Winners of the giveaway ...

So I used that random number generator and got ...

Bethany said...
Teal Silk Satin Singed Edge Flower Hair ClipGray/Silver Silk Satin Singed Edge Flower Hair ClipBrown Silk Satin Singed Edge Flower on Hair ClipI love all of them, but those are my favorites!Thanks!

AND

Krystina said...
Red, pink and teal are my favorites! Thanks for the chance, these are lovely!

CONGRATULATIONS LADIES!!! I'll be e-mailing you for your addresses so we can get these shipped to you ASAP! :)

Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway This Week!

Giveaway now closed - thank you to all who entered! And if you are interested, check out my etsy store! THANK YOU!!! :)Welcome to this week's Sew Mama Sew giveaway! I make a HUGE selection (16 colors to be exact) of handmade, singed edge silk satin flowers that I sell in my etsy store.I'll be giving away three flowers (on hair clips, so you can add them to your own headband, or tuck them above a ponytail, on your own bobby pins, etc. - it's all about getting a good deal!!!) ... and since I think it's not fair to only have one person win, I'll give away to TWO people! Here's the link to the store to check out the color options even better!All I ask is that you comment with which three you would want personally (it'll make it easier to get your package ready for you when you win!). The giveaway is open until Friday night at midnight (MST). And I'm sorry, but I can only ship these within the USA.And if you're interested in buying your own ... I sell the hair clips for $4 regularly, but with the coupon code SewMama20, you can get 20% off! So that's only $3.20 each ... great deal!!! Also check out the other bulk ordering options for an even greater discount! :) I also host giveaways on my facebook page, go here to like it! :)

To join in on the other giveaways ... go to Sew Mama Sew to see the other goodies up for grabs this week! And I have three tutorials almost finished & ready to add, but they will show up below this posting since it's supposed to stay up for a week! Good luck everyone! :)

Photoshop ...

So I've been working hard on our family Christmas card, Christmas gift tags and a fun little Christmas piece of subway art for a spot next to our front door. I found that Costco had the best price around $20 for 75 card, including the envelopes! I used a fantastic idea I saw on snapfish for the card and then typed a quick synopsis of our family events around the outside of the card (which I took off for the posting on-line) ... I think this is my FAVORITE card I've made so far! I can't wait to see everything printed up ... unfortunately the closest Costco is in Denver ... so now I have to be patient & hope it doesn't snow on Saturday so we can go still! :)

Jax's Christmas Blanket

I've been working hard to finish at least one project a day ... I'm tired, but it's great to know the fun things the kids will get for Christmas! I want to make each child their own Christmas Nativity blanket (here's version #1, #2, and #3) ... and I also picked up two extra flannel versions of the panel by accident when I ordered them on e-bay. Since Jax is still in a toddler crib, I made a quick one for his bed, using up all scraps for the batting, backing and front too. Now I just need to make one for Lizzie's crib too ...

The Girls' Christmas Tree

It took a lot of "girl craft nights", but we've finally finished up the ornaments for the tree! I'd like to do more with it (like a felt ball garland), but right now I'm out of time to finish a LOT of other projects for Christmas gifts, so this is going to have to be it for now ... except for the tree skirt which I'll post tomorrow. :) Because that thing has been an insane amount of time for a such a small circle that goes under a tree, that NO ONE will see ...She painted each bird house, and then cut & mod podged on the scrapbook paper. I helped with some measurements & hot glued clothespins onto the bottom of each house to help hang them up with. The star was actually green before for a previous project, but we just covered it in TONS of pink paint & I think it looks pretty on top of the tree ... it doesn't feel complete, but I guess we'll leave some of those other projects for next year. :) She was pretty excited about it all though!

Ruffled Table Runner

So I saw this picture & idea via pinterest. And it was *LOVE*. Only, the burlap warnings of never get this wet or it will stink scared me off. Then I saw some yummy linen like colored fabric at Jo-Ann's and I was able to get this table runner out of it (and also used the remaining fabric for some of my pillow forms)! For $9.47 I was able to get three projects out of the fabric, and I have to say I LOVE the look this adds to the room. Of course having to place & clean the table three times a day can be annoying (so the kids who *always* spill something each meal don't ruin it). But so far, it's a GREAT addition to the room! :)

Black Ruffle Pillows & a Giveaway!

I saw a similar set of pillows on Dear Lillie and absolutely loved them! I actually used a red pillowcase (picked up a set of sheets -queen- on cleanance for only a few bucks last year for the trim, and the fabric was on sale last weekend for $1.99 a yard at Jo-Ann's. They are going to go on some white chairs I picked up for $2.50 (for the set!). I'm planning on re-covering them as soon as I find some cheap upholstery fabric, but they are a nice anchor for the entertainment center. But for now they seem like a nice splash of christmas-y color ... Pillows #5 & #6 done and now I have absolutely no idea what I want to do for the rest ... ALSO ... remember those little flowers? Well, I have the facebook page up & running and since I had my first big sale this week, I thought I would celebrate with another giveaway this weekend! Go here to check it out if you'd like to win some flowers! :)

I'm linking up to these parties: Freckled Laundry

Boys Room - Jax's Pillow -

So I saw this pillow and LOVED it. And since Jax was the only boy still without a pillow for his bed, I used a $1 pillow form from the thrift store (obviously pre-hot washed and sterilized). I love the way it came out, and he was pretty excited to have it on his bed too! Pillow #4 done!

(Pillowcase blogged here, jean blanket blogged here)

Santa Christmas Pillows

The next set of pillows were actually purchased for $2.99 each at Ikea. I want to put them in the toy room, but the bench is currently being touched up for paint, so I guess my front room couch will have to do for now. I bought this fabric years ago, and I really love it, I'd love to be able to make some accent pillows to go with it, but I've never found anything that really fits. Easy pockets on the back (using some leftover fabric from my front room curtains) ... and I love the festive colors it brings into the room! :) Pillows #2 & #3 done ... now to finish Jax's car pillow! :)

The Patience of Job ...

So you know that day ... the day when you realize you have let your to-do pile get out of control? The day when you realize you have TEN pillow forms (most from the goodwill ... but still) laying all around your craft room/homeschool room/daughter's-taken-over the room with her crafts room ... and your sweet husband makes absolutely no mention of that when you tell him that you want to start on a new project tonight? Yeah ... seriously patient guy. So ... I am making the goal to finish up those pillows this week! It's 9:30, but after this I am going to go stitch up the next set before bed ... a little less sleep, but two more finished pillows would DEFINITELY make him happy.

The first one up for show is this cute little unicorn pillow. I had stitched up the unicorn FOREVER ago (beginning of October) during the first weekend while watching General Conference. I picked up the pillow form in September, nothing really wrong with the pillow, just not the right colors for the girls room re-do. Savannah loved the unicorn stitchery (a freebie found online), so I enlarged it 125% and just worked on it during the weekend. Love it, and it only cost me $0.50 for the pillow, everything else I already had on hand! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great, relaxing day. I did most of my cooking on Wednesday, so until the last hour of the turkey cooking, I got to rest all day long and hang out with the kids. :) The kids made the table decorations, little pilgrims & native americans around the table and cute little colored ring napkins, complete with Savannah drawing a "personal" picture of each person & placing it on their plates. We laid two large strips of craft paper out with crayons ... it made the kids last at least 15 minutes, they still didn't eat much, but it didn't feel like wasted effort at least! And of course the funniest part was Savannah coming upstairs, dressed "fancy" for her favorite day of the year ... and insisting that we all dress up for her too, it was actually really fun being "fancy" together too. :)
My hubs is working today, so I have LOTS of sewing/project finishing on my agenda for the day. Have a nice weekend! :)

Flower Giveaway

So, I started a facebook page for the flowers. And to kick start it off, simply comment on the latest status update & be entered to win TWO FREE FLOWERS from my store! :) Seemed like a good way to channel all the etsy stuff into one spot and not spend too much time on the craft blog about it all. "Like" the page and spread the word to get some freebies! :)

Girls Craft Night

So, my daughter and I have been working (during all my *free* time) on making decorations for her Christmas tree. It's a beautiful pink, pre-lit foofy (technical term, honest) tree that we got 75% off last year for $5. I picked up some bird houses for $1 and we are busily, painting & mod-podging them, and cutting out cute little birds to go on them ... and then I came up with this monstrosity of an idea for the tree skirt. Which I plan on finishing up tomorrow (hopefully) in the morning before the family heads out for family pictures. Is it just me who wishes we DIDN'T have to be a part of the family pic at all sometimes? Not a slam on myself, just the kids are so cute, and their clothes were sooooo much easier to pick out then trying to bargain shop for myself, in the right color scheme, with clothing that I feel comfortable in. LOL. Good to know that's the absolutely worst thing on my plate for tomorrrow. :) I am truly blessed.

Etsy sale thru Black Friday

So, I have gotten better pictures up on the etsy store & am having a black friday sale. There are these cute pom-pom flowers on a hair clip.

As well as a lot of different varieities of the singed edge flowers to choose from. You can choose single, or your own variety depending on your check out choice. And use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY20 for 20% off your order thru next week! :)

Super Saturday Cuteness

This last weekend was our church's Super Saturday Craft Day. There were lots of cute things to make and I was REALLY excited about it all ... so of course my husband had to work unexpectedly. Which wouldn't have been a problem (they were offering free child care), except my children also got nasty colds. Which quickly ended my fun day of crafts and self-indulgence. So, I finished up one of the crafts last night & had to show this cuteness! It's just simple wood, painted with craft paint, add the vinyl & paint mod podge all over ... wah-lah! SUPER CUTE! :) I've ordered four more now for gifts for next year ... LOVE IT! :)

Lots of finished projects coming!

So, I've been really trying to finish up a few odds n' ends and am actually making some headway! A really good friend of mine is trading me some of my burned edge flowers for her ADORABLE bows ... seriously I am getting such a good deal out of this! :) And we did the cutest activity for school the other week and I wanted to share! One of my husband's cousins took a cooking class with her daughter a few years back, and in the class they PAINTED sugar cookies with an egg white/food coloring mixture. Super simple, but it bakes up so neat looking & the kids LOVE painting like that, and a HUGE bonus is no super sticky, overly sugary frosting to deal wtih. So we did a geography lesson where we covered the many different types of maps (economic for example) and then we painted the geographical map of wyoming, with it's trees, rivers and everything on a sugar cookie shaped like Wyoming (luckily for me ... Wyoming is just a huge rectangle). It definitely helped the kids remember the details of the state and the different types of maps. AND (!!!) it served as a nice snack afterwards. Such a fun activity!

I can't wait to show you the cute stuff I've been working on with my daughter for our craft nights ... she has a fun little pink tree & we are really decking it out together! :)

What to do with 150 flowers???

So my friend was going to do a craft fair, and she was being gracious enough to let me mail her something to sell at it. So, I came up with my own version of the silk satin flowers with singed edges ... and I made about 150 flowers ... I worked on it like crazy for a week and a half, using up supplies I already had on-hand. A cute little pearl in each center, nothing over the top or dramatic, just a nice accent to any outfit (although at 25 minutes to make each one ... they are a VERY time consuming little hair accent) ... and then something came up and that friend can't do the booth anymore ... so what do I do with all these FLOWERS??? Well, I listed a few on etsy ... and am working on taking better pictures of those ones and the rest to list as well! LOL.So ... anyone interested, the flowers can be found listed here.

Still Kickin'

Tonight a friend mentioned that I keep getting sick because I'm not sleeping and resting at all the last month or so ... she may be right. After losing my voice for almost a week, being healthy for four days and then catching the next cold from the boys ... I've realized I have to slow down a bit. And it's been nice ... not much to report because of it ... but nice. :) I did however finally make a use for the random Christmas ornaments I picked up in January 2010 ... I was inspired by this Pottery Barn wreath. And for $5 (the cost of the wreath form from Hobby Lobby), I was able to hot glue the ornaments onto the wreath ... and I absolutely LOVE IT! :) I actually had enough ornaments to make three more wreaths (and cleared out a box and a half of my closet in the process!) ... So, I made a fun afternoon craft project of it with a gal from church and another gal is planning on coming over (as soon as she has "free time") to make hers as well ... I know I shouldn't skip over Thanksgiving, but the twinkle lights and Christmas colors are so much more fun!
Think about how easy it would be to make this wreath with the random ornaments you already have at home???Admit it, you want one too now! :)

New Ironing Board

It may be summertime still for some, but winter has definitely arrived here! The kids are really enjoying it ... which I am trying to remind myself as it takes an hour to get all four of them fully dressed to go outside ... two-three times a day ...It's strange that the leaves still haven't fallen, but there is so much snow outside!

Have you guys seen this cute ironing board tutorial? I loved it, and realized that I could literally do it for under $10! I already had my contact paper, black paint, and a random board in the garage. I just had to buy the coat hooks, and my awesome hubby put it on for me. I realize my ironing board isn't very exciting ... but I LOVE having a home for the ironing board ... and it's been put in the homeschool/craft room now ... it's awesome! :)

Chiropractors, Pumpkin Patches & New Music

So after a horrible week last week, I can really move for the first time in years without real pain! YEAH! I had to got the chiropractor twice last week and both times knocked me out, which included crafting, organizing, and cleaning. He said it takes 12 weeks for everything to really heal, so I'm taking it really slow and not over-exerting myself ... at all. But, it feels great to be able to sit and type and not hurt ... he said I had a couple ribs out (they didn't hurt - but it makes sense after baby #2 - she kicked like crazy & they hurt for MONTHS afterwards), my septum (I think it's called that) was rotated 30 degrees, my pelvis was out, etc. ... yeah ... fun to be me after being realigned, but the second time was NOT as bad as the first ... so I'm hoping this means I'll be able to walk around more regularly (I got hurt 4+ years ago during a pregnancy and thought it was healed ... guess not).

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch last weekend ... lots of fun & they LOVED the hay ride. Jax who threw up literally every single night for a week & a half couldn't stop smiling ... kind of nice to see him so happy ... he didn't stop smiling the entire time we were there. :) I got a white pumpkin, to see if I can save the seeds & plant them myself next year ... and have you heard of Hilary Weeks new CD? LOVE IT! I'm listening/loving it right now (link for one of the songs here).