final days of giveaways

hi everyone! sorry to have been AWOL the past few days. i got ill and that's never pretty, nor is it very productive. anyway, let's take care of some business...

let's announce some giveaway winners! mr random says the winner of the lucky pillow is:

yay! congratulations tammy! i'm so excited you get this pillow! :)

and the winner of the embroidery patterns sponsored by The Split Stitch is:

congratulations hueisei! you'll soon get an email from Sara with information on how to choose your prize.

more giveaways announced tomorrow! look around and enter them if you haven't already...

i had a lot of fun making my final freebie... i'm part of a fabric postcard swap group and we sign up to swap every so often, and of course i HAD to sign up for march's Lucky Green postcard swap. this is what i came up with for my swap partners:

i was inspired by some of my favourite bloggers/designers Sweetwater. they posted about some valentine crafts/kits here. i loved their postcard kits, and decided to design my own for St Patrick's Day.

so i've decided to let my fine readers share in my postcard joy. i printed these on printable fabric sheets before sewing them onto fabric. i used InnerFuse (double-sided stiff fusible interfacing) as the batting layer between the fabric layers, but pretty much any kind of batting may do.

again, if anyone has trouble saving the above jpg file, i have a pdf prepared to email! let me know.

in light of my recent backlog, i'm going to change my plans a little for the remaining six giveaways. instead of preparing separate posts for each day, i'm going to lump them into one... for this last giveaway, SIX people will win a prize. how about that? that way, i won't go crazy catching up with my schedule.

i recently sat down to make one of Keyka Lou's patterns, and loved how simple and fast it was. i made this little beauty for one of my sisters.

this is the Dewdrop Handbag, which unfortunately is no longer available for pattern download. i'm so glad i bought this one when i did. and that's what makes this giveaway so special! six winners will each receive one of these beautiful handbags! so, who's in?

leave a comment telling me your favourite accessory colour and that you follow my blog, and extra entries will be awarded for blogging/facebooking/twittering about the giveaway. final day for entries will be march 22, with winners announced the next day. good luck!

i think that about catches me up with giveaways. come back tomorrow for more giveaway announcements, and hopefully photos from my St Patrick's Day Party! have a great weekend folks!

day nine and ten...

in an effort to get caught up with my giveaways, i'm going to combine two into one post.

have any of you knitters out there heard of Jean Greenhowe and her designs? they are too gorgeous!

you may have seen this guy in some of my past projects... i made him and entered him into the fair and he won a ribbon! :)

i also finished the Mr and Mrs Claus just in time for christmas. Jean has many books out in lots of different themes. she even has some free patterns on her website! seriously, after these, you'll be hooked! her patterns are so easy to understand, and the booklets are beautifully illustrated. i started making things from her patterns when i was about 12 years old and living in the UK, but i know they are still around and can be bought from American based retailers, and wholesale in Mexico and Australia.

one of my favourites of her patterns is from the Little Gift Dolls booklet.

they are so quick and easy, you could make one up in a weekend or two. last year, i wanted to knit up a st patrick's day themed doll. so i turned to the little gift dolls pattern. i used the pattern for the little groom:

and instead i used various green yarns to come up with my little irish leprechaun!

isn't he cute?! i love him! he's living happily on my mantle until SPD is over... then he'll go to one of my lucky readers! that's right, he's today's giveaway. :)

along with mr. leprechaun, i'm going to be giving away three skeins of yarn - one dark green, one lighter green, and one flesh coloured for you to make your own leprechaun guy.

so, that's two prizes.

i will hold two seperate drawings for these, and if you'd like to be entered, just comment below! you can enter for either prize, or both. i know not everyone would particularly like the yarn (but i know i would!)...

this giveaway will close on 17th march, with winners announced on 18th. good luck!

day eight...

...when really it's day ten. that exam really threw me for a loop! sorry guys. i know i've got two days missing. i'll make it up before the 17th, though.

today's giveaway comes from Windy City Novelties, Inc. they are an online store for all your party supply needs. i just purchased some fun St Patrick's Day items from them...

they really have anything you could imagine, and more! from plates and cutlery and tablecloths, to banners, inflatables and theme party supplies. with their help, my house will be unmissable - is even that a word?! - and quite conspicuous this week!

WCN has been generous enough to offer a giveaway prize for my readers. how about a $20 gift card, eh?! that'll buy you some fun decorations or that memorable item everyone will enjoy.

how about a costume for your 60's party?

or inflatable microphones for your karaoke party?

one of my favourites are the inflatable coolers...

and don't forget your st patrick's day party pack!

lots of fun stuff to choose from! :)

here's what to do: proclaim to me that you're a follower, and you'll have an entry into my random draw. i'll give you an extra entry for telling me what your favourite item is from their website!

this giveaway will be open internationally too, since WCN ships overseas, but please remember that they will be shipping from the USA and appropriate shipping costs will be applied.

the close will be 16th march with the winner announced on St Patrick's Day!!

day two giveaway winner!

let's see what the random number generator says...:

wow. how often does that happen!? lucky number one is:

Congratulations Kathrynn! you'll get this yumminess to make your Lucky banner, or whatever irish decoration you like. i'll email you shortly to get your info so i can mail out your prize.

day eight post may be a little late again. i have an exam tomorrow, so i've been a bit busy. serves me right for not planning ahead this time.

see you in a bit!

day seven

first off: day two's giveaway ends tonight, so make sure you enter if you want a chance to win! :)

today, i'd like to share another wonderful blogger with you... Sara, of The Split Stitch, designs beautiful and fun embroidery patterns. last summer, she made a call for volunteer stitchers to stitch up some of her designs so she could sell her patterns in her shop. i hoped she'd pick me...

when she sent me her list of patterns to choose from, i had to pick the irish themed designs. perfect for st patrick's day! i stitched up almost every single one.

you can see more of Sara's designs and buy her patterns here. her blog has some cool tutorials and free patterns around too. i hope you'll go and explore her blog a little bit.

for today's giveaway, Sara is generously going to give the winner two free embroidery pattern sets from her shop! to enter, become/be a follwer here and leave a comment. extra entries for sharing the giveaway in various places... and an extra bonus entry for going to Sara's shop and telling me your favourite patterns. I'd love to know what you'd pick! giveaway closes at close of day 13th march and winner announced on 14th march. open internationally!

have fun, and happy crafting! :)

day six

thank you to everyone who has become a follower of my blog. i'm glad you've found me and are enjoying my blog. i love reading the comments. you are all wonderful with your lovely complements. :)

today, i wanted to share with you a delicious recipe for irish potato bread. i used to eat this a lot when i was younger when my momma would make up an "ulster fry" which consisted of fried potato bread, soda bread, eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding (which does not taste as delicious as it sounds!) and sometimes tomatoes. my favourites were always the potato and soda bread. now that i've learned to make them, they don't last very long in my house! as a consequence, i don't have a picture yet of my recipe, so i've 'borrowed' one from The Foodie Bugle until i take my own. they have a great article about irish breads - particularly northern irish... i encourage you to check it out!

Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes (peeled and cut)
• A pinch of salt
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour (and extra for dusting)
• 1 tbsp melted butter

Method

1. Boil potatoes until tender or for about 20 minutes. Drain. Mash until smooth.
2. Place in medium bowl while still warm. Stir in flour, salt, and melted butter. Mix thoroughly until dough forms.
3. On a well-floured surface, knead the dough lightly. The dough will be sticky. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten into a 9-inch circle about ¼ inch thick. Cut into quarters using a floured knife.
4. Sprinkle a little flour into the base of a skillet and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Season with a little salt and serve straight away.

yum! i can't wait to make some of these this week. and i'll have to make A LOT since i'm having myself a little party... :)

and that brings me to the freebie bit for today. i happened across another awesome blog: how does she? who has prepared some excellent st patrick's day party printables designed by chickabug, so they've gotta be good. you have to become a reader to be able to get the printables, but they are SO worth it! there are little flags, and round buttons, and even fun paper wraps to place around bottles of water.

so get on over there and print these off and have a great party!

Lucky Pillow Tutorial

here it is folks! it took me a while, but i have a nice picture heavy tutorial for you about how i made my lucky pillow...

firstly, print out your lettering and lucky shamrock image. i always forget to reverse the lettering, but i remembered to do it this time! i don't think i can post my pdf file within blogspot, so if anyone wants it, i'll gladly email it to you! :) i'll work on a way to make it available somehow...

when you've printed it out, trace around your shapes onto heat n bond.

make sure you place the glue side down and trace with pencil on the paper side. maybe that's an obvious instruction, but you never know! :P

next, cut your center square 12.5" square (these measurements may vary depending on the size pillow you want. mine will fit a 16" square pillow form). also cut two strips of equally beautiful, yet contrasting fabric measuring 12.5 x 2.5" and another two 16.5 x 2.5". i actually cut my strips slightly larger than 12.5 and 16.5 then trimmed them down after sewing...

for the back envelope pieces and the ties cut two 16.5" square pieces - cut one of these in half, then cut one of the halves into four equal strips:

set these back pieces aside until later...

sew the shorter strips to the sides of the front square with a 1/4" seam. press the seam to the sides.

the story so far:

then sew the longer edges to the top and bottom and press the seams to the outside:

the next step is to iron the graphics onto the wrong side of the fabric you've chosen. only after this stage should you cut the shapes out accurately.

go ahead and position them onto the front however you want, and peel the paper off in preparation for ironing.

i positioned my letters about an inch from the border seam. follow the instructions on the heat n bond for how long to set the appliques.

once you've set your graphics, let's start quilting! cut a backing piece of fabric just larger than 16.5" square (i didn't photograph this). it could be any kind of fabric you have - it doesn't have to match since it will be on the inside of the pillow cover. layer this piece on the bottom, then some batting (again, a little larger), then the top piece of the pillow.

go crazy on the quilting! on this one, i did a random, meandering sort of loopy quilting:

so now that we have the whole front quilted, it's time to move onto the back...

you can make the back however you like - maybe you want a zipper instead of the envelope style & ties. there are many tutorials on various blogs, so find the one that works the best for you. but this is how i did it...:

prepare the ties by sewing a seam down the long edge (mine was slightly smaller than 1/4"), then use a safety pin to help you turn it right side out again. turn in the raw edges on one of the ends of each of the ties and sew along the fold (this is just to make the ends a bit nicer and more finished. you could also sew a 1/8" seam around the entire tie for a very finished look)

fold down one edge of the square about 2 inches and press.

place two of the ties about 4" apart, centered across and snuggly within the fold. sew a 1/4" seam along the fold to secure the ends of the ties in place. i recommend sewing across the ends of the ties a couple of times. i hope that made sense. thankfully a picture really does say a thousand words!

then invert the fold and press. sew a 1/8" top stitch along the length of the fold. you should end up with something like this:

for the 'under' portion of the envelope wrap closure, take the 16.5 x 8"-ish piece and fold a 1/4" double fold and sew. i just eyeballed it. it doesn't have to be exact.

now that all the pieces are prepared, let's layer it all together.

place the quilted piece right side up, then the bigger backing piece with ties attached face down:

don't forget to fold the straps away from the edges so you don't inadvertently sew across them. then take the other two strips and align them with the sewn in strips...

it's helpful if you pin these in place so they don't move around too much when you sew. then place the last short piece on top face down.

here are all the layers ready to sew around. sew around the entire square, doubling back over where the ties attach, and along the sides where the envelope 'hems' end. before you turn right side out, clip some of the bulk out of the corners.

congratulations! you've finished the pillow! i hope you enjoy this simple st patrick's day pillow in your home. i'll enjoy mine every day of the year. :)

day five giveaway!

i hope you're all excited for this one. i am. in fact i'm so excited to share this, that i'm writing a tutorial right now about how to make one for your very own. :)

it's taking a while longer than i thought (because i'm taking pictures of the second one i'm making...) but the instructions will be up before the end of today.

but in case you're not sewing inclined, i've decided to giveaway one of these gorgeous pillows!

don't you just love it? the prize will include the pillow cover only, to fit a pillow form 16" square.

so, to win it, just become a follower of my blog and leave a comment below. this giveaway is open internationally. the winner will be drawn by random on 12th march.

bonus entries for those who share on facebook or twitter or your own blog or pinterest...

good luck!

day four...

so, i have two blogs - one for my creative outlet, and another for family and friends to have a peek into our lives - and sometimes i share a little craft or two i've been working on with my family and i don't realize i haven't shared it here! so here's one of them as the freebie for today:

there's a lot of 'subway' art out there, but i still thought i'd have a try making one of my own. i love playing around with the different fonts making some words more prevalent than the others. again, if you're having difficulties saving a good quality image, don't hesitate to email me, and i'll send you the file. to go along with it, i had shared some irish trivia with my family...

Eire is the name of Ireland in Gaelic - the Irish native tongue.

A Shillelagh (pronounced she-LAY-lee) is a club and/or walking stick (usually) made of very dense, knotted wood. Many people have smaller, ornamental shillelaghs in their home to display.

Éirinn go Brách (or usually seen as "Erin go Bragh") is an Irish phrase most commonly translated as "Ireland Forever"; it's used to express one's allegiance to Ireland.

The Blarney Stone is a special stone in a castle in ireland which if one kisses (in the correct lying down, upside down posture) they are said to be blessed with the 'gift of the gab' or are better able to articulate their words...

i hope this has been an informative little blog for the day, and i hope you have a wonderful st. patrick's day!

also, don't forget to come back tomorrow. the giveaway will be awesome. you're ALL going to want this beauty i have!... :)