Guest Post / Diary of a Quilter

Today, I have a special guest, Amy from Diary of a Quilter. I met her at a quilt tying activity for Japan after the earthquake back in 2011, and through various bloggers meet ups, lunch dates and emails back and forth, we have become really good friends.

I love the quilts she designs, she has an eye for coordinating colors and they are just so lovely. I would recommend her pattern shop as a "must visit" place.

I am so blessed to get to know her in person because she is not just a talented quilter, but also, she is one of the sweetest people I know. She is always ready to lend a helping hand to those who are in need and is very genuine and kind to everyone. No wonder she is loved by so many!

When you visit her site, you will see what I mean. :) I am so excited that she agreed to help me out and be one of the guest bloggers while I am in Japan.

Ok, everyone, here is Amy!

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Hello fellow Tea Rose Home fans! My name is Amy Smart and I write about my sewing adventures at my blog, Diary of a Quilter.

One of my favorite parts of writing a blog is connecting with other younger sewers/quilters out there. I love all the creative inspiration to be found in blogland.

I especially love to  bring people over to the dark side teach beginning sewers and quilters how to get started. I've written a whole series about choosing fabric, patterns, supplies, and actually beginning to quilt.  You can find the Beginning Quilting series here.





In addition to simple quilts, I also love to make bags, skirts, and baby gifts.  You can find other tutorials here.





I was so excited when Sachiko invited me to be a guest at Tea Rose Home. I am in awe of her gifts and talents as well as her generosity in sharing those talents. She is as lovely in person as she comes across on her blog.





Today I'm going to share a simple little project.  I like to carry portable sewing projects around with me - I'm especially productive on long road trips. But I have a bad tendency to leave stray pins all over the front of the car which is not a good thing, especially when you drive multiple car pools.

So I created a little magnetic pin box to help me keep track of my pins and needles, not only in the car, but in my purse and the rest of the house too.

Here are the very basic supplies you will need:

• a little bit of wool or woolfelt
• a small Altoids case (they're usually around 50 cents at the grocery store)
• Eraseable fabric pen
• a magnet
• notions: scissors, needle and thread
• optional: embellishments (button, etc.)

Trace the top of the Altoids tin onto your wool/felt and mark any letters, designs, etc. you would like to add.

Stitch over the writing using an embroidery needle and cotton floss.

Add any embellishments. Do this BEFORE you cut out your shape. 

 Using a hot glue gun or E6000 glue, carefully glue your embellishment on the lid of the Altoids tin.

Of course, you could leave the cute little embellished tin just as it is.  I decided to magnetize it, to keep those pins from flying when I'm riding in the car.  I ended up using a neodymium magnet (the really strong kind) from the craft store.  (Warning: you do need to be careful with this kind of magnets - keep them away from your credit cards as they might de-magnetize them.) 

I like these magnets because they are thinner than regular magnets and a lot stronger.  I did not even glue it in place - just attached it to the inside of the tin - which is nice because then it's easily removable if you do want to carry it in your purse. And there you have it - a quick project, perfect for your own needs or gifts for your crafty friends as well.

I've used the same technique for magnetizing bowls to create your own pin dish, also great for paper clips and other office supplies - not just sewers!


Thanks so much for having me Sachiko! It is an honor to be a guest at Tea Rose Home.


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Thank you Amy for the tutorial for your cute project! It is always a delight to see what you come up with. :)

Guest Post / Kristi from Lolly Jane

I have a special treat for you all! When I attended EVO (a blogger's conference), I had a chance to become roommates with Kristi and Kelli from Lolly Jane. They are such fun and cool girls and they are the type of people who make you feel comfortable and welcome. After talking to them for a while, I felt like we have been friends forever!

I am so happy that they agreed to help me out with my blog while I am in Japan. Infact, Kristi and Kelli provided me two separate posts. I will share the post from Kristi today, and Kelli's post in the next several days. :)

Enjoy their creativity! :)

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Hey there Tea Rose Home readers!

We met the uber cute Sachiko at a blog conference earlier this year and had a blast as her roommate; she is so sweet IRL and we are just thrilled to be her guesties today :)

To introduce ourselves, we are twin sisters Kelli & Kristi of Lolly Jane, an eclectic DIY blog with lots of craft tutorials, home improvement projects, furniture before and afters and even a tasty recipe or two.

We love to create and knock off overpriced retail items so when we saw a completed dress form jewelry stand at our local craft store for over $20, we knew we could replicate the look for less:

We picked up all of our supplies at Michaels Craft Store and used our 40% coupon on the dress form.

Supply list:

8" dress form, round base x2, finial, white acrylic paint, foam brush, skinny ric rac, spray adhesive, hot glue, fabric*

*fabric measurements roughly 12x10

To create:

1. Paint all wooden pieces

2. Wrap fabric around dress form and mark 2 creases underneath breast area

3. Stitch (2) 1.5" creases underneath the dress form breast area so fabric lays flat when pulled

{Warning: you get kinda handsy with your mannequin!}

4. Spray fabric glue on dress form and press fabric on, smoothing out any lines and/or bubbles as you go

5. Fold a small crease along each shoulder so fabric will lay flat

6. Fold all fabric underneath and secure with a dab of hot glue.

Once the dress form is dressed all pretty, simply hot glue the skinny ric rac along the sides of the form, covering any seams (see pics below*) and along the neckline.

*Note: I saved a 1.5" scrap of fabric to cover the back and make it look more complete.

Hot glue all the pieces together {see final product} and you're done! Pretty easy and now you've got a sweet little dress form jewelry stand to show off your bling!

Here she is all dolled up!

We'd love for you to stop by our list of current tutorials, FB, Pinterest or Twitter pages to say HI :)

Love ya Sachiko- hope you have so much fun at home in Japan!

XOXO

Kelli & Kristi

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The dress form is so pretty and looks like a fun project to work on. The great thing about this project is that, you can choose the fabric of your style, and the dress form will look so different. Thank you Kristi for the fun post!

Guess Where I am Going

So...when I wrote about vitality wins, I mentioned that I have a reason that I want to look good. Do some of you remember that?

Actually, there is something I have been keeping from you... That is...

I am going to Japan!!

I talked about wanting to go back to see my family a lot, but I really didn't have any plans. I haven't been back for 11 years, yeah, 11! Can you believe it? There were always reasons not to go in those 11 years, three pregnancies, it's so hard to go back with babies, loss of jobs, bought a house, hip replacement, other procedures, blah, blah, blah... And the year we were going to go back as a whole family, there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami; so we decided not to go.

I had been checking plane tickets since this summer, and a few weeks ago, I noticed that the price had dropped by quite bit. After Mr. TRH and I talked, he was able to make arrangements with work so he can take care of the kids, I am taking a break from the medical procedures (thanks in part to the slowness of our medical insurance); seems like everything worked out for me to go!

It is not life or death, but my mom's health has been a roller coaster ride, and I really wanted to go there and spend time with her.

The timing was just perfect, two days after I bought the tickets; I received a letter from my mom. Basically, it said how much she misses me and wants to see me. After I read the letter, I called and told her that I am coming, and at first her reaction was rather..."flat". I asked her, "Mom? Aren't you excited?" and she said, "I, I still can't believe it."

Later my sister told me that my mom called her to confirm that I am indeed, coming for real. :)

After my mom spread the new that I am coming home to a few of my friends, they called me with excitement and we talked for a long time! They also told me that how it looks so different where we used to hang out and drive around. Even though I saw the image of the area after the earthquake on the internet or TV, I am a little nervous to see it with my own eyes.

Because I want to travel light, I decided not to take my big camera. I am gonna take my small Coolpix and take lots and lots of pictures while I am there. People that I missed, things that I missed... I mean, I thought they will always be there and I took for granted. I want to document them for me and to share with my family. Of course I will take some pictures of new things that touch my heart too.

I will only be there for two weeks. It will be the shortest two weeks that I spend time with my family in Japan. It will be the longest two weeks away from Mr. TRH and our three munchkins.

A few days ago, there was a Mag 5 earthquake in Japan, and also, there was Mag 7 earthquake in the Philippines (because of that, there was a tsunami warning in Japan). Seriously, why now? Please pray for me that I can come home safely to my family.

I will share the pictures and stories from my trip to Japan when I get back. Oh! While I am gone, my blogger friends are visiting Tea Rose Home to share their fabulous tutorials with you. So please make them feel welcomed. I know I can count on you. :)

So, I will talk to you in two weeks, take care everyone!

Link Love No.82!

We had a crazy thunder storm last night which is rare in Utah. I slept through most (once I am out, I am out!) of it, but Mr. TRH and the kids woke up, and I vaguely remember seeing all three boys, I mean Mr. TRH and both boys glued to the window and watching outside. They were all so excited about it. I remember the boys saying things like "COOL, did you see the lightning?!" or "WOW, awesome!!".....Then, our little Ms. Rachel... came in half crying because she was scared.

Mr. TRH later told me that, after he popped Rachel into our bed all three of them went down stairs and watched the storm, they boys even played in the rain for bit (at this point, I said "WHAT?!") they were so wired up and couldn't go back to sleep, so they stayed up and played the Wii.

The kids didn't take a nap at all, and right now after 10:00 pm, they are still up! We are pretty relaxed on weekends- schedule wise, so I don't mind that they are up, but seriously, where is the energy coming from?!? If I am smart enough to invent a device to suck out their energy and bottle it up for me to use, I will be a millionaire, don't you agree?

I have the link loves for this month, are you ready for them?

Whether you own this IKEA chair or not, I thought this was a great tutorial to give you an idea of how to recover a simple chair...Mandy Made shared her terrific tutorial on her blog, doesn't it look fantastic?



The fall items are already in shops, I was thinking about wardrobes and accessories. Little Treasures created this pretty necklace, and I think it is nice for the upcoming seasons. LOVE the mustard color!




Grow Creative created these cute lanterns out of recycled tin cans. In her tutorial, there are some very helpful tips to create this lantern. This will be a perfect summer craft with the kids, but wouldn't it be fun to make Halloween lanterns as well?



This Half Moon modern baby quilt was linked from flicker by BGMom1. I love the happy colors and simple design of this quilt. I want it for my living room!



I love this multi colored crocheted rosettes wreath by Sweet Bee Buzzing. I would love to see something like this on the wall; it will instantly put me in a happy mood! :)



Which link inspired you the most this month? I bet there were many, and you are ready to create now. My next link party will be the last Wednesday of September; which is the 26th. I will be waiting to see your creations!

Link Party No.82! / Candy bar leigh

I can't believe it is already the end of August. You know what that means right? Monthly link party at Tea Rose Home! It has slowed down by a lot since I switched from weekly to a monthly link party, but I still enjoy looking at your creations. It is fun to have you guys over my place and I hope you feel the same way.

Before we start, I have something small to share...

I had a birthday party for my little girl, and I thought about what to do with party favors. I have three kids ages 11, 9, and 7... a total of 27 birthday parties! I was starting to feel like the party favors were getting boring. I usually get candy with some small toys from the dollar stores and such. The kids used to LOVED them, but now they are getting older, they are not that excited about those small toys.

Besides, this time Rachel invited 16 kids to her party (including her brothers...but still), even if I spent $1 for each child, it is a lot for a party favor for my taste.

Then, I had an idea... make a "Candy bar leigh".

I found a big bag of candy bars at Target for less than 9 dollars. I used a hole puncher to make holes on both sides of the candy, then, tied them with cotton yarn that I already had. I think it would have been much prettier if I used a thin sheer ribbon between the candies, but Oh well. :) and, we didn't forget to "thank" the friends who came to the party.

It was a hit! The kids were really excited about the candy leigh, even my 11 and 9 year olds.

It is now your turn to share whatever you have been creating.  Do you have any craft ideas we can do with our kids?  Very tasty summer recipes?   Well, lets start the party! 

Ok everyone, I bet you have some projects you would love to share.  I am excited to see what you have been working on!

1. Please post something YOU made. It doesn't matter if it is crochet, quilt, clothing, anything would be fine. I want to see it! If you use someone's idea or patterns please give them the rightful credit.

2. Link to your specific post, that way it is easier for everybody to find and read it.

3. Please grab the "Tea Rose Home" grab button, and link back from your post. If you can mention the party in your post or place the button on your side bar, that would be great! I want more people to have a chance to come and show off their creation.



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Review: DownEast Home & Clothing

I was asked to do a review for DownEast Home & Clothing, and I am so excited to share this post with you today!

They have been one of my favorite "GOTO" stores for the last few years for their fairly priced, fashionable modest clothing. Did you know that I created the "Ruffle Shirt"from their wonder tees? Their stores are located throughout Utah and Idaho, and I am so glad that I have some stores that are within driving distance from my home! I packed my camera, and headed over to one of the stores last week.

Every time I visit the store, I find several furniture pieces that catch my eye. This day wasn't an exception either... I will share some of my favorites.



I love the colors of these pots. The way they were displayed was pure genius. The shelf caught my eye immediately.

I love the details on the door. Simply beautiful...

I have a weakness for little chairs...

I have been eyeing this chest with lots of drawers. It would be so awesome to have something like this for my sewing room to organize stuff.

This iron union jack table literally took my breath away... and followed by three words, I WANT IT!

Because there are so many beautiful things, I had a hard time getting over to the clothing section. I ended up spending a long time there as well, there is so much eye candy, all over the place, I mean on the wall, racks, display tables... sigh...

Redwood or amber green?

Feminine lacy top or casual border sweater?

Their girls collection is very fun too...

I like this mother & daughter coordination. It is not exactly the same, but there is a link with colors and style. Such a cute dress for a little girl!

I picked some of my favorite accessories for little girls and took pictures. :)

Are you curious what I end up getting that day?

After going back and forth for some time, I found the dresses on the sales rack that I have been eyeing forever!! I had to claim them as mine. :)

I love the simplicity of these dresses, and I was thinking about fall as well. With different types of accessories, I can wear them in so many different ways. For example... purple shoes & scarf? or boots with wide belt and necklace? I mean, I will have so much fun with these dresses this fall & winter.



In fact... I have already started enjoying them. One of the ways to have fun with these dresses for me is to wear it with a petticoat. I think it gives a different look to the dress.




You can connect with DownEast Home & Clothing through Facebook and Twitter and get the latest and greatest scoop!

Thank you Kathy and Cammie for this review opportunity, I had so much fun!

Charm, Cabochon, and Beads

I have been working on a NEW TUTORIAL for a T-SHIRT REFASHION the last couple of days. I think I will be ready to share it by the end of next week. I am in love with this, and I hope you will be too. :)

In the meantime... I will share a couple of pictures of bracelets I have been working on. I am thinking about listing them in etsy before I get too attached to them.

I like this blacelet with random charms...

but I love this green cabachon bracelet acompanied with glass beads.

Which one is more your style? It is hard for me to say, but I guess it depends on what I am wearing that day.

I am gonna get ready for Rachel's birthday party tomorrow, so I am gonna get going. We will catch up later! :)

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