Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Angle Passion Baby Quilt & FREE PATTERN



This is the finished product of a sneak peek I gave you earlier.  I recently made this quilt for my sister in law who is having her first boy in just a couple of weeks.  I designed this quilt myself and if you would like a copy of this pattern just send me an email and I will send you a Free PDF copy of the pattern that I made. (bvisser133 (at) yahoo (dot) com)  I have not been able to link to the actual PDF yet. Still working on that. This is actually the 2nd quilt I made of the same design in a 2 week period.  I loved it so much that I decided to make a second with the scraps and add an extra row and column.



I machine quilted this quilt myself using two different thread colors.  I used a grey color and a yellow color in an alternating fashion.  I wanted it to look modern so I quilted a modern design.


I loved the way my design on this quilt turned out.  It is very modern and the colors go very well together.  When I started designing this quilt I got the color scheme from my sister in law and came up with some ideas and then just went for it.


Since this was the second quilt I made with the same fabric, I didn't quite have enough of the grey to do the whole back.  The first quilt I made had the grey fabric on the entire back.  This quilt I used left overs and pieced the back creating a cool design.  I think the color placement was perfect for this quilt and also fit in perfectly with the modern design of the front.


I am so in love with this quilt.


This was a very easy baby quilt to make and I plan on using this pattern again soon.


 I really hope this quilt is loved as much as I love it. :)


Thank you for sharing another one of my accomplishments with me!!  I always love your comments.

Halloween Adventure Costume Review

**I was provided the featured product below free of charge in order to do an honest review.  No other compensation was received.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.**

 

Halloween Adventure is great for all of your Halloween costume needs.

Halloween Adventure offers costumes for kids and adults along with accessories, masks, wigs, and hats.  They offer a great selection under all of these categories.

Many people don't know how Halloween actually came about.  Halloween has quite a history behind it. It is so fun to learn about the ancient origins of Halloween and how it came about.  I learned many facts about Halloween I never knew.  You can learn many fun facts and more about Halloween at http://www.history.com/topics/halloween
 
My children love to dress up in costumes even if it isn't Halloween.  I think Halloween is probably their favorite holiday.  It is the one day that you can pretend to be something other than yourself.  My kids love to wear their costumes all day.  We always keep past costumes and put them in the dress up box for them to continue to use.  Halloween Adventure have many options that it was hard to choose.

We chose to review the Transformers 3 Optimus Prime Muscle Costume for my son.  He was so excited.  Transformers are his favorite movies.  This costume is a L-(10-12) in Boys.


He really loved the detail of the mask not only in the color but the design of the mask itself.  It fit his face very well and didn't fall off like some other costume masks.  It was a great fit.  This mask is made from a light plastic material.


We felt this costume was very true to size. This costume is a jumpsuit made of 100% polyester.  It has a great body length and leg length.


 This costume was a perfect fit for him.  He said it was very comfortable and soft.  His favorite part of the costume were the padded muscles.  He said they made his muscles look bigger like his dad.


If you are looking for a Halloween costume I recommend you check out Halloween Adventures.  They have a great service and quick response.  Halloween Adventure is a very good company and have many choices to fit anyone.


**I was provided the featured product free of charge in order to do an honest review.  No other compensation was received.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.**

Monday, July 29, 2013

Sizzling Summer Fun




I feel like I have been a little behind on blogging the last few weeks.  Having the kids home for the summer sure puts a wrench in my schedule and being able to get things done.  I feel like I have been MIA for a little while.  I had a family reunion a few weeks ago.  Then I quickly finished 3 quilts in a 2 week period from start to finish.  Then most recently last week I went on a vacation all week.  So I have been quite busy for a while.   I am hoping to have things calm down a little once my kids go back to school.  I think that just maybe I will be able to get back to a routine of some sort.  I also look forward to having a little more time to get some more sewing and blogging done.  I just wanted to share a few photos with you from my family reunion.  I realized after it was over that I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have or would have liked to. 


 One of the days of my family reunion we went on a hike to donut falls.  The kids were so excited to be outdoors.


My little girl loved it.  She loved holding daddy's hand to hike up.  She is such a chatter box.  As soon as she got comfortable with my aunt she then insisted on holding her hand.  She continued to talk to her the whole time.  It was so fun to see her so friendly with many extended family that she has never met or doesn't know well.


The views were amazing.  I always think it is fun to be in the mountain, be able to see all of the beautiful nature, and all the small animals. 





When we made it to the falls my little girl wanted to take her shoes off and put her feet into the water.  When she stuck her feet in she realized it was cold like ice water so she pulled them right back out.  It was really funny.  She did this a couple of times then was ready to just hike right back down.  My son was hiking with my mom and we got up there after he had already started heading down with her.  He likes his Grandma time.



Later that night we had a family dinner.  One of my aunts had brought a bunch of marshmallow guns to have a marshmallow fight with.  My kids thought this was pretty fun even though it took them a few minutes how to figure out how to actually use them.




We did many other things that I never got pictures of.  We had so much fun at the family reunion.  Right after it was over my kids kept asking when the next one would be held.  It was so fun for them to have so many kids around.  We look forward to seeing all our family together again in the future.  This is something I have enjoyed since I was a young child and hope to be able to continue the tradition with my children.  I want them to know all their family like I knew mine.







RelativeThreads.com Review

**I did not receive anything for writing this post.  My opinion and thoughts are 100% my own.  Others may have a different opinion.**
Relative Threads

Relative Threads review and discount code below.

A little about Relative Threads

We are two sisters determined to accessorize the world! Relative Threads was born after spending countless hours scouring the web and the malls trying to coordinate our families for different special events and photo sessions. It was often a daunting task trying to tastefully coordinate everyone without being so "matchy-matchy".  After exploring the concept, we realized the potential was limitless and that our collections of accessories could link together families, friends, wedding parties and a variety of other groups…including our favorite furry friends!

Our main goal is to create fun and fabulous accessories that look amazing together but also on their own.  We are proud to say that our line is produced here in the USA.

My Review:

Relative threads helps people find exactly what they are looking for.  With Relative Threads you can also have something custom made.  All you have to do is contact them and tell them what you like and work out the little details.  They are all about the customer and finding the right fit.  So many times you want to be coordinated with your family for a certain event but you don't want to completely match.  Maybe it is for family pictures, a wedding, or another family event.  This site has so many choices.  I love the colors that are offered.  I think they have a great taste in fabric and anyone could find the right fit for them.  I really like that they offer a custom option.  I think I would really like to try the custom option sometime.   Their site is very easy to navigate, and like I said if you don't find what you are looking for do something custom.  Check out Relative Threads today and find your fit for your event.


These are some of the things I love.
Patriotic Plaid Fabric Necklace
For Mom

Patriotic Plaid Girl's Headband
For My little Girl

Patriotic Plaid Men's Tie
For Dad

Patriotic Plaid Boy's Tie
For My Little Man

These would be so fun to use with a family picture and could be mixed in with many colors.


Just for you my readers you can check out Relative Threads today and save some money.  If you go to Relative Threads and place an order you can receive FREE Shipping at checkout by entering the code
REVIEW

Go check it out today!!


**I did not receive anything for writing this post.  My opinion and thoughts are 100% my own.  Others may have a different opinion.**
 
 

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Superior Threads Review and $25 Gift Card GIVEAWAY

**I received the product mentioned below free of charge in order to give an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  No other compensation was received.**




How many of you knew that Superior Threads offer more than just thread?

Superior Threads does offer more and I think this is pretty cool!!  I recently switched to using thread from Superior Threads and think it is a great product.  I enjoy the great thread color selection that they offer.  The thread quality is wonderful.  I am a huge supporter of Superior Threads.

Superior threads offer a huge selection in thread.  They also offer notions, patterns, fabric, block of the month programs, videos and tutorials, and much more.  I have found many things on their site that I have fallen in love with.   I especially love Superior Threads Top Stitch Needles.



I was recently sent these top stitch needles to try and I have absolutely fallen in love with them.  They are my new favorite needle.  Before I had these needles I would just use whatever I could find.  Now this is all that I want to use . They are perfect for my quilting needs.  You can find these needles on their site.

Superior Threads also offers a $3.95 shipping cost for US orders.  This is a GREAT deal!!  So many places charge more for shipping.  This makes it much more worth it to order online rather than spend the money on gas to drive all the way across town.

Superior Threads offers many different kinds of thread for many different purposes.  You can find one to fit any of your needs.  I really like the the Magnifico thread for my machine quilting.  For the piecing of my blocks I really like the Masterpiece thread.



Also if you sign up for the newsletter you can sign up for a deal of the day and see what thread color they have on special for what price each day.  I find it fun to see what they have on special.

Check out Superior Threads today and find the notions and thread for your quilting needs.  Don't forget to check out their programs and education.

Keep your eyes open to see my latest projects using Superior Threads!!!

Giveaway: One (1) $25 Gift Card to Superior Threads
Ends 8/12 Open to US Residents

To enter to win a $25 Gift Card for Superior Threads just fill out the rafflecopter below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


**I received the product mentioned below free of charge in order to give an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  No other compensation was received.**




Dial Body Wash Coupon WINNERS




Thank you so much to everyone for your great response and entries to this giveaway.  I am excited to announce that our three (3) newest winners for the Dial Body Wash (free Coupon) have been chosen.  The winners were chosen at random by rafflecopter.

And the WINNERS are:

Entry #590 Kendra Cleavenger
#758 Vikki Billings
#246 Denise Sachs

Congratulations!!  The winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to respond or sadly a new winner will be chosen.  Thank you to everyone for taking the time to check out my blog.  Don't forget to enter all of my other current giveaways.

Glee Gum Make Your Own Candy Kit Winner

 
 
Make Your Own Gummies Kit from Glee Gum
 
Thank you so much to everyone for your great response and entries to this giveaway.  I am excited to announce that our newest winner for the Glee Gum Make Your Own Candy Kit has been chosen.  The winner was chosen at random by rafflecopter.

And the WINNER is:

Entry #30 Jamie Braun

Congratulations!!  The winner has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or sadly a new winner will be chosen.  Thank you to everyone for taking the time to check out my blog.  Don't forget to enter all of my other current giveaways.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Please Help Me With Your Vote!!



 I need your help!!  Please go and vote for my design.  Top 5 designs go to the design board for their final vote.  

 Voting Ends Friday July 26th!!

#LoveEllie  #EllieDesigner

Here is my design.  To vote see the links below.


Voting is via twitter and Instagram.  Voting Ends on July 26th.

To vote via Instagram go to this link and click the heart to "Like" this photo and add your vote.

To vote via Twitter go to this link and click "Favorite" to add your vote.
http://www.ellie.com/designcontest#/ 

#EllieDesigner  #LoveEllie

Thank you all for your help!! Lets get into the top 5 so we can have the chance of having a great giveaway.


If you are looking for a new fitness outfit you can save 20% now at Ellie.

Nature Valley® Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares Review

**I received the product featured below free of charge in order to give my honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  Others may have different opinions.**


Nature Valley Oatmeal Squares

 My family loves Nature Valley snacks so we were very please to try another one of their great products.


The flavors we had to try was peanut butter and cinnamon and brown sugar.


Nature Valley's new Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares are great!!  We recently had the opportunity to try these and were very satisfied.   The texture was delicious.  They were very soft just like they advertise.  My daughter didn't think she would like it and just wanted a little bite, but once she tried it she ended up eating the whole thing.  These snacks are very delicious.  They had just the right amount of flavor to make them very flavorful.  Something I really enjoy is the size of these snacks.  Just the right size for kids or to put in your purse or backpack and take on the go.   This is a great product!


Get some Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares and try them for yourself.



**I received the product featured free of charge via BzzAgent in order to give my honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  Others may have different opinions.**

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Lucky Us Quilt


I was recently at a local quilt shop with my husband and he caught his eye on this quilt.  He has a friend that is having a baby any day now.  His friend LOVES St. Patrick's Day and is named after it, so he thought his friend would love this quilt for his baby.  This quilt was originally designed as a wall hanging. The pattern is by KimberBell Design called "Lucky US Wall Hanging"  I changed it to make it a little larger and it is just bigger than a crib size quilt.  This quilt was a lot of fun to make but I did cram it into just 4 days from start to finish to try and have it done before they had their baby.   It was also my first time doing machine applique.  I always told myself that machine applique was too hard so I never even attempted it.  Little did I know that it is actually easy and it is one of those things you just need to practice.  I think machine applique is actually really fun.  I look forward to using this skill more in the future.  I am also still practicing my machine quilting skills and trying to save some money so I did all the machine quilting on this quilt myself.  It turned out a lot better than I expected since I have only machine quilted a handful of quilts.  Quilts definitely take a lot more to machine quilt than the pot holders and other small projects I have made in the past. 


The clovers and mini 9 patches had a really cool effect on this quilt.  Each block is very different and makes the quilt fun.


A little shot of my machine quilting.  I decided to keep it very simple.  I did loops shown above.  Below I decided to do squiggly lines on the 2 outer boarders.  I did them different directions and different style on each boarder.  It is hard to see in the photo below but I quilted squiggly lines the direction going with the stripes on the piano key boarder and on the outer boarder did them lengthwise.


 The pattern for this quilt had a vase in the top left corner block.  I didn't really like the vase and it is for a baby boy so I changed it to be horse shoes instead.  (Also keeping it more baby friendly leaving out choking hazards) It also had a flower on the hat that I left off as well.

 

 I kept the back very simple as well.


Thank you for sharing in my joy and accomplishments!!


Utensil Wipes Review


**I was given the product featured below free of charge in order to do an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  Others may have different thoughts or opinions.**




Have you ever heard of Utensil Wipes?  This was new to me so I was excited to try a new product.  What a great idea!

Utensil Wipes are the ONLY all-natural wipe made exclusively to clean surfaces that touch your mouth!  Perfect for utensils, plates, glasses, water bottles, and more--our natural lemongrass formulation cleans and eliminates potentially harmful germs.

The active ingredients in our wipes are ALL NATURAL and 100% safe for oral contact.

NON-TOXIC
NO ALCOHOL
NO HARSH CHEMICALS
MADE WITH FOOD GRADE ESSENTIAL OILS



So many times we are on the go and need to sanitize something when away from home because of dropping it.  Kids always seem to be dropping their utensils when out at a BBQ or picnic.  Cleaners generally are not safe for us to ingest.  I really like that this is an all natural product.  It is simple and ready to use.  The package is small and easy to throw into your purse for when you are on the go.  I feel this product could be used for instance if your baby drops their pacifier on the ground, it gets covered in dirt, and you need to clean it before it goes back in their mouth.  This product could come in really handy for moms on the go.  Keep in mind that the product recommends you wipe the object for 10-15 seconds and wait until it is completely dry before use.  These wipes smell wonderful!  I recommend this product for any mom on the go that needs an easy way to sanitize something before touching a child's mouth or their own.


My little girl wanted to be the first to try these Utensil Wipes.  She loves to clean and help out so this was really fun for her.  I felt safe letting her use this product.  I don't normally let her touch cleaning products.  Since this was all natural and ingredient list I personally felt it was safe to let her try it out.


We both loved the smell of the wipes.


 Find yourself some Utensil Wipes



I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.