7 Layer Studio

One More Day, One More Pattern

 

In the midst of all the Halloween Hullaballoo, I've been able to finish another pattern for Create H.O.P.E. Designs, just in time for the end of the raffle!  Please see the preceding post for all the details, if you have no idea what I'm talking about. 

It should be up for sale by the morning, but I may have turned it in too late - so if it's not there, you'll know who to blame = me  :-) 

As you can see, it's a simple design, but the interaction of the horizontal and vertical stripes make it anything but boring...at least I hope so!

I especially like the pieced border-of-many-colors.  My Texture Stripe fabric (from my fabric line The Garden Club) is my favorite choice for binding...and for this quilt, I just couldn't play favorites so I used them all!

If you haven't done so already, please click on over to the HOPE shop and buy a $5 pattern for the orphans.  You'll be able to enter the giveaways and, with each purchase, be entered 5 times in my quilt raffle.  For the price of a trip to Starbucks, 100% of your donation will be given to a desperately lonely orphan/abandoned child in Bulgaria. 

Please, PLEASE give a little tiny bit of your resources to these motherless, fatherless, precious children.  Even if you don't sew, please go buy a downloadable pattern and either print it out as a gift for someone who sews, or save paper and don't print it out at all.  There is no financial gain by me or anybody at HOPE or OHB for these sales, it all goes to the orphans. 

They need me, and they need you....and the funny thing about service is, the warm fuzzies we can all get from helping these children more than make up for any small sacrifice we may give in their behalf.  So thank you in advance for adding more warm fuzzies to the world!

My Mega Giveaway + Quilt Raffle for orphans

Remember the Create H.O.P.E. Designs website dedicated to raising money for orphans?  Well, this week I'm very happy to be the featured designer! I'm giving away LOTS of things to promote awareness of the H.O.P.E. site and to raise money for One Heart Bulgaria through the raffle of my quilt you see pictured here.

Here's how it works:  For a chance to win my quilt, click on the H.O.P.E. shop link and you'll get 5 entries for every downloadable pattern of mine you buy.  Right now there are only 2 of my patterns available (my Huggable Slug and Hazel Skirt), but I hope to get at least 1 quilt pattern up before the end of the raffle. 

You'll get 3 entries per pattern for buying any other pattern available in their shop.

AND, if you make a drawstring bag for my Sewing For Orphans project (see sidebar), you'll get 5 entries per bag!   More details are available on the H.O.P.E site, please check it out!

The quilt raffle is a fundraiser, so even if you don't sew but would like a chance to win the quilt, please just buy a downloadable pattern (or more than one!) and you'll be entered.  You can choose to print out the pattern or not...perhaps there's someone else in your life who could use it if you don't want it, or save paper and don't print it out at all.  The important thing is that we raise lots of money for the orphans!  And please remember, nobody earns any money from these patterns - 100% goes to the orphans.

We're hoping to raise enough money to fund the sewing education program for the teenage orphan girls, so they can learn a useful life skill to earn a living after aging out of the orphanage instead of turning to prostitution, drugs, and gangs.  The girls in the sewing program provide bedding, curtains, bags, and fabric toys for other orphanages as well, so it really is an extremely beneficial endeavor all the way around. 

We're also hoping to help fund a Grandmother position for an orphanage with infants and young children, so these beautiful babies can experience the loving hugs and interactions with an "adopted" grandmother instead of being warehoused in jail-like conditions with almost no adult interaction for the first several years of life.

In addition to the quilt raffle, I'm giving away:

The red bag from my Infinity Tote pattern;

THREE different sets of 3 of my hard-copy patterns (your choice which of the 7 patterns you prefer...see my sidebar for all of them);

TWO YARDS of my fabric, mix-n-match or all one fabric, your choice of color and design(s) ... with 1/3 yard minimum cuts so the maximum different prints you would get would be six...does that make sense?  You can click on the Garden Club button in my sidebar to see all of my fabric.

PLUS they're giving away a $50 gift card to The Fat Quarter Shop!

Please click on the H.O.P.E. site to learn all the details about how to enter the giveaways and the raffle - it's all handled over there, I'm just telling you about it.

So, if you haven't already, get clicking and see how you can enter!  We're trying to get the word out to as many people as possible, so Tweet, FB, and whatever else you all do with your smart phones (I wonder if I'll ever get one of those?) as much as you can!

Thousands of orphans are counting on you.  :-)

 

You can help Orphans through Create H.O.P.E. Designs + Giveaway!

I'm so excited to tell you about a newly created website dedicated to raising money for orphans across the world!  It's called Create H.O.P.E. Designs, and it was started by one of the very talented designers from Izzy and Ivy Designs. 

It essentially works as an online store to sell sewing/crafty downloadable patterns that designers such as myself donate, and 100% of the $5 price per pattern goes to hand-picked orphan foundations across the globe.  In less than a month, they have raised nearly $1,000 to benefit a special orphanage in China called China Little Flower.  Isn't that great?!

....And guess which foundation they're going to benefit next?  That's right, the organization that is so near and dear to my heart = One Heart Bulgaria!

 

 

I've been busy getting downloadable patterns ready to give to the H.O.P.E. site - I'm sure you recognize my Huggable Slug!  It will be available as a $5 download at their store very soon, as will my Hazel Skirt...

I've pulled this pattern off my Etsy sales site - from now on it will only be available as a downloadable from the H.O.P.E. shop site.  I spent quite a bit of time reworking it, and am very excited about how it looks now.  At $5, it's a bargain, and all of the money will benefit "my" sweet, desperately lonely orphans in Bulgaria. 

I'll have other patterns that you've never seen before available soon, so keep checking!  The organizers of the H.O.P.E. site are working really hard to get a large inventory of patterns from designers across the globe,  PLUS they are hosting some fantastic giveaways!

Isn't this one of the sweetest quilts you've ever seen?  Well, guess what...Create H.O.P.E. Designs is giving it away!  Click HERE to read all about it and see more detailed photos of the quilt.  There are also tons more things being given away - you really need to click on over and check it out. 

Some of you may be asking, are you still collecting drawstring bags for the orphans?  The answer is a resounding YES!  I'll be doing a separate post on that soon, but please, PLEASE make some bags for the orphans of Bulgaria (you can read about it by clicking on the large button in my sidebar).  We have been able to send about 100 bags over there so far, and the children who were fortunate enough to receive them have been SO grateful - the bags were a HUGE hit!  There are over 8,000 orphans in Bulgaria, so we obviously need a lot more bags. 

Thanks in advance for all your support!  There is so much to be done, but if we all work together we can help improve the lonely,fragile lives of these precious children.

 

Ribbon Table Runner Tutorial + Benefit Auction

 

Due to a large number of requests for an actual tutorial for the Halloween table runner I made last year, I'm doing just that.  Yes, you're welcome.  :-)  Thanks for all your enthusiasm about this project - it has really appealed to a lot of people!  It's not a difficult project, but I won't say it's a quick one.  Despite its simple appearance, you will need to budget 2 to 4 hours for completion, depending on your experience level.

 

YOU WILL NEED:

2 yards fabric for main background color (relatively solid color is best)

2/3 yard fabric for border

approx. 12 yards ribbon; assorted sizes, colors, and designs

1/4" double-sided fusible interfacing (approx. 12 yards), such as Steam-A-Seam

Step 1)  Cut main fabric into long rectangle measuring 14" x 70".  Hint:  cut the selvedge edge off one side (the entire length of fabric), then measure 14" from that edge.  Make a small 1/2" snip at 14" mark with scissors, then rip fabric all the way down.  It will follow the grain of the the fabric and you will rip a long strip 14" all the way down.

To cut border fabric, fold with selvedges together and use a rotary cutting system.  Cut 5 strips which are 4" wide each. 

Step 2)  Precut your ribbon.  Cut at least 4 of each variety if you're using 6 different ribbons, and more if you're using fewer different kinds.  Cut the ribbon at least 16" long, because the length increases when ribbon is placed at an angle.  If you want steeply angled ribbon, cut it 18". 

 NOTE:  if your ribbon has stitched thread details, "preshrink" it with a hot steam iron.  It will shrink considerably and will pucker your project if you don't preshrink it.

Step 3)  Place main fabric face up on ironing board.  Arrange strips of interfacing in random fashion on fabric.  Don't take off paper backing yet!  Touch a hot iron VERY briefly (as in 1 second) to the paper-backed interfacing to fuse the first side a little, then peel off paper. 

NOTE:  At this point, don't overlap lines.  Do the first layer, lay the ribbon down, then lay down a second series of interfacing + ribbon on top after completing Step 4.

Step 4)  Arrange ribbon on top of interfacing in desired sequence.  Fuse in place according to manufacturer's directions.  The super wide ribbon needs 2 strips of interfacing.  I like to tuck the second strip of interfacing under and fuse it after doing the first one so that the ribbon doesn't shift.  HINT:  Don't scoot your iron along ribbon with painted designs on it - the paint could smear under high heat and a wiggly iron.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 if you want overlapping ribbon, such as the orange ribbon and a few of the black ribbons you see in photo below.

Step 5)  When all the ribbon is fused as desired, snip off excess ribbon along edges.

Step 6)  Prepare the border fabric by stitching 2 strips together at the ends with a 1/4" seam, then pressing strip in half lengthwise with the right sides facing out.  Repeat with 2 other strips.  The 5th strip just needs to be pressed in same manner but not sewn to anything.

NOTE:  There are other ways to sew the border on, such as sewing all the strips together and sewing it all the way around the rectangle with folded "miter" corners, but I didn't use that method in this tutorial.  Those of you who know other methods of bordering are (obviously) more than welcome to attach border with alternate approaches.

Step 7)  Pin the 2 long strips to the 2 long edges of rectangle, with the raw edges of border facing outward to meet up with the raw edges of rectangle.  You don't have to extend the border fabric beyond the edge of the rectangle as much as the photo shows:  I was originally going to do standard miter corners but then changed my mind.  Sorry if that confuses you.  The ends should extend about 1/4" beyond rectangle for this method of sewing the borders on, not the 4" extensions I have pictured.

Step 8)  Using 1/4" seam, stitch long strips to the 2 long edges of rectangle.  Serge if desired.  Press borders out and press the seams toward center of rectangle. 

Step 9)  Clip off extra border fabric on ends of rectangle.  Take the 5th border strip and cut it into 2 equal lengths, as shown above.

Step 10)  With raw edge facing outward to meet up with raw edge of rectangle, pin end borders onto ends of rectangle.  Center so that equal amounts of extra fabric extend beyond each edge. 

Step 11)  Stitch/serge end borders on.  Press seams AWAY from rectangle, so they face border.  Press extra fabric "tab" over the end border on the backside so that all excess is folded under, as shown in photo below.

 

Step 12)  Open tab temporarily and press the corner down as shown in photo above.  Use a bit of interfacing tape and secure flap.

Step 13)  Place 2 more bits of interfacing on open tab as shown.  Remove paper backing.

Step 14)  Fold flap over and fuse well.  Repeat on other 3 corners.  Give your runner one final pressing and go give some striking bling to your table!

So I now have 2 nearly identical runners....hmmm, what to do, what to do? I don't have 2 dining room tables.

I've decided to auction the one I just made (which looks better = less puckers in orange fabric) and donate all the proceeds to the Jonah's Just Begun foundation.  It was created by my high school friend to raise money for research of Sanfilippo Syndrome, which is a rare genetic disease that will ultimately kill her sweet boy Jonah if a cure is not found.

So please leave a comment at the base of this post and tell me how much you would like to pay for this popular table runner.  I'll leave it open for, oh, a week or so, and the highest bidder will be the lucky "winner" of my runner and, simultaneously, the gracious donor to Jonah'sJustBegun so we can help save little Jonah's life.   Plus the winner will have saved a bunch of time because she won't have to make a runner for herself!  Win-win situation all the way around.

Thanks in advance for all your support!

 

Mr. Pumpkinhead thanks you too.  
 

 

GIVEAWAY WINNER + Kid's Gallery

Drumroll, please....the lucky winner of the assortment of hand-painted watercolor springtime images is...

 

Grace!!  If you will please just send me your snailmail address, I'll get these

 

sent off to you.

And thank you all for your kind and complimentary words!  I'm sorry I'm not very good at responding individually to all of you, but please know that I love hearing from you and it really boosts my spirits to read what you have to say...so thank you very, very much!  And Edith, you're not a user (see comment from this post).  Dear friends (she was my steadfast roomie in college and put up with me for 3 years) are never, ever users.  I need to clarify that now before my family and I invade her house this summer after the big family reunion Steve's family is having in Utah.  :-)

So Hazel was her usual mischievous self today, climbing on everything and getting into lots of stuff, like this:

 

Hazel decided to get into the big stash of diapers upstairs and unfold each one, afterwhich she dragged them down the stairs and carried them around in armloads.

It was quite cute, actually, and no harm done.  Diapers are much easier to clean up than boxes of cereal dumped on the floor!  Yes, I speak from experience on that, as most mothers can relate to.

Here's Hyrum on the computer, one of his favorite things to do.  He wanted me to post this on my blog:

It's a dinosaur skeleton he assembled on the PBSkids website Caillou.  Hyrum told me the name of the dino, but I promptly forgot.  Sorry, kiddo, your mom's just not very current on her prehistoric animals.

 

This is a drawing Hyrum did awhile back that I just love and had to share.  It's a picture of himself playing with the foam rocket launcher toy Grandma and Grandpa Mendenhall gave him for Christmas, and the purple circles are "raindrop snowmen" because he was playing in the rain.  He dictated a whole big story about this picture which Steve wrote on the back of the page - I need to get this sent to G & G soon!  Hyrum is my aesthetic appreciator.  He's always coming up with spontaneous exclamations about how pretty and beautiful everything is, and he really notices and appreciates tiny details in things.  I just love it when he says things like, "Oh, mom, you made a really beautiful cake today.   Is that pretty, mom?  Thank you for making us a cake, it's so pretty."  Makes my heart just melt, especially when he bats those big blue eyes!  He's gonna be a heart breaker, that one. 

Hyrum has suddenly decided to read and write.  These sentences are some he wrote at preschool.  Not bad for a 4 year old!  It's so fun to see the "light" turn on when kids first grasp the concept of letters making words.  Now he sees words everywhere and tries sounding everything out.  We went to the library the other day and got a bunch of easy readers for him, and he was so proud that he was able to read a lot of the words himself.  It has given him a lot of confidence, which is nice to see.

And, not to leave Eliza out, here is a whole book about Goldilocks and the 3 Bears that she wrote and illustrated all by herself.  Eliza is turning into an avid reader and speeds through books with over a hundred pages in less than a day.  I love that she's starting to really enjoy the illustrating aspect of book reading/writing as well.  These pictures are adorable (but I'm not biased or anything, right?)

 

This is the page about the 3 chairs - I love the Mommy chair.  How come I don't have a chair like that?!

 

This is the porridge page.  At school (she's in the 1st grade) they do a lot of work with the children on retelling stories and teaching them about the beginning, middle, and end of a story.  I can really see a difference in Eliza's writing as a result.

 

Here's the bed page.  Again, the mommy bear has a very fancy bed...where's mine?  :-)

That's the end of my show-and-tell today.  My apologies to all my non-family readers, that may have been a bit boring for you.  Since I only have one blog (sorry, no time for a separate family blog) I have to interject these precious little numbers in now and then.  Have a good day, and congrats again to Grace!

Easter Wrap Up + Giveaway

 

We had a belated Easter party yesterday in our backyard.  I was going to do something fun for the kids and their friends last week, but with Hyrum, then Hazel, then finally Eliza getting pink eye, it put a damper on our plans to do so.  On Monday I just did a really low-key, spur-of-the-moment event with cupcakes to decorate and an egg hunt.  This is Hyrum's creation...can you see the frosting at all?  It's somewhere underneath all those sprinkles.  He was, as you can tell, tickled pink about having free reign of the sprinkle supply.

Ah, such sweet indulgence...and Hyrum was relishing every morsel of it.

 

This was Hazel's interaction with sprinkles just before the party began...fascinating, isn't it, to see what happens when one dumps out an entire container of sprinkles on the floor?  It looks like she's thinking, "Now how in the world did those get down there?  Hhmmmm...where should I start eating first?"

I had turned away just for a second to look for a funnel to pour the large container (the contents of which you now see on our floor) of sprinkles into separate smaller containers with shaker lids on them.  That's all the time it took for Hazel to reach up (not even counter height is safe with her anymore!) and test the effects of gravity on an open container of sprinkles.

 

After both of us stared in awe at the mess (remember this is just before the party started) Hazel immediately embarked on a feeding frenzy while I got the broom and the vaccuum cleaner.  I'm glad I had my camera right there to document it.  I must admit it's pretty funny...and I'm just glad it wasn't something liquid and sugary spilling all over my pretty kitchen rug!  In the end, there was no harm done and we still had plenty of sprinkles to go around (I always keep a hefty stash of sprinkles in my house, the kids love to use them).

Eliza loves to smear food on her face to create the mustache/beard effect.  Charming, isn't it?  I'm sure it makes the cupcake taste better.

 

Here's a beardless version of Eliza...I can't believe how grown-up she's getting.  I still think of her as a toddler sometimes.

 

Through the years I've started on countless (admittedly half-baked) projects with the intent of generating a little income while being a stay-at-home-mom, only to be stymied by the marketing aspect of the deal.  Here is one such project I started a few years ago, but never went anywhere with it.

Back when I was doing a fair amount of scrapbooking, I decided I'd paint these holiday-related images with watercolor on nice, thick watercolor paper, cut them out like these are, and sell them as cute little original images on ebay for people searching for hand-made accessories for their pages. 

I thought that, as long as I kept the images fairly simple, it shouldn't take me that long to make them so I could turn a little bit of a profit on the side when my kids were in school/napping.

Well, it didn't take long for me to realize that if I broke down the number of hours it took me to paint these, cut them out, photograph them, list them on ebay or etsy, and pay the commission, I'd be making somewhere in the realm of $1 or $2 an hour for my efforts = NOT worth it!

 

So then I thought, well, maybe I can just color photocopy them on heavy-duty paper and sell collections of them for just a few dollars apiece, and then the buyer could just cut them out her/himself.  No go, because the copies looked lousy.

THEN I thought that I could just find a company that does licensing work and have them do all the un-fun marketing/producing stuff, and I could retain a percentage of the sales.

 

That, obviously, didn't pan out either.  The quality isn't really good enough to reproduce (remember, I was trying to do simple, quick little images to sell the originals of?) so these little watercolor ditties have been sitting in a box for quite some time now. 

I'm not exceptionally proud of them, but it would be nice to do something with them instead of putting them in a box until the unknown day I find the time to start doing scrapbooking again.

 

 

So here's what I'm going to do: 

I'm going to host a little giveaway of all the little ditties you see pictured below so that one of YOU can start making use of them!

 

I may end up giving away more of these later, but for now I think I'll start with these.  It's a smorgasbord collection, with a little bit o'everything!

Sooo, if you're interested in winning these to do a little springtime scrapbooking with, then please just leave a comment at the end of this post.  I'll have one of my kiddos randomly draw a name in one week, say, next Tuesday April 21st.  Until then, happy blogging!

And the winner is.....

The lucky recipient of the bag with Amy Butler fabric is....

 

Bena! 

I'll get that sent out to you ASAP if you can email me your address (see the Contact Me tab in the sidebar).  Now to finish my painting (can you believe I worked on it all day yesterday - in between watching the kids every 30 seconds - and I'm still not done) and the drapes so I can do that snowflake tutorial.

Merry Christmas Eve tomorrow, and congratulations to Bena!