Taylor, Author at TaylorMade

a Happy Birthday Quilt Block

July 24, 2014 By Taylor 3 Comments

Recently I have come to realize that as far a sewing goes, I think quilting is my favorite. It’s long and can be time consuming at times but in the end its magic!

Some of my favorite quilting products are made by Olfa… how could I quilt without my rotary cutter and self healing mat!? They are celebrating their 35th Anniversary so when they contacted me about reviewing a few Olfa Products, I was in!

I was sent a fresh, new rotary cutter, a frosted acrylic ruler and a rotating self-healing mat, which I have been eying for months. They also asked if I wanted to make a quilt block to celebrate the big 35! The only rules were that it had to be 6.5″ x 6.5″ and there had to be some yellow in it. I started by pulling my yellow scraps.

I searched online for a block that looked like a birthday cake and I came across this tutorial so I pretty much followed it and used the dimensions she gave, I didn’t make mine wonky though, I went with a straight cake :) I LOVE my new rotary cutter! My other one is a lot bigger so this one is perfect for small projects. I also love the smaller acrylic ruler for the same reason. It also works better on darker fabrics because of the frosted background.

Let me just say how much I needed the rotatable self-healing mat in my life. I am very lucky and have a huge work table in my craft room but it can present a problem with trying to walk around it for cutting.

This was a quick block to sew! Its nice to have a quick project that I can finish in no time :)

I used my rotating cutting mat, acrylic block and rotary cutter to trim it up to size.

Lastly I used a stamp and permanent ink (which I heat set) for the number 35 on the cake.

They are collecting the blocks to make a big quilt to display at the Houston Quilt Market this fall… how fun! Happy Birthday Olfa! Thanks for inviting me to the party :)

Onesie Refashion Part II

July 10, 2014 By Taylor 24 Comments

Happy Thursday… My girl is here and she is two weeks old today! I have shared pictures via Instagram (taylormadeblog for your dose of baby cuteness).

I posted about my Onesie Refashion a few years ago when my friend had a baby. Just a few weeks ago I made some for my girl so I thought I would share. You can head to THIS POST for more pictures and info but these are super simple!

All I did was iron some Wonder Under to the back side of fabric and cut it out into a shape I like. Then I peeled the backside of the Wonder Under off, and ironed the shape to the onesie. Then I sewed around the perimeter of the shape. I like the messy look and as you washed it it will get even more frayed which I like.

If you do a bib style shape then make sure the curve of the neck matches the curve of the onesie. Don’t forget to sew around that too.

These would make a super cute gift set.. but I’m keeping these :) Actually the light pink one is what we brought her home in!

Happy Sewing!

Colorful Eclectic Nursery

June 24, 2014 By Taylor 12 Comments

The great nursery reveal is finally here! I’ve been finished for months but I just now got around to the pictures. Welcome to this girl’s Colorful Eclectic Nursery. With some bright, modern and floral moments too… basically all of my favorite things. My overall theme was “whatever I like and I don’t care if it matches”. We (my husband) put down the wood floor before we started anything and I posted all about her DOT WALL HERE.

Before I was pregnant, I stumbled across this crib sheet from Candy Kirby Designs on Instagram and knew I needed it for my hypothetical next child. It was kind of a splurge for me for a crib sheet but it’s way too perfect. Not only that but I know what it’s like to make handmade goods! As soon as I went to that first doctor appt, I bought “the sheet” and that was where the whole color palette started. I was going to make it more boy or more girl depending on what I was having.

Next up I made the crib skirt with a yard of fabric for each ruffle and I used an old sheet under the mattress. I didn’t do a tutorial because I kind of just tried things out as I went. It isn’t perfect at all but I figure I will be moving her mattress down in no time anyway.

Here is the post about her quilt. I love it in here.

To the right of her crib I hung up her heirloom quilt. This has the best story! My great grandmother (and her great-great) was part of a wedding quilting bee. This quilt is all hand done and in perfect condition!! It says it was started in 1921 and presented in 1932. My mom brought it over as soon as we found out I was having a girl, I didn’t want it sitting on a shelf so I am displaying it, if I start to see that isn’t a good idea I will have to box it back up but right now I love that it’s out.

This amazing art print was given to me by Minted. It’s called the “Peony Bottle” and I love it! They have smaller prints for a gallery wall but I especially how big they will do them! They even come framed if you want. I got the dresser at Overstock.com and the owl lamp I found at Homegoods.

I also love her little bow tree for her amazing bow collection. If you follow me on Instagram you know I might have gone a little crazy (taylormadeblog). My mom potted that little cactus in the mug and my Mother in Law found the Bee Print on the wall.

On the other side I have the changing table, gallery wall and the pink chair that I couldn’t refuse :)

I am using this console from Ikea for her changing table and I found the perfect baskets for toys from Target. I also got another Raskog Ikea cart in grey (I have the aqua one in my craft room) for all of her “baby needs”.

I’m going to fill the top basket with diapers and I already have her wipes and cream etc. on top. Next shelf I have burp cloths and on the bottom, some swaddling blankets.

Moving on to the gallery wall… I didn’t have to get much for this- I had a lot of it. I bought the raindrop print and the Katie Daisy print. And I got the dream catcher from MavenMercantile on instagram. Everything else I had and re-purposed. Do you see the ostrich print that matches her crib animal!?

The PINK CHAIR! I love it!! I got it at World Market and I want to sit in it all day long. Which is good since that might be happening soon :) The pouf is from Target.

The curtains are just 6 yards of Amy Butler Fabric that I cut in half and hemmed.

The rug is from RugsUSA.com, they have big sales often and we scored on this one! Fun story about the bird mobile- my friend sent me a link to a project she saw on Homemade by Jill in 2008! I was pregnant with my first baby and I had never even heard of a craft blog?! I had been crafting my whole life but now there are others who share projects… what? So I looked it up and made this bird mobile for his room. I felt so cool after I finished it and I still adore it. Thanks Jill :)

The closet side… she already has plenty of options for clothing!

I think that’s about it! If you have any questions about where I got something or how I did it, leave it in the comments and Ill answer back! I leave you with the rest of my photo dump :) PS 1 WEEK TO GO!!!!

DIY Baby Leggings

June 11, 2014 By Taylor 4 Comments

It’s feeling very “nesty” around here- on the blog and in real life. I don’t have a ton of energy left so all of my more recent crafty projects have been baby related, I promise I do other things besides obsess over my baby (not a lot of other things but some). In fact we have been swimming a ton, we went to the beach last week and we are getting tile installed in our master bath next week, yay!

Anyway, I wanted some more leggings to go with Baby Bee’s newborn onesies. All of the cute online legging shops have inspired me, but not enough to pay over $30 for something she won’t be able to wear long. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about supporting small craft businesses and paying a little more for something handmade. I will just wait until shes a little older so she can wear it for longer than a few weeks :)

I found this pattern online but the crotch to waist length seemed a little short. Then after I finished my first pair, I found this tutorial (which is funny because Ashley had the exact same picture that I had already taken, great minds) So, I kind of made my own pattern based on another pair of leggings just like she says and I used her tutorial. Its a great tutorial by the way, super easy to follow and very fast!

I even broke out my twin needle.

I found the black & white fabric and the red & white polka dot fabric at Girl Charlee. The colorful stripes on grey is an old skirt Ive had for 10+ years. I didn’t have enough of it to match the pattern so I hope my girl isn’t a stickler for details ;)

After trying this first batch I will definitely be making more but I will see how these fit first. Now if my model would just come out so she can try them on.