Holiday Lane Blog Hop

It's here! My day is finally here! I've been so excited watching the other hop participants reveal their pillows! I have to give a big thanks to Madame Samm and Pauline for hosting this huge gathering and cheering us all on!

So, without further ado, here is the back of my pillow!

I'm showing you the back first, because I fell in love with this fabric from Robert Kaufman's O' Tinsel Tree 2 line at a quilt show and immediately envisioned my Holiday Lane. I wanted those wonky doors and window panes, the cute snowman, the wreaths and lights and most importantly, the blues and grays! 

I think I was pretty successful at adapting it for Jill's pattern (which is free if you'd like to put together a Holiday Lane of your own!). 

Ready for some detail shots?

This fabric was supposed to be waves, but I had houses on my brain when I found it. I saw shingles!

I had these miniature buttons made for scrapbook pages in my stash and just had to add them to my snowman! 

It's simple, but my favorite house is this plain blue with the little Christmas tree in the window. I hand embroidered the tree next to it with a motif from my flange fabric using a split stitch. 

I substituted fleece for the wool the pattern called for and used my machine to blanket stitch it down. I absolutely love how this pattern lends itself to customization! I can't wait to see how the other ladies have personalized their pillows today! I just know you'll want to join me in visiting them!

J Kafer on the Net

Busy as Can Be

Dachsies With Moxie

28 Peppermint Grove-You are here!

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Kris Loves Fabric

Linda - that other blog

Dora Quilts

Shedding the Wolf

Quilting, Sewing Granny

Creative Notions

Chickadees Country Cottage Crafts

Madame Samm @ Sew We Quilt

I wanted to buy a little something to give away today, but I couldn't find the time! I thought maybe you wouldn't mind if I de-stashed a little? 

I'll give away this pretty mini-quilt and matching tote pattern I have been meaning to make for ages, along with this Clover Rose Maker in size small (I bought all three sizes and have only opened one...bad stasher!) and a little Christmas fabric surprise to one random person who comments letting me know about something they've been stashing for awhile! 

Giveaway is now closed!

Just a couple announcements

Did you know that My Memories Suite has recently announced Version 4 of the software?! Oh my gosh! I cannot wait to have a chance to play with this and see the awesome pages I can make! Even better, they put it at 50% off for Cyber Monday and have extended the sale! 

Just enter the code v4eCyber at checkout to get this amazing savings! 

Also, have you been keeping up with the Holiday Lane Blog Hop? My day is coming up soon! There are five days worth of adorable, awesome pillows, table runners and wall hangings to catch up on if you haven't been following along! 

Monday Moments: Scrapbook Edition

I followed about 2/3 of the prompts for the My Memories Speed Scrap last night. Once I realized their directions wouldn't quite produce the page I had in my head, I tweaked it a little to suit my needs. So I guess I can't technically say this was my Speed Scrap, but it was definitely inspired by it! 

Kit for this layout is Flakes & Fun with an added alpha from this kit. 

I don't know if you can read all of that text, but the hilarious story of how we got our tree this year! We go to the same local tree farm every year where the owners harvest the best of their trees for sale at a little stand near their home, and leave the ones with minor (or major) imperfections for the bargain hunters and purists who want to cut their own. It's always a good time hunting around for "our" tree and never very crowded on the trails, so we have, over the years, expanded the tradition to letting the kids drive. 

For the little ones, this means some time on Daddy's lap, but my step-daughter is coming up quick on 5 feet tall and definitely too big to share a car seat with her dad, so we gave her the seat to herself and a little direction with my husband in the passenger seat to help guide the wheel or throw on the emergency brake if needed. She did this for a couple minutes last year before getting scared, but this year she opted for more time at the wheel...and hit a tree! 

It was a small, skinny tree and my husband has a big brush guard on his truck, so it didn't do any damage and we were able to laugh about it (after getting her out of the driver's seat, anyway!). It has a very skinny, crooked trunk and several bald spots, but I guarantee this will be the most memorable Christmas tree we ever have! 

Blog hop begins today & a sneak peek!

Today is the start of the Holiday Lane Blog Hop! I requested not to go today, as this is my first blog hop. I really wanted some time to see other posts to get an idea how to format mine. So, I was assigned the last day of the hop and thank goodness! I have two kids with fevers right now and I'm glad that I only have to find the time to write a couple paragraphs versus a whole post! 

Here's a sneak peek of what you will see on the 30th! I love him! I love the whole thing and I can't wait to show it off! 

Monday Moments: Scrapbook Edition & digiscrap tip

I keep forgetting it's Monday! My head is buzzing with things I need to get done before the holiday and I just kept spacing out on why it was I opened the laptop...

Here is the result of last night's Speed Scrap on the My Memories Facebook page. When the directions called for one photo I scrolled through my pics and found this gem. I had plenty of recent events with two or three pictures, but nothing that stood on its own. I'm glad, though! This sweet moment from the summer definitely deserved a page! 

How do you like my Michigan? It's a word art! I downloaded this font and used it in the word art to fill with paper and shadow. I love how it looks just like a fancy die cut! Dingbat fonts can be great tools for the digital scrapper! Do you have any favorites I should know about? 

Tie Dye Character Shirts

There has been no shortage of Scooby Doo in my house for the last month! My son Gabe and I both dressed up as characters from the show for Halloween, and this was after we had already started planning a little Scooby Doo birthday.

Mostly, Gabe's birthday consisted of some cake. We're going to put together little treat bags and possibly do a second cake over Thanksgiving with some extended family, but we couldn't let the actual day pass without some sort of celebration! 

I painted some characters on plain white shirts and picked up a tie dye kit on clearance to test out a theory I had (and to distract the kids a little). 

It turns out you can tie dye over top of fabric paint, but it is a lot of work! I'm wondering if the same effect could be gotten a lot easier by printing coloring pages onto iron-on paper. Maybe we'll try that theory next year! It would certainly be more doable for larger groups that way! 

Monday Moments: Scrapbook Edition & a freebie!

This layout is the result of last week's Speed Scrap on the My Memories Facebook page. I thought the colors in the All the Pretty Ponies kit I bought to scrap her first birthday worked really well with the cupcake costume we bought her. I added the little cupcake in the corner from another kit, but everything else was all from the pony kit, and I love it! 

If you liked that page, then you might be interested in the free kit currently available to fans of Megan Turnidge on Facebook! How adorable is this? You can't beat the price, either! Just hurry, because I think the links expire tomorrow! 

Did you know it's Digital Scrapbooking Day?

Or maybe it isn't today, but there are all sorts of challenges on the My Memories Facebook page and a huge blog train on their blog! A Blog Train, if you aren't familiar, is links to a ton of different blogs and, of course, a freebie at every single stop! I snagged a few goodies this weekend like this adorable, whimsical kit and this one with 109 elements! 

I need to get back to scrapping, but I wanted to show off one of the pages I entered into the Altered Speed Scrap Challenge on the My Memories Facebook page. It's a great way to not only tell you about all of the deals and freebies going on, but also to show you my completed Halloween costume! 

I finished my sweater just in the nick of time on Halloween day. Actually, I finished it twice! The first time I accidentally mistook one of those big bulky sleeves for the body. I should have taken a picture for the sewing fails group on Flikr. It would have given everyone a good laugh to see that! Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking that far ahead, just wanting to get it all together before it was time to Trick or Treat!