V and Co. how to: petit strawberry pin cusion

*ever go to a friends house and get confused as to which scissors/rotary cutter are yours?
*ever just need to pin some pins somewhere so you don't lose them till you can get to your big pin cusion?
well this little strawberry is just for you!
it's cute and functional, who doesn't love that?

materials needed:
1 square cut to 3" by 3"
1 rectangle cut to 2" by 4"
dmc floss, or thin ribbon.
hot glue
poly fill



*first you will need you pink or red square that is 3" by 3" and your green rectangle that is 2" by 4".*next fold in half your square corner to corner with right sides together and draw a half arch from the corner of your folded square to the inside fold of your square.
*cut at the arch.
*when you open your fabric it should look like the picture above.
*fold back in half, sew using a 1/4" seam allowance down the long open side of your folded fabric.
place two fingers (approx. 1") from the bottom point.
*make a line parallel to the open top.
*sew on your marked line.
*cut off excess tail.
*turn inside out.
*take a needle and thread and do a running stitch around the top of the

*fill with poly fill as much as you can. gently pull the thread to seal the poly fill inside. if you can stuff a little more while sealing, do so.
*tie a knot to secure your strawberry.
*next fold the rectangle in half length wise, with WRONG sides together.
*draw a few leaves like mine above. do 4 or 5 leaves.
*sew on top of your drawn line. this will be the bottom part of the leaf.

*cut a hole large enough to be able to thread your dmc floss through the hole.
*take a piece of dmc floss or thin ribbon and cut to approx. 9".
*thread both ends, (making a loop) into the hole you made in the middle of the leaf (making sure you thread just enough so you can hot glue it onto the underside of the leaf, and making sure that the drawn part will also be on the underpart of the leaf.)
*hot glue gun your ends to the underpart of the leaf.
*place a few more dots of hot glue on the leaf, and gently place, and firmly press in place on to the strawberries.

make one for all your cutting tools.
or make one for all your besties who sew.
enjoy a little hint of spring and always be able to pick out your cutting tools in a crowd.
we'll talk soon.
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me at the sewing summit

this is what i'm wearing to my tv debut

oh man i promise i didn't mean for all my "behind the blogging scenes" news to all come out at the same time, but it seems like it's raining "vanessa's dropping another thing she's been holding from all of you." over here.

i'm so excited and humbled and nervous to announce that yes, yours truly has been asked to speak at the sewing summit. if you've not heard about it, go get yourself learned. this is a conference that will take place on october 7th thru 9th in salt lake city at the little america hotel. i'm excited just alone about being able to stay at the little america hotel, seriously i'll probably sleep soooo good! and then not to mention the teacher's that have already been announced (and more to be announced as well!) i'm so excited to be able to see and be with some great friends i've met in the past, like amy of diary of a quilter. hey amy!we finally get to hang out for more than just a few minutes! and some i've never met but can't wait to meet in person. including my great blogging friend alison of cluck cluck sew. hey al! we can finally laugh so hard in person and watch soda fly out our noses!

what i've been asked to speak on is: Photographing Your Creations – Simple Changes for Maximum Impact.

but i must admit, when amy and erin asked me to do this class my initial reaction was "HAHAhaha...ha...hmmm oh. what? you're serious? wait, you know i'm not even close to being a professional right?"

erin answered back "that's why we want you, people like your pictures, and we want the regular gal to learn from another regular gal." so erin thank you so much for boosting my confidence, even if just a smidge, and i promise to continue to research and keep learning more as time goes on so i can bring even more to the table!

and well people, if i am anything i am most def a regular gal,still learning the ropes, but if you want to come and learn a few things i've learned thus far to help represent your creations the way you want them to in a photograph come and make sure to sign up. but if photography isn't what you want to learn, just wait and watch what other classes and teachers they have lined up! i know i'm already planning on trying to catch as many classes i can while i'm up there!

so now that i've dropped a few things this last week of what i've been working on, are you ready for a few more things to surface? hmmm maybe one more next week. ;)

have a great weekend.
i'm hoping for a relaxing one with the husband and kids.
unfortunately my husband just saw that the syfy original movie of megapython vs gateroid will be airing this Saturday and got excited like a little school girl.
sometimes i think he does these things just to screw with me.
wish me luck.
we'll talk soon.

winner of moda bakeshop giveaway

alrighty out of what is the most comments i've EVER received for ANYTHING the lucky random # picked was #366

Marci said...

I would love these! Very cool! Thanks for the opportunity!

whoooowheeeee! you win marci from grandma's sewing room!
congrats you get a signed copy of the moda bake shop book, and a fat quarter bundle! just email me your address and i'll bookmark it till may when i will be mailing out your winnings!

now for the big grand prize winner of a fat quarter bundle, fat eighth bundle, jelly roll, layer cake, and a charm pack (a $200 value!)...

oh sorry! you'll have to wait till the moda people get all the entries settled and they will let me announce the winner sometime in Feb. so stay tuned for that. i know it sucks but it's well worth the wait if you are the winner!

once again thanks to all of you who entered. thanks to all of you that did well wishes, and thanks to all who made me smile with your comments. yes i read all freakin 5,736.

one one

the littlest one and i have been busy baking and making. the boys had a half day today so we had to get things ready in the morning, hence why i didn't get this post up till now!
today is my oldest noisemaker's birthday. i can't believe i have an 11 year old. but i also can't believe that i have wrinkles and have had to pluck gray hair...but there you have it, all of the above are true.
so without further adieu here's a few things about you on your 11th birthday.
*you love to draw. you are pretty good at it too.
*you love love LOVE pizza.
*if you are in the room and in charge of the TV you can bet that Mythbusters, the history channel, or the military channel will be on.
*you want to try a lot of things.
*you really want to do what is right. (it's very admirable)
*you love to play with your brothers.
*you just passed the arrow of light in cub scouts and now you move on the boy scouts. and you love it.
*you still amaze me how awesome and gentle you are with little kids, and especially babies.
*your cat sleeps on your head at night.
*you have made leaps and bounds in the past 2 years. (what a journey!)
*you've made me cry tears of sadness, happiness, frustration, and joy.

kid, you are so loved. i know the things we go through in this life make us a better person in the next and i just want to let you know how amazing i think and know you are.
happy birthday.
hope you enjoy your pizza and cupcakes.

ps: i will close the giveaway tomorrow, and i will announce the winner on friday.
have a good couple of days!
pps: thanks for all the well wishes on my tv debut, and for all the suggestions. will be counting up to see which project won!

me on TV -oh dear heavens

first off holy hannah! 5000 comments later on the giveaway. and i come to find out that 5000 comments is the limit that blogger lets you have.
i.never.knew.that.
so i've opened up a second post for all you people who keep emailing me to open up the comments again.

okay now for moving on:
well so i have a little bit more news to spill.
a few weeks ago i got an email from the producer of a morning show here in utah called Good Things Utah asking if i'd want to possibly come on the show and demonstrate one of my tutorials.
i looked up at my husband with terrified eyes, and he asked "what?"
i answered " i think i'm going to be sick."

so one phone call later and i had agreed to do a show on Feb 4th.
yes that's one week from friday people.

i joked with the producer that i would probably toss my cookies on live air, and she laughed. i think she thinks i was kidding.

so here's where you guys come in.

they asked me to do one of two projects...

A.) the heart gathered pillow:


or
B.) the ruffle pillow.

and my question to anyone out there willing to give me feedback is...

which project would you like for me to throw up on while on live TV.
a girl's got a right to know.


i don't drink but i may just take up hard liquor for the next two weeks to build up some tolerance so i can drink myself into a drunken stupor relaxed mode for the show.

*edited:
*yes it airs that morning right as i'm doing it.
*yes for all of you out of state who want to watch the train wreck i'll post it here when it comes on the site.

i'll be over here rocking back and forth in the corner.

moda progressive dinner and a giveaway

edited: apparently 5000 comments is the limit on blogger. second post has been opened for the giveaway to continue. i will pick a winner on thursday 27th
yesterday i got to let you in on a little secret.
FINALLY, i was allowed to tell you!
i'm in a freakin' book. you know how hard it is to keep something quiet for that long? yeah, well it is.


a year ago i was asked to be a part of this book, i immediately felt like pooping my pants, and then throwing up, cause i'm cool like that and let the awesome news get to me. i mean hello...totally talented people were asked to be in this book, what if i royally suck this up? okay well, i'm happy to say that i don't feel like i sucked up my project and i love the project that i put in this book, and i'm also pretty darn proud to be bunched up with a whole heck of a lot of talent in this book.
to all of you who are visiting for the first time WELCOME! let me tell you a little about me:
*i'm short.
*i have 4 noisemakers i like to call my children.
*been married for almost 13 years to my best friend.
*i live in a town of 500 people...and i have to drive 45 minutes to the* big town* of 10,000 to get to walmart and enjoy any fast food. i know it sucks right? sucks even more when i mention i'm originally from los angeles and san diego.
*i kind of like to sew and create things.

that's me in a nutshell.

and since i'm handing out info...a little about my project in this book: it's another baby quilt, i love and can't wait to show it to you all someday, it uses one of my favorite fabric designers: urban chiks, and well i can't say anymore about it, but i hope you like it as much as i do.

you can check out all my past moda bake shop projects here.
do you have a favorite of mine?

okay so for my progressive dinner i'm bringing cookies, because i'm a cookies kind of gal and i like to bake more than i like to cook. and well i have a special ingredient chocolate chip cookie recipe that i'd like to share with you:

Vanessa's special ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies (no not *that* kind of special ingredient)

2 1/4 cup flour 1 tsp baking soda 1tsp salt 3/4 cup packed brown
**1 package of instant vanilla pudding: small package (3.4 oz)
1 cup (two sticks) of butter room temp*
1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1 package of chocolate chips.

preheat oven to 375 degrees. *if you don't plan ahead (ahem like me) and don't have your butter at room temp, you can always put your butter in the microwave for a few seconds till it's super mushy. just trying to help you fly from the seat of your pants people out.

in a large bowl place your butter, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, vanilla pudding, extract, and eggs. mix till creamy. gradually add flour. keep mixing till all flour is in. add choc chips. bake for 9-11 minutes. hear yourself and all those around you get fatter by the minute. because you will not be able to eat just one.

okay so today dinner is also being served at amanda jean's crazy mom quilts, and dont forget to head down under for some aussie good times with roslyn of bloom.

thanks to moda and to stash books for hosting this partay.

and now for the giveaway!

are you ready for this?
fat quarter bundle, $200 worth of precuts, and a copy of the book are at stake here.
click here to read more and enter the giveaway

oh and yeah you guessed it, the fun continues tomorrow over at la casa de the one and only monica of Happy Zombie, and also at jon's of quilt dad.
make sure to check them out tomorrow for more chances to win stuff.
and make sure you check it out for the remainder of the time as well:


January 19

Stash Books

Moda Bake Shop

January 20

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts

Roslyn Mirrington of Bloom

Vanessa Christenson of V and Co.

January 21

John Adams of Quilt Dad

Monica Solorio-Snow of The Happy Zombie

January 22

Kimberly Walus of Bitty Bits and Pieces

Melissa Mortenson of The Polkadot Chair

January 23

Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

Vickie Eapen of Spun Sugar Quilts

January 24

Rachel Griffith of P.S. I Quilt

Lissa Alexander of Moda Lissa

January 25

Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts

Sweetwater

January 26

Angela Yosten

Jenny Garland

happy commenting! and happy winming!

hey psssssst

you may want to check out some pretty darn cool news about yours truly.
i know i can hardly contain myself either...but i will till tomorrow when i talk a little more about it here, and give away a butt load of fabric, money, and yeah a signed copy of the book.
see i told you i've been working on "stuff".
see you tomorrow.
ps you can pre-order a signed book in my shop
i mean, only if you want to...
if you are looking to enter the giveaway please click on the this link to enter.
only comments left there will be considered as an entry! thanks

comments closed

V and Co. how to: gathered heart pillow

last week was butt freezing cold here. like in the negatives. so i needed something to keep me busy and happy in the house. and well valentines being around the corner...well when you are a crafter and trying to create things for the holiday... it's right around the corner.
this little pillow is fast and easy and well, a happy maker in freezing temps.
lets get started:

materials needed:
a strip of pink or red fabric approx size of 6" by 12"
two squares of muslin (i used sandcastle fabric i had on hand in my stash) cut to around 10" by 10".

okay now lets get started with the sewing:

first you are going to put your machine on the running stitch. mine is a #5.
sew a 1/4" seam along both of the long sides of your pink fabric.
**while you are sewing your running stitch, hold slightly your thread up above, by the spool of thread. this will create your gather as you go.

do the same thing to the other side.
here is what your gather should look like.
next you are going to take your muslin square
and you are going to place right side facing away from you, the gathered piece of fabric on the wrong side of your fabric.
pin in place and then sew around your square.
next with a washable pen either free hand a heart (which is what i did), or make a template by folding in half a piece of paper and cutting a heart half on it (you know like you used to do in elementary!), open up and trace your heart onto the right side of the muslin.
next sew on your heart line.
now to make sure you don't cut any part of your gather, gently separate your muslin from the gathered fabric behind it.
with scissors, cut an opening, and then continue (making sure you don't cut any of your gathered fabric!) to cut close to your sewn edge of the heart.

cut down your muslin if you want a smaller pillow, and cut the backing square to the same size, place right sides together, sew all around all four sides leaving an opening at least 4 inches wide in one side for stuffing.

turn right side out, stuff with poly fill, and hand stitch closed.
all done!
and there you have a super cute little festive valentine pillow.

**warning, your daughter may find it too cute for it to be wasted out in the living room, and she may confiscate it and put it in her room. i'm just sayin.
it's okay, she can have it. it looks cute under her dolly's head anyways.
maybe i should make her a matching dolly quilt...hmmmm.
have a good one we'll talk soon.
comments closed