Blogging break.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking a little blogging break. I have been having some health issues... again. I won't get into all the details, but I'm having a very difficult time with my vision. So as you can imagine, this is make blogging and reading in general very difficult for me to do. Occasionally I will be checking my email and will respond to them when I can. I know a few of you are in the middle of some of my projects, so I will try and help you out when I can. A few weeks ago I finally updated my tutorial page and even set up a separate tutorial page just for Fat Quarter Fridays. So take a look around and let me know whatcha think. I guess that is it for now...see soon!

embrace the camera {making pizza}

Em said it best this morning, this is why we embrace the camera every week! Thanks em!

Today we made some pizza's to fill the freezer. The freezer is looking pretty bare these days and is laking all of those freezer meals that are usually in it. I love being able to run to the freezer and grab a meal that is already prepared and just needs to be cooked.

The kids always love cooking with me and knowing that we were making pizza was even more fun for them. But waiting for the yeast and liquid to bubble was a but hard for a little girl. We lost a whole batch of pizza due to premature mixing.

A little missy girl had a hard time getting the dough started but had an even harder time letting this momma help.

Mixing wasn't her thing, but kneading that dough was.

Gosh, I think she does a better job then me. She sat there just kneading away and didn't want to stop.

Her dough came out so smooth and stretchy...it was simply perfect.

It was a bit hard explaining to the kiddo's that the pizzas were going into the freezer and were not going to be eaten til another day. So for supper we had pizza.

FAQ's

Where do you purchase your labels?

I purchase my labels from worldwidelabel on etsy. Yes, I love working with them and I think they do a wonderful job. I highly recommend them.

When do you sew?

I do almost all of my sewing while the kids are either napping or sleeping at night. My kiddo's are a little too curious while I'm sewing and it just doesn't work for me right now. I'm sure in a few years sewing with them will be fun, but for now it is not. Plus for me, sewing is my time to escape. It is the only thing I get to do by myself without my kiddo's involved and I think we all need 1 thing we can do for just us.

Do you or have you taken sewing classes?

No, unless you count high school home economics as a sewing class. I guess I am self taught and just keep at it until I am happy with the outcome. The Internet and all of the sewing tutorials that we have access to have definitely helped me become a better sewer. But I still have a long way to go before I know it all. There are still many basic sewing techniques that I do not know how to do.

Why and when do you blog?

I first started blogging to promote my etsy shop and it took me awhile before I really understood blogging but now I'm hooked. I never realized how lonely being a stay at home mom could be, so blogging has allowed me to connect with others that feel the same way as me. It is great and I cherish all of my blogging friendships. Plus I have found that my bloggy friends just "get me". You all love drooling over pretty fabric and handmade creations like I do. I blog most of the time in the mornings while having my coffee or while the kiddo's are sleeping. Most of my posts take me a few days to write and I have a ton of unfinished ones in draft.

Where do you sew? Do you have a studio?

This question always makes me laugh. When I first started blogging I was afraid that if I actually told people that I sewed at the kitchen island then they would never buy my items and think I was a nutso. Then I quickly realized its not where you sew, its how you sew. So no I don't have a studio and sadly may never. I have almost given up sewing a few times because of this, but I decided to work with what I have, instead of giving up something I love. My sewing machine is stored in one room, while my fabric is stored in the kitchen and all of my other craft supplies are stored in the mudroom. This makes "quick sewing projects" not so quick for me but I'm making due with what I have and pray that someday I will have a craft room.

Are you going to change your name to 3 little hooligans?

Nope. What if we have a 4th little hooligan?!

Did you go to college?

Yes. I graduated with my BSW and have a minor in Gerontology. Before getting married I was The Resident Coordinator for an assisted living facility. I loved working with the elderly and hope someday I will go back to it.

Can I print out your tutorials?

Yes, please do. My blog has the print friendly button at the bottom of all my posts. I just ask that you don't print off pictures of my kiddo's. I know they are cute and all, but that's kinda scary, don'tcha think? How do you come up with so many different ideas? I don't know, it's just how my brain works. I have books filled with ideas that I hope to make someday.

Do you really live in 1/2 house with 3 kids? and how do you do it?

Yes, we do! We do it because we have to. Plus, this is how I am able to stay at home with the kiddo's. We have given up a lot for me to stay home with them and I would give up even more if that meant me staying home with them. Luckily my hubby is very handy and we have done almost all of the work ourselves. This has saved us a ton of money but it has taken a lot longer this way.

What is the worst thing about living in your house?

Geez! Umm, maybe the lack of a table to eat our meals at. I cannot wait to sit in a chair and have my feet under a table while enjoying our meals together. Oh and having all 3 of them in one room is tough, plus winters are hard in such a small space. Oh and to have a party with our family and friends. I'm usually telling people not to come over it would be great to ask them to come over.

Well I think that pretty much covers all of the FAQ's. Thanks for all of your questions and please keep them coming. I love hearing from all of you and getting to know you better.

Rosette Eggs.

While making some rosettes last week I tried making some rosette eggs.

Its just like making a regular rosette but instead of gluing the fabric together as you go, you glue the twisted fabric onto a plastic egg. Easy, right?

If you have never made a rosette before, then its time to give it a shot. They are super easy, fun and very addicting. If you are not sure where to start, the web has a ton of tutorials out there that are easy to follow.

So, if your as obsessed with rosettes as I am, then why not make up a few rosette eggs for Easter.

Inspirations for my home.

I have finally decided on a color scheme for the living room and dining area. For the walls, I have chosen Rosemary Green from Benjamin Moore and red as the accent color. I have loved these two colors together for the longest time, but have found very little use of them together. I was nervous about pairing them together, but after watching Color Splash, I know that they will work great together because they are opposite on the color wheel. I think David would be proud of me!

Benjamin Moore has a great tool for choosing the right colors and seeing your visions on the walls. I just wish they would let you change the decor so you can really see how well the colors would work together.

Our dining area is going to look very similar to this one. We will have built-in bench seating on one side and chairs on the other sides. The color scheme will be the same as in the living room since the rooms are open to one another. I can totally picture a table just like this one in that space. How cute is the chalk board paint on top of it?! How fun for the kids...and us. I can already see lots of plumbing diagrams and sewing ideas being drawn on top.

We would like to make a sliding door similar to this one for the playroom. With the playroom being so small and the dining area being so close to the playroom we don't have a lot of space for a swinging door, nor do we want to compromise the space on either side of the door for it to swing. I have seen these door used a few places and just love them.

And after seeing this playroom I was in LOVE! Granted our playroom is going to be about 500X smaller then this one, but the color scheme is exactly what we will be using, especially since I already have these colors throughout our house and this would be a great way to tie them all in. Plus the kids kitchen set and storage containers are already in this color scheme. LOVE!

The only space we are still unsure about is the bedroom upstairs.

We are not sure if we should do something like these built into the walls.

Because we have very limited areas for storage and have a major lack of closets in this house. So we need to utilize any and every space we can.

source (House of Turquoise)

source (Urban Grace Interiors)

But I am also in love with the idea of building the girls beds into the walls and utilizing that space in such a great and unique way. Of course we would only be able to put their beds down low on both sides of the room and not like shown above. So I guess our biggest question is whether we make the room for us or for the girls. Thankfully we have some more time to sleep on it.

I have found so much inspiration on the web and thought I would share my favorite sites with all of you. Plus this is a great way to keep them all in one spot as a reference point for me. I love being able to have all of these great ideas in one spot and to be able to show the hubby "my plans" and hopefully we can make our plans work together.

Decor Pad

Country Living

decorology

i suwannee

Simply Grove

House of Turquoise

Designspiration [sk]

milk jug turned plastic container.

Looking for a great way to use up all of those empty milk jugs?

Well why not turn them into these cute little plastic containers. I saw this idea over on the Disney family fun website and loved it immediately. I am always in need of little containers to put our goodies in when giving them away to others and this is such a great way to do that. Over at family fun they used their containers to hold sandwiches for the kiddo's. But honestly, you can store anything in these little containers. So give it a shot. They quick, fun, and easy to make. Oh ya, did I mention FREE! Plus your re-using those empty milk jugs instead of placing them into the trash.

Fat Quarter Friday {scrappy bunny and chick}

Scrappy Bunny and Chick {tutorial}

(allow 20 minutes each)

Materials Needed:

*plastic eggs

*fabric scraps (cotton and felt)

*buttons, ribbon, brads or other notions

*glue gun

To make the bunny, I used one pink egg.

Cut some fabric scraps about 1 1/2" wide. Its hard to say exactly how long, because it all depends on how you ruffle your egg. But a fat quarter is more then enough fabric to make one egg.

Take and fold the fabric in half.

Now start by twirling the end of it a little bit.

Add some glue to the tip of the egg and press your twirled piece onto the egg. You will be gluing the folded edges onto the egg so that the raw edges are up.

You will be working in small sections going around the egg. Add a little glue to the egg and then gather and bunch the folded edges so that they make a ruffle. Press the folded edges onto the glue area of the egg.

Then push down on the ruffles so that you cover up as much of the egg as possible.

It will look something like this.

Keep working till the whole egg is covered in ruffles. To finish off the end just glue in place.

Gather buttons, ribbon and some sewing supplies. You are going to attach the button onto the ribbon. Of course you could glue them together instead.

Lay the egg on its side. You are going to be attaching the bunnies face onto the bottom of the egg. Attach the nose and whiskers now by gluing in place.

Cut out some ears to the desired length and width. Then sew them together, right sides facing up.

Then sew the ears onto some felt or thicker fabric to give them strength. Then trim the excess fabric off.

Fold the ears inward and make a few stitches on the bottom of the ear to give them shape.

See, much cuter!

Now attach the ears.

To make the bunnies tail, take another piece of fabric that is about 1" wide by 18" or so. Fold piece together like you did above but this time you are going to ruffle it on itself and keep ruffling and gluing it onto itself.

And then you have a little bunny tail.

Now add some eyes to the bunny. I used some black brads but you can use whatever you have on hand. I also added another button to the nose, just because I thought it looked cuter.

And there you have it, a cute little scrappy bunny and just in time for Easter.

Now lets make this cute little chick.

Gather one egg and some fabric, just like before.

Ruffle all around the egg.

Cut two pieces of contrasting fabric that are about 1" x 1" to make the beak. Place right sides together and sew all around leaving the straight side open.

Then take one side of the beak and add some stitches in the middle to give the beak shape.

Stuff the beak with some tiny fabric scraps, this will give the beak more shape.

Cut one piece like above, this is going to be the cute little feathers on top. Again cut them to the desired length. I think mine were about 2" long.

Now cut two piece for the wings. Fold one piece of fabric in half to make them the same shape when unfolded.

Take your wings and gather them like above, gluing them into the desired shape.

Now it is time to add them to the chick. This time the egg is going to stand up and the bottom of the egg is the bottom of the chick. Glue wings and beak on in desired places.

Glue feathers on top of chick.

Now cut some feet out. I cut mine like so, but ended up cutting them smaller once glued in place. Just see what you like more. There is no right or wrong way here.

Cut one last piece for the tail feathers and glue in place on the back of the chick. I also cut a few extra pieces of the orange to add to the feathers on top of the chick's head. I just thought it needed some.

Lastly, take two or four buttons and glue them on for the chicks eyes.

Now you have a scrappy little chick.

And a scrappy little bunny.

Just in time for Easter!

**Please feel free to use this tutorial for your personal sewing projects. You may link this to your blog and use any photo's. Please be kind and give credit where credit is due.**

Any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me. If you make one using this tutorial, please add it to my flickr group. I would love to see it and you just might see it featured on my blog one day!