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.
comments closed

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.