Party of 6

{image courtesy of cherokeefocus.org}What am I up to this week?

The sewing will have to wait.

I have become an instant mother of 4 while my sister is whisked away as a youth camp leader.

What have we been up to so far?

• Games of hide and seek
• Jumping on the trampoline
• Silly pictures while jumping on trampoline
• Intense games of "Sorry"
• Video games (thus a moment at the computer)
• Riding bikes & skateboards
• Trips to the park
• Trip to McDonalds for lunch and play (just one trip I promise)
• Keeping track of appointments, meals, and bedtime rituals

Still on the list?

• Movies
• A visit to the Zoo (if it would ever stop raining)
• Water balloons (see above)
• More games of Sorry
• More hide and seek
• More trampoline jumping
• Pizza night
• And so much more...

Did you catch the theme yet? Yep, it's good old fashioned fun, in case you missed it. One of the perks of being an aunt and uncle.

They're good kids and it's been fun for my husband and I to spend some one-on-one time with them. It's certainly a lot more active than my usual day, I'll tell you that. Mothers, I salute you!

If I survive the remaining days I'll fill you in on the rest of the fun. :) haha
Hope you're surviving your week as well!

Seattle Skyline Pillow

I have to say, that I'm really excited about my newest pillow:

Seattle Skyline

I half-heartedly dropped it off this afternoon where I'm doing consignment...I secretly wanted to keep it for myself.

I love living in Seattle. I'm a Seattleite through and through. I love everything about this place. Yes, even the rain (although if it were sunny a few more days out of the year I wouldn't complain). I grew up here, lived away for a time, but came back to stay. It will always be home.

I'll share with you how I made it.

• The 16x16 pillow case is made of cotton muslin, pre-printed cotton jersey, and an iron on image.
• I took this picture of the Seattle skyline up in the beautiful streets of Queen Anne. I made sure to use my own photograph, since I'm selling this pillow.
• After plugging the picture into photoshop and trying out a few different filters, I decided on this one. I liked how the black and white etchings outlined each structure just the way I wanted it to.
• I flipped the image to mirror, and printed it on an iron-on transfer. Then I transferred it onto a piece of ripped, bleached cotton muslin. I liked the way the ripped edges gave it character (sorry, this picture doesn't show it). I washed the print a couple of times to give the stiff iron-on feel a little more softness.

• Next, I wanted to frame the picture somehow. Remember the newsie pillow? I had a few scraps left. So I outlined the ripped muslin with pieces of jersey "newsprint". I like how it turned out. Kind of gave it a grunge feeling.

• And here's the back. Nine times out of ten I make my pillow cases removable. I like to have options I guess.

See how easy it is to use your favorite photograph, transfer it to an iron-on and turn it into a unique pillow case? You should try it!

If this one sells, I will be happy that someone loves Seattle like I do and wants to take a piece of it home with them. If it doesn't, I'll think it's fate's way of telling me it was always meant to be mine. :)

Linked to:

DIY by Design

Tea Rose Home

Hope Studios

Sew Much Ado

Skip to my Lou

The Tattered Tag

Cherished Treasures

The Girl Creative

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Sew Can Do

Making the world cuter

Creative Itch

Today's Creative Blog

Carolyn's Homework: be inspired

Inspiration to sew by: Anthropologie Music II

Some of you know how I love Anthropologie. I could wander around their stores all day...daydreaming of the possibilities. *Sigh.* The place just does that to me.

Some days while I'm sewing, I find I need a little extra something to keep me going. For those days, I turn to a source of sewing inspiration. The soothing, quirky, inspiring, eclectic sounds of Anthropolgie...and as if by magic, I'm transported to a little quaint sewing room tucked away within the secret back rooms of Anthropologie (if there really is such a place).

Back in September, I shared an Anthropologie playlist I found online. I have since found several more. A special thanks to those who compiled lists for those of us smitten with Anthropologie.

I simply find the songs on youtube and create a playlist.

Get ready, I've got TONS of songs. Lists and lists. Sorry if some are repeats.

***Revised***

In order to spare my blog (and you!) the ridiculously long post this music list created, I have started a page just for Anthro music.

Feel free to browse the list here: Anthropologie Music List

I'll update it as I run across any additions.

Enjoy!

{Photo credit: MyFDBlog}

Baby bib and burp cloth: Little Princess

For the consignment I'm doing this summer-fall, I've made lots of baby bibs and burp cloth sets.

I ran across this scrumptious pink flannel with gray and aqua crowns and couldn't pass it up.

With a little soft baby pink terry cloth back and aqua ruffled ribbon accent, it makes such a darling set.

Every little princess should have one of these around her neck, even if she is just going to drool on it. :)

I have some really cute white flannel with cherries that I'm going to make next. I'll share it with you once I whip it up!

Linked to:

TeaRoseHome

Long live Oxi Clean: carpet stain remover

You might not believe me even if I tell you.

I had a whopper of an Oxi moment about an hour ago.

I'm still in shock at the power that lies beneath that lid.

And I swear, I don't secretly work for Oxi Clean.

Let me paint the picture for you:

Berry smoothie. Deep, pink and delicious.

In the living room.

On cream colored carpet.

Oh yes I did.

After the initial shock of my bright pink smoothie meeting the cream carpet, I actually thought to grab my camera for a "before" shot. I know, there's something's very disturbing about that. (No, I didn't actually do it).

But honestly, my darkest fear was that the "before" shot would end up looking exactly like the "after" shot, even if I scrubbed with all my might. And wouldn't my husband be surprised when he got home to see the couch had been moved. haha! ha.

One tip: If after the first scrubbing you think your light colored carpet is clean, take a photo *with the flash*. The light penetrates the carpet and shows off any remaining color deep in the carpet.

This photo was taken after my first scrubbing. At first glance, it looked like the stains were gone, but after taking the picture I could see stains still remained. So I did another cleaning.

And drum roll please...

I never imagined it could look this clean after witnessing the gushing monstrosity of deep berry colored stains, that was my lunchtime smoothie.

I believe in Oxi Clean.

Add belt loops to a shirt: a little waist definition

I found this cute denim sleeveless shirt on a sale rack back in the winter (I added a t-shirt underneath).

It has a cute design, but due to its length, it kind of hangs a little tent-ish from the side. It needed a sash or belt to give my waist a little definition, like I did here.

And to keep a sash or belt in place (to avoid the slipped-sash-under-the-belly-look; yes, it's happened to me), I simply needed to add a couple of belt loops to the shirt.

Here's how:

1. Measure where you want your sash or belt to lie and mark your spot equally on both sides of the shirt.

2. Find material for the loops. I used embroidery floss (it's what I had on hand) and a needle big enough to strand it through.

3. Cut 2 pieces for the loops + a little more in order to tie a knot on one end. Mine were ~ 6".

4. From the inside of the shirt, stick the needle and floss through one of the marked side seams.

5. Stick the needle and floss back through the outside side seam; creating your loop. *Make sure you make the loop big enough to fit your favorite belt or sash. I only made mine about 1".

6. Tie off the floss inside the shirt. Make sure the loop on the outside of the shirt doesn't slip and become smaller while you're tying it off.

7. And there's one pretty little waist defining loop! Repeat the process on the other side of the shirt.

Enter cute blue and white striped sash, all cozy right where I put it:

or skinny white belt:

And, the cool thing about this...is if you feel like letting it all hang out and don't want to cinch your waist one day? Just pull the little knots from the inside and they magically disappear into the side seams. And no one has to know they're there at all!

*See another example of how I added belt-loops to a shirt

Linked to:

HopeStudios

A little apron glam: ruffles and polka dots

I am still in a pale pink phase.

I love that it's soft, wispy and delicate.

And polka dots? I'll always love polka dots. There won't be a day that I don't love polka dots.

And ruffles? Oh, don't get me started on how I love ruffles....seriously.

This little beauty will be added to my collection at the shop where I'm currently consigning...hope there's someone out there who will fall in love with it as much as I have.

Too fancy for the kitchen?

Nah.

Linked to:

TeaRoseHome

ShabbyChicCottage

SomewhatSimple

AGlimpseInside

HouseofHepworth

Fingerprintsonthefridge

Mygirlishwhims

ShabbyNest

Pom Pom Trim Pillow

I fell in love with this sun kissed yellow canvas fabric with white medallions, the minute I laid eyes on it.

And when I read this delicious fabric description, I was completely hooked.

"This *bottom-weight fabric from the Lisette Collection tells the story of a creative woman who travels the world. She collects objects and images during her travels and filters them through her unique aesthetic to create a fresh and contemporary personal style."

I want to be that woman!

So instead of travelling the world, I made a pillow that reminded me of far-off places I hope to go.

I really love the way the white pom-pom trim compliments the design.

I'd been wanting to make a pillow with pom poms for a long time. My sis-in-law made a few that I LOVE, so I thought I'd make a go of it.

Sewing pom-pom trim on pillows really is quite easy, but I do have to say it takes a little patience to make sure it's on just right.

By the way, for those of you who aren't sure what *bottom-weight fabric is (like me a few months ago), it's a term used to describe fabrics with a heavier, sturdier weight; often used for pants or skirts.

The feel of this yellow fabric has a slight texture to it, is lighter than typical canvas, but more substantial than lightweight cotton. I really like the weight and feel, and have some other projects in mind for this type of fabric.

Hope it's sunny where you are!

Believe it or not, it's actually hot in Seattle. Amazing!

Linked to:

My Girlish Whims, TeaRoseHome, SewMuchAdo, TheShabbyNest, SomedayCrafts, CreativeItch, 733, FingerprintsOnTheFridge, SewChatty, DIYByDesign, 30handmadedays, SkipToMyLou, TheGirlCreative, CarolynsHomework, CraftyConfessions, HouseofHepworths, The36thAvenue, CoastalCharm, TheShabbyChicCottage, FrenchCountryCottage, GingerSnaps