My sister called last night and asked me to make something for a friend of hers who is having a baby shower on Thursday.  She is a big Clemson fan and is having a little girl this April.  This is what I came up with and OH MY GOSH HOW CUTE!! All this cute girly baby stuff I've been sewing lately is really making me wish this next baby is a girl too! 

I didn't take pictures while I was making this one, but I have a request for a few more and will be sure to take pictures so I can make a quick tutorial to share soon! 

Project Review - Frugal Bedroom Makeover

I'm on a roll folks! I realize this is my 4th (yes 4th!) post of the day, but all of my house work is done, my sweet baby is napping, and I have so many ideas and projects I've been wanting to share that I'm just going to keep on going until duty calls me elsewhere! 

This is the only "before" picture of her room I could find!  It was taken last May when we first moved in.  As you can see, the room is empty and bare!

My goal was to decorate her room on a budget of $300.  This INCLUDED having to buy the furniture, bedding, and accessories.  ( I know *GASP GASP* but it CAN be done!) ;) 

I had originally found a green and white floral sham and quilt that I was going to use in the room, but ended up returning it to the store when my mother-in-law gave me a roll (about 4 yards worth) of pink and white stripped fabric that she had left over from years ago when my sister-in-law was a little girl.  It is sweet, soft, and feminine and least of all...free! ;)

We found a white bedspread at TJ Maxx for $20.  I love using white.  It is so versatile and neutral and makes it super easy to change the look later down the road.  Using the pink and white stripe fabric, I made her a bedskirt and sham for the bed.  I also made a cute little turtle throw pillow from scrap fabric from the sewing room. 

 The headboard was made using this tutorial I found on the BHG website.  I plan on having her monogram added to the top, but haven't done so yet.   The total cost for the headboard supplies was around $30.  

Remember this tutorial that I shared earlier this month on how to turn your mini blinds into functional shades? Well I tried it out in Anna Cate's room and guess what?!? It IS easy to do, they DO work fabulously, and it turned out to be a SUPER INEXPENSIVE solution for the time being!  On that project we spent a whopping $0 because the blinds were already up in her room and the fabric was free.

I recovered an existing lampshade that we already had in a pink and white polka dot fabric and her little rug we already had from the nursery in our old house.  The little patch work quilt at the foot of her bed was something else I kept from her nursery.  

The room still has a ways to go until it is finished.  Now its time to focus on all of the fun little details.  I need to decide on a paint color for the walls.  I also have some fun ideas (thanks to the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog) for projects to add some accessories and artwork, but it is starting to all come together now that the basics have been taken care of!    

 

Free Pattern Roundup

In my search for ideas to make some cute spring clothes for Anna Cate this year, I've come across some fun and easy tutorials that I thought I'd share in case anybody else wanted to put them to good use!

Pillow Case Dress Tutorial

Project Time:  About an Hour

Total Cost:  Under $10

 (could be much less depending on your fabric selection!)

Easy Peasy Toddler Belt

Project Time:  20 minutes

Total Cost:  Less than $3.00

(I was in a hurry when I made this pink belt because I made it out of the necessity to hold her little pants up!  I just used fabric I already had on hand from the dolls; however,  if you had the time, you could make the cutest patchwork belt for children or adults using this pattern!  Think "Vineyard Vines" catalog) 

Lazy Day Skirt Tutorial

Project Time:  Around 30 minutes

Total Cost:  Under $5.00 

(Again, it all depends on how much you want to spend on your fabric.  I found this in a remnant bin at Hobby Lobby for $1.00)

Tutorial on Adding Ruffles to an existing Pattern for Pants

(Photo courtesy of Jump Up and Down's blog) 

I have not tried this project yet, but it looks simple enough and oh so cute!

Ruffled Skirt Tutorial

(Photo Courtesy of Grand Revival's Design Blog)

Another project that I'm itching to try...though she may be a bit young this year to wear this style skirt.

The Bandanna Skirt Tutorial

(Photo Courtesy of V and Co's Blog)

I know, I know...another skirt tutorial! But how can you resist when they are so cute and easy!

Sweet Mary Jane Baby Shoes

Ok, this pattern isn't free.  Sorry! :(

I've looked and looked online for a pattern for Baby Maryjane's but haven't been able to find one.  I made these shoes from a pattern I purchased from an esty shop, Precious Patterns, for $3.00.  However, they only took about 30 minutes to make and the pattern is really easy to follow!  (they look way harder to make than they actually are)  I've already made several pair for baby shower gifts.  Because I've been so pleased with the pattern, I thought I'd pass along the info!

Sweet Bunny Dress

I had to take a break the other night from smocking Anna Cate's Easter dress to work on a quick, fun Easter project.  I'd much rather work on a little project that can be completed in an hour instead of one that takes night after night of my attention!  

Using the Simplicity A line dress pattern (best $3.50 I've spent at Wal-Mart!) I fashioned this little bunny dress for her to wear around for spring.  Instead of taking the time to add the buttons and button holes, I just made the shoulder straps a bit longer so that they can tie.  Easy fast fix that looks adorable!  She can wear this style dress with a little white top or later, when the weather warms up, by itself as a sundress. It turned out so cute and was so easy that I'm already looking for more fabric to sew up some other sundresses for her to wear this summer.   

 

It's a good thing my grandmother doesn't read this blog because she'd have me skinned alive if she saw Anna Cate outside barefooted before May 1st!  Funny that has always been one of her strict rules. :)

Sweet Sarah Kate

I have a mini baby shower this evening for one of the girls in our Bunco group.  She is having her first baby, Sarah Kate, in April so we are throwing her a surprise shower tonight - fun fun fun!

How adorable did this little onsie and burp set turn out?!? I just love it and wish I was going to be the one opening it tonight. :)  This is what I really miss since we always wait to find out what we are having... all of the cute boy or girl gifts.  I'll just have to enjoy making the cute stuff for others until I know what we are having. 

Not that I'm complaining because it is all worth the wait in the end.  I can think of no greater rush than being in the delivery room and hearing the doctor announce, "Congratulations!  It's a ...!"  Ohhhh I get goosebumps thinking we get to do it all over again in just a few months! 

Easy Monogram Wall Plates

I picked up these oval wooden plaques yesterday at Wal-Mart for 97 cents a piece!  I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with them, but they looked like they had the potential for cuteness. :)  While Will watched the Clemson game last night (or should I say "argued with the tv?"), I found some ribbon in my stash of scraps and settled in at the kitchen table to see what I could do with them.  I decided that a simple monogram was best and they turned out even better than I expected!  I printed out the A and C in Curlz Font in Word and then used that as a guide to sketch out my letters.  Applied the ribbon with a hot glue gun to the back after my paint dried and that was it!

(And as a side note,  I finally made a decision about the colors for Anna Cate's bedroom...Pink and Green are the winners!  I was planning on sewing her bedding myself, but all of the fabric I was finding was either too babyish looking (think cheesy pink elephants) or looked like it belonged in a teen's room.  I figure I have plenty of time to play with bold loud colors in her room as she gets older, and I've realized that I do want her to have a soft and girly bedroom while she is still so young (especially since she didn't have a girly nursery).   I was getting very frustrated with my lack of options until last Friday when I happened to make a quick run into TJ Maxx (one of my most favorite places to shop!) and found some green and white bedding that was just PERFECT!)

I've just started sewing the bedskirt and curtains and the walls still need to be painted -- which I'm having to rely on Will for because I don't think I'm allowed to paint (?) -- but here is a little preview of what is to come until the room is finished! ;)

Inspiration for Nursery

This is the nursery that I'm currently thinking of trying to replicate for the new baby.  It is so hard trying to create a space that could be for a boy or girl that isn't cheesy.  It seems that all of the gender neutral bedding out there isn't my taste.   And I'd like to keep the space very soothing.  This nursery bedding is by Serena & Lily, and although it is for a boy, I think it could go either way.  The polka dots add a bit of girly flair. :)

Our rocker is blue and white striped, and the wall color in the room is already a very pale blue (which I had planned on keeping).    I know I won't be buying the bedding as a set, but maybe if I can find fabric that is similar enough, I could recreate the look.   Hmmmm....we'll see what happens...

  

Copycat Artwork

I found this print online while searching for artwork for children's rooms.  I loved the little birds and all of the colors in the print, but didn't love the price tag... $108!  I was about to move on in my search when the pattern on one of the umbrellas caught my eye.  It was VERY familiar and the more I studied the print I realized...this was made from scrapbooking paper!  The very paper that I had sitting in a book in my sewing room. 

Of course I had to try to see if I could replicate the print.  So while Will watched the BCA Championship football game last Thursday night, I sat at the kitchen table with my paper and all of my paints.  

I am pleased with the results, except that you can see the seam in the paper (look in the green grass area to the left).  So if I do decide to use this in Anna Cate's room, I may try to recreate it on canvas, which would make it much easier to paint the background on.  

More Room Ideas...

Just cataloging the ideas I'm finding online that I'd like to incorporate into Anna Cate's room.

I love the teal and yellow used in this bedroom by Garnet Hill and absolutely adore the pop of color from the lanterns hanging over the bed:  

Another bedroom with lanterns:

I love the mirror used in this nursery.  I actually have a frame very similar to this one that I found at a consignment store.  I had painted it white and was planning on using it to frame a chalkboard to hang over the desk in my sewing room.   If I can find an inexpensive source for a mirror, I may just use it in her room to go over her dresser.  Very feminine indeed!

The last picture is from Martha Stewart's website, and I love the paint color on the walls.  I'm thinking of going that way in the nursery...

Inspiration for Bedroom Design

Long time - no post! Now that the holidays are behind us and I'm over the yucky sick phase of pregnancy, I'm feeling inspired to get busy creating again!  My two big projects right now are pulling together a girly room for Anna Cate and decorating the nursery for the next baby. 

 I just can't decide on the look I want for Anna Cate's room.  Do I go with soft pastel pinks and greens or bolder fabric that I can pull lots of color for her room?  One on hand, I think a bedroom should be soothing and relaxing, yet children's spaces should be colorful and bursting with creativity and imagination.  If I could just make a choice on my fabric, then I could start pulling all of the other details together.  Oh decisions, decisions!  

Here are some photos I've found online that have inspired me.   

If I do end up upholstering a headboard for her, this is the fabric I've found that is my favorite so far.  I could pull other fabrics with pinks, greens, and yellows to make her pillows, bed skirt, and curtains from.   

I also know that I'd love to incorporate some sort of shelving to display all of her favorite books.  The covers are too cute to have hidden on a bookshelf and I'd love to incorporate them as artwork in her room. 

 One last idea is that I plan on making a bunch of dolls and have them sitting on her shelves and bed.  The books and dolls alone will add punches of color by themselves, so maybe I should go with bolder colors. 

So stay tuned...I've got lots of fun projects to get started on once I decide on my colors! :)

Winter Wardrobe

  We have a problem in our house.  I have been unsuccessful in finding any clothes to fit Busy Lizzy (what AC is more affectionally known as around our house) for this winter.  She is petite and although she is 17 months old, she still can't wear most 12 month old pants.  It doesn't help that she wears underpants and most 18 months clothing is sized for children wearing diapers. Because there is no "bulk" down there, her pants just slide right on down her little bottom.  So what am I to do to dress her this winter?  

My solution:  the Jumper.  These dresses are super super simple to make and don't require much fabric at all.  All I need to do is stock up on cute tights and turtle necks and make a few of these little dresses and she will be set for cooler weather!  

I found this fabric in the remnant pile at Hobby Lobby for less than $2.  It is brown corduroy with pink polka dots.  It took about 45 minutes to make.  I just used a Simplicity pattern from I purchased from Wal-Mart last year.  

The whole purpose of this blog is to encourage others and to show you how easy it can be to make your own stuff (and save money at the same time!)  I promise you...if you have a sewing machine and know how to operate it, this would be a great project to start with.  I do not like to follow a pattern and have little patience for complex sewing projects, but this one is super easy.  The end results look much more "complicated" than what the actual skill involved takes, and you can make the cutest clothes that look like you purchased them from an upscale children's boutique.       

Now all I need to do is convince my mom to learn to use her new monogramming machine to put her initials on the dress.  Now how cute would that be? :)

Goodies for Sweet Ava

A couple of weekends ago, I had the honor of helping give a baby-shower for a very dear friend, Ashley, who is expecting her first daughter (Ava) in January.  I was in charge of making the corsage and something to use as a "centerpiece" on the food table.

  Instead of the traditional corsage, another of our friends suggested that I make a large fabric flower that she could wear for the shower and then later pin on her diaper bag.  I'm going to have to steal this idea of other showers because it turned out super cute!  Thanks for the idea Carrie! ;)

Ava's nursery colors are green and pink, so I found some cute scrapbook paper at the craft store to cover the letters of her name.  We used this on the food table as a decoration and then Ashley can use it for decor in her nursery! I also used some of the paper to cover a wooden frame (also from the craft store) to make a coordinating frame for her nursery.   

Then last, but certainly not least, I sewed some pink and green fabric to the bottom ends of cloth diapers to make the most stylish burping cloths!  They were so cute I wanted to keep them for myself, even though I have absolutely no use for burping cloths right now.  Ashley and Ava got so many fun and girly things...she is going to be one stylin' baby!! :)

Thrift Store Find

Before

Another Christmas present checked off my list!  I found this baby-doll high chair at Goodwill several weeks ago for $2.  It is in perfect condition, but I wasn't too excited about the Disney princess theme.  I used some fabric from my stash to make a new cover and ta da!  It turned out really cute! And the pink perfectly matches with her little kitchen set we refinished for her this summer.  Now I just need to find a good hiding place to keep it until December!

After

Fresh from the Oven

Yum yum these cookies look scrumptious! I whipped up a batch this weekend to give my little baker for Christmas, but they turned out so cute, I'm not sure I can wait that long to give them to her!

I'm planning on making her a little apron out of the polka dot material and also getting a small rolling pin from the craft store to go with them. 

They were a fast and easy project, and would make the sweetest birthday present for a little girl.  All you need is felt for the cookies and icing, some beads for the sprinkles, coordinating embroidery floss, and some polyfill to put inside them to make them squishy.  

To Make:  

-I used a biscuit cutter as a template to cut out two circles from the cream felt.  

-Then, I cut out the "icing" from the pink and/or brown felt. 

 -Next, I stitched the beads onto the icing and top piece of cookie.  

-To finish them up, I used this tutorial , from fabric designer Anna Maria Horner, on felt stitching to stitch around the edge.  

-Before I stitched the cookie completely closed, I stuffed a small pinch of polyfill in the center to puff them up a bit. 

 Now who is ready for a tea party?  

Rosie Posie Doll Kit Giveaway

Ok! One last giveaway this week!  I'm starting to run out of things to give so I better start pacing myself.  However, to celebrate my 100th HEART on Etsy, I'll be giving away one of my doll kits!

All you have to do is visit my shop and come back here to let me know which doll is your FAVORITE!  The winner will receive the PDF Doll Pattern and the Doll Kit to make the doll she choose as her favorite. 

 ***And don't be discouraged if you are a beginner sewer or have never sewn before at all.  I tried to write the pattern to make is as easy as possible to follow so even if this is your first sewing project, what a fun way to start! :) ***

Just leave a comment letting me know which doll you like the best, along with an e-mail address and I'll announce the winner on Friday!  

Easy Art

This is a super easy project that can be completed in less than an hour and looks so cute in a child's playroom or bedroom.  I made this to hang in the playroom several weeks ago after trying to figure out a way to add color and art to the room without spending a dime.  I dug through my fabric scraps and used a pillow I had seen in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog as inspiration.

Materials Needed:

 * Frame (I just used an old one we had in storage that I had picked up at a yard sale and painted it white).

* A piece of fabric slightly larger than your frame to use as the background

* Various fabric scraps

* An idea of the picture you are going to create (you can use pages from a coloring book as a pattern, or anything you find that inspires you!)

* Heat N Bond No Sew (This is an inexpensive iron-on adhesive that you can find in the craft section at Wal-Mart or any crafting/sewing store.)

Have fun cutting out your fabric to make the picture you desire and then follow the directions on the back of the Heat N Bond package to iron the fabric pieces onto your background.  Pop the picture into your frame, hang it on the wall, and ta da!  You are all done!  That was easy! ;)

"A" is for Anna

I'm working on redoing Anna Cate's bedroom now that she is about to graduate to a big girl bed.  Because we waited to find out if she was a boy or a girl, I had to be gender neutral when decorating her nursery.  Now I get to have fun and play with pinks, greens, and all things girly!  

Michael's was having a huge sale last weekend and the letters I have been eyeing for awhile now where priced at $1.99 each.   I have seen people paint the letters before with stripes or polkadots and thought they would be cute either hung or her wall or sitting on her bookshelf. 

I ended up just using scrapbooking paper I already had at the house.  After tracing the letters onto the paper, I just cut them out and glued them onto the front of the letters.  It turned out to be a super fast and easy project and they turned out so cute!  

 

Wooden Girl Set Giveaway

One of my goals with this blog is to inspire others to create!  So to celebrate this new little endeavor and get everybody in the spirit of crafting, I'm going to be giving away a set of these adorable little wooden girls for you to paint yourself.  What a FABULOUS gift idea for the little girls on your list or to give as birthday party favors!

 

 I first found these adorable dolls on Etsy.  If you are interested in purchasing some already painted, you can visit  TooCute, or check out Gemmielou to purchase the unfinished version to paint yourself (you should also be able to find them at any craft store.)   I'm working on a set for one of Anna Cate's Christmas presents this year and they are darling, if I must say so myself. I would have loved these as I child, as I have always had a fascination with playing with little miniature toys.  

I'll be giving away a set of four girls (unfinished).  Just leave a comment below and I'll draw a name on Friday and announce the winner!