Merry Christmas!

I had to post something here for a few friends who must think that I have fallen off the face of the earth! I'm still here, -- just caught up in the whirlwind of the holidays.
But I wanted to send out greetings to all of you for a Merry Christmas and hope you can stop wrapping, grocery shopping, crafting (for others) and cooking long enough to enjoy a little bit of this holiday and get a little rest in before January starts! I know a lot of you are like me and just don't slow down!....
But I have been enjoying the company of some nice people - been working at my kids' school helping out. We had a very nice "Holiday Shop" for the kids and I made items for that and helped decorate and wrap. It really came together nicely and I so enjoyed watching the kids shop for their families.
I have also been spending a lot of time with my kids - and I can't imagine time better spent. We watched our traditional "Home Alone" movie last night together, all curled up on the big bed with a comforter over us. I never want to lose that tradition. We've also made a lot of cookies, fudge, and wrapped a lot of gifts together. We are super excited for Christmas! Happy Holidays to all of you!

Look What I Won!

I am late posting this, but I had to show you all these adorable little guys I won from Carrie over at the The Violet Cottage. Aren't they so cute? You have to go check out her blog and store - very cool! (I stole the picture she took of them - I hope she doesn't mind!) Thank you so much Carrie - my daughter and I loved these and enjoyed displaying them this Halloween! :)

Also wanted to show you this that I made from "Say It With Letters" products. It's a free-standing Christmas tree and of course I covered it in fabric! I love the colorful way it came out. And SIWL is having a big giveaway over at Everything Etsy. Go check it out and see what you could win!

And look at this adorable treasury that my Trinkets' items were featured in today! Don't you just want one of everything??? I do!
Lastly, these are new to my shop this week. I love them because they feature birds in the center that are really beautiful, detailed fabric pieces. I love the colors - imagine how cute they would look on a t-shirt or tote bag as decoration? I am a bird lover. :)

Okay - off to craft some Christmas ornaments - happy creating! :)

Check out "Say It With Letters"!

Hi Everyone -
Today I just wanted to tell everyone about a fabulous company I have been doing business with for the last couple of years - Say It With Letters! If you're a crafter like me, then you love painting and altering things, -- right? Well, this company sells unfinished shapes and big letters that you will be dying to get your hands on to create with!
Check out some of these shapes!


Here's some of the fun things you can create with them!


I have been lucky enough to have a coveted spot on the Damboise Design / Say It With Letters Design team for a while, and the owner, Deb, is super friendly and easy to work with! They are coming out with new shapes all the time, and you can custom order children's names or practically any letter in any font or size you want to hang on your wall! Check out her Etsy shop here: Say It With Letters!


Here's a link to check out the blog: Say It With Letters too!

I Love Quilts!

When I was a little girl, my Mother sewed our clothes at home and used to frequent fabric stores with me in tow. How I used to hate fabric shopping! I would get a headache and plead with her to go home. And now, look at me! I am addicted to fabric and buy it like she did, until I have way too much.
I was thinking today about how much I love quilts made from beautiful fabric, and I love the way it feels to snuggle up under a large, soft quilt and read stories to my little girl and how much she loves it, too. My two kids fight over our quilts and we always keep two or three on the couch. Then I started realizing that I have a bit of a quilt collection. I have made a few (badly!) and I have acquired a few beauties along the way.


This one is a new cherished possession and a favorite - my mother made it for my daughter last year and it is big! It's pink with butterfly fabric and even has appliqued butterflies along the edge. My daughter loves having it on her bed. It has free motion quilting throughout and looks so cute in her room.

This one was recently made for me by my husband's Aunt. As soon as I met her, we hit it off (she's a crafter!) and now we're Facebook friends. She's a new quilter and very skilled! Look how beautiful it is. I asked for a colorful quilt. :)

This one I got when my son was little. It is well loved and stained, but a favorite.

This is my favorite quilt - another hack job of mine - but I just love the colors and patterns. It's super soft and a lap quilt.

These quilts I made - some are very small and one fits my son's bed.


This quilt I bought at an antique store - it is huge, soft and beautiful! I love it!
The scary thing is that these quilts only scratch the surface - I have about six or eight more that I have bought or have been given to me from Grandmothers and great Grandmothers! And some I have bought at craft fairs. I think I have a problem! :)

Fall, Shopping and Treasuries

I don't know about you, but I need to stop shopping online! Lately I have been so in the mood for fall and cooler weather that I've got Halloween and fall on the brain and went to Amazon and bought lots of books on fall crafting and decorating! I am afraid to see my credit card bill this month!
I also love looking/shopping on Etsy way too much! I buy cute fabric and other things - look at this cute Etsy treasury that one of my items was featured in today. I want to buy all the other things surrounding it!

And check out this one - so rich with fall colors. I usually like bright colors but these things are beautiful!

Pretty soon I'm going to drag my fall decorations down from the attic and start changing it up around here! I'm sure I'll hear lots of groans from my family - but oh well! Are you excited for fall?

Happy Sweltering Summer!

Is it as hot where you are as it is here? I know I wanted summer, but come on! I am trying to forget it's 90+ degrees and get on with my life, but it's tough. How do all of you cope with this heat? I know it's worse in the south.
In other news... I had some excitement last week - I was selected to be part of a new scrapbooking/altered art forum called More Paper Than Shoes forum. Here's a link to their blog: MPTS.

Here's a project I did for their mixed media crepe paper challenge. I made a paper cone and decorated it with a crepe paper ruffle and flower in the center. I love the way it came out and the bright colors. My daughter and I make a lot of these to fill with goodies and leave anonymously for the neighbors. My kids love it and call it doorbell ditching. It's fun to try and not get caught leaving!


Just wanted to let you know that Trinkets is currently having a CHRISTMAS IN JULY Sale! Maybe it will cool us all off to think of Christmas! Check out my store for the sale info and go shopping here to save!


Early bird gets the worm!

Yay, Me!

I am super proud of myself! (Mom - I hope you're reading this post!)
Last night I made a skirt for my daughter out of some fabric I had lying on my desk. Now, mind you, while I totally love sewing, I haven't made an article of clothing since Home Ec. class in the eighth grade. I was amazed at what a short time it took me to sew it (it was very simple with just an elastic waist) and how much fun it was. I wasn't even sure if it would fit since I was just guessing at the size - but I know her pretty well and just eye-balled it. Ya know?

My friend Derinda over at Emma Lee's Boutique inspired me with the pictures she posted of her own first attempt at sewing a skirt for her daughter. Check out her Facebook page and become a fan - she sells the most darling hair clips for kids right on her Facebook page. Check it out here!


Anyway - I won't show you the back of the skirt where the seams don't match up, or how the elastic portion kind of bunches up at the waist - but she liked it a LOT and was so happy to wear it to school today on her second-to-last day of school. I even made her a matching hair clippie! Okay, I'm done bragging now. Hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Pretty Stuff from My Garden

Hey Everyone -
Enjoying your summer? I am super excited to have a three-day weekend this weekend and enjoy some time with my family. What a nice warm May we've had this year. Everything is in bloom - I took some pictures yesterday of all the color around our house. And my daughter is my favorite flower! :)


Every year my husband tries to throw away my garden rabbit because he's broken - but I love him - broken feet and all! He's not going anywhere!
I hope you enjoy Memorial Day with your families! :)

Ooh! Trinkets is also doing a big giveaway - a huge set of many varieties of my handmade flowers in a cute zippered bag! Check out my friend Michelle's blog to enter! Michelle Philippi. I hope you win! :)

Feeling Grateful

So things have finally taken a turn for the better around here and warmed up! About five days ago it snowed, but today was over 80 degrees. I kid you not! New England is known for it's weird weather.

But I am always so happy at this time - everything looks so beautiful all around me and I find I value the simple things more. I love the colors too - the trees with their balled up leaves like pom poms in the sun, and all the flowers! Here's my kids enjoying the animals at a local farm nearby.



This weather also inspires me to create new things! Happy spring, everyone!

Happy Spring!

So this is what I woke up to this morning! We went from 60/70 degree weather to this - SNOW! Arrggh...
Snow all over the daffodils, snow on my pansies. Yuck. It's such a dreary day here and the sky is black overhead.

Thank goodness I have a lot of color in my studio to keep me happy. How's the weather where you are?