FREEZER PAPER SENTCIL :: HANGOUT HOODIE

Just popping in for a minute to show you the cutest little hangout hoodie from peek-a-boo patterns. I sewed this up for my friend's little girl. Her name is Sailor so I HAD to add a little nautical flair! I used a freezer paper stencil to add a gold anchor. She is such a cutie; she is going to rock this shirt!

fantastically easy bathingsuit cover

I ordered the cutest bathing suit cover this summer on amazon, Backless Black Bikini Cover-up (affiliate link). I. love. it. when I want to feel a little sexy. Hence I purchased it for a child-free vacay the hubby and I went on this summer. I will warn you that it is made from a really thin knit so it stretches. So if your plan is to walk to a pool or beach and then take it off you are golden. If you plan to carry a baby on your hip while walking to said pool or beach I would recommend making your own from a little thicker material that holds it's shape a little better. Funny story- Last time I wore this cover it was on a beach excursion  with just me and my girls. I wore it to the beach and then I slipped it on again to head into a store to get Popsicles on the way home. By the time I was putting the girls back in the car the cover was so "backless" that is was hanging UNDER my bum. Folks this was NOT made for chasing babies. But it is very flattering if you get to go somewhere without kids ;) If you have kids in tow you should make something a little more sturdy like the version I made for my girlfriend.

 

She was heading on a cruise with her hubby and she LOVED my cover up but she could not get one in time (mine shipped from china) so I decided to make one for her. I could not find a knit as thin as what my cover was made from so I decided to just dye some spare knit from my stash.

 

 

 

 

It definitely holds it's shape MUCH better than the one I bought but the drape is not as forgiving. Luckily she looks like a barbie doll so she can pull it off :)

 

 

 

 







I added braided staps.

 

And a little love note. Overall I think it turned out really stinking cute. I am defiantly planning on making one for myself next summer. If you would be interested in a tutorial for this wrap let me know. I would be happy to make one for you and go ahead and get one done for next year!

 

                                                       happy sewing,

 

                                                         Rachel

nursing cover revisited

A long while ago  in  my "It's baby time!" post series I wrote a (halfway) tutorial on nursing covers or hooter hiders as we call them around these parts! Well one of my dearest friends had a sweet little boy recently and she needed a nursing cover so she could start getting out and about a little more. I am always so happy to sew up one of these little covers for friends who want one. Although I have many good friends who are talented nursers sans a cover alas I was NEVER coordinated enough to manage that. This girl (talking about myself) is a sit down, have a boppy, in a completely private place kind of girl. It takes concentration for me the first couple of months! (my poor babies ;) So that makes me very understanding of the new mommas who want a little privacy while they "do their thing."

 

This was the first project in a long time that I went to pick out fabric specifically to use on it. It was so much fun finding fabric that I thought "matched" my friend and her style.

 

 

 

You know, it always surprises me how quickly these covers come together. I am generally intimidated as a seamstress (I use that term lightly) by hardware, such as D rings in this project, but truly it is not complicated at all.

 

 

 

I added a little hand stamped label to the inside corner because every new momma needs to hear they are loved as much as possible, especially when they are listening the the ear-piercing wails of a hungry newborn :) I really like making useful presents for people and I realized with this present that adding a hidden message makes it even more exciting!

 

                                                      happy sewing,

 

                                                          Rachel







Easy Peasy homemade babyshower gift

My dear friend is having a sweet baby girl soon. I needed something to give her besides my go-to baby shower gift, my personal lifesaver, the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. (affiliate link) So I made a couple of sweet outfits for her.

I used the circle skirt pattern from MADE and dyed cotton onsies to match. I love sewing for newborns because  it always looks like little doll outfits!

The flowers on the headbands were made by following this tutorial.  the only change I made was to not use any felt instead I used fabric circles for the base.

 

I am excited to hand this gift over this weekend and I am even more excited to see a sweet new baby in this outfit!

 

Rachel

Grandparent {or any adult} valentine gift

V-Day is in T minus two days and I already finished my Valentines! We like to get the grandma's a little  something and surprise them at work with it. This year our lemon tree went crazy! We had SO MANY huge lemons (ponderosa lemons) and no idea what to do with them, so we got out the faithful old juicer. When I was brainstorming ideas for grandma-treats I had an epiphany, why not share a little lemony goodness! Maybe the grandma's will want to return the good deed with some lemon-flavored treats (hint, hint!)

I found this free printable at see vanessa craft. I just glued them to the top and tied a little bakers twine bow around the jar to finish it off. 

Easy Valentine- check. 

Useful Valentine-check. 

Cheap Valentine- check

Paired with a sweet painting done by z-baby, I think the grandma's will LOVE their gift. And more importantly I think they will FEEL the love we have for them!

Happy day of love!

xo

Rachel

Birds of a feather

Do you watch Portlandia?

I tried to resist.

I fought the good fight and told Brent it is too stupid..

a total waste of time.

Then this episode aired and I was sold.

And a little embarrassed because I immediately kind of like anything that has a bird on it.

Gotta hate when I'm typical. ;)

Anyhoo, a friend of mine had a birfday

(yeah I said birfday... it's what all the cool kids are saying)

and I made her this sweet necklace.

Now don't look to close.

I am a newby at this jewelry making game

and man am I hooked!

It is so much fun!

I got the idea for the lace pendent from my favorite local jeweler.

She was selling something similar at the farmers market a few weeks ago.

I would have LOVED to support her but it was a wee bit to pricey for me.  

Sad day.

The other two pendants came in a pack of three.

I picked the two I wanted and then I shortened the chain on one of them to make it a little more asymmetrical.

My friend loved her necklace.

I did to (I really wanted to keep it!)

Do you like it? Do you want to know how I made it? I was thinking about making one for myself. So, if your interested I'll take some pictures. Let me know!

xoxo

I love to party at all these fun places!

Water-tastic birthday gift!

One of  Z-baby's cute little buddies just had a birthday.

Which makes me so so sad because he turned two and he is only 8WEEKS older than my baby girl!

Gah! Where does time go!?

I digress, so when I asked his mamma what he needed for his birthday she said sippy cups!

Being a mamma myself, I am all about the practical gifts, but having been a kid once I feel the need for a little excitement too!

So the girls and I hit up Target.

And of course the dollar section lured me in like a siren in the sea...

Lucky for me I found the excitement I needed for little man's gift.

I bought the bucket/ shovel combo, pack of three squirt guns, large shovel, and water ball for a dollar each.

That is four bucks y'all.

Four bucks to take a practical gift and change it to a fantastic gift!

I grabbed some letters from the scrapbook section and added his name to make it a little more special.

Then I shoved in two sippy cups to  make mommy happy!

I was so pleased with the results...

and I LOVED the price tag!

Does it seem like all the children in the world were born during the summer months to you too?

I swear we have like 500 birthday parties to go to in the next month.

(Z-baby's included!)

Much love

the perfect gift for most any woman

I really love to cook!

My love affair started about the time I got married.

At first I loved  it because it was so new and fun.

No it is one of my creative outlets. 

I was so proud when I got dinner on the table!

But,not growing up in a family of cook,

(meaning lots of take out and cereal for dinner)

I had no idea I had to cook more than one thing for a meal!

I remember getting super excited about dinner one night- I pulled my hot dish out of the oven, called Brent to the table to eat, and he came.

But the first thing he said when he got to the table was "this is it?"

Of course I started crying and he started back pedaling,

but that night I had a huge realization-

dinner needs sides!

DUH right?!

It is hard trying to swing a main dish and sides for every meal.

Especially when you have a time crunch

And even more so when you have little kids!

I have come, in the years since then, to really rely on herbs and spices to make simple side dishes POP!

Chop up some potatoes and throw some rosemary salt and parmesan on them, toss it in a pan to roast and you have a scrumptious quick side!

Needless to say, I have an extensive dried herb collection that I use

every.single.day.

When we bought our house we planted a herb harden so I could have fresh ones to use also.

You often can find me running frantically with a pair of scissors (sorry mom!) between the kitchen and herb garden at dinner time.

One of my favorite things to do is to cut extra and hang them to dry on a cabinet to use to refill my bottles! 

Anywho, when mother's day rolled around and I was searching for an idea to get my mom and mil- I wanted to make them something functional and fun-

I came up with this:

I used our dehydrator to dry some fresh herbs from our garden.

I found these cute little jars at Jo-Ann's for $.99.

A little chalk paint on the top and a chalk marker was all it took to add a little shabby chic flava ;)

I whipped up a couple bottles of homemade vanilla extract.

Modge podged  these cute labels from the graphics fairy on them 

(I wrote directions on how to care for the extract on the back of the label card I hung on the bottle)

and I had a super cute gift to give the two moms in my life!

BUT...

I really think this would make a great gift for pretty much any occasion-

housewarming, birthday, grandparent's day, and even father's day for those daddy chefs in the house!

Moth my mom and my mil LOVED them!

and I really had a blast making it too!

xoxo

I am linking to these great parties

homemade vanilla extract

When we decided to make the switch full-time to eating unprocessed food

I knew I as going to have to do something about vanilla extract.

Between making bread and granola almost every week,

and pretty much every recipe having it as an ingredient, (maybe a slight exaggeration ;))

We happen to use a TON now.

For a couple of years my mil has been encouraging me to make some homemade vanilla extract as gifts.

Well, I never got around to it...

 Until, well, I needed it (blush)!

It was super simple to make.

And would make a FABULOUS gift, if you are not a procrastinator like me!

You wanna know how to make it?

Here ya go

I read A LOT of tutes about making this and most people recommended using vodka.

But a few also said you could use rum or brandy instead for a different taste.

I may have to try spiced rum next time....YUM! 

Step one: Starting one inch from the top, cut your vanilla bean in half with a paring knife.

*You will need 3 to 4 beans per every cup of liquor used.

Step two: Measure out you liquor and pour it into your bottle.

* I used 4 beans because my bottle held 1 1/4 cups of liquor.

* Be sure to use a bottle that seals nice and tight

Step three: Seal your bottle and give it a good shake!

* You should see some of the seeds already floating around

Store your container in a cool dark place.

Give it a good shake every week.

It should be ready to use in two months.

(Can you tell I have already used it a few times! Sorry about the fingerprints.)

*Extra tips*

1. I bought my vanilla beans off of Amazon. 

2. Only buy as many as you need for you container unless you plan to make some gifts because the leftover beans do not store long!

3. When your bottle gets about half full fill it again with liquor and you are ready to go. You can keep refilling it like this, with the same beans, about three years!!!! 

Sa-weet!

4. I ordered my bottle because I wanted one that would last, but I don't think it was necessary. You can get bottle like this or with a cork top at most any store.

I have a pretty great gift idea coming up for you if  you decide to make extra of these little wonders!

Happy Baking!

I am linking to these great parties

shabby chic jewelry hanger ... tutorial

So on a whim I decided to put one of my cute new old frames from this post to good use.

I made, a long while ago- like when I lived in an apartment 1/3 the size of my house, a holder for necklaces.

Well sadly enough I and my space grew out of it.

I needed something that gave me more room to organize and  something that made a little more of a statement for the space.

I came up with  this

Isn't it cute!?

Wanna make one of your own?

It is WAY to easy!

You'll need:

Chicken wire

wire cutters

a frame

staple gun

Step one: Lay the chicken wire over the back of your frame

and staple it down.

Step two: Use wire cutters to cut the the chicken wire down to size.

Step three: There isn't one! Seriously.

It is that easy.

Now go make one to hang on your bathroom wall!

Much love

I'm linking to these great parties!