Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Father's Day 2012 Photo Contest

Thank you for participating!!


submitted by Kellie K.

submitted by Kim W.


submitted by Sarah A.

And the winner is..........Sarah A.
Sarah email me with your selection for your FREE SHIRT at babycakesbybrooke@hotmail.com.


Monday, April 30, 2012

1400 Fans Giveaway

1400 FANS GIVEAWAY!

Thanks so much for being a fan!! In honor of YOU I have put together some awesome prizes from a few of my favorite vendors This is a new format that hopefully will be SUPER EASY for you to enter! :)
This giveaway will start on Tuesday, May 1st 12:01am EST and end Tuesday, May 8th at 12:01am EST.

Friday, March 9, 2012

FNP 3/9/2012 Appliqued Burp Cloths

APPLIQUED BURP CLOTHS

Of everything that I sew, I think I love to do the burp cloths the most! They are so easy and fast, and you most always have a perfect one-of-a-kind gift for that expectant mother. I wanted to show you how you can make your own, even if you don't have a fancy embroidery machine.

I have a friend over at Sew Sew Crafty who is starting her line of simple iron on stitch around appliques that can be used on burp cloth, shirts, cards, and scrapbooking. Go check out her page, she has some pretty neat stuff over there! Anyway, she gave me a few to play around with. I decided to show you exactly how to do the burp cloth. Seriously took me 10 minutes.

Here's what ya need:
  • Burp cloth (I like the Gerber brand and was even told by the sewing machine repair man that these are the better than the high priced ones yay!)
  • White thread in the bobbin
  • Contrasting top thread to match your applique (I used yellow)
  • About 15" of matching ribbon-optional
  • Iron-on Applique (You can either purchase them from Sew Sew Crafty or a craft store or make them from scratch fabric and Heat N Bond...just follow the directions on the package)
  • Sewing Machine
*I am a visual learner and require LOTS of pictures, hope you are too.



The applique should look something like this with a paper backing.  Peel off the paper backing and iron to the bottom half of the burp cloth, still leaving room for the ribbon later.

Should look something like this.

Set your sewing machine to the largest zig zag stitch 

Thread your machine with the contrasting color on the top and use white in the bobbin. I like to use white so that nothing shows on the back.

Pick a part of your applique that is a straight line if possible. Line the edge of your applique right in the middle of you sewing foot. Backstitch a couple of times then SLOWLY proceed until reach a curve. Keep a very close eye on that edge always keeping it right in the middle. 
At a curve, you will switch to using the hand wheel for each stitch and raising and lowering the presser foot, always keeping the edge in the middle of your presser foot.

Raise the foot, turn the burp cloth, turn the hand wheel. Repeat until you get to a straight line again.  Once you have stitched around the parameter of the applique back stitch a couple of times to secure. Repeat with any other additional pieces.

On to the ribbon..Because burp cloth can have abnomalities, just measure about 1 1/2" extra on each side of the width. You will be folding over the ends so that it has a clean line.

Fold over about 1/2-1"

Pin to the corner of burp cloth, you want to make sure that the fold is even with the burp cloth

I like to use a straight stitch here, but you can use what ever you want. Use a 3/8" seam allowance. Still keeping the same thread setup (yellow on top/white on bottom) make straight stitch around the edge of the burp cloth. As you go keep the edges even with each other.
When you get to the corner, fold it over and line up with the edge of the burp cloth.
Carefully stitch around the short end of the ribbon keeping the 3/8" seam allowance. 
Repeat the same steps on the other long and short sides. Make sure you backstitch to secure the stitch.

And you are finished!! Should look something like this!

Friday, March 2, 2012

FNP 3/2/12 (Friday Night Project)

Because of this addictive thing called Pinterest, I have decided to try one of the millions of pins I have accquired every Friday night. A couple of weeks ago I made the diaper box tote and it turned out ok...

buuuuut I have to admit I still have 2 more boxes sitting here that I need to finish AND figure out what to do with them after that.

This week I've decided to rehad this sad litte shelf that was in my sister's room growing up. Wow, Brittany I am sorry! I'm pretty sure that I actually painted this in the first place LOL....Poor kid had to live with a room decorated like this for years!
I took this picture after my "handy" husband had tried sanding it down.

Here are my supplies...1 paintbrush CHECK, 1 can of left over pain CHECK, 1 adult beverage (not required, but definitely suggested :) CHECK!

And here is this little beauty after one coat


Quite an improvement, huh? It is pretty humid here in the metropolis of Needville TX (just outside of Houston), so I'm probably going to have to wait until tomorrow for another coat.  After that I plan on adding some cute scrapbooking fabric to the outer edges or the back panels, haven't decided yet......I plan on using this pin from Pinterest Mod Podgeing with scrapbook paper

Guess you'll have to wait until next week to see the finished project.
So what do YOU think....cover the edges or the back panels?
What colors/design should I use?
Any helpful hints on Mod Podge?


Monday, January 30, 2012

winner of the 1000-1250 fans giveaway!!

And the winner of the 1000-1250 Fans Giveaway is.....

cheywilson247@gmail.com

Congrats!! If this is your email address please send me an email and I can get started on all of your goodies!

And thank you all for entering :) I never would have thought this little business would have so many fans! You guys rock!!
-Brooke

Friday, January 27, 2012

1000-1200 fans giveaway

In celebration of Babycakes reaching 1250 and counting fans on Facebook, I have put together a nice prize for one lucky winner.  Here's the loot...

PERSONALIZED RAG QUILT
You choose the fabrics and name to be embroidered ($50 value)


$25 CASH
This is not a gift certificate, but money that will be sent to you via paypal. You can turn around and spend it with me (which would be totally sweet), or go get a pedi, or save it for a rainy day. I don't care! It's yours!


3 FREE APPLIQUED SHIRTS OR ONESIES ($40 VALUE)

You choose three appliques that you would like any a shirt or onesie. They can be done all at once, or saved for a later date.

Here's how to enter:
1.  Like my page on Facebook.
2.  Comment below telling me your favorites on my page. (If you are comment anonymously, make sure and include your email address so that I will be able to contact you.)

That's it. One entry and one winner! Good luck to everyone and be sure to subscribe to the blog so that you won't miss out on something like this ever again! Feel free to share away on Facebook (no extra entries will be given, but it sure would be nice of ya!).

If you are having problems posting a comment from your phone, try getting on your computer. It seems to help.

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Extreme Workspace Makeover

With the new year, I have been so motivated to get my workspace in order. It has gradually become a giant monster that has taken over my kitchen dining room. It has been something that I try to hide and am embarassed of when people come over. Most of all there are so many things that I use that are dangerous (scissors, pins, needles, etc) and it is a constant battle to keep my 17 month old's hands off of everything.
Every time my sister comes to visit she is compelled to organize my workspace, which kind of got me thinking it was time to make a drastic change.  Plus with Pinterst and a page I found on Facebook called Embroidery Room Rehab I got some great ideas and decided to go for it!

Sooo as much as I am embarrased to show this, here are some before pictures
I know, I know it looks like a rat's nest.

This is most of my fabric that is actually sorted out inside, if you can believe that.

The monstrosity of my main table, with a hint or organizing supplies in the back.

So, first thing we did was "make" a pegboard. I use the word make in the loosest of terms. I just bought a large poster frame and cut the painted pegboard to fit the frame.
Because the picture frame itself is really just decorative, we wanted to make sure it would hold all of my supplies. So, we drilled a four 2" x 6" pieces of wood to each corner using the holes in the pegboard. You can barely see the screws on each corner. Then, we attached the hanging hardware and there ya go! Awesome new pegboard!
I used an old curtain rod to attach my ribbon and the handy little magnetic tool holder is going to be used a TON!

On to the monster table...

I decided to push the table over so I could actually have some room in here and WOW what a difference it makes.


And there you have it, my woman cave is complete!