Pippa Dress

March 3, 2015 By Taylor 43 Comments

I have been hoarding this Fox Knit for over a year now waiting for the perfect thing. I found it! It’s the Pippa Peplum with the dress add on. I love this pattern from See Kate Sew… quick and easy, just how I like my patterns :) I also love that it looks lined but it isn’t haha!

I love having boys and think of myself as such a boy mom but sewing for (and dressing) a little girl is the ultimate game of dress up and it’s amazing! I’m so lucky to be a mom to both. The real question is how long will she let me dress her haha, Any girl moms want to chime in?

Speaking of sewing for girls… I’ve been busy sewing up some big bow head wraps that will be posted in my Etsy shop soon! Look for it in a few weeks… I’ll post updates on Instagram and Facebook

Boy and Girl Playroom

February 5, 2015 By Taylor 11 Comments

For almost two years now, the playroom was all about the boys! It’s been filled with super heroes, trucks and legos. It is still filled with all of those things but now we have a 7 month old baby girl who is making her way in there. The playroom is starting to see things that are pink :) We all love it but I wanted to give the room a little facelift! Now we have our new and improved Boy and Girl Playroom.

This room is one of our bedrooms that shares a bathroom with another room. Instead of the boys having their own rooms, they share a bedroom and then it leaves more room for toys in here :) It works out great right now because they are 4 and 5 so they love sleeping together.

The room was mainly red before but things were getting old and ruined, which seems to be what boys do to things :) Also our toy storage was a big problem because it didn’t exist. So the room always looked like this…

With a little organizing, some paint and a trip to IKEA, now it looks like this :)

I went with the Kallax 4×4 shelving unit from Ikea because I have the 5×5 in my Craftroom and I love it. I also Bought enough boxes to fill half of the squares then filled the other squares with toys and games. I used some fabric scraps and ruffled them then used hot glue to dress up the boxes a little. Then I used my silhouette to label each box. And yes I still have the VHS TV in there for their viewing pleasure :) I cant bring myself to throw away all of our Disney moves.

My oldest son helped me make the felt triangle bunting to go around the window, the curtains are white so I wanted a little pop. We also took down the little workbench because they were getting too old for it and I replaced it with the chalkboard/dry erase easel and a basket of our preschool stuff.

I changed the slipcover to a green one so I gave the play market a little facelift too.

Then my youngest son helped me repaint our Play Kitchen. It was scratched and dirty so we (not very perfectly) painted it aqua to match the blues and greens in the room. Don’t look too closely but while we were painting my son said “Mom… painting is BERY FUN!” :) I also added a new window pic, some curtains, a bunting and some fun paper jars. Hopefully little miss will love this as much as my boys did!

So far, its been way more picked up. I try to remind them to only take down one box at a time so that rule helps! Also because this is a bedroom, there is a nice sized closet that holds books, board games, costumes, trucks and those lovely VHS tapes.

In my perfect world we could tear up this carpet and have hardwoods but my husband says legos are more cozy on carpet ;) Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about anything!

Winged Peasant Dress

January 9, 2015 By Taylor 13 Comments

A few weeks ago, Bonnie Christine (from Going Home to Roost) sent me some fabric from her gorgeous new line, WINGED!I immediately knew it had to be a dress for my girl. Her line is with Art Gallery Fabric and they have the softest cotton ever. I got a yard of “Wingspan Melon” and the colors are even better in real life. The background color reminds me of melted ice cream :)

I used one of my favorite go-to patterns. The Pocket Peasant Dress from Whimsy Couture. It’s so easy, there is one pattern piece and I can whip one up in less than 30 minutes! And I have… 4 times now :)

This picture doesn’t give justice to the buttery feel of this fabric. I usually don’t wash my fabric first because my fabric usually turns into a quilt but since having a girl, I now make a lot more clothing and it’s a must!

The colors are a little springy for this particular fabric in the line so I made the dress a few sizes bigger in hopes that it will fit perfectly this spring.

I can’t wait for my sweet girl to wear it. Thanks Bonnie for including me in your blog hop! Make sure to check out all of the other fabulous projects HERE!

Cider Beetles: A Teacher Gift

December 17, 2014 By Taylor 16 Comments

Before staying home with my kiddos I used to be a teacher. I was always very spoiled every holiday by my student’s parents and received so many gifts, too many to remember. But I will always remember one year when a student made me a Cider Beetle attached to Apple Cider. It was so stinking cute that I told everyone about it. I decided this year I would re-create this adorable little gift.

I was so happy to find the recipe on the Imperial Sugar website. Imperial has a great Christmas page full of recipes and craft ideas you can do with your kids! They are also running a Kids Cookbook Giveaway that runs through Dec. 19th.

The boys did almost all the work here and LOVED it! I love boys who love to cook :)

How to made your own Cider Beetles:

Supplies:

12 oranges
5 cups Imperial Sugar Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
24 (1 1/2-inch) stick cinnamon
24 small whole nutmegs
48 large whole allspices
192 whole cloves (8 legs on each beetle)

Directions:

Slice oranges in half crosswise; scoop out the pulp, and reserve for other uses.
Place orange half shells, cut side up, on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 250°F for about 2 hours or until dry and hard. Let these cool completely before assembling the beetles.
Pack brown sugar firmly into each orange shell, mounding it slightly. Arrange spices in brown sugar to resemble a beetle, pressing slightly into the sugar. Use cinnamon sticks for bodies, nutmegs for heads, allspices for eyes, and cloves for legs. If not using immediately, cover tightly with plastic wrap secured with a ribbon. Store in the refrigerator.
To use, unwrap beetle and drop into 1 1/2 quarts apple cider or straight apple juice, simmer 30 minutes. Remove rind and spices to serve. Store the unused cider in the refrigerator.

We started with our oranges.

Remove all the “insides” of the orange.

Then place them on a baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for about 2 hours.

Then for the fun part… making the beetles! Pack the orange full of Imperial Brown Sugar.

Then you arrange all of the beetle parts.

I wrapped them in plastic wrap as soon as we finished and tied them up with a rubber band.

Then I just attached some ribbon around the apple cider and attached the beetle to the top for a perfect little teacher gift! I also attached some directions on how to brew it but I forgot to attach that before I took this picture. Brewing them is the best part because of the smell :) I hope you guys love making these as much as we did!

Salt Dough Napkin Holders

November 18, 2014 By Taylor 3 Comments

It’s almost Thanksgiving here in the States so that means it’s time to fill your calendars with family, food and crafts :) These adorable Salt Dough Napkin Holders are not only a pretty way to set the table but also super fun to make! My boys are only 3 and 5 and they did almost everything here. I found the salt dough “recipe” at Imperial Sugar. They have a whole section of their site dedicated to holiday crafting and baking with your kids, not to mention a million great recipes. They also have free coloring and activity sheets for your kids to do over the break!

Ingredients:

2 cups salt
1 cup water, divided
1 cup cornstarch
Tin foil covered baking sheet
Red, yellow and orange food coloring
Leaf shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

Stir salt into 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan. The boys LOVE measuring so this craft is right up their alley! Cook over medium-low heat until hot then remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch until smooth.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the salt mixture. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens into the consistency of stiff mashed potatoes.

Turn mixture out onto a glass plate and cover with a damp towel.

Allow to cool, then divide dough into 3 equal parts. Add red food coloring to one, yellow to the second and orange (often a combination of red and yellow) to the third batch.

Flatten the dough with a rolling pin or with your hands. Use the leaf cookie cutter to cut out multiple shapes.

Bake the leaves on a tin foil lined baking sheet at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours until completely hard.

Let cool, then attach to cloth napkins with ribbon, twine, or tulle.

The boys and I had so much fun making these!! They even helped me set the table for our Friendsgiving that we are having this week. It will be a cute little favor to take home too! Hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

This post was sponsored by Imperial Sugar, all thought and opinion are my own.

Macho Nachos

November 17, 2014 By Taylor 5 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Wolf® Brand Chili. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know what it’s like at your house during the week but we have a serious case of “what’s for dinner” over here. With the boys in school (and the addition of a third child) I love dinners that are easy to whip up. Wolf® Brand Chili is a delicious go-to for us because it’s quick and easy for busy week nights. I’m always a fan of one-dish meals so we usually make Corn Chip Pie with our chili but last week my mom reminded me of a meal she used to make us :) Macho Nachos!! They are so easy and a huge crowd pleaser. They are also super customizable if you have picky little eaters.

Ingredients:

Wolf® Brand Chili (which is definitely our favorite authentic Texas flavored chili)
shredded cheese
chopped tomatoes
green onions
tortilla chips
cilantro
any other favorite toppings like avocado, Greek yogurt or sour cream, jalapenos etc.

Start with a chip mountain. The best thing about this meal is you can load down a huge pan or make one small plate for an afternoon snack for hungry boys :) Is it just us or do your kids come home from school starving everyday?? What is that about?

Then add your bold Wolf® Brand Chili. I just heat mine in the microwave for about 2 minutes but my mom always heats hers up on the stove top.

Right after that add the cheese so it will melt then add all of your other toppings. This would also be fun for a “build your own” type dinner. I can’t live without cilantro. I also love them with shredded iceberg lettuce but my grocery store was out this week.

Bam! There you have a delicious and easy dinner that is ready in minutes but bursting with flavor!! Woo Hoo! What would be your go to toppings?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Wolf® Brand Chili. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Card Giveaway with Minted!

November 10, 2014 By Taylor 3 Comments

It’s my favorite time of year! The time when I plan and obsess and devote a full day to making my family pose for photos so I can send them out on a Holiday Card! Kidding. Kind of. We actually took real family photos last week and I can’t wait to see how they turned out! We had pictures taken a few years ago too so I’m thinking were on the every-third-year-I-will-spring-for-a-photographer plan. Photos are so important to me and I’m not in very many of them so I have to jump in there every once in a while :) You also better believe I have already picked out my favorite Holiday Card options on Minted.com. So, I’ll be ready when my pictures come back! And today is your lucky day because one very lucky TaylorMade reader is going to win a $150 Minted credit toward your Holiday Cards!! (or anything else Minted has to offer)!

I have picked some of my very favorites… Now it’s voting time which one should I pick?

If you know my boys… how perfect is this last on?? I have ordered so many things from Minted and I’m always blown away by the quality in the paper and envelopes. And speaking of envelopes, how amazing is it that they will address them for free?! Now its your turn to enter…

CLICK HERE to win a $150 Minted Credit!

now hurry go enter! Good Luck!!

Baby Unicorn Costume

October 30, 2014 By Taylor 6 Comments

Introducing the World’s Cutest Baby Unicorn :)

This year the kids went very easy on me for the Halloween costumes (which I haven’t decided if I like or not yet). The boys wanted store bought costumes but I still have one without an opinion :) She is only 4 months and can’t sit up alone so I wanted something that would look cute in her wagon when we go trick -or-treating. I decided on a unicorn and headed to the fabric store thinking about how I would make my own pattern. When I walked in I spotted a Simplicity Pattern for animal hats, one of which was a Unicorn! Perfect right??

I wanted her to be all white so I picked out some soft white fuzzy fleece and some white yarn with silver specks in it. I also got some fabric for holiday girl dresses!

I used Simplicity Pattern S0731. I did a little pattern hacking and love how it turned out. I added the yarn all the way down the back before sewing it up so it’s in the seam. I also added the pink felt in the ears and the tie around the neck.

Don’t tell anyone but I had to hot glue the horn on. I couldn’t get it to stand up straight by hand stitching, I never have been good at hand stitching. Depending on the temperature she might or might not wear pants with her white onesie. Isn’t it nice to have a pant-less option :) Happy Halloween, I hope it’s as magical as a baby unicorn!

16 Handmade Baby Gifts (that every Mom will Love)

September 28, 2014 By Taylor 56 Comments

I get a lot of questions about baby gifts here on my blog and via email. Baby gifts are my favorite gift to give. It’s all so magical… a new mom, a new baby, a new life; and it just makes me feel like making something :) Here are 16 handmade baby gift ideas that every Mom-to-be would love.

Appliqued Onesies. These are so quick and easy but also super custom!

Felt Bunting for the Nursery

Icon Onesies… just use vinyl on a hand dyed onesie for an easy gift

Custom Bib

DIY Baby Leggings

Diaper Bag Tag… this could be fun to add to the wrapping of another gift too!

Bandit Bibs… every little boy needs these!

Baby Name Blanket

Baby Bunny Plushie

DIY Gauze Swaddle Blankets

Baby Bunting for their nursery

My favorite… DIY Burp Cloths

One of my favorite things to give… a baby quilt, I love this one!!

Diaper Covers… I need this for my own baby, which is the sign of a good gift!

Teething Necklace, such a great idea!

Newborn pants… what is cuter?

Everything here is tried and true… also handmade gifts are always a hit at a baby shower! Do you have anything else to add to the list?

Union Jack End Table

September 9, 2014 By Taylor 1 Comment

This project has been in my head for about two years now. I’m so happy to see it come to life! This piece of furniture because it was a little blah but my main problem (and why I didn’t try it for two years) is that I hate sanding and worried about being able to cover the black. Then, the one and only Martha came out with a new line of paint products… Vintage Decor Paint :) A Matte Chalk Finish, requires no prep, is self priming, and comes in 22 colors! OK!!

I used 3 colors for my end table: Red Wagon, Wedding Cake and Sailor Blue. I also used the Antique Wax and the Vintage Decor Paintbrush.

I started out by painting the sides, back and top of the table blue. The paint is super thick, almost like a thick gluey consistency.

I was super impressed at how well it covered the table! This is a very thin coat on one side. I could have gotten away with one coat but I waited about 30 minutes and did a second coat just for extra coverage.

Next, I taped off the Union Jack. All of the tape lines are where the white parts will be.

I also did two coats for the front of the table too. On the left is one coat and on the right is two coats.

When I pulled off the tape I had some major bleeding but it was because of my tape job (oops). This shows how I taped off the rest of the table to paint the white parts. I waited about 1-2 hours between each step to make sure I didn’t tape over any wet paint. I used three small paint brushes at the very end for all of the touch ups from the bleeding and that worked great!

I waited for it to dry overnight and the next day I sanded it to look more “antique”. I sanded the corners and edges as well as some flat surfaces.

The last step was to apply the wax. The instructions said to apply a thin layer and then wipe off the excess with a wet lint free rag. I was nervous about it because it was super thick and very brown but after you wipe, it all makes sense. You can see how it gives it a richer, darker more aged look.

On the left I had used the antique wax and I hadn’t on the right yet… it’s more obvious on the white parts.

After drying for a few hours you can buff it with another clean rag.

I am pretty much in love with the way it turned out! It looks so at home in our living room! Speaking of at home… I couldn’t get a certain five year old to move from the couch before these pictures were taken :)

Here is a video introducing the line and a coupon code for you to get 25% OFF all Vintage Decor Paint that is valid at Micheals Stores through 9-12-14. Be sure to visit Plaid Online and check out their blog for more project ideas. For even more inspiration you can find them on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid Crafts and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

« Previous Page
1
…
6
7
8
9
10
…
27
Next Page »