The winner of my gift card holder is:

Kelly!
Kelly, no need to send me your address b/c you are my sister and I know where to find you. Thank goodness for sisters who leave comments on your blog. In general, thank goodness for sisters, right? Pin It

i made a curtain!!

Fabric for curtain is from Ikea. Super quality. I lined it in white cotton and hung it on a simple rod from Target with drapery clip rings. The orange lantern is from Ikea too. I am just testing that idea out, I bought a white one as well and thought since I had hooks up in the ceiling, from the previous owner, maybe I'd use them. I think I need to hang them from a more attractive clip, and vary the length. Any input? (Note the green cushion propped against the wall...I am seriously nervous to cut that fabric off and challenge myself to recover that whopper!)

Close up of my pretty curtain and some welcome sunshine!

The next pillow will be this brown floral. Right now, the towel is just draped over the old green one. Oh, the bolster is from Ikea. Gotta go back and get another of those. They vacuum pack a lot of their pillows so I am still waiting to see if this one can truly pop back into it's intended shape. Right now, I am rather liking the "naked" wood top of the window seat so I may just go with that for awhile. (Can you smell my fear of recovering the cushion?!)

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i made a pillow!

Out of two dishtowels!! My window seat in my upstairs hallway needs a serious update (check out the green plaid seat cushion and forest green pillow below). I had started to think about extending my office color scheme out there: oranges, greens and pop some blue. I figured I'd head to the fabric store, maybe even IKEA and start looking.

However, I ended up at Target yesterday and saw all this darling Orla Kiely stuff. I bought some plates to hang on the wall and 4 dishtowels. I figured it was a minimal investment especially since I had never even made a pillow cover before. I used this tutorial, and I was finished in under 30 minutes! I need to find curtains before I change much else. I will show you a look that never quite looked right, and my plans for replacing it. I am thinking a single valance is best so as not to compete with what I do on the seat itself. Right now, I have 3 of the green pillows to recover and then I want to add a few in different sizes. Because of that, the seat cushion may need to remain a solid too...

I am feeling all creative so I made this page too! My girls made this fort on Friday and spent most of the weekend enjoying it. Not a great photo but a fun story. All elements and papers from Dipped In Love kit, alpha by Krystal Hartley.

Hey, don't forget to leave a comment on the post below. I will feel like a real heel if no one does :)

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freebie: gift card/credit card/business card holder + sunday showcase

All that, and it's still Saturday! Just wanted to share before Grease comes on TV tonight :)

First, I made the modified card holder that I linked to a week or so ago. I tried some other variations and none turned out, so finally, on my third try, I stuck pretty basically to her tutorial and the end result was this. Fastened closed, this measures about 2.5" x 4.5".

*** Due to a very slow Blog day (!) on Sunday, I will extend this giveaway through Thursday at midnight. If you would like to win this card holder, please leave a comment and I will select one winner randomly at that time.


On to the Sunday Showcase:
inchmark journal:My favorite blog find of the week! I just kept reading through all of the creative goodness so I cannot link you to just one thing, I suggest you sift back through the archives as well. My loves: tags/cards with fabric circles, quilted-ish christmas stockings, her artful presentation of color stories, the royal icing circles for cake decorating....seriously, the list goes on and on.

BHG Decorating Ideas for $100 or less-I always love these special issues. This one did not disappoint. I never can seem to find the links for this but just grab one off the new stand, it is a $5 well spent. Inside, the most creative use of chipboard scrapbooking alphas that I HAVE EVER SEEN!

post it note holder on etsy-Clever. Simple. Easy to replicate. I'd have to mod podge the binder clip too, but that's just me :)

Quarterly SALE at Designer Digitals: Always a worthwhile deal. Quality products. Great designers including Ali Edwards. Save 30% through Tuesday.

Oprah's Clean Up Your Messy House: I happened to catch the first episode and the apartment makeover they highlighted was superb. I have not read through this plan thoroughly but I plan to. My home could really stand some attention of this kind. BONUS: 20% Container Store Coupon available for one week.

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the vera bradley mini cooler

So I took a quick little snapshot of it myself b/c it is that cute. Even my girls went wild over this, especially Olivia who claims to need this for a lunch box. Hmm?

I whipped up a cute something today that I am going to offer as a freebie on Sunday. Anyone who comments on my Sunday*Showcase post on Sunday will be eligible to win. I will choose one post at random as the recipient. It took me 3 tries to perfect this little sewn creation but I finally got it right. So...check back in then and leave me a note!

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mini cooler=BIG smile

Each season I think I am going to kick my Vera Bradley buying habit but those people are just creative geniuses and the stuff always gets cuter and cuter. Today I went to a gift shop that I love, to get a 50th b'day gift and while there treated myself to this cute wristlet. (I really wanted to share a picture from the VB website but those devils seem to have changed all their photo files to PNGS.) Anyway, I love the new brown/green/purple color scheme. And guess what? They have this crazy promotion going on where you can buy a cooler for $15. Please click on my crazy promotion hyperlink to see it. I cannot wait for Spring and a chance to hit the park with my lil' packed lunch and cool drinks. Oh, and I got mine in the same pattern as my wristlet. Yea! Oh, and I did manage to get the birthday gift too... Pin It

technology astounds me

Hey, I use PhotoShop. I thought that automatically qualified me as tech savvy. Yea, not so much.

Today, as part of my PT job, I participated in a WebEX Webinar, which is an online, interactive, conference. Wow. This totally rocked. It connected about 12 people from all over the state of Ohio (and one beyond, I think) via their computer and telephone. Totally interactive and glitch free. I am way impressed. Pin It

more rock star stuff

I am trying to stick to my word, and make more scrapbook pages. This picture was just too good to pass up. I have also begun visiting the We Are Storytellers website quite a bit, so I did this for a Sunday challenge there.

No school for both kids today so I am heading to the shower and then off for a day of entertaining them at Run Jump and Play.

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sunday showcase #3

We have been enjoying a laid back weekend here. Yesterday, my husband planned a little informal dinner, cleaned the house (the downstairs at least) in preparation for a few friends to join us, bought some delicious steaks, a few other accompaniments were brought by friends and then, he cleaned up afterward! Yea, me.

Now for the good stuff:

***Insta Snow link now corrected***

Insta Snow--this stuff was way cool, even for the above 7-8 year old crowd. I highly recommend this for schools, parties, magic shows....
DailyDigi.com--A new, super well done site with a daily, worthwhile message + fabulous pictures and layouts.
credit card/debit card/ business card holder--The tutorial begins as a tea bag holder, also cute, but I love the small changes noted at the end to create another version. I have this on my to-do list.
Lorna Doone 100 calorie pack--these are so yummy, but yes, they are very small. I could eat all 6 packs at one sitting. I haven't. But I could. Pin It

my valentines...and a thank you never goes out of style

Yesterday, both girls had parties at school. The top pic is my cutie Shelby. Below, is Olivia with her tongue out, surrounded by other classmates. They were playing a snowball game where the kid opposite you was throwing a marshmallow and trying to get it in their partner's mouth. Totally simple, totally fun. I am the room mom for her class and some times, I just feel down and overwhelmed. I did more of a "snow day" theme vs. hearts and love. It is nice to see the kids really enjoy what I have chosen, discovered, purchased and/or invented...to do. I will share the BIG hit of the party during my Sunday Showcase. And this is a really great ego booster...not 1 hour after the party, a parent called to thank me AND say what a superstar I was b/c her kid was totally thrilled. I thanked her for calling b/c it meant that much. It might save me from a planned early retirement from this whole room mom occupation! Seriously, a phone call, and a written note, never go out of style.

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i am a rock star...

If you have girls, you can probably sing right along with those lyrics "i'm not usual, not so typical...i might even be a rock star!" --Hannah Montana

So back to the pics. Olivia was given the assignment to make an instrument and last week, she made a flute from drinking straws and was satisfied until...the other second grade classes showed up with their much fancier instruments yesterday. Then she declared she wanted to make a guitar, on the night before it was due, the same night that we needed to prepare for 2 Valentine's parties. So, I assigned the task to her father and handed him the most recent Family Fun magazine. Oh, I also secured the cardboard box from a neighbor. A few hours later and Voila--an over sized, pink, electric guitar!!! I guess it was a big hit at school too.

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vintage sewing notions and a valentine table runner

Very near my house resides a store called Gayle's Vintage Clothing. Sunday was a fabulously, sunny, warm day so I took myself down there and found these wonderful notions. The place is JAM PACKED with treasures. My heart started racing when I saw drawers marked: buttons, rick rack, seam binding...! What I like best about these are the packages and old school prices. I spent $4.
Next, I made a heart runner for my table. It took awhile so it will be on display for a whole 4 days at this point. I am really perfecting the binding but there is just no quick way to get it done. I drew this heart by hand onto card stock and them simply cut it from 3 fabrics. I machine stitched those onto the white background and then did some machine quilting through it all. All the fabric is from Hobby Lobby.

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a good, quick dinner

photo from Campbell's site)

I just made this up very quickly for tomorrow's dinner but I had a very delicious sample--yum-o! The recipe can be found here: Campbell's Beef Taco Skillet. I am thinking this would make for some great nachos, just leave out the tortillas and spoon it over a platter full of the crispy kind instead. I am about a week late on that for Superbowl, huh?! Pin It

Sunday Showcase #2 (cool stuff from the web and beyond)

First, I have a good friend who sends Valentine's cards each year instead of Christmas cards. Love that idea. It gives me something fun to look forward to as she is super creative, always sending the freshest piece of stationary available and a summary of her family's life. Good stuff. She also has been known to send Valentine's gifts as well. I know, it is something! This year my girls received these:

Personalized Plates: fontaine maury . They are totally the cutest and so unique.
and the rest of the list goes like this:
Digital Kit: Photogenic from O Scraps. I LOVE this. Great style, great camera icons, quotes, just a perfect all around kit.
Address and Name stamps: Letter Girl on Etsy. Wonderful, whimsical designs. Rubber stamps and self inking stamps.
Camera Necklace: Cinnamon Sticks on Etsy. This is similar to my great necklace by Lisa Leonard that has my girls' names on it. I adore this style and coupled with the vintage camera, it could not be more perfect. Check out the whole shop here. (Are you detecting a camera theme from me?)
Free fonts: Fonts for Peas. If you like Handwriting fonts, this is the place for you. Check often b/c they add new fonts all the time. And if you want a font of your own writing, they can do that too!

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. I woke up and looked out the front window and instantly recognized that something was different. Was it the sun shining? Not really. The wind was no longer blowing? Nope. It was green (sorta) grass visible everywhere! We had been buried under snow for over two weeks so this change of scenery is welcome. And with temps in the 40's, maybe my kids will play outside! Pin It

project 365: my way

(click to view larger)

Google (using google as a verb here) Project 365. Go ahead, do it. There are tons of people out there doing tons of different things. Many are vowing to take 1 picture a day. I know I cannot commit to that. But, inspired by this effort and way of documenting life, I devised my plan for the year. At the very least, I will have a photo book with 24 pages: 2 for each month. Perhaps some months will require more. January did not. Below are a list of my basic supplies, I plan to stick with these, and not much else for the whole project. I hope it gets easier, and faster as time goes on, although I am pretty happy with this one.

Template: By Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals (turned, twisted, tweaked)
Digital Kits: Everyday Celebrations and Git R Done by Audrey Neal at We are Storytellers
Numbers: By Andrea Victoria at Designer Digitals (these are from way back in 2007)
Font: Pea Missy at Fonts for Peas

Tune in tomorrow because I already have some good finds ready for my Sunday Showcase.

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back to scrapbooking

I would not go so far as to say I am doing some soul searching but I do have this sense that I have gotten way off course lately. I am so loving quilting and becoming a better sew-er. I feel so good about looking at things, breaking it down, and then figuring out how to do it for myself. That is all good. But...my love has always been scrapbooking. My passion: taking pictures. (Hey, having the means to photograph quilts is a good thing too!). So the past week has found me really yearning to get back to documenting my family's life. Just in this past week, I probably could fill one scrapbook recording the moments in my girls' lives. So the above, super quick layout, is doing just that. And I am going to make time, use the free time I do get every so often, to filling in the big gaps from recent months.
I have always kept separate books for each girl and I really hope to always fill those with special tidbits, unique just to them. I also have had a very general family album, where I house everything else. Layouts of holidays with lots of family, the girls together, the occasional layout of me with my own friends etc. Rolling about in my brain is the idea to somehow simplify that part. Maybe for this year, 2009, I will choose one kit, a few templates and a few extras and just go with it. Similar to the concept of my "a week in the life" book. I think this gives me the best chance at capturing our day to day existence, from the mundane (which someday will be priceless, I think) to the really momentous. The creative part of me will still get to use all of my ever-growing stash on the girl's individual layouts but the yearly book will be more cohesive. I will keep you posted on how this goes. I am anxious to get to work.
As for this little goody above, it is mostly from a pre-made template at Weeds and Wildflowers. Felt alpha: Krystal Hartley. Date was a freebie from Simply Sweet Designs. That's it! Remember, click the picture to view it larger :)

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can you guess what I have on the brain?!

1. Urban2C.JPG, 2. Dishtowel Table Runner, 3. Christmas Table Runner, 4. Raspberry Sundae Table Runner, 5. Thanksgiving Table Appliqued Quilted Runner + Fringed Napkins, 6. Mid-Century Inspired Wall Hanging/Table Runner Art Quilt, 7. Table Runner, 8. Zipper Week is here!, 9. AB Quilt, 10. s i x patchwork pincushions., 11. birthday coin quilt, 12. More Summer houses, 13. dream - art quilts, 14. House Tape Measure, 15. Pencil Roll - Inside, 16. PEAR trivet

Not only have I saved all these on Flickr during my house arrest (bad weather-sick kid-bad weather) but I just figured out how to do the mosaic too.

So, Shelby is going to get better now...her ear drum ruptured last night so we woke to a big mess but also some relief. Cross your fingers that the antibiotic takes hold and she can start living life outside of our house once again.

We are back to SNOW too. It has been coming down like crazy all afternoon. I am kind of over it. This Mom needs to get out too!

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funky mini quilt & Sunday Showcase #1

front

a successful mitred corner!

back, with parallel quilting lines

I decided (really, I am copying other people) to name these little buggers (assuming there will be more) so this one is: 201 february lane. Get it? Today is 02.01. I thought that could potentially make for some cute names and also document things as I go, provide a little timeline.

I machine appliqued in black, and I used a little iron on backing to stick them down first. I found a roll of something I already had, it had no name on it or directions but it worked in a pinch. Ideally, adhering the whole shape would work better. My sewing of circles and curves leaves a lot to be desired at this point too. Oh well, I am only on day 10 of my quilting career so I have to take the bad with the good!

In honor of a new month, a new day, melting ice...I am going to start something I will call the Sunday Showcase. Just some sharing of things I have found lately that you might enjoy too:

Super inspiring quilter

A good read: The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit 2: Honestly, I am enjoying these but after coming off of the Twilight Series, which is SO well written, they are just OK. And NO, I am not going to try knitting next. I just gloss right over those references in the storyline.

A new, cool, scrapbooking collaboration: House of 3. I like the blogwear stuff, and the price sure seems right!

One of my all time favorite finds on etsy: plushism. I have not gotten one yet, but I have never found a cuter case for my point and shoot either.

Shelby is only slightly better today but I am going to Olivia's basketball game regardless. I think it might do her some good to get out as well, plus it is 42 degrees. And there is NO DOUBT that I need to get out of this house...

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