For My Sister

My sister also celebrated her birthday earlier this spring and requested a slew of accessories. And she also specified that they had to be "grown up looking" since she is, after all, now 21 and very much grown up.

I was happy to oblige with this cute hair clip. I found the weirdest raincoat fabric on clearance at Joann's that was perfect for flowery accessories. I got some in a few different colors to make a bunch of flowers.

I also snagged some brown tulle to match and did the little curl-it-with-a-candle-flame trick to make it nice and shabby~chic.

*That is my sister in the pictures, not me, just to clear up any confusion*

I added some brownish beads to the middle and glued a clip to the back.

I also made one in black with repurposed t-shirt material and a colorful one with Amy Butler fabric, but failed to take photos of those. Oh, and four headbands which I also failed to photograph. I'll have to get Bri to take some pictures of herself wearing them so you can all see!

Bri goes out a lot with her friends and she likes to take clutches for their portability and ability to match any outfit. She requested ones in black and pink specifically, but said I was free to pick whatever other colors I wanted.

I went a little crazy with fat quarters and matching zippers at Joann's but the end results turned out really great and Bri loved them all. I made a bunch so she could pick a few, but she ended up taking all but one - guess I'll have to make some more for myself later!

Just to warn you: some of these pictures are really blurry. It was really late at night and I just wanted to snap a few photos to share, I didn't realize how terrible they turned out.

 

I made a contrasting green one with an orange stripe, Bri let me keep it, but I don't have a picture.

 

I 100% ripped off this color scheme from someone else who made these clutches - it was too cute not to copy! I did change at least one or two of the fabrics, I just know the blue and green circle fabric is the same one she used. I don't remember where that link is now, but if I find it, I'll be sure to link you to hers!

I love this one, it's so cute I'm definitely making one like this for myself. If you'd like to make one- check out the tutorial here. It is really simple to make the results are adorable!

 

Bri requested small handles on them, so I attached most of them via the zipper. The teal and pink ones have a little tab sewn in the sides where I attached the handle. The zipper ones are completely detachable if she changes her mind.

Fat quarters work great for this project because you can mix and match your fabrics and I got 2-3 clutches out of each set. 

The insides have two slots for cards. They are the perfect size for a camera, wallet, and lip gloss, and with the straps they are easy to tote around all night at the club! 

I hope Bri gets lots of use out of all her birthday accessories. The hair clips and headbands go great with any outfit - fancy with a dress or fun to spruce up jeans and a tee. And now she has a clutch to match every outfit, she'll never be without! I had so much fun making them all, now I just have to find time to make some for myself! 

A Belated Birthday Quilt

My mom's birthday was in April and she agreed to accept a belated quilt when I could find the time to make one. I got a fat quarter set of 15 fabrics from Joann's for Christmas this past year and they happened to be the perfect colors to match my parents' family room. 

I had originally intended on making a modern bento box, but after sewing all the blocks together, I really didn't feel like cutting them up and re-stitching them again. And I wanted to finish the quilt before our weekend trip to Michigan so I didn't have a lot of time to mess around. I was able to quilt it, wash it, dry it, and sew the binding onto the front in the couple days I had left before leaving. I hand sewed the binding to the back in a couple settings on my parents' couch. 

The back is pieced with light green and purple fabrics split with a random sampling of fabrics from the front. 

For the binding I used a wavy stripe fabric that was also in the bundle. Joann's still had a few of the fabrics in yardage, but I love stripes for binding, so that fabric won. 

I attached a little birthday label to the back corner. 

And then I threw it on the couch so you all could see how well it blends in with the room. 

Mom wants to repaint the walls to a different shade of green - the existing color is a little to minty, she would prefer something more grey-green-yellowish like the greens in the quilt. As long as she stays in that color scheme, the quilt will have many more happy years on the couch. 

The blocks finished at about 12" so the quilt is somewhere around 48x60, which is a great size for bundling up and cuddling on the couch.

Happy Belated Birthday Mom - I love you! 

Tula Pink Nursery Part 3

Today I was able to visit my cousins and see their nursery in person. Months of planning and work sure did pay off - the nursery looks perfect! 

The crib with two mini quilts hanging above it. You can also catch a glimpse of the skirt here. 

The baby's quilt - still love this so much

Window seat turned wall bench. 

View of the window and changing station. 

Closer view of the Tula Pink features. The curtain matches the bed skirt. 

Don't you love the crib? It is so cute and turns into a bed when the baby gets a little bigger. 

View looking in the room from the doorway - the two embroidery hoops are hanging right there, very cute! 

Another view from the door - with the little seat and changing area. Isn't the wall color perfect?! 

Here's a better view of the back of the quilt because I couldn't get a good one before. 

And another one of the front, in case you forgot. And also because it's so cute. 

They are hanging the diaper stacker on the closet door with an over-the-door hook. 

A little bookshelf our uncle made Stacey. She found these baskets at Babies R Us and the colors match the fabric perfectly! This baby will not be without reading material. My favorites in the shelf? Berenstain Bears and Little Critter! 

And finally a good picture of the swaddler. You can tuck it ... 

...Or tie it. Stacey and I agreed it looks so cute tied! 

And here's the pretty momma herself - I caught her in a candid moment - she wasn't posing for the camera like this, haha. Look at that belly! Her doctor said the baby will probably come early by 7 - 10 days, which means it could be here in just over a week! I felt the baby pushing an elbow or hand against her side, it was so sweet. I think he/she was just saying "Get me outta here! I want to see this nursery everyone has been talking about for so long!" Stacey is documenting her new family here if you want to see her side of the story. I hope she keeps it updated, because I don't know the next time we'll be back in Michigan, so I will need to see lots of pictures of the little sweetheart. 

I should also mention that my other cousin, Courtney, is due within days of Stacey and we are equally as excited about their new baby. Courtney and her husband Chris have two kids who are each going to be a great big brother and sister! And the new babies will be so lucky to have each other when it comes to family time, like I always had Stacey and Courtney when we were kids and even more so now. 

That's all for now - I'm blogging from the basement because apparently a tornado rolled through West Michigan. Just as I was climbing into bed the alarms went off and my parents made us take shelter. The storm has passed now and we are all fine, so I'm going to take a little nap before catching a flight back to Nashville in four hours. 

Sweet dreams or good morning, depending on when this post finds you. 

Anniversary

Three years ago today I married the love of my life. It's hard to believe three years have already gone by, cliche as it sounds, it really does seem like yesterday I was walking down the aisle to him. Sadly we aren't celebrating together, as Curt is five hours away playing at a camp for the week. I spent the day at work and I plan on spending the night sewing, so not a bad day overall. My goal was to finish my mom's quilt top, but I really don't think that is going to happen tonight. Too bad, because I wanted to finish it before we head up to Michigan this weekend. Maybe some late night, pedal to the medal sewing will do the trick. 

Preparation

I think I need a new header on my blog. The one I put up now is from last summer, featuring my sister's birthday quilt. It's cute and all, but I'm ready for something different so I'm turning to you. Anyone have any ideas? Any aspiring graphic designers out there interested in throwing together something simple for me? Maybe I'll do a whole blog page makeover. What would you like to see?

In less decisive news, I've been stitch, stitch, stitching away on a few different projects all at once lately.

I went a little crazy at JoAnn's with the fat quarter sale. I started with this beautiful stack. 

Set up shop on the deck. 

Cut for a few hours. 

And turned the pile into pieces for a bunch of clutches. They are for my sister's birthday. I'm making a ton and then she can pick her favorites. And I will probably keep a couple and save the rest for gift giving.

I also started working on a quilt for my mom's birthday. I got a fat quarter pack for Christmas and the colors match my parents' living room perfectly, so I'm making the quilt with those. My original plan was a modern bento box pattern, but I'm debating just keeping them at log cabin blocks. We'll see what happens. 

The weather in Nashville has been beautiful lately, as you can see in these photos. Today I sat out in my swim suit and then had visitors in the form of a co-worker and the great dane she was dog-sitting. Now I'm on my way to the library and dinner. I have a strange craving for fish, soup, and Pei Wei, but I don't think I'll get all three today. 

Tula Pink Nursery Part 2: The Shower

Stacey had her baby shower on Sunday and received all these gifts I made her, so it's safe to post and share all the sweet Tula goodness. Because really, what's more precious than tiny things made from the cutest fabric line ever?!

I couldn't be happier with how these all turned out, and I can't wait to see them all put to good use!

If you missed all the nursery goods, check them out here!