Best invention EVER nomination

Have you ever noticed how perfect the "camping chair" is?  It is simply the best invention EVER when it comes to being in the great outdoors....

It comes with everything you need to work

and it still has room on the other side for enjoying the great outdoors........

Isn't it PERFECT ? 

That's what I did this weekend...visited our favorite local campground and

worked on crafty things while fishing...napping...napping...fishing....

I think the "camping chair" should win some sort of "BEST INVENTION EVER" award, don't you?

Blocks of procrastination

Dang it! Is it really May next week ALREADY? I guess that'll put another X in the FAIL column of the Craftsy Block of the Month  I've been working on ***sigh*** there ARE still a few more days of April so I guess there might be hope...don't hold your breath though....there are lots of things in the procrastination pile ahead of April's blocks...gosh! how did that pile get so high?.....I might have to re-prioritize...pfffff...later.

In the meantime I wanted to share with you the March blocks I completed in April :)


 
I have said before that Quilting is an amazing process of tricks and shortcuts that in the end fool the eye into believing it must have taken years.

These block are definitely in that "fool the eye" category. I love this block...my favorite so far.

This was my first experience with foundation piecing. I think I may have found yet another thing to love about quilting.


Isn't it amazing how you can begin with a couple of lines on a foundation piece of fabric....

 Sew multiple strips onto that foundation piece...any width your heart desires...mix it up...don't be afraid!





Keep adding strips....






and adding strips....














Before long you have what looks like a mess...but the seams are all so perfectly straight!













Trim it up.....makes me look pretty good doesn't it? Wow! That's a nice square!

Now make three more...all different...sewn without care of matching colors or strip widths......

and then when you put them all together..... they become one beautiful block! (Now I look REALLY good...shhhhh.... forget I said that quilting can "fool the eye")

I could see a whole entire quilt made from this block...bet I could get a quilt top done in one afternoon with this method....hmmmm....can you hear the "procrastination pile" screaming?  

And how I got from this.....

To this......

  is another mystery you can solve by joining in with me at the Craftsy Block of the Month..... It's NEVER too late to start, after all I'm pretty sure there's a procrastinator out there who hasn't started yet either!

Therapy and WOYWW

I wasn't going to go there today. I wasn't. But when I walked into my sewing room this morning and saw this....

and this....

I knew I needed some therapy... WOYWW therapy. So, I popped on over to Julia's and what do you know...SHE needs some therapy too, you should see her desk, it puts my mess to shame!

My excuse? I was working late last night finishing some totes that were a special request from my sis. I needed to deliver them today so...after much procrastination (because no job can be truly completed unless there is procrastination first)  I finished them on time to be delivered today but I was too tired last night to pick up...ok, so yes, those are finished FooFoo Bunnies waiting for their picture and to be listed in my store and yes, they have been sitting there since last week BUT they ARE finished! And yes, those are my  Craftsy Block of the Month pieces and parts underneath the bunnies.....I guess you might have to call all of that my "procrastination pile" ....sounds kind of permanent doesn't it? 

Seeing all of this in pictures really makes me....well...I don't know what it makes me...uh, maybe a really great  "what's on you workdesk wednesday"  therapy patient? 

I DO feel better....so, thank you Julia for that!

Strike up the band...we have a winner!

Can I just say....I love my readers! I loved reading your responses to my question about music in your lives. Thank you for making my very first giveaway so successful!

Alright...that's enough of that mushy stuff...... let's find out who won!

Drum roll please!!

I filled the marching band hat with all of your entries.....

 It was pretty full....thank you so much!!

Aidan was so excited to pick the winner, he reached in and pulled out a name.....

And that name is.........

Terrie Lee R

She wrote:

Terrie Lee RApr 18, 2012 06:26 AM

Music has always been a part of my life but I guess the best part would be listening to my baby play his music in his band. He is grown and out on his own now so I don't get to hear it as much. I framed one of his pieces of music that he created as a reminder. He has a gig coming up so I'm really excited to see him perform again. Thanks for the opportunity to win your lovely tote!

PS - I am already a follower.

Congratulations Terrie Lee !!!

You have 24 hours to contact me and let me know which tote you would like to have as your prize.

Thank you again to all of you who entered....I know it's a bummer when it's not your name in big red letters, it's not ever my name either.  I do hope you will try again on my next giveaway...cause you just never know!

Do you have a purple crayon?

I bet you've knocked on a neighbor's door and asked, "do you have a purple crayon or a yellow button, a piece of string or a blank notecard?" if you have ever participated in a scavenger hunt.

I don't know how popular they are these days with kids and parents having to be so careful but when I was growing up and we could stay outside even after the street lights came on...scavenger hunts were fun, fun, fun!

Bringing back a bit of nostalgia and adding in the possibility of winning some fabulous prizes, the fun people on the  PCF Team on Etsy are having a scavenger hunt and you don't even have to go outside to participate! You can participate at your own pace...no mad dash to the next house here! If you win....and there are lots of prizes...it won't just be a candy bar!

How fun is this?

Hop on over to Ciara & Company Bowtique where it all begins and she will tell you how to participate. It's easy and remember, you don't have to complete it in one sitting AND you could win, win, win!

Happy hunting!!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway..... you could win one of these...

Lost and Found...Serendipity Shopping Day!

As you know, on most weekday mornings, I am in charge of dropping off my grand kids at their respective schools for a day of academia.

They arrive at my home with backpacks and lunch pails and sometimes still in pajamas with their clothes in a bag because it was one of "those" mornings....sigh...I remember "those" mornings!

This morning they arrived as usual, chattering about video games and other important stuff like Aidan's fourth grade field trip to the world famous "Ramona Pageant" outdoor play. ALL of the fourth graders in the area schools (around 3,000 I would guess) are invited to watch the final dress rehearsal and this is Aidan's year. He wanted to be well prepared for what was obviously going to be a pretty hot afternoon...we are suppose to be in the 90's today..yikes!

I dug out one of our CamelBack backpacks for him, he wanted to take plenty of water....I opened it up and there it was! The VERY long lost Nintendo DS he had been missing apparently since the last time he used that backpack....last year's field trip to be exact! The joy on his face was shear delight! This small piece of electronic equipment was found at last! It had not been stolen like his bicycle...nope...here it was, still charged up and ready to play...oh happy day!!

Don't you just love it when lost things become found things?

I love surprises and that was one of the best surprises EVER!



So, I am going shopping to celebrate found things!

I thought I would begin with some of the shops that treasured mine this week.....

I stopped by HandmadebyCJ to admire her art. I like this one...if you like the modern style you should check her other original works of art!

Felting is such an interesting art. There are many, many felt artists on Etsy.  Andrea at HeartFeltbyAndrea is a gal who loves what she does...what a beautiful felted flower this is!

Omg! Can I just say...I love babies...and purple..and here they both are! Aren't babies so sweet when they sleep? I think WeeLambieKnits is such a fun shop to visit!

Did I say I love purple? Yes, I did. I found this pretty necklace at  JewelryByScotti and she has such a wide variety of jewelry in her shop...you just have to take a look, there could be something for Mom in there!

I wandered into doranzi because I saw this cute little vintage bear in the window. I love to look at vintage shops, you find some of the cutest old things in them. Debbi has lots of nice vintage items and some great destash finds too!

Yes! I do love babies...we've already established that. But, can I just say...I love everything about them, even their drooling! Isn't this bib from CwtchBugs so darn cute? And how about that baby wearing it?

Isn't this the cutest trivet...almost a shame to put a pan on it. I found it at SnowNoseCrafts and she has lots of wonderful crafty things in her shop...she even makes angels...I love angels!

FiberThreadYarn is a small shop with some very interesting and fun art pieces. I found this art doll in her collection and I rather like it. It's interesting all the pieces she used to make it. Isn't fiber art just amazing?

Aren't these earrings so sweet? And they are teal...another one of my favorite colors. I found them at dragonflyridge among so many other beautiful pieces of jewelry, it was hard to pick just one to show you!








Well, it's the end of another wonderful week ...I think I will go bask in the glory of found things!!





I hope you had fun shopping with me!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY....

you could win one of these.....

Piles of FOO FOO...WOYWW #150

Piles of FOO FOO...that's what's on my work desk this week!



Three of my Foo Foo Bunnies hopped out of my shop this past week so I knew I had to "hop" to it and make some more. After I completed putting together my very first GIVEAWAY  ......

My workspace became filled with snuggly fleece, silky satin binding.....

Piles of bunny heads and ears that all come together to make......

The Foo Foo Bunny !!

I love making my Foo Foo Bunny! I make them in honor of my daughter who had one when she was little. She loved the bunny to pieces...literally....what is left of it is framed and hanging in her home. She's all grown up now....

but I think she will always have a place in her heart for that darn cute little Foo Foo Bunny!

So, I am going over to Julia's now, she's the one who started this whole WOYWW thing. It's fun to snoop at all the other messiness going on out there in the world...it always makes me feel right at home!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY ...you could win one of these ......

Music and tote bags....Giveaway#1

High school band has a fond place in my heart. My youngest two boys were in the band..........
                                                          yes, they were band geeks.

 These are my favorite pics from middle school band...*sigh**...I miss those band days!




 So, when my sister asked me to make something for her two boys' high school band fundraiser to auction off for much needed funds (a band program always needs money...lots of money)......

Of course, I said I would.


What are Aunties for anyway?


As you know, I have been digging my way out of my procrastination piles and this request was one of them.
I decided I would make two of my favorite totes for their great cause....and wait....in all my infinite wisdom, I figured since I'm already making two...might as well make three...I can put one in my Etsy Shop...hooray for infinite wisdom!

I do love making these totes, they are always so darn cute when they get finished. I gathered some of my fabric stash and wiled away a stormy Saturday completing yet another procrastination project.

Question is...I wondered...which one do I put in my shop? Which two do I give to the fundraiser.

Well, wouldn't you know, my infinite wisdom struck again! I COULD do my very first GIVEAWAY with one of these darn cute totes!!

Question is...which one?

I could not decide...just couldn't...they are all three so very cute and SOOOO....

I'm going to let the winner of the giveaway decide. Yep, the winner gets to pick the one they want and then I will give the other two to the Helix Charter High School  band program for auctioning off at their fundraiser April 28th, 2012.

Here they are....cute as can be and functional too!

Each tote is made from strong vinyl coated screen. They have six pockets on the exterior, strong nylon handles that go all the way around the bag for extra sturdiness. They sport a custom trim and coordinating piping or rickrack. They are a super book bag, beach bag, diaper bag....just about anything bag!

SO....which one would you pick?

Here's how to enter my very first giveaway:

The rules are simple....enter in any or all of the ways listed below...once. 

 
On April 24th 2012 all verified entries will go into this hat


 The winner will be drawn by my grandson Aidan because he has already learned a valuable lesson on cheating and so it is certain he will honestly draw a random winner :)


Not very sophisticated or tech savvy, but hey, the hat does go with the theme!


The winner will get to pick the tote of his/her choice...how fun is that?

THE LIST

1. How has music been a part of your life? Leave a comment telling me something about music in your life.

2. Follow this blog Blooming where I am planted...are you? (leave a comment here telling me you followed or if you already do...leave a comment telling me you do and your name will go in the hat for that too!)

3. For Facebook fans, go to  Suzies Imaginarium and "like" the shop and leave a comment here telling me you did (if you already "like" Suzies Imaginarium, leave a comment here telling me you do and that will count too!)

4. If you "tweet" go to Suzies Imaginarium and "follow" the shop and leave a comment here telling me you did ( if you already "follow" Suzies Imaginarium, leave a comment here telling me you do and that counts too!)

5. "Tweet" about this giveaway. Be sure to use #totegiveaway so I can find you and put your name in the hat!

Good luck!

Do you have a handmade item to donate to the Helix Charter High School Band fundraiser? Leave me a comment...big or small...every penny counts!

Dollar Daze...Oh My!

I don't usually blog on Saturday, but I simply have to shout out about this sale!!

Come check it out....So many great bargains for ONE DOLLAR and some for FIVE DOLLARS!!

Maybe you'll snap up a handmade gift for Mom? or Dad? or what the heck....maybe you'll buy something for YOU!!

Hop on over to Dollar Daze at Christie's blog  !!!

Serendipity Shopping Day

**Sigh*** It's Friday already....I know, I should be excited that the weekend is here but I was looking for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this morning....I don't know where they went...can't find them anywhere! Not surprising though, have you seen my sewing room? It's a wonder I can find anything in there. I guess I should spend some time straightening up in there this morning.....oh, wait a minute...I said it's FRIDAY...that means it's Serendipity Shopping Day!!! Oh thank goodness, I can get out of that "organizing" stuff and go wonder through some shops that treasured mine this week.



I love surprises! Can't wait to see what I find in them...lets go shopping!!!

Lovelace Designs has a fun shop filled with themed picture frames and room decor. I like this one....my boys were in the band in high school, this would be a nice way to frame a band picture, don't you think?

I don't have any little baby girls but at The Crochet Lady there are some things that make me wish I did! I love baby shoes...so very cute!

If I was a jewelry maker, I might have to consider purchasing some beads from ArcadiaBeads. She has so many beautiful handmade beads...how do you choose?

Nina at Creatingwithni has such an eclectic collection of things in her shop. Supplies, paper crafting items, crochet, shoes....the list is long and you could linger awhile in her shop for sure!
Aren't these polymer clay flowers cute?

Doesn't this cowl look cozy? It's still cold enough outside to think about stylish things to keep you warm. At DivineLuluCreations you might just find the perfect pair of fingerless gloves!

I just had to add this wonderful piece of work to my shopping list today. I have been following Sandy's blog but I have never wondered into her shop, QuiltinCats .

Today I did.

I love, love, love these cute little mug rugs! She makes them while on the road with her husband traveling here and there, how fun is that?

So, that's it for me. I really must get to "organizing" my sewing room, it's a mess and I have projects calling me to be completed. I need to move them up on the procrastination list.  

I hope you had fun shopping with me today!