Another Quilt Top Finished... and Other News

Here's another baby quilt top I finished for a friend's shower coming up. She requested blues and browns, and after looking at different fabrics, we came up with this super cute Hooty Hoot Kangaroo fabric collection by Riley Blake. Only using the blue and brown fabrics, I did blocks much like my sister's wedding quilt, but a smaller size. Each block is 8" square. I'm waiting on backing fabric for this so I can baste, bind and quilt before December 4th. Yikes! "I think I can, I think I can..."

I have to say... this is my favorite owl! I love the tie! :)

Speaking of ties, I've added some new tie onesies/shirts to my shop. I love this fabric! It reminds me of the old-school video games we used to play! *Sigh* Gone are the days of Pac Man and Space Invaders... at least now I can reminisce. :)

And I'm a huge fan of argyle, so I had to make some of these ties out of the Pure fabric collection by Sweetwater. I also have my holiday tie onesies/shirts with one new addition to the collection. Check out my shop on Black Friday (11/26) for a 10% discount on all orders! Just use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY10. I also do custom orders!

And, while I wasn't able to go to my cousin's shower, I did find out the sex of the baby. However, they are having a second shower in CA in December, which is also a surprise to their CA friends, and just in case one of their friends reads my blog (yeah, right), I'm not going to announce it here. I'll just say what my aunt recently said, "It's not what I thought it was." ;) My mom tells me they didn't even open their gifts at the shower. So, no pics of them opening my handmade gifts. :( I thought it was weird, but to each his own, right?

Well, till next time! Have a great Monday! :)

Another Quilt Top Finished... and Other News

Gifts for a Baby Shower... and my niece's birthday!

So, I'm supposed to be attending my cousin's baby shower today... but, my little boy is sick. :( So, I'm sending my gifts with my mom, and I hope she takes good pics of my cousin and his wife opening their gifts! My cousins and their family are majorly into the "surprise factor" with everything... so it comes as no surprise that they won't tell us the sex of the baby until the day of the shower. I'm gonna have my mom text me "boy" or "girl" today! Hee hee!

While browsing my cousin's baby registry lists, I saw that they were doing a "hippo" theme in greens, yellows, and browns for the baby's crib and room. I saw this fabric (Zoo Menagerie by Eleanor Grosch) and thought it would be similar to what they were registered for, but still different. When I got the fabric in the mail, I realized that the "hippos" were actually rhinos. Oops! Oh, well! It is still super cute fabric! So, I quickly made up a simple patchwork/checkerboard quilt with 5" squares, alternating with white.

I did my usual stipple using a pale yellow thread. It's kinda hard to tell unless you look really close.

I found some lovely Riley Blake dots in yellow and green on a white background for the back, and added a little strip of more squares. Hmm... I believe my strip of squares is actually straight! I can't believe it! :)

I used some Mingle fabric in brown for the binding, and added my tags. Usually, I have a tag that reads, "Handmade with love by Mama Mel", but since my cousin's wife also goes by "Mel", I thought that might be confusing. So, I specified "Cousin" Mel. :)

I also whipped up some quick baby burp cloths using leftover pieces of fabric and some new cloth diapers. ;)

Of course, I had to make a sock hippo. I think he's looking rather "horsey", but I added teeth (post photo shoot). I also put in a onesie of their choice... depending on whether it's a boy or girl. I put a necklace onesie in a pink bag, and a tie onesie in a blue bag. I kinda think they're having a boy, but my husband thinks they're having a girl. I can't wait to find out!

Oh, and here's a pic of the sock giraffe (with a crooked neck... oops) that I made for my niece's birthday. She had her giraffe themed party at the zoo and we got to feed the giraffes! It was very cool!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Gifts for a Baby Shower... and my niece's birthday!

Wall-E Birthday Party

Yesterday was my son's 3rd birthday! He has been majorly into Wall-E these last few months, so we decided to do a Wall-E themed party for him. When I looked in stores and online for Wall-E party supplies, I didn't have very much luck. It looks like most stores are discontinuing their Wall-E supplies. Fortunately, I was able to find some plates, napkins, and party favors at Birthday Mania. I ordered them in September, just in case they ran out before his birthday. They were all marked down too! Bonus! :)

I always like to make something a little special for the kids, and also plan a couple of activities. I found some cute printable Wall-E and Eve masks at this website, as well as some printable coloring pages for the kids.

For another activity, I had the kids create their own robots. I wrapped mini cereal boxes in aluminum foil, then had the kids use pipe cleaners for the arms and legs. They could use bottle caps for the eyes, or use some of these cute eyeball stickers (or both). I also had lots of extra stickers and markers (Sharpies are best for the foil) they could use for more buttons or just for decoration. They had a blast! :)

I also made a mini felt robot for each of the kids. I'm thinking of adding these new creations to my Etsy shop. ;)

Of course, I had to have something special for the birthday boy to wear. So, I made him a robot tie shirt, with a number 3 on the back. :)

He looked super cute, if I do say so myself!

My awesome sister helped me with this cake. I'm thinking she needs to hurry up and open her own bakery! It was chocolate cake with a banana pudding filling. We used graham cracker crumbs for the dirt and Tootsie Rolls for the rocks and blocks of trash. And, of course, my son's Wall-E and Eve toys were the perfect cake decorations!

Overall, I think it was a success, and a super fun day at the park! :)

Wall-E Birthday Party