French Bread Basket (Simple Project)

I found this great and fun pattern to create this French Bread Basket and fell in love! I made this in less than 2 hours, it was so simple. I plan on posting a tutorial if you are interested in making one for yourself.

You can make these in any size you need. I've seen them used for bread, rolls, tea bags, and so many things outside of the kitchen as well. The ribbons add a nice touch and can be untied to allow this bread basket to be collapsible.

I can totally see myself making up a bunch of these and including them in my yearly Christmas cookie bake. Don't you think they'd make great displays for Christmas cookies?! I love that they're washable and easy to store too!

Tutorial coming soon...

Sew Crafty Sites

Unfortunately, I was not blessed with tremendous creativity, so I love learning from other people's gifts of creativeness! Here are some really adorable ideas for simple sewing projects...

If you have a little boy (or a big boy) who likes to spiffy up, ALemonSqueezyHome offers a fun and thorough tutorial to make these adorable bow-ties. This is also a great idea for costumes!


Cloud9Fabrics has a simple downloadable pattern to make these super cute burp cloths. I'm thinking homemade baby shower gift, ladies! I know I would've loved receiving a handmade baby gift when my children were wee little ones... (Can you hear a slight Irish accent here? I can hear it and I'm not even Irish!)


And for those of you who are craftier than I am, here's a fun craft or gift idea to create from SewAndSew. You can find a fabric postcard tutorial over at RedShoeRamblings to help you out in recreating this project.

I hope you enjoy these sites and fun craft ideas as much as I do!

Cozy Nap Mat for School

I'm so excited to share with you my most recent project! Up until this year, I have always homeschooled our children, but this year my husband and I have chosen to send them to a private Christian school. Along with this decision, we've had all sorts of adventures - including uniforms, school supplies... and the need for a nap mat for my son who's starting Kindergarten this year!

So, naturally, I saw "PROJECT" in my future! I know I could've just gone to the store and bought a KinderMat, but instead I just had to take the opportunity to make one! I did a little looking online and came across this great tutorial (which I tweaked a little) and... Ta-Da!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited he is about his new nap mat! And I love that I was able to create something special for him to take to school that's just from Mommy. Selfishly, I hope that he thinks of me every time he lays on it... but realistically, I know he'll be too busy trying to keep all the kids from taking actual naps... yes, my boy is that child.

I'd love to hear what you're working on in a comment below. Have you ever made a nap mat or do you have a really cool project (sewing or crafty) that you want to share?! Please leave me a comment!! I love to hear from you.

P.S. You can click on the images in this post to see more detail.

Patchwork and Ruffles!

I have really begun to enjoy patchwork sewing. Recently, I was inspired by a shopping trip in which I saw a beautiful patchwork skirt that my daughter fell in love with. I know I'm not the only one to find something I love and say, "I think I could make that!" And so I set out to create this skirt! Here's the finished project.

Ignore the little threads on the bottom. The perfectionistic side of me needs to go get a pair of scissors and cut those off...

My daughter loves how it flows and has worn this skirt for the past 2 days - with exception to bedtime. In our house, it truly comes down to the "twirl factor". That is, does the skirt make a beautiful twirly movement when you spin in a circle. If it does, it's a beautiful skirt. And I'm happy to say that the twirl factor with this skirt was a winner!

(You'll notice that I used mostly fabric I've been using lately. I'm slowly building up my fabric collection... and am in need of some organization of it too!)

Sew Crafty Sites

I love to see all the fantastic ideas people come up with! I've decided to post about all the amazing ideas I come across on other blogs as well. If you blog and would like to share a creative masterpiece on SewWhatSteph.com, please let me know.

Here are the finds this week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This green lizard made by Abby over at WhileSheNaps is about the cutest lizard I have ever seen. From the green herringbone fabric to the spikes down his back, Abby has a great eye for detail. My 4-year-old son would absolutely fall in love with this lizard! He has a thing for lizards and loves to play with them outside. I think the lizards think of it more as torture... I often have to remind him that he's a lot bigger than they are.

Next up is this cuter than cute ruffled apron made by BayouBags. She even directs you to the tutorial she worked off so that you can make one for yourself! LOVE it!

And finally since summer is in the air here in Florida, I can't help but feature a practical and useful sunglasses case by SewFantastic. Complete with a thorough tutorial, Terri shows you just how to make your very own!

I'm inspired! Summer projects...

We have been a homeschooling family ever since I taught my first daughter how to read, and I've loved having my kids home with me (most days!) ever since. However, we have found that there is a season for everything, and have made the decision to enroll our 3 children in a Christian school next year. We were blessed to be able to do so and are excited about a new routine for our family.

My hope is that with all the changes going on in our house, I will also be able to sew more. I've been looking forward to some projects I can't wait to get my hands on. Here's a taste of what's to come... and maybe some tutorials too!

I am always inspired by the amazing creations on Etsty.com. These ladies (and gents) are so talented! Dance2Create has a favorite lunch bag that I adore. I've never needed to pack lunches for my kids on a daily basis with them being home, so I'm excited to see if I can recreate this bag with my own flare. She's got other great lunch bag items and adorable fabrics to choose from. Check her stuff out HERE.


Another idea I have rolling around in my head is this cute crayon roll-up. I've seen these before in boutique shops and thought they looked pretty simple to make. I just love the fabric of this Mini Crayon Roll from lar1203 on Etsy.com. So, this will be a definite project for me to figure out this summer. I can imagine my kids taking these on road trips or just having their own handy pack of crayons.


And finally, one more simple sewing idea I have is this cute Wristlet Key Fob. I'm looking forward to finding some fun fabrics and making these as gifts.

These are just a few of the projects I'm excited about trying out this summer! If you have any suggestions for simple sewing ideas, let me know in a comment below. I'd love to hear from you.

What I've been working on...

I know it's been a while since I've posted a new sewing project, so I thought I'd show you what I've been working on for Mother's Day. Throughout the years, my mom has put together so many Around-the-World quilts for me, my sister, and countless friends and family. I remember as a child watching her cut out all the squares, then lay them out on the living room floor, and finally sew them all together. I never thought I'd make a quilt as nice as hers. And until now, I had never tried.

It just seemed to fit that my mom should get the very first quilt I've ever made. With 7 grandchildren (3 of them mine), she's been wanting a blanket that would represent her grandkids. I thought about it and decided to make a quilt - my first ever - for her Mother's Day gift. I literally made this going by what I watched her do so many times before. I went to JoAnn's and bought the fabric with help from my children - that was a fun trip! I used a favorite throw blanket to determine the size I wanted, then went from there. I use a rotary cutter with cutting board that makes the cutting go SO much quicker.

I did a couple of searches on YouTube.com to to learn the best way to sew the binding around the finished quilt. (Look below for those links.) and ta-da, this is the finished project!

Click on image above for larger size.

My mom has been out of town visiting her mom for Mother's Day, so she won't actually open this gift until today. Hopefully, she won't stop by SewWhatSteph.com before she opens it... :)

The picture didn't come out quite as well as I would've liked, but here's some of the details of the quilt. Since I am not super skilled in hand appliqueing, I chose to use a permanent fabric paint pen to write the names and birthdates of each grand child. Then at the top, I quoted a verse from one of my favorite chapters of the Bible (Proverbs 31) that states, "Her children arise and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:28. I chose some colorful and bright fabrics because my mom is not a stuffy kinda lady and I wanted her to smile every time she looked at the blanket. These fabrics are bright and cheery, so I thought what better way to brighten her day?! I finished it off with yarn ties - again, a simpler method my mom used often.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, my mom is very special to me. We are so much alike and often think the same way. Throughout 2009, she went through a long process of breast cancer treatments. I never understood how hard that was until I saw her go through it. I appreciate my mom so much more today than ever. More importantly, I saw her walk with God grow immensely throughout that time. She is a true woman of God and her faith and love in God has blessed me beyond measure. I do indeed "arise and call her blessed!"

YouTube.com Links:

• How to Bind a Quilt: I used this video to help me understand the binding method, but only as a guide. If you're new to quilting, hopefully this helps.
• The Slip Stitch: I slip stitched the back of the binding. Since I had never done this before, I again looked to YouTube for a demonstration. This took a little longer than I liked to complete, but I loved the finished product!