HOPE YOU HAVE A SPOOKY DAY!

And the stinkin' cute jewelry goes to......

MAMA LUSCO!

Congratulations......I need an email address from you so that Katherine can contact you.

Giveaway

There's still time to enter this weeks giveaway! Check "This Weeks Giveaway" button to the left.

If You Like These Things....

...You Can Thank the pig!

Yes, I'm still "swiney", and actually feel somewhat like a bad word!

Thanks to "the pig", I've done more surfing the last few days than I've done in my whole life. I thought I'd share some sweet things I've found.

One of my favorite etsy shops is Fantastic Toys
Timothy Haugen is the artist and I love the whimsical nature of his art. Most of his toys are made of paper.
I think that is so unique.

I love, love, love these beautiful cards from Studio Flower Power.

They are made with real flowers.....stunning!



And last, but definitely not least the adorable knittings from deusprovidebit.
Almost makes me want another baby! ALMOST!

Funky T-shirt Newborn Gowns

I tried to get up and sew today....yeah....not such a smart idea. Whoa baby! Things were spinning, I was shaking and coughing and whining. Not a pretty picture. I crawled right back in bed and waited for my drugs to kick in! Who would have thought that something as simple as Motrin and Tylenol would become my best friends?

Anywho.....I've been laying here surfing my laptop and came across the cutest tutorial that I just had to share. I'm thinking' of you, cute Laura Walker, with that little baby in your belly, all of your race t-shirts and that new sewing machine of yours.

Look at these adorable little newborn gowns made from t-shirts!

So cute!

You can learn how to make them over here.

Dumb Pig!

Bobbityboo's Got The Flu!

I have a few people waiting for custom orders. I am so sorry, I don't think I will get to them until next week.

I will check back Saturday to figure out the winner of this weeks giveaway. Make sure you take a peek.

Once again.....I'm sorry to make you few customers wait.

Want To Impress Someone?

When I sew for myself or my family, I don't really care what the inside of the garment looks like (I know....a true seamstress would, but I don't). When I sew for someone else though, it's a different story. I want the inside to look finished. So here is a pretty way to finish a seam. I learned it as the "french seam". I have seen different variations of the french seam, this is mine.

Begin with your fabric "right side out". That's just the opposite of what you're used to. Sew a scant 1/8" seam.

Turn your garment wrong side out and re-sew the seam at 1/4".

There you have it! A beautiful seam that is as clean on the inside as it is on the out!

Overcasting = Clean
Surging = Cleaner
French Seams = Cleanest

Pretty Little Me

Boy, do I have something fun to offer you this week.

Katherine, at Pretty Little Me would like you to take a peek

at her new etsy shop and tell her what you think. In exchange

you can enter to win a cute little whimsy from her shop.

So, here are the requirements for this giveaway

You will receive one entry for each of the following.

• Visit her shop and comment on something you like there.
• Visit her blog (she is a professional photographer as well and her work is beautiful).
• Heart her shop on etsy.
• Follow my blog.
• Remember to leave a comment for each thing that you do. That way Random.org will count each thing as a separate entry.

Giveaway ends Friday, Oct 30 at midnight.

Good Luck and thanks for helping Katherine out!

And The Mokey Goes To...

Adrienne! Yea for you!
I will contact Giggly Monkey and give her your email address.

Scrap Happy

After my last little whirl wind relationship with my sewing machine, that sewing room of mine looks like a bomb exploded in it. I've been half tempted to throw all the scraps away. Then I came across this adorable pillow on cluckclucksew (she has a tutorial) and changed my mind. Whether I'll ever actually do it or not is another story, but for now there are bags and bags of scraps downstairs sighing in refief.

This Is Why.....

...I've Had Butterflies All Day

That's actually a little sad :)

I bought a serger today (brand new) for $200.00! I wasn't able to get it out and play with it until tonight. All day long, in the middle of this and that, I would suddenly remember my great buy and get all giddy! I've already made a skirt on it, I was so excited to try it out!

Don't forget to enter Giggly Monkeys giveaway.... This cute little kissaboo monkey needs a home!

Finally!

Here's the final version of something I've been working on forever!

Baby's Playtime Apron Skirt

I had a couple of ideas in the beginning that made me a little nervous, safety-wise. So I have played with it and come up with something I feel comfortable with.

This little skirt not only has my signature apron, but attached to that apron are three little playthings for baby. Let me add here that these things have been sewn, sewn and sewn on again, re-enforced about 5 times, to make sure that baby can't get them off. Unless your little girl is Edwina Scissorteeth, Those little embellishments will stay right on that apron.

It is home to an eight layered butterfly, a giant jingle bell (sorry, I know that's the kind of thing you sister would give your child just to bug you). You can cut it off if it drives you crazy...I don't care. And, lastly, a big bunch of ribbons to finger and touch. Looks like a great shower gift to me.....I'm just sayin'!

It's Not Faaaaaaaair!

Does anyone besides me hate that phrase???

Here's a little idea to help curb that cry.

My calling in our church is to be an advocate to the nursery leaders in 8 different congregations. Tonight we have a big bi-annual leadership meeting and I have been working feverishly, trying to come up with idea's to help these women fulfill their callings. I have found tons of fun idea's to help keep 2 year olds busy and happy for 2 hours on a Sunday morning.

This is the take away the women will be getting tonight. It is a "child friendly" version of spin the bottle. Yeah, once again, the teenagers raised their eyebrows at this one. "Really Mom? Teaching 2 year olds to play spin the bottle?" I think it's a great and fun way to teach children that it's OK if somebody else gets a turn.

Just clean out a glass soda bottler, cut an arrow out of craft foam (make sure the bottom end is flared out so it will stay in). Then, just roll up the arrow and slip it down in the neck of the bottle.

NO MORE....."MOOOOOOOM, THAT'S NOT FAAAAAAAIR"!

Don't forget to entry Giggly Monkey's giveaway, it's a couple of posts down.

Plain Jane

Sing hail to etsy!!!! This is why I love the internet. I'm sitting here in my jammies at 11:00 pm browsing through fabric store after fabric store waiting for something to jump out and grab me. I was scrolling through Sew Deerly Loved when "POW" "BAM" Michael Millers "Plain Jane" bonked me on the head and said, "Hey! I wanna be a skirt." So I obediently clicked checkout and the rest is history. Now I will wait with baited breath for Jerry, our friendly neighborhood mailman to deposit them into my grubby little hands (or should I say "chubby" little hands?). ...no, mildly middle-aged hands fits better. Sorry, I digress. Any way, I'm seeing great big giant rick- rack maybe, or a double skirt.....ooooooo I know, one of my A-line jumpers. Oh man! I feel insomnia coming on. Thanks a lot "Plain Jane"!

PS....don't forget to enter Giggly Monkeys giveaway, next post down!

So....Here It Is!

Two, count 'em, two giveaways!

FIRST... head on over to Whimsy Couture to enter

to win one of my skirts. While you're there check

out her adorable patterns for children's clothes.

STINKIN' CUTE!!!

Giveaway number 2

I bought a couple of things recently that were so cute I had to ask the shop owner if we could offer a freebie to you.

While looking for something for Scissor's birthday, I came across Giggly Monkey.
I bought a couple of things and was so impressed with the items and her method of delivery (very cute).

I bought scissors this guitar pick necklace. The
pick is detachable so that she won't loose her picks so often.

I also bought this little "Kissaboo Monkey". It's filled with flax seeds and can be heated in the microwave to offer a soothing, warm kiss to a boo-boo. My tough little 8 year old line backer fell asleep with this laying on his painful
little ear infection the other night. Don't tell his friends, but he really liked it.

GigglyMonkey is offering my readers the chance to win
a custom Kissaboo Monkey (you choose the color and if it's a boy or girl).

Rules of the giveaway:

You receive a separate entry for each of the following,

• comment on this blog about giggly monkeys shop,
• become a follower of this blog,
• heart giggly monkey on etsy.
• blog about giggly monkey's shop

DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A WAY FOR ME TO REACH YOU.

Winner will be chosen randomly Friday Oct 23rd at midnight.

One last thing

I have filled my shop up with new cute stuff, new fabric, a couple of new designs and......DRUM ROLL PLEASE..... A new product in my shop. I have had so much fun over the years teaching my daughters to sew that I thought you might want to take a crack at at it too.......So I have created three DIY kits to help you
become a crazy sewing lady too!

Each kit includes everything you need (except the sewing machine)

to create a simple skirt, a kanzashi flower pin, or a funky flower headband.

Run to my shop and check them out!

OK.... I'm really done now....WHEW!!!!!

Another Hint....

You too could become a crazy sewing woman!

NO! I'm not giving away a sewing machine.....silly you!

Here's A Hint.....

... 2 more days and....

will be offering a surprise!!!!

Nothing To Do With Sewing.....

....But Everything To Do With YUM!

Here's my recipe for keeping teenagers and their

friends at OUR house.

Some refrigerator biscuit dough.


Frosting

A cup of confectioner's sugar, 1 TBS of cocoa

and a tiny bit of vanilla. Add milk, about 1 TBS

(until it is smooth and glossy, if it gets too
runny just add more sugar).


Heat oil to 370 degrees.


Cut holes in your biscuits. I'm so fancy, I use
an old vitamin lid.


Fry donuts (about 1 minute on each side).
Don't let your oil get over 350, and this works
out perfectly. If your oil gets too hot
your donuts will look golden brown on the
outside, but will still be doughy on the inside.


Dip them in that yummy frosting,
or shake them in a baggy full of
sugar.


Sprinkle with cute stuff and watch the kids come running.
I don't know why, but the kids just love making these.
One day my funky hippy girl came home and four
of her guy friends were in the kitchen with me (aprons
and all) making donuts. They had showed up at
the door, right out of the blue, and said, "Bobbi....
can we make donuts?" They had their puppy dog eyes
going and pouty lips stuck out, so how could I
say no?

Have I mentioned that I love teenagers?
WELL.....I DO!

Bobbity-Best

Once in a while you come across a customer

who you really, really enjoy doing business

with. I decided that when I find one of these

kind of folks I'm going to let them

know with .....

The Bobbity-Best Award!

(once again there are teenage eyes rolling)

So, drum roll please.......

My very first Bobbity-Best goes to.....

Jennifer at Wife and Mama .

Why, You ask? Well, we've been

working on some custom stuff for

the last couple of weeks. It would be

so easy to be demanding in a situation

like that, not taking into account

that on the other end there is a human

being with laundry and grocery

shopping as well as sewing to do. So...

for being a kind and thoughtful

customer....this award's for you

JENNIFER!

Besides this little award Jennifer will be receiving a surprise in her order that will be in the mail tomorrow.

Something Is Coming!

....And here's a hint.....

It involves this cute, warm, snugly quilt fabric

and french seams.....OOOO-LA-LA!

I am so stinkin' busy this week I had to tell customers no custom orders until next week. What the? Who does that? I just couldn't help it. I'm sewing up a storm trying to get some new stuff in the shop before the BIG EVENT! Add to that stuff like......

feeding 6 people every day

keeping 6 people in clean clothes

piano lessons

guitar lessons

peewee football play offs

A cross country meet

preparing for a large church event

a student body officer service project

(that would be scissors, not me,

I'm past the student government stage!)

WHAT AM I DOING ON THE COMPUTER?????

see ya!

For Jennifer

Jennifer, here is the fabric that I was planning on making an underskirt with. Keep in mind that it is a piece of fabric that I've just pinned up on the line,

un-ironed and all. The shearing on it is really pretty. Decide what you want to do and I will be happy to help. I'll wait to hear back from you.

Another "Gotta Try It"

I'd like to introduce you to my new little

friend. I know.. it's really sad and lame

that I would consider a fabric butterfly my

friend. (Don't tell my kids, they'll never let

me hear the end of that one!!)

I saw this cute little gal over at Lollychops

and just had to give it a go. She also has

a really cute Christmas tree version as

well, you really need to check it out.

You stack a bunch of your favorite fabrics

and cut a little butterfly out of them. There is

a template over at Miss Lolly's place

if you flunked art.

Then you scrunch 'em all up like a bunch

of spit wads. I did actually lick my hands

when I did this to make them roll better.

TMI?

I ironed them in their scrunchy state. Miss Lolly

says you don't really need too, but my fabric looked

kinda floppy if I didn't....so I did.

You sew them together in the tummy.

Kinda like a tummy tuck!


I dug into a bowl of dillies from back in the day
and found a cute little buttony, flower thing
to dress her up with.

I gave her some antenna's and VOILA!



Isn't she cute?
Now..... run over and check Lollychops out.
Look for the link to a cool mini pie in a glass jar recipe.
That's next on my "gotta try" list!

Remember This shirt?

Remember this shirt? Well, "Scissors" (she who cuts

up all our clothes) got ahold of it and well.....

...now she has a cute little vest.

This little girl of mine has taught me not to

be afraid to cut it up. This little vest took

several revisions to get it right. It went something

like this.... cut, sew, nope that's freaky lookin'...

cut, sew, nope, still freaky lookin'....etc, etc until

we got it just how she wanted it.

I wish I had dared cut up old things when they

were tiny, I never would have had to buy

clothes!