The Amelia Dress

The photo is terrible, sorry. But this is a little pillowcase dress I made for one of my coworker's coming baby. I didn't get the bloomers done in time for the baby shower, so they came later and got a separate photo. This dress ties over the shoulder, I don't know if you can tell...

Baby Skirt

Remember that diaper bag I made a while back? Well I used the last remnants of the material to make this little baby skirt. I'm showing it with the top it will be paired with, with a onsie underneath, of course. Super easy project.

Weekly Recipe: Moistest Chocolate Cake Ever!

This chocolate cake is sinfully delicious. (You'll see what I mean by sinfully when you read the ingredients). I prefer it with a cream cheese frosting myself. This recipe is in honor of Kathy's birthday!

(photo from A Day That is Dessert)

Dierdra's Triple Chocolate Cake

Butter

Cocoa Powder

18 oz devil's food cake mix

4 oz box of chocolate instant pudding

3/4 c sour cream

1/2 c water

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/2 c vegetable oil

4 eggs

chocolate chips (1-2 handfuls)

1 c toasted almonds (optional)

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bundt cake pan and dust with cocoa powder. Mix all ingredients together, except the chocolate chips. Beat for 2 minutes with mixer. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt cake pan. Bake 40-45 min. (check at 35 min.) When you check, touch for firmess and jiggle (it needs to jiggle just a very little in the middle). Cool for 10 min. then remove from pan. Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I personally skip the powdered sugar and frost it with cream cheese frosting. Here's a recipe for that in case you don't have one:

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 box powdered sugar

1 stick butter (1/2 c)

2 t vanilla

Baby Shoe Madness

I've always loved baby shoes, something about their itty bitty size. Here are a bunch from Etsy that I love.

Links from Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Gracious May, Claudia Yazzy, Twenty Second Street, I Think Sew dot com, Ivory and Moss, Prissy Piggie, Hannah Bell, Nahvrihanna, Ivory and Moss, Ivory and Moss.

Bijou Market

This looks like it could be a good boutique with lots of cute stuff. I'm planning on checking it out this weekend. Anyone want to join me? Click here to link to the website and check out some of the sellers.

Lunch Bag

Here's an insulated lunch bag I started months ago and finally finished. I love the fabric but the size is a tad small for me, since I pack a lunch big enough to feed an army most days. Probably the perfect size for most people though. The outside is vinyl for easy clean up, strap is long enough to carry on your arm (even with a coat on), inside is foil insulation (also easy cleaning).

Custom Car Seat Covers

More baby stuff.
I am happy with the car seat I bought, but if you aren't happy with how yours looks, check this out. This is such a fabulous solution! Your Car Seat Cover at Etsy makes custom covers for you. You pick your fabrics (I believe you buy them yourself) and she does the rest. Her shop is temporarily closed but will open again on June 30. Look through the Sold items (right column, half way down) to see some of what she's made.
For an extra review check out Dingbat Press.

Baby Dress

Here's a little dress I made for my baby girl. I actually used a real pattern, something kind of new to me. I am trying to educate myself more in sewing, so this was a step in that direction.

Another Bib

I know, I know, this has turned into a baby blog already! Hope you like baby stuff. Here's a bib I made for my sister's baby. On this one I used terrycloth on the back side and it was very easy to sew, not too bulky. If you'd like a bib for your little one, let me know! $10 per bib. You can even pick your own fabric if you want.

Weekly Recipe: Chicken Lime Chili

You may want to half the recipe, it makes a lot. I got this one from my friend E.G. years ago. It's a keeper in my book, obviously.photo via Eat Better America


Chicken Lime Chili

6 chicken breasts, cooked in 3-4 cans chicken broth (reserve broth after cooking). Cut into bite-sized pieces and add:
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 chopped onion
2 small cans green chilies
4 t cumin
2 12oz cans Shoepeg corn (sometimes a little hard to find, but use this kind if you can-it's smaller and sweeter)
4 cans Northwestern white beans (I think Great Northern beans can also be used)
2 limes, juiced (or more, according to taste)
5 c of the broth from the first step (or more if desired)

Easy and delicious.

Fabulous Reversible Fabric Bowls

So I'm obsessed with 2 things lately. Baby stuff and fabric stuff. I'm breaking from the load of baby posting lately to bring you a fabric post. I've been a fan of Joel Dewberry's fabrics ever since I discovered them (and I met him at the Surtex show last year--oh yeah, that's right). And I love hand made bowls of paper, lace, fabric, melted plastic, whatever. So naturally I love these!
And guess what! There are instructions! Click here to get 'em. I'd better add this to my ever growing list of things to make!

Soon I Will Make...

...this baby dress. Thank you Halle Berry for the inspiration.
Mine will be made with this fabric though, same fabric different color. Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room fabric--it's a home decor fabric with a cotton sateen finish. I think it might also make a lovely pillow for my new Pottery Barn Dream Rocker (via KSL Classifieds). It came with a sage green slipcover, but I plan to dye it chocolate brown.
Actually maybe that fabric won't go with brown... but I'll find somewhere else to use it. Maybe frame a piece and make it art for the nursery. It might look something like this:

Upcycled T-shirt Skirt

I love upcycled things. I love making something new and great out of something old. Here's a tutorial on how to turn a men's shirt into a lil' girls skirt. I hope it looks cute in real life too.Click here for the link.

More Bibs and Burpies

Here are a few more of the bibs and burp cloths I've made for my friend L. After making these for her, I've decided to make some for my own coming baby too, using leftover fabrics from previous projects. So one of these days, there will be even more to see!

These first 2 are chenille backed. It's kind of a ribbed terrycloth, if you aren't familiar. Very functional. This one has a brown and tan polka-dot corduroy back. The slight angle of the photo makes it look a little skewampus, but it's really not. It's symmetrical.

I Must Learn to Make:

I need to learn how to make onesies so I can make cute stuff like this. Check out ittikid for more super cute stuff! Like these absolutely adorable tights and this petal skirt.
Another site with some fun onesies (upcycled from t-shirts) is The Jump Off on Etsy. I'd love to recycle some of Ryan's shirts into onesies (especially if I was having a boy). Anyone know where I can find a good tutorial? Maybe I can just figure it out. I suppose I would need a surger anyway...

Bibs, Binkies, and Onesies

Here's what I've been up to lately. Making some bibs for my friend L for her little Murphy to wear. She picked some darling fabrics (more to come later this week). This one has little cowboys and lassoes, with brown courderoy on the back side. This one is also a little narrower than the others because of the way the fabric shrunk, but still wide enough.
I also made a couple binkie clips for my baby. I only have pictures of this one so far. I used suspender clips from the fabric store and Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, with a velcro closure.And one more applique onesie. For this flower I used the Sizzix Bigshot die cutting machine to cut it out, which took about 3 seconds. Gotta love that.

Ruffle Onesie

Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to be making some of these. Doesn't look too comfy for sitting, but real cute for the crawling stage, right? I see some great possibilities. Go to this site for the tutorial.