birthday gifts . . .

One of my nephews had a birthday last week, and this is a scripture tote I made for him. My oldest daughter picked out the fabric and approved of the design.

Then a birthday invitation came home for a little girl and an apron was made. This time my middle daughter picked out the fabric and trim, and specified the need for a flower to embellish it. Maybe it's time to get a kids sewing machine for my helpers . . .

I'm off to tidy the house for the babysitter, so hubby and I can enjoy a night out to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary!

Connecting Threads fabric design contest . . .

Lee from Freshly Pieced (a fellow blogger and quilter extraordinaire) entered her design into the Connecting Threads fabric design contest and it's in the top three! I'd love to order this design if it becomes available, so please vote for her if you like it too!

It's called 'Flourish' and it's in the fourth row from the top. You can only vote once. Then go check out all the other designs in the running and in the other categories, and place some more votes. Have fun!

Announcing the Re-Launch of Kinder® Surprise® in Canada!

Kinder Surprise is re-launching their beloved chocolate covered egg surprises with bigger, more playful toys and featuring over 70 new toys for our kids to play with! I'm excited to be a part of this as a Kinder-Mom! We love Kinder Surprises at our house ~ they make a special treat, a great reward, and the perfect lunch box surprise or stocking stuffer!

Today the kids and I had a 'Mommy Saturday'. This is a Saturday when Daddy is working, and Mommy gets to do something special with the kids because after a week of parenting, I need a fun day too. So we went to the library to pick out new books, visited with my sister so they could play with their cousins, went to the candy shop where their favourite babysitter works and have some ice cream cones, came home for backyard sprinkler time, watched a Nancy Drew movie while the little guy napped and Mommy escaped to the craft room, finished up the back-to-school shopping and did some groceries, and came home with some Kinder Surprises for their good behaviour in the grocery store. I love these busy fun Summer days where we go out and the house stays clean, and the kids and I make fun memories together. And my kids don't expect a reward for every shopping trip, but on 'Mommy Saturdays' I like to promise them a reward so the shopping goes a little bit easier.

Kinder stands behind their commitment to simple high-quality ingredients, responsible treating, and offering a peanut-free product. Being peanut-free is especially important to me because I have a life-threatening nut allergy. And this also makes this a great treat for the lunch-box or to hand out to classmates on a birthday.

Be sure to check out their new Facebook page for 5000 free Kinder Surprise coupons being handed out by the end of this month!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

small projects and a big fabric purchase . . .

This Summer has been fun, but busy. We've spent time camping, swimming, playing, and learning. And my kids and I have never been this tanned before. I've caught an hour here and there in my craft room, and in some ways I'm looking forward to getting more time in there with the school year starting, but for now I'm going to keep enjoying these kids being home.

This little tote was made using this pattern, but I adjusted the measurements to make it a bit bigger, added some interior pockets, and a snap closure. I'm not sure who it's for, I just wanted to try out the pattern.

And our minivan needed a new engine this Summer, and a generous family in our church let us borrow theirs until it was fixed. She had a box of cards and notes in her van, and the box was broken so I made a fabric box to replace it. My oldest daughter helped pick out the fabrics for this one.

And here's my big fabric purchase for the year. These are all half yard cuts (had to take advantage of how many yards can fit in a flat rate envelope, right?) and I'm hoping to stockpile some purses and totes for birthday gifts. The top row is all from the Feeling Groovy line by Riley Blake, the second row is an assortment of designers, and the bug print on the bottom is for a backpack for my little guy. I took advantage of the buy three, get one free sale from the Sproutz Store for these.

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Picnic quilt top complete . . .

I managed to spend some time in the craft room during nap time this week and finished piecing together my picnic quilt. I used the drunkard's path die with my Baby GO!, some Kona solid in ash for the borders, and a big mix of fat quarters for the blocks. It measures 65" square.

Now I'm going to put this one aside for awhile while I decide on a backing ~ maybe something heavier-weight than a cotton since it's going to be used outside? I'll have to browse some fabric shops before I decide :)

Linking up to Show & Tell, Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday.

My Memories Scrapbook Software Giveaway!

CONGRATS to the winner ~ PAM ~ I'll send you an email!

I used to be a scrapbooker, I have the expensive kits and stamp sets to prove it. But finding the time and space to keep my scrapbooking up to date just hasn't been happening in the past couple years. And the idea of digital scrapbooking has become more and more appealing. So when I was contacted by My Memories to demo their digital scrapbooking software, I was more than happy to oblige.

There are so many great digital kits in their store, priced below their competitors (and there's a bunch of free ones too!), and they are adding new ones all the time. Now I can create my scrapbooks in no time at all, even using 'quick pages' that are all pre-done for me ~ I just have to drop in the pictures. And I won't have to pay for the development of all my pictures in addition to all the scrapbooking supplies anymore!

And it's not just scrapbooking that this software is great for, you can create greeting cards, new blog banners, desktop calendars, invitations, and so much more. Above is a desktop calendar I created, and below are the covers and insides of some greeting cards. It took no time at all to make these.

And I said that there's a giveaway, right? One person is going to win their own My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software! Just leave a separate comment for each entry:

• Visit www.MyMemories.com and take a look at their digital paper packs and layouts. Tell me which one is your favorite!
• Follow the My Memories blog.
• Follow My Memories on Facebook.
• Follow My Memories on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway.
• Share this giveaway on your blog or facebook, and leave the link.
• Follow Our Busy Little Bunch blog.

Good luck! Winner will be picked by random.org on Wednesday, Aug 24th. Open to everyone!

and the winner of the Sproutz Store giveaway is . . .

Thanks so much to everyone for checking out the Sproutz Store and entering their generous quilt kit giveaway! I just took advantage of their buy three, get one free sale and can't wait for my big squishy envelope to arrive!

Without further ado, the winner is . . .

Congrats! I'll send you an email right away.

One day left to enter the Central Park Quilt Kit giveaway . . .

I have nothing crafty to show this week because we're enjoying some camping with the kiddos! So I'll just remind those of you that were on holidays last week about the sponsored giveaway on my blog from the Sproutz Store for a quilt kit with Kate Spain's Central Park fabric ~ enter here!

Messenger bag tutorial featured on Sew Mama Sew today!

Last month, I spent some time working on a messenger bag tutorial and submitted it to the Sew Mama Sew Back-to-School feature. And it was posted over there today! I hope it inspires some other crafters to make some. I have plans to make a second one for my oldest daughter in some laminate fabric.

I also modified the dimensions to make a matching lunch bag. I lined it with some PUL so it's also waterproof.

This messenger bag has barely left my little girls side and it even came camping with us last week. I love it when my girls use (and sometimes abuse) things I've made for them, it keeps me wanting to make more!

Sponsored Giveaway from the Sproutz Store!

One of my favorite Etsy shops for fabric is The Sproutz Store! They have a fantastic selection of yardage, kits, and bundles; and they have some great sales on right now!

They are generously offering a quilt kit made with a quilt pattern from Quiltville and Central Park fabric by Kate Spain for Moda! The retail of this kit is $49.95 and it is going to one lucky winner!

To enter, you can do any or all of the following. Just leave a separate comment for each one.

• Tell me what caught your eye in The Sproutz Store shop!
• Like The Sproutz Store on facebook
• Follow The Sproutz Store blog
• Follow Our Busy Little Bunch blog

Winner will be announced on August 10th. Good luck!

Winners to announce!

I'm a little late in announcing these winners. We were gone for some relaxing holidays this past week, but had vehicle trouble on the way home. Our van needed to be towed for the final stretch, and now we're looking at the possiblility of replacing or fixing it. Good thing I'm married to a mechanic, but it's still an expense we weren't expecting to face right now. And since our tent trailer is stuck in another town till tomorrow, I'm still in holiday mode ~ not a load of laundry even has to be done right now because everything's in the trailer.

Well, back to the reason you really checked on this post:

The three winners from the Riley Blake Giveaway are:

Congratulations to Stray Stitches, Kristy, and Sandy!

And the winner of the Rockin' Green giveaway is:

Congratulations to The Green House!

I'll email you sometime tomorrow if you don't get to me first. And there's also going to be another sponsored giveaway posted tomorrow from The Sproutz Store for a gorgeous quilt kit ~ make sure to check back and enter for that one!

Now I'll go back to my relaxing cup of coffee and stack of emails. My sewing machine was serviced while I was gone and I'm hoping to get some time to work on some new projects this week. Hope you are all having a wonderful Summer!

quick baby quilt with Accuquilt flower rag die . . .

I received the flower rag die for my GO! Baby and our local quilt shop was asking for charity quilts, so it seemed like a great excuse to try it out!

I basted a pink cotton solid to some batting and a cozy flannel backing. Then I just quilted the flowers on top, and added some decorative quilting between the rows. The binding is the backing wrapped to the front and sewn down. I think I might have to try a boy version with the circles next . . .

Sewing and Quilting with Riley Blake . . .

Over the years, I've made several quilts and dresses from Riley Blake lines. Some of my favorites were my trio of baby quilts for my son, niece, and nephew (all born within 8 months of each other):

I've also used a flannel panel from their Hooty Hoot line, which whipped up into a really cute and quick baby quilt:

And this is the quilt I'm entering into the Riley Blake Quilt Contest on Facebook (and crossing my fingers that I win that cruise!):

and these are some of their prints in sundresses for my girls:

I have made other projects with Riley Blake prints: tote bags, bibs, soother straps, doll quilts, flannel receiving blankets and much more! And I have some pre-cuts sitting in my craft room waiting to be made into baby quilts. I'm hoping to coordinate with some of their Dreamy (minky) that's coming out soon . . .

Rockin' Green Giveaway

So we're living in a time where we're seeing the benefit of 'going green'. Rockin' Green is a laundry product that I've been using for a couple years, with great results. This product can be used on all your laundry. It is fantastic at removing build-up, especially in dishcloths and towels, and because it's all-natural it's also safe for sensitive skin allergies (my son has eczema and has no reaction to this!), and we also use it for our sons cloth diapers.

Vangoo Baby Boutique and Rockin' Green are giving away a bag of detergent to one lucky winner! Leave a comment for each entry, and don't forget to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win!

• Check out all their yummy scents, and tell me which one you'd pick!
• Like Vangoo Baby Boutique on Facebook
• Like Rockin' Green on Facebook
• Like Busy Bunch on Facebook
• Follow my blog with GFC
• Blog, tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway

Open to Canada and US residents. Giveaway ends Saturday, July 30th. Good luck!

and the winner of the Ann Kelle bundle is . . .

Thank-you so much to the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring this giveaway! I hope you all had fun picking which is your favorite print in the new Urban Zoologie line from Ann Kelle!

And the winner is . . .

Congratulations to Hueisei!

And there's another giveaway going up on the blog tomorrow;

it's not fabric this time, but something I'm a big fan of, and we all use!

Thanks for visiting!

Riley Blake Giveaway Time!

Did you know that Riley Blake is having a contest going on for a chance to win free fabric, a beach cruiser bike, or even a Caribbean cruise?! Every entry counts as a chance towards the cruise ~ and you still have time to enter a quilt into their current contest (closes Aug 17th) and their Home Decor contest is starting Sept 7th!

Now, take a look at these generous prizes being given away as an incentive to get some of those entries in!

A Fat Quarter bundle of Hoo's in the Forest by Doohikey Designs. . .

Some fun Riley Blake trims and buttons . . .

and a Layer Cake of Sugar & Spice by the Quilted Fish. . .
Want to get your hands on one of these lovely prizes?! Please leave a comment for each of the entries below, and remember to leave an email address if it's not included in your profile:

• Submit your entry to the contest on Facebook
• Blog about this contest and giveaway (you can copy this post if you like)
• Follow the Riley Blake blog
• Follow Our Busy Little Bunch blog

Giveaway ends on Saturday, July 30th. Good luck!

and the Ellie Inspired winner is . . .

Congrats to Gill ~ I'll be in contact with you!

And THANK-YOU to Ellie Inspired for sponsoring this giveaway!

Check back Monday for a BIG giveaway sponsored

by Riley Blake ~ you're going to LOVE this one!

Ann Kelle Fat Quarter Bundle GIVEAWAY

Ann Kelle's Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle

Urban Zoologie Collection

A Fat Quarter Shop Exclusive!

Ann Kelle has specially selected 12 prints from her Urban Zoologie collection

along with 3 coordinating Kona Solids for this special bundle.

Would you like to win this beautiful bundle?! Just leave a comment below letting me know which is your favorite print!

For an extra entry, follow my blog

(so I can get you more awesome giveaways like this one!).

Winner will be picked by random.org on July 19th. Good luck!

Accuquilt Bust My Stash Photo Challenge!

Bust My Stash Photo Challenge

Have you stared at your fabric stash and wished that you had the time and energy to cut up your fabric for future projects? AccuQuilt has the answer! Click on the following link to participate: http://on.fb.me/qtyUoq or go to AccuQuilt’s Facebook page and click “Like”. Then go to the ‘Bust My Stash’ tab under their profile picture and upload a picture of your fabric stash. Submit your photo by Friday, July 22^nd and you’ll be eligible to win a GO! Mix & Match 12” Starter Set. The photo with the most votes by July 31^st wins! Photos will be voted on by viewers and fans of the AccuQuilt Facebook page using the following criteria: relevance, creativity, and originality. Share with your friends during the voting period to increase your odds of winning!

Good Luck!

And if you haven't signed up for your free Accuquilt patterns yet, you can do that HERE.

Ty Pennington bag . . .

I ordered some of Ty Pennington's Impressions fabric in home dec a little while back, knowing I wanted to make it into a larger purse for myself. I finally cut into it today, and used the Phoebe purse pattern. I am so excited that I can carry around this fabric now, instead of just admiring it when I walk into my craft room.

This fabric is on sale for 50% off at the Fat Quarter Shop if you want to get your hands on some ~ I loved working with it, and am tempted to get some more at this price, anyone else need a new bag?

And if you come back on Wednesday, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop ~ a beautiful bundle of 15 fat quarters of a newly released line! You'll have to check back to see which one it is!

Linking up to Craft-O-Maniac, Sew Modern Monday, Making the World Cuter, and Sew Many Ways.