Archives for February 2010

Feb

Challenge Dress Giveaway Winner!

And the winner is “Savvy Saving Momma” who won with comment number 33 where she said;

“I follow your blog”

She also said in her previous comment, “I enjoy your crafting and sewing blogs! If I won I would love to get the Matilda Tutu dress!

So here it is, The Matilda Tutu Dress:

Savvy Saving Momma, I emailed you to your blogger account email, so hopefully you have received that so we can discuss where you would like me to ship this cutie patootie little dress.

Thanks so much to all of you who entered! This was so fun, I will definitely do another giveaway soon!!

Happy Friday!

Feb

No-Sew Projects with Fabric

Now I know the majority of you that read my blog are sewers; however, I do know there are some that are not. As you can see from my previous post, I LOVE fabric! I think it is so gorgeous and just looking at it gets my creativity going. But did you know there are plenty of ways to incorporate fabric into your home that does NOT involve sewing?

I thought I would show you a few no-sew fabric projects that I have around my home:

These are basic square frames purchased from IKEA. I simply framed some fabric that I really loved that seemed to coordinate with our store-bought bedding. Personally, I think it really adds a lot to the room and gives it a completed look.

Here is the framed fabric hanging over our bed. And do you see the accent pillow on the bed? Yes, that was done in my days before I had my sewing machine. I made that using heat-bond and just ironed it all together!

This is the wall-art that hangs over my 7-month old daughter, Matilda’s crib. I purchased an inexpensive painters canvas from Michaels and covered it with fabric (I staple gunned it to the back of the canvas). I then painted a wooden “M” pink and covered it with pretty floral wall-paper accents (found at Joann’s). I added a pink ribbon on the top and stapled it to the top of the canvas (and hid the staples with the upper flower……shhhhh….don’t tell).

This was another way I incorporated fabric into my daughters room without sewing. I covered a foam board with batting and then covered it with fabric (securing with straight pins on the back). I added ribbons across the front and secured them in place with pearl straight pins (found in the sewing notions section of Joann’s). I added a hanging ribbon on top (secured by straight pins) and hung it on the wall.

Here are three pieces of wall art I created using fabric for my daughter Savannah’s “big girl room”. I’ve shown these to you in a previous post (see here), but I don’t know if you realized there was no sewing involved. I simply covered the mats that came with the frames in polka dot fabric. Then I deconstructed the animal templates and used different fabrics to rebuild the look of the animals. All of the animals have a pearl as their eye (found in the scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby).

Finally, this was one of the easiest no-sew projects. This was a bookcase we purchased from IKEA to use in my daughters bedroom. It came with a “not so lovely” cardboard backing to the shelves. So, I decided to cover this with fabric before we put it together. This is secured using duct tape on the back-side of the cardboard – gotta love that stuff!!

So as you can see, there are many different creative things you can do with fabric if you don’t sew. I always encourage my friends and family to start sewing if you have any interest in it – it’s really not as hard as you think. But if you don’t have the interest or the time, you can still have fun with all the beautiful designer fabric that is on the market today!

Cottage Mama’s Note: If you have any questions about these projects I have described, feel free to leave me a comment or email me and I would be happy to go into further detail.

Feb

Now Don’t Be Jealous……

………but look what arrived in the mail for me yesterday!

Eeeeek – it’s my fabric!! I had ordered about 40-50 yards of fabric awhile back and it is finally here. I will be using most of this yardage for items in my etsy shop. I do have several item for my shop ready to go, I just need to get some good sunshine to take my pictures so I can list them.

I have had a lot of friends ask me where I get my fabric. Well, I usually can find the best prices for fabric online. The only thing about ordering online is you usually have to wait for it and you don’t get to touch and feel it. However, if you are familiar with a designer, then you usually will know what to expect. I love looking in fabric stores, so sometimes it is best to browse your local specialty fabric store to see what the fabric looks like in person. Many times the color of a fabric can vary online depending on your computer monitor color settings. So if you plan to order a lot – check it out in person first!

The majority of the fabric I ordered is the new “Nicey Jane” by Heather Bailey (I love the fresh, clean look), with a little “Love” by Amy Butler (Gorgeous!), and a few yards of Sandi Henderson. These designers are not found in your big-box fabric stores like Joann’s or Hancock, so if you are looking for them in-person, best to check out the specialty stores.

Here are these three designers websites if you would like to check out their lines of fabric:

Heather Bailey

Amy Butler

Sandi Henderson

I want to start sewing right now!! But, my daughters 2nd birthday is next week and we are having an “Elmo Dance Party” so I better finish up things for her party first. Hope you are all having a great day!

Feb

Reusable Coffee Sleeve Tutorial

I love coffee. Now, it is VERY rare these days that I allow myself to purchase a Starbucks coffee. Being a stay-at-home Mom means being on a strict budget which, of course, is SO worth it being able to spend all day with my two little ladies. However, I know many, many of my friends and family that love to have their daily coffee fix from their local coffee shop.

When you purchase your coffee it comes with the cup, the lid and the cardboard coffee sleeve. My goodness – that is a lot of waste for one coffee drink! So, I thought maybe we could help eliminate some of the waste by creating a reusable coffee sleeve. Just a small little sleeve that you could slip in your bag or briefcase and use when you buy your coffee.

I have seen so many of these for sale on etsy.com. They are super-cute, but they looked easy enough to make, so I thought I would try my hand at making one myself. If you know someone who is a coffee-shop addict (or you are one yourself), make them one of these reusable coffee sleeves and help our environment by eliminating waste.

Reusable Coffee Sleeve Tutorial

Supplies:

1/4 yard (or less) scrap piece of fabric

4.5″ elastic

Fusible Interfacing

1 button

Thread

Scissors

Coffee Sleeve (for your template)

Paper Coffee Cup (yes, I was FORCED to treat myself for this tutorial – I had a giftcard!)

Directions:

Here is your basic coffee shop cup with the standard paper sleeve.

Here is the paper sleeve.

Unfold the paper sleeve to use this as your template for your reusable one.

Place your paper sleeve onto your fabric (fabric should be folded in half).

Cut fabric (using the paper sleeve as your template). Cut 1/2″ – 3/4″ wider than template.

Cut one piece of fusible interfacing (I use Wonder Under) the same size as your fabric pieces.

Place your interfacing (paper side UP) onto the wrong-side of one piece of your fabric.

Iron interfacing onto fabric (leave the paper on when ironing).

Remove interfacing paper backing. Pin both pieces of fabric right-sides together.

Cut your elastic 4.5″ long.

Place the elastic in between the two pieces of fabric and pin it pointing inward. You pin it inward so that when you turn it right-side out, it will be going the right direction.

Stitch around three sides (both long sides and the side with the elastic) of your fabric – 1/2″ seam allowance.

Clip the corners and the curves so that it will lay nice and flat when you turn it right-side out.

Turn the fabric right-side out. Then fold under (the side you left open) about 1/2″ and press. Once you press your fabric, this will fuse the two pieces together really well.

Pin the open end in place and then top-stitch around the entire perimeter – 1/4″ seam allowance.

This is what your top-stitching will look like once completed.

Then stitch your button in place – the center of the button should be about 3″ from the edge of the fabric. I used embroidery floss just to make it extra durable.

And there you have it – your completed coffee sleeve! This project only took me about 30 minutes and it really is so easy. Not only is this great for our environment, but it makes your coffee cup super-cute too!!

Cottage Mama’s Note: You can embellish your coffee sleeve many different ways by adding trims (i.e. rick-rack, ribbon, rhinestones) and fun buttons. Have fun and get creative!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment or email me!

Feb

100 Followers – Time for a Giveaway!!

Wooohoooo! I’ve finally reached 100 followers – I’m so excited! I feel so special that people are actually interested in what I have to say!

I’ve had over 300 readers (including RSS subscribers) for a little while now, but I thought the three digit follower number was a good excuse for my first giveaway! I am giving away one of my Lil Blue Boo challenge dresses. There are three for you to choose from – one is 6-12 months, one is 18-24 (fits a smaller 2T) months, and the other is 3T. So the winner will be able to pick one – which ever will fit the little lady in your life.

So here are pictures of the three dresses you can choose from:

Punky Posh – Size 18-24 Months

The Matilda Tutu Dress – Size 6-12 Months

with Ruffle Bloomers

Monster Rocker – Size 3T

So here’s what you need to do to enter:

Leave me a comment and let me know what kind of blog posts you are most interested in reading about (i.e. sewing, cooking, crafting, family, kids, organization, ect.) AND let me know which dress you would like if you won. Then you can be entered a second time if you become a follower. Just leave me another comment and let me know you have become a follower (if you are already a follower, then just let me know and you will be entered twice as well).

The giveaway will be open until midnight Thursday evening and the winner will be chosen via random.org. Thanks so much for reading!!!

Cottage Mama’s Note: I am linking up with Make Your Monday, Made it Monday, Do It Yourself Day, & Whatever Goes Wednesday (Someday Crafts).

Feb

Creamy Pesto Alfredo Pasta

I’m going to tell you a little secret…….well, I guess it’s not a total secret…….. I have a serious addiction to Fettuccine Alfredo. I think it is one of the most delicious, indulgent things on earth! Personally I would choose to eat this over a piece of chocolate cake any day!

I know I have not been posting the most “figure flattering” recipes lately, but we had this for dinner last night and it was just so good that I had to share it with you!

Creamy Pesto Alfredo Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1lb. pasta shells (1 box)

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup pesto (store-bought or fresh)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic chopped (or 1 teaspoon jar garlic).

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (+ more for garnish)

1 teaspoon salt

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes (do not allow garlic to brown). Add pesto and cook for 3 minutes. I like to cook the store-bought pesto a little bit because I think it mellows out the flavor which can be VERY strong sometimes.

Add heavy cream, salt, pepper and Parmesan and turn heat up to medium-high. Once the cream sauce begins to bubble turn the heat down to medium low. Allow sauce to thicken for about 10 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste your sauce and determine whether or not you would like to add a little more salt or pepper. If it doesn’t taste SUPER delicious to you, then chances are you need more salt.

Once cooked, drain pasta (reserving 1/3 cup pasta cooking liquid). Add cooking liquid to sauce and stir to combine. Then add drained pasta to the sauce in the saute pan. Stir until the pasta is fully coated with the creamy pesto alfredo sauce.

Serve in pasta bowls and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese before serving. This dish is wonderful with garlic bread & Caesar salad!

Cottage Mama’s Note: During the winter months, I prefer to buy store-bought pesto just because I find fresh basil to be somewhat expensive in the store. However, in the summer, when my herb garden is in full swing, fresh pesto is the best!!

Feb

Apple Raisin French Toast Strata

This morning was our “Valentine” playgroup. We had such a great time! My friend Julie hosted the group and she did a wonderful job. She prepared several different breakfast items, but the Apple Raisin French Toast Strata definitely took the cake – it was AWESOME!!

Julie got this recipe via allrecipes.com and I wanted to go ahead and share it with all of you. If you are hosting a brunch/breakfast anytime in the near future, make this dish – it was SO yummy!

Apple Raisin French Toast Strata

Ingredients:

1 (1 pound) loaf cinnamon raisin bread,

cubed

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,

diced

1 cup diced peeled apples

8 eggs

2 1/2 cups half-and-half cream

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup maple syrup

Directions:

Coat a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 of the cubed raisin bread in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the cream cheese evenly over the bread, and top with the apples. If you like extra raisins, add them now. Top with remaining bread.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, butter, and maple syrup. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and press down so that all bread pieces are soaked. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!

Here are some pictures from this mornings playgroup. My daughter Savannah has been playing with most of these kiddos since she was 5 weeks old (well if you can call that “playing” at 5 weeks old).

We were each told to bring a bag or box for our child to collect all of their Valentines – this is Savannah & Matilda’s bag all filled up with Valentine’s from their little friends!

Savannah at the craft table. I think she takes after her mother – she loves arts and crafts!!

Savannah getting ready to pass out her Valentine’s. Remember the “We Dig You!” post? (find it here).

All the kiddos Valentine’s Day boxes/bags ready to be filled!

Ava & Liam’s Boxes

Grace & Evan’s Box

Roaran’s Lion Mailbox

This is what happens when toddlers are left unattended at the craft table – yikes!!

Cottage Mama’s Note: The dress my daughter is wearing in these pictures I made from a recycled Valentine’s Day shirt from last year. You can the recycled shirt dress post here.

Feb

Two New Do’s!!

This was a BIG weekend for haircuts in our house. My daughter, Savannah, got her first little haircut in preparation for her 2nd birthday. We just did a little trim because I want to grow it out so I can do fun hair-dos someday.

Here’s Savannah with her cute little haircut (and her lollipop too, of course!)

So last night I did it – I cut a foot off of my hair! It was just time. For the last 3 years I have been growing my hair out and while I do like having long hair, I found it was constantly in a ponytail. With two girls under two, wearing my long locks down just wasn’t practical (and I can’t tell you how many times my 7 month old has grabbed my hair and pulled – ouch!!!)

Here’s the before (I know, not the best picture, but you needed to see the length):

Here’s my new do:

Before having my hair cut, I had planned to donate my hair “Locks of Love”. Locks of Love is an organization that provides hairpieces for disadvantaged children under 21 that are suffering with long-term hair loss. Many of the children that the hairpieces are made for are suffering from Alopecia.

Hair for Donation

My hair has had no chemical treatment so it was a perfect candidate for donation. I also had over 10 inches (which is the minumum they prefer for donation). The hair pieces given to these children really help them to gain self-confidence and make it easier for them to face the world. I hope that a wonderful hair-piece can be made from my donated hair and will help make life easier for a child in need!

For more information about Locks of Love or to find out about how to donate, please click here.

Feb

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole & Monterey Jack Cheese Cornbread Muffins

When I had my second daughter, Matilda Jane, 7 months ago I could not believe the out-pouring of kindness we received from our family and friends. We were brought so many meals that I did not even have to think about cooking for several weeks! I think bringing new parents a meal that they can easily heat up is one of the best gifts you can possible give a couple.

So on Friday I was telling you all about the fact that tons of my friends seem to have had babies this past month (see post here ). Today I delivered meals to two of my friends and I thought I would share the recipes with you. If you have someone in your life that has recently had a new baby, I highly recommend bringing them a hot meal and, if you feel so inclined, go ahead and try this recipe – I think it is delish!

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)

1 can green enchilada sauce

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 bag frozen broccoli

1/2 bag frozen corn

1 garlic clove, chopped (or 1 teaspoon jar garlic)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (do not add if you don’t like some spice)

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 brick cream cheese

12 flour tortillas

3 handfuls of tortilla chips (crushed)

Cilantro (for garnish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place frozen chicken breast on cookie sheet, place in oven and cook 20-30 minutes (until cooked through). Once cooked, dice chicken into 1/2″ pieces.

While chicken is cooking, heat olive oil in large saute pan on medium heat. Add garlic to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add frozen broccoli, corn, and all spices. Saute until cooked through.

Add both cans enchilada sauce and cook for 3 minutes.

Add cream cheese and melt into sauce. Once cream cheese is melted, add cubed chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut 12 flour tortillas into 1 inch strips.

Now it’s time to assemble the casserole! Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray (I like Olive Oil spray from Trader Joe’s, but any kind will work). Place one layer of flour tortillas on the bottom of the dish.

Then add a layer of the chicken, cream cheese, veggie, sauce mixture.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the Monterey Jack cheese on top. Repeat the layering until you have used up your ingredients. You will probably have 2-3 layers depending on the size of your casserole dish.

Finish the top of the casserole with crushed tortilla chips, more cheese, and chopped fresh cilantro.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until heated through. If you are taking this to a friend, cover with foil, write the heating instructions on top of the foil (that way they don’t have to worry about finding them before they heat up the dish). Enjoy!

Monterey Jack Cheese Cornbread Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup cilantro or green onions

2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions:

Prepare Jiffy Corn Muffin mix according to package directions. DO NOT over-mix (otherwise you will have dry, hard corn muffins). The batter should still be somewhat lumpy before you place it into your muffin tins.

Fold in cheese & chili powder.

Chop cilantro (or green onions).

Fold in cilantro.

Line muffin tin with muffin wrappers and fill 3/4 full. Bake according to Jiffy package directions.

Allow muffins to cool before removing from pan.

Jiffy Cornbread mix is VERY inexpensive and makes incredibly delicious cornbread as long as you make sure you add enough milk (add a little more milk if the batter looks too dry) and you don’t over-mix the batter.

Cottage Mama’s Note: Since I was taking these casseroles to friends, I bought disposable lasagna pans from Dollar Tree (2 pans for $1.00) so I didn’t have to worry about getting my dishes back later. I also placed the corn muffins in cello bags and tied them up with a pretty sage green ribbon.

Feb

Final Challenge Dress #7 – "The Paper Doll Dress"

“The Paper Doll Dress” is entirely different from the last six dresses I entered in the challenge, but in all honesty, this one is much more my style. I just love little girls in classic dresses and consider myself to have very classic style. Granted, they aren’t necessarily practical for everyday playing around on the playground, but oh, they just look SO sweet!

So for my final challenge dress I used the “Paper Doll Dress Pattern” from Lil Blue Boo.
I decided to make this dress using some of the fabrics I will be using in my etsy shop and I love how it turned out (if I do say so myself).

Final Challenge Dress #7 – “The Paper Doll Dress”

I used 5 different fabrics in creating this entire dress. The main body of the dress is four different panels (2 fabrics) sewn together.

I used fabric covered buttons that coordinated with the two large pockets on either side of the dress to secure the straps.

For the straps I used a bright green and pink fabric which is lined with the blue and pink swirl fabric that is found in the main body of the dress.

On the back I added layered fabric yo-yo’s in two different sizes accented with a fabric covered button. I love yo-yo’s – I think they add vintage flair whenever used!!

On the two side pockets I added bright green piping and a fun bright pink textured ribbon. The pockets are lined as well.

Since the fabric is so bright, I decided to scale down the size of the pockets a little bit from the original pattern so as not to overwhelm the look of the dress.

The look is completed with a ribbon covered headband in matching pink tones.

I truly love this dress and isn’t little Miss Julia just oh so sweet!?!

Cottage Mama’s Note:

All pictures of the challenge dresses were taken by Megan Abelard Photography. More of her work can be seen on her website: http://www.meganabelard.com
The Paper Doll Dress is a very well-written and easy to follow sewing pattern. It sews up quickly relative to many other sewing patterns I have used before. Click here to find out more information.