A Few of Our Favorite Things

We had a rainy day last week, so Avery was able to really play with a few of her very favorite things. Umbrellas, rain boots, and puddles certainly top that list.

Framed Selvage Tutorial

Here is the promised mini tutorial for the framed selvage I used to decorate in my sewing space.



What You'll Need
New or Old frame (remove the glass if there is any)
Mod Podge
fabric selvages (scraps)
cardboard
brushes
glue gun
scissors (rotary cutter and board optional)

Let's Get Started
First, trace the outline of your frame opening on the cardboard. You want to cardboard to sit in the lip of the opening, so make it bigger than the opening itself. Cut out the card board piece and check the fit.


Cut your fabric scraps into strips roughly 2" wide.

Press the strips nice and flat.

Layout the strips on the cardboard to get the placement you like.

I needed a tiny strip at the bottom of mine so you could still see the selvage in the frame, but also cover up the last bit of cardboard. Check your layout in the frame to see if you have everything showing the way you want it.

Grab a medium size brush, a small brush, and your mod podge.

Working in small sections, paint the cardboard with mod podge then place a strip of fabric down on top. Carefully smooth out your fabric strip. Cover the top edge of the previously placed strip with mod podge before you place the next overlapping strip. Continue until you have covered the cardboard piece.

Go back over your strips checking for any loose pieces. Using the small brush, touch up these spots with additional mod podge.

Once everything is secured, flip over the cardboard piece and trim the strips along the edges of the cardboard.

Use a glue gun to glue your decorated cardboard to the inner lip of the frame. Then display and enjoy!

The is a great scrap buster and reminder of the beautiful things you have created with the fabric pieces you've used.

Sewing Room

I don't have the room completely to myself, but I'm so grateful to have this much room for sewing and crafting. The other half is our office. We finally painted this room while my mom was in town. The color is my new favorite neutral. It's Wheat Bread by Behr. Love it! Now that the walls are painted, I'm enjoying hanging things and bringing out stuff to decorate.




I'll be posting a tutorial for the framed fabric next, but I wanted to highlight my other favorite things on these shelves. The cute owl pincushion came from my mom. I've started a mini collection of vintage measuring tape figurines. That strawberry is a cute little measuring tape! And, how could I pass up the vintage pink sewing machine toy?!?






These great baskets came from one of my Warrenton trips. They were white and filthy dirty before I painted them a great shade of aqua.






This hutch had to hold fabric and china in our old house, but thankfully now it can be fully dedicated to sewing paraphernalia.




The little sewing machine pin cushion under the dome is my other vintage measuring tape. I love the unexpected tape measures just poking out. (Yes, I have plans for all this fabric. I just don't have enough time to get to all of them!)

Halloween Fun

I really haven't been sewing much lately, but I certainly have been doing a lot of baking. It started with one of these apple pies for my mom. It's still my favorite pie ever! Then I signed up to bring a baked good for Avery's fall party at Mother's Morning Out. I knew I wanted to make some of these cute owls for the kiddos, so I ordered the sugar eyes right away.




Then we picked up this great recipe magazine at the grocery store. While flipping through it, Avery spotted the candy corn swirl cookies. She said, "Avery want some. Make these Mommy." So, what's a girl to do? I made both! It was fun to get the request from Avery. When they were done, I showed her the picture from the magazine and the cookie. She had the biggest grin, so it was worth it.

Photo from bakerella.com

Avery finally stood still for a moment this morning after she was dressed in her costume for the fall party, so here's one more pic. And yes, I'm still getting ridiculed for the costume selection.

Garden Gnome Costume

Against great criticism, I decided to dress Avery as a garden gnome this year for Halloween. I know we have years of princesses and fairies ahead, so I wanted to do something different while I still could. Besides, I knew she would love the hat and "cape." I had one of those horrible days trying to get these pictures, but I guess it is enough to get the idea.







The hat and cape came from Simplicity 2327. It's so easy! I think you could do this with only a glue gun too. I embellished the hat with a felt mushroom I just improvised. Then, I used Marie-Madeline's tutorial for the fabric flowers on the cape.






The skirt is the Insa pattern from the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love. The Gnomeville fabric from Michael Miller really pulls the whole idea together.




The little elf shoes are a free pattern found here. Instead of a solid felt bottom on the shoes, I sewed an elastic strap that would just fit under Avery's shoes and hold everything in place. We're looking forward to costume days at Mother's Morning Out and storytime at the library.

Family Time

I'm back from my visit with my sister and nephew. We had a few fun filled days in Dallas including a visit to an ever elusive pumpkin patch. You would think in a city as big as Dallas, there would be one near just about every neighborhood, but you would be wrong. I think I've forgotten to mention that my sister has joined the blogging world. Go check her out and say hi at Allergic to Ironing.




Omie and I met up at the airport in Houston, and she flew the rest of the way to Mississippi with me for her first visit to Oxford. We headed out to the park today to enjoy the awesome weather and giggles from our favorite two year old.

Visiting Ford

I'm in Dallas for a few days visiting my handsome little nephew.

Orange Crush

Orange and red have really never dominated my color palate, but lately I'm loving orange. Bright vibrant orange, none of that burnt orange ugly shade. (Let me hear a Whoop!) This one screams happy summer lollipops or festive pumpkin time too.

Here are the details. The pattern is brand new from Jona G of Fabritopia. This is view C of the Sunny Scallop Dress. I can't wait to sew up the scallop version too! The pattern is fairly simple, but I had to make some notes to remind myself of little things the next time around. I also didn't use as much fabric as the pattern indicates. The main fabric is from the Weekends line by Erin McMorris. The lining at the bottom and the ruffles are from the loved Jennifer Paganelli.














Can you tell how much trouble I have narrowing down the pictures to put on the blog? It's impossible some days. I'm usually grateful to get one or two good ones, but yesterday was a good day. Of course, the bottom action shots show it all.

Here's the good news! I have enough fabric left over to list this one in the shop. I know, finally something new. Stop by the shop later today for the listing