
DIY Watermelon Paper Garland from Dear LIzzy
DIY Fabric Marker Watermelon Pillow from I Love to Create Blog
Click on the picture to be taken to the link.
The idea of course is to sew something that takes less time to sew than it does to do a load of laundry. I really, thought about sewing up a few new knit tank tops. But….my green eyed monster WIP progress pile kept staring me down across the room. Sitting on top was the from Oliver + S. All finished except that it had no matching bottoms. So feeling rather guilty that I had this project halfway done, I decided no matter how quick the project I couldn’t start a new one. for this fun tour. So instead of worrying about that, I am joining Cassandra, Karly, and Jen to Make Laundry, Don’t Do Laundry! When I heard Cassandra mention this idea I thought it was so fun, and wanted IN!
The idea of course is to sew something that takes less time to sew than it does to do a load of laundry. I really, really thought about sewing up a few new knit tank tops. But….my green eyed monster WIP progress pile kept staring me down across the room. Sitting on top was the Badminton Top from Oliver + S. All finished except that it had no matching bottoms. So feeling rather guilty that I had one piece done, I decided no matter how quick the project I couldn’t start a new one. Even for this fun tour (i’m on a consume less kick).
So I decided to make the shorts as my Less than 2 hour project. Shorts after all are a quick sew. Instead of adding the skirt in the pattern to the top to make a skort, I decided the shorts alone would be much more useful.
I really love Oliver + S patterns. They are notorious for taking a little longer to sew, and for having many steps. But the finished garment quality is seriously outstanding. The back of the shorts have the cutest yoke, that makes them just a little more profesh.
And the lace detail. Ahhhhhh! My fav! I had this vintage lace hanging around that I really love, but haven’t had very many projects to use it on. But this one was perfect. I just hemmed the bottom like normal and added the lace trim to the inside. Easy peasy!
The kiddo has decided that this is a pretty cute outfit and wearable in her book – which has NOT been the case lately with quite a few things I make. 5 going on 13. Sheesh! She mind modeling as long as she got to show me her cool dance moves I’m pretty sure she thinks photo shoots are for us to pay homage to her cool tricks and swag style (see ninja moves here). Wink.
And lets talk about the perfect shade of mint! This color is sooo my jam! The fabric for the top is from Bari J. It is all sold out now, but she has so many lovely prints. It’s made by Art Gallery and has such a nice drape for a quilting cotton. The mint fabric is from Joann’s in the solid quilting cotton section.
Visit Paisley Roots, Pear Berry Lane, or The Crafting Fiend to link up,
This weeks DIY Kids Reversible Apron Pattern and Tutorial is so fun and says summer all over! Yaaaay! I am loving all the bright colors! My kids really had a great time getting to paint and draw their little hearts out. I love little art aprons for kids. They are so adorable painting away in their little cover-ups. But since inevitable paint WILL get all over, I thought it would be really great if it looked like it was actually supposed to be there!
So we used some lemons to hand stamp fabric paint to make color art smocks. And we added some cute signs made with canvas squares and Sharpie oil paint markers I got from Michaels Craft Stores to hang in their art space.
The signs were super simple and add a bright effect. Taking 6″ canvas squares I placed cut out letters on top. I used glue sticks to hold them in place. Then using three different colors of Sharpie oil-based paint markers I made dots around the letters. I like how the oil paint markers have a nice shine to them which makes the colors kind of pop off the canvas and seem a little brighter. Then I hot glued ribbon to the back of the canvas panel.
Marks opaque and glossy on light and dark surfaces.
Use on virtually any surface: metal, pottery, wood, rubber, glass, plastic, stone, and more – Quick-drying. Resistant to water, fading, and abrasion
AP Certified and Xylene free
We even experimented with all kinds of different shapes like mermaid tails and butterflies.
Cut 2 of each pattern piece.
Fold and press 1/2″ on the bottom edge of the pocket and 1/4″ on the top edge of the pocket.
Fold top edge over 1/2″ and press. Topstitch.
Fold side edges over 1/2″ and press. To keep the pocket from wiggling while sewing I like to use washaway wonder tape. Otherwise pin pocket to apron front where you would like to place. For each apron I did them differently, one at the center front and one at the side waist.
Top stitch pocket in place using 1/4″ seam around edge.
Cut ribbon into 3 lengths:
1 neck: 17″ or 18″
2 side ties: 21″
Then pin or clip them 1/2″ from edges as pictured above. All of the ribbon should be facing the inside of the apron.
Place the back of the apron RST and pin or clip.
Starting at the bottom sew all the way around the apron using a 1/2″ seam.. Stop 6″ from where you started. Trim the corners.
Trim arm curve seam to 1/8″ of an inch. Clip notches as shown above.
Turn apron right side out and press. Top stitch 1/4′ around the edge of the apron enclosing the bottom.
Have you visited Kollabora yet? Its a great site that is all about makers and what they are working on. The site has a beautiful layout and is easy to find new people to inspire you. I was super excited last week when they contacted me about being featured in their Meet the Maker series! So this week You can find me over at Kollabora talking about what inspires me, the process of making, and all kinds of other silly stuff!
Welcome to the super easy peasy tutorial on how to sew ruching to ANYTHING! Its an easy way to add an accent to your favorite shirt or shorts, and works especially well with knits! Which leads me to the super awesome cozy knit capris that I sewed up with ruched sides. I am going to be honest, that I am a little jealous that these belong to my daughter and not me. haha.
Ok, so the capris! Sofilanjes, a cool Scandanavean indie mod pattern company whose aesthetic I really like is celebrating their second anniversary. So I thought it would be fun to sew up one of their patterns I had been admiring. I choose the Domi Sweats, which come as shorts, capris, and pants. I totally meant to sew some shorts but certain people who overlook details like which is the shorts cutting line and which is the capris got their hands on pattern (okay I’m just talking about myself in third person).
So anyways. They are capris. And, they are ADORABLE. I mean, the geometric pockets. I love.
And sewing ruching with this tutorial seriously only takes 5 minutes!
For fabric I choose a suuuuper soft french terry (yum), and my most favorite double knit, and aqua jersey knit for the contrast.
Seriously, I need a pair!
Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!
McKenna was convinced that this photoshoot was about her super cool, somewhat hilarious ninja poses. Thankfully, I was able to talk her out of all ninja poses, otherwise I might have an blog post that looked like an old Kung Fu flick.
I chose to do this tutorial with a pair off capris, but this applies to any ruching you will sew. Before adding the ruching, fold and iron hem that will be sewn later.
Measure the length that you would like to be ruched. For the capris, I chose 4 inches. Divide that number in half and add an inch. Now cut your elastic this length. Mine was 3 inches.
Because the french terry was already a bit thick and I had thread that would blend, I went ahead and sewed my elastic just in front of the seam. But if you have a normal knit fabric, you would sew the elastic in the seam allowance.
Pin your elastic just above the hem and back stitch. Using a medium – long stitch length, stretch the elastic and sew to the end. back stitch to secure.
Then finish sewing hem You are done!
And this week: With code CELEBRATE you get 25% off all patterns
Day 2: 11 patterns to give away. Will run untill May 26, 12 AM (GMT+1) (Amsterdam time)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Need a special place for your young one’s diapers? Today I am sharing how to make a DIY Fabric Basket Tutorial and Fabric Diaper Caddy. I made this one, especially for my daughter and hand, embroidered a whimsical cloud and words to make it magically hers. I love sewing all the things for babies and toddlers because everything is just so sweet, you can see all my baby and toddler projects for more ideas.
My youngest daughter Ava has mastered the daytime potty training but still wets the bed at night.
And to make putting on a diaper on at night time a little more special I decided to make her a fun Nite Nite Fabric Diaper Caddy. By adding a sweet cloud motif and letting her know that this was her special diaper basket just for her, getting ready for bed is a lot more fun (and tantrum-free)! She actually gets excited to go get her night time diaper on! Now for that much excitement when brushing teeth!
I wanted to include something that would remind me of how wonderful being a child is to I hand embroidered ‘dream big” on the front. When I look at it every night, I remember how blessed I am to be raising such lovely girls.
Turn right side out. Fold top edge over to the inside 1/2″ and press. Topstitch around edges. Attach to the fabric basket.
And there you have your DIY Fabric Basket Tutorial + Nighttime Fabric Diaper Caddy Tutorial
Today I have my favorite ever Modern Baby Quilt Pattern! I am totally lovin’ how the modern ombre quilt came out! It is one of those items that you get a totally hair-brained idea of something that migggght work, but really might not. The pattern originally called for rugby stripes which is what I really liked about it, since it had fresh clean lines. But as I combed Pinterest for color combinations that might work, I just kept seeing ombre! Ok, maybe I just kept clicking on ombre….everything!
I love all ombre quilt patterns, they have so many ways that you can mix the colors and shades. But combining a modern baby quilt with so many gorgeous ombre colors just made me giddy!
And then! I started looking for those awesome little color swatch inspiration cards, and I just couldn’t get this color combo out of my head!
I had no idea if it would really work since the bunny quilt pattern was rugby stripes and I was doing not just ombre, but multi-colored ombre.
And then I knew that it was too cool not to take it a step farther and go totally modern with the bunny! Which I just adore. I mean, embroidered eyelashes and pink circle cheeks! I. Can’t. Even.
I stopped by my local quilt shop to see how the colors stacked together for the ombre quilt pattern and because it was much easier to buy 1/4 yard of each of the stripes there instead of full yards online like I usually do. The shop didn’t have much selection in black in white except this opposite black and white hashtag fabric from Dear Stella which I totally LOVE together with the pink and yellow!
Sometimes sewing is serendipitous and comes together exactly as it should just like it did with this modern baby quilt pattern! I so love those moments!
The solids are Kona Cottons from Robert Kaufman as is the white backing. My favorite place to buy Kona Cotton Solids is Stash Fabrics because you can buy them all by the quarter of a yard which is so useful for testing out colors. I use 100% cotton batting to make it crinkle up and look all guilty. And then I topstitched in the ditch and through the middle of each stripe.
This Modern Ombre Baby Quilt Pattern is so fun and comes with 4 different animal varieties so you can sew it up again and again and each time it will different! Also, check out my Flutterby Kite which I made for OneThimble Magazine.
You can find the Bear and Bunny Quilt Pattern on Etsy.
50+ Cutest Baby Sewing Projects
Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely mother’s out there! This year for Mother’s Day I really wanted to get it together and do something fun with the kids. I thought making a mommy and me outfit would be super fun, espcially while the kids are young enough to still think its cool!
I picked something simple because I didn’t want to spend all day sewing two of the same thing. And I wanted to make something that we would both actually wear. And who doesn’t wear leggings?! Like ALL the time!!! Seriously, they are my slap’em on and get the kids to school uniform. haha.
I had a ton of leftover Riley Blake polka dot knit (even though the pattern only used 1 yard each) and wanted to do something coordinated, but not super cheese. And who doesn’t love bright colors and polka dots! Me, me, meeeeee!
The pattern is from Everything Your Mama Made and More (EYMM) and comes as a mommy and me bundle. It comes in a couple of different lengths and has a fold over waistband which I really like a lot (and so does my mommy tummy, wink.).
You might have noticed that I don’t usually appear on the blog that often (the kids are way cuter – duh), but I actually had a ton of fun finding poses and taking pictures with McKenna. We tried handstands, yoga poses, and even had a dance party. Crawling through my legs was her idea, which she thought was so funny – if you can’t tell by her smile.
And….the cat photobombed us!
Namaste ya’ll! (hehe)
These pictures turned out so well and I just love how blogging allows me to take such memorable pictures of my girls. I know that I will love looking back at these.
This might be my favorite <3
EYMM is also celebrating their 2nd Anniversary and having a sale to celebrate!
Make sure to check out all the stops on the EYMM Mommy & Me Blog Tour! (Note: the direct links below won’t work until their scheduled day, but feel free to click through and check out their blogs any time!)
May 6
The Wholesome Mama, Wally and Grace, Call Ajaire
May 7
Rebel & Malice, Blessed x Five, Coral + co.
May 8
Welcome to Our World, Analog Bytes, Pear Berry Lane
May 9
Sewing by Ti, Pretty and Precious, Creative Counselor
During the tour, all Mommy & Me Bundles are on sale! Use coupon code MOMMYANDME2016 on the EYMM site to save 25% on any Women and Youth Size Pattern Bundles until May 10 at 11:59pm PST (note: build your own bundles are excluded from this sale).
To celebrate Earth Day this year, I made some DIY Reusable Snack Bags and a tutorial (for you), that can be washed and reused for my kids snacks at lunch. I feel guilty each day when I pack their lunches and I use plastic bags. All I can think of is all the plastic clogging the landfills so I decided that reusable snack bags were needed stat.
And, I also joined in on the Earth Day Blog Hop hosted by Lulu & Celeste. It gave me a nudge to finally make some snack bags. You can find the rest of the blog hop at the end of the post.
To make the snack bags I used some scraps of cotton by Tasha Noel and for the outside pieces and waterproof nylon for the lining so things don’t get too yucky if grapes get smushed or sat on. Bleck. But hey, they are washable! For the trim I used one strip I had left over from a jelly roll which came out to be 2.5″ x 42″. I didn’t have quite enough to finish the binding the correct way so I just sewed a straight seam down the middle at the bottom. Which totally works for me since they will get dirty anyways.
Bag finished measurements are 5.5″ x 9″.
Check out all the stops on the Earth Day Blog hop round up:
April 18:
Vicky Myers Creations – Coral and Co.
April 19:
Seam of My Pants
April 20:
EYMM – Create 3.5
April 21:
PenSeb&Rox – Candice Ayala
April 22:
Lulu & Celeste (Round Up post)
Today I have another great baby project: Easy DIY Baby Swaddle Blanket Pattern and Tutorial which sews up quickly in 10 minutes.. This is perfect for anyone who wants to make a quick gift for a new baby! Often many store bought swaddle blankets are never quite big enough to get a good swaddle, by making your own you can make one large enough for baby to grow and still wrap them up tight. Also by using a knit, the fabric can breathe so baby doesn’t get too hot and has a slight stretch to it to help keep them snug.
For this project, you will need 1 yard of Knit fabric. You can use Jersey Knit or Interlock (not as stretchy) for this project. I used an organic interlock knit from Spoonflower, which is fun because your choice of prints is nearly endless. When the fabric arrives it is a little bit stiff but once you wash it, it softens right up. My other go-to for making items for baby is Fabricworm’s Organic knit fabrics. They have lots of great prints and are not quite as pricey. They are also the softest fabric I have ever felt! I really like the Wildland Collection they have right now and have been counting down the months until Tall Tales comes in (hurry up April)!
The prints I used for the blankets in the pictures are Moose Trot from Ivie Cloth Co. and You Look Fancy Deer from Mint Peony Designs.
You can follow the instructions on the screen or find the link to the Resource Library below to download the pattern and instructions.
**** If using a regular sewing machine, be sure to use a ball point needle for the knit fabric to make sure you don’t have any skipped stitches.
One of my favorite parts of blogging is photography, so I wanted to share with you my new Camera, the EOS Canon 6D and gear. I have come to love beautiful pictures of DIY projects (hello craftgawker) and I really enjoy trying capture a pretty picture. I am in L.O.V.E. with this camera. I upgraded from my starter DSLR EOS Canon T3 and It has taken my photography to a whole new level. I bought the T3 and kit lens used and it was a great starter camera to learn how to shoot in manual and took some great pictures, but I really wanted a more professional look and knew it was time to take the plunge. And it was well worth it! The quality of the pictures is UH-MAZING! And the ISO capability is unreal. It can easily handle a 1000 ISO with out any noise and can go up to 10000 ISO. Hello, low light. And since it is a full frame camera I can use Canon’s L series lenses with it.
My go to lens is the Canon 85mm 1.8, I love how close up it gets and how it compacts the background and gives such great bokah (you know that blurry background look). Although sometimes I think I get carried away shooting wide open at 1.8. I think this lens also gives you the best bang for your buck. I also have the Canon 50mm 1.4 which was the first lens I purchased and was a great investment. The 50mm is a pretty standard lens and give you a little more room for your picture, and since it can go down to 1.4 it is pretty easy to take a picture in lower light. Both the 85mm and the 50mm are great quality lenses without the hefty pricetag and I highly recommend either one of them to anybody getting started with a DSLR. The other lens I use is the Canon 24-105mm 4.0L series. I was pretty excited when I first got it to finally get an “L” series lens which are known as Canon’s premium lenses that professional’s use. This is a great outdoor/walking around lens. It is a zoom lens which makes it nice to not have to change out lenses but since the aperture only goes down to 4.0 it is not ideal for indoors. However I use it often when I am outdoors or at the beach since the kids are usually running around and I can zoom in and out without having to move around too much.
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Although I prefer to shoot in natural light, sometimes it is not always possible and a flash is required (and can make a huge difference shooting indoors). I am currently using a Canon Speedlight 580EX flash bought second hand from a photographer friend. But I also have this speedlight flash which was a great budget flash.
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56c5fed77c65e45e2d0cc7e6/56c5ffcee6515968572ed850/56d5c6c3859fd0f49e424abd/1456850657856//img.jpg" alt=""/>
Since I was getting a pretty new Camera I needed a pretty new bag to carry all my gear. I wanted a bag that had enough room but didn’t actually look like a camera bag. Kelly Moore Bags are known for their amazing style and well thought out features. I went with the Kelly Moore 2 Sues bag in raspberry which is vinyl so it is water resistant and is small enough that I can carry it around like a handbag.
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/56c5fed77c65e45e2d0cc7e6/56c5ffcee6515968572ed850/56d5c69560b5e93dca4a64c2/1456850592197//img.jpg" alt=""/>
I’m always curious what kind of photography gear other bloggers and DIY’ers use to take their photographs and love it when they share. So if you are a craft/DIY blogger feel free to let us know what kind of gear you use and what resources you use to learn photography. I will be doing some post in the future on my go to resources for blogging and photography and would love to hear from you! You can also join the facebook group I moderate: DIY Craft Sewing Blogger Photography Group
***Affiliate links: all opinions belong to this chick!
