5 cutest girl.

5.31.2012

I took some portraits of one of my best friend's little girls yesterday all dolled up in her dance costume.  I apologize if any of you are sick of the random portrait posts, but photography is a major interest of mine at the moment so I'm going to keep posting them :)
She came up with this pose below all on her own!  Maybe dancing to I'm a little teapot?
We took the pictures in my living room, and the minty-green wall was a perfect backdrop!  Some fabric over a side table worked great for a platform as well.




 This girl has attitude!  She was such a good sport though and the shoot went very fast.
 She couldn't hold her grumpy face for too long.

Her mom was holding a piece of posterboard to reflect the light, so she was looking over to the side a lot.  Sometimes this worked to our advantage.

 Getting tired!

And we're done!
Isn't she the cutest girl?  Love her.

2 Purse Palooza 2012.

5.29.2012

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend.  I spent most of the weekend visiting with family and doing a lot of yard work (there are so many shrubs in our yard to prune!).  

Today I want to share with you a fun event that I'll be guest posting for in June over at Sew Sweetness to get you sewing a purse for the summer!



Announcing Purse Palooza 2012!!
Here's how it works:
1. Every weekday in June, there will be 2 amazing guest bloggers scheduled to share with you a purse sewing pattern review. The review will contain detailed information about what they thought about the sewing pattern, modifications they made, what kind of interfacing they used, and more! Get inspired!
2. Even more exciting...THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY EVERY WEEKDAY IN JUNE! That's right, 20 GIVEAWAYS! Your Giveaway Fairy Godmother is Kim from My Go-Go Life - she has some unbelievable giveaways planned!
3. At the end of the event, you will get a chance to show off your purse in order to win some amazing prizes!

Sara's free tutorial: Caliti Convertible Clutch
Pattern Review Schedule
June 4 - Sara @ Sewsweetness (tutorial: bag interfacing)
              Kim @ My Go-Go Life (Urban Jungle Bag)
June 5 - Meg @ Fashioned by Meg (Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote)
              Lindsay @ Lindsay Sews (Posie Rosie Little Things Jane Market Bag)
June 6 - Kaelin @ The Plaid Scottie (Oliver + S Day in the Park Backpack)
              Colleen @ The Busy Bean (something from Amy Butler's Style Stitches book)
June 7 - Bree @ My Crafty Crap (Jenna Lou Designs Mabel Bag)
              Ayumi @ Pink Penguin (Signature Bag from Kumiko Fujita)
June 8 - Tamiko @ Patchwork Notes (Hexagon Patchwork Bag from Playful Patchwork)
              Jessica @ A Little Gray (Pat Bravo Verona Bag)
June 11 - Jessica @ Sew Crafty Jess (Amy Butler Spice Market Tote)
                Amy @ amylouwho? (V. and Co. Favorite Bag)
June 12 - Sara @ The Pretty Pickle (Charlie's Aunt Casablanca Clutch)
               Lindsey @ LRStitched (Noodlehead Envelope Clutch)
June 13 - Erin @ 2 More Seconds (Keyka Lou Bucket Bag)
               Caroline @ Sew Can She (V. and Co. Carry All Tote)
June 14 - Ali @ a squared w (bag from I Like Orange Too)
               Rachael @ Imagine Gnats (Jen Giddens Pocket Tote)
June 15 - Holly @ Bijou Lovely (Noodlehead Go Anywhere Bag)
               Katie @ There and Back (Sweet Pea Pocket Purse)
June 18 - Monique @ Sew Fun by Monique (Millie's Market Tote from Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli)
               Katie @ Swim, Bike, Quilt! (Green Bee Scoop Tote)
June 19 - Jennie @ Clover and Violet (Lunch Bag from Pink Penguin)
               Joanna @ Shape Moth (Emmaline Bag)
June 20 - Jen @ Bettycrockerass (While Baby Naps Metal Clutch)
               Krista @ The Spotted Stone (The Sometimes Crafter Amanda's Knitting Bag)
June 21 - Katy @ The Littlest Thistle (Noodlehead 2-4-1 Tote)
               Terri @ Sew-Fantastic (In Color Order Lined Drawstring Bag)
June 22 - Elizabeth @ Don't Call Me Betsy (Amy Butler Weekender Bag)
               Sarah @ Fairy Face Designs (bag from the Bag Making Bible)
June 25 - Amy @ Sukie Don't You Know Who I Am? (Amy Butler Sophia Bag)
                Heather @ {House} of a la Mode (Retro Mama Granny Bag)
June 26 - Julianna @ Jednoiglec (Charlie's Aunt Kitchen Garden Bag)
               Jeni @ In Color Order (Bari J. State Street Tote)
June 27 - Kerry @ Very Kerry Berry (bag from Suzuko Koseki)
               Michelle @ I Like Orange Too (Left Bank Granny Bag)
June 28 - Kay Whitt @ Sew Serendipity Studio (tutorial: adjustable strap with metal slider)
               Amy Barickman @ Indygo Junction (tutorial: installing grommets/magnetic snaps)
June 29 - Melissa @ Bittersweet Designs (Bella Nonna Boutique Shoulder Bag)


Sara's free tutorial: The Underwater Stripes Bag
Contest Rules
1. Check out all the purse pattern reviews throughout the month and get inspired to sew up a purse of your own!
2. Join the Purse Palooza 2012 Flickr Group.
3. Link up your completed purse to the Flickr Group BETWEEN JUNE 4th and JULY 11th. Your purse must be created and photographed between those dates; purses made prior to June 4, 2012 will be disqualified. The purse may be of your own design, or made from a sewing pattern.
4. You may link up to 2 views of the same purse. More than 2 photos of the same purse will be removed from the group.
5. There is no limit to how many purses you may enter, as long as they were made between June 4th and July 11th, 2012.

Sara's free tutorial: The Urban Jungle Bag

The Prizes
First off, there will be a team of lovely judges that will choose 1st through 6th place. ALSO, 3 randomly chosen winners will be picked out of EVERYONE who completes a bag! Some great chances to win!!


1st Prize

* $50 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop         
* 3-pack of books from Martingale Publishing
* $50 gift certificate to Zipit
* $70 Pellon gift pack
* fat quarter bundle and sewing pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics

2nd Prize
* fat quarter bundle and sewing pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics
* 3-pack of books from Martingale Publishing
* fabric bundle from Sew Fresh Fabrics
* $30 gift certificate to Spoonflower

3rd Prize
* fat quarter bundle from Art Gallery Fabrics
* 2-pack of books from Lark Crafts Publishing
* $20 gift certificate to The Quilted Castle

4th Prize
* fat quarter bundle from Art Gallery Fabrics

3 Randomly Chosen Winners
Pink Chalk Fabrics
$20 gift certificate to Pink Chalk Fabrics

The Sponsors
Thank you to all of the lovely and extremely generous sponsors!
Art Gallery Fabrics // Artsy Crafty Babe // Noodlehead // Izzy and Ivy // Serendipity Studio // Martingale & Co. Publishing // Betz White // Sis Boom // Atkinson Designs // Mommy's Thimble // Lila Tueller // Sew Fresh Fabrics // Bari J. // C&T Publishing // Keyka Lou // Clover and Violet // Indygo Junction // Marie-Madeline Studio // Pellon // Pink Chalk Fabrics // Lark Crafts Publishing // The Quilted Castle // Fat Quarter Shop // Craft Apple // iThinkSew // Emmaline Bags // Bag Purse Frames // Zipit // Oliver + S // Ellen Medlock Studio // Charlie's Aunt Patterns // Spoonflower

Grab a button, and let's get this party started!!

Sew Sweetness

5 improv.

5.24.2012

Did a little improv sewing today on my Bella & Echo quilt!
 Not completely sure how I feel about it just yet, but it's growing on me.
I don't have a real plan for this quilt, I just pulled some coordinating solids from my stash and started sewing.  I find that's the best way for me to relieve stress!  Sometimes planning just makes my head hurt more.
I'm looking forward to having a three day weekend, and maybe squeezing in a little more work on this.  But we're also in the process of painting our front door and building planters this weekend, among other things!  I wish sewing was the only thing on my to-do list!

17 new quilt labels.

5.23.2012

I am really excited to share my new quilt labels with you!
I decided it was finally time to buy some real labels after stitching mine by hand for so long.  I would go through all the work to finish a quilt and then procrastinate on giving it to it's rightful owner because I was too lazy to make a tag.  I hadn't found any labels that felt right for me after a lot of searching, but as soon as I saw a post from Pascale from //between the lines// a few weeks ago, I knew I had found the perfect ones!

I wanted something that felt a little luxurious, and these definitely do that since they're handmade and stamped into white dyed leather!
They're from cocosheaven on Etsy, and I couldn't be happier with them!
I already stitched one onto my Neon Chevron quilt.  I love the way it looks with the contrasting Cosmo floss.
Now I need to finish some more projects so I can add labels to those too :)

Update: For those of you who asked, the labels and feel exactly the same after washing and drying!

351 giveaway day.

5.21.2012

Hi there!  Today is Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day.  Thanks for stopping by!  If you're here for the first time, welcome!  I hope you'll stick around.
I'm going to offer up 5 copies of my Colorblock Quilt Pattern to 5 lucky winners today.
The pattern will come as a PDF, so this giveaway is open to everyone!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.  Tell me what you did this weekend, your favorite new color combo, what you've been sewing recently, anything!  Followers get an extra entry by leaving an additional comment.  Please leave a way for me to contact you in your post if it is not linked in your profile.

This giveaway will close on Friday, May 25 at 5pm PST.


Update: This giveaway is now closed!  Congrats to our winners, #318 Kelly Smith, #218 emmy, #238 Sarah, #162 Kirstin@SquintMom, and #336 Charlene.

20 neon chevron quilt.

5.18.2012

This neon chevron quilt has been finished for awhile, but for some reason I just couldn't get around to photographing it!  I finally took it outside today to get some pictures, just in time to participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

This quilt was inspired by the neon and chevron trends that have been so prevalent lately.  It's definitely bright and fun!

The focal point of this quilt is obviously the multi-colored chevron strip.  Basically I strip pieced together three solid strips, then cut them into squares and paired them with white to make half square triangles.  There was a lot of extra trimming to get the stripes to line up with the next part of the chevron that was not so fun and definitely not documented, so there won't ever be a pattern for this quilt, sorry!  Maybe someday I'll try again, but maybe not. :)

As you can see I echo quilted along the chevron panel to bring out the pattern even more, and the rest I just quilted in random straight lines.
 The back is just simple stripes, but the chevron quilting makes it a lot more fun!
The solids I used are Kona Medium Gray, Cactus, Cerise, Melon, and White.  It's bound in the Cerise as well.
 It is a larger baby quilt or small lap size, at 40" x 62".
 It folds up perfectly to show off the chevron!
This one is listed in my shop!

If you have a chance, make sure to stop by Amy's Creative Side to look through all of gorgeous quilts that have been linked up for the Blogger's Quilt Festival!

9 junior prom.

5.14.2012

This weekend was a whirlwind, trying to get a ton of stuff done before I left today for Boston.  Along with house projects, packing, and celebrating Mother's Day, I helped my sister get ready for her junior prom on Saturday.  Here are a few pictures I took of her and her boyfriend before they left for the dance!





Aren't they precious?  I love these two!

24 bathroom update.

5.11.2012

The bathroom is finished!  At least the construction phase anyway.  We still need to add some shelves and towel bars, etc, but the bathroom is functional again.

The shower door was installed this week, which was the last major component we needed to actually use the bathroom again.  I was a little worried that the doors would make the room feel a lot smaller, but thankfully your eye just travels through the glass to the actual shower itself, so the room still feels big and airy.
We were having some issues with the faucets that came with our vanity, but after getting some replacement parts (provided by the company) they are working just fine now.
Yesterday was the first time I used the shower, and it was pretty much the best shower of my life.  I am in love.
 I found this little marble topped stool at an antique store a couple weeks ago, and it's perfect in here!
It's kind of hard to get a straight on shot of the vanity now that the shower door is in.  I was sitting on the bench to take this picture, trying to avoid shooting through the glass.
Obviously there will be some less than pretty items in here eventually (i.e. shampoo, etc) but I took those out for the pictures :)
Now comes the fun part...decorating and accessories!

Previous bathroom posts: here and here, and before pictures here.
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