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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

EtsyBABY Spring Fling Challenge


Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share with everyone that I WON the etsyBABY Spring Fling Challenge! Thank you for all of your support :) I just found out today and it was pretty exciting news...over 500 people voted on 39 different entries! I win a free week of advertising on the etsybaby site :)

http://shopetsybaby.com/SpringFling2009

CAPRI


Hi everyone! I've been slacking on my blog lately...Capri's been sick. I think she's doing better now...she woke up for a little while around 4 and she didn't feel warm anymore.

On Saturday, right before bed, she hit her head on the island...she always hits her head and it always seems to be right before bed. I kept her up for awhile and she seemed fine so I put her to bed. At 1:30 I woke up because I thought I heard her throw up...but she didn't cry. I went to check on her anyway and sure enough, she had. I got Jared up and we threw her in the tub and I stayed up to hold her. She continued to throw up and finally at 3:30 I called the on-call doctor to see if we should be concerned since she hit her head and was now throwing up. He told us to take her to the ER. We dropped Cedi off at G&G's (thanks guys!) and then headed into Madison. Of course, the roads were really crappy (it had snowed) and it took us an extra 30 minutes to get there. When we arrived they were waiting for us and no one else was there...I couldn't believe how fast it went. I have never been to the ER before but from the stories I've heard our visit was not a typical visit. They had a doctor in to see us 5 minutes after we arrived. He determined that it was most likely just a coincidence that Capri hit her head and started puking later in the evening. She was alert and reacting just fine. He sent us home with orders for a fluid diet and keep an eye on her.

Definitely a relief. We got home around 6:30. I think we spent more time in the car driving to and from the ER than in the ER itself.

Capri continued to be sick until that afternoon when she stopped throwing up but developed a fever.

She had a fever all day yesterday and slept for the majority of the day. It was so hard to watch her be like that and not call the doctor...but I did call my mom :) As I stated earlier, I think she's doing much better today...we'll see once she wakes up again. Hopefully, Cedi does not catch whatever Capri had and our lives will be back to normal soon.
Saturday, March 28, 2009

TREASURY SATURDAY - March 28th!

Not only is it Treasury Saturday once again, but it also happens to be my Grandma's 89th Birthday! I know...isn't that crazy!? We're going to be heading up to her house in Green Bay for a Booyah this afternoon to celebrate.

It was another good week in the treasury world for me! Keep reading to see all the different once I made and the gorgeous once I was lucky enough to be featured in!





'Spring Flowers' was put together by pennyfabricart and she chose to use my 'Spring Flowers - Pastel' Quilt...I know, quite fitting, huh?









ButterflyBaby put together this treasury, "Story Time Challenge - EtsyBABY" and she used my 'Patchwork Corduroy Quilt'.



There's still a few days left to vote for your favorite Spring Fling entry and then in April voting will open for the Story Time Challenge!



I LOVE these challenges...they are very inspiring and I love to try to create something based on a concept.


I put this treasury together and I called it "Not Just Black and White." QuiltsbyBarb's Pink Champaigne Quilt inspired the look of this treasury.









'Spring Flowers - Pastels' was featured in DorothyDomingo's 'Just Because I Like Them 2' treasury! I happen to like a lot of her picks as well!











Kimbuktu used my 'Apple-tizing Recipe Book' in her "Thinking of Apples" Treasury. I am always a fan of anything to do with apples!









I put this treasury together for CorrCreations over some things we were joking about in our Quiltsy Team Thread. I called it, "When is National Giraffe Day" and it made it quite high on the hotness list...Front Page for most of its life!









This Treasury"I'm Ready For..." sat on the first page of hotness in Treasury West for the majority of it's lifetime as well. It was Spring that I was ready for.












SewUpScale put together this fabulous treasury, "Hot Pink and Cool Green" and featured my Butterfly Garden Art Wall Hanging along with other fabulous Quiltsy Team Members.














UniquelyNancy included my Seaweed Fish ACEO in her whimsical treasury, "Fishing for Compliments".















2QT4Words put together "Color Me Rainbow" and used my Grassy Green Overall Rompers.











My Rainforest Flannel Quilt was featured by KristinsQuilts in her 'Colorful Quiltsy Baby' treasury.










SerenStitches used my Quilted Flower Clutch in her Birthday Surprise Treasury.











This is my latest treasury. I called it "It's My Birthday!" which it technically isn't for a couple of weeks but I wanted to give everyone enough time to get my gifts ordered! (wink, wink, lol!)
Here's my list:
See you next Saturday!
Thursday, March 26, 2009

NEW! Large Bags!

I just started making these fabulous tote bags! I am in love and plan on making even more!

The first one I’m going to show you is my Large Patchwork Poppies Bag. il_430xN_63121682I found the pattern first and then it told me to use charms to make the patchwork section. Well, I had bought the Tina Givens Poppies Collection Charms from www.RagamuffinFabric.etsy.com not too long ago and decided they would be perfect for my first tote bag. I chose a beautiful peachy, pink batik fabric to accent this bag and a simple black fabric for the handles. The entire bag is quilted and the inside is lined with the same batik fabric I used to accent the edge. A pleat in the center of the bag adds a unique touch.

The second bag I finished is my fabulous Sparkling Tulip Batik Bag (which sold the same day I listed it!). This bag I used some fabulous, sparkly (yes, I said SPARKLY!) tulip printed fabric for the front and back panel of the bag (and the inside pockets) and il_430xN_63127055accented it with a fabulous orange and yellow batik fabric (it is GORGEOUS). This bag is perfect for spring/summer/fall/anytime and will without a doubt make everyone at the farmer’s markets envious of you! I also included two pockets on the interior of this bag. One that measures 4 3/4” x 3” that is split into two (perfect size for business cards or credit cards. The second measures 5 1/2” x 6 1/4” with a split in it that makes a perfect pen holder and a cell phone or miscellaneous item pocket. Two small blue ribbons are on the top of the bag that can cinch it together or hang down to add more flavor!

This bag is very sturdy…it is quilted with a layer of batting and white fabric. The inside is lined with the gorgeous batik fabric that accents the front of the bag! And did I mention the tulip fabric SPARKLES!

The other fabulous thing about this bag is that I have the perfect zippered pouch to match: the Tulips in Bloom!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do…I’m sure there will be more bags coming soon!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fabric Stash!

I was at the Sun Prairie Heritage Heritage Quilt Show this past weekend and I wandered into the basement area to find some fabulous vendors! Yeah! I learned about the mystery bags while sitting down and eating with other quilt show attendees. Once I heard what was happening I had to get some mystery bags for myself.

At one of the stops they were offering a fabulous opportunity to increase a persons fabric stash. It was called, "How Daring Are you?" What happened is she had bagged up 10 fat quarters in a brown lunch bag...you chose randomly and for $8 you got 10 mystery fat quarters. The bottoms were marked with letters of similar/same fabrics so you just had to pick different letters and you could get different bags of fabric. Well, at $0.80 a fat quarter I was feeling VERY daring. I chose four bags!


I got one full of florals...I probably wouldn't have chosen these, but they're great if I ever need florals.

My second bag was full of this gorgeous red mixture. Perfect to stock up my stash.






This one was a mixture of reds, whites, pinks and some blues. Another great addition to my fabric closet.







And finally, my favorite bag...a mixture of gorgeous pinks and purples. These are definitely some that I will use soon! I love them!






Anyway, I thought this was a fabulous idea on the vendors part. I am ALWAYS looking for an opportunity to add to my fabric stash and I'm pretty sure that other quilters feel the same way.
Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sun Prairie Heritage Quilters Quilt Show - Sun Prairie

I just got back from visiting my quilts at the Sun Prairie Heritage Quilters Quilt Show! It was really fun to see my work hanging for everyone to admire (or not...). Here are some pictures from the show...


Joanne Reinhold from http://www.quiltingpathways.com/ was kind enough to take these pictures of me in front of my quilt! Her friend made her take the first one twice because, "she wasn't showing enough of the quilt"! Hilarious! Here's my Tutorial? for Woven Wonder that was posted on Quilting Gallery. You can also look at this blog post to read about the story behind it.

Here are some more of the quilts you can see if you go visit the show in the next few days:







Saturday, March 21, 2009

Treasury Saturday - March 21st

Argghh! I did it again! I didn't copy my favorite treasury so far! Teapots and Quilts! I'm so mad at myself but I can't find it anywhere so I guess that means I didn't copy it...argghh! Well, here are the treasuries I did remember to copy this week...


I found myself in 'Life Began...in a Garden' by GloriousGlassGarden when I woke up this morning. She chose to use my Butterfly Garden Art Wall Hanging in this gorgeous treasury! I actually just delivered this wall hanging to the Prairie Heritage Quilters Quilt Show and Competition in Sun Prairie, WI yesterday. I'll see tomorrow if it won anything or not...







'No Grey' was put together by theSwedishQuilter and features my Bubbly Butterfly Rag Quilt. I just love the fabric I used in this one. Both of my girls carry their rag quilts with them everywhere! Fabulous for the young ones.







Mulberry Moose put together 'Be In A Treasury'. This one was a little different...the first twelve people to comment and tell her what they were wearing on their feet at that moment were featured in the treasury...the next four where the alternates. I feel that MulberryMoose did a great job making this treasury look like this was the initial intention! She chose my Hoops and Loops - A Walk in the Forest to fit into this treasury...








I used the 'Shop Local' feature on the etsy front page to create this treasury, '30 mile radius'. I featured all artists that I found in towns within a 30 mile radius of myself. It was fun to see all the talent near me!








SURPRISE! I actually found my 'Teapots and Quilts' treasury! Yeah!






And this concludes Treasury Saturday - March 21st. See you next week!
Friday, March 20, 2009

Meet Liz from DaisyCreek!

Today I am going to introduce you to another fabulous Team etsyBABY shop: Daisy Creek! Enjoy! Tell me a little bit about your background in arts and crafts.

** I have been doing arts and crafts since I can remember! In the town that I grew up in, we had a community organization that provided all sorts of activities for children during the school year, but especially during the summer. My mom always had me signed up for at least 3 or 4 things at a time to keep me busy over the summer and I always picked some sort of class where I could be creative. My need for a creative outlet continued in junior high school with sewing and other home economics classes that led to other classes in high school. Which ended up leading me to get my Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design and Textiles.

When did you first start creating things?

** I first started creating Barbie clothes with my mom when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I think that my love for sewing steered me towards getting my degree in fashion design.What were the first things you created? and how did your creativity progress from there?

** The first things that I started creating on my own were pajama pants in junior high. Then, in my first college course that I took while still in high school, I started creating my own prom dresses and outfits out of unusual fabrics like ultra suede and velvet. My creativity was in full bloom when I started college and I unfortunately lost some of that there. I think the pressure of projects/assignments/grades really hurt my creative drive and I actually stopped sewing for years after getting my degree.


How did you come up with your shop's name?

**We bought 10 acres and have a little creek that runs near our property. When our daughter was born we would walk down to the creek and back every day. As she got older (and walking on her own), she would always point to the wildflowers and yell "daisy!" (They are my favorite flower, so she heard the word a lot). When I started the business, she would always ask to go to "daisy's creek" and it just seemed like a cute name.


Is this your only business or do you have another job as well?

** After finishing college, I realized that I didn't want to move to a big city and figured that was a prerequisite to becoming a fashion designer. After having taught gymnastics throughout college, I really felt a calling to go into teaching and that is what I pursued. I taught 3rd grade for 3 years in one district and have been teaching kindergarten for 8 years in the district that I currently work. I have loved teaching and it comes very naturally to me and I still have so many things that I would like to accomplish. But, while pregnant, I really started to create things again and started doing scrap booking (traditional and digital) and started sewing after my daughter was about a year old. And after making some Christmas gifts for people, I realized that I totally had the bug!!

Do you still dream about making other things? If so, what?

** Yes, yes, yes! I have so many ideas going on in my mind and things that I'd like to try. I'd love to do a clothing line and be able to market it to stores on the wholesale level. I'd also love to expand the kinds of accessories that I can do. I've always wanted to have my own store one day and I'm hoping that the cards will all fall into place on of these days.

How did you hear about Etsy?

** I was at a birthday party for a friend's daughter and saw the cutest little pinafore/apron and took a peek at the tag (I am an admitted tag peeker and look at the tags of the kids in my class all the time!!). I saw the website and at my first chance went online to check it out. That's where I found this incredible marketplace! I had been making my rhinestone tees as a business for about 4 months and was really nervous to sign up. It took me looking around at what other people had done for about 2 months before I gathered up the nerve to do it. And boy, am I glad that I did!!!

Do you sell your things outside of etsy? ** Yes, I sell in 2 stores locally, one hair and nail salon and online at http://www.daisycreekdesigns.com/

What's your absolute favorite thing in your shop?** That is so hard! I think that my favorite rhinestone tee would have to be the "Nana's Girl" one because it is the first tee that I did (although I have changed the font since then) when I started my business. The phrase is also the reason why I started my business - I had gone into a local boutique with my mom (Nana) and saw that shirt. My mom grabbed one right away for my daughter and after really looking at it, I kept saying to myself, "I can totally do that!" The rest is history!!
What is your favorite thing to make?
**I think that my favorite thing always changes. For me, my favorite thing is always the thing that I am focusing on more than other things. Right now I am doing a lot more sewing and creating new clothing items. I am really having a lot of fun making more "princess" types of things like wands and crowns - I have had a request from a local store for those, so it's been fun trying to find my own vision of those. With everything, I'm trying to find my own way and put my own mark on it so when someone sees it they will know it's one of my designs.

What shops do you admire on etsy?
** Wow! That's the hardest question of all!! When I first started on etsy, I marked a lot of shops as a favorite who made different clothing items because that was a direction that I wanted to take Daisy Creek Designs. Since joining etsybaby, etsymoms and etsykids, I have become more aware of so many more sellers and how amazingly creative and talented they are. It would take pages and pages to answer this question because I admire each of my team members for so many reasons - each one differently!


Any words of advice to others?
** If there is something that you'd like to do or try, to just jump right in and get involved! I was so nervous to join etsy and it's been such a great experience! And as I look back, it is so silly that I waited so long to join a team. I know that joining and being a part of these teams has made my experience on etsy SO much more worthwhile and has taught me so much!

How will the new law by CPSIA affect you and your shop?
** Since doing tees and clothing for younger children is really where I am at creatively, CPSIA would virtually make it impossible for me to continue. Most of what I do are one of a kind or in very small quantities and the enforcement of third party testing would make it impossible for me to continue financially.

I just want to thank Liz for taking the time to complete this interview with me! I just love hearing what inspires and motivates others along their etsy journey. I hope you decide to take a few minutes to browse her lovely store, www.daisycreek.etsy.com!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Team etsyBABY April Challenge – it’s STORYTIME!

When I participated in the Team EtsyBABY Spring Fling Challenge I did not realize we were going to have these challenge’s monthly.  When I received the following email I was extremely excited!  Yeah!  Another Challenge!

Dear EtsyBABY members,
It's challenge time!  We want you to tell us a story using your favorite crafting medium!
You may list as many as you want but only 1 entry will be eligible for the poll.  The winner will get official bragging rights.

Here are the following details to participate in the Story Time Challenge:
A.  Design an item to be listed in your shop that tells/interprets an original or classic or modern story.
B.  All Items should be listed by the 1st of April.
C.  Include in the title listing : EtsyBABY Story Time Team Challenge. Write in either the title or the listing body what the name of the book or story is...
D.  Add the following tag to the listing: "EBST"
E.  A poll to vote for your favorite "EtsyBABY Story Time" item will be available on April 4th and will end on April 30th.
     All Etsybaby members can vote just once.
F: The use of licensed materials (ie Disney, Olivia, Dick and Jane) is prohibited
Please take the opportunity to use this for a treasury and to further promote the team and the challenge.

Hmmm…a story huh?  I realized I would have to think about this.  In the meantime I continued to work on further editions to my Spring Flowers Series. 

One night I decided that maybe I would try to put together a purse get I 001had purchased using a Fabric Central Charm Pack.  Once I started, I realized that the charm pack would make a gorgeous background for a boys quilt (I always have a difficult time making boys’ items…maybe because I have  two girls?).  So, I scratched my purse plan and sewed the charms together for the quilt back.  Then, I hung it up on my design wall.  I walked by it every day for a week and it reminded me I had to come up with something for the Story Time Challenge.  I also used a blue Faux bois fabric from my stash  for the border after reading the Etsy Finds I Wood, Wouldn’t You Storque article.  (and the color was perfect!)

For some reason, at some point, someone brought up corduroy’s to me.  When I heard the word ‘corduroy’ I knew what I was going to do for my entry.  My next step was the library.

On Saturdays they have story time at the Poynette Library and I decided that I would take Cedi to her first.  We got to the library a little early (first I had to get my coffee from Little Blessings) and then I found the book I was looking for.512K2Q0%2BkvL__BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_

The inspiration for my project is “Corduroy" by Don Freeman.   I LOVED this book when I was little…and it would be perfect for my newest quilt!

When I got back from the library (and a quick visit to a really nice new quilt shop in Lodi (Village Creek) I sketched  out Corduroy Bear.  002I was going to appliqué him onto the quilt.  Once I had my sketch complete I cut out a piece of ‘HeatnBond’ and traced the picture onto that.  003When I made this I new one of the best elements to the quilt would be the addition of 004special ‘feel’ properties I would add to it.  I used a suede fabric that I had to make the base of Corduroy.  

The next thing I did was find a pair of my husband’s old corduroy jeans and I cut out the bear’s overalls from that.  It was perfect…a wonderful combination of suede and corduroy that any baby would love to touch and play with.  Typically I can just iron my appliqué's onto the quilt and the heatnbond will hold it on until I do my last quilting.  I guess I couldn’t get it hot enough or something but the appliqué's were not staying as they usually do.  So, instead of using the appliqué stitching as part of my final quilting I 005decided to stitch the bear onto just the top layer.  Once he was on securely I added the buttons!  If you know the story of Corduroy you know that he only had one button and felt like no one would choose him because of that.  So I stitched one button onto his overalls (using quilting thread and many layers to create extra security) and one to a random square in in the quilt portraying the ‘lost button’.  I also stitched buttons onto his eyes. 

Once I had ‘Corduroy’ on the quilt as I wanted, I layered batting and a 006cozy blue flannel together and started to quilt.  I decided to keep it simple and just do random quilting all over the quilt and finished by outlining Corduroy.  I also did a fun stitch all around the border of the quilt (I consider this one of my signature’s for baby quilts). 

I’m excited to hear what everyone thinks of my entry for the April Challenge!002

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