26
Jul

The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

I was so excited to receive an unexpected package in the mail today.  Isn't it exciting when you find a package at your doorstep and you have know idea what's inside because it's not your birthday, Mother's Day, Christmas or your Anniversary?  Well, yes, that was me this afternoon.But of course, this lovely package was from my wonderful Mother.  The Cottage Mama's Mama always knows how to put a smile on her girls face.  I had mentioned last week that I wanted to get this book - The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen.  And of course, being the amazing Mom that she is, she … continue reading

22
Jul

Marinated Fresh Mozzarella

I love fresh mozzarella.  There really is no comparison to the stuff you buy in a brick or pre-shredded.  I love a good piece of crusty bread with sliced mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt - Yum!When I want to take fresh mozzarella to the next level, I love to marinate them in herbed olive oil.  Have you seen the marinated mozzarella in the store?  It's pretty expensive in comparison to the regular un-marinated variety - usually about 2 times the price (if not more).  Marinated mozzarella is so simple to do at home at the fraction … continue reading

21
Jul

Sewing Refashion – A Simple Shirt Dress Tutorial

Refashioning seems to be a hot trend that is here to stay.  With people trying to get back to basics, saving money and using what they have on hand, it's no wonder it's become so popular. Now this isn't exactly a tutorial for the following dress, since I got a little lazy with my picture taking, but I thought I would just give you a rough idea of what I did and you can make up your own version if you like. I got these button up shirts in the clearance section at Target.  I thought they were a little bit much for a grown woman, but I thought these would make … continue reading

18
Jul

Sew Basics: Piping

I'm starting a new series and it's called, Sew Basics, and the first lesson is all about piping.....Sew Basics: Piping!  I've realized, from the emails I've received,  that many of you are beginning sewers and would like to learn some of the basic skills involved in sewing.  So, for those of you seasoned sewers, perhaps you already know most of these skills, but I always think it's fun to see how other people do things, don't you? I'm sure many people have different techniques in adding piping to clothing, but here's how The Cottage Mama does it......so, here … continue reading

15
Jul

Fun with Knits

Since today was my birthday, I decided I was going to sew whatever I felt like.  Nothing for The Cottage Mama, just something that I had been dreaming up in my head.  I recently received a shipment of new cotton knit fabric - Patty Young for Michael Miller and I have been dying to get working with them.To be honest, these knits are a little "funky" for me, since I consider myself to be a little more classic in style, but every once in a while I like to step outside of the box.Here's a little number I came up with today for my daughter Savannah........For the … continue reading

15
Jul

Happy Birthday……to me!!

Hi!  So that's me in the picture above.  I realized that the two pictures I have on the blog are with long hair........so nope......I've got short hair now.  Today is my birthday and I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you a little bit more about myself.  That's fun, right?  Personally, I love getting to know people better so I thought you might too!So, my name is Lindsay Michelle Wilkes and I was born July 15, 1981.  That makes me 29 years old today.  How old did you think I was?  Not sure if it's a good thing or bad thing that I reveal my age on … continue reading

14
Jul

What’s Coming Next

I feel like my posting has been a bit sporadic lately.  With being away for almost a week in St. Louis at Grand-Molly's funeral, I have some SERIOUS catching up to do on The Cottage Mama custom orders.  I'm going to need to really focus on getting those orders out to my lovely customers, but I promise to be back with some more regular posts very soon!So, I thought I would let you know what to expect from me in the coming weeks.Piping Tutorial - I will show you how easy it is to add beautiful piping to your handmade garments.  For example, adding piping to clothing … continue reading

13
Jul

You will be so deeply missed…….

Last week we got word that my husband's Grandma (Molly) was expected to pass away from pancreatic cancer.  We ended up driving down to St. Louis in hopes of being able to say our final goodbyes (though we didn't know if we would get there in time). We arrived at Molly's home in St. Louis at 4:30pm.  Brett went quickly into the house to be by Molly's side.  They told Molly that Brett had arrived and she opened her eyes, for what we think was the last time, and reacted with a little smile. The family sat by her bedside all day, holding her hand, talking to her, … continue reading

6
Jul

{ Matilda’s Summer Garden Party }

This past weekend was my daughter, Matilda Jane's 1st Birthday Party.  The party was inspired by the fabric I made her birthday outfit from - Heather Bailey's "Nicey Jane". We decided to do an intimate party and had 20 of our closest family and friends over to the Cottage Garden to celebrate.Miss Matilda had a great time at her party and thoroughly enjoyed her cake.  It was her 1st time to have something that delicious so she was in baby heaven!I used the same fabrics that I designed Matilda's birthday dress in and made a pennant banner.  I didn't have a pattern … continue reading

5
Jul

Happy 4th of July

I just wanted to write a quick note to wish everyone a very happy 4th of July.  I know I'm a day late, but we have been super busy around here!As you can see we have just been go, go, go around here.  My Mom and Allen flew in from Texas on Friday, we celebrated Matilda's 1st birthday on Saturday afternoon with a Summer Garden Party (I can't wait to share all the details with you!), had professional family photos taken at our home on Sunday morning, visited our local flea market Sunday afternoon (hunting for vintage treasure), spent Monday morning at the park and … continue reading