Giveaway from Fabri-Quilt . . .

As part of the Design Ring from Fabri-Quilt, I have a tutorial for these sandwich and snack bags on their blog today.  These are quick to sew, and use their waterproof PUL, which was easy to work with.  I'm excited to be packing them in kids lunches next week!

Enter below to win a fat quarter stack of coordinating cottons and PUL from the same fabric line as I used in my tutorial . . .

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a ruffled upcycle . . .

I received this fabric from Wholeport.com recently - five layers of polka-dot ruffles, isn't it lovely?

All my girls had their eyes on it, but my little one won out.  We picked a favorite shirt of hers that was too small and had been a gift from her grandmother.

And a short time in my sewing room later, she had a new top to wear with leggings for school . . .

I have a few more of their ruffled fabrics on my wishlist for future projects . . .

Back-to-school and less laundry . . .

This past Summer has been just terrible for the laundry piles in my house.  It seems that when kids are home all day, they need to have frequent wardrobe changes.  We've also had our share of stains in their clothes this Summer - grass, dirt, finger paint, food, and blood to name a few.  RESOLVE is a laundry leader in fighting stains, and they sent me a couple products to review.  They are also asking for your tips on their new website called Resolve Tip Exchange (tips.powerofresolve.ca) - you can win a weekly prize of $250 or the grand prize of $5000!

As part of this campaign, they've asked me to share some of my tips.

• Get on top of stains right away.  I had splurged on the cutest little diaper cover for my daughter when she was a baby - the bum was covered in lace, and of course it was white.  And every Sunday she'd have a blowout in them.  They went straight into the sink with warm water and a scoop of Resolve and every time they came out just as white as before.
• Make a paste and leave it overnight. This especially works for tough stains that didn't come out the first time - just mix Resolve with some warm water to make a paste and spread it on the stain.  Let it sit overnight before adding to a load of laundry.
• Don't throw it in the dryer until the stain is completely gone.  The dryer can set in stains, so make sure that stain is really gone, and re-treat it if necessary.

Disclosure: I am part of the Resolve® Tip Exchange Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Scientific Seamstress Emily tunic . . .

This top got finished up for my little girl for back-to-school . . .

The pattern is called Emily and is from the Scientific Seamstress.  You can join the sew-along on her blog to get extra instructions and join the Facebook group to see how everyone else's tops are going.  This pattern along with a few more of hers are on sale for only $5 right now if you'd like to get one for yourself.

The only change I made to the pattern was adding the edge to the sleeves instead of making a belle-sleeve, and also adding the edge to the bottom.  My daughter loves it, and is looking forward to wearing it when school starts up next week.

Joining the Sew-Along hosted by Scientific Seamstress . . .

A couple weeks ago, I finished the Marissa Dress from Sisboom Patterns.  This week, the Scientific Seamstress is hosting another sew-along for her Emily & Shana patterns.  This means that you can scoop up one of these patterns for only $5 right now, get lots of step-by-step instructions on the Scientific Seamstress blog, and join the private Facebook group to see each other's progress and cheer each other along.

I've got my fabric selected from my stash, the pattern printed, and my paper pieces cut out.  I'll be making a size 6 Emily for my little girl, with the larger print for my main fabric and the small brown print for the collar.  I haven't decided on length of sleeves yet, I'm looking forward to seeing the different options in the sew-along.  Since my daughter loves wearing longer tops with leggings, this will be a great back-to-school outfit for her.

Sew Sweetness pattern and Fabri-Quilt fabric Giveaway!

Today I have a special giveaway for you - Sew Sweetness is offering up their new Peas & Corn Lunch Bag pattern and Fabri-Quilt is giving you the fabric to make one!

I sewed one of these up myself, and it comes together quickly.  The fabrics I used are from Fabri-Quilt's Mystic Forest line, a  laminate for the exterior and PUL for the interior.  I used my walking foot and had no problem sewing with these fabrics, but a cotton fabric also works great for the exterior.

Just use the rafflecopter below, and I'll pick a winner next week.  Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Speeding up the morning routine . . .

We have four little ones, and our oldest (our 'tween'), is definitely our worst for getting up in the morning.  It doesn't matter if I turn on the light, strip her covers, or talk loudly - she doesn't come willingly out of bed.  We have found a couple things do help to get her out the door on time in the morning:

• Make sure she picks out her outfit the night before
• Have her bags and/or lunch packed the night before
• Give her only one task at a time in the morning - she VERY easily gets distracted or forgets what she has to do next
• Keep the television off in the mornings

Another thing we struggle with is getting breakfast in her. Many times she ends up out the door with a half-eaten bowl of cereal left behind on the table.  I was excited when the people over at YOP asked me to try out their drinkable yogurt.  This is a great solution for busy mornings, and we tried it out with basketball camp this past week.  All my kids found their favorite flavors, and I'm sure this will become part of our back-to-school morning routine.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Help YOP Help You Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Shabby Apple dress review . . .

The lovely people over at Shabby Apple sent me a gorgeous dress to review!  The dress is called 'At First Sight' and it comes in a beautiful shade of purple.  I love the fit of the dress and quality of the fabric, and am looking forward to the cooler weather so I can wear it.

Shabby Apple has a fantastic selection of vintage clothing including dresses, tops, skirts, shoes, and accessories.  Here are some more of my favorites from their shop . . .

Check out their Facebook page to keep up to date on their new arrivals and sales!

quilt in progress . . .

Here's a peek at a quilt top I just completed.  I can't show the whole thing because it's a gift and there is a name appliqued on it.  The quilt pattern is called All About Me by Atkinson Designs.

And after having my busiest July ever, I fell behind on my quilt blocks for the Joy circle of Do Good Stitches.  So today I made up for it by completing my July and August blocks.  These will be in the mail this weekend - my apologies to the July circle host!

Sis Boom Marissa dress . . .

After much asking from my daughter if her dress would be ready for church on Sunday, I finished it up on Saturday afternoon.

The fabric is from our local fabric chain store, and the pattern is the Sis Boom Marissa dress.

It has some definite twirl factor, and the pattern was really well written which made it a quick sew.

The only change I made to the pattern was adding a lining to the skirt.  I hope to make this pattern again for my other daughters.

family movie night . . .

My latest shipment of Kinder® Surprise eggs included all toys from the new Monsters University movie.  So, one afternoon we watched Monsters Inc during our afternoon down time.  Since then, the characters have become part of family conversation, and the mini monster toys have been found 'scaring' my kids around the house.

My older daughters have gone on 'Daddy dates' to the movies, but my youngest had never been.  When Monsters University came into our discount theater this week, we thought it would be a great family outing to take the younger two for their first movie night.  My three-year old was busting a gut laughing through most of it, and couldn't stop roaring at his sisters when we got home.  And my daughters all loved it too.  So for around $20, we got a fun family memory.

Disclosure: I’m part of the KINDER® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.