A Summer of Sewing | DIY Sewing Plans

Have a summer of sewing planned too? Don’t forget the incredibly awesome coupon code for FinchFound customers to Cedar House Fabrics. She sells incredible organic fabrics and supplies.

Her site: www.cedarhousefabrics.com

Discount for 15%: FINCHFOUND (ends May 31)

*Let her know when you check out to apply the discount and she will refund it to you after purchase!

Handmade by Red Charlotte | Oliver + S Messenger Bag for Cora

This bag I made for Cora last month has kicked off a summer sewing season extravaganza. I will be making all kinds of things, including big ticket items for our sailboat, like sail covers, sun covers, and new cushions and bedding. You can follow my progress here if you are interested in life aboard a sailboat with an adorable kid: www.therebelheart.com

Baby doll diapers and accessories tutorial by Craftaholics Anonymous

My little munchkin has started to get serious about changing her “baby’s” diaper. It is not really a baby. It’s an Elmo, but let me tell you, that Elmo is HER BABY. She’ll soon be getting her own set of diapers and a little wipes case to start cleaning his bum right up!

Reversible Headband Tutorial by The Long Thread

I just made a few of these by custom request and they were so cute that I’ll soon be making a kid’s size version for my princesa. She does NOT like it when her hair is in her face and she loves to accessorize too.

And there will be these. Actually, I’ll be taking a little something from all five of these great ideas and creating some custom organizers for Cora’s berth in the boat. More on that when they are finished but you can check out each one via the following links:

(From top left to right)

Hoopla on Always a Project

Hanging fabric basket via Pinterest

Peek-a-boo toy sack tutorial by Make it Perfect

Animal storage bins by 3 Sprouts

Drawstring fabric baskets by There is Beauty all Around

Book Sling by Snip N Snails

And lastly, there will be many books slings and places to tuck away Cora’s ever expanding book collection.

What do you have planned for your summer sewing? I’d love to hear your ideas!

(And don’t forget about the discount code to Cedar House mentioned at the very top of the post.)

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Here’s a sneak peek of things I just bought from her myself!!

Happy shopping!

Street Taco Sunday | Summer Time

How is it that the weekends where we don't have to be anywhere, or do anything are some of the best weekends?  Today Gray, The Beast and I had zero responsibilities and we rocked it pretty hard. I made some things I had been wanting to try, Gray got to brew and Wes got to spend the day outside. 

We hunted for bugs, planted some flowers to attract the birds to our new bird feeder, and I dip dyed play silk for The Beast. 

We made a pom pom garland (and talked about colors), covered the cat in felt (and talked about colors - urple!) and jumped on the bed. 

Gray and The Beast brewed beer together (Don't worry, we are only sort of ruining his life) 

And, the best part of the day?  

Street taco Sunday is now back on the menu! I love, love, love our warm weather family tradition and can't wait to start sharing the meal with friends and family! Anyone want in? I promise we won't let The Beast use his hands. 

That was our Sunday, how was yours?

DIY Organic Lunch Box | Cedar House Fabrics

To be honest, we were never really big diaper bag fans, and we tend to keep our travels light, which meant the diaper bag stayed in the car, and I took a few diapers and tossed them in my purse along with a pack of wipes.  Maybe a sippy cup of water if The Beast was lucky.

Now that he is getting all grow'd up and is done with diapers, our crap collecting (no pun intended? Sorry for the language?) methods have changed. Where there once stood a big bag filled with several onesies, a few pairs of pants, creams for any condition that could arise, a blanket or two, 3 pacifiers, a nursing cover, and enough diapers for 72 hours and a slew of tiny trinkets - now stands this:

Little Kid Backpack, Elephant by Skip Hop

It has an extra pair of clothes, a water bottle, usually a Yo Gabba Gabba Bath Squirter (you will not regret that purchase) somewhere in there - but the problem we had was when we put snacks in the bag, they always got jumbled up and lost. We needed a lunch box - he didn't have one. 

Enter Charlotte.

Not only did she come over to my house last week to help me clean out my closet and tell me what to keep vs. ditch. She also brought me a gift. A sweet MONALUNA In The Hen House fat quarter from Cedar House Fabrics, a favorite shop of ours - and I knew exactly what I needed to do with it. 

I made the beast a lunch bag!

I am not a sewer. I can operate a machine, follow directions (not a pattern though) and have the ability to sew exclusively straight lines. That is it. So when I came across this super easy fabric bag tutorial by The Purl Bee - I was sold. 

For my skills and needs we switched it up a bit. Instead of making his lunch bag a single layer of material as was done in the tutorial, I used Yellow Rip Stop Nylon for the inside to act as a little bit of a barrier incase anything leaks, and I only did one side for the drawstring......because quite honestly, I forgot to do the other.  

It took about 30 min, and I am actually pretty proud of the finished product. As far as my skills (and patience) go, it looks really clean (I write as I spot a stray thread)! 

The Beast loves the "cuck cucks", and putting things in the bag (and taking them out, and putting them in) so I have a feeling I will be making several more of these for around the house. They seem like they have the potential to be perfect for toy storage - even more so for "boy" toy storage like blocks, legos, cars and trains. All the little things you never know what to do with. 

Thinking about making one?  Check out these beautiful fabrics from Cedar House Fabrics (she made a custom bundle for me, for The Beasts Christmas quilt - Lela's customer service and fast shipping are so beyond appreciated.

Also, she offers free shipping, which is so nice when buying organic fabrics which can be more expensive than regular ones.

• Birch Commute Bike It Organic Fabric 
• Birch Storyboke Field Friends Organic Fabric 
• Cloud 9 Nursery Basics Organic Gingham Fabric
• Cloud 9 Chinoiserie - On Sale
• MONALUNA Organic Blue Chevron Fabric
• Daisy Janie Shades Of Grey Ragg Tagg Organic Fabric - On Sale

{ C O N N E C T } 

Cedar House Fabrics on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CedarHouseFabrics

Cedar House Fabrics Website (with a larger selection of fabrics to choose from): http://www.cedarhousefabrics.com/

Cedar House on Facebook (she does great giveaways): http://www.facebook.com/cedarhousefabrics

Handmade for the holidays | Easy handmade Christmas gifts

The Goods:

1. For the hostess, modern candle holders 
2. For the writer, Travel art journal/notebook (more sewing, super awesome)
3. For the kids, homemade finger paints (fast and easy to package)
4. For the baby, Dish and Spoon (easily bundled with a book)
5. For the sweet tooth, homemade vanilla extract (no cooking, free printable labels)
6. For the teen, Smores Kit (they might act aloof - but they all love smores) 
7. For the drinkers, infused vodka (recipe is for cranberry infused vodka - but don't stop there. As the site suggests, how about some bacon infused vodka? No? Whhhhyyyy?)
8. For the tween, DIY bracelet 
9. For the crafter, Upcycled sweater bag (little sewing - fast project)

Just One Shop! | Itz Fitz

Please note: This blog post is dedicated to my beautiful co-author Charlotte. 

So here is the thing - while I met Charlotte on the internet just over two years ago :sigh:, now that she has been stuck with me on a pretty serious level for the past year, dude. I couldn't imagine my life with out her (in a totally non-creepy way).  I dread the day she leaves for her cruise around the world - only for selfish reasons.  I love me some serious Charlotte + Charlotte's clan, again, in a loving,  not at all creepy "please don't disfriend me" (spell check wants me to change this to dismember. I don't want you to do that to me either, but I am keeping disfriend.) kind of way.  

I also adore that while sometimes we appear to have some things in common, and we do. Deep down we are total opposites, she hates baggy shirts and I love slouchy Ts. She has concerns over zombies coming to town, I worry about tidal waves. She loves goat cheese and I can't stand the stuff. You get the point. 

What I really find fun though, and the reason for this shop is that she teases me for all the things that we make for Wes (Example:  she wouldn't touch making Cora a quilt with a 10 ft pole right now, she would rather support an Etsy seller and buy one). Well,  I wouldn't touch making a yarn wreath with a 10 ft pole. Ever. Charlotte's Pintrest board has been filled up with them lately, and they are all so beautiful, how can you not love them? So simple, so not filled with plastic flowers and so happy.

I would much rather buy one thought and I would much rather buy one from Itz Fitz. 

I mean, just look at these! 

I have zero desire to make one of these, and for an average price of $30, I would much rather buy one.....okay, maybe I could stand making a mini wreath for Wes' bedroom door, but I don't have the patience for much else. 

Go check out the shop, because these are only a small fraction of the beauty contained in that store.