11
Apr

The Cottage Mama Facebook 10,000 Fans Sale

Just a quick post to let you know that we've reached over 10,000 Fans on The Cottage Mama Facebook page. In celebration of this milestone, I am offering a 20% off sale on all patterns (Paper and PDF) in the shop with coupon code FACEBOOK10 through Sunday 4/14. I don't do sales very often, but I am so thankful for all of the love and support you have shown me in helping me grow my business!Next week, to continue the celebration, I will be offering a giveaway from me to you as a big thank you. If you're not a fan of The Cottage Mama on Facebook, please come over and … continue reading

10
Apr

Creative Books for Girls

Do your kids love books? Mine really do. They love reading stories every day and going to the library to pick out their new books. My husband typically does bedtime with the girls and I am in charge of bedtime for our little man, Caspian Finn. Usually about once or twice a week my husband has to work late at night and that means I'm on duty for the girls bedtime routine as well. And that means Mama is in charge of stories for the night.The girls each get to pick out a story to be read before bed, so they usually get two stories per night. Since I don't do bedtime … continue reading

9
Apr

Giveaway Winners ~ Violette Field Threads and Crafter’s Vision

Wow, you guys really love our new sponsor, Violette Field Threads and one of our long-time sponsors, Crafter's Vision! We had about 1250 entries into the Violette Field Threads giveaway and over 1000 entries into the Crafter's Vision Giveaway.The Crafter's Vision giveaway was about a month ago and while I picked the winners, they never made it into a post here on the blog. So don't worry, you didn't miss anything recent, but I just want to make sure everyone gets their prizes.And the winners are........Violette Field Threads (10 Pattern Bundle):Crafter's Vision … continue reading

8
Apr

Patchwork Pillow Pattern and Tutorial

My mom's birthday was last month. She and Savannah actually share the same birthday, March 5th.....it's pretty special. Mom always comes to visit for the kids birthday and I wanted to make her something special for her birthday this year. She has really been into quilting lately and we share the same love of patterned fabric. I came up with this pretty patchwork pillow for her to put on the couch in her sewing studio. The 'M' is for Mom or her last name, 'Michel'. The pattern I created for this pillow makes a fairly large pillow (20" x 20"), but you could … continue reading

5
Apr

Easter 2013

I know it's a little late, but I wanted to share some Easter pictures with you all and fill you in on what we've been up to the last couple weeks. The girls in their Easter dresses.For Spring break / Easter we went to visit my mom (aka Grandma Jane) and Pepo down in Texas. It was just the breath of fresh air that I needed getting away from the cold, dreary Chicago winter. It gave me a glimpse of what's to come in the next few months weather-wise here at home. Oh, how I love warm weather and sunshine! I don't think most of the folks down there thought it was warm, … continue reading

4
Apr

Sponsored Giveaway: Violette Field Threads 10 Sewing Pattern Bundle

We have quite a few new sponsors here at The Cottage Mama. Some of you probably don't click over to the blog very often, if you subscribe in a reader or by email, but I'm finally getting around to introducing some of the wonderful new sponsors to you all that can be found in the right side-bar on the blog.First up is the lovely Violette Field Threads. This duo team, Ericka and Jessica, are fellow paper and PDF pattern designers just like myself. I absolutely love being able to promote other designers to you all. Why? Well, because there are so many incredibly … continue reading

3
Apr

National Serger Month: Ruffle Dishtowel Tutorial

Did you know that April is National Serger Month? My wonderful machine sponsor, Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machines, has decided that the serger needs to be celebrated with a month dedicated to all things serger and I am in total agreement! There are very few things that I sew where I don't use a serger, even though I try to do projects on the blog where you don't need a serger. A serger is one of those tools that you might think you don't need, but then once you get it, you will be saying, 'Where have you been my whole life?'. I am lucky enough to sew on … continue reading

21
Mar

The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns Now Availlable in PDF / Digital Form!

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that, by popular request, The Cottage Mama Sewing Patterns are now all available in PDF / Digital form at www.thecottagemama.com. I know some of you who were living overseas didn't love having to pay international postage on pattern orders (I don't blame you). And some of you just love to be able to print out the pattern at home and have it right away.What is a PDF sewing pattern? A PDF pattern is a digital file that you download and you can print out the pattern sheets and instructions on your home computer. It prints out on … continue reading

20
Mar

Matilda’s Easter Dress

We are flying down to Texas next week for Spring Break / Easter and I've been working on the kids coordinating Easter outfits so they are all ready before we leave. I decided to start with Matilda's dress and use a pattern I've been dying to try!This dress was made using the Harper Dress pattern by the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop. I changed a few things here and there, but for the most part followed the pattern instructions and design. I love how this dress came together. There are so many different elements that I think are so sweet for a little girl.The Harper Dress … continue reading

18
Mar

Sun & Surf Pattern Tour ~ Beachy Boat Neck and Santa Monica Cinch

This weekend I had the opportunity to sew up two of the pieces from Pattern Anthology's first collection of sewing patterns called the 'Sun & Surf Collection'. Pattern Anthology is a collaborative effort of four different pattern designers coming together to create one cohesive pattern collection. Pretty fun, right? I think so.So my original plan was to create one outfit with these two patterns; however, the knit fabric I ordered never arrived, so one outfit became two. Not a problem. I sewed the Beachy Boat Neck by Melissa from 'Melly Sews' and the Santa Monica … continue reading