my first real quilt

i'd been wanting to make a real quilt for a long time.

real as in... pieced, and batted, and quilted together.

(ive made rag quilts before, but they are a little less complex.)

my sister got married in march last year.

a quilt!  handmade with love.

i think that would make a perfect wedding gift.

we went out and got the fabric right away.

and finally put it together. in november.

while 8 months pregnant :)

a fun swirly stitch in red.

the top.

the back.

it's by all means imperfect.

the kids helped with pinning, and unpinning.

and pushing the sewing pedal, and laying out pieced strips on the floor.

dave helped stretch and tape down and pin the layers together.

all 4 (5) of us helped put it together with lots of love.

so i guess that does make it quite perfect.

packed tight in a box and mailed to brooklyn to its new home.

my favorite of the fabrics is the one i call peacock.

i reserved some to make a nursing cover :)

which has already been put to good use.

i'm itching to make another quilt.

someday :)

ruffle me up

inspired here.

packing lunch

we've been recycling for about 3 years now.

like really recycling.

we have about 2 bags of recycling to every 1 bag of trash.

when lilly started 1st grade, that meant packing lunch for school.

i cringed at how many plastic zip bags i was using and tossing.

so a quick search to the internet found some great ideas!

how to make sandwich wraps and dry snack bags.

my feeble attempt to save the world.

a no waste packed lunch.

here's how to wrap the sandwich.
(i typically send half a sandwich, as its made with thick homemade bread, but a whole sandwich and a sandwich on a bun fit also.  tortilla wraps too...)

tada!

(and... the wrap can be used as a placemat on the school lunch table :)

ETA: i am not sure why i didn't post these originally (duh!) but here are the links to the tutorials i used for the snack bag and the sandwich wrap.   that should answer a few questions.  i just used cotton frabric.  my wrap was 10"x10" and i used a cut ziplock bag as the liner.  that was the safest material for food, in my opinion.  dont limit yourself to just these tutorials though.  there are tons all over the web. find what you like :) hth!

homemade holiday

i dubbed this Christmas season...

"the season not to get stressed out over making homemade gifts" season.

i did well not stressing out over needing to make all the gifts.

but of course i couldnt go without making some :)

the littles made cookies in a jar.

(the making part was much more fun then they actually tasted...)

i made up some 'cookies of the month' coupon rings for a few great people :)

the little man now has his very own apron.

(made and embroidered by mommy ;)

so he doesnt have to wear his sister's cupcake one anymore :)

(hunting down some cute hockey fabric was an adventure of it's own.)

and lilly got another sandwich wrap :)

(this gets a post of its own sooner or later...)

we (as in i told dave what to do...) did make one more thing.

some glass hurricane vases for dave's mom.

they were pretty.  why did i not take a picture?

boo.

i may just have to make another set.

crafters

the time finally came for me to buy some photo storage.

i went from 100% full to 4 point something % full.

nice.  that should last a while :)

in dave and i's future careers we may become personal crafters.

laurie's personal crafters :)

dave recovered chairs for her.

they just moved into a new house and wanted a new look.

before...

 after!

 isn't the fabric gorgeous!!

the boys.

wanting in on the chair photo shoot :)

 laurie asked me to make a banner for a baby shower she was co-hosting...

 here it is on display at the shower, so fun!!

(and if you look close... you will see some LBE items on the clothesline ;)

and... cookies for a bday party!

(these will get a post of their own soon :)

oh if i could craft all day long and pay the mortgage.

thank you laurie.
for making me feel extra special.

cozy giveaway!!

I made a few cozies as a bday gift for a friend.

I filled a cup up with some chocolate and a giftcard to starbucks :)

(and a 2nd cozy is tucked in there too!)

It’s a gift I love to give.

I think because I’d like to get it ;)

A cozy giveaway has been on my list of things to do for a very long time. (Since way back in the months where I was drinking hot things and needed a cozy to keep the heat off my hand.) I thought it was too late (and not as appropriate) for a cozy giveaway in this humid weather… until I used up the end of a gift card on a java chip frappachino, and realized the cozies are just as needed with the chilly treats :) To keep the freeze away!

So… here they are!

I will be giving away these cozies :)

2 cozies.

2 winners!

One entry per person.

(If you are already the owner of one of these… you can still enter! If you win, you can add it to your collection, or gift it to someone who would really love you for sharing it.)

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me who would get the cozy (keep it/gift it) and what you would put in your cozy hugged cup.

if you have one of these from me already… (or if you are one of the winners of the giveaway) a few notes on washing it: It washes fine in the washer with regular clothes… then let it air dry… and if you want it to be nice and crisp again, just hit it with the iron! (I only know this because I might have spilled my liquid treat on my cozy the very first time I used it… being so excited and all. That might happen to you too :) oh, and I don’t prewash my fabric… (I know, I know… bad seamstress…) but I haven’t had any problems with that being and issue.

Ok.

Enough of my blabbering.

Tell me…who gets the cozy and what are you putting in the cup?

(entries accepted through Wednesday, June 16th)

(and depending on who wins… you may or may not receive the cup itself )

(but im guessing you wont miss the cup, if you win a cozy :)

oh... and be sure i know how to get a hold of you if you win.

burps.

i finally get to share these!

burps :)

handmade from my snuggle flannel collection.

i made these for my cousin who is expecting twin boys!

i made some for a friend too, but i just now realized i never took pics... boo. (one was even with owl fabric!)

super cute and easy to make!

(i hope they work nice too, you'll have to let me know lindsey and julie!  and julie, if you like yours, i would love to make you some girly ones :)

lilly took this pic of me and said... "you look terrible mommy."

thanks sweetie. you're nice.

im pretty sure this what i normally look like.

tired. and terrible. ha.

and the most recent of daddy's creation :)

the plans are about ready to go and get approved.

hope they do!

enjoy your weekend :)