Mini Retreat!



We had so much fun at our little mini-retreat at my friend Susan's house.  It was so nice of her to open her house up to us so we could have a little sew-in at little cost, just gas to get there, food and the shopping expense.  hehe...sometimes that shopping can be bad but we were all good girls.  :o)

 

Susan shared the first quilt she ever made.  She was just in high school when she made it.  We all thought it was a pretty good job, not only for a teenager but the fact that it's still together!!  It's a crazy quilt and it's tied with yarn in the corners. 

 

 

Here is a picture of me, Susan and Neena.  (Nice hairdo, huh?)  We all went through school together and Susan was the Maid of Honor at my wedding.  That's a whole lotta years of being friends!!  It's so fun that we all quilt, stamp or do something crafty.  It allows us to spend time together while enjoying our hobbies.



 

This is a shot from upstairs, where the ironing board was.  After pinning the borders, I would go inside and sew them on.  Then I would trek upstairs to the ironing board.  I did this for 4 borders, 2 sides at a time......that would be 8 times!!!  Repeat a few more times for the backing and the other projects I took.  It was quilting aerobics!!!  :o)  Oh, the lady seated on the left is Judy. She's a nice lady that worked at Disneyland with Susan but recently retired. Lucky duck!  



 

Michael and Nicole made a delicious dinner Saturday night.  Michael is the girlfriend of Susan's son and Nicole is her daughter.  They made Sopes or Mamelas.  They are a corn masa patty cooked and then you raise the edge to create a little dam to hold all the goodies on.  We put beans, carnitas, a little potato and green salsa.  Mmmmm!!  Since we were retreating, we cheated and bought the meat and salsa from the little Mexican market.  It was all delicious!  Especially the margaritas!  hehe  And yes, we still sewed straight seams and no one sewed through their fingers.  ;o)

 

Did I say yummmmm?

 

This little block might look familiar.  I made it when I was at the retreat in Indiana.  I was going to just make a little table topper but Judy said it would make a nice pillow.  I had it pinned and all ready to go so I just went ahead and quilted it and then did a backing with a slip cover type opening.  I just need to buy a pillow and I'm set.  A UFO no more!

 

Susan had her hubby pull the ping pong table out before leaving for his guy weekend. This thing was a god-send!!! I pinned one border on the floor but knew that wouldn't be good for my back. This was ideal. I had to fold the middle of the quilt over so I could measure and pin the borders but that was no big deal. That big beast on the left is Dooley, the sweetest HUGE dog you ever want to meet. This picture gives you an idea of how big he is but his head is down. When he is standing tall, he's probably chest height. Makes you want to get a saddle! lol 

And here is my two year old project, Jared Takes a Wife. My sister Isabel and I took the Bonnie Hunter class at Road to CA a couple of years ago.  Of course, hers has been done for a while.  She made a little bigger than lap size and quilted it herself.  I pretty much procrastinated because I needed a place to spread this out (ping pong table to the rescue!!).  I added enough borders, it gives me the 'drop' I needed so it would cover my bed.  I'm checking into longarm prices to see if I can have it quilted.  I just don't think I have it in me to do it on my Juki. 

 

Here is a close up of the borders.  I didn't follow any pattern and hope that isn't obvious by looking at the photos.

 

I have a couple of craft shows I'll be doing with my daughter so back to the sewing machine for me.

Shopping Extravaganza!!

I started this post two weeks ago....got a little busy and realized I never published it.  DOH!!!!

 

We should all be very excited in Southern California.  We have Hobby Lobby stores in our area now!  Woohoo!!!!  Now "THIS" is a craft store!!  I have a feeling HL is going to give Michael's a run for their money.

 

I met my three girls a few weeks ago and went to the new HL in Huntington Beach.  OMG, we were all in Heaven.  Well, except for my youngest who isn't very crafty.  lol  If we were the Spice Girls I would be Crafty Mama Spice, Kelley would be Artsy Spice, Stephanie would be Crafty Junior Spice and Ashley would be...Sporty Spice?  She loves a good deal, maybe she could be Bargain Shopper Spice...lol.  

We all got a few "deals", supplies and things we couldn't live without.  lol  The girls went back home but Stephanie asked me if I wanted to go with her to Fabric Barn in Long Beach.  You would think Fabric Barn would sell fabric.  They do but very little.  It's the ribbon mecca store, wedding supplies, crafting supplies, etc.  So off we went to keep shopping.  Stephanie makes headbands and hair accessories and the ladies at work buy them for their little girls so she needed a little inventory.  Here is a peek at just a few of the choices.

 

And because these pictures aren't perfectly clear, you might not be able to see the prices but they are usually about $2.00/$2.50 a spool for 25 yards!  And the choices.....needless to say, pretty good selection.

 

 

THEN, as if that wasn't enough shopping......on Sunday morning I went to see my sister who was visiting her son and daughter-in-law.  When I got home my husband asked me if I wanted to go to Ikea and get the bookcase I had been wanting to get for the spare bedroom where I keep my paper/stamping supplies.  Sigh........I was just down the street from there but I didn't balk at the chance to get the corner of that room organized and off we went.  This one is the smaller of the Expedit bookcases.  I was a little disappointed the polka dot boxes didn't fit two on a shelf.  I didn't think to measure them (duh) but my photo boxes fit on top of them so it'll do.

 



 

With that crazy site, Pinterest, I have been saving containers for crafting/gift giving and needed a place to put all those things.  I've got those (tins, boxes, crystal light containers, etc.) in the clear boxes from Costco.  That helped clean up this corner very nicely. 

 

Since this redo in the room, I went on a retreat and got a big quilt top finished.  I'll try to post those pictures tomorrow.  I'm really happy how it came out.

Lil' Pumpkin Cushies

I saw this little pumpkin pincushion on Pinterest.  It was a free tutorial from Fiskars and here is the link.  I wanted to make a little something for the girls that I'll be spending next weekend with for our little sewing 'retreat'.

 

I zipped through the directions for this first one and didn't even change my thread from white to orange.  I wasn't sure if I would like the project enough to make them or not.  I liked it!!  :o)

 

 

 

I'll probably have to keep this first one as I think I'll take more time with the others.  First, I buzzed through the sewing so my curves had a few points here and there.  As far as I know, there are no points on a pumpkin.  lol  Also, the example didn't have a stem so I looked around my craft stuff to see what I could use.  I was trying cinnamon sticks but when I cut them, they broke into tiny pieces.  Then I found these spools.  Perfect, right?  I didn't feel like curling ribbon in the oven so I grabbed some wire I had and wrapped it around a dowel.

 

My little monster friend is from my daughter Kelley.  She was selling them at the craft show this weekend.  This little zombie with the scant head of hair cracked me up and I had to have it.  :o)

Baby Bib Card

My boss asked me if I would make a card for a baby shower she'll be going to.  This was the perfect opportunity to make another little bib card like the one I made for Becca's shower this past weekend.  I can't believe it but I forgot to take a picture!  I should've put it up against a cute baby fabric and not my Halloween table runner, or better yet, not to use my little tree for a hanger but when you're sharing in a rush, you do what you have to do.  Note to self:  Must work on my props.  lol

 

 

I used the large circle scallop die from Stampin' Up.  I cut my paper at about 4"x8" and fold it in half.  I set the fold below the scallop so it wouldn't cut all the way through the card.  This card has been around for a long time.  there's probably a tutorial around for it on youtube but honestly, if I can figure it, anybody can.  ;o)

 

 

 

I ran it through the big shot using the striped embossing folder.  I stamped one of the few baby images I had and then used punches to cut out and layer the design.  I used a dimensional dot to pop it off the card.  Also, I used eyelets on the top layer of the card to thread the ribbon through and tied a knot on the inside of the card.  I didn't do this on the original card I did last Saturday.  I just did a 1/8" hole but I think this looks a little bit better.

 

I stamped a sentiment inside and wah-lah, all done.

 

 





I went fabric shopping yesterday to get some "young" styles for the next craft show.  Found a mustache fabric that I just had to have.  And a few others.  Guess I'll be working on little stuff for the next week. 

 

 

Happy Boss's Day!

Today is National Boss Day so I 'whipped' up a card last night for my boss-lady.  I saw the tutorial for this coffee cup slide out card and thought it would be perfect for Donna.  Here is a link to the tutorial I found and here is the original post, although the original creator has the tutorial for purchase.

 

 

 

I trimmed the bottom of the card down just a little bit to get it even and then trimmed the top to the size stated in the tutorial.  It worked perfect.  I printed this little greeting on my computer and then cut it out with a label punch.  I thought I had the coffee stamp set with lots of sayings but unbelievable as it sounds, I couldn't find it in my tidy stamping room!!! 

 



 

I used the discontinued tab punch to create the little spot to put the gift card.  It worked perfect!

 

Becca's Baby Shower

I went to the baby shower on Saturday for Becca and her little addition soon-to-be, Noah.  The family loves the Dodgers so Adina (Becca's twin sister), my daughter Ashley and another girl I don't know did a baseball theme.  I had sent the girls some great links for a baseball shower I found on Pinterest and they ran with it.  They did a great job.  Nothing over the top but just enough to carry off the theme.

 

 

They used my Cricut to create the decorations, signs and pennants.  If you recognize the artwork on the entry table, my oldest, Kelley, drew the couple for the invitation and they enlarged it up for part of the decor.  So cute.

 

They did these little buckets on the tables. 

 

 

And these cute vases scattered around.

 

 

The "Concession Stand" consisted of hot dogs, chips, chili, cheese, onions, peppers (for nachos of course) and lots of yummy stuff like salad and a huge fresh fruit bowl. 

 

 

Of course, every ball game has a candy stand so here it is.

 

 

And here is a very pregnant Becca waiting to open her presents.

 

 

And here she is with her little quilt.  She said it was her favorite gift.  Awww, so sweet.  Sorry for the quality of the pictures.  I walked off without my camera. 

 

 

Some of these were taken with my iphone and some were forwarded to me.  Sigh...

 

Hoarder and New Pincushions



This corner of my sewing room looked much, much worse than this photo.  I know it probably still looks bad to an organized person but it's pretty good for me.  I cleaned it up about a month ago by organizing projects in boxes and put some current crafts-to-do in the white square baskets on the floor.  The reason I am showing you this "pile" though is because friends and family know I am a 'crazy crafter' and they are always giving me stuff.  The WalMart bags were my recent acquisition.  I could say no when people try to 'gift' me these lovely goodies but I cant' tell you how many times I've ended up using the stuff.  And I always think, "I'll just look in the bag and get rid of the rest."  Unfortunately, the bags stay in my room a little longer than they should!  So this time, there were some sewing notions like big safety pins, a tomato pincushion, measuring tapes, batting, scraps of fabrics, etc.  I really needed to just donate the bulk of it but I didn't at the time.

 

 

Fast forward to last night when I was working on the pincushions for the craft show.  I wanted to put a small amount of crushed walnut shells in the center of the cushies for weight and to clean burrs off the straight pins.  I look in the bag because I remember seeing some very cheap-looking muslin.  Perfect!  I also wanted to wrap a little batting around these pods and tuck in a little stuffing.  In the bag again, poly batting that I would not use for quilting.  Again, perfect!  he he.....I think I'm on my way to being a hoarder.  Those bags aren't going anywhere!!!

Skip forward to 11:30 p.m. and you have seven little round pincushions and three Adirondack chairs.  The chairs were courtesy of my friend Peggy.  (hoard, hoard, hoard!)  LOL

 

I was really stuck on embellishing these cushies.  They needed something more than the big cushion but with them being round, every little thing I added made them look like bonnets.  I ended up gluing rick-rack to the base of most of them to cover the space of where the cushion and frame met.  That worked to make it look less like a bonnet I guess, because once that was done, the little bow and button accents seemed all they needed.

 

Except this little brown one that absolutely HAD to have a safety pin on it.  :o)

 

The little blue cushie below was the first prototype and it's a bit smaller than the others.  I also thought the little stand piece on the back of the frame needed to come off at first, but the more I made, I liked the idea of them standing up.  I cut a piece of black cardstock with my 2 1/2" circle punch to cover the holes where I pulled off the stand.  It looked nice and clean after that.

 

Here's a close up of the chairs.  My neighbor that I am doing the craft show with said she saw some little chairs at the fabric store for sale for $10.  I told her I had a few Adirondack chairs I hadn't used and asked her how they were made.  She said they just had a cushion/pillow type piece and it wasn't even glued on.  I made a square 'pod' of walnut shells and a pillow cover and just put in a touch of stuffing.  There wasn't much room in that little pillow! 

 

 

I need to get a few more make-up bags done.  I checked my stash last night and I guess I sold more than I thought!  Luckily, I have about 6 in the halfway stage so I should be able to finish them up in the next couple of nights.  Man....if only I didn't have to work during the day!!!  ;o)

Baby Quilt for Noah

Monday night, I got the binding tacked down on the baby quilt for Noah, my daughter's friend.  Nothing fancy about the quilt or the label but it's done and made with lots of love for the new little bundle of joy soon to come into the world.

 

 

I gave my daughter some credit on the label since she was my 'ironer', 'sewing machine set up gal' and 'quilt holder' as I machine quilted.  I would've given her credit anyway but I'm not telling her.  lol  I found this little saying somewhere on the internet and it's my 'go to' saying for a baby quilt.  I can't wait for a little bit of Heaven of my own!!  :o)

 

Monday night I also flew over to Joann's to exchange some little travel pillows.  I had bought two different kinds.  One was labeled travel pillow and the other two I got were decorative.  Well, at the time they didn't feel much different but they were all on sale and there was only one travel pillow.  After making the pillowcases, I put the pillows inside and you could definitely tell the difference so I did the exchange.  I was glad to see they had restocked their supply.  I wrapped the flannel blanket and pillow with some black ribbon and will sell the sets at the craft show Sunday.  It was nice to use this fabric out of my stash!!  (As you can imagine, it didn't even make a dent!)

 

I worked on some pincushions last night and totally destroyed my sewing room.  How can such a little project need so many supplies!!  I hope to share a few pics with you in the next couple of days. 

Fall SU Workshop

My daughter Stephanie had a Stampin' Up! fall project workshop on Sunday.  Boy, what a mouth full!  We make some pretty cute stuff.  

 

This first project is a Mason Jar holding 4 Hershey's Nuggets.  Cutest darned thing in the world.  Why do I love anything miniature??  I put a Brach's candy pumpkin next to it so you could get an idea of the size...as if the Hershey's Nuggets inside wouldn't be enough to do that!  This is made using the Cannery Set Framelit and the Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set.  You can get both as a bundle and save 15% I think.  If you're not familiar with framelits, that's what SU calls the little metal frames that cut out shapes that usually coordinate with a stamp set.  That way, you just stamp and then use the framelit through your Big Shot and magically, the shape is cut out.  There is also a framelit for the little "just for you" banner.  I don't mean to sound like a commercial but thought I should provide some info if someone wanted to know.  :o)

 

 

 

 

We made this Thanksgiving card with the Woodgrain embossing folder and Core'dinations paper.  The paper has a light center so when you emboss, tear or sand it, the lighter shade shows through.  We sanded this lightly with the sanding block to get the grain to show a little bit.  For the leaves, we used the Autumn Accents Die and finished the card off with a brushed bronze button and Baker's twine.

 

We used a CD envelope for this cookie envelope.  We sponged the envelope with Crumb Cake ink to darken it up a bit from the stark white that it was.  We used Orchard Harvest designer paper for the band and stamped the image on Crumb Cake cardstock.  The image is from a stamp set called Friendship Preserves.  The shape of the two images are cut out using a framelits set called Window Frames. Both the stamp set and framelit are sold as a bundle as the canning jar set is.

 

The last project is a notepad topper.  You know we're coming up on some holidays (gasp) and you'll need to start making shopping lists!  We used the same Orchard Harvest paper for this project.  We made the topper by covering the top with cardstock first and then used the Top Note die.  We cut it in half and overlapped it just a little.  It adds a cute shape to the notepad.  We tied on 3/8" stitched satin ribbon and a little stamped leaf and acorn from the Gently Falling stamp set.  We stapled a little piece of ribbon to the back of the notepad to keep the pencil attached.

 

 Here is a close up of the accents.

 

I got all my fall decorations up and we are finally having some cooler temperatures in Southern Cal.  The weatherman even said we might get a drop of rain in the next few days!!  Woohoo!!!!  I've been baking pumpkin desserts (and eating them...oh oh!).  I don't "do" summer very well.  lol

 

I was going to share pictures of the baby quilt I finally finished but this post was getting long.  What else is new?  lol  I'll post pics of that tomorrow.