Romantic Ribbon & Pearl Necklace, and the WINNER is...

Bunny B.!

Drop me a line girlfriend and I'll get your fabulous necklace shipped out Monday morning!

 and of course, many thanks to all you girls for your kind posts. :o)

Have a blissful weekend!

Making Panoramic Sugar Eggs!

We made some sugar panoramic Easter eggs last night!

(For those who aren't in the know, they are hollow eggs made out of sugar that you can peek into and see a sweet little scene inside.)

Be sure to click on the image to get a good peek at the chick inside!

Have you ever made these?

They are so much easier to make than they look, and they last forever.

Seriously.

I've seen vintage sugar eggs in antique shops!

Plus, it's a minimal investment to create your own family heirloom.

Heirloom -is that a stretch?

all you need to get started  is egg whites, a ton of sugar, and some icing.

And of course, an egg mold.

or several.

they come in different sizes, ya know.

I like the itty bitty ones.

We made blue eggs last night and filled them with tiny Easter eggs and fluffy chicks.

I'm hooked -  I plan on making more with my kiddlets over the weekend.

Now I want to run to the dollar store and see what I can find to decorate the inside of my Easter eggs!

Want to know how to make these? Check out this post for a tutorial to make your own!

Romantic Ribbon & Pearl Necklace Tutorial + GIVEAWAY!

I'm celebrating Spring with a tutorial to make these lovely Ribbon & Pearl Necklaces!

And for those of you too busy with Easter preparations to make one for yourself, that's okay too,

because I'm offering my first giveaway!

Yay me!

Yay you!

Romantic Ribbon & Pearl Necklace Tutorial

Supplies:

• 
  
  Satin Ribbon (I used 5/8)
• 
  
  Pearl Beads
• 
  
  Beading Needle
• 
  
  Thread (I used clear)
• 
  
  Fray Check
• 
  
  Bead Board, Ruler or Mat

Gather your supplies and lay the beads out to desired length.

(I like the beads to only go to my shoulders, not around my neck)

Leaving ribbon on the spool, measure 12 inches from the raw edge.

At the 12 inch mark, secure knot and take a large stitch, about 1 inch wide, from bottom edge of ribbon to top edge of ribbon with a pearl on your thread. 

On the back side of your ribbon, slide another pearl on your thread and take a large stitch from the Top down to the Bottom.

You will be creating a zig-zag pattern with your stitches, with pearls on both sides of your ribbon.

Repeat Stitching in zig zag pattern until you have sewn on all your pearls.

Your ribbon should look like this now.

Gently pull your thread to gather up your ribbon and pearls.

Now you should see your necklace taking shape!

Secure the end with a knot.

Cut your ribbon 12 inches from the last bead. Use Fray Check to seal the ends of your ribbon and prevent fraying.

Tada!

You can shorten or lengthen the ties to what ever your preference is.

You aren't limited to ribbon or pearls for these necklaces either.

As you can see, I loved making these!

The center necklace is made with a vintage french lace and soft green and cream pearls. It turned out so delicate and romantic looking!

I also made one using mocha and rose colored pearls, the effect is an elegant neutral that would go with so much.

Of course the black and white combo is stunning with it's contrast and would be perfect for an evening out!

I couldn't decide which one I liked best - so I'll let you choose!

Post a comment below and let me know which necklace is your favorite, and you'll be entered in a drawing to win the necklace of your choice!

If you mention this tutorial or giveaway in your blog - post another comment for an additional entry!

Contest will close and I will post the winner on Friday

Awesome Find for Organizing a Creative Space!

I {heart} Junk.

I love digging through

Thrift Stores

Yard Sales

Estate Sales

and

Things People Leave on the Curb

However, I did not have to dig to acquire this pretty little baby.

My wonderful, thoughtful friend Jackie stumbled upon it  

-and of course - 

she thought of moi.

Calling from her cell, she gets about half way through:

"around 3 feet tall with a bunch of drawers - "

"YES!"

"should I send a picture?"

"NO, Buy it! Buy it Now!"

Long story short

it's MINE!

It's a light vintage-y shade of green, and has 10 narrow drawers.

Most of the drawers have labels like elastic, bobbins, bias tape, etc. I have no idea how long the labels have been stuck there, so this weekend I'll try to soak them off and hopefully leave the paint underneath intact.

...cross your fingers...

It will go in my studio, but not sure exactly where just yet.

I already have a great organizing/storage system for most of my sewing paraphernalia, and lo' and behold, most of it involves small or narrow drawers.

What can I say? I have a thing for drawers and cubbies!

 I'm thinking this baby came into my life to hold my dies.

Or stamps.

Maybe ink?

Something definitely paper crafting related

...since I have seemingly grown out of my scrappin' armoire.

Perfect!

I am very aware that

I am lucky to have a friend who knows me well and has my style pegged.

I feel even luckier that her style differs from mine,

so when she comes upon something like this

she doesn't feel tempted to keep it for herself!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Wishing you Irish bliss, and a day with no pinches!

...unless you want to be pinched, that is...

Finding Comfort in Patterns

Okay. So after my, ahem, fitting issues... I needed to buy another copy of McCall's 5800.

Hancock's has their McCall's on sale for .99 - and that's a big deal 'cause patterns rarely go on sale for 99 cents anymore, a buck ninety-nine, sure. But a dollar? Yeah Baby!

I admit it.

 I sought comfort the the pages of the pattern catalogs, and then later, in the drawers themselves.

I came away a much happier girl, head full of ideas, heart full of bliss and a bag full of promises, eyes sparkling with the hope of a better fit...

Or maybe that was the glare of the fluorescent lighting... anyhoo...

Among the choices I made tonight,

M5717 - a trench coat - with *gasp* CUP sizing! Yay me!

It actually goes up to a D cup, but from watching the others in my group I've noticed these patterns require much less altering to fit a D+ cup than an average pattern.

Honestly, I probably wont touch this until next fall, but I don't care. I want it now.

And you understand, that's why I love you!

I had to get a jean pattern as well. I have enviously been watching the Selfish Seamstress brag blog about her amazing jeans and I oh-so-badly want a custom pair for myself! I asked Tamara a.k.a. my Fitting Goddess if we could tackle jeans eventually and she said yes - so now I'm prepared!

And lastly I picked up this simple shirt pattern.

It doesn't have the built in alterations for different cup sizes.

I don't even know if the drape-y neckline would look good on my girls.

But I love the back, view A.

And it's a knit, so that should be forgiving, right?

I'll be seeing the Fitting Goddess on Thursday, so I'll get her opinion on it.

After all, it was under a buck!

And, did I mention I really love the back?

And I also happened to buy the fabric to make it while I was shopping....

All pictures are from the McCalls website