Tutorial 78: Nap Mat

September 5, 2011

I remember a time when Lily was in daycare 8 hours a day. She had to have her own blanket and pillow for naptime. Something like this would have been wonderful!
Get the tutorial at Sew Like My Mom.

Cute Cheap Dress of the Day 21

I like this dress if it weren't a maxi. But knowing you, you could easily make it knee length in 5 minutes;)
Use coupon code: AW202011 for 20% off making your total only $28!
Use coupon code: NXTDEL0611 for free next day delivery.
 Also at Oasis....
Use coupon code: AW202011 for 20% off making your total only $28!
Use coupon code: NXTDEL0611 for free next day delivery.



Inspiration 31: Vintage Kids

September 2, 2011

See what's happening at Project Run and Play. Good things.

Tutorials: Lengthen a Short Top

August 31, 2011

Neat way to finish up a top that's too short! See tutorial at craftycritique.com.

Party 4: Ribbon Chairs

This would be great for a small party. I'm guessing if you tried it for a wedding you might have a lot of work ahead of you.

Tutorial 77: Sock Stick Horse

August 30, 2011

Here's another great DIY gift idea! I'd love to re-post a couple of these ideas around Christmas.
 Get the tut at Light Blue Grey.

Tutorials 76: No Sew Scalloped Diaper Clutch

August 29, 2011

DIY No Sew Diaper clutch.
So stylish. No one will ever know what's inside;)
See full tutorial at I Still Love You.

Tutorials 75: Painted Rug

August 28, 2011

Tatertots and Jello posted this really fabulous painted rug. After obsessing over the color schemes in Good Luck Charlie (DITTO) she decided to recreate a similar version for her patio with just cut out circles and tape. 

This is such a coincidence because I too was thinking of Good Luck Charlie for the color schemes on my patio. Mostly because I have a super tacky quick set pool out there and that's about the only scheme that will match but I also like the pop of it all. Thanks for the inspiration Jen!

Tutorials 74: Suitcase to Picnic Basket

Now, isn't this clever. I'd like to give something like this as a Christmas gift.
See the full tut at Curlby.

Ideas 28: Stuffed Animal Storage

August 25, 2011

For years I've been trying to solve the stuffed animal dilemma in our home. We have enough to populate a small plush city. I can't bring myself to give them away because the girls love them so much and they all have some kind of special meaning to them. Yesterday I spent the entire day cleaning up the basement because it had partially flooded with really disgusting water. The water ruined so many things I had in plastic bags on the floor. One of which was a sack of stuffed animals I couldn't find a place for upstairs. 

So I've been thinking of making something like this for our overabundance of stuffed animals. It would also solve my need for bean bags.You can buy one for $450.00 but that's just madness! I think it would be comfy if it were stuffed with only plush animals and not dolls or mechanical plush toys. But we have so many of both I think it would still work. I wonder how the kids would feel about sitting on their stuffed animals.

A short cut idea might be to purchase a cheap bean bag, take out all the stuffing, cut a large hole in the cover, sew a see through mesh in it's place and fill it with your stuffed animals. That way you don't have to install a zipper.

Inspiration Home 8: Faux Granite Countertops

August 24, 2011

I know this isn't sewing related but I just had to share. I've been doing a lot of house related makeovers lately.
Look at this amazing faux granite countertop made from the existing laminate countertops.
The key is in the coating. Be sure to use a lot of polyacrylic for that granite shine. In fact, I wonder if casting resin would work better? Less coats.

It's a............

August 23, 2011

Well, we found out this morning that we will be having a .......
Boy!

This was the first thing Brian's mother and I went out and bought at Gymboree. I've never bought boy clothes before. It's a bit more challenging than girl stuff. But everyone is so excited/surprised. It's the first grandson in both of our families.

Bake Sale Frock (what's been going on with me lately)

August 22, 2011

I'm guessing many of you are wondering what happened to me these past few months? At the end of May I had some big plans for the blog that had to be put on hold. Did my sewing machine break? Did I forget to pay my internet bill? Did I fall into a bottomless hole? Well....I've basically taken the summer off for various reasons. The biggest reason/good news, we are expecting a baby at the end of January.
Not that this alone would impede me from blogging at the pace I usually do. Normally I get sick and tired in the first four months which does slow me down a bit but this time around I had to also quit taking a medication (tramadol) that I was using for IC. The effect of NOT taking the medication was surprisingly horrible and way worse than the discomfort of IC. Before this pregnancy, I never took more than the recommended dosage, normally less. Yet, not taking it was enough to throw me completely off track for most of the summer. It took about three months to get back to feeling like myself again. And I've been starting slowly with semi-homemade maternity dresses.

Semi-homemade dresses are great because they only take about a day to make and usually come out looking fabulous. And best of all, you can still brag about making it yourself without really fibbing;)
This was the second one I made. I'll be showing you the first one later. I used an old Forever 21 top and cut it off at the bust line. I save the trim at the bottom of the top and used it at the waistband of the new dress. It kind of hurt to cut up this old favorite shirt of mine. In fact, I'm a little shocked I did it at all but in the end I think it was worth it. This dress is so super cute for maternity wear. I made the skirt from my own pattern and attached it to the top. It has a gathered front, side piped pockets, 1.5" waistband and wide contrast trim at the hem.

Has anyone else noticed the complete LACK of maternity options out there? Everything is knit and simple and blah. We need a Modcloth for maternity! Using interesting tops and adding your own homemade skirt is a great way to get that look for little money. Honestly, I don't even think you can get this look in maternity no matter how much you paid. Everything out there I've seen is pretty bland. But if any of you have some good sites please let me know.

I hope to be offering the skirt pattern later in the week on Grosgrain in sample size 8 for free then offering it graded later at a small fee. I'll also show you how to attach the skirt pattern to an existing blouse so you can make a semi-homemade frock of your own.
I also have a few other projects which have taken up my free time. As I mentioned earlier, we moved Lily and Molly upstairs to make room for the new baby which took about a month and a half to finish completely (hoping to be posting pics of that soon, still have a few decorating ideas in the works). I'm also working on a big project with Burdastyle which requires some commuting to NYC and LOTS of work from home. On top of all of that I still am feeling kind of poopy from the pregnancy but I'm slowly making my way back to where I was before. As for re-introducing tramadol after the pregnancy I'm already looking into more natural alternatives but if anyone has any questions about taking it themselves, I'd be happy to give my two cents.

I'm so glad to be feeling much better than I was just a month ago. Though I fear it will be short lived:) These few brief months between 4 and 6 are the least uncomfortable. But this will be our last baby so I'm trying to enjoy as much of these moments as I can. It is a blessing and I'm so happy to meet our newest addition in January.

PS We'll find out the gender of the baby tomorrow which I'd be delighted to share with you then!

Organize 2

What a great idea!
CD packs for ribbon storage - for the DIY/Craft room.

Tutorials 73: Distressed Jean Hem

August 20, 2011

Do any of you also have this problem? Hemming jeans. You can never get them to look just like they did before you hemmed them. Just Something I Made has a great tip on how to get that distressed look around the cuff.

Tutorials 72: Modpodge Suitcase

August 19, 2011

Modpodged vintage suitcase.

Tutorials 71: Fleur Coffee Table

August 18, 2011

Another great use of the Silhouette Machine.

Inspiration 30: Girls Dresses

Cute dresses!
Love the gauze over ruffled beige.



Source: None via Itsy on Pinterest

Tutorials: One Dress. Five Variations.

August 17, 2011

My friend Beth from Stories to A to Z referred me to this incredible dress.
And the most amazing part? It's made with just ONE seam!

Infinity_kimono_front Infinity_kimono_back
Infinity_one_shoulder_front Infinity_one_shoulder_back
Infinity_cross_halter_front Infinity_cross_halter_back
Infinity_cross_bust_front Infinity_cross_bust_back

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