End of Summer Sewing for Camden

This is me 1 week before our youngest, Camden, was born.

And this is how the nursery was decorated for his arrival.

Green and yellow and gender-neutral for the surprise baby that was set to arrive any day.

This is Camden now.

He's not so little anymore.

In fact - he'll be 5 years old very, very soon.

As you can probably guess, we decided it was time to start changing some elements of his bedroom so that it looked a little more "big boy" and a little less like his original nursery.

Because he has many more opinions about decor  now that he did when he was an infant, I took him along to the fabric store and let him choose some fabrics to use in his bedroom update.  

I urged him to choose something fun, with a a bit of pattern that would work well with his warm yellow walls.

This is what he chose:

Not bad, eh??

He loved the colour, I like the "celtic knot" style print.

Perfect.

First order of business - whipping up a new valance for the one window in the room.

Down came the green and yellow plaid . . . 

. . . and up went the new blue-trimmed orange and white.

While shopping for fabrics, we also chose some cute "boyish" fabrics that tied in with the rest of the colour scheme - blue, green, yellow and orange. 

Using these prints, I put together a "Tree and Owl" patchwork pillow, 

 a "Forest Trees" pillow,

. . . and a monogram pillow featuring Camden's favourite letter, "C."

All three top off Camden's top bunk bed perfectly.

And do you see that polar Bear Teddy snuggled in with the pillows?

If you look carefully you'll see that he is in all of the nursery pictures, too.  

He has sat proudly on Cam's bed since before he was born.

And to this day, Camden still insists that he rests there. His bedroom wouldn't be complete without him.

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs to all,

Bronwyn

Blue Monograms in the Bedroom

Hey all! 

I made it through my first week back at school.  I am so excited to be back teaching kindergarten after a 2 year hiatus teaching music.  

But let me tell you - this past week was a DOOZIE!!

In all, I have taught kindergarten for 10 years but the last 5 school days have got to be the most crazy first days I have ever been through.  

Between the girl who yelled at me non-stop for 2 hours straight, the 3 children who showed up in diapers (not allowed!) and the surprise Autistic child who kept escaping from the classroom  - I was VERY ready for the weekend!!

Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of extra stuff being done around our home this week. However I did complete a decor item that I started in August and finally got around to taking some pictures.  

AND....

I am very pleased that my project fits in nicely with a new project link up party that these bloggers have put together:

Each week they'll give us a theme for our project and hopefully many, many creative minds will link up their creations.

Here is Septembers list of  themes:

For my "BLUE" project I created some art work to fill the ho-hum space above our master bed.

I've wanted to do a monogram project for ages so I figured this was the perfect opportunity!

I had the large wooden letters leftover from another project that didn't quite make it into fruition.  The lacey laser-cut frames are from Michaels. 

Here's where the BLUE comes in!!

(It's Martha Stewart craft paint in Aquarium.)

The frames got a quick shot of cream coloured spray paint before hubby and I centred them above the bed.  A few tiny nails in each corner hold them in place.  

It took a few tries before we figured out the best way to hang the letters.  In the end I used stick tack ( you know - the gummy stuff that teenagers use to hang posters up) because it held the letter close to the wall and I could apply it in several places to ensure a good hold.  

"K" for Kevin

"B" for Bronwyn

Whew! That space above the bed has been empty for nearly 5 years.  I never thought I'd get anything  up there!

Thanks again for popping by!

Please leave a comment - I'd love to hear from you!

Hugs all,

Bronwyn

Sewing for School : Dresden Flower ipad Case

Well - this is it! The last day of summer vacation.

Ten weeks have come and gone and now it's time for the whole family to head back to class.

This year I have a 4th grader, a 2nd grader and a senior Kindergarten kid.  

And both hubby and I are returning to begin our 14th year of teaching - he in high school music and me, Kindergarten.

We all lug so much to and from school every day it's lucky that everything gets home safe and sound each night.

To aid in the transfer of technology without the risk of scratching and smashing (ugh!) I whipped up this ipad cover  using my favourite Dresden patchwork motif.  

 

 

I chose a charm pack of bright colours (Sorry I don't know the name of the fabric line, but it is made by Moda) and a background of bright orange.  

I re-watched THIS TUTORIAL to remind me how to put the plate together and I was off to the races!!

Instead of using some of the printed fabric for the centre of my Dresden "flower," I cut a large circle of felt to fill in the space.  It was my daughter who suggested I add interest to the circle by stitching it on in a variety of machine stitches.  

Smart girl, eh?

 

 

To stiffen the inside of the case, I cut a piece of plastic to dimensions that would slide inside.  

 

You want to know what kind of plastic I used?

I cut my rectangle from a cracked "slip'n'slide."  

You know - those thin plastic sheets on which  kids slide down snowy hills in wintertime. 

It was easy to cut and just the right thickness to add a layer of protection inside the soft-sided case I had made.

 

To hold the case closed I added a flap that fastened snugly over the opening.

A strip of stiff Velcro holds it firmly closed.

 

And now it is ready to begin its journey back and forth to school on a daily basis.

 

 

 

Hubby bought me these lovely sunflowers from the market today.  These flowers always signal the beginning of autumn for me.....

 

 

 

And there is definitely a chill in the air tonight.  The window is open and I almost wish I had my slippers on to keep my little toesies warm.

 

September, as always, will bring a mixture of hot, balmy days  and cool sweater weather .

Perhaps this is why it is one of my favourite times of the year!

 

Take care all,

 

Bronwyn

A Vintage Doily Pillow

There are so many beautiful things on Pinterest. 

Lately I have been searching for things to do with my collection of vintage doilies.  

And - zowee- there are so many good ideas!

These doilies were Mod-podged onto recycled pasta sauce jars.  So much prettier now, aren't they?

silverlandjewelry.com

Wouldn't these be beautiful at Christmas time?  Snowflakes for your walls.....

Louise Rastall

Don't these canvases look strikingly modern?  You see the geometrics of each doily so clearly.

yummymummyclub.ca

This doily has been hanging around my mother's house for a pretty long time. So, the last time I was home visiting I asked her for it. Mom knows I  always have something up my sleeve so she was pleased to see it used in one of my "schemes."

I really like the unique shape of this doily - squarish with scalloped edges. 

I knew it would be perfect to stitch on the front of a pillow.  

I used cream coloured thread and stitched in several places to a pink-printed cotton fabric.  

To finish the centre of the pillow I added a flower-shaped button chosen by my daughter. After all, the pillow was going to go in her bedroom!

I showed you my daughter's new decorated BEDROOM

last month.  You might have seen this pillow nestled into the newly-painted garage sale chair.

I love when old things can be used to make new things look prettier.  Usually it's less expensive and it's the loveliest form of recycling!!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

It's the last one of the summer.

Much love to all,

Bronwyn

Bryn's "Explorer" Curtains

The other day I showed you some Pinterest inspiration for my oldest son, Bryn's, "Explorer" Themed Bedroom Makeover.

The first thing I knew I had to change was his window coverings.  Even he mentioned that the red and white gingham curtains were feeling a bit "babyish."

I thought the denim kept things "big-boy, " but apparently he thought otherwise.  

And the pennants that I made a few years back?  Cute in my books, "silly" in his.

Oh dear.  I think I am seeing a shade of "Tweeny-ness" in my almost 9 year old!

So, because, for the first time ever, Bryn had an opinion about his bedroom decor,  I took him shopping for curtain fabric. 

  It didn't take long for him to pick out some fabulous tan and black map fabric.  The tan blended nicely with his tan-coloured walls and the black was graphic and exciting.  

We opted to stay away from long, floor-brushing drapes and went with a valance. 

Both he and I liked the simplicity of it.  

To jazz up the neutral fabric, I sewed on a slick line of red along the bottom edges.

It ties the valance to the red colour of his bunk beds.  

I've used this same valance pattern 

 to sew new window coverings for my other son's bedroom, too.  Even though they are the same basic shape, the colour and fabric change the look so  much!!

(I'll share them soon.)

Here's a little peekity-peek of how Bryn's room is coming together already.  A globe, a wall map....we're on our way!

Before I go, I'd like to share some pictures of a day out I recently had with my 2 younger kids.  

We visited nearby Springridge Farm and enjoyed the sunshine and farm animals.  

The sunflowers were 10 feet tall and the tarts in the bakery were scrumptious. 

 (You can tell that Cam REALLY enjoyed his!)

One more week until school starts here.  All 5 of us head back - 2 teachers and 3 students.

Where did the summer go??

Bye all!!

Bronwyn

Amish Cinnamon Bread

Have you ever been given a container of Amish Bread Starter?  You know the one - the container of soured milk, flour and sugar that is kept on your counter and you have to feed it new ingredients every few days? Then you have use it in a recipe every so often?  You are then encouraged to pass some of the mix onto a friend who would appreciate it and use it? You know the one I mean?

I remember my mother would receive this "starter" on a regular basis and it would be fun and delicious for a week or two, then it became like a 6th family member having to be fed and taken care of constantly. Eventually she would dump it in the compost bin and take a rest from its sour-dough needs.

Though this sour-dough starter was often a pain in the you-know-where, you could never argue  the fact that whatever was made out of it - biscuits, coffee cake, quick bread - was ALWAYS delicious.

So do you want a recipe that takes just like sour-dough, but you can make from scratch ever time you crave it?

Well here it is!

( This recipe makes 2 loaves. )

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice)

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Cinnamon/sugar mixture:

2/3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

1. Cream together softened butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and stir until smooth.

2. Stir in buttermilk.  

**Did you know that you can turn regular milk into a buttermilk texture by stirring 2 tbsp of lemon juice/vinegar into the milk and letting it sit for for a few minutes??

3. Gradually add 4 cups of flour and baking soda.

4.  Spread 1/2 the batter into 2 greased (or lined with parchment paper) loaf pans (1/4 of the batter into each pan).

5. Stir together cinnamon and sugar to make topping.

6.  Sprinkle 1/2 of this mixture over batter in loaf pans.

7. Spread remaining batter over cinnamon topping.

8. Sprinkle remaining topping over the second layer of  batter.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, depending on your oven.

Cool in pan before removing.

I love how the cinnamon layer swirls and dips as it bakes between the layers of batter.  It looks very pretty when sliced.

Enjoy with a cup of tea and a few girlfriends.

That's how these loaves were devoured early last week!

I'd love to hear how this recipe works out for you.  Do you have any other favourite quick bread recipes that are favourites in your house??

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Bronwyn