The Cottage Mama - What's New in the Shop?

As most of you know, I am going to be entering the world of children's clothing pattern design.  I have been sewing like crazy testing out some of my new designs to see if they are ready to be sent out.  But on top of all that I have added some new things to the shop that I wanted to share with you all.

I will be releasing some of these designs as sewing patterns (plus some that you haven't seen) and some of them will just stay as items in my shop and may be released as patterns in the future.

Strawberry Bubble Romper.  This is a fun play-suit for an infant/toddler and this strawberry fabric is one of my favorites.  The romper is fully lined and ties at the shoulder.  Perfect for a little crawler.

Flutter Sleeve Ruffle Peasant Dress.  I don't typically offer this style dress, but I wanted to try my hand at this easy-to-wear, casual girls dress.  This has been a really big seller in the shop and I am down to the very last yard of this vintage trim.

Purple Swirls Pinafore and Bloomer Set.  This outfit is a lot of fun and perfect for a little crawler or toddler.  I love the banded bloomer which gives these a little different look than your typical bloomer (they look a little more like a short).  The top has a retro-inspired cross-back and is very cool in the summer.  The top also looks adorable paired with a long-sleeved shirt and jeans for an easy transition to fall.

Summer Berry Frock.  This is a simple knot dress in fabulous bright, eclectic fabric!  I like these dresses for my girls because they transition nicely from season to season.  For summer I would just add a pair of sandals, but for fall I would pair this with a long-sleeved shirt, tights and boots.

The Sweet Dress.  This is one of my favorite designs done in one of my favorite fabrics.  The green and blue fabric is feminine without being super-girly and pink.  This is a great dress for a toddler on up and is fully-lined and comfy to wear.

Fully Reversible Bubble Romper.  Done in the same "sweet" fabric as the dress above, this romper is fully reversible and is two looks in one.

The Sweet Dress and Reversible Bubble Romper are two of my favorite looks for sister outfits.

All-Star Romper.  A little something for a baby boy or toddler.  This romper is perfect for summer-time play and will keep your little guy nice and cool during the warm summer days.  It has a large pocket on the front for collecting "treasure" and the pocket is accented with royal blue piping.

A-Line Mod Shift Jumper.  I designed this dress with a little bit older girl in mind, but it could certainly be worn by a toddler.  The sophisticated color palette of purple, grey, lime green and pink are perfect for a girl who wants something with a little style, but not too over the top.  The dress is fully lined, has two large pockets and closes at the shoulder with fabric covered buttons.

So that's just a little update about some new things going on in the shop.  If you are interested in keeping updated with new designs, exclusive sales and happenings with The Cottage Mama, come join us over on Facebook.  Click HERE to become a fan of "The Cottage Mama".

Lilac Bouquet

XO

New Rings

How was your weekend? I hope you all had a wonderful time with your loved ones. I took some time off from blogging and sewing and spent time with my family and it was a lot of fun.

I made these rings about week ago, and they have been my favorite lately!


I found these at the scrapbook section at a craft store. They are not made for making jewelries, but if it seems a good idea, I have to give it a try. And it worked!

The fun and unique designs are perfect for spicing up summer wardrobes. I know I am gonna have fun with them. :)

Sew Serendipity Signed Book Giveaway - WINNER!

And the winner of the "Sew Serendipity" signed book giveaway is...........

Congratulations, Sara!  You are just going to love this book!.  Email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your address and I will get this book in the mail to you ASAP.  Thanks so much to everyone who entered.  We've got some great giveaways coming up this month, so there will be plenty of opportunities to win some more neat things!

Link Love No. 55!

They were such fun links to go through! I have noticed many recipes including some salad recipes. I bet they are perfect for the get togethers during the summer too! Do you have any fun plans for the Memorial Day weekend? Whatever is going on in your life, I hope it is good.

I have been spending nice quality time with my family since Friday night. We are also planning to work on our garden on Monday. The funny thing is, sometimes kids enjoy the most plain, simplest things rather than big vacations. They are so looking forward to going to the nursery to pick out some plants for our garden on Monday. I am planning to have a picnic in our backyard after the yard work with some sandwiches and lemonade (I haven't told this to the kids yet... who knows, mommy changes her mind and rather go through a drive-thru). I know they would like that.

It was hard to choose only five from so many wonderful projects... but here are the link loves for this week.

A belt such as this would add such an effect to a dress. Me Sew Crazy shared this charming window belt. This technique is often used for quilt making, but I never thought about using it like this. Very unique and pretty!


Jengerbread Creation shared this tutorial on how to make this beautiful necklace. Her step by step tutorial is very easy to understand. You could do two or three different types of pearls like she did or just use one type of pearl to make a necklace. This would be a great way (and inexpensive way) to spice up your summer wardrobe!


There are so many birthday party themes out there... grey luster girl used a "circus" theme and came up with a really fun and cute birthday party for her niece. Please go check out her blog to see all the pictures she posted, you will know what I mean. :)


Oh, my heavens. I LOVE this bracelet! This Anthro inspired bracelet was created by Flamingo Toes. Even though this is a "knock off" project, it still takes talent to coordinate everything. I think her use of colors and balance between the objects are just superb. Great job! I need (want) one like this for this summer. :)


When I saw the picture, I seriously fell in love with this! Acu's Stiletto Shoes, and Pretty Pink Tutus shared this one of a kind jewelry holder. She used a vintage candelabrum her grandma gave to her. With spray paint, and a little bit of imagination, she found another use for the candelabra. Simply gorgeous!



I posted all the quilt market and meet up pictures last week. I will be posting some of my creations this week. Make sure to come back to see what I have been working on! :)

OCEAN Rx: CHILLIN' WITH THE JELLIES

JELLYFISH LAKE, PALAU from Sarosh Jacob on Vimeo.

Here's what you need to do to feel better. Swim with the stingless jellies of Palau's Jellyfish Lake.

Via Wikimedia Commons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Blogger's Meet Up Pictures

What?! Has it been two weeks since the meet up already? Where did the time go?

I am going to share some of the pictures today from the meet up. I have never been to a blogger's conference, meet up, or anything. This experience was totally new to me.

One thing you don't know about me is, if I am in the right mood I can be very outgoing and social, but if not, I get very nervous and shy especially when I am going to a place where I don't know what to expect. I guess it is partly something to do with the fact that English is not my native language. I wasn't sure if I should go or not at first, but I am so glad that I went (Thank you Aaron for kicking me out of the house)

I have met many people that I knew from blogland in person. They truly exist! The meetup was held at the Blue Lemon in downtown Salt Lake. What a fun place to go to.


The first pictue, from left Tam, Vanessa, Kari, me, and Becky. There was such a strong wind, and for some reason we were laughing a lot. (Thank you for sharing the picture Tam!)


Other girl's that I talk to from left; Char, me, Sabra. It was fun to get to know them in person; good times girls!


Allison, I always admired her quilts; it was so fun to meet her in person.


I wrote about her little bit before after the earth quake in Japan. April was the one that coordinated the quilt tying event. I was so excited to meet her again.


Sherri and I. I found her blog pretty much shortly after I started blogging. She is always so nice and generous with her words and comments. She is one of the people I have always wanted to meet. She was so sweet in person as well.

There are a few other people that I took picture with but they were blurry. Amy and Calli put so much time and effort to bring people together at this meet up. It was a great turn out, thank you so much you two!

Chase’s Nursery–The Reveal

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally have pictures of Chase’s nursery.  And, it’s completed just in time for him to get here.  Hopefully he will come sometime over the weekend.  If not, I’m definitely being induced on Wednesday.  I didn’t really mention it on the blog, but this pregnancy has definitely had it’s ups and downs.  We had two preterm labor scares back in January.  It all turned out okay, but it really threw us for a loop while it was happening.  Since January I’ve had more contractions than most women have while delivering 5 children.  The closer to his due date that we get the more contractions I have.  The doctors were sure he was going to come early, but he’s already decided to show everyone, especially me, whose boss.  Now he’s full-term and we can’t wait for him to get here so that we can see his sweet face.

Enough of the mushy stuff.  Onto his room and the details.  In case you just started reading my blog or just missed my original idea board for his nursery here it is.  I had to sacrifice a few of the design elements due to the price but I feel like overall I created the nursery that I had originally envisioned.

When I figured out that the West Elm rug I originally wanted was going to break our budget I opted for my own DIY verson.  For the ottoman, I reupholstered the infamous leopard-printed x-bench in a chevron print.

I originally purchased a vintage piece similar to the one on the inspiration board for his dresser/changing table.  Once we moved I decided that the vintage piece was going to look a lot better as a buffet in our new dining room, so I opted for the white Malm from Ikea.

I never intended to use the Serena & Lily glider that was on the inspiration board but I wanted to find one similar to have slipcovered.  After looking and looking on Craigslist I had almost given up on ever finding one that was the style I wanted and within my price range.  Then sweet Angela from The Painted House emailed me to let me know that she wanted to sell the glider she had used with all three of her children.  I was so excited, especially when I saw how pretty the form was.  It was just what I was looking for.  It’s also extremely comfy.  Here is the before shot.

I used a prewashed ivory linen for the slipcover so that I could easily throw it in the wash and clorox it.

This bird mobile was the very first thing that I bought for the nursery.  I actually bought it about 7 months before I was even pregnant.  It was on sale for $19.99 at Sundance.  I knew I would use it whether I had a girl or a boy. 

The gallery wall consists of art from Etsy as well as 2 pieces that Billy made when he was a little boy.  The little painted swallow was gifted to me from a dear artist friend, and I actually won the abstract canvas during one of Angela’s giveaway about a year and a half ago.  That piece has been so many places in our home and it ended up working so perfectly on Chase’s gallery wall.

Here is one of my favorite accessories in his room.  My cousin gave me these adorable mugs that spell out his name.  I just love them.

The hanging ceramic bird houses are from West Elm. 

Scored the cute lamp at Homegoods.

Thanks to a suggestion from one of my awesome readers I was able to get the fabric that I really wanted for his crib skirt and pillow at an unbelievable deal on Mary Jo’s Cloth Store.  I couldn’t believe it, but on this site it was less expensive than my designer pricing.

And there you have it.  A full tour of Chase’s nursery.  I’ll probably be MIA for the next few weeks.  I’ll try to post pictures of Chase as soon as I can after he is born.  I’m sure I’ll have my hands full for those first few weeks though. 

I hope you all have a Happy and Fun-filled Memorial Day!

Info and Sources: 

- Overhead pendant light – Ikea Boja Pendant Lamp

- Wall paint – Sherwin Williams Rainwashed

- Stuffed owl – Pier One

- Curtains – Ikea Aina with custom banding added

 

LiveJournal Tags: Chase's Nursery,West Elm,Ikea,DIY,The Painted House,Etsy