Pillow Embellishment

I have had the same brown, blue & tan crib bedding for my older 2 boys & I wanted to add a little variety for my new baby boy, so I have added RED into the nursery. I have just done a few simple projects, including this scalloped blanket that I love...

This pillow came with their crib bedding & really serves no purpose, other than a decorative item, so I wanted to add in some red to this as well...

I bought red curtains for his windows & they came with "ties", but since I don't plan on using them, I wrapped one around the pillow...

and then sewed the center to gather it...

and added a BUTTON to the center & a little decoration that will sit on the rocker recliner in his room!

You don't have to spend MONEY to make changes in your home!
Use what you have to change up your decor & give items a new look:)

A Blanky for a Fireman's Grandson

I picked up this black minky fabric when I went to the LA Fashion District in January for REALLY CHEAP & I decided it was time to do something with it.

I have had this fire dog fabric for years & since my father-in-law is a fireman, we love firemen EVEN MORE than the typical boy in our family!!!

I decided this baby boy in my tummy needed another blanket to love & cuddle, so I sewed this up for him...

Nothing fancy, just laid them together, cut them to the size I wanted using another baby blanket as a template, pinned & sewed a straight line all the way around. Then I turned the black over on to the top, tucked under the raw edge & sewed a straight line again. The corners got a little bulky but I figure it will just make them more durable, since my children seem to love to chew on the corners of their blankets! :)

I need a blanket made out of this material, 
it is soooo soft.

The only problem? 

This 2 year old thinks the blanket is his ;)

Wedding Onsie

My brother is getting MARRIED!!!

and might I remind you, that his wedding date is 2 days before my due date. 

HOPEFULLY I won't be in labor on his wedding day & I will be able to attend. 

But, the chances of having the baby a week or 2 early are good

(since both my boys have been early)

SOOO...I'm going to assume that I will be at the wedding with a BRAND NEW BABE!

AND he must be just as stylish as the rest of the grandsons with their PLUM ties, 

so I grabbed some fabric & a onsie & went to work...

I chose the EASY route & just used pinking shears to cute out a tie outline & then straight stitched it right onto the onsie...

I think this project took 10 minutes start to finish & now...my little newbie will coordinate with my 2 year old, 4 year old & their daddy!

I can't believe it is going to be ME & FOUR BOYS in our house soon!!!

Wish me LUCK;)

BLUE, BROWN...and RED Nursery

I was debating about buying new Crib Bedding for this baby boy, 

BUT

I'm cheap & practical & it just didn't make sense to me.

So I'm using what I have used with my last 2 boys(blue & brown) & I'm adding in some RED!

I probably could have spent hours at JoAnn's looking for the perfect fabric, but instead I ran by the fabric section at Walmart the other day while picking up some milk...and picked out one of the 3 options of flannel they had. I liked it & it was blue, brown & red, so it will work great with the bedding & the {already} blue walls...

I knew from the moment I saw this SCALLOPED BLANKET TUTORIAL from Zaberry, 

that I wanted to try it! Her tutorial worked perfectly...just place your fabrics right sides together & trace your scallops(I used a tupperware lid). 
I didn't put batting in the middle because I used flannel and I didn't want it any warmer!

Then sew along your lines, leaving a space to turn your blanket inside out.

Iron, hand sew the remaining open portion.

And then another straight stitch all the way around the blanket & you are done! 
I also didn't "quilt" the blanket like Zaberry, but I think it should hold together just fine! 

I made it slightly larger than I typically have made baby blankets, because I liked the option of laying it in his crib for a pop of color in his nursery...

I backed it with a solid red flannel...

And I will admit I was worried about the scallops looking too GIRLY...but since the dinosaurs are ALL BOY...I think the scallops just make it CUTE!

Now...I need to find the hardware to put the front rail back on his crib...

I don't think he will be quite ready for a 
toddler bed when he arrives ;)

I can picture putting his name above the crib with some splashes of RED...
I just wish we knew what that name is!?!

Baby Quilts

I'm due in 5 weeks! CRAZY!

AND...I have had both my boys 2 weeks early, so if that happens again, I could have a baby in 3 weeks! 

WOOAHH! Reality is setting in & I have projects that I want to complete before this baby boy arrives, so I need to get movin'!

I really want to make this baby boy(still no name) 

a blanket & love the following 3 ideas...

I love this SCALLOPED EDGED BABY QUILT & ZABERRY even does a complete tutorial...

Check out this quilt & you get to use all those random scraps that you don't know what to do with!

Check out the tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew!

I love the simplicity of this quilt & the edge is RIC RAC, which I adore.

Sew Much Ado shows you how to make this blanket...

Now...which one do I want to make for this bouncing baby boy!?!

OR...do you have any other quilt ideas/tutorials you can send my way???

Please do...SOON...because I need to decide & start sewing ASAP:) 

OH...and I'm a BEGINNER, so only easy tutorials please!

a YEAR of UNIQUE outfits!!

Have you checked out the blog, a

NEW DRESS A DAY???

If not...you will be addicted.

She has dedicated a year, to converting $1 articles of clothing into fabulous outfits!

\Check out this BEFORE...

and the AFTER...

That is right!

365 days + $365 = 365 new outfits

Loads of Fabric...WHAT should I make???

I posted earlier this week about scoring some deals on Fabric at the LA Fashion District this past weekend.

I have some ideas for SOME of the fabric, but others I just bought because I figured I could make something with it...but WHAT? 

Any ideas on what I could make...leave a comment, I'd love our opinions!

I bought this to make curtains for my kitchen windows...

I think I will love the stripes & I can finally take down the paper thin blinds.

Any suggestions on what style of curtains I should make??

Or of a great tutorial on HOW TO make great curtains??

I loved this black striped material, but don't know what I am going to do with it yet?

I got enough of this to make a skirt. It is see through, so I'm thinking a fun color needs to go underneath to peek through??

This creme fabric has kinda cool rectangles all over it. 
I LOVED it, but have no ideas of what to use it for?

This is a thin white fabric with subtle stripes. 

I think I want to make a shower curtain with it for my Master Bath??

Brown Lacy Fabric

No ideas for this yet??

 cute Pink material. 

I think I will make a baby girl blanket for my next friend/family member that has a girl!

 This would be fun to make hair flowers with.

Any other ideas?

Thought these 2 would make a cute skirt together...

Any ideas for these??

Loved this black fabric.

Kind of feels like netting. 

I could see this framed on the wall somewhere in my house withe some cute fabric flowers in the corner??

I honestly want your suggestions!

I also bought a bunch of solids that I didn't take close ups of.
I wish I went there with projects in mind & I could have bought specific amounts and colors, 

but I didn't & I just bought a lot of randomness.

What are your ideas on what I could make???

LA Fashion Distric

We escaped to the beach this past weekend with our friends, Bryan & Natalie...

without our kids!!!

This was the 1st trip we have taken without the kiddos, so I was nervous...but it was a much needed trip & we had a BLAST! And thankfully my kids were in great hands, so I could relax...and just lay on the beach & send seashell messages to my hubby...

After a day of relaxing on the beach, we headed to the LA Fashion District!

Have any of you been there??? 

I couldn't believe I never knew about it!

It was SOOOOO FUN!

Shopping galore...and then more shopping...and more shopping...

and the best part? 

The great DEALS! You go back and forth with the shop owners on the price, trying to score a good deal & most of the time we did!

It was crazy FUN!

 I got LOADS of $1 per yard fabric...

We had the most amazing Hot Dogs for lunch from a street vendor.

Seriously, if you go...get a HOT DOG! I'm NOT a big hot dog fan, but these are AMAZING...

And when we got back to the hotel we pulled out ALL of the stuff we bought, spread it across our bed & took a picture! We started to add up the total COST, but as we kept adding to the total, the "amazing deals" we got didn't seem so amazing...so we decided to stop calculating & enjoy the fact that each item was a good deal, even if we spent a little too much in the end;)

I'm excited to show you all of the good deals I got throughout the week & show you some close up shots of my new pile of fabric & tell you my plans for some of the fabrics...

But for now...I need to get our bags unpacked & do some loads of laundry (the hardest part about coming home from vacation)


If you have been to the LA Fashion District, please leave a comment telling me YOUR favorite part! I'm already trying to figure out who I can convince to go back with me & would love any advice on your favorite stores,ect!

Puckered Pillows

Alicia at Thrifty & Chic  

posted an easy tutorial on adding texture to throw pillows. 

My droopy, faded red living room pillows have needed some ummpf for awhile now, so I figured I would give her tutorial a shot...

It was SO EASY & honestly took about 10 minutes to do all 4 pillows & now I'm looking for other things around the house that could use a little "puckering' up!:)

Here are my droopy red pillows...

and now...here they are after following Alicia's tutorial...

Need a closer look???

Thanks Alicia...

My pillows make me smile now!

Check out my sidebar for some of the fun parties I am linking to this week!