Sewing

Etsy Love

August 1, 2012 By Nikki

If you found my blog via the 30 Day Instagram Challenge – HI! I’ve been slacking on my photos, but you can still snoop around my blog.

So, I’ve been spending way too much time online looking at bedding, rugs and home decor shiz in general. I wish I had a better knack for this stuff. I mean, sure, I can pin everything on Pinterest, but actually getting it into my house AND looking good is a totally different story. By the time I get it all figured out it will be time to move again. Isn’t that how life goes? Well, not for those home decor bloggers I ~~stalk~~ follow.

Anyway, we did Molly’s nursery in a woodland creatures theme with the main focus being owls. Now, owls are super popular and the bedding I want for her big girl bed is freakin’ sold out. UGH. So, what to do? I am commissioning my go-to quilt making superstar! Sisung-Callura Designs. She’s not an official sponsor of my blog (and doesn’t even know I’m posting this), but I just spent some time browsing her Etsy shop and I’m in love. I always contact her when one of my friends has a baby and I need a super cute quilt.

So, I just had to share b/c she’s awesome and you should go check out her shop.

I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for hanging in there while I nest. I can’t wait to get some stuff in this new place and show you how it’s turning out!!

SO CUTE!

Filed Under: Babies, From Nikki, Sewing Tagged With: baby quilts, etsy shops, homemade baby quilts, sisung-callura designs 2 Comments

Curtains Under Desk

March 5, 2012 By Nikki

I’m republishing this post because a few people have asked about it… it disappeared from Google when I switched over to the new blog. Boo! But here it is again!

I did it! I conquered the sewing machine and made curtains for my desk! All it took was watching a few tutorials on YouTube and reading the manual. Then my 7th grade home economics classes came flooding back to me and I was on a roll!

Remember my inspiration? Or maybe I should use the word “Pinsperation” since I found it on Pinterest. But, then again, I find everything on that site.

curtains

I decided that I wanted to tie in the fabric from my lampshade because I loved it so much. So I waited until The Bean was napping and I laid down my fabric (about 1 yard). I already had my measurements so I just added 2 inches to the width and 3 inches to the length to account for the hem. (Remember, I’m making two curtains so technically I added 4 inches to the total width.) Are you confused yet?

I started measuring away, using a box to keep my lines straight. Then I cut my fabric. Next I took the sides of my curtains and folded 1/2 an inch and then another 1/2 inch and pinned and sewed and pinned and sewed.

Follow those same steps for the bottom of the curtain. Now for the top, where you need to leave space for your rod, do the same 1/2 inch fold but instead of another one you are going to fold 1.5 inches. This allows room for the rod… remember larger rods require larger holes (get your minds out of the gutter people) so you may need more than 1.5 inches. I’m just using a spring tension rod.

top of curtain

I need to practice that part a little bit more! Now put your curtains on your tension rod and voila! All done:

Here’s a before and after…. notice I moved that large printer and upgraded my desktop screen. Next on my list is to declutter the shelves and the rest of the desk. I need more organization in my life.

beforeaftercurtains

The curtains are doing a great job of hiding what’s under the desk and they are especially keeping Molly out and away from the trashcan…. well… maybe not.

molly curtains

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Home, Sewing Tagged With: curtain tutorial, how to make curtains, sewing curtains, sewing project, sewing tutorials, under desk curtains 3 Comments

Thoughts on Crafting

December 2, 2011 By Nikki

Last night was the Pure Matters Christmas party. It’s a small startup so we had a nice, intimate dinner with around 15 or so people. I was so excited to dress up, wear heels, curl my hair and mostly, have adult interaction! YES! It’s sometimes nice to talk to people that can talk back in a language other than gibberish. Ya know?!

While chatting away (I seriously could not stop talking… too much wine? yeah, that’s it.) the topic of blogging came up. I started talking about how I wanted to make my blog more personal. Not just a place for recipes, crafts and health tips, but a place where I can really connect with my readers. I feel like I haven’t done that yet, so be prepared for more rambling posts from me. Are you excited yet?

This week I have been thinking about how many awesome Christmas crafts I’ve been seeing on Pinterest and the 5 million blogs I follow on Google Reader. I want to do them all. But then I get overwhelmed. Which ones should I do? Where in this tiny condo am I going to create them/display them/store them? We can’t even figure out where to put the Christmas tree in here. So then I don’t do the crafts and then I get sad because I really want to craft. I love crafting!

Should I just bite the bullet and start crafting? What do you peeps that live in small places do about your crafts? I mean, this craft room that Linda has is absolutely to die for. I covet it like nothing that has ever been coveted in the history of coveting. Raise your hand if you’re jealous. I would love a space like that to create beautiful things.

For now I’ll just keep dreaming and pinning everything that will go in my future home and my future craft nook/room and my future Noms Studio and my future home office and… oh damn you Pinterest!

Seriously people – give me some advice about crafting in a small place. I demand it.

you-cant-give-em-high-fives-or-theyll-do-it-too-much-and-never-learn-to-cuss-elegantly

this photo has nothing to do with this post. i just think it’s funny. and true.

Filed Under: Crafts, Home, Organization, Sewing Tagged With: craft nooks, craft rooms, crafting, crafts, how to craft in small spaces, small space living Leave a Comment

Tutu How-To

November 10, 2011 By Nikki

I have wanted Molly to wear a tutu for her first birthday since she was born. I even had a few from Etsy bookmarked. Yes, I’ve been planning for a long time. However, things have majorly changed since she was born (such as becoming a work-at-home mom) and when her birthday started to creep up I thought I could possibly tackle the tutu. If so many people sell tutus they can’t be that hard, right?

Well, I found this great tutorial and went to town. The only problem is that JoAnn Fabrics doesn’t sell spools of tulle, which I figured out upon arrival. I thought, “Oh great. How many yards do I need?” So I went with three yards of each color: turquoise, light pink and hot pink. It ended up being the perfect amount! Phew.

TutuHowTo

Other than that the tutu tutorial was smooth sailing! I sat on the floor just knotting away while watching The X Factor for two hours and then I was done! I created the bow the next day and I used hot glue instead of a clip, mainly because I am impatient and wanted to get it done rather than heading to the store for a clip. Voila!

FinishedTutu

Filed Under: Birthday Parties, Clothes, Crafts, DIY, Sewing Tagged With: baby tutu, first birthday party ideas, first birthday tutu, how to make a tutu, tutu tutorial 6 Comments

Bunting Banner Giveaway!

November 8, 2011 By Nikki

***This giveaway is closed.***

As you know, I made a bunting banner for my little girl’s first birthday party. I had a great time making it, from picking out the fabric (my favorite part) to sewing all the pieces together. I followed this tutorial exactly and it turned out so well. The thing to remember when making this bunting is that the pennants will not be perfectly pointy. I was under the impression that they would be, however I think that is something that can only be truly achieved with a paper bunting. So don’t get discouraged!

Well, I had such a great time making this bunting that I want to make YOU one! I’m so excited for my very first giveaway!

I will make the winner their very own 10 pennant bunting banner in the colors they choose. I will pick the fabric, but the winner can specify if they want more floral, less girly, etc.

To Enter:

Just leave a comment on this blog post with the colors you would like (1 color or many colors!), along with any fabric details. Even better if you find the fabric you like on Joann Fabric’s website!

Additional Entries:

1) Like NoVa Mom Blog on Facebook! Leave a wall message with your colors!

2) Blog about the giveaway.

3) Tweet about the giveaway. Please tag @novamomblog in your tweet so I can keep track.

4) Update your Facebook status with the giveaway!

*Giveaway ends on November 15. Winner is chosen at random.*

Filed Under: Crafts, Giveaways, Sewing Tagged With: bunting banner, bunting banner giveaway, nova mom blog giveaway 18 Comments

Molly’s 1st Birthday Party

November 7, 2011 By Nikki

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I’m still recovering from running around getting everything ready for Molly’s party yesterday. It ended up being a great time and Molly was such a trooper. We only had about 10 or so guests which made things a lot easier for me and a lot less overwhelming for Molly.

We went with an owl party because Molly’s nursery is woodland themed and we just love owls. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to round out the year with our little owlet!

Invites

I got the inspiration for Molly’s invites from this Etsy shop. Her invites are beautiful and perfectly cut. I did all mine by hand with scissors while watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I think it’s time to invest in a Silhouette or Cricut. Me want.

Bunting Banner

Here’s a close-up:

Check in tomorrow for a tutorial and my very first giveaway!!

Owls

Michael’s was having a 50% off sale on all their Halloween and Harvest merchandise. I snagged a huge pack of these foam owls and hot glued “Happy Birthday” ribbons on them. I had them all around the house during the party. Now that the party is over I’m thinking of creating a banner with them and hanging them in Molly’s nursery.

Tutu

A tutorial to come and maybe another giveaway? I had so much fun making this tutu (while watching The X Factor). It turned out great!

Onesie

I had a 12 month plain white onesie that I decided to spruce up. I found the owl iron-on at JoAnn Fabrics and I used some extra fabric from my bunting banner to create the 1. I found a font I liked on Microsoft Word and printed it out (be sure to make it big!). I pinned the 1 on the fabric and cut it out. I then hand sewed the fabric number 1 on the onesie and stuffed it with a filling I snagged from an old pillow. The onesie creation was quite a tedious process, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing it on the sewing machine.

Here’s Molly in her onesie and tutu!

Cake

TADA! The cake I spent hours working on! It turned out so great.. with just a few minor flaws. I didn’t realize how sad I would be when it was all gone. Typically when clients pick up their cakes I am not sad to see them go, but this was my first tiered cake and my baby’s 1st birthday cake — I guess I was a little sentimental. The good thing was that everyone enjoyed it!

Filed Under: Birthday Parties, Crafts, From Nikki, Noms by Nikki, Sewing Tagged With: 1st birthday, bunting banner, first birthday, first birthday party ideas, owl birthday party, owl cake, owl invites, owl party ideas, tutu 5 Comments

Craft Nook Cubby

October 20, 2011 By Nikki

I love my husband. We found this awesome cubby-like thing at Home Goods for $30 a couple weeks ago. We thought it would be cool to hang over my sewing/craft table in our bedroom. Well, I came home from my soccer game the other night and he had hung it AND filled it with knickknacks!

craft cubby

Clockwise starting at top left: blue ceramic cup and dish from a great grandparent (I think?), a sign (“This isn’t a mess… it’s creative clutter.”) my grandmother gave me when I was in college… I love it! Three random glass bottles. Frames – still need something in the far left one. Two jars filled with seashells, a box from the Bahamas with two salt & pepper owl shakers on top, a picture of my sister and me when we were little. A plant we’re rooting. And finally a beer bottle I brought back from Honduras and an owl candle. We have a thing about owls… can you tell?

To give you some perspective here’s a photo of it above the table. Warning: I didn’t pick up or arrange anything. It’s still a work in progress… we’re actually thinking about replacing the table because the leaf isn’t the easiest thing to work with (notice no chair).

craft nook

We scored that bookshelf from Home Goods too. It has a few dings so we were able to get the price down to $50 from $79.99. Nothing a little wood filler and stain won’t fix! Now what to put on it? Currently it’s holding a couple of Molly’s birthday presents and I see she put her little pink toothbrush on the second shelf. So silly!

Any of you have craft nooks/corners/rooms? I want to see pictures!

Filed Under: Crafts, Decorating, Home, Organization, Sewing Tagged With: craft cubby, craft nook, craft table, decorating, organization Leave a Comment

Sewing Project Number One

October 3, 2011 By Nikki

I’m so excited my sewing machine is finally in my posession! We brought it up from my mom’s house this weekend and Molly is currently inspecting the box.

First things first, I need to watch some tutorials as it’s been many many years since I’ve used one. Anyone have some good videos to recommend? I’m going to tackle curtains for under my desk. Hopefully they will serve two purposes: 1. to keep the storage space hidden 2. to keep Molly out from under the desk! I’m also hoping it is a good first time project because they don’t have to be perfect.

Here is my inspiration (however I will not be storing paper towels under my desk):

curtains under desk via