25
Apr

Lessons with Lindsay: Tying the Perfect Bow

Learn to tie the perfect bow on a little girls' dress! Lessons with Lindsay by The Cottage Mama.

You spent all that time creating the most adorable dress ever, only to finish it off with a crooked bow. You tried and tried and it never seems to look right, so eventually you just give up on tying the perfect bow.

On today’s Lesson with Lindsay, I’m teaching you how to tie the perfect bow on your little girls’ dress. I promise you, it’s really so simple! I get it…….tying a bow can be tricky, but with my easy-tie method, you’ll never have to worry about having a messy looking bow again. Plus your bow will be straight, perfectly fluffy and stay in place longer! I know how much time, love and attention you all put into sewing handmade clothing for your little ones, so I want you to be able to finish off your creations with the most spectacular bow!

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8
Apr

15,000 Facebook Group Sale

The Cottage Mama Pattern Sale!

I’m so pleased that The Cottage Mama Patterns Group on Facebook now has over 15,000 members! What a huge milestone! The Cottage Mama Patterns Group is different than The Cottage Mama Business Page, in case you were wondering. If you’re not familiar with the way that Facebook works these days, they no longer allow for ‘fans’ of business pages to see their posts unless the business pays to reach all of their fans. Sadly, the majority of posts on The Cottage Mama Business Page on Facebook only reach 300 people out of the 24,000 fans.  On the flip-side, The Cottage Mama Patterns Group reaches everyone. Yay!!

The Cottage Mama Patterns Group is a wonderfully supportive, fun and engaging group of women. The group gives you the opportunity to share anything you’ve made using Cottage Mama patterns, ask questions and interact with other women who all have a passion for sewing, cooking, crafting and all things domestic. If you haven’t joined us over there on the group page, please do…….we would love to get to know you!

The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns. www.thecottagemama.com

The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns. www.thecottagemama.com

The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns. www.thecottagemama.com

 

So in celebration of reaching 15,000 members of The Cottage Mama Patterns Group, I’m having a sale through this Sunday (April 10). You can get 30% off your total purchase either here on the shop page of The Cottage Mama website or in The Cottage Mama Etsy page. Some people prefer to purchase from one site or another…….either one is fine with me! Just use the code: FACEBOOKGROUP at checkout to receive your discount. Many of you know that I don’t do sales very often, so this is your chance to scoop up those patterns (or book) you’ve been wanting to sew for spring and summer. Don’t miss out! And when you get your creations sewed up, please come share them with us over in The Cottage Mama Patterns Group on Facebook!

Happy Sewing!

5
Apr

Girls Camping Themed Birthday Party

Girls Indoor Camping Themed Birthday Party. The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

Savannah loves camping. Brett takes the kids camping several times a year. So far I haven’t been able to go since we always have a baby at home, but once Josie is a little bit older I’ll be joining them as well. Savannah decided she wanted a Girls Camping Themed Birthday Party, but with the weather in Chicago in March, we convinced her that the party would be best as an indoor camping party. We set up our HUGE tent in the basement, put a bunch of white twinkle lights on top and the girls got to sleep under the ‘stars’. It was perfect! I thought I would share some of the details with you today…….

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21
Mar

Fabric Woven Tote Tutorial

Fabric Woven Tote Tutorial. Dollar Store party craft idea from The Cottage Mama!!

For Savannah’s 8th birthday party I wanted to come up with a simple craft that the girls could complete. I wanted something that would be useful, cute and I didn’t want the process of creating it to be messy. I don’t like a whole lot of mess with my own kids, so I knew I would not be able to handle it with 12 little girls.

When my mom was visiting from Texas we went to the dollar store to pick up a few things for the party. I spotted these plastic totes in the organizing section of the store and instantly thought that I could have the girls weave something through the holes. I was thinking some kind of ribbon and then mom suggested fabric…….hello? Such a great idea! I happen to have a whole lot of fabric hanging around (wink, wink), so this was perfect. And at $1 per tote, you can’t beat that…….$12 for a craft for 12 girls. Of course the fabric probably cost me money, but it doesn’t count since I already owned it.

So if you would like to make your own Fabric Woven Tote Basket, here is what you’ll need……

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16
Mar

Girl Scout Swap Dance Theme

Girl Scout SWAPS: Dance Theme from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

We are new to the world of Girls Scouts this year. But I currently have a brownie and a daisy and my girls are just absolutely loving all things Girl Scouts. I did Girl Scouts in elementary school, so it’s fun to see my girls enjoying some of the same songs, sayings and activities as I did as a child.

I had never heard of swaps, but we got an email a week or so ago from one of Savannah’s troop leaders saying they were going to be doing a swap within their own brownie troop. Basically a swap is just a little something that a girl creates to express her unique self, commemorate an event, make new friends and make new memories. When I explained the idea of swaps to Savannah she decided that she wanted to create a dance themed swap. Generally the swaps are attached to a safety pin so that girls can pin them up on their banners that they have at home…….kind of like a place to display their collection.

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14
Mar

Fabric Silhouette Art

Fabric Silhouette Art from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

My husband, Brett, gave me one of the sweetest gifts of all time this Christmas. I’ve come to realize that you do not need to spend a lot of money to have an extraordinary gift. My two most favorite gifts from my husband (aside from our children and my wedding/engagement rings) have been handmade and truly from the heart. The first was when he wrote 100 things he loved about me. He put this list into my Christmas stocking and I unrolled it like a scroll…….the whole thing was so poetic and was just perfect. And the other favorite gift from him came this last Christmas and I’m excited to share it with you today!

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9
Mar

Campfire Birthday Cake

Campfire Birthday Cake - Ice Cream Cookie Cake from The Cottage Mama. SO cute!!

As I mentioned last week, we hosted a camping themed sleepover birthday party for 10 girls (12 including Savannah and Matilda). It was a lot of fun and I will share more party details with you next week (you can check out the invitations here). But first, I wanted to share the recipe for the Campfire Birthday Cake that I created for the party.

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7
Mar

Lessons with Lindsay: How to Create and Use Piping

Must Watch! Free video on how to create and use piping. Great video from The Cottage Mama!

It’s another Lesson with Lindsay free sewing video day! Today’s video is one of my very favorites…….I’m talking all about how to create and use piping. Piping is one of my favorite trims to use in children’s clothing and I’m really excited to share all my tips and tricks with you. In this video you will learn how to create your own custom piping, how to set it into a seam as well as many other tips from me along the way. You do not want to miss this video. I promise you, it’s a really, really good one!

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5
Mar

Happy 8th Birthday, Savannah!

Happy 8th Birthday, Savannah on The Cottage Mama.

Dear Savannah,

Happy Birthday! Today you are 8 years old. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been a mama for 8 years now. How is that possible? Time has surely flown with you and you are growing up into such a beautiful young lady. On your birthday today, here are a few things I would like to remember about you and you might like to know about what you were like at 8 years old……..

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2
Mar

Camping Party Invitations

Cutest camping party invitations EVER! The Cottage Mama

Are these not the cutest darn camping party invitations you have ever seen? I cannot get over the sweetness here. Savannah is turning 8 in several weeks and she really loves camping. She wanted to have an outdoor camping party, but the weather in early March in Chicago isn’t typically very warm. So she decided to have an indoor camping party. We are going to set up our huge tent in the basement, add some twinkle lights and make it feel like they are camping outside (except they will have heat and a potty). She is having 9 of her friends and then she let Matilda invite one of her friends too, so there will be 11 girls (I know……..we are probably crazy).

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