My Bed / His Bed

I found this cute four-poster dog bed in one of free Lowe's magazines that the mailman delivered.  I would LOVE to make one for Stuart, but I know that he wouldn't utilize the cute four-poster bed, as this is where he prefers to sleep...

I get the right side of the bed, and he's claimed the left side.  He typically naps on top of the covers, but sleeps under the covers during the night.  He sure has it made!  :)

Per Stuart's request, in the next coming weeks I would love to display a photo/story of your dog (with a link back to your blog)!

To submit a photo, all you have to do is send an email to me at:

squirmywormstudio@gmail.com

Please include the following...

One photo

Your name

Your Blog Title + URL

Your dog's name

A little something about your dog (special talents/tricks, fun fact, etc.).

P.S.- I'm assuming you probably thought that I forgot my promise of a photo of my new Target bedding- didn't you???  Well, I didn't...it just took a while to make my bed!  Not bad for $22- eh?  :)

P.P.S- We'll be celebrating starting Monday.  Work got a little bit crazier than I had anticipated at the end, so I haven't had the chance to sew anything for the pending giveaway.  That and I'm still debating on making a couple changes to my blog...I need to sleep on it a bit more.  Please come to visit on Monday!  :)

Crazy Eyebrows!

So, while I was enjoying my lunch break on the couch yesterday (one of the cool things about working from home!) this little bunny caught my eye, which is one of my mom's new Easter decoration purchases from Pier One...

I'm not a fan of holiday decorations, and no sense in trying to convert me, because it won't work!  :)  However, this little bunny is quite cute, AND the similarity to this little guy is uncanny...

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Check out those crazy eyebrows!!! 

Crazy eyebrows and all, I love him dearly!  :)

Good News/Bad News

(Source, by William Dohman of Oh, Dier)

Happy Saturday to all!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  :)  I just wanted to pop in to share a couple of things from my week.  Do you want the good news or bad news first???

Good News

1. I'm almost done with my consulting gig- woo hoo!  (This should probably be considered Bad News, as no work= no decent paycheck, but I'll survive!).  Within the last four weeks I've driven 1,495 miles (did I mention that I HATE driving?), and spent 70 hours in the car.
2. I've completed and submitted 25 of the 46 reports to my boss, which only leaves 21 to complete by next Thursday (although my goal is to have everything complete and submitted by next Tuesday)!  :)
3. No work= more time in my sewing studio (which I've missed SO much!).
4. I wore my new rain boots to work on Friday (and they were so worth the investment!), as I had 5 site visits scheduled and it was raining- ugh!  Thank you all for voting in the comment section, as I kept the black and white pair from Sam's Club and my Momma claimed the black and white with turquoise accent from Kohl's!  :)
5. I'll be participating in the Orange County Spring Shop Hop tomorrow (here's a post about last year's Hop).  My Momma, Grandma, and Aunt will be joining me- yeah!
6. Last but not least, TODAY is my 2 year blog anniversary (blogversary)- amazing!

Bad News

1. Because of Good News # 1-3, I haven't had ANY time to prepare for my blogversary celebration, SO I've made an executive decision to postpone the celebration until next weekend (or so!).  I hope that's okay with everyone!

Talk to you soon!  :)

Sweet Divinity Diamond Baby Quilt

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 Johanna of Jona&Lili!

Are you sitting down, as I think you should be for this sneak peek!  :)  Johanna has written a great tutorial for a beautiful Diamond Baby Quilt- woo hoo!  Make sure you hop on over to The Quilted Fish, and show Johanna some comment love!  :)

Guest Post- cjae: photography & design!!!

Please tell us a little about yourself- name, location, what do you like to do for fun?

Hi there! My name is Christa, I blog over at cjae: photography&design {www.christamorris.blogspot.com}. I live in the lovely yet sometimes incredibly annoying, Southern California. Oh the things I love to do for fun?? I love to get my hands dirty. I tend to put my hands in a few different things: photography, design, crafts, crochet—pretty much anything that may fall under the realm of art.

Do you have a shop? If so what’s the name and URL? What do you sell? Do you have a favorite item?

cjae blog is: www.christamorris.blogspot.com

This is my blog link, but here I have the opportunity to purchase a custom blog design (by me ), sponsor spots, and soon I am hoping to jump into photography.

How did your shop’s name come about?

“cjae” is just an extension of my nickname. My name is Christa Jae Morris, and as I was growing up and even today my family calls me C.J. For some reason, out of my other siblings and anyone else in my family, I got the nickname while everyone else goes by name. I don’t mind at all. As for my reasoning of using “cjae” for my blog and little business is that I wanted something I could carry on for a long time. I didn’t want to incorporate my last name because when I get married one day, I wouldn’t want to carry that my maiden name on (I want to take my husbands name completely. Hehe). So because I have always liked my nickname, extending it to cjae rather than just C.J. just kind of happened.

What inspires you to create?

I am inspired by the most random things. I find small things attractive in life and those things make me want to create. It could be anything: from a bottle cap I find on the ground, a new freckle I noticed on my face, to an accidentally scribble I made on my paper. It just makes me want to start creating!

What is the one word that describes you best?

Random? Weird I know.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

Venice, Italy! My boyfriend and I always talk about how awesome it would be to go there. I keep adding to our mental checklist of “places to visit” J

& to say good-bye...I would love to invite you to participate in a:

what is this give away??

it is a chance to receive on of three sponsored spots on my blog.

a large, medium, or small ad.

the winner of the large ad will also receive an extra little something. you'll have to enter in order to find out :)

all you have to do is head over to cjae: photography&design & leave a comment on the give away post! Hope you can make it :)

Now I Can Jump In Puddles!

Looks as though this is going to turn out to be shoe week, here at Made With Love!  :)  The rain boots I mentioned yesterday, arrived today (thank you, UPS man!).  I now technically have two pairs of rain boots, as I had picked up a pair of black and white rain boots at Sam's Club, but when browsing online at Kohl's, a pair of black and white rain boots, with a turquoise accent, jumped into my shopping cart!  

Here's where I need your help...black and white (with funky distorted polka dots on the toes) or black and white with a turquoise accent.  Feel free to cast your vote in the comment section!  :)

 

Here's a shot of the boots from the back (not quite sure why my legs look so off-kilter!!!).  

PS- How cute is Stuart?  :)

Sugar and Spice!

Saturday was a great day in my house, as my Sugar and Spice care packaged arrived from Amanda of The Quilted Fish!!!

 

I tore open the box to find two one yard laminate cuts (which are soooo yummy!) and a fat quarter bundle, which includes all 24 prints from the Sugar and Spice collection!   Wowie!!!  

Now that I've spent time petting, drooling, and looking over all of the fabrics, it's time for me to decide what to make with the fabric for my next tutorial as a Creative Consultant!  One thing is for sure, I don't have a lack of ideas...I just need time to narrow down all of my ideas into a manageable project!  :)

Inside My Closet...

Last week or so I was watching Regis and Kelly (just for a minute!) and Regis mentioned that the majority of women in the U.S. have 17 pairs of shoes, but only wear an average of three pairs (which got me thinking!).  When I moved a couple of weeks ago I took the opportunity to weed the shoes that I never wore (I got to the point that I was tired of lugging the around for no reason!), which left me with +/- 12 pairs, and my go-to slippers (the top left pair in the photo below). 

I've since added a pair of TOMS shoes (although still in the box) and am thinking about a pair of Steve Madden boots (they are super cute, but don't fit perfectly...I'm trying to justify the purchase!), and I'm expecting UPS to deliver a super cute pair of rain boots tomorrow.  :)  With that said, I guess I don't fit in the 'majority' category for the number of shoes I own, but I do have to say that I tend to swap out between my three favorite pairs of shoes (#1- Rainbow Sandals, #2- New Balance Sneakers, and #3- black Aldo flats).  Do you wear all of the shoes in your closet?

PS- I also hang my clothes by color!  How do you organize your clothes?  :)

Sensational Sweet Divinity Scarf

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 Jackie of Jackie's Art Quilts!

Here's a sneak peek of Jackie's handy work! I think scarves are the perfect accessory to any outfit, and I might just have to make myself one!   :)

Gymnastics 101

Stuart cracks me up, plain and simple!  Last night he decided to take up gymnastics, and try his hand out at walking the balance beam (aka the frame of the couch).  He started out doing well (if I was a judge I would have totally given him a 10!), but towards the end he got weary and fell off the balance beam...and landed between the frame of the couch and the back cushion.  LOL

I think that he was a bit embarrassed, but thankfully Grammy was there to console him, so he stayed for some petting, a few photos, and then went about his normal everyday business!  :)
 

Winner...x2!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!  Who's eating corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage tonight?  Yummy!  :)

A BIG thanks to everyone for helping me to celebrate my pattern success on Etsy!  The winner of a PDF copy of the Thread Catcher Pattern is lucky number...

Lanie, of Lanie J. and Co., who said "I follow you".

I loved reading every one of your comments!  Knowing how you would use a Thread Catcher of your own definitely put a smile on your face!  As an added bonus, Tracy (#33) who commented "I would use a thread catcher on my toddlers nightstand. She is always bringing little "trinkets" to be with her, mainly to keep away from her siblings, and this would be perfect for her to hide her treasures. And adorable also!!!" is also getting a PDF Thread Catcher Pattern, as her use was so original!  :)

Lanie and Tracy, email me at squirmywormstudio@gmail.com!

Don't Miss Out!

The giveaway (the one without the concrete deadline!) will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, and the lucky winner will be announced Thursday morning!  So, make sure you've entered, and tell your friends about the celebration!  I'm wishing you all the best of luck!!!  :)

Creating A Bag From Scratch...

If you're looking for the Thread Catcher Pattern giveaway...click here!

I've been tossing around new product ideas for SquirmyWormStudio, and am looking into introducing a new Market Tote Bag (but no promises...yet!).  :)  I don't know about you, but I LOVE tote bags (I believe its an odd obsession that I've had since childhood)!  If you have the same love for tote bags, I would love to be your enabler!  ;)

After a long day working yesterday (plus a trip to the mechanic and tire place- ugh), I decided to take the night off and do some much needed sewing.  Whenever I work on creating a new design, I use my least favorite fabric (because I don't want to waste any of my cuteness), so please excuse the orange farm print below.  My idea for the new Market Tote Bag is to create a bag made from canvas, adorned with decorative fabric handles, and a few extra additions!  :)  Last night's time in the studio didn't produce exactly what I had in mind, but I did learn a lot, made a ton of notes, and know that the next time I have the chance to sew, that I'll knock the new Market Tote Bag out of the park!  :)  Here's a quick sneak peek of the boxed bottom with the fabric handles.

I also stopped at the fabric store to see what kind of colors of canvas I would be able to work with.  Look at those colors, as I think its almost every color under the rainbow!  :)

  

I'm working until the end of March, so I can't promise if or when I'll have the new Market Tote Bags listed in the shop, however I'm hoping its sooner rather than later.  I do have a quick question for all of my faithful readers and customers- do you prefer the choice of one bag (say I make 10 bags from the same color canvas and same fabric handles), or would you rather multiple bags (made from different color canvas and different fabric handles, but with only 2 bags or so per color combo)?  Happy Tuesday, everyone!  :)

Morning Routine...

If you're looking for the Thread Catcher Pattern giveaway...click here!

Stuart seems to have picked up a new morning routine, as he has been taking a tennis ball to bed with him, and uses it in the morning to wake me up- ugh!  He seems to enjoy picking up the tennis ball and dropping it on me in the morning to get my attention, sweet eh!?!  

I get up to let him out and feed him, then I jump in the shower for work, and always find him back in bed...

I guess he needs more beauty rest than I do!  :)  I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Let's Celebrate With A Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.

Hello friends!  It's Friday, my tutorial debuted on The Quilted Fish's blog, and I've sold 25 patterns in my Etsy shop, which means it's time to CELEBRATE!  :)  Let's celebrate with a giveaway (I hope that's a-okay with you)!  :)

Up for grabs is a Thread Catcher Pattern of your own (a PDF {print-at-home} sewing pattern)!

Squirmy Worm Studio's Thread Catcher consists of a weighted bag/pincushion with non-slip grip, enabling it to sit (and stay!) on the table, serving as a great portable trash bag for your favorite Seamstress/Crafter! If you're a Knitter or Crocheter, the Thread Catcher can be placed over the arm of your favorite chair and used to hold your skein of yarn.

The Thread Catcher approximately measures 14" long, with the bag measuring 8" tall x 5.5" in diameter, with a 2.5" boxed bottom. The bag is constructed with boning, enabling the bag to always remain open and ready for your scraps!

 

TO ENTER:

1. How would you use a Thread Catcher?  
(Perhaps you sew, quilt, scrapbook, knit, crochet, make jewelry, need something to hold the TV remotes, take road trips and need one for the car, and/or all of the above?)

2. Become a follower of my blog.
(The button is located towards the bottom of the right-hand column. If you are already a follower, please kindly remind me!) 

There are 2 possible entries, so please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry, and make sure there is a way for me to contact you (leave your email address in your comment if you don't have a blog or if you post as Anonymous, as I need to be able to contact you when you win!).

This giveaway will be open for a few days (I'm walking on the wild side, without an exact ending date- ha!).  :)

 

Winners will be selected via Random.org.

Guest Post on the Quilted Fish's Blog!

Happy Friday everyone!!!  I'm so excited to announce that today is my day to share my Sweet Divinity Flower Pillow tutorial on The Quilted Fish's blog- woo hoo!

 
I hope you love the pillow as much as I do!  If you decide to make a flower pillow of your own, please feel free to share photos of your pillow with me at squirmywormstudio@gmail.com (as I would love to have the chance to oooh and awww over all of the variations!).  :)

Randoms From My Week!

Good Morning!  After racking my brain for a topic for today's blog post, I thought I'd share some random happenings from my week...

• I hired movers on Saturday, and one of them looked like one of the Home Alone burglars (the shorter one of the two)- ha!  (Remember this post...it was the same day that the listing photos were taken for the house.  The house was supposed to close escrow today, but has been delayed, so hopefully everything gets ironed out.)
• My favorite French Bread is from Walmart!  It's inexpensive and soft for days-  yum!
• Yesterday (Wednesday) I was out in the field for work.  I drove 500 miles, visited 7 Starbucks stores, and worked for 15 hours- ugh I'm tired!  :)
• As for yesterday, I also ended up being mile away from the Mexican border, and 60 miles away from Arizona's state line.
• I scored a clearance comforter at Target for $22- woo hoo!  I'll post a photo as soon as I have the time to make my bed!  :)
• My Sweet Divinity Tutorial for The Quilted Fish goes live tomorrow (I'm nervous and giddy at the same time!).
• I'm attending Blog Sugar in September- I can't wait!!!

Some of my favorite bloggers have been having open calls for questions, so after much thought I've decided to jump on that bandwagon!  :)  If you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at squirmywormstudio@gmail.com and I'll answer the questions in a future blog post!

Appliqued Flower Wall Hanging!

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 my sweet friend Brooke of Silly Mama Quilts!

Just a reminder as all of the of the Creative Consultant's Tutorials have been kitted (not sure that's a word, but it sounds good!) up and are available for purchase in The Quilted Fish's shop!  

Next week is my turn to share my tutorial- woo hoo!  It's been hard keeping my tutorial a secret, but I've done it and I only have one week to go...I think I can, I think I can!  :) 

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

The Little Business That Could...

I've been thinking of advertising for a while now (I won't specify EXACTLY how long I've been thinking, as I don't want to embarrass myself with my indecisiveness), but never seemed to find the right fit...that is until now!  Ladies and Gents, I've purchased my first advertising spot as I am now a sponsor on Take Heart- woo hoo!  I've been following Danielle's blog for some time now, and knew that her blog was the right fit for Squirmy Worm Studio as soon as I received my first email from Danielle!

PS- I know that I now only have 11 items in my shop- eeks!  I'll be sewing up additional items to add to the shop as soon as I can.  Does anyone have any special requests?

PPS- I delivered a Coffee Burlap Tote Bag to my coffee bag supplier yesterday and it was a hit!  He said that he was going to show the Tote Bag to the owners, in hopes of clearing some space in their coffee shops and allowing me to display some bags for sale.  I don't want to get too excited, just in case it ends up being a no go, but then again my Tote Bags may be for sale in a store- yippee!  :)