Saturday, November 20, 2021

Make a Cute Gingerbread House Mug Rug for the Christmas Holiday - Handmade Quilted Snack Mat Project

Here's another way to make your Christmas holiday coffee, tea, and snack time more fun...it's a cute gingerbread house mini placemat. You'll be able to make your own appliquéd and quilted gingerbread house snack mat / mug rug / coaster with a pocket for a napkin and cutlery (or a snack) with this fun project. The snack mat measures approximately 8 ½” x 12” and you'll even get the directions on how to make the cute little 7" x 7" reversible cloth napkin! Keep it at home to decorate your table, take it to work to make your lunchtime feel even more festive, send it in your child's lunchbox, or use it for a handmade Christmas gift. 

gingerbread house mug rug, snack mat, quilted mini placemat with pocket

For this project you will need:

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

Click to get your copy of the pattern today!
The written pattern contains step-by-step how-to directions, photos, link to the video tutorial, and the printable gingerbread template to make a snack mat measuring approximately 8 ½” x 12” with a 7” x 7” reversible cloth napkin. 

Looking for other Christmas holiday mug rugs/snack mats? Check out these other projects!

Or just join us as we make the appliquéd gingerbread house project:

Friday, November 19, 2021

Foster Kitten Friday - On This Date

black foster kitten

November 19.

On this date three years ago I was in the Florida Keys. We started our day in Key Largo and had a day of discovery as we made our way to our special lodging on the beach in Islamorada, Florida. It was an amazing day, but when we stopped for lunch and saw this sign after we finished eating, we were a little worried. But everything worked out just fine.

On this date two years ago I was undergoing a pirate drill on a cruise ship off the coast of Saudi Arabia. We were cruising from Rome to Singapore via the Suez Canal. The voyage took us through high-risk areas around the Horn of Africa between the countries of Somalia and Yemen. And even more high-risk areas waters off the coast of Abu Dhabi and Dubai where the Strait of Hormuz meets the Persian Gulf. Sounds scary - and could have been - but we made it through pirate-infested waters just fine. 

Ever see a sunrise off the coast of Saudi Arabia? You have now.
Photo taken exactly two years ago today.

On this date last year I was preparing a blog post about the Wild West. The Wild West kitties, that is. Mama Kate and her four little babes, Annie Oakley, Wild Bill, Calamity Jane - and little Wyatt Earp, the kitten born with no back feet. Here's Wyatt's video from that week, and as you can see, he learned to adapt to the world just fine.

Watch all the episodes of The Adventures of Wyatt Earp, the Foster Kitten with no back feet, here.

Now on this date. As in today.

Hip, hip, hooray! We're back with kitties again. Or at least I thought we were.

These tiny underweight bottle baby kittens arrived in my home this week in desperate need of some loving attention, warm milk in their bellies, and antibiotics in their eyes. They all looked the same, were teeny tiny, and had icky eyes. Was I up to the challenge of another round of Foster Kitten Fridays? Bring it on!


But everything did NOT work out just fine.

They were sick and getting sicker by the minute. One little guy, despite me providing all the loving, warmth, baby kitty formula, and glucose (to keep his blood sugar up), didn't make it through the day. Then on the same night, a second one started to slip. I spent the entire night with the little guy trying to keep him alive. I was sure he wouldn't make it through, but morning came and by some miracle he was still with us. He and his brother headed off to Simply Cats first thing for some fluids, meds, and whatever else was needed to keep them with us. They both responded well to treatment, but then I received the text. 

He didn't make it after all. Another one lost.
His name was Hercules, and Simply Cats
gave me this in remembrance of him.
And yes, that's his paw print.

Which now leads us to today. After extraordinary efforts by the staff at Simply Cats (and the foster coordinator Jordan who took the third one home overnight to tube feed him and keep a close eye on him), I have one single foster kitty in my home.

He made it through.
He's back eating from a bottle.
He's active.
And he's a cutie. 
Crossing fingers and toes that everything will work out just fine for this little fella.

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Learn How to Make a Quick and Easy Fabric Strip Potholder - Quilt as You Go Sewing Project

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to use up your fabric strips while sprucing up your kitchen, today's sewing project is for you. We'll be using the quilt-as-you go method to sew our strip pieces of fabric together and turn it into a potholder, hot pad, or trivet. Yep, we're quilting as we're going and it's going to be oh-so-easy.

fabric strip potholder using the quilt as you go sewing technique
For this project you will need:
*all fabrics need to be 100% cotton

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

The written pattern contains step-by-step how-to directions, photos, and a link to the video tutorial to make a 9" x 9" quilt-as-you-go potholder from fabric strips.  It's an instant digital download PDF pattern so you can get started on your project right away.

Looking for something else? Check out some of my other kitchen sewing and crafting projects!


And check out our work with the strip potholder:

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Make Your Own Christmas Ornament Bunting - A Quick and Easy DIY Christmas Tree Ornament Garland Tutorial

It's time for another Christmas garland project! Today we are making a fabric Christmas tree ornament bunting. Yep, another quick and easy way to decorate your home for the holiday. Use it as a DIY mantel or wall decoration or place it above your window for a cute way to get your space ready for Christmas. Or even decorate a wooden tree like Lin C. did!

Christmas tree ornament bunting garland project
For this project you will need:
• fabric for the ornaments
• fabric for the ornament top
• jute or clothesline cord
• fabric clips or pins
• iron 
• printable round ornament template
• always helpful for sewing: scissors, rotary cutter, cutting ruler, cutting mat 

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

The written pattern contains step-by-step how-to directions, photos, round ornament template, and link to the video tutorial to make a 9’-12’ long bunting with 15 Christmas ornaments each measuring just over 4½". (Want a shorter bunting? Place the ornaments closer together!) It's an instant digital download pattern so you can start on your project right away.


Looking for other Christmas projects? Check out these ideas!


Just want to stick with the fabric ornament bunting garland? See how we put it together right here:

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Learn How to Make a Santa Claus Mug Rug/ Snack Mat/ Mini Placemat - Cute Quilted Christmas Project

Today we're making a quilted Santa Claus mug rug/ snack mat/ mini placemat. About time we're moving on to Christmas sewing and crafting tutorials, huh? It's a fun little project to make your tea, coffee, and hot chocolate time, and snack time more festive. Since it has a pocket for a napkin, we're even making the reversible cloth napkin. 

Quilted Santa applique mug rug, snack mat, mini placemat

For this project you will need:

Disclosure: Deb's Days is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your purchase helps support my work in bringing you new sewing and crafting content.

The written pattern contains step-by-step how-to directions, photos, link to the video tutorial, and the printable Santa template to make a snack mat measuring approximately 8 ½” x 12” with a 7” x 7” reversible cloth napkin. 

Looking for other snack mat/mug rug projects? Check out other ideas here!


And join us as we make Mr. Santa Claus...
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