Mini Clutches and a big THANK-YOU. . .

So, a couple weeks ago I asked for you to vote for the top I made for the Valentine's Day showcase, and THANKS to your votes, I placed second and won a $25 gift certificate to Contemporary Cloth.  I just want to extend a HUGE THANK-YOU to all of you that took the time to vote, I appreciate it so much!

As you may know, I have three little girls and two of them are school-age.  Little girl birthday invitations come home quite often, and buying gifts can add up.  So, since I enjoy making little bags and purses, I have been trying to sew for every birthday girl for the past couple of years.  It saves money, but I also really enjoy trying out new patterns and of course playing with fabric!  My daughters also love being part of picking out the fabric and style when another birthday party invite comes home.  So, with the fabric gift certificate, I ordered a bunch of half yard cuts of prints and coordinating solids for birthday girl sewing.

And since my oldest daughter is having her birthday party this weekend, I wanted to sew fabric goody bags for the girls.  And with my girls on Spring Break this week, they were lots of help with deciding on which fabrics to use and picking out matching buttons.  

These mini clutches were fun to make and my girls have already found a dozen uses for them - the finished size is 7 1/2" x 4" and 2" deep at the base.

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Sew & Tell Friday.

double strip quilt . . .

A very generous friend of mine gave me a bag full of leftover fabric from a double duvet cover she's making for her daughter.  All the fabrics were already in strips and after laying them all out, I realized it was enough for a double quilt top.  And since my oldest daughter was in need of one for her bed, I just sewed all the strips together for one fast quilt.

The fabric line is called Spellbound by Art Gallery Fabrics, and it's a bit of an older line.  I love the colours, perfect for my baby girl that will be nine already next weekend!  And now I'm trying to decide what colour to repaint her room with to match, maybe a purple?  Or the blue?  I'm hoping to pick up some backing for this quilt this week so I can get it quilted and bound.

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

planning my quilt is coming along . . .

I ordered the solids to complete my bed quilt and they arrived in my mailbox this week . . . I'm hoping to start cutting into these soon, but I've been tackling some overdue mending lately that needed to get done first.

And after seeing my daughter using washcloths and hairpins to make a diaper for her dolly yesterday, we sewed up some cloth diapers for them.  Now suddenly all my girls are playing with their dolls again, so I'll be making a bunch more dolly diapers during nap time today :)

DO. Good Stitches

DO. Good Stitches is a group of charity bees hosted on Flickr.  Each group has quilters and stitchers, and each month a quilter organizes a quilt and then finishes it off and donates it to a charity.  I applied for a spot a few months ago, and happy to say that I just got placed as a quilter in the Joy circle.  For the month of March, we were asked to make wonky stars.  It was fun making a block I haven't tried before, and I'm hoping to get these in the mail today.  If you'd like to apply for a spot in one of their charity bees, just fill out this form.

Modern Mini Quilt Challenge . . .

The Modern Mini Quilt Challenge ends today, and I'm getting in an entry in the final hours . . . I was really hoping to enter a mini wallhanging quilt for my craft room, but I just didn't get enough sewing time lately to finish it.  So, here's a mini quilt I completed recently, made with a honeybun of Moda's Arcadia.  The finished measurement is 35" square.  I'd love to do this method for a whole quilt one day, but this makes me happy on my table for now :)

sewing for this week . . .

Another little girl birthday party today, and I was running out of ideas for this one (she already received an apron and book tote for her last two birthdays).  My daughter mentioned that she doesn't have a place to keep all her artwork, so after a Google search, I came across a file folder tutorial.  My daughter was pretty pleased with it, I hope the birthday girl is too!

And here's a sleepsack for my new niece (this one fits up to size 2T, so it's more for next Winter for her).  Our local fabric store had fleece at 70% off, so this was an inexpensive one to make, and I bought the bias tape pre-made.

And my BEST thing I made in the sewing room this week - a cover for the safety door handle for my the inside of my little guy's room.  Seems my little guy is protesting bedtime lately, and wants to join us or play with his sisters instead of staying in his room.  And those safety door handles are just too easy for him to pop off.  So I made a fabric cover to go over the handle and so far he can't figure it out :)

Linking up to Finish it up Friday, Sew & Tell Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Some quick baby gifts . . .

There has been a lot of babies born lately, which means lots of baby showers coming up.  So this past weekend, while at a crafting night and an all-day quilt retreat, I started stocking up on some baby gifts.  And thanks to my GO! Baby and my rag die, these little rag quilts came together really quickly.  I hope the new babes enjoy snuggling with them and covering up their dollies and stuffed animals with them when they get a bit bigger . . . my kids still love the ones I made for them when they were toddlers.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.

How this #KinderMom is spending Spring Break . . .

Spring break is only a couple weeks away, and I'm starting to think about how to keep my girls entertained when they're home every day.  Last year, we took the kids on a two night stay to the Great Wolf Lodge and the year before we took them on a 12 hour drive to visit friends up north.  This year I'm actually looking forward to an at-home staycation, especially because all my girls get carsick when we go on long drives.

My older girls love to craft and create.  I'm planning to put them to work with my Baby GO from Accuquilt and get my scraps organized.  They love this task, and do a great job.

My oldest daughter will also be having her birthday in the middle of Spring break (they get two weeks off) and so we'll be in birthday planning mode, and I hope to put them in charge of making some decorations for the house, and maybe I'll even be brave and let them make and decorate cupcakes too.

We also plan to have lots of outings - to our local library, the swimming pool, McDonalds playplace, and visiting with friends who also have their kids off school for Spring break.  I also hope to tackle potty-training with my two year old, maybe having his sisters home and encouraging him will help.  He sees the Kinder Surprise eggs on top of the kitchen cupboards and knows that he gets one when he goes.  I told my girls that if he does a 'job' then they all get one, so I'm sure there will be lots of encouragement for him!

You can check out the KINDER Canada Facebook page for a peek at the 2012 toy collection, great conversation, and exclusive monthly contests through the My Kinder Moments application. You could even win $500 towards the ultimate staycation!

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.

Ruffle skirt tutorial . . .

One of my daughters picked out a sparkly new top while shopping with her Oma last week, and needed a new skirt to go with it.  And after seeing the new ruffle fabrics out there, we went looking online to find some for a good deal.  We came across some great deals on Etsy, and for only $4, we bought a half yard of some black with white trim from Pink Poppies Fabric.

There's more than one way of making a ruffle skirt, and here's the method I used:

First, cut out your skirt piece - decide on your skirt length; and for the width, take your waist measurement and double it.

Make a casing at the top of the skirt by folding the top ruffle to the back and catching it with your stitches.

Cut a piece of 1/4" elastic to your waist size and feed it through the casing with a safety pin attached.

Secure the ends of the elastic together with a double zig-zag stitch.

Match your two unfinished edges of the skirt and sew them right-sides together - take your time and make sure to have all the ruffles facing down by either matching them together as you sew or you could pin them all before you start sewing.

Here you can see the finished seam.

And that's it!  So simple, and such a fun fabric to play with.  My daughter says it's just fancy enough to go with her new top.  And I have just enough left over ruffle fabric to make a newborn size one for my new little niece . . .

Linking up to Finish it up Friday, Sew & Tell Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Last day to vote . . .

This little Valentine's Day Showcase competition is keeping me awake at night.  Let's just say that I wasn't one of the popular girls in highschool, and rallying for votes is a little out of my comfort zone.  BUT, when a $75 gift certificate for the Fat Quarter Shop is up for grabs, well then I better put in an effort, right?!  I do prefer a judged competition though, definitely less stressful!

So once again, I am shamelessly asking you to vote for this little Valentine's Day top that I made for my little girl - it is entry #7, just click 'like' under the picture.  And now I should turn off this computer and play some more trains with my little guy, and help my daughter make playdough cupcakes for our tea party.

Pay it Forward . . .

I received a lovely surprise package in the mail yesterday, a 'Pay it Forward' gift from Kelly at a Plain Path.  She made a sweet little scrappy basket, some yummy home-made jam, and included some cute notecards that I'll be sure to put to good use!  THANK-YOU so much Kelly, you definitely brightened up my day!

As part of the pay-it-forward tradition, I would now like to invite three of my readers to join!

Here are the 'rules':

1. I will make a little something for 3 people who comment on this post. It will be a surprise and it will arrive when you least expect it.

2. I will have 365 days to do it in. What's the catch? To get a handmade present from me, you have to play too! This means YOU pledge to send a little handmade something to 3 people. It doesn't have to be quilty - just handmade!

3. Once you receive your pay-it-forward gift, you must post about it on your blog/Facebook/or other social media site to keep the fun going - with the Pay It Forward badge.

So, if you would like to commit to the above 'rules' and receive a handmade gift from me, please let me know in your comment below!

UPDATE:  I've contacted several of you to join me in this Pay-it-Forward challenge, THANK-YOU for your replies!  Those of you that I didn't contact had 'No-Reply' profiles so I had no email to reply to you with.

Please VOTE!

I made this little top for my daughter for Valentine's Day and entered it into a Valentines-Inspired Creations contest.  Can you please vote for me?  There's some fabric gift certificates for prizes, and I would love to win!

My entry is #7.  You just have to click on "like" under the picture.  THANK-YOU!

Here's the info about this Valentines-Inspired top:

I am not usually one to make outfits for my girls for themed holidays, but I had a Lamour honey bun laying around, and thought it would make a cute top for my little girl.

I took a couple shirts that she had outgrown, cut the white one short, and cut the sleeves off the pink one, and sewed a bunch of fabric strips together . . . and voila!  A cute little top that she absolutely loves!  

welcoming my new niece . . .

My new niece is expected to arrive anytime, and I finished up her baby quilt this week.  The fabrics are a Japanese line from SevenBerry and I used my diamond ruler to cut out the top.  The bright colours are more my sister-in-laws style, and I love that it's still girly.

For the backing, I used a super-soft fleece with Tinkerbell printed on it.  It should go well with her Tinkerbell-themed nursery.

And here's another 241 tote, it should make a handy diaper bag for shorter outings.  I think the colours suit my sister-in-laws style quite well, and it was fun making this pattern with a totally different look.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday, Sew & Tell Friday, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

today I am . . .

Hoping to finish off some baby gifts for a new little niece (due to arrive any day) . . . waiting for some Bella solids to arrive in the mail so I can finish planning my king-size bed quilt . . . feeling like I'm finally settling into some new medication that's supposed to cure the fatique I've been struggling with for the past year . . . and enjoying my tea on my new mug rug (THANK-YOU Leslie).

Happy Heart Day

After making this little top for my youngest girl, I had some honeybun strips of L'Amour left over.  This little skirt used up 12 of them.  I added some lace for the hem, and some solid brown for the waistband with an elastic casing.  There's still 12 strips left in the honeybun, but my oldest daughter couldn't decide what she wanted made with them, so she'll have to wait till next year.  I'm off to pick up some chocolate . . . Happy Valentine's Day!

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

planning out a king-sized quilt . . .

I have been wanting to make a king-sized quilt for our bed for some time, and decided to make it my 'quilting goal' for 2012.  So far, these three prints will be included, and now I'm trying to decide on patterns.  I want to make a large focal block in the middle, but not sure if a lone-star is my style, or maybe a one-block swoon quilt like this one (but add some borders to make it bigger)?  I need to purchase a couple solids yet to go with these prints, I was thinking of grey and a dark green.  Does anybody else dream of quilt blocks and fabric combinations at night when they're planning a new quilt?

a diamond quilt . . .

A little niece is on the way, and so I cut into this stack of fat quarters this week.  My 'diamond is a girls best friend' ruler made for some quick cutting (great price at JoAnn's with their coupon).  And the piecing got done while my little guy napped yesterday.

The fabric was at a local quilt shop and it's a Japanese line from a company called Sevenberry,  I haven't been able to find it anywhere online.  They had a sample quilt done up with it in their shop and it was so vibrant, and had such a nice feel to it, that I knew it would make a great little quilt.  I'm off to the fabric store today to pick out some backing.

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

a Valentine's Day outfit . . .

I am not usually one to make outfits for my girls for themed holidays, but I had a Lamour honey bun laying around, and thought it would make a cute top for my little girl.

I took a couple shirts that she had outgrown, cut the white one short, and cut the sleeves off the pink one, and sewed a bunch of fabric strips together . . . and voila!  A cute little top that she absolutely loves!  I still have over half of the honey bun left over and eleven days to figure out what else to make with it . . .

And here's another little tote for a birthday girl today.  The fabric is a retired line called Sunwashed by Sweetwater.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish it Up Friday, and Sew & Tell Friday.