makin'it in the mommyhood - pinwheel quilted coasters & vintage find love affairs

what happens when one lonely lemon and one lonely orange meet up? they fall in love. awww, so cute. they then shine just that much brighter and add that perfect pop of color to my new vintage finds that i picked up at the antique/collectibles & retro show this weekend! my lovely delphite glassware reamer and new pyrex sunflower (or daisy?) casserole dish. so bright, fresh and summery. exactly what i need when it's dreary, rainy and friggin nasty out. ahhhhh, yep, that's it....a little more to the right....i can almost feel the sunshine.


some lovely old buttons also found their way to my sewing desk. cannot wait to add one of these lovelies onto a new bag or a cute dress for one of the girls.


i also finished another sewing project - yay me! (insert me high fiveing myself) i have a little love affair with handmade coasters and it's one of my fave go to gifts. it was jer's grandma's bday last week so i decided to try a new pattern and make her a set for her bday. i used the pinwheel quilted coasters tutorial from the fab blog "the long thread".


i'm a new quilter (just learning) so i thought i would give the pinwheel pattern a go as practice for doing a quilt with this type of block. i have realized during my short time quilting that i am the worst cutter known to man. i seriously suck at cutting. cutting the pieces for these coasters alone resulted in many hours of cursing...it wasn't pretty and the hubs was scared. i really need to invest in getting a good rotary cutter. maybe that will help. i've been meaning to get one but wanted to make sure that i really enjoyed quilting before i invested in one. anyone recommend a good one?


i did have fun making them in the end and found it quite hard to part with them. they would have looked great in my living room. guess i'll have to add them to my gigantic "to make" list where the projects for me are always at the bottom...haha.

i know this post was supposed to be a link luv roundup but i just couldn't resist showing some pics of the vintage find love affair. hope you didn't mind :) do you have a thing for coasters too? a love for pyrex or all things vintage? leave me a comment and/or a link so we can all chat!

*all images luvinthemommyhood

makin'it in the mommyhood - time for school & some gremlins

school time is almost here...and my oldest daughter is about to start preschool. she's also a big snack lover. yummmm, snacks! what to do with all those snacks? dried fruit mix? a little juice? maybe some cheese? oh, and we can't forget some crackers..oops...those got eaten before we could snap the photo.


why not whip up some super easy and fun to make reusable snack bags? no velcro, no zippers, no loops or buttons. just simple envelope style with some fun fabric. easy for toddlers to open, easy to clean, no chemicals...just cuteness.


i meant to make 1. i made 5 or 6 - that's how addicting they are. i also plan to make a whole bunch more. little hands love them too. fun to watch mom make and fun to play with and store all those yummy goodies they adore. wanna make some of your own? click here for the video tutorial from amy karol of "the angry chicken".


my snack bag tutorial was made from some leftovers of a project that i still have to post and haven't had time to do yet...soon, soon. but i did get to a local store (the cloth castle) here in victoria to pick up some yummy new fabric to add to my stash and to my "must make" list. it's long. huge. it just keeps growing and i don't know how to contain my little gremlin. i don't feed it after midnight, and i don't get them wet but dang...it's still growing. that list is HUGE (dusty - i added about 20 things to mine - help)!


sorry, i couldn't help myself. it's late, i'm tired. that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it. i also just love me some gremlin's. and yes, as my hubby likes to remind me, i'm so old that i remember when gremlins are cool (i still think they are, i even had one).

moving right along, here are my new fabrics.........

riley blake designs "summer song" by my mind's eye

"lorenza" alexander henry collection

riley blake designs "just dreamy" by my mind's eye

can't remember the name of this one

let's hope i actually get the time to make the projects i have planned for them. don't worry, i'll be posting some goodies for you along the way. my sewing machine actually didn't call out crying for me in the night the last 2 days because...insert drum roll please...i actually got to sew!!!! it's a miracle!!! i got the snack bags above done (when i was supposed to be making something for the site) and i'm almost done a little quilting project that is a gift so i can't post it here yet.

what have you all been making? any new projects on your to make list? what do you do to find time to sew with a busy schedule? late night or early morning? nap time or bedtime? let's chat :)

etsy monday in the mommyhood & makin' it in the mommyhood

"Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer". ~ Lightning McQueen

1) small cars - set of 6 by small town toys
2) soft plush cars and trucks by by nanas hands
3) 'my first cars' set of two by birdy boots
4) natural race cars - set of 3 by happy squash toys


it's one of mackenzie's friends bday today and he is a huge fan of cars. little cars, big cars and of course the movie cars. his favorite color is red. whenever we see him he has cars with him so i thought what better gift to give than a car caddy!


i based this one on "homemade by jill's" tutorial. i also adore the one lindsay made from "the cottage home". i did make a few changes though. here's what i altered:

- different measurements. mine was shorter in length and height and only has 5 pockets. i didn't have jeans that had a wide enough leg to give me the measurements jill used.

- no piping used. i simply sewed the edges right sides together and then left an opening to pull the carrier through. i then attached my ties to the top right hand corner instead of the side and hand stitched the opening shut. i'm sure i could have top stitched for extra strength where the ties are but i didn't think i would like the look and couldn't decide on the color of thread to use so i left it. i made the ties from felt and figured he has a bit of pull leeway before they would fall out anyways. i also decided to let him knot it instead of using velcro.

-i added his name in felt onto the top half of the caddy above where the car is stitched on for cuteness factor.

this was a fun project to do especially since i am used to making girly girl things. i was happy to do the hand stitching and not have to be at the machine. it's proving harder and harder to make it for very long at my sewing machine...boo hoo.

have you made a car caddy? what tutorial did you use or did you make your own? i'd love to see them!

makin' it in the mommyhood - it's party time dress & shirt

april is a busy month for us. besides the dreaded tax season, it's also birthday season. a few of mackenzie's friends have their bday's this month as well as her, plus we are busy trying to get things ready for the baby. so what have i been up to at night - sewing!

i love making dresses for mack's little friends for their bday. this one was made from the tutorial "one hour sundress" on the blog "from an igloo". i found the tute very easy to follow but it seriously took me more like 3-4 hours not 1...haha. i blame most of it on my sewing machine, i swear it tried to kill me while i made this. swear words came out of my mouth that i didn't even know i knew - it was a sight to be seen. at the end of it all i decided that i needed to buy better thread and a serger, but i got it done and i love it! it was hard to part with and i think it's a fun dress for any little girl!
i made the dress out of my favorite fabric line at the moment "nicey jane" from heather bailey. the two prints i used below were hop dot cherry and lindy leaf - pink. i purchased them from the wonderful skyreve fabrics! natasha has a great selection of a huge chunk of my fave designers all at lovely, lovely prices! she's sweet to talk to, and speedy when it comes to shipping so pop on over and stock up on some pretty prints & say hi for me while you're there!

once i finished the dress above you would have thought i might stop there, my feet were seriously the biggest i have seen them yet. huge, gigantic and looking ready to burst, but did i stop? nope. i kept on sewing. i figured my little princess needed a party top to wear to her friends bday party. i think the pregnancy has got to my brain. i started it at 9:00 at night and didn't finish it until a hour before the party the next day.

i let her help me make some of the decision for the style of the shirt and the fabric she wanted. we decided to go with a take on this pattern from "prudent baby". i followed her basic outline for the neck line and arm holes and of course the placket on front, except i didn't use adhesive interfacing and big buttons. i decided to go with an applique and a little jewel of a button to pick up on the blues in the print (you can't tell in the pics but the placket is a soft blue print) and the shirt.

the bottom of the shirt was my idea. mackenzie loves an elasticised ruffle and we seem to keep buying tops with this same elastic style on the bottom of them. i figured i might as well have a go at it myself this time round. i like the way it turned out and she liked wearing it. i call that a success, but my feet may not agree with you, or my back, or my legs, or my belly.......oh i could so easily go on and on here, but i won't torture you all :)
the above pics are what happen to your child after a mixture of bday cake and easter candy - they wear bowls on their heads, stain their tops with chili and parade around the house with a cat balloon singing at the top of their lungs. oh my..........anyhoo, i hope you all had a wonderful easter weekend and your sewing machines have been nicer to you than mine has been to me.

*all images luvinthemommyhood

makin' it in the mommyhood - the cushiest nursing pillow ever!

sorry folks, no link luv roundup today....i know, it sucks. i'm sad about it, but my back isn't. i just couldn't manage the amount of computer time it takes for me to put that puppy together each week yesterday. sitting at the desk just wasn't manageable for the pain...haha.


instead i thought i would show off what i think is the cushiest, loftiest, stuffed to the brims with filling, almost bursting at the seams nursing pillow i could ever have dreamed to make. for xmas i had asked the hubs for "simple sewing for baby" by lotta jansdotter and this pattern was one of the reasons. i hated my old boobie pillow. the thing sucked and you couldn't wash it - gross! i mean, c'mon, my kid pooped, barfed, drooled and just plain did disgusting things to that boob pillow. it truly freaked me out to use it near the end.


so making one was the next option for me. instead of spending the big bucks on a washable minkie one, i spent maybe $10 CDN to make this puppy. the material was from Ikea and was 1.99/yd!!! don't you just love that? the stuffing was from walmart and is hypoallergenic and machine washable and was only $2.97/bag. i used 2 1/2 bags and let me tell you, there is no room left in this baby! i'm obsessed with it. now when the new baby decides to let the spit up fly i can just pop the whole dang pillow in the machine. no washing the cover while the bacteria builds up in the poly filling for this girl.


the pattern from the book was so simple and a lot easier than some of the ones i found online. i think this is a great project for any beginner sewer like me to take on. it was also very rewarding - mackenzie even got to help me stuff it.

have you guys made your own nursing pillows before? what are your thoughts? it sure is a lot more economical and i think a lot more stylish then the plain jane models you usually find in stores.

oops...almsot forgot....HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

all images luvinthemommyhood

makin' it in the mommyhood - babies and a bathroom

the hubs so sweetly got me lotta jansdotter's fabulous book "simple sewing for baby" for xmas and i finally got a chance to whip up two patterns from the book that i had been dying to make this weekend.

first off i did the soft rattle that looks like a giraffe. this was a fun and easy project that i was able to make with mackenzie, especially after i realized i had cut my fabric wrong and ended up having to make 2 instead of 1. it all worked out in the end though, one for her and one for little bean. that will teach me for not reading the directions right? it's supposed to rattle but i couldn't find a little bell at Michael's when i was there so for now they are silent giraffes. it matches a pillow i made eons ago for the baby's crib and all the colors of the bedding.

next up was the tag blankie. i heart tag blankies. they are so fun and a tad addicting. i can see myself easily whipping up a few more of these before the babe comes along. i used some soft flannel i had left over from the backing of mackenzie's quilt for the blankie. it's not too big, just 12" x 12" finished size. i think i may make a few small ones as well to go with it that i can just throw in the diaper bag for playtime. mackenzie never had one of these when she was little and i always wished i had made her one.

after i managed to get the above projects off my to do list this weekend, i also managed to hem my new ikea drapes from our trip to van in january. yes, i had them hanging all pinned up for over a month, i'm not embarrassed to admit it...that's what happens when you get to the third trimester...haha. but i finally did get to hemming them. poor jer was a bit frightened i must say as i tried to battle the ikea hemming tape. i have decided that i hate that stuff and will never use it again. after about 1/2 hour of us struggling with the drapes i said f*&k it and got out the sewing machine and hemmed the good ol'fashioned way.

after cutting off my excess i realized i had enough material to get one of my long time projects completed. we recently bought a new shower curtain for our master bath and the curtain i had made to hide a weird gap between the cabinet and the wall just didn't match anymore. i had been dreaming of doing a white ruffled one (like the anthropologie ruffled shower curtain i adore) and shazam! that ol'ikea material did the trick. i kept the old panel as my backing and all i had to do was cut the leftover material in half and hem 2 out of the 4 bottoms (2 were already hemmed) and then ruffle the tops and sew them on. easy peasy! i love the look! what do you guys think?

i thought i would give you a little sneak peek into my usually messy and chaotic master bath just for fun. it's hard living in a rental at times when you wish you could do so much more with your space. like that floor in there? bah! and the counter top (it's an ugly grey that shows every speck of dust, like mere minutes after you dust it) - bah! can't stand them, but what do you do? i just try to pretty up the rest of it and count down the years until we own our own home. (ps. the pic on the wall is of our fave place along the oregon coast...i want to live on that beach someday)

what have you been making lately? do you have any projects you have done to hide ugly rental fixtures? i'd love to hear and see them!

makin' it in the mommyhood - baby cardigans and granny squares galore

it's finished! the first project for the new little bean! i knitted up this adorable, little garter stitch cardigan last week. i chose it due to it’s being knit all in one piece and only needing one skein of yarn to whip up. i enjoyed making it and found the pattern easy to follow.

the only spot i had a hard time with was the seaming. i wanted the side seams and underarms to look seamless and just couldn't seem to figure out how to get those dang underarms to work due to the binding off in separate rows a few stitches at a time. that darn ladder look won’t go away no matter what seaming process i use.

the writer of the pattern suggested using the mattress stitch and i will go back and give that a try. not sure if it will help me though, i seem to just be stuck. i’ve tried about 20 times to get it to look right, so cross your fingers number 21 is going to work…haha.

the pattern is called "inca-dincadoo" and you can find it here on ravelry as a free download.

i've also been busy at working on my new granny square addiction. eeek! they sure are quick to just grab you and suck you in. it took me a bit of time on the weekend to get my crochet terminology back up to speed and practice a few different squares until i found the right one, but i'm happy with what i've made so far.

somewhere along the last week or so i came across the pattern called "summer garden granny square" by lucy of attic 24. i love this pattern. it's super easy to follow and you can use a ton of colors. also her tutorial is very well written and has lots and lots of pics so beginners like me can easily see what she is referring to no matter how small a step it is. kudos for her for making such a great pattern! you can find it here on ravelry or on her blog, attic 24.

i’m not too sure at this point if all the squares will have blue for the outer edge, i’m not too practiced at picking colorways right now for the blanket, but i’m trying to go with what i have the most of in my stash at the moment. i may mix it up with pink edges and blue edges. i originally wanted white, but don't have enough wool in my stash to do them all white.

what do you guys think? should i change it up a bit? do i need more color? my daughters room will be shared with the new baby and the colors in there are light blue, pinks and brown. any tips would be awesome! i could use the help :)

makin' it in the mommyhood - i'm addicted to this darn bag!

i think i need help to get over my addiction to the margaret bag from oh fransson. after making two as gifts for christmas i desperately needed one for myself as well. i still have a few more to make too! i think it is seriously just the perfect sized bag/purse combo and double duties as a diaper bag for me too. i love it! looks like my little one loves it too!



what have you been making this week? any projects you would like to share?

(all images luvinthemommyhood)

makin' it in the mommyhood - xmas pressies

first off, happy new year's everyone! i hope you all had a wonderful holiday. mine was great but went by way too fast if you ask me! hubby is back at work and we are left with a quiet house that seems just a bit sad without all the company and that friendly, cheerful xmas tree. doesn't help to have it be the most miserable and rainy day today.

over the last few weeks i finally managed to get myself back on the sewing machine to make a few xmas pressies. i thought i would show you all what i had been up to. it was lots of fun and i really missed my good ol' machine. now that xmas is over i have lots of baby items on the list. santa brought me lotta jansdotter's book "simple sewing for baby" to go with my new marble rolling pin (yep, i was a good girl so santa finally got me one) which i friggin adore! i think i am going to make everything in that book! so great and filled with some handy, simple and resourceful projects.


anyhoo, back to the xmas pressies, here we go.............

(ps. - sorry the pics are not the greatest for all of these, the weather was horrible and i just gave up waiting for good lighting.)


camille and miranda's "margaret bag"

firstly, i am addicted, and i mean addicted to elizabeth's pattern from oh fransson for "the margaret bag". i made two of them and can't wait to make one for myself. this seriously is the best sized bag, the pleat and button detail is adorable and it's super stylish! i can't seem to stop! here's the ones i made for my sister and my sister in law for xmas.

camille's "margaret bag"



miranda's "margaret bag"


fabric bookmark and reversible book cover

next up i made my mother in law a reversible fabric book cover and bookmark. i used this pic over on sew mama sew as inspiration for the bookmark (if anyone knows of a tutorial for this let me know) and this tutorial for the book cover.


suit up calculator cover

my hubby is an accountant. i am sure you have all heard my rants about his career before so i won't get into that today..haha, but him being an accountant means he uses a calculator - a lot. he got a new financial calculator for some of his classes he is taking and nicely asked me for a new case for his little pal. i thought why not dress the thing up. give it some sass, while, manly sass anyways. i decided to take some material from a pair of his old dress pants (dark grey for outer case) and an old dress shirt (light grey for loop and lining) and made the calculator a suit...haha, yep a suit. that's what i call it anyways, it reminds me of him and of an accountant in general - sorry hun :P

i mean really, where the heck to do you find a tutorial for a financial calculator case? i had to wing it. it was quite simple as i've made cases for our camera's/ipods before but i decided to do this one sideways and lined it seamless on the inside. if anyone is interested in how to make this please let me know. i have no aversion in doing a tute but figured i won't if i'm the only person on the planet who cares to make one of these bad boys. so low and behold, here he is, in the words of barney from "how i met your mother" - suit up!


mom's "pincushion organizer"

during the last year my mom and i decided to take on the task of learning to quilt. i started with a baby quilt that i winged the pattern on my own and my mom decided to start with a queen size quilt and a lot of cutting. she is just finishing hers up this month. i think she was nuts to start that way, but it worked for her and we have both ended up learning a lot through each method of our chosen methods.

we both complained a lot to each other about all the little loose threads we are repeatedly cutting while quilting and all the wee tools you use and how tricky it was to keep track of everything and all the damn pins while you quilt on the couch. so i decided aha - why not make her the "pincushion organizer" from oh fransson (i know, this woman is just too talented for me to resist making all her tutes). this tute was so easy to follow, so rewarding to make, and i think it turned out fab. the only thing that would have been better is if i could have seen my mom's face when she opened it on xmas morning.


my very own pincushion

the last thing i have made recently was for myself. i was looking through my sewing supplies and realized i seriously did not own a pin cushion! it was getting to be a royal pain in my preggo ars so i decided to finally make one. i followed this cute little tute from paper string cloth now hyena in petticoats to whip one up of my own.


phew - i think that about sums up the xmas pressie sewing. i still have some knitting on my needles that i will hopefully be showing soon. for now, i've got a toddler waiting to color, a baby pushing on my bladder, lunch mess to clean up, laundry to do and a yummy cup of tea to finish drinking.

in the meantime, share away. what did you sew this xmas? any great projects/tutorials you're dying to share? i would love to hear about them.

makin' it in the mommyhood - the friendship bag

it was one of my best friend's bday recently and i couldn't resist trying my hand at the fabulous rachel's (from the blog "p.s. i quilt") friendship bag. i don't know what was up with me but i really didn't feel up to dragging out my machine that day so i hand sewed and quilted the whole darn thing. maybe not the smartest move in the world, but i think it turned out ok for a newbie quilter who had to use some of her stash, which included some vintage pillowcases - love those!

the bag was super fun to make and the instructions couldn't have been any easier. i get a kick out of the fact that i now know how to make box corners and a really simple way to construct a tote. i plan on making a bigger version for myself later. the only thing i changed from rachel's version was that i added the extra strip of material at the top. it's not a very big bag and i felt like it looked way too small without it. i think it's the perfect size for putting a waterproof material inside for a lunch sack as well! too cute! thanks for a great tute rachel!

have any of you made this bag? what are you currently working on?

makin' it in the mommyhood - arcadia placemat & tablerunner

we were away on the weekend attending our close friends chris & jill's wedding. we camped, and yes, getting ready with a 2 year old for a wedding in a tent was quite the experience - thankfully the groom's parents had an extra hotel room that they offered usage of the bathroom to us! thanks guys! it sure came in handy being married to the best man :)

chris & jill know i love making gifts so for their wedding present i decided to sew them up a lovely set of placemats & tablerunner for their new apartment! i hope they love them as much as i do. it was incredibly hard to part with one of my favorite fabric lines - arcadia by moda for sanae. this stuff could easily be plastered all over my whole house. it's tough to find in yardage, but i managed to scoop some from the lovely shop "the sproutz store". their service was friendly, fast and reliable! i highly recommend them and you all know how picky i am when it comes to fabric shops - thanks again sharon, i appreciate it :)

wanna make a set of your own? here's the how to:

before you start always remember to wash your material first, you'll thank me later. iron the fabric before cutting and iron again before doing your topsticthing if needed.

pretty little placemats

1) cut out 8 rectangles of your fave fabric to the size of your liking. i did 20" x 15", i cut horribly so always leave room for myself to even things out, yes, it's embarrassing, but hey, we all have our faults..haha.
2) cut out 4 pieces of batting the same size.
3) make your sandwich & remember your batting goes on the outside for the sewing so when you flip it right side out your batting ends up being the peanut butter in your whole wheat sandwich :P
4) sew all 3 sides together and then leaving a 4 -5 inch opening sew the 4th side closed. pull your fabric right side out.
5) handstich the opening shut. topstich around the outer edge of the placemat about 1 - 1/2" in from the outside border or quilt the top of the placemat in whatever manner you so desire! have fun with it and play with your pattern. you could also add a bias trim to the edges or use contrasting thread, the options are endless and totally up to lil ol you.


twirly table runner:

1) cut out out two long pieces of fabric to your liking. this would be based on the length and width of your table. you want it to run centered down the table (usually) and not take up the whole table.
2) sew those pieces together on all 3 sides and then leaving about a 2-3 inch opening close up the 4th side.
3) pull right side out. iron. handstitch the opening closed. i have one of these in my home made from a repurposed pillow case and i love the top stitch effect on the ends of the runner so i decided to top stitch one straight line and then add a fancy twirly one to go with. you could add any detail you want here, or ever stitch on the whole runner.

i wish i had pics of the wrapping job i did in the tent..haha. that was part of the fun for me, but it was not good lighting and the pics just didn't make it. hint - i used fresh lavender, buttons, chocolate brown ribbon and a cute little tag that got rolled up with some lovely dark brown linen napkins i found in town that matched the fabric perfectly.

what do you guys think? have you made this for yourself or as a gift? make sure to add your creations to our flickr group!

makin' it in the mommyhood - quilted coasters

i mentioned that my lovely grandma is coming to stay with us for a few days and i thought i would whip her up a set of some fun quilted coasters. **warning - these can be addictive!

i have made some in the past for my mom, other grandma & friends and got hooked! they are simple to make, a great way to practice your quilting skills and look fabulous when done! i love how they can just add that little punch of color and fun to a room for such a small expense. it's a great fabric stash buster and there are endless possibilities here to use your imagination. practice your log cabins, your pinwheels, or any other type of quilting block you desire, use contrasting thread, embroider, applique, heck, if you've made a block and it didn't turn out quite the way you wanted for the quilt, why not use it as a coaster or a pot holder?

they make wonderful little housewarming gifts and a special little thank you present as well. i haven't made any for myself yet, but i'm next in line....so go raid your stash, or repurpose an old shirt and let your creativity go wild! that cup is just begging to be snazzied all up!

here's the steps i used to make my coaster:

1. cut out 8 pieces of fabric the size of your choosing. i made mine about 6" x 6" (i like them to be a bit larger than normal).
2. cut out 4 pieces of batting the same size as your coaster.
3. this is the part that always confuses me (yes, i am admitting i am confused by this). you need to make your "sandwich" so to speak. one of your outer sides should be batting. that's what i always seem to forget. i kept putting the batting in the middle of the fabric, and i would pin all my coasters and yes, even start sewing them, when i realized oops, when i turn this out, there
will be batting as an outer fabric!!! eek! so just remember, the batting goes on the outside.
4. sew all three sides of the coaster and leave about a 3" opening on the 4th side to pull the coaster right side through.
5. hand sew your opening closed.
6. quilt away! i top stitched three squares around the outer border of the coaster. in the past i have filled the whole coaster with those squares and it looks great as well.

have fun and make sure to join our flickr group and show off your handiwork!!!

have you been making coasters? what's your favorite way to make them?

{all images luvinthemommyhood}

ruffled tshirt dress

ok, so i have been seeing these tshirt refashions everywhere and couldn't resist making one for mackenzie. i took jessica's tute and then adapted the back and front ruffles to my own liking. i did three rows of gathered ruffles on the front neckline and one gathered ruffle across the waist of the dress. i then rolled and tied the back straps and pulled them together into a t-strap using a scrap piece of fabric because my little girl doesn't have a very wide back and the top kept slipping down. and of course, i couldn't forget about adding my button...gotta have a button. i made a rosette flower and sewed the button to the top. that little punch of gold just brightened it all up!

i love how it turned out and it's been perfect for wearing in this roasting hot weather we have right now. bonus is i got to use one of my hubbies super soft t-shirt hand me downs that i couldn't bear to throw out but was too short for me to sleep in.

what do you guys think? have any of you made one yet - i'd love to see them!

{all images luvinthemommyhood}

a little orange goes a long way....

a little orange goes a long way towards brightening up your day.

here's the "itty bitty dress" (toddler sized version) from "made by rae" that i made for mackenzie. she is going to be wearing this for an upcoming wedding in august. she thinks she looks "beeeeeutiful mommy, beeeeutiful". when they love your handmade goods as much as you do, it's pretty hard not to have a good day.

{all images luvinthemommyhood}

bubble dress

i couldn't resist posting pics of mackenzie wearing her new bubble dress. i adore this pretty pink owl fabric and am kicking myself for only buying half a metre. nevertheless it was the perfect amount of fabric for this easy dress tutorial and doesn't she look so cute in it?

"let's go out mommy!"

"can i drive the car mommy?"

the many faces of starbucks....we stopped for coffee & a snack & mack decided to make these expressions for the camera and then proceeded to giggle her little face off - it was priceless!

side of the dress

aly's "itty bitty" birthday dress

this pretty girl's bday was the other week and what better gift to give a 4 year girl than a dress as cute as she is? i had been coveting this adorable blue chick fabric for weeks and finally scooped on some along with a quaint blue polka dot for the lining. i grabbed my "itty bitty dress" pattern from "made by rae" and got to work (enlarged pattern version of the dress).

now you all know that i am not the best at reading patterns/tutorials, i like to figure things out my own way, but i couldn't resist this dress. i did change a few things (technique wise) as i didn't quite follow a few things she had mentioned in the tutorial but it was only due to my lack of sewing knowledge. this was also my first time using piping and only my 2nd with bias tape. it was quite the ride, but i wanted the dress to be lined and the seams piped inside the dress so as not to rub on her skin. the bodice joining with the gathering of the skirt is one thick seam and i covered that with bias tape and also the sides of the bodice inside. ahhhh, the things we have to do when we don't own a serger.......one day, one day.

i loved the color combo and the look of the dress. it's super soft and perfect for summer. in fact, i loved it so much i made one for mack. stay tuned for pics.

to my best friend jaime - love you girl and i hope your little angel enjoys her new dress :) let's get the two of them together for a photo shoot!

have any of you made the itty bitty dress? how did you like it?

sneak peek - our weekend

i finally made myself something to wear from normal fabric! i have had the spring ruffle top from "made by rae" on my to make list for ages and finally got one done. i adore this top. it's not the most flattering thing on me, but it's sure great for those bloated days. i changed a few things here and there and added 2 buttons to the bottom of the shirt where the big pleats folded over. i found that without these holding the shirt down, my large girls (aka boobs) made this shirt look enormous on me.

sorry about all the creases, i have been living in the shirt and was too lazy to iron it just to wear it again. overall, i found this project ok for someone who has already begun sewing, not so great for a beginner though. it was easier to just try to make it for me, than it was to follow the exact instructions. i also prefer not to stitch in the ditch on clothing due to my lack of skill in this area, instead i hand stitched the straps on and the fold on the top border.

i sewed up some nifty little throw pillows for our bench out on the deck.

we also ate our first strawberry that we have ever grown -it was the best strawberry we have ever tasted, and in the words of kelly ripa - "i'm just sayin....".

how was your weekend?

mommyhood moments - beach storms & a buttercup bag

mackenzie and i decided to venture down to the beach to throw some stones and collect some driftwood for our deck. while we had no luck in the driftwood department, we did get a glimpse at the cutest mom and about 6 baby ducks, floating on a very windy and wavy ocean trying to get the heck away from what appeared to be a hungry seagull. for the record, i hate seagulls. i once saw one kill a pigeon in mid-air and have been frightened of them ever since.

we managed to get in some picture time before heading under our blanket when the winds really picked up and the sky darkened. don't you just love a storm blowing in on the ocean? it's the smell, i can't get enough of that smell.

while we were there we also took some pics of my mother's day gift to myself - a new purse. i made it using "the buttercup bag" tutorial by "made by rae". i was drawn to this purse pattern firstly, for it's buttons (luv), and secondly, for the fact that it looked easy and required only a tiny bit of interfacing. i heart this bag and because i am a newbie sewer this was my very first purse and my first time doing pleats. i think it turned out great! my hubby thinks i'm nuts because i keep wearing it around the house just oohing and ahhing over it, but you guys understand right - the sheer adoration of a project you actually found the time to complete and didn't mess up? the need to shout "it's usable, it's usable and i made it" out the window?

have any of you made the "buttercup bag" yet? what project are you ooohing and ahhing over?