Introducing...CafePress!

I was recently introduced to an awesome website that does custom designs on, well, just about ANYTHING. Seriously. They have just about everything you can imagine AND you can get whatever you want written/printed on it! 

Let me just take you on a little tour of CafePress:

- Custom T-Shirts:  

They have an amazing array of t-shirt designs to choose from. But what's super awesome is that you can design your own custom T-shirt. They have options for everyone. Just choose the style and color and you can go from there.

If you're looking to customize an article of clothing other than a shirt they also have sweatshirts, tank tops, baseball jerseys, dry-fit shirts, polos, pajamas, underwear, maternity, plus-sized, workwear, and yoga pants. The options seem endless!!

-Gifts: 

Okay, so if what you're looking for is more gift-oriented than clothing-oriented, they've got you covered there, too. They have a whole section of personalizable gifts. You can shop by recipient, such as men, women, kids, pets, and teachers or you can shop by occasion, such as back to school, marathon, anniversary, birthday, or wedding. 

Here are some personalizable gifts I found on CafePress that I love!

1. Owl Glass Cutting Board

2. Pins

3. Canvas Pillows

4. Beach Totes

5. Christmas Ornaments

6. iPhone cases

Invitations: 

They also carry cards you can personalize and order for any occasion, such as baby's 1st birthday, birthdays, and Christmas.

Okay, have I at least convinced you to at least go peruse the website? I KNOW there's something there you'll want to order because every time I get on it I see something new and awesome I want!

Easy Chevron Baby Quilt

One of my good friends is expecting a baby boy in just a couple of weeks and so I made her a baby quilt for when her little guy decides to make his appearance (she's pretty pumped to be done with this pregnancy!). 

She picked out the colors and the back fabric and she has good taste, because it turned out lovely! (If I do say so myself.)

So, to start I purchased:

- 1 yard white broadcloth

- 1 yard gray broadcloth

- 1 yard gray minky

- package of crib-sized batting 

(use a coupon or wait until they go on sale!)

I washed my fabrics, ironed them, and then cut the white and gray broadcloths into 6-inch squares (set the minky aside for now). I just used up all the fabric, I didn't count how many squares I made.

Then I cut those squares across so they formed triangles.

Then you need to sew one white triangle to a gray triangle to reform a square. Iron the back so they lay flat. Then lay them out on your floor to form the pattern, because trust me, it can get confusing!(Obviously in the picture below I hadn't ironed yet!)

Tip: Your squares will have a little bit of fabric that goes over the sides. I chopped those off so they would sew together a little better. See picture below.

Then sew the squares together to form rows. Then sew the rows together. Once I was done with that, I laid the quilt top on the batting to quilt it. 

Tip: I pin my quilt top to the batting to keep it in place. It helps the back stay in place so there's no tucking when you can't see the underside. It takes a little time but trust me, it's worth it!

I only quilted the white zig zags but you can also quilt the gray ones if you want. Then once it was all quilted I laid it down on the wrong side of the minky fabric. Depending on the width you want for the border, cut the minky respectively. I wanted a 2-inch border so I cut my minky 4 inches longer than the where the edge of the quilt is. Kind of confusing, sorry.

So above is the picture of the minky 4 inches wider all the way around the quilt. Then I folded the minky over once to line up with the quilt edge,

Then I folded it over once more to be on top of the quilt. That's your quilt border. It's just an alternative to bias tape.

But I wanted as much softness as possible, since it's a baby blanket, and a minky border just seemed the best option. Then I stitched up the border, sewing along the edge closest to the inside of the quilt. And then you're done! Not so hard, right?

I love how it turned out! And I think my friend liked it, too, which is what really matters.

Ahhh, sooo soft!!

A Cinderella Rocking Chair Story

Once upon a time I bought an ugly rocking chair from a consignment sale. It was only $25! How could I pass that up?!

It was beat up and unappreciated (probably) and the fabric was just...ick.

So I took it under my lil wing and decided to make it my own. I gave it a little makeover. Trust me, the rocking chair and I are much happier now because of it. And so is my husband. He hated that ol' fabric. I bought a pattern but I could have just used the old fabric and traced that.

I had a hard time finding just the right fabric. This chair is in one of the main parts of my house, so I wanted something cute but not flashy. I bought some fabric online but when I opened it the color was way brighter than I had anticipated. Fail.

Then I went to trusty ol' Joann's and found some warm, buttery yellow fabric that I loved. And I covered that chair. I covered it good.

Doesn't it look better? I also made a fun little pillow. You know, for back support. Or just to be cute. See how cute it is??

Favorite Things Party

I know most of you have probably heard of a Favorite Things Party because they have gotten really popular on Pinterest. I remember hearing the idea about 2 years ago but I just recently teamed with a friend to put one together. And it was AWEEESOME!!!

So here's the lowdown: Every girl brings 5 of her favorite things (Sidenote: all but one of us brought 5 of the same things. One girl brought 5 different things and I personally think that way is better!). Anyway, you bring 5 things under $6 (or whatever budget suits you). 

Then when the guests arrive they write their names on 5 slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Each girl stands up, explains her favorite thing and why it's so awesome, and picks out 5 names out of the bowl. Those 5 girls get the favorite thing! The girl who gets pulled last goes next with her favorite thing.

I don't think I can explain to you how much I loved this party! I think we'll be doing another one of these around Christmas time. Wouldn't that be so much fun?!! We also asked each girl to bring one of her favorite snacks to share. Some of the snacks were popcorn, Airheads, carmelitas, ice cream, cheese...

I'm kind of proud of my board, so I had to share. I drew this freehand on a dry erase board I had lying around. I got the idea from THIS. 

Our table spread was amazing! We kept the decorations to a minimum and it helped keep the feel of the party fun and casual. 

Each girl got a bag to take all her goodies in. It was a lot better than trying to carry out the loot in your arms!

Here's some of the loot! There was sleek hair spray, Oreo truffles, Meyer's counter top spray, Trader Joe's Mini Peanut Butter Cups, French soap, Honest hand soap, Nsync cds, and more!! If you're thinking of throwing a Favorite Things Party, stop thinking about it and do it! You won't regret it!!

Two other helpful links were HERE and HERE.

Need different party ideas? Check out my Party Ideas Pinterest Board!

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