I'm featured!

Wow! One of my aprons that I sell on Etsy is featured at: ChristyNelson.net

I'm so excited! Check out her blog & Etsy shop

So how have you all been? I've been fairly absent lately, judging from the last time I posted. I've been working at the hospital full-time the past few months, so haven't had much time for anything else. I'm sure missing my sewing, so I'll have to make some time for that soon.

My oldest started grade 1 last week, so she gets to go to school all day! She just loves it, thank goodness, but she is sure wiped by the end of the day and is going to bed early, which is also nice :)

I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop - get 15% off your total purchase (not including shipping). Just use the code: FALLFUN in the message to seller when checking out & I will refund you the discount.

Thanks for your support & I hope I can get around to listing more stuff soon!

Pay It Forward - Giveaway

I found this idea at Confessions of a Sewing Dork's Blog... sounds like fun! Please read through the entire post if you want to participate! :)

This giveaway is aka Random Gifts to Total Strangers. I believe it originated at clevergirl.org. She wanted to cheer up people she's never met by mailing them a handmade gift. And now you can play too:

I am entering into the following agreement with the first 5 people who comment on this post and then commit to doing the same on their blog. Just read below and if you feel up to the task, copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment.I am willing to post overseas (I am in Canada), but remember you must commit on your blog to do the same for others.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be sewing/craft related.
2. What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. See, I can go to your blog and read your posts and a really great idea will pop into my pretty little head.
3. I promise I will complete all 5 gifts this year - 2009.
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.
Perhaps you'll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.
5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
Send your mailing address - after I contact you to confirm.
Everyone is welcome. I guarantee that you will receive something from me providing you do the same for 5 other people in your blog post. Are you game? Let's do this and I can't wait to send you what I hope you'll consider a nice surprise!!!!!!!!!

I also stumbled across this blog - Super Stitches - written by an 8-year-old girl - take a look, so cute!

My First Quilt

So here it is, my first quilt!

I finished it just in time for my dear friend Erin's wedding on Saturday. I hope she loves it! It was a lot of work, even though I used pre-cut charm squares for the top. The fabric is Soiree by Lila Tueller. I used a print from that same line as the backing, and pieced the binding from a Soiree Honey Bun.

I definitely need some more practice on the free-motion quilting. I think it looked much better after I washed it. The crinkly look is very forgiving. I'd definitely like to try another quilt, but I think I'll make it a smaller one! My hands sure ached after this... :)

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!

Hope you have a day filled with family, fun, & fireworks!

I'll be having another giveaway coming up soon, so check back for details!

Summer Fun!

The girls and I have been visiting my parents for the past few days, relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. We went to Paul Lake today, had a nice picnic with my little bro, and played on the beach with the girls. Here's some pictures I took, of course I'm not in any of them since I'm always the one taking the photos:

My sweet baby...

Sophia, I think your hat is too small! lol

Isabella is so proud of her sandcastle

My sweetie pies!

Uncle Steven Me & Isabella trying to catch minnows

Aren't grandparents great? I'm so lucky, my mom & dad usually take the girls and entertain them for a few hours here and there so I have a chance to relax. I've been needing this for a while.

What are you all doing this summer? I'd love to hear what your plans are!

SEWN Giveaway... TWO NEW Winners!

So unfortunately, I have not been contacted by either winner that I had originally drawn for my SEWN Website Launch Giveaway. I've drawn two new winners and they are:

1. Winner of Sewing Fun Prize Pack:
esther (it means star) said...What a beautiful blog! Please enter me in your giveaway.

2. Winner of a $25 Gift Certificate to my shop:
aSprinkling said...I would love #2 so I can get one of those cute pinafores!

Thanks so much for entering! I've e-mailed both of you gals!

SEWN Giveaway - We have two winners!!

Thank you everyone for coming by my blog and entering the SEWN Giveaway! I am so excited that there were 114 comments written, how awesome!

So, I used the fancy random number generator and the two winners are:

#43 - Susannah who wrote: i'd love prize #1. i'm new to quilting, so i'm trying to build up a fabric supply. your kids clothes are adorable -

Congrats, Susannah, you'll be receiving the Sewing Fun Prize! - I don't have an email for you so I an contact you, so if you can please get back to me in the next 48 hours or I'll have to draw another winner... thanks! :)

AND

#109 - Anna who wrote: So glad to find your blog, I want to win, hand up high, jumping up and down, I am a homeschooling mom of 7 so any surprise that takes me away from the busy-busy makes me smile. Thanks.

Congrats, Anna, you'll be receiving a $25 gift certificate to my shop!

Thanks again for visiting my blog. This was so much fun, I'm hoping to have a giveaway once a month now!

Stop by soon for updates!

Have a wonderful week and don't forget to stop by the new SEWN website!

My First Giveaway... All Sewn Up!

I'm having my first giveaway! I'm so excited!

There is an awesome new website being launched soon - SEWN -... it will have all sorts of resources for sewers, fabric hunters, and even a place for selling your wares. Their website will be here: www.sewn.net.au .

So to celebrate the launch of their site, I will be giving away to two lucky winners:

Prize #1 - Sewing Fun:

Includes:
- 1 Charm Pack of Neptune by Tula Pink for Moda
- 1 package of Sweeties - 12 yards of 1/2-inch Bias Binding in 6 Designer Fabrics from Lollipops Designer Bindings
- 1 yard of Mod Blooms from Andalucia by Patty Young for Michael Miller
-1 Handmade Felt Flower Clip from my shop

Prize #2:
Gift Certificate for $25 from my Etsy shop or website

Please comment on which prize you would like to win. On June 8th, I will randomly choose two comments & notify the winners... so make sure I have a way of contacting you! This giveaway is open to anybody, anywhere in the world! Good luck!

Spring has Sprung...

Well, feels like Spring is finally here! The weather has been soooo gorgeous the past few days. We were wearing shorts, finished up the mini garden, put down some new sod... it's wonderful! Finally! I hope it lasts this time, I was getting very tired of the gloom & rain. Here's some photos of the girls at the park the other day.

Don't look so excited :)

Whee!

So I've started on a new project, my first quilt! Yikes, a little intimidating, considering it's MUCH bigger than what I'm used to sewing. I'm using some of the charm packs from Soire'e by Lila Tueller for Moda, so beautiful, I hope I can do it justice. I'm not doing anything fancy, just kind of winging it, so we'll see how it turns out. I'll post photos once I'm done.

I've been adding new items to my Etsy shop, and have been trying to make one new outfit or item a day. I have to get sewing, though, as I've been accepted to participate in the Abbotsford Christmas Craft Market in November. I know, it's 7 months away, but I really need to stockpile stuff as I have no idea how much I need on hand to sell, so I'd rather have too much than run out of things.

Well, off to work this weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend & that the weather is super gorgeous!

TTFN,
Laura

Long time no see...

I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last posted! Boy time sure flies!

I think it's finally spring around here, the sun in shining and birds waking me up in the morning. We planted our garden yesterday, so hopefully no more frost!

I've been busy adding tons of new things to my website & Etsy shop, so take a look!

I had some professional photos taken by Tanya at Bells & Babies Photography. She did such an awesome job & I'm thrilled with the results. Check out her website! Here's a sample:





One of the new items I'm most excited about are the new beanies & headbands we are now carrying. There are cotton crochet beanies, and stretch headbands, that come with your choice of beautiful flower clip. The clip can be removed and changed out for different colour flowers or bows. Look how gorgeous they are:





I'm also getting in a tons of new fabrics, and have added photos to my website HERE.

Remember, save 10% on the website with the code: SF09 - only until May 31st!

As always, I am happy to do custom order, just contact me with your ideas and we can create something special!

I found this image, and thought it was cute:

Amy Butler Pattern & Fabric Giveaway!

Check out this awesome giveaway on The Fabric Shopper! You can win one of Amy Butler's bag patterns, plus a $25 gift certificate for the fabric to make it! How cool would that be?

I've made a few of Amy's bags and they turn out so beautifully! They are fairly easy to make & come with excellent instructions, even a beginner can understand.

Off for now,
Laura

Part-time Here I Come! Plus New Fabrics I LOVE!

So this is my last week of working full-time at the hospital. As of Monday I will officially be part-time (3 days a week)! I am really looking forward to having more time with my family, plus extra time to work on my sewing!

We're going to have to really watch the budget, so I am going to have to make & sell more stuff to pay for my fabric addiction... is there a group for that somewhere? I just can't resist all of the adorable, fun, funky fabrics out there & they keep coming out with more! Take a look at Michael Miller's new fabrics...make sure you scroll down & check out the awesome deer fabric! I also love Anna Maria Horner's new line, Good Folks. My absolute favourite right now, though, is Andalucia by Patty Young... I can't wait to get my hands on this and start creating!

I finished my first purse the other day! I used Michael Miller's Rock On fabric - check it out!

It turned out bigger than I thought it would, but it's awesome & holds everything! I want to make more, so that may be my project for this weekend... just have to decide which fabrics I should use.

Ta ta for now!

Happy New Year... off to a fresh start!

So, welcome 2009! I've already started this new year with my clean-eating lifestyle & have re-started my exercise regimen. I'm determined to reach my goal weight this time! I've been making some yummy recipes from Tosca Reno's Clean Eating series, as well as from Clean Eating magazine! I thought I would be stuck eating bland chicken breasts and rice for the rest of my life (that's why I fell off the wagon last time, got bored of the food)... until I found these books! All of the recipes are easy to make and so delicious! My kids even love them! I'm so lucky to have my husband joining me in this healthy lifestyle & we are encouraging each other to get in our exercise. I'll keep ya'll updated on our progress!




On another exciting note, I found an awesome giveaway being hosted by the Vintage Pearl. She is giving away a custom camera lens case & camera strap made by the wonderful & talented Amy Priddy of Priddy Creations. She is also adding a pair of gorgeous earrings that she made to the winner! Take a look & enter!

So Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year brings health, happiness, and lots of fun!