12
Feb

Riley Blake Designs Fabric Fest

So I just got back from being away for nine days teaching at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. I haven't had time to go through my pictures yet, but I will be sharing my recap of this amazing event later this week. I am definitely spending some quality time this week with my littles that I missed so dearly when I was away.In the meantime, I wanted to share some information about another event that I will be teaching at later this year in September called 'Fabric Fest'. It is a first-ever conference put on by Riley Blake Designs and will be held in Las Vegas … continue reading

6
Feb

The Cottage Mama’s Favorite Ice Cream ~ Graeter’s

I know I've mentioned it before, but in case you are new around here, I used to be into musical theatre. I mean, really into it. Singing, dancing and acting was pretty much all I breathed growing up. It was my passion and it was what I thought I would end up doing with my life. However, life doesn't always go according to plan.I majored in musical theatre at University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM). It was a very prestigious school for musical theater, but after my first year of school there, reality sunk in. My parents ended up getting … continue reading

4
Feb

Upcycled Boys Dungaree Tutorial

It's been awhile since I shared a boy project, right? Well, this is a project that I shared a little while back over on Cheri's blog, I am Momma Hear Me Roar. My husband had a pile of clothes sitting in our bedroom that had just shrunk or gotten kind of wonky after being washed tons of times. Being the good husband that he is, he knew to save those clothes for me and I could probably use them to make something for our little man, Caspian Finn. Caspian is on the move these days. After having two girls, I had no idea how active boys could be. When I put pants on … continue reading

1
Feb

Winner ~ Quilts from The House of Tula Pink

And the winner of the book, Quilts from The House of Tula Pink, is......Congratulations, Anne! If you could email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your mailing address, we will make sure to get you your book as soon as possible. Thank you so much to everyone who entered! … continue reading

30
Jan

Alt Design Summit Recap

I'm going to start this post off by saying, that for those of you who don't blog or don't care about the business behind it all, might find this post extremely boring (and very wordy). And if so, that's fine.......just skip this one. Also, I don't usually talk about how I view and run my business, so I feel like I am revealing a little more of myself than normal. But I guess that's pare for the course of stepping outside of my comfort zone. It's hard to know where to start explaining all that was experienced during my three days at Alt Design Summit.....but I will … continue reading

28
Jan

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone ~ Alt

So I just returned from Salt Lake City late Saturday night where I attended Alt Design Summit. I am so happy to be back home with my family, but I cannot stop thinking about what I have just experienced.You may have never heard of this conference and wonder why did I choose to attend Alt Design Summit? Well, that's a really good question. I read about Alt last year and it sounded like such an amazing gathering of talented, creative people that I really wanted to have that experience myself. To be completely honest, Alt was definitely outside my comfort zone. The … continue reading

24
Jan

Clorox Healthy Home and $1000 Visa Gift Card Giveaway

So has the news been scaring you a little with all this talk of flu? Well, it has certainly made me nervous, that's for sure. It seems like everyone has been sick so much lately. We love to do playdates with our friends, but it's like once one family is on the mend, another one goes down. Which has definitely led to some disappointment for my girls when they aren't getting to play with their buddies as often as they would like. Luckily, knock on wood, we have only been sick once this cold / flu season. The kids got a pretty bad cold before the holidays. They had … continue reading

22
Jan

Sweetheart Dress Pattern

How sweet is the back of this dress? I am kind of in love with the little heart cut out. I just think this could not be more perfect for Valentine's Day. This is the Sweetheart Dress pattern by Shannon Cook from Luvinthemommyhood. She has several blogger's sewing up her adorable pattern for a mini-pattern tour that she is doing and she invited me to join along. So fun! The Sweetheart Dress pattern comes in size 2T - 6. This pattern came together really quickly. It is a pdf pattern, but thankfully there are no paper pattern pieces to tape together. You … continue reading

18
Jan

Washi Dress ~ Women’s Dress Pattern Review

I am in love with this pattern! I mean, seriously. When Rae (Made by Rae) released her Washi Dress pattern I knew I must have it. I could just tell that it would work on my body and I actually saw Rae in person at spring quilt market last year wearing her own version of the dress and she looked adorable. The beauty of this pattern, is that you can really fit the dress to your bust measurement and the rest is pretty forgiving whether you are straight-figured or curvy in the hips. I went with a size medium, even though my bust was on the upper end of the measurement … continue reading

17
Jan

Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe

My brother, Ben, recently posted a Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe that he created as a special at the restaurant where he works. The soup looked soooooooo good. While I didn't ask Ben for his recipe, since I figure he needs to keep those for the restaurant, I came up with my own that tastes pretty darn good. This soup is more of a Cream of Broccoli, but you can definitely add some cheese at the end if you want to make it more cheesy. Serve it with a loaf of crusty french bread and your family will love it. Even my husband, who thinks Broccoli is the worst … continue reading