Another giveaway

http://cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-time-to-celebrate.html POp over to Jackie's blog to help her celebrate her birthday. Dont forget to tell her that I sent you.

A gorgeous giveaway

How gorgeous is this quilt. Well pop over to Helens blog for a chance to win this gorgeous 7 part BOM. http://hugsnkisses.typepad.com/hugsfromhelen/2009/06/twas-the-night-before-christmas.html

Paper bag swap

This is the bag I made for Alliosn form the bits that she sent me pictured below.

These are the lovely cushions that Allison made for me using the bits I sent her pictured below.

Bits & Pieces

Its been 2 weeks since I have posted. So what has stopped me getting in here. I really couldn't tell you. But life has been interesting as usual. So lets see what I have been doing. Well where do I start.

Every two weeks I have been giving sewing lessons to Bella my GF's 12 year old daughter. So I pick her and her little sister up from school and then we have a a few hours of sewing lessons. So far she has practised very hard to get good control n her sewing ans master the art of sewing a straight line. While doing that she has made a shaggy bag (by sewing strip of fabric onto a piece of homespun in rows then sewing it up) that looked fabulous. She has also made a "chenilled" cushion and a heart cuddly - none of which I have photos of. Last time she cut our a softie to sew this week. I have taught Camille blanket stitch so she had been working on a toy rabbit.

I have also got back into swapping with the craft forum so I ma usually trying to sew a last minute gifts to send off. Am in the cushion swap at the mo and have joined it twice to even up numbers. One cushions is on its way to the owner. Still have to finish the 2nd. The front is done just need to sew the back on to turn it into an actual cushion. Vicki has stated a monthly hexagon swap that I have joined, have always wanted to do these., also she has resurrected out monthly F8 swap, so I have 5 bundles of fabric to parcel up to send her.

i have recently finished the paper bag swap that Sam http://missymack.blogspot.com/ was running. So I will post up the finished items that Allison and I swapped in my next post later today.

One of my dear Scrap of Faith friends has left the country to return to her homeland, Holland, so this is a LO I have done for her to remember me. Ingeborg is such a lovely lady with a heart for God and his people. Even though she lived on the other side of Oz I will miss her. Thank fully we can still keep in touch via SOF.

Work continues to keep me busy - even though I am down to 14.5 hours one week and 20 hours the next. I really love my job but am finding that these days I just want to stay home and do what I want to do not what I am told too.

Another exciting piece of news is that I am a great Aunt again. Kayne Bramwell was born 5.20pm on Thursday 18 June.

Yesterday was also my sisters 50th birthday so today we are having a bbq to celebrate today. Friday night the girls from work took her to the Bridge tavern for tea and some dancing to the great retro disco after. I tagged along more to be duty driver I think. Come back to check out the gift Haylee & I have made for her.

Making your home a haven

This weeks challenge at Tammy's recipes is to This week's Making Your Home a Haven challenge is to "clean out or organize a drawer or closet! Most of us probably have at least a few over-stuffed or messy drawers in our homes... so choose one that will have a positive effect in your home and tackle it!! :) "

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/3425

I have plenty of those drawers around the home. I will tackle the lounge room one first then on to the bathroom drawers.

As to the last weeks challenge I am still working on the magazines, just can't seem to find time or motivation to get it finished. BUT I will set a goal to have the pile under the computer desk that I have chosen the projects in to be finished by the end of this month, that gives me 8 days to enter the details from 19 magazines into the files on my computer. And then I will work on the other 20 that I haven't looked at yet.

Been making cards

As part of Haylee & my stash challenge I am trying to make cards from all the little left over bits of our scrap supplies. So each one of these cards has been made from the scrap drawers that we have. I also have a tin full of stamped images and a box of fussy cut shapes that I can draw from. The card box is looking pretty good now. I still would like to make quite a few more cards as I think a set of homemade cards makes a really nice gift.

Making your home a haven update

I am happy to report that I have made some headway into those jobs I really did not want to do. The caring hearts are sorted into colours and I have made up 20 bags ready to send.

I have also made a start on going through the magazines and have listed the projects that I would like to do into several computer files. If I spend an hour everyday on these I should have the job finished by the end of the week, but more realistically it will be 1/2 an hour every few day so might take me the rest of the month.

John was a bit surprised when I offered to help him with the wood but was happy for me to fill up the stick box. Boy does that job do your back in.

June Stash challenge

Haylee & I have decided to make this month (June) our stash challenge month. We try to do this once a year - usually in January but Haylee was in Kenya. Would anyone like to join us. I may do little challenges along the way So the idea is that you create only from your stash (with the exception of adhesives), no popping out and buying anything. For each project you finish you put aside $2. so at the end you have a little money saved up to help replenish your supplies. Its great to try and use those item that you just had to buy and haven't touched. Also its a great opportunity to finish any half done projects (I have a paper mache' bust to embellish).A project is:-one LO,2 cards, a mini album can be up to 4 projects - depending on size and work. OTP's - again may be up to 4 depending on size. We are not going to stop at a certain amount like last time (25) we are just going to do it for the whole month, but you can set yourself a target of a minimum of 20 or 25.

One challenge I would like to set from the beginning is to use the scrap paper from your finished project to make some cards or bookmarks. If you don't need many cards bundle 4-6 up and send them off to someone as a RAK or donate them to a local charity to sell.

Now for the sewers I would like to encourage you to also work from your stash. Remember when you use something from your stash you can replace with something even nicer (says she who has trouble cutting up some fabrics as they are just so pretty as they are).

Making your home a haven

I have been a bit slack with this challenge , although I have been maintaining my morning routine most days. I just have to do the 10 minute clean up and its done for today.

So here's Tammy's post for this week.

Making Your Home a Haven: Mini-Challenges for this week

For this week's Making Your Home a Haven challenge, let's try to tackle several smaller projects. :)
First, I'm going to be doing my Morning Routine. (That should be a daily thing but with various "holidays" in the last week or so, I've gotten off track... again!)
Then:
1. Set a timer for 15 minutes and work on cleaning or organizing in an area that you dread getting started on. Just 15 minutes! After that you can stop if you want to. :)
2. Do something you've been procrastinating about.
3. Clean up or organize a pile. A pile of dishes, a pile of laundry, a pile of papers... whatever needs your attention most urgently! :)
4. Spend some quality time with your family. Look into their eyes and laugh with them! Do something out of the ordinary for or with at least one of your family members. :)

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/3401

Soooooooooooo what am I going to do.

!) Well the job I have been dreading & keep putting off is clearing out my craft magazines (that could take days but I am going to make a start), I look through each mag and choose projects I would like to do and add them to a list on my computer - one list for each type eg bags, cushions, blocks etc. AND then throw out (or giveaway) all magazines that have no projects in I would like to do.

2) I have been putting of sorting out the caring hearts that I have received over the last few months (I know very slack of me)

3)I have a few small piles around the house to sort out, including a tray of bits on the scrap room. I will endeavour to get to them all this week.

4) Spending time with my family is harder these day with grown up children who have busy lives and different work hours. BUT last night Royce & I cooked a meal together - without arguing, now that's something we don't normally do (the not arguing bit), i have also just been over to his granny flt and sorted out his clothes for him to put away (I refuse to do that normally). Hubby is off to chop wood this arvo I might go over and help him pile them up. In fact I have just gone and told him that if he chops and wheels it over to the house I will pile it up for him and fill up the kindling boxes. Now to think of something special to do for Haylee.......

Well I do think that's enough to think about for this week.

Check back in a few days to see how I have gone.

Check out this great giveaway at Dawn Hay Designs

Pop over to Dawn Hayes designs to enter this great giveaway for her Laundry set pattern

http://dawnhaydesigns.blogspot.com/2009/05/50th-post-and-giveaway.html