Baby Boy

We welcomed baby boy Arlo Dale on May 4th at 9:51 pm.  He was 7 pounds 2.5 ounces and 21 inches long.  It was a long labor but he is here and healthy!  We love him so much already.

Fabric Bunting Tutorial

I love garlands, buntings, pennant banners, whatever you want to call them.  They look great on any wall and I thought one would look super cute over the baby crib, so I decided to make one.

I am decorating the baby room with woodland prints, gnomes, woodsy fabrics, browns, and creatures of the forest.  So when I chose my fabrics, I wanted something along those lines.

This was a really quick project to sew and it doesn't use up very much fabric.  I used pieces I had on hand and just cut everything very close to the pattern edge.  :)

This tree stump fabric is one I picked up in California at Birch.  Super cute.  My favorite part about the bunting is the bias tape that I used.  It is a linen tape with a lace print on it that I got at Shirokiya (a Japanese department store) in Hawaii when they still carried craft supplies.  I love love love it.  Super delicate look and it adds a little touch of Hawaii (for me anyways).

This little one with the tiny mushrooms is from Birch too.  I think I need to make a fabric trip out to see my Aunt again, she just happens to live within an hour from their little shop.  I used two wood grain fabrics, one in green and one in brown. I will be using  a lot of those in my baby sewing projects coming up.  They go perfect with my theme.

I don't have the crib set up yet, but I am thinking I want it to drape across the top.  I made this little gnome wall hanging a while ago and it goes perfect!

To make this bunting, I used a free pattern and tutorial from Sew Mama Sew.  You can find it here.

It is a great tutorial with step by step instructions and pictures.  You could make it really long to go across a huge hallway, or just do a few little pieces for a corner or kitchen.  I love that you can choose any fabrics and make it a completely different feel.  I know this will go perfect in the baby room and I can't wait to see it above our brown crib!

Baby Bow Tie Tutorial

With a little man on the way, I have been looking for sewing projects for boys.  This little bow tie tutorial is perfect and could be made for babies or grown men.  I am thinking of making a matching one for my husband and making him wear it with the little one for some cheesy pictures.  Don't tell him, but I think that would be super cute.

I made 3 in different prints.  I figure baby boy can't always be preppy, sometimes he can be a little more stylish.  Oh, and they will probably get spit up on, so back ups are great.  :)

These take about 10 minutes each and use a sewing machine, a glue gun, and those little things we call hands.  Super fast and easy.  Beginner project for sure.

When you finish sewing them all up, you sew snaps to the back on each side as well as snaps to the onesie/bib/t that you are going to be putting them on.  That makes it easy to take off just the bow tie and wash the outfit.  Perfect!

I used this tutorial from One Young Love.  Lots of great pictures and step by step instructions.  If you think this is beyond your skill level, think again and give it a try.  It really is SO easy.

photo credit: here

Here is a little snapshot from the One Young Love blog.  She did a great job and picked some really cute colors!  What an awesome gift for a baby shower.  Love it.  Now get out there and make some adorable tiny bow ties!

Bird Mobile Pattern

Sweet little birds all perched on branches.  

 I have been wanting to make one of these little bird mobiles for at least a year.  Last week I decided to just go for it and I made 8 little birds in blues, yellows, and browns.  They turned out great.

Then I found some drift wood that I had brought with me from Hawaii and I put together this little mobile for the baby room.

I love that they are all a little different.  I tried to use boyish colors, but I really wanted to throw a hot pink one in there!  

These little birds are great as decoration around the home, pincushions, baby toys, cat toys, you name it.  If you don't have room for a whole mobile, you can still make a few to enjoy.  I am going to make one with a little bell or rattle inside for a baby toy (can't wait to see that in action!)

A quick and easy sewing project, perfect for beginners.  The pattern uses hand sewing, but I used my machine for everything.  To tie the branches together I used raffia, and I used my hot glue gun to position the birds on the branches.

I got the pattern from Spool Sewing.  They have lots of great inspiration and a few other patterns for free. 

To print a copy of your own pattern from the Spool Sewing site, CLICK HERE.

Have fun and good luck.  You will be sewing up a flock of these in no time!

36 WEEKS pregnant

So far, so good.  I am 36 weeks pregnant.  I feel pretty good and am still working (yay!).  My only complaints are swollen sore feet, and I guess I have that pretty mild too.  Lucky me.  I feel bad for women that get it really bad because I think it hurts enough already.  The baby feels huge inside my belly and I can't imagine another 4 weeks of growing!

These were taken at 30 weeks. I thought I was big then...

I love being able to watch him grow each week.  From this point on, I think he will just keep getting pointier.  :)  I can't wait to wear regular clothes again.  I have a few cute maternity outfits, but I am getting tired of wearing the same thing everyday!  Hurry up baby boy and meet your family.  We are ready whenever you are...

Herringbone Quilt

I love the chevron trend that has been so popular this year and I found this adorable quilt and it inspired me to make one for my niece for her birthday.  

I used this tutorial and inspiration from both blogs to create this little cuddly quilt.

I love the pale purple and flower fabrics mixed together.  I used mostly fabrics from the Top Drawer line, I love how soft and thick they are.

I hand stamped the label with stamps and fabric ink and hand sewed it on the back.

I love how it turned out and can't wait for her to get it.  Happy 2nd birthday Linden!

How to Juice a Prickly Pear by Hand

I have a new obsession with prickly pear lemonade.  A M A Z I N G !  I use crystal light lemonade and mix in a little of my fresh squeezed prickly pear syrup.  Wow.  It is sweet, mellow, and so refreshing.  The only problem is the prickly pear is PRICKLY!  Here is a step by step tutorial on how to juice it without getting really painful stickers all over yourself.

First: You need the right tools.  Tongs, serrated pairing knife, a fork, and a cutting board.  The tongs can be used to pick the fruit off the cactus.  Look for fruit that is bright purple or deep in color.  It should come off fairly easily with a little twist.  You also want to see purple on the stem of the fruit when it comes off the cactus.  This will yield the most juice.

Step 1: Hold the fruit still with a fork.  

Step 2: Slice off both ends with your knife.

Step 3: Slit the fruit down the middle, just enough to cut through the skin.

Step 4: Slide your knife under the skin and peel back to reveal the fruit.

Step 5: Continue peeling back the skin and place the peeled fruit in a bucket/bowl.

Step 6: Let the fruit sit overnight in your fridge.  I find this helps the juice come out.

Then you can pass the fruit through a fine mesh strainer or a tea strainer and you have your juice!  No prickles and not too much work.  Plus, you can skip buying the 400 dollar juicer for your summer fix.

I freeze the juice too and am making popsicles this weekend...  Good LUCK!

German Short Haired Pointer Puppy

Well.  I have been busy.  Super busy.  Not doing the usual crafting, sewing, napping, tv watching.  Nope, I have been puppy playing, feeding, walking, and training.  Last month, we got a German Short Haired Pointer puppy.  Her name is Maddie and she is WILD.

Here she is doing MY favorite thing : sleeping.  She is getting to the point where we let her cuddle on the couch, but ONLY if she is good.  If she bites or gets crazy, down on the ground she goes. 

She loves to lick.  Did you just eat a snack?  Feed me a treat?  Get over here and let me lick your hands/legs/arms.  She eats EVERYTHING and anything.

When we got her, her eye was all red and swollen.  An older dog nipped at her (wonder why...) and popped her eye out of the socket.  She lost her vision and it was pretty infected when we got her home.  She is doing good now though, you can only really tell when you look close.  Only one beautiful brown eye.

Whoa, what a sniffer.  She love to sniff.  Let her pull on the leash for one second and she has her nose to the ground sniffing.  Sniffing what?  I have no idea...

She is getting super tall.  Gained 2 pounds this week.  Loves dinner time.  Walk time. Play time.  We are having bundles of fun and lots of frustrations.  :)

One Tsp. Online Recipe Storage

I have been searching for a way to store all my recipes online for a while now.  I tried Google Docs which I like, but it seems kind of messy.  I also tried allrecipes, but don't like that either.

(pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream) 

I found One Tsp. today and I love it.  You can store up to 150 recipes for free, and if you would like to store unlimited recipes, it is only $5 a year.  Not bad for unlimited storage.  You can also download it to your iphone/ipad and clip recipes from websites for later.  It will make you a grocery list, let you share with friends, and sort your recipes however you would like.

One Tsp. Recipe Storing

I have already gotten started typing up my favorite recipes and ones I always seem to lose.  I think my favorite thing is the shopping list.  I love that you can type in your old family recipes and then just click shopping list and have it all laid out for you.  EASY  . . .  AS  . . . PIE.

I can't wait to start uploading and typing up ALL my recipes.  I will probably got over 150 in a matter of days, but there is a backup button so you can download everything to your computer.  I LIKE THAT.  I can't imagine losing all your precious recipes because you forgot your password or couldn't get to them.

Here is what my page looks like so far.  You can add photos too.  Pretty cool!  I am even more motivated to take pictures of all my desserts now.  I hate flipping through recipes trying to remember if I want THIS recipe or THAT recipe.  Was it FLUFFY or SOFT?  OR....  am do I have the complete wrong recipe?  No more confusion...

Buttercream Wedding Cake with Olive Leaves

I was so happy to be able to make the wedding cake for my brother and his wife for their recent wedding in Spain.  It was a challenge baking in an unknown oven, with different ingredients, and in a short period of time.  I had a lot of fun and I think their cake turned out beautifully and fit with their theme really well.

Raspberry Buttercream filling and a Swiss Buttercream icing.

Each tier had 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling.

The Raspberry Swiss Buttercream filling was a huge hit.  The bride's mother made macerated raspberries with cinnamon sugar before I arrived and I mixed them into the buttercream for a fruity twist.  I also soaked the cake in the macerated raspberries to ensure it was extra moist and flavorful.

They had a garden themed wedding with their reception in her mother's huge backyard.  The garden was strung with lights and full of flowers, and this cake blended right into the setting.

The bride and groom requested a simple piping design with olive branches.

They had awesome cake toppers designed on Etsy, they were created to look just like them.  

The olive branches and the white frosting compliment each other nicely and draw on the simplicity and elegance of a garden wedding.

Congratulations Zach and Sara!  I was honored to make your cake for you and your guests.

To many years to come!