Giveaway #1: Buffalo Lane

April 21, 2013

Today starts off a whole batch of wonderful giveaways! I don't offer giveaways much, but with Mother's Day coming, and spring fever in the air, the time is right. Are you ready?

Welcome Buffalo Lane: A new boutique founded by 2 amazing (and gorgeous!) women that I completely admire and love. I grew up with these two ladies, and they always turned heads with their ability to splash on color with no effort at all.

They are giving away 9 necklaces featured above, as well as a jelly watch (my fav) in the color of your choice.

And for all the readers here, you can enjoy 10% off your whole order this week!

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES

1) Visit Buffalo Lane

2) Leave a comment here below and give them some love

OPTIONAL ENTRIES

3) LIKE their Facebook page, and leave a comment below telling me you've done so

4) Follow them on Instagram, and leave a comment below telling me you've done so

DATES & TIMES

5) Giveaway ends Friday @ Midnight EST

6) Don't forget to order your items by April 27th, 2013 with the code: SPRING10 for 10% off your order

Good Luck!!

And ALL WEEK I'm going to be offering some amazing things...so come by for a daily deal!

COMMENTS CLOSED: Winner is Kate who said "Oh, I'd love to get one of those watches for my daughter! :)"

Free PDF Print: Shining Brighter

April 16, 2013

I've been thinking a lot. Like I'm sure you have too.

I'm a mother. I spend most of my time vigilantly watching over my kids. It's my calling. My life. Everything I do, I am thinking of them and their safety, growth, happiness. Just like you do.

And when booms go off, my mother-heart gets on high alert for the moment, and then sad. Affected by the darkness that can so easily permeate. Torn for the families affected directly. Worried, only like a mother can.

But last night, as I lay trying to sleep, I kept reminding myself of the incredible duty I have to shine brighter. Overwhelm the darkness. Make a lasting mark. Vigilantly shine out the yucky stuff. It's not going to get any better unless I keep shining.

This passage came to mind, and I felt so much better knowing that it's up to me. I can make a difference.

This is a FREE DOWNLOAD for you today!

I needed it, and I thought you might too.

Shine a little brighter, and it will make all the difference.

Bunny & Egg Easter DIY

March 21, 2013

Easter is so soon, and I'm so excited. We have so many family traditions that circle around this holiday, but it still sneaks up on me....especially since Easter is in March. Yikes!

Addie wanted to sew and stitch some kind of Easter pillow, and so we spent some time this weekend making it together. She is so crafty and artsy, it's so fun to finally have a buddy in all this. She's at that age where she can really learn how to do it herself!

So I drew up an idea, and then she drew up her idea....and we met in the middle. I wanted to sew up a big colorful egg, she wanted a bunny, so we made a bunny holding a big colorful egg.

The best part about these projects is that they can be turned into anything. Wall art, pillows, you name it.

And of course, bunny needed a scarf. So we started there.

The best part is that I got a little helper to work the pedal underneath. Go team!

Then I grabbed some random fabrics from my stash, and sewed strips together (You might recognize some new fabric of mine you haven't seen yet...coming in the spring! hush, hush:)

Then I used the egg template and pinned it to the sewn scraps. I cute about 1/4 inch around the template, ironed down the edges, and pinned onto the bunny design. Sewing it down in a perfect oval isn't my specialty. But hey. It's a darn cute egg, ya?

And then we stitched and stitched! It's a super fast little job.

But when I got to the tail, I just knew it needed some texture. The kids would love a little cotton tail.

So, yarn pom pom's it was.

Stitch it onto the little tail, and you've got yourself a little cottontail bunny holding a really awesome egg, and ready to be made into something special.

I've made the Bunny template for you, so all you have to do it trace it onto some fabric. You can decide what you want to stitch, or what you want to sew on. So many variations!

Have fun! I'd love to see your pictures. Don't forget to share on my embroidery FLICKR page, or on Facebook...or wherever you like to follow me around:) And if you like this, don't forget to share on Pinterest!

(just hover over any picture, and it's an easy share)

Happy Spring everyone! And happy making!!

Sarah

New Embroidery & Pillow pattern

February 28, 2013

Maybe you've already caught this issue....or maybe you are like me and just picked it up yesterday at the store. I opened it up this Better Homes and Garden's issue to the page above and showed my kids without saying anything. Ian gave me a big hug, and then said "Mom, you have GOT to tell the store owner!"

It was so darling.

Anywho....

Camille Roskelley and Joanna Figueroa (two darling ladies who are such a hoot and super fun to laugh with twice a year at Quilt Market) host a Scrap Lab issue, and chose me as a guest designer this month! I was super thrilled to create an Embroidery Pattern for this issue, with instructions of how to make it into a pillow like the ones that I made for my booth last spring.

And look how darling their other projects are! It's always so fun to see what other designers do with my fabrics, and this issue is packed with darling projects.

You can pick up the magazine at the store, but Better Home has provided an online link where you can download the instructions to make the pillow and print out the embroidery pattern.

Thanks Better Homes for the shout out! Have fun stitching and sewing:)

sarah

Stitch Hospital

February 25, 2013

Remember how my 8 year old creatively got me to finally do all the mending? Well, we got it all done this weekend. And everyone pitched in.

I printed out some stickers for when they were all stitched up and ready to be released, the kids helped me sew up some Medic head wraps and....Ella just wanted to be a pet. How can you blame her with all the stuffed animals around! She's our comic relief around here, and our method actress too.

The kids set up beds, prepared shots (to numb the area before I dug in with a needle!) and took records of their names, procedures, and recorded when they were released.

We made white bandages to wrap their stitches when they were done, too.

The kids even came up with names: I was Dr. Stitch, Addie was Nurse Needle and Ian was Nurse Sew.

It could have been the most adorable thing they've come up with in a while.

Kenneth even got involved. I guess it looked like too much fun to hold back. He's really cute when he sews. Quite the MAN.

Poor Ella though. She got a little carried away, and may have caused more pain than comfort to a few of the animals. The poor bunny, actually.

And all was well. I still have a few more blankets, but I convinced the kids that hand sewing would mean no dinner. They changed their minds pretty quick.

Are you like me, and have soft toys and socks and blankets that really could use a quick stitch?

Feel free to print these out and make some fun out of it.

Have fun mending!

sarah

Wild for you Valentines Download

February 13, 2013

If you are like me, You had grand ideas of making special valentines, but waited till the last minute.

Well, if you are needing a quickie print out this morning....here you are.

Easy non-sugar valentines that the kids will be super excited to put together.

You can get little plastic animals just about anywhere...the dollar store, the craft store, party store....or even draw your own! Have fun making!

And Happy Valentines:) I just love this holiday! Even if I'm usually scrambling to finish up little love things. Enjoy!

I am a Child of God Bookmarks

January 7, 2013

This weekend was so awesome. After a quiet and rather blah Christmas, we made up for it in the past few days with Addie turning 8 years old this weekend! In our church, baptism happens at age 8 (old enough to know what they are doing), so we had both sets of grandparents and great grandparents in town, lots of family, celebrations and so much fun. I can't believe I have an 8 year old. Where does time go????

My mother-in-law is a fantastic seamstress, and made the sweetest white dress for her. It was a perfect day!

With the new year, I've had a few requests for some printable religious stuff, and I thought these bookmarks woud be really sweet and a fun for you to print out and and use at home or at church.

These are a FREE download, and I hope that they will come in handy for Sunday School Teachers, parents, and of course...kids! Please....these are for personal and church use only. Not to be sold, copied, or tampered with.

Hope you enjoy! I'm back in the studio today after a long well needed break. It feels good. Back into art making....and a fresh new year. I'm ready to dive in:)

Happy Monday!

sarah

PS: Oh! And in reference to the Sandy Hook donations made, we were able to raise $905 and they were sent to the Western Union Support Fund today! Thank you to all who contributed!

Holiday Roundup and Sale

December 2, 2012

It's December!

Wow. It sneaks up on me every single time!

Today, being the beginning of December, I wanted to just recap on some fun holiday DIY projects, books, and art you might want to get your hands on again.

A CHRISTMAS GOODNIGHT