katydiddys

The Perfect Snack

2012-01-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

I had the perfect snack last week: A hot cup of tea, a clementine, and an anzac biscuit. It made me inordinately happy just to look at it, let alone eat it. The flavors went perfectly together and I felt all warm and cozy inside while I ate it. And it was fairly healthy. The cookie recipe was from Cooking Light and had oatmeal and coconut in it.

Sometimes I wonder, do other people get as much joy from food as I do? Tell me, what's your perfect snack?

Button Note Cards

2012-01-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

Haberdashery Projects b Laura Bray

As you all know, I'm on the design team for Buttons Galore and More. One of the products I love the best is their Haberdashery kits. Just the name alone is enough to make a retro-style girl happy.

Spring Garden Haberdashery Kit from Buttons Galore & More

I love how the kits come all boxed up together, it makes crafting quick and easy.Inspired by the buttons, ribbons and embellishments I created a set of sweet, matching note cards. When I was done, I used the box as a place to store the cards. Wrapped up in a ribbon from the kit, I have a great little gift and all I needed to add was some card stock and glue.

Haberdashery Note cards

I'm so excited by these kits, I'm thinking I might need to throw a haberdashery party. Wouldn't it be fun to invite the girls over, hand each one a kit, and craft together? You could make cards or you could even make one of my Haberdashery Hearts. I used one to kit to make 3 note cards and the heart and still had some goodies left over. Have a great weekend! Do something creative.

Haberdashery Heart

Travel Jewelry Pouch

2012-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Jewelry Pouch by Laura Bray

I'm not a jewelry maker. There I said it. Like knitting, I have always admired jewelry makers, and I have a strong desire to make it. But, also like knitting, I can't do it! I've tried and tried, but I am just challenged. My jump rings are always wonky and nothing turns out the way I would like it to. So, when Cousin approached me about being a guest blogger, I thought they were crazy. I mean, they sell jewelry supplies. But it turns out they wanted someone to share some ideas about how to use their products in areas other than jewelry making. Ah! Playing on my weakness. I get it. Seriously though, the greatest thing about the arts and crafts industry right now is the very fact that we have the option to use products for non-traditional purposes.

So, long story short (not really), go over to Cousin's brand-new blog and get my tutorial for making a super cute and easy felt, travel pouch. It's a great little project that can be used by makers of jewelry and collectors or jewelry alike.

Jewelry Travel Pouch by Laura Bray

Color Cafe

2012-01-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

Journal page by Laura Bray

Do you love color? You must know by now that I do! While I was avoiding getting ready for the Craft & Hobby tradeshow this weeekend (ahem), I sketched and sketched. I recently bought myself the book, Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series) by Carla Sonheim.

I'm tickled pink by how much my drawing has improved by using her simple advice. My six year old daughter loves the book too. All week, I've been finding her hidden away with my book, drawing away. It warms a mother's heart.

Journal Page by Laura Bray

I'm also over at Color Cafe today. Hop over and take a look around. It's color inspiration on steriods.

Felt Food: Ravioli

2012-01-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

Felt Ravioli by Laura Bray

Here's another play kitchen idea for you! Felt ravioli! Makes me hungry just thinking about it! Here's how to make them.

Ingredients:

White or cream colored felt
Stuffing
Red felt
White embroidery floss
Sewing machine

Recipe:

Ravioli:

Cut white or cream felt into 2" x 2" squares. You'll need two squares per ravioli.
Place the squares together and stitch 1/4" in from the edge. Leave one side open.
Stuff with polyfil or stuffing of your choice. Sew last side closed.
Using pinking shears, cut round the edges of the ravioli.

Sauce:

Cut a free form, amoeba-like shape from the red felt.
Embroider on Parmesan cheese with white embroidery floss. I did a straight stitch because that's what our Parmesan looks like. If you buy grated Parmesan, you might want to do french knots.

To store, I bought some foil containers with lids at the grocery store. And, yes, I actually delude myself into thinking they will be carefully put away after playtime. Hope spring eternal.

Ribbon Pasta for a Play Kitchen

2012-01-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

Play Pasta Tutorial

You all know how much I love to come up with faux food for my daughter's play kitchen. She spends a lot of time in there, making dinner and breakfast for her dolls. Whenever she has a play date, she can't drag her friends away from her kitchen. I've found that little girls love felt and homemade food toys way more than those cheap plastic foods you can buy at the toy store.

Ribbon Pasta

My latest creation is probably the easiest one you'll ever make. Spaghetti made from ribbons! Here's how I made the set.
Supplies:

Empty pasta box with a window
Scrapbook paper
Glue
Spool of off-white ribbon

Directions:

Cover the empty pasta box with scrapbook paper. I created my label with clip art I found in Microsoft Word. (Or, if you want to make this really easy on yourself-just use the pasta box as is!)
Cut ribbon into 12 inch pieces. Place in box.
Let child's imagination soar.

*Please note! This isn't something that is safe for small children! They could definitely choke on the ribbon if they momentarily lost their minds and tried to eat it. Remember, even if you child is old enough to know not to put faux food in her mouth, other children may not. I always have a little safety session before anyone plays in my daughter's kitchen. If I know a little one will be around, I put choking hazards away for the day.

Stay tuned! I've got some more pasta toy ideas to share with you in the next couple of days.

Journaling

2012-01-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

Roses by Laura Bray

A peek inside my journal today. I love to work in my sketchbook and I've found that the more I do it, the better my drawing and painting skills get.

Rilke Quote

I have some exciting art journaling news too! I'm so excited to tell you that my mom, my daughter and I wrote and article for the lastest issue of Create With Me magazine. The article is called, "Three Generations of Art Journaling", and we write about our different experiences as art journalers and how looking at one another's journals has added another level to our relationships with one another. It was so fun to be the "pickle in the middle" and write this article piece with my mom & daughter. What a treat! Be sure to pick-up a copy at your local bookstore or order one from Stampington.

I have add art to my "to do" list in my journal!

Today, the Designer Blog Connection is working on journaling, so be sure to hop around using the button below and get peek inside my fellow designers' journals.

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Laguna Beach

2012-01-07T12:41:00.000-08:00

Laguna Beach (Laura Bray)

Just in case you are wondering...I made good on yesterday's promise to myself. I spent my morning at Laguna Beach, California. I watched the waves, surfers, and took inspiring photos of flowers. I hope you did something good for yourself too! Happy Weekend!

Photo by Laura Bray

On Being an Adult

2012-01-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

The surf in Southern California is supposed to be quite large today and tomorrow. I love to watch the waves and, since I only live about 15 minutes from the beach, I was planning to go sit on a cliff overlooking the water and watch the water for a bit today. But today has dawned and I'm thinking about all the other things I should be doing: Working on getting ready for Craft & Hobby trade show, working on some projects, cleaning my house, getting my taxes ready. A million excuses for not taking an hour or two from my day to do something just for me. I'm making deals with myself as we speak, "You can go AFTER you get the deposits entered in the computer." When, in reality, I know that I'll just keep working and then it will be time to pick my daughter up from school, and I'll not have gone to the beach at all.

What happened to the adulthood I always imagined as a child? I used to dream of being a "grown-up". I was sure I would go to bed when I wanted, I would eat what and when I wanted (like raw cookie dough for dinner), I would play instead of cleaning my room. I now have the freedom to do all those things I dreamed of, yet I'm stricter with myself than my mother ever was.

My new year's resolution this year to take better care of myself. Not just diet and exercise, but take time for me. Today, while I was journaling about this whole adult concept, I realized it would be easy to take care of myself if I would just be the grown-up I dreamed I would be. You know, a seven-year old's-version of a grown-up. How about you? What did you imagine adulthood was going to be like? Have you let yourself down on those dreams? Please tell me, but don't expect me to answer back anytime soon. I'm going to the beach.

Living Room Couch Make-over

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Pillows by Laura Bray

Like most people, we are trying to cut costs around here. Do I want a new couch? Yep. Can I justify getting one right now? Nope.

Couch Before

So the only answer is to drag out the sewing machine and change out the pillows to give my current couch a new life. I've done this about 3 times and I'm always amazed by what a difference it makes.

Couch After

I used Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush fabric to create my pillow. The green brocade fabric on the larger pillow is fabric my grandmother gave me, and the lace on one is from an old table runner my mom gave me. I think the pillows look very "Granny Chic". I'm pretending I bought them at Anthropologie.

Granny Chic Pillow by Laura Bray

Romantic Homes

2012-01-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

Romantic Homes Article-Chandelier Pillow by Laura Bray

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season. I'm starting off the year with some good news. I have a project published in this month's Romantic Homes magazine! I'm very happy about it. Although I've been published before, this is the first time I've been published in a "mainstream" magazine, so it feels a bit different.

I have always loved to read Romantic Homes magazine. I would longingly look at their crafty articles, written by some of my idols like Sandra Evertson, and think it would just be the greatest to one day be there too. Last year, around this time, I set a goal to get published in the magazine. And then I dragged my feet. I avoided submitting anything. In fact, I created the pillow that is featured quite some time before I sent the submission query. It sat on my desk, taunting me every day. I so wanted to be in the magazine and was afraid that if I sent in the submission, and it got turned down, my dream would be dashed. It was also far outside my comfort zone to approach an editor I haven't previously worked with.

But one day, I took a very deep breath, and sent an email query. Once I hit "send", I felt better. I told myself it could take awhile to hear back. I told myself that if they accept it, it didn't mean I wasn't any good or that I would never get published with them. Then I had nice relaxing lunch to celebrate my bravery.

And when I returned, there was a response in my inbox from the editor! She told me the project had come at just the right time because they needed something for their Bed & Bath issue! I was floored. My husband said my voice was shaking when I called to tell him the news. And now the issue is on newstands and that long ago dream (that I secretly thought could never come true) is a reality.

I'm telling you this story because, as you set your goals for the new year, I want you to dream big. Believe in yourself. Take risks. Do things that make you feel uncomfortable. Who knows? In a year from now, you just might realize what seemed impossible in January has happened to you!

Button Pin Cushion

2011-12-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Button Pin Cushion by Laura Bray

I created this sweet little pin cushion from a soda bottle cap! It was so easy to make. Here's how to do it:

Supplies:

Felt
Bottle cap from a 2 liter soda bottle
Embroidery thread & needle
Poly fill
Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
Buttons (Citrus Splash from Buttons Galore and More)

Instructions:

Cut a 3" circle from the felt.
Embroider a small flower shape into the middle of the felt circle. The flower should measure approximately 1.5" across.
Sew a button into the center of the flower design.
Sew a running stitch around the outside edge of the felt circle, leaving the tails at the start and end hanging. Once you have stitched all around the circle, pull the tails to gather the felt into a ball shape. Before tying off the ends, stuff with poly fill.
Glue the felt ball into the bottle cap.
Glue buttons around the edge of the bottle cap.

To create the cute, flower stick pins, I simply glued some flower-shaped buttons onto some pins that already had a leaf shape at the end. (I got mine at JoAnn's in the bargain bin.)

Button Journal by Laura Bray

I created the pincushion as a companion to a button journal I created for the Buttons Galore & More blog. (You can get the instructions for creating that here.) I thought the two together would be a darling gift for a sewer in your life. They could take project notes in the journal.

Tips for a Creative New Year

2011-12-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

Journal Page by Laura Bray

I can't tell you how many moms I meet who tell me they aren't creative. Or say they wish they could be creative, but think they have no talent. Or that they don't like being creative. But if you are reading my blog, some little part of you must like the whole idea of living a more creative life. So I thought I would share my journey of how I became the creative diva I am today. You know, just in case you have a new year's resolution about being more artsy/crafty.

If you have read my bio, you know that I was a very creative little girl until I was shot down by a wicked art teacher. I spent a lot of years doing something I was good at, but didn't love as a result of her unkind words. Not only that, I completely stopped doing anything that resembled art for many years. If you are suffering similar fate, I highly recommend that you get the book, The Artist's Way. It truly is a book that changed my life.

Homemade Wrapping Paper by Laura Bray

As for that whole business about NOT being a creative person. Please. You can't exist in this world without being creative. All those years I spent as a business consultant and financial controller? I was using my creativity everyday. I wasn't making art, but I was thinking outside the box and finding CREATIVE solutions to my clients' problems. I'm guessing you are doing the same. Even if you are staying home and raising children-it takes huge amounts of creativity to convince a toddler to eat vegetables. Everyone is creative.

My failed attempts at sewing slippers.

For those of you who think you have no talent to be creative-forget it. That's not going to fly as an excuse either. You just haven't found your niche yet, or you haven't given yourself time to learn. See those slippers in the photo above? I'm trying to make my daughter a pair of slippers. Neither of the ones shown fit her, plus the seams are a mess, and I've said some VERY bad words while making them. While I do love sewing, I struggle with making wearable items. A few years ago, I would have thrown the slippers down and decided I didn't have any talent as a sewer. But now I am confident I do. I make some lovely pillows, quilts, and other items. I just didn't have the benefit of having someone teach me how to sew and so it takes me a bit longer to learn something new. It doesn't mean I don't have talent. It simply means I need to relax and practice and take my time and appreciate the learning process. Maybe after one more try, I'll decide I don't enjoy making slippers. That's okay because I can just move onto something else that I enjoy learning how to do.

So are you ready to make a 2012 a more creative year? I'd love to hear your resolutions in the comments below. Even if you have already embraced creativity in your life, how are you going to use it in the new year?

Last Minute Holiday Ideas

2011-12-23T11:12:00.000-08:00

Polymer Clay Ornament by Laura Bray

Last Minute Gift Idea: Polymer Clay Ornaments

I never used polymer clay before, but after seeing a ton of clay ornaments this year, I thought I would give it a try. It was really easy to use, fast, and economical. The perfect combination for a last minute gift idea. I was inspired by Nikki's tutorial. My only addition was to use some of Plaid's Extreme Glitter paint in Gold to add some definition to the stamped design and sparkle to the ornaments.

Colorful Snowflakes

Last Minute "Keep the Kids" Busy Idea: Craft Supplies & Creativity

My daughter is the craftiest person I know and the box of holiday craft supplies I gave her has proven to not only fun for her, but has also bought me extra time to get things done without feeling guilty. While I was working on a large project for a client this week, my daughter found some glittered snowflakes in her supply box. She got out her markets, and colored them in. I am seriously amazed with the results! They sparkle, they glitter! And she came up with the idea all by herself. Which makes the whole thing even better.

Felt Doll Stocking

Last Minute "Get Some Extra Sleep on Christmas Morning" Idea: Doll Stockings

When I was growing-up, we weren't allowed to get my parents up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. We had to stay in our rooms and wait until 7AM. Then we could go wake them. I'm telling you the time seemed to drag by those mornings. We have a similar rule at our house, but we've added a twist to make the time go a bit faster. Last year, my daughter and I made felt stockings for her dolls and hung them on her dresser drawers. I had intended it to be for decorative purposes only, but my husband took it a step further. You see, my husband is in charge of filling stockings at our house. (With Santa's help of course.) My family was never big on stockings, but his family treats them like the main event, so he's the expert. And that big, lovable man bought little tiny gifts and candy and filled the dolls' stockings last year. Our daughter was happily playing in her room with her dolls and their stockings when we came to get her on Christmas morning. It was a little preview of what awaited downstairs. I'm sure it's a tradition we'll continue from now on.

I hope these last minute ideas came in time for you to add a little extra magic to your celebrations. Wishing you a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Minimum Requirements of Self-Care

2011-12-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

Laura Bray's Minimum Requirements of Self-Care

My Scrooge post seemed to hit home for a lot of you. I think we all suffer from stress and overdoing. The holidays just compounds it. But, because I want my blog to be primarily positive, I thought I would share a few resources I've used in the past few days to pull myself out of the "pit".

The first thing I did was listen to Jennifer Louden's Minimum Requirement of Self-Care audio. Basically, she gives a gentle reminder to do the basics for yourself everyday. Since I have hard time remembering to do that, I made a journal page of what I need to do, every day, in order to be the best I can be. I've been looking at the journal page a few times each day, and it's working! I'm remembering to take a minute and do one or two of the items. I'm thinking of framing the journal page, or even making it into a poster. Cause I need to hit myself over the head a few times each day to remind myself to take a minute.

Then, I got a lovely blog visit from Susan Branch. She left a comment, complimenting me on my cookie sketch. This meant so much to me. Years ago, I bought her cookbook,The Summer Book, and I've loved her artwork ever since. So to get a visit from her on my blog left me a bit starstruck. And then I went to her blog and saw her post with a wonderful list of ways to take of oneself. It's just what I needed to hear!

Amaryllis in Bloom

Finally, Frane came through and cheered me up! Look at how beautiful she is in all her red, Christmas glory!

And so, I still feel like Scrooge, but it's the Scrooge who, at the end of the story, runs through the streets, wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. The Scrooge who takes Tiny Tim into his arms and buys a Christmas goose. Find some joy today. Give yourself a present. Take care of yourself and remember to enjoy the season. Happy Holidays!

Scrooge

2011-12-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

Journal Page by Laura Bray

Today I'm having one of those days. I'm on a deadline for a huge craft project that needs to go in the mail tomorrow. So I'm working away on it and, in between painting and gluing, I'm doing loads of laundry, fixing lunch, and trying to think of ideas to keep my daughter busy. As I lifted a basket of clothes (for my 100th trip to the laundry room), I thought, "I don't get paid enough for this." How did I end up with this life? Sure, most of the time I'm happy that I can balance being home with my daughter and working from home on craft design projects, but on really busy days, I wonder if it's really that great. When I'm really busy with a job, but don't get to go to the office or a studio and just work. How great would it be if I could only focus on ONE thing for a glorious 8 hours? Yes, I know the grass is always greener. I know that there are women in the workplace who would kill to be able to work from home and be there when their children get home from school. And, most of the time, I do feel lucky. But on days like today, it's hard to remember to be grateful.

So that's my little fit, right in the middle of the holiday season. My own personal Scrooge day.

Speaking of the holidays, I spent Saturday baking cookies and then on Sunday I took a little time to myself and sketched my cookies. I wanted to have record of what I baked this year. I think the sketch looks very Susan Branch, don't you?

Amaryllis

2011-12-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Frane the Amaryllis. Photo taken today.

One of our Advent Calendar activities was to buy an Amaryllis bulb and watch it grow. I've always wanted to force bulbs for the holidays, but have never been able to get my act together in the Fall to start the process. Lucky for me, Trader Joe's had amaryllis bulbs already potted and started. We bought ours a couple of weeks ago and it's turned out to be one of our favorite, new holiday traditions.

Frane's sign

My daughter has named the plant Frane (pronounced Franny). I told her plants like to be talked to, so she reads to Frane almost everyday. Apparently Frane is a big fan of Dr. Seuss, because she's growing quickly. My daughter has been taking photos of Frane's progress and is eagerly awaiting the red flowers. Turns out we have a regular science experiment going on here, cleverly disguised as Christmas activity. I'm tricky that way.

Frane a week ago. My how she has grown since then!

Clothespin Soliders & Aliens

2011-12-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

Clothespin Christmas Soldiers

We made Clothespin Soldiers this weekend. I dragged out all the supplies and my daughter and I painted away, sitting in our PJs and listening to Christmas music. We used Plaid FolkArt paints.

Clothespin Soldiers by Laura & Olivia Bray

Our soldiers aren't in traditional colors, we decided to go bright and wild and I love how they turn out. They match my daughter's pine cone tree creation perfectly.

Pine Cone Christmas Tree by Olivia Bray

While we were crafting away, my nerdy, scientist husband couldn't resist and asked to join us. He made a clothespin alien. Nothing says Christmas like that right?

Clothespin Alien by Bruce Bray

Seriously though, I love the alien and I just know that it's going to be a family keepsake. Every year, we'll pull it out of the box and laugh. You can't plan stuff like this, it just happens, and when it does, it's priceless.

Dress Shoe Makeover

2011-12-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

Glitter Dress Shoes After Makeover

My daughter is really tough on her shoes. At six, she's not growing out of them as quickly as she used to, but all the playing she does wears them out. As you can see, she's done a real number on her dress shoes and, with the holidays coming up, we need dress shoes, but I hate to buy new ones when these still fit her.

Dress Shoes Before Makeover

So I decided to try to fix-up her shoes and see if I could eek one more holiday event out of them. I know all the little girls want those sparkly shoes that are out right now, so I decided to go for that look. Plus, the rough finish of glitter helps hide the dents and scuffs in our well-worn shoes. I think the shoes recovered quite well. Here's what I did:

Supplies:
Worn-out dress shoes
Plaid FolkArt Paint in Licorice
Plaid Extreme Glitter Paint in Black
Plaid FolkArt Paint in Lipstick Red
Plaid Extreme Glitter Paint in Red
Paint Brushes
Green felt scraps
Craft glue

Instructions:

Clean-off the shoes with a damp cloth and allow to dry. Trim any material off that is hanging from the shoes.
Touch-up any worn or scuffed spots on the shoes with black paint. (My shoes were black, just use the same base paint and Extreme Glitter colors to match the color of your shoes.)
Once the paint is dry, apply two coats of Extreme Glitter paint in Black. Allow to dry about an hour between coats.
For the flower accents, I used Lipstick red paint on the flower petals, let it dry and then applied Red Extreme Glitter paint. I wanted my flowers to look like poinsettias for the holidays.

Cut small leaves out of your green felt and glue under the flowers.

That's it. Really simple. Even easier if you don't have flower accents. I'm thinking I need to go dig a pair of black pumps out of my closet and make myself some shiny shoes for New Year's Eve.

Someone loves their new shoes so much, they can't stand still!

Watercolor Journal

2011-12-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

Journal Page by Laura Bray

I'm having trouble finding time in my life for my creative pursuits. Every morning I promise myself that I will spend a good chunk of time in my studio. Then I sit down in front of my computer, start answering emails and doing little office tasks and the next thing I know, it's time to pick my daughter up from school and I haven't set foot in my studio. It's very frustrating to me. And I feel like I'm doing it on purpose on some level.

Journal Page by Laura Bray

So I'm sitting here wondering why I'm blocked. What was driving me to work in my sketchbook everyday a few weeks ago, and now I'm finding busy work to do instead? Or am I being too hard on myself? Always looking for a "reason" for my actions. Maybe I really am busy with other things. Do you play mind games with yourself too?

Journal Page by Laura Bray

Top Tips for Decorating a Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

My Cupcake Christmas Tree

You know how you see photos of Christmas trees and they look so very elegant and "designer". All the ornaments are the same color and theme? Well, my main tree doesn't look like that. I have a collection of ornaments, that was started when I was a child, and let's just say they don't match. At all. As much as I love the designer look, I have never been able to make myself leave my precious ornaments in the box and go out and buy a ornaments that were all matchy-matchy.

Laura Bray's Cupcake Christmas Tree

But I do like a nice looking tree and over the years I've picked up some tips that give my tree a bit more polished look without sacrificing my hodge-podge ornament collection. Here's what works for me.

1. Start by buying matching balls. Pick a color or two and buy a few boxes of plain, old, cheap balls. Once your lights are on the tree, start hanging these balls in the inside branch of the tree. In the end, it's going to give your tree the look of being packed full of ornaments and it's also going to give you a cohesive background that tricks the eye into thinking you actually do have a "theme" to your tree.

Laura Bray's Traditional Tree

2. Buy some floral picks and stick those into the branches. Stick with the color theme of your balls. For example, on my big, traditional tree, I hang red & white balls and use large poinsettia floral picks. The floral picks really fill in the tree. Once you have both the balls and floral picks in, your tree is going to look very color-coordinated.

3. With this beautiful, designer-style base, start adding your well-loved ornaments, but organize first! To give your tree incredible visual interest and really show-off your collection, sort your ornaments by theme and hang them together. I put all my gingerbread man ornaments together in one spot on the tree, then move to the next spot and have a little Santa section and so on. You've probably read how impactful it is to display your collectibles together and this concept goes for your tree too. Don't think you have a themed collection? Guess again. I was surprised to discover the number of Santa ornaments I had once I started making a pile.

Santa Ornament Collection

So those are my top tips for decorating a Christmas tree. Do you have any to share? To inspire you, I put together a Pinterest Board of my favorite Christmas trees on the web. You can check it out here. Happy tree trimiming!

Designer Connection: Sock Monkey Blog Hop

2011-12-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sock Monkey by Laura Bray

It's time for the monthly Designer Connection blog hop and this month's theme is sock monkeys! Remember the sock monkey I made for my daughter's birthday gift? And how I had great success because I used When Creativity Knocks' Go BanANAs VideoBook to do it? Well, the folks at When Creativity Knocks challenged all the designer to make sock monkeys and you aren't going to believe the results!

You also have a chance to win a prize! Just go to the When Creativity Knocks' website. There's a Member Log-In Box in the right sidebar. Click on "Create an account"* and use Entry Code: Sock Monkey. That's all you have to do for a chance to win this great prize package:

-Sock Monkeys Go BanAnas WCK VideoBook
-One (1) sewn Sock Monkey body ready to be stuffed
-One (1) pair of original Rockford Red Heel Socks
-Button Eyes, needle, floss and stuffing
Prize package worth over $40.00

*Signing-up for an account will get you on their mailing list so you can keep up to date on all their latest episodes and crafting advice. In fact, I write a regular column in their newsletter called Mommy & Me, so of course you are going to want to get it anyway, right?

My daughter loves her sock monkey.

If you can't wait to start making sock monkeys for holiday gifts, you can order the VideoBook here. Use coupon code: sockmonkeybloghop and you'll get $2.00 off your purchase and a free 2012 WCK Go BanANAs eCalendar!

To see every one's sock monkey designs, visit my Sock Monkey Pinterest Board. Be sure to click on the links as many of the designers have darling posts about the adventures their sock monkeys are taking!

And don't forget to visit the blogs of my Designer Connection collegues! There's always something inspiring to see! Just click "Hop Forward" on the button below.

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Hot Water Bottle Comfort

2011-12-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

Our hot water bottle cover collection

We are all sick here. Terrible colds with sore throats and coughs and sniffles. I've personally been sick for three weeks and my daughter and husband are close behind at two weeks. When you are sick you are miserable. Everything hurts and you can't get comfortable. Unless, of course, you employ hot water bottles to the cause. In today's world, we're all trying to find "natural" cures and are looking back to our grandparents' day for solutions to our aches and pains. You can make all kinds of potions, but sometimes, all you really need to do is a fill a hot water bottle up with some warm water and get cozy under a quilt. We don't just use this remedy for colds either-we've found it works great for comforting someone after a long, hard day too.

Lamby Love

We have quite a collection of hot water bottles covers. The lamb cover (aka "Lamby") was my favorite before my daughter came along. I would walk in the door from a taxing day as a business consultant and declare, "I need Lamby!". The next thing I knew, hot water was boiling and I was cuddled up on the couch feeling much better. These days Lamby is my daughter's favorite. I've upgraded to a cashmere sweater cover and my husband has "Moosey Moose" to comfort him and melt away his aches and pains.

If you don't have a hot water bottle, please go out and buy one now. You can buy tons of cute covers or check-out the list of great tutorials for making our own on Tipnut. You are going to feel much better. I promise! These would make holiday gifts too. Comfort & Joy. Literally.

Thanksgiving: Leftover Spinach Recipe

2011-11-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Spinach Shells by Laura Bray

I cooked a lot of food for Thanksgiving and have a fridge full of leftovers. We ate mini-Thanksgiving meals for a few days, but got bored quickly and I'm now trying to get creative with the remains of the day. I made some delicious turkey soup, which was perfect because my entire family now has terrible colds. I also made some pumpkin bread to go with it using leftover canned pumpkin.

But here's my favorite recipe so far. I created it in order to use up the last of the spinach gratin. The spinach in it's original form was The Barefoot Contessa's Spinach Gratin recipe, but I think any creamy, cheesy spinach cassarole leftovers would do. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 box large shell pasta
Leftover spinach casserole
Mozzeralla cheese

Directions:
To make the sauce:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and saute until soft. Don't brown it. Just stir it around until you can smell the garlic.
Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir and bring back to a boil. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Your sauce is done. It's a great recipe for just general pasta sauce. I never buy the jarred stuff anymore as this is so easy and so good.

While your sauce is simmering, cook your pasta shells according to the directions on the box. Drain, and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Tasty Shells using Leftover Spinach

To assemble:

Pour half the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish. Stuff pasta shells with spinach and lay on top of the sauce.
Cut mozerrella into small cubes and tuck one cube into the spinach of each shell. (Note: My leftover spinach didn't fill all the shells, so I made a few with just mozerella.)
Once the pan is filled with shells, pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with shredded mozarella cheese.
Bake in a over at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly browned.

It's really good! And so not your typical Thanksgiving leftover recipe. I like so much that I'm thinking about making the spinach gratin for Christmas dinner, just so I can use the leftovers again! How have you been repurposing Thanksgiving leftovers this week? Next on our list is waffles made from our Maple Sweet Potato Casserole. Yum!

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-11-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's my absolute favorite holiday. For me it's a moment in time, just before the flurry of the Christmas season begins, to enjoy traditions that have nothing to do with material gifts and everything to do with creating the moments that a family is built on.

Everyone helps out by bringing dishes to contribute to the meal. (Thanks for the delicious appetizers James & Reina!)

The Thanksgiving table wouldn't look right without my John & Priscilla decor.

The competition gets tougher every year for our Turkey Coloring Contest. And we had the happiest winner of all this year, my sister-in-law.

Dessert isn't complete until Uncle James lines up the little ones and sprays a dose of whipped cream directly into every one's mouth. A tradition in memory of Grandpa Miller.

A good day in indeed. One that I will always be thankful for.

Felt Bird Ornaments

2011-11-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

Felt Bird Ornament

Every year, I make ornaments for my niece, nephew and daughter. I give them the ornaments on Thanksgiving. It's a little treat they can always find on their place setting and, by giving it early, they can enjoy it right away. You can read the story of how I decided to create this tradition by reading my article in When Creativity Knocks' Newsletter.

Bird Ornaments

This is my third year making ornaments, and I was afraid it wasn't going to happen. I've had a terrible sinus infection this past week and could barely get anything done. But I was feeling a bit better one day, so I dragged myself out of bed, found my felt, downloaded Skip To My Lou's felt bird pattern, and went to back to bed and got sewing. I'm so happy I did. The little birds cheered me up!

And, in case you are interested, here are links to my previous year's ornaments:

2009-Half Eaten Gingerbread Man Ornament This may be my all-time favorite so far!
2010 Syko's House Ornaments I used the tutorial from her book, Scandinavian Stitches.

Romantic Snowballs

2011-11-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

Button Snowball by Laura Bray

In Southern California, we have to make our own snow. If I want to see real snow, I have to drive into the mountains, so I have a bit of a romantic notion of the fluffy white stuff. (However I did live in Ohio the first twelve years of my life, and shoveled some snow in my day, and do remember some of the un-romantic elements of it, so no hate mail!)

In order to bring a little snow into our holiday lives, I created some button (YES! Buttons again!) and glittered encrusted snowballs. To get the full tutorial, visit the Buttons Galore and More blog for Button Snowball tutorial.

Plaid Paint Giveaway

2011-11-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

Advent House by Laura Bray

I have a little giveaway for you, courtesy of the folks at Plaid. It's a good one too: It has a retail value of $40. The giveaway prize includes the following: 4 FolkArt holiday colors, 4 FolkArt Extreme Glitter holiday colors, Sparkle Mod Podge, and a Value Pack of 25 brushes! Think of all the cool things you could make for the holidays. I used Plaid paints last year to decorate a 3D Advent Calendar House. And I wrote a tutorial to make a cute, personalized wall plaque on their blog at Paint Me Plaid.

Plaque by Laura Bray

For a chance to win, tell me what you are creating for holiday gifts this year. I'll pick a winner on November 23rd.

Prize Package

And one more thing! Plaid asked me to let you know they are having a Crafty Christmas Contest. Share a favorite holiday creation, using some of the Plaid products, and you could win some really nice cash and prizes. Go here for more details.

Update 11/23/11

Giveaway Closed! The winner is Teresa Godines, Fiskateer #6857!

Thanks for joining in the fun!

Holiday Cards and Tags

2011-11-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Holiday Button Card by Laura Bray

In case you didn't notice, I'm in a bit of a button kick lately. I made up some holiday cards this weekend, using buttons, ribbon and fabric scraps. The cute Christmas tree buttons are from Buttons Galore and More.

Holiday Cards using Buttons by Laura Bray

I can't believe I'm talking about making holiday cards already! Seriously-it's just crazy how fast the year has gone by. If you are inspired to make a holiday card, Buttons Galore and More is having a linky party. You can share any holiday tags or cards you make. They don't even have to include buttons! You can even win some nice prize packages too, so hurry over to the Buttons Galore and More blog and add your projects and/or just poke around and get some good ideas.

Christmas Card by Laura Bray

Button Decor

2011-11-10T11:52:00.000-08:00

Button Art by Laura Bray

I just created some cute button art for my home and had to share my idea with you. This is a simple project, that completely transforms it's materials.

Button Art by Laura Bray

Here's what I started with:

Button Galore & More's Gold & Silver Grab Bag of buttons

Buttons Before

Some "gold" craft frames I inherited from a dear friend

Frames Before

Krylon Fusion for Plastic in Red Pepper

Here's what I did:

Spray painted the buttons and the frames. That's it. Then I combined the two items with a little fabric and I have some super cute, modern decor for my house. I'm thinking there are lots of other crafty uses for my new red buttons too. (Although I'm guessing that spray painted buttons aren't going to work on anything that you want to machine wash!)

There's nothing a little spray paint won't transform is there?

Spray Painted Buttons by Laura Bray

A Perfect Day

2011-11-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a very long time. The weather in Southern California was unusually wet and cold for this time of year, which was the perfect excuse for staying in sweats all day and cuddling up with my little family.

First on the agenda, was breakfast in front of the fireplace. I love having a fire in the morning. Most people usually do a fire in the evening, which somehow makes a morning fire that much more cozy. If you haven't tried it, you really should.

After breakfast, we dragged all our quilts into the living room so we could watch Howl's Moving Castle. It was a fantastic movie that I can't recommend enough. We all LOVED it. Of course, all that movie watching and snuggling under the quilts made us hungry. So I whipped up a batch of the Barefoot Contessa's Sticky Buns. So easy and so delicious. While I baked the buns, my husband made some Mexican hot cocoa. (Hey, I didn't say it was a day for dieting. It was cold out, we needed to build a layer of fat to keep us warm...)

The rest of the day was spent reading, stitching and bread making. Yep-more baking. I decided to do a trial run of homemade rolls. I'm planning on making them fresh for Thanksgiving, so I had to try out a recipe. Is there anything better than looking out your window and watching the rain fall, as the smell of baking bread comes from your oven? I'm thinking not. Unless, you split those fresh baked rolls in half and stuff them BBQ chicken.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

2011-11-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

I host Thanksgiving every year. I have a large family, so that means I have about 14 people sit down at the table. It sounds daunting, but it really isn't. In case you haven't noticed, I'm freakishly organized. People make fun of me for it, but those are the same people who ask me how I get so much done in a day. In my mind, a little organization, properly applied, can make anyone look like a superwoman.

And Thanksgiving is a great time to start being organized. My family is really big on tradition and they really don't like any changes to the Thanksgiving menu, which makes my job easy. A long time ago, I typed up the menu, made copies of all the recipes, and created shopping lists for the meal. Every year, I just grab it all and getting dinner ready is a no brainer.

This year, I'm taking things a step further. I'm determined to use these early days of November to get ready for the holidays in general. I'm looking over my stockpiles of spices, candles, holiday napkins, and the like, and seeing what I need to buy. Then I'm shopping early so that I have everything in my house when I need it. (By the way, my absolutely favorite place to buy spices is Penzey's. They have the freshest, best spices and are so reasonably priced!)

How do you prepare for the holidays?

I had to share one more thing with you today. I just found this game, Family Dinner Box Of Questions. My daughter loves it when I ask questions that we all have to answer, and I was running out of original questions. Now I have a whole box of questions to ask. I'm thinking we're going to play it during our Thanksgiving meal.

Don't forget about some of my other Thanksgiving ideas too!

Turkey Coloring Contest (A very popular, yearly tradition at our house!)
Turkey Love Pilgrim Free Embroidery Pattern (Scroll down to my Embroidery Story on We Love French Knots' blog to get yours.)

Little Girl Holiday Embroidery Pattern

2011-11-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, my godmother gave me an ornament of a little girl, holding a tree. Ever since I got it, it's been my favorite ornament. Every year I put her on the tree. I have a little felt house ornament and I always put her by that ornament because, at some point during my childhood, I created a story in my mind about how the little girl was off in the woods, looking for her Christmas tree and would be returning home with it soon.

I'm so inspired by it, that I created an embroidery pattern depicting the girl. I stitched her up last year and she sat in my drawer for almost a year. I didn't know what to do with the pattern. This summer, a good friend, suggested I made an ornament from the embroidered piece. So stitched some fabric onto the back of the pattern, cut it out, and stuffed it. I was about to add a ribbon to hang it from my tree, when my daughter saw the little doll laying on my quilt blocks. After much discussion, it was decided she was far too cute to be an ornament and must come to live in my daughter's room as her newest doll. I have to admit, that I think my daughter's call was right on the money.

If you want the pattern, you can purchase it in my Etsy shop for the bargain price of only $2.00! I didn't include a stitch guide, it's just the pattern, but I do give instructions for transferring it. I hope it inspires you to make an ornament or doll. Wouldn't she be so cute peeking out of a stocking on Christmas morning?

We Love French Knots

2011-11-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving Embroidery Pattern by Laura Bray

Do you know how old I was when I started to embroider? If not, pop over to Bari J's We Love French Knots blog today. I'm telling my embroidery story and I'm sharing a free Thanksgiving pattern you can download. The pattern tells the tragic story of a turkey in love with a little pilgrim girl. I think we all know how the story will end. I stitched it onto a napkin and will be using it in the roll basket at Thanksgiving. I'm thinking I might have all my guest sign the napkin after dinner and then I'll embroider their signatures. I think it would make a nice a little heirloom.

Gnome Embroidery Pattern by Laura Bray

Speaking of stitching for the holidays, my Gnome pattern would be great for a holiday project. Guest towels, stockings, fabric gift cards. Or use my napkin tutorial and decorate your holiday table. Since I'm feeling joyful about being featured on We Love French Knots, I'm offering a discount on the pattern. Use discount code WLFKS and you'll get 25% off the pattern! Go to my Etsy shop, katydiddys and take advantage of the offer now. The discount offer only lasts until November 4th.

Come back and visit soon too! There's a new pattern and super cute project coming very soon.

Happy Stitching!

Scary Movies

2011-10-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

My husband and I aren't really horror fans. I think the last time I saw a new horror movies was when I was in my teens. It's not that I usually get too scared, they just don't usually appeal to me. But it's Halloween and I thought it would be fun to see something new.

And I scared the living daylights out of myself this weekend. I rented Paranormal Activity, watched it and then had nightmares every night! Creepy movie. I hate horror movies about monsters or torture or murders. If I'm going to scare myself I like creepy stories about ghosts and hauntings. Stories that never really show you the "monster". They leave it to your imagination. And obviously, my imagination was way too engaged after watching Paranormal Activity. I've heard the sequels aren't as good, but that's okay, I think I've had my fill of the horror genre for awhile.

If you are looking for something to watch tonight, here's my list of favorite horror movies:

1. The Exorcist. Seriously, this is the scariest movie EVER!
2. The Shining. The best adaptation of a Stephan King book. " Here's Johnny...."
3. Rosemary's Baby. An oldie, but a goodie. Just campy enough to take the edge off, but still pretty darn scary.
4. Trilogy of Terror. VERY campy. But the vignette about the African Doll that comes to life? Well, when I was a little girl, I wouldn't walk on the floor for a few days after seeing this one. I would hop from furniture piece to furniture piece to get to the bathroom at night.
5. The Haunting. The old version, not the remake. So good!
6. The Others. Love the twist at the end.

What are your favorite horror movies?

Homework Organization

2011-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Homework Organization by Laura Bray

My daughter is the first grade now and with that comes the dreaded homework. I heard nightmare tales of the amount of homework that was coming our way and have not been looking forward to it. While I don't think the amount we have to do each night is outrageous, it is hard for me to accept that my daughter has to face homework at such a young age. When I went to school (do I sound like an old lady?) we didn't have homework until we were much older and I seemed to turn out fine (but I may be biased).

The time we spend doing homework could be spent discovering the world, working on her imagination or just relaxing. I mean, you only get to be a child once and, in today's society, it seems that children are faced with as much stress and as many activities as adults. I wonder how quickly this poor generation will burn-out? But, I'll step off my soapbox and, as usual, turn this into a crafting opportunity.

Homework Box by Laura & Olivia Bray

We have a ton of desks around our house, but it's easiest if my daughter does her homework at the kitchen table. It's large and I can get dinner started as she does some of her work. So I needed a place to stash her homework supplies. I found an old file box in our garage and then we decorated it with Sharpie markers. I keep her homework assignments, flash cards, paper and pencils in it. When it's time to do homework, we pull it out and everything we need is right there. And we both brighten up a little seeing our cheerful artwork!

I also use the file box to store all the work she brings home from school. (I don't know about you, but I get overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork that comes through this house!) I figure I'll go through it at the end of the year, pick what we really want to save and put it away for prosperity's sake. For now, we both feel more organized and get our homework chores done as quickly as possible so we can get back to playing and having fun.

Do you have any homework-related tips? Do you have a place set-up to do homework? How do you make it fun?

Halloween Treat Bag

2011-10-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's almost Halloween and today I have a quick treat bag idea. It's super simple, but packs a big punch. You can even use the same technique, with different stencils, for the upcoming holiday season.

Supplies:

FolkArt Acrylic Paint in Licorice

Instructions:

1. Place a piece of cardboard into bag to keep the paint from bleeding through.
2. Tape the stencil down (I use painters tape.) on the bag and, using a spouncer, apply paint to stencil.

3. Carefully lift stencil from the bag.
4. Allow to dry and then fill with your favorite candy!

I also created an elegant, Halloween door knob hanger for the Paint Me Plaid blog using a similar technique. You can get the tutorial here.

Asthma Stinks

2011-10-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have adult-onset asthma. I was diagnosed a few years ago when I was 40. Before that, I would occasionally have a little asthma when I was around cats, but as I aged I began to have symptoms more often, for no apparent reason, and was eventually diagnosed with the full-blown condition of asthma. And it's not a fun disease. I get very frustrated when I have attacks and often don't know what causes it. It can be anything from environmental allergies to a scented candle and before I know it, I'm struggling to breathe.

Yesterday was a particularly frustrating day for me. I was very excited to go my quilt guild meeting and learn how to use my fabric scraps and turn them into an improvisational quilt. Everyone was asked to bring their scraps and we combined them to share as we worked. I was digging through quite a few bags, enjoying myself thoroughly. Then I sneezed. I figured I had stirred-up some fabric dust and didn't think anything of it. Then the all too familiar tightness in my chest began. I asked that the door to the outside be closed, thinking my exposure to that was causing a problem. But I kept suffering. Off to the bathroom for a hit on my rescue inhaler. And that's when it occured to me-I bet some of the fabric scraps came from houses with animals. Sure enough, cats and dogs were living with some of my fellow quilters.

I ended up having to go home and do a breathing treatment. I felt ridiculous. Sickly. Weak. And even guilty because my fellow quilters were worried they made me sick. (Which isn't true-it's MY allergy, so it's MY responsibility!) It's unbelievable to me that I have to think about ridiculous things like who has pets and if I'm touching their stuff.

But enough of my complaining. I was very motivated to use my fabric scraps more often (pet hair free please) and was wondering....how do you organize your fabric scraps? Mine are a jumbled mess in a basket by sewing table. I would like for them to be more organized and would love to get your suggestions. (I'll take any hints you have for asthma too!)

Pumpkin Enchiladas

2011-10-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

I love canned pumpkin! Not the pumpkin pie filling-just plain pumpkin. You can make pasta, muffins, quick breads and all manner of wonderful, healthy food from it. It can be tough to find during the Spring and Summer, so I always stock up on it during the Fall. It's usually on sale too. I recently created a recipe for Pumpkin Enchiladas. It's adapted from Hungry Girl's recipe.

It's really delicious! Even if you are feeling a bit dubious about pumpkin in your enchiladas, please give this one a try. You don't taste the pumpkin flavor, but you do get a rich, creamy filling that's very satisfying. And it's packed with fiber and vitamins. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:

1/2 chopped onion
Olive oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 small can red enchilada sauce
2 tsp. taco seasoning
Corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded "Mexican blend" cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour a splash of olive oil into a skillet. Add chopped onion and saute until onions are translucent. Scrape onions into a large mixing bowl.

Add pumpkin, 3 tbsp. of enchilada sauce and taco seasoning to the onions. Mix well. Set aside.

Pour some enchilada sauce into a large, flat container (I use a dinner plate). Dip tortillas into the sauce, coating them then place a layer of them into a 8 X 8 baking dish.

Once the bottom of the dish is covered with tortillas, spread your pumpkin mixture evenly over them.

Dip a second round of tortillas into the sauce and lay them over the pumpkin mixture. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over everything. Sprinkle cheese on top and place in the oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted, the sauce is bubbling and the edges are a bit brown.

Let cool and set for about 5 minutes, then serve with sour cream.

P.S. Have you tried my regular enchilada recipe?

Cloth Paper Scissors Gifts

2011-10-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to announce that I had an article published in the Holiday 2011-2012 issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors Gifts! It's long been a dream of mine to get published in Cloth, Paper, Scissors and I'm honored to be included in such a great magazine.

My article is about creating some really cute, fabric gift card holders. I don't know about you, but I kind of hate the whole movement towards gift card giving. I love to get presents! But, in this busy world, gift cards seem to be the way to go, so I decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I created the fabric gift card holders so that I could make the whole impersonal mess of giving a gift card just little bit more special. I'm not judging here, I just REALLY like to open presents.

Not in the mood to sew your own? I've put up a few in my shop today. Now would be a perfect time to order them, because until the end of month, I'm offering my blog readers free shipping! Use coupon code BLOG10.

Want a free issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Gifts? Leave a comment and tell me if you like getting gift cards and why or why not. I'll draw a winner on October 24.

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED!

WINNER: Healing Woman

Thanksgiving Craft Project for Children

2011-10-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm posting a Thanksgiving craft project! Where did the year go? I created a cute Native American headband for the Buttons Galore and More blog today. It's really simple. Older kids could do it by themselves and entertain the little ones. It just might keep some busy bees occupied while you are trying to get dinner on the table. Get the tutorial here.

What Thanksgiving crafts are you loving this year?

Mingle Magazine

2011-10-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

I love magazines. And by that, I mean that I love to the point of it being an obsession. I have stacks of them everywhere, and I can't resist the newsstand. There's nothing more comforting to me than sitting in my favorite chair, under a quilt, drinking tea and reading a magazine.

So, of course, when Stampington asked me to review their newest publication, Mingle, I jumped at the chance. It not only feeds my magazine addiction, but also my addiction to throwing a party. Yep. It's a whole magazine about entertaining and events with the creative person in mind.

Before I received my issue, I thought it would be filled with tutorials for creating party favors and decorations, but that's not really what it's about. It's more about inspiration than a how-to magazine. Dreamy photos and hear felt articles inspired me to create a gathering all my own. Did I get ideas for party favors and decorations? You bet! Ideas abound but this unique magazine, knowing it's readers are crafters and artists, simply plants seeds of inspiration and allows you to the freedom to do with it what you will.

I felt that the magazine had a very emotional element to it. It's not about throwing an event or putting together a retreat. It's about what happens when you gather people you love into one room. About making new friends and cherishing the old. It's about the passion you feel when you are preparing and planning-the joy of knowing you are doing something special for those you hold dear. It's about making connections.

The look is very fresh and clean, with a touch of indie to it. With editor Christen Olivarez at the helm, you can always expect to see a new perspective. This magazine was her baby and you can feel how personal the project was to her with every turn of the page.

And I have great news! Stampington sent me an issue to giveaway to one lucky blog reader! I'm even opening it up to my international readers. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment, telling me about the most amazing party you ever hosted or went to. I'll pick a winner on 10/21/11. To order your own copy, find out how you can submit ideas, or just to learn more about the magazine, visit the Mingle website.

Giveaway Closed 10/21/11

The winner is Helga from Artchix Studio!

Sizzix Scoreboads Blog Hop: Ice Cream Soda Centerpiece

2011-10-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Eileen Hull is at it again! She's just released a new line of dies for Sizzix, called Fresh Vintage. She asked me to join her in another blog hop and I couldn't resist. Her dies are always unique and can be used in a million ways.

For this hop, I was given the 3-D Vase die. As soon as I opened the package and saw the die, I knew exactly what I was going to make. A faux ice cream soda! I can just see a few of these as centerpieces or party favors for an ice cream parlor themed party, can't you? I know it's a hit because my daughter has been eyeing it and asking for it since I made it. I think she wants it for her play kitchen.

It's really simple to make!

Ingredients:
Sizzix Big Shot Machine
3-D Vase Die
Mat board
Glue (Aleene's (R) Original Tacky Glue)
Kitschy Kitchen Paper Pad by Melissa Frances
Tissue Paper Garland
2.5" Styrofoam Ball (Floracraft)
Red & White striped pipe cleaner
Red floral berry

Directions:

Cut vase die on mat board and on decorative paper.
Glue paper onto mat board and assemble the vase according to manufacturer's instructions.
Insert Styrofoam ball into vase. You can glue it in, or just set it in. If you don't glue it, you can slip a small bag of candy into the base of the vase for a sweet, party favor surprise. Just make sure you wrap the candy so that no Styrofoam gets into it!
Glue tissue paper garland around top edge of vase
Insert floral berry pick into the top of the Styrofoam ball for a cherry on top look!
Cut a 3" piece of pipe cleaner and insert into side of ball.

It really doesn't get any easier than that, does it? Want a chance to WIN the vase die? Head over to Oh My Crafts to find how.
Now go see what a few of my fellow designers have done with the vase die by clicking on the badge below. Happy Hopping!

Sizzix Fresh Vintage

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Whip-Up Guest Blogger

2011-10-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

When Kathreen, the diva of Whip-Up, emailed and asked if I wanted to be a guest blogger, I was floored. I was so excited and honored. So I "whipped-up" a post about my lifestyle, Creative Nostalgia (TM). I also created a brand-new embroidery pattern that represents my Creative Nostalgia Days of the Week. And it's a free download! You just have to go to my guest post on Whip-Up to get it!

I used the pattern to create a notebook that gives me a place to take notes about my housekeeping chores and make to do lists, but you could also use the images to create a cute, modern take on the Days of the Week dishtowels. Run and get the pattern today and, if you make anything using it, would you share it with me? I'd love to see what you come up with!

Woodland Fairy Costume

2011-10-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, we really didn't have much of selection of store-bought Halloween costumes. The majority of the costumes were handmade. That was really part of the fun, brainstorming about what you wanted to be and then how you were going to pull it off. Some kids had moms who could sew and they had elaborate costumes. My mom didn't sew, but she could make almost any kind of Halloween costume using brown paper bags! (I think I liked my brother's Muskateer costume the best!) And there was always the gypsy costume. We would wear long skirts, a head scarf and lots of our mom's costume jewelry. When we became teenagers, my parents suffered the embarrassment of having us raid their closets to be disco divas (mom) or nerds (dad). Sorry about that guys!

I think today, that our kids are missing out on the creative aspect of Halloween. We throw them in the car and head to the Halloween costume store. I'm as guilty as anyone and the majority of costumes at our house have been store bought, but this year I decided to make something. I created a no-sew, Woodland Fairy costume for my daughter. It's really easy & inexpensive to make. It would be great for a Halloween costume or even just for playing dress-up. You can get the full tutorial on the Rit Dye website here.

I have to say it was really fun to brainstorm and get creative and my daughter really enjoyed seeing simple items magically turn into her costume. So, if you have a little time, why not join me and make costumes this year?

Speaking of Rit Dye and Halloween, when I told my mom about this project, she told me that one of my favorite childhood Halloween decorations was courtesy of her using Rit Dye. She took some old curtains and dyed them gray. They were draped around the house and over furniture to give the place a haunted house look. How funny that I'm still using Rit to make my daughter's Halloween memorable all these years later.

Vintage Street Market Projects

2011-10-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

I know my blog has been a bit thin on the crafty projects lately, but that's because I've been working away on projects for guest blogger posts, clients' websites, and for publications. They are all starting to get published so I can share them with you now!

Today, I'm happy to announce that I'm the Guest Designer on the Vintage Street Market website. When I saw their product at line CHA last winter I just knew I had to forge a relationship with them. You know how much I love the retro look, and their papers and kits are just my style.

For this cute centerpiece project, I used Eileen Hull's 3D Vase Sizzix die. I love this new die and am excited to announce that I'll be taking part in a blog hop next week that features it, so be sure to come back for even more inspiration next week!

To see all the projects I made using the Vintage Street Market papers, click here. I hope you find lots of inspiration! If you love retro (and paper dolls!) you are going to love the Vintage Street Market line of papers.

Duct Tape Notebooks

2011-10-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I promised to show you the second project I created for the Designer Blog Hop Challenge. Duct tape notebooks! It's a super easy, inexpensive project. Basically, you just cut some duct tape (The Duck Brand (R)), and cover the notebook with it. If you want to get super fancy, add a closure created with some duct tape and hook and loop fastener (VELCRO (R)). It totally changes a boring composition book into unique notebook. I want to go back to school so I can take notes in my mine.

Don't forget!

To celebrate their involvement in the Designer Connection Blog Hop, Wescott is hosting a promotional giveaway to our blog hop readers (U.S. readers only). A Deluxe Assortment of Westcott Brand’s® Cutting Tools, visit the DCC Blog Hop Post on Westcott Brand's blog and leave a comment by October 31. A random winner will be announced on November 1.

And, if you want to own the cuff bracelet I made for the challenge, Charity Wings is holding an auction for it on their blog. Click here to bid. Proceeds will benefit breast cancer research.

Apple Picking in Oak Glen

2011-10-04T01:00:00.000-07:00

We went apple picking in Oak Glen, California this past weekend. My parents used to take me there in the Fall when I was a child and I have very fond memories of "apple country", so I was very excited to take my daughter up. She's learning about apples in school, making it a perfect time to go. We visited Willowbrook Apple Farm, one of the smaller, family-owned farms in the area. It was very crowded as it was the first apple picking weekend of the season and a Spring frost had damaged a lot of apple groves, so some of the bigger farms weren't opening their orchards to the public yet. I do have to say, I'm getting a bit disheartened lately. Everywhere we go there seems to be huge crowds. Perhaps it's living in Southern California. Is there any place where a girl can go and do the whole "rural" thing without being inundated with a bunch of other people doing the same thing? It's days like these that set me to longing for a simpler life, in a simpler place.

(Who needs a ladder when your dad is 6'6"? )

We still managed to have fun and even got to press our own cider. I won't go into how the mom in me cringed over the "hygienics" of the cider making, I just smiled and nodded and then made my husband boil it when we got home.

I hope you found some peace and some fun over the weekend. What did you do?

Designer Connection Blog Hop Challenge

2011-10-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

This month, the Designer Connection Blog Hop is being hosted by Westcott Brand® Cutting Tools. Westcott Brand®Scissors are the World’s Favorite Scissors™ and, after using their scissors to create my projects for the hop, I can see why. For the hop, VELCRO® Brand sent the designers Hook & Loop Fasteners and The Duck Brand® sent Patterned Duct Tape Rolls and sheets. What a challenge! To create crafty items using all these great supplies!

It didn’t end up being as hard as you would think! I created two, completely different projects using the supplies and I’m so happy with how both turned out! I'll show you one project today and then another on Wednesday, so be sure to check back!

Duct Tape Cuff Bracelets

Cuff bracelets are totally trending right now and The Duck Brand’s® Patterned Duct Tape Rolls make it easy to create stunning and original pieces of jewelry. Just measure your wrist, add a few inches and then use Westcott Brand’s®Titanium Bonded Non Stick Scissors to cut a piece of duct tape to size. The scissors are great for cutting through sticky products like duct tape, so nothing gets tangled! You can either cut 2 pieces of duct tape and stick them together (back to back) or stick a piece of duct tape to some felt or paper to create the cuff.

Use VELCRO®Brand Sticky Back™ hook and fastener on each end of the cuff for a closure. Then, go crazy embellishing it! For the pink and gold bracelet, I even made a pink flower from The Duck Brand’s® Duct Tape Sheets. I think the finished projects came out great. No one would ever guess you made them from duct tape, but will they ever be impressed when you tell them!

To celebrate their involvement in the Designer Connection Blog Hop, Wescott is hosting a promotional giveaway to our blog hop readers. For a chance to win a Deluxe Assortment of Westcott Brand’s® Cutting Tools, visit the DCC Blog Hop Post on Westcott Brand's blog and leave a comment by October 31. A random winner will be announced on November 1. Good luck!

To see my fellow designer's projects, click through the blog hop using the button below. Have fun!

[ DC Connection ]

[ Hop back ] [ Hop forward ]

Cold Season Tips

2011-09-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Since we just finished-up with our first major illness of the new school year, I thought I would share some of my tips for surviving the cold season. I can't promise they'll always work, but a little prevention can't hurt!

1. Have everyone in your family wash their hands as soon as they come home. No stopping and doing something else! Straight to the sink to wash off whatever you picked-up out in the world. I also keep a small bottle of anti-bacterial gel in the car. If we've been someplace especially icky, we'll all take squirt before moving on.

2. Keep your medicine cabinet stocked! Before I go school shopping, I go through all our medicine cabinets. I get rid of expired medicines and make a list of what I need to have on hand. There's nothing worse than being up at 1am with a child with stomach flu and no Pedialyte on hand. We try not go out when we're sick (because we don't want to infect everyone else) so having everything we need on hand helps us be able to stay home and rest. Besides meds, make sure you have heating pads, vaporizers and tissues on hand too!

3. It's hard to keep children still, even when they are sick. I keep a hidden supply of new coloring books, quiet activity toys, and children's DVDs stowed away. When my daughter is ill, I pull out something new and she stays quiet, busy and happy.

Those are just a few of my tips. I'm not a medical professional, so I didn't want to give remedy advice (though I have a few!). Do you have tips to share?

P.S. Do you like my new tissue cozy (as seen photographed in this post)? I am experimenting with hand painting wool felt and making cozies with it. I will probably have some new designs up in my shop soon, but if you want a fabric one, there are still a few left here. They are great for carrying tissues in your purse, or for your child's backpack. I'm thinking the felt ones will be nice to take to bed with you when you have the sniffles. Though, I need some expert advice. Do you think wool felt tissue cozies would be a problem for people with a wool allergy? I'm wondering...

Sewing Projects for Vintage Tea Towels

2011-09-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

My grandmother gave me a couple of her old, calendar tea towels the other day. When I was growing-up, she always had one hanging in her kitchen, so I was excited to get them as they have happy memories attached to them, but other than folding them up and putting them in the linen closet, what could I do with them?

After playing with them for a bit, I decided I could make a couple of pillows from one and a tote bag from another. I'm very pleased with how both projects turned out.

There are a lot of tutorials on the web for creating a tote bag from tea towels, but most of them just have you fold it in half and sew up the sides. Because my tea towels have calendars on them, I didn't want the image to be upside down on one side so I cut one of the towels in half, made sure both sides had the images in the proper position, and then sewed them together. I'm thinking I might give it to my grandmother for a Christmas gift. I know it seems silly to give someone something they had given you, but I think she originally gave me the tea towels because they were just rotting in her linen closet. Now that it's a tote bag, she can enjoy a piece of her past and use it when she goes on shopping trips.

The pillows I'm keeping! I think the bird illustrations look like they might be in an Anthropologie store don't you? The tea towel was really too long to make into one pillow, so I split it and made myself two. I used Bari J's Art Journal fabrics to complete the pillows. The colors and bird & nest designs matched my tea towels perfectly and modernized them without taking away their vintage feel.

Now, go run and find some old tea towels and get sewing!

Mom Guilt

2011-09-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

A bit after my daughter started 1st grade, about two weeks ago, she developed a cough. No fever, just an intermittent cough. So I wrote it up to allegies or maybe one of those mysterious childhood coughs, courtesy of a new school year. Then, this past Thursday, my husband brought my daughter home from soccer practice early. She was wheezing, coughing and having trouble breathing. We sped off to the ER, where they thought she had allergies or maybe had developed exercise-induced asthma. They did a chest x-ray and we were all surprised to find out she had pneumonia.

I was devastated and instantly went on a guilt trip of epic proportions. How could I let my child walk around with pneumonia? How could I have been so flippant about her lingering cough? I was going to write a big blog post about my guilt and what a terrible mother I am. But a couple things have happened since.

First, when I posted my guilt to my Facebook page, I received many comments from other moms, telling me stories about how similar things happened to them. I realized these things don't just happen to me. Why, as mothers, do we always immediately assume we have been deficient in our duties in some way and that we are the ONLY mother who makes mistakes? As far as I've observed, my husband rarely instantly blames himself for being a bad father. He walked out the ER on Thursday night, saying, "Wow! Who knew? Even the doctors were surprised!" Whereas I walked beside him, silently torturing myself for not being a "good" mother. I really need to take a page out of my husband's book and get over myself already.

Then, on Friday, we went to my daughter's regular doctor, who listened to her chest and told me she sounded good and that we were lucky because it looked like we had caught the pneumonia early. Her two week cough had simply been a virus that recently turned into pneumonia. Again, why did I torture myself, assuming she had been very ill for a long time? In my rational mind, I'm sure that I would have taken her to the doctor if she was exhibiting worrisome symptoms. But no, I doubted and tortured myself instead.

So I learned that I need to have a bit more confidence. I need to remember I'm human. I need to remember I'm a good mom. And I need you to remember the same.

Flying Kites

2011-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

When is the last time you flew a kite? This past Spring, my sister gifted her nieces with kites. My little family drove out to the beach to fly my daughter's. It was exhilarating! I couldn't believe how fun it was. The pull of the string as the kite rose higher and higher.

Why did I feel so free as I held on to the kite? I had a sore neck the next day because I couldn't stop looking up. It was a good day. So, if you are feeling low, go fly kite. I'm thinking you will feel much better if you do!

My Memories Suite

2011-09-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

I bet you have seen a lot on people's blogs about My Memories Suite. It's digital scrapbook software and they are having a blitz of giveaways right now. When they approached me about doing a giveaway here, I was a bit reluctant. As crafty as I am, I'm just not that into scrapbooking. I really don't know why. I love to take photos. I love to craft. But I just can't excited about scrapbooking. Digital doesn't turn me on either. But I like to offer my readers free stuff, so I said I would do the giveaway. Then I faced the fact that I was going to have show you what the software could do. And I worried and avoided it due to my scrapbooking "issues". I downloaded the software, saw what it could do and realized I didn't have to use it for scrapbooking! I could use it to make really cool photos for my blog and my Etsy shop!

Yes, I know you can create lay-outs like the ones you see on this post in Photoshop, but I'm a self-taught Photoshop user and some days I just want to get my photos up on my blog without struggling with layers etc. It took me all of 5 minutes each to create the photo lay-outs on this blog post in the My Memories Suite software. And that's five minutes from the time I started up the software for the first time! Seriously exciting. I don't want to sound like a salesperson here, but I do want you to know that I am really, truly impressed with the ease of use of this software and the way I can apply to it my business. I can create quick layouts for my blog or even for tutorials that I submit to manufacturers and editors.

And I get to offer you a chance to win a free download of the software! For chance to win the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software, leave a comment on this blog post telling me which of their kits you like the best. (You can see the kits here.) I'll draw a winner on September 26. And if you don't win or can't wait to get the software so you spiff up your own Etsy Shop, you can order the software here. Use Coupon Code STMMMS12271 to get a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store. (That's an affiliate link by the way!)

Have fun! And good luck!

Blog County Fair 2011

2011-09-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

Remember my post a few weeks ago about the Blog County Fair I'm hosting with Vicki O'Dell? It's time! I would love it if you would join the fun. It's super easy and you have all weekend to join in the fun. For details and to see what other bloggers "brought" to the fair, click here.

I decided to make some cute mug rugs for the fair. I love mug rugs! They are so easy to make because they can really be any size. I usually have them measure at 7" x 6", just enough room for a cup of tea and cookie. I also love that I can try my hand at mini-quilts and then have something cute and useful for my home. I especially love the mug rugs I'm showing you today because I designed the main fabrics myself. For the first mug rug, I used Tee Juice Fabric Art Markers and doodled all over some cotton fabric. It's my new favorite thing to do! I just cut a whole bunch of small rectangles of fabric and draw away.

My second mug rug's fabric was created by scanning and printing one of my journal pages onto ink jet fabric. Super easy and so easy to personalize! Wouldn't it be cute to make a personalized mug rug with a sweet message for someone who needs a little cheer?

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. For lots of good, old-fashioned fun, be sure to hop around Blog County Fair entries (and add some of your own!). We'll be at the Fair all weekend!

Teaching Your Child About Money

2011-09-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

It's very important to my husband and me to teach our daughter to be fiscally responsible. We've been giving her an allowance for about 2 years now-just a small amount, to help her start to understand money. She has three piggy banks. The biggest one is the "Saving Piggy", the middle size is the "Giving Piggy" and the smallest is the "Spending Piggy". Each week, when she get her allowance, she divides it between all the piggys. We don't tell her to apply it, but we do discuss her decisions and help her "remember" what each piggy is for. Anything that goes into the Saving Piggy, stays there. The Giving Piggy money gets used for things like her school's food and toy drives, and her Spending Piggy can be opened to buy anything she wants, anytime.

It's a process that's worked very well for us. She loves opening up her Giving Piggy, taking the money store, and buying toys for underprivileged children. It means so much more to her because she's using her own money. My heart melted last year, as she was making her purchases and told the clerk she was helping Santa out and buying toys for children who weren't as lucky as she was. (We told her that Santa comes and picks up the collection boxes and delivers them.) I think the clerk got a good dose of the Christmas spirit that day.

She's really surprised me with the use of her Spending Piggy too. She's careful about purchases and watches her budget. Even though it kills me, I won't make-up the difference if she doesn't have enough money for something she sees. We talk about saving up for it next time. She knows she has to make her money go a long way, and I often see her debating over two small toys versus one large item. She even brings her money to the Farmer's Market and buys herself flowers and little cakes sometimes. So cute!

If you are looking for more information about how to teach your child about money, I would recommend looking at these websites:

http://www.kidnexions.com/ (click on "free resources")
http://www.thegreatpiggybankadventure.com/
http://www.orangekids.com/

Some good children's books are:
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
and
The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money

Next on my list is to buy some games. When I was little, I played Payday all the time, and I think I really did learn something. I've also heard good things about Loose Change and Learning Resources Money Bags A Coin Value Game.

How do you teach your child about money? Can you recommend any tips, books, or games to me?

This is my life...now

2011-09-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday Night

Yesterday, I went to my grandmother's retirement community to have brunch with her. She lives in a really nice place, where there are apartments and houses on the campus and a main building where there are tons of activites going on and a great Sunday brunch. I noticed that my grandma had out some paints and I asked her if she was painting. She said she wasn't anymore because it made her "stay up too late at night". I was confused because she doesn't have anywhere to be in the morning. I daydreamed to myself that I would love to paint all night and sleep all day. I spent the rest of the day, watching everyone at brunch. Some were gathred in couples, relaxed at the tables, laughing, drinking champagne and eating, obviously planning to stay the day. Another grinning woman was leaving, clutching a stack of Netfilx movies, and I imagined she was off to spend the day watching them. Yet, there was Grandma, miserable & complaining. I wondered why she couldn't see that she now had the freedom to do WHATEVER she wants, WHENEVER she wants.

My husband cooking dinner

She is so busy, missing her old life, that she can't appreciate this new stage. And then it hit me, that I'm guilty of doing the same thing. Even after six years of motherhood, I'm still fighting against change. I have days when I miss my old job, my pre-baby relationship with my husband, and my pre-pregnancy body. I tell my husband that I'm jealous because his work life is the same as it has always been. I'm so busy remembering the way things used to be, I can't see that this stage of my life is pretty good too. Staying in my pajamas, drinking tea, and journaling when my husband leaves for work and my daughter goes to school. Spending hours at the library or doing crafts with my little one. I get to see the world through the eyes of a child again. Nothing "bad" is happening to me. It's all just different. And it probably looks pretty darn good to most people because they aren't comparing it to "before". My old life is gone. It is impossible to get it back. And I've got to roll with the punches and stop trying to get it back.

Late summer meal on the patio

So, just for now, I'm going to try to look at things as they are, and enjoy this stage in my life, and stop mourning previous stages. I want to practice now, so that when I reach the next stage, I can stay up all night painting and enjoy every minute of it.

Featured Sponsor: Tara Reed

2011-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to introduce Tara Reed. I've known Tara for a few years and have great respect for her as an artist and business woman. Her informational products about licensing your artwork are some of the best around-she really breaks it all down in easy to follow steps. You can find her Art Licensing Products on her website.

How did you start your business?

My business started as a need for a creative outlet while my main job was being a stay-at-home mom. I became an avid scrapbooker when my son was young and scrapbooking was all the rage. In 2001, I started designing products in the scrapbooking industry. In 2003, I learned about the wider world of art licensing - swore I couldn't do it but in 2004, shared a booth with a friend at the Licensing Expo to see what happened. I caught the licensing bug!

With a background in sales and marketing, licensing made a lot of sense to me and was a great fit for how I liked to create and work. Basically, I create art collections that I think could work on a variety of products. Then I contact manufacturers and see if they agree! It takes a while to build since it can be 12-18 months between getting a deal and getting paid your royalties - but once you start to get things into the pipeline it can be a great business.

What does a typical day in your life look like?
There is no "typical" day - my life seems to be a constant juggling of business and personal projects. I often wake up thinking I have certain things I will do and all of the sudden a call comes in that changes my focus.

Artists in the industry and I often joke about “Art Licensing 911” calls – where you get a frantic call from a manufacturer telling you they need this, that and the other thing… in 3 days but preferably 3 hours if at all possible. So if an artist doesn’t like to change gears for potential opportunities, work quickly and work to deadlines, art licensing might not be the best choice.
I explain the reasoning behind these 911 calls by comparing it to dominoes. You know how kids love to line up dominoes then push one and it knocks them all down? The artist is the last domino in this equation.

Here’s the line-up – going from the back to the front: Artist – manufacturer – sales team – retailer

On a Thursday, a sales person calls on the retailer who says, “Oh by the way, we are selecting new products in category X next week. If you have anything for us to consider, we need it by Thursday.”

The sales person makes a living selling products and earning commissions so of course they want to have something to show and be considered. So they call the manufacturer, tell them the parameters and say they need the information by Wednesday at the latest.

Now the manufacturer has to scramble and figure out what art they have that might appeal to the retailer. They might have something on hand or they might call the artists they have worked with. The amazing opportunity is explained, but the manufacturer needs to see any art by Monday, so they have time to review their options, make choices and mock up designs to get to the sales person.

So guess what the artist has to do on Friday or over the weekend if they want a shot at this deal? Voila! An Art Licensing 911 event is born. Of course you don't have to respond to all of these last minute requests - the option is always yours.

Where do you work?I have a studio in my home and love the flexibility it offers. I've been a divorced mom since 2004 so being able to work from home and adapt my schedule to meet the needs of my son has been important to me. I can be working and hearing what is going on downstairs, make sure homework is getting done, get to doctor and dentist appointments without burning vacation time, etc. If I have things to do for my personal life in an afternoon, I can simply work at night. It's been ideal.

You do need to be a self-motivated worker to work from home and stay on task - it would be easy to let life get in the way of progress. I like to keep track of the time I spend on my business - broken down by creating art, marketing art, etc - so I hold myself accountable and make sure I'm keeping things balanced.

What is your favorite part of your business?
I love the variety art licensing offers and collaborating with clients to create art that really works for their products. Sometimes new art is something I come up with and present to manufacturers, other times it is a theme they suggest. What is constant is the back-and-forth between the two of us - tweaking colors, layout or elements to get what they believe will really sell the products.

It is also incredibly gratifying to see products in stores with my art on it - sometimes I don't even know it will be there. I might be walking through a store, turn and find something with my design - totally cool every time!

Tara is offering katydiddys readers 10% off any of her art licensing products. Just use Coupon Code KATYDID10. Please note, discounts cannot be offered on data management software or Product Mock-Up Magic. Coupon is good until September 30, 2011. Go to the Art Licensing Info website to shop now!

Material Connection Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Tara Reed's and will receive a commission for products purchased via my affiliate link.

Some Blog Changes

2011-09-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

After giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to offer advertising on my blog. A girl has to generate a little cash in these crazy times. But I don't want my blog to be one big mess of ads. The goal of my blog is to share tips, tricks and resources with my creative readers, so my advertising goal is to stay true and share valuable information.

I'll only feature sponsors on the weekend, but I would encourage you to read the posts. I send out interview questions to my sponsors and ask them to share a bit about themselves. I think it's helpful to read other people's stories. Learn about how they balance work, life, family. Find out how they got their breaks. I hope you enjoy the posts. Some of my sponsors will also be offering generous discounts, coupons and giveaways, so you just might get a little bonus too.

If you would be interested in advertising or would like to become a Featured Sponsor, you can get all the information here. The rates listed are introductory, so you might want to take advantage while you can.

Thanks so much for understanding this change. I hope you will find that I will keep the integrity of my blog as I build my business.

My Creative Process

2011-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Journal Page by Laura Bray

I've recently notice a change in the way I've been working. I'm slowing down, enjoying the process more. I have to admit that I'm a bit of neat freak. And by neat freak, I don't really mean my house as much as my person. I read about artists and crafters, raving about how much they love to get messy. Paint and glue on their fingers and clothes. And I cringe. I HATE being messy. In fact, I'm so fussy that I won't even eat ribs! I don't like getting the sauce on my face. A little crazy? Maybe, I've just come to accept that's me. (My husband thinks the whole ribs thing is cute, too.)

Journal Page by Laura Bray

So, with my mess phobia in mind, I've usually just bought supplies to use. Fabric, paper, embellishments. Then I put them together with as little mess as possible. But I see that changing. I'm finding that the results of making everything from scratch really are worth the effort. I'm enjoying the process of dying and painting my own fabrics. I've found that if I set aside a day to do the messy stuff, I handle the mess better. I put on some old clothes or an apron, lay down oilcloth and get to work. I mentally prepare for the mess that will ensue.

Journal Page by Laura Bray

Have a become less compulsive about messes? Or is it that my daughter is in school full-time now and I have that much more time to make a mess and clean it up without worrying about interruptions? Whatever it is, I'm enjoying it and am excited about the places this new creative process is taking my work. Who knows? Maybe I'll get wild and go out for ribs tonight.....

Fabric by Laura Bray
Using Jacquard's Tee Juice Pens

Blog County Fair 2011

2011-09-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Don't you love the fair? Besides the food (where else can you get fried candy bars?), I love going into the Home Arts Hall and looking at the quilts. And is there anything better than the table setting entries? I love the history of the fair too. The idea that it was once a place where everyone in the community gathered to show-off what they had been doing all year. I suppose it's human nature to want to show your handiwork off, isn't it? It's no longer a journey to get to our neighbors' houses, and many of us have connections all over the world. Now we share our handiwork, crafts, cooking skills and even our livestock off on our blogs on a daily basis.

Vicki O'Dell and I were waxing poetic about the "good old days" and came up with the bright idea that we should mix the County Fair concept and our love of blogging together. The first annual, Blog County Fair was born. And we would love it if you would hitch up your horses (aka turn on your computer) and join us September 16-19, 2011. Show off what you've been working on this year. You might even win a virtual blue ribbon that you can proudly post on your blog.

We'll be judging entries in:

Quilting & Sewing
Needle Arts – embroidery, cross stitch and other decorative stitching
Pies
Tablescapes
Mixed Media

On September 16, head on over to Vicki's blog and use the Mr Linky widget to add your fair entry blog link. Then be sure to spend some time visiting everyone's entries (it's the neighborly thing to do).

Please tell your friends about the fair. Maybe they can meet you there. I can't wait to see everyone's entries!
There's a button and code in my sidebar so you can share the news about the Blog County Fair too! See you at the fair!

Teaching your child to embroider

2011-09-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been itching to learn to embroider since she was very young. The other day, at age 6, she completed her first "real" embroidered piece and I couldn't be more proud. Nor can she. I'm amazed at the fine works she's done. Her stitches are even and there are no knots in the back of the piece. I know many people feel that she might be too young to do embroidery, so I wanted to show you my process for allowing her to move forward with this interest with safety and developmental ability in mind.

My daughter's first introduction to embroidery has always been watching me. As a young child, she would sit next to me and watch me stitch. I would allow her to choose colors for my piece on occassion and I would also use her drawings as embroidery patterns from time to time to make her feel like she was part of the process. In fact, my daughter and I appeared on an episode of When Creativity Knocks to share our technique for transferring her artwork onto fabric. You can watch it here.

Once she was a wee bit older, I made some cupcake sewing cards for her. She was about 3 or 4 when she started to sew the cards. It was great practice for her hand-eye coordination. You can see how I made them here.

At about five, I bought her some plastic canvas and plastic yarn needles. She used yarn to stitch designs into the plastic canvas. We had some knots and tears and frustration, but she practiced and practiced. The plastic yarn needles aren't too sharp and the canvas already holes, so it helped her further her skills. I think this step was also very helpful in impressing the need to start from the underside of the fabric and to consistently stitch in the same direction. Once there were fewer knots and she got a little holder, we moved to the next step.

This was the biggest step. The one my daughter was really waiting for. I purchased some loose weave, thick fabric and some plastic canvas needles (metal ones this time!). I drew a design onto the fabric using a marker so that she could see the thick lines and had room to stitch onto them without going outside the lines. I was really amazed by how successful she was. The flower piece in this post is the first project she did within this step and I'm amazed by her success. We are using real embroidery floss and learning how to split the the threads, thread needles, keep the tail in place, and prevent knots. She does have a tendency to put the work down on her lap when she's working, so the dull needles prevent injury, but, because they are metal, she feels more like they are the real thing. The plastic ones still seemed like toys to her. She can also use an embroidery hoop now which also makes her very happy.

Once we learn a bit more about needle safety, I will graduate her to the materials I use. I'm so excited for her and I'm pleased that we found a system that allowed her to safely learn this traditional craft. As she mastered each step her confidence has grown.

So, if you have a little one who wants to embroider, you may want to try this step-up system. There are no specific age guidelines for going through the steps, simply keep watch your child and their abilities and enjoy the process. Stitch safely!

Goodbye Summer?

2011-09-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

It's already September. My daughter starts school in a few days. I'm overcome with sadness. Where did the summer go? I feel as if it slipped by silently, without proper attention given to it. I look at the lists my daughter and I composed at the beginning of summer. All the things we wanted to do during the freedom of summer. Far too few items have been checked-off and I am consumed with guilt. Did I drop the ball? Did she have a good summer? Were we overbooked? Did I make enough time for fun?

Usually, summer goes by quickly, by this year seemed especially quick. I'm not ready to go back to schedules and homework and soccer practices and meetings.

We did manage to sneak-in a few days at a lake cabin in Big Bear Lake earlier this week. It was fun, but I somehow feel that I should have started the summer with the trip. I feel like I finally relaxed into "summer mode" just in time for school start. Did you have a good summer? Did it slip by for you or do you feel like you experienced to it's fullest? Tell me your secret for doing so.

Tennis

2011-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

I bet you didn't know that I have sports trophy. I especially bet you didn't know that if you know me in person. I'm not exactly atheletic these days. But one summer, a very long time ago, I played tennis everyday. I wanted to be the next Tracy Austin. And I did come in first place in the Upland Recreation's Department Spring Tennis clinic in 1985. Obviously, I didn't want to be a tennis player too badly as I allowed a bunch of teenage diversions to get in my way and I eventually layed down my racket.

Now that the US Open is going on, I'm feeling all nostalgic for it. So I went into my garage, dug out that old trophy and dusted it off. I think it just might be tacky enough for me to put up on a shelf somewhere in the name of a conversation piece. What do you think?

And speaking of tennis...did you ever see the movie Match Point? It has very little to do with tennis except from a philosophical viewpoint, but it's a great movie! (Yes, it's Woody Allen, but it's not a typical Woody Allen movie. Try it, you'll like it.)

Zucchini Recipes

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! Everyone is harvesting their zucchini. And harvesting it, and harvesting it.

When I was a little girl, my dad had a fairly large garden in the backyard, and I remember lots of zucchini bread in the late summer. My little sister used to call it "Bikini Bread".

I don't have a yard large enough for a garden, but a friend of mine dropped off some zucchini for us the other day. Feeling inspired, I searched around for some new recipes to use it. Here's what I found:

Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Cookies. I got this recipe from one of my favorite books about homesteading, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if they would come out. When I tasted the raw batter, I wasn't very impressed, and I can usually tell if a recipe will be delicious by the raw batter. But once they baked up, they came out delicious! Really, it's a unique treat, and I actually feel guilt free allowing my daughter to eat these!

Next on my list was a recipe recommended by The Pioneer Woman. She's one of my favorite bloggers. (Did you know she has a TV show on Food Network now? I'm so excited!) She extolled the virtues of a Pineapple Zucchini Cake, so I baked it up. I had high hopes. It's definitely good, but not very sweet or like a cake. I would say, it's more of very moist tasting zucchini bread with some cream cheese frosting on it. Maybe I read the recipe wrong? Maybe my pineapple wasn't sweet enough? I may have to give it another try, because I usually trust Ree's recommendations. If you try it, will you email me and let me know what you think? You can find the recipe here.

And yes, I made both of these desserts on the same day. And yes, we are sick of eating zucchini despite the fact that these recipes are sweet goodness. But, when a girl is shredding zucchini, sometimes she doesn't want to stop. What are your favorite zucchini recipes?

Spumoni Quilt

2011-08-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly but surely trying to make a quilt for everyone in my family. I was planning on making my daughter a quilt out the clothes she's outgrown, but when she saw me working on this quilt, she begged for it. And I can't refuse her. Of course, she'll probably end up getting many from me over the years.

The pattern for this quilt is called Spumoni and it's from one of my favorite sewing books, Sew Darn Cute: 30 Sweet & Simple Projects to Sew & Embellish by Jenny Ryan.

It's colors are inspired by one of my favorite flavors of ice cream, Spumoni. Yum! Pistachio, Cherry and Chocolate! I get a craving every time I like at the quilt. I was thinking a cute spin on the theme would be a Neapolitan quilt.

I love getting inspired by sweet treats for sewing and craft projects. Don't you?

Books and Movies

2011-08-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is what we've been up to at my house lately, besides being crafty, of course!

Watching movies. TV stinks right now, so we are using our Netflix auto streaming like crazy.

My husband and I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop the other night. An interesting documentary that makes you wonder, what is "art"? We talked about it for hours afterwards. Adding to our discussion was the rumor that it's not even really a documentary, it's a "prankumentary".

Reading. I'm reading A Householder's Guide to the Universe: A Calendar of Basics for the Home and Beyond.

I love to read books about the sociological aspects of housekeeping. The author of this one is pretty radical, but makes some interesting points about how broken our current economy is and how becoming more self-sufficient might be the answer to world change.

Of course, it's not all cerebral around here. I just finished reading Room: A Novel. Told from the point of view of a five year old, it's a unique read. I love the beginning. I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say that the boy and his mom are living in one small room (never leaving it). Could you imagine? I'm challenged to keep my six year old busy and I've got the whole wide world at my doorstep. She's a hero as far as I'm concerned!

We all also very much enjoyed this one:

Beauty and the Beaks: A Turkey's Cautionary Tale. It's a very funny story-you may want to get it in time for the Thanksgiving season. My daughter enjoyed the story and the puns. I enjoyed the artistry that went into the chickens for the illustrations.

What are you watching and reading these days?

Fall Decor: Button Tree Pillow

2011-08-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm over at the Buttons Galore and More blog today, with a tutorial to make this cute pillow. No sew if that's the way you want to go!

A Peaceful Walk

2011-08-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

My husband and I try to go on a "date" at least twice a month. Sure, it's expensive to pay for a babysitter, but we figured out a long time ago that a divorce would cost a lot more, so off we go to reconnect a couple of times a month.

I've lived in South Orange County, California (aka the O.C.) for about 12 years now. I heard about a Hindu monastery in the foothills nearby, but never visited. One of our date days was the perfect chance to finally find some time to explore. The grounds of the monastery are absolutely beautiful. It's amazing to me that we were only 10 minutes away from tract homes and a sprawling suburbia. We tried to take the Shrine Trail, but got turned around. We were on a path, but not the right one. (Well, that could certainly mean something, couldn't it?) It was still a great adventure and a peaceful way to spend the afternoon.

Don't you love to find tiny pocket "vacation spots" right in your own backyard?

Sketchbook Pages & A Winner

2011-08-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that Lindy of Veni Vidi Scrappy won the Plaid Extreme Glitter prize package! Email me with your address so that I can send it to our friends at Plaid.

I just finished taking Alisa Burke's wonderful ecourse, Sketchbook Delight. I love her style, and I learned so much from her. I kind of pride myself on being "self-taught" but as I take more classes and get more advice from traditionally-trained artists and crafters, I am realizing that there really is something to be said for learning how to do things the "right way" before I go off and start experimenting.

Here's what one of my sketchbook pages looked like before I took the course.

I was pretty happy with it, but it lacked depth and movement. The page below and at the top of the post are pages I've sketched since taking the online course.

See the difference? Well, I do! I'm super proud of them, and can't quite believe I am capable of sketching like that!

So how about you? Do you learn the "rules" before you break them? Or do you go right to renegade?

Artbar Outing

2011-08-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

This Sunday my little sister, Jenny (yes! even at our ages, she's still my little sister), and I went to The Artbar for their studio hours. It was a sweet outing. One that reminds me of how very different we are (just look at our journal pages!) yet, our shared history brings us closer together than anyone else.

My sister's journal

My journal

It's always fascinated me to think that my sibling and I are more biologically similiar to one another than anyone else. We are more closely related in blood than we are to our either of our parents. Moving beyond the physical, we had the same childhood experiences, and although we have all translated those experiences differently, it's nice to know there was someone else there, who understands the ups and downs. Yes, a relaxing day filled with art and a sisterly bond. Nothing else can quite refresh the soul in this way.

FolkArt Extreme Glitter Giveaway!

2011-08-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. I have a love-hate relationship with glitter. I love the way it looks on my craft projects. I love how it glams up anything. But I hate that it gets EVERYWHERE. Seriously, me, my husband, and my daughter always end up with glitter bits all over us whenever I do a simple little project. Heck, even my late dog sparkled when I was doing a glitter project. Did I mention I also almost always get in my eyes? I've taken to wearing safety googles when I craft with it.

When I first heard about Plaid's Extreme Glitter paint, I thought it was a paint with glitter in it. But it's more like a translucent base with bits of glitter floating in it. You paint it on and when it dries you have a perfectly glittered piece without the mess of glitter. And the glitter stays put. No flecking off and continually making a mess. To try it out, I painted a craft paper mache with some FolkArt Metallic paint and then coated it with the Silver Extreme Glitter paint. I think these close-up shots really show you the glitter effect you can get from the product (and also my messy painted flowers!). I think my little show pony is perfectly glittered nonetheless and I know a little girl who can't wait to get her hands on it. And my eyes? Safe and glitter free!

I'm please to announce that Plaid is offering my blog and newsletter subscribers a chance to win their FolkArt Extreme Glitter paint! The prize package is a five pack of one of each of their new colors in: Aqua, Confetti, Champagne, Fuchsia and Royal Blue!

To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll draw one winner on August 17, 2011 and announce it here on my blog. Super simple!

You can get project inspiration on Plaid's website. (They have lots of Halloween inspiration over there, so be sure to check it out!)

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

The winner was announced here.

Embroidery Sampler

2011-08-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been very good about keeping-up with my blogging lately. I've been really busy working on projects while trying to keep my six year old entertained over the summer. I'm sure most of you can relate! To top off everything, my knee has been bothering me for about a week now. I don't think I injured it, it's probably more of a reminder of my age & weight than anything else. I need to give it some rest and that's much easier said than done. Yesterday, I tried very hard to keep off of it, and that was all the excuse I needed to pull out an embroidery sampler I started working on about six months ago. I forgot how much I love to work on samplers made up of little squares. I sift through my tin of odds and ends and beads, I sketch little pictures, and then I practice different stitches. And somehow the whole little mess ends up being a fun, cohesive project when it's all over. I'm thinking of using the finished panel on a pillow or something.

What are you working on these days?

A Tooth Story

2011-08-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Remember my post about the tooth fairy pillow I made? How much my daughter wanted to lose her first tooth? Well, it happened last night over dinner! My daughter started to tear up and I asked her if it hurt and she said she crying because she was so happy. She then handed me the tooth and I started to freak-out (inside of course-I stayed cool in front of her) because it didn't look like what I was expecting it to look like. It's been a long time since I saw a baby tooth (my own) and I don't know what I expected it to look like, but what I was holding in my hand wasn't it. Did you experience that?

So, I called my sister, who has a ten year old, and she said it was okay. She's handy to have around because she's recently been through it all, so I can always run things by her. Plus, she already knows I'm a Nervous Nelly and doesn't judge or roll her eyes. (Or maybe she does, but we're on the phone so I can't see her do it.)

Once I was calmed down, the tooth went into the pillow and we awaited the morning. My daughter was very excited to find a note from her personal tooth fairy, 50 cents (we got off cheap, she's not in school right now so she doesn't know the going price) and a tooth fairy bracelet.

I had a friend of mine make this bracelet for me when I was pregnant with my daughter. It's a charm bracelet with a fairy charm on it. It comes with pearl charms that can be attached to represent each tooth. The first pearl was delivered by the tooth fairy last night. I love the whole idea of the bracelet and dream about my daughter, all grown-up and wearing it. And when someone comments on it she can tell them what it means and maybe, just maybe, she'll remember the magic of her childhood. A time when fairies came to your room at night and left tokens of love in exchange for the slow loss of your baby years-one tooth at a time.

Tuesday is Ironing Day

2011-08-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

I iron every Tuesday. I don't have much to do, just a few of my husband's shirts, but I do try to get it done once a week so it doesn't build up. Last week, as I was ironing in my bedroom and watching TV, my daughter came in, sat down on the bed and said, "I love it when you iron. It smells good and makes the room warm and cozy." Suddenly, the boring task of ironing took on new meaning for me. A simple household chore, done on the same day, in the same way, wasn't just work anymore. It was a little memory for my daughter. It felt good to look at that way.

And it reminded me of when I was little. My mom would iron in our basement. There was a TV involved then too. I had a small, orange, blow-up kitty couch that I would sit on as she would iron and we would watch All My Children (circa 1972) together. I haven't thought about that in a long time.

I wonder, how long will this tradition continue? I know I'm in the minority because I still iron. Clothes and clothes dryers are slowly pushing out the dreaded chore of ironing. Will tomorrow's children have any memories of their mothers (or fathers!) doing household chores like ironing or cooking? Or will they think back on happy memories of watching TV while their parents surf Facebook?

All I know is my daughter has asked for a play ironing board and iron and I'm happy to fill that request. In the name of nostalgia if nothing else.

Sea Glass Quilt

2011-08-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

I created this picnic quilt to donate to Taller San Jose, for the silent auction for their Light Up A Life event. I love the colors in it and can just imagine someone going to a concert in the park for picnic with it. I even made some matching napkins & both the napkins and quilt are reversible!

The quilt pattern was from the book, Material Obsession: Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots, it's called "Avalon". The name makes me want to take a trip to Catalina with the quilt in tow! But alas, it will go to a lucky winner. The good news is, it will also benefit the wonderful work Taller San Jose does, so I guess I can't complain about letting it go too much. If you want to attend a GREAT event, and get a chance to bid on my quilt, click here to get tickets to Light Up A Life.

Are you quilting these days? What are you creating?

Today is Designer Connection Blog Hop Day. Click on the button below to see what my designer friends have been up to lately.

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Photo Organization

2011-07-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Cute photo of my daughter's tap shoes, isn't it? Too bad it will never see the light of day.

I have a confession to make. I take tons of photos of every month and I NEVER print them out. They just sit on my hard drive and rot. At the end of every month, I promise myself that I'll organize the month's photos and print them out and I never do. And that makes me feel really guilty. I don't think I've printed out photos in four years! It's the one area where I'm uncharacteristically disorganized and undisciplined. (Which I find funny, because I LOVE to take to photos and consider myself and amateur photographer.) While I'm not a scrapbooker, I do wish I was printing out photos and putting them in albums or even printing out photo books, but I don't. I'm so overwhelmed at this point that I just keep putting it off rather than dealing with it.

So I'm calling out for help. How do you stay on top of your photos? How do you organize them? Inquiring minds want to know!

Create With Me

2011-07-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

The big news around here lately is my recent publication in Create With Me magazine. But it's not big news because of me....it's my daughter's first publication! She's six and she already has artwork published! It only took me 38 years to accomplish the same thing. Seriously though, we both LOVE the magazine. I think it's one of the best children's arts & crafts magazine out there because it has crafts you would actually like to create too.

One thing I found really interesting about the magazine was the common theme in many of the articles about the need for patience when crafting with children. It was relief to read that I'm not the only one who grits her teeth as paint flies and little beads are found on the floor for days (weeks even) after a day of crafting with my daughter. I found out the frustration of taking an hour to set-up for a project, only to have it abandoned in five minutes, is not unique to me. It was nice to know that I'm not the only one who bites her tongue as she watches her child make strange color choices.

We do these things for our children because we want to nurture their creativity and we know the importance of being able to express ourselves through art. And we might just learn a little something about color theory while we're at it.

Whoopie Pies

2011-07-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

I keep hearing that whoopie pies are the "new cupcake". I knew I was eventually going to have to try one. I made them on Friday night and all I can say is..."Whoopie pies, where have you been my whole life?" They are so good. They are like inside out cupcakes. If you aren't a huge frosting fan, but love cake, these are the dessert for you!

I used this recipe. They were surprisingly easy to make. Here's a tip: I don't usually have fancy "dutch processed" cocoa in my house. Good old Hershey's is what I usually use, but I recently found out the Hershey's makes a Special Dark (like their candy bars) cocoa. I've been using it in all my chocolate recipes and I think it definitely has a superior taste. And the chocolate desserts look so dark. Yum!

Supposedly they are called whoopie pies because, in the good old days, when women made these confections as a way to use up extra cake batter (who has extra cake batter? anyway...) their children would yell, "whoopie!". I told my daughter that story and she didn't understand "whoopie". It's not a word we throw around here, but "yippee" is. So she has renamed them "Yippie Pies". Whatever you call them, make them tonight!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

2011-07-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Someone around here has a very loose tooth. It's causing quite a stir and there is A LOT of talk and excitement over the loss of a first tooth.

My daughter REALLY wants to lose her teeth. A few months ago, we read the book, Silverlicious, and in it, Pinkalicious has a personal tooth fairy. Of course, that led to a big discussion about who my daughter's personal tooth fairy is. She wanted to meet her right away, but hadn't lost any teeth. Being the creative person she is, my daughter proceeded to draw and cut-out a paper tooth and left it out to see if it would lure her personal tooth fairy to the house. Off to school she went and I went to work figuring this whole personal tooth fairy thing out. First step: finding a name. Did you know if you search "fairy name generator" online, you will actually find one? Seriously the internet has everything. The website I found was a bit strange (for adults who are into fairies I think), but I was able to get my daughter's fairy the excellent name of Chanter Willowflower. I was even informed that Chanter Willowflower wears "silver skirts, white feather down and has delicate, green wings like a cicada". Not bad, huh? So, before my daughter got home from school, good ole Chanter flew over, picked up the paper tooth, and left a letter of introduction behind with the promise that she will come back when the first real tooth falls out.

And now the first tooth is wiggling away and it is time for me to get to work on a tooth pillow. When searching the web for inspiration, I came across this tutorial. It was so cute I had to make it. Although I usually create my own designs, I just couldn't resist this pillow.

Ever since my success with the sock monkey, I've found myself to be a bit braver about making stuffies. I'll admit that I was still nervous and worried that I would end up with tooth pillow disaster (a cavity if you will...ha!). But I think I may actually have the hang of it.

I sure hope Chanter Willowflower likes it!

Click here to see more great projects!

Homemade English Muffins

2011-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

In The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People, there is a recipe for English muffins. I was fascinated by the idea of making them from scratch. You know how you think some things are simply impossible to make from scratch? Well, English muffins were one of those things for me. But the recipe looked really good and I was up super early one morning, so I tried my hand it. They were delicious and so easy to make. I spent the time it took for the dough to rise reading the Sunday paper. Now I've spoiled myself and my family and we will never be able to eat store-bought English muffins again.

Next on my list of "impossible to make from scratch"? Bagels.

Lamp Makeovers

2011-07-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your nice words about my little girl's new room makeover! One of the ways I saved on our budget was to fix up some lamps we already had laying around here. I mean, do you know how pricey cute, boutique lamps can be? Crazy! The lamps we had were very circa 1990s. Not exactly the look I was going for. So, I got out my craft paint (I used Plaid's FolkArt®Acrylic Paint in Baby Pink and Soft Apple) and painted over the dark blue/green metal of the bases, added some embellishments, and I've got some lamps that look brand new!

My favorite transformation is the lamp shown above.

This is the before:

A little paint, some felt flowers I made with my Sizzix machine and embroidered, and a lampshade from Ikea ($12!) and I think it looks like a completely piece!

Then I tackeled this floor lamp:

This one was really simple to makeover. I just painted the base and glued fabric to the shade.

I'm very happy with how this cost saving project turned out. I know it takes a little work to save money, but when you get results like this, I think the pride you feel is definately worth the effort.

Little Girl's Bedroom Makeover

2011-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's finally done! We've been working on switching my daughter's room and my studio and (redoing both rooms) since Memorial weekend. I've been living in total chaos. But it was all worth it! My daughter's room is done!

Here's a little reminder of what it looked like before (when it was my embarrassingly messy studio):

What a difference, huh? I have to thank my husband for making all my great design ideas become a reality. I'm on a mission to make our boring, cookie cutter, tract home look more unique, so he spent many hours putting up ornate chair rail and beautiful crown molding. I'm very happy with how it looks and my daughter is over the moon. We set a strict budget of $500 and we stayed pretty close to that. Of course, by selling some old furniture, I was able to pad the budget a bit. I'd like to get an all-white cottage style bed for her, but we ran out of budget, so the old bed will have to do for now.

Now we're set to begin working on my studio. I'm so excited and already day dreaming about storage solutions that will hide my messes. I'll be sure to share the results with you!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Need a last minute BBQ table idea? Hop over to the Buttons Galore and More blog for the tutorial to make some quick and simple fireworks napkin rings.

Designer Blog Hop Special Edition: iLoveToCreate's Beads in a Bottle Challenge

2011-07-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

This month, the designers have been asked by iLoveToCreate to design projects using their awesome Beads in a Bottle. What a fun product to get to play with!

I've had this cute laptop tote for awhile:

It's cute, but when I knew I was going to be taking it to a craft retreat, I knew I had to give it my "designer" touch. Using fabric scraps, buttons, Beads in a Bottle and some Tulip 3D Fabric Paint, I was able to give my tote some serious personality.

And you are all very lucky as iLoveToCreate is celebrating our blog hop with an awesome giveaway. Seriously, you are going to die when you see all the goodies you could win. Check it out:

Who wouldn't want a prize package like that? To get more information about the drawing and to enter, click here.

And don't forget to visit my fellow designers' blogs to see the projects they created using Beads in a Bottle!

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Bath Toy Caddy

2011-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had a horrible sinus headache yesterday, so I took a shower in my daughter's bathoom, because the master bath is a large room and you can't really get it to steam up enough (to hopefully get your sinuses moving). As I side-stepped my way through bath toys that were overflowing the bin they were in, I got an idea. So, out of the shower I jumped. I grabbed an old, mesh lingerie bag from the laundry room and sewed a ribbon onto the corner of it and hung it in the tub. Now all the bath toys are zippered up in the bag and the mesh allows for some air circulation (cause you know how nasty bath toys can get!). It was one of those projects that took me five minutes and yet I get happy every time I see it hanging in the bathroom. I know...it doesn't take much to get me excited around here.

Summer Lists

2011-06-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Last month, my daughter and I each made a list of the things we want to do this summer. Hers includes items like reading the entire Junie B. Jones's Book Series, eating watermelon, and learning how to ride a bike without training wheels. Mine includes making a full-size quilt (up until now I've only made lap and baby quilts), sewing a dress for my daughter, and buying/riding a bike. Of course, we both want to eat lots of watermelon, roast marshmallows on the beach and hula hoop.

As you can see, we are well on our way to meeting our goals. What do you want to do this summer?

Patio Cushion Make-over

2011-06-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Call me lazy, but I leave the cushions on my patio chairs out in the elements. Then I'm surprised when they get dirty, stained and faded. I bought some nice, dark cushions a few years ago, and they really did look good once.

But now, they just look dirty and they don't match the recent make-over I gave to my patio table and chairs. But cushions can be pricey. So I bought some outdoor fabric and recovered the old ones. I sewed envelope style pillows so that they can be removed when I leave them out (ahem) and they get dirty. Isn't it amazing how some bright accent colors can change the whole look of your garden? Even the plants look like they are different shade of green when there's a touch of red added.

The throw pillow is not in outdoor fabric, so I may actually have to get off my lazy butt and take it in the house when we aren't enjoying the patio. (P.S. Don't you just love the fabric? It's Free Spirit's Gothic Prairie by Jane Sassaman.)

Drink Charms Tutorial

2011-06-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

I hate to use (and clean-up) a ton of disposal glasses after a party, so drink charms are usually in order. But I'm not a beader and wire and I do not get along. So what's a girl to do? How about using ring blanks for drink charms?

I slipped a super cute Buttons Galore and More brad through a felt flower and glued it onto the ring blank. The cheap-o ring blanks in the craft store have adjustable backs, so you can just stretch it open and slip it onto the stem of your glass, and then squeeze it closed. When the party is over, your guests can take the charms home and use them as actual jewelry. Cute, huh?

Anniversary

2011-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to my smart, handsome husband. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for loving me. The past 15 years have been the best of my life.

Multiple Streams of Income Ecourse is BACK!

2011-06-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be teaching my popular Multiple Streams of Income Ecourse in July. And you won't believe the terrific line-up of experts that will be helping me! To find out more, click here.

Embroidered Gnomes Napkin Tutorial

2011-06-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and I'm in the mood for a garden party. I was thinking of having a cocktail party, with stuffed mushrooms and some wine. I'll set the table with my new Gnome Napkins. Want to join me? Here's how to do it!

Gnome Napkins

Materials

Set of four, cotton napkins
Gnome Embroidery Pattern (Created by me! My first embroidery pattern!)
Embroidery thread
Embroidery needles
Embroidery Hoop
Large-sized Ric-Rac
Sewing machine and thread

1. Wash your napkins and iron them.
2. Transfer the Gnome Embroidery Pattern onto bottom corner of napkin. I used an iron-on transfer pencil-my favorite way to transfer patterns onto fabric. To see my favorite transfer tips, check-out this video.
3. Embroider pattern. I decided to embroider each gnome in a different color for each napkin, but you can also make them uniform.
4. Using your sewing machine, embroider ric-rac around the outside edge of the napkin. I sewed it onto the back, allowing a bit of ric-rac to peek through, but I think it would also be cute to edge the front with some smaller ric-rac.

I think the napkins came out very cute and can't wait to throw my little cocktail party to celebrate the launching of my new embroidery pattern. Want to come?

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Is there anything sexier than 6'6" of man, getting his toenails painted by his six year old daughter, just to make her happy?

Happy Father's Day Bruce!

A Simple Birthday

2011-06-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

We had a simple birthday for my daughter this year. No big party with all her friends. Fewer gifts and more "experiences". And guess what? She said it was her "best birthday ever". You saw Monday's Sock Monkey post. That was the only gift we gave her and I have to say she was thrilled with it. When I was wrapping it the night before, I started to feel guilty, worrying that she would feel disappointed with just getting a homemade gift. I was wrong. She was so happy and I have never seen her so focused on actually playing with her gift. Usually, as she sits in a huge pile of toys, she goes into overload and doesn't know what to play with first.

She asked me to make her a white cake with white frosting. To surprise her, I bought Wilton's Wonder Mold Kit and created a spectacular cake (if I must say so myself). It was really fun for me to make too. Probably because I wasn't rushing to get it done in time for a party. Throughout the day, I tried to give her little surprises here and there. Picking her up at school with a bunch of balloons, a manicure/pedicure. Just little surprises sprinkled throughout the day.

As I thought back on the day, I realized how important simple, small gestures are. I think as adults we lose sight of that. We think we have to "go big" to create a lot of impact. But I'm thinking one big gesture, infrequently done, doesn't do half as much as a bunch of little gestures sprinkled liberally into one's life.