Celebrations and Earth Day Sewing : :

This weekend we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary and Jacob's 9th Birthday. I'm sure it goes without saying that this weekend in April, the birthday boy's big day always wins out! This year Jacob decided on a movie theater theme party and it was so much fun!!



Complete with a Popcorn Cake, made by my best friend Cynthia of TaylorMade Baked Goods!



Paper good details that were super sweet, from Sweet Bella!



A concession stand, run by Haila and myself. We were both wearing our Applique Aprons!



This was my very favorite picture from the day! It was such a great weekend!!



Today, in celebration of Earth Day, I'll be sewing for each of the kids a cross-body, fold-over satchel in some fabric from my stash, mostly purchased from Bloomerie!



These bags will be made to fit their new sketchbook and pencil sets from Stubby Pencil Studios. We plan to do a lot of bike-riding this Summer and since my kids are all such little artists, I've been wanting to make them each a bag, perfect for bringing along their sketchbooks and drawing supplies!



I'll be sure to share them once they're finished!

Today, in celebration of Earth Day, Stubby Pencil Studio is giving a free set of colored pencils with every sketchbook purchased! These sketchbooks are really adorable, and are also super Earth friendly, made from 100% post consumer recycled paper that is acid and chlorine free, fully biodegradable glue, and vegetable based inks.


My kiddos are going to love them, I can't wait!

Be sure to check out these great sketchbooks here!

In addtion to receiving the free set of colored pencils, you can also use discount code EARTHDAY and receive 15% off your order thru midnight 4/22/13!!

Happy Earth Day everyone!! I wish you all a wonderful,
new week!!

♥,  Maureen

Stashed : :

I have to say that I am really loving the blue-green colors of my new little stashing of 1001 Peeps by Lizzy House.  These came from my lovely sponsor Pink Castle Fabrics, they have a wonderful selection of this line available in their etsy shop. Since I have a tendency to stash either brights -- reds, oranges, yellows, aquas or neutrals in earthy prints -- I thought this would be a great middle and something completely new to add to the options around my studio.

My favorite print in the stack is this gorgeous middle fabric, the blueish-turquoise/black chevron-y print, Illusion in Blue. It's such a cool geometric design! I'm not sure what I'm going to use these for just yet, I'm thinking I might just have to pick up the other colors in this print before I know for sure.

The greens are so pretty!

The quality of Andover Fabrics is really very nice and it's super soft too!

Yup, I LOVE my 1001 Peeps!

What fabrics/fabric lines are you loving right now? I'd love to know!

Stashy : :

Crafting a Meaningful Home is our newest craft book and the title alone really speaks to me. After all that is what so many of us are doing!
It has pages full of inspiring projects, with beautiful photographs, and is the first book I have picked up in a while that has sparked so many new ideas for me. The very first photo is definitely something I would pin if I could.

Isn't it pretty? One of my favorite projects are these vases made with scrap fabric strips, which I happen to have lots of all ready. I am saving this one to do with the kiddos some day hopefully soon.

Another great project in this book reminded me of something I started planning almost a year ago, but had forgotten -- this wonderful boys quilt. This one is made with old mens dress shirts, don't you love how they keep the buttons on for the quilt! My plan is to make a quilt similar to this for my boys, using all of their little plaid shirts I have gotten them over the last 8 years. Trust me, I have lots! And have been tucking them away with a project just like this in mind.

I have added Crafting A Meaningful Home to my "currently loving" widget on the right there, in case you want to check it out further.

In addition to the book stashing, I picked up this wonderful Japanese Fabric -- Aqua Teapots by Melody Miller for Kokka. I love, LOVE this fabric! It's a medium weight cotton, linen blend and I am thinking that it will make some great tea towels.

I recently started collecting old (and new) tea pots, so this fabric was a must have!

Now, it's back to the making! Here's hoping there was a little bit of new and inspiring in your weekend, too!

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