Lookie Lookie!

LOOK! HURRY! LOOK!!! See what I got in the mail today?!?!???

PINK FIG PATTERNS PRIZE PACK!

SOOOO EXCITING! <3

Thank you to Chelsae over at Pink Fig Design!

Y'all should check her out!

SUPER CUTE STUFF!

Did I mention that I am SUPER FREAKIN EXCITED?!!?????

Giveaway! WOOHOO!

So, there is a sweet giveaway over at Green Fairy Quilts! You should check it out!!

Christmas is...

OFFICIALLY OVER! WOOOHOOOO! Party at the Maxman house!

Dont get me wrong - I love Christmas and all - but dang. Doing three Christmas celebrations on Christmas Day as well as figuring out everyone's gift? Yeah, its alot of brain power going into it. Not to mention A TON of woman hours going into this year... Y'all ready??

So, if you remember, Jocilin was helping me with her quilt - until it was time for borders...











Just a memory refresher...

FINALLY has borders!







Warm & Fuzzy



Justine - AKA - Toad was also the lucky recipient of a quilt from Dear Ol' Sis...





Toad <3s her new blankie!


The Nephews fared well too...





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Lucky Michael!

Notice the Lizards above? He started naming them after he opened his blankie! <3

...3! ...2! ...1! ... BLAST OFF



Mathew's Space Loot!



What else could there be, you ask? Well, kids, we are just getting started!

For Sister Sarah a new hand-bag

Mom fared fairly well too - even with her silly remarks -- a little background... Way back at the begining of December, I made a comment about makin a list and checkin it twice on my FB page. Well, my mom, being the silly that she is, stated that all she wanted was a crayon roll, a marker roll, and a colored pencil roll with a matching carrying case... Well, ask and ye shall recieve!

Louisa, Ali, Cameron & Cadence all scored new purses...

Perfect for little hands, if I do say so myself!

As to why they are sideways - WHO KNOWS!  But they sure are cute!

And of course, Justine sure is lucky I love her! I took most of an entire day

 that I had dedicated to finishing my projects

(which didnt get done until THREE AM CHRISTMAS MORNING!)

to help with hers - they did come out aweful cute...

So, I think that covers the Christmas crafting with the exception of ONE project that needs to be photographed.

I hope everyone's Christmas was cheery and bright!

*Did you hear the bells...?*

There is...

SO MUCH TO BLOG ABOUT!

But I can't.

 Not till after Christmas.


But I will say this... the I can hear the bells ringing... and they are slowly getting louder! <3

Crystal, yeah....

Yeah! She is awesome! Check her out! I do - every time she posts! Over at Hendrixville she has a giveaway going! Ashley would love it!!! (hint hint!)

I love fat quarters like...

... a plump gal loves chocolate chip cookies!  Sew Fabulous Quilt Shop has a giveaway going on thier blog. If you like freebies - and WHO DOESNT!!! - go check it out! xoxoxo

Dinner...

was evidentally a hit!

Shepherd's Pie.

Comfort food.

Rainy day.

Yum.

The finished product.

The product finished!

*p.s. right after this photo was taken the last piece was finished.

As in GONE.

Finito.

Rainy Day Tasteyness!

Its Raining! Its pouring! The old man is snoring! Okay, he isnt snoring, he is watching football. Blech. If you know me, you know how I feel about professional football. If you dont know me - FYI - I LOATHE professional football. While he snores away watches football, I sew or read or bake. Today it was all three. Ive been blog hopping. And sewing Christmas gifts. And baking. This one is YUMMY and simple! Rachel of p.s. I quilt shared the recipe for Rainy Day S'mores

Don't they look Ah-MAZZZ-ing?? 

Of course, I copied the recipe down for my box

 - Note the top of the recipe card -

*snicker giggle snicker*

Happy Rainy Day! 

Whos and Whoville

So, another blog hop is happening. Today is day THREE (you can still join in Henry Glass Fabrics has all the details!). I love these things. I learn SOO much. One of my favorite Christmas time movies is The Grinch *yes* this is a relevant fact! Jacquelynne over at The Noble Wife posted a pattern for a pin cushion - SOOO CUTE! She also admitted to being a "recovering perfectionist" - does that not describe me or what!? She also said that she could see little Whos singing around the tree (pin cushion) in Whoville. This year, Adrianne sat on Mommy's lap to watch The Grinch on tv. She swayed in time with the Whos singing and giggled at the Grinch. I hope that Adrianne is not nearly as (yes, Im going to say it!) particular about things as I am. The Whos give such a phenominal example. It doesnt take THINGS to make Christmas great - all it takes is love and having each other.

Coloring Anyone?

So, Mel over at Above All Fabric has been posting on her blog various gift ideas that are quick and easy! I saw this one and FELL IN LOVE! It is super quick and can be for a boy or a girl - I happen to have a VERY adorable 19 month old that loves to color and we were heading out to an impromptu family runion - so I made one. I mean SUPER quick. Twenty minutes TOPS.

Adrianne is a VERY lucky little girl and got a matching coloring book to go with her new crayon roll.

I was amazed at how many crayons fit - 14 - that gives room for duplicates of favorite colors!

She stuck herself almost under a table and decided THAT was the place to color.

If you would like to know more about her coloring book, let me know! xoxoxoxo



Amazing what you can do

With SCRAPS! So, I was perusing Moda Bakeshop and saw a cute quilt - Get Framed - and went to the bucket. In the bucket I was able to pull enough layer cake pieces out to get this little guy done (the top at least) in time for the family reunion-ish dinner on Sunday!

Thank you to Crystal Hendrix of Hendrixville for some inspiration!

Above All Fabric - YES PLEASE!

So.... I saw a give-away opportunity and JUMPED on it! Mel at Above All Fabric is one of my favorite people. She is creative and kind. Her giveawayconsists of a "wishlist" of possibilities...

In my wishlist I have patterns of things I would like to make, and a few different fabrics to make them with! It will grow and shrink, I am sure. But I am greatful for the opportunity to have a new friend and that my new friend is awesome!

xoxo

Quote of the day

"He broke up with me in the RainbowAg parkinglot. How redneck is that!?!?"

Good times at the Maxman house tonight!

I love quilters!

I am going to learn SOOOOO much! =) SUPER EXCITED!!!

If you are crafty - AT ALL - you should check it out!!!
www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures/

New blog! (with a giveaway!)

Found a new blog to follow! Im excited!! =)

Shellie Sews sounds like a neat gal with lots of ideas in her head! If you are lookin for somethin new to follow, you should check her out!

xoxo

Day 103...

So, a nice guy at the Giant's parade made the point that it is 103 days until the pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. I LOVE baseball. I LOVE baseball fans. Most - and I do mean most - are lifers. Don't get me wrong, there were LOTS of bandwagon jumpers with the Giants (just like there are professed Yankees fans that have NEVER watched a game...) and THAT is annoying and seriously LAME. I cannot wait until baseball season next year.... I definitely plan on attending multiple games. Hopefully I will have a new lens for my camera by then... although this is a fairly BADA$$ picture.



I heart Buster Posey.

Now, for today's mini-project... drawstring bags! With button holes! =) Super cute, super quick, and AWESOME to keep my new "smart phone" contained and relatively safe. ;-)

 Made from scrap pieces of a charm pack - Moda's Pure collection, these are going to be perfect for my sister Jocilin, my sister Justine, and myself - all of us are a little clumsy and get the dropsies... Hopefully these cute little scrap bags will give our "smart phones" a fighting chance!



...waiting...

So... in my last post I shared photos of my sister's quilt. Here is a reminder for those that havent been following the progress.

The fun part came when I read through the "recipe" paying a little more attention to the directions... This awesome quilt was only supposed to be 50"x50" - NOT big enough for a twin, let alone a queen! DOH! In a state of "what now?" I started sketching...

What a HEADACHE! My sister is sooo lucky I love her.

Onto borders....

pieced... and waiting.

Well... I got all of the blocks finished... And the cat, Panzie, proceeded to do, exactly what cats do. She was so proud and purring. You could hear her from the hallway. Silly kitty.

Then came sewing the rows together.

My favorite block of this quilt:



I LOVE the swirls and hearts together.

And now, its waiting... for borders and backing.

She isn't going to know what do to with herself when she opens it on Christmas!

...sneak peek....

Ssshhh! Its another sneak peek of the current project...

And its done.

Michael's quilt top is finished. =) Have to wait for payday to order the minky to go on the back, but DANG! It is so stinkin cute!!! 

And the next project is...

Its gonna be pretty! =)

Its gonna be....

SUPER BRIGHT! And incredibly cute. I am so excited to see my nephew open it!!

Sneak peak...

Don't mind the mess!

xoxo

On getting up early...

This "gotta get up early" crap, is just that. Crapola. Especially on the mornings that my body will let me sleep... SO sad. I know, I know. "The early bird gets the worm" and all that nonsense. But COME ON! Just 15 more minutes would have been grand. *sigh*  Okay. I'm done whining now.

Those are cupcakes?

You bet they are!!! VERY tastey cupcakes, at that! SO simple. So tastey.

Adrianne likes them too! 

Chocolate-Pumpkin

Cupcakes

1 small can pumpkin

1 box devil's food cake mix

Mix together JUST the cake mix and pumpkin

Scoop into cupcake liners

Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350* F



They come out a wee bit sticky and are less so if you

allow them to cool before partaking.

ENJOY!

Up past my bedtime!

Yep, thats right. I am up wayyyyy past my bedtime... However, it is with a good intent, and a creative output. I have been designing a pattern using nothin but three fat quarters (maybe four) and a zipper with a little piece of cardboard for a handbag... or project bag... or reading bag... or whatever bag! Stay tuned for the frustration and love and details that will follow! =) xoxo  (Did I mention for my LDS family - it will be large enough for scriptures and a book and notepad?) xoxoxo

Oh, how the time flies!

Well. Obviously I am not all that great about updating. That is probably an understatement. I am OBVIOUSLY TERRIBLE about updating. I promise to make a better effort ;-)  That being said, how bout an update??

I have been sewing like crazy!! And loving every minute of it! Pillowcases, gift bags, note cards, quilts, purses... And soon to try my hand at clothing...  (more photos will have to come later - the uploader is telling me that it is being a wee bit off...)

                                                          These were Taryn's birthday gift!


Adrianne is growing like a weed! Nate took her to the doc on Tuesday and she is in the 93rd percentile for height! HOLY COW! Not to mention, she has one heck of a vocabulary.

The other night (not sure which) I hear her and daddy talking in her room -

Daddy: You dont need to sit down in here, Mommy made cake!

Adrianne: I love it! I love cake!

Daddy: You love it?

Adrianne: I love it! (a few seconds later) Mommy! I love cake!

Nate is loving being a stay-at-home dad!

Hopefully it wont be so long in between posts for the next go...