Gifts

One of my husband's many, many cousins is having a baby soon and yesterday was her baby shower. I wasn't able to go because we took my nephew Logan to the zoo while his parents are still out of town (that's a post for another day), but I did send my gift with another of my husband's cousins. She will be having a little girl, in November I think, so I gave her a package of diapers and this baby quilt that I made out of warm, snuggly flannel fabrics.

It has the raggy edges...here's a close up.

The back is completely smooth, though...no edges sticking out. I love making these quilts because they go together so quickly and you don't have to send them to the quilter, so when it's done, it's done. The only time consuming part is making the little cuts in all of the edges so that it will fray when it's washed. I think it turned out pretty cute though. My husband said I should keep it because it turned out so nice...isn't he sweet! =)

Yesterday was my husband's youngest sister's birthday...she turned 24. We'll all be getting together this evening to celebrate her birthday. Last night, as I was getting her gift together, I realized I didn't have a gift bag to put it in, so I made one using the tutorial at Pink Penguin.

I've been wanting to make one of these cute baskets for a while, so I thought that this was a great opportunity! It went together very quickly, and I just used fabric scraps and pieces that I had lying around. However, I did make some alterations to mine. My bag is a little larger than the instructions call for...I used 2.5" squares for the patchwork instead of 2". I also made the 'linen' piece (the white piece along the bottom) a little longer and wider (obviously to accomodate the larger patchwork pieces). I also made the handles longer and placed them in the front and back, instead of the sides, to make it easier to carry things in. So, this bag will hold her gift now, but it will hold whatever she wants later...what a fun gift bag! Thanks for the tutorial ayumills! =)

I'm a Winner!!!

Guess what! I won a giveaway! I'm so excited...I never win anything! Debbie was holding a 100th post Mad Hatter Tea Party and I won...yahoo! I'm so excited to get my prize. Debbie is so creative and crafty...you should check out all of her great creations on her blog!


Also, my swap partner in Linda's Bag/Bucket Swap has received her package, so now I can show you the bag that I made for her, as well as everything else I sent her. I made this bag for Nancy in Norway...she said that her favorite colors are blue and red...I really hope that she likes the bag. She does lots of quilting and stitchery, so I made it a little bigger to be able to hold everything.

I also sent her some fat quarters, chocolate, a quilting magazine, and a body wash from Bath & Body Works.
This was such a fun swap. It was fun way to get to know people from all over the world. Thanks again, Linda!


I signed up for another swap/challenge...the Spare a Square Scrap Challenge on Jennifer's blog. We each send in a 12" x 12" piece of fabric and she organizes them into groups of ten...then cuts up each piece so that everyone in that group gets a piece of everyone's fabric, then sends the pieces in that group back to us. We then make something out of those pieces of fabric. I'm excited to see the fabric pieces that I get back. I haven't decided what I'm going to make with my pieces, but I'm leaning toward making a basket that I saw a tutorial for on Pink Penguin. The baskets are really cute and I have been seeing them pop up on a lot of blogs that I visit...really makes me want one! Besides, I need a place to store the million or so yo-yo's that I need to finish for my vintage yo-yo quilt.


Thanks to everyone for being so creative and for coming up with such fun giveaways, swaps, challenges, and tutorials...you all inspire me every day! =)

You're Invited!

I'm so excited!

A quilting group that I belong to is having a quilt trunk show on the 27th! We will each be displaying some of the quilts we've finished and there will be raffles & prizes, yummy treats, and you can even try your hand at long arm machine quilting. So, if you happen to live in the area, or just want to come and join in the fun, please stop by. I'd love to see you! =)

A Day at the Farm

While Erik & Cheryl are out of town, we are lucky enough to help my parents take care of my cute little nephew, Logan! Yesterday, we all went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point to see the animals. As we walked in, Logan told Farfar (grandpa in Swedish - my mom is from Sweden) that he was going to be brave...and he was so brave. He fed the animals, rode on the pony ride, played around the Discovery Gardens, and pretty much had a great day, or as he put it "Me having fun!". (Erik and Cheryl...this post is for you.)

Here is a picture of him at the start of the day with Rick...he's so excited to be around the animals!
Here he is feeding the goats...at first he only threw the food into their pen, but he got braver and let them eat of his hand, but then went back to throwing the food to them. Logan riding the pony with Rick...he said that this pony's name was 'Donkey Horsey' and he kept yelling out that he was a cowboy! Logan behind bars in 'Jail'.

Logan climbing out of the bear den.
Logan, Rick, and I petting all of the pretty horses...they had such soft noses!

This next picture is my favorite from the day. We ate lunch at the Deli at Thanksgiving point and I ordered a piece of chocolate mousse cake with a chocolate-covered strawberry on top (soooooooo delicious, by the way). Well, I gave Logan a fork and told him he could have a bite (thinking he would use his fork), and he said 'okay', picked up the plate and put the whole thing to his face...trying to take a bite out of the strawberry on top while it was still attached to the cake...he had chocolate mousse frosting all over his face! He said it was yummy, though...and it made for a cute picture! =)

He is too cute! Hope you are having fun, Erik and Cheryl...before you know it, you'll be home...thanks for sharing your cute little boy with us - we're having so much fun! =)

Did You Know?

One of my coworkers gave me this list of handy things (not sure where he got it from), but I thought I'd share them...some of them seem like really great ideas, but I haven't had a chance to try all of them yet.

* Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

* Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold.

* For a brownie treat, make browines as directed. Melt Andes mints in double boiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

* Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the story, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

* Newspaper Weeds Away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go, cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic, but they will not get through wet newspapers.

* No More Mosquitos: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitos away. (This one I am definetely going to try - we live by the lake and have LOTS of mosquitos! I'll let you know how it works.)

* Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and...ta da...static is gone. (For me, personally, I rub lotion on my legs or even on my stockings, and that seems to get rid of the static too.)

* Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. (I'm trying this the next time I make cookies)

* Foogy Windshield?: Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser. Supposed to work better than a cloth.

* Reopening Envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily. (If I'm giving money or a gift card, I always forget to put it in the envelope with the card before I seal it, so I'll have to try this the next time I do that and see if it works.)

* Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home', can't digest it so it kills them. It make take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed.

Like I said, I haven't tried these, but they sound like good ideas, so I think I'll give them a try. If you have tried some of them, please let me know how they worked, or if you have other great ideas I'd love to hear those too!

Thanks! Have a great day! =)

Bag Swap

I am all finished with my bag for Linda's Bag/Bucket Swap, and it is in the mail on its way to.....................................someone in another country!

This is a sneek peak at the bag - I'll show the full bag after I know that she's received it. When I signed up for the swap, I had never made a bag before, but really wanted to try it. I made one bag, since I figured I should have a practice run, and Sherri won that bag in my birthday giveaway. So, this was only the second bag I've made and I had so much fun making it for my swap friend on the other side of the world! I really hope that she likes it. Thanks to Linda for putting together the swap - it was a blast! =)

Pay It Forward

Hello...hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

In browsing all of the blogs from everyone that left me comments for my birthday giveaway, I came across Sonia's blog. She was doing a Pay It Forward, so I signed up and I will be receiving a handmade gift from her within the next 6 months...lucky me! So, in return I will be 'Paying it Forward'. The whole concept is based on the movie, Pay It Forward...you've probably all seen it, but if not, rent it - it's good. The movie is all about one person doing something good for three other people, with no expectation in return, but with the hope that those three people do something good for three other people...and so on...it just grows exponentially. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if everyone lived by Pay It Forward?

So, the first three people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me, made especially for you, within the next 6 months! Not sure what it will be...I'll have to browse through your blog to see what kinds of things you like before I make something for you, but it'll be fun! Then, you post the Pay It Forward on your blog to make something handmade for three other people...I'm sure you get the idea. I think this will be a lot of fun...hope to be sending you something soon! =)