6
Oct

Idle Wild Fabric Tour

Idle Wild Fabric Tour. Knit Dress from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

Savannah finally asked me to sew something for her. It’s been a long while since she requested mama-made clothing. I actually thought that my sewing days for her might be over. But a few weeks ago I received a package in the mail of the most beautiful knit fabric from Riley Blake Designs that was designed by my friends over at Pattern Anthology (Kate Blocher, Melissa Mora, Shauna Wightman and Andrea Pannell). It’s always an exciting day to sew with a friends fabric designs and I’m so excited for these four ladies…..their fabric is gorgeous and Savannah felt the same way.

Idle Wild Fabric Tour. Knit Dress from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

The girls love to open fabric mail (aka ‘happy mail’) and when we pulled out this collection, the girls were over the moon. Savannah just loved the navy fabric and the pretty floral. She said, ‘Can you make me a dress that’s long and comfy?’. Not a problem.

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4
Oct

Grilled Southwest Sweet Potato & Egg Breakfast Sandwich

Grilled Southwest Sweet Potato & Egg Breakfast Sandwich. www.thecottagemama.com

My mom is at it again! Remember when she was a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off, not once, but twice?! Well, this time she is one of the 15 finalists in the America’s Better Sandwich Contest and could potentially win $25,000! I’m excited to share the recipe for her ‘Grilled Southwest Sweet Potato and Egg Breakfast Sandwich‘. I think you’re really going to love it!

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21
Sep

Free Online Video Sewing Series: Lessons with Lindsay

Lessons with Lindsay Sewing Videos: How to sew the armholes of a lined garment. www.thecottagemama.com

I’m excited to announce my new, free online video sewing series called ‘Lessons with Lindsay’ sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machines. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the launch of these sewing videos for several months now and today is the release of the very first one!

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31
Aug

Caspian Finn ~ 4 Years Old

Caspian Finn - 4 Years Old. The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

Dear Caspian,

Today you turn four years old! What a big year this has been. So many changes for you…….a new baby sister, transitioning into a big boy bed, using the potty, moving to a new house and so much more. You have handled everything so well and here are a few things I would like to remember about you when you turned four years old (and a few things you might like to know as well)…..

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5
Aug

Back-to-School Sewing

Back-to-School Sewing. Free Projects and Inspiration from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

One of my favorite parts of back-to-school is the preparation in getting ready for a fresh school year ahead. I love shopping for new school supplies, backpacks, etc., but when you can sew, back-to-school is even more fun! It means handmade clothing, pencils cases, lunch boxes and more! I’ve round up some of my favorite back-to-school sewing projects here on The Cottage Mama to provide you with a little inspiration. There’s nothing better than seeing your little one in a handmade 1st day of school outfit and sending them to school in a little bit of sewn love.

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16
Jul

DIY Fascinator Headband Kit

DIY Fascinator Headband Kit from The Cottage Mama

In the summer I love doing creative activities with my little ones. The school year gets so busy with homework and after school activities, that it’s so nice to slow down during the summer and share some of my passions with our kids. Last summer I started my two oldest girls, Savannah and Matilda, on the sewing machine and they absolutely love it! They’ve since made a few more sewing projects, but we haven’t done a ton of sewing this summer since we’ve had to keep the house looking nice while we try to sell it (yes, no one has bought The Cottage Home yet……insert sad face). We will be moving in the new few weeks and I have made two special spots for my kids in the studio, so I definitely foresee some sewing time in the new house.

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8
Jul

Happy 6th Birthday, Matilda!

Happy 6th Birthday Matilda Jane! www.thecottagemama.comDear Matilda,

Today is your 6th birthday………happy birthday, sweet girl! This has been a mighty busy year and full of so much action and excitement. It’s hard to believe that another year has flown by. You’ve grown up so much since you turned five last year!

A few things I would like you to know about what you were like when you turned 6 years old and a few things I’d like to remember about you as well………

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5
Jul

Heart Zipper Quilt

Heart Zipper Quilt by Grandma Jane for The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

This post is from my mom, Jane Michel, aka Grandma Jane………..

Nothing is more precious than the health of our children and grandchildren. When we are blessed with the gift of a healthy baby, the world is wonderful and all is good! When our babies have problems, the heartaches and challenges can be tremendous.

I was incredibly touched by the story of Christie from Lemon Squeezy Home and her precious baby, Ruby Jane, who was born with a serious heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot in June of 2013. Ruby Jane had to undergo open heart surgery to correct the defect. As a result of the outpouring of support and love that her family received during this time, Christie started a project called Love From Ruby, to help bring comfort to other heart families who were undergoing the same things with their little “heart warriors.” http://lovefromruby.com/

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21
May

How Do You Find the Time?

Dunkin' Donut K-Cups Now In-stores! www.thecottagemama.com

As part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network I am being compensated by Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee K-Cup® Pods for participating in this campaign. All opinions of K-Cups are 100% mine! 

I often get asked how I find the time to do everything that I do. And to be quite honest, I always feel a little uncomfortable when approached with this question because I don’t see anything that I do as out of the ordinary. Just recently I was at my Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party and saw a lot of family members that I haven’t seen for a very long time and they met our children in person for the very first time. We pretty much just keep up with each other on Facebook, as I’m sure a lot of you do with your family, but it was so lovely to get to actually see them and give hugs. Well during the party I think I had at least four people say ‘wow, how do you find the time to do everything? Four young children, a business, a blog, a book’. I never know how to respond to that question because it’s not that I ‘find’ the time. We are all given the same amount of time during the day. So the question shouldn’t be how do I find the time, but rather ‘how do you find the energy and motivation’, don’t you think? We all find ‘time’ for the things we are motivated and excited to do. 

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16
Apr

The New Cottage Home ~ Renovations Begin

The New Cottage Home Renovations. www.thecottagemama.com

So I’ve been a little MIA here on the blog lately because we have just had so much going on! We closed on a new house this past Friday and it all seems sort of surreal. We had been looking for a new home for months and nothing seemed right. Either the house was just right, but the lot backed up to too many neighbors (we like our privacy)…….the lot and location were fantastic, but the house wasn’t what we wanted (too cookie cutter, too outdated, etc). We were starting to wonder if we would ever find ‘the house’.

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