A Whale of a Good Time – Cupcake’s Whale Party

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Heather Hawkins

If you follow me over on Facebook you saw a few sneak peeks of Cupcake’s 3rd birthday whale party that we had on Saturday. When I started thinking about a theme for her birthday party I of course went straight to Pinterest and started looking around. I thought about a garden party, or a fairy party, but the theme Under the Sea seemed like the winner. But as I started planning (and kept in mind her interests) it became clear that the theme couldn’t be under the sea. It had to be narrowed down even further to whales. This girl is obsessed with whales. She has two whale bathtub toys that she takes with her almost everywhere she goes. And you can often hear her making whale calls from the backseat of the car. Ah-ooooo-ah!!!!

It all started with the invites, which I created in Stampin’ Up!‘s My Digital Studio. (And it might end with similar looking thank you’s.)

I went with blue and orange for our colors. I absolutely adore Riley Blake’s fabric so I was so excited to use some to make her party dress. I also made Pumpkin a coordinating romper using this tutorial from Make It & Love It.

One of her requests for her party was that she have a party hat. I couldn’t find any coordinating party hats, so I had to make one. I unassembled a paper party hat, covered it with fabric, glued it back together, attached a thicker piece of elastic, added some trim and a pom pom and she had herself a party hat.

We had a midday party so we had some light refreshments. Chicken salad and croissants, whale PB&Js for the kids, chips, crackers, salsa, fruit and not pictured veggies and cheese.

I was pretty excited when I found these whale crackers in the dollar section at Target!

The whale shaped PB&J sandwiches were a hit with the kids. I used a cookie cutter from Sweet Estelle’s Baking Supply on Etsy. It was the perfect size for cutting two whales from each sandwich.

Dessert! My favorite part. I ruffled the streamers and hung them the whole length of the wall and added the balloons down the side (because I ran out of streamers). We had cookies and cake this year. And I also put the goody bags on this table.

And there are a few plush whales scattered about. Those were from Oriental Trading Company and there was one for each kid in their goody bag.

I used some leftover fabric to stitch up a drawstring goody bag for each of the kids who came to the party. I also took some white fabric and stenciled their first initial on it and stitched it to the front of the bag. That P right there in front? That one is for Sweetey Petey.

I made cut out cookies with the whale cookie cutter and a scalloped square cutter and decorated them with royal icing. The cookies are always a hit. There were very few leftover (and now they’re all gone!).

This is my first tiered cake! I could have gotten away with a smaller cake (we have a lot of leftovers!) but I was really eager to try my hand at a tiered one. I went with the messy frosting technique since I wanted it to look like water. I used leftover royal icing from the cookies and a leaf tip to make the seaweed. I piped it onto wax paper a few days ahead of time and let it dry. I had to carefully pry them off the wax paper to attach them to the cake. I’m glad I made way more than I thought I would need because I broke quite a few along the way. I then used some Sixlet Pearls I found at HomeGoods as my bubbles. I added a whale bathtub squirt toy to the top and some brown sugar around the bottom. I was so happy with how it turned out. And it’s a good thing, too, since I waited until the morning of the party to decorate it and I was the only one home with a fussy baby at the time (luckily I put her on my back in the woven wrap and she slept the whole time!).

The kids had fun playing with balloons, playing on the swingset, chasing the bubbles that came out of the bubble machine and with a pullstring pinata. Another of Cupcake’s requests was a pinata, so I figured I’d have to make one because the chance of finding a whale pinata would be nil, but I lucked out and found this pullstring pinata at Celebrate Express. It was perfect! I was worried that 3 year olds would have a hard time opening a regular pinata, so this was just what we needed. It was filled with jelly bracelets, bouncy balls, whale squirt toys (also from Celebrate Express and the same as what was used on top of the cake), and of course candy! The kids used their goody bags to collect their pinata finds.

Of course we sang Happy Birthday. Pumpkin must have thought we were singing to her because she absolutely lit up when everyone started singing. Cupcake got all bashful. The big girl made a wish and blew out her candle and we all dived in to the cake and ice cream. She opened all her wonderful gifts and spent more time with family and friends who were so great for taking time out of their day (or weekend!) to celebrate.

The party turned out great. Cupcake said it was the best birthday party she’d ever seen. And that just melts my heart.

Happy 3rd birthday, Cupcake!

Disclaimer: Links in this post are not affiliate links.

Have a (Window) Seat

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Heather Hawkins

One of the things we loved the most about this house when we first looked at it were the windows. There are lots of them!! And some fun ones. Skylights in both upstairs bathrooms, a cute little round window in the master bedroom and a window seat in the front room. The previous owners had cushions for the window seat, but they were custom made and matched the fabric on the dining room chairs, and even though I doubt they bought a house with the exact same size window seat they took the cushions with them.

We lived without cushions for 3 or so years, but it wasn’t a big deal because we didn’t use the room much. Though, maybe if I had a comfy place to sit I would have used the room a bit more. One day, though I was still quite the beginner when it came to sewing, I finally got up the courage to make some cushions!

You can see them looking all sad in the old before room. I was pretty impressed with myself at the time. So much so I took on the job of making some for a friend’s house, too!

With the redo of the front room into a playroom it was time to update the cushions, too. They served us well for the last 6 years, but they don’t work in the new room.

I had a plan!

I found these gorgeous table clothes on clearance at Target after Easter and picked them up for half price. $12.99 total for a lot of fabric! I couldn’t have gotten a better deal at the fabric store. The color is perfect. I love the print. I originally thought about using them for Cupcake’s birthday party this weekend, but decided I didn’t want to chance getting a stain on them, so I started sewing!

I decided I wanted some contrast piping on them this time so they would look more polished. The key to piping is to use a 1/4″ seam allowance and baste your piping on the right side of the fabric lining up the edges. Sew along the stitch lines on the piping. Use contrasting thread on your bobbin so when you go to sew your fabrics together you can just go over your basting line.

My cushions measure 41″ x 22″ x 3″, so for each cushion I cut 2 each of 41.5″ x 22.5″ for the top and bottom, 41.5″ x 3.5″ for the long sides, and 22.5″ x 3.5″ for the short sides. I only applied piping to the top and bottom pieces. I needed 1.5 packs of piping for each piece, so I had to piece some piping together. Here’s how you do that.

Use your seam ripper to open up the piping to expose the string inside.

Snip the string back without cutting the outer fabric.

Fold the fabric under, slide your new piece of piping under the fabric and butt it up against the snipped piece of string.

Lay the fabric down over the new piece of piping and sew. Do the same when you reach the end of your piping (So when you start basting the piping don’t start at the very end. You need to be able to put the fabric under the beginning). Also, if you notice in the picture above the corner of my fabric. You’re going to curve the piping around the corner of your fabric, so make two little slits in the fabric (don’t cut too far!) so you can “bend” the piping around the corner. Make sense?

Once you’ve sewn the piping around the outside of your top and bottom pieces you can sew all your pieces together, leaving one short end open to slide your batting-covered piece of foam into the cover. I prefer to attach all my side pieces together on the short ends first and then sew the whole thing on, but you could also so each individual piece to your top, then attach them all at the corners. Whatever you’re most comfortable with!

And then you get this!!

Doesn’t it look so much better with the piping!?!?

You can see on the old cushion I whipstitched around the end to close it off after I inserted my cushion, but this time around I used an invisible closure. It’s a cleaner look! Though with the old cushions that was always the underside so you really didn’t see it any way.

There’s my new seat!

I love the lighter color in there! The old cushions were quite dark (and so was the old wall color!).

The lighter color, the geometric pattern, the sunlight coming through the big windows all make me happy. What would make me even more happy would be something to cushion my back when I lean up against the wall.

Wait, what’s that? A pillow!!! I still had a good bit of fabric left (I only cut one piece from the second table cloth), so I picked up two pillows and some more piping to add a little more comfort to my seat.

Don’t you just want to grab a book, put your feet up and enjoy the sunshine? I look forward to curling up with my girls and reading our favorite books or snuggling with my pup and people watching, or watching my girls play together on the floor while sipping on my ice water.

And did you notice the pink something or another up above? I also hung a new lantern in there! We didn’t have any overhead lighting (the switch controls a plug to the left of the window) so I bought a Vate lantern at IKEA and a Hemma cord and hung it in the center of the room. It give the room a fun, pink glow. Cupcake loves it!

I would like to replace the blinds in here, but it’s not in the budget right now. There is also a cafe rod already installed, so I’m thinking of adding some simple curtains to soften up the window a bit more (and because it’s silly to have an empty rod up there!).

There are a few more things I want to do in there (hello naked walls!) but for now I’m enjoying my new comfy seat!

This is where I link up!

Clear Cinch Top Bag

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Heather Hawkins

Cupcake got a new Minnie Mouse Birthday Bowtique with a lot of pieces. After she carried it around in a basket for a day (to church, out to dinner, to the museum) and we thought we lost a piece I figured she needed a better way to carry it around. I decided to stitch up a clear cinch top bag to tote Minnie and all her accessories around in.

Just like the other cinch top bag I made this one is totally customizable to whatever size you want. I used Minnie as my guide for height and a bucket that I liked the size of for my circle.

My circle measured 6″ in diameter. I cut two. I also cut one strip measuring 1.5″ x 19.3″. Two strips 4″ x 9.9″ and a piece of vinyl 5″ x 19.3″

I zig zagged the raw edges of my cotton pieces to prevent raveling. I then took my 1.5″ x 19.3″ piece and stitched the short ends together with a 1/4″ inseam.

I stacked my two circles wrong sides together and attached the long strip around the edge of the circle.

Stitch with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Before you start to sew the vinyl (which is coming next) a little tip to help it glide smoother is to put some tape on either side of the feed dogs and on your presser foot.

Pin your vinyl and the bottom piece with right sides together. It’s best to pin parallel to your edges and within your seam allowance since once you put a hole in the vinyl it will stay there!

Stitch around the vinyl, again with a 1/4″ inseam. Go slow. This is the trickiest part of the process.

Place your two 4″ x 9.9″ pieces with right sides together. Stitch up both sides stopping and inch from the top.

Press open your seams. Fold down the edge 1/2″ and pin to create a casing.

Stitch all the way around just above your zig zag stitch. You should have an opening like this on either side.

Turn the bottom part of your bag right side out. Slide the top piece over it, lining up the edges, right sides together and stitch all the way around.

Cut a piece of ribbon twice the length of the bag plus 4″. Actually cut 2.

Thread in one end and come back through the other side and tie a knot.

Repeat going in through the other side and back out and tie in a knot.

You are done!

It’s now ready to hold Minnie and all her accessories!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or if you don’t have a Minnie with accessories you can customize it to whatever size you need.

Linking up!

Circle Skirt Dress

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Heather Hawkins

A girl walks into the fabric store with no shopping list, no kids, and no projects in mind. She spots some cute chevron fabric and an idea is born. Instead of just making another circle skirt (not that there is anything wrong with that) she decides to make a dress! That girl is me. And this is what I did. Introducing the Circle Skirt Dress!!

I grabbed some pink dye for my elastic.

I threw in a stained baby onesie while I was at it.

Luckily I have a pattern piece I use for a circle skirt. So that part was easy. I attached it to the dyed elastic. Make the skirt part first.

I grabbed a shirt of Cupcake’s that fits her well to create a pattern from.

First I traced the shirt. Then I measured half an inch all the way around and drew my second line to allow for seam allowance.

I wasn’t too concerned with length since I knew I would be cutting the excess off at some point.

The first piece was my back pattern. I traced that piece onto another piece of craft paper and drew a lower neckline for my front piece.

I lined up my pattern up on the fold of my knit fabric, making sure the stretch was going the right way (across the fabric, not up and down) and cut it out.

And cut the front out as well. I stitched the shoulders and the sides together with a half inch seam allowance.

I then trimmed the fabric close to the seam.

I then turned under the neckline and arms in and stitched. I didn’t fold under twice since I was using knit, which doesn’t fray.

At this point I brought in my trusty model. She was thrilled to try on the dress so I could mark the length for the top (I measured her before starting, but I figured since she was available I should double check…….my measurements were spot on).

I marked where I wanted to attach the shirt to the skirt, then marked half inch below it, which is where I cut the fabric.

I slid the top under the elastic, making sure to line up the seam of my elastic waistband to the center back of the top and pinned. Then stitched all the way around.

I made a little rolled fabric flower and attached it to my top. I put the dress on Cupcake for the second time in one day and this time she did not want to take it off!

Don’t let her expression fool you, she loved the dress, she just doesn’t like to have her picture taken.

See? Much happier!!

She just wanted to twirl around in it.

And jump up and down in it.

The girl that never wants to get dressed, who wants to wear her pjs all day loved wearing her new dress. When I asked if she liked it she replied “It’s so cool.”

Cool enough to wear all day long, even though it’s sleeveless, on a cold and snowy day.

Linking up with:

Nap Time Craft Time: Cinch Top Bag

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a nice weekend with family and spent our first Christmas morning together as a family of four and had a wonderful afternoon with friends.

Did your kids receive any gifts that have a lot of pieces and nothing to contain them? If so you definitely need to whip up one of these quick and easy cinch top bags. I made this one to contain Cupcake’s blocks after they busted out of the bag they came in.

Yeah, they’re not supposed to be removed out of the back seam. It made it difficult to keep the mess contained when she wasn’t playing with her blocks.

So I came up with a plan! I picked up some fun fabric in the remnants section at Joann’s and set to work. I measured the old bag just to get an idea of how big I should make my bag in order to fit all the blocks in it. It measured approximately 12×12.

I wanted a circle bottom for my bag, so I found my largest mixing bowl to use as a template. It measures 10″ in diameter. Since it was going to be a bit narrower, I decided to make my bag a bit taller than the original. I decided 16″ or so would be good.

I used my bowl to trace my 10″ circle and then cut it out.

Then I had to do a little math. I needed a piece of fabric to fit around the circumference of my circle. So I multiplied my diameter (10″) by 3.14 (pi) and ended up with 31.4″ and then I added 1/2″ for my seam allowance. So my final length was 31.9″. And since I wanted it to be at least 16″ tall I cut my fabric to 18″ in height to allow for my seam and for the opening for my drawstring.

Now would be a good time to serge or zig zag your edges so they don’t fray. You’ll want to finish of the top of your long piece and the short sides. I did it in a later step and it was a tad bit tricky to do the short sides.

Mark 2″ down from the top on our short sides. This is where you’ll start sewing. With right sides together sew from the 2″ mark all the way down the short side with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

When your 2.5 year old wakes up early from her nap set her up with some beans, spoons, muffin tins and an old pot to play with so you can keep sewing.

Pin the tube you just made to the circle. Use a lot of pins and don’t forget to allow a little slack in your tube piece to fit the circle shape.

Stitch all the way around with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Zig zag or serge the edges together, again to keep them from fraying.

Discover the mess your 2.5 year old made and regret giving her so many beans to play with. Fewer beans next time. Fewer beans.

Back to your tube piece. Zig zag stitch back and forth across the seam where you started stitching to reinforce it.

Fold your seams and stitch from the top of the tube down to your reinforcing stitches.

Fold the top over 1″ and pin. This will create the casing for your drawstring.

Stitch along your zig zag seam all the way around.

Thread your ribbon/string/twill tape/whatever you plan on using for your drawstring into the casing and pull all the way through.

To determine the length of drawstring material you need take your circumference and add at least 4″. That’ll give you at least 2″ overhang on either end. (If you want your string longer, add a few more inches).

Because I used twill tape which holds pretty well on it’s own I just tied knots on the ends of my strings and called it done. If you want a closure on the bag you can pick up some cord locks. Slide one on before you tie your knots.

And now you can fill up your bag!

And now you can dump out your bag of blocks!

Would you rather buy a bag instead of make one? Then shop the Thirty-One Outlet sale starting today at 10 am. Visit www.mythirtyone.com/heatherhawkins to shop. Sale ends Friday at noon. All items are while supplies last so shop early!

Linking up: The Frugal Girls, I Heart Nap Time, Skip to My Lou, Chef in Training

Nap Time Craft Time: Neon Zebras

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

So my craft room was a mess! But I cleaned it up and showed you some fabric that was just waiting to be turned into something fabulous! Yeah, that fabric there to the left. Isn’t it the cutest? Who doesn’t love some pink and green zebra print? OMG, shopping for fabric is so much fun when you have girls!!!

So I got to work making floor cushions! I found a great tutorial over on Living with Punks. It only requires one yard of fabric. So I picked up one yard each of these fabrics from Joann’s (Waverly – in the home decor fabric – it was 50% off!) and picked up two packs of each of the piping. Actually I picked up two packs of the pink and only one of the green because that was all they had in stock. And then I went back the next week after they supposedly got some more in stock. They didn’t. So, while I was up north yesterday I stopped at Hancock Fabrics and they had one of the green in stock! And on sale 50% off. Score!!!

I set to work cutting my 17″ circle. I made a quarter circle and cut the fabric out like I do a circle skirt. Bad idea! I needed two circles so this was double thickness fabric. It was hard to cut through and the folds made my circle a little bigger than 17″ so I had to trim it down. Lesson learned. Don’t cut the pink one out the same way!

I also cut my handle pieces and my side pieces.

This girl helped.

I loved how easy it was to sew the piping on. I was very intimated by the piping, but you just follow the line!! And she had a clever tip to use a contrasting thread for your bobbin thread, so when you’re sewing your right sides together you’ll be able to see the line you need to follow. Genius!

If you’ve ever wanted to sew with piping but were afraid to, don’t be!

Look how cute it looks already!

I love the contrasting piping. Squee!!!! Seriously I’m like a giddy little girl!

And then the giggles stopped. I goofed……..

Measure twice, cut once. Don’t worry. I came up with a plan!

Hey, look who woke up from her nap and decided to join us! And finally get around to eating her lunch (at 3:30 in the afternoon!).

OK, finished product time!

Ahh!!! Aren’t they cute!?!?!?

One for Cupcake. One for Pumpkin. Although I think it’ll be a while before Pumpkin can use hers.

Cupcake seems to enjoy sitting on them. And flopping on them. And laying across both of them. And trying to stack them and then get on top.

And shoving them into her toy box and then sitting on them.

I’m jealous. I want a neon zebra floor cushion, too!!!

Nap Time Craft Time: Zippered Wetbag Tutorial

Posted on November 9, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

Today I have a quick and easy sewing tutorial for you, a zippered wetbag. You could probably whip up 3 or 4 of these during a nap time (I guess it depends on how long your little one naps!).

Wait, why do I need a zippered wetbag you ask? Well, kids are messy! We use small wetbags like this in the diaper bag for dirty cloth diapers, but I also have one in the diaper bag with a change of clothes for Cupcake. She is potty trained, but sometimes accidents happen. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want pee covered clothes touching everything else in the diaper bag! Wetbags are the perfect solution! Or maybe you need one to store snacks in. No need to worry about crumbs and leaky sippy cups getting on everything else in your bag. It’ll all be contained in the wetbag.

You don’t have kids? Make one for yourself to put your stinky gym clothes in! You also need one for bathing suits! So when you leave the pool (I know it’s not summer, but there’s such a thing as indoor pools, too!) you can toss your damp bathing suits in it and throw it in your bag. Or put your cell phone, keys, wallet, etc. in it when you take it in your swim bag to keep them separate from your damp suit and towels.

Trust me. You need a wetbag!

This is all you need! Some PUL fabric and a zipper. Oh, and thread! And I suppose a sewing machine and some scissors. Make sure your thread is polyester, not cotton, to prevent wicking.

I started with some PUL that I picked up from Joann’s. They sell it by the yard or you can buy a 3-pack of precut PUL. I went with the precut PUL. Each piece measures 21″ x 24″.

I picked up a 12″ zipper so I cut my fabric at 13″ on the short side.

So my fabric now measures 24″ x 13″ leaving me a half inch seam allowance to work with.

I pinned my zipper and fabric right sides together on one of the short sides.

And stitched.

I then lined up the other side of my zipper and the other short side of the fabric and stitched.

So now you have a tube of fabric. Now you need to decide where you want your zipper to sit. I wanted my zipper on the front of my wetbag, not the top, so I rotated my tube lining up my zipper where I wanted it (about and inch down from the top) and pinned.

I stitched down one side (the side without the pull) with my half inch seam allowance.

Then I sewed down the other side, but I opened my zipper before starting so it wouldn’t be in the way of my presser foot. And also so I could turn the bag right side out when I finished.

And that is it! 4 lines of stitching! Flip your wetbag right side out.

Ta da!

Now make two more because you also bought the three pack. And you can never have too many wetbags.

Linked to: Sundae Scoop I’m Lovin’ It WTFab Show Me What Ya Got #99

Little Bo Peep and her Sheep

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

Happy Halloween! I hope you have a safe and treat filled day! Cupcake and Pumpkin, I mean Bo Peep and her sheep, have a playdate with some friends this morning.

Last week when we still had some decent weather I tried to get out to a local park to take some family photos and pictures of the girls in their Halloween costumes. It was a disaster. I didn’t get a single decent family photo as either one of the girls was crying, no one was looking at the camera, or Cupcake wasn’t even in the picture! Costume pictures were a disaster, too. This is the best I could do.

That’s one confused Bo Peep and one mad sheep!

I bet Little Bo Peep is wishing her sheep was still lost.

Our area has Beggar’s Night on the 30th so we were out and about last night. It was, oh 37 degrees and wet out there, but we braved the neighborhood. And by neighborhood I mean we went to 7 houses. We had to show off the costumes to our friends! Both girls had two layers of clothes under their costumes. I could barely zip Cupcake’s dress up over her clothes. Luckily Pumpkin’s costume had plenty of room to spare.

Cupcake got quite the haul. Not just candy, but toys, too! And all the neighbor’s were happy to see Little Bo Peep and her sheep. Pumpkin slept through the whole thing.

And slept some more.

And Cupcake dug in.

Ghosts and Skirts

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

I have quite the blog crush on Dana over at MADE. I am in awe of everything she makes. I’m always pinning her posts! I have made a few of her projects and plans to make more! I’ve made a circle skirt, a bunting, marshmallow creme dip, and have learned a few sewing tips from her as well. So, when I needed a fun project to work on last week she came through with a great idea! She had made a rock ghost town with her kids that was so adorable and made out of recycled items! I was sold! I knew Cupcake would love this! So while she and Pumpkin were napping I headed out to the recycle bin to see what I could find. I got to cutting and spraying while the girls were still asleep. When Cupcake woke up we headed out to the side yard to steal some rocks from the neighbor. Cupcake supervised while I spray painted. After everything was dry I set about adding some details with Sharpies and set up the ghost town. Cupcake loves it! She’s been playing with it A LOT! She even wanted to take the ghosts to Target with us! Here’s my little ghost town. It’s not nearly as cute as Dana’s, but my 2 year old isn’t complaining! And neither is my pocket book since this project was FREE!! (I already had the spray paint and Sharpies on hand)

Oscar is also a big fan. Particularly of the purple building which now has one large window up top.

I also wanted to do some sewing, but I needed a quick project. Cupcake is a big fan of the circle skirt I previously made her. Some days the only way to get something on her bottom is to offer up the skirt. I figured it was time I made her another one. So I dug through my small fabric stash and found a great fabric for the job. I still had the template I made from the first which made this project even easier! I did take the length up 2 inches as the other skirt is a bit long and I planned on using wider elastic this time. When I was done cutting out the fabric I realized there was enough for another skirt, but of a smaller size! Dana has a printable for a baby sized circle skirt, but I don’t have a printer in my craft room, so I just went with the old fashioned way. And ta da!!!!!!

Ain’t she the cutest?

And now for cuteness overload………

I said I wouldn’t matchy matchy the girls (except for Christmas pajamas), but I couldn’t resist. And look how cute they are!! I promise not to go overboard, but I think I see a few more skirts in their futures!

Nap Time Craft Time: A Bunting for Baby

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Heather Hawkins

I was perusing the aisles of Hobby Lobby one morning with the intent of finding items to make an I Spy bag for Cupcake. I was happily ogling fabric when I came across two pieces of fabric that were meant to be in a fat quarter bundle. And I was all “come to momma!!!!” but I couldn’t find the rest of the bundle. And I couldn’t find another bundle with those pieces in it. I was devastated. And then my toddler ran down the back aisle and I had to chase after her all 9 months pregnant. Luckily she had a bag of beads in her hand that were making a jingling noise so I could follow her by using my supersonic momma hearing. And then we left.

Sad day for crafty momma. Sigh.

And then Cupcake actually took a nap (a long one) on Sunday afternoon and I had no idea what to do with myself. I had a project in mind, but I didn’t have any fabric for it. I really wish I had a fabric store in my craft room. But alas I don’t have the storage space (or monetary resources) to just buy fabric and hold on to it waiting for the perfect project.

Luckily I’m a super nice wife and when hubby didn’t feel like taking Oscar to get his nails clipped I volunteered! Joann’s is in the same strip mall. Sneaky, sneaky.

I scanned the quilting fabric wall. I couldn’t decide on anything. Nothing was appealing to me. I wanted something a little modern or bright or something with some plum and different patterns. The only fabric I liked was polka dots. So I checked out the fat quarters. Still nothing. But then, I remembered……….they have an end cap with fat quarter bundles! I moseyed over (or waddled, whatever you want to call it) and low and behold…………I saw the same two fabrics I was feverishly searching for at Hobby Lobby!!!!!! This time they had all their friends with them! And they were mine! I bought two!

Wanna know which two pieces I loved?

Gorgeous!

I saw Dana’s tutorial over on Made to make a scalloped bunting and I knew H2.0 needed one! I now had the fabric to do it! To make my circle template I used a paint can lid. It measures about 6 1/4″ around.

I was able to get 3 circles from each fat quarter. I picked 4 fat quarters to make my scallops and one to make my bias tape.

In Dana’s tutorial she cut her template in a half circle……..I went ahead and did full circles.

I stitched them all the way around and got really dizzy from going in circles over and over and over.

And cut them in half.

And snipped the curves, flipped them right side out and ironed them.

I made bias tape.

And then sandwiched my half circles in my bias tape and stitched and stitched and stitched until I reached the end.

How cute is that?

I’m so excited to hang this sweet, girly bunting in baby’s room. It will also make a great photography prop, so don’t be surprised if you see it again.