RBD Mystery Block of the Month - July

This month's block is called "There is No Place Like Home".

Sounds a little bit like the Wizard of Oz, doesn't it?  LOL!

July is block #6, there will be 9 in all.

If you would like to look at my board on Pinterest, I have pinned all the tutorials and posted the blocks I have made as well.

I've kept all my blocks really pink with a touch of pale blue.

I'm anxious to do something really different with the sashing!

A Minky Photo Book Tutorial

I wanted to make a soft photo book for my grand daughter Kylie, who is 6 months old.  Her mom saved all of her empty, crinkly wet wipe containers for me :)

I wanted to make the pages out of minky fabric and print photos onto fabric that goes through an ink jet printer.

We have a black ink laser printer, but it is too hot and would smudge the ink on the fabric. I bought this pack at a quilt shop.

I selected the photos I wanted on my computer and chose wallet size.  I fed two sheets into the printer one at a time, and they printed perfectly!

Since the photo book will be made out of soft minky, I want it to be round so there won't be any corners to flop around.

There is a transparent film on the back of the fabric that peels off.

The fabric needs to soak in a sink full of water for 5 minutes to set the ink.

I let the fabric dry on a towel and then pressed them on the ironing board, face down.

Here are the wet wipe containers that my sweet daughter in law saved for me.  They can be any brand, it's the crinkly sound that babies like.

I found a round object that had the size circle I wanted, and traced one wet wipe circle for each page.
Then I made a pattern out of freezer paper.
The diameter of the circles is 5 l/4", and the connecter piece in the middle is l" tall by l l/2" wide.

I guess I was in a hurry to finish this photo book, but I neglected to take pictures of the minky cut out!  
I laid each minky piece on the table, one on top of each other.
I used 5 different minky colors.
I machine basted a wet wipe circle to each page, before I blanket stitched the photos onto the minky.

I added a narrow piece of lace around the cover page.

That is cute little Kylie on the front :)

I ironed some woven iron on stabilizer to the back of the fabric sheet of photos for durability.  

I also ironed on some fusible heat n bond.  I always use a cloth to iron on top of the minky.  Sometimes the heat can melt it so you have to be careful about that.

I placed the photo on the minky and ironed it in place.

I sewed the photo fabric circle to the minky and wet wipe plastic with a blanket stitch on my sewing machine.

These two photos are Kylie's dad when he was a baby :)

These two photos are Kylie's older sister, Neo :)

This is the middle of the photo book.

Can you see the shape that I cut each page out with the tab in the middle?

At first, I tried turning the pages right side out throught the tab.....impossible!!!!  Then I just left the bottom middle third unsewn and turned the page right side out.

I turned the rest of the book under at the seam and topstitched.
I sewed a rectangle around the tab in the middle of the book to reinforce it, and another stitching line down the middle.

The rest of the photos are Kylie's cousins on her father's side of the family.

I sewed different textures of ribbon randomly around some of the pages.

Here's Kylie again, at the end of the book!

I sewed a big button really, really well onto the back.  

I sewed a hair elastic to the front page and it closes by folding over the button.  It looks cute but I went to bed worrying that what if......Kylie went to bed with the book and was able to bite the button off?  It bothered me a lot.......so the next morning I very painstakinly took out the stitches, which I could barely see because they were buried in the minky fur :).

This is much better and safer for my little grand daughter!  I sewed a tab into the seam of the front and it connects to the back with velcro.

I won't have to worry about Kylie anymore, her book is baby safe :)

I got a little carried away by putting all six of Kylie's cousin's photos in her book, it's a little thick.....

It would have been just as cute with only her own family's photos.

Here's another cute little toy I made for Kylie with "fairy" fabric on the front, crinkly wet wipe plastic on the inside and minky on the back.  Babies love to squish these and chew on them :)

Here's little Kylie with her photo book.

Doesn't she have the cutest little doll face, and beautiful curly hair?

Something magical happens to you when you become a grandmother, I know it did to me!!!

The Quilty Barn Along #9

This block is called Country Crossroads.

I really love the colors and prints, the block almost looks three dimensional.

I love this cute little barn with the chevron roof!

Aren't the dogs adorable?  I had to fussy cut the fabric to get those little scoundrels looking out the door and the window.

Woof!  Woof!

You can find Lori's tutorial for the quilt block and the barn here, at Bee in my Bonnet.

The Quilty Barn Along, Silo Barn #2

This is the Chicken Foot quilt block.

I love it!

Wouldn't it be great to sew a quilt with these blocks?

Do the colors pop out at you?  

I think the block has a definate modern look.

The chicken feet almost look like little crowns :)

I love this barn! 

 I love the fabric and the cute little dog in the window.

  ♪♫♪♫   How much is that doggie in the window?  ♪♫♪♫

Do you remember that song?  Ha ha!!!

For Lori's tutorial on the chicken foot quilt block and the barn with the silo, you can go here, at Bee in my Bonnet.

The Quilty Barn Along, Silo Barn

Here's my 6" block, I wanted to keep it plain and simple :)

This is my new barn!  I love it!!!!

I really like the contrast of polka dots and gingham, and the window full of flowers :)

The tutorial for Lori's new barn with the silo can be found here at Bee in my Bonnet.

Doll Clothes

I have a pair of pants that are one size too small....

I was going to give them to the thrift store but then I remembered that Kelsie (my grand daughter's 18" doll) needed a pair of pants. 

I decided to reuse!

Kelsie has a pair of white jeans for the summer, and they're from Gap :)

I made a cute little top and Kelsie has a new outfit!

This is the back of the top, I love the little button :)

I had a shirt that I loved too.  I thought the embroidery would be cute on a doll outfit.

It was a little difficult to sew because the embroidery was thick and it was hard to sew such little seams.

The top also matches this little striped pair of leggings.

I cut the leggings out of an old shirt, but forgot to take a photo of it. The lace on the printed top with the white pants, is also from the striped shirt.  

If you're interested in dolls, I posted about Kelsey's fashion show here.  I made her a whole wardrobe full of clothes!

I posted about Kelsey's birthday party here.

In conclusion, I think I need to buy myself a doll!  Ha ha!!

I really enjoy sewing doll clothes :)

Candlestick - DIY

I have had this candlestick for a long time and really like it.

It has two others that are in the set, all different heights.

The only problem, is that I'm not crazy about the dark color anymore.

Time to do a little painting....

I took them to the backyard and spray painted them white.

I wanted them to have some texture.

I bought this glaze at the hardware store and had them add some black paint.

The can is full, so there isn't much room to add paint, just a little.

With the smaller foam brush, I painted the ridges of the candlestick lightly.  Then I wiped it off with a dry paper towel.

The grooves are now a little darker, giving a distressed or antique look.

You can add as much or as little as you want to.

Now the candlesticks don't blend in with the rest of the decor.

That spray paint dries really fast.

The whole project took about an hour and a half, including drying time.

Does this inspire you to paint something in your home?