Bows Make Great Presents

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I was getting some presents put together for a baby shower and birthday and I thought I’d show you how cute they are with the addition of bows.

This is for a baby shower for a lady in the ward.  I’ve never met her but when I was pregnant with Macey the ward threw me a baby shower and there were women there that I didn’t know.  I guess that’s one of the great things about being LDS, the women are very nice and supportive of each other.  I love these little outfits.  I bought every size and every color of them for Maddy because they are soft and pajama-like.  I just loved them and I love that my bows match them perfectly.

This present is for my little niece.  I love giving her books because I know she likes them.  At Costco they have the best children’s books! I wish I was rich so I could buy all the great ones that they have right now.  I bought this set for my girls and they loved it soo much I went back and bought one for Evie.

It looks soo cute all wrapped up with a fancy hair bow (her Mom’s favorite kind) on top!

Less than a month until Kindergarten starts!!!!! We’ve got our countdown chain going!!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Twistable Crayon Roll Tutorial

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I am finally posting about something other than bows, quilts and my etsy shop.  Aren’t you soo happy?   I’ve been wanting to make these for awhile since my girls love their twisty crayons more than the others.  So here it goes . . .

Supplies needed: One pack of ten twisty crayons, 22 inches ribbon, fusible fabric (I like Pellon), and fabric.

Cut the fusible fabric to 6.5″ x 10.5, two pieces of fabric to 6.5″ x 10.5″, and one piece of fabric 8″ x 10.5″.

Fold the 8 x 10.5″ fabric in half lengthwise and iron it down, this will be your pocket for the crayons.  Iron the fusible fabric to the back of one of the 6.5 x 10.5 pieces.

With a water soluble fabric pen make a mark 1 1/4 inches from the left side, after that mark one inch slots.  You should have 1 1/4 inches left over when you make mark number 9.

Put your pocket on top of the piece of fabric that has fusible fabric on the back of it.  Make sure your raw edge is on the bottom.  Sew your pockets and don’t forget to backstitch.  If you have a Bernina, the quilters backstitch on button number 5 works really good right here.

Once your pockets are all sewn, your going to take your ribbon and fold it in half.  Put the folded edge along the right raw edge of the fabric and pin the other piece of fabric down on the top to make a wrong-side out sandwich.   Go around the edge with your sewing machine leaving a 1/4 inch seam.  Don’t forget to leave a two inch opening to pull it right-side out.

Clip your corners before you pull it right side out.

Hand stitch your opening shut.  I like to finish it off with a 1/8 inch stitch around the edge of the roll.  Heat seal the ends of your ribbon so they don’t fray on you.

These are going right into my church bag!  Thanks for stopping by, and if you make these be sure to leave a comment.

This tutorial is for personal use only.

The original crayon roll idea is from Skip to My Lou.  I just figured out the measurements to make the twistable crayons work.

Linking to: The Fabulous Craft-O-Maniac

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Criticism

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

Thanks everyone for the comments left on my last post about which background is better. I really appreciated everyone’s thoughts on that.  Now that I have my shop stocked the way I would like it (there are a few more things I would like to add, but I need to sell stuff before I can make more stuff) I submitted my shop to a critique team on Etsy to tell me what I could do better.  There were a lot of great suggestions about improvements I could make but the one that surprised me the most was that there were three people that said that they didn’t like this picture.  One person said it looks “awkward”.

They all said that the “crib shot” was much better.

So here I sit, scratching my head, a little bit befuddled.  I mean really?  The crib picture just looks soo blah.  Anyways, I can handle the criticism.  I asked for it and they gave it.

Anyhow, I have a great idea for a tutorial.  Hopefully I’ll have some time this week and I’ll actually get something interesting posted on this blog of mine.  Thanks for sticking around all my wonderful blog friend readers!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

I Like BOWS!

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I do, I really, really like bows!  They look soo cute in my girls hair.   I just wish my littlest one would actually leave them in her hair.  But anyways, I made up a bunch of bows, because I have ribbon on hand, and I figured it was worth a shot to put them on Etsy.  Etsy has some crazy bow competition though and I wasn’t to sure how it would work out.  So on Monday afternoon I finished publishing all my bow listings and on Wednesday morning I got my first order!  She didn’t just want one set of bows, but two!

I really like these “School Uniform” bow sets because they will be soo cute with Macey’s school uniform that she will have to start wearing next month.

I got them all shipped off this morning and then we hit the splash pad to celebrate Mom’s first bow order.  I’m hoping the buyer leaves me nice feedback so I can get more orders.  I think that’s what holds some people back from order is that I’m new and I don’t have any feedback on my profile.  So hopefully once I get a few sold things will pick up and I will be making bows like crazy.

Since bow competition is soo tight on Etsy I need to step up my picture quality.  I spray painted a bajillion lima beans white this afternoon (in the 99 degree heat) to use as a bow back drop.

So which picture do you think is more interesting?  The picture with a bean backdrop?

or the picture with a pink frame?

Help me out because I really have no clue what I’m doing!  If you leave me a comment and tell me what you think I’ll love you forever. I’m just saying. . . .

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

It’s Totally Popular

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

So here’s a funny story for you.  Last week I was watching the Nate Burkus show while I was doing the hand binding on the gray chevron quilt.  He’s going on and on about how this print is energetic and vibrant and will freshen up any room, so I look up and he’s pointing to this aqua chevron throw that’s draped over a chair.  🙂

http://www.thenateshow.com/videos/detail/3948/design-101-patterns/

So then later, I’m over at my sister’s house and I pick up the pottery barn kids magazine that she has on her sofa table and lo and behold. . . .

Beautiful aqua’s, crisp whites, and gray zig-zag.  Soo pretty!  I’m just saying . . .  it’s everywhere because it’s soo aesthetically pleasing, that’s all.

I made up some more hair bows yesterday to put in my etsy shop next week.  But for right now they look pretty hanging on the shelf in my laundry room.

Happy Tuesday to you!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Weekend!

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I’ve had a great week! How about you?  Justin had three days off this week so it was nice to hang out at home and just relax.  Macey starts kindergarten this fall and will be required to wear a school uniform.  I’m soo happy for this because she will wear her favorite outfit (whatever it may be at the moment) for as many days in a row as she can get away with.  So I’m glad she will be wearing a uniform.  The colors are blues and khakis.  I bought some ribbon and made bows.  I haven’t bought her polo shirts or pants yet but I’m already making bows.  I guess that shows where my priorities are.  Gotta look cute!  I spent a little too much on ribbon so I’m thinking of adding these to my etsy shop.  But I don’t know . . .  what do you think?

Oh, and I got my gray chevron quilt finished! I love it! I’m not going to post it in my shop until the first of July just because of the way etsy fees are month to month. But I have a feeling this one is going to sell quick.

Oh, and I stopped by the library and picked up a few books I had on reserve.  So far, all I’ve learned is I need to take better pictures.

The other night I was cleaning up dinner dishes and I told the girls to go put their pajamas on.  After a minute I heard some giggling and then they came out dressed like this. . .

I’ve had a great week and I hope you have too!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Activity Days – Gumball Necklaces

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

We made gumball necklaces and bracelets for Activity Days this morning!

My leader partner looked all over town for the big gumballs and found them at the dollar store.  To make these you need tapestry needles to thread your ribbon through the gumball and crochet needles to poke holes through them.  Tie knots in the ribbon in between the gumballs to keep them separated.


The girls came up with some cute color combos.

Activity Days is an LDS activity for eight to eleven year old girls.

To learn more about my religion click here.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Grey Chevron Quilt

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I found the prettiest shade of grey fabric at the quilt store the other day!  It’s P & B Textiles and I bought Moda white to go with it.  I’m excited to see this one get finished and listed in my etsy shop!!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Custom Chevron Quilt

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

A lady from Australia contacted me on etsy and requested a navy blue chevron quilt.  It turned out really cute and it’s fun to think that this is going to be on a little boys bed on the other side of the world.  I really hope she likes it!

Finished dimensions are 42.5 x 54 inches.  She requested 42 x 50 which I could have done but then there would have been a “zig” and no “zag”.  There are 9 rows of blue zig-zag.

Off to the land down under it goes!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

I Love a Cute Dish Mat!

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Ten Cow Chick

I came up with a new dish mat pattern and made these to stick in my etsy shop. This design did take some time to get the kinks worked out, but I’m happy with the way they turned out.  They’re just so darn cute and functional.  Now if somebody’d just buy them already! 🙂

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment