Inspiration Piece #3-Inspiration Boards

1. Inspiration board, 2. Completed Inspiration Board - Close Up, 3. painted the inspiration board black, 4. Inspiration Boards {on flickr}, 5. inspiration board (erhh, wall), 6. inspiration-1, 7. Inspiration Board, 8. inspiration board, 9. Inspiration Board in my Studio, 10. above my desk, 11. Amy's Inspiration Board, 12. spring inspiration board, 13. The Posie studio, repainted and reorganized at last!14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available



Inspiration overload! (Click to see the photos bigger, all Flickr links are below the collage.) I love these boards so much. I thought they'd be perfect for our inspiration piece this round. As you can see the center board with Audrey inspired me so much that I made a scrap quilt around it. The post of my quilt is linked in the Mr. Linky box. Feel free to link any past inspiration challenge project here along with the current challenge piece. I can only have one Mr. Linky box at a time, and there is no time limit on the challenge. Work at your own pace, and post them when you're finished. This is all about sparking our creativity, not putting time limits and pressure on ourselves!

If you participate, link the specific post with your project in the Mr. Linky box. It is very easy, just follow the instructions. I have had so much fun looking at the different ideas. In case you haven't played along before, you can be inspired by anything you see to make whatever you want. You don't have to make an inspiration board. Use the colors, pictures, shapes, etc. to spark your creativity. You can draw, scrapbook, sew, quilt, etc. Post your project on your blog, then link it here on mine so everyone can see it. I hope this idea inspires you, and we'll have something else next month. Thanks so much for playing along each month. I have throughly enjoyed meeting new crafty friends, and I have been amazed at the creative ideas. Have fun, and go make some stuff!

Toodle-oo!

C

Look Ma, I Meandered!

Here is the Mr. Linky box to link posts for any of the inspiration challenges. Challenges are all listed on the right hand sidebar of my blog!




ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! I expect us to have more then one link, because a quilt or whatever your inspired project is is a work in progress. Link every step of the way so we can cheer each other on. A quilt can get tedious, but it's so worth it in the end! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!

CLICK PHOTOS TO SEE THEM BIGGER! I LEFT THEM LARGE SO YOU CAN SEE THE DETAIL!


Hi everyone!

LOOK! LOOK what I made! Amandajean, you know the awesome quilt-along blogger, gave me some tips about how to make a scrap quilt. SO I found an inspiration piece (as a matter of fact-the piece I used will be part of Inspiration Piece 3 that I will be posting in a few days!) so I could get a basic color scheme to work with. I settled on Breakfast at Tiffany's colors. In case you didn't know, I'm a bit Audrey crazy. I think she was the cutest, and a class act humanitarian to boot. Just LOVE her! I started this for myself, but my mommy saw it, when it was a work in progress, and flipped over it, so it's now going to be my mommy's mother day present from me. I'm pretty sure she'll be happy, and not totally surprised since she keeps hinting that it would be a wonderful mother's day present for her! LOL! Every single piece of this came from my scrap bin. I did what Amandajean told me to do. I found a piece I liked, and sewed it to another piece, and made sure to press each section as I went along. What a HUGE difference it makes. I was so lazy about pressing before, and I won't be again. Pressing changes the size of the pieces, and makes it obvious when a piece is really off grain, and needs to be trimmed. I used all different lengths, but the widths need to match up by either trimming down a big piece or sewing a smaller piece to another piece to make the width big enough to fit. Does that make sense? I laid out the scraps in a basic plan and sewed them together in rows, then sewed those rows together to make the whole top.

I'm pretty jazzed that I free motion quilted the whole quilt using the meandering style. I kept practicing and practicing. I sewed my practice pieces together for my kitty cats, and they think it is so awesome that they now have their own quilt on my bed. LOL! I had a big piece of material from the cheapie section at Wal-Mart that I used for the back. I sewed a few scraps to the edges next to the binding, just to keep my scrappy theme going.

I added a "peeper" around Audrey's photo using this tutorial!

I cut my binding 2 3/4" wide instead of the usual 2 1/2" and sewed the binding on using a 1/2" seam allowance. Last time, the tiny 1/4" seam allowance caused lots of the binding to pull loose on my last quilt, and I didn't want that to happen again. It worked perfectly. I trimmed some of the seam allowance and made sure I didn't cut through any parts I didn't want to, then I blind stitched the binding by hand on the back side of the quilt. As usual there are some things that aren't perfect, but overall I'm pretty darn proud of this quilt. I have learned so much in the last few months, and it's fun to start seeing improvement. Hopefully I'll get better and better. The quilt measures 40x50", a lap quilt size.

I'll be posting our next inspiration challenge in 5 days. Don't forget to join us!

For all of you mommies out there, I hope you have a wonderful, RELAXING Mother's Day!

Toodle-oo!

C

Bento Box Progress 2, and some quilty tutorials!

Before I get started,here is the Mr. Linky box and notes about inspiration 2. The link for the inspiration challenges are on my righthand sidebar if you need them. Click on 2 for the current challenge. Please don't forget to check out the other participant's links. Some have already linked projects for this challenge. It is so appreciated when we leave each other some encouragement.


ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! I expect us to have more then one link, because a quilt or whatever your inspired project is is a work in progress. Link every step of the way so we can cheer each other on. A quilt can get tedious, but it's so worth it in the end! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!

Hi all!

ETA: Another quilt give-away! Isn't it gorgeous. Click here to sign up for the give away. If you sign up, please mention that you saw it here on my blog, so I get an extra entry into the drawing. THANKS!

I had a nice surprise today. Some of my best friends surprised me and gave me a 40th birthday party at Olive Garden. Each chair had a "40" balloon on it, and I had a funny hat to show that I was the guest of honor. One of my friends gave me a walking stick, Depends, Prune Juice. Ha Ha. She'll get hers in a few years. They also gave me a gift certificate and a few other nice goodies, plus they got my lunch. How fun is that. So nice to know somebody loves me!

Onto my post!
Here's the progress I've made on my Bento Box quilt. I have five more squares to make and I'll start sewing the top together. I have another quilt all basted together with pins. I'm going to get brave and try and meander quilt again. I'll show you pictures once I've made enough headway to share. Wish me luck!


I know lots of us quilt, and some of you are in the learning stages like me. I've kept track of some tuts that have really helped me, and I thought I'd share the links! I also have a little tut to share that I made up myself to help conserve on the expensive fabric sheets. I'll do my tut first then I'll add the other links below it. USE TUT AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS IS WHAT WORKS IN MY PRINTER. I'LL TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY IF IT DOESN'T WORK ON OTHER PRINTERS. Sorry for the caveat, but I'm into putting the use at your own risk up front and personal. Onto the tut!

As we all know fabric sheets are quite pricey when you have to use several of them. I usually buy mine at Wal-Mart. I haven't found a better price, and I'm really happy with the results. Here are the sheets I use, Colorfast. I don't use the iron on ones, I use the sew-in ones in a bright pink package. If you have a Jo-Anns near you, use their 40% off coupon, and you'd get an even better deal.

Step 1:
Design your label in a photo editing program. I make my labels 4x5" and make sure the new project is set at 300 dpi. I HATE when a project doesn't print clearly because there isn't enough resolution. Save label as a .jpg.

Step 2: Cut up fabric sheet into (4) 4x5 pieces. You will be able to make FOUR labels from one sheet. I used to print a label and throw away the rest because I couldn't figure out how to put the cut sheet through the printer again. This will solve the problem-trust me. DO NOT REMOVE THE PAPER BACKING ON THE FABRIC SHEET. YOU'LL KEEP IT ON UNTIL AFTER YOU'RE DONE PRINTING THE LABEL!

Step 3:
Set your printer to draft or whatever setting uses the LEAST amount of ink. This is just a way to check the size, and have something to line the label up with. Print out the label in draft mode on a plain white sheet of paper. You'll get a very faint print out on the paper. (I'm a huge Audrey fan, and this is a project I'm working on. I'll share when I'm finished!) Here's a photo to see what I'm talking about:


Step 4:
Remove this faint copy from the printer and use double stick tape to put your 4x5 fabric piece over the faint print. FABRIC SIDE UP. YOU WANT TO PRINT DIRECTLY ONTO THE FABRIC SIDE. Hold it up to the window, and you can see exactly how to line it up. If you don't have double stick tape, you can use regular tape, but make sure the tape doesn't cover the printed area, or your ink will be on the tape instead of the label! Here's a photo of this step. It's hard to see, but the fabric label piece is taped over the draft print you made before. Ignore the black shadow on the paper.


Step 5:
Make sure the paper is facing the right direction for printing, and put this fabric covered paper piece back into the printer. With these sheets I set my printer to photo, and plain paper setting, and reprint the same label. DO NOT use draft mode this time. The picture will line up and print out perfectly right onto the fabric label because of the paper template you made. Works like a charm every time. This way I quadruple the amount of labels I get from one sheet. Once the ink dries, I run the label under cold water, then run a hot iron over the fabric piece to set the ink. You can wash these labels in the washer, but you don't use detergent, just a little fabric softener, and you have to air dry them. I'm going to try throwing one in the dryer that is on a quilt. I'm assuming it will come out ok, but I haven't tried that yet! Heres a pic of my completed fabric label. Hope this helps some of you.


Now for a list and a few videos that are teaching me the ropes.
1.Here's a video that shows how to "square up" the back of a quilt although I haven't used it yet. I might the next time, because I could do better in this dept.

2.A link that shows a tutorial of the order in which this quilter quilts her quilt sandwiches. It makes so much sense. I've started doing this on the practice pieces I've been working on, and it works SO much better then the way I was quilting. With basically no rhyme or reason.
3.Link that tells about what the judges look for in a quilting competition. I learned a lot of info about properly binding. I have no intention of entering a quilt show YET, but I figure I might as well learn to do things the right way.
4.Here's the last video for this post. I have others to share, but don't want this post to take ten years to load, so I'll post the other videos next time. Crazy Mom Quilts posted a video on how she "meander" quilts. A light bulb went off for me the other day. I realized when I meander quilt, I shouldn't focus on making a shape, I should focus on sewing a line, one solid line that curves and swerves. That's all it is. I was trying to make puzzle pieces, and that was stressful. Just start at the top, and make one meandering line that doesn't stop til I get to the bottom. I still have tons of practice to go, but I've been practicing every day, and I am improving.


I added a live tag board to the side of my blog. Come join my friends and I in our fun word game. There's a link above the tag board that explains how to play.

How are you doing on your Inspiration 2 project? Don't forget to link it to the Mr. Linky box, and look at the other projects people have posted. They are GREAT! Have a great weekend, and go make some stuff!

Toodle-oo!

C

Let's Play A Word Game!

(Upon further inspection, the last photo I used from Flickr had some words I didn't notice the first time, so let's try this jumbled letter photo instead-Here's the Flickr gallery link)
Before I get started,here is the Mr. Linky box and notes about inspiration 2. The link for the inspiration challenges are on my righthand sidebar if you need them. Click on 2 for the current challenge. Please don't forget to check out the other participant's links. Some have already linked projects for this challenge. It is so appreciated when we leave each other some encouragement.


ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! I expect us to have more then one link, because a quilt is a work in progress. Link every step of the way so we can cheer each other on. A quilt can get tedious, but it's so worth it in the end! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!

This is one of my favorite games,and I used to play it everyday on a message board on a scrapbooking site I was very active on. It was SO fun. It's super fast, super fun, and anyone will be able to understand it. Here's the scoop!

I am going to post a word on the tagboard I added to the right side of my sidebar.

You can ONLY do ONE of these things at a time. You can ADD, Change, or Drop one letter from the word to make it a new word. Remember you can only do ONE of these things per turn. You CAN'T use proper nouns, or in other words anything that needs to be capitalized. You CAN'T use abbreviations, foreign words,acronyms etc. The word must be found in an English dictionary. We'll use One Look. com as our reference dictionary. You CAN'T repeat a word that has already been used no matter how far back it goes. You can play as many times in a game as you want as long as one or more players has gone after your turn.

Here's an example:

Me: cat
you: cart
someone: part
him: art (p dropped from above word)
her: dart

Do you get it? It's SO FUN, and totally addicting!

It will eventually get to the point that no more words can be made. Whoever gets the last successful word is crowned the winner. The winner is always crowned Queen or King. The winner can start the next game by posting the next starting word. I'm going to crown myself queen since I'm starting the first game!

Since I am the proprietor of this blog, I will make the final decision about a word if there is a question. Someone has to be in charge, right? LOL!

Come join us. It's too fun. If lots of people show interest, we'll keep this going all the time. There are always words to play. The English language is pretty darn vast! If someone posts a word, and it is confusing to read in the tagboard, I will adjust the post and make it more readable.

To sum up the game:
CANS:
Add, Change, or drop ONE letter per turn
You may add or drop an "s" from a word, that counts as two separate words such as cat>cats or Cats>Cat
Needs to be found in English Dictionary
I will make the final decision about whether a word stands or not
If a word is not acceptable, we will go back to the last accepted word and the person that posted it, and start the game from there. If an unacceptable word has been played and others have played after it, all of those words will be voided, and we will go back to the point where the last acceptable word was played.

CAN'TS:
No proper words
No Abbreviations
No acronyms
No foreign words
NO repeated words, no matter how far back the word was played the first time.

If you have ANY questions about how to play, leave me a comment, and I'll answer in the comment section so everyone can see the answer!

Thank you for the fabulous birthday wishes yesterday. I really appreciate it. I had a low key nice day, the perfect kind! Now I can say I'm 40 and fabulous. LOL!

Keep working on your Bento Box Inspiration piece! Jump on over to the word board, and let's play my word game! I'm gonna win! I'm gonna win! (Said like a bratty little kid in braids! LOL!)

Toodle-oo!

C

I'm 40!!!! (In a few hours that is!)

Before I get started,here is the Mr. Linky box and notes about inspiration 2. The link for the inspiration challenges are on my righthand sidebar if you need them. Click on 2 for the current challenge. Please don't forget to check out the other participant's links. Some have already linked projects for this challenge. It is so appreciated when we leave each other some encouragement.


ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! I expect us to have more then one link, because a quilt is a work in progress. Link every step of the way so we can cheer each other on. A quilt can get tedious, but it's so worth it in the end! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!

The card comes from my superest, sweetieest friend Becki! She's been my on-line bud for years, and she never forgets to send me a card for any holiday. Love ya, and the check's in the mail for saying I don't look over 29! LOL! Thank you so much for the sweet birthday wish!

It's too momentous an occasion not to blog this! On April 22, I will have been on this earth for 40 years. Honestly, it doesn't seem possible. How can one continue to age and not feel any different inside? Very weird. I'm an Earth Day girl. I've always thought that was cool, and now it's really hip since the world is all about "going green." Woo-Hoo!

My dad used to call me every birthday and say, "How does it feel to be an old lady, old lady?" He passed away six months before I turned 29, and I swear I waited for that phone call all day. Hardest birthday of my life. All these years later, and I still WISH I could get that phone call. He'd be relentless about me turning 40. He teased me profusely when I turned 25, finding it hilarious that I was 1/4 of a century old. I'm sure he's enjoying my old age up in heaven.

My hubby, kiddos, and some close family friends took me out to an early birthday dinner on Sunday night. I have much to be grateful for including all of my blog buddies. I can't believe how much I enjoy my little blog, and connecting with crafty people all over the globe. Your blogs have helped me learn so much, and I hope mine inspires you as well. What a great little community to be a part of.

I'm working on two quilts. When I get some photos, I'll post them. Hopefully next week. Hopefully I'll get a sinfully large piece of chocolate cake, and all will be right in my world.

Toodle-OO!

C

My first big quilt, thrifted goodies, and Bento Box Progress!

Before I get started,here is the Mr. Linky box and notes about inspiration 2. The link for the inspiration challenges are on my righthand sidebar if you need them. Click on 2 for the current challenge. Please don't forget to check out the other participant's links. Some have already linked projects for this challenge. It is so appreciated when we leave each other some encouragement.


ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! I expect us to have more then one link, because a quilt is a work in progress. Link every step of the way so we can cheer each other on. A quilt can get tedious, but it's so worth it in the end! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!





I'm sorry I'm too lazy to put my shabby frames on the photos today. They look so cute, but it takes forever, so just pretend they are there. LOL!

I don't have a way to hang up my quilt for a photo yet, so this is the best I could do. It is all scrap fabric. It has old curtains, my daughter's old skirt, an old tablecloth, and thrifted fabric. I like all the pretty shades of pink. I made it up, and I like it. It's not going in a quilt show for sure, but it will be loved for many years I'm sure.I had NO IDEA what I was doing on the free motion quilting, but I gave it the old college try. I'm sure I'll continue to improve with practice. That's what it takes to do anything well, huh? It's got lots of mistakes, but lots of love went into this, and I'm pretty pleased with it overall. I'll cringe in a few years I'm sure, but it holds a special place in my heart because it's the first big quilt I ever made. I put a little photo of my daughter and I on the label. I thought it would be fun for future generations to see how we looked if the quilt is around that long, and it's a way for my daughter to remember how we looked when she received it.
I found the nicest quilting message board. I asked a few questions, and the people were SO HELPFUL. Check it out if you have some quilting questions that need to be answered.

Have you seen this? It is almost $10 less on this website that I gave you the link to then Wal-Mart. Maybe with shipping it adds up to be about the same, so check Wally-World if you're interested. It was an early birthday present to myself. I'm going to be 40 on the 22nd of this month. 40-it doesn't seem possible. I still remember walking down the halls at high school. Am I really that old already? LOL! Oh well-I'll take it compared to the alternative as my mom always says! LOL!

Here's some thrifted goodness from the past few weeks!
1. I found this adorable little quilt a few weeks ago for $4. It's got a few rips but I love it. My little den is gold and red, kind of a Tuscany theme, and it goes so perfectly in there. I'm working on the most awesome photo wall that's almost done using shabby frames. When it's done I'll post a photo, and hopefully a photo of my sweet little den. It's a work in progress, but I like what I've done with it so far. This rocking chair was my FIL's. His grandmother used to rock him in it. Isn't it sweet?

2. I'm a little teacup! Found this for under a dollar, and had to have it. It says Merry Christmas Magdaline Stewart, and is dated 1901. My mom and I are sure it must be fake, but how cool would it be if it really were from 1901. I seriously doubt it, but I love the way it looks, so it's worth the few cents it cost me.


3. I saw this shabby little tin for a few dollars, and waited a week. Went back and got it for .98! Woo-Hoo! it's too cute!

4. My Jar O' Buttons I got today. I love the way they look in the jar even if I don't use them!

5. SHHH-Don't tell! I actually paid retail for these at Homegoods! SOMETIMES I buy stuff at a regular store. LOL!

6. Okay! Back to reality. My vintage red suitcase I got today at the thrift store-PHEW! It fits perfectly under my thrifted wicker table. I bought it a few years ago and painted it black. It's kind of raggy, but I think it works well for the room, and it was cheap. I love using these suitcases for extra storage, and they are so darn cute to me!


I'm not sure how great this shows up, but here is my Bento Box quilt progress so far. I'm making it for a baby gift, and I was told the mommy loves purple. It's for a little girl, so I dug out all of the purple and pink stuff I could find in my stash. I hope it looks Ok. I know the Bento Box Quilt should have lots of contrast, so hopefully the design will show up well.


I took my second midterm for my Humanities class today. Wish me luck. I think I did OK, but it is one challenging course I tell ya. Fingers crossed!

Well-that's all she wrote for this week. Have a great week, and go make some stuff!

Toodle-oo!

C

Inspiration Piece #2-Bento Box

ETA: I can only display one Mr. Linky at a time, so if you finish a prior inspiration challenge, go ahead and link it here too. That way we can all see your hard work, and it won't get buried in an old post. Of course link the current project here as well! Can't wait to see what everyone makes! Have fun!

Hi everyone!

So happy so many people showed lots of interest in the first inspiration challenge. Please post a link about the challenge on your own blog. The more that play, the merrier.Here is #2. I have been SO INSPIRED by the Bento Box Quilts I have seen. So inspired that I am currently working on my own Bento Box Quilt for a friend's baby. I have some squares sewn together, and I have a little more fabric cutting to do. One of my favorite blogs is Pink Chalk Studio. Kathy is one of my quilting heroines. The girl is so darn creative, it's not even funny. She doesn't just quilt, but that is what her blog mainly focuses on. I'm sure most of you know her blog, but just in case you don't , you're in for a real treat. She made this Bento Box quilt

, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. She's got such a gift for using great color combos and patterns. She gave me permission to use the photo of it here on my blog. Here is the link to see the post about it on her blog, and also the place to purchase the pattern if you'd like to make your own Bento Box Quilt.

As before, you DO NOT have to make a quilt to participate. I decided to show only Bento Box quilts to keep it looking nice and uniform, but making a quilt is not at all necessary. Be inspired by anything you see, the shapes, the colors, the patterns. Kathy mentions that the fabrics should have lots of contrast if you do make a quilt or pillow. If you look closely, you'll notice a distinct pattern of boxes inside of boxes. You can use any medium you wish: sewing, painting, scrapbooking to name just a few that come to mind. If you think you might join us, leave a comment on this post. Even if you don't want to join this round, leave a comment anyway. After you make your project, put a link to the SPECIFIC post about your project above in the Mr. Linky box. If you make more then one project, post each SPECIFIC link separately in the Mr. Linky box. There is a countdown box on my sidebar to show how many days until the next challenge is posted. I can't get the words to change about countdown for first challenge, so just ignore those because the countdown is for this challenge!

I found lots of other Bento Box inspiration on Flickr. These are just a few of my faves. I thought it might give you some other color palettes to consider. Credits for Flickr photos are below. I hope a lot of you are inspired to make some pretty projects. It's so fun to spark your creativity. We've got a month until the next inspiration piece is posted.
Have fun, and go make some stuff!

1. bento box front, 2. bento box pillow, 3. Bento Box Quilt, 4. Bento Box Quilt, 5. Bento Box Quilt, 6. My Bento Box Quilt, 7. Bento Box quilt, 8. quiltish, 9. Bento Box Baby Quilt

Toodle-oo!

C