Pay It Forward!

I love the idea behind Pay It Forwards no matter what shape or form they come in. So, I just happened to pop on to Jilly's Space and noticed she is doing a Pay It Forward. Then I looked at the comments and noticed I am the first one and jumped right in so I could join her in the Pay It Forward (PIF) act! So... here it goes...

The concept of a PIF occurs when acts of kindness are performed without expecting anything in return and are passed on, trusting that the recipients will do the same and Pay It Forward, resulting in a never ending chain of kindness.
By signing on, my commitment is to make and send a gift to the first 3 friends who post a comment to this post requesting to join this exchange and who promise to Pay It Forward to 3 other persons, and so on.
I am not exactly sure what my three gifts will be just yet, but I will assure you it will be a gift made by me and from my heart that I will send to you within the next 365 days. This way, it will be completely unexpected and will be that much more rewarding. By signing on, what YOU then have to do in return is to Pay It Forward by making the same announcement and commitment on YOUR blog. I am very excited to be participating in this wonderful venture and I hope you too will join me.

If you are one of the first 3 that sign up, please be sure there is a way I can contact you through your blog or email so I can get your contact info. So... Who will be my 3 PIFs???

Celebrate Earth Day and Win some Batting!

Want to win some Luna Batting by Moda Fabrics? It's simple... just follow these few steps and create a project on our Moda Fabricmatcher website! How much easier and fun can this get?

April 2009 Contest:

The Fabricmatcher contest for April 2009 will be featuring Earth Day. The rules for the contest are as follows:

1- Go to http://moda.fabricmatcher.com and login. If you have not already a member, you can sign up to be a member absolutely FREE.

2 - You must use earth-toned fabrics such as blues, greens, and browns on your project. Our color-matcher tool under Find Fabrics is a great way to find fabrics in these color families.

3 – You may use any of the patterns available on our Moda Fabricmatcher website under Find Patterns.

4 – Your project must be named Moda Earth in order to be eligible. You may enter as many projects as you wish, however they must have Moda Earth as the project name. Simply number them with a 1, 2, 3, etc. after the name.

5 – The April Contest will end on April 30, 2009 at midnight.

REMEMBER: You must have your Stash including your Projects available for the Public to view to be eligible to win. You can change your stash settings by clicking on Edit Profile in your Welcome box where you logged in.

The Moda Fabricmatcher judges will select and announce the winning project the first week of May 2009. The winner of this contest will win a bundle of Luna Batting by Moda and will be posted on our Moda Fabricmatcher website.

Enjoy!
Your Moda Fabricmatcher Team

It's going to make it A-L-L Better!

This is what my daughter says when she has to take her medicine or go see the doctor... It's going to make it a-a-l-l-l better!
Tummy Bug + rainy weather + asthmatic child = one sick kid and a hospital visit.


4 am... snack of peanut butter crackers while watching Sleeping Beauty.

Paige telling me what pictures to draw... our family, mommy's computer, mommy pictures (camera).... hmmm... what would make her think of these items? :)

This is what we did over the weekend. I am just thankful to have her home and well again!

Batman, Bunnies, and Blogs... OH MY!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We had a fun filled busy weekend... and I am glad to get back to normal... oh wait... birthday parties every weekend, Market's only a month away.... hmmm. June... yep... that's when things will get back to normal. ;) So, just to share what went on this past weekend....


Saturday... Batman was having a birthday party.

My sister threw a Bat-tastic birthday party for my nephew, Quinten. He turned 5!

She made his batman birthday banner She used black felt for the pennants and cut them with pinking shears. Then she glued fabric letters that she cut out with her Cricut. To string them all together she attached some grograin ribbon by sewing it on the top.

Didn't she do a great job making him a birthday banner?! It was ADORABLE!

She enlisted me in making him his bat cape and t-shirt...

I even made him a batman-esque nap sack for his birthday gift. Sorry... I have not taken pictures of it yet. Will take some soon and post when I do.




On Sunday... We hosted the Easter festivities at our house and had a great time, even though it rained, the Easter bunny still came to hide all the eggs in the house. 330 eggs to be exact!


There were 11 kids so each kid got 30 eggs to find.

OH... then I saw this yesterday and just had to inform all of you that have not yet seen it.

This little ADORABLE owl was designed by My Tiny Star. She now has a pattern available for sale on her Etsy site where I bought mine yesterday!
Now, I just need to find some time to make him.

Winners REVEALED!

I know I am a day late... sorry and thanks for your patience! Okay... now to announce the winners! All winners were selected using the Random Number Generator from Random.org

GRAND PRIZE WINNER... number 16!

Congratulations, Chrysalis! You will be receiving an Aviary Jelly Roll by Moda and a Lollipop pattern by Bananafana Designs!

She said... Hi, I'm Chrys. I live in Canada and have a husband, a cute 21 month old girl and am pregnant with another. On easter we always left out our painted eggs for the bunny guy, then in the morning we would look for hidden candy and our eggs. And we always had new easter clothes, a new dress!

To help celebrate Bananafana Designs latest pattern design and feature on the Moda Bake Shop, I have randomly selected 3 Runner ups to receive the Lollipop pattern from Bananafana Designs.

FIRST RUNNER UP... number 57!

Congratulations, Julianna!

She said... I'm Julianna from Chicago and I think April must be a lovely month for a birthday. Mine is in January with lots of snow and cold. I have 3 girls, 6,4,1 so I do lots of sewing aroung here and we love anything pink. In Canada (where I grew up) there is Easter (on Sunday) and then Easter Monday that all the kids have off school as well so the Easter Bunny visited on Easter Monday. I already bought a ham and have and Easter menue planned out. I LOVE Easter. Happy Birthday!

SECOND RUNNER UP... number 55!

Congratulations, Laine!

She said... Hi Angela and Happy B-day!I'm Laine from Illinois. I have 2 grandbabies and a new grandson arriving in June possibly on my B-day. What would Easter be without an Easter egg hunt. Through out the year while cutting the lawn or doing yard work my dad would find hidden eggs that we missed. I hope I'm lucky enough to win your wonderful give away!

THIRD RUNNER UP... number 65!

Congratulations, dottie white!

She said... Angela....When I was a little girl we would go to church on Easter Sunday. When we came home from church, there were little wooden rabbits all around the yard with baskets and other treats hidden everywhere around the yard. Mysteriously, my grandma and grandpa had arrived and "found" the surprise just before we got there. It was a magical and wonderful time and for years...we believed! I still believe in the wonder of Easter and share it with my children and grandchildren with new traditions full of hope!By the way, the giveaway looks yummy!

Congrats to all the winners! Please be sure to contact me with your mailing address at ayosten{at}yahoo{dot}com so I can get you package mailed out to you.

Thanks to all of you that participated!

TAG... your it!

So, I have officially been tagged by a good friend... Camille. I am suppose to list 7 Randomly Honest things that you may not know about me. So... here it goes.

1] I am incapable of being still... just ask my husband. I am constantly doing something, whether it be working, housework, sewing, playing with my kiddos, planning... I could go on... but I will spare you. :) Apparently, even when I am sleeping I am moving around.... sorry Richie. I MUST have something to work on if I am going to be sitting still.
2] I don't watch much TV, however there are two shows that I just have to watch every week, House and Bones. I actually get quite frustrated when Fox decides to show American Idol in place of these shows... Honestly... how much longer can this show go on?

3] As a kid, I took gymnastics for 7 years at SOKOL Dallas. It is a Czech gymnastics organization. My Dad's side of the family is Czech. I was never able to do the back handsprings and back flips like my sister. I just never could get used to my lanky body while growing up... we'll just say I was a bit of a clutz.... that would be me on the right and my sister on the left.I am proud to say that I can actually still do a handstand, cartwheel, round-off and back bend. Woohoo!


4] I always try to give tips to the Sonic Carhops as I, too, worked at a Sonic as a summer job in High School after life guarding at the city pool. nice tan... right? WOULD LOVE to have that again. I look like a ghost compared to that now. :{


5] I hate talking about politics! It does nothing but make me frustrated and rather not go there.


6] I do NOT enjoy cooking. Don't get me wrong... I know how to and can do so successfully... most of the time. I would much rather call in a pizza or pick up something from our local Sonic... since that is all we have in our little town. You know you are in Texas when you see a John Deer tractor pulled into the Sonic! (actual picture taken by me at our local sonic)


7] I enjoy drawing... although I have not done it in a really long time. I used to draw portraits all the time... then it seemed like time just got shorter....hmmm. This particular portrait I sketched in 1998.



So... that is a little bit about me that you may have not already known.

Now, to TAG some other people.

How about... Sarah, Bloom, Holly, Monica, and anyone else that wants to join in the fun!

GIVEAWAY Update

Just thought I would pop-in and splash the pot a bit with an update to my giveaway! Since it is my birthday today I thought I would add something extra special to my giveaway that I am having!

One lucky winner will not only receive one of Bananafana's patterns, Lollipop, but they will also receive an Aviary Jelly Roll by 3 Sisters!!!

So go to my giveaway and place your comment before Monday at midnight. I will pick a winner by random drawing and announce it on Tuesday, April 7th.

OH... and don't forget to go to the Moda Bake Shop and get the free tutorial for the Jelly Roll Suspenders shown above!

GOOD LUCK!