{Wednesday...9+ Months}

Hi! It's Wednesday! Not that that means anything, but the week is more than half way over, so there's that,... :)

Last week I took Cash to the park because we've been having this AWESOME weather here in Dallas. We tested out the swing and he wasn't a fan on that first try. I took him back this week and he LOVED it! I guess he was just having a bad day last week. He hung out in that swing for like half an hour and giggled and smiled and admired all the other kids playing. It was so sweet and these are quite possibly the cutest pictures I have gotten of him! I will mark this a nine month post,.. even though he was nine months like two weeks ago. What's new??

NINE months:

22 pounds

30 inches

crawling, climbing, pulling, scooting, about to be walking

teething,... still

but no teeth

loves keys, balls of yarn & the swings

wearing 12 month clothing

playing with his fav toy "Elefun ball popper" EVERYDAY, and at like 6 am.

Clapping when I say "YAY"

waving backwards when I say "BYE BYE"

raising his arms when I tell him he's "SO BIG"

The sweetest little 9 month old I know. I'm pretty lucky.

In addition to chasing my baby around, I'm currently preparing for Paper Box Quilt Co.'s debut at The Dallas Flea!!! That's right! I will be setting up a booth and selling my items in PERSON! I'm a little nervous about being ready in time, but also super excited at the same time. I am planning to have quilts, pillow covers, mini quilts/table toppers, crochet dish cloths, wall decor, bunting, pot holders, clothespins, some small paper items,.... I think that's it,... for now,... SO, if you're in the area and want to stop in to see me, mark your calendar!! April 21 in the South Side building downtown. I will be among a TON of awesome vendors so you will have PLENTY to look at, shop & admire. Are there any local readers out there??? Any already planning to attend the Flea?? I would love to meet you!

Photo courtesy of Craigslist

The final thing on my Wednesday agenda is this cute little hutch! I found this on Craigslist for $30 and I plan on using it in my booth set-up at the Flea. I thought it was a bargain! Gotta love Craigslist.

What draws you to a booth at a flea market/craft show?? Does the set-up matter?? Would you pass up a booth that didn't have a pretty/unique set-up no matter what they were selling?? Just curious. I think I am more attracted to pretty booths. Is that bad? I might pass up the most beautiful handmade goods because I couldn't see past the card table they were sitting on. It's the same on Etsy. If the picture is bad quality or effortless I almost always skip it. Does that make me an Etsy/Flea market snob?? I think it might. I'm a little ashamed. BUT at the same time, I like it when people make an effort to draw me in. Make me want to step into your booth. Right?? Oh man,... I've just made myself even MORE nervous. Crap. Gotta go. I have to plan out how to make you want to step into my booth.

{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

{A Pillow For Dawn}

My friend recently celebrated a birthday, so I made her a pillow cover!

front

back

When I finally re-open my Etsy shop, you'll be able to find pillow covers similar to this one in there!

Happy Birthday Dawn!

{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

{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

{Around The House}

Just a couple pictures I snapped while I had my camera in my hand, light through the windows and a sleeping baby,....

Antique window in the living room

Potpourri in the dining room,... that stopped smelling like 3 years ago

Unfinished projects in the sewing room. I know you're all shocked.

Sonic beverage on the sewing table, reminding me of Camille,.... only this is a Diet Coke w/ cherry & chocolate, not Dr. Pepper. ;)

XOXO

{Bunting}

I have been wanting to re-open my Etsy shop for a while now, only this time with lots of sewn goodies. There will probably be quilts of all sizes, possibly some small fabric items like magnets or pins, probably some of my paper patchwork boxes (not fabric, but sticking with the patchwork idea), and there will also be these sweet strands of bunting!!!

I'm kind of obsessed with bunting right now,... cutting and sewing up tons and tons of little triangles, just ask my family, they've all seen it, whether they care or just pretend to. I am currently making this super cute and increasingly popular accessory in three sizes, large (about 5" flags), mini (shown, about 2.5" flags) and micro (about 1" flags). I am SO excited to get tons more made and have my Etsy grand re-opening. Keep your eyes peeled for this happy little bunting at an Etsy shop near you.

Well,.... in my Etsy shop anyway :)

{Piles & Piles}

Of fabric!!

I have been sewing up a storm in my new art studio so therefore, lots of fabric piles:

Scraps,.... my husband sees trash,.... I see a photo opp! :)

(this is still sitting on my sewing table!)

Here we have two unfinished quilts. On top are squares for a quilt made with It's A Hoot by MoMo. Bottom is the "Wild Thing" quilt out of Tula Pink, Neptune I made,... what,... a year and a half ago?? I JUST started quilting it,.... tonight. Procrastinate much!

Here are some of the fabrics I am using on my super secret gift for a friend that I want to keep for myself.

Backing fabric for the string quilt,... and some of the little boy fabric underneath, not sure why.

So,... lots of stuff going on here in Texas! I even pulled out some charm packs I've had forever to see what I could whip up. Fun things coming ,.....