the moments in between

handmade gift : memo boards

i love piecing together quilt squares, but find the idea of making an actual quilt to be incredibly daunting. instead, i try to find other ways i can use those squares. baby blankets backed with minkee. the front for a totebag. quilted note takers.

they also make awesome memo boards. pop them into a frame (i picked mine up at michael's when they were 50% off). add a dry erase marker and eraser. and you're done.

i pieced these together and then quilted them onto flannel so they'd look more quilty. this is a project that you could totally tweak to your sewing skill level. if you're more of a fabric admirer than a user (hee!), you could just frame your favorite print. you could sub in scrapbook paper. just be sure to use smaller scale prints on most of the design - it makes it easier to see your to do lists that way.

how about a giveaway? when i made these last february, i ended up with one square that didn't feel like it fit the intended reciepent and decided to make her another one. which means i had one left over. and i've love for one of YOU to have it. please leave a comment to enter and i'll post a winner on thursday morning. it's sized to 9x12 - you'll just have to add a frame + dry erase marker to make your own memo board.

happy monday!! sam's fever didn't totally break till last night, so he's home again today - with so many bugs out there this time of year, i figured another day of rest wouldn't hurt. i'll be back tomorrow with a december daily update.

doing something, piece by piece

it may be something small, but i'm glad to be a part of it. last month kelly lautenbach organized a group of us to make quilt blocks for a quilt that would be raffled / auctioned off with the proceeds going to help the relief effort in japan. we're each making two wonky star blocks (LOVE this design, so easy and fun) with the oh so sought after flea market fancy fabrics. i can't wait to see the finished quilt - i'll be sure to share photos and more information when it's complete!

happy thursday! i'm (you probably guessed this) off to school - again. this is my last JA lesson with ben's class, and then i am DONE. i'm looking forward to having my preschool mornings back! 

teacher's gifts : 2010

as i mentioned yesterday, i was forced to mix up my teachers' gifts this year.  in the past couple years, i've made quilted list takers for the boys teachers (2008 - 2009). i love making them - the go together quickly and are the sort of thing that will actually get USED.  and no, i still haven't made one for myself - maybe this will be the year? this year, both of the bigs have teacher's we've had before, so it was time for something new.

while i was thinking about replacement projects, i remembered a little loyalty / gift card / credit card wallet that kelly had been making a year or so ago.  i emailed her for the link - & as fate would have it, she'd been looking at the pattern that morning and had it handy.

aren't they cute??  they went together super quickly - i'd say it was under 2 hours, and that was with my favorite little distraction running around. ;) i tucked a gift card into each one.

i used paper bags + tape for the wrap job. quickly growing addicted to doing this. ;)  the red is martha (i can't find my exact one online, it came from michael's. this set is similar), the banner is dear lizzy (from her christmas line). i added a shipping tag stamped with a cat's life press sentiment in jbs seed packet and punched a vintage doily from the metropolitan sc exclusive paper.

here's what's in the stack. the top package holds the quilted wallets. then there's a card. and on the bottom there's a gingerbread cookie - made and decorated just for the teacher.  i put those into a ziploc bag, and then cut both ends off of a paper bag. i used a martha all over the page pinking circle punch to put a window in the bag, and then slipped the cookie inside.  i stitched up both ends of the bag w/ a zig zag stitch.

i kinda wanted to keep these cute little packages, but i was good.  they went off to school this morning. =) it sounds like alex & ben both have a fun day ahead of them - the last day before break is always the best.

my friend denise has a couple of free gift tag downloads on her blog today - both in .pdf for the handcutters & .svg for the cricut/SCAL gang. aren't they cute? i still need a tag idea - all of my wrapped presents currently have sticky ntoes on them. these might be the winner. =)

sam and i are living up the last day before the bigs are home - we got cinnamelts when we made the mcd's diet coke run and are currently watching a very monkey christmas for the gazillionith time. i'm hoping to do some december daily pages at naptime - i'll post those sometime this weekend. =) 

happy friday!

fabric + thread

 

it's national sewing month!!!!  and i can finally share some of the projects that kept me crazy busy at the end of august.  i love sewing, but since i tend to learn as i go along, things tend to take longer than i think it will. ;)  the photo above is my favorite project - a quilted table runner from my "Quilting - Beyond the Bedroom" article. i put my piecing and quilting skills to work on a table runner, coasters and a placemat. - i love working on smaller scale projects like this.

here's another favorite - a bin made of fabric.  i'm a bin / basket addict, so i know this will get a lot of use. 

and i finished up with directions on how to make a simple envelope style pillowcase. this is a great beginner project - sooooooooooo simple. and if you like to switch out pillows, it will save you a lot of $$ in the long run. i got some pillow forms at target for $4 each, and can cover them with a yard of fabric - definitely an inexpensive way to perk up your decor.

on a totally non crafty note - yesterday, i was the most popular person at school.  i went to the bigs' pep rally to turn the gym teacher's hair wildcat red to celebrate our successful walkathon.  when i was introduced, i got the most enthusiastic round of applause EVER. =)

other than that, we've been baseballing, swimming, open house-ing and yardworking.  oh, and sam and i have been sniffling and coughing, boo.  he had his first sick day off of school on tuesday - we're both fighting a cold. the last couple days have been gray and rainy - perfect to snuggle in and watch a lot of curious george!!  we're  on the upswing now, and just in time - the bigs have a 4 day weekend coming up.

happy wednesday, everyone!!

baby gifts + peekaboo barn winners

 
alex's teacher is due w/ her second child in the next couple weeks.  she doesn't know what she's having, but the kids are thinking it's a boy.

we had a little baby shower for her on friday afternoon, complete with games, pink and blue frosted cookies, and some fun little gifts.

i wanted to do something that the whole class could have a part in, but we were *really* limited on time. i snuck in one morning last week and borrowed the kids and had them each add a thumbprint to this heart.  it was easy and quick, but won't it look cute in a nursery?

 

and then i made my go to gift - a minkee lined blanket. i love these because they wash well, have a high cuddle factor, and are crazy easy to make. that alpha fabric is from cosmo's girl friday line, and i thought it was perfect for a teacher's baby.

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i know i'm late on this drawing..  i forgot that i'd be away at becca's JDRF crop all day sat, and then we had baseball all day sunday. if your comment in below, click the link over on the left to email me and i'll hook you up with a code. =)

emspahn said...

Totally cute. I think Miri's a little young now...but she already LOVES my iPhone!!

Reply April 14, 2010 at 04:15 PM

Meg said...

My littlest would love this!!

Reply April 16, 2010 at 02:53 PM

aas said...

i'm always inspired by your posts. my twin 2 year olds would love this!

Reply April 16, 2010 at 08:28 PM

library tote + PATCHWORK winner

first -this is one of those projects that i've been dying to share since the day i finished it. when i proposed this project, i wasn't 100% sure which direction i wanted to go with it.  but as i sat and sorted through fabrics, i reeeeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to work with some of the fun colors i've been collecting for a quilt for sam.  and then i realized that if i made him a tote bag for books, i wouldn't have to empty the toys out of his backpack every time we went to the library.

i worked off and on one day, with him by my side.  he likes to drive cars and trains on the strips of fabric (and on my ruler!) while i'm working.  and once i told him it was going to be a bag for HIM, he kept pestering me.  is it done?  can we go get books?

 

and about 5 minutes after i stitched the strap in place, we were out the door to the library, filling it with books. i love how it turned out.  the orange dot as the strap was a happy accident - i had waaaaaaaaaaaay less unbleached cotton than i thought i did.  as in, i barely eeked the bag out of what i had on hand.  oops!

(you can find directions here at the fiskars website, we're celebrating national craft month with a new project each day)

we've got a busy saturday planned - the bigs have swimming lessons in just a bit (um, i should probably get dressed!) and we're all going to a play at the children's theater this afternoon.  even sam.  it will be his first time, and i'm hoping he'll make it through the show!

but before i go - the winner of the patchwork add-on. =) (which is still available for purchase, btw, if you didn't win ;)

 

congrats to Erin W!!! please email me, there's a link up on the left sidebar. =) 

Erin W said...

What a brilliant tutorial. I have some of that inkjet fabric at home and just don't know what to do with it! Thanks for the great ideas. And thank you for sharing the chance to win that yummy SC kit. If I was luck enough to win I would make a garland to hang over my bed. Thanks again, and totally LOVE your SC projects.

Reply March 05, 2010 at 11:20 AM

more quilting bee sneaks

aaaah, quilting bee. my fave part (outside of the SC exclusives)? hands down, the new sassafras cherry delicious.  especially these new banner stickers. l-o-v-e.

quilting bee + honeycomb + buttons from patchwork. i adore the trike stamp - i stamped with with red brilliance ink..  i used turquoise mist on the background & one the maya road chip buttons.

i'm pretty sure this one is quilting bee + honeycomb. there's cherry mist on the background, and i used my beloved 3in1 butterfly punch.

patchwork  dear lizzy ribbon from honeycomb. loved this project kit. it's going to be perfect for my scraproom, once i decide exactly where i'd like to hang it. =) i have leftover printer transfer paper and canvas that i have a plan for - and i'll be doing a tutorial on the SC blog next week. i'm hoping to be able to get you a sneak for that before the kits go live sunday, but we'll see how the weekend works out. =)

if you haven't made your shopping list for reveal day yet, april has posted add-on prices and new shop items here.  i'm definitely excited about the colors of ranger distress inks & maya mist.  i've got several coming to me with the april kit and i can't wait to play with them.

and with that - i'm out of here.  we're heading to kansas city for a quick trip - the bigs are off school and we need a change of pace.

(ps : i posted my first sneaks here, if you missed them. =)

oh, two - revisited

as soon as i saw the crime report paper on the back of one of the anthology patterns, i thought of this photo.  the classic on the ground tantrum photo.  hee. i'm glad i got this pic - his approach these days is a shouted NO! and I DON'T WANT TA! with a defiant look.

(the studio calico anthology paper, stickers & fabrips, as well as the rubons are all available now at 2peas. i stamped the starburst stamp with spiced marmalade ink, and then stamped it on a scrap paper and cut the center circle out to use as a mask. the inside of the circles was then sprayed with lemon maya mist. i ended up pulling out my july 09 studio calico kit, documentary, and one of the add-ons and adding some bits and pieces - the scalloped border is k&co, the brads are sass, and the ticket is SEI.  the monster "2" card is also sass.)

and back to the sweeter side of two - last weekend, when i was in sewing mode, i made sam a blanket.  it's nothing fancy, and something i've meant to do for an embarrassingly long time.

 

orange minkee on the back, amy butler orange dots on the front.  easy peasy. the hardest part is keeping the fabrics lined up, that minkee is slippery!

 

he says - i wuv my new blankie, it's da best blankie EVER.  which is high praise from this blankie hoarder (there are 3 others in his bed). so glad i took the time to make it. =) i had to sneak upstairs during his nap earlier this week to get a pic of it in use.  so sweet.

sam and i have had a busy week - i'm planning a mellow day today.  we may run to the library, but other than that, i think we're just going to hang out at home. tomorrow i'm helping with valentine's parties at school, and then the bigs have a 4 day weekend.  we'd better embrace the quiet while we can. ;)

a new week - quilt squares and gappy grins

thank goodness.  i'm ready to put last week behind me.  that stomach bug just hung on, leaving me queasy and cranky and tired for most of the week.  my appetite finally came back yesterday - it was amazing how much clearer my head was once i'd had a real meal.

i didn't get much done last week - aside from napping and catching up on project runway & 30rock.  but i *did* get a few quilt squares finished.

 

 

wonky log cabins for becca.  these are one of my favorite blocks - they're easy and forgiving of errors. ;)  basically, you start with a center block, then add a strip and turn, add a strip and turn until it's as big as you want it to be.  and aren't these happy fabrics?

string blocks for katie.  she hooked us up with this tutorial - i loved this technique.  i was really surprised at how many strips it took to finish a block, though!!  i adored her color palette, and need to pick up a few of these fabrics for my own stash.

 

this weekend was filled with a lot of outside playtime, errand running, and cleaning.  not so fun, but so needed. and this kiddo is star of the week in his class next week, so we spent some time printing pics and filling out his all about me poster. i managed to convince him to let me get some photos of that sweet gap toothed grin, too.  love the smiles at this age. =)

i love that he picked a pic of himself w/ the clone troopers to put on his poster - ha!!

today = more cleaning - it's amazing what a week of neglect can do to a house - & i'm stalking the mailman in hopes of getting my march studio calico kit.  my desk is clean and ready for some scrap time. =)

fabric on the brain

after the insane amount of scrapping i did in january, i'm starting february with a bit of a break. this a) preserves my sanity and b) gives me a chance to clean my desk. both good causes, yes? ;)  i'm using this break to get caught up on a quilting bee that i'm in - first up is making wonky log cabin squares for becca.  happy happy.

my month is coming up and i still have no clue what i want to have the group do for my squares.. so i've been bookmarking lots of quilts on tumblr to try and figure out what i want.  i'm in love with those two stacked strip quilts on the end, and pondering how i could turn them into squares. lots to think about. and fabric to order.  sounds like a good to do list for a snowy day. =)

my other goal for today is to eat normal food... i'm feeling quite a bit better, but still a bit shakey after 2 days of eating mostly toast and granola bars.  i started today w/ a bagel - so far, so good.