I never was good with the self portraits

I have a new appreciation for all those bloggers that take pictures of themselves all the time. It is hard! This is the best that I could do. I was talking to my aunt on the phone the other day and she wanted to see a picture of what I look like pregnant. So here I am!
But really. this is the best of like 30 shots I took...

Check Yes!

I don't think I have ever mentioned this on my blog, but one of my clients I do regular design work for is Intermountain Donor Services.

Here are a couple of my favorite things I have designed for them:



As much as I love all the other design work I do, I especially love the work I do for IDS. Designing cute ribbons and hearts to go on scrapbook pages is fun, but I feel like the stuff I do for IDS has more "substance." It educates people and (hopefully) motivates them to become organ donors, and ultimately, save lives.

I have been thinking more about this lately because my Aunt Julie is going in tomorrow to receive a bone marrow transplant as the next step in her battle against leukemia. She is fortunate enough to have a sibling that is a match (my dad, in fact!), and her chance of recovery goes up greatly because of that. Other people aren't as fortunate. So, today as I am thinking of Julie and wishing there was more I could do to help, I figured I could at least blog about organ donation and encourage everyone to check yes and possibly save someone's life in the future.

Just a little something I sewed for...

...the baby girl that I am expecting in November!

We went in last week and had the ultrasound to find out the baby's gender. JB and I are thrilled to start our own little family.

I know this may be silly of me, but I have been waiting to blog that I am expecting a baby until I had something cute to blog with the news. JB was out of town this last week for scout camp, and so I was able to have quite a bit of time to sew, so now I do! I bought the pattern from a relatively new etsy shop from italy that I just discovered: Puperita. It was a little beyond my skill level of sewing, but I learned a lot while making it. I finally had to step back and stop trying to follow the instructions so hard, and just think, "well, if I were just going to figure out how to do this without instructions, how would I do it?" and from there on it was pretty smooth sailing. What does Benny the Jet say in to Smalls in Sandlot? Something about "thinking too much." Yes, that was my problem... I think :)

Just a few things...

First.
I have to tell you how crazy it is to live in Tucson sometimes. I feel like I really live in the WILD west. A while ago I was out in my backyard clipping the dead roses off my bush and I noticed something in the corner of my eye. A BOBCAT was taking a nap on my neighbor's porch! Not that I knew it was a bobcat at first... I had to call JB and have a whisper conversation that went something like this: "JB! There is a large cat like animal on the neighbors porch. Should I be afraid? Do I need to go inside? Will it hurt me? What kind of animal is it?!"


(ps. This is my official apology to my next door neighbors, if you do or will ever read my blog. I am sorry for being a creeper and taking pictures of your back yard. But it was A BOBCAT! I couldn't help it!)

Second.
I have been sewing a ton lately and as soon as I get some pics of myself in the clothes taken, I will show off my cute new shirts I have been whipping out!

Third.
Do you follow Oh Happy Day and did you see her free 7 day trip to Paris giveaway? If not, run over there and enter! It can't hurt, right?

Matchbox Notepad

I have always thought those mini matchbook notepads were so cute, so this week I designed a few for the Silhouette Online Store.

They are fairly simple to assemble but here is a quick tutorial to clear up any questions:

1. Fold outside cover of matchbook notepad along perforations.


2. Insert blank white pages (cut out of regular weight printer paper) under bottom flap and staple. I estimate that around 14 pages is all my stapler could handle, but test it on your own stapler. It could fluctuate based on your paper weight!


3. Fold over the cover and tuck it under the bottom flap, above the staple. It's that simple!

Fabric Flower Brooches

A few weeks ago my friends and I threw a baby shower (I know! Another one! But I think we are done for a while...) for two expecting mothers-- one expecting a girl and one expecting a boy. We played off of "boy vs. girls" for the shower theme, and divided the guests into teams as they arrived.

To divide them into teams, we had them pick a fabric flower pin to wear. Pink to represent the girls team and blue to represent the boys team. The games we played were pretty chill-- actually the whole shower was pretty chill-- my favorite kind! And, as a bonus, the flowers acted as a great favor! I'm all about party favors that will actually be used after the shower.




I basically followed this rolled fabric flower tutorial from My Sparkle with a few changes-- I backed it with felt, glued a safety pin to the felt to use to secure the brooch, and added some fabric leaves!

Teapot for Silhouette

Hey! This week in the Silhouette Online Store, watch for my 3D teapot design. I am including some pictures and instructions on how to assemble it in this post.

1. Cut out all pieces.


2. Fold along perforations. (but i don't fold the ones along the top of the teapot until for ease of assembly.)


3. Use tabs along the length of the teapot body to glue it into a hexagon shape.


This is what it looks like after you glued all the sides together.


4. Use the tiny tabs along the bottom of the teapot to glue the panels together, so that it tapers in.


This is what it looks like when you glue all the bottom panels together.


5. Take the hexagon shape and fold all the tabs, and glue them. Then take the piece and set it in the bottom of the teapot.



6. Fold perforations along the top of the teapot.


7. Use tabs to glue top panels together.


8. Take the little circle and stick it thru the slit on the top of the lid.


9. Turn lid over. Fold and glue the little tabs down to keep the handle in place.


10. Last step! Glue the little tabs on the side of the lid to adjacent panels.