The Janie Dress & Peplum Top

If you are looking for a quick, easy, and very rewarding sewing project, then look no further! The Janie Dress and Peplum Top Pattern from Mouse House Creations (affiliate links) is the answer.

After recently cleaning out my daughter's closet, I discovered she hardly had a long-sleeved shirt that fit anymore! I immediately thought I needed to sew her a Janie Peplum Top with long-sleeves and a cowl neck. She loves an oversized slouchy collar (remember the Bimma Top?) and anything that gives her an excuse to twirl.

Wonderland Blog Hop: Chair Pocket Tutorial

School is back in session which means tons of papers being sent home and lots of homework. In years' past, the completed worksheets, art work, and notes from school would pile up on the kitchen counter or dining room table, but this year, all those papers will be stored in this new chair pocket I made for my daughter's chair.

What's even better is that I created a matching double zipper pencil pouch that detaches from the chair pocket when she needs to sit at the table to work on a project. All of her pencils, crayons, scissors, and other supplies will be conveniently at hand and can be stored away when she is done with them.

Help organize your home when you make my Chair Pocket Tutorial with a detachable pencil pouch. It's easy to sew and your child will love it when you use fun fabrics like the Wonderland Collection by Josephine Kimberling for Blend Fabrics.

Disclosure: I was provided the fabrics used in this post in exchange for sharing a project I sewed with them. All opinions are my own.

Gymnastics Outfit with Thread Faction Patterns

If you are looking for some new, fun, modern, simple knit patterns to sew for spring and summer, then you definitely need to check out the latest pattern collection from Thread Faction Studios. In celebration of their latest designs, I'm participating in the Thread Faction SS2016 Blog Tour and sharing how I put together three patterns to make this terrific gymnastics outfit for my daughter.

Disclosure: The patterns and some fabric used in this post were provided to me free of charge in exchange for participation in the blog tour. All statements made in the post are my honest opinions.

Keep reading for more information on these patterns as well as how you can win some fabulous prizes!

Airport Sling Bag x 2

Have you been following along with the On the Go Bags book tour these last few days? There are lots of chances to win a copy of the book for yourself, plus, you'll see some examples of bags and organizers made from the book.

On Monday, I shared with you my Cart or Stroller Caddy project from the book. Be sure to click HERE to see it and read about my inspiration behind the design. Oh, and you can enter my giveaway of the book there, too!

Today, I'm sharing another awesome project from the book--the Airport Sling Bag--designed by Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags. A few months ago, I was asked to sew up a sample Airport Sling Bag for Fall Quilt Market using some new Riley Blake fabrics. I couldn't say yes fast enough!

On the Go Bags Book Tour + Giveaway!

Lindsay Conner of Lindsay Sews and Craft Buds and Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags have released a new book--On the Go Bags—15 Handmade Purses, Totes & Organizers (Stash Books)--and they invited me to contribute a project! You cannot believe how excited I am to have one of my new design projects, the Cart or Stroller Caddy, published in their book. I can check another item off my bucket list!

The book is available this month at CTPub.com (affiliate link) and January 7th on Amazon! Add it to your holiday wishlist now. Want to win a copy of the book? Read the review and all about the giveaway at the end of the post.

When Lindsay first told me her idea about the book, I had the perfect project in mind. When my children were little and used to ride in the grocery cart seat, I would often have a difficult time managing a grocery list, coupons, and snacks and toys for my child. I found that my child's stroller also lacked the convenient storage I needed for smaller items. I needed a hanging organizer that would fit over the handlebar, so one afternoon, I sewed together the pocket organizer I had been imagining in my head. I never got around to sharing the organizer on my blog, but when Lindsay asked me for a project idea for the book, I knew it was the one!

Sewing to Sell Book Review & Zipped Pouches

Recently, I received a complimentary e-copy of the new book, Sewing to Sell! by Virginia Lindsay of Gingercake Designs. The paper version of the book is releasing today and promises to be a huge success like all of the other wonderful patterns and projects from Virginia!

About the same time that I began to read through the book, I signed up to provide a handmade item or two for a silent auction fundraiser event being held at my daughter's school. I soon realized that one or more of the 16 starter projects included in the book would make the perfect item to donate to the auction. In the end, I sewed up six zipped pouches in varying sizes using the instructions and suggestions from Sewing to Sell! and donated them to the auction.

The Betty Skirt

If you are looking for a great, versatile girl's skirt pattern, then look no further! The Betty Skirt Pattern by the Shaffer Sisters is it!

I absolutely love patterns that offer you options or more than one piece to sew. With the Betty Skirt Pattern, you get 4 skirts--gathered, large pleats, small pleats, and gathered with placket--all in one pattern! What a great value.

And the best part of all, these skirts are easy to sew and the fit is fantastic! I'm pretty sure the Betty Skirt Pattern is now my go-to pattern for school skirts for Ella.

Super Saturday Giveaway Day!

Today is a Super Saturday Giveaway over at The Daily Sew!

Some of you may now be asking what is The Daily Sew and how do I enter the giveaways! Keep reading to find out!

How I Flipped the BG Hattie Dress Pattern!

I'm so so excited to kick-off the October edition of Frances Suzanne's Flip This Pattern Series with how I flipped the Brownie Goose Hattie Dress Pattern!

Keep reading for all the details of my flip to create this gorgeous Hattie Coat and the rest of Ella's stylish outfit.

Perfect Petal Purse & Pirates Treasure Wallet + Giveaway!

Now that my daughter, Ella, is in school and has a dress code, I'm finding that I don't have as much to sew for her anymore. Makes me so sad, but I'm finding new ways to make little things for her and for her older brother--accessories! When Fenna from Fabulous Home Sewn announced a pattern tour for her Perfect Petal Purse and Pirate Treasure Wallet (affiliate links), I jumped on board to make both for my children!

Fabric Slippers + Craft Book Month

Come sew along and celebrate Craft Book Month all September with Craft Buds for a chance to win one of several amazing prizes! You know you have them--craft, quilting, or sewing books--just sitting in your sewing room waiting to be used. I'm guilty for sure, and for some reason, my stack of books keeps growing despite my lack of effort to sew from them more often. They are just hard to resist! An entire book full of wonderful patterns and ideas!

Craft Book Month always reminds me to reach for one of those books and finally make something I've bookmarked, and this year, I decided to sew up a pair of fabric house slippers for myself! Ella doesn't get anything this time. Nope! This one's all for me!

And it's sort of funny that the book I used was Little One-Yard Wonders which is actually full of tons of absolutely terrific projects for children! The fabric slippers pattern includes pieces for children as well as adults, and I have been needing wanting a new pair of house slippers for a long time.

Photo from Amazon.com

Sunny Romper + September Showcase Giveaway!

My lovely friends, Ashley and Emily (the sisters behind Frances Suzanne) contacted me a few weeks ago about a twist on their Flip This Pattern series for September called the September Showcase.

Instead of having competitors flip a single pattern, 30+ bloggers will feature 10 up-and-coming Indie pattern designers by sharing items flipped or not flipped from the designers' patterns. To kick-off the modified series, Ashley and Emily themselves wanted to "showcase" me and my sewVery Sunny Pattern! What an honor! More about this and the giveaway later in the post, but first...

Their Flip This Pattern series is one of my favorites--and not just because I won back in February with this flip! To celebrate the launch of their September Showcase and my pattern feature, I decided to share a "flip" of my own Sunny Dress & Top Pattern--the Sunny Romper!

sewVery Simple Cold Pack Tutorial + Giveaway!

You may have read my post from yesterday about my son's bout with Pityriasis Rosea and how we have successfully battled the symptoms of the rash using all natural products from Sodee Naturals. In addition to these products, he has used a cold pack at times to help sooth the most irritated areas of skin caused by the rash.

I've made plenty of rice hot pads using this tutorial that we love to use in the winter or for an aching muscle, but none of those bags is designed to drape over the shoulders/neck or lay across the entire stomach or back where relief is most needed. Since we still have a big bag of field corn from making corn bags for our corn hole game, I decided to whip up a sewVery Simple Cold Pack filled with field corn for my son.

Here's how I made it.

Sodee Naturals + Giveaway

Days before my son's 10th birthday, he got what we thought was a bug bite on his chest. He scratched it and the spot got bigger and redder. A couple of days after his birthday party at a nearby lake, he developed a rash all over his upper chest. At first, my husband and I thought he had an allergic reaction to the rash guard shirt he wore to the party, but after several more days, the rash continued to spread and began to itch. Finally, I took him to the doctor who diagnosed the rash as Pityriasis Rosea.

The doctor told us there is no medication my son can take to speed up the recovery and that hydrocortisone and an antihistamine are really the only things he can take to help relieve the itching. We tried both with Benadryl helping the most but causing Connor to become so sleepy that he had to take a nap each time he took it. Since this wasn't an acceptable alternative for a 5th grader who needs to be alert all day, I turned to a group of my blogger friends for help and advice.

Although none of the friends I polled had had experience specifically with Pityrasis Rosea, several have eczema themselves or children with eczema who experience itching, irritated skin. They suggested using ice packs to sooth the itch as well as several different all natural products to relieve itching and promote healing as well. One friend suggested a product she has used most of her life to combat skin irritation and itching, and since her parents happen to own the business, she had them send me a sample.

Within a few days of reaching out to my friends, I received a box full of all-natural soaps, creams, scrubs, shampoos, and lotions from Sodee Naturals--much more than I had expected! My son couldn't wait to give them a try. He was desperate for some lasting relief from the itching spots that were spreading to his underarms, groin, thighs, and forehead!

Simple Zipper Pouch + Fabric Bundle Giveaway!

Yesterday, my kids were arguing over a pencil pouch. One claimed the other took it without asking. Since I have no idea who the pencil pouch was originally purchased for, I decided to go make a couple of quick ones so they would both be happy.

I found the perfect pattern and instructions for making these simple zipper pencil pouches in Craftsy's Bag Making Basics: Reversible Tote and Zipper Pouch FREE mini class (affiliate link)! I printed out the materials list and cutting instructions and then grabbed some colorful fabrics I had received from Blend Fabrics. I used four different prints from Maude Asbury's Geofabulous collection. These were the perfect to make both a masculine and a feminine pencil pouch for each of my children.

Winners Chosen & Sale Ending Today!

That's a wrap, folks! The sewVery Sunny Dress & Top Pattern Tour has officially come to an end. It's been a fun week full of adorable Sunny goodness. Don't you think?

Here a just a few more pictures of some versions I made but have never shared on the blog. This was the very first Sunny Dress I ever made.

Final Day of Guests on the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour

Well, we've come to the final day of guest posts on the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour. I'm going to miss seeing and sharing so many lovely Sunny dresses and tops with you all each day!

But before we get to my guests, let me remind you that the giveaway ends tonight (Saturday, August 16th) at midnight CST! I'll announce the winners of the 2 copies of the sewVery Sunny Dress & Top Pattern here on Sunday, August 17th! Enter using the Rafflecopter widget at the end of the post.

Also, the code SUNNY20 to save 20% off the regular pattern price expires on Sunday, August 17th at midnight CST! Visit the sewVery Pattern Shop to purchase your copy now and sew up a couple of Sunny pieces this weekend!

Now on to the fun!

Although Marisa of the blog Thirtynine is experiencing winter weather "down under", she still managed to sew up two beautiful versions--a dress and a top--of the Sunny Pattern that her daughter has enjoyed wearing. She was part of my pattern testing team and used a lovely red and white voile for the first dress that you can read about here. Marisa sewed up a second, modified top version that includes eyelet trim and pin tucks! To read her review and see how the top turned out, head over to Thirtynine now!

It's Day 5 of the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour

Today's lineup of guests will certainly inspire you to make some awesome, unique sewVery Sunny Dresses and Tops. Let's get right to my Day 5 Pattern Tour visitors!

I've had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out some with my first guest, Marissa, at the last two Sewing Summit conferences that we both attended. Marissa is the book-loving, Harry Potter fanatic who loves to sew and has a successful etsy shop making adorable themed bloomers, onesies, and halloween costumes among other cool items. She recently had a baby boy, but she still sews up tons of girl clothing items for her two beautiful nieces. Be sure to visit Marissa at her blog, Rae Gun Ramblings, to see how she involved her nieces in the fabric making decision for their new Sunny Dresses!

Day 4 of the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour

Aren't you loving all the sewVery Sunny sweetness that my guest bloggers are sharing this week? Well, I'm back for Day 4 of the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour to show you some more!

Up first is a blogger that is new to me--Shelly of Giggles & Beans. Shelly has some awesome tutorials and tips for sewing with minky or cuddle fabrics, and she recently released a free pattern for making bibs and burp cloths with it. She also runs an online fabric shop, So Tweet Fabrics, with her husband. Today, Shelly has created a precious color-blocked version of the Sunny pattern. Head to Giggles & Beans to see more of her precious daughter wearing her new top!

Day 3 of the sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour!

It's Day 3 of my sewVery Sunny Pattern Tour! Yipee! I've got lots more Sunny goodness to share with you!

My first guest is a fellow pattern designer whom I admire. In fact, I've sewn most of her designs for Ella! Melissa of Sew Like My Mom somehow manages to run her pattern design business, blog, and a couple of other jobs all while raising 4 adorable kids! Even with that hectic schedule, she managed to make time to help me not only test my pattern design but also be a part of my tour! Please be sure to visit Sew Like My Mom to see more of the precious Option A Sunny Dress she made for her daughter!

Next up is Sara of Made by Sara.