LAST FRIDAY GIVEAWAY

Last Friday (as in the last Friday of the month) I will have some sort of giveaway/contest for some lucky reader out there. Starting today, you can win this delightful Pin Cushion simply by visiting my shop, posting the link of your favorite item, and saying why you love it. Even if you're not into sewing, you can never go wrong with at least having a pin cushion around just in case you get the instant urge to...that's what happened to me! I just taught myself how to sew last year - now I cant stop!
So enter if you want. Free stuff is always fun!

some ground rules and extras:

• Please provide a valid email address in your comment
• Double your entry by adding my button to your blog! There is the code in the left sidebar. Just let me know that you have added it and leave a link to your blog.
• This is open to international readers as well!

Read More

Out Sewin'

I've been needing to get back to the 'fun' aspect of sewing since that couch upholstering project, so I made a grocery tote and a trapezoid clutch. Sewing is so cathartic for me - unless I have many obstacles that prove annoying (like family :)
But I made these and was happy with the turn out. My pics look like crap, I really REALLY need to work our new camera better!


The tote pic (thats me!) looks horrible because i took it while looking in the mirror and that mirror is about 100 years old., but that tote is HUGE you can probably fit an army in there...well, its not THAT big, but big. The clutch is actually pretty big too. I can fit everything thats currently in my purse in there. All this to say I have finally got back into sewing the things I love....now to sell them- thats another story. I'll be posting them in my shop as soon I can.

Read More

Posters NOW!

I was just reading one of my favourite blogs; HowAboutOrange and saw that over at the Poster List, they have a sale of 2 for $20, Id be happy to get the Sew Or Die poster and hang it up for motivation. Go check them out! They have a ton of really cool wall art for pretty much anywhere.

Read More

Vintage Fun!

I have been addicted to thriftin lately, luckily I have 3 great places nearby to frequent...quite frequently. So yesterday me and Maddy went for a little trip - I was looking for a used picture frame for the print I just bought from The Black Apple since the ones I have are too small and ugly to hold such a work of art. Well, I didn't find that frame, but I did, however, find some really neato stuff! First off I found this Viewmaster from 1952! How cool is that? What makes it 100x better is that it came with a bunch of those round film strip thingies.

The best part: all the little stories in these mini films are actual models - like real tiny film sets with real figurines. I was amazed at how awesome they looked in an artistic sense and age wise - these things are over 50 years old! This is probably the coolest vintage item I found all year. I will definitely keep this one for a long long time! And the kids won't touch it.

Read More

Snap Shot Feature

UPDATE: I had to take the snapshots off. it was annoying the bejeezus outta me...

I just added snapshot to my blog. If you're not familiar with Snap Shot, its a program that lets you see a link in a little window just by rolling over the link..its usually accompanied by a little thought balloon like so. I am curious as to if those little balloons and pop-ups are annoying..are they???

I got it so I could see all the blogs I love without having to click and go back all the time...I can just see new posts in the little window and if the post sounds interesting, I'll click to see that blog.

If anyone wants to comment and let me know, that would be super!

Read More

Blog Overhaul

I've been toying around with my blog and I hope I can finally stick with a layout/design Im happy with. I think I got it now. I 've been obsessed with Blogger Buster. Thats how I was able to create 3 columns, add my header Image - since the normal header hasn't been working for a while, make a label cloud...and I 'll probably go back to do more fun stuff. Editing html has been getting easier, now that I got back in the grove of things. If you want to gussie up your blog, that's the place to go!

Another fun thing I found was premade blog templates by Quirky Bird. There are 4 fun themes: *Bird on a Wire*PeepMe*Gnometastic*Funky Sock Monkey. They have easy directions on how to make it your blog theme...make sure you save your current template, otherwise you'll lose all your widgets.

Read More

Green Tips for around the house

Whether you have kids or not, its good to be (Im so sick of this word )"green". Its mainly good for you - which is most important. I've been meaining to post a few useful tips - so here they are:

1. Fix a squeaky hinge; door, box, wheel, etc. How do you do this? Easy, just spray the hinge with cooking spray like PAM or whatever type you use. Olive oil will also work, but it can get a bit runny.

2. Freshen up a room. Just get a small jar and fill it with baking soda and a few drops of essential oil till its scent is to your liking. I love the lemon/eucalyptus blend.

3. You can use the same thing in #2 to clean your bathroom.

4. Use 1/4 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle when your doing laundry. It will work as a fabric softener without all the chemicals. No, they wonr smell like vinegar.

5. Clean your windows, mirrors, glass with a spray that 50/50 water and vinegar plus an essential oil to tame the vinegary smell - which goes away very quickly

6. Try not to buy things new. If you can find them at the GoodWill or Salvation Army, do it. You help others as well as finding cool stuff.

7. Used coffee grounds work to keep pests away from your plants.

8. Kill weeds by spraying them with vinegar - careful not to spray what you want kept healthy in your yard/plant/garden.

Ok, thats all i got at the moment! But I hope it helps anyone who needs it!

Read More

Coffee Break

I was really stressed watching 3 kids today...2 being mine and the other my nephew. They're fine until all are screaming and crying at the same time. I was like "serenity NOW!" So once I got them down for naps and pacified, I decided to indulge myself in my favorite coffee drink. Its like a mocha frappaccino- but home made, not one of those rediculous $4 sucker traps.

SO Here's what I use:

1. Drink Mixer - the kind to make hard drinks, martinis and such
2. Brewed Coffee - I use the whole foods 360 French Roast and grind that up. We only have a 4 cup pot, so i grind 6 tbs of beans
3. 2 tbs. Creamer - not skim or even 2%, it has to be half and half!
4. Ice - about 6 large cubes
5. 1 tbs. Chocolate Syrup - I love Trader Joe's Midnight Moo
6. 2 tbs of Sugar (or agave nectar)

Now I take the drink mixer and add the ice, creamer, sugar, and chocolate. Then I add about 2 cups worth of coffee, close the shaker tightly, shake for a good 20 -30 seconds, or at least till the shaker feels really cold in your hands. Open, taste it so its to your liking, if not, add what you think it needs more of. Pour into a glass (with or without ice in it) and Enjoy!

Read More

Deerly Beloved...

I was going through scores of wall art / decals on etsy and the web. I came upon Wallcandy and I must say they have some sickly sweet stuff, but its still really fun. Their prices are not to bad either, considering the size and intricacy of this particular decal kit which contains 1 pink deer & 1 blue deer (21½x14”), 18 flowers, 6 hearts, 9 mushrooms and 12 candies all for a grand total of $50.

Read More

Who likes buttons? And cookies?

Buttons are great for many things; closing items, embellishments, and so on. Who knew you could eat them too! I found the recipe posted by Minzimiu on Flickr and they seem like lots of fun to make and eat. Just to save time, here's the recipe:

RECIPE
2cups sifted all - purpose flour,plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup(1 stick)unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Gel - paste food coloring in pink and green
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Whisk together flour , salt, and baking powder in a large bowl; set aside.Put butter and granulated sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.Mix in egg and vanilla.Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Divide dough into thirds. Knead pink food coloring into 1 piece and green into another. Shape all 3 pieces into disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 325 . Remove 1 disk from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature until slightly soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a piece of lightly floured parchment to a 1/8 - inch thickness, dusting with flour as needed. Cut out circles with a 1 3/4 inch round cutter, then lightly press with a 1 1/2 inch round cutter. Make button holes with a skewer. Reroll scraps, and cut.(If dough becomes too soft,refrigerate 10 minutes) Repeat with remaining dough. Space 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
3. Bake, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.
4. When you are done do not forget to invite me some! hehe...ok guys...that is it. Hope you enjoy it ..now i need to get some OJ(orange juice) hugs:)

Read More

Monday's Featured Item - Ruffles Dress for the Perfect Date

I'm currently coveting this dress from Shezzy on Etsy. Its SO pretty and dainty! I can't wait to lose the rest of this baby weight so I can buy one and - of course - go on a date with Morgan. I really dont care where the date takes place, I just want this dress! Well, I wouldnt want the date to be at the shooting range - not that we frequently have dates there. He can take me somewhere nice, anywhere but Texas Tom's Beefateria, or Cap'n Bigsby's Swashbucklers Trough. Those are a bit too low brow for an ideal date. But is this dress not absolutely beautiful?! Kudos to Shezzy for being a talented seamstress!

Read More

I Cant Believe it, I'm finished!

After countless hours, painful needle stabbings, and cuss works uttered under my breath, that couch is finally done. I almost cant believe it. I keep saying to myself..."I did that? Me? But I'm to lazy to do that!" But I did, by the grace of God, i did. Finally I can take the huge thread and needle out of my overworked sewing machine and replace it with the regular stuff and back to making crafty things. I've avoided making anything else until I was finished with the couch. Not out of determination, more out of me not wanting to change the needle and thread over and over. I really hate that. Thats probably the worst part of sewing, in my opinion. But this is quite a feat for me, and with it all said and done - NEVER ASK ME TO RE-UPHOLSTER ANYTHING EVER AGAIN. just an f.y.i

I also should mention: Morgan helped. He helped gettin things rolling, so thanks morg!

Read More

UPDATE: So far so good

This is what I finished so far. Yesterday I totally messed up! I pinned and sewed the other cushion to finally see that I sewed the wrong side to the right side....UGH! Moron! I cant believe I was so inattentive of what I was doing...though I do that all the time, honestly. So I'll get that done today. Now the last thing is sewing the body together and hope it fits on at least semi-perfectly. Here's a close up of the fabric. Its actually out-door furniture fabric, but so easy to clean when you have messy children!

Read More

CURRENTLY: Upholstering my couch

We..or more like I am in the process of re-upholstering our couch. Quite the big job. Its even bigger when you have a toddler and a newborn to tend to...but I am determined to finish it this weekend!

Anyway, our couch was from IKEA, so its super easy to redo with its simple pattern. I don't know what the couch is called, but I dont think they make it anymore -a shame, really. But I'm sure it was something like MERVDDORKK - they have to crazy names to them. There's a picture of what it looks like, complete with Maddy watching PeeWee's Big Adventure. It was T-RASHED from our negligence and abuse -and food...and kids played a huge part.. It doenst look as trashed as it really was...plus I accidentally left a black permanent marker on it and it bled all over.

Anyway, I found this really cool cream/gray small damask print fabric for $4 a yard on clearance so I held my breath, bought the whole bolt, and prayed it was enough. it was about 9 yards total and I'll admit - its not enough. Luckily, I can be resourceful...and sly like a fox!

This is what we did - and you can too if you have a simple IKEA couch that has a washable cover - meaning it can easily come off.

You will need:

• enough yards of fabric - measuring EVERYTHING helps determine that


• sharp scissors


• heavy duty upholstery thread - 3 spools of a matching color to be safe!


• Heavy duty needles -size 16 -18 depending on the thickness of the fabric


• a washable marker


• a sewing machine


• pins


• patience!!!

1. We took all the covers off the cushions, pillows, and the body.


2. mark each piece like "back", "bottom" , "Pillow", etc with a marker (you'll see why)


3. grab a trusty seam-ripper and tear the seam of each item at a time. if there are doubles of the same item - like pillows and cushions, do just one of each and keep the others in tact as a guide


4. Name each piece of each item - like "gusset", "left top arm rest", "right bottom arm" - do it so you understand what your talking about


5. pile each separate item together so they dont get mixed up with the other stuff


6. now the fun begins - and this is just how we do it.


7. lay the good new fabric face down on the floor or an extremely LARGE cutting surface


8. lets say you want to start with a cushion


9. Lay the cushion pieces face down as well - keep in mind which way the pattern of your new fabric is facing. Its its striped, for instance, you dont want one cushion's stripes being horizontal and the other vertical


10. take your marker and trace the pieces, making sure to mark on the traced one what piece it is. do all


11. cut out each piece. Take the cushion that's still intact as a guide and see how much of a seam allowance it has. If they have a zipper, keep those zippers!!


12. Sew the item just as you see it in its counterpart


13. Repeat for all items that have counterparts


14. Piece together the body - don't pin yet.


15. Sew each item one at a time to the body till you're done


16. Say a silent prayer


17. slip cover on


18. place one pillows and cushions


19. sit and enjoy


20. bask in the satisfaction that you didn't pay $250 for a custom cover or even more for a new couch!

yes, this is not a professional way to go about it, but so far its working - if I finish and find that I totally blew it and wasted all that time and a whopping $40, i'll kick myself. BUT if it turns out right, I will reveling with step #20.

Read More