{April Group GIVEAWAY...$100 Gift Card to ModCloth}

Hi friends! I have a special treat for you today! I've paired up with some rad bloggers to bring you a chance to win a $100 gift card to ModCloth!

If you haven't checked out this site before, they have the CUTEST stuff and $100 will totally help you out :)

image via

This giveaway is in collaboration with some ROCKSTAR bloggers!

Gingerbread Blog // Antlers and Roses // Delightful Deets // 

Polka-dots and Lemonade // Fairly Fabulous // Blue Eyed Owl // Blueberry's Blog

This giveaway will be open until May 1st! Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Made With Love Link Up}

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by Made With Love this week!

Last week's featured link is:

...this AWESOME Pottery Barn inspired wood art linked up by This Girl's Life. GREAT job Melissa! It's stunning!

Alright party people, let’s get to it! I'll be featuring my favorite links on the Facebook Fan Page throughout the week! Are you a fan? I also try to Pin my favorites to Pinterest. The top clicked link will be featured during next weeks party! 

{Just a few party guidelines}

• Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine, but please no Etsy shop items}
• 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!
• If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!
• 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 tweet about the party. Make sure to @ tag me so I can RT you!

Thanks for stopping by! Now go link up something crafty! 

{Insta Friday...life lately}

Happy Friday to you! I'm at Snap and I wish you were too! You can follow all the fun via my Instagram @sewchatty.

I'm linking up with Jeannette for InstaFriday.

       
       
           
           
       

Here's a peek at life lately via my iPhone pics.

 I wrapped a GIANT frame with fabric and added all kinds of fun things inside!!! That top right corner needs something, I just don't know what yet! Ideas appreciated :)

 So I like to wrap stuff in fabric! These bangles got wrapped too. Need to find more stuff to wrap. I'm addicted!

 I hosted a Pinterest Party! We had carbs and crafted and chatted. Best night. You need to host one! We made a darling Doily Canvas and some Fabric Tape.

 We renewed our Disney passes. And now we're broke. And also, the cast members need to learn how to use iPhones to take pictures. And would it have killed them to make sure my kid was looking like he was having a good time?

 Finally did one of those workshops at Home Depot. We I made a bird feeder. It rules.

 This was how Carter enjoyed most mornings of spring break. Jams, mask, cape, trains. His happy place.

 Every once and a while, I can sneak in a nap on Sundays and gosh, it's heaven.

Potlucks are my favorite. I took this yummy salad (spring mix, gorgonzola, apples, red onion, candied pecans, balsamic dressing) to our church iConnect. iConnect means "intentionally connect" and it's a potluck dinner at a host home where we grow relationships with each other and new people families in the church. I go to the best church ever.

Happy weekend friends!

{DIY Coffee Bar...and DONUTS!}

Hi friends! I'm packing like a crazy person and gearing up for SNAP tomorrow! Can't wait, but first I'm sharing a fun little DIY project with you!

 We entertain A LOT. And we are coffee people so making this cute little coffee bar area in our dining room was really fun!

My husband sanded and painted two TV trays and bolted them together which created a super fun little station for me to go crazy with! We have a Keurig that we use daily, but for entertaining, we still need a larger coffee pot. I buy that coffee at Target. It's delish and super CHEAP cost effective, not to mention the can is way adorable and I use them as vases after we empty them out. Hydrangeas and daisies look fab in there. I hit up World Market recently and got those stacking mugs and crazy cute cookie jar. The mugs are GINORMOUS. They double as ther perfect ice cream bowl too! I'm slowly adding some cute stuff to the wall above. I want to add a few more hoops and maybe a coffee print or two.

Here is a closer look at the TV trays turned coffee station! Super simple and fun project for all my coffee loving friends!

And what goes better with coffee than DONUTS! A few weeks ago I bought this awesome Sunbeam Donut Maker on clearance at Target for $15 and it has been really fun!

So far, my favorite donuts have been these Cinnamon Toast Crunch ones I made for crafting brunch with some of my girlfriends!

They couldn't be easier too! I bought the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffin Mix (Target) and made it up according to the package directions. I poured the batter into a ziploc and snipped off the end so I could pipe the batter into the donut maker. I got about 15 donuts from the batter. Once they were cool, I glazed them with a simple powdered sugar/milk glaze and dipped them in the crumb topping that comes with the mix. They were so good! Big hit with my crafty lady friends!

Now you're set to enjoy some coffee and donuts with good friends! Have a happy day!

{Made With Love Link Up}

Hey friends! It's party time!!

This week's feature is and awesome wood plaque from Princess Splendor.

 

So fun and springy! I just love it. Great work Marucci!

Alright, let’s get to it! I'll be featuring my favorite links on the Facebook Fan Page throughout the week! Are you a fan? I also try to Pin my favorites to Pinterest. The top clicked link will be featured during next weeks party! 

{Just a few party guidelines}

• Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine, but please no Etsy shop items}
• 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!
• If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!
• 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 tweet about the party. Make sure to @ tag me so I can RT you!

Thanks for stopping by! Now go link up something crafty! 

{...Sponsored Post: Staples}

I am so blessed to be able to work from home. I get to make pretty stuff and write about it and connect with great people all over the world. Pretty sweet gig. This is something that I do not take for granted.

I also love when awesome products come about that make my life easier! We were given our iPad for my son almost two years ago and it has been so wonderful for us. You can read more about how we got our iPad HERE. He is lucky enough to be at a school where an iPad is part of his daily education and behavior management so while he's at school, I use it a lot for managing social media content, emailing, and if I'm being totally honest...I watch a lot of Netflix whilst I sew :)

 I was recently given an opportunity to review a product for Staples and knowing how much we use our iPad, I thought that a keyboard would be really great for us.

 This is the keyboard case by Sharper Image. It connects wirelessly via bluetooth to the iPad and makes managing my content a breeze!

The case folds up compactly and will be perfect for meetings, conferences, and remote blogging. Lucky for me, it came just in time for Snap next week! It does add bulk to the iPad so my old iPad cover won't work. Guess it's time to make myself a cute new tote!

Question: What are some of your favorite apps and tools for blogging with an iPad? Our computer is about to die so being able to use the iPad for blogging would be a ideal!

Full disclosure, Staples provided me with this Ipad keyboard. The words and opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. To see the full line of Ipad Accessories visit Staples.com.

Have a happy day!

{Sewing Room Update: Quilted Throw & Pillow Covers}

Hi friends! I've been busy sprucing things up in my sewing room over the last few weeks. De-cluttering and moving stuff around is my love language. Here's my most recent project!

We recently moved the full sized bed that was in there into my sons room and downsized to a futon for the sewing room. This room also doubles as our guest room so we need to have a place for friends and family to sleep, but it's SO nice to have a cozy "couch" to sit and crochet and blog and rest...ahhh. My happy place!

First let's talk about this fun quilted throw! If you're new to quilting or wanting a first ptoject, this would be a great blanket to start with! 

 You can find the full tutorial for this quilted throw HERE. This takes a layer cake which is 10x10 squares. I bought this particular layer cakes YEARS ago and have been hoarding it for just the right project. It's Dill Blossom by Robert Kaufman. I just love the sketchy hand-drawn look. Perfect for the craft/sewing room!

The finished throw is 58x58. Perfect lap size.

 The back is a pretty aqua kona solid with one row of the leftover blocks from the front. My layer cake was short two squares so I just went through my stash to find a few prints that coordinated.

I think the button detail is my favorite feature of this blanket! I've never quilted with buttons before, but it's so cute!

All in all, I thought this was a GREAT tutorial. Easy to follow and it came together really quickly. I did do a few things differently at the end: I top-stitched around the quilt after I slip-stitched the opening closed. Because you aren't binding it, I think it needs it. Also, I just really like top-stitching. For the buttons...I grabbed an Elmer's glue stick and tacked them down first to assure they wouldn't budge when I was sewing them on. Then I sewed them down with my sewing machine. Yep, you can sew buttons with your sewing machine. There are lots of tutorials on You Tube, but basically, you cover your feed dogs, pop on your button foot, and use a zigzag stitch. Easy peesy. Then I just brought the top threads to the back with a needle and hand tied them.

Ok, onto the pillows!

 

I just did a simple envelope style pillow cover. The two big pillows came with the futon, but they were just dark gray and screaming for a color makeover! The smaller pillow came with the old set of bedding that we had in here. If you're looking for pillows...hit up Ross. Do not by pillow forms at the fabric store. Way cheaper to by an ugly pillow at Ross and cover it yourself. Bam. 

Constriction wise, I just went with a pretty front with a solid back. LOVE the prints for this room. They can all be found at Whole Port. They have a really fun selection of prints and awesome prices!

Stay tuned for more updates to my sewing room! Have a happy day!

{Made With Love Link Up}

Hi there! Thanks so much for stopping by Made With Love!

Last week's feature is...

...this fantastic Envelope Pillow tutorial linked up by Suburbs Mama. This is my favorite way to make pillow covers too. In fact, I'll be making some for my sewing room this week! Stay tuned for more details on that! Thanks so much to Rita for linking up such a great tutorial! Stop by her blog and check it out!

Alright party people, are you ready for this week's link party?

Let’s get to it! I'll be featuring my favorite links on the Facebook Fan Page throughout the week! Are you a fan? I also try to Pin my favorites to Pinterest. The top clicked link will be featured during next weeks party! 

{Just a few party guidelines}

• Link up your crafts, recipes, home decor....anything that has been made by you! {Multiple links to different posts are fine, but please no Etsy shop items}
• 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!
• If you see something you like, click on it and go leave them a comment. Everyone loves comments!
• 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 tweet about the party. Make sure to @ tag me so I can RT you!

Thanks for stopping by! Now go link up something crafty!