applique pillow tutorial

Danielle, from My Sparkle, is the talented older sister of my good friend Vanessa, and a total inspiration to me! Everything she makes is so adorable and she gives great tips. She recently posted this applique pillow tutorial at Bloom explaining how to use cardstock and aluminum foil to get perfectly formed shapes which I think is G-E-N-I-U-S!


For the full tutorial go here!

And check out Danielle's cute etsy shop here!

(photos by Danielle of My Sparkle)

weekend snapshot

fabric find { heather bailey wool felt }

Ooooh... love, love, love the colors of the designer wool felt Heather Bailey now offers!

(photo from Heather Bailey)

peach jam '09

This past weekend I tried my hand at canning for the first time. Our friends moved into a house with a mature peach tree and gifted us a huge bag full of perfectly ripe fruit. Immediately, my mind turned back to summer days when my mother hardly left the stove and rows upon rows of bottled jam, grape juice, tomatoes, etc. would line the counter. And it just felt like the right time for me to continue the tradition for my own family.

I followed the directions that are in the Ball pectin box, excepting I used honey instead of sugar. It is so delicious and I feel so proud seeing my own rows of pretty jars lining the counter. I already have very ambitious plans in my head for next year... I never would have guessed how satisfying it is to hear that little "pop" when the lid seals!

weekend snapshot

Hope you had a fun and safe Labor Day! We had a sleepover with the little miss' cousins and then spent the morning at the park. She had a great time going down the slide on their laps and I loved the fact that she walks so well now she could explore and play "on her own."

But the best part of the day was finding out that my sister-in-law took Labor Day literally and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Welcome to the world little one!

a quilt for mystery baby

I made this rag quilt a while ago and sent if off to my sister-in-law in New York who is expecting her first baby any second now. I absolutely love the fabric and felt it was pretty gender neutral (although husband was quick to point out there are quite a few floral prints), because they decided to wait to find out the gender.

So, we are on pins and needles waiting for a much anticipated phone call to tell us if we have a new niece or nephew. Can't wait to know who you are mystery baby!

And good luck Kristi, you are in our thoughts and prayers!

sunday best

Ambrosia Girl has started a Flickr group called Sunday Best to "prove that ‘modestly fashionable’ is not a contradiction." I already love it and if you are in need of some modest inspiration too then join up, the group is public. I'm usually not the type to take pictures of what I'm wearing, but this seems like it will be fun!