I am in love with these pics

Just in case you guys don't peek at my Moments Matter Blog- here are a couple of recent pics of the girls. There are more pics on my other blog.

Matilda Jane Trunk Show- Austin, TX

That is right- I got the first Trunk Show date of the new Hot Line Collection from Matilda Jane. For those who have not seen these clothes- they are gorgeous- and perfect not only for portraits for going out and about. I own several of the pieces from the Fall collection- check this out:

While this is not the most technically perfect picture- it does have all 4 of them looking and looking so cute in their Matilda Jane (yes- the boys are wearing the Mr Lucas shirts from MJ)

If you are interested in coming to the Trunk show it will be Sunday March 1st at the Bright Horizons on Braker Ln in Austin at 2:30pm. Come and see the brand new collection- I can't wait. And I am setting up my photography lights so there are pictures involved!

Matilda Jane's website is http://www.matildajanegirls.com/ and the blog is http://www.matildajane.typepad.com/ they have been posting sneak peaks over there so head on over and check them out.

Bring your friends- your all invited. (more pics of my kids in Matilda Jane at www.momentsmatterphotography.blogspot.com)

Fabric Insanity

Some how I have become the proud owner of the complete Aviary from Moda Fat Quarter Pack - here is a pic from the Fat Quarter Shop

And if that wasn't enough I also got 3/4 packs for the Grand Revival Darla Fat quarters- this pic is from the Grand Revival Blog

Here is the picture from the Fat Quarter Shop

See- what happened was- I joined a fat quarter swap. Then I ordered fabric- I think I thought I was ordering a small pack- but um- no. But my husband said it was okay- I can keep it so Hooray!

Can't wait to sew!

I just have to brag!

My son Ari is going to be 4 in June. He is so talented- he drew this when he had just turned 3-

For those of you who are not family- you might not know that when Ari turned three he was inarticulate- he rarely said anything and he was very frustrated in trying to communicate. He had had a series of ear infections from 12mos old and had ear tubes put in at 18 mo- even after that his ears drained and drained and when we took him for his followup with his ENT he had 40% hearing loss. His dr gave him claritin and suddenly his ears started clearing up- by the time he hit 2 1/2 he had 100% hearing- he got it all back- but he wasn't talking.

When he was 2 1/2 I had twin girls- He liked to play independantly and I just thought it was that he was secure- but then when he turned 3 and wasn't talking I was worried- and I thought he might be autistic- he had neurologist appts and MRIs and even a geneology screening- and wouldn't you know it- completely normal. We put him in private speech therapy and since January 08 he had made huge strides. He was doing 48 piece puzzles at age 3. and then he drew the lion above. Isn't that impressive for a 3 yr old? I have tried to find an art program- but there are not any for age three. What is up with that? Ballet starts at 3- why not art?

Follow up to the Teacher's Valentines

the gifts were a hit! The teachers all marveled over how it was made and how cute they were. I owe a big thank you to Kris for those directions! Also- I took a picture with my cell phone- it isn't a great picture but hey- it was 6:30 in the morning. Here are the girls teachers- doing it up Charlie's Angel Style

Altered Letters Tutorial

This is one of my favorite all time crafts- and it is perfect for my first tutorial to share.

ALTERED LETTERS



Supplies:
Wooden or cardboard letters (I got mine from Joann’s) Since it is right before Valentines I chose the word Love- but you could spell Family or someone’s name. (the possibilities are limitless)
Scrapbook paper- I used coordinating paper- but it doesn’t have to be- you can make every letter different if you want.
Ribbon- I am a ribbon aholic so I put Ribbon on almost everything I do.
Photographs (small- no bigger than wallet size is recommended) (unless you use the big letters you can sometimes find)
Bulldog clip (opt)
Cup hook (opt) I bought the tiniest size from Home Depot

Paint (I love Memories brand- but regular acrylic is fine)

Modge Podge

foam brushes

embellishments- I used a big flower- isn't it pretty?

Basic Construction:
You need about 4 sheets of coordinated paper (1 for each letter). Even unrelated lines of paper can be combined in an appealing manner.

Paint the edges and/or bottom of your letters with a coordinating paint. (that way if your measurements are a little off it will cover a multitude of sins.

Turn your first sheet of paper upside down and place your letter right side down. Trace around your letter. (make sure you get the center of letters as needed.

Now cut out your paper letter- I cut on the inside of the line I drew.

Apply a thin layer of decoupage glue (Modge Podge) evenly on the front of the letter and quickly put your paper letter over it. Use a brayer or your finger to smooth the paper several times to make sure the paper doesn’t bubble up. The idea here is not to be a perfectionist so if you get a few bubbles no harm no fowl. You’ll be covering up any mistakes with your accessories anyway. (the important thing here is THIN layer- too much and your paper will stretch and wrinkle)
Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 until all letters are covered. Remember… there is no wrong or right to this. You can be as perfectionist or as messy as you want to be. You can sand the edges of her paper to make it flush- . As I tend to cut my paper just a little smaller than the letters, I used paint to cover the imperfections. Can you spot my mistake?

Yes, that is right- I didn't notice that when I turned my paper downwards and placed my letter on it- I got the title strip. If you can read that- you are too close- but the paper line is from Basic Grey. I fell in love with it on sight.

Here is the L fixed
Set aside to dry and begin thinking about your accessorizing.
Accessorizing
This is the fun part. You can mount at least one of your photos onto chipboard and mounted it using a bulldog clip from the local office supply store using a screw. I like the idea of using a cuphook and hanging beads, bells, or something similar. Dig in that stash- you can use metal frames, photo corners, rubons and more to make your letters unique. My husband was delighted that I actually used some of my supplies and I was delighted to make room to buy more J.
You can use ribbon to tie a bow around one or more letters.

Here is the final product again- have fun- and feel free to show me the letters you made

Teacher gifts are done!

Here they are- they turned out so cute!

teacher gifts in progress and quilt top

Sorry for my pity party this morning- I wasn't sure anyone was reading since I didn't get any comments. Anyway- moving on...

here are the teacher gifts in progress - there are 16 of them- I am obviously not a product photographer- but they are filled with (l-r- conversation hearts, valentines candy corn, valentines m&ms and valentines fruit snacks) They will be topped with popcorn balls dipped in white chocoate and sprinkled w/ valentines sprinkles. a "cherry" chocolate heart and pixie sticks or pencils for the straws will complete the look.

Here is the pink/sage green quilt top- I cannot seem to get a picture that is as pretty- it is much prettier in person.

OK- I know your out there lurking

I have only one PIF commenter. Pay it Forward is a great program.
Or maybe I do only have 3 people who read this- me, myself, and I? Well we will keep nattering on anyway! Maybe someone will randomly land in my blog by clicking on that next blog button up at the top.
Quilt status- the pink and sage green is 2/3 sewn together. the black/white/teal is patiently waiting for me to sew it together too.
And my "sundae" teacher's gifts are in progress. If you haven't seen this- sneak over and visit Kris at JesseKate Designs. Her valentine center pieces are becoming my teachers gifts- only I can't find taffy so they are getting popcorn balls instead.

Pay it Forward

Have you heard of Pay it Forward- it is a fairly easy project requiring little on your part. How many times have people done something nice and you wish you could pay them back- but you can't - but you can do something nice for someone else? That is the concept of Pay it Forward.

How this one works is quite simple. The first three people to sign up on this post will receive a surprise PIF sometime within the next 365 days. Then each of my three players will invite their own three players and so on. Doesn't that sound like fun?
Ok, so the first three to sign up (international welcome) will receive some Random stuff from my collections :) sometime this year. In return, you will make a post on your blog and offer the same thing to three of your blog readers. So, come on....who wants to be part of this great event?

PS- Make sure you give me your email addresses- I would hate to not be able to contact you.

Don't be shy about commenting- I have lots of random goodiness in my craftroom- some scrapbooking, some beading, some yarny stuff, some fabricry stuff. You name it and I probably have it- except maybe felting stuff- haven't ever done felting :)

I have pinwheels- for my quilt that is

Here is my pinwheels- I am loving them both- but now I wish I had made more- oh well- this is for a wall hanging right? Not a queen sized bed- trying not to be too overly ambitious.

I still can't decide which I like best- although I love love the sage and pink but I also really like the teal and black/white combo.

Hello.... Hello? Echoo?

Is anyone reading? I feel alone in cyber space. I have been sick this week and haven't gotten a single comment? I am working on my quilt- My pinwheels are almost together.

On the Mend

I am on the mend (finally!!!!) from the worst cold I have ever had, well maybe the flu- not sure. I had fever for 3 days and now that that is over I am coughing and sorethroat. But at least the fever is over! So sometime soon I will try to do more work on the quilt. Steps 8 and 9 are on the YCMT website but I am still where I was- squaring up the original triangle blocks.