Tutorial: How to make a Quick & Easy Baby Quilt

Recently I was browsing through fabricworm.com (very dangerous for me because they have such adorable fabric)... and came across this fabric. 

Sheri McCulley Studio, Woodland Tails

I thought it would make a great top for a quick baby quilt. Here is how I made it:

1) Sew right sides of fabric together, leaving an opening at the bottom to flip inside out.

2) I cut two layers of Warm & Natural Cotton Batting that would fit perfectly inside the quilt.

3) Pinned the layers together.

4) I then just sewed along the inner border and sewed around the circles.

5) Slip-stitched the opening shut. 

6) That's it! :)

This would make a cute wall hanging quilt too.

Happy Sewing! :)

My Niece E's 1st Birthday Celebration

During this recent trip to CA, I was fortunate enough to celebrate my niece E's 1st birthday with her and all our family and friends. In Korean culture, a baby's first birthday celebration (also called "dol"-- see here for more info) is a very special occasion because back in the day, it was a big deal for a baby to make it to his/her first birthday. These days, a dol can be as grand as a wedding reception. So I was not surprised when I saw the amazing setup of E's first birthday party. Okay, I was a little surprised. My sister went all out... and it was beautiful! 

candy buffet / yarn-wrapped "E" / fabric balls

candy buffet

rock candy

peeps

pina colada taffy

gumballs

candy coated chocolates

goodie bags for the candy

sparkling lemonade

water and adorable straws

menu and schedule of events (my sister is an amazing graphic designer who came up with all the design elements)

centerpiece and table number

goodie bags to keep kids entertained

contents of goodie bags

coloring pages and crayons

pretty branch and decorations

fake cake and fake flowers...but they look so pretty!

main table

I think my sister is planning to celebrate her baby's 2nd birthday at Chuck E Cheese. :)

Brass Chandelier Makeover

I have been wanting to paint our chandelier for quite some time now. Actually I wanted to completely replace it, but to be budget-conscious, I decided to add some shades and paint it. I didn't take any before pictures, but here is what it pretty much looked like...

I got these lampshades from eBay. They are great because they are adhesive, so you just cut out paper or fabric and stick it on. Just peel off the backing, and use that as a stencil to trace and cut your paper/fabric.

Added some paint...

Tada~....a new chandelier!

The wall in the background was something I DIY'ed too. I used this stencil and this paint to get the look of wallpaper, but without the high cost.

Anyway, back to the chandelier. I'm happy with how it turned out. Here is the before/after. :)

Handmade Baby Shower Gifts

I'm in that stage of life where there are lots of babies around me...and there's one inside me too! So that means lots of baby showers and gifts to be made. I like to make baby gifts (although with my ever-growing belly, it's becoming harder and harder). It's fun, relatively easy, and always super cute!

Here are a few things that I made for a good friend of mine who just had her first baby.

Again my Silhouette Cameo and Heat Transfer material came in handy! *Note: If you have a Cameo and would like these images, please contact me and I will email them to you.

Taggie Blankie-- Don't you just love this fabric? Riley Blake's Woodland Tails

Burp cloth-- I used tri-fold cloth diapers that I got here. I love them because they are super soft and thick.

Hope that gives you some ideas for adorable baby shower gifts.

Handmade Gifts for the Kitchen (using Silhouette Cameo)

Ever since I got the Silhouette Cameo, I have been using it for different gift ideas. The Cameo definitely makes your life much easier. It adds a personal touch, without being super time-consuming. I made these several weeks ago for Mother's Day gifts, but am now just getting around to posting about it.

First, I made a potholder using this pattern here. I took inspiration from the fabric for the images used with my Cameo.

Instead of free-motion quilting like the one in the pattern, I sewed simple lines to quilt the layers together.

This is a cute potholder from Target. I cut out the image onto heat transfer material and then ironed it on.

The kitchen towel is from Walmart (see here). For this I made a stencil with Freezer Paper (see here for tutorial) and then used fabric paint.

Here is another towel I made using Freezer paper stencil and fabric paint. If you're wondering what those strange symbols are below the heart, that says "grandmother" in Korean.

Note: If you own a Silhouette and see images here that you would like to use, please email me and I would love to share the files with you. :)

Now just brainstorming what to make for Father's Day. Any good ideas?

Wet Bag

With summer coming soon, I wanted to make a wet bag for a friend who is going to be taking her son to swimming lessons. I browsed the web and came across this tutorial here. So cute! Here is the one I made...

Looped a piece of ribbon through to make it easy to open and close the zipper.
I used a lighter to "burn" the edges a bit so that the ribbon doesn't fray.

See this little monster here? That's a clue into what the inside looks like...

I cut the little monster out of the PUL and ironed it on with Wonder Under (don't make direct contact with the iron...
I put a piece of paper in between). Then I used a narrow zigzag stitch to make sure it stays put.

Isn't the PUL I used so adorable? You can get it here on Amazon.

I hope she likes it! Thanks to Carlee for the great tutorial~

Happy Sewing!