Patriotic Onesie

My camera lens died last week, meaning I’m without my nice DSLR for a very important family reunion/holiday event.  Awesome (sorry if my sarcasm drips off the screen and onto your keyboard.). 

But, still, I wanted to show my little baby girl in her little star onesie, perfect for the upcoming festivities, so the camera on my husband’s cell is what you get.  I’m sure you can make out the star, somehow.  I used heat-n-bond instead of my trusty wonder-under, and that stupid stuff won’t adhere to the onesie.  I have such trouble, perhaps I got a bad batch.  Anyway, I just pinned and zig-zagged around the stars; the skinny blue star isn’t secured on the edges, but at least that heat-n-bond will keep it from fraying too much.  Rar.

Camera phones are trickier than digital… Especially since it is this squirmy worm of a child!  Sheesh!

Have a great weekend!

DIY Cooling Board

My favorite era EVER is the 1950’s.  Mostly because I love the design style, but also because I heard so much about that time from my great-grandpa. 

My great-grandpa Ellis worked for General Electric, and he claims he was one of the brains behind colored appliances.  This photo is my great-aunt Kathy, pulling some homemade croissants out of their new yellow-gold double oven for a GE product ad.  The pearl necklace, half apron, full-skirted dress… doesn’t it make you want to step in and bake along with her?

Today on Curbly I have a post where I tried to sync my baking vibes with my family history, and I made a modern cooling rack out of a cutting board.  I really like it; it is much easier to use for my cookie batches, bread, etc. than my big wire cooling rack.  And it is prettier too. 

You can see the tutorial here!

Room In Progress

Last week while all the celebrating was happening, I was knee deep in working on the baby’s new room.  It still has a way to go, but every day I would check something off the list. (Let’s play “Spot the Baby!” in this photo!)

Aside from actually setting up the crib, the biggest project in that room has been repainting the drawers on the little dresser.  It was a creamy white, and lived in the closet in the girls’ room.  Before, it lived in my bedroom as seen in this embarrassing photo of me; it was sponge painted in forest green and had ivy stenciled to the drawer faces at that point in its life.  My mother was very creative, especially since she had painted it avocado green for her own bedroom when she was a younger girl.  This dresser is like a cat- it has lots of lives.

First, I painted the body a bright white:

Then I debated on just pale pink drawer faces or go with the trend and do ombre.  I don’t usually do the trendy stuff because trends go in and out so fast, but I figured that since it was just drawer fronts on a cheap dresser, I might as well go for it this time.  I called my sisters and friends to get their input too, and we all decided it wouldn’t hurt to try it!  I grabbed a Behr paint chip and just got sample sizes in each of the 3 colors on the chip.

I think it is really cute, but eventually it will enter another life and be some other color.  The top pink is really pretty; if I get tired of the ombre I’ll just do all three in that shade.  The knobs were from it’s last life, so I didn’t have to buy those- yay!

And then, ironically, I picked up this little baby swimsuit at Target. 

I’ll post more on the room as it comes along!  Just FYI, everything atop the dresser is from Hobby Lobby’s clearance aisle- although the little pink mirror was black- paint is my friend!  The lampshade is a white and green hounds tooth… I’ll get more pictures when the room is finished.

One In A Million: A Million Thanks

Well peeps, we did it. 

Sometime last night my Blogger stats updated and we surpassed the 1,000,000 mark.  I checked right before I went to bed, hoping to capture it as it happened but I was very sleepy and my fluffy pillow won :) 

I’ve accomplished some great things in life, like rappelling down a cliff with only a 10-minute meltdown halfway down (it was a small cliff too- I’m deathly afraid of heights).  It was hard, but I did it.

I scrimped and saved my way to Europe, where I took in Germany, Italy, France, Austria, and the Netherlands. I was 15.

I graduated from BYU with a Bachelors Degree, a husband, and a baby.

I auditioned for and made it into the East Valley Mormon Choral Organization, overcoming my High school choir teacher’s haunting advice to never audition for anything because I wouldn’t make it.

I was able to get pregnant again after a traumatic miscarriage which left me no desire to ever, EVER have a baby again.  Sometimes mental obstacles are the hardest.

I received my Young Womanhood Recognition Award not once, but twice!

It would seem I have a lot to be proud of, and thankful for!  In the grand scheme of things, a million visits to my blog isn’t that amazing, but I am proud of it- and even the little things deserve recognition in life!

Thank YOU so much for being a part of my life and this accomplishment I can add to my list!  When I told Mike I was approaching the milestone, he said, “Well, I do visit your blog a lot!!”  He’s so silly :)  I know VERY WELL that I couldn’t have reached this if not for you and your support! I hope you had a fun time reading the guest posts and entering the giveaways this week!

THANK YOU for being one in a Million, and not just in the numbers sense :).  I have made some great friends through the blogging world, comments, and e-mails.  You are all SO awesome! 

Love,
Melanie

One In A Million Giveaway: Itty Bitty Boutique

My friend Kristy of Itty Bitty Boutique just had an adorable baby boy, and she was still willing to be part of the celebration going on over here!  Now that is graciousness!  And it seems fitting, that since she has her arms full with a little bundle of joy, that she’d be giving away something from her shop (although it is currently on “vacation” mode due to her maternity leave) fitting for a little baby in your life!

Look how stinkin’ adorable!!  She’s offering one of you, my dear friends, a newsboy or newsgirl beanie!

Makes you want to eat him up, right?  I’m so excited for whoever wins this one.  I know lots of people who are preggo right now who could use one of these.  Do you?  I think we all know that babies- especially our own- are truly one in a million ;)
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment!  To make things easier on the new mommy, we are opening this giveaway to U.S. Only.  Winner will choose the Boy or Girl Newsie beanie.
***Leave a way for me to contact you in your comment, please!  If your e-mail is in your profile, that works great!***

One In A Million Giveaway: Yards and Yards Shop

We’re just about through with this week’s celebrations, but today we have TWO giveaways!  The first up is from Yards and Yards, an Etsy shop with some great PDF patterns! 
She has quilt patterns:

Scripture Messenger Bags (I made one of these!)

And ruffly purses!

There are other PDF patterns in her shop too, and she’s giving away 4 PDF patterns from her shop to one of you awesome readers!  That’s a lot of projects for the To Do list, eh?
To enter, just leave a comment!  This giveaway ends Friday, June 29th.
***Please leave an e-mail if you are a no-reply blogger!!! Thanks!!***

One In A Million Giveaway: Raspberry Creek Fabric

Ok, so we all know I love me some fabric.  That’s why I’m so excited that my sponsor, Raspberry Creek Fabric, is today’s giveaway sponsor!!

Some of my favorite prints right now are available in her etsy shop:

You are lucky there is some of that Laurie Wisbrun Urban Circus left… I got a lot of it for a TOTALLY CUTE quilt I am almost done with.  My sewing room is currently being disassembled, if you remember, so it is taking a little longer than normal.  Still- I LOVE that print!!
Up for grabs is a $25 Gift Certificate to Raspberry Creek Fabric.  I’m so jealous!  One of you will be a happy camper!
If you would like to win, please leave a comment on this post!  ***PLEASE, pretty please, make sure I can contact you if you are the winner.  Lots of entries this week have been no-reply comments- boo hoo!***
Good luck!  The giveaway will go until Thursday, June 28th!

One In A Million Guest: Cami from Tidbits

It is so fun to be over here at The Crafty Cupboard! I totally support all of Melanie's blogging success, because I am certainly a regular visitor.  It is so flattering to be a part of it today.  Because we both have 3 little girls, we kind of have an understanding with each other, and our needs for sewing.

 

Melanie asked me to share whatever I wanted, so I am doing just that.  My brother and his family have packed up and decided to move across country with their 3 young boys.  From my experience in traveling with 3 kids, I knew they would need all the help they could get.  Here is what I sewed up for their departure.

 

 

This "Grab and Go Traveler" is easy to fold up and take wherever you need entertainment or organization (hotels, waiting rooms, etc.) and hangs up nicely in a car to keep the little ones busy. 

 

 

  It has plenty of pocket space to stuff the goods in as well.

 

 

 

As much as I hate the fact that they are taking my kids beloved cousins away, I hope their trip was a little easier.

 

Now I need 3 more for my little girls!

I bet you need some too.

Head on over to my blog, tidbits, and I'll show you how to make them!

 

*********************************************************************************************************************************
Thanks Cami!  You are such a great mom and have always amazed me at your talent!  These bags are such a fun idea, perfect for our summer road trips!  You are one in a million!

One In A Million Guest and Giveaway: Material Girl Kirsten

Hi all! I am Kirsten, one of Melanie’s friends from waaaay back when. I blog over at Maniacal Material Girls these days, and I have a little etsy shop, Material Girl Kirsten.
I was so excited when Mel asked me to guest post to help celebrate her one million hits! Seriously, so awesome! Amongst trying to decide what to post about (and what to give away!!), I decided it was necessary for me to share a few pictures of my bestie Mel with all of you, her faithful readers. Hopefully she doesn’t disown/kill me for any of these :) I looked all over for some pics of both of us together from junior high or high school (or even college!), but I couldn’t find ANY of them! Lame! Apparently I have misplaced those stacks of photos…So, for your viewing pleasure:


A bit of goofiness :) Love this girl!

Aaand a little more recently. Somehow we timed our last two pregnancies rather well…
Anyways, on to some craftiness!
So, I sew. That’s my thing. More specifically, I quilt. A lot. And with quilting come a lot of chain piecing (sewing pieces one right after another without cutting the thread in between pieces). And then I get chains of blocks that look like this…

My hand starts aching just thinking about cutting all those blocks apart!! Enter the most awesome sewing tool that isn’t a sewing tool EVER:

This gift wrapper cutter cuts thread GREAT! and it is only $2.97(at least, that’s how much it is from Wal Mart)!!!
Now, another fantastic use for this handy gadget. How many of you have youngsters that insist on “helping” you sew, and you end up with this?

 

photo was before I discovered this trick, so she’s playing with straight pins…I’m an awesome mom…

Well, here’s something your kid CAN do, and they will feel like they are helping! Hand them the cutter, and let them cut the thread as you finish sewing something! The blade is guarded and set back in the plastic, so they can’t hurt themselves, and it helps promote coordination since they have to get the thread into the slot to cut it. SO MUCH BETTER than letting her stick pins in the holes of my machine! (So not looking forward to taking it in for service and having them ask why there were pins inside..yes, she has pushed a few all the way in…)

And now, if you have stuck through my whole post, I have a giveaway for you!

 

Sorry for the glare, by the time I got back from the store, I was out of natural light!

 

I have a cutter to send to somebody! And to give you something to cut, I also have 2 yards of fabric to go with it! 4 fat quarters(actually, the top one is just shy of FQ, apparently I had cut a teeny bit off it), and 1 yard of the stripe! {Melanie here, hey- she made a SUPER cute quilt with these fabrics, you can see it here!}

 

Just leave a comment on this post to be entered to win!

 

Sorry, US residents only. Poor college students can’t afford international shipping :(

Good luck, and congrats again to you, Melanie, for your accomplishments!

******************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks SO much for including that toilet photo, and also the one with the tie on my head.  To bad all I could find was this from a band trip in High School (and yes, I cropped out the HS boyfriend, ha ha!):

I’m so glad to have you as a friend!  You will now be responsible for revolutionizing the thread-cutting world.  You’re one in a million!

***MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN E-MAIL IN THE COMMENTS IF YOU ARE A NO-REPLY BLOGGER!! Otherwise, I can’t reach you if you win!***

One In A Million Giveaway: Something From Me!

As you know, I got a new camera for my birthday.  And a new camera means a new camera strap!  Well, when I got done with mine, I decided to make one to share with one of you.  Because celebrating One In A Million wouldn’t be complete without a little something from me to say thank you!

I made a double-sided camera strap in the ever popular yellow/gray combo.  The gray side has tight straight quilting, and the yellow side has quilting farther apart. 

The yellow is a cobblestone print from Kate Spain’s Central Park line.  I LOVE THAT LINE!  My strap is made with some fabric from that line too, although I do like this strap a little bit better :)  The gray fabric is from Ruby, by Bonnie and Camille.

The strap is 24” long, and covers the main strap area, leaving the leather ends sticking out.  It fits any 2” wide camera straps!

If you’d like this for yourself or someone you know, just leave a comment!  This giveaway will end Tuesday, June 26th.

Because I’ll be shipping this, I’m going to have this giveaway open to US and Canada residents only.  It gets pricey for me after that, sorry!

***Please leave an e-mail address in the comments if you are a no-reply blogger!!!  Otherwise… I can’t reach you if you win!

One In A Million Guest: Christie of A Lemon Squeezy Home

Hello Crafty Cupboard readers!  First off, hooray for Melanie hitting 1,000,000 hits on her amazing blog.  I seriously love Melanie.  Though we have never met in real life, she is funny, kind, and thoughtful, and I would love to be able to meet her someday!  I so admire her sewing skills, as she really knows what she is doing!  I am in awe of her amazing quilts and love her creativity.  I happen to own something that she made, and I love that each time I see it I can think of her kindness towards me and remember to try and be that kind of person.  Plus, I hear she can sing.  I “heard” her sing once…in a dream, ha ha!  How’s that for creepy?!  I totally already told her this, but long ago after she had posted about singing in a choir, I had a dream about going to hear her choir sing, and she was great.  Crazy dreams…


Now that I’ve embarrassed myself, let’s move forward.  Today I want to share a simple way to help our kids feel great about themselves, and build family relationships.  A lady in my church was explaining how she and her husband would take their kids out for ice cream when they had done a good job on something, or accomplished something great.  She said it was happening so often they would always be going out for ice cream!  I really loved her idea and decided to do something similar.  With my husband being gone so often, I simplified it and just gathered supplies and made fun items so we could just have our own ice cream parties at home. 


I printed and framed THIS (free) adorable ice cream cone from Eat drink Chic.  The little ‘hooray’ sign was perfect for an ice cream party!


Cherries, caramel sauce, and strawberry syrup.


And of course chocolate sauce.  Mmmm.


The little clear goblets were from the Dollar Tree.  For the toppings, we have marshmallows, crunch bites, toffee chips, gummy bears, sprinkles, and m&m’s.  We probably won’t always have such a variety of toppings, but I figured this time we’d splurge a little.


I made a simple bunting with 2” strips of fabric tied onto a small rope.


The fun turquoise scoop and bowls were found at none other than Walmart.  Cheap and reusable. 
Time to scoop up!



Here are some ideas to get you started on the celebrations.



Or hitting 1,000,000 hits on your blog!

And there you have it!  A fun and simple way to let your kids know how much you love and appreciate them.  Don't just stop at your kids though!  Celebrate a promotion at work or other accomplishments of others in your family, as well!  You could even invite over extended family members for their accomplishments. 


Thanks for having me today, and feel free to stop by and say hello!

*********************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks Christie!  And now I doubt I’ll ever sing in front of you because your expectations are probably WAY too high ;)  I’m so glad you could join me in celebrating- you are one in a million!