Archives for December 2012

31
Dec

Best of 2012 ~ DIY Project Tutorials

I had a feeling 2012 would be a great year, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine all the opportunities that would come this year. I do not take any of it for granted and wake up every day feeling blessed and so thankful for all of this.

Now, more than ever, I believe that we have a great power in our destiny. I know my husband was rolling his eyes last year when, on the first day of 2012, I kept saying (out loud) that 2012 was going to be a great year! I believe if you put positive energy out in the world and work really hard, good things will come to you. So for the record, I think 2013 is going to be the best year yet! This might all sound a little cheesy to you and maybe it is, but give it a try and I think you’ll be surprised.

I wanted to gather some of my favorite project tutorials from this last year to share with you all. It’s always fun for me to go back through the year and look back at all that has happened here at The Cottage Home. And just in case you missed one of these projects, I’ve linked to each one below the picture.

Favorite Project Tutorials from 2012

 
 
 
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for visiting my little corner of the internet world at The Cottage Home. It has been a pleasure getting to know all of you and I am looking forward to a great 2013!

Happy New Year!

21
Dec

Gingerbread Houses ~ Decorating Fun!

We had so much fun with my mom and Pepo visiting this past weekend. One of the holiday projects we did during their visit was decorating gingerbread houses. The girls had a ball with this holiday activity and I thought I would share some photos of their experience.

First we had to gather up all the candy…….lots and lots of candy.

These red ruby dishes are very special to me. My Grandma Ethel collected a large set of this dishes in all shapes and sizes for me. They are so beautiful and I always pull them out around the holidays. I really should use them more often because they really make me smile when we use them. The little dishes were prefect for all the different types of candy.

I did not make the actual gingerbread for the houses. Maybe someday, but for now, I felt lucky enough to find the time to gather up all the supplies and complete this project. I bought a kit for our houses that had this handy tray to help the house stand up. The houses are held together with a delicious white icing. I mean, what’s the fun of a gingerbread house if you can’t eat it, right? I know you can purchase these kits at many different big box stores.

Of course, you and I both know that the most fun part of decorating a gingerbread house is sampling all the candy. Miss Matilda certainly was in charge of quality control, but she did manage to get some candy onto her house.

Savannah was very focused on her house decorating and she had some help from Pepo and Grandma Jane.

Here is Matilda’s completed gingerbread house.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how this little miss was going to do decorating her house. She has been giving us a run for our money lately, but to my pleasant surprise she was really into the task at hand.
Here is another ‘quality control’ photo. There were lots of those.

Savannah had to put her final finishing touches on her gingerbread house to make it look just right. And it did. Both of their houses were absolutely beautiful! We really had so much fun with this activity that I definitely think we will do this again next year!

So, do you decorate gingerbread houses with your children or grandchildren?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
20
Dec

Homemade Popcorn Balls ~ Recipe

There is something very nostalgic to me about homemade popcorn balls. This year I decided to whip up a big batch of these sweet treats to share with our friends. These do not take long at all to put together and you can do a large batch of them in no time. Wrap each one up in a clear cello bag with some bakers twine and you’ve got a sweet little gift that anyone would be happy to receive.

Homemade Popcorn Ball Recipe
Makes 8 – 10

Ingredients:
8 cups popped popcorn
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter
Directions:
Place the popped popcorn into a large mixing bowl. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the corn syrup, water, salt, brown sugar and white sugar. Place over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook until the mixture becomes a thick syrup (about 15 minutes). If you have a candy thermometer, wait until the mixture has reached 260 degrees. But if not, just eye-ball it…..you’ll be fine.
Remove mixture from heat and stir in butter. Once the butter has melted completely, pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir to combine. Allow the covered popcorn to cool slightly, you want to be able to handle it without burning yourself, but you don’t want it to set up…..so don’t wait too long. Shape the popcorn into fist size balls and place on wax or parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.

Wrap up each individual popcorn ball with some fun and festive wrapping. I used clear cello bags, green bakers twine and a ‘Merry Christmas’ washi tape……..but there are all kinds of fun ways you could wrap these up!
Or you could just put them on a platter and serve them as is……….
Little ones love popcorn balls, so make sure you grab one for yourself, otherwise they will be gone before you know it!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
18
Dec

Cottage Christmas Outfits 2012

I was very lucky this year that my mom asked if she could make the kids Christmas outfits again. Of course I said yes, and I wanted to share some pictures of the darling dresses she created for the girls and the adorable bow-tie she created for Caspian Finn.

This past weekend we had our early Christmas celebration with my mom and Pepo. We went out to our favorite seafood brunch restaurant and were able to get some pictures of the kids wearing their sweet Christmas outfits.

These dresses were made from the Charlotte Apron Dress Pattern (Size 6 Month through 10 Years) by The Cottage Mama. My mom added a darling little elf onto each of the girls aprons. It was such a fun, whimsical touch.

Caspian Finn had his own matching bow-tie which I thought looked so adorable on him. He didn’t even seem to notice that he had it on. I just love boys in bow ties!

This special restaurant has a lake inside with lots of fish. The girls like to get some fish food and feed the fish. It’s a highlight of this special brunch.

The dresses look like they match from the back, but they are different on the front with different colored fabrics on the apron and the bodice front.

I might be kind of in love with these shoes from Livie and Luca. They are just too fun for the holidays and the girls love wearing them!

Our favorite brunch restaurant happens to be an old seafood place in town and they have this giant shrimp (or lobster……I’m not sure what it is) out in front.

So those are just a few pictures from this weekend of the kids wearing their holiday outfits. They will be wearing them again this week for their school holiday party and to Christmas Eve Mass.

Are your Christmas outfits all ready to go?
I can’t believe Christmas is only a week away!
Cottage Mama’s Note: Most of the fabric is from Anna Griffin’s ‘Isabelle’ collection.
14
Dec

Christmas Decorating at The Cottage Home

Today is the start of our Christmas celebrations here at The Cottage Home. My mom and her husband Allen (aka Pepo) are flying in from Texas to celebrate an early Christmas with us. Ever since Savannah was born they have come to our house early which has been really nice. That way we are able to celebrate the holidays with my in-laws and this year, my dad and brother on Christmas.

So I have been busy around here getting the house ready for their arrival. I’ve made a huge batch of homemade Chex Mix (we’ve already gone through one batch so this is round two), muddy buddies, white chocolate rice crispy bars and popcorn balls (recipe, coming soon!). We plan to make sugar cookies and gingerbread houses with my mom this weekend. Christmas is definitely in the air!

I thought I would take this opportunity and show you some pictures of our house now that it is decorated for Christmas.

So here is our Christmas tree. We cut down our tree each year at a tree farm about 45 minutes away from our home. It’s a fun, family tradition that I hope our children will remember forever. We have never cut down this variety before, but the owner of the farm said it was a white fir.

This year we put the bottom of the tree and tree stand into a 17 gallon galvanized wash bucket. I saw this idea last year in Country Living Magazine and I thought it was too perfect for our cottage style home. Plus, it keeps our cat, Lily, from drinking the water and it keeps Caspian’s curious hands away from the tree stand. I ordered this wash bucket from Amazon.com.

We don’t have any fancy themed tree, but all of the ornaments on the tree were either given to our children or were Brett and I’s childhood ornaments. I love pulling those ornaments out each year. My favorite is the ornament I got when I first saw a professional performance of the nutcracker with my mom when we were living in San Francisco. I was six years old and I still remember walking up to the counter in the lobby of the theatre and picking out that very special ornament. Every year it gets a prominent place on our tree. So our tree decorations aren’t fancy, but they are special and to me, that’s what Christmas is all about.

Here is our fireplace mantal. The ‘Oh Joy’ banner was sent to me from the folks at minted.com and I just loved it. Christmas is such a joyous time and I thought it was perfect to hang in front of our big mirror. The garland was just a very inexpensive one (like the most inexpensive) from a local craft store (Michael’s, I think) that I embellished with gold and red balls from the dollar store. The large pinecones were collected by my children in our yard. Each year we add more to the garland, so it’s starting to look pretty nice.

The garland on the stairs is the same as the one along the mantal. Again, each year I have added embellishments to it using green florist wire. I found this burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby and I really liked the natural texture, so I wound it up the stairs and put little bits of it in the mantal garland.

Here is our little nativity on top of our piano. Santa was not really part of the nativity, I know…….but he looked nice standing there and I figured he’s holding the north star.

Here is our dining room table. It’s not fully set yet, but you will just have to imagine the plates, stemware and pretty napkins. The red and gold balls were purchased at the dollar store. They came in all different sizes and were anywhere from 8 – 15 ornaments in a tube. They are attached to the greenery with green florist wire and again, the pinecones are from our yard. That is the Holiday Tablecloth that I made most recently (tutorial found here). I just love it……it really goes well with our deep green and white dining room.

We started the Elf on the Shelf tradition this year, so here is our elf, Rosie. The girls thought he/she looked like a girl so that’s why they named her Rosie. It has been so much fun seeing them look for her each morning and I love seeing the magic in their eyes when they find her. Here is Rosie laying down on top of our large family canvas in the dining room.

I added some candy to our table just for fun. The girls can’t believe I have candy just sitting out on the table. They like to just sit and stare at it, in total amazement. It’s surprising that they haven’t just tried to eat it.

So that’s a little tour of some of our decorations. I get so caught up in the excitement of the season that I forget to take pictures of our home. I hope you like a little look inside. I can’t wait for my mom and Pepo to get here.
We are going to have so much fun!
13
Dec

Come Sew with The Cottage Mama at The Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion

I cannot even begin to tell you how much sewing has been going on over here at The Cottage Mama. You wouldn’t even believe it if I told you…..it has been a lot! You know how much I love to share with you all, but most of it has to be kept as a big surprise until my book comes out next October. But that’s the way these things go and it is truly a blessed opportunity. However, I finally have some pieces that I can share with you and I wanted to let you know about a really fun event coming up this February.

Have you heard of the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion? Yes, no, maybe? The Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion is a semi-annual, week long event held in Huntsville, AL that focus primarily on sewing for children. The majority of classes focus on heirloom style techniques, but they have started to incorporate some more modern sewing, adult fashion, pattern drafting and quilting.

Well, guess what? The folks over at the Martha Pullen Company have invited me to teach this February 2013! To say this was an honor is a total understatement. In my opinion, the ladies who teach at this event are the rockstars and legends of the heirloom and classic children’s sewing world. Not to mention that Martha Pullen is a legend in her own right. But they invited me. Can you believe it? I am pinching myself to have been given this amazing opportunity, but I am so excited to be part of this community.

I wanted to personally extend an invitation to all of you to come sew with me at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. I will be teaching three pre-day classes as well as a full, four day school in a Pfaff classroom. The pre-day classes will take place on February 3 – 6 and the four day school will be on February 7-10.

The pre-day classes are each six hours long for one day and we will be sewing one garment from start to finish. My school is a bit different and it is four full days in the classroom with me. We will be sewing six pieces and you will find out every bit of information that is in my brain with regards to sewing……from mixing and matching fabrics, using trims, embellishing, machine embroidery, finishing techniques and more! The event includes meals, special events, not to mention that this will be Martha Pullen’s 70th birthday celebration!

When you sign up for one of the pre-day classes or the school, the price includes all the fabrics, trims and patterns. I have chosen to sew all of my classes with the Tilda fabrics from the UK. These fabrics are exclusively sold by the Martha Pullen Company here in the US and I thought this might be a fun opportunity for the students to use these fabrics that they may have not worked with before.

So what exactly will we be sewing? Here are the garments that will be completed during each class and we will be using these exact fabrics and trims. Plus I may have a few extras up my sleeve for my students.

Monday Pre-day Class
We will be sewing Shortcake Dress pattern by The Cottage Mama with the double ruffle front. I think this dress is going to be perfect for Valentine’s Day. Plus your little one will be able to wear it next year as a top. Class is for sizes 6 month through 6 years. More information on this pre-day class found here.

Tuesday Pre-day Class
This is one of my favorites! The Ruby Ruffle Dress by The Cottage Mama looks beautiful in the Tilda fabrics. Again this dress will grow with your little one as it looks adorable paired with pants next year as a top. Class will be taught for sizes 6 month through 10 years. More information on this pre-day class found here.
Wednesday Pre-day Class
We will be sewing the Janey Jumper from start to finish using the beautiful floral Tilda fabrics. Class includes all fabrics and buttons and will be taught in size 6 month through 10 years. More information on this pre-day class found here.
Pfaff School with Lindsay Wilkes

The Pfaff School is the four day school I will be teaching. All students will be provided a Pfaff Creative Sensation sewing and embroidery machine to use for the four days. This will be an amazing opportunity for us to spend four days sewing together. Anything you ever want to learn or know from The Cottage Mama, Lindsay Wilkes, will be learned during these four days together. Again, all fabrics, trims and buttons come as complete kits for all the garments shown.
Here are the pieces that will be completed during the school……..

We will be sewing the Charlotte Apron Dress by The Cottage Mama; however, I will be showing you how to make the apron as a separate piece that is also reversible and ties in a big bow in the back of the dress. The apron can be worn with the dress or also used by a little one for pretend play. We will applique the apron and there will be different design options available including the one shown, machine embroidery and several original applique designs by The Cottage Mama.

We will be using the Summer Separates pattern from the Sew Beautiful Collection to construct these darling bloomer capris / pantaloons. These can be worn underneath the apron dress or paired with the ruffle front shirt that we will be making.

We will be focusing on applique and embellishing techniques. Other options will include using machine embroidery and exclusive applique designs by The Cottage Mama.

Finally we will be sewing this darling, bow front twirl skirt that will coordinate with one of the embellished t-shirts. This skirt is fully lined and features french seam techniques. Again, I just adore these Tilda fabrics!
So what do you think? Who wants to come sew with The Cottage Mama at the School of Art Fashion in February 2013? There are a limited number of seats in each class, so if you are interested, I would head over to the website for more information and details. I would absolutely love to spend some time with you all. This also might be a good gift to add to your holiday wish list or how about a getaway with some girlfriends? I hope to see you there!
If you have any questions about the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion feel free to leave a comment or email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com.
All Tilda Fabrics can be found at the Martha Pullen Store, just click here.
12
Dec

Winner Ryobi One+ Tool Set from The Home Depot

Here is the winner of the Ryobi One+ Lithium-Ion Tool Set……

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and a big congratulations to Sherrie! If you could please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information, we will work to get you your prize as soon as possible!

11
Dec

Holiday Tablecloth Tutorial

In case you missed my post last month over at Skip to My Lou………

Over the holidays we tend to have a lot of visitors since a lot of our family lives out of state. For the last several years I have used a solid red tablecloth for our holiday entertaining, but this year I thought it would be fun to create a new tablecloth that we could pull out for holiday entertaining. I found this fabric over at the Martha Pullen Store when they were having a big sale and I fell in love with it. I adore prints with a vintage vibe and this one was just what I was hoping to find for this tablecloth.

I designed this tablecloth to almost look like it has a table runner going down the center, however it’s completely sewn into the tablecloth. This is a fun way to use to coordinating fabrics by combining them into one tablecloth. Let’s get started………

Holiday Tablecloth
Length approximately 106″ long

Supplies:
3 Yards center fabric (Cut 31″ wide x 108″ long)
3 Yards border fabric (Cut 2 pieces 18″ wide x 108″ long)
Basic sewing supplies
Iron

Instructions:

NOTE: You can definitely adjust the measurements and sizing to fit your own dining room table. Ours is rather large, so this was designed for a longer table. If you have a smaller table, just reduce the length measurements to fit.

Cut your tablecloth pieces. You should have one center piece and two pieces on either side of the center piece. Sew the side pieces to the center piece by lining up one raw edge of the side piece with one raw edge of the center piece (right sides together) and sew using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Do the same thing for the other side. Press the seams open.

Make sure that if you are using a directional fabric that your print is facing the right direction. As you can see in my tablecloth, it would have looked a little silly if my Christmas trees ended up up side down.

Hem the tablecloth. The hem is very basic. Press up 1/2″ towards the wrong side of the fabric and up another 1/2″ towards the wrong side of the fabric all the way around. The only part that is a little tricky is the corners. A Dritz Ezy-Hem is a wonderful tool to have in your sewing basket. You can also use a regular hem gauge as well.

To sew your corners, fold in one corner piece by 1/2″, then fold it over another 1/2″. Fold in both sides by 1/2″ and then fold them again by 1/2″. Do this on all four corners.

Sew all the way around the hem using a 1/2″ seam allowance.

And that’s it! How easy was that? A pretty new tablecloth just in time for the holidays. Fabric used was from Anna Griffin’s ‘Isabelle‘ line. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

10
Dec

A Little Early Christmas Gift & Ryobi One+ Power Tool Giveaway from The Home Depot

As most of you know, my family and I live in a 1934 cottage-style home. When we bought this house about 8 years ago, it was in bad shape. You should have seen the orange shag carpet that was on the stairs or the bedroom upstairs that had carpeting up over the baseboards (what were they thinking with that one…..I’ll never know). We have done a ton of improvements throughout the years (most before I ever started blogging). However, in the last three – four years home improvement has not been on the top of our list with having three kids under the age of five, my husband busy at work, my ‘The Cottage Mama’ business and all the other things in life.

I’m hoping that next year will leave us a little (maybe just a little) more time to tackle a few projects that have been on our list of to-do’s for quite some time. So when the folks from Home Depot contacted me asking if I would like to surprise my husband, Brett, with an early Christmas gift of RYOBI 18V One+ Lithium-Ion tools……..I thought, well that sounds like perfect timing!

I was able to pick out a set that I thought would be perfect for him. I decided on the RYOBI One+ 4 Piece Lithium-Ion Super Combo Set and guess what? I get to give one of these sets away to one of you as an early Christmas gift! So here is Brett receiving his early Christmas gift……

Brett’s early Christmas present waiting for him under the tree.
 Brett: “Hmmmm……I just had my birthday and it’s not Christmas yet. What is this?”


 Caspian: “Hey, Daddy…..what’s going on?”
Brett: “Check it out buddy, I got an EARLY Christmas gift. Isn’t it awesome?”

 Brett: “Wow, this set has four tools!”
Caspian: “That’s great, Dad, but let’s focus here and see if I this thing is strong enough for climbing.”

 Caspian: “Actually, let’s forget about the power tools…….I’m digging these twinkle lights”

 Brett: “Wow, buddy, it has it’s own carrying case.”
Caspian: “That’s great, Daddy. It looks just my size for climbing inside.”

 Caspian: “Again, Dad, forget about these tools…..let’s check out this super-cool box.”

 Brett: “No, Caspian power tools are super cool and this one has a lithium-ion battery.”

 Caspian: “Power tools, huh…..well, let’s see if I can chew on this thing. We’ll see what kind of power it’s got.”

 Brett: “Now listen, Caspian, a man should know how to use his power tools. If you want to know how to put together the biggest toys ever, you need to know how to use this thing.”

Caspian: “You’re right, Daddy, drills are super cool”

Isn’t a drill that runs out of battery so frustrating? You get all the supplies out for your project only to realize that your drill will not even last long enough to get through completion. I was excited to get Brett these RYOBI One+ tools because of the Lithium Ion batteries. Lithium Ion batteries produce a consistent charge throughout the life of the battery, can be charged many more times than other batteries and are not damaged by leaving the charger on too long.

The RYOBI 18V One+ Lithium Ion Compact Drill Kit features the latest in power tool technology and is a great gift idea for the DIY person in your life. This drill weighs less than three pounds, the RYOBI One+ Compact Drill Kit is easy for users of any strength or skill level to use. I love that the tools are more light-weight because sometimes I have to take DIY projects into my own hands and it’s nice to know that I will be able to use my husbands tools if need be. Lithium Ion batteries are lighter in weight, allowing for smaller, more powerful outdoor and power tools. I’m not a wimp or anything, but some of those drills are SO heavy!

Not sure exactly what tool set your loved one would like for the holiday…..then how about a gift card to the Home Depot? That way they can pick out whatever set or tool they would like. They have some really fun gift cards that are interactive. My favorite it the one with Santa’s apron that plays jingle bells. How cute is that? A little more fun than just a piece of plastic. Just something to think about if you are not sure what to get that DIY person in your life.

So what do you think? Does this sound like a set you would like for you or a loved one? If so, just leave a comment below letting us know why you would like to win the RYOBI 18V One+ Lithium-Ion Super Combo Set (Retail Value: $179.00).

Giveaway open until Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at midnight (CST). I will announce the winner soon after so you can make sure to get your gift in time for Christmas!

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me to help promote their Lithium Ion power tool collection. As part of this promotion, I received compensation for my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.


6
Dec

Winners ~ Cyber Monday Giveaway Day and Modern Designs for Classic Quilts

And the winners of our two most recent giveaways are……….

Cyber Monday Giveaway Day:

Modern Designs for Classic Quilts:

Congratulations to both of you lovely ladies! If you could please email me (Lindsay) with your contact information at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com, we will work to get you your prizes as soon as possible. Thank you so much to everyone who entered!