Celebrate Good Times = Giveaway Time

If February had 31 days, then on that day my shop would celebrate its six month anniversary! Since there is no February 31st (that just looks weird) I decided I get to pick the day of the official six month anniversary. So since I feel like celebrating today, it is today! Wahooo!!!

The shop has kind of blogged my mind in the fact that I actually have sold things. I remember writing an email to my mom with the exact words "I hope I sell something". In 6 months I have gained 123 hearts, 32 sales - not counting off Etsy sales, done a show, and have sewed whenever I can get a chance. I still love it and I am so happy that my hobby is something that is both enjoyable and practical.

So without further adieu...my gift in celebration to one lucky person is the pattern to my Numbers Quiet Book! It will be emailed in a PDF to you!

Wahoo again!

So to enter include the following in a comment in THIS post:

1. Leave your name

2. Your favorite dessert!

3. An email ONLY if needed to contact you

Oh I should mention you will get TWO extra entries for mentioning this on your blog! Just make sure you leave a comment saying you did that so I know to check your blog. I would love to hear from all of you and can't wait to see who wins the pattern!

Oh I should mention, you need to comment by Monday March 2nd at 12:00 midnight EST. I will use that nifty random number whatever that everyone uses. (I am kinda secretly excited to try out that nifty thing.)

I also want to do some other fun celebration events....so check back over the next week!!!!

So go...leave comments, share the news...

Pirate Quiet Book

Yo ho yo ho a Pirate's Life for Me!!!

Yes. I admit I love pirates!

I wanted to make one ever since I made my Pirate Totes and Crayon Rolls. So here it is! (This was the "big pirate project" that I mentioned earlier in the month.) I love how it turned out! I am trying to decide if there would be enough interest for a pattern. We shall see!!!





















I loved being "snowed" in. No where to be, just time to relax and design new things! I am off to listen to some ABBA and make some new owl totes!

Ohh remember to vote for what you would like to see. The poll is just right over there....(imagine me pointing to the top of my sidebar...)

Favorite Things: Pizza

I am pretty unoriginal in my favorite food. Pizza. I love it. I grew up with my mom making pizza most Friday nights for me and my brother's friends when we were in high school. Her pizza recipe is to die for good. I never thought I would find another even close to comparison. My mom's is still one of my favs, but last year I got this recipe from my great friend Kim. A few have asked for it since most of my Friday posts always include a note that it is pizza night!

Homemade Pizza & Calzones

1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oil
2 ½ - 3 ½ cups flour (I use 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1 tsp. garlic seasoning

Combine warm water and yeast, allow to get bubbly. (Add a sprinkling of sugar to help the yeast along.) Meanwhile, combine sugar, salt, and 2 ½ cups of flour. Add yeast and olive oil. Mix well. Place on a flour board or counter. Add remaining flour as you are kneading; about 5 minutes. (If mixing by hand you may not add the full amount.) Return dough to a greased bowl, turn once to cover the dough in oil. Let dough rise until double in size. (About an hour.) Punch down. Let double again. (About 30 minutes.)

Two Pizzas: Divide dough in half and roll out on pizza pans or stone. Add toppings. Bake @ 475 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes. Your kitchen will smell amazing!!! Or for a quick meal, prepare both pizzas and only bake one. Place the second on a disposable aluminum pizza pan. Cover well in foil and plastic wrap and freeze. Bake a little longer if you are cooking it from the freezer.

Calzones: Divide dough into six pieces. Roll dough out into rectangles. Put toppings on one half of the rectangle; don’t get too close to the edges. (Add more sauce than you think.) Fold the side without toppings over the toppings. Shape the Calzones so the corners are curved and seal edges with a touch of water. You can also go along the edges and seal with a fork. Poke a few holes on top so steam can escape. Lift using a spatula onto a pizza stone or cookie sheets. Bake @ 475 for 12 – 15 minutes. You can also freeze these for quick lunches! Just bake as normal and allow to cool. Then wrap in foil and freeze. To warm up just pop in the microwave for a few minutes.

And if you are in a pinch for time, my favorite quick pizza is using a loaf of Italian Sweet Stick. (I get mine at Kroger in the Bakery.) Just cut it in half, place on pizza stone and top with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Bake at 475 for about 10 minutes or till your desired crispness. A great quick meal!

ohhh....I want pizza now!

Sewing Machine LOVE

I love my machine. So I decided to make an accessory for 'her'.

I finished this the other night and am loving it. I can't think of a short and snappy name for it so I call it the mat-with-pockets-for-storage-and-to-catch-all-those-pesky-threads. There are two pockets across the bottom. One holds my tiny scissors for clipping threads, seam ripper, and seam gauge. The other is the perfect size to shove all those pesky threads into. I sewed with it the other night and I love it! I am also working on a coordinating cover.

This is my other finished project as of late. My apron! I love love love it! (I also love polka dots if you can't tell.) This is a great pattern for anyone, even beginning sewers. It is very comfortable and way cute! Sorry for the bad picture, but it is Saturday and I am not feeling up to a self portrait.


















Happy Valentines!

Numbers Quiet Book Pattern

The newest addition to the shop is the pattern for the Numbers Quiet Book! This is the perfect project to use up all those scraps of fabric you may have laying around. You can change the style of the book to fit the personality of your little one. It comes emailed to you as a PDF within 24 hours of purchase.

Enjoy!

Oh...keep on bidding everyone!!!

Auction

Hello All!

My offical "auction" post for some reason made the rest of my blog go crazy, so I had to remove it. However, for all you inquiring minds, the tote went to $25.00 to Melissa ! Congrats to her! Thanks everyone who bid. I know the family will appreciate your support and love.

See ya!

Auction Feb 14 & 15

This will stay at the top of my blog until Friday, February 13th. For new posts, please scroll down.

I recently recieved an email from Jen telling me about this wonderful family who had recently lost the father to cancer. I immediately felt empathy for this family because I lost my father to cancer when I was 13. I remember the many acts of service and kindness done for our family. I also remember feeling the strength of countless prayers said on our behalf. Whenever I hear of situations like this I truly want to help.

Well Jen has taken the step to setup a series of auctions to help benefit the family. Jen asked me if I would mind donating an item to put up for auction and I was more than happy to oblige. All the money raised will go into funds for the children.

So. Here are the details this weekend Feb 14th and 15th, you can come here to my blog and place a bid for one of my darling owl totes. All the money into funds for the three young children who lost their father.

















You can check out details at this blog.

And you can read about the family here.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see lots of you come back this weekend.

What Should I Do Next?

I have hit you could say sort of a blogging 'rut'. (Except, I do have some of my own personal projects that I've been working on to share...so look for that!) So to help remedy that there is a little poll in the side bar to get y'alls opinion. So click those votes away!

So some of the things I have been thinking to do are...

1. A Tutorial. What kind would you guys like? I didn't get around to a Valentine's one, but what are you itching to make?

2. Just More Posts. This one would require more time and creative thought from me. Which I am happy to do!

3. Giveaway. Ya. Nuf said.

4. Sew Along. We could pick a project to do 'together' when everyone is done we can share pictures on flickr! These are fun because you see all different styles and ideas emerge.

So I wish I was more creative about blogging, but again enters said 'rut'.

Well happy Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday, homemade pizza night!

Life is wonderful and there are so many reasons to celebrate!!!

Featured in a Treasury

I just found out one of my items made it into a treasury on Etsy. My first one. Excuse me as I have a bitty moment of triumph. :) (Top center picture.) Thanks to the cleverkitty for picking me! :)

I should also add that this is an EtsyKids team treasury. I have been wanting to try some different ways of promoting my shop and I heard the teams on Etsy were a great way to go. So I joined up and am still learning all the ins and outs. All the crafters who are on the team are truly talented and have some amazing products. You can check out the web-site and the blog. I am excited to be a part of this team.