blue eyes

hoping you all have a great weekend.

kids quote canvas

isn't this fun? a great way to showcase the quotes we love in our home where we can see them. you can find the how to at ohdeedoh

softies

a friend of mine recently showed me a copy of miyako kanamori's book "sock and glove" and i instantly melted. i have been wanting to start making mackenzie some toys but haven't gotten around to it. the patterns in these books use gloves and socks to make adorable handmade toys.

i also have had on the top of my to knit list these precious softees from ysolda teague. you can find the free pattern at ravelry or on her site.

do you have a favorite soft toy pattern you would like to share?

framing treasured picture books

do you have a book you loved as a child that is falling apart and you want to hold on to the memory? i am lucky enough to have had a mom who kept all my treasured books as a child to pass down to my kids. i was a big reader and still am. thankfully my daughter is the same way. she loves her books.

the images from the book "bow wow! meow! a first book of sounds" from the little golden book series were some of my favorites as a child. unfortunately our copy is falling apart. i have tried to fix it, but to no avail. i decided to turn it into a piece of decorative art for mackie's room instead. we took a simple wood frame from ikea and painted it to match the colors in her room. i took my fave pic out of the book (yes, it hurt me to cut it up) and popped that pretty, little sucker in a frame.

now every time i go in her room i find myself drawn to that picture and to the feeling of the fond memories that wash over me. she wakes up in the morning and has taken to carrying it around the house saying "pretty". she must agree with me. the picture reminds me of my daughter and of all those little moments when we take the time to relish in the beauty of the things around us, especially when they are brand new.

floor mat pattern

i finally got the last of my ebay fabric orders. mackenzie was so excited when she saw the alexander henry 2-d zoo print. she likes to sit and name all the animals and count them. i originally purchased the fabric with the intent of making throw pillows for her crib/room to go with the quilt i am making. but now that mackenzie has set her sights on it, she keeps asking me to lay in on the floor so she can sit and play with it.

what to do? i am thinking of turning it into a cozy, comfy mat for by her crib. she can sit and play on it, and my hubby can fall asleep on it when putting her to bed at night. both ways and i am a winner. now all i need is some idea of how to go about it. i am not gonna pretend that i am more than a beginner sewer here people, so i did what i always do and searched online. i was surprised to find a lack of patterns on this particular item. maybe it is so easy i don't need one? not too sure yet, i may go along the lines of this project at sew mama sew.


right now i am leaning towards sewing it to a fleece style material and putting batting in between? any advice for me out there? any patterns anyone knows of? let me know.

on my hunt i did come across this super, stylish nap mat for toddlers! i want one of these! you can find the free tutorial for the mat here.

fabric mobile tutorial from badskirt

stashbuster alert!
i have been all over the fat quarter month at sew mama sew. i am sad that february is almost over. badskirt has whipped up a great pdf tutorial for making mobiles from your favorite fabric! you can download it here.

if you are interested in some other mobiles, sew mama sew has some helpful links here. mobiles are addicting and a great way to use up your fabric or crafting stash. go on, get creative and hang those sweet little ornaments for our little ones to enjoy.

sewing for your toddler

i wanted to make mackenzie a new skirt last night. i should have known not to start a project when it's 9:00pm, i'm tired, still sick, my husband has been working what seems like an endless amount of overtime and my daughter has the croup. but i did start one? yes, i did and i don't know how i managed to finish it.

i am a beginner sewer. i am a knitting addict who recently decided to branch out and learn how to sew. i was too lazy to get a pattern out last night and instead winged it. the funny thing is that i never learn that winging it is sometimes a bad thing. for some reason i completely forgot to change the color of the thread in my bobbin - hello? i don't know if there is an excuse for that one. i ended up sewing half of the skirt hem with the wrong color. yep, it sucked. i had to rip it out. i should have given up at that point, but i decided to persevere and man, was it worth it.

the skirt isn't fantastic, nor is it perfect, but who cares? mackenzie's face this morning when she woke up to the new skirt was soooo worth all the angst. sewing for a toddler is the best feeling in the world. they show their true emotions on those precious little faces and it just warms your soul from head to toe. cutest part was she threw that skirt on right over top her hippo ballerina jammies and started dancing around.

reason for this post? to remind myself not to forget to change the bobbin color (which i am sure i will do again) and that learning to sew is so worth it.

sewing green

are you trying to find ways to be more "green" when you are sewing? i try to repurpose everything when crafting and was thrilled to see the upcoming release of this book.

betz white's "sewing green" is filled with wonderful projects made with organic materials. She also provides some handy tips & resources on more earth friendly stitching. visit beth's blog for more info.

sewing green:
25 projects made with repurposed & organic materials
by: betz white

knitting for pets

for all you animal loving knitters out there.

pet projects:
the animal knits bible
by: sally muir & joanna osborne

ikea hacker

i ran across this adorable and creative play kitchen today and had to post about it. i adore this and i know mackenzie would go crazy for it. where to buy it? you can't. but you can make it! it's constructed from a simple piece of ikea furniture and you can find the steps here.

the original piece she bought from ikea

the finished product has shelves filled with food and the oven lights up!

while reading about this project i came across a fun, hour waster of a site called ikea hacker. it's filled with, yep you guessed it, ikea furniture that people have have altered (or hacked) and submitted to this site. it has how-to's and lots of great inspirations. i know i have some ikea stuff sitting around that could be gussied up.

glass jars frames galore

glass jar frames! whowouldathunkit? do you have a bunch of glass jars kicking around like me? i can never bear to recycle them and i end up using those pretty little things for so many different functions in our house and turning them into a frame, now that's one i had not thought of. if you feel the urge to make some of these check out photojojo's tutorial.

she's almost two

peek - a -

boo!

ahhh, those little moments

that little twinkle in their eye

lmnop & chalkboard tees

get your free downloadable issue of lmnop today! this great online magazine is "a free quarterly pdf for hip, stylish parents and there children".

i dug the chalkboard tees featured inside. what a fun idea for little ones to express their creativity on their own clothing. they come in fun colors and the chalk it (the black area on the tee) comes in many different images. kids can write, draw, erase and repeat, and yes ladies - they are machine washable!

handmade home

handmade home:
simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasures
by: amanda blake soule

readers of my blog know how much i love the book "creative family" by amanda blake soule and her beautiful blog soule mama. i was so excited to see a sneak peek of the cover of her highly anticipated 2nd book "handmade home" due to be released on august 11th. needless to say i am pre-ordering my copy. "handmade home" is sure to be treasured in our household.

how about a button ring?

photo from ric-rac

just a little bit more on spreading the button love.
how about a ring to adorn your crafty fingers with your fave button? jodie at ric-rac has a nifty little free tutorial on how to do just that. what a fun project!

photo from ric-rac

d.i.y. fabric flower garland

i am in a project kind of mood today so here is another one for you. i think the cloud of illness may be starting to lift from our home and my mind is starting to regain it's creative energy. our poor little mackenzie got a viral infection resulting in a form of the croup. i am sure any parent out there whose child has had the croup knows how scary this can be. she is on the mend, thankfully, and the idea that i may be able to get some sleep this weekend and start to feel better is causing me to salivate.

here is a little project i ran across a week or so ago that i thought some of you may enjoy.

this tutorial for a sweet garland comes from the blog creature comforts and can be found here. i enjoy projects like these where you can let your own creativity go a little wild. choosing your own prints, materials or shape of flowers or anything else you can dream up.

i love to indulge in this blog and fantasize about all the goodies she puts up daily. i spotted this garland in her post before & after of her daughter's bedroom makeover while on the hunt for some ideas on redoing mackenzie's bedroom dresser. it's filled with d.i.y. projects and some great ways to think outside the box when decorating a child's room.

photo from creature comforts

if you make your own flower garland let me know, as always, we would love to hear from you and see your wonderful projects. have a wonderful and restful weekend.

got an old lampshade kicking around?

photo courtesy of cicada daydream

got an old lampshade kicking around? not sure what to do with the thing? well before you donate it take a look at this tutorial for a simple lamp shade from cicada daydream.

cicada daydream is the blog for cicada studio Michelle Engel Bencsk's home to a collection of fabrics that are to die for. you can find them here and also at their etsy store here. the hydrangea blue - mod squad (shown below) is my personal fave.

so find that old lampshade, get some fabric you love and get sewing.

it's springtime at small magazine

the newest issue of small magazine is out and filled with lots of goodies for the eye. i adored the little cape on page 3 of the article "return adress". go take a look and if you like what you see subscribe - it's free!

do you love buttons too?

i love buttons. i know a lot of you love buttons. all you fellow button lovers check this out:

button it up
80 amazing vintage button projects
by: susan beal (www.westcoastcrafty.wordpress.com)

yep, i so want this book because, of course, i love buttons. take a look at these bad boys:

find these buttons at my etsy favorites

do you have a passion for buttons too? what are your favorite kind of buttons - fabric, vintage, handmade? let me know how you express your love of buttons.

natural cold remedies for toddlers

mackenzie and i have colds. the cough has now been added to our runny, stuffed up noses. we have been lucky and mackenzie has only had 2 colds since she was born, this will be her 3rd. i feel so sad for the little one so off i went hunting for some natural cold remedies to help her feel better. it just broke our hearts to see her hacking and sneezing all night and of course it ended with her sleeping in our bed and me not sleeping at all.

here are some of the remedies i found:

Ginger Lemon Honey Tea

Roughly an inch of fresh ginger
2 Cups Water
Juice of 1 Lemon
1-2 Tbsp Honey, or to taste

1. Cut the ginger up. (Don't worry about how fine it is chopped up, you will be removing it from the water later)

2. Add the ginger to the water and bring to a boil. Cover, bring the heat down to low and let the sucker steep. (About 5-10 minutes).

3. Take that good ol' ginger out of the water.

4. Add the lemon juice and honey to the water and stir it up.

(please note that if you are feeding this to the little ones i let mine cool before serving it to her.)

warming socks treatment

you can find a great instruction for this treatment here on babypurity.com. my naturopath swears by this treatment.

honey, honey, honey.

they say a spoonful of some good honey for the little ones helps aid in the relief of their cold symptoms. it's great for relieving a scratchy throat plus it tastes great so they are bound to lap it up. please remember though that honey is not safe to give to children under the age of one year due to the risk of botulism. you have to love some of the advice we get from our grandma's.

finally, some of the old standbys:

1) use a humidifier
2) drink lots of fluids
3) get lots of rest

do any of you have some natural remedies to share? i would love to hear them!

handmade nation - the documentary and book

handmade nation
the rise of diy, art, craft, and design
by: faythe levine and cortney heimerl

If you haven't already read the book handmade nation go out and get a copy. it's an inspiring, beautiful, collection of a group of amazing handmade artists.

faythe levine travelled to 15 cities and interviewed 80 individuals in 2006 to document the rise of diy, art, craft and design movement in the usa. in between 06' and 09' she released a sneak peak trailer that caused quite a lot of anticipation, wrote a book about her journey and made a documentary.

the documentary, also titled handmade nation, was just released and the screenings are touring around. if you are interested in seeing it please go here for screening times and locations. i know i am personally crossing my fingers that it makes it to more destinations than toronto in canada.

if you can't wait for the screening, here is the trailer for handmade nation:

paperclip mobile

wouldn't this look adorable catching all the sunlight in a little one's room? i love anything that uses twigs. the more twigs and branches the better. i use them for so many things, but my fave by far is for curtain rods. it looks so simple and sweet.

this adorable paper clip mobile tutorial can be found at kids craft weekly in her newest newsletter - bugs. i have mentioned this site before and really enjoy some of the projects she comes up with. i would like to try this for mackenzie but using material instead of the cellophane. anyone else made anything similar to this using another material? let me know and share your pics and ideas, we love hearing from you.

new fabric

i got the rest of the fabric i needed for mackenzie's quilt on the weekend. i am in love with the colors and happy with what i found. polka dots for the front, pattern for the back. it has taken me months and months to find exactly what i had in mind but it sure was worth it. it wasn't a pleasant experience buying the fabric (that is a tale for another time) but let's just say i won't be going back there and after having a bad retail moment in the evil store i also forgot my visa...bah! what a pain in the arse (pardon my french). just one more reason to keep buying online.

i like to shop local but that is sometimes hard to do when the shops are hard to deal with, oh well, on to happier things. i won't be spending any money until i get a new visa (trust me that's a good thing) and i get to keep myself busy quilting for my little girl while trying hard to ignore the fact that we both have colds :)

recycled plastic bag croheted tote

my mom gave me the head's up on this great project. if you are like me and sometimes forget your cloth bags for the grocery store and end up skulking out embarrassed about the bad thing you just did for the environment this is the answer. we reuse our grocery bags for garbage bags in our house but wouldn't this fun crocheted tote be much more stylish?

the details on how to make the bags above can be found here at canadian living.

this great wool stasher above can be found here at diy network.

i love any excuse that makes me actually use my crocheting skills. making a blanket here and there just isn't enough to keep me going when it comes to crochet. this project looks like great fun and an easy way to put your creativity to the task. they are also waterproof and i think it would make a chic beach bag or swimming pool carryall. summer is on it's way, or I like to tell myself it is, especially seeing as i got hailed on today in some freak 10 minute storm for the second time in 2 weeks. what are the odds???

what i'm looking forward to...

the album "hold time" by m. ward the album is released on february 17th. yep, cannot wait. love his music and my daughter likes to get down to his tunes. she particularly favorites "never had nobody like you". two songs on the album feature zooey deschanel, who i think is hilarious. you can't go wrong with this one.


i also cannot wait to get sewing with some of the amy butler fabric i bought on ebay the other week. it is finally here and i am super excited.

you know that tingly feeling you get in your fingers when you don't want to do anything but create something? you crafters know what i am talking about. it's like a flex reaction, except it doesn't seem to relax until you do something creative and put all that wonderful, spontaneous and contagious energy to use and yes, i purchased pre-cut quilt squares so i don't have to cut them out myself.

i know some of you may not agree with me doing that but i just don't have the time with the little one to do it myself, plus i don't enjoy that part of the process. i love that i can buy them pre-cut and then i can enjoy sewing the quilt myself. it's always a good thing when you can pay someone to do something you hate. now if only i could afford a maid - my bathrooms need cleaning.

mama chic wrist cuff

photo courtesy of jc handmade

i am a huge fan of the blog jc handmade and when i saw the free tutorial for these adorably addicting "mama chic wrist cuffs" i had to write about them. what a great way to use up scraps of material, buttons and more buttons (i have a thing for buttons) and get creative with pattern and colour combinations. plus the free tutorial offers a pdf download available on the blog with an option to make these for your kids! i can't resist. i also love her kidlet wall pocket and felt board tutorial.

photo courtesy of jc handmade

if you are curious like me where the adorable mama button came from you can find them at paloma's nest. these gorgeous natural material buttons are available with custom text as well as some other pieces in caroline colom vasquez's line. you can find her etsy shop here.

jennifer mentioned to me she has a flickr group so you can post photos of any of the projects of hers you whip up. go ahead and share what you've made - there are some lovely photos on there.

please let me know if you decided to make these wrist cuffs, as i would love to see how they turn out as well! happy sewing!