Quilting With Kids

February 17, 2011 by carina 8 Comments

Tuesday, I spent the afternoon in Siri’s first-grade class making a quilt with the students for the Arts Night Fundraiser. As it turns out, even first-graders can quilt…and quilt well!

Turns out that making a quilt has all kinds of math applications too (shocking! educational AND fun!). We looked for patterns and shapes (parallelogram, anyone?). After laying out the quilt, each student sewed together two blocks and then they helped piece together several rows.

You’ve got to love the kids’ reactions to the sewing machine…especially if they have never sewn before. Some were obsessed with seeing how fast they could make it go (we called it “zooming”) and others were trying to figure out how the thread worked it’s way into the fabric. All were obsessed with the string going at the top (really?). The magic of being a first-grader again!

If you want to make this simple quilt, the dimensions are 6.5″ x 12.5″ triangles to create (once sewn) 12″ x 12″ blocks (two triangles to a block). It is 7 blocks long and 6 blocks wide with a 4″ border (4.5″ cut for seam allowance). It is approximately a twin-sized quilt.

I’m just finishing up the binding and this baby will be ready for Arts Night! Once it’s finished I’ll give you sneak peek of it before it goes up for auction!

Valentine’s Day

February 15, 2011 by carina

Just dropping in for a second to report our very, merry Valentine’s Day. Seriously, my kids made out like bandits…I swear it could have been Halloween! Both were happily going through their candy /valentine cards after school today. I think Flissa tried every sucker and opened all of the Fun Dip a child could eat in a year.

Siri made her Valentine’s Day box with Aunt Baily this year and used my Love Nest glitter paper and fabric, beads, ribbon, and silk flowers. I was a pretty proud mama. She was also excited to wear her ” Valentine’s Day shirt” from Love Nest. She was pretty cute modeling it for me. Ya, ya, I know. Proud mama again.

Tomorrow I’m heading into Siri’s first grade class to help the kids make a quilt to donate for their class project for their Arts Night Fundraiser. I’ll tell you how it goes…

Love Nest Flag Quilt – Free Download

February 3, 2011 by carina 11 Comments

After a weekend of quilting, I finally have the Love Nest™ Flag Quilt instructions for you! It’s a such a beautiful quilt (if I do say so myself) and the flags make it fun and modern. I’ll be making a second one this weekend (both girls want one). In fact, Siri liked it so much that she stole it off of Flissa’s bed once the 3-year-old had fallen asleep. Sneaky!

All of the patterns and measurements for this quilt is included in the pattern. Happy Quilting!

XOXO-Carina

And Here I am

January 28, 2011 by carina 8 Comments

And here I am on a Friday night, aimlessly clicking on blogs—blogs of people I heart, designers, artists, and so on…caught in that maddening cycle (that somehow always involves several visits to Facebook and Twitter) of being too tired to leave my computer but not tired enough to stop the endless, nonsensical journey through the world of blogs. Please tell me you get caught in this cycle too?

So here I am on the final stop of my longer-than-it-should-have-been blogfest—my own blog. Just a stop in to say hello in the midst of the madness (which is probably why I have been sitting numbly in front of the computer for the last hour).

Or maybe it’s because of the two trips to the Children’s Museum today (absolutely wore me out!) Flissa had a fieldtrip there this morning, and we made a second trip in the afternoon so Siri could go too. Despite it’s energy-sucking effects, I love that place. Seriously, inspiration AND entertainment. I came up with the names of my next two sewing patterns while watching Flissa fill up a grocery cart of plastic food and transport it to another (wrong) portion of the play area.

Nice.

(Photo above is of me trying very hard to take a photo of the flower I wore today (using the Felicity Flower Pattern) while balancing the camera with one hand and taking the photo in front of the mirror. Tricky. Very tricky.)

Our New Year’s Eve

January 5, 2011 by carina 2 Comments

Josh had a work trip in Moab last week so the girls and I followed him down there for a little holiday. We were planning on sunny, warm weather—a get-away from the cold of Salt Lake. Unfortunately for us, a storm blew into Utah, and it was just as cold in Moab as Salt Lake. So it may not have been warmer, but it was certainly snowier.

Despite the storm, we decided to brave a snowy Arches National Park. It was worth it! I don’t know if I can say the same about our trip up to Dead Horse Point. I’m deathly afraid of heights, and seeing my 6’6″ husband holding my 3 year-old while looking over a cliff put ME over the edge!

While Josh worked, the girls and I spent all our time lounging in our room and playing in the hotel swimming pool. When you are 6-years-old, you can make friends with just about anybody in a swimming pool. I wonder what happens to us as adults?

This was probably one of the quietest New Year Eves we’ve ever had…and maybe one of the happiest. Our little family snuggled into a warm hotel on a fun little adventure.

I hope you had a wonderful start to your year too and that 2011 is a happy one!

XOXO-Carina

Reversible Ballet Bag Tutorial

November 18, 2010 by carina 6 Comments

I woke up this morning and ached for a bit of sewing. Just a little. I just wanted a quick little project that would brighten my two little girls’ day. Here’s what I came up with:

Using the samples I have from Love Nest™ (due out Jan 2011), I made both Siri and Flissa a reversible ballet bag. It was ever so easy and would also make the perfect church handbag, travel bag, goodie bag,… (you get the idea).

You don’t need much fabric (remember, all I have are tiny samples). It does help to have two fun coordinating fabrics so that you can flip the bag inside out for a little change-a-roo.

When I say “simple” I really mean it. You basically need 4 pieces of fabric (a piece for the outside, a piece for the inside, and two straps). My girls love it and I loved getting in a little project this morning.

Here are my little notes if you want to make this bag with a few extra pieces of fabric you have lying around your house:

_________________________________________________________________

Here’s a picture of the birdie-brown bag reversed out (the blue flower calico print) and a peek into Flissa’s heart-circle baggie.

I think I counted 10 straight lines to sew to make this bag. In the words of Ina, “How easy was that?”

XOXO-Carina

A Chicken Thing

November 11, 2010 by carina

I’m so sad that the weather has turned. There isn’t going to be many days left to chase the neighbor’s chickens around. Well, I should re-phrase—for my children plus cousin to chase the chickens around.

I don’t dare pick them up.

But as this shining photo shows, Siri isn’t the least bit afraid. In fact, cousin Caroline and Siri have a wonderful time torturing these poor chickens that they have named things like “Old Angel”, “Sweet Tart”, and “Mrs. Tarts”. They let the chickens out for recess and then catch them again and put them back in the “school”. Charming, huh? (just not for the chickens).

Ahh, to be young again and have that kind of amazing imagination.

Well, there won’t be much more chicken chasing, but I am excited for the holidays to be here! I broke open the hot chocolate for the first time tonight.

I can’t tell what those poor chickens are thinking? Maybe I’d rather be chicken stew? Or why is this kid hugging me?

A Quick Hello

November 7, 2010 by carina 2 Comments

Just taking a quick moment to say, “hello.” We’ve been busily switching around rooms in the house and I’ve been finishing up some great new projects (still hush-hush, I”m afraid. I’ll be sure and let you in on the news the moment I can!).

In the midst of the chaos, Josh and I managed a night out to watch Real Salt Lake play in the conference semi-finals. We bought tickets from scallopers and ended up in the supporter section. Don’t know what the supporter section is? Well, let me tell you, it’s quite the treat. Drums, crepe paper, trumpets, flags, half-naked cheerers and balloons. Josh was in heaven, and I admit that the constant cheering was contagious.

I’m going to let you in on my favorite secret pleasure: I spent most of the game scoping out the food situation. I may have made several trips to the concessions that had me toting back chicken tacos, churros, brats, root beer, icees… I’ll stop there. Ya, I know. Foodie. Total foodie.

One last thing before I get back to work: Stop by the Fat Quarterly Magazine’s blog when you get a chance to check out the interview I did for them a week ago.

Cheers! Carina

Love Nest Samples

October 19, 2010 by carina 6 Comments

It’s happy day when fabric arrives at my door. Today it was samples from my Love Nest™ Collection for Northcott™, which should hit quilting shops in January. You may recognize this collection from it’s Scrapbooking Glitter Pad debut at Hobby Lobby a year ago. Siri and I went through the samples trying to decide which would be for quilts, pillows, and outfits. It certainly gets me even more excited about the sewing patterns that we are developing right now (due out next spring!).

Siri and I are also figuring out fun ways to use up the scraps of Coquette™ hanging around. She’s been begging for Barbie dresses, but I like this alternative better. We got this with the kid’s meal at Burger King. I seem to remember having something like this when I was a little girl. The best part is just cutting out the square fabric swatches and letting her mix and match to her heart’s content.

BTW, if you missed the mailing for my first newsletter, just click on the newsletter here. Be sure and sign up for the newsletter here to get any future issues (BTW, this one has a digital scrapbooking freebie download! Check it out).

A Sunday Drive

September 27, 2010 by carina

After church this morning, the girls and I headed up into the mountains for a Sunday drive. Our mission was to gather a few autumn leaves for art projects. There may have been much singing of Defying Gravity on said drive up the mountain. Yes, the three-year-old can belt it thanks to a certain episode of Glee.

The leaf gathering was successful despite the lack of red and purple leaves ( I have promised a follow up trip for that). We managed to collect a lot of yellow, brown, green, orange, and “rainbow” (anything with a mix of the above colors) leaves.

The art project even went well despite the Elmer’s glue Flissa managed to spread on her legs. She was trying to glue a rock to her paper. Typically, paper beats rock. Not so in craft projects. Rock wins. No contest.

Breakfast Outing

September 6, 2010 by carina 1 Comment

We landed at the Blue Plate Diner this morning—our favorite breakfast spot. It seemed like a great way to start Labor Day.

We may have indulged (pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, and, um, shakes) and will now be forced into food-induced comas for the rest of the morning. The girls will certainly take advantage of this and destroy the house. I think it will be worth it.

How to Make a Butterfly Chandelier-Free Download

September 2, 2010 by carina 31 Comments

I made this fun little chandelier for my girls’ room a month ago using my Back to Basic’s digital line. It’s been a cute addition to their room, and it was pretty easy to make. Check out the tutorial below.

Want to cut it with your silhouette machine (or any other machine that cuts Illustrator files?). Download the ai file here (not for commercial use or resale).It’s already set up with 6 butterflies to a sheet.

ILLUSTRATOR FILE DOWNLOAD

If you want a pdf version of all six butterflies already setup for you (if you need to cut them out by hand), don’t worry! I’ve hooked you up too.

PDF FILE DOWNLOAD

Download the tutorial with instructions here:

New Beginnings

August 25, 2010 by carina 1 Comment

Ahhh, the first day of school. A little bit sad, but a whole lot of happy. Siri woke up this morning and started getting herself ready (a minor miracle) saying, “I don’t want to be late to my first day of school!”

We celebrated with Banbury Cross Donuts and (me) trying to walk it off by trotting to school with the neighborhood.

It has been quiet in the house today. Felicity has been coloring in my office while I’ve tried to do a little work. Felicity doesn’t start preschool until next week, but it will be lovely to have a couple of hours to work during the day (My goal is to discontinue to the 2 o’clock in the morning design spurts!).

It has officially been 4 years now since I haven’t bought text books and headed to school. Perhaps that is why I have been so gung-ho about my little ABC Class—a reminiscence to those old grad school days. I love the new school year, and I’m excited for the fall to come (this morning felt like fall-too bad it will hit 100 degrees tomorrow).

Fourth of July Weekend

July 5, 2010 by carina 4 Comments

We love a small town Fourth of July. In Minnesota, we always went to Stillwater for a beautiful old-time Fourth of July with friends on the St. Croix River. A little tip off from friend Deena sent us this year to Huntsville, Utah.

On the actual “4th,” we visited the Golden Spike Monument for a little re-enactment of where the two railroads met to connect the country and a bumpy trip on a gravel road to the Spiral Jetty. To tell you the truth, I love historical and art sites, but I could leave the road trips. Road trips are just not my specialty. Josh is the one who inspires trips like these.

Somehow is seemed very patriotic to see this re-enactment of the railroads connecting the country.

The Spiral Jetty is really neat. However, the minivan had a rough time. Might I suggest four-wheel drive?

Gigantic Marshmallows and Moose

June 28, 2010 by carina 2 Comments

We’ve been camping the last couple of days roasting ridiculously large marshmallows (My husband says they throw the universe out of balance. My mother-in-law suggests jumbo-sized chocolates and graham crackers should be sold to match these. I think a brand-new box of baby wipes should accompany them.).

On the campgrounds, look what we spotted this beauty:

It was just on the edge of the campgrounds as we walked over the bridge. I didn’t think we were going to see any critters (except for Potty and Snotty (so named by my daughters)—our potbellied squirrels that scavenged our campsite). It was such a treat to see this big guy!