The Cottage Mama Blog - Sewing. Cooking. Crafting.

Jul

Friday Share: Sew Beautiful, Where Women Create and Other Stuff

I've had some things I wanted to share with you guys for awhile, but just haven't had a chance to get them up here on the blog. So I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you all...........Have you seen the most recent issue of Sew Beautiful Magazine?It's the July/August issue that is on newsstands now. And guess who has a five page pictorial in this issue? The Cottage Mama!I was so thrilled when Kathy Barnard (Editor, Sew Beautiful) contacted me asking if I would be interested in them doing a pictorial featuring my sewing patterns. Of course I … continue reading

Jul

Fat Quarter Tote for Riley Blake Designs ~ ‘Seaside’ Fat Quarter Bundle Giveaway

Today you can find me guest blogging over at Riley Blake Design's blog sharing my tutorial for the Fat Quarter Tote made from one of my favorite fabric lines, 'Seaside'.To check out the Fat Quarter Tote Tutorial click HERE.And guess what? I am giving away a FULL Fat Quarter Bundle of 'Seaside' from Riley Blake Designs to one of you!The Bundle includes 25 Fat Quarters from the 'Seaside' collection. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment answering the following question:If you win, what will you make with the fat quarter bundle?For additional entries, leave a … continue reading

Jul

New Sponsor Giveaway: Quilt in a Day with Eleanor Burns

I'm very excited to introduce another new sponsor here on The Cottage Home blog ~Quilt in a Day with Eleanor Burns I was thrilled to be contacted by the folks behind Quilt in a Day and extremely flattered to have them sign on as a sponsor. Here is a little more information from Quilt in a Day:"Quit in a Day has everything you need to make a quilt - books, patterns, free block patterns, notions, fabrics, rulers and videos! Quilt in a Day was founded in 1975 by "Hall of Fame" quilter, Eleanor Burns. Through out her career, Eleanor has published over 100 … continue reading

Jul

The Handmade Business: Where Should I Sell My Goods?

I'm back with another handmade business post.......it's about time, right?So you've decided to start a handmade business, now you need to decide how and where you will sell your goods. There are many different options and navigating them can be a little tricky if you are new to selling handmade.Here are some (definitely not all) of your options:~ Etsy~ Big Cartel~ Ebay~ Your Own Blog ~ Your Own Website~ Wholesale (to stores)~ Wholesale (through wholesale distributors)~ Consignment ~ Craft Fairs and/or Art FairsThat's a lot of options, right? Yes, it is, but you … continue reading

Jul

Crafter’s Vision Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the bundle of goodies from Crafter's Vision is............Congratulations, Country Mouse! You are going to love this wonderful bundle. Please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your mailing address and we will get this package out to you ASAP. And don't be disappointed if you didn't win this time, we have another great sponsored giveaway scheduled for this next week!A big thank you to Crafter's Vision for this generous giveaway and welcome to The Cottage Home family of sponsors! … continue reading

Jul

Crafter’s Vision Giveaway

Over the last several month we have gotten quite a few new sponsors here at The Cottage Home and I want to make sure you get to know each and every one. So many of them are wonderful resources for supplies for all your creative projects. First up, is an amazing online sewing and crafting shop called Crafter's Vision.Crafter’s Vision is a one stop shop where you can get the latest fabrics, ribbons and accessories! They offer free shipping for fabric and ribbon orders over $30 (see website for coupon code and details), refund any shipping that can be reduced, … continue reading

Jul

Caspian Finn’s Baptism

We have had so many family events going on here in the last couple weeks with Caspian's baptism, Matilda's 3rd birthday, my birthday.......summer is just that way around here. But for now I thought I would share some special pictures of our little guy's big day.Usually we baptize our kids around the 3-4 month mark, but as it goes with the third child, we were a little bit late with Mr. Caspian. We kept his baptism small and intimate with just close family.We chose my husband's youngest sister, Katie, as Caspian's Godmother. We decided not to have a Godfather … continue reading

Jul

Charm Pack Baby Quilt Tutorial ~ Guess Whoooo Loves You?

My mom, Grandma Jane, is back with another one of her wonderful quilting tutorials! Take it away, Mom........ Guess Whooo Loves You? I don’t know about you, but there are lots of sweet little babies making their appearance in my world these days! Every time I turn around a young person at work (or my husband’s office), nieces, nephews, friends of my children—someone is having a baby! Love it. (Notice how I said “young” person at work—what happened to me being that “young person” at work?)Anyway…the easiest ever little crib-sized quilt is made with one charm pack … continue reading

Jul

What is home? ~ Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli Book Review

I was recently sent a copy of Jennifer Paganelli's new book 'Happy Home' for my review, but rather than just tell you about the book, I thought I would take a moment to talk a little bit about the idea of 'home'.What truly makes a house a home? The structure on it's own is generally four walls and a roof, but at what point does it become a home? Is it with the addition of people? Furniture? Things? I don't think so. I think it's so much more.Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines a home in several different ways. One of the definitions of home states … continue reading

Jul

Summer Picnic Dress ~ Free PDF Pattern and Tutorial

The Summer Picnic Dress (aka Little Linen Dress) has taken me quite a while to put together for you guys, but I said I would make it available, so it is finally here! If you are a beginner sewer and would like to try your hand at garment sewing this is the perfect pattern for you to try. There is a little bit of gathering, which is a great skill to learn, but other than that it's really straight-forward sewing. I've graded the pattern from size 12 Month through Size 4. For the patterns I sell, I typically do more sizes, but since this one is free, I just kept … continue reading