Archives for February 2012

Feb

Guest Blogging ~ Riley Blake Designs ~ Tulip Petal Sun Hat Pattern and Tutorial

Cutting Corners with Riley Blake Designs

Today I am guest blogging over on Riley Blake Designs ‘Cutting Corners’ blog.

I’m sharing a free pattern and tutorial for this hat:

This post is actually non-design team related as we had already scheduled this before the design team came about. So I will have another tutorial up for the design team next month too!

If you want to make your very own ‘Tulip Petal Sun Hat’ click over and visit Riley Blake Designs ‘Cutting Corners’.

Click HERE to view the tutorial and print your pattern!

Feb

‘Sunny Happy Skies’ ~ Coordinating Sister Dresses

So, as I mentioned about a month ago, I’m currently working with Riley Blake Designs on their Project Design Team. And what is really fun about this new adventure is getting to work with lots of pretty new fabric to come up with projects for their blog. Well, I happened to receive quite a bit more yardage of ‘Sunny Happy Skies’, so I decided to create two coordinating looks for my girls.

The hat will be a free pattern and tutorial that I will have posted on the Riley Blake Designs ‘Cutting Corners‘ blog tomorrow and the big bow dress will be a free pattern and tutorial that I will post here on the blog for you all later this week!

Here’s the dress I created for Miss Savannah:

I wanted to make her something that was loose-fitting and comfy for running around and playing, but still had a bit of whimsy.

I thought about adding rick rack in the collar, but opted for pale yellow piping instead due to the bold print in the main fabric.

I decided to do a zipper in the back of this dress. I usually prefer buttons, but I had the urge to do a zipper since it had been awhile since I had put one in a dress. The verdict………I still prefer buttons.

Here’s the dress I created for Miss Matilda (I will share the tutorial for this dress later in the week):

I wanted something really fun for Matilda since she is at such a fun age. I went with a giant over-sized pocket that I embroidered with ‘Oh Happy Day’ and trimmed with rick rack. I also created a large statement bow for the front of this dress.

I love the huge bow in the front of this dress. And I especially love the fun, striped fabric. Matilda’s favorite color is blue, so I went with that for the main body of the dress. The straps are simply pre-gathered eyelet.

And finally, here are some pictures of my little ladies……..

So, later this week I will post a tutorial so you can make your own ‘Happy Day’ Big Bow Dress and tomorrow I will be posting a tutorial and free pattern for this hat on Riley Blake Designs:

I hope you all had a great weekend! Now that I’ve got these two looks created, I’m off to cut my pattern for something for my little guy.

Have a great week!

Feb

Winner, Winner!

And the winner of the Heartsong Quilts Fabric Bundle is………..

Congratulations, Cheryl! If you could please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information, we will get your fabric out to you as soon as possible.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of The Cottage Home blog, please email Lindsay at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com for rates and additional information.

Feb

Biscuit Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Blackberry-Thyme Sauce ~ Pillsbury Finalist Recipe

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but just in case you missed it, my mom (Grandma Jane) is one of the 100 finalists in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest coming up at the end of March. All the finalists’ recipes have been made public, so I am thrilled to be able to share her recipe with you (it was a big secret until they officially published them).

Click here to read my original post about her becoming a finalist.

My little man (Caspian) and I will be flying to Orlando, FL next month to watch my mom compete. We just found out this week that Martha Stewart will be announcing the $1 million dollar winner live on her show (oh, yeah, did I mention that the grand prize is $1 million buckaroos?!?!). They will be setting up a set for her show in the lobby of the hotel where we are staying and announcing the winner from there ~ how cool is that? She’ll also be walking the floor while the contestants compete. Usually the bake-off contest airs on the Food Network, but we’ve yet to find out the date for that one.

Who is going to win is anyone’s guess. All the top 100 recipes sound amazing…….I think it will totally depend on the judges tastes on the day of the competition. But I have to tell you, I’ve tried Mom’s recipe and it is awesome! She will compete in the brunch category and the flavor profile she has created is incredibly complex. You have the savory biscuit corn cake, the creamy goat cheese, the tart lemon and blackberry-thyme sauce. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it!

So here’s her recipe if you would like to give it a try……..

Biscuit Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Blackberry-Thyme Sauce

Serves 5

(2 corn cakes per person)

If you try the recipe, let me know, I’d love to hear what you think. This would be so good for Easter brunch if you are looking for something a little different to serve. Also, if you would like a printer-friendly version of the recipe, you can print from the Pillsbury website by clicking HERE.

I think my little man has a pretty good resemblance to the Pillsbury dough-boy these days, so he just may be sporting a little costume for the competition………you’ll just have to wait and see!