Balloon Banner

Our fabulous Aunt Dianne celebrated her 70th birthday a few weeks ago. I've had some birthday banner ideas I'd been wanting to experiment with, and this was the perfect opportunity. I envisioned large circles in vibrant colors with contrasting colors of grosgrain ribbon as the balloons, and bold letters spelling out Happy Birthday.

I was inspired by some glittery paper I had stashed in my craft supplies, and used my 2 inch circle punch for the balloon outlines.

I utilized my adhesive paper and Silhouette to make my own sticker lettering. It was incredibly easy, and I was delighted with how well it worked.

I played around with several of the colored ribbons and felt they overwhelmed the smaller circles.

Instead, I used my supply of baker's twine.

Next time, I think I'll make the circles significantly larger and experiment with the ribbon again. This size turned out better than I thought, and was the ideal size to mail.

I also had some fun decorating one of her gift bags with my balloon punch.

On another note, I have a quick follow up on my Valentine's Day post. I received two incredible valentines.

Valentine #1 - Sent by Rachel in Maryland. The inside says "Wool you be my valentine?" So clever!

Valentine #2 received from Anna in Tasmania, Australia. I was thrilled to receive an international valentine, and thought her use of hearts to create this scene was genius!

I loved the valentines I received, and can't wait to participate in next year's swap!

Hot Air Balloon Mini Quilt

I'm happy to show you my first finished quilt of 2015!  This cute little mini measures about 14 inches square.

Back in October, Lauren and i went to the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta and had an amaaazing time. We blogged about it here and here. 

Shortly after we returned home, I found this sweet hot air balloon fabric at Bolt.

These little hot air balloons were just begging to be made into something for Lauren. The balloons were small enough to fit inside one-inch hexies, so I decided to do a mini landscape of hot air balloons taking off over the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque at sunrise.  

This was the first time I glue basted my hexies. What a revelation! I don't think I will ever thread baste again. Glue basting was straight-up zippy in comparison. I've always considered English paper piecing to be adorable but awfully time consuming. It's still time consuming, but much more doable with glue basting.  I used an Elmer's washable school glue stick. The only trick I learned was that it worked much better if I started with a hexie-shaped piece of fabric  with a 3/8-inch seam allowance rather than starting with a square piece of fabric.  With the fabric squares, there was an excess of fabric that got in the way of my gluing efforts.  

I took this picture right after I popped all of the hexie papers out. I love the stained glass look of a quilt top with sunlight filtering through the window. 

I finished it up with some simple quilting lines spreading out from the rising sun, and bound it in tiny shimmery hearts.

I saw Lauren the week before Valentine's Day and gave her the mini. Speaking of Valentine's Day, check out the card she sent me. She is the best card giver ever. And the best sister ever. 

Valentines? Schmalentines!

Valentine's Day is really not my favorite holiday, and it all started in third grade.  Every year in elementary school, I worked tirelessly on my valentine bag constructed from a paper lunch sack, construction paper, glitter, and copious amounts of Elmer's glue. That year I was particularly proud of my creation, and couldn't wait for our class valentine exchange and the opportunity to finally open up my cards and treats. We distributed our notes during lunch, and then had our class party planned for right after recess.

I still vividly remember walking into the classroom after recess. Multiple kids instantly ran up to inform me that Andrew, a boy in my class who was overly friendly with the girls, had ripped and completely destroyed my mail sack trying to place a gigantic heart-shaped box of chocolates, especially for me, discretely in my sack. Please remember that this was still one of those years when boys had MAJOR cooties. Red as a tomato, I returned quietly to my desk trying to avoid my not-so-secret admirer. The icing on the cake, was that when I went back to my table, Shane, the other very annoying kid in my class, notorious for aggressive games of footsie, threw a gold bracelet on my desk and said, "Here! I stole this from my mom's dresser."  I politely informed him that he should give it back to her, and I couldn't accept stolen presents. I was 0 for 2. That afternoon I stuffed the box of chocolates deep under my bed and never told a soul. Days later, Jen and my mom discovered the box and teased the living daylights out of me, though they completely deny it now. I'm still traumatized, and avoid heart shaped boxes at all costs.

Needless to say, I've enjoyed finding ways to celebrate Valentine's Day with a slightly non-traditional spin. One of my favorite Valentine's Day adventures from college was spent with my friend Hillary and involved skipping a mandatory meeting, going to a slasher movie, and conquering a really big bucket of popcorn.

This year, Jen sent me the details on Aunt Peaches' 2015 Valentine Swap and I thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate this overrated holiday! You're given three names and addresses of complete strangers, and have about four days to make hand-made valentines for your assigned swap recipients. Last year over 500 people participated from all over the world. I decided to make three "You're the Bee's Knees" banners.

I cut out my hearts with my heart punch, then used my Silhouette Cameo to print the lettering.

I used my 1/8 inch circle punch and pink baker's twine to string the banner.

I also made thumbprint bees for ends of the banner.

I wrapped the banner around a handwritten note, and enclosed a family recipe for Red Velvet Cake.

My assigned Valentine Swap recipients are from Portland, Oregon, South Carolina, and Florida.

I can't wait to see where my valentines arrive from this week!

St. Johns Bridge

Every so often, Patrick and I venture out into the world to work on improving our photography. Last weekend, we drove to North Portland to visit my favorite bridge, the St. Johns Bridge. Underneath the bridge is Cathedral Park, which was quiet and a little eerie in the fog. 

After we walked through Cathedral Park we walked the span of the bridge. The fog temporarily lifted a bit, and then rolled back in.

After we finished walking the bridge, we had a late breakfast with a friend in St. Johns. It was hard to capture the beauty of the fog, but it was a good challenge. I definitely want to try it again on another foggy winter morning.

Seahawks Super Bowl Sunday

Living in the Pacific Northwest during football season has been quite the experience over the last few years. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the ultimate football expert, but I have nothing but love for the Seahawks. Seattle has been literally buzzing with excitement and unwavering hope for the team that's done the impossible, especially in last week's NFC Championship. The loyalty and support from the fans--the 12th Man and 12th Woman-- are one of a kind, and I'm so proud to be a part of it. In what other city do the fans get up at 4:00 in the morning to line the streets of the city to send off their team in tremendous spirit?

Every Friday before a game, I can't wait to put on my Seahawks jersey, my Russell Wilson #3 earrings, and my bright green Seahawks socks in support of Blue Friday. No matter where you go -- the grocery store, the gas station, or even the airport, you're in the minority if you're not wearing blue. We've had Seahawks Tailgate Parties at work complete with blue and green paper chains and so many baked goods full of Seahawks-themed food coloring that my tongue manages to match my outfit. This weekend will be no different.

In preparation for the upcoming festivities, I made Seahawk banners and swizzle sticks.

This project was a fabulous excuse to play with my new Silhouette, and it didn't disappoint.  Within seconds, I had my letters cut out.

I used both my letters and the letter outlines to make two different banners.

For the second banner, I attached the contrasting color to the letter outlines from the original banner.

The inspiration for my second project came from Jen. For my birthday last year, Jen gave me one of the most incredible presents that I hope to give to other craft-lovers in the very near future. She purchased Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts and selected about eight projects from the book. She compiled the supplies for each craft in individual bags, and gave me the craft kits with the book. How many times do you see an idea, and think "I'd really like to make that but don't have time to go get all the supplies?" I thought this was brilliant, so useful, and creative.

These sparkly swizzle sticks were one of the projects, and I was thrilled to use Seahawks colors!

Supplies:

-Skewers and/or toothpicks
-Craft glue
-Pom poms (assorted sizes and colors)

I also made a few small party picks with toothpicks and the miniature pom poms.

Last year, the incredible Seahawks kicker, Steven Hauschka (#4), helped win so many games with his reliable and accurate field goals.  The kicker is rarely recognized. Other players often get the credit. Hauschka comes through when no one else can.

On Sunday afternoon, I will be glued to the television, screaming my lungs out, wearing #4, and genuinely hoping for a back-to-back Seahawks Super Bowl victory. Go Hawks and Go Hauschka!!! Happy almost Super Bowl Sunday!