Blog - TaylorMade

Built in Bunkbeds

September 24, 2017 By Taylor 9 Comments

It’s room reveal day! I have been waiting for this post for almost a year so please excuse the one million photos :) I’m just so excited for the boy’s new built in bunkbeds!!

When we moved into our house the boys decided they wanted to share a room but I wasn’t sure how long that would last. So, I found some (temporary) red wicker headboards on craigslist and we just attached them to a metal bed frame and that worked for a few years. Last year around this time I realized that the boys still love sharing a room and that they were getting a little too “strong” for flimsy headboards attached to a cheap metal bad frame via zip tie haha! I started researching bunkbeds but my husband is the type who doesn’t think anything is sturdy enough so he said he should build them… umm ok! Here is the before:

We repainted their room to match the rest of the house because I just can’t get sick of this color. It’s Colonnade Grey by Sherwin Williams and it is in every other room but two in the entire house! It is considered a greige but its definitely on the grey side with just a little warm hint.

I found several inspiration bunk beds on Pinterest and pinned those HERE. I showed Bryan a few of the photos and we took things we liked about several of them and added some things that were our own too. Bryan started with the frame and had to finish that part quickly because the boys needed to actually sleep in there haha! We did it over the summer so they crashed on the couch for about a week or so!

I know I have bragged on my husband in the past for his amazing woodworking skills but these are unreal! The house could blow over but these would still be standing ha! They are attached the whole way to the wall and built from floor to ceiling. My favorite things… the built in shelves in the bottom bunk and the mini staircase! There is also a pull out trundle.

I will link all sources at the end of the post but I found the flag from Amazon and this metal grey bookshelf is from IKEA. I was trying to go boyish… but more of a grown up boy. My kids are 6 and 8 right now which is kind of a weird in between stage. Some things are way too “baby” for them and that just wouldn’t be cool now would it :) I also don’t want to rush them into an adult room so I hope this is a happy middle ground.

With the room remodel we got them Beddy’s Bedding. If you have bunk beds you pretty much need this bedding! It’s kind of like a sleeping bag, a comforter and a fitted sheet had a baby! The entire thing zips up and fits around the mattress so in the morning when it’s time to make the bed all they have to do is zip up the sides. We went with the “simply white” for a few reasons. Firstly, I love everything white because it looks clean and I can bleach it. Secondly, Beddy’s only option at the time for all cotton was the white. Most of the interiors are minky, which sounds super cozy but just too warm for us down here in Houston. I think they now make a grey option for the cotton interior too. I was a little nervous about so much white but I’m actually so happy about it. Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend them for bunk beds or even just for kids learning to make the bed. The quality is amazing, the are so soft and have a great weight to them (and I’m picky about that :). They boys love them and so do I…. win/win.

When Bryan finished these and I went to the top bunk the first time I was actually a little scared of how high this thing is. My oldest is on top and the railing is very high so it would be impossible to fall out, which makes my nervous moms side feel better. We still need to move the fan, it comes about a foot away from the edge of the bed which is just a little close for comfort but it is so cozy up there!

On the opposite side of the bed they have their dresser also from IKEA. This is also where the pet hermit crabs live :) ! We went to Florida this summer and what trip to Florida is complete without a hermit crab souvenir?!

I love these posters I found from GroopDealz (about a year ago)! They were so affordable and the colors are perfect, I found the frames from where else??… amazon.

The boys use the corner basket for extra blankets (and tent building :) The plant hangers are from amazon and we had to do faux plants in there because let’s be honest… between two little humans and four hermit crabs my “living thing” quote is maxed out in the room! I found this fun splatter fabric from IKEA and just used hot glue to attach some green pom pom trim.

If you know me you know I don’t really do neutrals but for some reason I just kept buying black and white for this room… what is happening to me?! Love these buffalo check pillows I found on Amazon. The graphic word pillows are from Target.

I found the handles for the trundle on Amazon. I just love the trundle, can’t wait for boy sleepover fun to happen in there :)

To say they boys are obsessed is an understatement. Bryan truly built an amazing piece of furniture and I’m sure the boys will make amazing memories in here! I am going to link as many things as I can remember at the end of this post but let me know if you have any questions!

Sources:

Bedding- Beddy’s (in Simply White)

Rug- Amazon

Grey Metal Shelf and Dresser- IKEA

Flag- Amazon

Curtains- IKEA Fabric with Green Pom Pom Trim

Sting Lights- Target

Plant Hangers: Amazon

Pillows: Amazon and Target

White Frames: Amazon

DIY Baby Gift Set

September 14, 2017 By Taylor 1 Comment

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite sewing projects ever… baby gifts! I love short projects so burp cloths and embellished onesies are the best! My sister just had a baby but she didn’t find out the gender, so all of her clothes were pretty neutral. My niece needed some girly stuff quickly because a girl can’t go too long without a bow :) I also made her some embellished onesies and burp cloths. Look at this sweet girl! She is so happy to be wearing a bow hehe!

It’s no secret that burp cloths are my all time favorite thing to sew for babies… they are so quick but so much cuter than a plain ole’ white burp cloth! I use these cloth diapers HERE for the burp cloths. Then I just use scrap fabric for the center. I sew a hem down both sides of the center and just serge the ends. I wash and press everything before sewing because those cloth diapers really shrink up after the first wash! I usually add a little monogram or name to a few of them… who doesn’t love seeing their new baby name on everything right haha?!

Next I had to make her a few onesies. I have shared this same project a few times (HERE and HERE) and there are tons of ways to embellish onesies, each one is different. You can use colorful onesies (you know the kind with the slightly cheesy embroidered saying on them) or a pack of white onesies. Then I just sew fabric directly on top. If it is a floral fabric I cut around the patten… kind of abstract. I love to do circles, hearts, stars and cars. And I love the ruffled bib look… I monogrammed this one for my niece but I have also just done a single letter in the center.

Lastly I threw in some bows. For the fabric and ribbon bows I just hot glued the bow to fold over elastic. And for the knit bow I literally just sewed a piece of knit fabric together right sides together, flipped it, closed the seam and tied it together! I love that style because you can untie and retie as they grow! I know I would love a little gift like this so hopefully my niece does too! PS… How cute is her room?! Love the peek of her BABY QUILT I made her on the glider!

Triangle Baby Quilt

September 7, 2017 By Taylor 2 Comments

Guess what… I have a new job title. I am an AUNT!!! I’m new to the job, but just to make sure I’m the best Aunt around I started with a quilt, because you can never go wrong with a quilt!

My sister didn’t want to find out the gender of her baby so I had to keep the quilt gender neutral. To me that just means “all the colors” haha! She also casually mentioned that she liked the triangle quilt I made for my friend’s baby a few years ago HERE. Triangles in solids are easy but I wanted to make it a little different.

Instead of equilateral triangles I measured out 6″ squares and cut them in half down the diagonal. I chose 18 colors of Kona Cotton and bought 1/2 yard in each color. That was way overkill because I have tons of fabric left over and could probably make 5 more quilts just like this haha! I think thats a good problem to have :) Then I made a huge stack of triangles in random order and sewed them back together down the diagonal to form 6″ squares again. I did use a 1/4″ seam allowance for that so the square was a little smaller. I just made sure not to have two of the same color touch.

Then after I had 6 (ish) inch squares I just arranged them in rows. I didn’t want a pattern so again I laid it out randomly trying not to let any of the same color touch. I did 11 squares by 11 squares. It’s a pretty big quilt, almost lap size for the couch. It ended up 60″ x 60″ which I love! I wanted something a little bigger because she had so many swaddles and smaller blankets. This way they can cuddle together or she can lay it out on the ground for playing!

For the back I wanted something still gender neutral and I also wanted something with animals. Her nursery has a subtle animal theme going on and I wanted to tie it in. I had it narrowed down to a few then found the Sloths by Dear Stella. It couldn’t be more prefect! HERE is the link to the sloth fabric.

Lastly I just quilted the whole thing diagonally down the center of each row. This is the second quilt I have finished that I used spray basting and I am OBSESSED… Totally hooked, I can never go back haha! I use this one HERE; love love love it!! That brings my 100% finished by me quilt total to 10… I also have 5 quilt tops that are done, sitting in a basket but we don’t need to talk about those now do we ;)

Adorable Girl Clothing (found on Amazon)

August 22, 2017 By Taylor 9 Comments

Hi Friends. Last time I posted about all of our adorable (and affordable) little girl clothing from Amazon it was a big hit. (Find it HERE) I still get lots of questions about the clothes I have found for Bee on Amazon so I thought I would share another installment haha… call this Part 2! I am an Amazon junkie for just about everything but when I found adorable little girls clothing I was beyond excited… Prime saves lives y’all haha! This is not sponsored (I did use affiliate links) but honestly I was just super excited to find all of these cute outfits and thought I would share so you other moms also do not have to leave your house haha :) Some of these things “we” actually own and wear… like these:

Love this cold shoulder dress for toddlers! Bee has worn it a few times, I love that it can be dressy or casual.

Bee wore this on her birthday… the quality is great… and I can’t handle the cuteness!

Bee also has both of these… you know I can’t resist a good floral dress. There are precious buttons on the back too. And the copper pinafore… I can’t. We even have an oversized blow that matches perfectly, could be a first day of school outfit?

I have almost all of this on order… most of these brands we have ordered from, and it holds up really well. Bee had a height growth spurt this summer which just means that now all of her dresses are shirts :) Yay for girls clothing haha. Speaking of cold shoulder and pinafores…

I ADORE this!!! First of all, why doesn’t it come in my size?? Second of all how will I choose which color because there are three options and lastly it is under $12! I might need all the colors :)

Give me all the pinafores! All of them. The first two only go up to a size 3 and 4. Sadly Bee can’t order those so someone is going to have to do it for her haha!

Bee has these dresses in other patterns from this same company. They have held up perfectly but Bee needs a longer size so she clearly needs more.

I am going to try out these skirts. They have shorties built into them which is just about the best invention EVER. The bug skirt might be the cutest skirt I’ve seen.

Love love love these. Bee has the brown ones and there are perfect for winter in Texas. $12 for six sets.. amazing!

Speaking of winter… it might be a few months away but I should probably stock up on a few of these too. I love the dinosaur option for girls… sisters of brothers everywhere rejoice!

Who knew Amazon had so many cute clothes?! I might never need to go to the mall again haha :) Let me know if you have any questions! Happy Shopping!! :)

Weekend Style Blog Tour

July 6, 2017 By Taylor 3 Comments

Happy Friday! I am the last (but hopefully not least) stop on the Sew Caroline Weekend Style Blog Tour! Caroline is one of my favorite sewing friends so I was so excited to check out her new book, Weekend Style. It is filled with casual, comfortable women’s clothing patterns as well as bags and accessories. I have about half of the patterns on my to-sew list now! I am obsessed with tanks so I had to add another one to my closet. I sewed up the “Button Up Tank”.

I love this pattern because it looks really fancy but it’s not hard haha! The best kind! Just check out the back… I told you it looks fancy :)

I thought about doing this top in a solid fabric but then I thought who would I be if I EVER used a solid?? So I went with my traditional loud and bright pattern. I used Caroline’s fabric Block Festival from her Happy Home Fabric Collection with Art Gallery. It’s fun and quirky and perfect for me!

I secretly love making button holes on my machine. Lucky for me this pattern has 6 buttons! Also the finishing on the neckline and arms… my fave.

Weekend Style includes 15 patterns, a CD with the printable PDF’s and also includes info about choosing fabrics, needles and how to work your way around PDF patterns! Overall… you need this book.

Be sure to check our the rest of the Blog Tour HERE, Thanks for having me Caroline!

Big Girl Bedroom

May 7, 2017 By Taylor 4 Comments

I can’t believe I’m writing a post about a big girl bedroom! Feels like just yesterday I was posting about a Nursery and now here we are :) A lot of things are the same… gallery wall, most of the same furniture, rug… but yay for a new big girl bed!

This bed has a story too! I will save the story for the next post… the one where I write about how we restored the bed :) But trust me it’s a good story and the bed is now considered a family heirloom.

I had a little trouble with the layout of the new room once the bed was in here. I decided to keep the toy storage and the dresser on this wall so it made sense to keep the gallery wall the same. Not too sure about this rug in here now, it made much more sense in her nursery but I will keep it until I find something perfect.

I used the rolling cart (IKEA) to create a little book nook with her chair. Three years later and The Dot Wall is holing up perfectly! The wall art is from Hobby Lobby and Minted HERE.

This bedding. It’s basically my favorite thing… ever. It is from Biscuit in Houston and just love it so much haha! The big pillow is also Biscuit, and my friend monogrammed it :) Middle pillow is Wren and Rumor and the small pillow is Anna Joy French.

The Bee’s Farmers Market sign was painted by my sister @HandwrittenJane for Bee’s 2nd Birthday party and I couldn’t dream of throwing it away haha!

I played musical curtains in the house… moved the nursery curtains to the living room, living room went to the Playroom, these are new and I love them! They are from Overstock. I added a flower crown to one of her new animal friends on both sides of the windows. The unicorn is from Target and the Flamingo is from Hobby Lobby.

Overall I love how it turned out! It’s a little whimsical and eclectic but also a little classic, I’m actually a little jealous of it :) Thankfully I know where she lives!

Playroom Reveal

March 27, 2017 By Taylor 3 Comments

It’s finally here! Well… I finished this room back in December but the BLOG POST for the Playroom Reveal is finally here haha, Hooray!

We’ve played some musical chairs in our house recently. Last fall the boys finally wore us down about bunk beds and Bryan started on those. Then just a few weeks ago Bee climbed out of her crib and got a “big girl room”. You know how parenting is… right when you get comfortable in the stage you are in – it changes. The “playroom” in our house is just an extra bedroom (because I use the formal living as my craft room) and they boys share a bedroom. So, it was the home to all of the boy’s toys. But the boys are in a new phase where they are either in the backyard, with friends, at sports or playing on the iPad. I looked around and realized they are kind of over the matchbox and train days. They still love legos but those are in a trunk in their bedroom.

But… guess who is entering the toy phase?! Little sister :) Her room was bursting the seams with dolls and books and pretend food. It was time for a switch (which always makes me happy haha). In other words, I got to girl the room up a little!

Bee has a ton of dolls already, so they live in this little bassinet that was actually my dad’s when he was a baby. I don’t know about putting a real baby in here but I love it for her dolls haha! My grandfather made it and we found it in my dads garage… amazing right?! She got the dollhouse from Santa this year and its a big hit around here! The curtains are World Market (that I stole from my living room) and the floating book shelves are IKEA of course.

The pink baskets are there for odds and ends I find around the house at the end of the day… I try to have an area where I can throw the toys that have made their way into the living room haha!

The little “kitchen area” is my favorite… its so fun! The play kitchen (tutorial found HERE) is something that Bryan and I made soon long ago! Ancient Taylor Made right there haha! I updated the colors to make it a little more farmhouse and less 2010 ha! I also found that market shelf but it was black so I painted it gold for a pop.

How adorable is that little wooden baby bed. I got that in Pennsylvania when we visited the Amish Country last year, it’s handmade and gorgeous!

We painted the wall with chalkboard paint around the holidays, it has been super fun… in hindsight I would have made sure to sand the texture off the wall first but live and learn. I made the TeePee a few years ago( TUTORIAL HERE). I just love the brother wall art in the corner over there :) The dolls are Anthro and Candy Kirby!

The shelf is from Ikea and I used my Silhouette to label them. I also used some hot glue to embellish the boxes with scrap fabric. My kids love the VHS Disney Movies that my sister and I had as kids so I keep the TV/VCR in there which is hilarious and not really pretty but hey it works and they love it so why change it haha.

My kids actually keep this room pretty organized! They closet is really neat too. They know that they can only take one box out at a time- for the most part this works but I do have to do a heavy clean about 2x a year which isn’t bad!

The cute yellow nightstand was in here when this room had a bed and I am not sure where it should live yet. And here is the other wall with the closet and the Book Bunting TUTORIAL HERE that I made from my moms vintage books from the 50s and 60s!

The kids love this room and love that there is a big open space in the middle to spread all the toys out haha! Usually Bee is forcing her brothers to play house, they are good sports! Let me know if you have any questions about sources or how I made something!

Classroom Valentine Ideas

February 2, 2017 By Taylor 3 Comments

Valentine’s Day is such a fun day for my kids. I told them this year they will be WINNING Valentine’s Day thanks to Minted! I posted a few weeks ago about how I was so excited to learn that Minted now carries Classroom Valentines so I thought I would share what we picked out!

I seriously had a hard time picking just three designs, everything was so cute… thankfully there is next year because it was hard to narrow it down. Of course in 2017 we moms couldn’t just pass out a Valentine’s Day Card, could we… hehe :) I think adding a little something extra is fun, mainly because I love a good theme, so I’m going with it!

For the Boys, I gave them each three choices. That way it wasn’t overwhelming but they felt like they had a say. My oldest chose these hilarious Whoopie Classroom Cards. He’s in 1st grade and I know his class with LOVE these! He is a little older so I went with the tic-tac-toe option on the back. There are several backer options, patterns (like I chose for the littles, photos, messages… so cute) The stickers are so cute too! I found the Whoopie Cushions in a pack of 12 for $6 at Oriental Trading.

My middle son is my animal lover! Amphibians, fish and reptiles specifically haha. He chose the “Iguana Be Yours” Valentines then I found these reptile finger puppets, also at Oriental Trading Co. He is OBSESSED with them and cheered when everything came in so I will take that as a great sign haha. I love the back pattern on this one and of course the custom name stickers too!

For Bee’s class I chose these adorable little Llama Fun Classroom Cards with the wavy edge. I can’t handle them… also the Llama Lollipops? I mean come on. They are almost too cute to eat… almost. They are also from, you guessed it, Oriental Trading Co.

Minted as usual did an amazing job, the quality and selection is A+! Check out all of Minted’s Classroom Valentines HERE. Happy Valentines Day everyone! XOXO

Morton Salt Girl Costume

January 29, 2017 By Taylor 3 Comments

Costumes are just about my favorite thing to sew, so this past Halloween I dressed Bee up as the Morton Salt Girl (so perfect right?!) Her short blonde “bob” was my inspiration :) Yes I know it is almost February… but better late than never on the blog post right?

The costume itself was super simple, it’s basically just a yellow dress. I don’t like to plan a costume with a lot of moving parts for a two year old because it’s just inevitable that she will take it all off and end up looking like nothing. For her yellow dress I used the Lillian Dress Pattern by Mouse House Creations. When I saw the 1960’s-esque dress with the pin-tucks and black buttons I knew it would be the perfect dress for the job! I used Kona Cotton for the fabric.

Her shoes were her favorite part, she actually still wears them! I found white tennies at Walmart for $4 (yay) and I dyed them with yellow RIT dye. I always make sure to add salt, a little white vinegar and warm water when I do a dye bath. I usually only leave things in for 20-30 mins but I left these in for about 3 hours so it made them extra vibrant. I was so proud of the match job haha!

The big debate was if the umbrella is light purple or if the umbrella is really white and they just used purple in the artwork for shading. It’s a serious online debate you guys, look it up ha! I always choose color when given the opportunity so I decided our Morton Salt Girl would have a purple umbrella. (Also, our friends just so happened to have one we could borrow haha!)

Lastly… my favorite part… the Morton Salt candy basket. I wanted to have her carry a big cardboard version of the salt container then my mom actually threw out the idea of having the salt container as her candy basket. Genius! I used felt for the base, sides and handle which I sewed together. Then I printed out a picture of the salt logo and using hot glue and felt I kind of puzzle pieced it together. I love it so much that it was a little hard watching Bee actually use it on Halloween. Just kidding. Kind of.

Some people loved the costume then others were like “I don’t get it” haha. But I think it is one of my favorite costumes to date!

Sweethearts Quilt with Wonderland

January 4, 2017 By Taylor Leave a Comment

Happy New Year! I am so excited to be sharing today’s project with you!! This makes quilt NUMBER 9 totally handmade and completed by me. Emphasis on completed because I also have 4 quilt tops finished with no backs so those don’t count yet haha.

This gorgeous fabric is the latest line, Wonderland, from Emily Isabella for Birch Organics. I went to Houston Quilt Market back in October and I absolutely fell in love with the line that, at the time, was about to be released. I actually gasped when I saw it, the colors were so prefect together but a little unexpected. I just knew I had to have it but I wanted to have all of the fabrics from the line together so I had to do a quilt. Fabricworm sent me this gorgeous set of Wonderland fat quarters then a little extra for the binding in Bows Blue (which is the prettiest color of blue) and enough for a few extra hearts in my favorite prints (like Croquet)!

Last year when I finished quilt number 8 I decided I should try to somehow start adding the date on my quilts. Wouldn’t it be so fun for my kids kids to look at the year and think how long ago this is?! I used my embroidery machine and added a little message on one of the heart blocks.

This isn’t the first time I had a love at first sight moment with an Emily Isabella line! Remember my love for the Homestead Line by Emily (pictured HERE on Bee’s Piggy Dress in Oink). I still love that entire line and I’m actually still hoarding a little bit of it. Like I said, my quilting skills are improving but I’m still pretty basic so I usually “stitch in the ditch” for my quilting. This time I actually broke out my Free Motion Foot and did some freehand wavy lines.

I thought about making this for my daughter for Christmas but then I remembered a precious quilt pattern, The Sweethearts Quilt, with heart blocks and decided on a Valentines Day Quilt! I have been sewing for years but I wouldn’t call myself a quilter, I usually stick to triangles, rectangles or square blocks :) So, this pattern was a little challenging for me in the best way. It still uses triangles and rectangles just more of them and they worked together to build the hearts. I was so proud of each block that I would rush into the living room… “LOOK WHAT I MADE!” and my family agreed that this is their favorite quilt yet so maybe there is something to this little challenge! This fabulous pattern is the Sweethearts Quilt Pattern for Cloud 9 and I highly recommend it! The pattern and tutorial are free and its super east to follow.

I found this back fabric at Joanns and I don’t even know what it is called, it has a texture almost like a seersucker but more square and larger. I love it and it is perfect for a thin and cool quilt backing.

I love how this gorgeous quilt turned out and I really hope I did the pretty fabric justice. Thank you so much Fabricworm for providing the fabric for this project!