{mother's day surprise}

Well... it's more just like a card and a present rolled into one! But I think all my mothers and grandmothers are going to love one.

I suppose the postage would be a bit more on this than a regular card-- I'm handing them out to my family-- but aren't our mothers worth it?

I designed the card fronts specifically for this purpose, to put a pin next to it. Then I made another version for sending without the pin.

Hopefully, my mother's will wear the pins with pride-- and sorry for ruining your surprise-- or at least enjoy looking at the lovely cards!

** I'm putting the card fronts below. I hoping they are large enough and of good enough quality for you guys to use. I recommend printing them two to a page that is printed landscape.

Feel free to print them out and send them for personal use, but not for personal gain! Also, link love is greatly appreciated!**

card for pin

card without pin

P.S. Watch for a tutorial coming soon!

{breezy}

Okay... Not the most flattering picture, but the skirt is so comfy! I made this easy, jersey skirt in under an hour the other day.

I had just gotten One Yard Wonders after failing to make a jersey skirt without a pattern. I suddenly wished I had had the book just a day earlier, because it would have saved a lot of math and seam ripping.

The skirt pattern and instructions are really simple and straight-forward. I also used a trick that I learned from my mother to make the waistband, without a seam showing!

It goes a little like this:

1. Cut two waistband pieces the same length as the width of your skirt and double the measurement you want the waistband to be finished.
2. Fold the waistband piece in half lengthwise with right sides together. Tuck one of the pieces of your skirt in between the edges of the waistband. Line the edges of the waistband with the top edge of the skirt. Pin.
3. Sew.
4. Pull the skirt piece out of the little roll, and this will automatically turn the waistband right side out-- like magic!
5. Do the same to the other piece, then sew both sides of the skirt together!

*If that didn't make much sense to you, this tutorial might be helpful!

I'm already planning two improvements to this skirt: maybe a little embroidery at the bottom and next time I might not do jersey.

I'm also thinking this might be a cut way to make a dress and salvage an old t-shirt or tank. Just cut off the bottom of the shirt and stitch the skirt to the shirt. Cute?

I just can't help myself...

Design*Sponge


I HAD to share this lovely post from Design*Sponge.

I'm so enthralled with this idea. The purpose is to display your "stock" so you know what you have and don't have to hunt around, or buy extras. But I think it's just a lovely way to liven up a craft room.

And I'm a total fabric hoadrer. I picked it up from my grandmother, who had boxes upon boxes of fabric stored away. I just don't want to throw away-- or use up!!!-- anything so gorgeous as my materials!

Perhaps with these I can just keep a small piece of each, display it, and use the rest. Do you think it's possible?

Down-to-the-wire valentines

Here's a little link love to beat the Valentine's Day rush.

I did pretty good about getting my valentines out early this year, but it's a miracle. I mailed them yesterday, and I'm praying the arrive in a nice condition!!

I do wish I had seen some of these lovely projects before I had finished!

Printables

• Valentine's Day goodie bags from Twig and Thistle
• candy orchard mixed tape packageing via Chronicle Books
• cute printables on style crush
• adorable printables for sweet treats via Martha Stewart
• conversation candy wrappers on Creature Comforts

Gifts

• heart-shaped zipper pouches viathe purl bee
• rose clips via Twig and Thistle
• wire-wrapped photo holder on //Between the lines//

Handmade

• an adorable kiss-in-your-pocket flipbook fromColor Me Katie
• heart covered wax paper from Martha Stewart
• paper heart garland onHow about orange...
• stamped fabric spool message viapaper n stitch
• valentine lei from Craftzine
• doily valentines from avie designs

Sweet Treats

• edible cupcake stands from Giver's Log
• heart toothpick cupcake decorations on My Crafty Mess
• chocolate strawberry ice cream sandwiches--I can die happy-- on mint

Tea inspired napkins

A friend of mine is a great tea aficionado, which she's been striving to turn me into for years. Her love of tea, along with this download from A Print a Day, inspired her Christmas gift, a set of embroidered napkins to go along with her tea.

I drew my cups instead of using the template, so that I could personalize them. I tried to make each one unique and specific to a time period.

I started by drawing the designs onto the napkins. I measured to make sure they were in approximately the same spot--I'm bad at guessing distances. I drew mine in with pencil, but that probably wasn't the best idea on my part. A washable fabric pen probably would have smudged less.

After I embroidered each cup, I washed the napkins, ironed them, and folded them into the gift box.

I'm guessing that she liked them, because the day after I gave them to her, they were already on her dining room table! I wish I could have found such perfect and thoughtfully handmade gifts for everyone, but perhaps if I start early this year, I can make the next year a handmade Christmas!

P.S. Other cute ideas for embroidered napkins could be birds or trees--especially at Christmas--mixers, cakes, or other kitchen paraphernalia. Check out this sweet free downloadable from LollyChops for more ideas!

P.P.S. Here are just a few sites to check out-- along with Flickr-- for some great embroidery ideas and patterns.

• Sublime Stiching, adorable patterns for a small price
• Pimp Stitch, plenty of cute ideas and patterns
• Feeling Stitchy, chock full of lovely and comical inspirations
• doe-c-doe, new/vintage patterns each week
• So september, cute free downloads and tutorials
• LollyChops, the aforementioned and ever-so-lovely

Wrap it up!

The title applies to both the year and the few Christmas presents that I have left to wrap.

I love the cute gift wrap that you can buy at Target, but it really doesn't hold up well. But it's too late for this year's bunch. Next year, I'm just going to buy some heavy duty kraft paper, or use brown paper bags, and accent with the cute paper and bows. If only I remember during my Christmas frenzy in 2010!

Sadly, this should be my last post before the holidays, and I just might be able to squeeze one in before New Year's, but I can't make any promises.

But until then, I leave all you last minute wrappers with a little gift wrap inspiration, and a lot of FREE downloads!

Gift Wrap, Anyone?

• free printable gift wrap from Creature Comforts
• gift card wallets via Screen Prints
• fabric gift envelopes from Paper n Stitch
• monogrammed letter gift wrapping on Design*Sponge
• snowflake pillow boxes on Creature Comforts
• printable holiday packaging via How about Orange...

Bows and Tags

• a gift bow from a magazine via How about Orange...
• free printable gift tags via Creature Comforts
• brooches as bows on Bugs and Fishes
• bows from felt on Twig and Thistle
• adorable deer tags on Creature Comforts
• button tags and bows from Bugs and Fishes
• twist tie pom poms on Craftzine
• vintage photo gift tags from Nice package
• free gift tags via Creature Comforts

Holiday Cards

• free printable holiday cards via Creature Comforts
• another free printable on Creature Comforts

Something for Your Sweets

• a sweet holiday tag available on The Long Thread
• a goodie bag topper from Love.Obsess.Inspire.
• revamped hot chocolate mix from Lolly Chops

Deck the Halls

[left to right, top to bottom]1Design*Sponge 2Scissor Variations 3Scissor Variations 4Thompson Family Life
I've definitely been in the decorating mood. Not only have I made three adorable paper trees, but I've also got my tree up and decorated, and I made a wreath for the front door! I feel very on top of everything, which probably won't last very long.

But since I have a bit of free time, I did some searching. And I found some beautiful holiday decorations!! But I don't have enough energy to do all mine over again... So, this is for you:

• adorable, and quite retro, felt scalloped trees from Thompson Family Life
• ribbon-wrapped tealights on A Studio with a View
• a wrapped rope wreath--try saying that three times fast-- via Design*Sponge
• a retro-inspired holiday wreath from Cathie Filian
• hand-cut snowflakes on Make it Do
• a cute pine cone garland via Scissor Variations
• a crafty, thrifty wreath from a t-shirt on Smile and Wave
• an adorable paper Christmas wreath from The Read Thread
• this lovely bottle brush tree display from Scissor Variations
• and a pom-pom wreath tutorial via Twig & Thistle

Christmas Ornaments Unleashed

ell... I'm starting to get into the Christmas spirit, and this is definitely my favorite time of year!! I think my Christmas spirit has increased in the last few years, especially since I've gotten my own tree to decorate!

And since it's after Thanksgiving, and I've got my tree now-- I even put lights on it tonight!!-- I'm in the mood for some ornaments!! So here are just a few fun and easy projects to get me-- and you!-- in the festive spirit!

• a felt circles ornament tutorial from Craftzine
• retro, disco-inspired mirrored ornaments via Handmade & Homebaked
• a half-eaten gingerbreadman pattern from Elsie Marley
• another free pattern for a cute mitten on oliver + s
• yet another free felt mushroom ornament pattern via The Long Thread
• and perhaps my personal fav, a argyle applique ornament via So September

Drink Up

Winter is one of my absolute favorites times of the year, mostly because of all the delicious things to drink. Hot chocolate, coffee, tea, there's no better way to enjoy cold weather.

I'm not so sure how grown-up I want my hot chocolate to be... But here are a few quick recipes and crafts to help enjoy this chilly weather!!

• Grown-up Hot Chocolate via Craftzine
• knitted cup cozies on Meet Me at Mike's
• to top off your coffee, a coffee stencil from How About Orange...
• apple cider... in apple cups via Craftynest
• felt cup warmers on The Small Object
• a free tutorial for coffee cup cozies from mmmcrafts
• and to top off the deliciousness Cookie Cream Sandwiches on Design*Sponge

Ambition

This is my problem. I get too ambitious with my projects, and this leads to half-finished and literally half baked ideas.

My ambition this time led me to buy a monstrosity of a pumpkin to carve into a haunted house, like Martha... But alas, I am neither Martha Stewart nor any of the people who work to carve pumpkins for her.

I started by hand drawing my design on my pumpkin, and it looked pretty good. I was psyched. Then, I started cutting into the ginormpkin, and that is when the problems started. That sucker is thick.

By the time I got too tired to carve, all I had done was a few small bits, mainly some windows and the tiles on the roof. I may never finish this thing, but at least I tried, right?

Next year, if I blog about some harebrained pumpkin scheme, someone please refer me to this... But until then, here are a few things that I probably should have been doing first.

• salivating over these caramel brownie bites
• stitching a cute felt leaf garland
• tracking down the pencil skirt pattern from Angry Chicken
• carving out apple cups for apple cider
• freaking out about the spiders on Bakerella
• chewing on the eyes of some Halloween monster cupcakes
• or carving any of these other, easy pumpkins from Martha Stewart

Sunday Morning Link Love

These are just a few things that I liked as I was going through my reader this morning.

• Antique Singer decals
• Cardboard tube wall sculpture
• Vacation picture postcards
• Gift bow from a magazine page
• Day of the Dead shrine

Tea Cup Clutch

As if I need another project, but this clutch is SO cute. I never would have thought to use an ordinary object like a teacup saucer to make a interesting, textured clutch.

The Object Project, where you can find the tutorial for this adorable clutch, uses everyday objects to make adorable patterns.The creativity for this just astounds me.

As soon as I find a good tweed to use, you can be sure I will post this project! I can't wait to get started... I might just have to go fabric shopping tomorrow!

Mother's Day Crunch??

One of my new favorites, Schlosser Designs, offers some great, free card designs to download and print! This is a great mother's day card, especially if you are in a crunch, and you can even customize the text on the file. If it gets down to midnight Saturday and you are meeting your mom for breakfast Sunday-- well, first, shame on you-- but check out this sweet card on Schlosser Designs.

Why do you build me up, Buttercup?

After seeing this bag on Made by Rae, and downloading the free pattern, I definitely need to make another trip to Joann's. And this comes just in time, because my other purse is getting holes. I really just wear them until they wear out.


The pattern doesn't look too difficult, and you can just print it right out on your printer. As soon as I get mine made, it will be up here, but I thought I'd let you in on it now!! So, check it out at Made by Rae.