Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A simple gathering to celebrate

Baby girl turned six.  Six.  (sigh)  We had a small gathering of family and friends at our house on the day of her birthday.  She asked for pink and blue iced cupcakes and that's what she got, by golly!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I'll post pictures of her official birthday party soon!
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My baby girl's quilt

Well, I finally finished my baby girl's quilt... and I'm finally posting some pictures!  I really enjoyed making this quilt as I pushed myself to try some new techniques.  And even though I took forever in working through the process in my mind, drawing it out, taking notes, scribbling pictures, and so on, I still made a big mistake!  There is something to be said for planning, but I think diving right it might have worked just as well.  But, I was able to correct the mistake and it all worked out.


I used the GO! Baby machine I won from AccuQuilt to cut most of the flowers for this quilt.  When I was asked what dies I would like to choose, I specifically chose two of the dies for this quilt.  The little machine worked like a charm, too.  My baby girl even helped me cut out some of the flowers.  I used Lila Tueller's Soire'e fabric charm packs that were given to me a while back.  It was perfect for this project.

 

I used Bari J. Ackerman's book, "Inspired to Sew" for instruction and inspiration.  It is a wonderful book with lots of great projects.  Love, love, love it!  After I got the foundation of my quilt in order, I placed all of the flowers and leaves where I wanted them and pinned, pinned, and pinned!  Then, I used free-motion quilting to sew them on.  It did take some time, but I thought it was well worth it.  I found that using a fabric glue stick helped keep the pieces in place as I moved around.  I kept some pins in place except for the immediate pieces that I was sewing so that as I went along, I could reposition pieces as needed.  It also alleviated the hassle of trying to sew around the pins. 


Below are some of the close-ups where you can see a little more detail.  I wasn't too picky about perfect applique here.  I just moved all around at a fairly even speed and tried to make sure all the pieces were sewn down well.  I enjoyed making the bark on the trees, the clouds, and the grass.

  

I also added a few dimensional pieces to the center of some of the flowers.  One of my favorite parts to this quilt is the bunting.  I love the way it pops right off of the quilt!

 
 
 
 
 

The big blunder I made?  I didn't sew the border on to my quilt top!  When I finished all the quilting and started to make my border, I realized this.  I had to sew on additional batting so that I could add my border.  But, like I said, it worked out okay because I decided to add a ruffle and facing strip to the back.  Several new techniques later, and I was happy!


This is the back of the quilt.  I like the way it looks, too.  Fun.


And, here is baby girl's room.  I made the quilt to the dimensions of the width of the mattress and a little bit shorter to allow for the pillow (and a billion stuffed animals), but wished I had made it a little bit longer and wider.  I'm not sweating it now, though! I guess I better get busy on a pillow sham... and I think it might be time to put away the flannel snowflake sheets!


I'll come back soon to share a little more about the tree in her room.  Thanks for stopping by! Pin It

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Shabby Apple Winner

Drum roll please.... And the winner of the Shabby Apple Giveaway is.....  Melody!

I love the look of pocket watches. This necklace version is pretty.


Congratulations Melody!  I will also contact you via email so that we can get your information to Shabby Apple.  I know you are going to love this sweet necklace.


A big thank you to Shabby Apple for such a generous giveaway! 

Have a great weekend everyone!
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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Valentine Cards for you!

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 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!
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Valentine's Day Teacher Gifts

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! Pin It