Embellished Onesie Baby Girl Dress

Our good friends, Lara and Eddie, (Savannah's Godparents) just had their second baby a little while back.  They have a little boy named Luca who is three and decided to wait to find out the gender of the new baby until the birth.  Since I am such a planner, we found out what we were having with each of our three children, but I give a lot of credit to those who can wait for the surprise at the very end! When I found out they had a baby girl, Francesca Marie, I knew I had to whip up something for the new little lady.

For some reason when my friends have new babies, it makes me want to try to sew something new. Most of them know the kinds of dresses that I like to sew for The Cottage Mama, but it's always fun to sew something different and more unexpected. For Miss Francesca, I made a little dress out of a pink organic cotton onesie. It is size 3-6 month and I thought it would be really cute layered with tights and a sweet cardigan for the cooler weather.

I've been really into using the rolled hem on my new serger (yes, I've got new machines and I can't wait  to tell you about them). I cut a couple strips of fabric and finished the sides with a rolled edge. Then I gathered them and sewed them to the onesie. I added a strip of pre-gathered, cream colored eyelet trim as well. And finished the dress by hand sewing three little pink buttons on top.

The skirt on the onesie is also finished with a rolled hem. I absolutely love the line 'Woodland Trails' from Riley Blake Designs. It's just the perfect shades of pastel for a sweet baby girl.

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DIY Craft: No-Sew Fabric Covered Box Tutorial

This past weekend I was out and about running errands on my own.  And I'm sure most of you mom's know.......I sort of felt like I was on a mini-vacation. Anyway, I stopped off at one of my favorite local thrift stores and, come to find out, the entire store was 50% off.  50% off at a thrift store?  Yes, I couldn't believe it either.  I picked up a bunch of things that I just couldn't go home without and this little metal box for 50 cents was one of them.

Here is what the box looked like when I brought it home:

Not very exciting, but it was just begging to be given new life.  So I decided to get out my craft supplies and turn it into something a little more eye-catching.  This is an easy, inexpensive craft project that can be done with mostly items you have around the house.  Granted, if you don't craft a lot you may have to buy some essentials (like spray adhesive), but you'll be able to use this things for projects in the future.

Fabric Covered Box Tutorial

by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama

Supplies:

Box ~ any size (mine was able to fit large notecards inside)

Spray Paint

Spray Adhesive

Glue Gun

Fabric (a fat quarter should be more than enough)

Trim

Scissors

Instructions:

I grabbed a can of spray paint that I happened to have around for this project.  You want to make sure you spray the inside of the box really well since that will not be covered.  Let the inside dry and then flip the box over and spray the bottom.  The rest of the box will be covered by fabric and trim so no need to worry about it's appearance.

Cut the piece of fabric for the top of the box about 1/2" larger than the box top.  Then cut small slits on the diagonal in each of the corners which will enable you to wrap the fabric around the box (like you are wrapping a gift) after you use your spray adhesive.  You are just wrapping the fabric down over about a 1/2" over the edge so that you don't see any raw edges.  The raw edge will eventually be concealed by your ribbon trim.

Measure and cut out the strip of fabric to go around the box.  You want the fabric to go all the way around the box and overlap by about an inch.  Cut the fabric wider than necessary so you can press under the top and bottom with your iron.  Press the fabric so that it is just the right size to fit your box.  Also press under the one side that will overlap in the back of the box so it looks neat and tidy.

The next part is easy.  Take your box and fabric outside and spray liberally with spray adhesive.  Place fabric on the box and smooth out any bumps.  For the top, press the over-hang pieces down a tiny bit over the sides, but remember this will be covered by trim so it doesn't have to be perfect. Spray adhesive around the main part of the box and wrap your fabric strip around the box, overlapping the strip in the back.  

Next, get out your glue gun and glue any trims that you have onto your box.  You can use anything you would like to embellish this box.  I simply used trims that were already in my stash to make this an even more budget friendly project.  I used one piece of ribbon around the top and then I layered some rickrack and ribbon around the bottom.  This is your chance to get creative!

You can use this box for just about anything.  I think it would be fun to make some of these for different holidays too.  How about one for Christmas?  It could also be an adorable recipe card box, a place to store crafting or sewing supplies, or even a pretty container for flowers........

I simply placed two of my really small ball jars (minus the lids) inside the box and filled them with water to hold the flowers.  These flowers were already growing in our yard and I love being able to use things that we already have.  

So that's it!  A super-simple craft project taking an ordinary thrift-store metal box and making it into something beautiful, special and one-of-a-kind!

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Woodland Cottage Pincushion ~ Free Pattern and Tutorial

Today, I've got a really fun, whimsical pincushion that I hope you all love as much as I do.

I was inspired to create the Woodland Cottage pincushion by our home.  We live in a 1930's cottage style home and it has been a great source of inspiration for me in a lot of my design and sewing projects. Here is our home......

So today we will be making an adorable Woodland Cottage pincushion from Riley Blake Designs 'Woodland Trails' fabric line.  Even if you don't want to use it as a pincushion, you could hang it somewhere in your home or even on your Christmas tree, but for me, mine will be sitting right next to my sewing machine!

Let's get started..........

Woodland Cottage Pincushion

by The Cottage Mama

Blog: www.thecottagehome.blogspot.com

Website: www.thecottagemama.com

Free Printer-Friendly Woodland Cottage Pattern Pieces

(Click HERE to print)

Materials:

Fat 1/8th of 4-5 different coordinating fabrics

1/2 yard Riley Blake Designs rickrack trim

1/4 yard Riley Blake Designs crochet trim

Embroidery floss and needle

Fiberfill or stuffing

Basic Sewing Supplies

Woodland Cottage Pattern Pieces 

Instructions:

Print your pattern pieces and cut all pieces.  

Main House: Cut 2

Door: Cut 2

Window: Cut 2

Shingles: Cut 38

Using a 1/4" seam allowance, place the shingle pieces with the right sides facing and sew around the curve.  Turn the shingles right side out and press.  You may need to trim the curves a bit to get them to lay flat.  You will end up with 19 completed shingles.  This is the most time-consuming part of this pincushion, but it's what gives it some charm.  So turn on some music and take your time.

Add some embroidery to the window and door.  This does not need to be perfect as imperfections add character.  Even if you don't know how to embroidery, just go for it.  I did a basic backstitch on the window and a large french knot for the door knob.

Place the window and door pieces with their right sides together.  For the window, you will sew all the way around the square, but leave a little opening for turning your window right side out.  For the door, sew around the curve and turn right side out through the bottom opening.  Press the seams out for both the window and door.

Pin the window and door in place.  You can eye-ball this step.  Just place them where you think they look nice.  Make sure to line up the raw edge of the door with the raw edge of the main house piece.  Edgestitch these to the main house piece (this will catch the little opening left in the window).

Now for the fun part, the shingles.  I like to use Wondertape for this step because pinning in straight lines can be a little tricky with such small pieces.  Wondertape is a double sided tape used in sewing and quilting and will disappear when washed.  I use it a TON when working with trims.  If you don't have this, you can try pinning or using a quilting basting glue.  

Lay your first line of tape 1/4" up from where the roof and the house join.  Pull off the paper backing and lay your shingles with the straight edge in line with the tape.  Stitch 1/8" from the edge to secure the first row of shingles in place.

Measure up 1/4" from the first row of shingles and put down another row of tape.  Pull off the paper backing and lay another row of shingles.  Stitch in place.  Continue to do this same technique until you reach the top of the roof and it is totally covered with shingles.

You should end up with two shingles at the top of the roof of the house.

Now if you would like to add some rickrack, just line it up with the edge.  Again, I used my Wondertape (yes, I am obsessed), but you could certainly pin it.  At this point baste the rickrack in place 1/4" from the edge.  If you use a smaller rickrack or larger you will need to adjust your seam allowances to make sure only a little part pokes through.

At this point, if you have a label for yourself or your business, sew it onto the back of the main house.

Also, I used a piece of Riley Blake Designs crochet lace to kind of look like a chimney coming off to the side of the house.  You could omit this piece or make it larger for a nice hook to hang your cottage over a door handle or even on a Christmas tree.  Sew the crochet lace in place by lining up the raw edge of the lace with the top of the house.

Place the cottage front and cottage back with the right sides together.  Stitch all the way around using a 1/4" - 1/2" seam allowance (depends on the size trim you are using).  Leave a 1"-2" opening at the bottom.  Clip the corners to remove bulk and turn the cottage right side out by pulling it through the opening in the bottom.

Next, grab some fiberfill and stuff your pincushion.  Make sure you fluff the fiberfill as you go and really get it tucked in nicely to the corners.  Close the bottom by hand sewing with coordinating thread.

And, you're finished!  

Now step back and admire your adorable Woodland Cottage Pincushion!

Fabric Line: Woodland Trails by Sheri McCulley for Riley Blake Designs

Happy Sewing!

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