Made with Love Monday #12

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It has been unseasonably warm here, but Sunday we got a little rain which was nice and unexpected! Poured on me when I ran out to get my Snickerdoodle ingredients!

So much fabulousness linked up last week!!! I’m in the process of redoing my sewing space {see here and here} and I was very inspired by several of the projects you all posted! I’ll be doing a tour of my office {how it looks now} on Tuesday. It got cleaned out and organized over the weekend. Now it’s time to cute it up so I’ll be starting a little series on projects to beautify your craft space!

Here are some of my faves from last week…

This Subway Art Sewing Machine Redo from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff is beyond fun! I so wish I had Silhouette!!!

The Embroidery Hoop Frames from Retro Hip Mama. I purchased a few vintage flour sacks a while back and want to frame them from my office…LOVE these!

…and lastly this crotched Flower Headband from You Seriously Made That makes me want to learn to crochet like NOW. Who wants to teach me???

If your project was featured, feel free to grab the button and place it on your sidebar!

And now for this weeks party! I can’t wait to see what you all link up this week!

{Just a few party guidelines}

1. To link up, I would first love for you to follow my blog. I like followers. The more the merrier. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

2. Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine}

3. Link back here by grabbing the super cute button on my sidebar and posting it either in your post or somewhere on your blog to let others know you've joined the party!

4. If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!

5. Lastly, feel free to help me spread the word about Made with Love Monday! Follow me on Twitter {just click on my little Twitter button} and use this tweet "I linked up my craftiness to @sewchatty's Made with Love Monday http://sewchatty.blogspot.com Check it out and link up your craftiness too!"

Thanks for stopping by!

Sew Chatty {behind the scenes}

We worked hard today cleaning and decluttering (see previous post)! Stay tuned for the full tour on Tuesday! Then I'll be starting a series on projects to beautify your creative space! Happy weekend friends :)

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Sew Chatty {behind the scenes}

This weekends project...begin to declutter, organize, and beautify the office. Don't shame me. I know it's bad. I'll keep you posted on the process!

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{FEATURED Business} Rags To Stitches

I love when I get to showcase a new handmade business! Today, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Alissa from Rags to Stitches Boutique!

Alissa and I have become friends on Twitter and we’re about to become friends in real life too because she only lives like 15 miles away from me! New friends are so fun! A coffee/playdate is in the works!

Meet Alissa

Let’s do a little Q&A with Alissa…

SC: What inspires you?

A: What inspires me the most is my relationship with the Lord. I can't even begin to explain just how much He touches my life on a daily basis. The other is my family. They are amazing! My husbands passionate about life and me constantly astounds me and there's nothing like watching your little ones grow and discover the world and their own faith.

SC: What made you start your business?

A: I taught myself how to sew when I was pregnant with my daughter. Call it "crazy nesting" and friends would comment and ask me to make them stuff too. It was my husband who encouraged me to start my business. =) So I did. It began out of a love for sewing and evolved into a love of being able to express myself through crafting. I'm still a Mama and a wife first and foremost, but I cherish every bit of my business.

SC: What do you love most about what you do?

A: I love that I'm able to create! I love seeing a project go from start to finish and I love to sew. But one of the most amazing things about what I do is the awesome ladies I've met. There are some that I've met and keep in touch with regularly. Who would have though? Amazing!! =)

SC: What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

A: Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!!

SC: What's your favorite color?

A: Well, lately I've been enjoying blues and grays. I love mustard yellow, but too scared to go anywhere near it. lol.

Thanks for visiting with us Alissa!!!

Isn’t she fun? Guess what??? Alissa is offering 10% off of EVERYTHING in her shop using the code RAGSTOSTITCHES

{Here is a peek at what you can find at Rags To Stitches}

Car Seat Canopies…to keep germy stranger hands from touching your precious baby.

Boo Bags…for when your little one falls down and bonks their head.

and these adorable Gift Sets that contain a wipes case and two burpies!

I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting my new friend and I hope you will go visit her adorable blog & shop! And if you tweet…she is @ragstostitches

Happy Friday friends!

One year {SHOPIVERSARY}!!!

Today Sew Chatty is celebrating one year! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! This year has been so fun for me. I’ve been able to do what I love and seen the fruits of my labor. I feel SO blessed.

I am thankful. Thankful for…over 500 subscribers who have signed up to read what this girl writes everyday…nearly 500 Followers whose comments make me smile…over 300 followers on Facebook and Twitter who feed my social networking addiction…and most of all I am THANKFUL for…119 SALES in The Shop!!! And to celebrate that achievement I am passing the blessing onto you with a…

You can take 20% OFF your order with the code ANNIVERSARY. And because one year is the “Paper Anniversary”…with your order of $25 or more, you’ll receive a FREE REVERSIBLE Fabric Bookmark {pic coming later today!}.

I’ve been a busy bee these last few weeks creating lots of fun new items for the shop so I hope you’ll pop over and look around! If you’ve been eyeing something for a while…now’s your chance to grab it at a discounted rate!

Thank you again for supporting me and Sew Chatty. I have loved getting to know you and I am SO excited to see what the coming year will bring!

Have a happy day!

Weigh In Wednesday!

I hope you all are having a lovely week so far! The weather has been so pretty here. We are headed to the park this afternoon to enjoy some sunshine!

Today’s weight is….well I’m not sure! Our scale seems to me malfunctioning this morning! So I will try again tomorrow and update the post. How are you all doing? I am still struggling. Ugh. I know that meal planning and getting snacky things OUT of the house have always been huge for me…just need to do it!

I am following a new blogger who is posting a weekly menu so I am going to follow along with her. Simple organic recipes. Go visit The Weekly Plate for more details.

Even though I couldn’t weigh in…I still want to pass along a yummy recipe to you today!

Peppermint Plum shared this BEAUTIFUL veggie tray with us on my Made With Love Monday link party! Doesn’t it look yummy? Like eating a rainbow!

I love hummus and I found a really easy recipe on All Recipes the other day! We made it using our fancy new mini food processor courtesy of my Twitter friend @huntschef! She blessed me with this new toy just before Christmas. I love it! And I can’t wait to play with it some more. I think guac is next! Anyhow…the hummus recipe!

Extra Easy Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor combine garbanzo beans, garlic, cumin, salt and olive oil. Blend on low speed, gradually adding reserved bean liquid, until desired consistency is achieved.

*The NI is available on the site so you can figure out the Points Plus value. Or you can just look up hummus in your tracker.

Enjoy your day!

Sew Chatty {behind the scenes}

New item...the REVERSIBLE Coffee Cuff.
Canvas and ruffles on one side...designer fabric on the reverse!

Just in time for my One Year {Shopiversary} Sale!

Enjoy :)
-E

Made With Love Monday #11

Good morning and happy Monday to you :) I hope you had a lovely weekend! Ours was so nice. Lots of time with friends and some much needed R&R! Feeling so blessed to live in a place where it’s 75 degrees in January!

Thank you to all who continue to come and link up to Made With Love Monday each week! Last weeks party was so fun! I have such a blast visiting your blogs and admiring your craftiness!

My favorite link from last week is this Flower Cuff Tutorial from Little Eme. I love that it’s made with an old sweater and fabric scraps! So cute! I want to make a bunch! Thanks so much for sharing with us {feel free to grab the featured button from my sidebar too}!

And now for this weeks party! I can’t wait to see what you all link up this week!

{Just a few party guidelines}

1. To link up, I would first love for you to follow my blog. I like followers. The more the merrier. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

2. Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine}

3. Link back here by grabbing the super cute button on my sidebar and posting it either in your post or somewhere on your blog to let others know you've joined the party!

4. If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!

5. Lastly, feel free to help me spread the word about Made with Love Monday! Follow me on Twitter {just click on my little Twitter button} and use this tweet "I linked up my craftiness to @sewchatty's Made with Love Monday http://sewchatty.blogspot.com Check it out and link up your craftiness too!"

Thanks for stopping by!

And the winner is…

Good morning friends! Thank so much to everyone that entered the FREEBIE FRIDAY fabric giveaway!

The winner is picked by the Quick Random Number Generator app on my phone and it says the winner is…#19 Lesley from Five Seconds From Crazy!!! Congrats Lesley! Your pretty fabric will ship out today!

Shop Update AND FREEBIE FRIDAY!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

photo credit

I hope you all had a wonderful week! So glad Friday is here. I plan on resting this weekend…let’s see if it actually happens!

Just a little update on the shop…I added a few new things this week. For Christmas gifts, I had made lots of Pom Pom Blossoms with jersey knit and I had a ton leftover so I whipped up a few for the shop. There are only 10 left and I don’t think I will be offering them again anytime soon so get them while you can!

Earlier this week, I gave you all a sneak peek of Sew Chatty’s new look! Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback on the new style! I have been working hard on new products over the last several days. I added 3 new Wristlet Clutches last night!

{new} Shabby Ruffle Wristlet Clutch

I will be adding 4 new Zipper Pouches and 3 Little Snap Wallets today {as soon as I have good lighting for pics!}. Next week I will be listing Checkbook Covers and Coffee Cuffs…and maybe a few more things if time permits! All in the new style…canvas and designer ruffles :)

And now it’s time for FREEBIE FRIDAY! In an effort to clean out my stash…I am doing a fabric giveaway!

This is a BIG stack of scraps…some large, some small…in a variety of colors and prints. By weight it is more than 5 yards! Great for small projects.

To enter just become a follower and comment below!

{Additional Entries}

• Become a follower of Sew Chatty on Facebook and leave a comment here to confirm your entry.
• Follow @sewchatty on Twitter and tweet “It’s FREE FABRIC FRIDAY @sewchatty! Head over to http://sewchatty.blogspot.com for your chance to win a bunch of pretty fabric!”

Good luck! Happy weekend :)

Sew Chatty {behind the scenes}

I get to play with Amy Butler today!

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Weigh In Wednesday!

Good morning everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far! It’s time for another Weigh In Wednesday!

photo credit

This week’s weight is……131.6. Yep that’s right I’m up a lb from last week :( No excuses other than that I’ve been lazy. Things are so busy for me right now that I haven’t been able to really focus on the things that make me have good weight loss like…meal planning, tracking, and exercise…But I want this week to be different! Are you with me??? Let’s commit to plan each meal, track everything we put in our mouths, and move a little more…then we’ll see what the scale says next week! Enjoy your day friends :) Here is a tasty recipe to try…

Greek Lemon Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

PointsPlus™ Value:    10
Servings:  4

Ingredients

1/2 cup(s) fresh lemon juice   

1/2 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth   

2 Tbsp olive oil   

4 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced   

2 Tbsp dried oregano   

1 1/2 pound(s) skinless chicken thigh(s), about 8 thighs   

1 spray(s) cooking spray   

1 pound(s) uncooked new potatoes, cut in half (about 10 small potatoes)   

Instructions

• Place lemon juice, broth, oil, garlic and oregano in a large resalable plastic bag or medium glass bowl. Add chicken, seal bag or cover bowl, and marinate at least 2 hours or up to overnight in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9- X 11-inch pan with cooking spray.
• Place chicken and marinade in pan; add potatoes. Bake until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender, about 60 minutes. Yields about 2 chicken thighs and 5 potato halves per serving.

Sneaky Peak at Sew Chatty’s new look!

I’m giving my products a little makeover :) Why? Well, a few reasons really..only one of which is the fact that I suffer from ADD! The handmade industry is becoming increasingly competitive and I want to make sure my items are unique and stand out from the rest of the pack. I want them to be reflective of me and my style. Remember this tote? 

This will be the new look of the majority of Sew Chatty products going forward. Natural canvas mixed with pretty designer fabrics. Mostly casual with a touch of fancy. That’s me. Here is a sneak peak of a few new things I’ve been working on…

{these will be giveaway items for various blog giveaways I am participating in so stay tuned for details on how you can make them yours}

  

  

I hope you like the new look! I am working hard this week to get the shop stocked with some pretty goodies just for you…and YES, the Shabby Blossom Tote will be one of the new items to look forward to!