::31 days::day twenty-five::

One of the best things that happened to me today is that I was chosen to be a part of Oh Sweet Joy's Handmade Holiday Gift Guide.  I'm beyond stoked for what the next few month's will hold + I pray that the Lord uses this wonderful opportunity to grow my shop.

Well, after receiving the confirmation email, I was in instant sew mode.

I've been wanting to put an new item in the shop for a while now.

Several months ago, I made a baby quilt for a lady in our church for the birth of her sweet babe.  This is definitely a product I wanted to offer in Cotton+Wood.

I hesitate to call it a quilt for more reasons than one so I'm naming it the Bebe Blanket.

It's listed in the shop!

It's sweet and simple.  Soft flannel on one side, cheery colors in cotton on the other.  The batting is an all-natural, soy-based product.  Perfect for a little one.

HAPPY SUNDAY.
REBECCA.

::31 days::day twenty-four::

It's been a crummy sick day for me.  Good thing I didn't have to babysit today because I spent a lot of time sleeping the crumminess off.

It'll be a good weekend, though; I am confident.

However, I did sit down at my sewing machine and attempt a prototype at a new wristlet.  I sketched it out on paper earlier this week.  Tonight, I did a test run on sample fabric.  I'm really excited about it and hope to share it with you soon >> next week.

I just want something different for the interior fabric so we'll have to wait until I can purchase what I have in mind.

That is my challenge for today.

No pic because the sample fabric is weird and busy and you probably wouldn't get a sense of the actual design through just a photo.  So until then....you'll have to wait and see.  :)

The Houston Quilt Market is this weekend.  I so wish I was going.  I found out that a blogger friend is going and when I mentioned to her on Twitter that I'm hoping to attend the Spring Quilt Market, she said she may be at that one.  My first meet-up with a blogger.  How fun!

Until tomorrow [minus the crummy sickness...]

REBECCA.

::31 days::day twenty-three::

Oh yah. Lame-o blogger today, yo!

First of all, this post is supposed to say that I made a recipe off my Pinterest board.  However, when the recipe was thiseasy then, why bother pinning?

And second mishap for this post is that there are no pictures.  So you'll have to believe me.  Not sure if many of you do but it's true.

I

made

caramel

apples

drizzled

in

dreamy

chocolate

for

the

first

time

EVER

in

my

short

life.

And for a girl who is generally unimpressed with food, I ate mine with gusto and such a relish for caramel apples, I thought to myself, "You'd better not make another one or you will be sick."

Begone cheapy "Affy Tapples" from the store.  Buh-bye.  Heretofore and forevermore, I will take thirty minutes to melt the caramels and chocolate, dip and drizzle, set and refrigerate for a bunch of that goodness any time.

FRIIIIIIIIII-DAY, you're here!

REBECCA.

::31 days::day twenty-two::

So I really wanted to do a pumpkin carving this month.  This is something I've never done myself.  We used to carve a pumpkin as a family when we were kids.  No jack-o-lanterns have been found here, lately, though. 

Well, a friend invited me over to her house to do some pumpkin carving together.  It was great fun!

I wish I was a bit more prepared with my design but I like my pumpkin just the same.

Of course, it was super simple -- just my style.  :)

I just punched holes in the pumpkin with an ice pick and I love the look.  I had a difficult time keeping the candles lit for the picture so this is the best I could get.  :)

My friend had something great going on with her pumpkin carving.  She even borrowed her dad's drill.  I can't wait to see her final result.

I've had this [partial] song in my head tonight and the words are thought-provoking.

Were it not for grace
I could tell you where I'd be
Heading down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me...

Seriously, if it was not for God's grace in my life, where would I be?

The kids are on fall break --- yay!  So I'm working all day tomorrow.  :)

HAPPY [almost] WEEKEND.

REBECCA.

::31 days::day twenty-one::

This challenge is getting loooooong.  This was supposed to be posted yesterday but I fell asleep before I made it to the computer last night.  :)

Earlier this summer, I was sewing and my Mom was reading a magazine.  She came back to my room and said so enthusiastically, "Look at this material.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Wouldn't that look great on the back porch?"

I said, "Uhhh....I have that fabric."

No kidding.  I really had it but hadn't made anything with it.  So Mom commissioned me to make her several new pillows for the back porch. 

Which I just got around to.

But they look great and I'm glad they're finally done!!!

One of my over-reaching goals for this month was to sew up a portion of my fabric stash and it is gradually happening.

I'm doing something fun with a friend tonight -- something that's on my "to-do-for-the-month-of-October" list.

HAPPY DAY.
REBECCA.

::31 days::day twenty::

Today's challenge was one of those items that I've been putting off.  Hence, the challenge.   :)

Mending.  Does anyone really enjoy it?!

I've had a few items of clothing that I have wanted to add a button to and with my sewing machine, it should be easy.  Well, easy despite sewing on the button which gives me a tension headache.  [I mildly joke.]

Two items were finished; one was not finished due to lack of thread.

Amen and amen.

Over and out.

REBECCA.

::31 days::day nineteen::

Nineteenth day completed.  I must say, I’d love to catch up on the three days I’ve missed.  It’ll make me feel better about the whole “finishing the job” thing.

The reason for this post is 50% challenge, 50% for future reference.  This is the second year that I’ve helped a very dear saint in my church with the flowers.  And this is the second year that I have “winterized” the pots.  The goal is to fill the pots with greenery found throughout our church property and decorate them with zero cost.

Last year, I did not record exactly what I put in the pots but I know that a few types of the stems looked absolutely despicable by February and I was desperate to remove them by March.

So hopefully, this blog post will help me remember for next year and I can remember what worked best.

::a full shot::

And, also, I claim no authority in naming these plants or materials used.  I typically use very botanically correct terms such as, “…the green sturdy plant”, the “brown prickly one”, etc…!

I started with tall sticks for height directly in the center.

::Then, I started with a base plant.  I’d saved a lot of pruning for winterizing the pots and I knew exactly which bushes I planned to use.   There’s nothing attractive about the base but I just fill it in to cover up the dirt and get started.::

::Next, I put in these brown, prickly weeds.  I really think they are weeds.  Truly::

::Holly clippings came next.  These should last wonderfully through the winter season::

::I found this low lying coniferous plant with cute, little pinecones on the stems.  Several clippings went into each pot.::

::Lastly, I finished up with some hydrangeas cut from our garden.  This particular bush has nice, upright stems so the hydrangea blooms won’t fall over.::


So there you have it.  I didn’t stress nearly as much this year and it took me a relatively short amount of time.  Last year, I labored over which types of greenery to put in the pots and I also had a large variety.  I tried to keep it simple this time around.  The first two pots on Wednesday took about an hour and half to complete.  Thursday, three pots took the same amount of time which I considered fantastic.

One thing I plan to try different than last year is keeping the soil moist.  So…even in the dead of winter, I may be pouring water on the pots.  However, we will see…!  :)



I can’t wait for a Sunday spent in church tomorrow.  How about you?!!

REBECCA.

::31 days::day eighteen::

 

 

Can you guess?

 

I got certified in Basic Fundamentals and Safety.

 

It’s a course I’ve been putting off for far too long and I said, “A-ha!  October will be the month!”

 

Hallelujah it’s done.

 

I think there’s one clue in the puzzle.

 

Happy weekend!

 

REBECCA.

::31 days::day seventeen::

Today’s thang…..



I finally, finally donated blood.  People, it’s been ages.  I was passionate about donating blood back in the day due to the fact that my Mom was a recipient of so many blood transfusions.

Then, I graduated to donating at the Univ. of Chicago when my Mom would go to doctor’s visits there.  Hello, free dining hall coupons.

My last visit was no bueno.  The lady couldn’t get the needle in my arm.  And that was that.

So, when coming up with a list of things I wanted to get accomplished this month, donating blood was right up there.

Let me tell you why so many in my generation don’t want to donate blood.  Plain and flat out, it’s an inconvenience.

From start to finish, I was there an hour and a half and trust me, a needle poking into a blood vessel for at least 30 of those 90 minutes is an inconvenience.

Young people really need to make the time to donate, especially if they live clean, upright lives.  Good, healthy blood is needed!

Signing off….

REBECCA.

::31 days::day sixteen::

Yesterday, our internet was down.  I apologize for skipping yesterday’s post.

I really, truly want my bags to be different, and dare I say it….beautiful.
I’m still a beginning, newbie shop owner.  There is still a lot I have to learn about sewing but I am so excited about the things that are happening in my shop!
Monday night, I was wandering around Jo-Ann’s and meandered down the trim aisle. 
I got an idea and it resulted in this:

Allow me to introduce to you the French Garden tote!  I love it! 


Taking product photos is the bane of my existence and I don’t think these two photos do the tote justice.  But I love, love, love this tote!
HAPPY WEDNESDAY!
REBECCA.

::31 days::day fifteen::

Today's challenge was.......

...to fill in my gratitude journal.

When I originally started writing down my 1,000 Gifts in 2009, I began it in a beautiful journal.  However, before long, instead of recording each and every gift on paper, it was only recorded on my blog.  Not bad but not the best.

So, I wanted to put it all down on paper and continue it that way.

Boy, oh boy, this is taking a very long time.  This is definitely one of the longer challenges and I must confess, I'm not completely finished before heading to bed.  I still have a little less than 100 gifts to jot down.

But I'm so glad the bulk of it is done.  And I want to continue keeping my gratitude list primarily on paper.

One thing I've noticed is that when recording solely on the blog, I tend to get a bit general.  I'm sure in a journal setting, I'll be a bit more specific.

But re-writing the gifts has brought back some great memories [and laughs!].  I'm also recording the entire list in the notes section of my Facebook page so I have an online, running tally.

I'm so glad I'm taking the time to do this.  I've been putting it off too long.

And I love the home for my gratitude list.  Isn't that such a lovely book?


REBECCA.

::31 days::day fourteen::

Sending snail mail to 5 lovely recipients.

A new ritual.

A new habit.

Wouldn't it be fun to surprise the recipient with a fabric or paper lined envelope?

Tutorial here.

I hope you had a lovely Sunday.

I did.  :)


REBECCA.

::31 days::day thirteen::

Challenge for today >>>> this tutorial from my Pinterest board!  I did it!  I did it!  I did it!

I am so html, digitally challenged that actually succeeding at this tutorial makes me a very happy gal.  I can't wait to try this again with other washi tape designs!

Happy Saturday!

REBECCA.

::31 days::day twelve::

 5 products.

5 days.

Day 5. [finally, whew!!]

I love, love, love the colors of this wristlet...super mucho!

It is named the Green Apple Wristlet because it boasts such bright and happy colors.

And...pockets, again!

Helloooooooooo, weekend.

Do you have any weekend plans?

Mine include, but are not limited to:

||church ministries||
||birthday party||
||church||
||chilling||
...We'll see what other grand things I can squeeze in.  :)

REBECCA.

::31 days::day eleven::

Tonight was a perfect example of why this challenge has been fantastic and helpful for me.  I worked today then had church tonight.  When I got home, instead of chilling, I knew I had to make a product for this challenge!

It was great motivation.

I whipped out another wristlet Stat!

This is called the Kaleidoscope Wristlet simply because the interior fabric is a happy kaleidoscope of colors and flowers.  The colors are muted but I love it!

And I finally added a third fabric to the mix to jazz it up a bit.  :)

 Pockets are in this wristlet!

There you have it.

5 days.

5 products.

Day 4.

Over and out.


REBECCA.

::31 days::day ten::

Tired of me yet?

HA!

5 days.

5 new products.

Day 3.

Much better success than yesterday.

I have been wanting to do a paper garland for a while and finally got around to it!  And I love it!


Music Garland check it out here!

The music is from Sonata 5 from Joseph Haydn.  I searched online a bit for the music history of this piece.  I didn't find anything juicy or interesting to share.

I really enjoyed making this paper garland and would love to do more in the future.

Peace out, Wednesday.

REBECCA.