Leila & Ben Giveaway Winners!

Popping in to announce the winners of the Leila & Ben Giveaway! Three winners are each going to win two Leila & Ben patterns of their choice! :)

Antonia said... 94 I adore the sweet little dress and the simple skirt!

County Cloth Creations said... 49

The Retro Apron is my favorite pattern.

Texana said... 8

Oh, how precious! I love the Sweet Little Dress and the Retro Apron the best...wish I were a skilled enough crocheter to choose one of those patterns. Thanks for the giveaway!

Congratulations! :)

Thank you again Annette for sponsoring this giveaway!
For those of you that haven't had a chance yet to check out Leila & Ben, click on over, I guarantee you will find something cute! :)

Korker Bows to The Rescue!

Ok, so maybe you don't need korker bows to complete a Supergirl costume (the hubby says they scream cheerleader), but Supergirl needed something a little fancy for her hair.

Korker bows are so easy to make, if you have a little girl you should know how to make them. I used to buy them when my girls were smaller until a friend showed me how easy they were to make myself. When you make them yourself you can coordinate them to their outfits and they are super cute as gifts added to the top of a present instead of a bow. Little girls love them!

What you will need:
- Ribbon (I usually use 1/4 inch- use as many or as few colours as you like)
- Wood dowel (I usually use 1/4 inch)
- Glue gun and glue
- Clips of your choice (I use alligator clips or french barrettes)

Wood dowel usually comes in long lengths. You need your dowel to fit into your oven. To make this happen you can just buy a long piece and break it in two.
Wrap your ribbon around your dowel fairly uniformly.

Wooden clothspins work great for securing the ends of your ribbon so it stays on the dowel. I don't have any wooden clothspins, so I just took a bit of wire (the same wire that I used for the princess tiara) and wrapped it around the ends.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees, and place your ribbon covered dowels in the oven on a baking sheet.

Leave them in the oven for about 15-20 mins. Pull them out, and when you unwrap your ribbon this is what you will have!
I unwrap my dowels by just unsecuring one end and then  kindof moving my dowel in a circular motion until it is all unwrapped.

Wrap some more ribbon and keep on warming your ribbon in as many colours as you like until you have enough for your bows.

For my bows I cut pieces of my curled ribbon in about 3 inch lengths (I was eyeballing my cuts but just try to get them all about the same length).

For these bows I used 10 pieces of ribbon for each one. There is no set guideline to how much ribbon to use. If you used more you would have a fluffier bow, or you could use less for a small bow. Longer lengths of ribbon make a larger looking bow, and shorter lengths a small bow.
This goes the same with the dowel. You could use smaller dowel for curlier ribbon.
The really tiny ribbon with teeny small dowel makes really cute baby bows!
Play around with your ribbon for lots of fun looks!

For each bow lay your ribbon in a nice neat pile all the ends even.
Take an additional piece of ribbon (I just use pieces that didn't make the cut) and tie all of your ribbon together by tying them together in the middle with the extra piece making a knot.

 Grap some clips of your choice...

Put a little hot glue on the top of your clip and attach your bows! Easy!
I attach my bows knot side down.

I wanted these to be gold and red but couldn't find gold ribbon. The plus, these will probably match a Christmas outfit! :)

And, she's ready to save the day!

Edited to add: To prevent the ends of the ribbon from fraying you can seal them by quickly passing them over the flame of a lighter. If you've never done it before it is really easy (or you can use something you can find in a sewing store called fray check).
For these bows I didn't bother. Grosgrain ribbon tends to start fraying the most and this was a metallic ribbon and a satin ribbon. Plus my kids don't play with their hair pretties and I was too lazy to heat seal 80 ends of ribbon!

I Was Baking Last Night

Last night I was baking some cinnamon buns. Actually THESE cinnamon buns......but, I was thinking about these cookies....

 These cake mix cookies are reeeeeeaaallllly good!

Then I started thinking about Halloween and how I said I was going to make these guys for school.

Then I started thinking again about how much I would love a cake mix cookie.
So I made some.
After all, the oven was already preheated.
What? You don't keep a supply of chocolate cake mixes in your cupboard?

This is what happens when the two collide!

 Spider Cookies!

What is better, sweet or salty?

I vote sweet.

And then I made an army of them because the first one was lonely.
Then I ate one and hid the rest from my kids (they had already gotten into the licorice and M&Ms).

I have a fun easy tutorial to post tomorrow! :)

Heads Up!

Meet, one of my newest sponsors, Thread This fabric!
Brittany and Amanda, of Thread This Fabric, have just opened their shop and are stocking their shelves with designer fabrics as I type (they have some Riley Blake in right now and will have some others shortly).

I just noticed something while I was browsing around and thought some of you might be interested too.

They are offering free shipping right now in the US as well as Canada on their Christmas prints for a limited time. They only have a couple of Christmas prints right now, but if you have been eyeing this Riley Blake print, this is the time to get it! Free shipping to Canada especially doesn't happen often, so this is exciting!
If it looks like there isn't any listed send them a convo. 

Also, if you like the other Riley Blake prints they have in stock right now, their regular shipping is very low. Check it out!

Brittany and Amanda didn't share with me that they had another Etsy shop Hand Made By Britt, but look what else I came across.

Ok, this insulated lunch bag is only a million times cuter than what my girls are carrying right now! Low shipping in this shop too.

Wow, two posts by me in one day!

Happy shopping! Don't buy all of that Eskimo print, some of it is mine! :)

Hey, I just thought of something.... we should have a different type of sew-a-long. We should all decide on one fabric, all buy the same fabric, and then share all of our creations.

So many times I have tried searching on Flickr for a specific fabric to get inspiration because I don't know what to make with it.

Do you guys think that would be fun?

Princess Tiaras

Or, should I say fairy princess tiaras. There is a difference. It's huge. I'm not sure what it is though, when my 5yr old was explaining it to me I'm afraid I may have tuned her out. Its a survival tactic.

I'm not horrible, I just have three kids that literally never stop talking. Once upon a time I used to love it. My sweet baby girl would chatter away in that adorable little baby voice. She started talking really early and it was so amazing. I couldn't get enough.
Then, her sister was born, and she talked early too. How lucky I was to have two adorable little girls. The apples of my eyes.

Then arrived our sweet baby boy. He also talks a mile a minute.

All three of them do.

I wish they would be quiet, if only for 5 mins....
They're only quiet when they're asleep. When they are asleep is when my sanity is being recharged. 

Anyway! The ramblings of a mother who hasn't had nearly enough sleep over the past week. :)

So, tiaras..... how many of you are dressing little princesses, or fairy princesses this Halloween? I know I'm not the only one that needs a tiara.

I could have gone to the dollar store and bought one for a buck, but why would I do that? I don't want my fairy princess to look like all the others!
Plus, it was snowing and windy and I didn't want to go outside and we had a party to go to yesterday afternoon, at which point we did go out in the snow and wind.

This is what I had to work with...

Plastic beads. If you have a daughter or two chances are you might have some of these already lying around your house.

I also had this.

Which came with a two year old boy who insisted on passing me every bead I needed in the mouth of this guy. Now that I'm actually looking at a photo of this toy, and not just seeing it in passing, who bought this evil looking dragon anyway?! Yikes, no wonder Little Dude loves it so much!
This project would probably take about 30 mins, but include this dragon and it will take about 90.

In the end you will have this...

Perfect for your princess, or fairy princess this Halloween (or birthday, or for dressup...).

I used THIS tutorial. :)

Leila And Ben Giveaway!

How many of you have heard of Leila & Ben? If you haven't, you have to check them out! Leila & Ben is another Canadian pattern shop, based out of Edmonton. I wonder if they are sitting in snow yet, like I am here?

Leila & Ben carry both children's sewing patterns as well as some crochet patterns. All of their patterns are beginner friendly and offer step by step instructions and photos. You can find them on their new website, or in their Etsy shop. Here is just a taste of what they have to offer.

I've actually been eyeing this little Bolero jacket for quite some time. So adorably cute!

This sweet little dress is one of their most popular patterns.

Look! Something for boys! :) This would be adorable on my little dude!

I have to show you the little crocheted caplet. So timeless and just beautiful, don't you think?

Annette and Heather, from Leila & Ben are here today with a really great giveaway!

For the Giveaway...

Go and check out Leila & Ben's new website, or Etsy shop.
Come back and leave a comment with the names of the two sewing patterns that you love most.

Three winners, will each win their two most favorite patterns!

One comment per person please.
Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you if you win if your email isn't in your blogger profile.


Giveaway closes Friday October 29th 7PM PST


Good luck everyone! :)

Halloween Snacks

Did you think I disappeared? No, the sickies seem to be making their way around our house. As soon as one kid is better, it hits the next one. :( It's a bummer.

On to happier things, Halloween will be here soon! :)
I know, you already knew that.
If your life is anything like mine you have playgroups and schools to bring treats to, as well as want to make a spooky snack or two for your own kids.

I don't plan to really get into the habit of doing round ups, but because my kids are sick and I haven't had time to do anything cool, I thought I'd share with you guys the snacks I plan to make this Halloween. There will also be a current theme to my snack, they will take relatively short amounts of time! As much as I love all of the cute Halloween cupcakes I see out there, they look like they will take a million hours, so not happenin' in this house this week.

Enjoy! 

Also, let me know what will be on your menus!

First, these will be in one of my daughter's classrooms.

Do any of you remember these little guys? I'm sure you can figure out how to make them by looking at the photo, but you can read all about them HERE. Perfect snack to bring to school! Ritz crackers and pretzels are healthy, right? Ok, maybe not so much but a little better than a bringing in a sugary snack.

Image courtesy of Pillsbury

Check out these little Mummy hot dogs from Pillsbury. I think these will be on the menu before trick or treating on Sunday night. Don't judge me. One night of these for dinner isn't going to kill them. I bet if I serve these they might actually eat dinner. Now, that would be a change!

Image courtesy of The Idea Room

Now, I think these might actually be my personal favorite! Don't they look disgusting? Worms (jello)! You can read all about how to make them at The Idea Room. I'm going to do a test run of these babies tomorrow. I'm wondering if I serve these at school if they will be a huge hit and I won't come home with any, or I am going to come home with a full bowl. What do you think?

Edited to add, I did a test run of these worms today. These are actually quite time consuming, getting the worms out of the straws took longer than I thought. The end result is really realistic, but you've been warned!

Image courtesy of Family Fun

Ok, I admit, these do look a little time consuming. I only plan to make three of them though (to accompany the mummy dogs). What a clever idea to carve an orange, don't you think? Those folks at Family Fun always have such great ideas! These are filled with fruit salad. We might not actually get through dinner. I'm already envisioning the mummy dogs and these jack-o-lanterns walking across the table talking to each other. We should probably eat early that night. I'm also thinking, knowing my kids, that I should make sure the mouths are too narrow for the kids to push fruit bits out of... with the week we've just had I could see that getting a little out of hand...

 Image courtesy of Paper Glitter

And last, my idea of non time consuming cupcakes! Grab a mix and some icing and print off these free printables from Paper Glitter. I need to warn you, you are going to spend a lot of time on that site and looking around their Etsy shop! So so so many cute printables. I had no idea you could buy such cute printables that would be useful in so many ways. Why haven't any of you told me? I'm sure I will be a customer of that shop in the future, no doubt about it!

Well, now you've seen the spooky food I plan to serve throughout this week, is there something I'm missing that I just have to make?
I've seen so many wonderful ideas out there, but these are my favorites from what I've seen.

Stay tuned, I actually have a couple of crafty (non sewing) related things to share with you all this week (if I can get them done between wiping noses and washing sheets)! :)

Mama Stellato Giveaway Winner!

This was such a cool giveaway, I'm excited to announce the winner! :) Someone is going to win Mama Stellato's new Somerset Hoodie Pattern as well as a $20 gift certificate to fabric.com!

Pandora31 said... 127

I love!!!! the hoodie pattern. I don't want it, I think I NEED it. I have some elephant printed thermal that said it wants to be a hoodie... Congrats Pandora! I will email you today! :) Congratulations Pandora, I'll email ya today! :)

Such a cute hoodie and so versatile! I really think you guys will love it! I love it! Thank you Rachel for sponsoring such a great giveaway! :) Stay tuned, I have another post coming up momentarily!

Caramel Apples Make Everything Better

My little guy is a bit under the weather.....again. I guess now that winter is upon us (we can say that here), it will be one case of the sickies after the next until April! That is what it feels like. I wonder if it is the cold weather (being cold doesn't make you sick so why is it there are more sicknesses in winter?), or maybe it is being back to school. Whatever the case, I don't like it.

Anyway, that is why it has been a bit slow around here this week, but I do have something small to share with you today!

Keep in mind I had no intentions of blogging this at first, but these were too good not to share. Photos courtesy of my 6yr old who was very proud that she made dessert (she happens to be a better photographer than I am). :)

Caramel Apples (so easy you should make some today)

• 1 package caramels (we used the little square ones by Kraft)
• A couple tablespoons of milk
• 6 apples
• Crushed candy or nuts (optional)

1. Put your caramels and milk in a small/tall container. I used a measuring cup (it is easier to dip the apples than to roll them into the caramel.
2. Put them in the microwave for 30 second intervals and stir in between until your caramels are melted (you could also do this on the stove with a double boiler). 
3. Once melted let your caramel sit for a couple of mins while you wash your apples. Get them really really clean. If there is wax residue left on your apples the caramel might slide right off.
4. Insert a popsicle stick in the top of each apple. Just push em in.
5. Dip in the caramel.
6. If you are going to add candy or nuts to your apples I would suggest sprinkling it on instead of rolling your apples in it. We weren't too successful with the rolling. We ended up with candy filled with ooey gooey caramel.
7. Put them on wax paper or saran wrap (they will stick badly if you just put them on a plate).
8. Put in the fridge for at least 15 mins or several hours to firm up.

 Yummy caramel apples!
(Perfect treat for Halloween)

These firm up, but are soft and chewy to bite into. I promise they are not the rock hard candy apples that will break your teeth.

What I can't promise is that your kids won't be on a crazy sugar high after eating these.

If you are letting your kids make them, be careful, the caramel gets hot!
Also, watch the little ones like a hawk if you are helping with the caramel or they might eat handfuls of candies while you're not looking.

If you think they might eat too much candy make sure you are doing this when Dad is home, and then hand them over.

Learn from my mistakes! :)

Mama Stellato New Pattern Review and Giveaway!

I know you guys love Mama Stellato's patterns! You can see the Amelia Top I made HERE.

Well, she has a new pattern just released and it is adorable! And, you know what I love most about it? It is made with knits! There aren't many PDF knit patterns out there, so it is super exciting to see a new one!

It's called the Somerset Hoodie, and here is my version.

Cute, right? It is not a dress pattern, but you can easily make it into a dress. My 5 yr old will only wear dresses at the moment, so it had to be a dress. :)

If you have or buy this pattern and want to make it into a dress....
Cut the back piece the same length as the bodice piece. Instead of using the piece for the bottom of the hoodie, cut a rectangle the width of your knit fabric by the length you desire. Gather and attach.


I made a hoodie as well, making no modifications to the pattern for my 6 yr old, but she was less than cooperative and was not in a photo taking mood.

Here is Mama Stellato's (aka Rachel's) adorable daughter wearing one of  her Somerset Hoodies. It has a modest cross front and generous hood.

Her directions were really easy to follow (I made the hoodie within an hour), and her pattern pieces are labeled well, computer drawn, and true to size. I made two sizes. The size 5 for my 5 yr old and the 6 for my 6yr old and didn't have to make any adjustments to either. The sleeve length, as well as the length of the hoodie was perfect.
When doing reviews, unless it is easy to see that something will not fit my children, I try to make at least one item without any modifications to test the fit as well as the pattern as it was meant to be made (this is sometimes hard for me as I like to make little modifications).
Very rarely does something come out a perfect fit for my kids "as is" but this hoodie turned out perfectly! :)

This pattern I think would be perfect for beginners, it is really easy with few pieces. Also easily sewn on a regular machine, no serger required!

I am planning on making knit Christmas dresses for my girls this year (we don't have a reason to dress up this year), and I love this pattern so much I think I am going to use it for those.

Today Mama Stellato is here also offering a giveaway (it's a really cool giveaway too)!

Head on over to Mama Stellato and check out her patterns (she also has a blog, you can read it HERE and can find some more photos of the hoodie)!
Come back and leave a comment with the name of the pattern you love most in her shop.
(make sure you leave a way for me to reach you)

The winner is going to win, not only the new Somerset Hoodie Pattern, but also a $20 gift certificate to fabric.com!!

How cool is that? Not only will you have a new pattern, but you can pick out some new fabric to make it!
(you know, if you really can't wait for this pattern and choose to buy it beforehand, I'm quite certain if you are the winner that Rachel would give you another pattern instead).

Giveaway closes Saturday October 23rd 7PM PST
One comment per person please!

I think this fabric is actually supposed to be Christmas fabric? Regardless she wore this to school yesterday! :)

Good luck!