...Sand Between Your Toes

A good friend called me up two weeks ago.  

She was wondering if I could embroider monograms on some beach towels.

  

Not just these four.......fifteen of them!

 

My machine ate this one.  So my solution was to make an applique to fix the oops!

I am sharing this because the towels are special gifts.  Her daughter and friends are off to a beach house after their Senior Prom tonight.  What a great gift idea!

  I wish I had come up with the idea.

So next time you know someone is headed to the beach for a special occasion.  Consider having some beach towels personalized just for them!

Edited to add:  And, by the way, as I was embroidering them, I prayed that they had a safe time!

Easter Basket Liners

As promised..the Easter Basket Liner Tutorial.

I really wanted to post this because if you are like me, there is probably a good possibility that the bin you store your Easter decorations in is still sitting out.  Why not make them now and then you don't have to worry about it next year!  If you don't have a basket/baskets...run to the store now.  Usually they are upwards of 70% off at the local craft stores!

The reason I decided to do a tutorial is that every liner tutorial I found was very loose and I like a tailored look.  I found these baskets at JoAnn Fabrics on sale two weeks ago.  They are really sturdy for my rough and tumble guys.

TUTORIAL

First, I measured the bottom of the basket by drawing a circle on cardboard.  I then trimmed it to make sure it fit on the inside.

The template made it much easier to make 4 circles the same size.

Measure the circumference and height of the basket sides.  I added 2 inches for seam allowance and hem. 

 A simple small hem (folded twice 1/4 inch) is sufficient.  At this point is when you embroider the name.

Fold and sew the short ends together (wrong sides facing each other).  Start at the raw edge and stop at the height of the top of the basket.  Be sure to backstitch to secure the seam.

  

  Fold the circle in half so the center is marked.  This is where the basket handles are.

 Pin the strip with name onto the circle.  Align the seam with the center that was marked on the bottom circle so that the slit that was left open matches the basket handle.

 Then sew the edges with a 1/4-1/2 inch seam allowance.

Using the centerpoint line that was folded into the circle, cut slit down from the hem on the opposite side for the other basket handle.

I was in a rush for the boy's Easter egg hunt so I had stopped right at this point.  I thought the fact that it was so snug to the basket, that it wouldn't get loose.  So I came up with the following plan to fix the problem.

I used a two inch bias tape maker.  You don't necessarily need it, but I find them pretty handy.  Otherwise, just fold and iron both side in.

I didn't do a good job taking photos!  I forgot to show exactly WHERE the bias tape goes!  Hopefully you will understand when I say that the bias tape goes on the edge of the slits that were cut out.  Start at one hem and work your way up the slit, then keep going down the other side of the slit.

After adding the bias tape, I added a two buttons to the corner of the FRONT flaps (where the name is)

I added two looped elastic on the corners of the back two flaps.  I made mine about 2.5 inches so that when it was looped, it was one inch after being sewn on.

Now the flaps are secure and ready for RUNNING!!

     

Or hopping?

Here they all are in a row...terrible picture taken in the wee hours of the night.

Which brings me to my next question?  Why is the Easter bunny depicted as a boy?  Last time I checked, he was sacked out in bed the night before!

Hopping down the bunny trail.....

From Pottery Barn

Do you know what my most favorite holiday is?  

Easter.

I have loved it since I was a little girl.  

Wet grass.

Pastel colored eggs.

Baskets.

Bunnies.

I wasn't a frilly little girl.  I was very much a tom-boy.  I think I have shocked my own mother in the past few years with my need to wear skirts these days!  I was a pants/shorts kind of girl.  I didn't like my hair brushed.  I wanted to run, like them!

I often think it is because I have become surrounded by the male chromosome in some serious high levels, that I have become inordinately feminine.  

So in honor of my favorite holiday, I have made basket liners for my boys.  Embroidered with their names so there is NO confusion on my favorite day.

 

 

I think they are cuter than the Pottery Barn ones from above.  Not strictly masculine, but the boys said it was very "Eastery" fabric.

I think they only care about what is INSIDE the liner!

Josh was "too cool" to join in the neighborhood Easter Egg fun.  James came along for the ride.

Don't you wish you could hang out all day like this?

Hoping to have a QUICK tutorial on the liners sooner than later!  Have to work on securing the flaps.  As you can see, they came loose during the hunt!

The Early Birds

 The Early Birds are for some little friends walking in a March of Dimes walk next weekend.

They made their appearances quite a few weeks early and are here one year and a bit later!

 

This shirt is for the other little girl.  I added a little bird for her twin brother.  Momma carried him knowing he had a fatal condition.

I thought it fitting to make Tyler's bird small because he will always be that tiny baby bird in mom's eyes.

On the backside, I embroidered all their stats in the same font.  Arrived at 32wks and 4 dys, birth date, weight and length. I sure hope their mom's like them!

I think these birds would look cute for anything.  They remind me of Spring! 

....................................................

I think I just got an idea for my family room throw pillow cover...of course, I will keep you posted!

 

An Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

-An Old Irish Blessing

A little onesie embroidery/applique project in honor of St. Patrick's Day. 

I mean, doesn't a James Patrick have to wear a shamrock on such a day?!?! 

He is definitely OUR Irish blessing!

Can I tell you a secret?  I think I am addicted to appliques right now because they use up my scrap fabric stash. 

 I knew there was a reason I was hoarding them all this time!

Oh..and it meets Week 7 of our CSM blog challenge:

Rodeo Bound

I wasn't born in Texas

but I got here as soon as I could.

-Unknown

We laughed when we first moved to Texas and saw this quote on a bumper sticker.

Now we have been here in Texas for over seven years.  And haven't missed a Rodeo.

So Button couldn't miss his chance to go last week. 

I didn't have a lot of time, but I embroidered this onesie in honor of this "new" tradition in our family.  I had a scap piece of the bandanna fabric from a school quilt for the Denim and Diamonds auction a few years back.  It was too short to tie, so I just added a snap to keep it together.

I also made this blanket/quilt for him. 

I rushed it, so I need to do some fixing up to it. 

I really do love the Rope Font though!!!

Button loved Rodeo and Lady Antebellum last week so much, he asked us if he could go again this week!

Just kidding....Daddy wants to see Zac Brown.  Mommy and Button will go hide out in the suite when the music gets too loud again!!

Butterfly Kisses

Jamie's Quilt. 

 When she was born, we were enthralled with the perfection of her feet.   We could not keep our hands off of them.   We used her quilt for some of her NILMDTS photos.  She looked just precious on that quilt.  A few months later, I told hubby that I was going to embroider her name and her footprints on her quilt.  I was nervous, but he thought it was a good idea. 

 I chose brown to go with the quilt, but now wish I had gone with either a bolder larger font or a different color.  The background is so busy. 

But honestly...it doesn't matter....I love it.

So this leads to my charity:

 

I have finally perfected the digitizing and embroidery process.

Any baby loss momma that has a blanket or quilt that they would like to have their baby's name and footprints or handprints on....please contact me.

Yes....the footprints are the EXACT size of her actual footprints that were done at the hospital.  All I need is a scanned copy of your baby's or babies' footprints/handprints and the measurement (length and width) so that I can digitize them for my embroidery machine.

 
This is all free of charge.  I have already received a bit of funding to get this off the ground!

If you are currently carrying a baby with a very poor or fatal diagnosis and would like your baby's name on their blanket for their birth day, I can also help you out.  I have done a few already....and one of them actually defied his odds!  He is quite the healthy infant.  Boy, were those doctors wrong!

 If you are interested please fill out this FORM HERE or contact me on my FB page!

Sprucing up my workplace

Instead of going back to work today, I had to stay home and play nurse to one of the boys. 

However, it did give me some time to work on some projects. 

We needed some items for the clinic I work at.   

The blue BASKET COZIE:   When we have any emergency evacuation, we have to tote all of the students emergency cards.  They are really unwieldy in the basket that we keep them in.  I decided to make what I guess you could call is a Basket Cozie.  The plastic basket slips right inside and has handles so we can sling it on our shoulders!  I used blue denim for the outside and the nursing fabric for the liner.  I embellished it with a cross applique (using scraps from our uniform plaid) and embroidery font with my Baby Lock!

The white BASKET BED:  I also used the extra material to make some little quilted "beds" for our thermometer and otoscope.  Have to protect our expensive investments!  I just quilted a small rectangle and made a liner for the little baskets.

The best part of these projects...they are all from leftover fabric.  The Nurse/Clinic print is from the old window treatment we had up.  I just washed it and am cutting away!

Hoping to finish our clinic emergency bag and window treatment sooner than later. You can see the fabric is already cut out on my work island.    I even have an idea for wall art that is made of fabric, but I think I will frame it with glass to keep the germs from collecting on it.

But for now, this tired momma/nurse need to get some zzzz's to take care of all the little patients that might arrive in our clinic the first day back!

Impatiently Waiting

I am waiting....

• Waiting for my friend to show me a possible logo idea.

• Waiting for my ultrasound that is tomorrow to make sure Baby Button is truly okay in there.

• Waiting for my christmas present (I bought this with all of my birthday and Christmas gift money...and hubby pitched in some of his "take" too!)

It is the Westminster Big Shot Pro Shape Cutting Machine.  It is by Sizzix.  I chose this over the Accuquilt GO! and Studio for a few reasons. 

1.  I already have a substantial investiment in my sizzix dies already!
2. There is a 5 yr warranty vs 1 year warranty on the Accuquilts.
3.  It is wide.....13 inches wide!
4.  With a bit of shimming you can use Accuquilt die cuts on it (according to other bloggers)
5. According to research, the Sizzix dies are cheaper
6. You can order a custom die........HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

• I am also waiting for these three dies that I ordered with my new machine:

 This is the Daisy die cut....Love how I can use it!

This is the sunflower/poinsettia die cut.  LOVE IT!




And last, but not least...........

Yup!  A Butterfly.  Hubby talked me into this one with a lot of arm twisting (note the sarcasm!)

And if anyone knows me.......while I wait.........I shop for instant gratification.  DOWNLOADS!

I bought some new fonts from Five Star Fonts.  I love their unique applique fonts...like this:

Do you like?  Good...because I bought it!  HOW FUN IS THIS!!

And Embroidery Fonts like this:

Do you see the embroidered dots inside the large fonts?  The dots, fill, and outline can all be different colors.

Boggles the mind!  Or at least mine....

And, yes, I had to have it!!

And while I was perusing...I was found a bunch of FREE downloads like these:

 

VERY FUN!!

I also picked up a few free fonts and actually paid for some cute new fonts!

So I guess waiting isn't always a bad thing???