Gift basket

              I am expecting a new grandbaby in November, which got me thinking about
Miss Oakleigh's baby shower.

I thought I would share the gift basket I put together for her.

I included a bib, hat, receiving blankets, onsies, baby hangers, door hanger, powder, lotion, oil and wipes.

Not wanting those ugly labels to show, I made my own girly ones.

Close-up of matching tag.

The basket before wrapping.

The finished product...all wrapped and ready to go.

Never too soon...

Right Now Is the Time to Be Kind.
 You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reading in bed

Think Father's Day !

I made this a few years ago for my husband for his bedside.

It holds his favorite magazine, glasses, TV remote and more. 

The top slides between the mattress and box springs. The weight of the mattress will hold it in place. Only one problem - each time you change the sheets it falls off. To remedy that problem, I sewed Velcro to the top part that goes between the mattress and used sticky Velcro on the

box spring itself.

It works perfectly to hold it in place.

Is it obvious I married a fisherman?

Tutorials Galore !

Got a few hours.......

Seriously, you could spend hours here... lots of great tutorials.

Check out http://sew4home.com/

I will definitely be adding this site to my "fun places to visit".

Another thrift store frame

If you haven't noticed yet, I am into quick and easy projects. 

Here's another easy one. I was attracted to this frame because of the crackle paint and corrugated cardboard mat - not the picture in it.  After going through my scrap fabric and embroidery designs, I came up with this instead.

When I tire of this ..... I can easily change it out to something

 completely different.

Why not change it for the holidays.....

... a little row of snowmen for Christmas, hearts for Valentines, pumpkins, bunnies, etc.

Use your imagination.

Summer vacation

Ever wonder what to do with all those shells you picked up

 on your summer vacation ?

Why not display them.

These shells are from a trip to Longboat Key, Florida.

I downloaded a photo of our family taken at the beach into Printshop, included the name of the beach at the top and our names at the bottom of the photo. This idea can be adapted to any vacation. Maybe a collection of river rocks, matchbooks, restaurant stir sticks, key chains from different places, or just a variety of little trinkets collected from your trip.

Not going out of town this summer? Your kids can collect things from their local adventures such as: Concert, theater or museum tickets, interesting shaped rocks from the park, driftwood, photos etc.

Whatever you do.....

Have a safe and wonderful summer vacation!

Happy Mothers Day !

As children, we would ask my mother what she wanted for Mothers day.

She would say “Just one whole day of peace and quiet."

We used to laugh and say “No really, what do you really want?”

Now that I am a mother.....
I finally get it !

Wishing everyone a wonderful Mothers Day..... everyday.

Cherries Jubilee...

I purchase white restaurant tablecloths from Sam's Club for everyday use. These tablecloths wash really well and only require a little ironing.

In order for these tablecloths to fit my dining room table, I need to cut about 2 feet off the length - leaving me with plenty of leftover fabric to ponder over.

Oh, what to do....

napkins, sachets, dresser scarf, small pillows, or maybe just a little decorative dishtowel....

Pennie Pocket Swap

Recently I hosted a small swap using the Pennie Pocket pattern from

 http://www.thehappyzombie.com/blog/.

Since everyone who participated was somewhat new to sewing, I thought the Pennie Pocket was a perfect choice.

You can check out our finished projects below.

Made by Danise for Barbara

Made by Bonnie for Danise

Made by me (Lucy) for Bonnie

Made by Debbie for me (Lucy)

Made by Barbara for Debbie

Didn't everyone do a GREAT job?

Camera sleeve

Recognize these fabric scraps?

Yep, they are leftover from Oakleigh's advent calendar.

Since I had no pattern for the calendar I experimented with the size of the pockets. I originally cut long strips of fabric and added bias tape to the top of each row. After deciding how large I wanted each pocket, I then cut off the excess, leaving strips about 4 inches wide.

Several months later, while on vacation, I misplaced my camera case.

I keep this little camera in my purse and needed something to protect it from scratches.

I remembered those little leftover scraps and made myself a new camera case.

The fabric is pre-quilted so it worked perfectly.

                       

                              

Pillow or Plastic ?

I can't believe how easy this plastic bag holder was to make. 

The flower design I purchased on sale for $.99 this week from

Embroidery Library.

Truth be known.......

This did not start out as a plastic bag holder. I purchased this home decor fabric to make pillows for my porch rockers.  After stitching the design onto the fabric, I realized it was not the look I wanted. Not wanting to waste the fabric and design, I decided to make this plastic bag holder instead.

 Even though I use market totes when I grocery shop, somehow I still seem to end up with a few plastic bags.