I am pleased to announce that my newest Pineapple Penelope sewing pattern is now for sale in my pattern shop.  Please click HERE to take you to the listing so you can start making your own Zoo Animal nursing pillow covers!  With just one well made pattern pack and step-by-step photo tutorial, you can make all of the animals seen above. The Fox, The Koala, The Panda, The Elephant and The Monkey, you are sure to find a hit for any newborn on their way. Happy sewing!

Penelope is obsessed with horses. Last year she had a My Little Pony party, while this year it was Carousel horses. I imagine I will be having to scramble to come up with different and unique horse themes each year. In fact, I have already started planning the next horse bash for March 2015: Cowgirls and western horses. When I have a great theme to go off of, it makes the party planning fun and much easier.  I also really like when the invitation sets the perfect mood for the party. It allows the little guests to get excited and dress appropriately for what we have in store for them. This particular year I decided to draw up a special carousel horse to put on the front of the invitations. They were completed by an inner lining that matched the fabric of Penelope’s party dress (hint: I simply photo copied her dress fabric onto paper, cut and glued it into the card) and of course lots of shimmery paper! Please excuse the tacky napkin covering my personal information! ;) And the bit of wrinkling on the inner lining…remember my almost 3 year old girl helped me!

I often start by figuring out the cake, how I would like it to look and then from there I am able to make choices on the colors and the other decorations and food.  I found a great Carousel cake set from Wilton at Joann’s Craft store so I bought that, I made a huge batch of marshmallow fondant and a lovely blueberry cake and got set to decorating.

I had the party after lunch but thought it would be nice still to offer snacks! What better snacks to offer at a carousel party than carnival-esque treats?!?! Cheese dip and soft pretzels, cotton candy, popcorn…all in fun carnival themed packaging that matched the party theme colors.

Decorations are always a fun part of getting ready for the party too. Penelope really enjoys helping me make her decorations so we usually sit down with lots of paper and glue and get to work! These pinwheels adorned with the invitation horse I drew and some magical stars did the trick. I also made lots of paper bows and stars on garland to hang from different areas around the room.

We played fun games like red light, green light, pin the carousel horse on the pole and “musical carousel” our version of musical chairs. I find that these types of party games really work well for this age group. It keeps them busy and happy until it’s cake time without being too planned or overwhelmed. Here’s some little ladies playing red light, green light…

I’m also a sucker for a really good treat for the little ones to take home. It’s a great way for parents to “bribe” their kid out the door when it’s time to leave (a difficult task as we all know) plus it’s a lovely way of saying thank you to your guests for the gifts they brought. This year I went light on the candy and instead filled the pink bags adorned by paper bows with stickers, bracelets and only one edible- cotton candy. Each child also got to take home a special outfit that they wore during the party. Girls got tutus and feathered headbands and boys got feathered gentlemen hats and neck ties.

Last, but certainly not least, I always make Penelope a special outfit that matches the theme of her birthday. This year I found amazing Japanese import carousel fabric which inspired the invitation design. I loaded that dress up with all kinds of ruffles, gold accents and even went so far as to add hand applied swarovski crystals here and there. It was a dress fit for a carousel princess. I also made (because I am insane)  a homemade petty skirt to go under her dress for additional poof. This was quite the chore to make and i don’t believe I will ever do it again, however I am happy to check it off the bucket list. ;) (Luckily she wore it again for Easter! Phew!) Penelope accessorized with her favorite string of pearls…always with the pearls! As you will also see in the very first picture on this post, her American girl doll had a matching dress. I am a chronic over achiever…

It was a beautiful party full of fun and friends. I am so happy that I could make my little girl’s birthday dreams come true! Here are a few more shots of the day including the new two wheel (no training wheels!!!) bike she received from her dad and I.

As soon as I get a new PDF pattern I always print it out and cut out my pattern pieces. I do this so they are available and ready for whenever I find the time to cut out my fabric and sew. This particular pattern calls for knit material and comes with some options, which I love! You can leave it plain or can decorate it with a bow on the shoulder or flowers. It also has two sleeve length options and is available to make in sizes XXS-XL women’s.

Next I headed with my mini fabric partner-in-crime, Penelope, to Joann Fabrics to pick out a nice neutral knit to use on this project. I decided upon an ultra soft and lightweight gray with a corresponding grey lace textured knit for a little pop of something special.

After that I cut out all my pieces using a rotary cutter (a must for knits) and set out following Rachel’s incredibly clear instructions.

I found that her instructions were minimal, yet very clear and easy to follow. I design patterns and sew a ridiculous amount myself, so I am quite experienced, however I believe these instructions would be great for a beginner as well.I had to take a little break in the midst of my work to eat the “key lime and cherry flavored” play dough pancakes that Penelope made for me. ;) (excuse my sewing room. It used to be a mans workshop and is in rather poor condition. It won’t be fixed up until the upper floor of the house is squared away).

It’s amazing how quickly this shirt came together! It’s especially perfect for you out there who hate setting in sleeves but want a shirt with sleeves on it. This is because the sleeves are part of the main bodice cut. Great move Golden Rippy Patterns!  I quickly got to the point where I was ready to add all the lace knit banding onto the main shirt body.  This went very smoothly and the result was lovely.

I decided to go ahead and add the bow to one shoulder. The pattern comes with options of adding flowers or a bow and I’m a bow girl all the way, so of course it won my heart. I decided to leave the tail of the bow off and stick with just the double layered bow as the tail seemed like it would grow to be a hindrance over time while wearing my creation. 

I absolutely adore how the top turned out. I made a size medium and it fits great! The only issue I would note is that I have rather thick arms and I probably should have cut out my pattern pieces using the medium size but then cutting into the large size where the arms were concerned. The top still fits great, but the arms aren’t loose as I suppose they are meant to be. Keep this in mind if your a strong armed lady like myself! Here is my trusty body double modeling this amazing shirt. She looks really pretty doesn’t she?!?! ;)

Even better, this top also comes in little lady sizes in a pattern called the Dahlia so your little girl can match you!  You can learn more about Golden Rippy Patterns at their Facebook page, so check them out! And hey, while you are checking things out, feel free to take a look at my own pattern page, Pineapple Penelope Patterns. I am just starting out and would love all the new support! Follow us on our Facebook page too!

Now about that blog tour and contest I mentioned earlier…Here is a map of the tour if you’d like to follow along.  At each stop you are encouraged to enter the contest using the provided raffle copter links on each reviews blog post. (you will see this at the bottom of this post). This will enter you in a chance to be one of two lucky winners! Winners will get to pick out two Golden Rippy patterns of their choice! This means if you are the lucky winner you could choose this top pattern AND get the matching little girl one if you choose! How great is that?!  To enter you must be 18 years of age or older. You gain entries by entering the raffle copter prompts on each blog post. The giveaway ends at midnight PST on 8/6/14 and winners will be announced the next day. Good luck and happy sewing!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Golden Rippy Patterns blog tour map

Monday- July 28

A Vision To Remember www.avisiontoremember.com

Fabulous Home Sewn http://www.fabuloushomesewn.blogspot.ca

Amanda Rose http://madebyamandarose.blogspot.com/

Tuesday- July 29

FriendsStitchedTogether http://friendsstitchedtogether.com/

Cozy Cape Cottage http://cozycapecottage.blogspot.com/

Gracious Threads www.graciousthreads.ca

Wednesday- July 30

GYCT Designs http://www.gyctdesigns.com/

The Sewing Geek http://www.thesewinggeek.com/

Sprouting JubeJube http://sproutingjj.blogspot.ca/

Thursday- July 31

My Taylor Made www.mytaylormade.blogspot.com

Mimi’s Mom http://www.mimismom.com

Rebel & Malice rebelandmalice.blogspot.com

Friday- Aug 1

Stitchwerx Designs http://stitchwerx.net

Pienkel http://www.pienkel.com

E-beth Designs http://ebethdesigns.com/

Saturday- Aug 2

Growing Family 1 http://growingfamily1.blogspot.com/

Marmalade Forest www.marmaladeforest.com

Ali Cat & Co alicatco.blogspot.com

Sunday- Aug 3

Made by Sara http://made-by-sara.blogspot.com/

From a Box http://www.from-a-box.com/

Crooked Whimsy http://crookedwhimsy.blogspot.com/

Monday- Aug 4

Daisy Chain Creations http://daisy-chaincreations.blogspot.com/

Knot Sew Normal http://knotsewnormal.wordpress.com

Lulu & Celeste http://luluandceleste.blogspot.ca

Tuesday- Aug 5

Mae & K http://maeandk.com/

The Crazy Tailor http://thecrazytailor.com

Blogs Like A Mother http://blogslikeamother.blogspot.com

Wednesday- Aug 6

Bebe Lambs www.bebelambs.com

Create3.5 http://createthreepointfive.blogspot.com

Lady and the Gents www.theladyandthegents.blogspot.com

Here is what you will need:

1. an old t-shirt (for longer, nearly floor length capes you will want to use a mens t-shirt. For a shorter style cape you can use a child’s t-shirt.)
2. a 1-2″ piece of velcro (both the soft and the loop sides)
3. Scissors
4. Hot glue gun with glue OR a sewing machine OR hand sewing supplies.
5. Paint, glitter, glue, iron on decals, glue on rhinestones, puffy paints, etc. (if you choose to decorate your items after they are made)

The Instructions:

 Lay your T-shirt out on a flat surface. For this tutorial I am using a Mens Size Large shirt.

Cut off both sleeves as shown above and set them aside. We will be using them later so don’t throw them out!

Cut open each side starting from the bottom center of the armpit and down to the hem.

Open up your shirt and lay it flat so that the collar forms a circle.

Cut from one side, up and around the existing collar and down the other side. Set the top, unused portion aside. We will be using it later to make the mask.

Straighten out any jagged cuts by cutting them into a smooth line.  Your shirt should now have the overall appearance of a cape.

Remove 1-2″ from the collar in the front center.  It’s best to put the collar onto your child to get an idea of how much of the collar you should omit since all shirts are a bit different.  If you have to guess because your child is unavailable then I suggest taking out only 1″ to be safe. You can always adjust how it fastens to make a tighter fit but once you cut the collar  too short it’s much harder to remedy.

Have your 1-2″ of velcro cut and ready!

Using your method of choice (Hot glue, sewing machine or hand sewing) attach the velcro as shown, with one piece on the underside of the collar and the other piece on the top side of the collar so that they catch each other when they are crossed. I always like to put the soft, fuzzy side on the part that would have the most potential to touch the child’s skin (the underside) so that it won’t be too pokey and itchy.  Secure your velcro into place.

Ta-dah! You now have a fully functioning cape! At this point your child will probably rip it from your hands gleefully, promptly attach it around their necks and run around the house …but if you’re able to subdue them with promises of puff paint and glitter then now is a great time for them to start decorating their cape while you finish up the accessories.

Take the other half of your T-shirt that has not been made into a cape and lay it on a flat surface.

Cut approximately 1/3 of the shirt off. Keep the bottom portion and feel free to discard the top portion at this point.

Fold the shoulder end over so that it matches the other raw edge. The fold will be to the left.  Following the example arrows, cut around the outline of your folded over piece. As you near the folded side, do what you need to do to make both layers cut on a straight bottom line. As you can see above, this meant cutting off some of the original folded area.

It should look something like this after you made your last cut.

Once you unfold it, here is what your piece should resemble.  This is going to be the face mask. The pointy edges will help in tying it in the back of your child’s head without a lot of bulk.

Tie the mask around your child’s head (or in this case i had to use myself as the model since my daughter was at school) and mark where the eyes need to be with an X. I used a pen made especially for marking fabric while sewing, but any sharpie or marker will do the trick.

Now carefully cut out where you marked your X’s.  I like to pinch it in half and cut a half circle so when I un-pinch it I have a nice eye shaped hole.  Your mask is now finished! If your child wants they can decorate this too! Or you can go ahead and tie it on your own face since you are pretty much a super hero parent for making this awesome cape set for your kiddo!  We aren’t quite done! Every super hero needs some arm decor…

Grab those cut off sleeves that we saved from our first step and lay them out flat.

Lay your child’s hand down as my hand is shown in the picture. Trace down the non-thumb side of the hand and then make marks on either side of where the thumb lays.  It is important that you use your child’s hand for this measurement because if you use yours (as I had to in this tutorial) the arm pieces will be a bit large on your kid.

Here is how your traced lines should appear.

Cut out a thumb hole between your marks and cut down the length of the other mark you made.

Secure the long side Using a 1/4″ Seam allowance (in other words, the two layers should attach together 1/4″ away from the raw edge) using a sewing machine (preferably) or a hot glue gun (this just may not have as long of a wearing life) so that it appears as the picture above. You do not need to do anything to the thumbhole as cotton knits do not fray. However, if you want a perfect little thumbhole you can fold in the edge and carefully sew around the hole for a finished hem.  Go ahead and follow all the same steps for the other sleeve so that you end up with two wrist covers.

Turn them right side out and then put them on so you can take a look at how awesome your work is!  Now, once again, your child can decorate the wrist covers as well.  That’s it!  It only took me about 20 minutes to make all four pieces (and that was with stopping to take pictures of each step for this tutorial) so this is a very quick, fun project that will spur a lot of dramatic play in your home. This is also a great idea for birthday party favors or if you put a bit more time and love into it, it would also make a lovely gift! So have at it and make one…or two….or perhaps one for every memeber of your family?!?!

I couldn’t help myself…I made it to my size so I just had to go ahead and try it out…However, I think the next picture is much, much cuter ;)

(See how her wrist covers are too big? This is a great example of why you should really use their bodies for your measurements if possible!) Happy Crafting!

They are super simple to make! All you need is:

• exacto craft knife
• sharpie marker
• bag of mandarin oranges

The “How To”

1. First you will use your exacto knife to cut out the shape of the snail body. I just eyed it but you can draw it on with a sharpie ahead of time then cut if that is easier for you. Be sure not to cut too deeply or they will be a juicy mess!
2. Once you have finished your cutting, carefully peel off all the excess peel that is NOT part of the snail body you just created.
3. Carefully peel back the tail and the head to give your snail a bit more character.
4. Lastly, draw a cute little face! 

First Penelope and I set out to make the butterfly snack bags.  For this you will need the following items:

• metal alligator hair clips (found at sally beauty supply in a big old box)
• pipe cleaner (cut in half
• googly eyes
• hot glue gun
• ziploc bags
• sewing machine or hand sewing notions
• ribbon as wide as the alligator clips are

First you will want to take the clips and clip them onto a piece of cardboard or something to make them easier to work with.

Next you will take the ribbon and hot glue it to the back underside of the clips (after cutting each ribbon to the length of the longer side of the clip that is)

Then you will apply glue to the longer side of the clip and press the ribbon down on to it. Careful not to glue the clips to the cardboard!

Now take each half of the pipe cleaner and feed it through the channel at the top of the clip. Twist the pipe cleaner together a few times and then shape the antennae as desired

Now glue on the google eyes! you can also draw on a cute little smile under the eyes at this point if you wish. i used a sharpie and it worked well.

Your little bug bodies are now ready to be clipped onto the bags of filled snacks!

Now take your ziploc bags and sew down the center of each to make two compartments. You don’thave to do this but I was making two flavors od chickpeas and i didn’t want the savory and the sweet to mix.

Now take your chickpeas in the can and drain them, rinse them then lay them out on paper towels. Roll them in the towels to dry them off and remove as many skins as you are able. Then lay them in a flat layer on a cookie sheet and roast for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Take them out and let them cool then put them back in for another 30 minutes. When they are nice and crispy, pull them out.

Have your flavorings ready! For my savory I mixed 1 teaspoon seasoning salt and 1/2 teaspoon cumin with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  For the sweet I mixed 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon honey.

mix the chickpeas (while still hot) into the flavors you prepared.  Let them cool and then spoon them into your bags and apply the clips in the middle! Voila!  A cute, yummy, healthy snack for the kiddos!

Whimsical Creatures Nursing Pillow Cover

In this pack you will receive the basic nursing pillow cover (aka Boppy cover) pattern as well as five separate patterns for each Whimsical Creature. A step-by-step picture tutorial shows you how to create each of the five options:

1. The Turtle
2. The Snail
3. The Narwhal
4. The Unicorn
5. The Dragon

In addition to the above I have also provided two pages of tips for sewing with fleece fabric.  This pattern is super fun to make and a wonderful gift for things such as baby showers, or to turn your old Boppy pillow into a fun creature for your toddler or older child to snuggle up on.  You can find the pattern at my online shop, Pineapplepenelope.  I will also be putting the Tasty Treats Nursing Pillow Cover pattern on sale to celebrate the new addition to the pattern family! Happy sewing!

Now, I know you have all heard the botulism horror stories about canning foods that aren’t necessarily high in acidity. Yes, it can be scary, however I have taken my favorite salsa recipe and mashed it with a tested and true canning salsa recipe for the ultimate in spicy, tasty salsa eating. Without further introduction…

Keelie’s Super Spicy Smoked Salsa Recipe

please note that the amounts of ingredients are very important in keeping the salsa safe to can. Do not change the amounts unless i note that it is okay to do so.

• 8 cups tomatoes skinned and chopped into 1/2″ pieces
• 2 cups onions chopped into 1/4″ pieces
• 1.5 cups chopped green or red peppers chopped into 1/4″ pieces
• 3-5 jalapenos chopped into 1/4″ pieces
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2tsp black pepper
• 1/8 cup canning salt
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (can be omitted if you want)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup vinegar (5% ratio at least)
• 1 can tomato sauce (for texture but can be omitted)
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, process pints for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

(note: This recipe can be safely canned in pints, not larger.  If you wish to can it in smaller jars use the same processing time)  This made 6 full pints for me.

We woke up bright and early and I made a special breakfast of horse pancakes for my little cowgirl.We then got her all ready in her first day of school outfit (complete with cowgirl boots, of course) and headed out the door for her first day!

As soon as we walked in to the classroom, Penelope started searching for all the horse toys…

I headed home to work on some Halloween Costume orders…the time flew right by and then it was time to pick her up.  I got there and she ran to me smiling, ready to show me the pictures she worked on in class.

After giving her new friends some hugs goodbye, we headed out for some mama/daughter Frozen Yogurt to chat about her first day!

She is excited to go to her next day of preschool.  It’s such a wonderful school, close to our home and I love that once in a while I get to be in the classroom with her. I’m thinking I’m going to be quite the productive mama when she is in school and I’m looking forward to all the fun stories, future play dates and all that comes along with a school aged kiddo. <3