Interested?

I've been thinking about making a pattern for this quilt of mine.

What do you think? Or what other things from my shop would you like to see patterned?

A tiny sneek

Remember these?

I just finished up the top for my next quilt pattern using them.

Isn't she lovely? Now if the backing would get here I could finish it!

Chalk Board Placemat {TUTORIAL}

A while ago I made a list of fun things I could do with my kiddos. It felt like we were kind of in a slump and as much as I LOVE reading "A Zoo for Mister Muster" with them over and over again I thought it would be good to have a few other tricks up my sleeve.

I've stumbled upon this amazing fabric in the store the other day and instantly knew it was perfect for our first activity.

I cut out the fabric for them and then I let them help me make it into a "sandwich". Then I took them each to my sewing machine and let them sit on my lap as we sewed it together. It was one of those moments when I was thinking to myself, "I can't believe I'm letting them do this, but I know I'll never regret it and I'll forever remember this day."

They were so cute about taking turns and patiently waiting for the other to finish. I think they were just as excited for each other as they were for themselves. I loved that!

They spent the rest of the day drawing pictures and letters on their placemats. And it worked just as I had imagined, they stayed busy the ENTIRE time I was making diner. That NEVER happens in this house.

I highly recommend to every mother a Chalkboard Placemat. Really, they still love them.

Here's what you need:

* Blackboard fabric (I found mine at Joann in the utility section it is 25-26" wide so keep that in mind)

* Bias tape in any color

* matching thread

*Chalk

Cut your fabric the size you would like. I cut mine so that they would fit in our placemat drawer 18"x13". You will need two pieces the same size for one placemat.

Sandwich the two pieces together and sew along the perimeter. It doesn't even matter at this point what color of thread you use because you're going to cover it up with bias tape in a bit anyway.

The bias tape comes folded. Unfold it on the half fold and sandwich it around the edge of the placemat.

Then sew. When you get to a corner sew to the very end of the placemat. Pull out the placemat and snip the threads. 

Open the fold again and wrap it around the corner. Fold it around again and you'll get a nice crisp corner.

Keep going until you reach the end. At this point you have two options. you can either pull the bias tape away from your placemat and leave a tail that can be used as a tie when you roll up your placemat...

 

Or just snip it off and fold it back so it leaves a finished edge.

Lastly you need to prime the chalkboard fabric. All you have to do is rub chalk all over the fabric, wipe it off and repeat a second time. After this it is ready to go!

Now doodle! A little hint: do not use the cheap chalk you can get for $.50 it does not work well. I found some Leap Frog chalk at Joann, used a coupon and it works so much better!

Give it a try. This is a great project for a beginner seamstress and a fun quick project for even you advanced ladies. Let me know how it goes and I'd love to see pictures of your finished project!

And if your really dont' want to make them I have a few for sale in my shop here.

Tuesday Notes

Dear Garage,

You look so beautiful in your newly clean state. Please stay that way for a very long time. 

Dear UPS,

Really another late package! I'm getting a bit frusterated. And while yes I do live in a new house I do not live in a new country. I should not be that hard to find!

Dear Preschool Teacher,

Thank you oh so much for making my boys love you! I was so sad, scared, frightened and tired from sleepless nights worrying  (I may be a tad over protective) about my little men venturing off into a new world, but you have put my mind at ease! Thanks for making learning magical for them.

Dear Husband,

Maybe another date in our near feature?

Dear Salesman,

Today marks the 3rd day you have shown up on my doorstep. Yes, I made my brother-in-law pretend to be my husband and send you away while I hid in the pantry (I'm not kidding), but really take a hint!

Dear Stella (my sewing machine),

It feels good to be friends again. Thanks for not holding a grudge for the neglect you've received over the last while. I promise to make it up to you.

Dear The VC,
Thank you for giving me a reason to make the things that inspire me!

Dear Cute Kiddlets,

Your Mommy loves you! More than you'll ever know. Thank you for making me laugh those big belly laughs. And thank you for loving me!

Dear Life,

You're so good to me. Thank you for that! I'll try to return the favor. 

Love,

Kristy

Sweet Lil' Shoppers

 At times such as this I'm thankful to have my phone camera.

A quick trip to the fabric store and cookies because it wasn't as quick of a trip as planned. They were so good! And I think my Little Miss might just have a fetish for fabric like her Momma.

Honeycomb obsession

When I was pretty little my best friends family got a new microwave. It was so amazing, it had a plate in the center of the microwave that turned the food in a circle so that it cooked the same everywhere (yes I'm that old!) Then all of the sudden it seemed as though EVERYONE, except me, had a microwave like this. I discussed with my Mom the fact that I saw these microwaves everywhere now. She in her Mommy wiseness simply said, "Kristy, those microwaves have been around for a long time, you are just noticing them now that you know they are here." Since that day I have seen this happen over and over again. Canned lighting, it's been around for ever, yet I never really noticed it until I was building my own house and now I'm a bit obsessed. I could go on and on. 

Remember this floor? Remember how much I LOVED it? 

Now I am seeing hexagons absolutely EVERYWHERE! I can not get them out of my head! 

Lining freeways in Arizona...

Shopping carts...

Honeycomb...

(via)

I'd love some local Arizona orange blossom honey right now!

Even on the bottom of my boys flip flops (you don't want to see a picture of those).

I've been working on something fun with this great honeycomb pattern. Look for it next month!!

Possibly the best dip since french bread!

The night before we moved the ladies in my Church had a gathering. Everyone was asked to bring a food that described their personality, or was just their favorite.  There were a lot of yummy dishes! Like this one from my cute friend Emily. (Isn't her blog to die for? I know so cute!).

There was one dish though that none of us could keep our hands off! This absolutely delish Artichoke Dip! I think the name is a little too simple for it though. I'd call it something like, I Can Die Now and Have No Regrets in The World Dip. It is that good, stringy, cheesy, and it has artichokes so it's pretty much a vegetable and who can feel guilty for eating a vegetable!

Well I moved away and had to go to some extent to get the recipe, but thanks to a great friend who tracked it down for me here it is!! Trust me it does not disappoint!

What you'll need:

1 cup of mayo

1 package of cream cheese, softened (8 or 16 oz.)

1 cup shreded parmesan cheese

1 cup of cheese of your choice

1 can of diced green chiles

1 can of artichoke hearts (not marinated)
1 clove garlic, chopped

Chop the atrichoke hearts a bit, it just makes them go a little further.

Dump everything in a bowl and mix together really good. 

Place in greased 8x8 pan or equivalent size baking dish
  

and bake at 350 degrees; 30 minutes or until set. (Note: if you bake it a little longer it get a nice golden edge.)

Serve with french bread cubes, baguette slices, pretzel sticks, vegetable tray or...well you get the idea. Just experiment and let me know if you find anything else fun you like to dip in it!

One love?

A girl of many overly costly addictions hobbies.

I guess that is how I would describe myself.

 In moving to a new state and having the chance to meet tons of new people I have been asked this quite often, "What do you do, or what do you like to do?" it seems depending on my mood that day I always have a different answer.

 I'm a momma to the 3 most incredible kiddos.

 I love to bake.

 I adore photography.

 I'm nuts about sewing.

 I'm a wife.

 I wish I was a runner (this is only a half hearted wish though since I refuse to do anything about it).

 When I was listing these things to the last kind gentleman that asked me his response was, "My wife likes to sew too. She probably likes it more than you do because it's her only hobby though." I was not sure how to respond at all. It's silly but I kind of felt a stab of hurt straight to my heart. I LOVE sewing and I know there are so many of you that love it just as much or more than I do (even though I don't really find that possible) but I also LOVE all of my other hobbies and responsibilities. I don't feel that since I like to do more than one thing I love each individual thing less.

 I kept dwelling on it all day. It was just one of those silly off hand comments but for some reason I could not let it go. I finally came to that famous "I wish I had said this..." statement. I wish I had said, "You have four kids and I only have three so does that mean I love my kids more than you because I have less of them? No. It only means you and I have been blessed to feel the love in our hearts grow with each new addition to our families. And so it is with hobbies and passions. Our love isn't divided between our passions I think it grows with each additional one we gain." 

 Excessive? maybe. Turns out I'm also a little passionate about defending my passions. :)

What do you think? Am I way off here?

Share The Love Shop Shout

I have stumbled upon a lot of great little shops and blogs lately.  I just couldn't let this one go. Polkadot Prints is one of my new addictions! I'm in love with the new "Mini Travel Games" Jordan has created!

This would keep my kids entertained for hours! 

Her party supplies are to die for! This "lets go fly a kite" theme is my favorite so far. If only L's birthday wasn't in November... kite flying may not be the best theme for a November birthday. 

She also has tons of freebies and DIY stuff for you to check out. honestly I spend way too much time on this cute polkadot blog. I'm in love with everything Polkadot prints has to offer. I hope you stop over and fall in love too!

Someone's Gray Skies Are About to Get Happy!

I'm going to get really cheesy here for a second so hang in there with me. Thank you all so much for entering my giveaway! It really is so much fun reading through all of your comments and what your favorite things are.  I so appreciate all of the support from everyone of you and I'm so excited to meet some new faces around here and have some new fun blogs to follow myself! You are all so sweet with your comments and who doesn't love people being sweet kind to them.

Without waiting any longer lets get to the point!

Congratulations...

Jennifer Pike-McCurdy

(Jennifer, I can't find a way to get a hold of you. Would you please email me and we'll get your little baby cuddling in this blanket in no time.)

I seriously wish I could make one of these for each of you. It seemed to be the most frequently commented favorite thing in my shop. Alas, all I can give you is this

A little preview of whats to come this week! You'll thank me for these though! They are so so good!!

The Lake

{Giveaway Reminder: The Gray Skies Quilt giveaway ends on Thursday so enter here!}

A weekend at the Lake...

Just what we needed!

One thing I learned from my boys this weekend... When life hands you a Barbie lifejacket, wear it like it's nothing, strut it around. Who cares what anyone thinks as long as you are having fun! And if you do you'll soon be the cool one in the Barbie lifejacket!