It's My Party Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered last week's It's My Party and I'll Craft if I Want To giveaway.


The winner is...

Darcy from Modern Cozy who said...

Congratulations, Darcy! Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes. It was so fun to read everyone's favorite crafting tools and fabrics. And thanks again to Riley Blake for the fat quarter bundle! I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Point of View and Summer/Vacation Link Party!

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme for May is "Summer/Vacation". Take a look at the great ideas the members of Point of View have come up with this month...

Tone from Bless by Tone (Our guest this month... thanks for joining us, Tone!)
Amy from Ameroonie Designs
Jonie from Just Between Friends
Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy
Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE to read more about my ditty bag)
Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

I chose to go the "vacation" route for my project this month. One of the things I love about Point of View is that I've been using it to motivate myself to complete some of the projects on my to-do list. I've been promising to make toiletry bags for my girls since last fall, and I just hadn't gotten around to it. I had even bought some really cute Japanese linen printed with laundry hanging on the line to use for the bags. After finding the Michelle Patterns ditty bag pattern a few weeks ago, I decided to give it a try. I also started seeing the new Monaluna Next Stop collection from Birch Fabrics and had to change my fabric choice :)

This bag turned out really cute, and it definitely beats the plastic bags my girls have been using when we go on vacation or visit our family in Vermont. Click HERE to read more about my project.

Now it's your turn. Do you have a Summer/Vacation project that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View Summer/Vacation Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have a Summer or Vacation-themed project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all five blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.gwennypenny.com" title="Gwenny Penny - Point of View"><img src="http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae14/gwennypennyblog/SummerPoVButtonB-1.jpg" alt="Gwenny Penny - Point of View" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Ditty Bag

Whenever we go on vacation or head up to Vermont to visit the family for a weekend, we throw the girls' hairbrushes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and hair accessories in plastic ziploc bags. I've been promising to make them little toiletry bags since last fall. I even bought some really cute Japanese linen printed with laundry hanging on the line to use for their bags, but the fabric has been sitting there for months. This month's Point of View theme "Summer/Vacation" was a great opportunity to get myself going on these bags (OK, just one of them, but they can share until I get motivated again :)

I used the Michelle Patterns ditty bag pattern. And as you can see, I didn't use the Japanese linen I'd been saving. As soon as I saw the new Monaluna Next Stop collection from Birch Fabrics, I knew I had to use it for these bags... It's too perfect!

This is so much better than the plastic bags my girls have been using for their stuff.

The ditty bag PDF pattern comes with instructions for three different sizes. This is the largest and measures approximately 9" x 8" and is about 2.25" deep. The smallest size (5" x 4" x 1.5") is supposed to be more difficult, just because it's so small, but I really want to try it because it's just so cute! I really like this pattern and definitely recommend it. Everything came together nicely.

This was my first time sewing covered zipper ends, and it was so easy! I don't know why I waited so long. And I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the inside! Doh! The bag is fully lined with a solid coral colored cotton that matches the coral colored suitcases on the exterior fabric.

So glad to get this one partially crossed off my list. I should probably get the other one done while the pattern is still fresh in my mind. We'll see...

Now it's your turn... Check out this month's Point of View collage and link up your past or present Summer/Vacation projects at the Point of View Link Party! We want to see what you've been up to!

A Giveaway! - It's My Party Day 5 (CLOSED)

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

It's the last day of birthday week, and it's time to break out the presents! Today Amy and I are each hosting a giveaway on our blogs as part of our week long It's My Party and I'll Craft if I Want To event. And one of you is going to walk away with an amazing gift.

I had a great time this week sewing projects for myself and sharing some of my favorite things. I shared my dumpling pouch, my favorite everyday things, my sewing machine cozy, and my favorite crafty things. Now it's time to give a gift to one of you! I'm so jealous of the goodies up for grabs. Ready?

First of all, Riley Blake is very generously offering up a fat quarter bundle of Apple of My Eye! Can you believe this?!?

Image Source: Riley Blake

Love it! Thanks so much to Riley Blake for the opportunity to include this gorgeous fabric in today's giveaway. But wait... there's more :)

Remember one of my favorite crafty things, SMASH books? Want one?

I even included a SMASH accessory... Check out the black and white SMASH band to hold your book together.

And how about a handmade dumpling pouch that I put together using the Michelle Patterns tutorial?

The exterior is one of my favorite fabrics... Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet in red. The interior is the same fabric I used to line my sewing machine cozy.

We're not done! Also included in this giveaway is a beautiful handmade button from Pizzazz Pottery...

Some polka dot pencils...

And finally this pack of cute die-cut button stickers...

Lots of great stuff up for grabs. The Apple of My Eye fat quarter bundle plus all of this...

Winner takes all! Here's the lowdown on entering...

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

One entry per person: Leave one comment on this post telling me your favorite crafting tool or fabric.

Please note: US and Canadian addresses only. Sorry!

• Odds of winning are based on number of entries.
• You must be a 18 years or older and live in the United States or Canada to be eligible to win this prize.
• Leave an email address in your comment if your email is not attached to your Blogger profile.
• This giveaway will be open until Friday, May 25th at 10:00pm (EST).
• Winner will be chosen using a random number generator.
• Fabric will be shipped by Riley Blake. The remainder of the prize will be shipped by me.

Good luck everyone!

_____________________________________________________

After you enter my giveaway, go check out the fabulous goods Amy is giving away today. In addition to these goodies...

... Amy is giving away another Apple of My Eye fat quarter bundle from Riley Blake!

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Thanks so much for celebrating my birthday with me all week long. Thank you to Amy for putting this whole week together with me again. Meeting you in person last month was one of the best presents I've ever gotten :) This week was a lot of fun, and I'm betting you'll see our 3rd annual party next year!
 

My Favorite Crafty Things - It's My Party Day 4

Welcome to the fourth day of It’s My Party and I’ll Craft if I Want To! In case you're just joining us, Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I are celebrating our birthdays all week by sharing projects that we made just for us and some of our favorite things. Monday I shared my dumpling pouch and quilt color choices, Tuesday my favorite everyday things, and yesterday my sewing machine cozy. Today I’m sharing my favorite crafty things.

Let's start with fabric. This sounds totally boring, but I love solids. I recently got my hands on a Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids Color Card, and I don't know how I lived this long without it. Pure heaven.

Image Source: Fat Quarter Shop

As far as prints, my current favorite is pretty much any shade of Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet.

Image Source: Hawthorne Threads

I also have a thing for the Running Stitch print from Patty Young's Lush line.

Source: fatquartershop.com via Gwen on Pinterest

And I love this amazing Riley Blake Chevron fat quarter bundle that I (sort of) won at SNAP (thanks, Amy ;) This is one of those fabrics that I'm going to be afraid to cut into. I'll just look at it for a while :)

And pretty much anything polka dot makes me happy, too :)

One of my favorite sewing tools is my quarter inch piecing foot for my sewing machine. It has a guide on the right side that helps you sew a nearly perfect 1/4" seam every time. I use it all the time.

Image Source: Sewing Machines Plus

My bias tape maker is another sewing item I can't do without. I have a 25mm (1"), and this size has worked for every project I've ever needed bias tape for.

Image Source: Nancy's Notions

Now for something non-sewing related... Have you heard of SMASH books? I was introduced to them last year when I won one in a giveaway from Malia (of Yesterday on Tuesday). It took me a while to open it up and start using it, but I love it! And my four (almost five!) year old loved it so much that we got her one for Christmas. A SMASH book is kind of like a lazy man's scrapbook. It can be anything you want it to be. It's a pre-embellished journal and comes with a half-pen/half-gluestick attached. Genius! They just started selling SMASH books at Michaels and Target, so keep your eyes open for the books and really cute accessories.

Image Source: Amazon

Now for a tough question... what's my favorite project I've ever made? I think it's a toss up between my Little People tote bags...


and the Sherbet Pips quilts I made for my girls...


I chose the tote bags because they turned out exactly how I pictured them in my head and because of the nostalgic feelings they evoke. I can't tell you how many "when I was little" stories I've heard from people because of these bags. And the quilts because I felt such a sense of accomplishment when I finished them and I got to see my girls curl up under them in the living room all winter long.

It was fun to open up my sewing closet and pick out my favorite things to share with you. Make sure you click over to Ameroonie Designs to check out Amy's favorite crafty things post today. And come back tomorrow for the birthday week wrap up giveaway. I'm so jealous you guys... You won’t want to miss it!

Sewing Machine Cozy - It's My Party Day 3

Welcome to the third day of It’s My Party and I’ll Craft if I Want To! Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I are celebrating our birthdays all week by sharing our favorite things and projects that we made just for us. Monday I shared my dumpling pouch and quilt color choices. Yesterday I shared my favorite everyday things. Today I’m sharing a project, my new sewing machine cozy...

Love this! I'm so happy with how it turned out. I followed Ellen Luckett Baker's (the long thread) free pattern. And lucky for me, the dimensions in the pattern were a perfect fit for my machine. I made an unintentional modification, though. The original pattern called for the three string-pieced sections to be of equal width. I accidentally shortchanged the first piece on my first cut, so I improvised and made the first and third pieces skinnier than the center piece. (And you probably never would have known if I hadn't said anything :)

The lining is fabric that was left over from the crib skirt my mother-in-law sewed for me before my oldest was born. I had a ton of it left over and wasn't sure what I'd end up using it for someday. This seemed like a good time to cut into it...

I was a little nervous about sewing canvas, but I broke out my denim needle, and I had no trouble at all. I assumed that this project was going to be long and involved and would take me forever, but it really went pretty quickly. I'm glad I went for it... I keep peeking in my sewing closet to get a look at it :)

Make sure you check out Amy’s sewing machine cover today over on Ameroonie Designs. I love seeing her take on a similar project…

Stay tuned for a crafty/sewing themed favorites post tomorrow and the awesome giveaways on both blogs Friday!

A Few of My Favorite Things - It's My Party Day 2

Welcome to the second day of It’s My Party and I’ll Craft if I Want To! All week Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I are celebrating our birthdays by making things just for us, just for fun and sharing some of our favorite things. Yesterday I shared my dumpling pouch and quilt color choices. Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite everyday things.

Music: I am currently loving the Ryan Montbleau Band. They play a free concert on the beach near us every summer, and I'm really excited to see them again when they play in a few weeks. Some of my favorite songs of theirs: Carry, Stretch, 75 and Sunny, and Eggs. You can check out some of their songs HERE.

Image Source: Ryan Montbleau

I'm also a big fan of Keith Urban. My favorite song of his is Stupid Boy. I've had the opportunity to see him perform a few times, and he puts on an awesome show.

Image Source: Keith Urban

Color: Gray and purple... Pretty much every day I am wearing some combination of the two. I wear a plum purple Swatch, too.

Image Source: Timeshop4You

Food: I love bread. My favorite breads are super crusty and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I'm also a big fan of cheese. I love Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar. My favorite comfort food is my mom's beef stroganoff recipe. I should probably share that sometime.

Image Source: Cabot Cheese

Junk Food: I am a junk food junkie. I hate to admit it, but I am. I always have a Lindt Dark Chocolate with a Touch of Sea Salt bar in my cupboard. I love dark chocolate. And Nutella. I also love Jax, but I only have those once in a while because they don't last very long when I'm around. Above all else in the junk food department, however, is Pepsi. I drink a lot of it. Way more than I care to admit on here :)

Image Source: Lindt

Movie: My new-found guilty pleasure is the Footloose remake. Oh how I love this movie. It has definitely been updated, but I still think it's very true to the original. My all-time favorite movie, though, is The Sound of Music. The Harry Potter movies rank right up there, too.

Image Source: fanpop!

TV:  I actually don't watch a whole lot of television. I spend a lot of my evenings on the computer. But I do love The New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory.

Book: I have to be honest... I don't read much. And what I do read is non-fiction. I know, I know. Shame on me. Maybe someday I'll make it a higher priority, but right now it's not. I will share my favorite book from my childhood, and guess what? It's non-fiction :) It's called Good Cents: Every Kid's Guide to Making Money. I cannot tell you how many times I checked this out at the library, but it was at my house a lot. And I think I'm the only kid who ever checked it out. About six years ago I found a used copy of this book, and it sits on the bookshelf in my sewing closet. I've wanted my own business for as long as I can remember, and I used to read this book over and over again in hopes of making that dream a reality. Now it's a reminder that maybe one day it will be.

Image Source: Amazon

So those are some of my favorite things in a nutshell :) Hopefully you learned something new about me, and maybe you discovered something new that you want to check out. Make sure you click over to Ameroonie Designs to check out Amy's favorite things post today. And make sure you stick around all week for more projects and the giveaway on both of our blogs on Friday!
 

Pouch and a Quilt Question - It's My Party Day 1

Welcome to the first day of our 2nd annual It’s My Party and I’ll Craft if I Want To!

All week Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I will be celebrating our birthdays by sharing our favorite things and some projects that we are making just for us. I'm so excited for this week because I get to do some guilt-free selfish sewing and especially because I get to collaborate with Amy! Let's get this party started!

A couple weeks ago I shared some dumpling pouches that I made for my SNAP roommates using a tutorial from Michelle Patterns. I really wanted one for myself, and this birthday celebration was a great excuse to go ahead and get it done...

I also used this week as an excuse to finally decide on a color combination and pattern for the quilt I've been wanting to make for my bed. Now I can't make any excuses about why I can't get started on it (Well, I'm sure I'll come up with excuses, but they won't be good ones :) I decided to go with Allison's new Spin Cycle pattern. And, inspired by some sheets and blankets that were piled up on my dining room table, I've decided to go with this color scheme...

Fabric swatch images from Robert Kaufman.

So here's my question: is this too bright for an adult bedroom? Do you think I should use more toned down shades of these colors? I love the way these colors look together, but I'm just afraid it's going to be too much. I'm planning on going with a white background. It may just be the yellow that's freaking me out. Any thoughts? Or am I just making more excuses ;)

Make sure you hop on over to visit Amy at Ameroonie Designs to check out this fun skirt she made...

And don’t forget to stick around all week for some projects and a fantastic giveaway on both blogs on Friday... you won't want to miss it!