Winter Closeout Sale...

Put your shopping hats on everyone! I've just reduced prices on selected items in my Etsy shop. (Go to the "SALE" section.) I have tons of spring fabric that I want to make into creations, but I have to move along a little merchandise before I whip those babies up! Don't mean to beg, but won't you help me out by purchasing one of my totes for your very own? ;o) Just click here and you'll be magically transported to my Etsy...

Lil' Posie Cupcake

The last couple of days have been beautiful here in Colorado. The leaves on the trees are beginning to come out, the grass is greening, and we've got some blooming pansies. Life is good. I think people give a collective sigh of relief this time of year when we see warmer weather on the horizon. It feels so good. I made a Lil' Girl Cupcake Tote today that is an ode to spring! The soft green stripes on the base remind me of blades of grass and the cute flowery frosting puts a smile on my face!

Here's hoping you are enjoying some delicious spring weather!

"Petal Pusher"

I was in the mood for a little flowery magic yesterday, so I chose these botanical patterns. Sandi Henderson must have a passion for flowers. She certainly has a way of capturing their whimsical qualities. This beautiful Hang Up that I've aptly named, "Petal Pusher," is comprised of three fabrics from two of Sandi Henderson lines, Farmer's Market and Ginger Blossom. Sandi is not only an amazing fabric designer and seamstress, but she takes beautiful photographs and has an entertaining blog as well. You can find her blog, Portabellopixie, here. I love the floral graphics and the rich summery colors in this Hang Up...


It's in my Etsy...

Bloomin' Tuesday

Can you see our house in the middle of that photo? Yup, that's what it looked like earlier this week. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but we have had a lot of cold, wet, snowy weather the last couple of weeks. As a result there's little blooming in our gardens. Today's temperatures gave us a little hope. It was in the 50's and I was able to go outside and do a little yard work, so maybe next week there will be something worth posting for Bloomin' Tuesday.

To see some worthwhile Bloomin' Tuesday posts, go to Ms. Green Thumb Jean's!

For all my Bloomin' Tuesday friends, feel free to scroll down several posts to sign up for my April Give-Away!

"Prairie Picnic"

Thorns and thistles. Coneflowers and sunflowers. They never looked so good! I named this Hang Up "Prairie Picnic." It takes me to another time and place. Let it transport you to a picnic on a pleasant midwestern summer's day -- blue skies, warm breezes, children's laughter, native flowers, and -- of course -- a bug or two! These beautiful fabrics are the dream child of Jane Sassaman for Free Spirit Fabrics. The designs were inspired by Jane's native Midwestern landscape. Every plant and insect on this fabric can be found in the rolling hills of Northern Illinois. Queen Anne’s Lace, sunflowers, Bachelor’s Buttons, teasel, moths and bugs all lend their honesty to these whimsical designs. I was enchanted with this fabric the first time I saw it, but I fell in love with it after I made this Hang Up. I hope you agree...


This Hang Up can be found in my Etsy shop later today...

Easter Nests...

These little Easter Nests are made with only three ingredients -- shredded wheat, chocolate chips, and candy eggs! To make eight 3-inch nests use:



3 rectangles (about 1 1/2 cup crushed) of shredded wheat, crushed
1 - 11.5 ounce bag of milk chocolate chips, melted
candy eggs

(I buy Post Shredded Wheat Original brand. The wheat biscuits are packaged in paper within the box, 3 to a package. Use one of those packages for each recipe.)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave until all the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the melted chocolate over the shredded wheat and mix well. Let it sit a few minutes to cool. The mixture is difficult to work with because it is so sticky. You might want to coat your hands with cooking spray or margarine so that the chocolate mixture doesn't stick to your hands quite so much. With your hands make about 8 round mounds and place them on some wax paper. Then using the back of a spoon, make an indentation in the middle of the mound and build your nest! Fill with candy eggs and let it set until cool. It takes about 1 1/2 hour to firm up. Waaaalaaaaa! What could be better -- fiber & chocolate!!!

Hungry?

Are you hungry for a little color? Me too! I'm tired of winter browns and gray skies! I needed to add a little color to my life, so I whipped up this little tidbit. I do believe it looks good enough to eat. I made it last week and it's already in my Etsy shop. Love the fun, bright colors of this one!

I also had a little time to make a Hang Up on Saturday night. It's been awhile since I made a momma sized tote, so it felt glorious! Look forward to seeing that one tomorrow...

Been busy...

Have you noticed that I haven't been sewing much this week? Me too. It's driving me crazy, but I've been otherwise occupied. A couple of months ago I was asked to help with a Family History Fair at our church. This is a once a year event sponsored by our church for members of the community. I love Family History (genealogy). It's another one of my many hobbies. I've researched my grandfather's line fairly consistently over the past 20 years. That's his photo to the left... handsome chap, wasn't he? His name was Charles, but he was called "Charlie" by his friends and family. He was a Welshman who fought with the Welsh Fusiliers in WWI. Several years later he immigrated to the U.S. where he met and married my grandmother. My mother followed shortly thereafter. When my mother was four years old Charlie died of tuberculosis -- a conditions he contracted during the war. His is a poignant story and one that has always touched my heart. Most people when they research their ancestors take pleasure in finding royalty scattered among their progenitors. Not me. I prefer simple peasants and plain folk lining the branches of my family tree. (I've done enough reading to know what kind of shenanigans those that were royalty dished out.) Fortunately, I've found a lot of common folk amongst my kindred.

I digress... Anyway, I was asked to help with our Family History Fair. This year they are having several classes, but the main portion of the fair will be simple display tables and demonstrations featuring different aspects of Family History. This is the part that I was asked to head up, so I've been doing a lot of planning and organizing of late. This week I've been making the centerpieces that will adorn each display or demonstration table. Along with visually tying the displays together, these centerpieces will give the theme of each display. This shouldn't be a big deal, right? Hmmm. You'd have to know me to realize nothing is ever a "little" deal with me. You'd be proud to know that I did pare down my first idea for these centerpieces. I had the theme of "Family Trees" floating around my pea-brain, so I thought I'd make 12 paper mache' tree stumps that would come out of the center of each round display table with a sign stuck in the stump stating the name of the display. That would have been awesome, but thank heavens reason prevailed. Instead I decided to simplify and make a two-sided "tree" that would be planted in the center of the table and have the name of the display written amongst its leaves. I thought that sounded like a reasonable project, especially since I had to duplicate the centerpiece 12 times... The first one took 5 hours to make. So much for "simplicity." You'd think 5 hours would warrant me a fantastical centerpiece, wouldn't you? Mmmm, not so much. I'm just not terribly creative in this kind of artistic endeavor so it takes me hours to do something that most can whip out in a matter of minutes.

Anyway, the event is in a week, so hopefully I'll be able to get back to a little sewing soon. Hearing the hum of my little machine really does keep me sane these days. That statement gives a lot of credit to my sewing machine, but it's important to give credit where credit is due.

It's Give-Away Time !

It's time to celebrate the onset of Spring with a "Just Another Hang Up" Etsy Give-Away!

The rules of the contest are as follows:

1.) The participants must live within the continental U.S. I will provide the postage.

2.) Go to my Etsy shop by clicking on the photo below and choose the item you would like to win from my shop. That's right -- it can be a Shabby Chic or Funky Fresh Travel Bag, a Dwipe, a Lil' Girl Cupcake Tote, or one of my Hang Ups (totes)! Write down the name of the item you have chosen -- or in the case of my travel bags a brief description-- and hustle on back to this blog. Then leave a comment stating which specific item from my Etsy you would like to win! If your name is chosen that's what I'll be sending you! (If the item you pick sells between now and the end of the contest, you'll have to choose a next favorite item for your prize.) Each person that makes a comment below will have her name entered into the contest.

3.) If you put a "shout out" on your blog about the contest, and come back and let me know through another comment, I will enter your name two more times.

4.) In addition... All those who enter this contest and commented on my blog in the month of March will get their name added an additional time! (Thank you for your support and comments last month!) Remember: Your comment needs to have been posted in March for one of my March posts.

5.) No anonymous comments, please. If you are not a friend or relative that we already know and love, I must have an email address or be able to leave a comment on your blog. If I don't have any way to contact you, your name will not be eligible.

6.) This tote is not meant for resale. Only those intending to use the tote for personal use may register to win.

This contest will run through midnight on Thursday, April 9th. Friday morning, April 10th, the winner of the contest will be announced.

Whew... sounds kind of complicated, but it's not really. Just click on the photo below and have fun window shopping!

Good Luck!

Bloomin' Tuesday

We had a mother of a snowstorm last week so all the little ground cover that was starting to sprout is now shivering underneath several inches of snow. So for my Bloomin' Tuesday post I'm relegated to cut flowers again -- which is not really a hardship, mind you. If I had my way I would have a vase of cut flowers in every room of my house. That's my idea of heaven. This week I bought a small bunch of tulips and a small bunch of snapdragons. Both of these varieties are favorites of mine and remind me of Spring! If I can't have Spring in my garden, I might just as well have it on my dining room table!

I took the first two photographs at nighttime and the next two in the early morning hours with full sun, which explains the difference in shading and color in the photos. They are lovely, aren't they?

To visit more Bloomin' Tuesday posts,
go to Ms. Green Thumb Jean's!

Around the corner...

Easter is just around the corner. It's one of my favorite holidays. I associate the words "joy", "hope", "renewal", and "love" with Easter. How could you not adore a holiday that you think of in those terms? I like to send my kids and grandkids little love packages on holidays. I wish our family could be together on all the holidays, but they are spread from one coast to the other, so getting together for every holiday is just not possible. Instead, I often send them little care packages to let them know we love them and are thinking of them. I thought I'd show you what I'm sending our granddaughters this year. Yup, each one will get a little "cupcake" with little trinkets and jelly beans inside the eggs. I've always enjoyed making the Easter basket part of the gift. I like it to be something they can use after, so this little cupcake tote fits the bill perfectly. I think I'll get the grandsons a little sand bucket this year and fill it with little boy things. Should be fun putting these together...

Flea Market Finds...

Today I needed to get out of the house. Yesterday we were practically snowed in. Colorado has had a relatively warm Winter with very little snow along the front range, but yesterday Mother Nature made up for lost time. We had a bit of a blizzard. I get cabin fever after a few short hours, so I needed to get out today. I traveled on over to the local Flea Market for a little excitement. (Yeah baby, that's how I roll.) I enjoy going to the Flea Market every now and then -- particularly when I need a little levity. I peruse the isles chuckling to myself over all the outlandish items on the shelves. Occasionally I find a little something that I like. Today I hit the gold mine! Permit me to share...

Since we are in "baby mode" in our family, when I came upon this little vintage romper my heart melted.

Let me just state at the onset that I am not an antique or vintage connoisseur. My dream is to be one of the experts on "Antique Roadshow", but I don't need a crystal ball to realize that's not in my future. When I saw this beautiful little romper I was thinking it might be an authentic 1950ish cast-away. Since I got home I remembered seeing rompers just like this one in Chinatown last year, so now I'm thinking it's probably just a replication. Frankly, that doesn't even matter because I love it and I paid what I consider a fair price for it -- $6. I do love the detail on the front.

The little baby blue felted shoes I snatched for $3.50. Not bad. I'm not sure about the little pink flowers. I think I have a better chance at these shoes being "vintage" because times have changed and I don't see a lot of florals adorning little boy clothes these days. They are sweet though, aren't they?

I'm a sucker for holiday decorations. So I picked up these little baubles...

I'm thinking they'll look kind of cute in the midst of the Easter eggs I use to adorn my mantel. They were a few dollars each. The fur feels surprisingly realistic. Hmmm. I'm hoping Peter Cottontail didn't get caught by Farmer John and this is the result... :o/ (That was tacky... I apologize.)

Last, but not least, I have a little collection of what I term "blue and white" in my kitchen. Here's a sample of a few of my pieces.

See that little Delft pitcher in the middle? It looks like it "belongs", doesn't it? Well, now it does. That's the last item I bought today. I paid a whooping $9 for it, but I do love it immensely.

All in all not a bad price tag for an afternoon of entertainment!

Thankful Thursday

What inspired me this week?

Most of you know that I spent the last couple of weeks in Tennessee. It rained consistently the first week of my stay, but toward the end of my visit the sun came out and Spring started to show her lovely face. Green grass. Budding trees. Blue skies. Flashy flowers. Robust robins. All signs that pointed the way to warmer, more sun-filled days. Simply put... Spring inspires me.

What surprised me this week?

A couple of days ago my sewing machine took on the sounds of a garbage disposal. I've never been mechanically oriented, but I figured that was not a good sign. I called up the fabric shop where I purchased the machine and they told me to bring it in. Less than an hour after I dropped it off they called to say the tune up was complete. Nothing major, just a cleaning was in order. When I picked up the machine I asked how much I owed them. Her reply, "Not a thing." Now mind you, I need no encouragement to want to peruse their store on a regular basis, but I really appreciate the way they chose to show my value as a customer in this very tangible way. Such a welcome surprise!

What moved me this week?

While I was in Nashville I was able to go with my daughter and son-in-law to an ultrasound where they found out the gender of their baby. Sitting in that room watching that once-in-a-lifetime occasion unfold was so sweet and special. That moment was blissfully surreal and it moved me.

Been baking...

I've been baking again. Making these cupcakes is lethal to a diet. Seriously. I'm not even kidding. Especially when I'm applying chocolate frosting. I'm packing on the pounds, but when I look at these goodies it makes me feel like it's worth it. They are delectable, aren't they? ;o) These baked goods currently reside in my Etsy shop.

Lil' Girl Cupcake Totes...

I had a little time yesterday to whip up a couple of cupcakes. I'll be posting these on Etsy later today, but thought I'd go ahead an give you a quick preview.

Bloomin' Tuesday

Yesterday we came home from our trip to Nashville to 77 degree weather in Colorado. (Never mind that we are under a storm watch today with three inches of snow expected.) I can always tell when Spring is around the corner. Dandelions are my first clue. They start popping up all over my yard. Fortunately for them by the time I see those weeds I'm so grateful to see anything green in my garden that I am tempted to water and fertilize them just to encourage them along.

This year I will be fortunate enough to see the first real signs of Spring in two states -- albeit a month apart. On Saturday, before we left Tennessee, we went to the replica of the Parthenon in Nashville. It was a warm, beautiful Spring day. Birds chirping. Squirrels flying from tree to tree. Chubby babies toddling around the park gleefully experiencing a warm day. Beautiful moments.

While there I took some photos of the blossoming trees...

Be still my heart.

To enjoy more Bloomin' Tuesday posts, go to Ms. Green Thumb Jean's!