Munchkin-Made Cupcake Quilt

 Repairing a computer takes a lot more of my time than I anticipated, but we still managed to finish this project.  I got the cupcake panel in the Red Tag section at Jo Ann's, and asked the munchkin if she'd like to make a blanket out of it.  It was a go!  We got only a yard, which was about $4, for a small quilt.  I waited until polyester batting was on sale (cheaper, perfect for a little girl's first quilt) and then we got working.

 We used some of my Jennifer Paganelli fabric for the back, and some Kona solid I had on hand for the binding.  The munchkin helped me pick them out, after I gave her some workable options :).  She also handed me pins to baste, and she tied the quilt with a little help from me.  And she only stabbed me with the needle once.

When it came time to bind, she sat on my lap and held the fabric with me while we sewed.  It made for some interesting stitching!  I opted not to hand-stitch the back at the last second (after it was already sewn to the top), so the back of the machine-sewn binding is a little iffy.  I have been having some dizzy spells and I was trying to get it done fast before I had to go lay down...  She probably won't notice until she's 16 though, so we're good.

 This was so fun to do with her.  It went pretty fast, which was really important for a 4-year-old.  She slept with it last night on her bed, and said it she was "snug as a bug!"  Even her photo-bombing little sister thinks it is a really cute quilt and loves to point out all the different colored cupcakes. 

Yay for cheap and satisfying projects!

( here's a cupcake quilt I really love too from my sponsor MaterialGirlKirsten!...)

Baprons. 'Nuf Said.



If you haven't already heard of the Bapron, you will certainly be converted today.  Because I will never go to another baby shower without being armed with at least one of these.  Minimal fabric, with Maximum Cuteness Factor.  You Must Make It!

With less (er, no) time on the computer, I've been busy with a lot of projects.  This being one of them.  And you have now witnessed the first and only thing I have made thus far for the baby boy arriving in... 3 months.  I've got plenty of time!

I went to my mom's today to upload these photos for you.  Lucky for all of us, my adorable niece was able to model and use this one, even if it is a little more masculine.  This thing is genius, and I'm so glad the talented Jess was willing to make the pattern, give instructions, and then make it all available to us.  Mine aren't even as cute as hers because I used regular pre-made bias tape.  But still!  Isn't the blog world AWESOME??? 

I have a lot to share, I've been cranking out stuff on my to-do list like crazy.  And it feels GREAT!  So, stay tuned!

Crash and Burn

My computer crashed.  BOOM!  I've been trying to re-do a lot of stuff that had deadlines and I haven't seen my craft area all day.  So much for being on top of things, right?  This teaches me that I can't just run a backup every few months and call it good!

Cross your fingers for me, I'm only going slightly crazy!

We will be back to normal... sometime!

Tumblers and a Go! Baby Winner!!

Were you all crossing your fingers about the giveaway?  Well, my friends, the time has come to announce who Random.org has chosen to be the recipient of their OWN Go! Baby and THREE dies!

After deleting all the deleted comments (they still count, apparently), we had 349 entries.  Wowie!  I’m glad so many of you had interest in this awesome machine.  But, #222 was the lucky number!  Who is #222?

Sara!!

Whose winning entry said “Just joined your blog as a FOLLOWER!”

Yay Sara!!  She mentioned in another entry how her hands were already sighing with relief over those rag dies.  Let’s all hope she has happier hands from now on!  Sara, I’ve e-mailed you :) 

I do have one more project to share with you.  Super easy, again, and it’s been helping me keep my workspace a little more tidy! 

It started with this little machine, the tumbler die, and some scrap fabric,

And I got some great cuts out of my scraps!

I even cut my fusible interfacing (heavy weight) with the cutter.  It made it nice and easy.

After cutting all the tumbler shapes, I cut some 2” squares of outer fabric, lining fabric, and interfacing. When all my outer fabric had the interfacing ironed on, I got stitching.

I started and stopped sewing 1/4” from each end.  This is a must, trust me!

And I kept going on all 4 sides until I had this:

Then, I pinned two adjacent sides together, and sewed with 1/4” seam allowance. Repeat until all sides are sewn!

See how the 2” square is pulled out of the way?  That is so it doesn’t get sewn into the seam somehow.  Ignore my seam allowance there, it shifted when I took my hands away to take the picture ;)

When all 4 sides were done, I had a cute little cup.  So I repeated the process with the lining, leaving a little hole in one side for turning.

Then, I put the lining into the outer fabric with right sides together.

See how nicely it fits?  To make it fit even better once it was turned, I trimmed the seam allowance down a little big on the sides.

The next step was to sew around the top of the tumbler cup.

Then I turned it right side out and sewed the opening shut!  Easy peasy. 

I use this one to hold my binder clips by my computer.

And this one sits at my sewing table to hold all my presser feet and extra needles.

The interfacing keeps it nice and sturdy, and it is really handy to have next to my machine.  I switch presser feet a lot, so opening my machine and/or getting up to go to my cupboard was a nuisance.  I’m glad they are so accessible now!

Go! Baby Giveaway!

All right, you’ve seen some coasters and an argyle quilt made with my Go! Baby.  And I’ve got more up my sleeve.  I’m sure you have lots of projects you’d love to try with your very own Go! Baby Cutter from AccuQuilt!  WOW!!

Not only will you get the GO! Baby fabric cutter, but also 3 DIES of your choice!!!  That’s a screaming deal, people.  Since we’re starting to head into the cooler months (bah ha ha…what a joke!) perhaps it is time to think about Christmas? 

Or maybe you just need a basic die for all your everyday quilting needs?  Half Square Triangles are the way to go!

Or are you a rag quilter?  Guess what: they have dies that have the shape and the… ragging (is that what you call it?) done already.  Helloooooo happy hands!

So, whatever you want, you have the chance to win it.  Ready?  GO!, Baby!
To Enter This Awesome Giveaway:
Leave a comment with your favorite Go! Baby die.  If your e-mail isn’t in your profile, leave your e-mail address!  (If you aren’t sure… leave your e-mail!!)
Other ways to increase your odds:
***Become a “Member” of this blog!  Click on the “Join This Site” or whatever that button says over on my sidebar.  Leave a Comment telling me you did!
***”Like” Crafty Cupboard on Facebook.  You didn’t know I had a Facebook page, did ya?  Well, the secret is out.  Head on over, “Like” the page, and come back and tell me you did so!
So, there you have it.  Three opportunities to win! 
And, everybody wins when they sign up for the AccuQuilt Newsletter and get 22 FREE patterns.  Fun ideas for you, there!  Just click on the button below:

All right, good luck everyone! 

This giveaway closes on Sunday, 8/21, at 11:59pm Arizona time  (which is the best time ever because it never changes!).

Alphabet Bean Bags

My munchkin isn’t in pre-school, so I thought I’d personally take on the challenge of teaching her to read.  She knows all her letters, but mixes up some of their sounds (especially M and N) so I wanted to help her out with that first.

Which meant… crafty time with the kiddo!

I cut out the letters on freezer paper (used my silhouette.  Love.) and ironed them on to 5” squares, and handed the big stack to the munchkin with some white fabric paint. (and yes, most of our days are spent in dress-up clothes.)  We only had to re-do two letters :)

After she was done painting (and the wait was over for them to dry) I paired the letters with their matching 5” square counterpart and stitched them right sides together, leaving a small hole for turning.  Then, to make the bean bags look even more tailored, I ironed and top-stitched the squares (except where the opening was) before we filled the bags.  I should have left a bigger hole, because it was a nightmare putting beans in…

Then I stitched the opening closed, and we had bean bags.  26 of them.  I sewed for a long time.  And beans were everywhere.

But now we have a giant pile of letters!  We’ve been playing with them a lot, tossing them back and forth saying the letter and the letter sound(s) or saying words that begin with that letter. 

I also bought a piece of plywood (from the cull bin- 51 cents!) that we are going to paint for more phonetic fun and games.

But mostly, we just like to stack and toss and make colorful piles :)

Now I remember why bean bags are so fun.  You can do a lot with them.  Hooray for bean bags!

(Don’t forget to enter the Go! Baby Giveaway!  International entries welcome!)

If the Dress Fits…

I was with my sister at Target the other day and we were rummaging through the clearance racks like our lives depended on it.  Good thing, too, because I found a pretty purple number (not maternity!) just calling my name for $6.98.  It was sleeveless, but not a problem since I layer all the time.  The detail at the neckline was simple and stunning!

My sister found the same dress in her size, in a pretty brown.  We rushed to the dressing room, and quickly realized these dresses were a few inches too short!  Our clothing requirements are a bit specific, which makes finding the perfect dress hard a lot of the time.  This one was easily remedied, though, with some 4” eyelet lace from Jo Ann’s.

Since I layer with a white shirt, typically, I went with a white lace.  It came slightly ruffled, but I didn’t want any ruffle happening.  I just cut of the ruffle part and serged the top of the lace.

I top-stitched it straight to the dress lining.  Even when I sit, you can’t see where it is sewn on, and it is the perfect length!

I wore this on Saturday night to a special church conference, and I felt absolutely adorable.  I even curled my hair!!  Big deal for me, people.  It was perfect with my yellow shoes :)

So before you pass something by at the store because it doesn’t meet all your clothing requirements, see if you can’t fix it somehow!  This dress was perfect in every way but the length- and that was an easy, $3 fix.  Bonus: The empire waist made it so my preg belly wasn’t bothered at all!  So I’ll have this one for a long time to come.  Yay!

Guesting at see kate sew

Kate over at see kate sew is hosting Pleat Weeks this month, and today I’m sharing a project I made using… you guessed it, pleats.  The munchkin pretty much told me what she wanted, and I did it.  She’s getting quite opinionated!  Anyway, head on over and see what we made and leave some comment love! 

Circle Fabric Coasters with the GO! Baby

With my Go! Baby and Diamond die, I also got the Circle die with 2”, 3”, and 5” circles.  For this project, I stuck to the 5”, which was really convenient for all my leftover 5” squares from my zig-zag quilt… 

After sending the fabric through the cutter to get these lovely circles, I also sent some batting through the cutter.  I only did one layer at a time, but by golly, do I have perfect batting circles!
Layer 2 fabric circles RST, and plop one of the batting circles on top. 

Then, sew the layers together, leaving a 1/12” opening.  Small opening!  But doable! 

Pink your edges, or trim them so they are about 1/8”, everywhere except your opening.  Trim your batting to about 1/8” so it eliminates bulk in the opening.

Ok, flip that sucker right side out, and give it a good ironing!  Make sure it is as nice and round as you can get it.

Carefully fold your opening edges in towards the center, making it curve like the rest of the coaster.  Iron to set your folds and keep them in place.

Stitch around the entire circle at 1/8”, catching that opening as you go.  You can leave it as is…

Or add some fun quilting to make it more exciting.  I noticed that as I quilted, it didn’t lay as flat.  I should probably iron it a bit more :)

Anyway, repeat as many times as necessary to get your self a set (or sets!) of fabric coasters. 

I think I’ll have to make a little bag next to put them in, don’t you think?

Or maybe let my kids play with them a bit first…

This is a really, really easy project- especially with my Go! Baby!   I cut lots of circles, for these fabric coasters and for another project I’ll share another time… but it took me 5 minutes to pick fabric and cut 28 circles.  Yeah.  Mm hmm.
You won’t be left out… for starters, get your 22 Free patterns when you sign up for Accuquilt’s newsletter.  Fer reels.  Just click on the button:



And then stay tuned…  I know you’ll love what’s coming!!