H is for Harrison

Hey there friend!


My last post was brought to you by the letter C -  for baby Caiden. 
I sure don't want baby Harrison to feel left out. Especially with the two of them being cousins and all. 

Sooooo ........

This post is brought to you by the letter - H

H is for Harrison.
~ Harrison Scott Larson ~

I've known his daddy, Seth, since he was a toddler.
And just like the whole Larson family,
Seth has a special place in my heart.

A few months ago, while I was at Hobby Lobby some pretty adorable fabric spoke to me. Actually, since this was my first ever time at Hobby Lobby nearly everything was speaking to me. Love that place!

That day in June it happened like this -
I was minding my own business and looking for fabrics for a pillow and maybe to cover the chairs on the back porch.  As I came around a corner, all of a sudden, I looked down and there were Jungle Babies peeking at me! It was love at first sight! Baby monkeys {he's my favorite}, baby lions, baby giraffes and friends. 

I had a feeling that this was it. This was the fabric meant for Harrison's quilt.

The coordinating striped fabric was a no brainer. I had to get some of that, too. But, I wasn't too sure about which fabric for the backing. {more on that later}

I knew I already had some solid greens, in various shades, left over from other projects to add to the quilt.

For the binding I would use the same blueish/greenish fabric I had used for the binding on Caiden's quilt.

Funny thing about some fabrics is that even though C's quilt and H's quilt are such different patterns and color schemes it looks great on both. Yay!

 Here is Harrison's quilt! Cute and so boyish. 

Hopefully, he'll snuggle with it and use it for lots of nap times and many years to come. 

 Top.... bottom.... left.... right.....

....which ever way Harrison looks there are some cute faces smiling at him. 

For the actual quilting, I used a wavy stitch (instead of a straight stitch). It added a nice touch.
 

Peek-a-boo!   

I admit that I'm usually not too keen on animal prints. 

Not for my clothing or in my quilting. 

Thanks to my cuz who was with me that day -
she wanted to know, "Why not get the giraffe print, too?"
I decided to give it a try.

So glad I did. It's prefect for the quilt's back!

And of course I had to make a tote bag to match.

Those jungle babies are just too cute!

The inside is lined ...

... there they are peeking out at you!

So friend there you have it. The letter H with the cutest jungle babies ever. 

Do you know of any baby quilts and totes that need to be made? 

I still have 24 more letters to use. *wink*

Lots of love, thoughts and planning are put into the designing and making of each baby quilt. During the whole process I always pray for the baby and his/her mommy and daddy.

Best wishes to Seth and Monica! 

Praying for God's blessings on you and your sweet baby boy as you now are a family of three!

Love ya, 

C is for Caiden

Hello there friend!

I've been dying to share with you two of my favorite things to create -
a quilted baby blanket with a coordinated and monogrammed tote.

{creating and designing decorative pillows come in a close third}

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

This post is brought to you by the letter - C

 C  is for Caiden.

Caiden Jack Clark to be exact.
He is a precious newborn babe.
{I wish I had a picture of him to share with you}

The baby shower for his sweet mommy was two weeks ago.
Three days later Caiden made his appearance. Yay!
Mommy and baby (and daddy) are all doing fine.
I've know Summer Lynn (aka Caiden's Mommy) since she was in Kindergarten.

Months ago, when I heard the news from her over-the-moon thrilled mom that she was expecting, I knew I wanted to make a quilt.
Summer and her whole family are very special to us.

In fact, I knew exactly which fabric panel I wanted to use. I'd seen it a few months prior and well.... I sure was glad when I heard she was having a boy. 

Too cute! Perfect for a baby boy! But, not too babyish so that he can use it as a toddler, too.

 Vroom!!!

The quilt's back with happy polka dots.
{I always think of  polka dots as being happy}

The canvas tote (bought at Joann's) which I decorated.......

 ........ and added a lining in pretty cotton fabric.



All set for the baby shower....

.... with some tissue paper and curly ribbon it's a gift bag with the coordinating quilt inside.
Pretty clever, not to mention cute, don't ya think?

So friend, what do you think?

I love these quilt and tote combos so much that I think if I ever did find the time for my etsy shop these would be "my thing".   Sigh.... maybe some day that dream will come true.

For now I'll enjoy making them and give them as gifts. In fact, I have another quilt/tote set in the making for another sweet baby that's due to make his appearance early this fall. *wink* 

Love ya!

Bathroom Decorating on a Dime

Hi friend!

I recently took some time off from quilting. Sometimes I need to take a little break. But, I can't seem to go very long without giving in to the creative side of me. So, while I didn't make any quilts, I did sew and create a few things for our master bath.

A mini makeover in that room was really over due.

We've had the same bathroom decor for over 20 years, which we've used in two different homes. I really regret not having taken any "before" pictures. By the time I thought of it, there was no way I was gonna put everything back the way it was. Sorry, but you'll just need to use your imagination. 

Just picture this -

A dark green and white vertical striped shower curtain with a scalloped valance trimmed with pink and cranberry flowers. On the back of the toilet there was a crocheted doilie and a dark green plastic tissue box cover. A round ceramic bowl with cranberry and pink flowers painted on the side held fake plastic ivy plants and sat on the window sill.

OK? So do ya have that all kinda pictured in your mind? If no, than just think typical country bath circa 1980 - 1990. Yikes!

It was a bit of a chore trying to figure out what colors, patterns and style we wanted. Our taste in decor has changed a little over the years.

We needed whatever we chose to fit in with what can't be changed - the shower tiles, vanity and sink, toilet and floor tiles.

Plus there's the budget. Nothing too big or fancy and definitely nothing too pricey could be done.

Oh and not everything matches the same now like when we had the house built. Our toilet and sink/counter top are newer and white instead of gray. The shower tiles and tub are original and gray. A few tiles have a flower design in cranberry and white. Must say I loved that cranberry color back in the day, didn't I?

First, to go was the white window curtain with a crocheted lace trim that I actually still love. I just went ahead and hung it in the hall bath. The mini valance I had sewn a few years back for that bath was faded. So that was a win-win for both baths.

Next, step was figuring what if anything was going to look nice on the window sill.

Since I had a few dollars left over from Christmas I went on a hunt for the perfect thing.

And I think I found it -

It's metal with wooden handles and holds three little glass bottles. I got it and the flowers on sale for 40% off. I think it's oh so cute. OK - so maybe I still love a touch of a berry color.  

I even had a few dollars left to put towards a wooden tissue box cover. It wasn't on sale, but I still saved 40% by using a coupon.

I had looked online and most decorated tissue box covers were $25.00 and up. Plus the S&H fees. Nope not gonna pay that much to store snot rags.

So, I dressed up that little wooden box by using some fabric and stain that I already had. And that cute wooden star? It was maybe $.25. Total for this project was under $5.00. Yes! And score!

To save money, and because I love to sew, I made the little quilted mat that's under the tissue box cover. The surface on the back of this toilet is not flat. I wanted something to help keep the tissue box from slipping and falling into the toilet when I grabbed for a tissue. The mat seems to do the trick.

Another good deal was the gray fabric. By using coupons I only paid $6.50. It has kind of a basket weave pattern to it. I already had the navy blue fabric that has tiny white stars speckled all over it.

I used those same two fabrics to make a new window curtain and lined it in white. I just kinda figured the design as I went along. I'm pretty darn pleased with how it turned out. I may have even done a little happy dance after I hung it up.

Not sure why the wall color looks dark.... it's really "steam white". Oh well.


My favorite new thing is a wall plaque that I made.

It cost about a dollar for the fabric. That's it. I already had the frame.

I love this fabric!  It's real easy to write and stencil on. I had used it at Christmas to make a couple of pillows and loved how easy it was to work with.

If you look really close you can see the white thread I used to "hang" the stars from the g and the two y's. Kinda clever don't you think? 

We ended up buying a new shower curtain. I had thought of making one. However, the cost of a quality fabric didn't seem to give us much, if any, in way of savings. Plus, when I figured in the time it would take to make, it simply made more sense to buy one.

We went with a gray and white checked design that goes well with all the other gray and white in the room, but really gives an updated vibe. I'm sure I'll have this one for about another 20+ years. By that time I'll be in my mid to late seventies and probably won't care. Ha!

Oh yea! Looking at this picture I just remembered that I did purchase the metal hooks with white knobs. Again I used a coupon that gave me 20% off. The set came to only a little over $11.00. I felt it was a bit of a splurge, but the old $.99 white plastic rings were not gonna cut it. No way! And for under a dollar a piece? Good enough for me and I'm happy with the purchase. We did decide to stay with the white curtain rod. Silver would look nice, but isn't necessary when you're on a budget.

I still have towels (navy and gray) and a toilet seat cover (navy) to get. Maybe a rug in blues and grays for an added touch of color for under the sink area. As well as, a new toothbrush holder and soap dispenser. The old dark green ceramic ones will have to work for now. I'll get these last few items when I can find a sale and/or coupons.

It was fun coming up with a new design and seeing how much we could save by being creative, reusing things we already have and using coupons. 

And it's amazing what a few new touches can do to bring our out-of-the-eighties bathroom into 2014.