Here's an Idea ....

A small but potentially very large gift idea ....

This little wooden "bag" can be painted / stained / stenciled / felted / put stickers upon ... just about anything you can thing of .... except stitched I think :)

It's only $4 bucks and could reap rewards far greater ...

If you have children, just think what fun they could have decorating this for their Grandparents, a teacher, a favorite aunt or uncle ... a neighbor ... this little box could hold trinkets that could be reminders of that special little person much later in the year .... you could fill it with artifical flowers or candy in decorated tissue paper ... give it as a gift to a sick friend or co worker .... see, endless possibilities ! ... if you can part with the thing once you have finished it, that is !

It is small (I prefer dainty), it measures 4-1/4" across x 5-3/4" tall x 2" deep (thick) ... the perfect size to fill with FUN.

In Case You Were Wondering ...

... Only 56 Days Until Christmas :)

Stuck for ideas ?  Here's One ...
An Amazon Gift Card ... Let THEM Decide!

$50 bucks ...
You were gonna spend that much anyway, right ?

In light of the recent events in Chile ....

HOORAY for the safe return of the MINERS !!!!
So very happy for them and their families !!!
Best wishes to them for a speedy recovery, both physically and mentally.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
Live the life you've imagined"
~ Henry David Thoreau

Ha Ha ! Look What I've Been Busy Learning to Do !!!

Full view of the "pillowcase that came out right the first time"

It's a PILLOWCASE !!  Yay ... it turned out right the FIRST TIME !!  Belive you me, that IS something to cheer about !

Close up of the border fabric and the pattern on the fabric of the pillowcase.

I looked and looked for an easy pattern to follow ... common sense says this should be an easy project anyway. Thankfully, I found http://www.quiltmaker.com/articles/Pillowcases and this $10 fabric (2 - 1 yard pieces for $10 bucks! .. 100% cotton, and it's NOT sandpaper!) at Wal Mart. Actually this is my second pillowcase, truth be told ... valuable lesson learned and believe it or not, significant help from hubby! Really, he was an un-tired, objective eye to veiw the project. 

All of the instructions I found and read said pillowcase projects could be accomplished in about an hour ... hmmm, that first pillowcase took me, well, let's just say that was the longest hour I've ever seen !!  This second one took about half as long, but I can see where it would take about an hour ... I'm getting there :)

Getting this pillowcase done, seeing the finished product ... that's what I love about quilting (well sewing in this case). Really any crafting project. It's such an overwhelming feeling of great satisfaction to see your work finished and looking like it is supposed to ... at least to me that's the feeling.  Like I said above, this is something to cheer about.  Even something this simple.

I have a couple of quilts that are in progress, one or two painting projects that I have all of the "stuff" for that I want to work on so bad I can't stand it, and so so so many beading projects I want to do ... there just are not enough hours in the day.

Life gets in the way of doing what needs done and what you want to do sometimes, and sometimes doing what you want to do gets in the way of life and doing what needs done.

I hope I have inspired at least one person to try this pillowcase project. If I can do it, you can do it. Period. One big piece of fabric that is 27" x 42" and a smaller piece that is 11" x 42" .... really they don't have to be different colors ... look at your own store bought cases ... use the same colors to start out, to practice on or with. Now, this information is the way I did mine .. the instructions show there are THREE pieces of fabric .. another thinner piece still ... I dropped that just to cut down on confusion on my part, I had enough going on :) .. I think it turned out okay without it. 

I learned about the zigzag stitch.  I thought I knew about the zigzag stitch. Hmph!  Handy little thing that dude is, lemme tellya. Stronger than it looks too.  Look inside your store bought case again ... I think those are "serged" really, much stronger than zigzaged (that is HARD to type!) .. but same principal. Helps keep those edges from fraying and helps protect them from wear, inserting and pulling out the pillow. When you get to the point you need to do your case, after you have attached your 11" decorative piece to the case, ZIGZAG the entire piece now ... all the way around. I didn't read the instructions that way and that's why my first case didn't do right I think. I folded before I 'zag'd. I was tired :( 

Anyway ... If you do that, then press ~ NOT IRON ~ press, then fold RIGHT sides together, sew with 1/2" seam on 2 sides  ~~  BE SURE YOU DON'T SEW YOUR CASE CLOSED :)) ~~ you will have a beautiful new pillowcase and that great profound sense of pride and accomplishment ... after you turn it inside out of course :)

GOOD LUCK and  HAVE FUN!  It really is easy ... Just Like Everyone Said. Give it a Try. Make an Easy Gift for Someone Special ... Great for the Upcoming Holidays!  .... You can check our website for fabric ideas ... we've got Marcus Brothers by the yard and we have fat quarters by Hoffman of California ~ they are BATIK ... http://www.dominionartsncrafts.com/category_browse.em?category_id=400271