The Beans' Brother Turns 7

Big brother turns 7 and it was Mad Scientist celebration.  I really wanted to keep this party easy in other words the less work for me the better.  We ordered our party kit from steve spangler science.  I can not say enough about this company.  They are awesome!  They actually sent a personalized hand written note to my son ... awesome customer service!  They kit even included items for the kids to take

home so the science fun could continue after the party was over. 

 We ordered lab coats for all the children who attended and my son meet them at the door lab coat in hand.  At this point they were ushered off to the "lab" where we made each child over into a Mad Scientist.  We gave them crazy hair and they all picked out their own Mad Scientist name.  I was surprised by how excited the kids were to be transformed into their new persona. 

We ordered our cake and cookie favors from The Sweet Shop. I am the worst cook and have been known to set my oven on fire in the past ... lol! 

Be sure to check out the video of the final experiment!  All the boys had a great time and little sister too.

This post is linked to the following party

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Seamingly Smitten

I am so EXCITED Willow's birthday dress is being featured at  Seamingly Smitten!  I am so excited!  You have to go check out her blog super cute ideas tons of inspiration.  Thank you again Seamingly Smitten, for featuring my little bean!  Please head over and check out her blog, there are some really great ideas.  Her project portfolio has so many detailed tutorial to follow along with.  Happy sewing

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The Lady "O"

I am a huge fan of Oprah not only for her soulful advice but her keen sense of fashion.  Who else could host a show once a year of their most wanted and create such a frenzy around these items.  Anyway I was watching her recent show where she interviewed Michelle Obama (another one of my favorites) and instead of taking in the conversation I was fascinated with Oprah's sweater! 

(Above: Mrs. Obama and Oprah during the show)

All I could do was gawk at it and wish it was a part of my wardrobe.  It was during this time that I realized I too had a cute cardigan that was in need of a little face lift.  Epiphany - I was going to turn this cardi into Lady O's cardigan. 

I found this fab ribbon at Acmoore it was $7.99 a little more than I would have like to spend but with the 40% off coupon it was doable. 

 

I began by folding the ribbon back and forth upon itself and then wrapping it around itself to form the flower.  I tacked it in place and then began to box pleat the ribbon working my way around the neckline.  I found that it a bit challenging to make the turn to run the ribbon down the front of the cardigan but after a few trys I achieved the look I wanted.    Leave me a comment to let me know what you think, and I would love to hear about your cardi make overs.

I linked this post to 733 Knock it Off contest
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How To Make King Sized Pillow Shams

 

 I just finished making these great pillow shams for a client.  She had found this bedding on sale greatly reduced the only problem was all the store had left were quilts, no shams.  So she picked up two quilts; one went on the bed and the second one was used to make cornice boards and shams.  My client has a king size bed; if you use king size pillows on your king sized bed you only need two shams where if you used standard pillows it would require three.  A king size pillow averages 20" x 36".  We wanted the sham to have a flange that measured about 2" around.  So I cut two 22" x 38" top panels from the quilt.  I know the math doesn't add up.  If I had added 4" to the top measurement of 36") and 4" to the side measurement of 22" you would end up with a flat no life pillow sham.  By cutting it a bit smaller it forces the pillow to fill the entire sham making the pillow appear more full.  I also cut four back panels that measured 22" x 23" this allowed me to have some over lap on the back helping to keep the pillow securely hidden.  I finished off the one side by bending it back and stitching along the edge.  This will give the back a clean finished open edge to insert your pillow.  To finish the shames I created a sandwich of sorts layering all my pieces just as they would look if they were on the pillows.  I pinned the back panels closed so they wouldn't shift while i was sewing.  At this point I began to bind the outer edge in a fun lime green fabric.  I feel it gave the shams just the pop of color that was needed.  After they were bound I ran a seam around the inside about 2" from the finished edge.  this created the flange.  Hope you find this helpful.  Feel free to link up your new bedding creations. 

all this extra fun from one extra bed in a bag :)

This post is Linked on Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest :)
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