makelifesweet

We Love....

Buntings!  We are kind of obsessed with buntings around here.  So we decided to make a whole bunch of them.  And when I say a bunch, I kind of mean it.  My sister gets all the credit for this project.  She had the idea of using our iron-on transfers to create custom letters we used for the buntings.  Here is one example:

But she didn't stop there.  She wanted a little more color, so she added this:

And then if you were actually having a birthday party, you would want one for the cake.  Or cupcakes.

So when you put them all together, you get this.

So here is how it works if you want to make one.  I will list everything out cause I kind of got confused when it was explained to me.  So I'm hoping this helps you!

• For the large buntings, you can choose any word you wish in any color- black, red, green, blue, pink or orange.  You can also have a multi-colored one with each letter in a different color.  
• You will recieve the iron-on transfers in the word and color of your choice.  The transfers can be ironed to any fabric.  The one pictured uses canvas.  If you would like to order the canvas, you can do so separately from the iron-on transfers. We offer it in 1/2 yard bundles.  1/2 yard will make approximately 18 bunting letters.
• The iron-on transfers come with instructions on how to make the bunting.
• For the smaller triangle bunting, we used Moda Candy.  You can also order that in a variety of fabric collections.  
• The "Happy Birthday" bunting for the cake comes in other colors as well.

If you would like to order, you will also have to choose which shape of bunting you would like.  Because of course we couldn't just stop at one.

Here is the flag shape:

Rectangles:

Hearts:

And triangles.  By the way, this little boy wasn't too thrilled to get his picture taken.  He never is, but we did get one with a smile!

One more thing.  The bunting letters are sewn to fabric.  We call it fabric "ribbon", and you can order it ready to be sewn to the bunting in a variety of colors.

The colorful buntings are available in Wishes, Noteworthy or Road 15.

We kind of like them all mixed up.

And that's not all.  These cuties are my favorite.  We have an alphabet and a number bunting.

 

I love how the iron-on transfers make it look like the words are actually printed on the fabric.

And we couldn't do a big project like this without adding a couple of canvas art prints.  We love these at a party by the cake, or in a kid's room.

Whew. I hope I didn't forget anything!  Oh- I almost did.  If you order anything in our "Bunting" category this week, you will receive these fun iron-on transfers for free!

This offer lasts until Wednesday, April 30.  You can find everything now in our shop.  To make it easier to find everything, be sure to click the "Bunting" category on the left side of the screen.  

Have a great day, and Happy Buntings!

I know I said Friday....

Yes, I know. I told you I would choose a winner of the Elementary fabric on Friday. Only trouble is, I was at home and my internet service is awful out where I live.  In the middle of nowhere.  But for some reason, it started working just fine today, so I better hurry and post this!

Congratulations to Kenna who wrote:

I found a stack of authentic fat quarters by begging on IG. :) And this is amazing....it reminds me of the perfect child of PURE and AUTHENTIC with turquoise blue eyes. :)

BTW, my favorite is the black and kraft dot. I'm a sucker for a good polka dot....

Kenna, just e-mail us at [email protected] with your mailing address and I pre-cut of Elementary will be on its way!

Thank you for all the participation.  We are working on the quilts- we will show you soon!

Ahh....

My sister designed these yesterday, and all I could say was ahh......

By the way, we don't have a little girl name Lucy- we just wish we did!

These tags would look so cute on Easter baskets, but we are going to use them as "place cards" on our Easter table.  So fun!

If you would like the labels and/or fabric to make the tags, they are available in our store.  If you order the labels, you will also get the simple instructions to make the tag- so no need to buy a separate pattern.

Oh- and they coordinte with our Bunny Table Runner:

Have a great Thursday- we will choose a winner for the Elementary fabric tomorrow!

 

 

New!

A lot of you have requested personalized labels for all the many projects you make for the holidays.  Well, we finally have them finished!

 

There are 10 in this set, and you can choose to have the "Christmas 2013" on the labels or you can leave the date off.  There is a variety of sizes, from 1"- 2.5" wide.  

They are in our shop now.

We also have the fabric kit ready for this month's Label Crew.

Have a great day!

What to get...

I have been on the computer since Friday morning.  I'm not one of those Black Friday shoppers.  Well, honestly, I am a Black Friday shopper, but I don't set foot in the mall.   Or Target. Or any other place I love to shop.  I try to figure out all of my Christmas shopping from the comfort of my own home.  My goal is to get everythingh done by the end of this week- on the internet.  

Then...I go to the mall!  On a Tuesday.  When hopefully, all the pressure of trying to find something is over, and I can just enjoy the experience.  Keep in mind that I live about 2 hours from an actual mall.  I can't just hop on over there.  But I do love going during the holidays- the decorations, the hustle and bustle of shoppers, the music.  And going to my favorite stores like Pottery Barn, J Crew and Crate and Barrel.  Just to see their holiday displays.  It really gets me in the mood for Christmas.

But sometimes on that carefree trip to the mall, I still don't have a gift for someone.  I walk around aimlessly with a blank look on my face because I.  Have.  No.  Idea.  I'm sure everyone has that one person (or 10 people) they just don't know what to get.  

So here is just a suggestion.  For your Grandma, who doesn't need another candle.  For your Christmas party hostess that will pile all the baked goods she receives in a "don't have time to eat that" pile.  For your son's first grade teacher who has a lifetime supply of bookmarks.

Our personalized canvas art prints take very little effort but make a big impression.  Like you actually took the time to think about the gift- even though it is sooo easy.  We have shown these in year's past, but just to remind you, we have selected a few to show you again.

 Here is our customized "Hometown" print:

 

The Custom Zipcode Print:

 

One of my favorites is "The Top 15".  Great for a family.

 

My most favorite:

Here are some that celebrate the season:

These look great in the kitchen:

One of our most popular gifts is the custom recipe print.  In black and white or color.

These are fun for the kids;

And for the sewing lover in your life (like yourself):

These are just a few- we have lots more in our shop.  

Now, for the good part.  We are having a huge deal on our prints!  You can choose any three 8" x 10" from our shop for $39.95.  The prints range in price from $19.95- $24.95, so you are could actually get $75  worth of prints for $40!  

If you would like to order, make sure to find the listing that starts with "Christmas Special".  If you can't find it, simply put "Christmas Special" in the search box and it will come up.  Make sure to leave us a comment when ordering which 3 prints you would like- any of the 8" x 10" ones are eligible, including anything that is personalized.

This offer ends Friday, December 6.  Have a great week and good luck at the mall!

 

Day 12...

It is already Day #12 of our 12 Days of Christmas.  But as I said yesterday, this year we actually have 13 days!  This is definitely one of my favorites.  We are celebrating one of our favorite colors.  Red. Specifically, Christmas Red.    Here are our Christmas Red Pillows.

The pillows were made with one of our new "Ink Swatches".  We cut this one in four sections:

If you would like to make the pillows, the ink swatch and the fabric are in separate listings.  That way, you can choose which fabric you would like.  The instructions to make the pillows are included with every ink swatch order- there is no need to purchase an additional pattern.  You can find everything here.

Have a great Tuesday.  Tomorrow we will wrap up our 12 Days of Christmas with my favorite project!!!!

Day 5

I have always had this dream.  I would transform every bedroom in my house on December 1st to look like the rooms in the Pottery Barn holiday catalog.  Which would mean I would need Christmas quilts for every bed and fun holiday decorations for each room.

Yeah, right.  I barely get the living room decorated.  So I might be able to handle this.  Pillowcases.  For December.  Especially for Christmas Eve.

The labels can be personalized with a name and date.

Or, you can choose to make a set of pillowcases with these labels:

The fabric, pattern and labels can be found here.

Whew.  Thank goodness it's Friday.  And I will have to admit I am a little more in the Christmas spirit today than I was on Monday.  Here is a little fact to scare you.  There are 47 days until Christmas.  Oh my.

Have a great weekend!  We will see you back here on Monday.

Day 4

We love the chalkboard trend.  I mean we really, really love it.  So we decided to design a chalkboard calendar.  It is 16" x 20" and can be customized with a name.

My favorite part of this print is that you can actually use chalk or one of those fancy chalk pens to write on it.  It is also easy to frame- or just pin it up on a bulletin board.

Don't get me wrong, I love my calendar on my i-phone, but this is so much prettier!  It also makes a great gift for that family you have no idea of what to get.  It is available now in our store.

We have another project for you tomorrow (Friday) before we take a break for the weekend.  See you then!

The Porch

My mom has always wanted a screened-in porch.  And now she actually has one!  It may be my most favorite part of her house.  A perfect night would be curling up on the daybed and watching the latest episode of "The Bachelor".  Guess I just did that.  Perfect night.  

Anyway, I thought I would show you what she has done with it.  It isn't quite finished- she still needs to paint a little (as you will see in the photos), and add a few more accessories.  But this is what she has so far.  

The favorite spot is the daybed:

Especially for this guy.  Who, by the way, turns 10 today!  I took this a few days ago when he had a 3 hour nap.  Yes 3 hours for a ten year old.  He was a tired boy!

This is on the opposite wall.  I'm hoping she will make me an "America" sign.  Probably not going to happen.

Here is a table she made.  We have lunch on it quite regularly.

Love the chairs.  I am kind of obsessed with the whole industrial design trend going on.

Got this cute little fan at Walmart.  Yes, I said it.  Walmart.

The red stools- not sure where she got those.

Same with the rug.  Who knows where she got it.  But it is really cute!

This chair has been many colors.  I think it was last a dark brown.  But I really like the pretty blue color she painted it.

Ok.  Think I've been at my computer too long.  My turn on the daybed!

Big News...

We've been keeping a secret. And with most secrets, it has been kind of hard to keep.  But we are finally able to tell.  For some of you, this may be big news, if you are a quilter, probably not.  But it is big news to us.  Here goes.

We started Sweetwater about 12 years ago.  Back then, Sweetwater wasn't a fabric/pattern company (although my mom had her own company where she designed fabric and patterns).  Some of you will remember Sweetwater as a scrapbook company.  That's what we did- we designed and produced products for the scrapbooking industry.  Which is really different than the quilting industry.  I won't get into all the differences, but a major difference is that scrapbookers are always demanding new products.  New, new, new.  If it has been out for 2 weeks, it is now old.  Which, in turn, put a whole lot of pressure on us- and we came out with a new line every single month.  Yikes.  Those were some good days, but some crazy days.  Not that designing fabric doesn't come with crazy days, but it is whole different kind of pressure.

Anyway, in 2008, we were invited by Moda to submit a fabric line.  That line was called Authentic.  We were over the top thrilled when it was actually produced.

But we also knew we had a decision to make.  We knew we couldn't have a fabric and pattern company and a scrapbook company without one of them suffering.  That was a hard choice.  But it was Moda.  We have always wanted to design for Moda.  So that is what we chose, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But I was sad.  We had put everything we had into Sweetwater, the scrapbook company.  I was emotionally attached.  I remember when our very last line of paper was printed, I had tears.  I knew we would never design another paper collection.

But I got over it.  The first time I saw and touched the Authentic fabric, I was over it.  Mostly.  I still remembered the scrapbooking days with fondness.  And we still got the same question from scrapbook stores and customers- "Are you ever going to have another paper line".  No, no and no.  Not going back to that craziness.  

But then about a year ago we had an idea.  Wouldn't it be great if we could turn all these fabric collections we have into paper collections, without having the job of manufacturing, advertising, selling, etc., etc., etc. Ya, that would be great.  It would be great to design for a company that would take care of all that.  But it couldn't just be any company.  And I know what company I wanted to ask.  But I had to ask.  And believe me, it was pretty intimidating to ask.  After all, this company is huge in the scrapbooking industry, very respected and already had amazing products.  But it doesn't hurt to ask, right?  

So about 9 months ago, I finally got the guts to ask one of our favorite scrapbooking companies, Bazzill, if they might be interested in us designing a paper collection for them.  And guess what?  9 months later we have 2 collections coming out!  Just in time for CHA (the huge craft and hobby tradeshow).  We will show the products on our blog next week, but tomorrow (Saturday) Bazzill is having a huge product release party on their blog, where you can check out the collections.

You will have a chance to win prizes every hour.  But if you aren't the winner, come to our blog next week and we will have a contest of our own.  

So that is our big news.  We are over the moon excited.  And we want to thank Bazzill for giving us the opportunity to do this.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  

Now, on to more big news.  News you quilters might want to know about.  My most favorite ever, ever, ever fabric collection ( I know that I say that a lot, but this time I'm serious) is now just hitting stores.  If your local quilt store ordered Noteworthy, it should be there now (or any day now).   We actually have some pre-cuts and a limited amount of yardage in our store.  

You may want to check out fatquartershop.com, as they were so kind to feature us and Noteworthy in their blog.    

If you forgot what Noteworthy looked like, here is a reminder:

 

I'm posting those pictures not only as a reminder but because they make me happy.  It is snowing and cold here, so I need a reminder of summer.  Noteworthy reminds me of warmth.  And sun.  And everything I love.  Well, not quite everything I love.  I have one more thing to say about something I love in this marathon blog post.  

GO BRONCOS!

By the way, my sweet husband somehow managed to get us tickets to the game.  I'm so excited I already have butterflies in my stomach.  If you watch the game on TV (because I'm quite sure every quilter is a Bronco fan), you will notice that it is very cold.  Very, very cold.  Like around 10 degrees cold.  Doesn't matter.  I'll be loving every moment of it.  Unless, of course, they lose.  In which case I won't be able to blog next week because my heart will be broken.  I'm counting on blogging.  See you next week!