Somethin's Cookin'

There's something cookin' in my head that is almost ready to share...I don't have all the details together yet, but when I do, y'all will be the first to know!

In the meantime, I was featured on One Crafty Place in the list of readers' favorite tutorials! Go HERE to see the posting of some awesome tutorials, including a link to my simple burp cloths.

Enjoy your weekend, and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the ladies out there...even if you're not a mom. If you know a man or are married, chances are you've had to "act like a mom" at some point ;)

xoxo,

Ariel

Craft Hope

I don't think it's any coincidence that I stumbled on this site today. If you love to sew and love to make things for kiddos, please visit Craft Hope. They are collecting handmade softie dolls for an orphanage in Nicaragua and there are many doll patterns to choose from. Thank you to One Crafty Place for posting about this wonderful group. You'll also find a link to Craft Hope's site in my sidebar.

You'll find this doll pattern on Martha Stewart's site, curteousy of etsian, Emily Martin. This is one of the many free patterns you could use to make a special doll for a little girl or boy. They ask that you create dolls with brown hair and eyes, like the sweet children they will go to. They are also in need of boy dolls, so pull out your creativity!

Swap Received!

It rained all day yesterday, and I didn't feel very motivated to run to the end of the driveway to retrieve the mail. But, imagine my delight when I opened it up and saw a large envelope waiting for me, covered in postage stamps from Malaysia! I recently participated in a Spring Swap at the 6 o'clock Stitch. The guidelines were to create an 8x10" piece, using any art media, and including the colors red & yellow. My swap partner, Nishi, is an awesome scrapbooker and sent the cutest scrapbook page for T's room. It's titled, "Just Plane Cute". I love it! Thanks, Ni!

I thought for a long time about what I should send her and since we both share the love of sewing, I sketched an antique sewing machine and added a quilt block. Here's what I came up with:

And finally, I'm always blogging about myself, so I thought I'd share the "real brains" behind this "circus"....my hubby! I took these pics last night as he worked on a new desk for our office. Show this man a Pottery Barn catalog, and he's on it! We're celebrating 5 years of marriage at the end of this month and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be having fun with :)

Summer Road Trip Pillow Tutorial

I'm glad to hear there are others out there like me, who thrive on visuals! Here is a tutorial for the super-soft travel pillows from my previous post.

You will need:

12" x 16" pillow form (sold at JoAnn's and other craft stores)
1/4 yard "main print" fabric (or at least 8 1/2" x 44")

1/6 yard of a second print of fabric (or at least 5"x 44")

rotary cutter or shears

iron/ironing board, spray starch (optional)

straight pins (optional)

and your trusty sewing machine

*I recommend pre-washing your fabric for this project, since you'll be fitting a pillow form. If you're lazy like me and would rather wash afterward, you might want to add a 1/2" to each of the following measurements to allow for shrinkage...

Out of the main fabric (polka dots), cut:

-one piece 8 1/2" x 17 1/2"

-two pieces 8 1/2" x 11"

Out of the secondary fabric (yellow), cut:

-one piece 5"x 17 1/2"

-two pieces 5" x 11"

Put your pieces together, matching them up by size. Place them right sides together.

Sew a 1/4" seam across the top, so that when you unfold each set, it looks like this:



Do this for each of your three sets of pieces and press the seams open:

At this point, You should have three pieces:

-one 13 1/2" x 17 1/2"

-two 13 1/2" x 11"

Next, use your iron and some spray starch to press a 1/2" hem on one edge of both of your 13 1/2" x 11" pieces, making sure that the hems end up facing each other when the pieces are side-by-side:

I like to use a zig-zag stitch to sew the hem:

You are ready to line the two smaller pieces on top of the 13 1/2" x 17 1/2" piece, placing right sides together. The two hemmed edges will overlap, becoming your envelope flap to insert the pillow form.

Once you get your pieces "sandwiched" and lined up, it's a good idea to pin it all in place. (The two pieces on top tend to slide around.) Sew a 1/4" seam around all four sides, reinforcing your corners with some back stitches.

Remove the pins and turn your pillow cover right side out.

This is a great travel pillow for adults too :)

Enjoy!

Going "Bye-Bye"...Summer Travel Pillows

Summer vacations for my family growing up, consisted of waking at dawn to get a "head start" on a lengthy roadtrip...maybe to leave by 10am, spending hours and hours in the "woody" Chrysler minivan, my brother in the middle seat, and I, stretched out in the backseat. I got carsick easily, and remember sleeping for hours and hours just to take my mind of being in the car. One thing that kept me comfortable and feeling relaxed was my soft, cool, pillow and a soft baby quilt. You know that feeling of extra soft cotton that is cool to the touch?? I love that feeling...

It's almost the season for family roadtrips, and now having my own family, I felt it was time to make a travel pillow for my little guy.

I used fabrics from Heather Ross' Lightning Bugs line. I've never felt quilting cotton as soft as this...it's perfect for this project. You can find several Heather Ross prints at great prices at one of my favorite etsy fabric stores, Down Shadow Lane.

Leave me a comment if you would be interested in a tutorial on how to make one! This is a super simple project for beginning sewers.

Toddler Room Decorating

My little guy turned 18 months old at the end of April, and I am just now getting his room decorated....a sad, sad thing for a gal who paints murals for other people and never painted her own kid's nursery. I never had the motivation to get it done while I was pregnant, but I am finally feeling like myself again after a year and a half!

Here are some of my favorite things from the T-Man's room...

English Alphabet Cards from Bibitty

The little Gnome Moss Terrarium from yesterday's post

Three Bears print by Sarah Jane Studios

Finger Painted Whale cut-out, tutorial by Sarah Jane Studios

Family Tree by the infamous, Sarah Jane Studios

White wooden bookrack...I love how the titles face out and it's easy for little hands to pull books and put them away.

A "big boy" mobile...letters and numbers! "T" loves this!

And, my most favorite addition to the room.....my best little buddy :)

Moss Terrarium How-To

Have you seen the little moss terrariums that are back in style? I remember having a big retro plastic terrarium in our house during the early 80's....they're making a comeback!

I've had this antique lidded glass jar on a shelf in our dining room forever and keep thinking to myself that I should use it for something. It dawned on me that it would look really cute as a tiny "gnome land" in Titus' room....so here's a little "how-to" that I put together, just in case you have a clear glass container and would like to try this yourself...

You'll need a jar or glass container that has a lid. I think lightly colored glass is okay, but probably not the dark green, etc. I washed it with soap and water and rinsed it really well to get all the soap out.

We are "lucky" enough to have quite a bit of moss growing in our backyard in a little "valley". If you don't have any in your yard, it grows in lots of public places, such as cracks in the sidewalk, cemeteries, etc. If you're really into this project and can't find moss, I hear you can order sections of it online...try a google search.

Place a layer of pebbles in the bottom of your clean jar. (This picture ended up being too full of rocks, so I ended up removing some later. I think a layer that covers the bottom in one layer of stones is sufficient.) You might also like to add some charcoal as an "odor eater", since this will be an enclosed environment.

Add a layer of loose topsoil, about 1/2" thick or more (depending on the height you prefer). Moisten the soil, unless you're like me and it has rained in Indiana for several days and the ground is already saturated.

Dig up a section of moss (or several pieces) from your moss patch. If you're using moss that is dry, moisten it too. Layer it on top of the soil and press down, making sure the moss is touching the soil.

Here is another great place for those fimo pins...I used my gnome and mushroom pins that I made in previous posts. You can also use tiny figurines or leave your terrarium simply moss.