Archives for April 2012

Apr

French Themed Bridal Shower

Well, seeing as though my sister-in-law’s wedding was this past weekend, I figured it was about time for me to finally post these pictures from her french-themed bridal shower. Her shower was many months ago, but with so much going on lately, I just never got around to sharing these with all of you. We won’t have the wedding pictures back for a couple weeks, so I’ll fill you in on how the girls did as the flower girls and the whole wonderful experience once I have some pictures to share. All I can tell you right now is that is was amazing and my sister-in-law, Abigail, was simply stunning.

I know I talk about my mom a lot here on the blog, but my mother-in-law, Vicki, is quite the creative soul herself. She makes art dolls and has a fabulously decked out studio in their home. She also knows how to throw a really great party. So she went all out when it came to her daughters bridal shower. Abby and Bryan left yesterday to spend two weeks touring around France on their honeymoon, so the entire bridal shower was centered around their honeymoon destination.

Are you ready for a lot pictures? Here goes…….

Our family loves to eat, so the shower was definitely centered around delicious french-themed food prepared by my mother-in-law with some help from her sisters.

Everyone went home with one of these amazing ornaments. They were all a little different and they were wrapped up so pretty.

Lots of fresh flowers all around.

How fun is this donut cake that my mother-in-law put together? So cute!

There were so many yummy sweets to try, but my girls always love their berries, so they couldn’t get enough of these delicious strawberries.

These were the different labels for the food at the shower. I loved these fresh roses. So pretty and romantic.

Pretty party favors for everyone to take home.

This was a funny, joke sort of thing. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law loved watching all the details from the royal wedding, so my mother-in-law put the bride and grooms heads on William and Kate’s bodies. It was pretty funny!!

The Bride

Finally we played some games. We weren’t going to do the ‘Toilet Paper Bride’ game, but my sister-in-law really wanted to do it, so we made sure to include this one. My two little ladies just loved being brides as dress-up is their favorite activity. I was in charge of a fun game where I asked the groom a bunch of questions prior to the shower and then we saw how well my sister-in-law knew him.

Overall we had lots of laughs, delicious food and the coming together of two families. The same went for the wedding this past weekend. I can’t wait to share the details of the day with you all……it was a truly spectacular downtown Chicago wedding.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Check back on tomorrow for our big May Giveaway Day!!

Apr

Sewing Pattern Update and Giveaway Winner

Wow, what a week this has been! My next three patterns finally went to print and should be available to ship the next couple weeks. Putting together all the components of a pattern is such a labor of love. So many hours go into each one starting with the original drafting, digitizing, grading, testing, instructions, photography, covers, yardage requirements and the list goes on. It always feels a bit overwhelming when I’m in the middle of it, but the end product is always worth the hard work!

Next week I will begin sharing these new patterns with you by highlighting one of them each day. And then I will let you know once they are finally here and available for sale. I hope you will love them as much as I do. And now for a little tease of what you can expect to see next week……..

Also, I’m working on getting that ‘Little Linen Dress‘ pattern ready for you all to offer as a free PDF pattern, but I think that is going to have to wait a week or so as I have sample garments that I have to get ready for display at the Moda booth for International Quilt Market which is fast approaching.

And now for the winner of the Berenstain Bears Giveaway………..

Congratulations!! Thank you to everyone who entered. It was so fun to read everyone’s memories of the beloved Berenstain Bears. On May 1 we will be having another large giveaway day, so stay tuned for that one ~ there will be lots of great prizes! 1lesliehart, if you could please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with you contact information, I will get this prize in the mail to you right away.

To keep even more up to date with The Cottage Mama, please join us over on the The Cottage Mama Facebook page. We have lots of fun talking sewing, cooking, business, ect!

Apr

Berenstain Bears Disappearing Nine Patch Quilt Block Tutorial and Giveaway

Grandma Jane is back with a great beginning quilting tutorial, the Disappearing Nine Patch, and a fabulous giveaway. I can’t take any credit for this giveaway. Mom came up with this idea herself and personally purchased these items for one lucky reader all on her own. Mom knows how much you all mean to me and wanted to do something special. So without further ado……..here’s Jane…….

“Hooray, hooray, we’re on our way! Our summer vacation starts today!” That line from the Berenstain Bears book, The Bears’ Vacation, still resonates through my head from time to time when starting off on a trip. My children, Lindsay and Ben, grew up on the Berenstain Bear books in the 1980’s and together, as a family, we would frequently chant that line as we started off in the car on a new adventure. What good times we had!

I was thrilled when I saw the Berenstain Bear fabric collection from Moda and then so sad soon after when I read that Jan Berenstain had passed away in February. Jan and her husband, Stan, who died in 2005, together wrote more than 300 books, most of them offering important moral lessons through the lives of the bear family –Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear. Simple family values and issues all children and parents deal with were the basis of the books and as a parent, I loved them! They helped explain things like a new baby, not to be afraid of dentists and the dark, how to get along with friends, and the problem with a messy room! Be kind and nice to others…how much more simple can it be? Bear Country was a good place to live!

With lots of new baby gifts needed in the near future, I decided to use my bear charm packs for some cute little baby quilts and wanted to share this simple Disappearing Nine patch quilt block. It is a perfect way to use a charm pack, easy for beginner quilters and makes your quilt look much more complicated than it really is.

Three charm packs are perfect for putting together two sweet baby quilts. Each quilt measures approximately 34 inches by 46 inches.

To make each quilt you will need:
• 54 Charm squares
• Narrow border ¼ yard Cut 4 strips 1 ½ inches by WOF (Width of fabric)
• Wide border ½ yard Cut 4 strips 3 ½ inches by WOF
• Binding ½ yard Cut 5 strips 2 ½ inches by WOF
• Backing 1 ½ yard

1.The fabric line is not gender neutral so I sorted out the sweet girl and little boy charms.

2. I then sorted the charms into groups of 9 each to make sure I had a balance of the different fabrics for each block.

3. Arrange 9 charms in three by three rows. Keep the larger prints in the corners as these are the ones that will not be cut. I wanted those cute little bear scenes to remain in one piece. I also wanted the bright pink polka dot print to be in the same place so I placed those in the middle for the little girl quilt.

4. Using a scant ¼ inch seam, sew three charms together to make a row and press seams to the side, alternating direction of pressed seams on each row. Sew three rows together. Press seams. This is a traditional nine patch block. You will make 6 blocks of 9 charms each. Press blocks well. I used a little spray starch on these when pressing as it makes the next cutting step easier.

5. Carefully cut the nine patch block in half vertically and without moving the pieces, cut in half again horizontally. Line up the marks on your ruler to make sure you are accurately cutting the blocks.

6. Your nine patch block has now “disappeared” and you have four smaller blocks!! After you cut all your nine patch blocks, you will have 24 smaller blocks.

7. Arrange these 24 blocks in six rows of four blocks each for your quilt top in whatever order that you like. I prefer to position the sides of the blocks so I can avoid having to match the seams. I wanted to keep the little bear scenes going in the right direction so had to match seams on a few of the blocks.

8. Sew blocks together in rows. Sew rows together and then add the narrow and wide borders.

Sandwich, quilt and bind!

I added a little decorative scallop stitch around the edge of the little girl quilt which I think gives a sweet little touch.

Now for the GIVEAWAY……..

I just have to share some of these precious little bears!

I would like to give away three charm packs and three copies of our family’s favorite Berenstain Bear books to one of Lindsay’s lucky readers!

Wishing you many happy trails and travels through Bear Country with your children or grandchildren!

—Grandma Jane

Thanks so much, Mom, you are the best! I hope everyone enjoyed this tutorial, I know I did. To view more projects and tutorials from Grandma Jane, click HERE.

Now here’s how to enter this very generous giveaway from Grandma Jane…….

Leave a comment with YOUR favorite Berenstain Bear book or if you have not experienced Bear Country yet—what was your favorite children’s book and memory associated with the book?

Giveaway open to US residents only. Giveaway will close at midnight (CST) on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

Apr

Little Linen Dress

I have been so busy lately sewing up samples of my new patterns that I decided to take a few quick minutes to sew up a little summer top/dress for Matilda. You would think that with all the sewing I do that my kids wardrobes would be completely handmade. Nope, not the case. A lot of the pieces I create end up being sold or used as display pieces in stores so I tend to create more special occasion pieces for the kids. I have very little time these days with everything that’s been going on, but a major goal of mine is to create more everyday pieces for my own kids.

I made this little top / dress from a denim looking linen. I thought the light-weight fabric would be perfect for summer. The weather can’t seem to make up it’s mind here in Chicago……..one day it’s warm, one day it’s cold, so for now she is wearing this with a long sleeved shirt and leggings. But I envision it with no shirt underneath with little shorts and sandals for the warm summer months.

I added a little piece of pink rickrack trim in the seam towards the top of the dress. And then just added a large piece of ribbon trim towards the bottom. I didn’t want to get too carried away as I wanted this to be a piece she could run around in and play.

This dress took 45 minutes to sew (including cutting). It was so super-quick and very easy. I’m definitely going to make it again in a couple different variations. I think next time I’m going to add a 4″ ruffle at the bottom to make it longer. And I’m thinking I want to do one in a bold, patterned fabric and maybe one in some seersucker.

My little Matilda Jane is getting so big. I can’t believe she’ll be three in July. She has so much to say these days and has become really, really funny. I just love the little girl she is becoming.

So I’m thinking about possibly posting a tutorial for this little dress and maybe a free pattern. There are so many ways to change up this design and make it your own. Let me know if this is something you would be interested in and I’ll see if I can’t put one together over the next several weeks.

Apr

Angel Hair Pasta with Peas, Tomatoes and Garlic ~ Recipe

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe here on the blog, so I thought I would share a simple dinner that we had last week. Pasta is my go-to dinner when I want something quick, easy and satisfying. This easy pasta dish can be prepared in about 15-20 minutes!

Angel Hair with Peas, Tomatoes and Garlic

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. Angel Hair pasta

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz) with garlic and olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese plus more, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add canned tomatoes and a quarter cup of starchy cooking liquid (from pasta pot) and cook for five to seven minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add frozen peas and cook for 1-2 minutes or until peas are warmed through.

Drain pasta. Add pasta to skillet with tomato and pea mixture. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or however much you like). Toss pasta with tongs. Serve in bowl with additional sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper on top.

Enjoy!

Cottage Mama’s Note: If you can’t find canned tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, try substituting Italian seasoned tomatoes or just use plain diced tomatoes. During the summer months try using diced, fresh tomatoes to take advantage of the delicious seasonal ingredients that are available.

Apr

Muffin Tin Monday – Creating Non-Picky Eaters

So as of recently ‘Muffin Tin Monday’ is what we’ve been doing for lunch around here each Monday afternoon. Have you heard of this? Well, just Google ‘Muffin Tin Monday’ and you will find a million and one pictures of this idea.

Basically you just use a muffin tin, load it up with a variety of different foods and serve the muffin tin as your child’s plate for lunch (or dinner). Pretty easy, right?

Here’s what was in our muffin tin this past week:

Starting from the top left, moving to the right:

1. Woven Wheat Crackers
2. Peas
3. Sliced Banana
4. Tortilla Chips
5. Carrots
6. Shredded Cheese
7. Ham
8. Cherrios
9. Marshmallows
10. Turkey
11. Raisins
12. Clementines

This might look like a lot of food, but would you believe my four year old ate almost every single thing out of her muffin tin? Yep, my girls have serious appetites……kind of like their mama. You could certainly do this with a 6-cup muffin tin or use a mini-muffin tin as well.

The girls thought it was so fun to try all of these different foods, though most of them are ones they have had before. Luckily my kids have pretty diverse tastes, but Matilda can be a little picky at times. This offers kids a fun way to try some new things without the added pressure of it being a large portion of their meal. Not to mention the fact that it’s a good way for parents to incorporate lots of different food groups in their kids diets. And really, who wouldn’t want to eat their lunch out of a muffin tin?

For the most part I post pretty pictures of my children here on the blog, but my girls are so darn silly when I pull out the camera, so I thought I would share some ‘out-takes’ during this last Muffin Tin Monday. Here are the girls (and no, I did not tell them to make any of these faces):

‘Savannah, I can’t believe it’s Muffin Tin Monday!’

Matilda’s Pirate Face

‘Oh my, I LOVE Muffin Tin Monday’

Probably my favorite with Savannah’s silly face poking into the picture.

Do you do Muffin Tin Monday around your house?

If so, what are some little finger foods your kiddos love to eat?

And if you haven’t tried Muffin Tin Monday, give it a whirl…….I bet your kids will love it!

Happy Monday!

Apr

The Handmade Business: Where to Start?

So you want to start a handmade business? The first question to really think about is ‘what are you going to make to sell?’. Or maybe you have a handmade business already but your products don’t seem to be getting the attention you had hoped.

First, ask yourself this, what do you enjoy creating?

That is the MOST important question in starting a handmade business. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, then you will not be happy creating the pieces for your shop and you will burn out very quickly. Handmade takes time and effort, so you must make sure you are having a good time. The same goes for blogging. Do not start a blog unless you are completely happy doing it whether you make money or not. But we’ll have to address blogging on a different day……back to business.

So for me, I love creating children’s clothing. But not just any children’s clothing. I love creating quality, lined garments with timeless looks, made from bright, fresh, modern fabrics with great attention to detail. Adding woven trims, piping and lining garments really gets me excited. It might sound a little strange to you if that is not your passion, but I love being able to add heirloom quality details to the children’s clothing I create.

I have been pulled off the path several times by creating the simple elastic neck dresses (which is fine if that’s what you love creating) because they sell, but when I get right down to it, if I’m not adding a lot of trim or embellishments to them, I just do not enjoy making them. It’s very easy to veer off your original plan because something sells. And if you are just looking to make money, then that is fine, but I tell you……..if you lack the passion behind your handmade business, it will eventually be reflected in your work. However, if you are looking to go into your handmade business to make money AND live out your creative passion, you must stay true to yourself.

I am a firm believer in specialization when it comes to handmade businesses. What do you want to be known for? What is your niche? There is nothing wrong with furthering your product offerings down the road once you have developed your customer base, but be very careful not to offer too many things right off the bat. I encourage you to reflect upon yourself and think about these things:

~What types of products do you get excited about making?
~What products of yours do your friends and family talk about you making? What gets you compliments?
~What type of look do you naturally gravitate towards? Vintage, Modern, Classic, Retro, ect.? Brights, naturals, shabby chic, ect?
~Think about your personal style…….does that carry over into your work?
~Are there any products you do not enjoy making?
~Do you mind creating the same thing over and over or do you prefer one-of-a-kind pieces?
~What materials do you like to work with ~ textiles, beading, yarn, ect.?

When people visit The Cottage Mama, they are visiting my shop because they know I sell children’s clothing (and as of recently, children’s sewing patterns). They are not expecting to see dish towels, purses, jewelry and just any ole thing I felt like making. Though, I will tell you that I often get the urge to create things that are totally out of line with my shop, but I usually get those urges out of my system by creating the item and then either keeping it for my family or gifting it to someone else or sharing it on the blog. As a creative person, branching out into other realms of creativity will (and should) happen to keep you fresh and inspired. But remember, everything you make does not need to be sold in your shop.

So this is what I would like everyone to do this weekend. Give yourself some time and truly visualize how you picture your handmade business.

~What are you selling?
~What feelings and emotions do you hope to evoke through your handmade products?
~What will you be happy creating?
~What is your true creative passion?

Once you have a clear picture of where you want to take your business, we can move onto the next step……….branding.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have by leaving a comment. I will try to answer everything for these posts in the comments section so everyone can share the answers. Odds are, if you have a question, someone else does too. Remember, I’m an open book and I am happy to help you in any way I know how. Thanks for stopping by!

Apr

This Past Weeks Happenings….

Wow, is the week over yet? I can’t believe it’s not Friday yet……..it seems like this week has been so crazy busy. I spent this past weekend and last few days sewing up a storm in preparation for a photo shoot for my upcoming sewing patterns. Not to mention spending some much needed time with my family celebrating Easter.

Garments for pattern photo shoot

Our photo shoot was today with Amy Tripple Photography and it went really well. I have never used Amy before but she came highly recommended from a friend and I was so excited by the whole experience. I think she and I might have been related in a past life. Well, not really, but it’s so refreshing to meet another kindred creative soul and she was definitely that.

I wasn’t quite sure how the kids would do taking direction from someone they had never met before, but surprisingly they listened to her even more than me (go figure). We had two little toddler boys join us for the shoot that were selected from The Cottage Mama Facebook Fan page. They were absolutely adorable……exactly what I thought they would be. I have yet to see any of the images, but I am so, so excited to see what Amy captured and to share these new creations with you all.

Saturday morning we went to a local Easter egg hunt that proved to be lots of fun. We had taken Savannah to one in the past but it was just too crazy and the poor little lady only got one egg. But this year we tried a different one and it worked out great. They had a different section for each age group. Matilda was in the 2-3 year olds, Savannah was in the 4-5 year olds and they also had a 6-8 year old section (though we don’t have anyone there yet).

Matilda’s Coat ~ post found HERE

Savannah’s Coat ~ post found HERE.

After the egg hunt we went exploring around this gorgeous park to take in the beauty of spring.

Cottage Mama (me) with my babies.

I took Sunday off completely to really enjoy and celebrate Easter with my family. We attended Mass in the morning and had a lovely Easter brunch at a local seafood restaurant.

Matilda Party Dress (post HERE) and Savannah Orange Dress (post HERE)

I didn’t make any special Easter outfits this year, but all the kids had on something handmade. I feel like we have quite a few special occasion handmade dresses hanging in the girls closet that I wanted to make sure they got plenty of wear. Savannah wore her orange birthday dress and Matilda wore the ‘Party Dress’ (free pattern here) that was originally Savannah’s but now seems to fit her perfectly.

Caspian and his Godmother, Aunt Katie

Savannah and Matilda with Uncle Bryan and Aunt Abby

The kids with Gigi and Grumpy (Brett’s parents)

After brunch we took some family pictures by the river that runs right next to our house. Sometimes I don’t think I really embrace and appreciate where we live. We are very blessed to live in such beautiful surroundings and though, I sometimes long for something different, we really have so much beauty right in our own backyard. I guess Easter has a way of making all things seem new again.

Finally we ended up back at our home for a final Easter egg hunt in the front yard while the adults watched on the front porch. It might have been a busy weekend, but it sure was a great one!

We have had a wonderful last week and while I don’t have any new sewing/crafty stuff to share with you right now, I hope you like this little peak into our personal family life.

Apr

Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer Review and a $50 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

I jump at the chance to try Olay products because they never seem to disappoint. I have tried other brands of facial moisturizers in the past but I always end up coming back to my Olay. So when I was offered the chance to try the new Olay® Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer, I said sign me up!

I was so surprised when this product arrived — it really looks so cool. Granted, I don’t generally purchase a product based on appearance, but this presentation really caught my eye. It looks like swirled moisturizer and foundation all in one. I couldn’t wait to try this, so after my morning shower I gave it a whirl. My skin has been a little all over the place since the birth of my son, Caspian Finn. And with these chilly Chicago winters, staying moisturized is super important. I thought the moisturization factor was great and I didn’t feel like I needed to put anything else on.

Sometimes when I’m racing out the door to get Savannah to preschool, all I have time for is moisturizer. But what I thought was really great was that this product offered so much more than moisturization — it moisturized my skin and gave me an even, smooth-colored skin tone. Definite bonus! Not to mention the fact that the feel of my skin was awesome. Mr. Caspian is still waking up during the night. And while I haven’t had many issues in the past with circles under my eyes or eye-puffiness, I think baby number three is catching up with me. Many mornings I feel compelled to use concealer under my eyes but, again, I felt like this product took care of eye puffiness too.

One of my favorite components of Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer is that it contains SPF 15, which definitely helps prevent damage to my skin. With a history of skin cancer in my family, I try to wear sunscreen on my face every day. For a busy mom on the go, I think this product is pretty near genius. I was trying to think of negative factors, but I couldn’t come up with a single one and, trust me, I’d tell you if I had. If all you have time for in the morning is sweeping some moisturizer on your face give Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer a try — you’ll get seven benefits in the time it takes you to use just one product!

So tell me, what are some of the ways you take care of your skin?
Do you save time by using double-duty types of products?

Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by email. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 4/9 – 5/16

Be sure to visit the Olay TE page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win! While we’re on the subject of looking good, you might want to check out the “Looking Your Best” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great tips and expert posts!

I was compensated and provided free product for this post. The opinions expressed herein are my own.

Apr

Guest Blog Post: Woodland Cottage Pincushion ~ Free Pattern for Riley Blake Designs

Today I’m guest blogging over at Riley Blake Designs ‘Cutting Corners College’ sharing a free pattern and tutorial for the Woodland Cottage Pincushion. The design was inspired by our very own cottage.

Come on over and say hello……..