December 28, 2010

My Littlest Fan!



I had to share a picture of my littlest fan

little Joanie is only 5 weeks old and enjoying her plush 20 min. blanket!
I mean doesn't this just make you want one in grown up size?

Don't forget you can make your own blanket using my tutorial for your littlest fan, too.

take care mucho!
-Natalie

December 26, 2010

Tutorial: Zen Eye Pillow

This super easy eye pillow makes a great gift and literally can be done in 15 minutes.

Materials:
1 layer cake square (10" square piece of fabric)
2 cups (about) rice
thread in coordinating color

Lay out your layer cake and fold it in half- with right sides together....


Sew along the lines indicated. You need to leave the hole in the center in order to flip and fill.

Cut the corners at a diagonal

Flip it inside out through the hole.

Fill with rice. You want to make sure there is enough to fill the pillow when it is laying down flat but not too full that it is impossible to sew the hole closed in the next step.

Pin the hole closed (1 pin should be enough) place under your machine by scooting all the rice to the side.
Sew your hole closed 1/8 inch from the edge. Make sure you back-stitch at the beginning and end.

Ta Da!!! A great eye pillow to use the next time that pounding headache strikes.

**You can also place it in the freezer for a nice cold compression or in the microwave for a few seconds to mellow you out.**

If you create your own Zen Eye Pillow please share with everyone by posting pictures here

Enjoy being Zen!

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas!!
I hope everyone has had a great day filled with family, friends & celebration.

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

December 21, 2010

Cookie decorating!


Every year I get my girl friends together and decorate cookies. I make dozens and dozens of sugar cookies and we all sit around and ice, sprinkle and talk. I usually have friends bring some decorating items so that I am not spending a fortune on stuff, but I had so much left over from other years that we had plenty to go around. We had a blast!

Even little hands got in the fun!
And cookies were definitely eaten to keep us fueled.

I usually have a little contest going for the best and worst cookie, though we had to nix it this year because many didn't make it to the judging table :)

My mom helped out by making the best apple cider imaginable!

I wasn't with my mom to see how she made it taste so good so I will be getting the recipe and posting it to see what you all think :)


Do you have any fun holiday traditions you share with friends or family?

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

December 14, 2010

Giveaway season in Blogland

I don't know about you, but there seems to be giveaways all over Blogland for the holidays. I have been trying to participate in as many as I can without getting fired from my job, haha.

The biggest one is sponsored by Sew, Mama, Sew! Every year they host a Giveaway Day where bloggers are asked to donate something. Click on the button below and see which giveaways you are interested in participating in... there are so many I know it is going to be hard to choose :)


Another one that I read up on is hosted by Burda Style. I love this blog! It is so informative and is linked up to the Burda Style website which has a rediculous amount of inspiration from creative individuals from around the world. Right now they are giving away a Singer sewing machine and dress form! It is a must if you love being crafty!

*photo from Burda Style's Blog*

Have you been suckered into the giveaway craze too?

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

December 13, 2010

100 Quilts for Christmas!



Do you all remember this post, where I talked about some friends from our DC Modern group challenging the quilting community to make 100 quilts for charity. Well back then I had pledged 3 quilts and I actually met my goal despite all the holiday crazies!

Bloggers Swim, Bike, Quilt & Aunt Spicy set up great giveaways and today- of course the last possibly day- I am finally posting about my 3 little quilts.

Here they are in no particular order....

The first was made with some left over from this quilt. I had this one partically pieced so it was finished relatively quickly.

The second was left over t-shirts from my little Ciao Bella baby quilt.

Lastly, this quilt was started by someone very nice at the DC Modern charity event. A whole bunch of us had gotten together to start sewing some of these 100 quilts. This happened to be one that didn't get finished that night so I took it home finished piecing it together and made some finishing touches.

I was a little nervous having pledged 3 but I am so happy that these will be going to someone in need.

Have you made any charity quilts this holiday season?

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

December 1, 2010

Confessions of a Fabroholic

Was it just me or are the holiday deals getting better?!! I mean everywhere I turned I felt I saw 20% or 40% off. How can a fabroholic pass up these offers that is obviously needed to fill their obsession. Naturally I logged on just to see what they had in stock not really planning on purchasing much. Possibly just a yard here or there. Yeah, well that idea went out the door within 2 minutes of "browsing". My "window" shopping quickly turned into swiping my credit card over and over and over (virtually that is).

At Sew,Mama, Sew! I just had to get this little stack of fabric. I just didn't know when the next chance to get 20% off would present itself.


Ok so ... there was also another 20% off over at Del Ray Fabrics (I did not know this at the time of purchasing my other stack- I swear). I love their pre-cuts so I stocked up! My excuse... well people are having lots of babies, so I need pre-cuts to efficiently make them gifts. :)


And lastly the Fat Quarter Shop also had 20% off. There was absolutely no excuse with this one. By the time I logged on to see what the Fat Quarter Shop had to offer I was too far gone. I ordered 3 different times in one day. I know, I know, it sounds excessive but I kept thinking of more things I "needed". Unfortunately those haven't come in yet, though they are expected to arrive today or tomorrow. I might just have to post more eye candy when they are in.

Did anyone else get suckered in to all the holiday deals?

I am off to check my bank account and make sure I haven't totally depleted my account, haha.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Take care mucho,
-Natalie