I'm back!  Well, I actually haven't gone anywhere, would've loved to have gone to Quilt Market, but that's another blog sometime.  I've just been off the blogging, tweeting, facebook radar for a bit with the weather turning warmer, means I'm outside with the kids more, and custom orders.  It's been non-stop, not complaining, it's great actually.  Orders are good and I'll post pictures in the next few blogs.  But first...

It's Try-It-Tuesday!!!

One of the things I love to do is test out patterns for designers and give input on how easy or not it was to follow, how well or not it was written, etc.  It's like being an editor but I actually have to go through the pattern and make it, so I'd say I'm a "SEW-ditor"?  I think I like that better than Pattern Tester, kind of like a "Domestic Engineer."  Anyways, I digress...

So my Try-It-Tuesday feature this month is Two Peas in a Pod's Patsy Ann Apron Top!  I met Trish on Twitter and she was looking for testers and I volunteered.  I'm so glad I did.  She gave me the opportunity to test out her Apron top and I made a couple.  I've been dying to show them off on my blog but I had to wait until she was ready.  In the meantime, my girls modeled them for me at school!!

This is Kathleen wearing the size 2T I made using Patty Young's Mezzanine prints.  She's wearing it on top of a simple pink dress she already had but the apron top really added so much more to it!   I had so many compliments and inquiries.

The pattern is great for a beginner!  Simple, well laid out and so much fun to make!  They can be done in less than 3 hours, just like the rest of her "pea-sized patterns."  And the sizes range from 2T to 9.  You can purchase her pattern directly through her website or they'll be available on her etsy shop by June.  Or if you'd rather not sew and would like to have me make you a custom one, contact me directly!

I'm thinking of making a matching top for myself and a matching dress for an American Girl doll.  The pattern doesn't include those sizes but I'm sure I can figure it out from what Trish had laid out.Pin It

Thank you to all who entered my Try It Tuesday Giveaway for the two fun games I reviewed from McNeil Designs for a Brighter Mind.


And the winners are...


For the You've been Sentenced! game

the winner is:

Emily said...

youve been sentenced !
thanks!
emmy1981 at aol dot com

Congratulations Emily!  Please contact me with your information so I can pass it along to McNeil Designs for a Brighter Mind.


For the Twisted Fish game:
the winner is:

Margie said...

I'm interested in the game Twisted Fish. It's closer in age to my little one! Thanks.

tccsreading (at) yahoo (dot) com

Congratulations Margie!  Please contact me with your information so I can pass it along to McNeil Designs for a Brighter Mind.


Thank you again for all the entries!  This has been fun so watch out for May's Try It Tuesday feature.Pin It

Before I get started with the names of the winners for this fun giveaway, remember to enter my Try It Tuesday Giveaway for the fun games from McNeil Designs!!  The giveaway ends midnight, EST, on Monday, April 27 and winners announced on April 28.


Thank you to all the comments submitted for the name of my new bag.  There were over 20 suggestions to choose from!  But I could only pick one.  And the winning name for my new bag style is:

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Before I talk about the new product, don't forget to enter my giveaways.  The Name the Bag Giveaway ends 4/26 and the Try It Tuesday Giveaway ends 4/27!!

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I'm in a giveaway mood.  I think I'll have another one that I'm going to try every month - Try It Tuesday Giveaway.

For my very first Try It Tuesday I was lucky enough to be chosen through Biz2Blogger to test out a fun  award-winning word game called You've been Sentenced!  It's from McNeil Designs for Brighter Minds and can be played by 3-10 players ages 8 and up.

About You've been Sentenced!
You've been Sentenced! is an innovative language game which utilizes pentagon-shaped cards containing conjugations of funny words, famous names, and familiar places.  With a hand of 10 cards, players build sentences, challenging their ingenuity while trying to score the most points per round, constructing a grammatically correct and justifiable sentence.

So my kids aren't over the age of 7 yet but my oldest loves to read and I thought this would be a great learning game for him.  Here's what I got in the mail:

Not only did I get the game but I also received 5 add-on decks.

The cards are pentagon shaped and each side has a variation of a word - the original word, a plural version, a verb version, a past tense, whatever.  And each are associated with points.  My husband, my son and I played the game one night, not to its proper instructions, we wanted the 7 year old to get the idea of making sentences first before trying to defend them, and we all had a blast.  My son was in fits of giggles making up sentences with the cards he was given.  I've also found that I can take the add-on decks to my kids' sporting events and we can play while we hang out and wait for the duration of the game.

I highly recommend this game.  It's fun and educational!

But that's not all.  I also received another game from McNeil - Twisted Fish.

Twisted Fish is a similar game to Go Fish but has "13 unique, outrageously humorous fish characters in five different color suits that you must ask for specifically.  In addition there's 8 unique Zinger Wild Cards that all have a different wild function and makes the game FUN to the very last card every game!"

Twisted Fish is for ages 6 and up, but I've played it with my 6, 4 1/2, and 2 1/2 year olds, and can be played with 3-6 players.

Another fun game!  I've taken this to events and played it there too.  Great entertainment that keeps the kids occupied instead of the handheld ds systems everybody seems to have.  So if your kids like Go Fish, they'll love Twisted Fish!

Here's the giveaway:

McNeil Designs has been kind enough to provide the same You've been Sentenced! game along with the 5 add-on cards for one of my lucky readers!  They are also providing a Twisted Fish game for another lucky person.  So I'm giving two games away!

Here's how to enter - leave a comment for each to up your chances!
1- Leave a comment telling me which game you'd like to win
2 - Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect
3 - Follow me on Facebook!  Beautiful Blooms Fan Page
4 - Follow me on Twitter! mom2etck

And don't worry if you're already following, just leave a comment that you do.

Contest is open until midnight April 27 and winners will be announced on April 28!Pin It

I just made this really cute bag.  I've been dying to make a slouchy bottom bag, something with more shape than the bags I already make.  I finally did, first as a wristlet.

And here's the inside:
My camera phobic daughter subsequently decided to make it her bag.  But luckily I made two!

Now I need a name.  I was thinking along the name "Charmed" or even "Hugs" since I already have a KISS bag, but not sure.

So, as my tweeter friends have done, I'm going to have a Name the Bag Giveaway.  You name it and you can have the bag.  Just leave a comment.

And for kicks, I'll make this a double giveaway.  Second giveaway - win a custom bag like this, but you get to choose the fabrics!!

All you have to do is, comment for each of these:
1 - Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect or let me know if you already follow
2 - Become a fan on my facebook fanpage:  Beautiful Blooms Fan Site
3 - Follow me on Twitter: MOM2ETCK
4 - Retweet this and let others know!

Contest will be open until midnight EST April 26 and I'll announce the winners on April 27!Pin It

Have you seen my Bare Necessities Mini Keychain Wallets that I make and sell in my shop?

It's cute, holds the minimum you need going out - a card, maybe some cash - and acts as a keychain.  Really the Bare Necessities.

Well this weekend I was making a new wallet, one I'm going to call Everything But The Kitchen Sink.
Why?  Well let's just say my son looked at it and asked me why it was such a big wallet, did the person have a lot of money?  I just smiled.


It looks normal at first from the front, but then you open it up and it explodes into this:


It has 8 card slots in the back section, a zippered compartment for coins and whatever else likes to fly around in a wallet, and 4 additional sections for whatever you'd like in there - money, coupons, receipts, again whatever.  It looks like an accordian on the side, and closed up it's already 2" thick.  It even has a detachable wrist strap.

Impressive wallet design I got from NapkittenPattern on etsy.  It was actually for a customer request.  I'm still debating on whether to make more to sell.  What do you think?Pin It