Guest post! Tara from girl like the sea

Hey everyone!  I'm so happy to be posting the first ever guest post on my blog!  This little guest post swap is a result of the Covert Robin...  which I am so glad I participated in!  First of all, it showed me that I can make more than baby and kid things, and second, it introduced me to Tara, and her fabulous blog girl like the sea.  So often I find myself nodding and laughing when I read what her little girls have been up to...  eating dirt?  check.    Being secret break dancers due to lack of too much energy in that little body?  check.  Enjoying their treasure pocket pants?  Half check.  Mine are mostly done.  :)  Enough of me, though... here's what Tara has to say!


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Hi! I'm Tara from girl like the sea. I am a mommy of two crazy little girls (1.5 yrs and 3 yrs), have been happily married and living in Virginia for almost 7 years now, and a relatively recent convert to this sewing/crafting world. From what Allison has told me, we can definitely relate on our stage of life right now since our girls are similar ages and very active! Since I like having faces to go with words, here are a couple of shots of my little family

Clover is my oldest, and Violet the youngest. They are 18 months apart and constantly fighting! I met my husband Tim on a U2 fan site when I was 18 and he was 31. We got married within months of meeting one another in person, and have been happily married since 2005.  

Since Allison already did a great job of giving the lowdown on the gifts I got to send her, I thought I would just share some of my resources for the little projects. Originally I was going on include the photos I took of them before sending them off, but I literally cannot find the images on my hard drive! Here is a link to the blog post I did about them though: Covert Robin Gifts

Source: luvinthemommyhood.com via Tara on Pinterest

The handled mug sleeve I made was from a tutorial on luvinthemommyhood (one of my favorite blogs!) and should be linked through the pinterest picture above. I just love how knitted yarn feels! 

Source: inanook.blogspot.com via Tara on Pinterest

The non handled cup sleeve I made was indirectly also from luvinthemommyhood, but through a link to nook. This one was knitted in the round on double pointed needles.

The little hot pad was sort of an experiment, to be totally honest. Ha! I wasn't sure it was going to turn out, and if it didn't I was going to figure something else out. This was my first zig zag quilting experiment. The fabrics were some of my faves - 

Echo by Lotta Jansdotter 

Washi by Rashida Coleman Hale

It really blessed my heart to know that the gifts were something that Allison would be able to enjoy. I'm so glad she ended up being my recipient! 

-Tara- 




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Thanks so much, Tara!  Looking forward to reading more about your adventures in sewing and being mom!   

A craft gift FOR ME! (and my mug collection makes an appearance)

I got my covert robin gift in the mail a few weeks ago - woohoo!!  The lovely sender, Tara from Girl Like the Sea (a new favorite blog, btw) sent me these handmade goodies:

Coffe and tea accessories!  Did she read me well, or what?  Lately, Lucca has decided that sleeping is optional...  meaning that caffeine is an essential part of my morning... er, day.  I drink warm caffeinated beverages all day long when we are at home (those are some of my favorites below!).  These will get some heavy use in this house!

my favorite things to fill the coffee cups with!

close up of the pretty fabric!

Warm and cozy cup!

and a peek under the cozy!

Yup, it really says that!  :)

This mug is a favorite of mine.  It was always in our cupboard when I was growing up (for post snow day hot chocolate!), and now I'm happy it's found it's way to mine!

Here are some other shots from my much-loved mug collection...

L: blue and white floral pattern, came from my hubby's bachelor cupboard!
R:  Stitch!  It says "I hate mornings!" While I don't hate mornings, I DO hate cups that hold less than a full galon of coffee at a time!  :)  This cup is huge.  

The Toymaker mug.  A mug I snagged from my grandparen't's house...  it held milk well when I was younger, and it holds tea for me now just as happily!  There are some serious memories in this cup.

Some mugs from my stinit as a resident in southern California!  L: monster mug from Starbucks.  A birthday gift, and my favorite mug ever.  R:  Fun mug from Disneyland,  I like that it is basically a bowl with a handle!

Monster mug boo-boo!  Sustained while traveling back to the east coast in a UHaul attached to a Jeep!

Hunny's mugs.  If there is tomato soup in the house, it is most likely in the polka dot mug!  

i found these at a thrift store ages ago... they ae a cute tiny size, and have unofficially become Raina's "hot chocky" cups!

pretty gift from my seester from Anthropologie!

I love this secret butterfly


If you have a minute, check out Tara's blog... you'll be glad you did!  I'm thinking of asking her to start sewing my cildrens' clothes... we have the same taste in fabric and patterns, but she appears to have more time to actually finish the projects!!  :)

My Covert Robin gift

Just like with the wreath, I had some stumbles here with this swap gift.  Making a gift/craft that was not meant to please a child/baby or said tiny human's parents was a huge challenge for me.  I made a few things - which I'll post about in upcoming weeks - but what I settled on sending is this bright ruffly pillow!

My first thought was that pillows are an easy way out.  But I NEVER make pillows!  And there are so many fun ruffly pillows that I would love to make... but that would be destroyed in my toddler and baby inhabited household!  So I settled on it. 

The front is made from a home dec weight fabric - the same one I used to make the baby snuggler for Miss Lucca last fall.  I love the bright floral but not too girly pattern.  The ruffles are made from the main pillow fabric, a strip of bright pink flannel with white polka dots, and a light pink ribbon with white polka dots. 

The trim is actually bias tape - and instead of rounding it at the corners, I folded it, to give it a little more interest.  The back is pink minky.  You might think minky is my favorite fabric, since it is always appearing in projects and as my backdrop.  I'm not sure I'd call it my favorite, but I make plenty of things from it, and I always have plenty of it on hand!!

Some day, when my couch is not a magnet for dirt, crumbs, spit up, and ketchup, I'll make a few more ruffle pillows to keep for my very own self!  :)

The Covert Robin

Like I said before, group activities.  This is the third in one month.  Who AM I?  This time around, I've joined myself up in this super fun crafty swap.  It's a round robin type dealy... the person I'm sending a handmade craft to is not my partner, they're sending a craft to someone else, who's sending one to someone else... you get the picture.  

I'm really excited about this, and excited to see what comes my way!  Unfortunately, I'm also a bit stumped.  I've visited my partner's blog quite a few times now... read it and reread... and I have just a few ideas of what to make, but nothing that really excites me.  My "specialty" (I guess!) is crafts for kids... and I'm not sure that would work for this crafty lady :)  Since I don't want to give it away if anyone reads this, that's all I can say!  I've been combing Pinterest, getting inspired, trying to get an idea that makes me sit up and say, "Yeah!  That's IT!"

I have until the end of March to get something sent out... any thoughts?