the puzzle solution

My kids love puzzles. They also love to stand and sit on the puzzle boxes. After I had re-taped the boxes for the umpteenth time I had had enough!

The puzzles before.

After- each puzzle in it's own canvas drawstring bag.

Using a box cutter I cut the picture off each box (If you do this, be smarter than me. Don't cut the cardboard box on your lap while watching 30Rock. You'll be really mad at yourself when you cut a 1" gash in your brand new jeans. MOM: don't worry I barely scratched my leg- hardly any blood at all!). I cut a piece of vinyl a few inches larger than the picture. I sewed the vinyl to the front piece of the bag (before the bag was sewn together) with the picture sandwiched between the canvas and vinyl. Then I trimmed the vinyl close to the stitching. I made the bags with boxed bottom and button holes for the drawstring.

A little tip: when sewing vinyl the presser foot drags and gets stuck on the vinyl. Cut a narrow strip of paper (the tissue paper that comes with the vinyl works well) and place it under the presser foot near the needle.

After I had made almost all of the bags Tammy at she wears flowers posted a drawstring bag tutorial. I made the last six bags using her method and it was so much easier and quicker! Thanks Tammy for being smarter than me!

All of those puzzles from the first picture (plus a few more I found scattered around the house) all fit perfectly in this bucket that I picked up for $1.82. Look at how much space I am saving!! The puzzle bin sits nicely at the bottom of my lovely new closet.

closet renovation

My sweet husband finally finished the closet he has been promising me for two years.

Before:
This closet used to house the HVAC system but we put a new unit in the crawl space. (I didn't have a real before picture but this is pretty much what it looked like. This picture is from here.)

During: Sheetrocked closet.


Upper portion of the closet.


Lower portion of the closet.


I have seldom used appliances, CD's and DVD's, the DVD player, toys, art supplies, vacuum, broom and mop, and so much more tucked away in the closet. I love being organized!

help, please.

I got a comment this morning from a reader saying that the majority of the photos on my blog won't load for her. Is anyone else having this problem? Thanks for your input!

fabric bow tutorial

This might be one of my favorite scrap buster projects. It is so easy and quick (it took me less than 20 minutes and that was stopping to take pictures!). This time I added the fabric bow to a headband for Sutton. Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric. Mine was 4"x7". The 4" measurement is the width of the bow. Adjust the dimensions to get the desired size of bow.
2. Fold your rectangle in half, wrong sides together. Stitch along the edges leaving a couple inches open for turning.
3. Clip corners.
4. Turn square right side out and press. Topstitch the opening closed.

5. Accordion fold your square adjusting as needed till it looks right.
6. Dab a bit of hot glue in the folds and squeeze.

7. Cut a 2.25"x5" strip of fabric (the length isn't really important two or three inches would probably be okay).
8. Fold the strip lengthwise and sew creating a fabric tube.
9. Turn right side out and press with the seam in the center back.
10. Wrap and glue strip around bow.

11. If you are just making a bow, you are now done!
12. If you are adding the bow to a headband, glue and wrap tail of strip around headband, pulling taught.
13. Trim the tail, fold raw edge under and glue.
14. You could also glue or hand sew onto a clip.

turning a fabric tube

A few weeks ago when I posted the rosette tutorial D-lyn asked how I turned my closed-end fabric tube right side out. It would be too difficult to capture with pictures so I present to you my first how-to video:

for cora and siena

Jamie, a dear friend of mine from High School, is about to have her second baby girl (in like six days!) She will be named Cora. Pretty name, right? Jamie emailed me recently asking if I would make a couple of things for her new baby in exchange for some jewelery from her shop. I love trades!

The first item Jamie requested was an infant seat canopy. I don't know who thought up this idea but it is brilliant! If I have another baby I will definitely be making one of these. It will protect the baby from wind and sun and hopefully crazy old ladies at Walmart that think it is okay to touch your newborn.

Jamie left the fabric choice up to me. I am such a sucker for polka dots. And yellow.

Her only requests were a couple of rosettes on the cover and bows on the straps.

I had never made fabric bows before, I really like how they turned out. It would be cute as a clip for a little girl too.

Jamie also requested some burp cloths. I used large scraps for the front and terry cloth for the back.

Hopefully she doesn't mind that they are not a matching set!

And because I thought the soon to be big sister needed something fun too... a little dress for Siena who is almost two years old (I hope it fits!!).

I narrowed down my jewelery choices to two different items and told her to surprise me. I can't wait to see what she sends. Thanks Jamie!

me, pretending to bake cookies...

My blog friend Abby is celebrating her two year blogiversary. I was excited when she asked if I would like to make something for her month of giveaways. I knew exactly what I wanted to make. An apron and coordinating dish towels (with snaps, of course!). Go here for your chance to win!



I have been making aprons for a couple of years now. They make great gifts and I think every one of my sisters and sisters-in-law and many friends have received one as a birthday present. BUT I have never made one for myself. I decided to rectify that this week! Stay tuned...

the cat in the hat

Last week at school all the first graders took part in a "Book Parade" where they made a poster and got to dress as favorite book character. Liam chose the cat from The Cat in the Hat. He had never mentioned that the Cat was his favorite character but I was on board because I figured that it was an easy costume to make.

It was Liam's idea (and he did it all himself) to add the curly-cue's to the letters.

The hat and bow-tie were made with felt. I copied Dana and added a pipe cleaner frame inside the hat. Although I should have added more pipe cleaners as the hat was still a little floppy.

Do you like the blue sharpie? It was near dinner time and in my rush I lost all attention to detail. Oh well.

The whiskers are my favorite part of the costume. I think it really makes the costume. Made with pipe cleaners sandwiched between two felt circles with elastic cord.

He loved his costume. Can you tell? And how cute is Thing One next to him?

McDonalds has nothin' on me

This is quickly becoming our Saturday morning breakfast of choice. I use this biscuit recipe. Best ever biscuit recipe I swear and it's so easy! We like Morningstar Farms veggie sausage patties (they are so yummy and so much healthier for you) and I cook up an omelet (My favorite part is flipping the omelet in the pan. Makes me feel like a rock star in the kitchen!) and cut it onto circles with the biscuit cutter.

look familiar?

I just came across this on the Anthro website:
I think it is so funny that I made an exact replica of the rosette on this top with out ever seeing it. I am not suggesting that Anthro copied me (haha, as if!) I am certain this top was in production long before I made my version of the Shabby Apple dress. It is just a funny coincidence that my rosette looks more like this Anthro version than the Shabby Apple version.

bobbin storage

Previously I was storing my bobbins in a box like this but I hated it. The thread would unwind and since the bobbins were stacked four or five deep I would have to rearrange and dig to find to find the color thread I wanted. Basically it was a constant mess.

Remember those plastic things that we used in High School to bind our reports? They are called plastic binding combs and they are perfect for storing bobbins! They provide easy access to each bobbin and the ring keeps the thread from unwinding.

I have mine tacked to my inspiration board but they would also fit well in a drawer or sewing box.

Now, I can't accept credit for this brilliant idea my friend Nellie told me about it (She doesn't have a blog but check out the Etsy shop she runs with another friend: Hucklebaby). She even gave me the four combs I am using!

The only way this storage system could be better would to use clear binding combs (to more easily see the thread color). I didn't think they existed but I did a little search and found these. A 100 pack of clear binding combs for $1.70? Can that even be right???Do yourself a favor and buy a box. Share it with your friends. Be organized. Be happy!

It was too good to be true. Thanks Joella for pointing out my size mistake! 1/2" is the right size. $8.07 still isn't bad. Especially if you split it with some friends. That breaks down to $.08 a comb. Dirt cheap and effective!

fabric hoop project

Well, it happened. I got what the kids had last week. I am writing this post in between tips to the bathroom. Fun, fun.


I was very productive Friday night. I cleaned and purged my sewing area. I also finally put some fabric into my thrifted embroidery hoops and hung them on the wall. I will add more as I find more hoops. I hope to find some tiny ones so my collection can look more like this.


The bird print is Alexander Henry bought at Hobby Lobby. I had never seen an A.H. print there before. I was really excited! The tiny floral is a 1930's reproduction purchased at my all time favorite, Mary Jo's. I thought the blue/green cotton bud print was Joel Dewberry but I can't find it on his website. The yellow and gray is Amy Butler. The blue is an old night gown with a vintage doily tacked on.

It is so much easier to create when you are not working in a mess. If only creating didn't create such a mess! I really should have taken a before picture so you all could have seen what a horrific disaster it was.

This lady figurine was my Great Grandmothers. I was seven or eight when she died so I don't remember very much about her. I do remember the feeling of being in her home. I remember loving this figurine. Up until a couple of weeks ago I kept it tucked away in my cedar chest. I like having it out where I can see it often. Even though I didn't know Granny well this figurine makes me think of her and what her life was like.