giveaway x3 - what could be better

the fabulous amy from doobleh-vay is blogging about some amazing giveaways today. i am so thrilled to have my craft apron included and hope it goes to someone who adores it as much as i do. the most amazing bag and a pretty bracelet are also included in the contest. as an added bonus, if you write about the contest on your personal blog and send amy the link, you will be awarded 2 extra entries which means 3x the chance to win. how cool is that!!!

go here to see all the items and to enter your name. good luck :)

sneak peek

there is an exciting give-away tomorrow. stay tuned...

warm weather and delicious smells

when springtime rolls around, i want to start cooking again, probably because most of my favorite means go better with warm weather. one such meal is my mom's simple recipe for quiche lorraine and a spinach salad. i wish you could smell this through your computer, it is so yummy!

quiche lorraine
1 pkg pie crust mix
1/2 lb sliced bacon
1-1/2 cups (6oz) grated swiss cheese
1 small onion, minced
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of cayenne
1/2 tsp powdered mustard

instructions
line a 9-inch pie or quiche pan with the pie crust. cook 1 slice of bacon on stove until limp. cut into 1" pieces and set aside. cook remaining bacon until crisp. drain and crumble into prepared pie crust. sprinkle swiss cheese over bacon. saute onion in some of the left over bacon fat until golden. drain and sprinkle over cheese. beat remaining 7 ingredients and pour mixture into the pan. sprinkle reserved bacon pieces over top for decoration.

bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm and browned.

that's it! enjoy.

trikes, bikes and donuts

transportation day at school is all fun and games...
until my 4 year old throws a tantrum :(

am i a bad mom that i find this a little bit amusing?

some gold leaf and glue

when we moved into our current house 2 years ago, i was so excited about the judge's paneling on the family room walls. that is to say until i started to decorate the room. they are much harder to work around than you might think. the room was really dark and the natural wood paneling was even darker. step 1 was a coat of glidden antique white paint (my go to color for everything!). step 2, paint the insets. the top is a light tan as you can see through the mirror and the bottom, which you can't see is a medium tan. step 3 was to create this frame. above the fireplace was an inset the exact width of the mantel. i had a piece of mirror cut to the width of the panel, minus 4 inches on all sides. then i bought some trim pieces from the hardware store and nailed them to the wall. this "trim frame" is what holds the mirror in place.
then on to the fun part. i took a hot glue gun and free handed a rough leaf/branch motif onto the middle part. then i painted the entire faux frame a dark red, then gold leafed it all. as one final touch, i took some leftover wood stain and rubbed it into all the crevices to dial back the shine of the gold lead.
the result looks like it is a custom made frame hung into place. i get asked a lot how i came up with this idea. and the truth is i went through about 10 different layers of trying things out. nothing is right from the start, you just have to work with something until you get what you like.

i especially love how the wall frame matches a piece of artwork my brother painted for me as a college graduation present. this was a total coincidence!

rain and rain and rain and rain and...

well, i am sure you get the picture. i don't know how i can deal with anymore rain. i know it is good for the earth and good for the little plants in my back yard. but, it makes me so completely lazy! i think i need a sun lamp. i think i seriously have "seasonal affective disorder".

this from webmd...

What are the symptoms?

If you have SAD, you may:

• Feel sad, grumpy, moody, or anxious.
• Lose interest in your usual activities.
• Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.
• Gain weight.
• Sleep more and feel drowsy during the daytime.

yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. we had one sunny day last week and i accomplished more than i have all month.

i think i need to move to the caribbean!

and still more sewing...

this one is way cuter!

sewing and some more sewing

i am completely addicted! i can't stop sewing. i think about sewing morning, noon and night and i am not embarrassed to say it. i checked out anna maria horner's book "seams to me" from the library last week. it is a great comprehensive sewing manual and includes many great patterns. although i am still not sure if i am allowed to cut up the patterns included in a library book? anyone know the answer to this??? i have been diligently tracing the patterns onto a roll of white kraft paper and cutting them from there.

the apron above (which is in desperate need of a good iron) is one of the projects in the book. it came together easily and i love the finished project. it is made from a very lightweight jean material and one of my thrift store sheet finds. i thought using sheets as fabric was great because of the price, but today i discovered another perk. the sheets are so huge that i didn't need to seam anything together! not for the apron tie and not for the piping.

my 4 year old was home sick today, and he loves helping. usually this is kinda annoying to me because i just want to get the project done. however, today he was pretty cute being my assistant. until he went for my scissors. my "fabric only" scissors. is anyone else neurotic about their scissors? i have one pair marked for fabric and nothing else is allowed to touch those babies. i learned this from my mom. i can clearly remember her sharpie imprinted "fabric only" scissors taunting my brothers and i from the top of her sewing table. i mean, what was the big deal if i grabbed those to cut my dolls hair or to turn paper into confetti? i never understood why they
were so precious. until i learned to sew... now, i know :)

easter and goodness

this Linwood Avenue house has seen a lot of cookie baking, easter egg dying and sleeping this weekend. hope your holiday has been equally wonderful!

time wasting and easter

i had a huge list to get through today.
1. 5 hours of design work
2. clean all bathrooms in house
3. get allergy shots
4. go to home depot
5. go to target
6. shoot photos for etsy
7. paint new bathroom
8. go thrifting for more sheets
9. finish new amy butler purse pattern
10. organize the kids hall art closet

did i mention that it is also spring break and one of my two munchkins has the flu???

so what did i decide to do with all my non-existent free time? i decided to play hokey from all my responsibilities and bake easter cookies. for years i have been searching for the perfect sugar cookie recipe, one that actually holds its decorative shape after baking. i have finally found it!!! but little did i know the recipe is not crucial. the important part is that once you cut out the cookies, you need to put them in the frig for about 10 minutes so the dough can harden back up before you bake them. and voile! crisp clean edges on my little easter bunnies.

i especially love the sweet little chicks.

reuse and recycle

i am rejuvenated! it is spring break here, so after a movie (for the kids) we went thrifting (for me). there are 2 thrift store in riverdale, ga that i have been dying to go to. the stores are right next to one another and the trek was well worth it. lately, i have been feeling that i need to get away from amy butler fabric. while the fabric is absolutely beautiful, it is not my creation. i need to turn this business into me and only me. the rows and rows of sheets and their beautiful patterns drew me to them. truth be told, i got the idea from my friend jessica, but i only chose the patterns she didn't want :) seriously folks, what is better than beautiful fabric at around 50¢ a yard. this is going to be my new hobby, scouring thrift stores for beautiful cast off sheets. this way, i can turn my Linwood Avenue palette into what i want and have entire control. it doesn't hurt either that i am reusing something rather than letting it end up in the trash. it only takes one person to look at something with an entirely different eye to see it's beauty and worth.

i can't wait to see what the sheets above turn into!

martha and me

no, no, i am not on martha, yet. but i am officially closer to her than i have ever been. the martha stewart site is running a promotion for the next few months called "calling all crafters". the prize is a copy of her new book "encyclopedia of crafts". truth be told, i could buy the book myself, it is the exposure i am really after. i uploaded 4 of my photos and they run on a loop on her website. there i am, at the bottom right (if you couldn't tell by the circle i drew). i daydream a lot, so in this dream sequence, i am imagining someone from the craft department looking over all the entries and stopping in their tracks when they see one of my cards or lampshades. the employee then moves heaven and earth until they get me on the show as a guest crafter. how cool would that be!!! this daydream sort of goes in the same category as my dream that one day i really will win the lottery. not a dream, but something i really, truely believe.

if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and vote for your favorite craft. or upload some of your own. i'm not afraid of a little competition :)