la la by mona

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T10:46:00.000-06:00

Hope you have a sweet day!

Valentine Cards for you!

2012-02-08T13:25:00.001-06:00

Are you ready for Valentine's Day? I'm slowly getting there! I know my 5 year old daughter would be happy with store-bought cards, but hey, what fun is that for me? Right? So, I made some and thought I would share with you! There are two different cards and an envelope. Please note that these are for your personal use only, not for resale.

I found this cute little vintage clip-art from Free Pretty Things for You. Sew sweet! Keren has so many lovely goodies to share with you and she also does custom orders for blog design, banners, and buttons. Check out what she designed for Renee's blog, Sewn with Grace. I want that little mannequin - more sweetness. You'll get plenty side-tracked at Renee's, too!

You can download the cards and envelope below.

Download card here

Download envelope here

As you can see, you'll get four cards from one sheet. I cut my cards so that they measured 4" x 4.5". The envelope, when finished will measure 4.5" x 5". Since there is a place on the card to put names for the recipient and the giver, an envelope is not necessary.

These little cards could be embellished in lots of ways - cut the edges with fancy scissors, add glitter, a bow to the little girl's hair, etc. Have fun with them! Below is a quick review of how I made the envelopes using the Martha Stewart scoring board that I posted about here.

*Note, I colored the scored lines in with pencil so that they were more visible in the photos.

An alternate envelope that works just as well is a 5" x 5" card. Instead of the dimensions used above, score all four sides at 3 3/8". You can go here for a great video and explanation of how to use the scoring board for envelopes.

I hope you enjoy the cards and envelope. Unfortunately, I sliced the "you-know-what" out of my right index finger on, of all things, my cutting blade before I started making the cards this morning. Thank goodness for the safety features on the blade, right? Actually, I was on the phone, in a hurry, and didn't take the time to install the blade properly. After I bled what seemed like buckets and nearly passed out, I made it to the bathroom for a band-aid and then got back to work! So, hopefully the instructions make sense.

Be sure to visit Keren at Free Pretty Things for You and let her know you love her clip art! If you have any questions, please email me! Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Teacher Gifts

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

I actually got a head start on Valentine's Day this year and have checked off teacher gifts on my to-do list. I purchased several boxes of Valentine's candy at Target and then fancied them up a bit at home. I didn't have to spend a ton of money to come up with sweet, one-of-a-kind gifts. And, I got my craft on!

From this:

To this...

For each box of candy, I pulled off the plastic wrap and then taped the sides with a few pieces of scotch tape. I then added grosgrain ribbon to the sides using double-sided tape. I traced the heart onto card stock, cut it out, and glued it to the top of the heart using a sponge brush and matte Modge Podge. Then, I embellished it with ribbons, stamps, and stickers.

Much better, I think!

Are you working on any Valentine's projects? I would love to hear about them!

Dog Toy Tutorial

2012-01-30T10:00:00.005-06:00

Since ~~I've already spent too much money on my puppy~~ a puppy can never have too many toys, I decided to make a few for my baby, Mr. Tinkles. I saw some fleece dog toys at PetsMart made by Martha Stewart (well, not personally, I'm sure), but decided I could make them myself.

You'll need fleece, embroidery thread, an embroidery needle, and a pair of scissors. First, cut two pieces of fleece in a 5" by 12" rectangle. Use several strands of thread and put a knot in the end of the thread,. With both pieces of fleece together, make a running stitch from one end of the fleece to the other end. Don't tie off at this point.

Cut slits about 1/2" apart and about half way from the edge of the fleece to the running stitch, all the way down both sides of the fleece.

Now pull the thread and gather up the material.

Bring both ends together and pull tightly. Take a few stitches to secure the ends together.

Pull up one piece of fleece to meet the other side and make a stitch. Continue stitching all the way around until a ball is formed.

Take a few more stitches and then tie off the tread. Taah-done - a new doggie toy!

This is Mr. Tinkles trying to shake the living daylights out of his new toy. On my lap, of course.

I also made him a little bow from a fleece rectangle. He loves to play tug-of-war with it.

Isn't he the cutest thing?! Gaw!

Got lucky!

2012-01-29T22:53:00.004-06:00

I had a few minutes to kill one day last week so I decided to hit the local Tuesday Morning store. Lucky me. I found a book that I've been wanting for a while (and, at about half the retail cost) and some charm packs of the sweetest fabric. Not sure what I'm going to do with them, but for $8, I now have 128 cute little 5" x 5" squares. Yay me!

Oh! Don't forget to check out the giveaway on my blog from Shabby Apple! So far, only three comments have been left and their chances are pretty good right about now! Don't you want a beautiful, FREE necklace?

Here's wishing you all a great week!

Not too Shabby!

2012-01-23T14:14:00.008-06:00

Yay! I have something fun to share with you today.... its a Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Aside from beautiful women's and children's dresses, skirts, and arts and crafts at www.shabbyapple.com, you'll find jewelry and accessories! Check out some of my favorites.

Song Bird Vintage Style Earrings

Bridget Belt

and

Egyptian Blossom

Head on over to Shabby Apple, have a look-see, and you can use "lalabymona10off" to receive 10% off! The coupon will expire in 30 days.

And guess what else? Shabby Apple contacted me to offer one lucky lalabymona reader their own "Mad Hatter's Time Keeper" necklace! Isn't it wonderful? Its just dripping with vintage style. I mean, who doesn't love Alice in Wonderland?!

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment below saying why you'd like to win this giveaway.

More entries you ask? Why yes, you can receive more entries! You can do one or more of the following and then leave a separate comment for each action:

Become a fan of Shabby Apple on Facebook (1 entry) [You'll also get access to special promotions and discounts!]
Follow lalabymona (1 entry)
Post this giveaway on your own blog (3 entries)
If you've previously done any of those, leave a comment saying you've done so.

And now for the "rules" (dunt, dunt, dunnnnn - insert ominous, theatrical music)

This contest is open to US residents 18 and over and with a US shipping address (no PO Boxes). One winner will be chosen from all the eligible entries via Random.org. If you're the winner, your name only will be posted in a future post announcing the winner of the giveaway. If you're posting a comment and don't have a Google account or OpenID, please leave an email address in your comment so that I can reach you if you've won! Also, there will be no exchanges available for this item.

This giveaway will end on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 11:59 pm Eastern time.

Good Luck!!!

Prettied Up - Old Spool Style

2012-01-14T22:05:00.000-06:00

What happens when you reorganize? Well, sometimes you end up with things that are still useful, but maybe not in their present state. Maybe they aren't as pretty or don't fit your current style. This happened to me when I decided to organize my stash of ribbon. I used old, wooden spools for many of my ribbons and ended up with the empty cardboard/paper spools. Throw them away? Nah, just pretty them up!

To pretty up your spool stash, grab these lovelies and get started...

cardstock or colored paper
pencil
scissors or Martha Stewart paper cutter (that I also used here)
Mod Podge or similar glue
foam brush (or flat bristle brush)
exacto knife
ink pad (optional)
sponge dauber (optional)

Measure the width of your spool. Cut out two circles from the paper for each spool. You can also trace the spool onto the paper with a pencil and cut the circles out with scissors.

Using a sponge or flat bristle brush, apply the glue liberally and evenly to the back of one circle. Place this on the side of the spool and gently use your fingers and palm to smooth the circle onto the spool. Take care not to move the circle as the glue sets up quickly and makes it hard to reposition. Repeat with the remaining circle and the other side of the spool.

Let the circles dry. If you prefer, you can use an exacto knife to cut out the hole in the side of the spool. This is great for hanging the spools of ribbon on a dowel rod. I found the middle of the spool, poked a hole in it with the knife, and while holding it up to the light, cut out the circle. It was easy to see and cut this way. I also used a dowel rod to push in the cut area of the spool center. I then used my finger to gently soften the edges a little more.

If you like the vintage or aged look, you can use a sponge dauber to apply ink to the edges of the circles. It doesn't take much to add a little color. I used a sepia brown ink on mine. If you don't have a sponge dauber, you can wrap a piece of paper towel around your finger, pat the stamp a little to receive the ink, and then lightly apply the ink to the edges.

And there you go! I like these much better now. Stickers with SKU numbers and ribbon widths and lengths just weren't my style!

I think I'm going to purchase a long dowel rod that I can insert between the brackets of the shelf that sits above my chalkboard. It will free up some counter space and, you guessed it... pretty it up!

Seriously?

2012-01-11T14:51:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not here to complain! I wanted to share my special birthday presents with you that came from BFF Harriet. She immediately thought of me when she saw this...

I can be very sarcastic and apparently say that a lot. (I confess.) It is perfect for my studio! And, she made this awesome box for me using her Photoshop and painting skills! Didn't she do a great job? It will also go in my studio - I can think of many uses for this handy goody!

Thanks Harry! You know me so well!

Happy Birthday... to me!

2012-01-05T18:42:00.000-06:00

Yes, today is my birthday! I love to celebrate it each year and decided to treat myself to the sweetest birthday gift ever...

....meet Mr. Tinkles!

He is my three month old Yorkie and is just as loveable as can be! He's tiny, just two pounds. Hopefully he'll stay fairly small, about five pounds. Mr. Tinkles is timid, but a friendly little guy. And no, he doesn't tinkle everywhere. That name just popped in my head before I even picked him out. And, it just makes me giggle every time I say it!

We put a little bow in his hair, even though it isn't very long and we got so tickled. He put his little head down as if he was embarrassed! So, my daughter made this funny little montage:

Our cat, Kitty Moo Moo is not thrilled with him AT ALL! She has already let him know she controls this block. Fortunately, our older dog, Bear is fine with him. Actually a little indifferent, but Mr. Tinkles is okay with that because he isn't starving for any affection around here! We've made three trips to Petsmart for goodies and treats and he's all signed up for puppy classes later this month. Tee hee, we're having so much fun!

Another addition to our home was from Santa to my son - a precious mini Holland Lop bunny! He is the softest little thing, loves to be held, and plays great with Mr. Tinkles! They are about the same age and size, too. He hops around and does this little popcorn twist in the air that is so fun to watch! My son is still trying to decide on a name for him, poor little nameless fella.

I would like to throw out a special 'thanks bunches' to Mrs. Lavender at Lavendar Dreams for her birthday wishes today. So sweet!

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season and celebrated the new year safely and joyfully! It was relaxing around here with the kids all home, presents to wrap, people to visit, cookies to make, lights to 'ooh and aah' over, and of course, new babies in the house. We are now back in the regular swing of things and I hope to get some sewing in very soon. (Santa brought me a Bendable Bright LED light for my new sewing machine and a cool book, too!) I plan to start on my daughter's quilt using my new Go! Baby - wish me luck! In the meantime, I'll be snuggling with this little guy -

Love. Him. (singing, fading away... "happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Mona....")

Upcycling for Jessica

2011-12-29T11:27:00.000-06:00

My daughter had several t-shirts from Target that she never wore. Now they are out of season and will be too small to wear next summer. I decided though, to upcycle them for her doll, Jessica. I kept a few other t-shirts that were well worn also just in case I needed a little bit of knit fabric for embellishments.

These are some of the t-shirts I had to choose from. One great thing about using children's t-shirts is that you already have several finished hems and seams to use. Less work = more time = more goodies!

Below you can see that I was able to make a full short-sleeved t-shirt and a skirt from just one 5-T top. The pattern I used is from the Scientific Seamstress and you can find it here. She has other great patterns that I can't wait to try out.

As you can see, her pattern uses finished hems, which she shows you how to quickly make if you are using regular, unsewn knit fabric. However, I just made use of what I had. I deconstructed the top, and kept the ruffled pieces for later. Since the top only has one hem to utilize, I chose to use it for the doll skirt and sleeves. I just added length to the bottom of the doll top pieces and hemmed them separately.

I loved the little flower on the 5-T top, so I cut it out and sewed it on to the doll skirt I made from the same top. The lime-green stitching at the bottom along with the flower is so cute! I don't think it shows up too much in the photo, but this little top was worn often by my daughter! But, it has a new home and use and she loves it just the same. So, don't overlook the gently used clothing you may already have to work with.

I added some trim to this little pink skirt and this little outfit actually went to my daughter's best friend for Christmas.

Another little skirt for Jessica...

The pink t-shirt had the sweetest little sleeves so I cut those out carefully and used them for doll sleeves.

Out of three t-shirts, I was able to make three skirts and two tops in just a few hours. Hopefully soon, I will have time to use the yellow and green t-shirts to whip up a few more outfits.

I hope you enjoyed visiting today. Maybe this post has inspired you to upcycle some of your clothing into "new" fun things! I'll be back soon to show you a quick method to make a doll skirt.

Bonjour les amis!

2011-12-27T11:54:00.000-06:00

Hello friends.... hoping you had a Merry Christmas!

Ours was merry and bright!

Holiday Garland - NOEL

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

I couldn't stand it. I had to have a new Martha Stewart tool to add to my crafting arsenal. Her tools are the best. THE BEST! I bought the scoring board with paper medallions in mind, but wait... you can do so much more! Like envelopes and boxes! Yes!

Back to the topic at hand... since I decided to decorate with my Victorian ornaments this year, it threw off my whole plan and I had to (really forced to) make a new garland. I usually hang something in front of my large mirror in the living room and last year I made a wreath for it. Well, that wreath didn't match the tree this year so I had move things around a bit. That wreath is now outside on the front door; the wreath from the front door is now in the kitchen; different garland on the front door and in the living room around the column - but its all good.

So here's what I came up with...

I used another Martha Stewart tool - the circle cutter, to cut out my letters. I used Word and the 'Carnival MF Open' font in a gold color to create the letters in N-O-E-L and my little dobber-doo-hickey and brown stamp ink to "age" the edges around each letter. Cream card stock was used for the letters and double-sided scrapbook paper for the medallions.

Making the medallions was super easy, but I did have a little difficulty hanging them. I was originally going to use some red and white baker's twine. However, I spaced them too far apart and even though I glued the twine toward the top of each medallion, they were top heavy and wanted to lean forward. It just didn't look good.

So, I ripped off the twine and decided to use the gold ribbon instead. Since they lean forward and are against a mirror where the back of the garland can be seen, I decorated the back sides as well. You can't see it in the photo below, but I also dobbed brown ink around the edges of each of the circles. I punched two holes in each circle to run the ribbon through, then glued them to the backs of the medallions. It turned out much better.

Excuse me? Did I actually get a picture of it hanging on the mirror? Ummmm, on my cell phone... yeah. Do you know how hard it is to take a photograph looking into a mirror? Without getting all that stuff you don't want to show? Like ceiling air vents, the fan, or an adjacent room? Ha! Well, you'll "get the picture"!

Have a great weekend!

Holiday Pillows - Fa La La

2011-12-10T00:01:00.002-06:00

My BFF Harriet and I made some super-cute holiday pillows last week and I couldn't wait to show them off. I like to change out the pillows in my living room during the year and found that just making slip covers is so quick and easy.

This is Kitty Moo-Moo. She's chillin' like a villain, eh?

I used the freezer paper method for both pillows. After I typed up my pretty "fa la la" in Word and sized it to my liking, I printed it out and traced it onto the matte side of the freezer paper. For the carolers, I did a little work in PhotoShop to get the silhouette, and again traced it to the freezer paper. Then, I used a craft knife to cut out the pieces where I wanted to paint. I used an iron without steam to iron the shiny side of the freezer paper to the fabric (I used unbleached muslin). I turned the fabric over and ironed from the back side as well to make sure all the bubbles were gone and it was nicely and evenly adhered. Using Plaid Simply Screen water-based screen printing paint (found at Hobby Lobby for under $3.00) and a sponge brush, I painted in the areas and let them dry for a few hours. The freezer paper pulled right off with no problems. The next day, I used medium grit sand paper and lightly sanded over the painted areas to give them a vintage look. That's it! This would be a wonderful technique to use on hand towels as gifts for Christmas.

Go here for Char's 'Faux Feed Sack Pillows' post about the project she made using the new Cameo. I don't have the Cameo so I just made do, but wouldn't that be a fun little machine to use? You can also use a Cricut or Silhouette if you have one.

Tis the Season - 2011

2011-12-09T01:02:00.000-06:00

The house is all decorated - a tree in every room! This year I decided to decorate the living room tree with my Victorian ornaments. My mom helped me collect some of these over the years and I enjoyed getting them back out and reminiscing.

A few things from the kitchen, although most of it is decorated the same as last year.

And in the studio... We love the movie, The Grinch starring Jim Carey and this is one of our favorite quotes.

I'll be back soon with a few projects that I did manage to fit in this holiday season. Thanks for coming by!

No way!

2011-11-30T13:15:00.000-06:00

I must have been an extremely good girl this year, cuz Santa came to my house early! I was "random number" for a giveaway not once, but twice!

First, I received an email from the lovely Paige Hill, Internet Marketing Manager of Where Women Create, letting me know that I was the winner of the AccuQuilt Go!baby from their Fabulous Friday post in November.

I started squealing, jumping up and down, and carrying on. My husband came to see what the ruckus was all about. I explained in great, but exasperated detail (from the prior jumping around), but still I got that, "oh that's nice, dear" look. He didn't "get" it. But, he will after I dazzle him with all the projects I'm going to fly through! Can I get a "uh huh, you know that's right"?

To sweeten the pot, AccuQuilt let me pick the three dies that I wanted! More squealing. That was a difficult choice. So many cool dies to choose from. I opted for "Rose of Sharon", "Funky Flowers", and "2 1/2" Strip Cutter". I have been wanting to make a new quilt for my daughter's room and these will be perfect. I was going to have to cut a bazillion flowers out by hand, but not so much now! I thought the 2 1/2" strip cutter would be great for making bias, too.

I received everything yesterday, but before I could even get it out of the box to play, I got an email from the sweet Stephanie Brieger, Assistant Marketing Director of The Fat Quarter Shop and Jollly Jabber that I was the winner of Pam Kitty Morning's Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle! Okay, at this point, I was just giddy and giggling.

Could these two be paired any better? I could whip up a fabulous quilt in no time at all!

I would like to thank Where Women Create, Accuquilt, Pam Vierira-McGinnis of Pam Kitty Morning, The Fat Quarter Shop, and The Jolly Jabber for such wonderful gifts. If you haven't already checked out all these fine folks, I encourage you to do so. Hop on over to follow their blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitters. They always have wonderful news to share and fun projects going on all the time! I met Lee from AccuQuilt at the Houston Quilt Market. He's so knowledgeable about AccuQuilt products and very passionate about what he does. I was ready to buy the whole kit-n-kaboodle and I don't even own a shop! This was truly a gift for me.

I'll be back soon to share the projects. With all this luck floating around me, I'm wondering if I should go buy a few lottery tickets!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T18:00:00.001-06:00

Wishing you and yours a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Chalkboard Tablecloth

2011-11-21T01:55:00.000-06:00

Have you tried chalkboard fabric? It is wonderful and has so many uses like the one in my last post. BFF Harriet gave me a roll of this wonder fabric about a year ago. I kept waiting for that "perfect project" and finally found it. I saw something similar on Kellie McCants Oilcloth Addict blog. I would love to get my hands on her book, Sewing with Oilcloth (hint, hint Santa).

Anyhoo, until I get the book (uh hem, Santa), I made my own pattern. I taped lots of sheets of paper together. Don't worry - I used paper from the "scrap" box. They just happen to be flipped over to the plain side.

I used a standard dinner plate to draw my "scallops". I just kind of eye-balled them!

I then cut out my scallops and took a look-see to make sure it looked okay. I didn't take pictures of the next steps, but did this to complete the project: turn the chalk cloth over and lay the pattern on top; using a Sharpie marker, trace the pattern; cut out with pinking shears.

Next, you will need to "prime" the chalk cloth. With a piece of chalk on its side, go back and forth all over the chalk cloth until it is covered with chalk. Use an eraser to erase most of the chalk. Then, use a damp sponge or cloth to take the remaining chalk off the chalk cloth. It may take several times of wiping to get it back to a clean black surface. Kitty Moo-Moo was supervising.

Keep rinsing out your sponge or cloth and re-wiping or it will look "chalky" like the photos below. The chalk cloth is now ready for some doodling, artwork, menus... whatever you can create!

I left my kiddos a little message for the next morning. (I like to sing the little song, "Good morning to you, good morning to you. We're all in our places, with bright, shining faces. Good morning to you!") They had lots of fun chalking it up the next day.

I decided the tablecloth was too big, so I cut a little more from it to reduce the size. When not in use, I just roll it back up and store it with the bolts of fabric that stand upright in the corner of my studio. You don't want to crease your chalk cloth!

Chalk cloth can be found in fabric stores and online. You know, just "Google it"! You'll also find lots of tutorials and ideas for using chalk cloth. Have fun with it!

Pumpking Tasting Party

2011-11-20T22:07:00.000-06:00

Yes, we had a Pumpkin Tasting Party! And, I believe we'll make this some sort of tradition! BFF Harriet and I love all things pumpkin (although I'm more of a pumpkin freak!) and so we decided to host a small tasting party that was "all things pumpkin".

For those of you who enjoy a good slice of pumpkin pie, but just cannot imagine anything else pumpkin-related, check out our delightful menu...

Our sweet guests brought these delicious additions...

Menu

Pumpkin Butter with Almond Thins

Pumpkin Spread with Cinnamon Pretzels

Pumpkin Pasties

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Soup

Stuffed Pumpkin with Wild Rice & Sausage

Pumpkin Enchiladas

Southwest Pumpkin Burgers

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Pie Punch

Harvest Pumpkin Ale

From our homes to yours, wishing you a

Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Paper Garland Tutorial

2011-11-15T17:54:00.000-06:00

I've seen quite a few tutorials on how to make paper garland and somewhat merged a few ideas to come up with my own garland. I'm sure someone else has posted this out there in Blog Land, but here's my take:

Supplies:

card stock or double-sided scrapbook paper in various colors/patterns

circle cutter

sewing machine

thread - All Purpose is fine

ribbon

1. You will need at least three circles for each garland set. My garland was approximately 45" long and had 30 sets, so I cut out 90 circles. (I cut all those bad boys whilst watching TV one evening!) The circles were 1" in diameter, but I think 2" circles would be nice also. I laid the circles out in sets of three and varied the colors and patterns.

2. Set your machine to straight stitch and a stitch length of 2.5. Pull out a long length of upper and bobbin thread - about 12 inches or so, and lay them to the back of the machine.

3. Stack three circles together and place them under the presser foot just in front of the needle. Slowly lower the presser foot and while continuing to carefully hold the circles in place, begin to sew through the circles in a straight line.

4. After you have sewn through the first set of circles, continue to sew about one inch before you add another set of circles. I left about one inch between sets, but you can have your sets closer or further apart. Continue sewing until all sets have been sewn.

5. When you are finished, tie a sturdy knot at the beginning of the garland close to the first set of circles. Tie another knot in the same way after the last set of circles.

6. You are now ready to separate the circles and fan them out. Gently pull the side pieces away from the centers. Use your fingernail or a bone folder to push them away from the center, or pinch them in the opposite direction. The stitching will be fairly tight and will keep the papers from folding back inward.

7. Tie pretty ribbons at the ends of the garland, hang, and enjoy!

I'm off to make more garland for Christmas! See you soon!

Int'l Quilt Market - Fall 2011 - Part 3

2011-11-14T16:34:00.000-06:00

Thanks for hanging in there. This is my final post on quilt market. I hope you've enjoyed it!

I've never worked with wool before, but after seeing what the Gail and Lisa of Wooly Lady had to offer... I simply must! All of their wool is hand-dyed. It was so soft with the most vibrant and variegated colors. They have many beautiful kits to choose from, too. Love, love!

"Stitches" from Betz White is a super-fun collection. I can't wait to see what cool things come from this line.

I loved every single thing about " "Daisy Cottage" from Lori Holt (Bee in my Bonnet). The colors are so sweet and it was all tied up with a pretty, vintage flair.

Harriet and I couldn't help but stop by this lovely booth to meet authors Bonnie Sullivan and Kathy Schmitz. Their new book "French Inspirations" is a pleasure to read. Harriet got her copy right away and I can't wait to ~~steal~~ borrow it soon!

"Power Pop" by designer Jenean Morrison. She cut all those cute flowers out by hand! And, she had tiles made to resemble quilt blocks. Great booth!

Bummer, I missed meeting Sandi Henderson. I've always admired her fabrics. Sandi is showing off her laminates from "Secret Garden". Delicious!

Anna Griffin's booth full of wonderful fabric. She had quite the audience, but we happened to come along later when she wasn't so busy and had the chance to meet her and purchase some fat quarter bundles. Harriet grabbed the "Pinelope" collection and I opted for "Francesca". I'm still petting it. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but that doesn't really matter, right? It looks pretty in my studio! Anna was so friendly and fun to talk to.

Riley Blake had great displays and this one is "Delighted" by Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish. If you haven't already checked out her blog, go over soon. She's done some pretty fun stuff already with her new collection.

Yeah, we had to. It's just not that often that we get to hang with the Cat in the Hat!

Of course, we were at QUILT market and so I would be remiss if I didn't share some of the amazing quilts. Pictured below are the ones that just blew me away. I cannot imagine the hours these artists must have poured into their artwork. Just amazing.

"Time" by Sue de Vanny, Greenvale, Victoria, Australia

"Element 1: Earth (Persephone)" by Sheila Riess, Ellicot City, MD - Best of Sulky, 1st Place

"Eliza, the Flower Girl" by Gayle Griffith, Philadelphia, PA - www.hoffmanchallenge.com. This doll is precious and her facial features are so detaiiled.

"Everlasting Bouquet" by Molly Hamilton-McNally and Cindy Seitz-Krug, Tehachapi, CA - EZ Quilting by Simplicity Creative Group, Innovative Applique.

Thanks again for stopping by! I have something fun to share with you in my next post so I hope you'll come back to check it out!

Int'l Quilt Market - Fall 2011 - Part 2

2011-11-14T14:29:00.000-06:00

Get ready for another long post! I had so much fun a market and just couldn't help but snap pictures left and right! Here's where I left off from my last post...

David Butler's new line Parson Gray Curious Nature. What an awesome and versatile collection!

Then we ran into this sweet gal - Lindsay from Cottage Home. Poor thing, I scared her. I follow her blog and FB page and recognized her (and the Cottage Home bag she had on her shoulder). When I said, "where's Little Man?", she gave me the strangest look! I had to explain myself and we both laughed. It totally caught her off guard. Anyway, I enjoyed chatting with her. Go check our her blog for the great re-cap on her Quilt Market experience. This lady amazes me - she was at market with her two month old son - wow! Of course, her mother was there helping with Little Man!

Harriet and I with the uber-talented, gracious Amy Butler. Her new collection, "Lark" is a must have! I think it needs to go on my Christmas list. Mmmm hmmm.

Next we visited Anna Maria Horner's booth and yay, she was there! She's as sweet in person as in her new Janome ad! She had all kinds of lovelies on display including her new trim, cotton floss, kits, and (OMGosh!) her new LouLou flannels. I want them! I Need them!

Ty Pennington was hanging out in his booth. There was a lot of traffic around him - all the silly people waiting to have their picture taken with him! Haha! He has a great line of bright, hip fabrics.

We enjoyed stopping by to meet Tina Givens. I love her style - sophisticated and elegant.

Lots of color everywhere! I was in fabric and notion heaven I tell ya!

Here with Patty Young of MODKID Boutique and her new line "Lush". Just gorgeous - I can't wait to get my hands on some of that fabric! I have used several of her girl and doll patterns and they sew up so easy.

Pillow and Maxfield's "Ooh La La"... exactly, right?

And of course, cool set-up from Michael Miller!

Okay, I still have a few more photos to share from market... so that means one more post! See you soon.

International Quilt Market - Fall 2011

2011-11-14T13:16:00.000-06:00

This. is. a long... post. I hope you are comfy and have a cup of coffee ready. Last month, I was fortunate to go to International Quilt Market in Houston and with BFF Harriet. Neither of us had been before and we had a blast! I'm very late in posting these, but I wanted to go ahead and share them. So, in order of appearance....

Complimentary wine, fruit and cheese courtesy of the Hyatt in Houston. When we arrived to our room, we found one of the beds was up against the wall, and obviously there was work going on in the room. They switched us to another room and later sent us this surprise. Nice way to start off our trip!

View of downtown from the convention center as we waited for our morning classes.

Hey! Guess who I ran in to? Yep, Kris Thurgood of the DIY Dish and My Girlfriend's Quilt Shop. She is such a sweet gal to chat with!

Next, we ran into Kay Whitt of Serendipity Studio. She was debuting her latest book "Sew Serendipity Bags". Yeah, I got mine! It looks so pretty with her other book in my office and it is just as beautiful as her first book. I can't wait to start a project. (Is it just me, or does my left boot look massive? Sigh.)

I could have run away with all these vintage lovelies at Dusty's Vintage Button and Textiles booth!

I'm so stinkin' in love with these new sample boards from Basic Grey. They are stunning and had my creative juices just overflowing!

Busy, busy over at Moda's section of market.

Sarai Mitnick and Ken Wilson from Colette Patterns and new book "The Colette Sewing Handbook".

I love Pat Bravo's booth and line "Modernology".

Designer Jennifer Moore and her husband of monaluna. Naturally, I like this name! She carries beautiful organic fabrics!

Ellie Mae Designs. How cool is that backdrop?

And the cute, cute Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches with "Wooland". We just stood there gawking. Lovin' the many things she displayed and the sweet stitching.

We were so excited to meet Rachel Ashwell and get a copy of her new book, "Shabby Chic Inspirations". She is a lovely woman and her book is fabulous! It is full of gorgeous photography and creative ideas.

I have many more photos from Quilt Market to share, so stay tuned for more to come! Thanks, as always for stopping by.

Fall Retreat 2011 - Going Home

2011-11-08T00:01:00.005-06:00

Do you ever pass by a building or particular place that you feel drawn to? Do you ever wonder about its history, who lived or worked there? Well, I do. I took some time going home to stop and take a few photos of some of these places. I think it would be such a treat to go back in time to when they were first built, to see who designed them, lived in them. What stories they could tell. This was a little bit of my drive home....

No Texas town is complete without it's beautiful church steeple, Texas flag painted somewhere on a building, or a street named Pecan, Oak, or Crockett. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Fall Retreat 2011 - Part 3

2011-11-07T12:01:00.007-06:00

I wanted to show my Southern Sewin' Sistahs that their friendships are special to me, so I made up these little goody bags with some homemade pattern weights. I used the tutorial found here, but changed it up a little. I found some flat washers at the local hardware store that were just a little larger. I glued two of them together for the added weight and then glued them to a circle of batting of the same size. These fit perfectly inside the yo-yo.

I made five pattern weights for each Sistah using some of my scraps in varying colors. This is a great project while watching a movie! I found quotes on friendship, printed them all up pretty-like on card stock and added them to the bags with bakers twine.

I hope they get some good use of them and know how special they are loved!

Fall Retreat 2011- Part 2

2011-11-07T00:01:00.001-06:00

We changed up our routine a little bit this past retreat. Most of us came in on Thursday night this time, but unfortunately I couldn't. I got there as soon as I could on Friday morning and the road trip was on! All ten miles of it! Turns out that there is a "little" quilt shop just down the road. Literally. This was my seventh retreat to Mineola in four years and I never knew what fun was just around the corner!

Stitchin' Heaven is in Quitman, Texas. Go to their website for all kinds of information - they have everything a quilter needs and retreats, classes, etc. Ooooh, look at all that fabric!

They had another huge room with cutting tables and work tables. Great space!

Afterward, we grabbed lunch at the Texas Tea Room and Grill. Lots of fun things there from souveniers to boots, clothes, and jewelry! I had the chicken and spinach crepe and fried okra which was quite tasty.

So if you ever get a chance to swing through Quitman, Texas, don't forget to check them out!

Fall Retreat 2011 - Part 1

2011-11-06T22:42:00.000-06:00

Wow, where do I begin? This is the first time in two weeks that I've been able to sit down to post about our fall sewing retreat. I think I can speak for all of us Southern Sewin' Sistahs - we had a great time! Here's a recap:

Brenda, Sherrie, Mary Lynn, Janice, and me. We have lots of room to spread out all our machines and stuff - and we take advantage of every inch. We get right to ~~work~~ fun! And, this group of gals never ceases to amaze me with the lovely and creative things they sew. I learn something from them every trip. Some of their finished projects:

I L.O.V.E. this combination of fabric that Mary Lynn put together!

Janice whipped up some matching doll dresses for her granddaughters. And I got a pair of those cute little pants that were "messed up". Pshhhhh. My daughter thought they were awesome!

Janice's "Cuppycake" dresses she made for her grandaughters.

Pajamas from Janice!

And a sweet little coat that Sherrie sewed.

Brenda, how did I not get any photos of your projects? Oh pooh. I'm sorry! She made the cutest little jacket that looked so difficult to me.

This was by far my most productive retreat. I finished three top/skirt sets, a dress for my daughter, and a matching dress for her American Girl doll. I was a happy lady! The first one was made using Simplicity's #2171, Indygo Junction's Dolly Dress-up pattern, and Bari J's technique (or my attempt at it) from her book Inpsired to Sew. I just love this book and can't wait to work on my daughter's quilt using some more of her techniques.

I made two sets of this little duo for my daughter and a friend of her's for "Twin Day" at school. Big hit, big smiles. I ended up making another shirt for a third friend and my daughter said, "I can't wait for the three of us to be twins!" Love her.

And I finished this set for my daughter's best buddy. I had promised a skirt with this sweet pink trim for some time and was glad to be able to hand it to her finally! Can you tell I enjoyed the free-motion technique? I'm hooked!

Of course, besides sewing... we eat ... and eat. Some of Linda's southern good cookin':

Her puffy pancakes were to-die-for with fresh raspberries and blueberries, powdered sugar, and syrup. She made my favorite - sausage bread, with a frittata and baked fruit. I don't know how we ever get anything done. After her meals, I just want to go nap. I'm stuffed and all warm and fuzzy!

In the next post, I'll tell you about a little field trip we took! Thanks for coming by!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share this fun little project with you. I am sorry to share this so late, but maybe it is something you can use next year. I made 75 of these little guys for the elementary faculty. Fun and easy-peasy. You just need clear treat bags, pretty ribbon, card stock, and of course.. candy corn! The template can be found here.

We will trick-or-treat tonight with some friends in their neighborhood. The street will be blocked off and it will be packed with all kinds of spooky and quirky and sweet little people!

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Yay me!

2011-10-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Can you guess where I'm headed tomorrow?

2011-10-10T22:55:00.000-05:00

As if this weren't sucking up enough of my time...

... now my BFF Harriet tells me about this...

... which explains a lot with me lately. Hopefully, I'll peel myself away from these time-suckers (as awesome and inspiring as they may be) and actually post a few things soon!

Two

2011-10-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Two years of blogging! A big thanks to all of you who stick around to read through my ramblings and to those who stop by to check out lalabymona. Blogging has been a special part of my life and I'm so happy to have you as blogging buds!

Words to live by

2011-09-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me.

Thanks Jesse for sending it to me!

This Funk I'm In

2011-09-17T23:35:00.000-05:00

I'm in a creative funk! Not the type where I'm coming up with absolutely nothing. The type where I'm on total creative overload. It finally felt a little like fall this past week and we even had some rain (thank you, Father!). I'm ready to pull all of my fall decorations out. I'm ready to sew. I'm ready to create. Ideas are everywhere and I've got the goodies to work with.

So what's the problem, you ask? I can't focus! What do I want to do? What should I start with? I keep hearing about Pinterest, but that would only make things worse at this point. Maybe later. It looks so fun but I will have to save that for another time. Getting my daily fix of blogs is not helping either. So many fun things to create and so little time! Sigh...

However, amidst a soccer game for baby girl today, a little housework, and laundry today, I did manage to get one thing done. Nothing spectacular or creatively fulfilling, but much-needed. Remember this?

Well, now it looks like this:

Hey! Who the heck left that water stain on it? Anyway, I made another ironing board cover and also had to replace the quilted lining as it was as flat as the proverbial pancake from all the ironing. So, taaaadaaaah! If I can get a year and a half out of this one, too I will be pretty satisfied!

I need to make a list I suppose of some of my ideas and try to get a grip. I made these little guys last year...

... but they need some company. I'm dying to make these pretty little babies - I just need to find some luscious silk velvet.

I bought more fabric and trim the other day. I've been breaking the rule - "Don't buy more fabric until you sew with what ya got". It's fabric - I don't need to explain myself here, do I? Yeah, I didn't think so. I've got several dresses and skirts I would like to make, as well as a new table runner, a banner, and baby girl's quilt. See what I mean? Another little sigh...

I'm off to make that list now! Have a wonderful Sunday!

Pure Genius!

2011-09-14T22:49:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon this today...

... from the blog of the Scientific Seamstress. I love it. Not sure how I missed this so many months ago. Huh.

And, note that "Fe" is for Iron which is the only element that I actually remembered from 10th grade chemistry. SEW funny (and ironic)! Ha! That was funny, too! I crack myself up.

Homecoming 2011 in Texas

2011-09-05T15:38:00.000-05:00

The weather is starting to cool off a bit around these parts. Hopefully, it will last. We are all looking forward to fall weather. And with that comes football... and homecoming! Our homecoming is early again this year. We are 'ready Freddy' though.

The past several years, my daughters and some of their friends gather at our house in my studio and we have lots of fun making the mums and garters. Go here for last year's models. I know a lot of people who don't craft and order their mums and garters. I understand. But personally, this is another reason I love crafting. Putting these together is so much fun and one of the few times of the year that my older daughters and I dedicate the day together being creative. And yes, it takes most of the day!

A glimpse of our handy work... and ~~the big-fat mess~~ creativity!

We branched out a little this year and made loops and braids.

Of course, we personalized with as many band and football things we could find. Because he plays football and she marches with the band, they won't be able to sport their mums and garters until after the game - maybe at dinner.

I know my daughter is looking forward to seeing her mum and her dad is looking forward to the game! Friday night lights, baby!

Oh, I have to share this also... when my husband and I were in high school, the tradition waaaaay back then was "mum's the word." So, all day long at school everyone had to be quiet during passing periods, in the halls, etc. All you could hear was the jingling of the bells and swishing of the ribbons. We were pretty quiet in the classrooms, too. Then, we would all quietly go to the pep rally at the end of the day in the gym. Still quiet, we waited for the cheerleaders to come in. And when the football players busted through the big paper banners and the band struck up, we all screamed at the top of our lungs! It was almost deafening after such a quiet day. I wish our high school would do that these days. Good times, good times.

Berry Glad

2011-09-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

I am in charge of faculty courtesies this year at the elementary school and was searching online for teacher appreciate gifts and projects. I found these awesomely cute paper strawberries here and just had to make them! All 74 of them.

Fortunately, I had help. My friend Stephanie did all the cutting for me! Bless her heart, too because I thought I got the better end of the deal there! We were able to get everything printed, cut, and an assembly line of sorts going in just a few hours. I was able to assemble them over the weekend and had the help of my daughter and her friend, too. (Note - they had to or I wasn't going to help with their homecoming garters! Ha!)

The strawberries were really easy to assemble and the cost was minimal, in my opinion. It is hard to find nice treats for the teachers and be able to do several things throughout the year while keeping the costs down.

I used plain and textured cardstock, ribbon, and found the perfect strawberry candies to place inside each one. I used my handy-dandy Martha Stewart Screw Punch to punch the bazillion holes. To glue the strawberry sides together, I used Mod Podge and a flat bristled brush. This kept the glue from gushing out all over the place. It also dries quickly and clear. Nice.

To personalize it (and be witty all at the same time), I added a little paper tag to each one - "We're berry glad to have you back! - PTA".

I also made one for our PTA president. She has worked so hard since taking on her new post and is due to have a baby any day now. She needs more than this little strawberry! Am I right?

All in all, I really think they turned out cute! We delivered a few and put the rest in their mailboxes. Hey, they were busy teaching - we didn't want to interrupt!

And, I'm berry glad you stopped by!

P.S. As I was searching for the link to the strawberry template, I found out that there is a Sizzix die-cut for this strawberry! So, if you plan to make lots of these, it might behoove you to purchase it. Or, find a good friend who will cut them for you!

A promised trip to the "best place ever"!

2011-09-01T23:03:00.001-05:00

All summer long my baby girl waited to go to "the" store. The last week before school started, we finally got to go! And, with her bestest friend ever.

The weather was nice despite the heat, the girls were great the whole time, and us mommies got to visit the Pottery Barn and William Sonoma stores, too - bonus!

Eagerly waiting in matching dresses that I made for each of their birthdays.

And here we goooooo....

After my daughter darted all over the store and pointed at EVERY thing there, and after a few "let's discuss this" talks, she finally narrowed it down to the hair brush, rollers, Halloween cat outfit, pair of shoes, t-shirt, and glasses. That's one of those tough moments when you feel like all you say is "no, that's too much", but you want to just say, "yes, we'll take it all!" She was fine with it all, but did point out items that she hopes Santa will bring this Christmas. I can deal with that.

We also had a nice time dining upstairs. Who knew a two-story building would be dedicated to dolls? Anyway, I loved all the pink and fru-fru. Fun. Of course, we were all seated and catered to. I'm pretty sure their dolls loved it. My daughter's doll, Jessica was really kicked back and best friend's doll was amazed at the beautiful view of the Galleria.

Appateazers...

My daughter's main course. Look at the size of the burger and hot dog! I ordered the salmon which was wonderful and best friend's mom had a dee-lish salad.

We are looking forward to another visit. However, my wallet is hesitant. I'm kidding - it was worth every penny!

Back To School!

2011-08-21T12:01:00.004-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed the summer. It was hot down here! In fact, we only lacked three days of breaking a record from 1983 or something like that. I was hoping we would fall short! We had one day of light rain and clouds. It was so nice.

The kids have their new school clothes and supplies all ready to go. We went to the elementary school last week for "Sneak a Peak" and met their teachers. School starts on Monday and it is going to be a great year!

I always put together a little goodie bag for the teacher and this year was no different. I usually put in stickers, blank note cards, pens, etc. for the teacher to use. I think they need these all year long. For my daughter's kindergarten teacher, we put together this little bag:

I got lots of practice with tissue paper lately, so I made Mrs. McC. an apple to pretty up her bag o'goodies!

Wrapped up individual little presents...

... and took it to school. I'm looking forward to another year with Mrs. McC. She was my son's kindergarten teacher and she is awesome. She's like the "child whisperer". Seriously. They all get so quiet and listen to her so well. I need to take notes, I guess.

I didn't make a goodie bag for my son's homeroom teacher. Third grade is a little different, and his teacher is a man this year. I don't know him and wasn't sure what he would like or need. I will plan something different for his third grade teachers later in the school year. I'm serving as Faculty Courtesies this year and am already getting excited about some fun things to make to treat them with!

I wish you all a great back-to-school day or a walk down memory lane of those special times! Next up will be Friday night football games, watching our sixteen year old march with the band and play the bass drum, homecoming, Open House, and Fall!

Where did the summer go?

2011-08-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

It flew by, that's what! I always have great intentions to get so much done, spend tons of time with the kids, swim and enjoy the outdoors, etc. Then, I look up and its gone. I feel like I did nothing and even worse I feel like I did nothing with the kids. Guilt sets in. Sigh.

We did actually swim and try to enjoy some time outdoors, even with the awful heat wave going on. Baby girl took swim lessons and now swims like a fish! We went water park a few times and a few swim parties. The younger two went to camp and VBS and had lots of fun. We bowled. We lazed around. We went to the movies.

Still, school starts on Monday and I feel guilty. My baby girl is starting kindergarten and all of a sudden I feel like she's being ripped away. What a range of emotions. I have already warned the teachers that I will exit the building quickly come Monday. So, that's that.

Now for a quick view of part of the summer...

Fringie flower trim added to a t-shirt.

Some slip stitching on a little dress.

I bought some great new books and did manage to thumb through them and daydream a little. Nothing productive past that. They did stimulate my creative juices though.

Started on a major quilt project... and finished! I'll post on that soon.

Made some pillowcases to go with the quilts!

Played with beads. More on that later.

Made a good 'ole fashioned chocolate cake. Yum.

Watched baby girl work on her sewing skills.

Learned how to make my own iced coffee. I'm saving tons of moolah! Isn't it ironic that it is in a Starbucks cup? haha

Made a "leather" cummerbund for my daughter's outfit. She went to the Harry Potter premier as Bellatrix. For just $20, she thrifted her whole outfit and she looked so awesome. People were asking for her and her two friends to take pictures with them. Fun stuff.

Started a makeover project in baby girl's room... and finished. There's a hint above. Yes, more on that later, too.

My last photography class, Light and Lighting II started in July. I was working with window light here and a little bounce flash. It was really too early in the day to use this window, but I played anyway. Once I've completed this class, I can start working on my portfolio. That will take a little time and effort. Hopefully, after it is graded, I will be deemed a "certified photographer", for whatever it's worth! I don't plan to be a professional photographer, but enjoyed the courses and hopefully expanded my little brain a tiny bit!

Took a short road trip with the husband and two youngest kiddos to visit family. I worked on finishing up a little quilt binding during the drive. Sadly, the visit was primarily to see my sweet Aunt Helen who was battling cancer. I wanted to go see her one last time, tell her how much she has always meant to me, and hug her tightly. It was a tough trip for sure. She was a wonderful woman whom I have always admired so much. She passed away just several days ago. I love you, Aunt Helen.

I did get out to have a little fun with some of my girlfriends. Several of us went to see "Change Up". So darn funny, inappropriate, but funny. I'm just being honest. Then, one of my sewing sistahs and her lovely daughter came in to town and she called up the rest of us sistahs who live nearby so we could have dinner and a movie. We watched "The Help". Awesome movie! Unfortunately, Janice didn't get to come, but we are all going to see each other in October for retreat!

The rest is a blur. Back-to-school shopping, school registration, meet the teacher, etc. Another sigh. I'm going to go love on my lovies a little while. I'll be back in a few days.

Girls Day Out

2011-07-21T00:01:00.002-05:00

It was "Girls Day Out" for Harry and Mo! My girlfriend Harriet and I took the day off all by ourselves and headed to the big town of Waxahachie, Texas - the Crape Myrtle Capital and Gingerbread City! That's pronounced /ˌwɒksəˈhætʃi/. Did you get that? Try this: Wok-seh-hatch-yee.

Awesome fun! Harriet, being my ever-faithful and all-knowing guide, took me to the Common Threads Quilt Shop first. Oh yeah, you don't have to twist my arm. The shop is full of great fabric and the nicest folks! We both walked away with goodies we couldn't live without.

This beautiful hand-embroidered piece really touched my heart. I feel the same way today that this sweet gal, Sarah must have felt back in 1893!

Okay, let's mosey around the corner to The Dove's Nest. Whoa! How cool is this place?! Talk about spending hours. They carry the neatest things. Fun and unique. And when you think you need a break, stop and have a bite to eat and enjoy some of the best tea you've ever tasted. Then, get back to shopping. What a treat!

This cracked me up!

Last stop of the day, and conveniently just a few stores away... The Crafty Scrapper! Wow. Just wow. I'm not a scrapbooker (is that a word?), but I was in scrapbook heaven! They carry everything. I just walked around ooing and aahhhing and saying, "ooooh, Harriet - look at theeeeeese!" It was almost embarrassing. And, I found the best trims. Ever!

I just realized I didn't take pictures of the inside. Just this one of the building. From the car. Whilst traffic stopped and waited on me. Sorry! And, thanks!

And when I realized it was time to head back home, I suddenly felt the need to take a few more. From the car. Whilst traffic stopped and waited on me.

Every courthouse in Texas looks a lot like this! I love these old buildings.

Lots of sweet houses, too. They were all dressed up for July 4th!

Why have I never gone to Waxahachie before? Seriously, it is only about thirty minutes from my house. Harriet - you ready to head back? Let's go!

Finished Shtuff

2011-07-19T00:25:00.000-05:00

Is it hot enough yet? Yep, I'm pretty sure it is! These 104 degree days here in north Texas are getting to me.

Anyhoo, I wanted to share with you two of the projects I worked on when I was with my Southern Sewing Sistahs. I purchased the Two-Hour Tulip Purse pattern by Anything But Boring at Berry Patch Fabrics and got to work on it right away using the perfect laminated cotton I found at Cabbage Rose Quilting, both in Fort Worth.

I had not worked with laminated cotton before, so I was excited to try it out on this project. The purse went together well and the instructions were great. Since I was using other cotton fabrics in the project, I had no problem with the laminated cotton. However, I have been told that using a teflon foot helps when sewing with the laminated cotton. You don't want to put pins in the fabric as it will leave obvious holes - just pin inside the seam line and all is good.

So what do you think? My daughter loved it right away. This is the jumbo sized purse. The small would be perfect for a child to carry around.

I also finished this little dress. This is Michael Miller's Gypsy bandana in pink and border in lime. So fun to work with! The pattern is Simplicity 2167 and was quick and easy. Lots of great possibilities. And, it didn't hurt that I only paid $1.99 for the pattern!

What projects have you been working on? Or should I say, "playing with"? It's not work, right?

Southern Sewing Sistahs!

2011-07-08T23:43:00.000-05:00

Whew! The kids are asleep and I'm finally at a point to sit down and post about some fun things that have been happening over the past few weeks. I'll start out by introducing you to a few of my favorite girlfriends (aka the Southern Sewing Sisters).

(L-R: Janice, Moi, Brenda, Mary Lynn, Sherry, and Nancy)

Four of us angels live here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, one sweetie is from Mississippi, and one darlin' is from Louisiana. We met a few years ago at our favorite sewing retreat and have become good friends. I wish we could see each other more often. We get together about twice a year, but already have plans for October and are working on next spring!

The Martha Pullen Sewing Market was in Arlington a few weeks back so we planned some fun around that. We hit lots of quilt shops and fabric stores in Fort Worth on Tuesday, then more on Wednesday in Dallas. Thursday and Friday were market days, and we had some fun sewing on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks Brenda for opening up your home and office to us so we could stay and play! She has a huge office with a nice, big conference table that worked great for all our machines and another room with large tables that doubled as pattern and cutting tables. Big hugs to her hubs, Bill for fixing great breakfasts and dinners while we were there. He even whipped homemade biscuits and in the shape of Texas! He's a keeper!

I found a few cool things that week that I HAD to have...

Fabric, (well duuuuhhhh!), the new Sewing with Whimsy book by Kari Mecca (and some cool toys to go with it), sewing gadgets that I obviously need (how did I ever get along without them?), a free copy of the Sew Beautiful magazine (yay Free!), and the lint roller (he swore I would never need to buy another one... he looked honest to me!).

And look what Janice brought us sisters! Love her!

Sewing market is always fun. Free classes, demos, lots of goodies to buy! And, we got to see a few of our other sewing buddies! Molly and Bettie came for the day - they always make me wish I had a sister! And, Lorene of SewItUp.com was there in her booth showing off her latest kits and creations.

And, I finally had the pleasure of meeting Kay Whitt of Sew Serendipity. What a sweetheart! Kay lives in a neighboring city and I found out she grew up not too far from where I lived. Small world! She was obliging and posed for a picture. However, I had to go back later and ask for another picture. I felt like a goober. I guess I didn't see the lady who was standing behind Kay and holding up something she was looking at in the booth, thus exposing her arm in a not-so appealing way. So, we took another. Thanks Kay!

I bought her book and have already picked out fabric and muslin (all washed and ready to go). I'm looking forward to sewing a skirt for myself. Kay is working on her second book and I know it will be amazing, too!

Lastly, while at market, I took a sit-and-sew class from Missy Billingsly who works with Martha Pullen. She is a doll and a wonderful teacher. These 2-hour classes are great! They provide Babylock machines and sergers and everything you need to make your project.

Last year I made the heirloom baby bonnet by serger and this year I made a zippered purse on the serger. I don't do much on my serger other than three or four thread overlock or rolled hem, so this encouraged me to branch out a little! We even put in a zipper using the serger. See how cute it is!

Too bad my five year old has already claimed it. Looks like Barbie's got a brand new bag!

Okay, so that is just part of the fun. I'll have to fill you in on the rest of it in a day or two. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon. Stay cool!

There is Liberty

2011-07-04T13:31:00.000-05:00

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

2 Corinthians 3:17

We were worshiping yesterday at church and as we were singing, I saw something that really caught my eye. Yes, we had props in front on the stage from our monthly sermon, and the pastor, the band, our choir. We had five beautiful American flags, lots of red, white, and blue everywhere. But what struck me in the midst of all of this was what stood out just two rows in front of us. A young man, probably in his late twenties was singing and had his arms stretched out to God. On his left forearm was a large tattoo of the Statue of Liberty.

To me, it was the perfect picture of what our country was born from - the fight for FREEDOM. Freedom to worship to God, freedom to sing, freedom to assemble, freedom to be ourselves.

I am thankful to live in this great country. And, praise God that He has given us the ultimate freedom.

Another go at it!

2011-07-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I just couldn't stand it. After the great gazebo-snow fiasco and tree limb incident, I thought I had given up on my back patio. But, we found this "conversation" set at a price we couldn't pass up. So, I'm giving it another go.

I will admit, I have asked my husband to haul it all in and out of the garage a few times when bad weather hit - better safe than sorry! Dare I say, "so far, so good"?

Oh, and forgive the ugly door in the back. It needs some work and paint to match the rest of the house. It's just been too hot to mess with!

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

All the trimmings...

2011-06-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

Yummy ribbons and trim!

It doesn't take much to make me happy!

Too hot to handle!

2011-06-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting and drooling over the Rowenta DG5030 steam iron for weeks now. After receiving the beloved 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond, I promptly ran down and purchased it for considerably less than I could find it anywhere else. I came home, opened it up, starting using it on lots of new fabric that was just washed and dried.

The iron worked great. The steam was great. All the wrinkles were gone with one swipe of the iron. But, it was so stinkin' hot! Yes, I know that irons get hot. I'm talking about the pure heat that emits from the whole machine. I couldn't even touch the counter underneath where the machine had been. Hot. You've seen my studio - not huge, but plenty enough room. This iron heated up my whole studio! I even had my purty fan running.

Sorry, DG - you've got to go. I drained the tank and made sure it was all dry and boxed 'er back up. And this is what I came home with - the Rowenta DA1560!

I made myself chuckle! Isn't she cute? Let's call her Stella. Talk about from one extreme to the other! One of my Southern Sewin' Sistahs has this little cutie and let me tell you - it is deceiving! It puts out plenty of heat and nice steam.

So why go from the steam generator to a travel iron? Well, I would still like to find a good steam iron that I can use to iron my newly washed fabric and bigger items with. I figured the travel iron would be perfect to use when I'm sewing - good output but takes up less space and is good for smaller ironing projects like pressing seams. And, obviously good for travel.

Now back to my current project. I found yet another McCall's pattern at JoAnn's for $1.99 (right in my budget). I'll let you know how (well) it turns out!

Have a great weekend!

I just wanna sew...

2011-06-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

... all day... every day!

What about you? Is there something you could dive into for days?

Perfect

2011-06-10T00:10:00.000-05:00

Youngest daughter: "Mom, can I paint something?"

Me: "Paint something? Like what?"

YD: "Ummm, how 'bout one of those things. You know, those little houses."

Me: (long pause, thinking hard....) "Oh, the little bird houses?"

YD: "Yes! Can I?"

To be honest, I almost said no. Well, because it was being saved. Saved for that PERFECT craft. Saved for that special gift. "That" occasion. You know, saved.

And, I would have to drag out the paints, cups, water, brushes, blah blah blah. Sigh.

Wait! My baby girl wants to craft. To create! Its washable paint and the birdhouse was a dollar for Pete's sake! It will give her something to do, keep her busy for a while, hone her painting skills, and improve her dexterity!

Me: "Sure, let me get the things you need. How about in the kitchen?"

It sits in my office and doesn't match a thing, but it is PERFECT. That worked out nicely, didn't it?

P.S. Before I could even get back to what I had previously been doing, she was done! Maybe I should have given her glitter...

She's a Beauty

2011-06-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

Isn't she pretty? Isn't she lovely?

I purchased this antique hand-crank sewing machine a few months back from a local church garage sale that benefited missions. My friends who are members of the church called a few days prior to the sale to give me first dibs on the machine. I don't own any other vintage machines, but I couldn't resist this one!

She is a Frister & Rossmann, made in Germany. I am still researching her age. I believe she came about after the Great War because "Made in Berlin" was not on the machine. The plate reads: "Manufactured in Germany by Frister Rossmann, Trade Mark FR, Sole Agent O. Quitmann, 18 City Road, Finsbury Square, London, E.C.1. The serial number is 3735709. Go here and here for a ~~little~~ lot of background on Frister Rossmann. Even after reading through their websites, I was still confused. The serial numbers made no sense to me!

The machine needs a little cleaning and looks to be in working order. When I turn the hand crank, it sounds wonderful! I found a few instruction booklets online, but I just haven't had the time to play with it yet. The case is in great shape, but the original key was missing. In the machine base we found lots of the original feet, bobbins, and some very old straight pins. The tiny little bobbins still have thread on them!

The front plate is not ornate as some others I have seen in photos. In fact, they varied widely in decoration. I saw many similar to her, but not just like her.

If you have a Frister & Rossman, I would love to hear all about her!

Winner, winner... chicken dinner!

2011-06-01T08:00:00.043-05:00

Who came up with that saying anyway? Well, its just funny so I had to use it!

A big thanks to everyone who left comments for the Studio Summer 2011 magazine giveaway! Mr. Random N. Generator was called in for the occasion and picked....

Congratulations Pam! Your copy of the latest Studios will soon be on its way. Please email me with your mailing address so that I can get that sent to you speedy quick. Autographed or not? Phahahaha! I hope the magazine inspires you with useful and creative ideas for your space!

Cousin "Mimi" - I have to say you cracked me up. I counted nine, yes nine uses of "pick me" in just three comments! I can just see you with your hand waving about! "Ooh, ooh... pick me!" Dad and Aunt Helen are asking for copies... maybe one will make it your way soon... hint, hint!

"Studios" Giveaway!

2011-05-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not giving away a studio! But, I am giving away the latest Studios magazine! I apologize for asking you two days ago to come back and then I wasn't even here yesterday to answer the door. My day got away from me.

So here's the skinny: You'll have several chances to enter the giveaway and win the Summer 2011 issue of Studios Magazine:

Reply to this post and let me know the favorite organizing solution that you use in your creative space.
For a second entry, reply to this post and tell me where you create.
For a third entry, blog/tweet/Facebook about this giveaway and come back to this post to share the link.

I'm not going to ask you to follow my blog, but I always appreciate followers! The giveaway closes at midnight on May 31, 2011 and a winner will be chosen at random and announced on June 1st.

If you aren't familiar with Studios magazine, you may have seen the Cloth, Paper, Scissors publications. Same company - Interweave. This magazine retails for $14.99 and is full of wonderful pictures, articles, and creative ideas.

Thanks for coming by and good luck!

Whoo Hoo... the wait is over!

2011-05-17T19:31:00.001-05:00

Does this clue help?

Yay me! My studio was featured in the Studios Summer 2011 magazine under "Studio Vignettes"!

I emailed photos last Fall to be considered for submission in Studios. I received a reply the same day and was asked to submit fifteen photos and information about my studio by February 15th. That deadline came so quickly and then.... I thought today would never get here! I believe they hit the newsstands and stores today.

It was such a fun process and I have to say it is super-cool to see my creative space in Studios. I love this magazine! I just pour through them time and again and get so many creative ideas from what others have shared. I hope I was able to do the same. Thank you Studios and Lindsey Murray (Assistant Editor; Special Projects, Quilt & Paper Division at Interweave)!

A few other shots of my studio...

Thanks so much for coming by! Tomorrow I have some more exciting news... for YOU!

Teaser

2011-05-16T07:00:00.007-05:00

I have something fun to share tomorrow! But for now, here's a little teaser...

Any wild guesses? (Harriet - you can't post - you already know!)

Flower Power

2011-05-14T01:24:00.001-05:00

I'm always a little late in the game, but "better late than never", right? You've probably seen all the super cute handmade organza and satin flower brooches, pins, etc. Well, I thought I would have a little fun making some and give them as teacher gifts. One word - success. Teachers liked them a lot, I am now addicted, and I have purchased lots more organza, satin, and coolio beads to make more! (Insert evil laugh)

These are great little projects to make while watching a movie at home or on long road trips. Note, just cut fabric or sew on the road trips. I don't think having a lit candle in the car, precariously balanced on your lap in order to burn the petal edges is probably a wise thing. Maybe. Probably not.

I did wrap them up in a cute little bag with ribbon. I like to give little post-it notes, to-do lists (blank of course - not my own!), and note cards to the teachers throughout the year also. They can always use those! So, the organza went well and I moved on to satin. Not the good kind. The synthetic, poly kind. It burns nicely, but not in the blink of an eye! That is key.

As with any craft, there are a trillion variations. I think I'll play with combining the organza and satin, change the shapes and sizes, etc. I would like to make some smaller ones to put on hair barettes for my youngest. Ha - that's funny. Can I even get her to wear it in her hair? Silly me!

It is hard to tell in the photos, but the brown flowers were made using two different fabrics. One was a plain brown satin and the other has a teal blue or brown cast depending on the angle. So pretty! Below is a flower that I made from just circles (no cut petals) and a bright fuschia satin.

If I am not indeed the very last person to try making these and you have not tried yet, you can go here for a great tutorial. There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube, so browse around a little.

I cannot remember if I posted these beauties or not. So forgive me if I have! These felt dahlias are also addicting! I originally saw these over at Coco Rose Diaries and just drooled. Her dahlias are beautiful and her photography is stunning.

Right about now I should be working on dinner. I'll be back in a few days with a teaser of my exciting news! Thanks for coming by!

Catching up...

2011-05-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

* Disclaimer - this post is long and most likely boring. Read on anyway...

The days are just zooming by! I'm sure many of you are feeling that way as well. This time of year is always hectic, especially with school-aged kids. Programs, sports, holidays, meetings, prom, graduation - to name a few. I often wonder how we scale down from so much of this. The answer? Not participate in so much, maybe. But, with four kids, it doesn't take much to get this busy. My kids aren't even involved in much separately, but add them all up... my calendar is full. I try to say "no" when I need to and remember that it won't be long before they are all on their way to other phases of their lives. So for now, I just keep my calendar handy.

I hope you all enjoyed Easter and Mother's Day. Yes, I think it has been that long! Anyway, it is raining here today and very dark. I've just come down from a very busy week and finished up some major PTA meetings (my last year as the high school PTA prez). So the past two days have been a whole lot of "nothin'". Time to re-focus, re-organize, etc. for the next several weeks. And, time to blog! Just a few snippets of what's been going on around here:

I made this little dress from Simplicity 2432 at the last sewing retreat. It was supposed to have a little shrug, but I didn't think she would wear it. I added a little bling to the top and a pretty ribbon. The bodice ended up being a little too wide for her. I should know better than to go straight from the pattern. But, she loved it anyway.

A good hunt! Thanks Easter Bunny!

I bought a pretty fan for my studio. The lights I have can get very warm and I cannot part with my sweet little chandelier to put in a ceiling fan. So, best of both worlds! Isn't the popcorn ceiling purty?

I've tried using my crock pot more, at least once a week to help quicken meals but still have something better than fast food. The only drawback - its getting warm outside and you can't make cold crock pot meals! A friend of mine gave me a super-crazy-good recipe for chicken tortilla soup! Oh man, she wasn't lying to me when she said I would love it! So much so that I took pictures of it! There are so many recipes for this, but if you would like this one, I would be happy to share it with you.

I bought the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook and decided that I MUST purchase yet another crock pot. They obviously come in different sizes. Who knew?

It's so cute! And, Mother's Day rolled around and I was surprised with three bouquets of flowers! All different and unique like my kiddos. I love fresh flowers!

I loved the sweet message on my kitchen chalk board. It usually says something profound or simply "It's good to be the Queen", but this made me smile!

Next post I'll fill you in on a few of the crafts I was able to squeeze in. I also have some very exciting news to share soon. I hope you'll stop back by!

Really? (insert major sarcasm)

2011-04-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Let's go back two years.... On a trip to Round Top and Marburger Farms with BFF Harriet, I purchased two really cool, vintage ice cream parlor chairs (or whatever they are). Forward one year... I purchased from a local antique shop a really sweet table with two chairs. They patiently waited in the garage to be used.

Fast forward to last weekend... I finally got around to covering the seats of the chairs I purchased a year ago with some fabric I also bought a while back. Spring is here, the weather was beautiful, and the yard is looking lovely. Perfect timing, right?

So on Sunday, I put all four chairs and the table on my back patio. I was very pleased with them and couldn't wait to add some red geraniums to the table to pretty it up. So cute, so quaint.

Monday morning, 1:30 a.m., I woke from the sound of a storm. High, high winds that were so strong the rain was almost sideways. I peeked through the window at the front yard, then the back. At that moment, I contemplated going outside to move the four chairs and table. "Nah, its just rain." I went back to bed.

About five minutes later I heard a smashing sound. It even woke my husband. He went to check the front yard and I went to check the back.

"Nooooooooo!" (Hands in head) A HUGE limb from our huge cottonwood tree had come down right on top of my cute little table. It totally flattened one of the heavy steel chairs and shattered the glass in a gazillion pieces! And don't be fooled. It may not look heavy, but I couldn't lift it. It will take two of us to move the limb.

Really?

Sigh.

Last winter, we lost our beautiful patio gazebo to snow. Cratered. Gone.

Why do the Patio gods hate me? I don't want anything elaborate. Just cute. Just quaint.

On the bright side - I'm glad I decided not to go out to move the table and chairs... I might not be writing this post.

Here I am!

2011-04-01T00:29:00.000-05:00

Adoring fans have been emailing for days... "Mona, where are you? What have you been up to? We miss you!!!" Okay, not really. Just my cousin "Mimi" - Hey Cuz!

The days are a big blur. Somewhere in between PTA meetings, baseball and soccer practices and games, and preparations for senior year (prom, prom dresses, graduation...), I did manage to sneak in a weekend with my favorite sewing buddies (Brenda, Janice, Mary Lynn, Nancy, and Sherrie), at our favorite retreat Southern Comfort. We decided to call ourselves the "Southern Sewing Sisters"!

We sewed... and ate... and laughed... and sewed... and walked... and ate. You get the idea. And, we all went to the local Wal-Mart on a field trip! Yes, the closest thing to a fabric shop in Mineola is Wal-Mart. But, we did manage to find some cute fabric (well, duh!) and went back happy campers to sew some more.

Of course our hostess, Linda fed us well. During Spring Break I came down with a nasty stomach bug early in the week and was determined to kick it before the retreat. I didn't want to miss any of her cooking so I ate crackers for three days prior to going. So when I finally got to eat, I felt like I had eaten twice as much! But, I suffered through it!

And, I did manage to get a few projects taken care of. I know - you're thinking, "How in the world did you manage to sew if you were eating so much?" I managed.

I sewed an Easter dress for my youngest daughter - with a zipper! Thanks Nancy! It turned out really cute although in the photo it looks a little plain. I was going to make a bolero jacket but didn't like the fabric I brought. I did add some sparkly little jewels (thanks Mary Lynn!) to the bodice when I got home. I plan to add a wide satin ribbon to it as well.

The next two projects were matching dresses (more "Fridas") for my daughter's best friend who turns five next month. She is getting an American doll for her birthday. Ssssshhhh, don't tell - its a secret! I think she will be happy with them.

And, I sewed a little skirt to finish up the weekend. I found all of the fabric on our field trip and made the skirt from scratch - my first pattern! I was inspired by a cute little top that Mary Lynn made. Ruffles, ruffles, ruffles. I used my new ruffler to tackle that project. So much faster than the other methods!

Scarves are all the rage so I brought a t-shirt and whipped up this cute scarf that I saw on DIY Dish. Super fast, easy, and inexpensive. Miss Janice was my lovely model, so she got to keep the scarf!

Finally, we went to Kindergarten Round-Up tonight. My daughter was so excited to go. Of course, it is sad for me as she is the last to go to school. And, very strange because I bought a prom dress for one daughter and signed the other up for kindergarten in one week. Such opposite ends of the emotional spectrum!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Sew Darn Crafty - Linky and Giveaway!

2011-03-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

If you don't already know Karen at Sew Many Ways - you need to head over to her blog and check out her new Linking Party- Sew Darn Crafty that she's been hosting! This time, she's having a giveaway as well!

I love this linking party because you get to see so many different types of crafts and projects at a glance and are introduced to some fun new blogs. What a great way to share and promote the crafting community.

Karen has hosted Tool Time Tuesday for quite a while and she still amazes me with what she comes up with. She can take a metal washer, a rope, and some plastic from the hardware store and turn it in to a new and useful household item. Like me, she loves to label everything. She's a true organizing queen. And, she is an awesome quilter!

I've just linked up and I hope you will, too! Happy Sunday everyone!

Our last big 5th

2011-03-07T00:01:00.005-06:00

Sniffle, sniffle.. weep.

Okay, I'm done. For a moment.

Now its time to celebrate - my baby girl turns five today! Happy Birthday beautiful baby! "You're my girl."

Its so bitter-sweet. This is a tough year. I have one daughter who will graduate high school and begin a whole new chapter in her life; and another who will begin her kindergarten year. Such a contrast. And, two other kiddos in between. So while the oldest was shopping for a prom dress, the other was giggling and jumping up and down with her buddies at Build-A-Bear workshop on Saturday for her fifth birthday party! Five sweet, tiny girls ready to bring their bunnies, cats, and doggies to life with some stuffing and little red hearts! Fun, fun, and fun.

My daughter asked for an American Girl doll for her birthday and what better way to present the new doll than with a matching dress! I was a little nervous about making doll clothes, but the Mini-Frida by modkid was very easy. I am so excited about making more doll clothes and have already planned to make matching dresses in April for my daughter's best friend!

I plan to purchase some of the Simplicity patterns as well. We decided that "Jessica" needs a few more clothes. I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the clothes you have made. Do you have favorite patterns, tricks, or tips?

Party Duds

2011-03-05T22:54:00.000-06:00

I do believe that all of my youngest daughter's friends were born within a month of each other! So, with all the parties, I made a few dresses and skirts for her to wear. I bought the cutest fabric at IKEA a few years ago and finally put it to good use (post here). I added some bunting from the fabric to a t-shirt and yippee - party duds! So festive!

Thanks to the great advice and tutorial at Ta-Da Creations, I altered my Simplicity pattern #2377 to make this little a-line dress. I love the fun colors!

My for my daughter's 5th birthday, I used Frida by modkid to make this sweet dress. I made this several months ago but in a shorter length and with pants. It goes together quickly and easily. Patty Young's patterns and instructions are very well thought-out and designed.

I am looking forward to some spring weather... and a green yard again! I'm going to share another fun project in my next post!

Necessaries

2011-02-27T20:59:00.000-06:00

(cell phone rings...)

Me: Hello?
BFF Harriet: Whatcha doing?
Me: Sewing a skirt. You?
BFF Harriet: Going to Joann's. Wanna go?
Me: You bet.
BFF Harriet: I'll pick you up. Be right there.

The rest is history. Stroll, talk, check out EVERYTHING in the store, chat, catch up, no interruptions, look at fabric, look at patterns. We shut the joint down. That's how we roll.

Hey, do you see a theme here? Yeah, me too. That's why it was a "necessary". Well, of course I already have a pair of small scissors, needles, a seam ripper, and tweezers. But, these are all in a cute ,"ready-to-go" apparatus. Duh, no brainer there.

Another "necessary" - my other needles are bent from use! Practical, functional. Necessary.

Fabric, needles, and other small misc. items - $24.

Time away to breathe, think, plan.... and finish a complete sentence - priceless.

Sharin' the Sewing & Photography Love

2011-02-27T14:23:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to share with you today a few great blogs. The first is one that I have followed for a few years now - Kinder Kouture by Jeannine M. If I need a little pick-me-up and inspiration - I go to her blog. I do believe she is Wonder Woman in disguise! She is an incredibly talented seamstress/designer and photographer. This lady does it all... blog, website, photography, sewing, Facebook, Flickr, Tweet, and has an Etsy shop! Even when she has a tough day, she turns it around and flips it over to look for the bright side. So, go over and check out her beautiful blog.

The second is Photographers Blog. (And thanks to Jeannine for sharing it with others!) I am just beginning to pour through it but one thing that I like already is the Friday Editing Spotlight that they just started. Christine and Leslie give editing advice each Friday and I don't know about you, but I can always use a ~~little~~ lot of editing advice!

And, they are having a super-cool giveaway. (Pick me, pick me!) But, I'm sharing that, too! Sassy Designs has over 600 digital design items and more. Hurry on over to the Photographers Blog and check that out as well - the contest ends soon. Sorry for the late notice - I just found this information out myself!

Good luck!

Photo Play

2011-02-24T23:42:00.000-06:00

When your exposure isn't JUST right... take it to Photoshop. Play. Have fun.

Take a seat!

2011-02-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

Another project complete! During our snow days, I was able to finish covering my kitchen table bench with the fabric that I used on these oven mitts. I found it a while back and thought it was perfect to brighten up the kitchen!

This is my plain-Jane bench before (no offense if you are named Jane, ok?)...

And now...

It wasn't a difficult process but I did learn some things along the way. The first thing I learned - have a helper ready! It was definitely a "two-man" show. One person needs to hold and smooth the fabric and the other person will slap in those staples with a good staple gun!

I purchased foam from JoAnns along with the fabric and some fairly thin vinyl. I cut the foam lengthwise which just happened to be the perfect width for my bench leaving just a small piece left over. I picked out the type that breathes and can be used indoors or outdoors because it seemed to hold its shape better. Or so I thought. More on that soon. I cut each piece of foam diagonally at one end so that they overlapped about two inches, sat on top of each other smoothly, and left no visible mark between the two once the fabric was placed on top.

Adding the fabric went fairly quick. Staple, smooth, tighten, smooth, staple, etc. I finished the ends like a wrapped present. When we were ready to add the vinyl (which had been purchased several months prior and had been stored in the studio under my counter space), we noticed it had too many wrinkles. It was too thin and didn't hold a nice shape. But, I had to temporarily cover the bench with it since I couldn't leave fabric uncovered with a 4 year old and 8 year old in the house! Disaster. So, it was just stapled on loosely. That drove me crazy because it kept coming loose. After repeatedly yelling at the kids to pull it straight, I finally lost it one night and wrapped one end in blue painters tape to hold it in place! Yeah, so unlike me. But, better than having to replace the fabric!

I went back to JoAnn's (awww, too bad for me!) and purchased a heavier mil of vinyl. MUCH better! Ready to lay on the new vinyl? Nope. Since we had used the bench for several weeks, the foam had settled some and when we tried to attach the vinyl, it smooshed the fabric down and made a crease. Not pleasing. So, we pulled out the staples and re-stapled the fabric on each side to tighten it up a bit. In the end, it all turned out to be a good thing.

We then stapled the vinyl on. It holds up well and wipes up quite nicely! Yay! So that's my "Upholstery 101" for the day.

Blanket of White

2011-02-04T01:32:00.000-06:00

I always check the doors before I go to bed and when I looked through the glass of my front door, this is what I saw at 1:00 a.m.

It was so serene and untouched. Another reminder of God's beauty. Stay warm friends.

Pink I think

2011-02-04T00:01:00.002-06:00

I like pink. Enough said.

Happy Birthday Harry!

2011-02-03T21:10:00.000-06:00

Today is my friend Harriet's birthday! When my son was little, he called her "Harry". And, one of her daughter's called me "Mo". So, when we are being silly, we call ourselves Harry and Mo. Noice, huh?

Harriet was a good girl last year apparently, because Santa put a Nook under the tree for her at Christmas. So, I made a little pouch for it just to keep it safe until she could purchase something made for a Nook. It is padded and has a soft lining that won't scratch the it.

Then I bought my Nook. After looking at covers, I had a hard time paying that kind of money (especially after the purchase of the Nook and considering "I can make that" always comes to mind). So I purchased a 3-pack of e-reader patterns from Birdiful Stitches and made my own. It went together very nicely and keeps my Nook protected and pretty! Included with the patterns is an e-reader hipster. Gonna have to make that very soon. Check out her patterns - way awesome! She's done the hard part so you can do the fun part!

Harriet and I have been so busy that we haven't even been able to go to Barnes and Noble together with our Nooks so we can sit together in silence while reading them! So here's my ~~somewhat selfish~~ plan...

Harriet, when you get a moment to read this -

Let's get together SOON. I mean, put it on the calendar no matter what and get together.
Let's go to B&N with our Nooks.
I'm buying you whatever delish beverage they offer.
And bringing you a little something-something I made.
And if you would like a new cover with a clever little pocket and button - say the word and it will be so!

Happy Birthday Harry!

Coasting...

2011-02-02T11:42:00.000-06:00

With the crazy weather and the kids having a few "snow days" away from school, I decided I would indulge in a little bit of holiday myself. They were all content to stay bundled up in their rooms (teenagers) or come in and out ~~repeatedly~~ from playing in the snow (young in's).

I finished a skirt that had been sitting there for the past week or two. My youngest claimed it for herself. Fortunately, it was her size. Wow, who would have guessed?

I'm sure everyone else (and their dog) has this awesome little light, but I just bought mine. Having held off from spending the $50 on it, I had a weak moment at the local quilt shop. That little person (not the lady at the quilt shop) was tapping on my shoulder saying things like, "You deserve it" and "Its a tool, its totally necessary" and even worse "You're old - your eyes need all the help they can get." Thanks, thanks a lot. Anyway, I held on to the guilt for a few moments and after using it, I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner! HA! (Little voice.. "See, I told you so...")

Another great tool in my arsenal of studio goodies - my new walking foot. Oh yeah, it rocks! Again, don't know how I lived without this little puppy! Making these little coasters was a breeze, I tell ya! I'll be making more of these very soon! I found the tutorial on Martha Stewart's website. Nothing fancy. Just straight lines.

Maybe now that I've made friends with the walking foot, I will venture out to sew some cool "mug rugs" like the these from Morgane from Bear, Dolly and Moi. She even made a tray for them!

And this one from Jennifer of That girl... That Quilt. Apparently, she is a neighbor of mine. Well, here in the metroplex anyway! These ladies inspire me to further this whole quilting experience! Look, a place for her tea and spoon!

So what have you been doing during the blizzard of 2011?

Studio Bunting and Chalkboard Re-do

2011-02-01T00:01:00.002-06:00

My chalkboard/magnetic board needed a new look. I made some magnets that I intended to put at the top corners and possibly string ribbons across and down each side. Nope. Wasn't working for me.

So, I grabbed a few scrapbooking supplies and went to work. Unfortunately, I don't have a Silhouette or Cricut so I had to do some of it the old-fashioned way. I really had fun though with the process. It was one of those "slow down and enjoy it" kind of projects, not "hurry up, dinner needs to be made" kind of projects!

I used three different papers, ink to age the edges of the bunting and letters, vintage seam binding and buttons, stickers, and pearls. After I affixed the letters and stickers, I sewed the seam binding to the button and then glued on the buttons. Voila!

I also made some little yo-yo and button magnets. They are so tiny and cute and will hold up some pretties if I ever decide what I want to add to the chalkboard. I kind of like it the way it is right now. Simple.

I need to write some sort of inspiring or profound quote, too. Do you have any you would like to share?

Out with the old...

2011-01-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

While I don't change much of my basic decor very often, I do like to rotate things during the year such as pillowcases, curtains, etc. It is an inexpensive and easy way to make little changes here and there. First, I made these potholders (the larger one from this tutorial and the little one from this tutorial). Super fun and fairly quick. I need to make a few more to go with these.

And, I need to actually USE them. Yes, they are so cute that I've threatened my family not to use them, but to keep using the old ones. Kind of silly - like not using your pretty china because you're afraid it will break. But, what fun is that, right? So, I must toss the old ones and move on!

I didn't use the Insul-Brite, but instead used the silver quilted ironing board cover material that I used on... yes, my ironing board cover! Same basic idea - protect the skin.

I decided to switch my kitchen curtain back to this one. I LOVE this print. It should look very familiar - hint, hint - look around my blog! I also made something else with it that I will share soon. It is soft and reminds me of Valentine's Day which is just around the corner.

And finally, I changed the pillow covers on my couch and love seat. I was digging through my stash of "changeables" and didn't even remember making these! They say the memory is the first thing to go. But, it was a good "find" and I did finally recall making them. I really like the pillows in the first picture because "redwork" is one of my faves and the second picture shows some fleece that I found a few years ago and wish I had bought more of it! Yes, red is a favorite color of mine these days.

"Out"

"In"

I hope to start on a quilt for my bed. I've been hoarding some pretty Tanya Whelan fabric for about a year now. Maybe I'm just scared to start the project. But, again - what good is it doing me sitting there in the fabric hutch when it could be gracing my bed?!

How about you? Do you do the "switch-a-roo" in your home?

Craft Book Challenge

2011-01-14T17:32:00.000-06:00

Why yes, I believe I will! I'm up for a new challenge. Especially one that gives me the excuse to sew and craft!

Liesl from Liesl Made has come up with a fun challenge - to get out our craft books and USE them! Wow! I didn't think of that. I mean, they look pretty on my shelf, right? But, use them? Create from them? I'm kidding. Of course I always intend to. So, now I have to. I said I would!

I think I better start narrowing down my first project. I've got some pretty good books to choose from!

Go here to check our the Craft Book Challenge and tell Liesl I sent you! She doesn't actually know me, but that's okay, tell her anyway!

Giddy Up!

2011-01-12T20:46:00.000-06:00

I had fun with these little skirts. My daughter loves this style and they are quick to put together with minimal fabric. I'm so happy when people comment to her about her skirts because she beams and says, "My mommy made it!"

I'll miss those days of her whirling around in them pretending to be a princess or a ballerina. I'll make as many skirts as she wants!