Mochas + Mallards

My friend Lindy and I had quite an adventure today. Neither of us had out kiddos so we planned on a afternoon of  thrift shopping but our favorite thrift store had just closed when we pulled up, luckily we had a great time anyway. We got some yummy Starbucks Holiday Mochas then headed up to Kernville, a town about 20 minutes from both of us. As we sat along side of the river, I wished out loud for the small group of ducks would come closer so I could take pictures.

One started making his way over to us.

And then another…

Before we knew it, we were swarmed by ducks! It was awesome!

We decided to be more prepared next time and bring our friends some treats.

 

What an amazing experience it was.

I love unexpected adventures, don’t you?

Secret Santa for Bloggers | Package Reveal

When I heard about the Secret Santa for Bloggers hosted by Jessica of Boys Oh Boys.. I just had to sign up! I am so happy I did because I have had so much fun receiving my gift creating a special gift for another mommy blogger.

Well, last week (actually the day before Thanksgiving) this package showed up on my doorstep and what a surprise it was. I loved everything in it! It inspired me to make my secret Santa gift extra special. ;)

In the box there were a few sweet gifts: A lovely pine scented candle, an adorable cupcake ornament, an equally adorable cupcake kitchen towel, a bamboo utensil set, and the gift my son liked best, a 3 piece holiday squeaky toy set. I don’t even think my best friend could have picked a more fitting gift.

Thank you Tabitha!

 

Check out Tabitha’s blog.

And come back next week to check out what I made for my giftee!

 

Color Palettes | Winter Edition

I’ve done Color Palette posts before on SewCal Mama but in the last few months my readership has grown quite a bit. The last one I did was for Summer so I thought it was about time to share another color palette post with you guys. This one was by far the most fun to make. It’s a bit lengthier than my previous posts but for a good reason; I couldn’t narrow it down! What can I say, I frikken LOVE this time of year! Haha! So take a look at these gorgeous colors and get inspired! ;)

All color palettes were found at design-seeds.com. Click here to view more.

Does a specific color scheme come to mind when you think about the winter? My favorite palette is the “seasonal glow.” I just adore Christmas lights!

Don’t forget to leave a comment letting me know what your favorite color palette is below. :) 

DIY | Nursing Pads

I recently met a wonderful gal named Nicola, we are actually partners in the Ornament Swap hosted by Candidly Clyde.. I’m sure your wondering how this relates to a Maternity DIY post, right? Well in one of our emails back and fourth, Nicola said that there seems to be a “proper baby boom” amongst her friend crowd at the moment. Totally cute, right? Hehe. Now that I know I am not the only one experiencing a baby boom in my friend circle.. I decided to start doing some more maternity and newborn projects.

This nursing pad set is part one of a “first days home box” that I’m putting together for a friend that is due in December. I know how much I adored these babies when I had my little guy. Daniel and I actually went shopping specifically for these when Liam was about 3 weeks old. They were/are lifesavers; so I decided to make them for my future pregnancies and for my currently and soon to be prego friends, too.

I’ll be sharing the rest of the box as I put it together during the next few weeks. I’ve been doing my research and have some great ideas for an amazing new mommy gift box. I’m thinking totally outside of the box on this one.

 

My Nursing Pad Template

1. Using the template, cut out 8 circles of your flannel fabric. Then using your disappearing ink pen, draw in the triangle. 

2. Fold your circles in half so that the triangle is facing out. Make sure that the lines match up on both faces of the fabric. Using the straight stitch, sew the lines together.

3.  Stack 4 circles for each nursing pad, then match up the sewn folds in each of the circles then carefully sew your circles together.

 

That’s it. Viola!

What do you think? Would you like to see more maternity and newborn tutorials on SewCal Mama?

I would love to hear your feedback in a comment or an email :)

sewcalmama(at)yahoo.com

 

 

If you really knew me…

If you really knew me, you’d know that I can sometimes be a daydreamer; I’d much rather sit and fantasize about the future than live in the present.

If you really knew me, you’d know that I am a worrywart; I try to be optimistic but the anxious and overbearing pessimistic side usually takes over. This became 10x worse when my son was born. I’d rather be safe than sorry. Wouldn’t you?

If you really knew me, you would know that some days I just don’t want to answer my phone or reply to texts. Sorry. It’s not you, it’s me :P

If you really knew me, you’d know that I am the baby of the family; I have two sisters and two brothers. One of my sisters is in heaven and the other is my best friend, we are so much alike that it scares me, but I’ve always wanted that I guess :) 

If you really knew me, you’d know that I am never without my camera. I feel naked without it. Funny thing, it’s not even mine.. Daniel bought it for work a few years ago and I ended up taking it over. Mine :) He knows I make better use of it anyway.

I’ve been seeing these posts around the blogging community lately and I thought it would be fun to share one with ya’ll. If you have a similar post and would like to share, leave a comment below with the link!

Good Humor

[Image Source]

"Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keep friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment."

-Greenville Kleisser

 

Hope you have a great weekend & don’t forget to LAUGH.  :)

 

DIY | Whimsy Chandelier

I have been totally slacking on my DIY projects for the blog. Don’t worry, I haven’t lost my craftiness, but I do have a sick little man. Anyway, I got a few hours last night to catch up on my projects and posts so here is a quick and adorable DIY Home Décor project. I would suggest using white lights instead of the green ones I used.

Supplies: Embroidery Hoop, String of lights, fabric scraps, lace, ribbons, trim, hot glue gun (not shown) and jute or twine to hang.(also not shown)

1.) Cover the hoop with 1 inch wide pieces of fabric or ribbon. I used 3 10 inch long white fabric scraps. Glue in place. I ended up using the more ripped up fabrics and lace because it looked better.

2.) Randomly tie and knot the fabric, ribbon and trims around the hoop. Make sure not to leave big gaps. Also, making the pieces different lengths brings the whimsical feel of the chandelier all together. Adjust as needed.

3.) Using your jute or twine, cut three equal pieces about 12 inches long. Secure each piece to the hoop then tie them together at the top top. You chandelier is ready.. now you will need to add the lights!

4.) Secure one end of light cord to the top of the jute knot. Hang the lights through the top of the chandelier. When your light string reaches about 5 inches below the hoop, scrunch up a section of the lights (like a ball) and secure it with a ribbon or sting. Let the excess light sting hang. Plug in your lights and enjoy your new whimsy chandelier!

 

There ya go- A pretty little DIY chandelier. It took me about 30 minutes to complete this entire project and I have to say, it was one of my top 5 favorite ones so far.

 

DIY | Holiday Wall Art

The Holidays are officially here (2 days until Thanksgiving! Whoop whoop) and I couldn’t be happier; I adore this time of year. I told you yesterday that we’ve already had our first snowfall and it was absolutely gorgeous.

I really wanted to get started early on my Christmas DIY projects this year and this was my very first one... It was a lot of fun to make and you can let you creativity flow when choosing templates.

This project is great for children and equally fun for the other crafty night owl mamas out there.

[ I googled deer head templates and found the one shown above. ]

1. Print, cut and trace the template you chose onto your canvas.

2.Apply glue to the design chosen. [You can use Q-Tips for the antlers and outer lines if needed.]

3. Sprinkle glitter onto the wet glue and let sit for at least 15 minutes before discarding any leftover glitter.

4. Blow away any residual glitter, frame & ENJOY.

 

P.S. Have you started decorating for the holidays yet?

Cousins + Cartwheels

Before Liam got sick last week, I took him and his cousin Zoey to the park for a day of fun. Not only did they have a blast but they pretty much ran the show. I always tell them, “I must look like a jungle gym to you.” but that day- due to the presence of an actual jungle gym, I got a short and sweet break ;)

Zoey ran around doing cart wheels, jumping off of the monkey bars and pumping like a pro in her swing while Liam waddled behind and pretty much dangled helpless in the swing while I took pictures, poor little guy haha.

It such a beautiful and quiet day and the kids were being so surprisingly cooperative that I decided to take them to the bowling alley before we went home for a bite to eat.

It was a great day with the little ones but let’s be honest, everyday with them is a blessing and good thing we soaked up the sun and the last little bits of Fall because two days later we woke up to snow!

 

 

P.S. What have YOU been up to?