Baby Shower Gift...

About a year ago a good friend of mine had her first baby shower. I was so excited for her and her new venture in life. I really wanted to give/make her something special for this momentous occation. After some thinking I decided on some fabric blocks that spelled out her new daughters name. I got the idea from my friend Biz that makes wooden blocks for friends. I figured if I made them in fabric then a baby could play with them.

This is what I came up with for Madeline:

Sorry I don't have step by step pictures. These were made before I started planning for a blog.

They turned out so well.... and my friend was super excited. 

This is the picture she sent me the other day.

I am really glad these blocks are well liked and being used.

If you would like to make some blocks like these I found this website with instructions.

http://www.sewfun.com/2009/11/04/how-to-make-perfect-fabric-baby-blocks/

A quilted carrot for my painted bunny...

I have started to put out my Easter decorations since it is now March and came across a super cute ceramic bunny I painted back in 2006. This year I thought a cute quilted carrot would go with him, so I set out to make one.

For this project you need:

7 assorted designs or orange fabric (I used the pre cut fabric quarters and had PLENTY of fabric.)

1/4 yard of orange fabric for the backing of the carrot

1 green fabric quarter

1/4 yard of felt or another stabilizing fabric.

You want to make sure you iron the fabrics before you start cutting. This will help you keep control of the fabric.

Now cut your 7 assorted design fabric into 1 inch strips. I used a rotary cutting tool to help me with it. It was my first time using the tool, I would highly recommend using it. It was very efficient. 

I cut out only 8 strips of each design. It was more then enough. Of course the larger you want your carrot the more strips you need to cut out.

After you have cut out all your strips you can start to sew them together. Make sure you sew the fabric design side together. This way when you turn it back around the seam is on the bottom and the design side of the fabric is up.

When you are finished you will have a long row of fabric that you can cut the carrot out of. 

After I sewed the fabric together I sketched out a picture of a carrot and the stems on paper. This allowed me to get the size and shape just the way I like it.

From these designed I cut out the paper and used the newly created pattern to cut out the stabilizing felt for both the carrot and the stems, the green fabric for the stems, and the orange fabric for the backing of the carrot. After you have all designs cut out you want to sew the respective portions together.

I sewed the stems onto the carrot and then added a trim around the carrot to hide the unfinished edge of the fabric. 

With that my bunny has a lovely quilted carrot!

Weddings, Weddings, and more Weddings

I love a good wedding. I love watching how happy the bride and groom are. I love all the details and thought the couple have put into planning. I love how a wedding reflects the couple and their style. I love the creativity. Most of all I love the cake!  :)

In the last 2.5 years Mark and I have been attending around 6 weddings a year. I know it is a lot, but I truly love seeing all my friends so happy. The last 2 weekends have started our list of weddings for this year.

March 3rd was our good friends Laura and Wes.

Unfortunately I didn't really take pictures for either wedding, so I am borrowing them from friends and facebook. These are curtsey of Alex.

I was a bridesmaid in Laura's wedding. Although I could tell at times she was a little stressed with all the details that go into planning a wedding, she was so happy. You could really see it as the day of event progressed.

Ceremony

It was fun being a bridesmaid. I even got to be escorted but our friend Matt. Alex - I got to walk down the isle with your husband too ;) Haha.

Mark and I. I just really love this picture.

Cake cutting

Matt and Alex. (As I mentioned earlier Matt was a groomsman.)

It was a good night and both Laura and Wes seemed to be having the time of their lives.


Last weekend, March 10th, was my childhood friend Calissa. We traveled to Cincinnati, OH to join in the festivities. She married Michael who, although I don't know well and have only met a few times, I think is REALLY great for Calissa and just seems to be the perfect man for her. The only thing I can say is just how very very happy Calissa was. She was literally beaming. I am so happy for her that she was able to find such a great man and wish her all the best in the feature.

Here are some borrowed pictures from her wedding....

First kiss as husband and wife.

The happy couple!

They were just so happy all night. I am glad I was able to help her celebrate this joyous day!

So there is the first 2 weddings of this year. Only 3 more to go... that I know about right now. ;)

Like I said before I just love weddings. Most of all though I love seeing my friends and family so happy on their special day!