Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Celebrate Spring with a Free Chevron Table Runner Project!


Hey! Remember me? Yes, it's been a while! Life with four kiddos and their multitude of activities, along with a hubby and his busy work schedule leaves my head spinning sometimes, and sadly, I don't get to all I want to do...like blogging. But it's good to be back today!

So it's officially Spring today, the sun is shining in my neck of the woods, the trees in my yard are budding, and I couldn't be happier about all of that. To celebrate, I have a new project ready and waiting for instant download over at You Can Make This, and it's free!



You'll chase away the last of the winter doldrums with this Spring-y and bright Chevron-inspired Table Runner. The easy and detailed instructions are yours for the taking, so enjoy!


Happy Spring!

Monday, May 2, 2011

I Am a Mother...


Today begins Studio 5's kickoff of the 10 Day "Motherhood Matters" Challenge. It's all about remembering and celebrating our most honorable and influential job...that of being a mother. If you haven't heard about it, I invite you to take a look. The challenge is simple, yet keeps in the forefront of our minds why we do what we do, and reminds us of how important motherhood is.

In addition, they are offering four printable quotes like the one pictured here for free. What a great and simple gift for a sweet mother or for yourself! I'm excited to get mine framed and displayed.

So, my friends...as we look ahead to Mother's Day and ponder on our own mothers, let's also celebrate our own role, whether we are aunts, cousins, sisters, daughters or mothers. We all have a vital role in the lives of each other.

I am a Mother...

Monday, April 25, 2011

Studio 5: Spring Fling Felt Purse, and Kim and Kris on Rachel Ray!


My sweet friends and "Wondertwins" Kim and Kris of the DIY Dish, You Can Make This, and SWAK Embroidery, never cease to amaze me! They were on Studio 5 this morning for a short interview, and will be showcased tomorrow on the Rachel Ray Show! I'm so excited for them! I have no idea what they will be showing, as it's all a little tight-lipped, but I'm sure it will be crafty genius.


In addition, Kris showed how to make this little felt purse that I designed for You Can Make This last spring on Studio 5. It works up quickly, is inexpensive to make, and is fun for the little girls and tweens in your world to express their creativity with. Oh, and don't forget...the download is free!

Take a look:



Hope your week is going well! Hugs to you all!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Spring Fling Purse Pattern


Put a little "spring" in your step with this easy to make and free "Spring Fling Purse" pattern now available over at You Can Make This! It simply requires a little cutting, a little hand-sewing, and a little glueing.

The little girl in your life will love having another tote for her money, lip gloss, and pens. "Spring" on over there to get your own!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Spring Flowers Give Away Winners!


Thank you to everyone who participated and entered the Spring Flowers Give Away! I always love hearing from you and I am so happy to share some of my projects and patterns. It warmed my heart to see my button on your blogs or to see a posting about this give away. Thank you so much!

I gave everyone a number according to the order of their comments and the other information they supplied, such as being a follower or posting about this give-away, etc. Here is the pool I drew from over at Random.org ...


And our winner for the Spring Flowers Pillow was (drum roll please....) number 9, Carol!


Congratulations! I will be in touch with you so I can send this out to you as soon as possible!

As for the Spring Flowers pattern and embroidery files, there were just a handful of you that expressed interest in either of them, so it is your lucky day! All of you who commented on either a pattern or an embroidery file will be getting one in your email inboxes! Congratulations to Diane H., Rainy Day Farms, Debbie B. (Debbie, will you please contact me--I have no email address or access to you! Thanks!), Simple Southern Happiness, and Shirley C. Thank you for joining in on the fun!

Have a great day, and happy stitching!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Spring Flowers...Three Items Up for Grabs in a Spring Home Decor Give-Away!!


You know that little thing called "life"? Sometimes it gets in the way of my blogging! I have missed you, but boy, has it been a whirl-wind of excitement around here...family get-aways, brushes with fame, "Lightning" victories, and contest results. Yes, pretty exciting on all accounts, but that will all have to wait for my next posting, so don't go away for too long. I can't wait to share it with you!

For today I am featuring one of my favorite patterns and designs, "Spring Flowers." One of the reasons I am so fond of it is because it represents that new life and rejuvenation that we so look forward to (and desperately need) this time of year (can you believe it snowed here this morning?). Is there anything more hopeful and gorgeous than witnessing those first blossoms of spring that poke up through the snow and the hardened ground? Don't you just love the "popcorn" trees with their tufts of pinks and white? They are my favorite! These are a few of the sights my lens found over the last week...



Anyhoo...the "Spring Flowers" design is available in a downloadable e-book format for hand embroidery, which provides step by step instructions for appliqueing the fabric flowers, as well as detailed directions for completing the pillow as shown.



This design is also available in two styles of digitized files for machine embroidery.




In addition, if you are interested in a fabulous tutorial for learning how to sew a pillow for any design, my sweet friend Kris has created a terrific one using my design here on her blog. Didn't she do a beautiful job?


And the final bit of great news? In celebration of spring, I am giving away three items to three of you lucky readers! The first is this cheery and completed "Spring Flowers" home decor pillow--no assembly required!


I'm also giving away one free hand-embroidery pattern in e-book form, and one digitized version for machine embroidery.

To enter, simply leave me an individual comment for each item you would be interested in winning. I will later group all those interested in the pillow together, all those who would like the hand-embroidery pattern together, and those interested in the digitized version together for three separate drawings.

For extra entries:
1. Become a new follower on my sidebar or continue being one of my great followers!
2. Post about this give-away and provide me with a link, or
3. Grab a button and place it on your site with a link to where I can find it.
4. Be sure to leave me an additional comment for each extra entry above with mention of the item you are hoping for. Whew! I hope that's not too confusing!

And please don't throw tomatoes, but the pillow give-away is limited to USA only for shipping purposes (I know, BOO!), however, the pattern and digitized versions are available to anyone as they will be sent via email.

You have until midnight (Mountain Standard Time - USA) on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 to enter. Winners will be announced on Thursday and items will be sent out shortly after!!!

Good luck, and Happy Spring!

Friday, April 9, 2010

A Little Something for the Easter Archives...


So it's a bit late (okay--alot late!) for this year, but I was given the yummiest Easter recipe the day before Easter, and it was so delightful, I just had to share it, along with another of my favorites for you to keep in your archives for next year.

The first recipe is for Easter Morning Rolls (don't they look delicious in that photo? My own photos didn't do the recipe justice). What is so fun about them is that after baking, you open them up and they are hollow and empty---just like the tomb was empty after Christ's resurrection. What a great object lesson for the kiddos. It's a wonderfully delicious recipe that you can put together the night before, then pop into the oven on Easter Morning. Ya gotta love those!

The recipe was given to me by my friend Sandee which she found at The Sisters' Cafe: a blog of five sisters that share their wealth of delicious-looking recipes! I can't wait to try more. Needless to say, these Easter Rolls were a hit at our house, and will be a new Easter tradition for our family. Click here to see the recipe and their yummy food photos!

The second recipe is one that my friend Lara gave me years ago called the Ultimate Conference Casserole. It's another make-the-night-before recipe that I love, (and sorry that I don't have a good photo to show you how enticing it is). Combined with the Easter Morning Rolls, our breakfast was simple and stress-free, yet so delicious and enjoyable for everyone. I hope you give them a try!

Ultimate Conference Casserole

16 oz. frozen shredded hash browns
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 lb. bacon
1/2 lb. ground sausage
1/4 c. green onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Substitutions: mushrooms, ham, chives, peppers, etc.

1. Brown sausage and cook bacon. Save drippings and sauté onions.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs and milk together.
3. Add potatoes, cheese, sausage, bacon, and onions
4. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 pan.
5. Refrigerate for the next morning's breakfast, or go straight to the oven.
6. Cook at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with ketchup or salsa if desired.

On a final Easter note, our family has a fun tradition that I remember enjoying as a child. Rather than festive Easter Egg Hunts out in the yard or mountains of candy mysteriously delivered by the Easter Bunny, I grew up with jelly bean hunts inside the house. I don't know why my mother began this tradition, but this is what I knew and loved. When she was still alive, she would always hide jelly beans in her house for my kids, which created a tradition that they looked forward to each Easter. So now, they ask every year when we are going to have the jelly bean hunt. I've expanded it to include peanut M & M's, Robin Eggs, and a myriad of additional Easter candy, but we never go a year without it. I think I'd have a mutiny on my hands if I did!


I simply hide the goodies in the nooks and crannies of our kitchen, living, and family rooms. The rules are that anything above your waist is fair game, except for the littlest people--they get to put anything in their baskets they can get their hands on! After a while, all candy is free game for everyone. Yes, my pillows and cushions get knocked off the couches, and picture frames and books get nudged out of place during the frenzy, but it's all pretty innocuous and delightfully fun.


And inevitably at some point in the year when someone does some REALLY good dusting, or pulls a book off of a shelf, or searches through the piano bench for a particular book, they are rewarded with a treat or two that was overlooked at Easter {eew}.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter with your families! What Easter traditions did you enjoy?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Grow Your Own Easter Grass!



I was so excited last week when my friend Cassie showed me how to grow my own Easter grass! It's so simple, and so much fun. She uses wheat berries, soaks them overnight in water, then places them in a shallow layer over soil in a container or basket. Keeping the soil and the wheat damp (not soaked) with a spray bottle in the first few days until the wheat sprouts is key. She even suggests loosely placing plastic wrap over the top of the baskets to help hold in the moisture. Within just a few days, the wheat sprouts, and in a week's time, it is 4 to 5 inches tall! Cassie has written the details and of this process at her blog, http://cassandradesigns.blogspot.com and has some beautiful photos of wheat grass she has grown.

One thing I did not anticipate when I planted my grass was the curiosity and involvement of my kids in the whole process---even my oldest teenage boy got involved in spraying the wheat regularly along with everyone else. Every time the kids would walk past the basket, they'd give it a spray and were fascinated to see it sprout and grow.

I'm just starting a new batch tonight to have some more containers growing before Easter. This is such a fun, easy, and rewarding project to create a little springtime magic. You will love it!

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