Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Springtime Nursery Decor

Springtime tends to be the time for babies to be born! I have a sister who is going to have her little girl at the end of the month, and I can't wait to see her cute little face! 

All the thoughts of having a baby has brought me back around to thinking about nursery decor. It's such a fun thing to think about! As I was browsing around the internet, I saw this idea and thought it was the cutest thing! 

Rain Cloud Nursery Mobile

How fun would it be to deck out the nursery is cute rain clouds and old-time circus banners? You can incorporate large flowers, and maybe even some stars! 

All you need is some felt for the clouds and the raindrops, some basic cotton polyfill, and a gold ring with fishing line to hang the clouds from.

You can do the clouds in multi-color and the rain drops gold, or vice versa! (As seen in the picture to the left.)
This mobile makes me think of home since I have grown up here in north-western Washington. It has a calming effect on me, and makes me want to cuddle up in a big warm blanket in front of the fire. 


So! If you love the idea of this rain cloud mobile, it's simple and easy to make and will be a perfect touch of home to add to your nursery.

This could also be great when added to your car seat carrier! Keep them entertained on the go!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Easter Basket Ideas

Getting tired of giving your kids and grandchildren the same sugar packed candy every year for Easter? As a little girl we had three staples in our Easter baskets:
A chocolate bunny
A Reese's Peanut Butter Egg
A Marshmallow Egg

And then there were some jelly beans and malted eggs, but most of the things we got really excited about were the other things like a new headband, lip gloss, or earrings. The fun things in an Easter basket don't always have to be candy. You can get creative!

Womansday.com gives some great ideas for all age groups on how to fill an Easter basket with non-candy items.

For kids from 2-5 years old, sidewalk chalk and Color Dotz are suggested. Sidewalk chalk is fun for kids to be creative with, and Color Dotz make bath time a blast! They can turn the water ocean blue or grass green!

For your older kids, ages 6-9, give them hair accessories or some balsa wood gliders. They will be excited about them eventually; even if the morning filled with the candy hunt overshadows them for a moment. Give your girls a new pair of earrings and your boys a new water gun. 

And for those teenage girls in your family give them nail polish, make up, or a new lotion. And for your teenage boys give them a subscription to a magazine about cars, boats, or whatever interests them.

Easter is a wonderful holiday, and let's be honest: kids love it for the candy. But you can start to add other things to their baskets that don't have to be candy that can still be fun and exciting! 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring Cleaning

I am sure we all have that moment when we walk into our sewing room and all that comes to mind is chaos! Well, since Spring Cleaning is upon us wouldn't you say it is time to find the inspiration for organization. Here is a quick guide for you to start your cleaning festivities. 

One of the first things you need to do is arrange your space so it is easy to clean!
-Raise height of your cutting table with bed risers.
-Stash away your Fabrics.
-Sort Out Threads and Bobbins.
-Organize Needles, Pins and Stabilizers.
-Tame your Laces, Trims and Ribbons.
-Categorize your Patterns, Embroidery Designs, Magazines and Books.
-End the Notions Commotion.
-Sort unfinished sewing projects into individual baskets and store on a shelf.
-Update family’s measurements and post on your bulletin board.
-Rearrange your sewing room.



Now that everything is organized and has a home you can actually start Spring Cleaning!
-Thoroughly clean your sewing machine.
-Have your sewing machine serviced by a professional.
-Change your sewing machine and serger needles.
-Oil sewing machines if necessary.
-Remove residue from embroidery hoops.
-Sharpen scissors.
-Replace rotary cutter blades.
-Clean your Cutting Mat.
-Wipe down sewing tables.
-Vacuum and mop floors in your sewing room.
-Clean your iron.
-Wash your ironing board cover.
-Donate your fabric scraps to a quilter or charity.


Ideas adapted from the blog: Sew, Mama, Sew!


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Springtime Centerpiece Filler

It seems like centerpieces are the first step to decorating your home for the season. With St. Patrick's Day coming up this month you probably already have those centerpieces out and looking fabulous, so we decided to give you an idea for an Easter centerpiece. 

These fabric eggs are simple yet elegant, and work with filling any centerpiece whether it be a basket, vase, or cute springtime bowl. 


Fabric Eggs


On the blog Retro Mama, she writes a tutorial for making these adorable eggs. All you need is:

-10"w x 5"h Quilting cotton, linen or other non-stretchy woven fabric in one or more prints 
-Thread
-Fiberfill, Nature-fill or other similar polyester or natural stuffing
-Disappearing Ink Pen
-Scissors
-Pins
-Hand sewing needle
-Pattern (I recommend printing it on card stock for easy tracing)

For full instructions on how to make these eggs, click here.

Picture from Sewfaithful on Etsy.
Tutorial taken from Retro Mama.