Great Giveaway!

Love to quilt?

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Check out the giveaway HERE at Green Fairy Quilts.

Happy New Year!

Painted Picture Frame

Remember my January to-do list? Well, it's not even the end of December yet and I've already crossed one off! I was inspired by these picture frames from Fingerprints on the Fridge and came up with this:

Cute right? I couldn't resist putting the pic of me and the lady herself on display. Really, this one is for my dear friend's birthday. But don't worry, I made one for myself too!

And I don't plan on gifting hers with that horrible picture. She gets concert tickets!:

Now that I have my Silhouette (came in last night!), I think I'll make more and add some cute vinyl.

My Personal Top 10

It's been an amazing year, espiecially when it comes to crafting! I started sewing again this year and even learned how to quilt. I've found an amazing online crafting community and I think I've really found my niche!

Let's get to it: My top 10 favorite things I've made of the last year:

10. Halloween Treats

9. Kiki's Quilt

8. Robot Quilt

7. Kiki's Upcycled Dress (idea courtesy IAMHMR)

6. Acorn Wreath

5. Teacher Gifts

4. Princess Kiki Quilted Wall Hanging

3. Coffee Filter Christmas Tree Garland

2. Skirt-to-Purse

1. Baby Boy Quilt (pattern courtesy Polka Dot Chair)

That's it! I'd love to see your top ten too!

My house looks like this right now (and this was AFTER cleaning up a lot):

So...I'm going to be a little busy for a few days. However, hubby got me this for Christmas:

So I will no doubt be back with lots of new stuff soon!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Award Time

I've got to say, the crafting blog-o-sphere is a great place. Everyone is really supportive of each other, there appears to be zero drama (unlike, say, in an online parenting chat-room), and it's actually possible to make friends. It seems as if, in at least this one respect, evolution has got it right and we are nearing perfection.

Case in point, the Stylish Blogger Award:

This is being passed around blogland, and Lizzie Ann from Housekeeping in Progress decided to pass it on to me! Thanks Lizzie Ann!

Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their Blog Award!


Here goes!:

1. I sailed around Europe when I was 13 on my grandparents yacht. It was one of the formative summers of my life

2. I have a master's in Geography. Pretty sure I'm never going to use it.

3. I'm secretly jealous of people that have 3 kids. It looks really hard, and even though I want to, I'm not sure I can handle it. Yet.

4. Hubby and I married when I was 19 and he was 21. When I know something is going to happen (like marriage) I like to just get it done.

5. I worked as an assistant to a Professor when I was in graduate school. She was really cool. But it looked like being a professor left no time for family. That's when I decided it wouldn't be right for me. I finished my degree anyway.

6. My new goal is to be Super PTA mom.

7. I was completely freaked about having a little girl. I really didn't think I was cut out for it. Now, I've let my girly-ness take over, and I would love to have an army of girls just like Kiki!

And here are 15 amazing bloggers:

1. Stacy @ Not Just a Housewife
2. Judi @ Green Fairy Quilts
3. Haley @ The Autocrat
4. Lizzy @ Road Theory
5. Jenny @ Embellishing Life
6. Kristie @ OCD: Obsessive Crafting Disorder
7. Amanda @ Crafts By Amanda
8. Jess @ If Only They Would Nap
9. Kimberly @ Bitty Bits & Pieces
10. Jaime @ Her Hobby
11. Staci & Marina @ Just Sew Sassy
12. Kristen @ Ladybug Blessings
13. Jenn @ Parties By Hardie
14. Aly @ Polkanuts
15. Kelli @ Pretty Lil' Posies


Merry Christmas Everyone!

Pre-Teen Gift

Clockwise from top:

Store-bought pink headband with silk flower attached

Store-bought headband, wrapped in fabric (secured with hot glue) with rolled fabric rosettes attached

Store-bought stretchy band with silk flower attached

Coordinating knot and bead necklace

Hope she likes to accessorize!

To-Do List for January

I'm having some serious guilt over not posting pics and tutes on everything I'm making right now, but I just can't. My wonderful mother-in-law is a teacher, so she's agreed to watch my little ones while she's on Christmas Break from school so that I can work full-time for these 2 weeks. (So I can pay off the vet bill for this cute little lady). But, through the magic of the Internet and linky parties, I CAN still make a list of things I want to make as soon as my 2-week working bonanza is over and I get back to normal life. Here's some of the great ideas I've found so far:

Teacher Crayon Wreath



How awesome is this? I wish I had seen this for Christmas, but I'm sure she'd still like a New Year present right?

Picture Frames

Clay Pot Soldier (for next Christmas)

Petticoat Tutu

Bandanna Quilt (for the picnics I never have)

Recipe Holder

New Potholders (aren't these cute? I'm thinking some sort of coffee print)

And I need some new dish towels. Mine are old old old and worn out. I think these are super cute.

Circle Art--probably not going to get this done this month, but I want to do something similar in the near future.

No-Sew Shirt Refashion--I've been searching my closet for a too-large shirt. Unfortunately they are mostly too-small (thanks a lot pretzal hugs!), so I guess I'll have to buy one just to make this.

Jewelry Board--my current one is about 10 years old and from Claire's. Which inherently means it is covered in glitter.

Under Bed Fort--Finn has a captain's bed, not a bunk bed. But he still loves playing down there. This would be perfect!

Last, and certainly not least (in fact, it's priority #1) is to make this Anthro-Inspired Bedding from KoJo Designs. I have seriously neglected my bedroom and I have a few other projects in mind too. Hopefully my friend Nicolette and I can have a quilt-along together on this one!

Also on my list:
Some sort of hanging sewing organizer for over my sewing station
Update the picture frames in my bedroom
Put together a new note station in the kitchen
Create a way to display my kids' artwork in the playroom

Think I can get it all done? Of course I can! I'm sure I'll be adding to it as well. It's not even January yet!

Upcycled Shabby Centerpiece & Paper Flower Tutorial

 Ever since we went to get sodas last week, I've been wanting to do something with our bottles. It seemed pretty obvious to me that they should hold some sort of flower, but seeing as how I have a black thumb, I had to give that a bit more thought. What I came up with: Paper Flowers!

[note: I'm not really sure if there's a difference between "upcycled" or "recycled" or just plain ole "re-used," but I think "upcycled" sounds best, so that's the one were going with.]

And now I'm going to show you how to make one of these pretty little 5-petal bubble flowers!

You will need:

-5 5" x 2.5" rectangles of tissue paper for each flower. You can cut these a little bigger/smaller depending on the size you want.

-small scrap of white tissue for the "stamen" center.

-small hard ball about 1" in diameter (once again, use a bigger/smaller one if you are changing the size of the tissue paper)

-thin green wire. Cut one 4" and one 12" piece for each flower

-floral tape

First, gather your rectangles:



To make the petals, wrap a piece of tissue halfway around the ball and twist the ends on each side (like a piece of candy):

Cut one end off. Repeat the last 2 steps 4 more times:

For the center, I rolled up a small piece of white tissue paper:

Bunch up the 5 petals and insert the white "stamen" in the center:

Wrap a piece of 4" wire around the petal and stamen ends to hold it in place:

Wrap a piece of 12" wire around your twisted ends:

Wrap floral tape around the ends to cover the wire: 

Fluff out the petals and your finished!:

I probably need to add a few more (BTW--the white flowers came from a kit I bought awhile back), but that's going to have to wait until later. It's going to be a busy week!

And in case you were wondering, YES! Those are coffee filters in the basket. I'm a bit obsessed! (here and here)

I'll be linking up to my usual parties this week. You can find them under the "Linky Parties" tab at the top of the page!

New Look, Same Great Taste

If you visit often, you'll notice that I've updated my look a bit (a bit girly, dontcha think?). There are a lot of great blog design companies out there, but I've been spending all my money on Christmas presents (and craft supplies), so I did all this myself.

Are you looking to spruce up your blog as well? Well then let me share some links with you! There's a ton of tutes out there, but some are better than others. Here's the ones I used:

How to add a blog button with text underneath

How to add a background image

And some cute free blog template sites:

Shabby Blogs (go to Shabby Extras to find dividers, headers, and titles)

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Happy Designing! And if you do something cool come back and leave a link so I can look!