Friday, April 30, 2010

Fabric flower rings

I made myself some fabric flower rings using this super simple tutorial from V & Co.
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Have you ever tried taking pictures of your own hand? Harder than you might think.

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My favorite.

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It's good to know that if the whole copy editing thing doesn't pan out I can fall back on my hand modeling.

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I like these colors together. Kona Sunflower, Coal, and Grass.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I had to buy a glue gun for this project. Seems like something a crafty chick like myself should already have in her arsenal!

(P.S. Check out more Sew & Tell projects on Amy's blog!)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Read it: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I've been reading lots of depressing, serious books lately, so I decided to try something different.



I can't remember why I picked up this book (I must've read about it somewhere...), but I really liked it. Yes, it's a young adult book, but there was plenty of suspense to keep me entertained.

The Goose Girl
is a retelling of a Grimms' fairy tale: "On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers."

Check it out if you're looking for something light and entertaining. This book has three sequels (Enna Burning, Forest Born, and River Secrets), and Hale also wrote a Newberry Honor book (Princess Academy). Oh, and as I'm looking at her Web site, I see that she has another book called Austenland, about a woman obsessed with Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy. I'll be adding all of these to my list.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

On the menu

Thanks to The Pioneer Woman for helping me feed my family this week.

No, she wasn't in my kitchen mincing garlic (would've been a lot cooler if she was), but she gave me some good dinner ideas.

On Monday, I made Sloppy Joes. I know, you're thinking "sloppy joes? eh." But these are delicious homemade sloppy joes on toasted buns. Yum.

Tonight we had Chicken Parmigiana and Garlic Cheese Bread. Double yum. (Funny thing about about the Garlic Cheese Bread recipe--it calls for 3 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Judging by the photos, I'm thinking she meant 1/2 cup of cheese. I mean, I'm not opposed to topping buttery bread with 3 1/2 cups of cheese, but that seemed a bit excessive...)

Plus, PW has a Word Nerd quiz on her blog right now. We should be friends.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sneaky peek

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Quilt in progress...
I hope to finish it up this week.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Watch it: Date Night


Check me out, seeing a movie on opening weekend.

We went to see Date Night with our friends Leah and Heinz this afternoon. I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to my months of anticipation, but I thought it was pretty darn funny. A little corny at times, but altogether hilarious (I'm talking to you, James Franco). And if that's not your cup of tea, you might enjoy Marky Mark sans shirt. A real crowd pleaser.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Book Nook

Has anyone read Chris Bohjalian's latest book? I was excited when this came out, because I've really enjoyed some of his books in the past (with The Double Bind probably being my favorite).

I can't say I loved this one. I had to renew it twice before I finished it. It is particularly violent--the story surrounds the apparant murder/suicide of an abusive husband and his wife. I'd love to know if anyone else has read this one. I'm not 100% sure I understand what happend at the end...

I also got Martha's new Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts from the library. This is one I'll be adding to my permanent collection.

"Encyclopedia" is a bit of a misnomer, but it is a good resource and it has tons of simple projects (the embroidered letter sampler and vintage handkerchief quilt caught my eye). I think it would make a nice addition to your bookshelf if you're a crafty sort of person. (And if you're a crafty sort of person who is also my mother, don't buy this for yourself.)

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter giraffe

Remember a few months ago when I won a huge yarn giveaway on Susan Anderson's blog? Yeah, that was awesome. I decided the giraffe was just the thing for Luke's Easter basket.
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The giraffe is the cover model from Susan's latest book, Itty Bitty Toys. This book is chockful of awesomeness.

This guy was so fun to make!

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Luke didn't want to let go of him long enough for a picture.

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I decided to use poly pellets for part of his stuffing. They're dangerous for little kids, so I carefully sewed them up in little muslin bags before stuffing the giraffe. I think it makes a big difference for a stuffed animal of this size.

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Susan sent along a Pom Tree. It's a great tool, and it made quick work of all of the pom-poms for this little guy.

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Doesn't get much cuter than that...

I hope everyone had a happy Easter! It was 85 degrees here today, so we spent most of the day outside. We went for a ride in the Jeep, stopped by the bookstore (open on Easter?!?), and had a yummy dinner.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Bandwagon time.



We're rooting for the hometown boy...

Friday, April 2, 2010

Craft Hope project 7

Craft Hope Spreading seeds of hope one stitch at a time
Have you signed up for Craft Hope's new project? They're asking crafters to make alphabet, number, color, and shape beanbags for the Liberian Orphan Education Project. Click here to read details about the project. I'm going to make some alphabet beanbags for this very worthy cause.

But first, I'm knitting furiously to finish a stuffed animal for Luke's Easter basket. I better be posting pictures soon!