I saw this darling crib mobile on Pinterest and of course pinned it for later… I finally got around to making one for baby Crosby!!  I LOVE how it turned out!!!

I followed THIS tutorial to make the circles.  And I opted out of the painted beads at the top, and used a simple ribbon instead.  The hardest part about this project was probably cutting out all 104 circles!!!  But other than that, a very simple project:)

More baby stuff to come:)  Thanks for sticking around!!!

Linking HERE this week!

So I ordered THIS fabric for baby Crosby FOREVER ago, and have slowly but surely been plugging along making things here and there, until I can say now I am finally DONE!!

I found some really simple tutorials online for a pleated crib skirt and bumper pads, which helped take some of the thinking out of it:)

I altered them a little to fit our crib, and to look a little more boyish…

For the quilt, I just drew out a pattern and sewed it up:)

Of course  it needed super soft minky for the back:)

And the pillow had to have pendants!!

I’ll show ya the crib mobile tomorrow, and some other little goodies too:)

Linking up HERE this week:)

***Remember to enter our Snickerplum Giveaway for a chance to win your choice of party package valued at $90!!***

So I’ve been going through my fabric stash, and OH MY WORD, do I have a ton of scraps.  I’m bringing back a blast post tutorial from the past, to show you what you can do with your scraps!!!!

And if you’re expecting a baby (like me) or need a shower gift, these are perfect!!  Here are a few I whipped up using my scraps…

Besides quilting, this is my most favorite thing to make.  Do I say that about every post?   Maybe, but this time it’s for real:)

These little blankets are literally mini quilts, with ribbons attached to the edges.  Babies and children alike love the texture of tags and ribbons, making these perfect to “tag-along.”

What you need:

• self-healing cutting mat

• rotary cutter

• ruler

• sewing machine and thread

• pins

• batting

• scraps of cute material

• coordinating minkie

• five or more spools of coordinating ribbon

Step 1

Decide how big you would like your quilt top to be.  A good size is approximately 20X20 inches.  Cut your fabric into whatever pieces you would like for your blanket top.  This can be as simple or intricate as you would like.

Lay out your fabric design and pin right sides together.

Sew your pieces right sides together.

Iron your seams so that they lay flat open.

Step 2

Measure your ironed, finished blanket top, and cut your batting and your minkie back to the exact size as the top.

You’ll need to choose five to six different ribbons coordinating with the fabric of the blanket top. Cut four strips (so you’ll have five or six tabs per side) of each ribbon varying in size from three to six inches to form crossovers, single strands, or loops.

Step 3

Next, lay your blanket top over the batting with the right side facing up, and line up the two pieces as close as you can.

You will then pin your ribbons around the edges of the blanket so that they’re pointing toward the center of the blanket.  Pin them both to the blanket top and the batting behind.

Next, sew a very small seam (no more than 1/4 inch) around all sides to hold your ribbons down in place.

Step 4

Lay your minkie square on top of the blanket top and ribbons, with the right sides together.  Pin in place.  Make sure you pin it well, the minkie shifts quite a bit.

Sew another small seam (no more than 1/4 inch) around the sides of the blanket leaving about 3 or 4 inches open at one corner.

(UPDATE, I prefer to leave my opening closer to the center of one side, it’s easier to sew when it’s all flipped out:)

Pull your blanket from the inside out so that all the ribbons are poking out, and smooth out all corners and seams. You’ll then need to close your opening, sewing as close to the edge of the blanket as possible.

Next, sew a decorative or straight stitch around all sides of the blanket.

Clip all threads and press your finished Tiny Tabs Ribbon Blanket.

Here are a few more:)

Linking up with these fabulous blogs…

***Have you entered our latest giveaway yet??  Click HERE to win a $20 credit to JTBoutique’s darling accessories!!***

My good friends and I had the opportunity to throw a baby shower for a couple of cute girls in our neighborhood.  Both were having girls, and I had some leftover Riley Blake fabric, which I kind of used as the “theme” or color scheme of the shower.

Nothing fancy, but here are a couple of features…

Found the recipe for these cupcakes HERE, homemade strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, YES please!!

Some more good eats, and a baby bunting banner too…

I’m having fun with these yarn balls!!!  And here you can see the fabric I love so much:)

Baby Shower = Diaper Cakes RIGHT!!!!

And can you believe this was the first time I ever made tissue poms!!  Check out THIS tutorial to make your own.

And baby onesies of course…

I LOVE throwing showers and parties!!  Makes me happy:)  Getting super excited for this little one of my own too:)

***If you haven’t entered our baby quilt giveaway go HERE and enter now!!***

Phew!  Just finished passing out the last of them!!  Neighbor gifts!!  I LOVE thinking of new ideas each year, you know something cute and simple…  There were tonz of ideas on Pinterest of course…

For my kids’ teachers, I mod podged a clipboard, addeded some vinyl, cute ribbons, and voila!!

Throw it in a basket with some fun school supplies, a treat, and a card from your student, super easy teacher gift!!

For my neighbors this year I made some tea towels, (see Tutorial HERE) wrapped them around some bread, and tied with a ribbon and a card.

I’ve been on a popcorn kick lately and wanted to throw that in the mix as well.  THIS recipe for caramel corn is soooo good!!

I thought it would be fun to dress up a little jar to hold the popcorn.

Thanks to Silhouette, and their holiday promotion I got this “Joy” Christmas art for free!!  So I added the vinyl to the jar…

mixed the popcorn up inside, and added a square scrap of fabric to the top.

Just tie on a label with a ribbon and you’re good!!

The backs of our labels had our family picture for the year…

What about you?  What gifts did you give this year!!!  You still have 3 more days!!!

Merry Christmas you cuties!

I’m so sorry this post is up sooo late!!  Darn computer issues!!  Anyway, happy Tuesday:)  I’m hosting my first ever Cookie Exchange Party this Thursday, and I’m sooo excited!!  For the party favors I’m sending home this little holiday treat!

Holiday tea towels are super easy, and a fun little gift for neighbors and friends.  Wrap them around some bread, tie them to a spoon or spatula, or just attach a cute tag.  I’ll take you through the simple steps to make your very own:)  Grab your supplies, and let’s get started!

My towel was 15 inches, so I made my strips 30 inches long.  (I cut 6 strips b/c I was making 6 tea towels:)

The coordinating strips are 30 inches long as well

This is the longest stitch setting for a regular straight stitch on your sewing machine

The bobbin thread is the bottom thread

Follow the same steps as before

and you’re done!!

I wrapped my towels around a cookie platter, tied it up cute, and you can even add a cute tag!!

Easy Peasy right!!!

Have a great week!!

Linking up HERE this week!

Including:

So while perusing pinterest, I saw this darling monster shirt!!  I knew I could make it, but was curious where I could buy it. Guess what!!  It wasn’t for sale anymore… So my decision was made.  These would be perfect Christmas gifts for my monster lovin boys!!

This is basically an applique tutorial, super simple, so grab your supplies and let’s go!!

I’m making two shirts at a time here, so forgive me for switching in and out of pictures…

I decided to iron both my big monster felt pieces at once to save on heat-n-bond.

I actually ironed my scrap pieces of felt to the heat-n-bond before cutting the shapes out.  It just makes them easier to cut.  Just have an idea of how much of your scrap piece you will need, for whatever add-ons you decide to give your monster.

I left a bit of an opening at the bottom for the teeth to slide into.

This will secure everything and keep it nice through all your washes.

So I made my 3 yr-old try his Christmas present on.  I know, lame.

I didn’t tell him what it was for, I just told him if he put the shirt on and let me take his picture, I would give him chocolate.  He will do anything for chocolate.  He takes after his mama:)

and then he looked at his shirt…

and thought it was pretty cool…

So we had to take it off quick before he could ask any questions…

You could totally customize this for a girl as well, I may just do that for my 6 yr-old!!  Have fun creating!

Linking up HERE this week!

Happy Holidays!!

HaHa, I love saying that!! I’ve got my Christmas tunes blasting, a few Christmas wreaths under my belt, new decorations purchased (thank you Hobby Lobby 50% off sale:), and I even made some Christmas Candy this last weekend!

I kinda got the hook-up from a good friend of mine who happens to be the marketing director for Thermoworks. He sent me the coolest cooking thermometer ever to try out!! Just in time for all of my Holiday cooking and baking!!

My mother-in-law has the best toffee recipe EVER.  I make it every year for Christmas to give as gifts.  I’m going to share the recipe with you all:)  And show ya how to use this fabulous thermometer:)

Shirley’s Chocolate Chip Toffee

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter

• 2 cups sugar

• 3 T water

• 3/4 c milk chocolate chips

• 3/4 c semi sweet chocolate chips

• 1/3 c white chocolate chips

• 1 cup almonds chopped and sautéed in oil

• 3 T malted milk powder

Directions:

Combine chocolate chips and almonds together in a bowl, pour half of the mixture into a 9X13 pan lined with foil extending over the edges.  Sprinkle malted powder evenly over first layer.

Combine butter, sugar, and water in a saucepan, and heat until it begins to boil.

Stir frequently, measuring the temperature every so often.

You want an even boil right at the surface, for 15-20 minutes.

You want the candy to get to the hard crack stage, about 300 degrees.

As you can see from the picture, it happens really fast!!

As soon as it reaches this temperature, pour the boiling mixture evenly over the chocolate nut mixture.  Immediately pour remaining chocolate nut mixture evenly over the top of toffee.  Allow to cool for an hour, and refrigerate if the chocolate is still not firm.  Break into pieces and enjoy!!

For a festive treat, wrap a bundle of toffee up in some colorful tulle, and tie with a ribbon!

(Yeah, my pictures were taken at night, and therefore look yellow!!!)

Enjoy your toffee and share with your friends:)

I’m not saying I have a teacher.  My kids all have teachers.  This was an apron I made for my sons’ teacher, and heck you could make it for your kids’ teacher too:)

I’m trying to say that it’s a “teacher apron” meant to be worn by a teacher…

Ok, now that we have that cleared up:)

What do you think?

Mrs. Booth said she wanted a “bright, colorful apron”  I was happy to oblige:)  It’s definitely got bright and colorful going on!!

I think I need to make ME a bright colorful apron, come to think of it:)

I need to make a separate category on my blog labeled “ruffles” for all the posts that have to do with ruffles!!!

Just wanted to share a new product I added to our shop this week!!

Introducing the Jersey Ruffle Scarf with Felt Flower Brooch…

in plum,

or castle,

Chocolate, and Scarlet colored scarves to come:)  These were sooo fun to make, and I love the feel of jersey knit!  Fall makes me excited for scarves, how about you!!