Sally's Angelworks

{struggles, the story, and a little HOPE - day 3 of partying!!}

Do you ever have those days where you just want to pull the covers back over your head and hide for about three weeks???

Yep, me too!!

But there is HOPE!!!

I am naturally an optimist (as you can probably tell just from my exclamation point usage!! LOL!!!), and it hurts a lot to struggle! I want to always be happy and feel great and bop around all cheerful-like! We all do!!

...but that's not really realistic, is it?? There are going to be struggles in life. As I was telling a friend last night, LIFE IS MESSY!!! eeeeek!!

Let me say again...there is HOPE!!!

Today, I have a little gift for you up front!!! A printable embroidery pattern...

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

I tell my kids all the time...if we didn't have the valleys, we wouldn't have the mountains.

and btw, it's okay to cry, too!! Sometimes we just need to get the toxins out of our system, for sure!!

Here's a scriptural perspective of the struggle...

I don't know about you, but I want to be perfect and complete! I know it's not going to happen right now (although, I'm close!! JUST KIDDING!!! LOL!!)

Here are some ways that I walk through my struggles...

I sketch and journal...

I find inspirational quotes...

I go to scriptures...like this one!! He has the victory!! How can that not give you immediate hope????

He has caused me to be born again to a LIVING HOPE!!! Oooooohhhhh!!!! 

I listen to music...

Addison Road - Hope Now

I just stop and ponder pretty things!! (aka smelling the roses!!)

and I create...

So I'm going to share a little fun project I created today (and yesterday! LOL!)...

Paleo Blondies with fun banner

How to make the banner:

Supplies:

paper scraps, scissors (don't use your fabric scissors on paper, please!), glue, 2 bamboo skewers, ribbon, fun treats into which to stick your skewers!!!

Cut out different sized triangles. Lay them out how you would like to see them!

Sew them onto your ribbon slowly.

Put a small dollup of glue about an inch from the end of your ribbon. Put your skewer on the glue and wrap the ribbon around it holding it for a few seconds to set the glue. 

Let it dry...

And then put it on your cake, cookies, brownies, whatever your treat is!!!

I got the recipe for these little sweeties in this book on Amazon:

I loved the taste!! But I love almond flour and coconut flour...that's me!

Super fun treat!!!!

And I have a fun little treat for you...

TODAY's GIVEAWAY

A coffee cozy, a Starbucks VIA Pumpkin Spiced Latte, some pink rickrack and a GOB of punched out fabric flowers!!! yay!!!!!

All you have to do today is Comment HERE on this post!!!! 

One chance today...

Don't forget, you have chances all week to win, win, win!!!

I hope this post has given you a little bit of HOPE to walk through your story! I'm praying for you today!!

Blessings!

{day 2 of the festivities!! Free Printable Pattern!!}

It's day two of our party!! I hope you are eating some serious cake!!! :) I am whipping up new Paleo friendly cookies this afternoon to share with you tomorrow, so go ahead and save your sugar points for me for tomorrow! (wait, it's Paleo...no sugar! and you'll love it!)

How about some celebratory embroidery???

I drew up this embroidery pattern for you this week!!

How can we use it?

I like the mini quilt option the best.... 

...but what do you do with a mini quilt??? It unfortunately won't keep you warm - on the outside, anyway!! :)

These are just three ideas for uses of mini quilts! As a crafter/quilter, mini quilts can be your saving grace as you are perfecting your craft! Plus, they don't take anywhere near as long as a throw to make!! 

For this embroidery pattern, you can make a medium sized pillow for the bed of the one who has the birthday! Wouldn't it be fun to wake up with a new pillow on your bed??? So fun!!!

What are some other ideas you can do with this embroidery pattern?

• Fun hoop art
• pillow
• table runner
• birthday tote bag
• fun twirlie skirt

Lots of fun ideas!!!! 

So here's the pattern: DOWNLOAD HERE

Here are some more shots of how I am going to use my mini quilt...I pinned it to my curtains next to my kitchen table. I can pin it behind the chair of the birthday person! (Right now, it's pinned behind my chair! LOL!!)

Enjoy and be sure to share with us if you use the pattern!!!

Today's Giveaway:

Bunting pennants made with Sweet Divinity (designed by The Quilted Fish)!!!

There are 9 pennants with bias tape sewn to the tops! Two of them are attached with one piece of bias tape. 

Again, lots of ideas for you to use these!! Sew them together to make one bunting, or just applique them to a quilt top for a fun bunting look on your quilt...

...like I did here...

You can purchase this quilt right HERE in the shop!!!

Ready to win these pennants???

You have three chances!!! ♥♥♥

1. Comment here with any other ideas for mini quilts or for the embroidery pattern I'm giving away today!!!

2. Follow me on FB!!

3. Follow me on Twitter!!

Get ready tomorrow for some awesome quotes, a little outloud hope, and another FREE embroidery pattern!!

Blessings!

 

{happy third birthday, Sally's Angelworks!!!}

It's here!!! The birthday celebration!!! yay!!!

For the celebration, I'm going to be sharing some fun stuff with you each day.

I also will have daily giveaways, so read all the way through...and be sure and follow all of the protocols to enter into the giveaways!!!

There will be a grand prize at the end of the week, too!!! So, check back daily!!

So, the Etsy shop is THREE years old!!!

To celebrate, I've lowered some of the quilt prices, so if you've had your eye on a quilt, chances are it's a bit cheaper than it was!! Grab them while they're hot!! ♥ 

Check out the QUILTS here!!

Today's project that I wanted to share with you is a Happy Birthday Banner!!

This is a quick project you can put together very easily!! 

Here's how I made it:

I took a piece of Essex Linen (that I got from Julie's shop, the Intrepid Thread) and, using a pencil, I wrote Happy Birthday vertially, leaving a little space up top for an embellishment.

HINT: practice your handwriting and embellished letters on a sketch pad! You will find your writing voice!

Using Cosmo embroidery thread and a backstitch, I embroidered the words. 

I have to admit a couple of things: 

♥ I created the embroidery before I picked my fabrics, so I matched the fabrics to the embroidery thread colors that I used. You may want to do this the other way around. But sometimes it's fun to do things a little backwards. It leads you to a unique perspective on your finished piece!

♥ I chose to do the embroidery/text on the vertical because I had a piece of leftover fabric that was long and thin! I also thought that a fun birthday banner would be cool!! :) What scraps do you have laying around that you can turn into something? Use what you have!! Don't go out and spend a fortune on new fabrics if you are hoarding! (okay, okay, I know...we are all fabric hoarding!!) 

Next, I added 1.5" strips onto the sides of my linen. And then I added a 1.25" strip to each the bottom and the top. 

I added a strip of batting (which I have a bunch of strips of batting leftover from other projects, so this was perfect!!) and backing, made my quilt sandwich, pin basted, and quilted...

When I am quilting around my embroidery, I try to do small stippling to make the embroidery pop out! I think it looks pretty neat!! For this one, I didn't add any other quilting on the border strips. I like that, too!!

I cut a flower out of the fabric, added heatnbond adhesive to the back, fused it to the linen at the top and did a hand blanket stitch around the flower. I love the handmade look to that stitch! Then I covered a button with another piece of fabric centering a little bird on it! Super fun!!

HINT: You can do that part (flower) before you quilt, too, but wait to quilt your piece before you add your button!

And it's time to add your binding!! I always use a 2.5" strip binding. It just gives me the comfort of ease of turning it over and hand sewing it on without having to stretch it over the edges. I actually used some leftover black binding strips and added a little bit more of my border fabric to finish it off. 

HINT: remember, it's always good to use what you have!!! (wait, I think I've said that before!! :))

another HINT: If you want to add a ribbon for hanging like I did, AFTER you sew your binging onto the front, but BEFORE you hand sew it onto the back, add your ribbon by matching raw edges to the top of the mini quilt. Make a loop and sew right on the seam for your binding over your loop ends. Then hand sew your binding to cover those edges!! 

Voila!!! You are done!!

Perfect for celebrating someone!!! 

You could also hang it on the back of the chair of the birthday girl or boy!! So fun!!!

Let me know if you use any of this tutorial as inspiration! I'd love to share with everyone on the blog!!! :)

Today's giveaway:

A sheepish needle book!!!! Handmade by me!!!

Yep, you get these two needles, too!!!

You can have three chances to win this needle book! Please leave a separate comment for each chance you take!!

1. Leave a comment here!!! Any comment!!!

2. LIKE Sally's Angelworks on FB!!

3. Follow me (use the BLOGLOVIN link on the right sidebar!!!) on the blog!!! 

Sooooo fun!!! 

Also, for every comment you leave on the blog this week, you'll be entered to win the grand prize on Saturday!! yay!!!

Come back tomorrow for a fun FREE printable embroidery pattern and ideas on how to use it!! ♥

blessings!!!

{get ready to celebrate!!!!}

{pin found here}

...and it's almost time to celebrate!!!!

Tomorrow starts my third birthday celebration of Sally's Angelworks on Etsy!!!

So, be sure and follow me on Bloglovin' or favorite me in your bookmarks and visit every day!!!

Each day, you will either get a free printable or a quick free quilty tutorial!!! And there will be prizes each day, too, with a big GRAND PRIZE at the end!!! Ohhhhhh, this is going to be good!!!

Also, make sure you are signed up for the newsletter! There will be different goodies in there monthly starting this month including coupons to the store!! yay!!!!

{pin found here}

And don't forget to grab a piece of cake while you are here!!!

The festivities start tomorrow, June 17th!!! yay!

blessings!

{vacation...oh, i need you, vacation!!!}

{pin found here}

Adventure is out there!!!!

{pin found here}

Yep, it's time for a vacation!!!!! 

Today, we'll be in the car for about 10 hours taking our sweet boy up to Garden Valley, Tx, up to Teen Mania headquarters. So, while we're driving all around Texas, I've scheduled a fun vacation post using Pinterest pics to fill you full of longing for a fun vacation!!!

{pin found here}

I'm totally up for a month-long vacation of exploring!! Where would you go???

We'd go to Colorado, for sure!!

And probably Florida to show the kids that beaches don't have to be like Galveston...'nuff said there!

{pin found here}

We'd also LOVE to explore the East Coast...see all of the history that we've learned about during our years of homeschooling!

And after all of that camping all around the country...

{pin found here}

Yep, it's off to the Caribbean! Yum!!!!

{pin found here}

I'm all packed...how about you????

Actually, we're saving up our traveling/air points so we can go somewhere soon!! And while we wait...

{pin found here}

Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

Blessings!!!

{God is good...}

Ohhhhhhh God is so good!!! 

Today,  we spent the day getting all of those last minute things you need before you go on a trip getting Quentin all ready to go to Africa!

Why are we letting our only begotten son go halfway around the globe into another hemisphere for three weeks???

Because we believe...

...we believe that God's grace is amazing!

...we believe that God's love is abounding!

...and we believe that God's wonderful saving news needs to be spread to everyone who comes in contact with us!! This trip extends our family's reach to people with whom we otherwise wouldn't come into contact!

I am super proud of my kids and their evangelistic hearts!! Quentin's fundraising has been an amazing journey of faith and wonder for me, just as Cora's was last year. We have gone into these mission trips with the belief that if God wanted these kids to join in with Global Expeditions (GE), He would make it happen! 

Amazingly enough, He has!! Quentin raised over $5300! And he didn't just sit around and wait for people to randomly give money. He put letters together himself (with the help of GE), held his own bake sale, worked with his sister to sell t-shirts, and he talked to people, especially at our church, about his passion for Zambia!!

We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ...His love and grace covers us and our sins, and in response to His great Love and Grace, we glorify Him!!! We praise Him!! and we love Him!!

Did you know that He loves you, too??

He covers you, too!!!

And He rejoices over you with singing!!!

{Zephaniah 3:17}

{Wednesday WIPs!!}

First of all, I am loving this little mini chalkboard!! It is keeping me on track!!!

Let's see what I've got to get done this week!! Eeeeeeeek!!

Quentin leaves on Saturday, and supposedly there are supposed to be 30degree nights in Zambia.

Thus, flannel penguin PJs...

and then...

I've got to finish my Denyse Schmidt challenge piece. I'm still wishy washy about how I want to quilt the middle...

Any suggestions???

and of course, my 4x5 Bee Blocks...

Here are some fabrics I'm going to use for those...

And I have been sketching for the Birthday Party...

You're going to love the embroidery patterns I have up my sleeve!!!

super fun!!!!!

How is your week going so far??? 

I know it's full of blessings!!!!!

♥♥♥

{getting things ready...}

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Are you ready for some partying???? 

 

The party starts on the 17th of this month!!!! Just a quick reminder!! (and a bloggin' test! LOL!!!)

{oh snap!!!}

{sneaky peek on what I finished last night!!}

Ohhhh yes, I'm a finisher!! And today I'm going to keep on finishing!!

Here are a couple of pics of what I did this weekend!!

I finished the Novella dress!! (I love leggings!!!) Rayon is the best to sew with. And this pattern from Kay Whitt at Sew Serendipity was perfect and easy to put together!! It's called the Juliet Nouveau. Wonderful in rayon!

And of course, I went to our BRT concert...

And my sweet friend, Cindy took this fun pic of us!! (check out the electric cello!!)

(yep, I'm really in a band!!!)

And then on Sunday, I met up with a few of the HMQG girlies to have lunch and go quilty shopping!! yay!!!

Here's a little of what I got...

Yep...Tula Pink's Birds and the Bees squirrel and ladybug fabric! My sister is making a quilt with these squirrels  for her son. I can't wait to see how it comes out!!! I got them for another secret reason!!! heeheee...you will find out very soon, I promise!

My last project I finished last night, I also can't quite share with you yet...that's the beauty of pattern testing! You will see it soon, too, I promise!! 

Hope your Monday is as blessed as mine is!!!! 

Enjoy the FRESH START of the week!!

 

{are you playing skillfully???}

{designs by Bonnie Christine at Going Home to Roost}

Guess what today is!!!

Our BRT concert day! yay!!

{pin found here}

We'll be at Westbury United Methodist Church starting at 6pm tonight (Sat, June 8th, 2013) in the Memorial Gardens on the Willowbend side of the Church. You can read even more about this on our Facebook Event!! :)

{pin found here}

Um, I won't be playing the autoharp (although, I'm thinking about including it in my next new song!! ♥), but I will be playing the acoustic  guitar and the electric cello!!!

This is a super kid-friendly concert, so bring them along!!! 

We look forward to seeing you tonight!!!

blessings!