Merry Christmas!

I guess I decided to make some handmade Christmas gifts this year after all. Originally I wasn't going to do it but then decided I should use my skills to make some fun and unique things. My husband's side of the family isn't crafty so I figured this was a good excuse to give them each something handmade made especially for them. We're pretty crafty on my side of the family but I still wanted to give some of my family members some fun things anyways.

I'll be out of town and up in the mountains until late next week for the holidays. I'll be hanging out with family without any cell phone service or Internet.....sooo.....

For some eye candy...here are some of the things I made for this year...

A couple pouches filled with fun goodies for my nieces

A 241 Tote bag for a really good friend stitched with her name on it

A Super Mario Pillowcase for my nephew

A stocking for my daughter to keep at my parents house for Christmas morning

A San Francisco 49ers Banner to for my Brother in law ( approx. 18"X22" & made with felt)

I also made 4 mini versions for 4 of my nephews ( approx. 6"x9")

Hand stitched in Gold Metallic Perle Cotton (a pain to work with)

My husbands parents and sister will be receiving handmade gifts as well but they're not sewing projects so I won't bother you with those.

All the totes except the Briar Rose version in this post were for Christmas gifts as well.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you in 2014!

241 Totes Oh My!

Before I get started, I want to announce the winner of the Sew Lux Fabric Club Medallion BOM PDF Pattern Subscription (what a mouthful that is)....Congrats to comment #60 Amy of Amy's Crafty Shenanigans!

So I totally took advantage of Anna's (Noodlehead) Black Friday sale and decided to purchase the 241 Tote pattern. I was so anxious to try it out that I made a bag within minutes of buying it! I had all the stuff so picking out the fabrics was holding me up from getting started. 

The first three bags are going to new homes for Christmas. I hope they'll be loved because I want to keep them all. Some have zippers, pockets, or patchwork. I made another one but I'll have to show pictures on another post for that one.

The last bag is for my partner in the Sew Sew Modern 4 Swap. I cut up a Briar Rose charm pack into 2.5 squares and got sewing them together for the front panel. I found some Central Park by Kate Spain in my stash and thought it matched perfectly for the back panel.

Front & Back pics (the first one is the same on both sides)

Gender Reveal and some winners!

What a week it's been! All the fun giveaways have worn you out, right? What? You said NO? Haha...who could get tired of entering into giveaways?! Well I have a couple winners to announce for the TWO giveaways I recently had. 

First up- Guess the Gender Giveaway!

Yep! Charlie will have a little brother!

Out of almost 300 comments, roughly 1/2 qualified for the winning bundle. Which is gorgeous by the way! How beautiful are those matching threads?! Ugh! I wish I could enter into my own giveaways. I'm so jealous of you guys!

My daughter Charlie picked out the winning number #83: 

Congratulations to Cynthia B. of Quilting is more fun than housework!

Second winner- The Sew Mama Sew Giveaway

Mr. Random picked the winner for this one because were so many entries! 

The winning comment was #437

Congratulations to AlidaP of Quilting, Paper Piecing and Crafts!

Thanks for stopping by and entering both these great giveaways! I just happen to be running ANOTHER giveaway right now! Check it out HERE if you haven't entered yet :)

Welcome Sew Lux Fabric, Club Medallion BOM: December Border & a GIVEAWAY!

What a crazy month it's been already! I've been pumping out project after project! Let's take a quick break and introduce a new sponsor! 

Help me welcome Sew Lux Fabric!

Sew Lux Fabric & Gifts is a fabric-loving mother-daughter team based out of Raleigh, NC. Their company was established in September 2010 and I'm excited to help build their business with your support!

You can find many great ideas and tutorials on their blog sewlux.blogspot.com. Check it out because it's loaded with fun stuff AND the latest shopping offers!

They have a few great projects going on with their shop right now as well. If you've been following me, you know I'm working on the Club Medallion BOM. It's available through Sew Lux Fabric and you have a chance to win a PDF subscription!  (CLOSED) Whoo-hoo! You'll get all the directions for  the past months to get you caught up. I promise that it's a fun pattern so far! I'm really enjoying it!

I had a little time this past week to work on the December border. What do you think so far? I think I'll throw in some black, pink, red and/or purple for next months border to help liven up all the grey.

Now for the giveaway! 

All you need to do is head over to Sew Lux Fabric and check out which new fabric collection in the "Coming Soon" section. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know which one you're looking forward to seeing and possibly getting! I can't wait for Fox Field by Tula Pink and Daydream by Kate Spain!!! Eeeek!!!!! Be sure to check out the "Sale" section for some awesome deals!

New and old followers get an extra entry because I like you so much. Just leave another comment letting me know how you follow me :)

I'll leave this giveaway open until Tuesday 12/17 til 11:59pm PST. Good luck! 
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Welcome Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day Blog Hoppers!

I'll be honest. I wasn't sure if I wanted to participate in this round for Giveaway Day but alas...I had to cave in. It's not fair for me to go around entering without offering something in return! That's just plain rude. So, I decided to quickly pull something together for you!  I thought this was a perfect opportunity to destash some of my precuts.

You have a chance to win TWO Charm packs of "Boutique" by Chez Moi for Moda

CLOSED

Here's what the whole line looks like:

Ok, details! I won't "make" you jump through hoops or "require" you to follow me. I hate it when people require you to follow you them. BUT, you can if you want to (wink wink).

To Enter

• Leave a comment answering  my question: What's your favorite Christmas Song? I'm really curious to see what everyone says. I really really love "My Grown Up Christmas List" 
• Open to everyone!
• Giveaway closes Friday 12/13 @ 5pm PST
• LEAVE YOUR EMAIL IN YOUR COMMENT! I would absolutely hate to have a no-reply blogger miss out on winning because I have no way to contact them. You can use this format: name (at) email (dot) com to avoid spam if you'd like

Extra Entries

• Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know you're a follower. New and old followers welcome! Maybe this will help?

• "Like" my Facebook page and leave a comment letting me know you did. I like to offer facebook giveaways from time to time and promise not to clog up your newsfeed.

That's 3 possible entries! Hopefully to better your chances!

BONUS! - CLOSED!

I just happen to have another giveaway going on! Click here to go enter! It's open until Tuesday 12/10 @ 11:59 pm PST.

Due to the high volume of comments I won't be able to answer them with this giveaway

Scrapbeelicious December Bee Blocks for Nicole

Another month has rolled around and it's December! Wow! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! It's Nicole's (Modern Handcraft) turn to be queen in the Scrapbeelicious Bee. She decided to be festive and have us make her some Christmas blocks. Now, I don't actually own one single piece of holiday fabric. It's just not something I'm into. I guess I just haven't found the "right" Christmas fabric or whatever. I rather use reds & greens from my stash rather than Santa and Reindeer prints.

Nicole wanted lots of embellishments on her blocks. I thought a gingerbread man was a no brainer! I used Ric Rac, Buttons, Ribbon & machine applique. I wanted to incorporate some hand stitch work so I decided on a "Letter to Santa" idea for the second block. the grey background reminded me of snowflakes. This is the first time I've actually ever stitched anything other than quilting lines. The letters and little postage stamp were all a first...hence the imperfection...Ha! We'll just pretend it's kid writing on the envelope. And the blue snowflake fabric for the stamp? I totally took advantage of the free 1" of fabric at Joanns. Hahaha! I tried to pick the print I would get the most out of with 1 inch. The snowflakes were the winner! I normally don't use Joann's fabrics for bees but I just wasn't willing to drive to my LQS to pay top dollar for even an 1/8 of a yard for a Christmas print I'll need to fussy cut and most likely never use again.

Of course, like an idiot, I cut my background blocks at 12" and not 12.5". Ugh! I had to improvise with the red border. The red will end up being 1/4" after all her blocks are sewn together! Yikes! I hope they turn out ok...just a little peek-a-boo of color I guess.

Oh, I'm running a giveaway on the previous post! Check it out! Closed!

Cucire Shop and Guess the Gender GIVEAWAY!

Time to guess the gender of Baby #2! But Wait!!! First I have a new sponsor announcement!

Please help me welcome Cucire! 

Cucire is owned by Elizabeth, a Mom of two active young kids, who left her job as a landscape architect and opened Cucire on Etsy this past May.  The name Cucire (coo-CHEER-uh) is Italian and it means, simply, "to sew".  She offers a large variety of garment fabrics, woven cottons, and high quality threads.  She loves to talk shop and welcomes Etsy "convos" about anything she carries!  The December Special is all notions are 15% off! She would love to have you stop by and browse through the shop!

Here are some yummy new things she has to offer...

She offers such a great variety of threads in many different colors. Threads ship for anywhere between $1-$2 as well! Such a great deal! Be sure to like Cucire on Facebook for the latest deals and offers!

Now onto the giveaway!

Self explanatory right? Will my daughter Charlie have a little sister or brother to play with? It's a 50/50 chance so make a guess! If you guessed the right gender your name will be thrown in the hat for Charlie to pick! Cucire has graciously offered up one of these bundles to the winner!

Each bundle contains 2 half yard cuts of Art Gallery Pure Elements Solids, 2 Fat Quarters of Briar Rose by Heather Ross & 2 coordinating Aurifil threads in 50 wt!!!

Open to everyone!

This giveaway is now closed!

How to enter giveaway

• Leave a comment guessing which gender you think baby #2 is!

Extra Entries

• My followers get an entry. Leave another comment letting me know how you follow me. New and old followers are welcome :)
• "Like" Cucire on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did.

You have 3 possible entries but you have to guess the right gender first. If you're a no-reply blogger, leave your email in your comment! I have NO way to contact you if you win and that would be a shame. I'll have to pick another winner if that's the case. You can leave your email in the form of "name @ email dot com" to prevent spam.

I'll leave the giveaway open until Tuesday 12/10 @ 11:59pm PST! Charlie will pick a winner and I'll announce it soon after. Immediate family is ineligible to participate. Good luck!