A Few Favorites March 30

Snow is melting here! We've had a couple warm days, and then got more snow dumped on us, but then it warmed back up.  We still have a lot of snow, but you can see more and more ground every day.  It's also to that point where the snow we do have is dirty and gross, so I'm really hoping the rest melts soon.

This week has been a productive one.  I got to spend time with one of my friends, do some shopping with my mom, catch up on laundry, and just enjoy life.  It's amazing how much energy a little sunshine will give you.  Here's what I'm loving this week.

1. My new dish of succulents.  I bought three plants at Walmart and then picked up this dish at the second hand store for a dollar, so I transplanted them all into the bigger dish together.  My cat was continually knocking over the cactus so hopefully he's a little nicer to it now.

2. My Dover Publications order came a few days ago, and I love the Cats in Art Sticker Book.  It filled with great art pieces that feature cats.

3.  I haven't tried sewing knits yet, but I plan to soon, and when I do, I want to try the Parisian Top from GoTo Patterns.  Since I wear scrubs to work, I've kind of let my out of work wardrobe deteriorate.  I just don't have a lot of occasions to wear dresses and such.  But, this knit top is super cute.  Looks girlie, but still comfy.  I want to try it out.

4.  This is the best Broccoli and Cheese Soup I have every had.  One of my friends made it and I loved it.  It  uses gouda with a little cheddar and I think that's part of what makes it so great.  It also calls for half and half.  I made a batch a few weeks ago and ate it all in like three days!  It's so good.

Well I hope you all have a nice week.  I have to work day shifts on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, at work, so I'm not sure how much I'll be around.  So just a reminder that the Craftsy Artisan Bread Making Giveaway ends on April 1.  If you haven't entered yet, be sure to click on the link.

Mug O' Comfort Swap Reveal

The Mug O' Comfort swap was great!  I was paired up with Jennifer who blogs at Busy Being Jennifer and also runs on the online shop Home Spun Happiness.  She is a talented sewer, embroiderer, and crocheter.  She lives in Texas and I would love to be as crafty as she is!  Check out her shop.  Don't you just love her hoop art.  Anyone that embroiders weeping angels is my kind of girl!

Anyhow, so I got an awesome box in the mail from her this week, and here's what she sent:

Great mug with super cute mug cozy!

I love the colors she chose for this.I had a mug cozy once before but it was one I had just bought off Etsy and it didn't seem to fit any of my mugs.  And the mug is the perfect size.  I didn't want to seem like a weirdo and say that I have a preference to my coffee cups, but I do.  I like ones that are about average height, but fat.  Ones that can warm up both hands at the same time.  Like this one.  So, it's basically perfect.

And more treasures!

And along with the mug, she also sent some Strabucks Via to make instant iced coffee and iced tea.  I love things like this for work.  And a Ghirardelli candy bar!  I always have at least one fancy candy bar stashed away for emergencies.  Sometimes a girl just needs yummy chocolate!  If I could live on chocolate and coffee, I probably would.

But wait!  There's more!

And apparently Jennifer really likes to spoil people, because there's also this adorable pouch.  I should have taken a picture of the inside too, because it's lined in this awesome, bright flower print.  I love the little coffee mug embroidered on the outside with the heart!  It's super cute.  I may use it to hold tea for work, I'm not sure yet.  I love little pouches for their functionality, but this one is super cute too!

So do you want to see what everyone else got in their packages? Just click the picture to be taken to Chaotic Goddess Swaps.  And you can also check out what's coming up next! 

Friday Finish- Pillow Slip Covers Older than my Blog

Finally finished!

 
These pillow slip covers have been a WIP for the quite a while.  I bought the pillows on Joann's last Easter.  (I remember because they had a great deal on shipping.)  I blogged about them on July 21 of last year and I finally finished them March 17 of this year.  So why'd they take so long?  I'm not really sure.  The log cabin pattern is pretty easy and non stressful to follow.  I did run low on browns and have to get a couple fat quarters so I'd have enough of a variety, but that was about the only road block.  Finally, last week I decided I was going to finish them no matter what.  And I did. 

Most of the fabric came right out of my stash.  I had planned on making a tree skirt that was patchwork and then changed my mind so a lot of the reds and greens got moved over to this project bag.  I also wanted the slip covers to match, but not be exact copies of each other, so I used the same fabrics but not in the same spots.

For the back, I just used the envelope method, where you cut two rectangles the width of the pillow but the length of them together is more than your pillow's length, so the excess overlaps and hides your pillow form.  Here's a picture of the fabric I chose for the backs.

Tan herringbone fabric for the back.

You can't really make out the pattern, but it's a an herringbone that I think looks nice and ties everything together well.  The covers are far from perfect.  They're slightly too big, but I think that's better than slightly too small.  Most of all, it's just nice to finally have them done and sitting on my couch.  And all in all, they turned out far better than I thought they would!  And it felt super good to put a date next to them on my WIP list.

Stop by tomorrow to see what awesome goodies I got from my Mug O'Comfort swap partner!

A Little Tweaking

That says tweaking not twerking people!  So you may have noticed that my blog is wearing a new little outfit today.  I just use blogger with a background from ShabbyBlogs.com and I've used one called "Zen and Now"pretty much from the start.  Then last Thursday I logged on and the background was gone, link broken.  I go to Shabby Blogs and the website is down, but the blog had a post from a few days before stating Shabby Blogs was for sale.  I figured someone had bought it and shut down the website for whatever reason and who knows how long.

Meanwhile, it was the first day of the "Spring Fling" Giveaway and I couldn't very well have my blog be naked.  So, I found a new background on a different website, but I had to change my Blogger template and while it was cute enough, it just didn't feel like it was me.

So, last night I went back to Shabby Blogs looking for clues and any signs it was going to be resurrected, and it was back up and running!  The for sale post on the blog was gone, and instead was a heart felt post about blogger burn out up instead!  That's totally understandable. 

I was going to go put my background back to "Zen and Now", but then I got thinking that now might be the perfect time to try something new.  So I dug around and found this background called "All That Glitters" and while I initially thought it was a little too fancy-pants for my blog, it really grew on me.  It's nice and bright and adds a little pizazz without being too distracting.

If you're a blogger looking for an easy to install background on Blogger or Wordpress, go check out Shabby Blogs.  They're super easy to use and lots to choose from.  And from today's blog post, it looks like Meg over there has a lot of new ideas cooking.  There's also pictures, buttons, headers, etc.

Like this one:

Which is a perfect excuse to share links to the TWO giveaways I currently have going on.

1.  Win the Craftsy Artisan Breadmaking Class!
2.  Enter to win my bundle of Dover Publications and Smens goodies in the Spring Fling giveaway!


And if you have any feedback on my blogs new outfit, let me know.  :)  Have a great day!

Tuesday's Works in Progress

I know Wednesday is traditional WIP day, but I had today off, and it was great!  I had worked the last six days and will be working the next three.  Nine out of ten days at work is too much if you ask me.  Anyways, it hasn't left me much time or energy for sewing, or crafting.

We only had a high of about 18 degrees today, so I really didn't want to leave the house.  Instead, I stayed inside, sifting through bins of fabric and pulling together pieces for projects, and watching Torchwood and X-Files on Netflix.

Sifting through fabric is just relaxing.  I remember where I got the fabric, what other pieces I got at the same time.  Just looking at all the colors and patterns.  Hmm... do I sound like someone on Hoarders?  Seriously, it's just cathartic.  Like digging through a box of old pictures or something.  Tell me I'm not the only one who feels that way about fabric.

So here's what I plan on working on this weekend.

There's three of Michelle's Patterns zipper pouches.  These little pouches have a semi rounded bottom and are super cute.  I also cut out another Super Tote from Noodlehead.   And, there's a medium sized grocery bag from Michelle's Patterns out of bright yellow and some paisley in there too.

I'm hoping to reopen my Etsy shop soon.  I've already started listing new items and just holding the listings until I'm officially ready to go.  So within the next month or two, I hope to have that ready to go.

All in all, it's been a great day off and I'm kind of bummed I have to go back to work tomorrow.  But, I just need to hang on to get to the weekend.  What are you looking forward to tackling this weekend?

Spring Fling Giveaway! {Open in US and Canada}

Welcome to the Spring Fling Giveaway Hop

hosted by Lauren Paints | a beautiful life

Spring is here!

I've teamed up with a FANTASTIC group of bloggers to
celebrate the spring equinox with a giveaway hop!
After you enter my giveaway you should enter to win

a  $100 Kohl's Gift Card over on Lauren Paints!

Here's what I'm giving away:

It's a prize pack from affiliate Dover Publications.  I thought this giveaway would be a great way to show you some of the awesome things they have available.  You'll receive:

• 3 Scented Pens in Passion Fruit, Wild Berry, and Orange (note- these are not from Dover)
• Mini Sticker Book of 16 of Monet's Masterpieces
• A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle  (The basis of the BBC Sherlock Episodes "A Study in Pink" and "The Sign of Three".)
• Flower Paintings Mini Sticker Book featuring sixteen floral masterpieces
• The Hound of Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (The basis for the BBC Sherlock episode of the same name.)
• Mary Cassatt gift wrap (Two identical sheets of wrapping paper made up of Mary Cassatt paintings)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (one of my favorite books)
• Large Old Fashioned Luggage Label sticker book

Total value of my giveaway is over $30!

Interested in winning?  Contest is open in US and Canada, just follow the Rafflecopter giveaway below.  And once your done with that, scroll down for more giveaways!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Check out all of the giveaways listed below:


Disclaimer: This contest will run through 4/4/2014 at 11:59 pm EST.  Please note, Lauren Paints | a beautiful life AND Chair in the Shade are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes, please contact laurenpaintsflorida@gmail.com if you have any questions or if you are interested in participating or sponsoring a future event. 


And don't forget to enter to win my Craftsy Artisan Bread Making Class giveaway by clicking this link!  Open worldwide!  

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Guess what guys!  I've finally joined the 21st century!  I've been using a Samsung Convoy flip phone for probably the last five years.  It's a good little phone.  I can make calls.  I can text.  What more does a girl need?  My husband is just the opposite.  He got a smart phone pretty much as soon as they came out.  He kept offering to upgrade my phone, but I'm a cheap-o who didn't want to pay for a big data plan and my phone worked just fine thank you very much.


That's not to say I never thought about getting one.  I spend a lot of time online.  My laptop is on pretty much all the time when I'm at home.  Then we decided to change up our cell phone plans and switch companies.  After looking around, we found I could get all the texting and minutes I need (read- not very many, since I'm not a big phone user) and a miniscule data plan using Husband's old smart phone for less than we were paying for the flip phone. 

And guess what, I kind of love it.  When I get up in the morning, I no longer fire up the laptop while I make my coffee.  I can check my email, Facebook messages, play some Scrabble, and read Bloglovin posts on my cell using the house WiFi.  I actually spend less time online now, because it's hard to get sucked into the internet black hole on my slow, baby cell phone screen versus the laptop.


One thing I have enjoyed is finally being able to join Instagram. If you want to see what projects I'm working at, or would like to see more pictures of my monster kitten, Honey Badger, known for occasionally photo bombing my blog pictures, feel free to follow me.  Above, you can see my latest finish in progress- log cabin pillow covers that have been on my WIP list for almost a year.