Link Party #40

Welcome to this weeks link party! Yep not posting anything else these days but hey, the link party is here. I am soaking up the little mini break, having fun with my shwin and my mom here, stocking up for the baby, you know a little breather. So here are a few of my favorites from last weeks link party. (which was amazing!)

 It's Always Autumn shared this JCrew knock off outfit she made. Um yes, I love a good knock off and this is just super cute.

 Yeast Pen Thread shared this yellow brick road top she made. I am in love with the design.

Cation Designs shared this awesome top! I love the designs of stripes, and a super cute and flattering design.


So let's see what you have been up to this week!

New to link parties? That's totally fine here's what you have to do:

Find a entry on your blog that you want to link up.

It can be ANYTHING (unless it's an ad or something let's keep it spam free)

Say it is a great new project you just made and have been dying to share it with the crafting world. 

the link should look something like this:

http://(your blog adress/website)/(the post you want to link).html

Linking to the post is the easiest way for people to get back to that post.

Then click where it says "click here to enter" 

follow the steps to link your post and create a title, and select your picture.

Keep in mind the picture will be small thumbnail so pick a picture that shows it off the best. 

Lastly if you were so kind to add our button to your page or post, or where every you store your link party things that would be super cool. You don't have to use the button to link up, it's just there for you if you can't live without it. 

cool? cool. Let's get the party started!

<br /><br /><a border="0" href="http://www.shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/theshwins/tuesdayparty.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

Instagram Friday

Welcome to instagram Friday! A little glimpse into life beyond the sewing and crafting. 

 Abbey was in rare form this week, excited to wear dresses, and get her hair done. Two things she is not usually all about. Which is funny for a pink and purple loving girly girl. I also got my act together and brought out some fall decor, pumpkins included. The kids were happy. (oh and the dress is a new pattern soon to be released :)

 We got busy painting pumpkins. Carving is not really our thing. The kids love painting anyway.

 Our Kiwi Crate of the month came and it was shadow puppets! Which was perfect because we had dark and dreary rainy weather all week. The kids loved the shadow puppets and we had shadow puppet shows for hours.

Another way we choose to pass the time on these rainy days was pretending to sleep... well the kids pretended I may or may not have pretended :)Nothing beats cuddling in bed on a cold rainy day.

Our week ended with some surprises... we woke up to snow! I was actually a little sad, granted I love snow but in October? And after the super hot summer and fall we have been having this was just surprising... the kids thought it meant the baby was coming, since I have been telling all summer she will arrive when the snow comes... the snow came really early... the baby? Hopefully she will hold out a little while longer although the end is near :)

Also posting is a little slow, I have projects to share but my mom and my shwin are here for a visit! So we are soaking up that family time and they are helping me get ready for the little one to arrive, and of course shopping and laughing and well so little time left for blogging but I do have some things I am eager to share.

Link Party #39

Welcome to this weeks link party! Last week? Man you guys are killing me with awesomeness! It was hard to choose favorites there were so many amazing projects. I did some how narrow it down to the three... but it was rough. 

 Simple Simon & Company shared this lacy back top. Um, are you kidding me? I love this, I would wear it and flash dance... well maybe not in my current extra round state but still I would want to. Abbey would flash dance right along with me.

Craftstorming shared the cutest little boy jacket. I love the elephants the contrast print, and the buttons. 

I'm feelin' crafty shared this boy upcycle. So hip and chic. I love it!

So let's see what you have been up to this week!

New to link parties? That's totally fine here's what you have to do:

Find a entry on your blog that you want to link up.

It can be ANYTHING (unless it's an ad or something let's keep it spam free)

Say it is a great new project you just made and have been dying to share it with the crafting world. 

the link should look something like this:

http://(your blog adress/website)/(the post you want to link).html

Linking to the post is the easiest way for people to get back to that post.

Then click where it says "click here to enter" 

follow the steps to link your post and create a title, and select your picture.

Keep in mind the picture will be small thumbnail so pick a picture that shows it off the best. 

Lastly if you were so kind to add our button to your page or post, or where every you store your link party things that would be super cool. You don't have to use the button to link up, it's just there for you if you can't live without it. 

cool? cool. Let's get the party started!

<br /><br /><a border="0" href="http://www.shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/theshwins/tuesdayparty.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

The Perfect Nursing Top {Belly+Baby wrap up}

 Last month as you know the fabulous Kate of See Kate Sew and Jess of CINO and myself (all expecting baby girls in a few weeks) put together a Belly+Baby Series. Then we got to the last day of the series and didn't post. I blame it on the pregnancy :) We were all planning on doing a pattern review of Megan Nielsen Patterns since she has some awesome maternity patterns. Well that day has finally arrived! Along with a little wrap up of the Belly+Baby goodness from the series. So I made the Perfect Nursing Top which ideally would work during pregnancy as well, only being in my last few weeks it doesn't fit over this big round belly without pulling kind of weird. So my lovely little mannequin is showing it off today... sorry.

 So I LOVE the pattern it was super easy to follow, easy to cut out and to sew. It is made from comfy knit and I made the band at the waist contrast to match the "modesty panel" It offered a fun little pop. The striped knit is actually a knit my husband bought me (yes I send him fabric shopping when he visits fun cities) I have been hoarding this super comfy stripe using it here and there like on some baby legging in fact so baby girl and I could match even :) There are pleats in the front which I think are super flattering especially after baby. If I were to make another one in my pregnant stage I would switch the pleats for gathers so it would lay a little better over a big round belly, but for a nursing top hiding a post baby belly I love the look of the pleats.

The front cross over design folds down to allow for nursing. Which I love. I am sure I will make a dozen more of these tops especially if this little girl is more like her sister when it comes to her nursing and less like her brother :) 

To see what Jess and Kate made hop on over and check it out (just click on the picture)

To see other Belly+Baby projects check them out here:

1. DIY full-panel maternity pants

2. handmade nursery

3. ruffled belly band tutorial

4. diy stretchy pocket pants

5. baby romper pattern and tutorial

6. comfy DIY maternity skirts

7. gauze baby blankets

8. ruffle diaper covers pattern

9. the bow belt tutorial

Crafting With Kids

I have been working on a "secret" project. Don't you love those? Kiwi Crate (the most fantastic craft gift for kids) Launched a sister site called The Studio. A site with over 500 projects to do with your kids. They asked me to be a contributor and it has been a lot of fun! They are fantastic to work with and my kids love all the extra crafting time. For the launch of their new site they are also running a cool contest. 

You could win a pottery barn kids craft table and $100 to spend at Kiwi Crate

Check out all the details here

We currently have 20 projects at the Studio here are quick links to them (click on the pictures) More will be added all the time but we won't be blogging about them here. I did add a tab at the top of the page called "Kids Crafts" which I will update with links to new projects. 

Instagram Friday!

Welcome to instagram Friday! A little glimpse of life beyond crafting and sewing.

 Girls night out put on by the amazing Jessica at Me Sew Crazy happened! It was so much fun! I would do a full recap of the nights event, butI didn't take any pictures... The restaurant was dark but lovely and I really just had a great time meeting some ladies I have admired for some time and it was great to meet them face to face and some who I didn't really know at all but it was great meeting such a wonderful group of ladies and we all had something in common. The love of sewing! We also walked away with some sweet swag, it was a great night!

 Since the Girls Night Out event was a little ways away from home, the whole family decided we would make a weekend out of it. The kids loved staying at a hotel for the night (what makes hotels so much more fun than sleeping at home?) The kids and my husband caught a pre-season basketball game and then the next morning we all went out for breakfast outside.

 We finished off fall break with a little trip to the build a bear workshop. The kids loved it and it was so worth the peace and quiet it earned me :)

 Even though I have been failing to post the rest of my projects (even the ones I made during KCWC) I have been sewing up a storm, including working on 3 new patterns. I will call it nesting. I am pretty excited about this pattern... once I get the quirks figured out :) (this particular one is for baby to be since testing out a pattern in mini versions takes almost no fabric)

 I went shopping with my husband for some new jeans... I believe he tried on 30 pairs of jeans we finally walked away with one pair... men. Lucky for me one of our stops was at JCPenny which has Sephora, my skin has been horrible with this pregnancy, I mean horrible, so I put a call into my super hero (shiwn) and she saved my day... Argon Oil. It is a miracle, and I bet you now all wish you had a shiwn you could call :)

Ok I get this question a lot: "where do you get your buttons?" Yes I am a button hoarder. I love buttons I use a lot of buttons, I can't get enough of them. They can be pricey especially if you are picking out buttons on those little cards for each project... yikes. So my secret? 2 places I get all my buttons Joanns, and Ebay. At Joanns they have a Mega button box (usually on the bottom of the shelf below all the buttons) It is 10 oz. of buttons for 5.99 I usually use a coupon 50% off. The load in the picture is my most recent box. You get lots of matching sets, lots of colors, some really cool buttons some cheap crappy buttons, but it's a great haul. I try to add one a month and before you know it you have a mega collection and will never need to button search again. Oh and on ebay I buy mix bags, same type of deal. 

Link Party #38

Welcome the this weeks link party!

There were some more amazing link ups. I love seeing all the great things you guys are working on. Here are some of my favorites from last week. 

 I'm Feeln' Crafty linked up this guest post from the longest thread. A cute skirt inspired by backgammon. I love the look of this.

 Buzz Mills shared her KCWC projects including adding a color block to the bottom of this tunic to make it longer and get more wear from it.

Straight Grain shared these origami sleeves. Stunning, and beautiful and being added to my must sew list. 

So let's see what you have been up to this week!

New to link parties? That's totally fine here's what you have to do:

Find a entry on your blog that you want to link up.

It can be ANYTHING (unless it's an ad or something let's keep it spam free)

Say it is a great new project you just made and have been dying to share it with the crafting world. 

the link should look something like this:

http://(your blog adress/website)/(the post you want to link).html

Linking to the post is the easiest way for people to get back to that post.

Then click where it says "click here to enter" 

follow the steps to link your post and create a title, and select your picture.

Keep in mind the picture will be small thumbnail so pick a picture that shows it off the best. 

Lastly if you were so kind to add our button to your page or post, or where every you store your link party things that would be super cool. You don't have to use the button to link up, it's just there for you if you can't live without it. 

cool? cool. Let's get the party started!

<br /><br /><a border="0" href="http://www.shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/theshwins/tuesdayparty.jpg" /></a><br /><br />