Today I am so excited to share the first post about our New Cottage Home! I know I’ve mentioned that we moved and that we renovated a foreclosure home that we purchased, but now I’m finally ready to reveal some of the before and after pictures of what happened this summer in, what I like to call, the New Cottage Home. First up, our Before and After Kitchen Makeover.
18
Jan
Sashiko Baby Bonnet
I have been meaning to blog about this Sashiko Baby Bonnet for over 6 months now, but time just has a way of getting away from me these days. This beautiful baby bonnet was a gift for Jospehine from the amazingly talented Evy Hawkins. I met Evy through our mutual sewing machine sponsor, Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machines. We apparently just missed each other teaching at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. The first year I started teaching, she wasn’t teaching, but luckily our paths crossed at the first Baby Lock Common Threads Event.
13
Jan
Monkey Bread Recipe
Have you ever had Monkey Bread? If not, it is truly a wonderfully sugary sweet breakfast treat made with store-bought biscuits (although, you could certainly make those from scratch as well). You’ve got to try my Monkey Bread Recipe!
Monkey Bread is probably not an everyday sort of breakfast item, but it’s perfect for a special occasion. We like to make this on the morning of Thanksgiving……..it’s something a little bit special, but really easy to get prepared the night before. You pour over the butter and brown sugar mixture in the morning before you bake it and have it for breakfast. It makes a lot so there are sure to be leftovers, then as the day progresses and you get a little bit hungry, you can just take a of a piece to tide you over until dinner. But really this Monkey Bread Recipe is great anytime of year!
If you’ve never tried it, give it a whirl…….I bet you’ll be hooked!
I like mine with extra cinnamon. Yum!
11
Jan
Easy Cork Board Makeover
I’m slowly but surely starting to focus on hanging some things up in my new sewing studio. I bought three of these inexpensive cork boards from IKEA a few months ago……..one for my office and two for Savannah and Matilda’s room to go next to their desks. I originally thought I would just put them up as is, but that just seemed kind of boring. I’m all about incorporating fabric whenever and where ever I can, so I did these Easy Cork Board Makeovers this weekend and I’m excited to share this DIY project with all of you.
6
Jan
The Cottage Mama 2016
Hi there! Happy Happy 2016. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have had a great start to the new year! I wanted to take a moment to let you know that this year I’m going to be changing things up here on the blog a bit…….not much, but a bit. Of course you’ll still see your normal sewing posts as well as more of my new sewing video tutorials; however, this year I’m going to be sharing more interior design posts, before/after room and furniture makeover posts, organizing ideas and some additional recipes. A little more variety, if you will. These are all things that I am passionate about in my life, but have gotten away from a little in the last several years. [Read more…]
4
Jan
Lessons with Lindsay: Edge Finishing Options
In this weeks Lessons with Lindsay Video, I share with you the many different options for finishing the edges of your fabric when sewing garments. I’ll also show you step-by-step how to create a lovely French seam and share several other tips and tricks for beautifully constructed children’s clothing.
2
Jan
Shoot Along 2016
Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to lots of new and exciting things here on The Cottage Mama. One goal I have for myself is to take more candid photos of the kids and our family. Daily life kind of stuff, you know? I love the pretty, modeled pictures of the kids that I get to take from time to time, but I want to make sure that I capture ‘real’ life as well. You didn’t think my whole life was just pretty dresses, beautifully plated food and perfectly clean interior design, did you? I try my best, but no one is perfect. There are days my kids pick out their own clothes (and make some interesting choices), the house doesn’t get vacuumed (somedays I say I live in ‘Crumb City USA’) and we pick up McDonald’s on the way home from dance class. But those are the types of moments that I want to remember as well as the pretty ones.
31
Dec
Top Blog Posts for 2015
As 2015 comes to a close, it’s always fun for me to take a look at the stats here on The Cottage Mama Blog and find out which posts you all have been enjoying the most this last year. Some of these have been favorites for years and some of these have just made their way into the Top 10 Blog Posts. If you haven’t tried some of these sewing and craft projects or recipes……..check them out! I think you’ll really enjoy them!
29
Dec
Book Advent Calendar
This year we introduced a new Christmas Advent Tradition into our family. I know it’s after Christmas, but this was so much fun that I thought I would share the details with you in case you want to incorporate this into your family traditions next year.
17
Dec
Pecan Pie Bark Recipe
We have company coming next week to celebrate Christmas, so I’ve been doing a lot of baking in preparation for their arrival. My mom’s husband, Pepo, absolutely LOVES pecan pie, so I wanted to make a sweet treat that I thought he would really enjoy. I have seen a couple different variations of Pecan Pie Bark online. I read through the comment sections on a few recipes and realized that the recipes didn’t seem to be turning out quite right. People had some different suggestions of things to try to get the perfect consistency and I think I’ve hit the jackpot with this recipe.
You guys……..this is TO. DIE. FOR. You must stop what you are doing right now and make this recipe. Or if you are at work, grab the ingredients on your way home. I kid you not, I think I’ve found the perfect ratio to for this buttery, nutty, sweet and delicious treat! Please give this Pecan Pie Bark Recipe a try. You will not regret it!!
Lindsay Wilkes is the owner and designer behind The Cottage Mama. She creates timeless, vintage inspired sewing patterns for children’s clothes. She is also a fabric designer for Riley Black Designers / Penny Rose Fabrics, author of the book ‘Sew Classic Clothes for Girls’ and can be seen teaching nationwide and online in her video series ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery machines.
