Announcing....

Have you ever been so excited to share something and you know you can't tell anyone. You know... that pee in your pants kind of excitement? I have been holding on to a little secret for over a year now and I am so excited that I can finally share with the world what I have been working on in the wee hours in the morning and on my free weekends.

Announcing... Stop. Go. Quilt. Sew!
Written by none other than little ole ME! {HAPPY DANCE}
and Published by Stash Books
IN STORES JULY 2012

12 Fun exciting projects for the BOYS to enjoy!  Girls would love this book too, but how many books can you honestly say that BOYS and GUYS alike would enjoy making and/or receiving the projects from? All the projects in this book were made with the guys in mind.

Be sure to follow my blog and check regularly to find out more about upcoming blog tours, book signings and more! You will not want to miss getting this book... great for beginners and advanced sewers!

Now that you all know my secret, PLEASE help me celebrate by standing up and doing a happy dance!

In addition, I am going to randomly select one lucky reader to receive a signed copy of the other two books that I have contributed to, Fresh Fabric Treats and Modern Blocks Book, both published by Stash Books.

Be sure to leave me a comment for your chance to win these two autographed books.

P.S... I would love to know if you actually did a happy dance to celebrate the announcement of my new book!

Winner will be randomly selected and announced on Friday, March 2. 

Spilling the beans... again.

I am spilling the beans, yet again! No, I am not pregnant. However, I am having a very difficult time keeping this little stash of joy contained.  It is just too yummy! Check back next week to find out what beans I am spilling this time!

1927 Baptismal Heirloom

This past Sunday, Roman was baptized into our church. It was a very special and memorable day, but there was one thing that made his day extra special to me.  The baptismal gown that he wore was not just any old gown. This particular gown was handmade by my Great Grandma hee hee in 1927. {that is what we called her because she laughed all the time.} She made this gown for my grandpa to wear at his baptism.

All my Grandpa's 8 kids, 13 out of 16 grandchildren, and 11 out of 16 great grandchildren wore this gown at their baptisms. I was one of those grandchildren that wore this gown at my baptism when I was a baby and now three kids have also worn this at their baptisms.

 

The gown is made from a very lightweight linen fabric and has two pieces to it... the gown and a slip.

 

All of the detail work and lace edging you see was all done by hand by my great grandmother.  She was so talented and I appreciate her talents more and more as I get older.  I absolutely adore this gown and feel so very blessed that my grandmother has saved this for all of us and our kids to wear on their special day of baptism.

 

 Roman was the 33rd child to wear this 85 year old gown at his baptism. It is still as beautiful today as I am sure it was 85 years ago when my great grandma hee hee made it.

SLICED contest

This is one contest you will not want to miss! Awesome Sponsors and Prizes. I am very excited to be one of the Judges on the panel and even more excited to see all the creative projects submitted during our audition round.  So, what is SLICED? Read on to find out all the fun and exciting details...

Sliced is an online sewing competition where four crafty people will compete before a panel of judges. They will have 5 days to use their creative talents to develop a project with a sewing basket of mystery items given to them on the first day of each week {crafters must provide their own items}. 

Once they have completed their project, the panel of judges will critique the projects from each challenge and will decide who will  be SLICED and who will continue on to the next week and a new challenge. We will have a guest judge each week of the competition. The competition will run March 4 - 31, 2012. Each week, someone will be "Sliced" from the competition until only one winner remains. Do you have what it takes to become the next Moda Bake Shop Chef?

We are very excited to about our Sponsors and Prizes for this competition. All four contestants chosen for the SLICED competition will not leave empty handed.  There are wonderful prizes for each of the four competitors all provided by these gracious Sponsors...

 You are not going to want to miss out on these prize packages!  So get your creative juices going and submit before it is too late!

What are you waiting for? GO NOW and find out more about this awesome contest at the Moda Bake Shop.

Daddy Daughter Dance

 

Tonight is the Daddy Daughter Dance for our little town. Paige was so excited for this day to arrive, she woke up at 6 am this morning, got dressed in her new dress, tights, and shoes. Came into our bedroom, woke us up, and said "I am ready for the daddy daughter dance! Get up!"

I am so excited for her! I cannot believe she is already going to her very first dance!  Good thing it is with Daddy.  I don't think I am ready for her to be going to a dance with some other boy. (eeek!)

Roman Numeral 2

 

Roman is two months old and two pounds heavier. I cannot believe that two months has already flown by!

 Weighing in at 12 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring 23.3", this little man is in the 75% range for his height and weight.

Remember last month I mentioned I had to stop eating dairy because it was making his tummy upset. Well, it has been over 1 month that I have completely cut dairy out from my diet and it has made him such a happy baby! He actually started sleeping about 4-5 hours at night.

Instead of cow's milk, I tried Soy Silk {which tastes like a horrible diet shake} and Almond Milk {actually pretty good}. Even the kids liked the Almond Milk. We ran out of cow's milk one day and they wanted cereal for breakfast... so in went the almond milk.  They loved it.. Paige was a little hesitant at first... Her words "Why is the milk purple?".  The almond milk does have a darker tint to it compared to regular white milk... more like a tan color - like the color of an almond. A little convincing, tasting and then decides.. yum.. this is good.  How cool is that? Purple milk... her favorite color! Ha!

Anyway, giving up dairy has actually been really good, not just for Roman, but also for myself. I have actually started to loose my baby weight and I eat a lot healthier now.  I used to get IBS and now... no more stomach cramping! I now wonder if I am lactose intolerant and just never knew it.

I definitely recommend to any nursing moms that might have a colic baby to try to give up dairy for a couple weeks and see the difference it makes. It may even help you become a little healthier, too.

Ten Little Things Quiet Book

One of the most exciting benefits of working for Moda Fabrics is being able to see all the brand new collections before they are sampled out to our customers. When I first saw the Ten Little Things collection by Jenn Ski... I was ecstatic! 

Finally... a collection that can be used for young kids {not just baby}. Not only is it a great choice for the girls... it is perfect for BOYS! LOVE IT!

So, my creative juices started working. I am very excited to be able to share a free pattern I designed especially for Moda. 

Read more about this free pattern and fabric designer on Moda... the Cutting Table blog.

Minted.

Last week, I received Roman's Birth Announcements/Baptism Invitations I ordered from Minted.com

They look amazing! They have so many great templates to choose from and the process was super easy.  I was really impressed with their customer service and proofing process.

Absolutely love the way they turned out and will definitely be ordering from them again.