Warm and stylish ears...

My beautiful sister-in-law crochets these lovely headbands with felt flowers that double as trendy accessory and ear-warmer. Just check out how cute and affordable they are... now available in her etsy shop.

Stenciled Pillowcase Tote

Here's another pillowcase tote that I made for a church auction. I added my own stencil to embellish this one and I like how it turned out.

Stencil how-to: I just enlarged and printed the flower pattern from my computer and taped it to a window and traced it onto freezer paper. Then I cut out the design and with the waxy side down, ironed it onto my fabric. Then I used fabric paint medium to turn a custom-mixed color into fabric paint and sponged it onto the stencil area. After it dries, you just peel off the freezer paper and you have such a clean edged pattern. I love this method because the stencil doesn't shift or let paint bleed under the edge.

A pretty floral print pillowcase for the inside/reverse side of the bag and the handles.

I love that so many have expressed interest in making this bag. I will try to put together a tutorial here soon... watch this space!

Idea Book

I subscribe to a lot of magazines... a guilty pleasure passed on from my mom I guess. I remember stacks near her bed. Now that I have three kids, my leisure time is limited and the magazines seem to stack up pretty fast. I used to read them. Then I started thumbing through them and dog-earing the pages that I liked. Now, I've realized that I'm never going to get back to the stack to look at those pages so I've come up with a new plan. I immediately tear out any picture that I like and "scrap" it into my idea book. I also jot little notes about projects I'd like to try. I write the date too and it's become a kind of creative journal. I tear out any articles of interest and keep them in a folder I can take with myself to a doctor's office or read on a long drive... much smaller than that daunting stack I had growing. Now I can find my "inspiration" pics a lot easier. I love the idea of an "inspiration" bulletin board too. One day, when I have a personal space for crafting/sewing I will do that too. My favorite notebooks are the inexpensive composition books that I cover with pretty paper, or in the case of my latest, vintage contact paper I found at a thrift store. I love this print and it made it easy to add a little strap to hold the notebook closed (those adhesive velcro dots are the best!)

Thrifty Decorating

One of my neighbors is a really great decorator and does home staging. She shared some of her secrets in a short class and I was amazed to learn that her expensive-looking decor was accomplished so inexpensively. She really inspired me. I'm trying to look at things that I already have in a new light or for different purposes. I've since found a number of home decorating blogs with similar themes of thrifty decorating. I love re-using, re-making and "upcylcling" things when sewing and want to learn more about doing the same for decorating. I have a few projects in the works, but here is a really simple one:
A glass cover that I found on its own for $1, plus a dish and a candle pedestal...
... become a cute serving stand.
I can just picture little cookies or cupcakes in here, or even some fruit:
Speaking of thrifty things, I went to a local thrift store in search of some picture frames and found some great ones that just need a little love, along with a few other treasures:
This is a Leacock Prints tea-size table cloth with the most charming design, and it is in perfect condition! It fits perfectly on the little table my girls use for their tea parties. So sweet!

Below, this shabby-chic looking tin was just calling me to take it home and fill it with hydrangeas or one of my mother's beautiful dried floral arrangements ...
... and, a little bird to sit on my kitchen table.

White Fluffies

I've been surrounding myself with white fluffy things lately:

One day, while experimenting with elastic thread and ruffles, I made this little pillow...

Today, I decided that I needed another pillow to go with it.

I started with a pillowcase.

Then I had some fun with a stencil.

And now my white ruffled pillow doesn't look so lonely on that chair.

More car seat covers

I've made a couple more car seat covers – one for me and one for a friend. I am having a hard time choosing which one I want to keep. I think I'll let her choose. I went for a less bulky bow on these, even though I adored the look of the other. I also tried different snaps on the straps with a lower profile so they would lay flatter. Velcro would probably work too, I just didn't know how durable that would be. On the blue cover I used the same geometric black and white print on the inside, but I really love the larger print I found for the lining of the tan and black cover. The buttons on the blue/brown version are my favorite so be sure to click on the pic for a closer look!

I've had a few requests for my pattern. I will have to send it via snail mail, so email me your mailing address if you are serious.

No pants allowed

Since my girls will only wear skirts/dresses, I've decided to sew some to add to their collection. I have some much cuter ones cut out and ready to sew but these were super simple and therefore were finished first. Ava picked the fabric for hers. She loves Tigger and Pooh. I couldn't resist – one seam and some straps made from an old T-shirt so they would have some stretch.

Emma's skirt used to be a tunic top of mine. I cut it in half and used one part as the petticoat. This is my kind of recycling!