Big Bow Bookmark Tutorial

I was over at Make it & Love it again this week sharing a fun back to school tutorial.  I wanted to share it here to in case you missed it!

I made these cute bow bookmarks out of some scrap fabrics and you can whip them up in less than 30 minutes, my kind of project!

They are perfect for gifts for teachers or book lovers.  I am bringing a couple on my beach trip coming up, I am hoping to get a lot of reading in!

The simple project is a pretty fabric bow sewn to some elastic.  The elastic holds your page and the bow makes your book look cute :)  You can find the whole tutorial to make your own bookmarks HERE!

Handmade for Baby

A few weeks ago this book showed up in my mailbox!

It is a really cute book with 25 projects to sew or make for baby.  It has projects for nursery decor all the way through projects for baby's first birthday.  And it is filled with inspirational photos to get you excited about sewing for baby.

All the projects have illustrations to walk you through making them, and they have instructions for sewing with a sewing machine or by hand.

As you flip though the book you might recognize this little girl...

I contributed two projects to the book, that party skirt Em is wearing and a chevron baby quilt.  It was so fun to see my sewing in a book!

If you are interested in checking out the book, you can find it on Amazon.

Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses

I am excited to be a part of the "Sew Pretty T-Shirt Dresses" blog tour, featuring finished projects and giveaways from Sweet Seams' latest book. 

The designers at NYC-based Sweet Seams have created a collection of 28 dresses that all start with a simple T-shirt. You can upcycle any T-shirt, maybe even an old favorite that doesn't quite have the same fit anymore or one that's stained near the hem.

I received the book in the mail at the perfect time too, my daughter has been growing like a weed and is in desperate need of some new summery dresses.

All the dresses in the book have directions for sewing dresses size S (2/3) to XL (7/8), but I found the directions were easily adapted to make a dress to fit my baby girl (who, by the way, turns 10 months old today...yay Emily!)
I decided to make the "Peachy Keen" dress for my daughter, I like the pleated sash on this dress.  

It is hard to find t-shirts for babies under 12 months so I started with a simple white onsie. The directions were easy to follow and the dress sewed up really quick.

The apple print on the dress is "Farmdale Orchard" by Alexander Henry and I used a coordinating solid and some pink grosgrain ribbon I had on hand for the sash.  

One neat thing about using a onsie to make the dress was I was able to sew the skirt on the dress and keep the bottom of the onsie intact. Instead of cutting off the bottom like you would with a t-shirt I just drew a line where I wanted the skirt to go, that way I could sew the skirt on straight. Now I don't have to search for a matching diaper cover when she wears the dress.

She was a good sport and braved the gloomy, wet day with me to show off her new dress.

You can check out the other stops on the blog tour listed below to see more projects from the book as well as book reviews and giveaways!

May 5  

Nouveau Stitch

Just Pure Lovely

The Crafty Princess Diaries  

May 6

Crafting A Green World  

Stitched by Crystal  

May 7

Prudent Baby

House of 34

May 8

Smashed Peas and Carrots

Simply Modern Mom

May 9

Marsha’s Spot

Sew Spoiled

May 10

Dollar Store Crafts

Only From Scratch

May 11

Wild Olive  

Positively Splendid   

May 12

On the Laundry Line   

Elegance and Elephants

May 13

Luvinthemommyhood

My Little Gems  

Sew Red Giveaway!

I was so excited when I received Sew Red in the mail earlier this week.  
It is a new sewing book written by Laura Zander and presented by Jimmy Beans Wool.  

Sew Red is a sewing book with a great cause, women's heart health awareness. Some of the profits from the sales of this book will be going to support The Heart Truth® and women's heart health education and research. 

As soon as I got the package in the mail I opened it and sat down to thumb through this book.  It is full of lovely, colorful photos and great sewing projects.

Celebrity designers, like Amy Butler, Ty Pennington, and Kaffe Fassett, have teamed up to provide both designs and tips for heart health.

This book has everything from quilts and pillows to bags and dresses.  And each project has easy to follow step by step directions and illustrations.
There are even full size pattern pieces in the back!

I love this stack of quilts!

And at the back of the book, they have some facts about heart disease and signs of heart disease to look out for.  

There are tips for heart healthy living and even some heart healthy recipes!

Would you like to check out this book?  Great! Cause I am giving one away!

HERE ARE THE RULES:

• To enter, leave a comment, that’s it!
• One entry per person.
• Open to readers in the US and Canada.
• Giveaway ends Thursday 2/28/13 at 11pm (Eastern Standard Time).
• A winner will be picked via random.org and announced on Friday 3/1/13.

If you don't have your email address in your profile, make sure you leave it in your comment so I can contact you if you win!