Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Merry Christmas to ME!

So for Christmas my hubby's 2 brothers chipped in and got me a breadmaker like I requested. YAY! Tonight I made my first loaf! I went simple, just plain white bread to make sure I couldn't screw it up. I really want to try some cinnamon raisin bread next ... yum! =)



Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Necktie Onesie

SO proud of this project =) I swear this took me half an hour tops, and I feel like that's only because I was stopping to check the directions and take pictures of my progress. How fun and simple! Ever since we found out we're having a boy I've been dying to make one of these Appliqued Tie Onesies from Crap I've Made. Here's how my first attempt turned out:


SO CUTE, right? So, I'm going to post my picture progress, but for the step by step directions please visit Crap I've Made's tutorial here. =) Enjoy!

My onesie, fabric, and stencil:

Fabric, Wonder Under and Template cut to size:

Tracing the tie on the fabric with the Wonder Under:

My pieces cut and ready to go:

Ironed on!

Finally, to reinforce with a quick straight stitch:

Ta da! Love it =)

Monday, December 27, 2010

Green Baby Bargains

Another bargain shopping site!


"Welcome to Green Baby Bargains, where we dish out one incredible, eco-friendly bargain per day!

As moms ourselves, we know moms (and dads!) want the safest and most natural options for their children, and better yet, we know moms LOVE bargains! So, we have combined the two into an entertaining and addicting place to shop!

At 12:00 pm EST, Monday-Friday, we bring you our latest "green" baby bargain, and you have until it's gone to scoop it up, and spread the word! And, then we do it all over again the next day!

We feature bargains for moms, dads, and children—babies up to age five! All the products are great for new baby and shower gift shopping!

And when we talk about bargains, we aren't joking! All of the products listed on Green Baby Bargains are high quality items from reputable, eco-conscious vendors, and will be available to you at a MINIMUM of 50% off the retail price.

Stop by on the weekends, and if we have any bargains leftover from the week, we'll give you another chance to scoop them up!

But, the best part is that all of the products listed on Green Baby Bargains are eco-friendly!

Jill & Jenn
Moms, Sisters, & Owners of GreenBabyBargains.com"

Tweet Tweet Tutorial

How exciting my first official tutorial!! I made this project a month ago, actually, but wasn't able to upload the images and pattern to the blog before my computer crashed. Luckily, the files were recovered but it's taken me a while to sit down and get it posted. Also, I made this before receiving my beautiful new Singer sewing machine for Christmas, so this was a hand-sewn project for me, but could easily be done on a machine, I'm sure. I made this "Tweet Tweet Bird" for my daughter:


First, you need to cut your fabric based on the template [linked at the end of this entry]. You'll also want to cut two pieces of batting following the same template. Then, stitch them together, fabric facing right side together, with the batting on the outside: [be sure to leave a gap where you can turn your bird right side out]


Turn the bird right side out and stuff with filling.

You'll need to do this two more times, scaled down, to make wings. For some reason I cannot find the pictures of those as I made them. Do the same as above, though. Face the fabric right side together [this time without the batting] and stitch together, leaving a slight gap. Stuff both the wings with filling. Sew shut.

Then, regardless if you've been using a machine you'll need to hand-sew the wings to the body of the bird.

VoilĂ !


Hope you and your little ones enjoy your "tweet tweet"!

Download the PDF pattern here.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

*BLOG NAME CHANGE*

For completely no good reason, other than I wanted to, I have changed the name of my blog from "Mommy's Favorite Things" to "Pumpkins & Junebugs" =)

First Attempt: Cloth Blocks


Yay! My first attempt at cloth blocks =) While it's not 100% perfect, I'm quite pleased with both how well it turned out and how quickly I was finished! I based my project of Make It and Love It's Cloth Block tutorial, though I have to admit I was worked based on memory and was too lazy to jump back online to check the specifics. Had I followed it precisely [which I plan to next time!] I'm sure it'd be even more awesome! Have you made these before? How'd they turn out?

Tutorial spotlight: Make It and Love It

In my quest to find awesome new and free tutorials I'm constantly on blogger, checking out craft sites, and then you know you find one and you click on their links to find others, and so on and so on... Anyways, one I found that I just *love* is Make It and Love It


I cannot wait to get started on some baby blocks for our little boy!!


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Sewing project: Netbook Case

This is a netbook case I made for my mom for Christmas. Let me say, I do not recommend novice sewers sew without a pattern. Disastrous. Normally I wouldn't have been so 'brave', if you will, but I could *not* find a pattern I was happy with, or that matched what I had envisioned. I really just wanted a sleeve, with a zipper closure. As you can see from the photo I ended up adding 2inch sides because my panels were too small once I began sewing all the batting and what not. I also broke a [few] needles on my [brand new] sewing machine. Like I said, not a novice project! So, I didn't make a pattern, I just have photos to share: