{Dallas Flea, Sneak Peek}

Just a little peek at what I'm working on for the Dallas Flea! If you see something interesting come out to the flea and see it in person!!

Hope you are all having a super wonderful week!

{Get Your Shop On}

Blue Ruffle Pillow Cover

New pillow styles in the SHOP!

Girly Ruffle Pillow Cover

Light Blue Sparkle Clothespins

Along with some new sparkly colors for clothespins.

Light Pink

Dottie Bunting

And of course some more bunting!

Red, White & Blue Bunting (SO original! Anyone have another name suggestion?)

That is all for now! I am headed out with my little guy to search for some good holiday fabric deals! What do you have planned for the weekend???

{Etsy Grand Re-Opening & A NEW Name!!}

I am super excited to announce the GRAND re-opening of my Etsy shop!!!! I decided to make a few changes over there,... first, I am no longer designing/selling jewelry. I have so much more fun with FABRIC! :) So I'll be selling my quilts, some pillow covers, bunting, little odds & ends and there WILL be a paper box here and there, after all that is where this all started, is it not? Second,... I have changed the name of my shop! What was previously Bella Gioielli (Italian for Beautiful Jewels) is now Paper Box Quilt Co. I realize that quilts have nothing to do with paper or boxes, but I'm sticking with it!

So, here you have it! My first 5 items at Paper Box Quilt Co.

(let me know what you think) (only if it's nice...) ;)

First up is "It's A Hoot" quilt.

This quilt was made in my (smoke free/pet friendly) studio by MOI!! Fabric is "It's A Hoot" by Momo for Moda Fabrics. It is so bright and cheery consisting of little birds, polka dots, pretty damask and funky florals in a mix of pink, aqua, red, yellow, green & lavender(ish/grey). Pretty perfect for a little girls room or to snuggle under on the couch.

Pattern is "Piece of Cake" by Thimble Blossoms. Finished squares measure approx. 7.5" and all feature a strip of a contrasting Hoot fabric & are framed by the super cute EGG shaped pink polka dots. Backing is matching pink "damask". It is all over machine quilted in a free motion meandering pattern with 100% polyester ivory thread.

Measures 63" x 71"

All fabrics used on "It's A Hoot" are 100% cotton, batting inside is also 100% cotton. Your quilt will come pre-washed, all crinkly and beautiful. To wash: machine wash on cold with color safe detergent, tumble dry on low. (I use Tide w color safe bleach/downey fabric softener combo).

"It's A Hoot" is ready to ship and ready to be loved for a very long time!

Next is "Baby Boy" Pillow Cover

Baby Boy throw pillow cover is made from the fabric line, Soliel by Annette Tatum for Westminster Fabrics. This sweet fabric mixes aqua, yellow, grey and orange with stripe, star, floral and puppy dog prints The patchwork front has been machine quilted in a straight line, grid pattern with 100% polyester blue & orange thread & backed with a coordinating pale blue solid fabric.

Pillow cover measures 18"x 18" and will fit nicely on a 18" pillow form. (pillow form is not included, but can be purchased at your local craft or hobby store).

All fabrics used on "Baby Boy" pillow cover" are 100% cotton, batting inside is also 100% cotton. Pillow covers will not come pre-washed. To wash: machine wash on cold with color safe detergent, hang or lay flat to dry. (I use Tide w color safe bleach/downey fabric softener combo).

"Baby Boy" is ready to ship and ready for your baby boy nursery!

And of course,... "Baby Girl" Pillow Cover

Baby Girl throw pillow cover is made from the fabric line, Soliel by Annette Tatum for Westminster Fabrics. This sweet fabric mixes pink, yellow, grey and orange with stripe, star, floral and puppy dog prints The patchwork front has been machine quilted in a straight line pattern with 100% polyester pink & orange thread & backed with a coordinating pale pink solid and pale pink check print.

Pillow cover measures 17"x 17" and will fit nicely on a 16" pillow form (shown). (pillow form is not included, but can be purchased at your local craft or hobby store).

All fabrics used on "Baby Girl" pillow cover are 100% cotton, batting inside is also 100% cotton. Pillow covers will not come pre-washed. To wash: machine wash on cold with color safe detergent, hang or lay flat to dry. (I use Tide w color safe bleach/downey fabric softener combo).

"Baby Girl" is ready to ship and ready for your baby girl nursery!

Finally I have the first two of a series of "Deconstructed NEST" Pillow Covers

Deconstructed NEST #1 is made from the fabric line, Nest by Tula Pink for Moda Fabrics. This funky fabric mixes pink, aqua, yellow, green and brown with bird, feather, egg and floral prints. The "braided" front has been machine quilted in a free motion meandering pattern with 100% polyester ivory thread & backed with a cheery pink print from the Nest line.

About 2 years ago I constructed this Nest braid as a quilt top,... it ended up terribly crooked. The top was perfect and the bottom swayed (to say the least) to the side. My BIG mistake is your fortune. I was able to cut apart the wonky quilt top and make several pillow covers out of it. (don't worry, none of the pillows ended up WONKY!) ;) This is the first in the "Deconstructed NEST" pillow collection. Stay tuned for more!

Pillow cover measures 20"x 20" and will fit perfectly on a 20" pillow form. (pillow form is not included, but can be purchased at your local craft or hobby store).

All fabrics used on "Deconstructed NEST #1" are 100% cotton, batting inside is also 100% cotton. Pillow covers will not come pre-washed. To wash: machine wash on cold with color safe detergent, hang or lay flat to dry. (I use Tide w color safe bleach/downey fabric softener combo).

"Deconstructed NEST #1" is ready to ship and ready to adorn a couch near you!

(#2,... same basic description, but it has been straight line quilted instead of stippled)

Remember THIS disaster??? Yeah,... now we have PILLOWS! :)

And there you have it! I will be posting new items regularly so keep checkin in!! Share it with ALL your friends! Thanks for all your support!

XOXO

{The State Fair of Texas}

I spent the day at the Texas State Fair Friday with Cash and my sister-in-law. Believe it or not,... after living in Texas for about 20 years I NEVER went to the State Fair!!! Man was I missing out! I think I might plan on this being a yearly adventure. I didn't ride one ride, but the fried fair food consumption more than made up for that! Not to mention, some of the coolest pictures!! What is so magical about giant spinning wheels, flying swings, galloping horses on poles and hot dogs fried in cornbread batter???

This is "Big Tex" who is NOT magical but in fact extremely creepy. He is like a million feet tall and HIS MOUTH MOVES!! Ewe.

Can someone explain how this is possible??? A third of a man on a pole?? I have no idea. He said his grandchildren were working at Jack in The Box,... as antenna balls. :)

Seriously?? How do you think they do that. As if butter isn't unhealthy enough as it is. How about fried cheesecake, beer, pickles (yum), ice cream, oreos.... the list goes on, and on,... and on.

And of course,... the quilts. I was actually surprised, there weren't too many, BUT they were beautiful! I am actually considering entering one next year, IF I can get one done in time. Janome was also there with ALL their awesome machines! Wish I could have taken one home.

Anything fun happen in your weekend??

{Sewing}

I have been doing a ton of it,... everyday!! Quilts, pillow covers, bunting,... I even made a little zipper pouch the other day. (I'll show you that soon)

Some things for me. Some things for the preparation of my Etsy re-opening.

Some things for testing,....

(I'm gonna test this some more) ;)

Six quilt tops and three pillow covers here. You may see some of these popping up in my Etsy shop soon.

This is a little sewing I did to spruce up our pretty boring bedroom decor. Chevron seems to be all the rage these days but I will tell you that I will probably never try zig zags this small again. I started with 3" squares and I'm not sure I really thought it through. SO many bunchy, bulky seams and tiny little HST's when all was said & done. It sure did turn out pretty though!

As soon as I finish some of these WIP's, I'll let you all see them! Promise.

Tomorrow,... pictures from the State Fair of Texas!

XOXO

{A Quilt For Megan}

Remember this "sneak peek" ??? Here it is!!! I used a tutorial over at Film In The Fridge to make this string quilt for Megan, my friend for 15 years, who just got married in Hawaii. It turned out SO beautiful that I am going to make another one! :)

I used mostly Kaffe Fassett fabrics in purple, green and turquoise, and added some extras in there,... some dots, solids and even batiks!

The string quilt pattern was so much fun! I had a blast making it. Can't wait to get started on another string quilt.

Don't you just love how it feels to finish a quilt, wash it and pull it out of the dryer in all its crinkly-ness??? Perfect!

{My New, Old Machine}

Well, that is just a lovely sight, no?

Let me tell you a little story of how I acquired this beauty.

When I was young, I used to both babysit for and go to church with a nice nice lady. Her family moved away and I recently re-connected with her on Facebook. I remember sewing with her and the other church ladies on Saturdays to make quilts for donation,... and making homemade ice cream too! :) Anyway, she mentioned that she had a few sewing machines that she never used and I offered to buy one from her.

"Life is too short" she told me and the next thing I knew I was in possession of a wonderful gift! You read that right! GIFT. She gave me this Bernina sewing machine just for no reason at all.

I have to be honest. I have had it for a really long time. It went to my mother's house when I was still living in Maryland and sat there for months until I came back to Texas. My two favorite features of this machine are the hands free foot lifter and the pedal tap needle-down. After using this machine, I wonder how I was ever sewing on anything else. I will save my first sewing machine because I have made a lot of beauties with that little Singer,... but I am loving my sweet gift and am even more eager to get sewing. I will cherish it and create on it in honor of such a sweet lady.

To say a little "Thank you" I whipped up this little mini wonky star quilt.

I hope to make a larger size quilt with these pretty little stars, they were fun and easy!

Friends, I am off to HAWAII for a week! Yes,... Hawaii,... you can be jealous, I would be ;) Looking forward to beautiful weather, some zip lining, swimming, beaches, and a super fun wedding. I will over load you with pictures when we get back.

XOXO