Hello Luscious Quilt

My darling baby sister is headed off to college. Even though I live far away from her anyways, it's weird to think that she isn't going to be home when I go home to visit and it is totally so crazy that she is old enough to fly the nest and head out on her own! Seems like yesterday we were playing barbies together! ;) 

(p.s. I am six years older than her... but we both totally look like we are 12 right?!? ha ha)

As a going away present, I made her a comfy quilt to wrap up in when she is homesick and missing us! It worked perfectly that I was coming out for the SNAP conference (post on that to come soon... sorry it's taking so long!) and so I was able to bring her quilt home on the airplane and give it to her in person instead of mailing it to her. She LOVED it! 

I used the a Hello Luscious layer cake (by Basic Grey for Moda) paired with a White Moda layer cake to create the zig zags on the front of the quilt and then I used soft minky fabric on the back so that it is super soft and cuddly! 

I mentioned a few months ago that I have become a quilt addict... This was the first "big" quilt I have ever made... I even did the actual quilting myself too! It isn't perfect but it was made with love:) 

I am loving the way that the quilted zig zags look on the backside of the quilt in the minky fabric! 

This quilt measured 64x80 inches so lucky for me I had the help of my two studly brothers to hold it up for me! Thanks guys! :)

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 I am super excited to announce that at the request of some of you readers, I am going to be doing a step by step Zig Zag Quilt Along for the month of June. The quilt will be a quilt similar to this one, but I am only going to use one layer cake and add some borders around the zig zag center to give it a little detail... So be sure to check back for when I announce more and give you the supply list! It is going to be a lot of fun! I am teaming up with my friend Rach from Family Ever After and she will be doing a ruffle quilt step by step as well. At the end we will be doing a link party for everyone to link up their finished quilts! So get ready to get your quilting on!! :)

{Tip}: How to Shorten a Metal Zipper

When I was at my local fabric shop last year, I saw a basket of vintage zippers and fell in love with this pink one. At the time, I didn't really think about how long the zipper was but I went ahead and bought it. Every time I went to use it in a project, I could never use it because it was 20" long. Finally, I came up with a project to use it in, but it was still 6 inches too long. So I decided to figure out how to shorten it. Since it is metal, you can't cut it with scissors like a regular zipper. So with trial and a BIG error, I successfully shortened it and it worked perfectly for my project!

So here is how I did it....

Step 1: Lay your zipper face down and mark where your zipper needs to be shortened to.

Step 2: Use needle nosed pliers to pull out the teeth above where the zipper needs to be shortened. You don't have to pull all of them out, just enough so that you will have room to cut the fabric above.

 Ok... this is where I had a big error so learn from my mistakes!! 

My error was that I forgot to take the crimp/stop off of the top of the zipper and put it back on above where I had removed teeth and cut the fabric. So once I started sewing my zipper onto my little bag, the actual zipper pull flew off and it was super tricky getting it back on correctly! {Like- it took me a half an hour to put it back on! ha ha But maybe I am just not talented when it comes to putting a zipper pull back on though! ha ha}

Step 3: Remove the crimp/stop on top of the zipper on each side and then use your pliers to crimp the zipper stopper back onto the fabric so that the zipper pull stops once it reaches the top of the zipper teeth.

Step 4: Cut your excess zipper off where you have removed the metal teeth. {I used pinking shears to do it so that it wouldn't fray but after the incident of the zipper flying off and me working with it so much to get it back on, it ended up fraying anyways, so just use whatever you have}

So there you have it. A super simple way of shortening a metal zipper! Just be sure to learn from my mistakes before shortening your own metal zipper! :)

Ta-Da Tuesday Link Party #35

Time to Ta-Da Tuesday!! What have you all been up to last week??

Last week I had the pleasure of going to the SNAP conference to meet all of my favorite bloggers so I was a little MIA on my blog! {Post to come soon about all the fun I had}

Here are some of the most viewed/favorites of last week:

Hanging Bed by Create Inspire Motive

Trunk for the Junk Pattern and Tutorial bu Just Another Hang Up

Recycled Jars by Designing, Dining, and Diapers

Bubble Ruffle TuTu by The Creative Vault

We Met, We Married, We Love Heart Maps by Queen B, Creative Me

Great job guys!!! Grab a featured button! :)

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So here is to another awesome party!!!

I would love for you to:

1. Become a follower of Mommy by day... Crafter by night and or like us on FB.

2. Link back to my blog, or put the Ta-Da Tuesday Button anywhere on your blog to share the link party love!

Please remember to link to a specific post, and no links to giveaways or etsy shops. And please only link to posts with projects that you have made- No Pinterest roundups please. Thanks!!!

Ta-Da Tuesday Link Party #34

Time for Ta-Da Tuesday!


Here is what I have been up to last week:

Here are some of the most viewed/favorites of last week:

30 Projects to do with Fabric by Blissful and Domestic

Yellow and gray chevron quilt by Crafted by Katie B

Settee Makeover by Little House in the Big D

Petticoat Skirt by Sew Blessed

Shabby Apple Dress Knock Off by Sisters, Sisters

Great job guys!!! Grab a featured button! :)

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So here is to another awesome party!!!

I would love for you to:

1. Become a follower of Mommy by day... Crafter by night and or like us on FB.

2. Link back to my blog, or put the Ta-Da Tuesday Button anywhere on your blog to share the link party love!

Please remember to link to a specific post, and no links to giveaways or etsy shops. And please only link to posts with projects that you have made- No Pinterest roundups please. Thanks!!!

The Bustle Bottom Skirt + Tutorial

For Easter this year, I made my girls outfits to wear to church... For my oldest daughter, I made a this dress, and for my youngest, I made this little bustle bottomed skirt...

I have wanted to try something with a bustled look for a while, so Saturday night at about midnight (leave it to me to wait until the last minute) I came up with this skirt...

It was super simple... 

You will need to measure your little gal before buying your fabric. Measure the waist and times that by 2- that will be your width of fabric needed. Then measure from waist to the top of the knee (or wherever you want the length to fall.) You will need to add a few inches to allow for the hem and the waistband casing- and then after calculating that in- add a few inches to create the bustle part. (I hope this makes sense. For mine, I added a half inch for the hem, and inch and a half for the casing (I used 3/4 inch elastic... I like to sew at the top of the casing as well so I needed a little extra for that) and then I added 2 inches for the bustle effect)

Supplies:

-Fabric (amount determined by your measurements)

-elastic for waistband (I used 3/4 inch)

-either elastic thread or you can use 1/4 inch elastic like I did (this is for the bustled part... I only used 12 inches so you don't need much)

Step 1: Zig zag or serge the edges of your fabric (you will only need to do the sides of the fabric since the top and bottom will be finished off with casing and hem)

Step 2: Put your fabric right sides together and sew up the side and then press the seams open.

Step 3: Iron your hem (roll over 1/4 inch and press, then roll over again 1/4 inch and press) 

and casing for waistband (roll over 1/4 inch and press and then whatever width your waist band elastic is be sure to allow a little extra for your to sew and still fit the elastic into the casing).

Step 4: Ok... like I said, I made this at midnight the night before Easter so I had to use what I had on hand so I made do with 1/4 inch elastic... If you are using elastic thread, skip the next few steps and improvise with your elastic thread...

Cut your elastic strips for the bustled part of the skirt. Since my skirt was 30 inches wide, I cut 6 2-inch strips of elastic so I could space them every 5 inches apart. So when cutting yours, decide how many bustles you want, how much you want them to bustle up, etc and then cut your strips the way you want them.

 Step 5: Space and pin your elastic strips evenly around your skirt. (tuck them into the bottom of the skirt and pin) Like I said, mine were spaced every 5 inches.

Step 6: Sew your hem to secure the elastic pieces. This is how it should look when you are done.

 Step 7:Put your presser foot and needle down to hold your first elastic piece in place. Pull the elastic back towards you as far as it will go and mark that place on the fabric with a pin. Then measure and place a pin for each elastic. (mine stretched 3 1/2 inches) Now when you start to sew the elastic while it is stretched, you can see that visual of where it needs to stretch to and it will be even with each of the 6 elastics once they are all sewn. (Your elastic may be bigger or smaller so it may stretch more or less than mine so take your own measurement to see how high to place the pin.)

 Step 8: Sew each of the elastics in place.

Step 9: Sew your casing. Be sure to leave an opening big enough to fit your elastic in. Thread elastic all the way through the casing. (I hook a safety pin to one end to feed it through easier)

Step 10: Put your elastic ends together, one on top of the other, and zig zag back and forth to stitch it closed. Make sure it is not twisted in the casing before sewing it.

Step 11: Once your elastic is sewn closed, pull it all the way into the casing and then stitch the opening of the casing closed.

That's it! :)

Ta-Da Tuesday Link Party #33

Time for Ta-Da Tuesday!

Be sure to enter the Jo Totes Giveaway going on right now on my blog:

Here are some of the most viewed/favorites of last week:

Laundry Room Makeover by Little House in the Big D

Silver Leaf Dresser by My Champagne Taste

Drawers to Shelves by My Champagne Taste

DIY Fabric Bracelet by Oksana + Hobbies

Taylor Swift Fashion Copycat by Love Notes by Lauryn

Great job guys!!! Grab a featured button! :)

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So here is to another awesome party!!!

I would love for you to:

1. Become a follower of Mommy by day... Crafter by night and or like us on FB.

2. Link back to my blog, or put the Ta-Da Tuesday Button anywhere on your blog to share the link party love!

Please remember to link to a specific post, and no links to giveaways or etsy shops. And please only link to posts with projects that you have made- No Pinterest roundups please. Thanks!!!

{Giveaway} Jo Totes Camera Bags

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Have you guys ever heard of Jo Totes camera bags?? Cuz you are all in for a treat! 

Today's giveaway is from Jo Totes!!

Jo Totes has been making these darling and very stylish camera bags for a few years now. They are so perfect because they look like a normal purse, so you don't feel like you are carrying around an eyesore of a camera bag- and you can fit all your camera gear plus some to carry to the park, a photo shoot, or anywhere you go and you are ready at any moment to take a picture!

There are so many to choose from, and all of them are super cute!!

I am loving this Marigold Millie bag!!

And this Betsy Bag in Mustard... {Bet you can guess what color I would choose if I bought one huh?}

The main compartment of each Jo Tote is lined with padding (around each side and on the bottom) to protect your photo equipment. Moveable interior pads are also included to allow for configuration around a variety of equipment. Jo Tote bags can also conceal the fact that you are carrying a bag full of expensive camera gear as well!

So who is ready for the giveaway??

April from Jo Totes is generously giving one lucky Mommy by day... Crafter by night reader a camera bag of their choice!! SO AWESOME!! :)

Here is how to enter:

{Leave a comment with your email for each entry so I can contact you if you win!}

-"Like" Jo Totes on Facebook

-Follow Mommy by day- Crafter by night via GFC {blue "join this site" button on the sidebar} or RSS

Additional Entries:

-Follow Jo Totes on Twitter

-Visit the Jo Totes site, have a look around and then come back here and tell me which bag you would choose!

One winner will be chosen at random and announced on the Mommy by day Crafter by night Facebook page on April 13th.