Ruffled Flower Headband

I just finished revising our Ruffled Flower pattern for The Cloth Parcel, and I just had to share!  I love how this pattern turned out.  We added an elastic headband option to the pattern, along with instructions for using regular cotton material.  Originally, this pattern was written for using denim material, like in our Scarf and Ruffled Flower craft kit.  I thought it could use a little update, since it was one of our very first patterns written just about a year ago.  In the last year, we have learned quite a bit about how we like our patterns to be laid out, taking product photos, and how to write things to be a little more readable.

I am so pleased with how this pattern turned out!  These flowers are the perfect embellishment for every little girl.  The headbands make the sweetest little baby shower gifts, stocking stuffers, and the pins work for ladies of all ages.

 

Poppy Dress

I got to do a quick pattern test for Melissa of Sew Like My Mom this weekend.  I tried out her upcoming Poppy Dress for my oldest girl, and I love how it turned out!  I did the short sleeve dress option, but there is also a sleeveless, 3/4 sleeve, and full sleeve option.  There are also pockets on each side, and an option to do this as a shirt instead of a dress.  Talk about versatile!

I also made my own bias tape for the first time for this project, which is part of the pattern.  Not hard at all.  I have never had a reason to do it, but it was so worth it for this dress.  With two more little girls in our family, I see myself making this at least a couple more times. 

Your Future is as Bright as Your Faith Printable

I've been into typography for a while (just check out my Pinterest board!) and I have been thinking that I should make some artwork for our house.  This saying is from President Thomas S. Monson's talk "Be of Good Cheer" from April 2009.  I changed it a little to say "your future" instead of "the future", just to personalize it a little bit.  I think this is a great reminder to be happy, and some days I need more reminding than others.  Although I didn't hand letter this, I love how it turned out.  I do love the hand lettered look, so maybe next time I will give that a try.

Feel free to print out a copy for yourself.  This image is sized at 8.5"x11", so it would work in a document frame.  If there is enough interest, I will make other sizes and/or colors.  Leave me a comment if you are interested.  Happy thoughts! 

Banner Nursery Art

With our third baby girl (who is now a whole month old!), we didn't repaint the nursery.  Mostly it was because I couldn't face the task with our basement finish going on and being pregnant, but I also thought I might be able to work with the blue.  I decided to go with blue, raspberry pink, and white, which is pretty similar to what I already had going on.  I am using this nursery as inspiration.  The whole project is really just getting started, and to kick it all off I made this wall art using the new Detailz Dies from Lifestyle Crafts.

Detailz Dies are cutting dies that cut and emboss in one pass when you use thick paper, plus you can use the die as a stencil.  I used the Banners set, and I love how it turned out!  I also used letterpress paper, which is thick enough to do the cut and emboss at once.  The blue and pink banners are letterpress paper that I covered with washi tape first.  I strung the banners on embroidery floss and added a sweet little initial.  So cute and easy!

Also, don't forget to use promo code "AUDZIPAN" for 20% off your order at Lifestyle Crafts.

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread

We have had an abundance of overripe bananas in our house lately, and although I have a great go-to recipe for regular banana bread, I thought it might be time to try something new.  Let me just say that this was a great idea!  While I have paired banana bread with cream cheese frosting before (amazing, by the way), I've never thought to use cinnamon.  The bread is moist and slightly spiced, and the topping is obviously sweet and delightfully crunchy, but still soft.

I made a few modifications to the original recipe, increasing the amount of flour and mashed bananas a little bit, and making two smaller loaves instead of one huge loaf.  If you would rather make one loaf, half the topping recipe and bake for about 10-15 minutes longer.  

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread
Adapted from Cannella Vita

For bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water

For topping:
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 Tbsp. packed dark brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter and flour two 9"x5" metal loaf pans.  Or, spray with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the sides.  I used cooking spray without the parchment paper, and it was really difficult to get the bread out without messing up the topping.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, oil, honey, and water. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir well.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle them evenly over the batter in both pans and pat down.

Bake the bread until a tester inserted into its center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then carefully remove the bread from the pans, taking care not to dislodge the topping. Cool completely before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves.

Fabric Pom Pom Headbands

I made some of these fabric pom pom headbands in anticipation of the newest member of our family-- our third baby girl!  Her big sister was slightly willing to model them for me, since we haven't met our little bundle yet.  We are not hurting for girly stuff around here, but it's always fun to make something new.  This project is great for using fabric scraps, and these didn't take too long using this tutorial from Little Miss Momma.

I got the fancy elastic a while ago from Pick Your Plum, and it's perfect for these headbands.  After googling headband sizes, I varied all the lengths between 12" and 15" for newborn head sizes and up.  Obviously some of them are big enough for a two-year-old, but I also made a couple of smaller baby sizes.

Can't wait to meet our little girl!

My Little Pony Birthday Cake

My Little Pony was the requested theme for my daughter's 4th birthday party.  I made a three-layer 9" round cake in rainbow colors.  Sadly, I wasn't able to get a photo of the inside, but it was super bright and vibrant. 

I got my kid-at-heart husband a cotton candy machine for Christmas, so he whipped up the blue cotton candy for the clouds.  I thought it turned out as a really cool touch.  I'll admit that I had much grander plans for this cake, but after a party with a dozen friends, I just wasn't up for it.  The rainbow ended up laying on the cake instead of standing up, and the pony was just a toy. 

Even though I wasn't able to do all the things with this cake that I had planned, it was still a huge hit with the kids and really tasty!

Lifestyle Crafts: 40% Off Templates

Lifestyle Crafts is running a special on their templates this week.  This 40% off sale includes:

Cards, Envelopes, and Tags

3D Shapes

Boxes & Bags

PLUS, you can still use my promo code "AUDZIPAN" to get an ADDITIONAL 20% off!  This is a great sale, so don't miss out.

Peacock Blue Yarn Wreath

I tried my hand at a wrapped yarn wreath the other day to try to keep myself occupied during some pretty awful weather.  If you are looking to fill some time, a yarn wrapped wreath is the way to go.  Looking for a quick project?  This is not it.  It got a little tedious, but I do like how everything turned out.  I used a straw wreath form and kept the plastic wrapper on it.  That kept it from making a huge mess and made the yarn lay flatter.

For underneath the flower embellishments, I glued down a piece of crocheted lace.  Then I did a few rolled flowers, two out of felt, one out of burlap, and one out of a piece of cotton trim I had on hand.  The yellow flowers are just a rolled up strip of felt that I cut into a fringe.  I just love how everything turned out!

 

Zig Zag Quilt

If you never thought you'd see the day that I finally finished my zig zag quilt, you would not be alone.  But, great things have been known to happen around here from time to time, so as a small attempt at a New Year's resolution, I finished this thing.

I used two flannels for the back in wide horizontal stripes, and I love how it turned out.  Admittedly, this is the first quilt I have made where I did every step myself, including the quilting.  I used a free motion foot for my Bernina.  Talk about an upper body workout!  It's not perfect, but I still love it.

The basement family room that I made the zig zag quilt for is almost done, too.  Right now, we are finishing installing rock around our fireplace.  After that, we just have to do trim before the carpet can be installed.  Happy day!

I used this quilt tutorial from the Bee Square Blog.  It was fairly simple and easy to follow.  Go make your own!

The Cloth Parcel

I've mentioned that I have been working on a fun new business with my mom, and it's finally up and running!  The Cloth Parcel is our new quilting and crafting website.  We have cute fabric, original patterns, craft and quilting kits, and so many fun notions.  All of the patterns were written by my mom or me, or both of us together, and are available to download right when you buy them.

I designed this Chenille Burp Cloth Kit, which features Riley Blake Woodland Tails flannel, in both pink and blue.  These make stunning baby shower gifts, and since they are much smaller than a blanket, it's not a huge ordeal to make the chenille.  We even have Olfa Chenille Cutters available, which make this project so quick and easy.

We have put together nine different baby blanket kits, also available in burp cloth size, which come with super soft Shannon Cuddle fabric for one side (also known as minky) and a variety of flannels for the backs.  The flannels come from Moda and Riley Blake.

How cute is this little wind-up bear?  We scored these Japanese Tokotoko Wind-Up Felt Doll Kits after we saw them at Quilt Market last October.  The kits come with everything you need for the dolls, including the wobbly wind-up mechanism.  We have seven different dolls: Red Bear, Orange Cat, Pink Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Pinocchio, and Red Riding Hood.  You have to see all of them!

We have so many fun things that are still in the design stages, so keep checking back.  I will still be putting my own projects up on here, so don't think I'm going anywhere.  Today is my day to finish the binding on my zig zag quilt (it's about time)!  Also, don't forget that the Lifestyle 50% off promo is running this whole week.

Lifestyle Crafts: 50% Off Promo Code!

Lifestyle Crafts is running a HUGE special next week.  You know my coupon code "AUDZIPAN" that usually gets you 20% off?  Well, from January 21-27, that same code will get you a huge 50% off on anything at Lifestyle Crafts!  I don't know about you, but I love a great deal.  If you are in the market for some new dies, embossing folders, or letterpress supplies, don't pass this one up.

Curvy Pleated Pouch & New Mom Hospital Survival Kit

I discovered this curvy pleated pouch tutorial on Pinterest from Charm Stitch months ago, but I only thought to make some a couple of weeks ago for Christmas gifts.  I made two, and they both turned out super cute, although I didn't get any photos of the second one.  I would have made another one for myself, but I ran out of zippers (and time).  I loved that I was able to use some of my cute fabric scraps for these, too.

My sister-in-law is pregnant and due with her first baby soon, and I had her name for the gift exchange, so I thought it might be fun to do a little "Hospital Survival Kit" to go inside the pouch.  It's kind of hard to tell in these first pictures, but these pouches end up as a pretty good sized clutch, so there is a bit of room in there.  Having had two kids myself, I was able to think of a few little luxuries that are nice to have in the hospital.  Here's what I included:

Socks, lip balm, mints, and nail polish may seem like silly things to send, but when you are sitting in a hospital room wearing an ugly gown and not quite feeling yourself, it's the little things that cheer you up and make you feel like a normal person again.  Lip balm is great for when you aren't allowed to eat anything, mints for when you can't get up and brush your teeth, nail polish for if you get some downtime, and socks are the only clothes of your own you can wear all the time.

I had so much fun putting this together, that I may have to start taking these to baby showers.  Hopefully I get around to making one for myself, as I'll be wanting it come March!

ETA: You can buy this Cabbage Rose fabric by Heather Bailey online from The Cloth Parcel!