I'm On The Payroll...

Today was my first day of work (not first day ever, just first day in a very long time!).  :)  I tried to go to bed early last night, but that didn't happen as I'm a procrastinator and had to cram before I went to work in the morning- ugh!  Anyways, with very little sleep (due to cramming and nerves) I ventured out this morning.  I'll be traveling 2-3 days a week for the next 4 weeks and must prepare 46 reports in the next 5 weeks, as the project deadline is the end of March.  Whew- I get tired just thinking about the scope of work!  :)

I'd really like to capture all of the 'Welcome To So and So City' signs, but the logistics of that is just too much.  So instead I'll leave you with my favorite Starbucks from today's travels.  Through the years I've worked with many national retailers, and I have to say Starbucks is quite unique as for the most part they don't have a set building prototype.  I'm sure that decision goes hand in  hand with the 'neighborhood coffee shop' concept!  :)

Huntington Beach, CA

(Is it just me, or does the photo look like an architectural rendering?)

Notice A Change???

Hi Friends! If you're new, welcome, and if you're a regular you might have noticed a change or two!?!  I've been working with my sweet {new} friend Christa on a new blog design, as well as an awesome Etsy button, and an equally awesome Etsy banner! Christa is a very talented graphic design student and FIDM, and is working on launching CJae Photograpy & Design, so if you have a Facebook account, please do me a favor and 'like; Christa's page to stay up to date on her new business venture! :)

In case you missed it...below is the old and outdated blog design (by me)!  I don't think I can 100% express how excited I am to have a whole new look, and not to mention that Christa hand sketched the awesome sewing machine, as well as the Made With Love font- woo hoo!  (I'm telling you, she is crazy talented!)  Thanks again Christa!

Cupcake, Anyone?

{I'm a day late, so please excuse my tardiness!}

It's that time of the week again (yeah!), as another tutorial has been posted to The Quilted Fish's blog, by one of the Creative Consultants! This week's tutorial was written by Jana of Confessions of a Cross-stitch Drama Queen!

Here's a sneak peek of Jana's Hanging Chair Sign Tutorial! Growing up the birthday tradition in my house was to eat off of the 'birthday plate' on your special day. My sister and I used to love the tradition (and technically still do!). I'm almost positive that the combination of a birthday plate and Hanging Chair Sign would have sent us to the moon! :)

The Heart That Brightened My Day!

Before jumping in the shower this morning I removed the rubber band from my hair and placed it on the counter, just as I have done a million times before!


After getting all nice and clean, I went back to the sink to find that the rubber band molded into the shape of a heart! I know that its silly, but the purple rubber band heart made my day; it gave me hope!


2010 proved to be a hard and difficult year, and 2011 hasn't been too much better. I find myself in the middle of stressful life transitions, but know that there is a reason, and that I have a future that is greater than anything I could plan on my own!

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Hidden Treasures

I spent sometime in the garage on Sunday tidying up the space, as I'm using a portion of my parent's garage as my personal storage unit (thanks Mom and Dad!). :) When my Grandma gifted the sewing desk to me, she had left one of the drawers full of sewing notions (zippers, rick rac, elastic, etc.). I had emptied the drawer to go through the goodies, not knowing exactly all that was in the drawer until my Dad found this...

Which resulted in this (July 1976)....

I'm a bit biased, but aren't they the cutest high school sweethearts ever? :)

And just for kicks, here they are today (well, technically September 2009...but today they're just a couple of months short of their 35th wedding anniversary)!

Sewing Studio Armoire- Complete!

Remember, oh five weeks or so ago, when I revealed my plans to paint the armoire I bought off of Craigslist? Well I'm here to announce that the armoire transformation is complete- woo hoo!

A before shot of the bargain armoire (sans the drawers, as I had already removed them- oops!).


Drumroll please, as here is the 'tah-dah' shot of the armoire, after it was sanded, painted, left to dry, and then roughed up to achieve the distressed look! The helpful gentleman at Home Depot recommended using a semi-gloss paint, which I did, but in the end I wasn't happy with the sheen, thus the roughed up/distressed look! :)


I searched high and low for the perfect (affordable) knobs, and purchased them at World Market for $5 a piece and used a $10 off of $30 coupon, so they ended up being a sweet deal! :)


I have plenty of room inside of the armoire to store my yards of fabric! Each individual bin holds a particular yardage of fabric, and within the bin the fabric is organized my designer/manufacturer.


The drawers neatly hold all of my scraps, zippers, and accessories. The scraps are organized by color, which makes it easy when I'm looking for something in particular! :)

Trying To Keep Warm!

It's Monday morning and after being groomed this weekend, the only thing on Stuart's mind is to keep warm!


He's comfortably snuggled up in the red blanket, as I sit next to him blogging. Life sure is rough when you're a dog! :)

Sheep! :)

It's that time of the week again (yeah!), as another tutorial has been posted to The Quilted Fish's blog, by one of the Creative Consultants! This week's tutorial was written by Sally of Sally's Angelworks!

Here's a sneak peek, as Sally is a master at embroidery! Not to mention, how cute is her sheep!!! :o)

What I Wore Wednesday (#2)

I missed last week (oops!), but today I'm linking up to Lindsey's What I Wore Wednesday post! :)

Monday- interview/meet & greet with new boss!

Cardigan- Banana Republic; Cami- Old Navy
Pants- Gap
Shoes- Apt. 9 (Kohl's); Necklace- Sam's Club

I have to say that these are my favorite dress pants! (Hopefully the photos below will help explain my case!)

The sides of the pant (along the waist band) are equipped with two buttons and a flap, thus these pants fit like a glove on my fat days, as well as my skinny days! :)

How cool is that??? :)

Tuesday- appointment

Green Top- Banana Republic; Jeans- Gap
Shoes- Rainbow Sandals

Wednesday- kick-off meeting for work- woo hoo! :)

Red Top- Old Navy; Cami- Old Navy; Jacket- Banana Republic
Pants- Gap
Shoes- Apt. 9 (Kohl's); Necklace- NY & Co.

Cookie Dough Truffles- YUM!

(Source)

My Momma played Cupid this year, by making and delivering homemade goodies to friends and family! She made these Cookie Dough Truffles (she found the recipe in our local newspaper), and they are way TOO yummy, not to share the recipe with you! :)

Corinne Le's Cookie Dough Truffles

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Miniature Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)
Candy Coating/Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Shape into 60 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating; place on baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, at least 15 minutes. If desired, re-melt remaining coating and drizzle over candies.

Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 5 dozen (60)

Valentine's Day Reversible Table Runner Tutorial

Just in case anyone missed the Valentine's Day Reversible Table Runner Tutoria,l when my guest post debuted on CraftyTammie's blog... Enjoy!

Materials:

• Main Focus Fabric (Front and Back Border): 1/2 yard
• Coordinating Fabric (Front Border and Back): 1/2 yard
• Binding: 2.25" x +/- 113"
• Quilt Batting: 13.5" x 40"
• Heat n' Bond (optional)
• Sewing Machine

1. From the Main Focus Fabric, cut one 9.5" x 36" piece for the Front of the table runner, and two 2.5" x 13.5" and two 2.5" x 36" pieces for the Border on the back side.

2. From the Coordinating Fabric, cut two 2.5" x 13.5" and two 2.5" x 36" pieces for the Border on the front side, and cut one 9.5" x 36" piece for the Back of the table runner.

3. With right sides together, and using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the 2.5" x 36" Border pieces to the Main Focus Fabric (9.5" x 36"). Press seams toward the darker fabric.

4. Repeat Step #3, sewing the 2.5" x 13.5" Border pieces to the Main Focus Fabric (9.5" x 36"). Press seams toward the darker fabric.

5. The back of the table runner will be the inverse of the front, so with right sides together, sew the 2.5" x 36" Border pieces to the 9.5" x 36" Coordinating Fabric. Press seams toward the darker fabric.

6. Repeat Step #5, sewing the 2.5" x 13.5" Border pieces to the Coordinating Fabric. Press seams toward the darker fabric.

7. Sandwich the quilt batting between the wrong sides of the Front and Back of the table runner and quilt as desired. (Note- I quilted diagonal lines, spaced at about 2.25" which mimicked the fabric pattern.)

8. For the Binding, cut 2.25" strips and piece together for a total of +/- 113".(Note- I used various coordinating fabrics for the Binding, but you don't have to.Feel free to piece together the same fabric for a uniform Binding).To piece the strips, place the fabric right sides together, perpendicular to each other, and sew across the two strips at a 45 degree angle.Trim excess fabric at 1/4" and press seam open.

9. With wrong sides together, press the Binding in half.The table runner Binding will be sewn on just like quilt binding, so with a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the raw edge of the Binding to the back side of the table runner (leaving a +/- 6" tail from the start of the Binding).When approaching the corners, make sure to stop 1/4” from the corner, lift your needle and presser foot and fold the binding up onto itself. Fold the Binding down again, aligning the raw edges and resume stitching.

10. When approaching the start of the Binding, with right sides together, stitch the end of the Binding to the tail of the Binding (from Step #9).Finish sewing the raw edge of the Binding to the back side of the table runner.

11. Fold over the Binding to the front and hand or machine stitch the Binding in place, making sure to neatly miter the corners.

12. The reversible table runner is now complete, however should you want to add any additional elements feel free to!I chose to add 'love' to both ends of the table runner (which I cut out with Cricut), and backed with Heat n' Bond, which keeps the reversible functionality of the table runner.

13. Enjoy!

Fabric Charm Bracelet!

If you haven't done so already, make sure to jump over to The Quilted Fish's blog, as the second tutorial has been posted by one of the Creative Consultants! This week's tutorial was written by Julie of Sew Jewely.

Here's a sneak peek (just to make you drool a bit!)...


At this time I would also like to share that starting Monday, Amanda from The Quilted Fish, will be selling kits on her website to make the items featured in the Creative Consultant's tutorials. The first two kits to be featured will be KarrieLyne's and Julie's! :)

We Love Jenny Auction

I woke up this morning and started my day as usual, by reading the new entries from my favorite list of blogs. I came across CraftyTammie's blog where she introduced me to Jenny Reeder, and the We Love Jenny Auction.


Jenny Reeder was diagnosed with leukemia in November, and went from being a full-time PhD student to being a full-time patient, dedicated to beating the cancer that was attacking her body. Where her days were filled with reading, writing, and researching, they are now comprised of chemo, shots, rest and lots of waiting. With two months down and two years to go, cancer-beating has proved to be a very expensive ordeal! In an effort to help Jenny with her expenses, her friends have put together an auction in which retailers/moms/students/Etsy shops/friends/family/anyone can donate time and talents for sale and all the proceeds go to Jenny’s treatment fund.

After reading Jenny's story I KNEW that I had to do something to help, thus I'm participating in the auction, by donating a Nursing Cocoon (Free Spirit's Robots).


The Auction will begin on Valentine’s Day, February 14th at 9am and close on February 15th at 10pm EST. Don't feel obligated to participate, however should you feel called to do so, additional details can be found here.

Eager To Help!

Last night my Momma and I were laying out her Easter table runner (using a Moda's Freebird Jelly Roll) in the living room. I don't remember exactly how long it took us to reach a composition we were happy with, but the minute we declared that we were done Mr. Stuart (of course patiently waiting off to the side!) decided to come and lay on the table runner. I guess he sort of sealed the deal! ;)

CraftyTammie's Sew Full of Love Week!

Looking for a sweet Valentine's Day tutorial? If so, hop on over to CraftyTammie's blog tomorrow to check out my Reversible Valentine's Day Table Runner Tutorial, along with giveaways and other guests posts! :)

A big thank you to Tammie for letting me be a part of her Sew Full of Love Week!

Here are a couple snapshots of the finished table runner (just to make sure you come back for the tutorial!). :o)

Front

Back

My New Sewing Desk!

Remember when I mentioned in this post that I was going to have a sewing desk built for my sewing studio? Unfortunately the gentleman that I was going to commission to build the desk has a year's waiting list, and let me tell you patience is not one of my strengths! I asked family and friends for any recommendations for carpenters and after getting back some of the price quotes, thankfully I was sitting down, I had it in my head that I could build my own sewing desk (you know because I DID take woodworking in 7th grade!). ;)

My Grandma M. got word of my dilemma and called the house asking if I was interested in her sewing desk.

I of course jumped at the chance, and am so very honored to have her sewing desk as I know she's spent so much time at the desk over the years. She also mentioned that my Grandpa had bought her the desk which makes it even more special in my eyes!

The desk is in need of a quick wipe down and either some paint or another coat of varnish. I'm not quite sure that my sewing machine will fit into the desk's opening (I haven't had the energy to lug my machine downstairs and into the garage yet!), but if not I'm sure I can find someone to help me find a solution.


While I have your attention, make sure to check out The Quilted Fish's blog tomorrow as KarriLyne of the Freckled Whimsy is posting the first tutorial as a Creative Consultant. So exciting! Every Friday there will be a new tutorial, for a different contributor, so make sure to mark your calendars! :)

What I Wore Wednesday!

This is big for me, as I don't post many photos of myself on the blog, but that might change as today I'm linking up (for the first time!) to Lindsey's What I Wore Wednesday blog series!

Monday- lunch date!

Plum Top- Gap; Jeans- Gap
Shoes- Nine West; Necklace- NY & Co.

Tuesday- appointment!

Sweater- Banana Republic; White Cami- Old Navy; Jeans- Gap
Shoes- Rainbow Sandals (my favorite)

Wednesday- its super windy today!

Track Suit- Old Navy; Top- Gap
Shoes- Rainbow Sandals

I have to say that this is probably the best dressed week I've had so far (minus today!). :)