Scrappy Fabric Hair Flowers

As I promised, today I am sharing the process I used to make these pretty fabric flowers that I made into ponytail holders and bobby pins for the female guests at Ella's Lemonade and Sunshine Social last weekend.


I had some scraps of fabric left over from my Scrappy Fabric Flag Garland. Some of it I used to decoarate the party favors, but the rest I wanted to use to make some sweet fabric flowers.



I loved the combination of fabrics, they were soft and sweet and evoked vintage (none of them are vintage.) First, I built the flowers using the method described in this tutorial.

It was pretty simple--just cut six circles from the fabric (I varied the fabrics in each of the pieces so they would be unique), fold each in quarters, run a needle with thread through the point in each folded circle, knot, fluff, and voila!


I attached them to bobby pins, sewed some to pony tail holders, and for this little sweetheart, affixed one to a wide pink ribbon. So cute!



It was such an easy project, and it made me smile every time I saw one on a guest!

This post is part of the following link parties:

A Look Back at My First Quilt from Upcycled Baby Clothes

Here is a sweet baby quilt that I made last November and wrote about on my family blog, Under A Shady Tree.

I have finished my latest sewing project, which was a baby quilt made from a collection of my favorite baby clothes' of Ella's. It was a sweet project that didn't take a lot of time (other than the two days I spent ripping out some seams I didn't like) and it has given me great satisfaction. Actually, when I finished it, I cried a little, because I have such strong emotions tied to these little squares of fabric. I love where my baby girl is right now--she has such a personality, but I do miss the snuggly little bundle that used to wear these outfits!


I must give some credit to some blogs that inspired and "tutored" me in this project-- the first is Wee Wonderfuls. I stumbled on this post and I just knew I had to have one for myself. (I mean, who am I kidding? I say I made this for Ella, but it is mine, all MINE!!)

I was also inspired by Nettie over at A Quilt is Nice. The quilt in this post will be one of my next projects. It is going to be a Christmas gift, so I won't say much more than that. I loved the way that Nettie explained a spray basting method for adhering the quilt sandwich together. If there is one thing I hate about sewing, it is pinning, and this negated that.

When I got to the binding part I was clueless, so this post on Crazy Mom Quilts really helped me out with how to create a continuous binding. And lastly, my high school friend Phoebe (thank you, Facebook!!!) directed me to this online resource that helped me avoid having to hand baste the binding.

Which I think is so pretty!! (But don't look too closely at that mitered corner!) It is my first time, afterall!



I really smile when I look at some of these squares. This one with the sheep was from one of the CUTEST outfits EVER, that was a gift from my sister-in-law. It had a tiny stain at the neck that no amount of Shout would get out, so I sacrificed it for the quilt.


Here is another fabric square that I really love:


A few squares from outfits from my Mom: Here is a retro fabric from a quilted overall onesie.


And an adorable poodle outfit from Mom that she absolutely loved seeing Ella in. (Mom had a thing for poodles.)


I also used four squares of white eyelet from a dress that Ella wore to Mom's Celebration of Life. I felt it was a fitting nod. But it does make me a bit weepy.

On another, and HAPPIER note, as I am looking through these photos I am actually laughing, because I guess I have a thing for cupcakes! As you can see here,


and here,


and here!!

My goodness. Well, here it is all done. Imperfections and all. And I am already itching to make another one!

Oh, and THANK YOU for answering my frantic e-mail, Stephanie! I developed my own mantra after we corresponded: "When in doubt, RIP IT OUT!" And I am so glad that I did. I am much, much happier with the quilt now than I would have been. (Probably staring at the seams and going "Grrrr" in my head!)


How can you not smile when looking at this! (Keep your mitts off of it, Ella!) Just kidding baby. It's all yours. But you might have to wait awhile. Maybe when you have your first baby girl . . .


Oh, and see the big mistake? Somehow I left out a square in the lower right next to that elephant. How funny is that?

This post is a part of the following link parties:

Creative Chick Parade and Three Sisterz

How fun is this? One of the blogs I read, The Girl Greative, is working with a whole slew of other fun and creative blogs to offer an amazing blog-hop called the Creative Chick Parade! I am so excited because I love so many of these fabulous blogs!

So if you want to spread the word, hop on over to her blog and grab the above button. She'll give you the html code for it and you can share the news with all of your readers!

Hope to see you there!

BTW, have you checked out the tutorials I am trying in August? I have them listed in my sidebar. Well, I have done almost all of them, but a few will be left over for September. I am most excited about the Retro Button Necklace by Yellow Blackbird which I am going to be doing next Thursday with my friend Flannery from Three Sisterz.

Speaking of Three Sisterz, have you seen this?


Just when you think their custom pillow case dresses can't get any cuter BAM! They do this! Corduroy and back-to-school apples and red ric rac??? I can't stand it! My little girl has a year left until pre-school, and when she goes she will definitely be wearing one of these!

Happy Weekend!

A Little Friday Love for My Vintage Girl

Isn't she beautiful? I saw her on my Mom's Ebay auction about five years ago and had to have her.


We don't know anything about her, other than that she is cast in plaster, is handpainted and is about 10 inches tall.


There are no markings on the bottom. What do you think she was for? Decoration on a dressing table? She is too small to really display a necklace.

No matter! I love her and think she is perfectly sweet. Some things are better left a mystery!

Oh, and 97 FOLLOWERS??? Are you KIDDING ME? My little blog has that many new friends? Wonderful! Welcome!

This post is a part of:

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffin Goodness

Baking blueberry muffins evokes many memories for me--most about my Mom and when she would bake them for my sister, my Dad and I using a recipe from an old New England standby--"Cooking Down East" by Marjorie Standish.


Printed in 1969, Marjorie Standish had a column called "Cooking Down East" in the Maine Sunday Telegram for 25 years. Having been raised in Maine, I am proud that this volume has been an integral part of my life. One of my most favorite aspects of "Cooking Down East" is that the author writes before every chapter and nearly every recipe about the Maine history attached to the food--and since she was local to the coastal area where I grew up I recognize many of the places that she mentions.


Here is the recipe, complete with a little spill of muffin batter. If you click on the photo you can enlarge it to read the recipe. If you can't read it, e-mail me and I will give you the recipe. The only part missing from this page is that you heat the oven to 425 and bake them for 25 minutes.


I used a Salmon Falls Stoneware muffin plate made in Dover, NH. Though not vintage (it was made in 1999) it always reminds me of New England.


I mixed the ingredients in two of my three favorite stoneware bowls (the third is a mustard yellow and the largest). These were a gift from a friend a few years ago who knew the look I like in my kitchen. They aren't old--I actually think they came from Costco, but they look perfect in my kitchen!


And of course I was wearing my sweet apron!


Here is the batter in the pan before going into the oven. (I used Picnik's Orton effect for all of these photos).


Here they are fresh from the oven! They didn't rise like I thought they would and I am not sure why (they have always risen before.) Thank goodness they tasted as delicious as always!


Mmm . . . and of course they are topped with Kate's Butter from Maine.


Here they are cut open and you can see all of that yummy blueberry goodness!!


They were a hit for breakfast yesterday. James had two! (So did my husband!)


The plate tells the story!


I hope you enjoyed this little recipe today, that takes me back in time to when I was a kid!

Mom, my sister Amy (on the right) and me in our kitchen in 1979.

And if you make them, please come back and tell me how they were!

This post is a part of the following link parties: