Brighten your Morning:

If you didn't know, next weekend we "spring forward". While I love longer days and the idea that summer is right around the corner, waking up an hour earlier just doesn't seem fun. So, I decided to make my morning a little tastier and a little brighter with skinny banana chocolate muffins, and a cute coffee cozy! 

The coffee cozy has been one of my recent sewing endeavors. I learned how to sew a button and how to adjust a pattern. I am clearly not an expert, but I am learning more and more with each project I try. I found a great tutorial on the blog "Love 2 create" (Here); this blog has a great step by step tutorial with pictures if you would like to create your own coffee cozy!

 

I think I had the most fun picking out the materials. Don't you love the surprise zebra print inside?!

I did have some difficulty finding the right size. The first one I made, I traced a Starbuck's coffee sleeve to create a pattern, however it was a little too small for the big travel cup I normally take to work.  After a little trial and error I adjusted the original pattern to fit my bigger cup! 

Now that you know about the coffee cozy, I bet you really want to know about those skinny banana chocolate muffins! Did I mention they were SKINNY? Oh, and absolutely delicious! I will share the recipe with you tomorrow, so check back! 

For now, enjoy your last week of "sleeping-in" before the time changes next Sunday! 

With Love, 

Katie M. 

Revive: Craft Room

Confession: the craft room is the one room in our house I just don't love. While our house is far from finished, other rooms have progressed much faster than the craft room. I think it might be the fact that it is our catch-all room, while I do call this my "craft room", it is also a guest room, extra storage, and an all-around hobby room. While my sewing machine holds a permeant spot in the room, the closet is also filled with my husbands hunting clothes and random sporting goods. Hence the "hobby" room. 

The walls haven't been painted and the room has quite the assortment of furniture, including an old dresser, a lovely parson desk, and storage cubes.  We also have a futon, while a very nice futon, futons just don't have the character of a comfy couch, or nicely made bed. So, what does this all come down to? A great project! I am so thankful to have a space I can fill with crafts and not have to worry about putting away a project that is not yet finished, but the room needs some love! Here are a few inspirations I am drawing from for this project: 

I love all of the storage and shelving ideas. It seems to be a common thread throughout my inspiration. 

I also love the combination of whites and neutrals with pops of green. My craft room right now is currently heading that way, it just hasn't come together! We have a clean lined desk and storage cubes, with green pillows on the futon. We also have a great navy blue patterned rug. My ideal wall color would be crisp white or clean green, but we will see when I pick it out! I will post some pictures of the room now later, just to mark the progress that is to come!

 

 

With Love,

Katie M.

 

PS- My mom is in the same process so it should be fun to see how they both turn out! I will keep you updated!

 

Sewing Sunday: Valentine's Day Bunting

Welcome back and happy Sewing Sunday :) It has been a wonderful weekend in Tallahassee, we celebrated 2 birthdays, church was inspiring, and I successfully finished another sewing project. As I mentioned in my last post I love Valentine's day, so this week's project surrounded around Valentine's Day! 

I am not sure if it is a southern thing or just my family, but we decorate for every season, holiday, and special event! Christmas is not the only holiday where decorations adorn our home. Unfortunately, I haven't quite gathered all of my seasonal decorations from my parents' house, so my Valentine's decorations are lacking right now. To perk up our home and add a little love, a holiday sewing project was a must. I chose to do a simple bunting with colors that could be used for multiple holidays!

Here are the supplies you will need: 

Pinking shears, pins, thread, ribbon, and your choice of fabrics.

The process is quite logical. First, cut your fabric. I cut my pendant pieces to be 8 inches wide and 10 inches tall (to the peak). This allows for a 1/2 inch seam. Your final measurment of the pendant will be 7x9. 

Next, iron your seams and sew a straight seam along each side. Make sure your bobbin color matches, because it will be the side that shows when the bunting is hung! 

Last, pin each pendant on to the ribbon and sew them on. I used a zig-zag stich to attach the pendants. It was strong and quite cute! 

        

And that is it! Remember I am a beginner and still figuring this all out. If I can do it, you can too. My biggest challenge was getting a consistent size. 

I really want to add a few hearts to the pendants, but haven't figured out quite how I want to do that yet. I would like them to be removable, because this bunting could be used for so many holidays. For example, I could add a touch a blue ribbon and it would be perfect for the 4th of July.

(Imagining Hearts)

 Or think how cute this would be at a FSU tailgate! I did a mock-up of FSU bunting too!

Just imagine the possibilities! Hopefully I will be able to use this for many holidays. I will keep you updated on how I use and transform this cute bunting. 

Happy Sewing Y'all. 

With Love, 

Katie M. 

Sewing Sunday: Happy Boots

Happy Sunday and welcome to the 2nd installment of Sewing Sundays! Fall has come and gone and winter is officially here!  With this cooler weather I have been wearing my boots in full force: riding boots, dressy boots, cowboy boots, bean boots...you name it!  To help store my boots and maintain their shape, I started looking for boot inserts.  After searching Pinterest I found people used pool noodles and old magazines to support their boots. The ideas were clever, but not so cute! So I decided make my own :) They were simple, fast, and turned out perfect!  Here is to no more sad, frumpy boots:

Here is what you will need:

Scissors

Measuring tape

Pins

Fabric

Ribbon

Matching Thread

(You probably have everything you need on hand)

Step 1: Measure a rectangle, mine rectangle was 22x11. My boots are approximately 16 inches tall from where my heal sits to the top of my boot.  I also added a few inches because I wanted the boots inserts to show, this is your preference. You will also need to allow 2 inches where the ribbon will be inserted and a half inch inseam. In total the length of my material was 22 inches:

16 inch tall boots+ 2 inch ribbon allowance+ 1/2 inch seam allowance+ about 3.5 inches showing. 

For the width of the insert I measured around my own ankle and added a few inches so the insert would fit snug. My final width was 11 inches including a 1/2 inch seam allowance. 

Final material measurement: 22 inches by 11 inches. And you will obviously need 2 cuts of this measurement (1 for each boot).

Step 2: Fold down the top of your fabric one inch (see the left picture) and pin. If the "wrong" side (or back of your fabric) is facing up, fold and pin towards you (my material was reversible, so it did not matter for me).  We want all of the ugly seams on the back of the fabric. This fold will be where the ribbon will be inserted. Sew a straight line across from one end to the other. 

Next, fold the rectangle so the two long edges meet with the "right" sides together, the "right" side is the side you want to be visible when your project is finished. Sew down the long edges with a 1/2 inch seem allowance. Rotate the material and then continue to sew the bottom of the fabric, finishing with a few backstitches. At this point you should have an inside-out tube with a clean opening at the top.

Step 3: Now for the fun! Flip your tube so the finished side is now visible and stuff it with your filling. Make sure to stuff it tightly so your boot insert is strong. 

Step 4: Your last step is to run the ribbon through the top seam you created in Step 1. Just as you would thread a drawstring, pin a safety pin to the ribbon and guide it through the hole. Pull the ribbon ends together and tie a bow! I chose to do a drawstring so the stuffing could be easily removed or replaced and the insert could be washed, you don't want stinky boot inserts. You could also add deodorizers in the stuffing if you have stinky feet ;) . 

I hope this tutorial was informative and you are able to make your own cute inserts! It was pretty easy to figure out and can easily be adjusted to fit any pair of boots. Let me know how your project goes! Here is to no more sad, frumpy boots!

With Love, 

Katie M. 

Sewing Sunday:

I have recently become interested in sewing.  My mom has sewn for many years and I have finally decided to learn the skill for myself.  When I was young my mom made me dresses and Halloween costumes, and as I grew up those costume request turned into new pillow shams and curtain projects. Now that I have my own house, the list of possible sewing projects is endless! Time to learn for myself.

I always wonder how people learn to sew,whether by classes, family tradition, or by simple trial and error. I will be doing a mix of the listed, but mostly trial and error with a lot of calls to my mom.  I have decided to dedicate some Sunday posts to new projects I am attempting...whether they be good or bad. 

My first project was an infinity scarf; I have to say it turned out great! I chose a simple black material so my seams wouldn't matter if they didn't line up.  I found a tutorial via Pinterest (at Shrimp Salad Circus); the tutorial was very helpful with great pictures and directions.This is how it turned out:

I only had to use my seam ripper one time :). It was a great first project for beginners. Here is a quick picture of my sewing station! Seems like the perfect nook to be creative and I don't have to put my sewing machine away after each project.

I have "pinned" a few more sewing projects and I currently have another project in the works that I will post about next week!  You can check out my inspiration and other tutorials via my "Sewing Projects" board on Pinterest! 

With Love,

Katie M.