Homemade sewn thank you cards

I was in desperate need of a few thank you cards but had no time to run to the store because my baby was napping.  I found a few pieces of card stock and thought I'd try to create my own card.  I first did a test print to make sure the alignment would be correct when it was pulled through the printer.  The test print had "thank you" printed straight along the bottom of the page.  However, as soon as the printer pulled my card through, it tilted the page and printed "thank you" on a slant.  I put another piece in thinking it was just a one-time error, but as you can see, the printer had a mind of it's own!  All four printed with the exact same wonkiness, just as the printer wanted.  I thought it actually looked cute that way and decided to add some leftover scrap ribbon to the cards.  I used a zip-zag stitch to sew on the ribbon.  If you plan to make one, make sure to reverse stitch at the beginning and the end so your thread does not come out!  

I am sure that now that I actually like the outcome and wouldn't mind replicating it, my printer will decide it is time to print the words straight across the page.

~Val

One-of-a-kind Kindergarten Teacher Gift

Kindergarten teachers are amazing!  They are able to tame 25 children (many times more), get them to sit still, listen, inquire, learn, raise their hands when they have a question, ask permission to use the restroom, be sweet to their friends, all while having fun doing it.  I have a hard enough time getting my oldest son to sit down to eat a meal.

This Christmas, I wanted to make something extra special for Ethan's Kindergarten teacher.  One evening when I was at a Paint-Your-Own Pottery shop called Half Baked Pottery, I saw a plate displayed on the wall that inspired me.  The owner was nice enough to loan me a box of paints to take with me to the school.  It took a few classroom volunteer days to complete the project, but it was well worth it.  Each child put their thumbprint around the plate.  I wrote their names above their print with a special pencil that does not burn off in the kiln. I then wrote the quote in the middle of the plate using the same pencil and finished it off with some decorative dots.

Watching the expressions on the kids faces as their teacher opened her gift, was incredible.  Seeing her cry when she opened made it even better!

I also made a plate for Caleb's teacher.  It did not take nearly as long since there are only 7 kids in his class.  

~Val

Quilt for Dot

Dot's Quilt in front of the New River Gorge Bridge

This summer, we road tripped it to visit our friends, Nate & Dorothy (aka Dot), in Williamsburg, VA.  On our way there, we made a slight detour to visit the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, WV.  It was well worth the trip.  I had just finished hand sewing the binding when we came across the bridge.  One of my favorite bloggers, Ashley of Film in the Fridge, always has such breathtaking backdrops for her quilt photos and she inspired me to take this picture in front of the bridge.  We don't have anything near this cool in Indy!

This quilt was made with a Kona jelly roll.  Each jelly roll is 40 strips of fabric cut 2 1/2 inches wide.  This is a great way to get a variety of solids without having to buy yardage of all the colors.  I cut the strips into different lengths, lined them out in the color scheme that I liked and then added a strip of gray in between each one.  

Back of Dot's Quilt

The back went quickly because I used MoMo's Wonderland print which is actually a panel.  The only piecing I had to do was the gray strip along the side. 

 

I used a kona red (not quite sure the exact shade) as the binding and quilted with straight lines in both the ditch of each colored strip and 1/4 inch inside each.

It is so fun giving a quilt to an unsuspecting friend.  Don't you think?

~Val

Urban Circus Pillow

I finally got my hands on some of Laurie Wisbrun's Urban Circus fabric.  As soon as I showed my son, Ethan, he screamed, "Can we make a pillow for me, please?!"  I had just finished my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap 4 on Flickr, and he was anxious for one of his own.

We layed out the fabric together and talked about how he wanted it to look.  He wanted his name across the middle, so I appliqued it in blue.



We quilted a little pattern into the pillow to add a little texture.  Ethan was in charge of the foot pedal while I navigated the sewing machine.

Here is the pillow's new home.  Right next to the Ikea alligator from Aunt Pam!

~Val

My First Blog Post

My very first post.  I'm not sure why, but I'm a little bit nervous.  I'd love for this blog to not only inspire people to be creative, but also allow me to savor some of the things I've made over the years and continue to make things that put a smile on other's faces.  

I found these adorable small bowls and paired them with some of my favorite designer fabric.  

Denyse Schmidt's Coveted Flea Market Fancy

Amy Butler's Lotus Wall Flower

Amy Butler's Love

Erin McMorris's Park Slope

Kaffe Fassett's Cloisonne

Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope

These have become quite addicting.  Although I'd love to keep them all together, they are now for sale in my shop!

~Val