Giveaway Extended, Hair Flowers & Pins

The next item up for my Pinterest challenge are these cute fabric flowers that I made to match the skirts from Pinterest challenge #1.  My inspiration came from this site.



Inspiration Photo



So quick and fun to make. My friend Sam and I enjoyed creating them. I think our granddaughters will agree, they are very cute. Now just to see the granddaughters in them. They all live so far away, the closest is in Seattle, a seven hour drive, makes for a sad Nanna.

Sam really didn't want her picture taken, but gotta do it. 

Single Layer

Jacinda has a really good tutorial so I didn't add one here.  I didn't use covered buttons, just regular buttons I already on hand.

Double Layer

 Also I did a variation and used two fabrics, making the larger layer from 2 1/2" circles.

Cute on a Jean Jacket

I also decided to make some of these as pins for friends. I cut these 3" and double layered them with 2 1/2" circles for the top layer. In the center I used large buttons and vintage earrings to finish them off.

On the back I hot glued a piece of felt and then a pin back. I glued a smaller piece over the pin to finish it off.
I really enjoyed making these as you can see, I almost couldn't stop. This is a good way to use up some of the smaller scraps in your stash and make some great gifts as well. I am trying to use only items I already have on hand for my Pinterest Challenges and for this one I only had to buy the hair clips. I had a hard time finding them in our area, but finally found them at Sally's.

I decided I would give the lucky winner of my giveaway one of these pins, along with a few other items such as some of my organic lavender. Just choose which pin you would like. I am extending the giveaway until the end of July so just leave me a comment here and tell me which pin you would like if you win and make sure you follow me as well. And if you don't win and would like to purchase one, they are for sale in my etsy shop.

I am linking up at these great parties:

href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/search/label/Link%20Parties" target="_blank">

Williams-Sonoma Herbal Swag Knockoff and My Blogversary Giveaway

I can't believe it, I am not only on my third Pinterest Challenge, but Wednesday is my blogversary! Scroll down to the bottom for more on that. Now back to the challenge. I saw this here.

Inspiration.

I really loved the swag, but not the price tag. I grow lavender, rosemary and oregano in my garden so I just went out and picked some. I layered the different herbs until I liked the way they looked, then wrapped a bit of raffia around the top and hung it up in my kitchen. It doesn't quite look the same, but like it and I can snip a bit off when I need it. Fast and easy challenge and best of all it was FREE! Now I want to grow more herbs so I can make larger swags.

Ta Da!

Now onto the most important part of this post. It has been a whole year since I have been blogging. I started July 10, 2011 and feel like I don't know much more than when I started. But there have been some really helpful people out there who have given me a few pointers, now just to impliment them.

I know most people have a giveaway on their blogversary and I think that is a fun thing as well. So here goes. I am not sure what I am giving away just yet, but it will be fun. I am working on some fabric pins so you will get one of those plus a few other goodies. Check out the pins here. If you would like to be in for the drawing, just do one or both of the following, two ways to win:

1- Become a follower and leave me a message telling me that you are.

And/Or

2- Check out my Etsy shop here and leave me a message telling me what your favorite item is.

Simple that is all there is to it. I will be choosing the winner July 17. Thanks.

I am posting at these great parties:

 

Pinterest Challenge #2

Pinterest Challenge #2
Well here I am with Week #2 of my self imposed Pinterest challenge. 

Since the 4th is Wednesday I wanted to make something special to share with a few friends and of course for myself. I found these cute pins on this site.

This is what her's looked like.

 Since I am all about using only what I have on hand I decided to check through my stash to see what I could come up with.  I didn't have any burlap so I used dropcloth fabric for the white and red pindot fabric  for the red.

 I drew out the circles, I found that was easier than cutting in squares and then into freehand circles. I also cut 3" circles out of thin cardboard, with a 1 1/2" circle cut out of the center.

Next I cut strips of 1/2" denim and covered the cardboard circles with strips of it, secured with hot glue. I then folded the circles of fabric in quarters and secured them with a drop of hot glue just to hold it in place. The red fabric was a bit too thin so I used two circles together to make them a bit more substancial.

Glue four of the blue pieces on in one corner.

 Then alternate with the red and white fabric. Five white, four red.

 Now it is all filled in, if you find gaps just add another piece until it is how you like it.

Of course you need stars so I added randomly placed white buttons on the blue pieces. I forgot to take a picture of the back, but I glued a pin back on and covered it with a small piece of denim to give it a finished look.

And there you have it, the finished pin. Thanks Michelle for such a great tutorial.

And here I am ready to celebrate in style.  I really like how big they are. At first I thought they were a bit too big, but I love how they seem to make a statement. Looks great on a denium jacket.

I am linking up to these great Parties:

Ruffled Skirts, Pinterest Challenge #1

I am giving myself a Pinterest challenge. Like a lot of you, I am a Pinterest Junkie. I have 83 boards and 5407 pins but never seem to get any of them finished or try out any of the ideas on there, so I am giving myself a challenge to complete or try one item I have pinned each week.

My first challenge was to make some cute ruffled skirts for my granddaughters. I found this great tutorial here.

My inspiration.

I started out with just some fabric I had on hand.

These are the skirts I created. Tanya's directions were very good, the only thing I would suggest is that you need to cut two of each size that she mentions. Anyone who is an experienced seamstress will know this right off, but those who are not may not know that until too late. Also I used a 1/2" seam instead of the 1/4" she suggested so if you do that you need to add 1/4" to all the measurements. I like a bit larger seam since sometimes if it is too small it can tear through.

I got these cute tags online from Pick Your Plum. Makes the skirts so much more special for my little granddaughters. I really enjoyed making these little skirts, they were so fast and easy and I could use up fabric I already had onhand. It was kind of fun trying different combinations. I think the next time I sew one I will try three different fabrics. Can't wait to see them on my little granddaughters.

I had a fun time and now off to create something else. Hummmmm wonder which one I will make next?
Sharing on these great blogs:

Memory Quilt for Granny

Wow it has been a long time since my last entry. I have had a busy couple of months. Hopefully I will be able to post more often now.

My siblings and I are putting together a quilt for my mother to celebrate her 81st birthday. Each of my siblings and as many grandchildren as wanted to sent me a quilt block and I set them into the quilt using a twist and turn method. My dear friend Linda suggested this since the quilt blocks were not all the same size. I also added a border using all the different fabrics, this is something different which I had never tried before. Linda will be quilting it for me and I will post again when I get it back. I am really happy with the result, I think my mother will love it as well.

Here is a bit of a close up. The center block is made up from my father's bib overalls which he always  wore. He passed away seven years ago and I wanted to also include him in the quilt. 

Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, but I was in a rush to get the quilt done and off to be quilted. Need time to get it back and bound before our family reunion in August.

My Baby Boy is Back

Plane arrives

Stepping off plane

Check out the Luggage, totally worn.

With Mom and Dad

After two years away, my youngest son got home today from his mission to the Philippines.  He looks good, but a bit thin. Look at that big smile. He is a happy kid. And we are happy parents.