Giveaway: Vintage Vinyl Journals (CLOSED)

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

In celebration of a new year, I have a really awesome giveaway for you today... A brand new journal for jotting down your creative ideas. A new journal is like a new year... a fresh start. But this is not just any journal. This is a Vintage Vinyl Journal, and it is gorgeous!

Katie Pietrak left the corporate world to launch Vintage Vinyl Journals last spring. On her website, she says, "We rescued the forgotten vinyl record and lovingly crafted a one-of-a-kind blank writing notebook for those who appreciate a simpler time – when albums started with a pop and a hiss as needle met groove and thoughts were recorded pen to paper." Don't you just love that sound?

Every journal features a recycled vintage album – the original vinyl album on the front and the album cover art on the back. These journals are eco-friendly and handcrafted in the USA from recycled materials and 100% acid-free paper. Each journal contains 240 high quality unlined pages.

These journals would make fantastic gifts for music lovers. Katie has a wide range of genres and artists available, so take a look for the perfect gift for someone in your life.

Let's get down to business... Katie is generously giving away one of her beautiful Vintage Vinyl Journals today! And guess which one it is?!?

"We go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong"... Grease!!! I love that movie!

Wouldn't you like to get your hands on this journal and start filling its pages? Here are the details on how you can enter for a chance to win a Grease journal from Vintage Vinyl Journals...

Please note: No international entries for this giveaway. US residents only. Sorry!

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

Mandatory entry:
Visit Vintage Vinyl Journals, then come back here and leave one comment on this post telling me which journal is your favorite.

Optional extra entries:
1. Sign up for the Vintage Vinyl Journals newsletter. Leave one additional comment on this post letting me know that you did.

2. "Like" Vintage Vinyl Journals on Facebook. Leave one additional comment on this post letting me know that you did.

That's up to three entries per person. Make sure you either leave an email address in your comment or that your email is attached to your Blogger profile. If I don't have a way to get in touch with you, I will choose another winner. This giveaway will be open until 10:00pm (EST) on Monday, January 30th. The winner will be chosen using a random number generator. I will announce the winner on Tuesday, January 31st, and they will have until Friday, February 3rd at 7:00am (EST) to respond before I choose another winner.

Thanks so much to Katie for this giveaway :) Good luck everyone!




All photos in this post courtesy Vintage Vinyl Journals.

A Tale of Two Quilts: Part I

I told you I'd be back today ;) When I checked in after the holidays, I mentioned that I had sewn two quilts as Christmas gifts for my girls. These quilts were a long time coming. I bought the Sherbet Pips fabric for them way back in March of last year, intending to get them done right away. When December rolled around, I finally used Christmas to motivate me to get them started. I am so happy with the results. Today I'm going to share one of the quilts, the quilt that I made for my four year old...

I used Rae's Storytime Squares quilt pattern, slightly modified. I had to change things a little because I was working with a charm pack (5" squares) instead of the 5.5" squares that the pattern calls for. I went with wider sashing around the outer edges of the quilt and traditional binding. I used Kaufman's Quilter's Linen for the sashing. This was my first experience with this fabric, and I really like it. It has a nice weight to it. The finished quilt is 43" square.

Here's the back...

I really like the way the back turned out. I was afraid it was going to end up crooked. This is only the third quilt I've ever made, and this was the first time I used more than one fabric on the back of a quilt. I added a little Pearl Bracelet in red (from Lizzy House Outfoxed) and solid gray to the Sherbet Pips for the pieced column.

I incorporated the label into the quilt itself instead of sewing it on the quilt at the end...

I got the idea for this label design here.

My daughters were thrilled when they opened their quilts on Christmas morning. They knew they were getting them, and they saw the quilts as I was working on them, but I didn't let them see the finished product until they unwrapped them. Santa brought them little red armchairs this year, and these quilts hang on the back of their chairs in the living room. I love finding the girls curled up in their chairs under their quilts reading books or seeing them build a fort by flipping their chairs over and covering them with the quilts.

I don't think I have ever been more proud of a project that I have done. There is something so satisfying about completing a quilt. And it's even more satisfying to give that quilt to someone you love. I believe I may have been bitten by the quilting bug :)

I'll be sharing the second Sherbet Pips quilt next week. Tomorrow I have an awesome giveaway for you guys, so make sure you stop by. It feels good to be back!



I'm linking up over at {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Hello 2012. Just checking in...

Hey, everybody! I've missed you. I know I said I was taking a break for a "couple" of weeks, but a "couple" is turning into "several". I have some non-blog stuff I'm trying to take care of right now (Like cleaning out my closets so I can actually open them without an avalanche ensuing. And trying to start exercising and eating better... you know, all that New Year's resolution stuff that I'll give up on by the end of the month :) I also have some non-blog business to attend to next week, so I am going to pin myself down right now and tell you that I will officially be back to blogging on January 23rd. You can count on it. And the first thing I'm going to share with you is one of two (yes, two) quilts that I made in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I'm so flipping proud of them :) They were a huge check mark on my to-do list... the Sherbet Pips quilts that I have been talking about since last March! I think I completely missed the boat on the Sherbet Pips craze, but I still love that fabric line, and my girls love their quilts. I guess I don't move fast enough to stay on top of the latest and greatest ;)

I love blogging. I love the people I have met through blogging and everyone who stops by here and visits. But I also love my family, and it has been so nice to spend more time with my girls and enjoy my evenings sitting on the couch watching TV with my husband for the last few weeks instead of working away at the sewing machine or at the computer all night. I think I just needed a little break from it all. It was during one of these evenings sitting on the couch that my husband asked me where his quilt is, so I guess I've got another quilt on the list for 2012 (I think I'm up to 5 that I want to make this year. If last year is any indication of how quickly they are going to get done, I'm in trouble :)

The girls working on their gingerbread house with my mom.

What else do I need to tell you? Oh, my bedroom is painted! I mentioned in a decorating post back in October that I had chosen "nimbus cloud" from the Martha Stewart Home Depot line. I love it! It turned out fantastic. It's so calming. I haven't done anything else in the room yet, but you'll be the first to know when I do.

I already posted about this just before Christmas, but in case anyone missed it, I started a Gwenny Penny Flickr group. If you have made anything using one of my tutorials, I would love it if you would add some pictures to the Flickr group.


Point of View is back! The theme for January is... LOVE! Point of View is all about your interpretation of the theme. We can't wait to see what you come up with. The reveal and link party will be Friday, January 27th.


Also, I want to let you know that my friend Kindra is hosting her 2nd annual Be Mine Bonanza over on her blog At Home With K, featuring seven Valentine's Day tutorials from seven different bloggers (including me!). The event starts next Sunday, January 22nd.


This has turned into quite the random mishmash of a post, huh? But it's like talking to a friend you haven't seen in a while, you know? So much to say, so many things to fill you in on.

OK, so I will be back soon with the quilts and some other Christmas gifts that I made. Oh, and I have a really cool giveaway lined up for the week I come back, so be on the lookout for that, too. Hope everyone is enjoying the first weeks of 2012. See you soon!