happy birthday times three

i have had such fun designing and sewing these wristlets. i think they make perfect little birthday gifts. the wristlets come together easily and don't require much fabric- perfect for remnants from previous projects.

lists!

i adore making (and crossing off) lists. i found these two lists yesterday and i knew i had to share. i have already printed and filled up a couple of lists. they are cute and funny and useful! what's not to love?



i am completely smitten with all of designer erin vale's freebies. she is so talented. check out these gift tags, mini file folders, love note and recipe cards.

lists originally seen via how about orange.

gray and yellow bag

i love yellow. especially when paired with gray. i bought this gray and white fabric a while ago at IKEA of all places. i didn't know what i was going to make with it but i knew i liked it. the yellow is an old sheet from my mother-in-law. i used the buttercup bag pattern.


i made a few changes to the pattern- enlarged it by 30% on my copier and then added an additional two inches in length, much longer strap so bag can be worn across the body, extra pockets inside, added a interior band of the exterior fabric along the top of the bag.


i also made a matching accessories bag for all the little items that are usually buried at the bottom of my bag. my most favorite has to the be the key tether i added. i will never again have to dig to find my keys!


i love that the yellow is like a little surprise just for me. though i wish i had made the bag a little bigger. it's already pretty full!

coffee table- take two

after posting about the coffee table this morning the kids and i stopped by a couple of thrift stores and guess what- i found a coffee table i like even more than the first. and it was only $10!



i especially like the wood inlay.



the first coffee table is now in the formal living room (as formal as a sewing room/office/catch-all room can be).

coffee table

i have been on the look out for a coffee table for months. this isn't my dream table but it is close enough for now. all this thrifting has made my innate cheapness even more extreme. i actually hemmed and hawed (and pondered over night) about spending $20 on this. in the end, i am glad i bought it. though the kids are driving me nuts with the jumping back and forth from the table to the couch. you'd think that we don't have a "no jumping on the furniture" rule in this house. luckily only minor injuries so far...



did you notice my new orange ruffled pillow? cute, right?


i made it using this tutorial. things i did different- sewed my ruffles to the pillow front before sewing the pillow cover together. also, i made the cover removable for washing because let's face it, with three kids in the house it is inevitable that it will need to be washed at some point!
i used a pillow form i already had and a 40% off coupon for the fabric so the total cost of the project was less than $4.

DIY: felt star garland

get yourself some invisible thread and cheap felt. (1/4 yard each of four colors was about $4)

cut out approximately 130 stars while watching John Adams.

feed the stars one at a time into the machine. overlapping or not.

now you have a very LONG strand of stars. cut thread in between stars to desired length.

hang garland and be festive!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!