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Wicker Quilt Pattern

October 27, 2014 By Brandy Leave a Comment

I have a new love; Quilting. It all started with the one I made using my grandmother's appliquÃ©s and I just can't seem to stop! My instagram feed is flooded with beautiful photos of quilts and fabrics. Maybe I should stop following so many talented ladies because unfortunately fabric doesn't grow on trees and all those photos make me want to stockpile it!

This is the first of four quilts that I plan on making. One for each of my children. I've never made them anything larger than a toddler sized quilt for them. It's been so much fun choosing the colors and patterns and can't wait to see how they finish up! Each is going to be a throw size (12" shorter than a twin). I plan for these to not be on their beds, but dragged around as the perfect blanket for movie nights, sick days, and traveling. They are meant to be used. A lot.

I still have a lot to learn, but the process has been fun and incredibly addicting.

I chose a simple strip pattern for Kaylee's and used a Butterfly Dance jelly roll (Riley Blake) for the main fabrics. The backing is a sheet and the binding is clearance fabric that I got for a steal. It coordinated perfectly! It was an easy sew which is perfect for me since I am not ready for anything complicated and pieced. A couple of the squares didn't end up being completely straight, but my corners all lined up so I am happy with that.

I added a hand stitched patch and wrapped it up for her

Quilt pattern: Cluck Cluck Sew's Wicker Quilt

Sew A Drawstring Trick or Treat Bag for Halloween

October 23, 2014 By Brandy 1 Comment

Bigger than a plastic pumpkin, smaller than a pillowcase, and the top cinches closed. The perfect trick or treat bag for Halloween night!

The kids each have a fabric trick or treat bag that I made 4 years ago and they still use them! Just a basic drawstring bag that holds plenty of sweet treats! And this pattern is great for other bags too, just swap out the fabric! Use them to store Legos,Â or a place to keep wooden magnetic dolls, or jewelry! They are so fun and so easy to make.

I made some with one type of fabric and some with a cute contrasting band at the bottom. I found these fabrics at Joann's and knew I needed them...for something. Anything! And the kids needed new buckets for trick or treating so it was the perfect match.

Drawstring Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial

You will need:

2 pieces of cotton fabric for eachÂ bag (21"h x15" w)**

2 strips cotton fabric for the drawstrings (2"x32")

thread

pins

scissors

measuring tape

sewing machine

iron

**if you want a contrasting band, cut your bag fabric 15x15 and a piece that is 15x6" for the band. Sew together. Repeat for other side of bag.

Begin with your drawstring strips of fabric (2"x32"). Fold in half and press.

Open and bring one side to the center fold. Press all the way down the strip.

Repeat on other side, bringing side to center fold and pressing.

Fold in half and press. It should look like a strip of bias tape now.

Stitch along each strip using ⅛" seam allowance. Set drawstrings aside.

With right sides together, pin 5" from the top on both sides of the bag (see 2nd photo).

Begin at the pin and stitch all the way around (side, bottom, and other side) until you reach the pin on the other side of the bag. Â Clip corners. Use a ⅝" Â seam allowance.

Your bag will have 5" flaps like this (see 4th photo)

These flaps allow the bag to open wider. You need to hem them so that they do not fray.

To do this, fold each side over ¼" then over another ¼". Press and pin. Repeat for the other side.

It should look like this. (see 3rd photo above) The bottoms won't form a perfect square, it will come to a point like a "v".

Begin at the top and stitch down one side to the "v" then up the other side. Hem the other side of the bag as well.

I hope that made sense. My photos are a little washed out, I realize now. Basically, just make sure the sides are hemmed somehow to avoid fraying. Serging or zig zagging works too.

Now that the side flaps are hemmed you need to hem the top of the bag to create a casing for the drawstring to slide through. Fold over ¼" press. Fold over 1" and press. Repeat for the other side.

Stitch, close to the edge. Repeat on other side.

Attach a safety pin to the end of one of your drawstrings and slide through casing. Repeat with other drawstring on the other side of the top of the bag.

Almost done! You will now have two drawstrings coming out each end. Tie them together. Repeat on other side. Trim end.

That's it! Scrunch to close, loosen to open. Perfect for keeping candy safe, even if the bag gets full (heaven forbid!...we will stop trick or treating before that happens.)

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Doughnuts

October 22, 2014 By Brandy 2 Comments

So I kind of have a weakness for doughnuts.Â Especially the raised ones in crumb or glazed. There is a local shop in Yuba City that has THE BEST doughnuts and the kids are always excited when we pull into the parking lot because they know that they will get to choose one out for themselves.

They even helped pick out some for my birthday cake back in the spring. It was my favorite cake to date.

I haven't always been a fan of cake doughnuts. They aren't as fluffy or soft, but I do like the Old Fashioned Sour Cream doughnuts. Even though they aren't raised, they still seem to melt in your mouth.

My kids love the doughnut holes that come when I make these kind.

They are easy to make and don't take a lot of time. You can chill the dough for an hour, or leave it all afternoon until you have time to fry them up.

Just be sure to have a working thermometer for your oil. Mine broke so I used one that only went to 225 degrees and I had to kind of guess when I thought it was 325 degrees. I didn't do so well and burned the first 3 doughnuts. After that they turned out perfectly. Â I was afraid I wouldn't have enough for everyone to have one after dinner since I didn't get a full batch that turned out. Â Then I remembered that Ruby never eats her dinner so I figured the rest of us were good.

Did she end up eating her dinner that night? Nope. Two year olds...

I used a recipe that I found on Completely Delicious. The only modification I did was to omit cake flour and substitute all purpose (using the corn starch substitution at the end of this post).

Here are two more doughnut recipes that I love!

Apple Cider Doughnuts

Sunday Evening Dougnuts

DIY Felt Bows for Headbands and Crafts

October 20, 2014 By Brandy Leave a Comment

DIY felt bows for accessories and crafts. These bows are darling on headbands and hair clips! A no-sew craft with a free template.

You might also like our felt nesting boxes or felt bookmarks!

My girls love their hair accessories! They are "girlie girls" in every sense of the phrase. Glitter, pink, flowers, princesses. My favorite hair accessories are bows. Tiny classic bows. I have no talent, whatsoever, in styling my daughter's hair. I brush it out and put it in a ponytail, pigtails, or a little clip.

Today I'm sharing a super quick tutorial for DIY felt bow headbands. I even took it up a notch and made glitter bows! You can make a rainbow of colors in a matter of minutes. They are perfect to add to a headband or clip.

DIY Felt Bow Tutorial for Headband

Supplies

felt scraps
printable template
hot glue
craft spray adhesive
fine glitter
headband

Cut out your felt pieces using the template. Bring the sides to the center and hot glue in place.

Glue that section to the banner-shaped section.

Wrap with the small rectangle piece of felt and glue in the back to secure.

Apply a light coat of spray adhesive.

Sprinkle with fine craft glitter.

Attach to a headband or hair clip!

Simple is good. With 4 little ones to get ready and out the door I have to keep our morning routine quick and easy.

Printable Halloween Jokes To Make Lunchtime Fun

October 19, 2014 By Brandy 18 Comments

Printable Halloween jokes to cut and tuck inside a lunch box in October. What do birds do on Halloween? THEY GO TRICK OR TWEETING! Also, a collection of fun Halloween lunch ideas for kids.

My kids like notes and jokes in their lunch boxes and I like putting them in there (when I remember to!) so it works out great. My mom used to add little notes to our school lunches back before we had computers or Pinterest. She's always talking about how I'm so creative and such a fun mom, but honestly, I don't know how I'd do it without all of these bits of help. Our OG moms who were creative before Pinterest deserve the real credit. She'd cut out pieces of construction paper and hand write a little note on them. She'd usually draw some sort of little animal or character on it as well. The funny thing is, I STILL have some of those notes in my keepsake box!

As much as I admire our moms who were awesome before the digital age, I DO live in the digital age and there is no shame in taking a few shortcuts. And if I'm going to go to the effort of creating a printable sheet of lunch box jokes for my kids, you can bet that I am going to share it with other moms. I put together some Halloween-themed lunch box notes that are ready to print and cut for your child's lunch. Easy as that.

Printable Halloween Jokes To Make Lunchtime Fun

Where does a ghost go on a Saturday night? ANYWHERE HE CAN BOOGIE!

To keep things simple, print out a bunch of jokes at the same time. Here is a collection of lunch box jokes that you can use all year long. Cut them out and keep them in a container in your silverware drawer, or any drawer in your kitchen. Then they are ready to go when you make lunches!

Printable Halloween Lunch Box Jokes (print here)

What do witches put in their hair? SCARE SPRAY!

Looking for more Halloween lunch box fun?

I've got you covered with three more ideas for busy moms.

Here's another post with even more Halloween notes AND a cute mummy idea for any applesauce pouch, juice box, or yogurt pouch. These can be made ahead of time in batches and are great for class parties. So fun to pass out to kids with the printable Halloween jokes.

Or how about these darling donut containers? You can even fill them with popcorn for a fun Halloween snack! Don't forget to attach one of the printable Halloween jokes to the front or tie on with a ribbon! We've made these in Easter and Christmas designs too!

These vampire donuts are so easy to make. Simply add a pair of fangs. They are one of my kids' favorite Halloween treats, and a great excuse to swing by Krispy Kreme (as if we need an excuse)

I'm also loving these 13 easy Halloween lunch ideas from Momables.

Simple DIY Costumes for Kids for Halloween & Pretend Play

October 7, 2014 By Brandy Leave a Comment

A collection of simple diy costumes for kids. Easy ideas to add to a dress up box for imaginative play or Halloween! Butterfly, Gru (Despicable Me) Mermaid tails, Poodle Skirts, Doc Mc Stuffins and MORE!

I love diy costumes for kids that can double as dress up clothes after Halloween. Ones that are simple to make and made from sturdy fabrics. I like coming up with homemade costumes, but don't always want to sew the entire thing so hereÂ are some darling costumes that fit the bill. Regular clothes that can be found in your child's closet or purchased to add to their school clothes this year with simple homemade pieces mixed in.

Simple DIY Costumes for Kids for Halloween & Pretend Play

Easy Throw Together Gru Costume

Gru was probably the easiest costume I've ever come up with! And it was a HIT last year. Kids stopped him all night to tell him they liked his costume! He wore a pair of black jeans, a suit jacket with a grey shirt underneath. The scarf is one I've had since I was in high school. Glad I kept it! And of course, the minion. I ordered that from ebay and it came just in the nick of time! I've painstakingly sewed costumes for my kids over the years, but this simple costume (no-sew) is one of my favorites.

Poodle Skirt from Make It and Love It

I remember being a 50s girl several years for Halloween when I was a kid. Â A simple circle skirt and you are set! Ashley from Make It and Love It shows you how!

Pioneer Costumes for Kids

Links to easy tutorials for pioneer dresses, hats, and aprons!

Felt Butterfly Costume

This is actually what Kaylee and Ruby are going to do for Halloween this year! Ruby requested a pink one and Kaylee wants to be a Monarch butterfly. I may sew the felt on instead of gluing, but I can see my little girls dancing and playing with these costumes for months to come!

Bee Costume

Simple, basic, and inexpensive. The perfect Halloween costume for any age. I love bumble bee costumes!

DIY Elsa and Anna Aprons

I'm sure there are a million little girls going as the sister from Frozen this year and lots of tutorials for how to make their costumes, but this one is probably the easiest. These princess aprons are simple to make and require basic sewing skills. No sleeves, buttons, zippers or snaps. Just add a shirt and leggings underneath! And after Halloween, throw them in the costume box or keep in the kitchen to use for baking and projects. Since they are made from sturdy cotton, they wash up beautifully! For 6 other princess variations, click here! (Belle, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella's work apron and Cinderella's gown and Snow White!)

Toothless Dragon Costume

Vanessa, from Tried and True, shares how to make a darling dragon costume out of a sweat suit! Awesome.

Little Red Riding Hood

Here is another costume that you can make with felt. Everything else can be pulled from clothing your little girl already has! This was Kaylee's costume when she was 3 years old. She wore a polka dot dress and red cardigan and I made her a simple cape out of felt that took about 30 minutes. She still has the cape and wears it all the time! I used a pattern (Simplicity #5927) , but here is a free tutorial that you can use!

DIY Mermaid Tail

I've had this pinned for quite awhile and keep meaning to make them for my girls! What little girl wouldn't want one of these? ikat bag has created a wonderfully easy to follow tutorial that I can't wait to try. Perfect to throw over some leggings and add a long sleeved white shirt for Halloween.

Doc McStuffins

Here is another no-sew costume using regular clothing items. She borrowed Aaron's church shirt for a lab coat and the shirt, skirt and leggings came from Old Navy. All items that were added to her school wardrobe after Halloween.

Autumn Woods Baby Quilt

October 1, 2014 By Brandy 10 Comments

I made this baby quilt for my brother and sister in law who are expecting their first baby! A baby girl! They've been waiting a long time and we are so happy for them.

My sister-in-law loves warm colors and so I went a bit non-traditional with this quilt and matched it to the hues in their home. I used the Autumn Woods collection (Kate and Birdie for Moda) for the main fabric colors and some scrap ivory and orange polka dot fabric I had on hand.

My FAVORITE part of the process is pulling the fresh quilt out of the dryer. It goes in looking nice and comes out looking GREAT. Nice and crinkly. I love that! It also hides minor mistakes and areas where the fabric may have puckered a little bit, so I appreciate that crinkling!

It isn't perfect, but I am happy with how it turned out and can already imagine baby Audrey having lots of tummy time on this quilt. I hope she loves it!

Minnie Mouse Slumber Party!

September 29, 2014 By Brandy 1 Comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

My girls are always wanting to throw slumber parties. If they get to sleep someplace other than their own bed it is a "slumber party!". Â I am not a fan of real slumber parties (because slumbering never happens) and so we decided to throw our own themed slumber party. A sister's slumber party! Just Kaylee, Ruby, and their stuffed animals.

The kids had a minimum day from school so the party started in the afternoon and ended with a pillow fight and lights out. It was the perfect slumber party for an almost 3 year old and a 6 year old. They loved it.

Let me take you through the highlights of their fun afternoon/evening...

I stopped by Walmart the night before to get all of the supplies that we would need. It was one of those kid-free, stress-free trips in the evening and I really enjoyed picking out every detail for my little girls!

The girls needed bedding for their bunk beds so I went ahead and purchased it now and put it on their beds after the slumber party. Â There was a nice selection of #JuniorCelebrates Disney Junior bedding to choose from. Minnie Mouse was the clear choice since both girls adore her...and I do too. A comforter for Kaylee's twin bed and a Minnie fleece for Ruby's. As much as I try to avoid character items, I knew they would absolutely adore their new bedding and decided to indulge them while they are still into things like this.

The next stop was the American Greetings party aisle to get plates, napkins, and cups.

Two Minnie dolls ($5 each!), two yards of fleece fabric (of course some sewing projects came from all of this!) and a fun Minnie Mouse Boutique set found their way into my cart and I headed to the checkout line...which was non existent since it was later in the evening. I love that.

When Kaylee came home from school they changed into their pjs and the festivities began!

They got ready by styling each others hair and primping their Minnie dolls. This little boutique set was an absolute HIT!

We decided that their dolls needed some bedding too and so we made some quick sleeping bags for them, and I made each girl a new 3 Step Fleece Pillowcase to match.

Minnie looks so cozy doesn't she?

And now for the GAMES! The girls took turns hiding their Minnie dolls for the other one to find. Then they played hide and seek and "Don't Eat Pete!"

Don't Eat Pete is always a favorite over here. Who wouldn't want to sit there and eat candy...and call it a game!?

I created this printable to use for our Minnie Mouse edition of Don't Eat Pete. You can download a copy here.

We kept the food very simple. Pancakes and milk.

Minnie Mouse shaped (although they pointed out that they needed a bow) pancakes, drizzled in maple syrup. The plates, napkins, and cups were so pretty and feminine. Kaylee is excited to get some of the extra napkins in her lunch box this week.

And last, but not least, bedding!

The girls loved their new bedding and since Kaylee's comforter was a twin/full size, it was large enough for both to sleep under. Â And their pillowcases (and Minnie Doll sleeping bags) were cozy and soft. Perfect to snuggle up against.

We had a pillow fight and they watched an episode of a favorite show (IN THEIR ROOM, that never happens!) and it was "lights out". Â There was much more giggling and chatting that night than usual, but they had a great time and fell asleep by 9:15 pm.

THAT'S my kind of slumber party!

Thank you #CollectiveBias for sponsoring our creativity!

"In All Things Give Thanks" Chalkboard Printable

September 24, 2014 By Brandy 7 Comments

The first day of fall came and went and while things here in our neck of the woods look the same (dry and dead), my backyard is showing glimpses of fall. Our Jack-Be-Little gourds are done and ready to pick. The girls have been having fun adding them to their own fall decor. You can catch a glimpse of some of Kaylee's fall decorations here.

They are so bright and cheerful and got me in the mood to do some decorating myself.

I created this simple fall printable to display in our home and I would love to share it with you too!

You can download an 8x10 copy here! Every printer is different, but I've noticed that when borders are turned off Â that I get a true 8x10 print. Happy Fall!