..need something to do?..

I am a tutorial HOUND! I love tuts, and thought maybe some of you do too. So I thought maybe I would compile some of my faves. But I didn't want to just throw a bunch of them at you all willy nilly.. because let me tell you, tutorial posting is not the time to be willy nilly. Yes, willy nilly does have it's time and place.

Anyway, I thought I would put together some categories. That's how I would want to see them.. Wanna start with some kids' projects?

Faux Tie @ icandy handmade
A-Frame Tent @ Cakies
Fish Hat @ Knitty
Ruffle Leg Pants @ the Sewing Dork
Ruffle Sunsuit @ little betty
Fish-in-a-Bag Soap @ Martha Stewart
Softie Doll @ 60piggies
Popcorn Cupcakes @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Little Legwarmers @ Smashed Peas and Carrots
Little Boy Shorts @ Taylor Made
Monogram Bow Holder @ Momma's Kinda Crafty
Fabric Blocks @ Ruby Jane's

Go... create... have fun :)

..fun monday 6/20..

Since Monday is the only day of the week I have home from the bakery, and now that I have a totally working computer (*knocks on wood*) then I'd like to do something special. So I thought Fun Monday would be, well, fun! :)

Here are the rules.. don't worry, they're not too strict :)

1. Search the web and find something fun! It could be a craft, a recipe, a new online boutique, or anything. Then make a post on your blog about Fun Monday and link to your fun find!

2. Come back here and leave a link to YOUR blog post about Fun Monday!

3. Visit other bloggers' Fun Monday posts and leave them some love.

4. Tell your friends! :)

If you'd like, you can grab the Fun Monday button and post it on your blog if you'd like.

For your viewing pleasure today, I give you my Fun Find..

Check out the tutorial for this awesome Fringe Necklace!

It's made by the talented Alison from SheBlogs SheBlogs! And the tutorial is easy, so you can make a necklace for every outfit :)


Now it's your turn. Link up to your Fun Monday post!

..i love patterns..

I'm fortunate enough to have several craft/fabric stores in my city. About every couple of weeks, at least one of them will run a sale on sewing patterns. They usually lower them to $1.99, and occasionally they lower them to $.99. At either price, I try to stock up. Last week I snagged some Simplicity patterns on sale. I found some really cute ones for dresses for the girls. Here's a few of them..

Now if someone would just run "free time" on sale, I'd buy that up! :)

..when you have 10 mins..

Between wedding season at the bakery, the girls being mobile and teething, and the hubbo's recent injury (he's fine), I have like, zero free time lately. I'm talking maybe even less than zero, if that's possible. Last Saturday, when I had four weddings in one day, I got to the bakery at 5:00am, and didn't get home until 9:00pm.

However, the girls have started going to bed at a decent hour (around 8:30), I didn't cook dinner tonight and the laundry is all done. So I found myself with a few spare minutes. I bought some ribbon and hair clips at Hobby Lobby today because they were both 50% off. I pulled out the hot glue gun, pulled up a couple of tutorials like this one at the Sweet Shoppe Blog, and went to town. Ten minutes later I had a couple of cute bows and some clips for the girls...

I miss my crafting time!

..i know some great people..

I really do. And I wanna mention them, because tooting someone else's horn is fun :)

First up is my pal Miss Nymfie. Me loves her :) One day we are totally going to hang out in real life. I'm working on it Nymfie, just keep the crafting table warm for me :) She bestowed this great award on me..

You know you gotta pass these awards along, so this award goes out to all of the ladies participating in my Halloween Swap. You girls rock, and I cannot wait to see what all of you create! :)

A few weeks ago Marichelle had a giveaway on her blog for this book, and I won..

The book was supposed to come from the publisher. But apparently they forgot about me. So Marichelle sent me a copy herself! How sweet is that? It wasn't her problem, but she didn't want me to be disappointed. Thanks Marichelle, you're awesome :)

And then last, but definitely not least, Brittany had a giveaway on her blog as well, asking what everyone's favorite cupcake flavor was. Mr. Random picked my number, and I got this pretty little package in the mail..

It was so pretty! I almost didn't want to open it.. almost. This is what that beautiful wrapping contained..

Woot! I love baking, and I love Martha. So I definitely love it when you put the two together :) But it didn't stop there. Brittany felt bad for not getting it to me sooner. (Um, I wouldn't have complained if it came on Christmas Day without a cover, lol!) But Brittany is a sweetheart, and took my answer from her giveaway, and sent me this..

Are you seeing what it says on that card? Do you know what magicalness comes from the Bangarang Bake Shop?

Cupcakes in a Jar! Be still my heart. What you're looking at right there is a strawberry cupcake in a jar, mailed to me, ready to devour. It gets better..

Look at all. that. frosting. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot! I mean, bigger than your average cupcake. I actually ended up sharing a couple of bites with the hubbo.

So I just wanted to tell you ladies thank you for being great people. Sometimes "thank you" is under-appreciated, because it's said so much. But I really do mean it, from my little heart. Thank you :)

..13 days of halloween swap..

Ok, so, it's already August, which means that Fall is really just right around the corner. And what's my favorite part of Fall? Why, Halloween of course! So I decided to host a swap for all my fellow Halloween lovers out there. Here's the lowdown..

13 Days of Halloween Swap

You will have 1 partner, and this will not be a secret swap. This way if you ever have any questions, you can email each other. You will frequently browse your partner's blog and any other sites they want to share with you (Flickr, Etsy, etc) so that you can really get to know them and their tastes. I have made many good friends through swapping! You will create 13 individually wrapped packages for your partner, and mail them all off together by October 1st. That gives your package 2 1/2 weeks to reach its destination, plenty of time. The 13 days of Halloween begin on October 19th. Therefore, you will label each package with a date, starting with Oct. 19th and going through Oct. 31. That way, beginning Oct. 19th your partner will have one package to open each day.

Don't let the amount of packages scare you. You will only be spending about $20.00 before shipping. Some of your packages can be small items, such as candy or stickers. You do not have to spend a lot, this swap is just designed to give us all something to look forward to on the days leading up to Halloween. It would, however, be a good idea to make your "biggie" items be one of the last ones your partner would open. You know, the big shebang and all that. :)

Now I have to get all teacher-y and give you some rules. They have been made with all of you in mind though. I want everyone to have a great swapping experience.

*Absolutely no flaking. If you think you can't commit to this swap, then please don't. It's an awful thing to spend a lot of time making a special package for someone, only to not receive anything in return. I know a lot of people charge an "entry fee" for swaps to cover costs should anyone flake, but I just don't want to have to do that. If you flake, you will be added to a "non-swapper" list that I share with lots of other blog swap hostesses.

*Communication is absolutely required. You must talk to your partner and you must talk to me. Leave comments on your partner's blog, chat in the Flickr group, send emails, whatever you want. You just have to keep in good communication with me and your partner. I just need to know you're still out there.

*I know the world is a crazy unexpected force and things come up from time to time. I also know that sometimes a swap isn't the most important thing in your life. But, if something does happen, just let me and your partner know. I am very understanding when I know what is going on. Whether you're going to be a couple of days late sending out (that's why I give it 2 1/2 weeks to get there) or something major came up and you can't fulfill the swap, I HAVE to know. If I haven't heard from you in the week before the mailout date, I will tell your partner NOT to send yours. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to be fair.

*You must be able to upload photos of what you receive. I have set up a Flickr Group just for this swap. You don't necessarily have to upload a new picture every day (but if you want to, please do) but you at least have to post a photo in the end showing everything that you received together. So, one picture or lots of pictures, you have to show what you received.

*You must let me and your partner know when you mail your package, and if you are shipping within the U.S. you must get Delivery Confirmation. It's less than a dollar, and so worth it.

*At least 3 items must be handmade, and they must be nice quality. Don't anybody go slapping a sticker on a sheet of notebook paper and calling that stationary! :D

Now, if you've made it through all of that and you still want to join, then you're awesome!! :D

Here is the info I need from you..

Real full name:

Mailing address (including country):

Email address:

Blog address:

Would you be willing to mail internationally?

What other blog swaps have you recently completed? (include website if you remember)

What crafts do you do the most?

What craft do you wish you could do?

What's your favorite candy?

Do you have any allergies? (smoke, food-specific, etc)

Anything special you'd like your partner to know?

Please send all of that in an email to hayatiggs at comcast dot net

Sign-ups will remain open for two weeks, until August 17th. On August 18th I will post and email partners to all of you. That will give you 6 weeks to put together an awesome package for your partner. I have created some graphics for you all to use if you'd like. You can click on each one to see them in full size. If you need to know how to post the graphic on your blog and have it link back here, then please let me know! These have also been put on the swap's Flickr Group.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask! :)

..happy mush day!..

Well my Valentine is out of town. So instead of showing you pics of my love, I will show you some pics of things I have made that I love! :D

First of all, remember that picture a couple of posts down with the big pink button? :) Well, silly me forgot to take a picture of the finished product before I mailed it off. So if you want to see what it was, you will have to take a trip over to Jingle's blog to find out :)

Next up is an item I made for the Free People Valentine's Swap. **Side note: Free People is my absolute most favorite clothing line ever** Stephanie, if you want to be surprised when it comes in the mail, then stop reading!! :) My partner Stephanie is in college majoring in business, and would eventually like to go into fashion. So I made her a cute little organizer/portfolio to carry along. It has pockets to stick all kinds of stuff in like notepads, clippings, or whatever. You might want to click the pictures to make them bigger. You know... so you can see the pockets :)

I am so in love with that fabric! And here's a really cute brooch/hair clip I made for another friend of mine. I say brooch/hair clip because I made it so that she could wear it as either one. You know, depending on how spunky she's feeling that day :D

And I had to make a card for the hubbo to give him when he gets home. And this one is interactive, lol. All of the stamps are from the Scrapbook Takeout January kit.

So that's it for me today. I'm fighting the urge to go open a big bag of Peanut M&Ms and eat them all during a night-long girl movie fest. Fighting really hard, lol.

Boo, if you're reading this, Happy Valentine's Day, and I'll see you tomorrow!!! :D

..pay it forward..

I'm following in the footsteps of Linda @ Two Pink Possums and participating in Pay It Forward!



The rules are as follows:
*I will make a handmade gift for the first 3 interested people to comment on this post and I have 365 days to do it in, which is an OK sort time frame I think!!

*You must have a blog to join in and be willing to do the same for 3 other people!

Easy peasy, right? I mean, you have a whole year to make something special for 3 other people. So, who's it gonna be? :D

..happy halloween!..

It's the big day, and even though I'm not dressing up this year, I'm really excited. J and I have never been home on Halloween in the two years that we've been living here. So I don't even know if any kids will come knocking on our door. But I'm excited to find out :) Here's a pic of our Jack-o-lantern, all ready and waiting!



I told J I wanted him to hide in the bushes by our front porch and scare kids when they came up. We're so mean :D

I'll tell you who's NOT mean though, and that's my buddy Beth. She had my name for the "Hot Drinks for Hot Mamas" Apron Swap, and MAN ALIVE did she come through! She knew that I liked coffee, and she knew that I liked turquoise. So what did she do? Found some turquoise coffee fabric! Check out this awesome apron..



I love it. And look at this spiffy coffee wallet she made me too!





It has places to hold your individual coffee or tea bags. Perfect for me to take when I teach! She's selling them in her Etsy shop too, go have a look.

And that's not all.. she sent me a great Coffee Book, some cute magnets, a tea towel, a bag of Peet's Coffee, and a magazine that Peet's was listed in as one of the Top 9 Best Coffees! Thank you so much Beth, I love everything!!

And I did manage to get one crafty thing done today. I got my stocking made for a Handmade Stocking Swap I'm in on Swap-Bot. I went a little non-traditional with my fabric choice. I hope my partner likes it!



Ok, enough for today. J is yelling from the other room that he's hungry. I made a yummy Enchilada casserole last night and (to my surprise) he wants leftovers :)

Happy Halloween everyone!!