Forest Floor Blog Tour: Large pocket Boho skirt

Guess what?! Today is my day to showcase the beautiful Forest Floor fabrics by the lovely GoingHomeToRoost! I've been asked to join Bonnie's Blog Tour and I couldn't be more excited. I love all the beautiful fabrics she designs and Art Gallery Fabrics are incredibly soft. It's a match made in fabric heaven.

Anyway, onto the main course! I decided to test my hand at garment sewing and although I have a lot to learn, I kept it simple and am pleased with the results.

 

I didn't follow a pattern but instead used a skirt I had in my closet as a guide. It's just a simple gathered skirt, and the hardest (and by hard, I just mean time-consuming) part was the pockets. I thought about skipping them, but it just wouldn't be the same without it. And let's be honest here, we all need giant pockets to hold phones, keys, shells, rocks, twigs, the occasional bug and whatever else our toddlers qualifies as treasure.

Another downfall of sewing clothes for oneself is attempting pictures of them! If there's an arm missing, I took the pictures with a remote, if you can see both my arms, my four year-old was honing her mother-given photography skills. I was happy to have help and she was ecstatic to hold mama's big camera.

Large hem, large pockets, relaxed style. It's perfect for these hot summer days. If you're interested in viewing the Forest Floor collection, you can see it here. I love to buy most of my online fabrics from Llamafabrics on etsy because of the impeccable customer service, great prices and fast shipping. Bonnie's mother also sells fabrics here, although I've never ordered from her. If she's anything half as nice as Bonnie, I'm sure it would be a great experience. I used a yard for my skirt here, about a 25" cut but you would have to measure, add a few inches on each end for hems and elastic and work from there. The pockets are 7x8" with rounded corners on the bottoms. If anyone has any questions on how to make your own skirt, please let me know.

Also, do me a favor and continue on the tour! Check out all the past and future makers here. We work hard to make something pretty and inspiring all the while trying our best to showcase the designers gorgeous fabrics. Sue from needleinafabricstash posted yesterday, and Annika is up tomorrow! Cant wait to go peruse myself. I've got a little of this print left and I want some inspiration on what to make with it.

Happy making!
Cheri

Tinks Hexie Coaster: a tutorial

Are you guys ready to make some adorable hexagon coasters? I thought you might be, so let's get started!

 

Supplies:
Template
Fabric and coordinating fabric for backing
Fusible interfacing
Ribbon (optional)

With my template, I actually glued it onto thin cardboard and trimmed them to size. Now I have studier templates for use in future projects.

Step 1: Once you have your templates trimmed and ready, start cutting out all your front and back pieces using the 'fabric template', and your interfacing pieces using the 'interfacing template'.

Step 2: Iron an interfacing template onto the back of your front coaster fabric. Do this for however many coasters you've cut out. Leave the back pieces of fabric blank.

Step 3: This one is optional. Ive decided to embellish my coasters at this point with some hand-embroidery. Totally unnecessary, but completely adorable.

Step 4: Place the back and front pieces of your coaster together, right sides facing. Follow your interfacing as a template and stitch all around the coaster, leaving a 1.5"-2" opening on one side (I've made purple marks where my opening is).

Step 5: Trim the corners of your coaster and flip inside out. Push the corners out from the inside using a pencil or chopstick (or a fancy tool if you have one). Clip or pin the opening. I like to give it a good iron at this point to make sure it looks the way I want before finishing with a top stitch.

Step 6: Top stitch around the edge of your coaster on your machine.

Step 7: (Optional) Add a ribbon embellishment.

DONE! That's it, you've made a pretty coaster! (Or several....) Enjoy guys, and join me on Instagram to show off your creations. Just use hashtag #tinkshexiecoaster so I can see what you make! Thanks again and happy crafting!

xo, Tink

A Baby Take-Along Blankie

Since his sister has her own blankie (3, actually), I decided Levi needed his own to perhaps save myself from future battles of blankieism. This little blanket was simple and easy, and all the contrast and bright colors seem to keep an inquisitive baby's attention.

I started with some random placed 4" squares and just stitched them together for a patchwork look. Most of the fabrics are organic cotton which is nice and soft. I wanted the blanket to have a thinner feel for little fingers to grab, so I opted for one layer of flannel in between as a batting. A little X quilting through the blocks and I was ready to attach the back. I didn't want to do a binding on this particular blanket, so I quilted the top to the flannel and then sewed to the back piece (simple cream flannel), fronts facing each other. Then after I left a section unstitched, I turned the blanket inside out (or right side out!) and gave it a quick iron. Now it was time for my top stitch to finish the edges and close up that gap! 

Its simple, sweet and the perfect size (18" square) for a carseat blankie or a security blankie without being too overwhelming. 

Let me know if you have any questions and happy crafting!

xo - Cheri

A DIY nursery mobile, with a side of cute

Well, I finally got around to making this baby mobile that's been just a thought in my head for the last 6 months or so. And I have to say, it's kinda cute:

It was pretty simple. I've shot a photo of some of the supplies, but there are things missing. Like the branch I scavenged from the backyard and the yarn and hot glue I used to cover it. And to be honest, that step was so simple and the result was so beautiful that I'm actually tempted to cover multiple sticks in random colors of soft yarn and use them as home decor. I digress.

I bought some scrapbooking wood embellishments in nifty leaf and mushroom shapes. The drill was only necessary for some of the wood embellishments, if I was using them in the middle of the string and they needed holes in the top and the bottom. I used the smallest drill bit I could find and it worked really well. The fishing line worked great and I love that you can't see all the knots and strings. I added my own handmade pieces, like these DIY mushrooms and the painted wood disks.

The hedgehog was also a souvenir purchase from a day trip to NYC. I had just found out I was pregnant a couple of months earlier, and knew regardless of gender that I wanted to go with a woodland themed design. He finally found a home at the top of this sweet mobile. He seems happy there.

And there you have it. After tying together a few wooden embellishments and then tying those to the yarn-covered branch, it was ready to hang! Once I had all the supplies and really dove into the project, it didn't take long at all. The hardest part is the planning. That's it, enjoy, and thanks for visiting!

Into the woods: a nursery design

Well here it is. I've finally managed to put together a post about the new nursery! I honestly think nurseries may be my favorite decorating project. I love to concept and plan, and then buy all the quirky little details. Here it is, the 'nursery' side of the room:

 And here's the 'guest' side of the room. I spent several weeks in this bed getting adjusted to a newborns sleep pattern. Again.

Our task was fairly simple this time. Being our second baby, I knew exactly what I needed/wanted and what I could live without. First on the agenda, move the crib in. This wasn't as easy as it sounded since I needed to transition little E into a big-girl bed. Once she figured out the kind of freedom that came with an open-sided sleeping area, we were done for. It was a challenge but after a week or two we were adjusted.

Next I wanted a good quality rocker. The one I had with E was awkward and uncomfortable, and the wooden arms proved a danger to a thrashing doesn't-want-to-sleep-no-way child. So cushy and cozy it was. I was willing to spend money on this. In fact, it's the most expensive piece of furniture in the whole room. Maybe the whole house?

Then came the dresser. I wanted something small and simple (and maybe in need of some work/creative genius), but the husband talked me into something larger and more convenient, something that would grow with the boy and his needs. To be honest, I love it. Lots of drawers and space on top. Perfect.

The rest of the details came in bits and pieces. Finding something at a store, like the silver deer head, or making a custom pillow cover to match my desired color scheme. Stitched arrows, wooden arrows and an antique camera from a flea market.

Other things happened accidentally, like finding an adorable (inexpensive) crib sheet at Target that matched the decor or the soft blue end table I thrifted for $10. My favorite thing might just be the antique skis my mother gave me. With a little painters tape and craft paint, I added a pop of orange to one, then mounted it to the wall and added hooks for keeping baby outfits handy.

 

 To be perfectly honest, I love how everything turned out in this room. I had gathered a lot more items to put in the room, but as I went, I came to a point where I decided I liked the calm simplicity. And I stopped. It was perfect. And perfect for my little man.

Flea markets and antique shops are great places to find unique decor. Think about using items in different ways, like how I turned a couple of old cheese boxes into small shelves simply by mounting them to the wall. If you have any questions about items I used please let me know! Enjoy!

Hi, my name is Cheri, and I made two quilts.

There it is, quilt number two. Based on a woodland themed nursery that's going to be mostly neutral. Since we are expecting number two, I figured it would make sense to get this out of the way now. So three years from now there's limited fighting over the single quilt. I'm just ensuring an argument-free future by doing a little late-night sewing, that's all.

So here she is in all her glory:

DIY woodland tictactoe game: the finished product

Okay so I'm going to go a little backwards on this one. First I'll show you the project, then I'll break it down with tutorials on how to make each piece. Which works out great since I have a few to make for Christmas gifts.



I had this crazy idea pop into my head one day, and three days later I was finally able to get it out of my brain and into a tangible product. Sometimes creativity is a curse. I made the fox discs after some Target ornament inspiration, and the mushrooms were a design for the new nursery. Both were easy to make and I'll show you how in separate tutorials. The tictactoe board was a simple mini-quilt if you will, made up of 9 - 3.5" squares. Again, I'll do a separate tutorial for that as well.



For now you get to see how cute the end product is: