Link Love

I’m obsessing over Lay Baby Lay’s nursery style boards. This Little Partner warms my Texas-transplant heart. Tons of inspiration for me! I shared their Steve McQueen Vintage Nursery over on Babble today. And EVERYTHING in Pink Sunsets and Tangerine Dreams would look perfect in my girl’s shared room.

Holy mother of peanut butter. Kyla Roma shares her recipe for No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Chews (of Hyperbole Worthy Deliciousness) They are even vegan but I won’t hold that against them. Let me just say that Link Love is in danger of not being written because I want to go make these this instant. And how about those fingernails? LOVE.

Creative Jewish Mom shares a redic simple and chic vase project. Might have to whip up a couple of these to finish my patio.

ALSO:

Erin’s Creative Energy shares a great tutorial on Using Fabric Dye Sticks. Cute!

Everyone loves chalkboard! This Chalkboard Sugar Cookie tutorial from The Sugar Turntable is sure to impress for back to school! Lot’s of fun tutes over there.

The Craftaphile shares how to turn any old basket into a pretty picnic basket step-by-step.

Make and Takes lets us in on how to make homemade microwave popcorn MacGyver-style.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I am thrilled to learn that I can make foaming hand soap with any old liquid soap and water. My husband insists on the stuff but I find the available scents limiting. Mrs Meyer’s Foaming Hand Wash, here I come!

Jaime and I also write for Babble…

I’m giving away A Stocked-Up SaraBear Diaper Caddy by Munchkin. Please do enter.

Jaime is giving away a Melissa & Doug Trunki. You want one. Trust me.

If you missed it… here are 25 FREE Baby Blanket tutorials that I rounded up.

Jaime shares a utensil-friendly Bento Box for kiddos eats and a new line of boys clothing designed by a Project Runway winner. Can you guess which one?

Stay tuned for a new Fabric Friday this afternoon!

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Prudent Project Round Up


Top: hehehe922 made a Boxy Toiletry Bag | krista@tharshesews made a Bow Tie | hehehe922 made a Layer Cake Skirt

Middle: CraftsforLily made a Snappy Toddler Top | BigHeartMade made a Bias Tape Bag | kfrudell made a Paper Pinwheel

Bottom: BoosieBoo made Minkee Eye Masks | oooty made a Pretty Party Dress | ourfotos1 made some Fabric Slippers

All of today’s projects were discovered in the Prudent Baby Project Pool on Flickr. Share yours there too, or chat with other awesome Prudent Mamas and upload your pics to our super fun Prudent Baby Facebook Page or tweet them to us. And of course you can keep sending them to us through our Prudent Baby Contact Form. Your “As Seen On Prudent Baby” Button is down there on the left. Thank you!

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How to Sew Zipper Pillows with Piping


While working on My New Backyard project, I decided that sewing tons of pillows and cushions was key to keeping it all feeling like an outdoor room and being comfortable while lounging about.

I wanted contrasts of different textures, and I knew piping and trim would help tie the colors and feels together, so I made several different styles of piped pillows. Because these cozy poufs would be living outside, I also knew that being able to easily wash them was key to their longevity, so I used zippers to make sure the covers were removable.

We showed you how to sew basic zipper pillows (with hidden zippers) and how to sew zipper pillows with sham edges, but I’ve never run you through sewing a zipper pillow with piped edges.

So let me show you How to Sew Zipper Pillows with Piping after the jump…
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GIVEAWAY WINNER: DREAMY RAINBOW MOBILE


We are so happy that you love Baby Jives mobiles as much as we do! Aren’t they each a work of art? I have one of her clouds in Gordon’s nursery and now one of you will too! See who won the Dreamy Rainbow Mobile below. I love how it works in a boy’s or girl’s room but is sophisticated enough to last beyond the baby years.
Baby Jives is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders (to US addresses) thru July 27th.
Enter SHIPFREE4PRUDENTMAMA at checkout.

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Link Love

Adorbs free printable air-mail themed thank you notes on How About Orange.

Love these little wearable necklace planters!

Cute little hand sewn notebooks DIY.

Spice container magnets DIY at Martha Stewart. Can you imagine anything cuter on your fridge (besides your kid’s drawings of course)?

This bracelet is amazing. AND super simple to make! Get the full tutorial at Honestly WTF.

Loving this simple DIY boot box, could use one for my gardening shoes.

I might have to try this homemade mosquito repellant recipe.

I was recently interviewed by dating guru Jenn X for her column on men, dating, and Los Angeles. I don’t know much about dating or men, but I know LA pretty well. Here’s what I had to say. Wondering, did your mom say the same thing to you? And have you found it to be true?

Why does it seem like kids could read the same books every bedtime and be totally happy? Do they not understand that it always turns out the same? I realize it is me that gets bored (i know olivia by heart), and I’m okay with that. Books are one thing I never feel guilty about buying more of. Hence, I’m always looking to expand our library. So I was very excited to see that fellow babble blogger, temporary ex-pat, mother of six, and generally awesome human being, Gabrielle Blair (also known as Design Mom), compiled a list of her Top 50 Picture Books. I couldn’t agree more! I even found a few we didn’t know about. Definitely check it out.

Cucumber Limeade recipe.. Want. With vodka perhaps? Oh, that reminds me of the recipe for Infused Cucumber Vodka I shared last year. Get on that!

I’m off with the hubs for a vaca to the US Virgin Islands next week. It’s our first vacation since driving the autobahn six months pregnant (wrote an essay about that here: Motherhood as the End of Adventure?) – that was almost FOUR YEARS AGO. Got any tips on restaurants, activities, or beaches that we simply must-not-miss?

Good thing we chose the USVI, because I just went to look for my passport and cannot find it. Why do I suspect it’s covered in stickers and shoved in a toy bin somewhere, hmm. Should have made an adorable passport sleeve with the detailed tutorial at bunnybum, then sewn it to my hand or something.

We both write weekly columns for Babble. Here’s what we were sharing this week…
A round up of 12 edible flowers and how to cook with them.
Giving away three sets of mother-daugher matching Hello Kitty Vans: Enter now.
What Jacinda is packing for her trip to Mexico (love that swimsuit for post baby bod, can’t believe it’s so inexpensive!), and the cutest mexican-inspired kid fashion and gear. We are both obsessed with those baby dresses, we have in all colors, so good for hot summers.
Sharing eight mini version of mid century modern furniture classics.
Giving some love to my ultimate favorite shoes.
Knee socks: not just for knees.
Taping our kids into their rooms.
Liking these fair trade felt toys and our new fave bubble bath.

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Mexi-Cute: Mexican-Inspired Gifts for Baby

Are you annoyed with me yet? I’M IN MEXICO! LISTENING TO THE WAVES CRASH FROM MY PRIVATE PATIO! It’s good. So good. I love Mexico and it seems that lots of crafty folks are inspired by this beautiful country too. Here are some of the gorgeous mex-inspired baby goodies that I found around the inter-web. I guess you don’t have to be sipping a margarita on the beach of Mazatlan to be inspired by Mexico (but it’s nice work if you can get it.)

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How to Sew Rope Trim & My Embroidered Seat Cushions


I showed you how to make a traditional tufted seat cushion a few weeks back, but after living with it on the patio for a few days, I decided i wanted something more colorful. When i discovered this gorgeous embroidery pattern for the woman in a headdress at urban threads, I had a vision for the new seat cushions.

This is really a standard pillow with a tie, but the interesting thing is sewing on the rope trim. I experimented with a variety of ways to do it, and I’ll show you what worked best. Learn how to make a rope trimmed seat cushion after the jump…
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