V and Co. sponsored giveaway: Pleated Poppy

this months giveaway is sponsored by the talented lindsey of the Pleated Poppy
i'm excited to share and gush about her shop!
click here to read more and enter our giveaway

seven

happy birthday to my 3rd noisemaker, aka the loudest one, aka monkey man, aka little man, aka the one who does not stop.

some fun facts about you right now:

* you have always been a smiley baby, you are very much a smiley kid.
*after many years of only wanting to eat cereal, you now have this crazy love of corn dogs. you would have them for breakfast if i'd let you.
*you still love to cuddle and sit in my lap.
*you and katie fight like cats and dogs, but when you aren't you are the best of friends.
*you absolutely love and admire your older brothers.
*you love to be outside running, jumping, riding your bike.
*you learned to swim this last summer and by the end of the summer, you were jumping off the high dive in the deep end.
*you are a picky eater but you'll give things a try because i ask you.
*you make people feel loved.
*you are so loud that whenever you are quiet we need to ask "what's wrong?"

we love you. you are so important to our family and we appreciate all the unconditional love you give to us.

happy birthday little man.
we'll have a party and eat what YOU want today!
heaven help us all.

ps: monday= giveaway. :)

new dining room table and chairs

sooooo i finally did it...i've been talking for YEARS about replacing our dining room table and chairs. our last one seen here and then in our new house here has been wonderful for 13 years. it's served our little family when it was just the two of us and we slowly graduated to 3, 4, 5, then 6 people in our family...and well it still served us well. that last table has had so many spills and has gone through 10 moves. that table was the table my husband bought when he was still my fiance and was so proud when he bought it from some guy who was probably married for 13 years or so and was finally upgrading to a bigger table.


and now here we are 13 years of marriage and upgrading to a bigger table. it's from IKEA. i wanted a slightly bigger one but ended up with this one because of the length. the other one would of worked, but it's okay because now i really like this one and it's grown on me. (i don't do change well in general so no big surprise there!) this little sucker will sit up to 12 people. oh yeah baby! no more sitting in each others laps when the in laws or my mom come to visit! yay! anywho...i walked away around christmas time with just the table because the plan was to buy a couple of chairs each month as i came to save up for them. i'm happy to announce that i've saved up enough and have bought a few sets. yay me! i ended up buying these chairs because i felt like they went with the table and the look i was going for. but...now here's the big question:
what color am i going to paint my big EAT on the wall?...
any suggestions? i'm leaning towards black or gray.
maybe brown...or heck what about a walk on the wild side and do mustard yellow, orange, or teal? but not red, because i don't think it would go well? am i wrong?

edited: thanks for all the suggestions! i think i've narrowed it down to two colors...i'll paint and report! probably when the cold dies down a little, and when i finally make my decision...hmmmm maybe keep the suggestions coming.

V and Co how to: mini zig zag quilt

the other day katie came to me with a big frown on her face.
"what's wrong?" i asked her
she then holds out a pink with more pink doll quilt in one hand and the harley monkey in the other and in a very disappointed tone replied "MOM, he's a BOY."
so we made little harley a boyish quilt.


this little zig zag quilt is fast to make and easy to quilt (just follow the lines) so within a couple of hours the little monkey man had his very own cute (yet manly) quilt to cuddle in.
and well katie, she was happy that her monkey no longer had to deal with his feminine side

okay so first things first. you are going to need a special ruler for this project:

Wrights(R)/EZ Acrylic Template Companion Angle 10 Inch (i hope to make more things with this ruler, but for now lets learn how to make zig zags shall we?)

materials:
6 color fabric strips cut to 1 1/2" in width.
6 white fabric strips cut to 1 1/2" in width.
ez ruler

how to assemble blocks:


first you are going to take your strips, and with a 1/4" seam allowance you are going to place right sides of the fabrics facing and sew down your strips together.


open and press your seams to the color fabric side of the strip.
now we are going to use the ruler
*place your ruler tip at the top of your strip, and as far to the left as you can having fabric be under the ruler.
*cut your fabric.
*turn your ruler upside down (like the picture above) and make your next cut.
*continue to cut your triangles alternating the position of the ruler.
you should get: triangles from one strip
*you should come out with 5 triangles of each color combo.

*take one of each color combo and with right sides together, sew a 1/4" seam allowance on the longest part of the triangle.
*open and press with an iron. your block will look like these up above.

*to create the quilt you will have 5 blocks across and 6 blocks down.
*place them alternating your stripes like the picture above.



*sew your 5 blocks across together, then sew your 6 strips down together.



*to quilt your little quilt:
- place backing (facing out) batting then quilt top (facing out towards you)
-pin in place your quilt (i would suggest using safety pins instead of pins like i did because i stuck myself so many times it isn't funny, as a matter of fact if i were still catholic i would need to go to confession with how many slips of the tongue i had with every time i got stuck with a stupid pin)
- stitch in the ditch following zig zags.


use my binding instructions to finish your quilt.
now our monkey has a "boyish" quilt and i have a very happy little girl.
all is good.
thank you and goodnight.
:)
ps: thanks for your love and support and understanding of my last post.
we'll talk soon.

cool and not cool

picture courtesy of dana from this post

okay so i guess it has to be said because in the past month a few of my pictures have been taken off my site and used to promote other sites.

so here we go.

i totally love when others find me and my creations through another site due to the fact that they linked to me and or shared a picture of one of my creations with credit back to the place they found it. thank you! yes this wonderful world of blogging and cyberspace is amazing and a wonderful tool to find help in whatever you are looking to find to do. we live in a awfully fast paced cyber world, where with a click of a mouse and a couple pushes of the keyboard, or heck with a few touches on your touch screen, you can buy, sell, or learn ANYTHING.
what an amazing time to be a part of.

but with all the fast paced and all the free internet information sharing there comes the overstepping of boundaries, calling something yours when it's not.

i'm mainly talking about finding a picture on the internet and then taking it, posting it, and not giving credit as to where you got it from. or like in the picture featured above, in BIDRACK'S site's case. (never even heard of them but apparently i bought my OWN PURSE i made a pattern for from them) and seriously? stephania? do i look like a stephania? but even better did you notice the blond in the upper left hand corner holding a hideous green wallet. yeah also my picture except bidrack changed the chocolate bar dana was holding and photoshoped their product in.
**edited: since dana and i have linked to bidrack's site and outed them they've all of a sudden deleted and changed their page to no longer claim our winnings. hmmm, interesting. i suggest you stay away from that site because i've also googled them and there's a lot red flags there.

this has not been the first time that this has happened to me. nor will it probably be the last. heck most likely it's happened to a lot of you too?

okay so lets talk a little bit about what's cool to do and what's not so cool to do:


it's totally cool to use my pictures when you are:
*promoting something you saw on my site and you link my picture back to said item or post. dude, thanks so much for doing so!
*you have asked permission from me to use my picture for something other than promoting my site. (hey just ask! i've said yes in the past, try me and we'll talk about it!)
*when using pinterest, tumbler, stumble upon, or any other awesome link site. i love those too! but please give credit to where you got it.

it is so NOT cool:
*when you take one of my pictures and use it for your online shop profile and or for a description of your product. this includes facebook, etsy, blogger, and where ever else you can put a profile picture.

*when promoting your store...really? i know, call me crazy, but don't you want to picture things that YOU'VE made? i think that's called false advertising.

*when you have not asked permission or do not give any credit of the picture that is not taken with your own personal camera. i know it happens all the time and i know sometimes we download pictures onto our computers for inspiration or eye candy...if you forgot where the source of the picture is from...say so. i've done that once even on this blog. but don't let people assume its your picture by not even acknowledging that it's not yours.

also what's NOT cool: because it happens so often it's not even funny.

i understand a lot of us create things that are similar. heck a lot of us come up with the same idea around the same time. i get it, that's how fads, styles, and well basically EVERYTHING in life works, but...and this is a BIG BUT:

*taking a tutorial (free or a bought pattern) setting up and taking pictures with your OWN camera with your OWN material BUT showing the SAME steps and changing the wording slightly(or even using the same wording), does not make it your OWN, that's still considered crossing the line in my eyes. (and yes i know, i don't jump to conclusions when someone has done a tutorial with the same steps, and just assume they have taken it from somewhere, remember my disclaimer of we come up with the same stuff around the same time, i'm the first person to tell you: been happening since the beginning of time.)

a lot of us get the same end result using different methods...this is totally awesome because we learn new ways and create shortcuts or even sometimes creating something entirely new...this is how i think we keep pushing boundaries and keep revolutionizing ideas.

and then of course common sense and courtesy:

*never EVER copy and paste someone else's tutorials onto your site even if you give credit to them. it's still taken WITHOUT my consent. i will give consent if asked, well, if i see fit. otherwise it's a real big fat no no, and really all kinds of lame.

now.
on a nicer note, thanks to all who have either emailed me or somehow contacted me to let me know when these things happen. i try to keep a calm and open mind to things, and when a site is completely in the wrong, like bidrack, i will contact and try to figure something out. thus far i've only had good experiences. and that makes me feel at ease.

another good note, i finished another fun project due to make it's debut next week, hopefully monday!
okay that is all.
we'll talk soon

why i keep doing what i do

since i could remember i was making stuff.
i really like it. you could almost say i love it. yeah, i would say i love it a lot.
but, one thing is making stuff and enjoying it yourself and then there's this really cool thing of having others kind of like the stuff you make too. (and kind of scary as well)

BUT the best part about creating stuff (for me) is giving instructions, and sitting back and watching others create stuff and start to have the same passion to make stuff too.
this is why i continue to do what i do.
i LOVE to see you guys get so excited that you created something all because i gave a few instructions on how i got the final product.

like take for example my houndstooth quilt. i'm starting to get emails, tweets and comments saying "i'm almost done!!!" or "it was an easy pattern to follow!" or "i love it!" to all of you, i say: "SWEET! show me pictures!!!"
take kelli for example.
kelli has finished my houndstooth quilt...she made this her trial run...of for what you say? she's working up the nerve to make it into a king size for her bed. kelli you go for it. and when you do i'll shout from the mountain tops of how cool it looks on your bed.

one place that i've not been going to and showing off too much these days (sorry! i'll be try to be better) is the V and Co. flicker page.
i went there this weekend and was floored with how many projects have been uploaded!
here are just a few:


slfarn made this pillow using my gathered heart pillow tutorial



anna from noodlehead made this bracelet using my fabric bracelet pdf pattern




the crafty cupboard using my baby doll quilt tutorial made this little quilt.



the crafty cupboard again. her version of my moda bake shop baby girl quilt



bubbly 817 made her adorable bag using my favorite bag pdf file with the fabric flower attachement


oh and you guys love that eat, play sleep, repeat quilt i made for the moda bake shop. yes you do.
here's a cute one by lindsey hines




from scott and laura hilton i'm loving the baby shot on the blankie!


the sewing princess's ring using my fabric flower ring tutorial



mompsyd1 added some flower power using my satin flower tutorial




make it your own took my argyle scarf pdf and created her own idea of an adorable little skirt for her daughter!

so guys thanks for making my part time job away from my full time job as a mom, cleaner of messes, wiping up pee from the toilet extraordinaire, that much more enjoyable.

here's to another season of creating.
we'll talk soon.

ps i'm almost done working on that "other stuff" i keep talking about so i'll be able to focus on the blog again. promise.

oh and pps! check out the moda bake shop's giveaway grand prize winner! lucky girl

celebrating today

the man and i are celebrating today that day that was created to help make money for card businesses and candy stores.
i'm all for stimulating the economy even at the expense of my thighs.
have a great weekend.
we'll talk soon.

sometimes

its just nice to take some time off, spend it in sweats, and let things slide.
if you'll excuse me that's what i'm planning for the rest of the week.
well with some sewing here and there.
but nothing big.
we'll talk soon.

ruffle pillow on Good things Utah recap

i know i said monday. but i got a few minutes in between Zumba dancing with my family, church, and setting up for the super bowl. so for all you out of state-ers that wanted to see my 5 minutes of... er...fame. here's the show's link.




all i have to say is that i am really more livelier/feistier/colorful, and more boisterous (as some of you thought i would be, seriously just ask my kids and my husband, and well anyone that has to deal with me on a regular basis) when i am not having three camera crew guys staring at me with big huge cameras. i did say to the "ladies" after it was all said and done: "i'm so happy i didn't crap my pants." they seem to think i was kidding and laughed. i really actually am happy that i didn't crap my pants, or vomit or really actually feel that much fear when i got there. at one point i did start freaking out that i wasn't freaking out. but i got over it pretty quick.

although i do have to say that i think it's HILARIOUS that my face went from totally smiling to a complete look of terror of "oh my gosh what in the H*ll am i doing here....wait focus focus...im making something...okay full swing ahead lets make this thing." facial expression in the first few minutes of my thing. i think my husband said that my middle noise maker said something to the effect of "whoa, mom just lost all her smile. is she okay?"

another really fun and exciting thing... and with super bowl being just around the corner...the COMMERCIALS are all a buzzing right?



so when i first arrived, there were three guys already there in the "green room" (that had green sofas and nothing else green i'd like to add.) when i got there... i kept staring at them like i knew i knew them but didn't know from where...and i asked who they were and one of them answered "oh we're nobody's" and i was like haha good cause i am too. and then it clicked and i turned around and pointed my finger at them and was like "YOU!!!!!! OH MY GOSH. NO. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE...YOU, YOU SUCK HIS FINGER AND HE RIPS YOUR PANTS OFF!!!" one of the guys answered "you know a simple 'you guys made the doritos commercial would of sufficed.'" kidding i think he said something like "yeah we're those guys." check out their commercial here. along with all the other finalists. should be funny to see if the guys i yelled at in the green room win the super bowl spot. if they do win, i'll be kicking myself for not taking a picture with them! if they don't win...uh they are as funny in person as they are in the commercial and it would of still been fun to of gotten a picture with them.
i did though get a shot of the GTU ladies and all my awesome groupies that drove 3 hours to be there with me.

and i got to meet in real life kari of UCREATE. she's so nice and sweet! thanks to all of you that came to support me!
you guys are awesome i'm so lucky to call you friends! and no i wasn't kidding that i would start signing autographs on any part of your body with a permanent pen. just dare me.
okay well that's all for me.
have a smashing weekend.
oh and happy super bowl!
we'll talk soon.
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checking in

okay okay sorry! i'll get the link up when i get a little bit more time! after we did the segment it's been a whirl wind of shopping and eating with great friends and catching up, i need to pay attention to my poor neglected family for a little bit and i'll talk more about EVERYTHING on monday! thanks for the love, and yes, i know, i was a little more timid than my normal self. (my friends were making fun of me afterwords)
but i promise to tell you about the Doritos guys, and my freaking out about NOT freaking out...and well, yeah, we'll talk.
so have a great weekend. i'm going to bed it's waaaay past my bedtime, and i'll try to get my the link up on my facebook page soon, and then i'll get it here on monday for sure! thanks you guys. really thank you.

later today on good things utah

yes i will be doing the ruffle pillow thanks to your votes and the producer's little push of "i say the ruffle pillow."
and so that is what i will be showing you how to make on channel 4's Good things Utah. i'll post a link to the video of me being a total dork on tv later on when i get a chance.
wish me luck.

me x's 3 in a magazine

yay yay YAY! i finally get to tell you about these quilts and pillow... you can find the pillow on the bottom right hand corner of the cover of this spring 2011 magazine of Quilts and More.

this little bit of info has been killing me not to spill seeing that i made the little sprout quilt (pg.30) and the three flower pillow a year ago...


but my diamond in the ruff (or argyle) quilt (pg. 86) was made and turned in, get this, a year ago last november. it's diamonds and ruffles to make the argyle. it's made of kate spain's verna line, and i love it so, i can't wait to get it back so i can take some more great pictures of it. yes, killing me i tell you! but i'm so happy and proud to let you know that you can now see (pattern included) in this springs magazine due out on Feb 8th.
and if you want to make the sprout quilt with the fabrics i used for the magazine,(bella solids and hunky dory by moda fabrics) the fat quarter shop is carrying the quilt kit. and it's awesomely priced!
*sigh of relief* i don't have to hold that info in anymore. okay that's all the spilling of things i've been keeping from you that i'll do...at least for a little while. >;p
okay back to sewing for my big day.
we'll talk soon.
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