A Watercolor Blanket || Spoonflower

Hi Friends! 

I recently collaborated with Spoonflower and I am in love with the finished product! Spoonflower is an online shop where you can create and purchase fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap.  You can upload your own designs or choose from hundreds of designs from talented artists to create a truly unique product. Another nice feature is that you design and sell your own designs so others can use your prints for fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap.  How cool is that?!?  I knew I wanted to make a special gift for my niece's birthday and Spoonflower delivered exactly what I envisioned! 

To begin, I uploaded a watercolor picture that my sister had custom painted.  She didn't know what it was for so it took a little coaxing to get her to paint it without sharing why ;) Having a summer birthday, I wanted to create something fun and summery so I went with the popsicle theme and really wanted to showcase the watercolor aspect of the picture. Allie from Spoonflower was so helpful with this project and suggested using their new lawn ultra fabric, which is SO soft and printed beautifully.  After the picture is uploaded, you chose the fabric and amount then add it to your cart. Shipping is super fast and you receive a customized product! 

For the back of the blanket, I used some hot pink quilted fabric that I had and purchased hot pink pom pom garland for the border...swoon.  Pom pom anything is my jam.  I cut the fabric into a perfect square, measuring 36" x 36" and pinned the fabric together, inside out. Then, I sewed around the edges while leaving a small opening to flip it right side in.  After the edged were all sewn and the fabric was flipped with the design on the outside, I pinned the pom pom garland along the outer edges of the Spoonflower fabric.  I chose to put it on the outside because I really loved the look of the border against the watercolor fabric.  The garland was slightly tricky because you need to sew the inside and then go back and sew the outside to ensure it lays flat, but if you use a zipper foot it's much easier to accommodate the bulkiness.  I had fabric left over, so I'm planning on creating little pillows to go with it.   

Note:  These pictures have not been enhanced at all so you can see exactly how the fabric was printed with amazing colors . 

I'm so happy with the finished product and I cannot wait to use Spoonflower again to create something one of a kind!  A huge thank you to Spoonflower for providing this fabric to complete my vision!  Be sure to check them out on Instagram as well, @spoonflower, and their website: Spoonflower.com. 

It's a Beach Birthday Party!

Yesterday, my sister had a birthday party for Brynn and it was such a cute beach themed day! She turned two earlier this month so she was a pro at blowing out her candles and listening to everyone sing Happy Birthday to her.  Poor Olivia had a 102 temperature so she had to miss out on all the fun and stayed home with Rob.  She woke up this morning singing "Happy Birthday, BB", not knowing she missed everything so we'll have leftover cupcakes tonight ;) 

The birthday girl! 

Everything was decorated with a beach theme and my personal favorite were the cupcakes and crab veggie platter.  Pinterest inspired, of course.  To make the crab, slice the top off of the pepper and turn it upside down.  Slice "legs" and "claws" and assemble!  I also used olives and capers for the eyes.  Such a simple, fun addition to a plain veggie platter! For the cupcakes, my sister used mini Teddy Grahams and lifesavers, along with blue icing and crushed golden oreos.  They came out so adorable!!  Now, on to all of the pictures...

Kiddie pool filled with ice and beverages...brillant

Lastly, a sneak peek of the gift I made for Brynn... can't wait to show you during the week! 

Have a great Sunday! 

Floral & Striped Teepee || DIY

This post is sponsored by Online Fabric Store.  Fabric was provided and all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Hi Friends! Happy Friday! Today I wanted to share my tutorial for a DIY teepee with you.  The Online Fabric Store provided me with gorgeous fabric to make Olivia a teepee for her second birthday.  I was so happy with their customer service and could not have had a better experience with their company.  The fabric I chose was Premier Prints Canopy in baby pink and Amy Butler Fresh Poppies in fuchsia.  I loved the colors and patterns together and knew it would be perfect for a fun, whimsical play teepee. The teepee is about 36" on each side, and I was given three yards of the Premier fabric and four yards of the Amy Butler fabric to use.  I'm planning on using what was leftover to make a few pillows for her play area to match.  I also love that we can bring the teepee outside for some fun in the fresh air too! This tutorial is full of pictures, so you can follow along with how I created her teepee. 

Supplies:

* 3 - 6 yards of fabric (depending on how large you'd like your area and if you are alternating sides)
*Four 1 1/4 poplar dowels (found at Lowe's or Home Depot)
*Sisal rope

I am lucky enough to have a local shop where you are able to rent sewing machines and the owner was wonderful at instructing me. My sewing machine needs to be repaired so this was the perfect opportunity for me to spend a few baby free hours and learn some fun sewing techniques ;)

To begin, we traced out our patterns on tracing paper.  I found a pattern on Pinterest and adjusted it to fit our space.  Remember to check twice and cut once! This was so important when we were measuring out the striped fabric, as I wanted horizontal stripes.  I chose to alternate sides with the two fabrics so each side needed to be matched appropriately.  

After all of the sides were traced, measured and cut, I serged all of the sides with a serger.  This prevents the fabric from fraying and provides cleaner sides.  The lighting wasn't great, so I apologize for some darker pictures.  I was really happy with how clean the lines looked after using the serger. 

Once all of the sides have been serged, begin to cut the fabric for the poles.  I made these 5" wide.  Next time, I'd probably make them 6" wide to provide a little more wiggle room as they are very tight on the poles.  Use the serger to enclose the fabric to create tubes.

After your pole tubes are created, layer one side (inside out) with one tube then another side (inside out), basically creating a little sandwich.  Sew the two sides together, with the tube inside of the sides.  Repeat with each side.

The front of the teepee is a mix between both fabrics. My absolute favorite part is the monogram on the top portion.  It's a sweet personalized touch and I love all things monogrammed! This was done by using the embroidering machine, a perk of sewing this at the shop. 

Once the teepee was all sewn together, I trimmed the loose threads and laid it out flat.  Place the dowels in the fabric tubes and then maneuver them around so the fabric sits nicely and all four poles are evenly spaced.  This was probably the most frustrating part for my husband.  I had my hubby help me put the poles in and lets just say it was a little touch and go there ;)  I literally had to move the poles in different directions approximately 742 times.  Anyway, once the poles were in, he drilled a hole in each one and began to string the sisal rope through, wrapping it around each pole until the teepee was able to stand on its own.  The first time we tried to do this, we wrapped it around quite a few times and realized it wouldn't be able to open and close so the better option for us was to wrap it slightly less. 

I am thrilled with the final result. I set it up in our playroom for her to see it on the morning of her birthday and she dove right into it!  I love that this is such a fun place for her to play and enjoy herself with her little friends.  For an extra whimsical touch, I added pillows from Home Goods and a super soft, fluffy rug from T.J. Maxx, which is actually a bath mat - perfect size! I also added a pom pom garland around the poles, which I love. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  Any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll be sure to help. A huge thank you to the Online Fabric Store for sponsoring this post and providing the beautiful fabric! What do you think about the teepee??  Make sure you check them out on Instagram @onlinefabricstore! I hope this inspires you to do some DIY yourself ;)