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Happy Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween a day late from our four Ghostbusters...Venkman, Holtzmann, Spengler, and Gilbert as well as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and Kevin! I wanted to share this year's Family Halloween Ghostbusters Costume theme with you yesterday but we didn't get to taking pictures until after school today and then it was 'hey, let's get to Trick-or-Treating!" You know how … [Read more...]

Riley Blake Design Team: How to Make a Lanyard

Hi friends! Today I am over at Riley Blake as part of the Riley Blake Designs Team sharing my newest tutorial for How to Make a Lanyard!!! This is such a super easy and super cute project and would be perfect to gift a sweet teacher or momma who has her hands full! … [Read more...]

Blog Tour: Acorn Valley by Patty Young

Hello friends!! Today I am the next stop on the Acorn Valley Blog Tour! If you haven't heard yet, Patty Young of Modkid patterns fame has created a brand new line of beautiful and oh-so-soft flannels that are available for purchase (and to win in the giveaway below!!) as of right now! I know it's summer and flannels aren't always the first thing you think about sewing with … [Read more...]

30 Days of Sundresses: The Bellevue Dress

Today I am participating in the the fun summer series, 30 Days of Sundresses, hosted by MellySews. And exactly as the titles states, you will find a whole month's worth of beautiful sundresses to inspire you to create your own this summer! If you remember, I created this beauty for the series last year...one of the most comfortable dresses I own :-) Well, not only does my … [Read more...]

DIY Reusable and Washable Baking Dish Covers Tutorial

I thought I would share the quick and easy tutorial I did for the Riley Blake Design Team earlier this spring for my DIY Resuable & Washable Baking Dish Covers. These come in super handy when you are headed to a potluck or summer picnic and you can't find your lids!!!! (Not that that has ever happened to me, lol!) Just slid one over the top of you baking dish and BOOM! … [Read more...]

DIY Sunglasses Case Tutorial

Ahhh! We are officially on summer break and that means lots of hanging out outside…to the pool, to the beach, to the zoo, to the park!!! Finally! And of course with all those adventures means constantly losing my sunglasses because I never remember where I left them. Either that or they get broken by one of my adorable little children (love you guys!!!) Good times. So to … [Read more...]

Riley Blake Design Team: DIY Baking Dish Covers

Hey friends! I wanted to let you know I'm over at the Riley Blake blog today as part of the Riley Blake Design Team sharing a super cute and very useful tutorial on how to make your own DIY Reusable & Washable Baking Dish Covers. They are perfect for summer picnics, potlucks, and well, any get together you are bringing a dish to this summer! … [Read more...]

How to Make Fabric Bookmarks

Hi friends! Today I wanted to bring home my tutorial that I shared over at Riley Blake for how to make these super adorable Fabric Bookmarks. These came about because I typically have at least 3 books on my nightstand at any time that I am reading through and lately I have been asking myself why I don't have cuter bookmarks. Usually I grab any scrap paper or receipt I find … [Read more...]

Riley Blake Design Team: Fabric Utensil Basket Tutorial

Hi friends!! I thought today I would bring back home the tutorial I shared over at the Riley Blake Design Team blog a while back in case you needed a few more last minute handmade gift ideas for the holidays…or maybe you just want to make yourself a little something something! You will seriously love how easy making these Fabric Utensil Baskets are that you can make a … [Read more...]

DIY Yoga Mat Sling Tutorial

Hi lovely friends! I shared this post over at Skip To My Lou last month and today I am bringing it home! If you practice yoga or have a friend or family member who does you are going to love this fantastic handmade gift idea! The tutorial I am sharing for this DIY Yoga Mat Sling is a quick and simple one and it will get lots of use on the way to class. As a bonus, it also … [Read more...]

Braided Edge Fleece Blanket Tutorial

Isn't there just something about a warm and cozy blanket that makes you feel loved when you wrap yourself up in it! We are a blanket loving house and have them in baskets everywhere…the family room, the 3 season room, and piles in the bedrooms of each child. To me, the best kind of blankets are the ones made by hand…whether they were made by me, my kids, or even by someone … [Read more...]

The 10 Minute Grocery Bag Holder Tutorial

Today I am pumped to be a part of the Riley Blake Home Decor Love Blog Tour! There is a whole mess of sewing bloggers sharing lots of fun tutorials for projects using different lines of the Riley Blake Home Decor fabric for the past two weeks and the next two weeks to come. For my project, I decided that I should finally make something I have desperately needed my whole … [Read more...]

(30) Days of Sundresses: The Halter Maxi Dress Tutorial

I'm super excited to share my newest most favorite sundress with y'all today. It's all I've been wearing this summer (well, on the days we don't seem to be having crazy rain, lightening, and thunderstorms…what's up with that?!) The Halter Maxi Dress is super comfy and it is also the perfect dress to wear to the office (I made sure of that!) or even a date night out … [Read more...]

Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour: The Stripes and Dots Infinity Scarf Tutorial

It's my turn to be a part of the Riley Blake Knit Love Blog Tour today eeep! So much fun! It seems that I have been sewing everything with knits lately (they are just so fun to work with and they are so darn soft) that I had to share a little project with you all that has been my favorite accessory as of late. I have been loving the Small Dots and the Half Inch Stripes … [Read more...]

Tutorial: Make a Wine Bag in 10 Minutes

Today I thought I'd bring home another super easy yet fun to make tutorial I did as part of the Riley Blake Project Design Team! Today I will be teaching you how to make a fabulous Wine Bag, and it will only take you 10 minutes…10 MINUTES!!! So fast you could crank out quite a few in less than an hour and have an array of pretty packaged hostess gifts to bring to all … [Read more...]

French Seam Pillowcase Set in Under 30 Minutes-Tutorial

So I finally did a little selfish sewing. I whipped up a bunch of gorgeous pillowcases for our master bedroom and for the girls' room as it has been a while since I updated each room. I made these pillowcases using french seams so that there are no exposed seams inside the pillowcase…ahhh the insides are now just as pretty as the outsides! The other bonus of making these … [Read more...]

Riley Blake Design Team: Tooth Fairy Pillow

I'm so excited to share my next project for the Riley Blake Design Team with y'all today! It has been getting a lot of love over at our house already! It's a Tooth Fairy Pillow with TWO hidden pockets…one for the tooth and one for the Tooth Fairy's gifts! Come and see the tutorial over HERE and make a few for those little ones in your life with wiggly teeth! … [Read more...]

Coffee Koozie Pattern Review

I am a total sucker for patchwork. I just love the combinations of colors and designs, how dark prints can coordinate with lights, how soft prints can so easily work together with busy ones. I love digging through all the pretty antique patchwork quilts at the flea market. I have always, always, always wanted to make a patchwork quilt with my very own hands. I really … [Read more...]

How to Make A Dolly Diaper Tutorial

Today I thought I'd bring home the project that I created for the Riley Blake Design Team back in April, How to Make a Dolly Diaper. My kids have a love for diapering their stuffed animals so I made a set of these a few years back but it was high time I made more because since then we've had two additional kids and let's face it, those diapers had seen better days!  … [Read more...]

Ugly Duckling Vintage Pattern Series: Modern Vintage Bubble Romper

Oh my friends, how I triple heart today's post. Which by the way, is brought to you by the lovely ladies over at SimpleSimonandCo. They asked me if I'd like to participate in their Ugly Duckling Pattern Series where they ask bloggers to take an ugly, old pattern and modernize it making it something you'd actually want to wear…or sew for that matter! As you know my love for … [Read more...]

Love Birds Embroidery Hoop

Here is a sweet little embroidery hoop I made for my sister, Annie, and her husband Nathan for their first Valentine's Day as a married couple. They moved all the way across the country to New York this summer so I thought I'd send them something all "lovey" and "cutesy" to decorate their new home. Everyone needs some fun initial cuteness for their walls, don't they? … [Read more...]

TUTORIAL: Ruffled Mason Jar Cozies

I love mason jars. In our home we use them for everything :-)  Need a vase? Grab a mason jar!  Need a container for pens, pencils or crayons? Grab a mason jar! Need a habitat for all the worms my kids dug up in the garden? Grab a mason jar! You get my drift...we use them for everything. But the thing we probably use them for the most is to drink out of, they sure do … [Read more...]

Mommy/Daughter Date: Picnic in the Park

At the end of the summer I was asked by Davidson's Organics and the Missouri Star Quilt Company to be a part of their Ultimate Picnic! program and to create a fun picnic theme to share. What fun, right! I love a good picnic. Remember this post here? Well, last week I decided it was high time I took my girls out on a little mommy/daughter date. It had been far too long … [Read more...]

TUTORIAL: Date Night Ring Handled Clutch

This weekend Mr. Smashed Peas and I are going on a hot date! Yup, me and my man...just the two of us :-)  With four kids and no family in town or nearby we hardly ever get a chance to do a date night out, often times we make up for it with a date night in once the kids are asleep.  Usually that consists of a bottle of wine and a Red Box movie sometimes I even make an over … [Read more...]

TUTORIAL: Be Married Burlap Wedding Banner

My littlest sister is getting married at the end of the month, hooray!  And over here we are getting so so so excited for them! She will be the last one in our family to tie the knot...and she couldn't be doing it with a nicer guy (hi Nathan!)  Since I can't really be over there (all the way in Seattle) to help them in person I asked if there was anything I could do here … [Read more...]

TUTORIAL: Double Layered Gauze Swaddle Blanket

After Oliver was born this summer and we found out he was a boy, I sat down one night and sewed him up some of of his very own stretchy Gauze Swaddle Blankets that Dana shared on her blog a few months prior.  I still don't understand how I never knew about them before especially having Oliver be my 4th little babe, I guess I missed the big craze as I was using Noah's … [Read more...]

TUTORIAL: How to Make a Cornice Board

Today let's talk DIY Cornice Boards today, shall we?  These are seriously so easy to make and install...I know! I always assumed these were so hard to make...but they're not, trust me!  I have seen lots of them made all crazy weird using plywood or MDF but the way I decided to make these takes the cake (my secret ingredient?  Styrofoam panels!)  so they are nice and … [Read more...]

Chevron Inspired Tea Towels-TUTORIAL

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that yesterday I finally started making teacher gifts for my kids' teachers.  Yup, only slightly behind schedule, haha, the story of my life! Though, I'm happy to report today that all 4 teachers have a handmade gift all wrapped up in a pretty bow along with a gift card and a thank you card decorated by either Noah or Penelope with a … [Read more...]

Burlap Silverware Pouches-TUTORIAL

Need a cute way to present your silverware at your Christmas Day dinner this year...or really for any event or party for that matter!  These little burlap pouches are so simple to make and such a lovely way to liven up your place settings instead of using the standard Emily Post set up.  {PS.  See placemat tutorial here!} I made a a bunch of these sweet little pouches … [Read more...]

Burlap & Lace Placemats-TUTORIAL

Today I'm going to show you how I made the Burlap & Lace placemats I shared with you here.  They are an easy way to add some rustic charm to a place setting and would work so well for just about any holiday dinner party or wedding event.  Burlap and Lace Placemats Burlap (1 1/2 yards will make about 8 placemats) Lace Trim Wondertape Sewing machine and coordinating … [Read more...]

My Sewing Studio Tour-The Reveal!

OMG.  I finally am posting pictures of my new sewing studio.  It's about time, right?  I only moved into it 5 months ago.  So just to forewarn you, this post is long.  And I mean LONG.  Aaaand picture heavy....very picture heavy.  But I wanted to try to give you the best tour possible since this is my new favorite place to be...my happy place, yes ma'am, that is what this … [Read more...]

Peter Pan Halloween Costumes

I thought today would be a good day to do the 'official' reveal of the kids' Halloween costumes.  If you follow along with my randomness over at Facebook (here) or on Instagram (here) you got a few sneak peeks at the big pile o'fabric I bought at Joann's and some snippets of this year's costume making chaos.  A few of you even guessed right at what the kids were going to … [Read more...]

Shop News and a Giveaway!

Well, like I said in my last post, here, Oliver is now 3 months old, sigh.  And besides little man getting bigger and bigger by the minute it also means I have officially been on maternity leave from the shop for 3 whole months already.  So last week I was a busy little bee putting together pretty fabric combinations for a whole new line of fall dresses as sort of a Grand … [Read more...]

Southern Fabric Review and Coupon Code!

Have you visited my awesome blog sponsor, Southern Fabric yet?  Oh. My. Goodness.  If you are looking for your favorite designer's patterns I bet you any money, Aubrey, the shop's owner, has them in stock for you! Yes ma'am, she has many patterns available from the likes of Heather Bailey, Amy Butler, and Anna Maria Horner just to name a few of my favorites :-) Southern … [Read more...]

Vintage Girls’ Birthday Party

So last week my little Penelope turned 4...and last month my little Eloise turned 2...and if you can believe it last week Oliver turned 2 months too!  Everybody is getting bigger and older, sigh.   Well, to celebrate my two little girlies we decided to throw a joint party for the both of them since 1) their birthdays are exactly one month apart 2) they are 23 months apart … [Read more...]

Vintage Birthday Dresses

This week we invited our tiny friends and their mommas and had a birthday party for my two sweet little girlies, those sisters.  PS. I'm starting to realize just how crazy busy our summer's are going to be around here with birthdays galore.  Oliver's is the middle of June, mine is the end of June, Eloise's is the middle of July and Penelope's is the middle of August.  Can … [Read more...]

Pillow Covers in 30 Minutes or Less-TUTORIAL

Yes, you read that right!  Today I'm going to show you my tried and true method for making your very own pillow covers in 30 minutes or less.  This is a great little tip to have on hand for when you want to redecorate your home on the cheap and just re-cover the decorative pillows you already own.   You may remember that I made a few decorative pillows for Noah's new … [Read more...]

How to Recover a Lampshade-TUTORIAL

So y'all know how I am redoing our guest bedroom and turning it into Noah's big boy room, right?  Well, I wanted to share a pretty darn easy project from the room makeover with you, recovering lampshades!  I bought these super plain and simple lampshades at Ikea for just a few bucks and wanted to coordinate them with the room decor.  I did this by using one of the fabrics … [Read more...]

Color Your Summer: Pink Laminated Cotton Placemats-TUTORIAL

**Hi everyone!  Here is my guest post I did over at KojoDesigns earlier this summer!  Thought I'd post it here for all those who may have missed it! I'm so happy to be here today to share some pink goodness with y'all!  Isn't this series so much fun...I love seeing all the fun, bright-colored projects that all these talented ladies keep coming up with, it suits my happy … [Read more...]

What I’ve Been Up To Lately.

Wondering what I have been up to lately?  Sometimes I wonder that myself.  Each day always seems jam-packed and as the days before this baby arrive whittle down I can't help but think, "I NEED more time!"  Because soon enough I will have a sweet little babe to hold in my arms and nurse...oh, how I love that season of life so much even though it means less "me" time and all … [Read more...]

Messenger Style Library Book Bag-TUTORIAL

Did you know that March is National Craft Month?  Yup, it's true!  Did you also know that Dinosaur Train (Yes that fun animated dinosaur cartoon on PBS) and Quilting Treasures have teamed up to offer a whole bunch of fun and easy craft projects as well as Quilting Treasures' Dinosaur train fabric prints?  You can find a bunch of great projects here that are easy to do! I … [Read more...]

Burlap Covered Letters-TUTORIAL

How's about some pretty and easy home decor?  I know that's right up my alley as I am full nesting mode these days.  I'm sure my husband thinks I'm nutso since I have been going crazy rearranging, reducing clutter, and adding in lots of organization to our house since the beginning of the year.  I LOVE it so much.  It is so nice to have pretty storage solutions that hide … [Read more...]

Embroidered Hot & Cold Packs-TUTORIAL

Today I wanted to share my guest post that I did over at Me Sew Crazy for Jessica's New Year's ReSEWLution series last month.  One of my sewing resolutions was to use my embroidery skillz more.  I started the year off by making these fun Embroidered Hot and Cold Packs! I just love, love, love embroidery and I think it really adds that special handmade touch to any … [Read more...]

Patchwork Mug Rug-TUTORIAL

I thought I'd bring another one of the tutorials I did for Delish magazine home again today.  This mug rug would be the perfect gift to make for someone this Christmas, especially nice because you could even use up some scraps!  Plus, you could certainly get a few done in under an hour...yay for gifts done in a flash! Patchwork Mug Rug (10) 5 x 5 inch fabric squares … [Read more...]

Cheery Christmas Stockings {Tutorial}

I was asked recently by Waverly to be a part of their 12 Waverly Bloggers of Christmas, how exciting!!  I said yes of course, how could I not?   If you head over to Waverly's Facebook page you will find 12 bloggers sharing how to create DIY holiday crafts using Waverly materials every other day or so.  The series goes until December 23 so head on over to check it … [Read more...]

Waterproof Fabric Shower Cap {Tutorial}

Today I thought I would 'bring back home' a tutorial I shared over at Whip Up back in October.  I thought maybe if you were traveling for the upcoming holidays this may be something you'd like to make beforehand and take with you to use during your time away from home :-)  Enjoy! I love shower caps and use one a few days a week.  Totally not gross, did you know that you … [Read more...]

Material Girl Fabric Shop and a Big Announcement!

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite fabric shops ever located in the Chicago Suburbs.  Material Girl is located in historic downtown Crystal Lake and is pure kid-in-a-candy-shop heaven if you are a fabric addict like me.  I could seriously spend hours in here browsing all the latest designer fabrics, vintage trims, and buttons!  Oh my, heaven on earth I do … [Read more...]

How to Make Mario and Luigi Costumes {Tutorial}

So here they are!  The Halloween costumes are complete, hip hip hooray!  They are truly adored and they survived some pre-Halloween festivities this weekend too.  I loved so many of your guesses as to what I was making and I loved hearing all the neat things your children are going to be too!  Halloween is just so fun because of all the costumes, isn't it? I'm usually … [Read more...]

I Must Be Out of My Mind.

I did something this weekend that I have never done before... I went to Joann's and bought a whole bunch of fabric. But not just any fabric... Enough fabric to make each of my little ones their own Halloween costume. Noah has been asking to be a certain someone for Halloween.   every. single. day. After about 3 weeks of listening to him ask/beg, I asked … [Read more...]

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