Come and see...

Autumn is just around the corner and I've been busy creating some fun new additions for the shop! If you click on the pictures, they will take you right to the listings.

My favorite cousin gave me a flaxseed wrap as a gift a couple of years ago, and it quickly become one of my favorite things she's given me. I have since given several away as gifts...new moms love them, grandmas love them, teachers love them, kids love them...and you will, too! These wraps can be stored in the freezer or warmed in the microwave...I especially love mine heated up during the cooler months.

I've also been having fun creating these special little collages. I love mixing the different patterns and colors...each one is unique! The current listings are for 4x6 small houses...wouldn't they be a great addition to a gallery or collage wall?

I've got several more new items that will be listed soon...and, how about a coupon code?! Use SEPTEMBER20 for 20% off your orders throughout the entire month!

I may have created a monster {but really, just a butterfly}

We had a wonderful time getting all dressed up yesterday. I have been fairly creative but simple with Maren's costumes in the past. This year she specifically asked to be a butterfly princess. The princess parts all came from her dress-up box {easy and free!}, but I decided to make the wings. Wow...what an act of love! Maren is already talking about what she wants to be next year, and I'm thinking I just may have set the homemade-costume-creating bar a little higher than I'd prefer. There is something special, though, about watching your kid prance around the house in sheer delight as she tests out the new duds. As for Truett...well, he was impartial this year and got to wear Maren's hand-me-down monkey suit from her first Halloween. I'm pretty sure this will be the first and only time that ever happens, seeing as how Maren is wanting to follow-up her butterfly princess getup with a pink bunny costume next year. While the bunny part may change, I expect the pink part to stick around for another few years. And I'm pretty sure Truett won't be convinced that the pink and purple wings really do bear striking resemblance to a Batman costume.



We shared our evening with the 'cousins', who aren't exactly cousins but some second or third version...we've resorted to just calling them the cousins, though...here's all the kids ready to head out for some trick-or-treating...
...and here's a more accurate glimpse into a photo-session with 3 overly-excited little girls and 2 babies about to head out for some trick-or-treating...
I'm so thankful for my sweet family and these shared memories.
And, I loved coming back to the house early with this little guy to hand out candy. Really...does it get any better than a face like that next to a bowl of chocolate!?

My new habitat {pillow}

A couple months ago, I was lucky enough to take home some fat eighths of Jay McCarroll's Habitat fabric for a little quilt guild challenge. The fabric reminded me of time spent playing in the woods near my parents' cottage. I was inspired to make a funky little pillow cover that now reminds me of playing in the woods, or as we called them, 'the birches'.

I cut random sized strips from my favorite fabrics for the 'branches' on the front. I left the edges raw so the stripes would have a messy, frayed look.

For the back of the pillow I pieced together some bigger strips of the fabric. I snagged a few extra pieces from guild friends who hadn't used all their fabric.



I love the way the pillow turned out, and I love the little reminder of a favorite autumn childhood memory that now sits on my entry bench.

A quilted pink runner

Since I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to whip up a table runner for Maren's Pink Party. It actually was a pretty quick project...I just wish I would have decided to make it more than 4 days before the party. *wink*

I had all the materials on hand, which is what made me decide to tackle the project in the first place. I cut the fabric to random widths, sewed them together, quilted on either side of the seams, and added a funky black and white binding.

See those cake balls? They were almost my undoing. When it comes to things in the kitchen, I'm not great at following directions. Those poor balls of delicousness suffered the consequences. Dear Bakerella, next time I promise to read through your entire book before I begin to make up a batch of cake balls. I did use an amazing chocolate cake recipe from my neighbor. It has zucchini in it, and I promise to share it with you soon. You'll thank me.
Happy Saturday!

My first quilt

I did it! I finished my very first quilt! A few months ago, I joined the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. It has been one of the most fun and inspiring things I've done in quite some time. I've also been blessed to make some wonderful new friends.

One benefit of being a guild member is having the opportunity to participate in various challenges. For this quilt, we were given [yup...for FREE!] a charm pack of Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids. The 'rules' chosen by our guild were to include at least a portion from each color in the pack, to only use one additional fabric for the front of the quilt, and to create a quilt that was at least 40 in. by 40 in.

Here is my finished quilt:

I love how cheerful and summery the quilt turned out. The flowers and leaves are raw-edge appliqued, and I used a simple grid pattern for the machine quilting.

After the quilt was washed, the edges of the flowers have a cool, messy texture.

I had an equally great time finishing the back of this quilt.


I'm officially hooked! There are 3 more in-progress quilts sitting on the table in my craft room. I'm so thankful to have a creative outlet. It's nice to have something to keep my hands and mind busy during my evenings. If you've got a spare moment or two, check out what some other quilters from across the country have created for their own Robert Kaufman challenge quilts here. There are some mighty talented individuals out there in the quilting world!

On learning to quilt

Happy June, friends!

I was thrilled to flip that last calendar page. With June came the opening of our community pool, a taste of some actual summer-like weather, the simplifying of our weekly calendar and the anticipation of the arrival of baby boy! Lord willing, we are somewhere within the 2-week waiting period, and we cannot wait to get our hands on this little guy! I've been doing my best to keep the house picked up, to finish up some creative projects and to enjoy each moment with Maren. I know our life is about to change in so many ways!

Some of the projects I've been working on have stemmed from a new little hobby I've picked up. A couple of months ago I took a leap out of my comfort zone and joined the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. My mother-in-law is a seasoned quilter, and she invited me to join this new guild in our area. For the past several years I have enjoyed sewing, but making quilts seemed like such a significant undertaking. I had no idea how inspired I'd be by the other amazing women in the guild, and I've surprised myself with some of the projects I've taken on already. If you've ever been interested in learning to quilt, I highly recommend joining a local modern quilt guild. I've learned so much already, and I haven't felt any pressure or intimidation from the more experienced members of the group. It's been such an inspiring and fun creative outlet.

So...I introduce my first ever quiltish project...a sunny little mug rug for a guild swap. I have to admit, it was a little difficult for me to give this away! Thankfully, my partner seemed to love it. Our assignment was to make a summery mug rug. I completely made up the pattern and was thrilled with the way it came together!

I raw-edge appliqued the sun circles...

I wanted the actual quilting part to look like a sun with rays...
The mug rug was a great beginning quilting project. I learned so much, and it was small enough to finish quickly. I learned all the quilting steps without working on a monstrous project. I think my mug rug was about 7 in. by 9 in. finished. If you're interested in learning to quilt, I highly recommend starting with something like this!

I'm almost finished with my first larger quilt, and I can't wait to share it with you. As part of the guild, we were given a charm pack of Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids. We had to make up a quilt using some of each color from the pack and one other fabric for the quilt top. Once the binding is stitched on, the quilt will be complete. So far I've loved my venture out into the quilting world.

Do you have a desire to learn a new creative hobby? I say go for it!

Dimensional Leaf Garland

Well hello there!

I have been in a bit of creative slump recently, and this weekend I broke out of it! There are fabulous garlands of all shapes and sizes out there in blogland. I wanted to make something simple, autumnal, and a bit whimsical for my home.

This is what I created:
This is a simple project, and you can adjust colors, sizes, length and really any other details to make your own version. Here's what you'll need:

• Some sort of stuffing
• Wood beads (or other large, chunky bead)
• Ribbon (Quite a long piece...just be sure to account for all the knots, leaves, and beads)
• Fabric scraps (I did use some regular cotton, but it was the trickiest to work with for this project. I preferred the heavier stuff like wool felt, corduroy, and denim.)

1. With wrong-sides of fabric together, cut out all your leaf shapes. Mine were between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches long and about 1 1/2 or 2 inches wide.

See...you should have 2 pieces cut from the same fabric that look like this when you 'open' them up:

I did not follow any sort of pattern. I wanted all my leaves to be somewhat varied. If you're a perfectionist-type-of-person, you could cut yourself a little pattern from some card stock or heavier paper. Here's my little collection all ready to be sewn:

2. Stitch around the individual leaves like this, leaving an opening on one side:

3. Stuff a bit of fluff into the leaf like this:
4. Finish stitching the leaf closed.

This is about how puffy you want the finished leaf:

This is what it looks like all stitched up:

5. Keep sewing all your leaves together until you have a nice little pile like this:

6. Arrange the leaves in the order you'd like them stitched together. Be sure your ribbon and beads are close at hand.

7. Leave about a 6-inch tail at one end of the ribbon, and start stitching the ribbon down the middle of the first leaf, being sure to back-stitch at the beginning and end. This is what the ribbon side will look like:

This is what the opposite side will look like:

8. Tie a knot near the end of the first leaf. Thread a bead onto the ribbon, and tie another knot to secure the bead in place.

9. Line up your second leaf as close to the last knot as possible, and stitch the leaf to the ribbon.

10. Continue stitching leaves, adding knots and beads until all your leaves are in place. Your garland will look something like this:

11. Walk all over your house with your new accessory until you find the perfect place to display your lovely creation. Sigh when you realize it is quite a difficult spot to photograph.

12. I love how it adds just a subtle bit of autumn to my front room. I'm already thinking of what sort of Christmas garland I could replace it with...Christmas is just around the corner, you know!
P.S. Do you like my nails? I LOVE this color for fall/winter...it's my new guilty pleasure...literally, that's what it's called: Guilty Pleasure from Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure line. You can buy it at Target.


Okay, back to the garland...I'm sharing it over at these fine places this week: