Goodbye For Now (and a Giveaway!)

Hello friends!

It's been quite some time since Angel and I have posted regularly on this blog. I wanted to give you all a little update.

Angel has been busy this past year, working with Kaleidoscope, a "community center for the arts" in Nashville. She's been doing a phenomenal job and enjoying her time making art with children.

On my end, I have been focused on my Etsy shop, as well as designing projects and patterns. I worked on a few projects with publisher Lark Crafts and have 2 designs included in the brand new book Never Been Stitched.

Never Been Stitched is edited by the wonderful Amanda Carestio and just released this February. It features 45 no-sew or low-sew projects to make with fabric. So fun! You can find a free sample project from the book on the Lark Crafts blog. And please check out my blog for a review and giveaway!




For the foreseeable future, Stumbles & Stitches will remain dormant. We are not taking the blog offline, since there is a bevy of useful tutorials and project posts on here. We hope you'll continue to visit and browse! We still receive notifications from comments, so don't hesitate to say hello or ask questions.

In the meantime, I will be posting tutorials and craft projects on my own blog, Jenny Bartoy Handmade. I hope you'll come visit me there. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Thank you for your support all these years, and goodbye for now.

~ Jenny

Giveaway: a bundle of craft books!

Hello friends!

Today is Giveaway Day on Sew Mama Sew, kicking off a week of fabulous giveaways all around blogland. And here on Stumbles & Stitches, we're offering up a bundle of 5 craft books -- your choice from the pile pictured and listed below! (Read on to find out the details.)




If you're visiting from Sew Mama Sew, WELCOME! Stumbles & Stitches is a conversation between 2 friends, Jenny and Angel. For the past 4 years, we've been sharing our craft projects (successes and failures both), as well as tutorials, spotlights on favorite artists, giveaways and book reviews.

Things have slowed down a bit over the past year, since Angel helped launch Kaleidoscope in Nashville and Jenny has been busy in Seattle with her Etsy shop and writing projects for upcoming sewing books. We still come by the blog, here and there, to share the latest, and we have a ton of great archives, so please stick around and browse a bit.

Back to the Giveaway: a bundle of craft books!

The winner of this giveaway will get to choose 5 books from a bunch of recent publications by Lark Crafts, photographed and listed below. ($75 estimated value. U.S. residents only, apologies to our international friends!) Lark Crafts graciously and regularly sends us books to review, and we're excited to share!




Available books:

Stitched Blooms: 300 Floral, Leaf & Border Motifs to Embroider by Carina Envoldsen-Harris
Print Collective: Screenprinting Techniques and Projects by Jenny Doh
Doodle Stitching: Embroidery and Beyond by Aimee Ray
Paper Blooms: 25 Extraordinary Flowers to Make for Weddings, Celebrations & More by Jeffery Rudell
Stamp It! DIY Printing With Handmade Stamps by Jenny Doh
Book Play: Creative Adventures in Handmade Books by Margaret Cogswell
Adventures in Pompom Land by Myko Diann Bocek
Sweet and Simple Jewelry by Aimee Ray
Wee Felt Worlds by Amanda Carestio
Paper Pups by Hiroshi Hayakawa
Creative Lettering: Techniques & Tips From Top Artists by Jenny Doh
Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction by Abigail Glassenberg
Flip Dolls & Other Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go by Laura Wilson
Printing on Fabric: Techniques With Screens, Stencils, Inks & Dyes by Jen Swearington
Journal Your Way: Designing and Using Handmade Books by Gwen Diehn


** How to enter the giveaway **

• Please leave a comment on this blog post. (One entry per person, please.) If you'd like, tell us which titles on this list look most appealing to you.
• Make sure to include an email address if it's not included in your Blogger profile.
• This giveaway is open until December 13 at 5 p.m. PST, at which point we will choose a random winner and will contact them by email.
• This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, apologies to our international friends.
• Void where prohibited.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered! Congratulations to our winner, wobblybobbin!

Thanks for visiting Stumbles & Stitches! You can also find us on Facebook.

And before you leave, I'd like to plug a brand new book that will be released in February 2014. Shameless promotion! I am excited to have 2 projects featured in this book, including one on the cover! It's called Never Been Stitched: 45 No-Sew & Low-Sew Projects, edited by the lovely and talented Amanda Carestio for Lark Crafts. And you can pre-order it now!


Don't forget to swing by Sew Mama Sew to check out all the amazing giveaways happening this week!

A post about keeping house, and all that entails

Oh my, a chill is in the air even in these parts! Hard to believe summer is almost over. I'm always sad to see the main growing season go, but by now I'm also worn out by super hot and humid weather and mosquitoes as big as hummingbirds. So, bring on Fall!

Thoughts of cleaning, organizing and nesting have set in, and as I look around the house I can see I have some major work to do. I never really got back into a routine after we moved back into the house in March, and my sanity (and the state of my house) has suffered greatly for it. I make valiant attempts to "get back on track" but they never seem to stick. I need help!

Enter in my favorite new book, Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House. This comprehensive housekeeping guide, written by Cheryl Mendelson, is not only an encyclopedia of indispensable explanations and tips for every household task, it is also brilliantly written. Sort of like a cookbook that you want to read even when you are not actually cooking......




The book is a large one, at almost 900 pages the hardback version is formidable. The pages are divided into the broad categories of Beginnings, Food, Cloth, Cleanliness, Daily Life, Sleep, Safe Shelter and Formalities. Those eight sections are further divided into 72 chapters, so you can find exactly what you need when you need it without getting overwhelmed by all the rest.

Christmas in July: Giveaway from Felt On The Fly!

Hello everyone! I hope you've had a great week. Not sure how my oldest starts school in exactly ONE WEEK, but there you go. This summer has flown by!

I have an exciting Christmas in July giveaway to announce: our brand new sponsor Felt on the Fly is giving away one of their fabulous holiday color stories to one lucky winner! That is 5 sheets of luxurious wool felt in a beautiful combination of colors.

The winner can choose between Holiday Brights (left) and Blossom (right). Each set includes 5 sheets of 8 by 10 inch, 100% merino wool felt, 1mm thick (1/16").



This lucky winner will also receive a copy of the wonderful holiday book Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio, courtesy of Lark Crafts! This book is a favorite around Stumbles & Stitches, and full of perfect projects to craft with the beautiful wool felt from Felt on the Fly.



* * *
How To Enter:

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post! If you'd like, tell us which Felt on the Fly color story you would pick and what you'd make with it.

Please make sure to include a link or email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open until Sunday, July 29 at midnight CST. Giveaway is open to all our readers!

We will draw the winner randomly on Monday, July 30. We'll announce the winner here and contact them via email. One entry per person, please! (Giveaway value: $29.95. Void where prohibited.)

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated! Congratulations to our lucky winner JoyceLM, check your email!


* * *
You can find Felt on the Fly online here: shop / blog / Facebook / Pinterest.

You can find Lark Crafts online here: website / bookstore / Facebook / Twitter.

If you're new to Stumbles & Stitches, welcome! We hope you'll stick around, browse and subscribe. You can find all our social media links in the sidebar to the right!

We have much more in store for Christmas in July: tutorials, inspiration and another big giveaway! We hope you'll come visit.

Read Between the Lines Pillow: Free Download!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone is feeling inspired by the Christmas in July posts so far. We've been working on our own Christmas-y projects and can't wait to share.

Today we're sharing another lovely project from the upcoming book Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays by John Q. Adams: the Read Between The Lines Pillow designed by Kelly Lautenbach. How clever is that patchworked Ho Ho Ho?




>>Download the PDF here.

Big thanks to Lark Crafts for sharing this project with us! Wouldn't this pillow look great with the fabric from the Ardeth's Christmas fat quarter bundle assembled by Alewives Fabrics?

Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays will be released in August! Stay tuned for a chance to win the book right here on Stumbles & Stitches.




If you missed our previous free project from this book, you can download the Milk and Cookie Mats pattern PDF here.

Stay tuned for more Christmas in July fun this week: project updates, designer features, ornament tutorials, another giveaway and more!

Christmas in July: For the Weekend!

Good afternoon!

Internet issues and a kidnapped camera left me unable to show you photos of the fabrics I chose for the Milk and Cookie mat, but I will say that a little Heather Ross gnome fabric snuck into the mix! I decided to go ahead and try the traditional piecing suggested by the quilt pattern creator John Adams, time to learn something new don't you think?

For the weekend, I thought I'd re-share the three amazing projects from the Lark book Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio, from last year's Christmas in July. Perfect in case you need a small piece of handwork to take with you on vacation or to the pool!

Below each photo you will find the link to a post featuring the free PDF download for the project.

Layer Play Ornament

Little Birds Ornament and Garland

Felt Flora and Merry Little Ornament

If you need to purchase some wonderful wool felt, give our sponsor Janet at Felt On The Fly a visit! It is a joy to work with this felt, and she has a ton of beautiful "color stories" that would be perfect for ornament making. Keep your eyes peeled for a Felt On The Fly giveaway, too... (Thanks in advance to Janet!)

And don't forget our first Christmas in July giveaway: a fat quarter bundle from Alewives Fabric! Go HERE to enter.

Next week we'll share another project from "Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays" along with some new, original ornament tutorials from me and Jenny! Here's a sneak peek of one of mine:

 

And much more!

Have a great weekend! We can't wait to see what you're working on for Christmas in July!

Milk and Cookie Mats: Free Download!

Hey everyone!

I am so excited to introduce this project to you today: "Milk and Cookie Mats" designed and created by John Q. Adams (also known as Quilt Dad). This project comes from the new book Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays, authored by John and published by Lark Crafts. John has a great preview of the book on his blog. (More about this talented quilter later this week!)

Jenny and I were thrilled to share this project because it is a fun, modern design that is also versatile. Depending on the colors of fabric you use you could create a set of these for every season! (What a fun idea...)




>> Download the PDF here.

See what materials you need, select your fabrics and get started! I'm going to gather my supplies today and do a little WIP/Show and Tell post tomorrow. I'm still deciding whether to "chicken out" and use felt for my first go at this design, I am not a very precise cutter or piecer when it comes to patchwork.

This pattern comes with a second design. Here it is (cute!):




Thank you to Lark Crafts and Amanda, our wonderful contact there, for sharing this project with us!

Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays will be released in August! Stay tuned for a chance to win the book right here on Stumbles & Stitches.

Mod Podge Rocks: Giveaway!!

Hello friends! Today we're hosting a super giveaway courtesy of Lark Crafts and Plaid!

As you may have seen around the blogosphere, Amy Anderson, the crafty lady behind the popular blog Mod Podge Rocks, has just authored a brand new book.




Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World is a collection of 40 simple and inexpensive decoupage projects designed by Amy as well as other well-known folks in the crafting world. There are accessories, wearables, jewelry and even holiday projects. Some are shabby chic, some are modern, there are a lot of styles and inspiration, as well as instructions and techniques for using Mod Podge on various surfaces for fabulous results.




(Did you know Mod Podge has been around for 45 years?! We didn't!)

Here are some of our favorite projects in the book:












I love that step-stool!

Angel and I were lucky to receive some Mod Podge along with our review copies of the book (thank you Lark Crafts!) and we've been playing around with some projects. We can't wait to show you and hope you come back tomorrow to see...

In the meantime, check out what's up for grabs in this fabulous Mod Podge Rocks giveaway!

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a copy of the Mod Podge Rocks! book along with an array of Mod Podge supplies including t-shirt, tote bag, collage paper, and an awesome variety of Mod Podge glues and products to try out all sorts of decoupage projects! (See photo below for all items included. There's stuff in the tote bag too!)




A second winner will receive a copy of the book!

How To Enter

For a chance to win either prize, simply leave a comment on this post! If you'd like, tell us the first thing you've ever Mod Podged -- or thought of Mod Podge-ing.

Please make sure and include a link or email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open until Sunday July 15, at midnight PST. U.S. residents only please, apologies to our international friends!

We will draw the two winners randomly on Monday July 16. We'll announce them here and contact them via email. One entry per person, please. (Void where prohibited)

Good luck everyone! And huge thanks to Lark Crafts for sharing all these goodies!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated! Congratulations to our winners Aubrey (#10) and Promise (#74). Check your email for a note from us!

You can find Mod Podge Rocks online here: blog / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest.

If you're new to Stumbles & Stitches, welcome! We hope you'll stick around, browse and subscribe. You can find all our social media links in the sidebar to the right!

Turkish Embroidery

Hi Angel!

I loved your beautiful garden photos yesterday. So many gorgeous flowers! You inspired me and I took my camera with me on the way to preschool pick-up today. More on that later this week...

Today I wanted to show you the book I scored at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago: Turkish Embroidery by Gulseren Ramazanoglu.

Giveaway Day: Stash Happy Trio and more!

Happy Monday!

It's Giveaway Day on Sew Mama Sew! and Stumbles & Stitches is participating by giving away books, fabric and felt to one very lucky winner!!




First, our friends at Lark Crafts are being super generous and giving away the whole Stash Happy collection! That is a trio of lovely books, perfect for using up your stash and creating super fun projects.




The winner will receive the following 3 books courtesy of Lark Crafts:

• Stash Happy: Applique by Cynthia Shaffer (Check out our review coming up soon!)
• Stash Happy: Patchwork by Cynthia Shaffer
• Stash Happy: Felt by Amanda Carestio

And to sweeten the pot (and your stash!), we're throwing in some fabric and felt!

The winner will receive an assortment of large fabric scraps, ranging from roughly 5 x 10 inches to a few full fat quarters, lovingly cut from our stash! They are perfect to make many of the Stash Happy projects and include prints from the Echo collection by Lotta Landsdotter, Quilt Blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker, some Botanika, some Denyse Schmidt and more (also 2 small scraps of Kokka linen robots -- too cute not to include!).






The winner will also receive 7 pieces of wool-blend felt (30% wool, 70% rayon) in a range of colors.




See the details below for a chance to win this fabulous Stash Happy package!

* * *

How to enter: 

For a chance to win this prize, simply write us a comment. If you'd like, tell us about a successful project you made with scraps or your favorite way(s) to use up your stash.

This giveaway is open to everyone. If you're a no-reply blogger, please make sure and leave an email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win.

We'll keep comments open until Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m. PST. We'll choose a random winner, will announce the name here, and will email this lucky person by Sunday, May 27. (Total value $75. Void where prohibited.)

Comments are now closed, thank you to everyone who participated!

Our lucky winner is Jeannette. Congratulations! We'll be emailing you shortly.

* * *

A huge thank you to Lark Crafts for this awesome giveaway, and to Sew Mama Sew for organizing Giveaway Day! Make sure and go check out all the lovely people giving away supplies and handmade goodness all over the blogosphere.

* * * 

If you're new to Stumbles & Stitches, a very warm welcome to you! We are so glad you're here! We hope you'll stick around, subscribe and connect with us:

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Flickr  ~  Pinterest [Angel/Jenny]  ~  Etsy [Angel/Jenny]

Good luck to everyone entering the giveaway!

Pretty-ful Lampshade (Free Download from Lark Crafts)

Happy Friday!

Here's another fabulous project, generously shared by our friends at Lark Crafts to celebrate Feather Your Nest. Embellish a lampshade with some pretty hand-stitched appliqué! This Pretty-ful Lampshade pattern comes from the brand new book Stash Happy: Appliqué by Cynthia Shaffer.



Download the pattern PDF here.

How perfect is this for Feather Your Nest? It's stitched, it upcycles an existing lampshade, and it creates a beautiful addition to your home!

Thank you Lark Crafts for sharing this pattern with us!

In case you missed them, we posted the patterns for the adorable Little Miss Mason Jars pattern from this book 2 weeks ago, as well as the Café Napkins from Sewn By Hand last week.

Feather Your Nest is a month-long series here on Stumbles & Stitches focused on making things for our own homes. Along with featuring patterns, projects and guest posts, we're also having a sew/stitch-along and contest with amazing prizes! Make something for your own nest and get a chance to win. Check out all the details and sign up HERE by April 22. Entries are due April 29.

Café Napkins (Free Download from Lark Crafts)

Here's another free download from our friends at Lark Crafts! This project is called Café Napkins and comes from one of our favorite books here on Stumbles & Stitches: Sewn By Hand by Susan Wasinger. This project is perfect for Feather Your Nest, as it upcycles men's shirts AND involves stitches (either by machine or by hand)!



Download the pattern PDF here.

Such a cute AND useful project. I've got a stash of old dress shirts from my husband just waiting to be turned into napkins! I love that this is a project easily sewn by hand too. Perfect to take along to the park or playground on sunny days.

Thank you Lark Crafts for sharing this pattern with us!

In case you missed it last week, we shared the adorable Little Miss Mason Jars pattern from the brand new book Stash Happy: Appliqué by Cynthia Shaffer.

Feather Your Nest is a month-long series here on Stumbles & Stitches focused on making things for our own homes. Along with featuring patterns, projects and guest posts, we're also having a sew/stitch-along and contest with amazing prizes! Make something for your own nest and get a chance to win. Check out all the details and sign up HERE.

Little Miss Mason Jars (Free Download from Lark Crafts)

Happy Friday!

If you need a cute and simple project to do over the holiday weekend, here's an adorable pattern from the brand new book Stash Happy: Appliqué by Cynthia Shaffer. Our friends at Lark Crafts have generously offered a free download for you guys for our Feather Your Nest series!




Download the PDF pattern here.

What a fun way to organize crafting supplies and other small knick-knacks! How about making your own version of this sweet project and entering it in the Feather Your Nest contest?

Thank you Lark Crafts for sharing this pattern with us!

Feather Your Nest is a month-long series here on Stumbles & Stitches focused on making things for our own homes. Along with featuring patterns, projects and guest posts, we're also having a sew/stitch-along and contest with amazing prizes! Make something for your own nest and get a chance to win. Check out all the details and sign up HERE. Have a lovely weekend!

Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts: Book Review and Giveaway

Dear readers, today I'm excited to share my thoughts on the book Pretty in Patchwork: Doll Quilts which Lark Crafts sent me for review a couple of months ago. Lark Crafts is generously giving away a copy of the book to a lucky reader, and Angel and I are throwing in some fabric to make your own patchwork projects, so read on!


Pretty in Patchwork is a new series by Lark Crafts. In this book, Cathy Gaubert leads a group of 20 top designers who contribute an array of patterns for doll quilts featuring applique, piecing, embroidery and more. Doll quilts are the perfect size to try out new techniques and quilt designs without the commitment of a full size quilt. The quilts featured in this book would look great as works of art on a wall.

100 Pretty Little Projects: Book Review and Giveaway

How is it Thursday already? AAH! Slow down the countdown to Christmas puh-lease! Anyone else freaking out that it's less than 3 weeks until the big day? I did complete a Christmas gift yesterday, but more on that in a second.

A couple of months ago, our friends at Lark Crafts sent us the book 100 Pretty Little Projects to check out. I am excited to share my review with you guys today and show you the fun project I made from it. If you'd like a copy of 100 Pretty Little Projects for yourself, make sure and enter the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win one!



100 Pretty Little Projects
Pincushions, Potholders, Purses, Pillows & More

100 Pretty Little Projects is a compilation of favorite projects from the popular Pretty Little series. It features cute and practical projects from fabulous designers and crafty bloggers including adorable pincushions, coasters, patchwork potholders, doll quilts, pretty pillows, trendy clutches and much, much more. The book is organized in four loose categories: Enjoy, Use, Hold and Give.

French Press Cozy

Good morning! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Angel, I hope you had fun selling your needle-felted beauties at the Elves Faire. I know you've been working hard on your soon-to-open Etsy shop. Can't wait to see it!!

I ended up sewing, sewing, sewing -- both personal projects and items for my Etsy shop. Can't wait to share them all soon! Let's start with one thing I finished this weekend: a French press cozy!


The pattern is from Stash Happy: Felt by Amanda Carestio that we just reviewed last week. This book is seriously awesome. I love so many of the projects and couldn't decide what to make first. However, the constant frustration at pouring cold coffee in my mug made the decision for me! French press cozy it was!