The Cottage Mama Blog - Sewing. Cooking. Crafting.

Jul

DIY Fascinator Headband Kit

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 … continue reading

Jul

Happy 6th Birthday, Matilda!

Dear 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......... … continue reading

Jul

Heart Zipper Quilt

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 … continue reading

May

How Do You Find the Time?

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 … continue reading

Apr

The New Cottage Home ~ Renovations Begin

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'. … continue reading

Mar

Knit Leggings and Dress for Josie

Today marks my spot on the Riley Blake Designs Knit Love Blog Tour! I love sewing with all of Riley Blake Design's fabrics........so many of them are perfect for children's clothing. They have a beautiful line of knit fabric that is such great quality (and if you've tried sewing with poor quality knit, you know that this is huge). The stretch is fantastic for things like leggings, yet it's soft and sweet and perfect for babies. I decide it was time for my little Josie Mae to get her first official Cottage Mama outfit, so I made her a pair of knit leggings and … continue reading

Mar

Garlicky Ham & Cheese Party Sandwiches

Several months ago my mom had told me about these yummy party sandwiches that she had made and how I should really give them a try. I made up a batch to bring over to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law after they recently had their first baby, along with some other goodies. The sandwiches were delicious! I made these again a few weeks ago and changed up the recipe a bit to suit my husband and my tastes a bit more. So today I'm going to share my recipe for these Garlicky Ham and Cheese Party Sandwiches with you. These are perfect for entertaining a crowd and can … continue reading

Mar

Unicorn Birthday Dress & Matching Doll Dress

Today I wanted to share the Unicorn Birthday Dress and Matching Doll Dress that I made for Savannah's 7th birthday. We had agreed that we wouldn't do many presents on her actual birthday since we were going to have tea at the American Girl Store (in lieu of a party with friends) and she was going to get to pick out some presents at the store. However, I wanted to surprise my little birthday girl with something for her to wear on her trip to downtown Chicago. … continue reading

Mar

Happy 7th Birthday, Savannah Rose!

Dear Savannah Rose, Happy Birthday! I can't believe my oldest baby is 7 years old. How can that be? I say that as each of my kids gets older, I know.......but where does the time go? I can still remember your birth (all 17 hours of labor) like it was yesterday. I find it so hard to see these years just flying by. It seems like you were just a baby and now you're turning into such a beautiful girl. Today, on your 7th birthday, here are a few things I would like to remember about you and that you might like to know about what you were like when you turned 7 years … continue reading

Feb

Crockpot Potato and Corn Chowder

It's been mighty cold around Chicagoland lately, which means it's perfect soup weather! I've been using my crockpot a ton over the last several months since we added baby #4, Josephine Mae, in October. I created this Crockpot Potato and Corn Chowder to have on a cold winter night and it turned out so wonderfully. I have a tendency to just 'wing-it' when I cook, but I actually wrote down all the ingredients this time so I could share this recipe with you all. And since it's Lent (which means no meat on Friday for our family), this recipe falls into the vegetarian … continue reading