eBook from "All Free Sewing"...

A couple of months ago I was contacted by "All Free Sewing" and asked if I might like to include one of my sewing tutorials in an eBook they were putting together. Arrangements were made and my Ruffled Kindle Case was included in the book. Monday the eBook was published!

This eBook has 12 projects (some no-sew) that can be whipped up in minutes. It's a great resource to go to for that hard-to-gift person in your life!

Go here to download your copy of the book!

Bird Nest Necklace

The other day a sweet friend of mine presented me with this beautiful Bird Nest Necklace...

This gift holds special meaning to me. First she made it herself, which means everything to me. Next it's gorgeous. Finally this beautiful little nest has seven eggs, which symbolize my seven children. {Sigh}

I love meaningful gifts. 

My friend told me she had learned to make Bird Nest Necklaces by reading a tutorial she found on Pinterest. Go to Pinterest and type in "Bird Nest Necklace" and a myriad of tutorials will pop. I particularly liked this one at "Sarah Ortega's" blog. She uses a variety of stones and gems in her tutorial.One could even make a nest with the birthstones {or birthstone colors} of a mother's children. I might even try my hand at it -- although my attempts at making jewelry in the past has met with less-than-positive results. {geesh}

I think this would be a beautiful gift for a mother or grandmother on any occasion.
I also think it would be a perfect gift for a teen -- with her birthstone as the egg.
I can't wait to wear mine!

Been busy & a New Tote...

Oh man. Life can be a whirlwind sometimes. This month I've traveled to three different states, at three different times, to see different family members! It's been wonderful, but tomorrow I arrive home from the last trip and it will be good to be home for awhile. First there was my son's graduation in Utah, then a trip to help my daughter-in-law recover from surgery in Tennessee, and last a quick Mother's Day trip to visit my mom in California.

Last week I was only home for a few days before we flew to California. I anticipated getting some last-minute sewing done for Mother's Day in the few days I was home. It's always a challenge trying to come up with something for my mother for Mother's Day. What do you do when a person has it all, and you want to give her something heartfelt for Mother's Day? You listen very carefully. Several weeks ago my mother told me that an ordinance was passed in her town recently that all grocery, pharmacy, and retail stores will no longer be able to provide plastic carryout bags at checkout for their customers. {Geesh!} My mother mentioned that because of this ordinance, she had been using one of the purses I gave her as a bag for the items she buys in retail stores. That got me thinking...

The bag I had previously made her was more purse than bag, so I decided to make her a tote to accompany her on her shopping trips. I didn't want something too heavy or too big for her to lug around, so I made it small enough (13" x 9" x 4")  for her to carry comfortably on her shoulder and deep enough for her to stash all her store-bought treasures. I lined it, reinforced it with fusible fleece to make it nice and sturdy, and put a fabric covered foam board piece in the bottom for support.

I especially like the twirly ribbon and fabric flower adornment on this bag. It adds just the right amount of bling for a practical bag like this.

On another note -- In the coming week I hope to publish a tutorial for my new ruffled Kindle case. Thanks to all who commented that they might like that tutorial. It's nice to know ahead of time that it might be well received!

May's Plaque Attack -- A Tribute to Grandmothers!

Mother's Day is fast approaching, and I think it's appropriate that May's Plaque Attack pay homage to the exceptional grandmothers in our lives. There are many special women in my life that are fabulous examples of grandmotherhood to me -- my mother and mother-in-law, my sister and sisters-in-law, and many of my friends. This plaque could be given to any one of them!

There are some beautiful greeting cards available for Mother's Day with very sweet sentiments, but these plaques actually cost less than a greeting card and give the recipient something a little more substantial and heartfelt!

Collect the following materials to make a plaque of your own:

• 6 1/2" square wooden plaque {available online or at craft stores like Hobby Lobby}
• 1 piece of scrapbook paper 
• acrylic craft paint or spray paint in a color to compliment your scrapbook paper 
• clear matte spray sealer
• Mod Podge {matte finish is best}
• paint brush

For a tutorial on how to make these plaques, go here!

If you are interested in receiving the document for these Plaque Attacks, simply email me with "Plaque Attack -  May 2012" in the subject line of the email. My email address is listed on the sidebar of my blog.

By requesting this copyrighted document you agree not to sell the document or sell any items that use this document. It is for personal use only. You may make as many copies for yourself or to use as gifts as you would like. If you post about your plaque on your blog, please link back to this blog post for your readers to receive the document. Thank you! 

Remember: To receive the document with these plaques simply put "May 2012 Plaque Attack" in the subject line of your email and please remember to leave a comment below!

Enjoy!  

Felt Flower Bookmark...

I received a wonderful gift for Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law. They stood in line for hours to get two autographed copies of "The Cupcake Diaries" -- one for me and one for a niece who is in love with their show!

This is the recipe book and memoir of sisters, Katherine and Sophie, of the hit TLC series DC Cupcakes. It's a fabulous book with many of their wonderful recipes and a lot of savvy advice and encouragement to follow dreams. {I've been lucky enough to taste a variety of Georgetown Cupcakes from their store, and, believe me, they live up to the hype!} It's a recipe book I would recommend for women who love to bake. Mother's Day is coming up in a few months... just sayin'.

The other day I was perusing Pinterest and came upon a delightful bookmark.  I got to thinking it was just what I needed to hold my recipe book's page open while I bake. {It's so frustrating to have the pages of a recipe book flip closed when you are in the middle of creating!} Here's what I came up with:

Felt Flower Bookmark...

Supplies:

felt

elastic headbands

hot glue gun & sticks

Start with some elastic headbands that you can find at most grocery stores, pharmacies, or dollar stores...

Begin by cutting a round circle of felt and filling it in with flowers. Follow this tutorial at Infarrantly Creative to create your flowers. There are a lot of great tutorials on how to make felt flowers, but I really like Beckie's because she demonstrates variations for this lovely fabric flower...

I added a couple of green leaves to the mix as well. Then I took my headband and sized it to the book. I had to make it a little smaller by cutting it at the seam, taking a little off, and sewing it back together. Hot glue your flowery circle to the headband. Then finish it off on the underside by covering the headband with another circle of felt...

If you'd rather, you can make a more simple bookmark by making one large flower and using one of the smaller headbands. This bookmark might be better for paperback novels, but it worked well for my heavier recipe book as well...

I think a bookmark and favorite book would make a delightful gift 

for a mother of any age on Mother's Day!

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