Fancy Home Goods

Due to the oppressive summer heat, I've been keeping busy indoors working on home projects.  Beautifying your home can be quite rewarding when/if you're in the mood!  This quick post is to share a couple of goodies I've made for my mother's home in the past.  She found the blank pillow sham above, and I added the monogram.  I just love the color combo - so fresh!

I've also personalized several hand towels to adorn her powder rooms.  Ooh La La!  I'm always amazed at how a simple initial can instantly dress up everyday items.  So nice to leave out for guests don't 'cha think?!

Until next time, keep cool!

Christmas In July

Santa Claus is coming to town...in exactly 5 months that is! As the Christmas countdown begins, let's use our holiday spirit to cool off a bit shall we?! I'm already skipping down peppermint lane fondly reminiscing about my son's first homemade holiday romper:

Another infamous use of Easy McCall's pattern #2033, minus pockets, and cut to size 1. The fabric is adorable, yet handsome red mini gingham (also used here) lined in the same white goodness used in the 1st romper. Now the super fun stuff - embroidery! I used chocolate brown corduroy to accentuate the Rudolph Applique. And the shoulder button holes are embroidered too - stockings! I can't seem to find them on Embroidery Library anymore...perhaps it's due to some sizing issues. (I had to experiment with several sizes of buttons besides the ones suggested.)

I can hardly believe 2010 will be my 3rd Christmas as a mommie. I'm officially a goober adult that totally gets what all those grown-ups mean when they say "TIME FLIES." ha ha I get a little misty looking back at my sweet baby boy...but it just keeps getting better & better!

Adjustable Art Smock

I've been eyeing the waterproof smocks at our local children's museums, and finally got around to making one for my boy. Our easel and play table are daily activity zones, so why not sew something fun to protect all of those mommie-made creations?! Thank goodness for washable markers and crayons tho. Toddler creativity most always goes waaay beyond the seams of a smock!

I found a great tutorial here that practically mirrors the aprons we use while splashing in the museum water tables. I made my pattern even smaller than suggested, but it still turned out a tad larger than I'd hoped. Oh well - all the more to cover up with!

The fabric is a cotton with laminate overlay - Annette Tatum's Blue Alphabet. It was my first time sewing on this type of (genius!) material, and I found it easiest to stitch on the cotton/wrong side when possible. (more great laminated cotton sewing tips here and here) The adjustable ties are color coordinated blue twill tape. Just zig-zag those ends and you've got yourself a chic no-sew shortcut! I left the ties long to accommodate big boy's growth, and so they could be wrapped around the front and back again. What a tidy and fashionable artiste!

Fruit Pie

It's just not summer without a fresh-from-the-oven fruit pie! I happened upon a simple recipe* for this scrumptious concoction last week, and quickly baked up my very own peach & blueberry version. YUM!

Ingredients

1 frozen Wholly Wholesome pie crust
sliced fruit & berries of your choice
1 cup half-and-half
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions: 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place fruit in pie crust and spread evenly. 2. In a small bowl, combine half-and-half, egg, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt; whisk until well blended. Pour over fruit. 3. Place pie in oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes or until center is set.

The liquid portion ended up being a bit too much for my fruit packed pie, so either put less fruit in or try less half-and-half. Thank goodness I had my pie on a baking sheet that caught some of the excess - whoopsie! Once it's cooled enough to dish, don't forget to plop a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top!

*original recipe found in Family Circle's August 2010 issue

The First Romper

I can hardly believe that I made my son his first homemade romper 2 whole years ago! How far we've come from the days of baby boy delights and sleepless nights. This mommie is sooo thankful for sleep in toddler-land! Thinking back, I'm astonished and quite proud that I actually made this little outfit. It was the start of a brand new creative path that I am so happy to be walking on!

Materials & Construction: I used Easy McCall's pattern #2033, minus pockets, and cut to size 1 with generous seam allowances as my son was only 6 months old at his first wear. The striped fabric was in my stash, and the front lining was leftover from the nursery curtains my mother made...have I mentioned this creative thing runs in the family?! The bee embroidery is from Embroidery Library. (it's so sweet that I've also used it here) I omitted the center bloom and inserted a monogram instead:
One of the biggest challenges was working with snap tape for the first time. It was a big puzzle of sorts, but I'm impressed with how professional it turned out!The first romper was great practice and still hangs in his closet...I can't bring myself to pack it up just yet. He wore it from 6 months to 15 months. I'm not quite sure how that feat happened as he is outgrowing clothing at record speeds currently. At least I got good use out of the pattern - check out my other fun rompers here and here!

My Little Firecracker

This navy tee was destined for craftiness after I picked it up at a spring consignment sale thinking it was completely blank. After returning home with my treasures, I discovered a small resort logo stitched underneath the pinned-on sale tag. Grrrrr. Note to self - make sure to look everywhere, including under the tags from now on. But I still managed to come out ahead of that sneakiness!

I found the adorable (and free!) embroidery file here at Planet Applique, and all supplies came from my existing stash. For the main design, I used red, blue & gold thread on white fabric. After stitching out the file, I cut an oval border with my pinking shears. Then I layered it on top of a red & white gingham square...that just so happens to nicely cover the resort logo! I outlined and attached the square to the shirt in white zig-zag stitches, and used a red, elongated stitch within the oval.

Thanks to my friend Traci for providing the inspiration for this handsome creation - it suits my busy cutie perfectly!