Pulled Back

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Last week I went to a party and decided that I might as well try throwing my hair up.

Confession: I hate doing my own hair. I purposely have long hair so I can pull it into a ponytail everyday if I need to. I love doing Siri and Felicity’s hair (when they let me which isn’t very often).

This took five minutes and while it’s maybe not the most sleek updo, it worked for me. Just start halfway down your hair with a loose french braid. As you get a few braids down just start twisting it and tucking it underneath (super scientific, I know). I used 5 or 6 large bobby pins and I was done.

I hope everyone enjoyed ths Bloghop this last weekend! It was fun to see all the other designer’s goodies and all the fun stuff they made! I was adoring all the fun hybrid projects (I’m a sucker for those) by the CT team!

Now, I’m looking forward to 4th of July. I think we will be heading to Huntsville, UT again for our smalltown firework show. We took up the tradition after moving to Utah and missing our Stillwater, MN Fourth of July.

Do you have any great plans for this weekend or the 4th?

Hugs! Carina

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A Little More Conversation

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I never get to post on my blog as much as I’d like to. That’s sad, because there are always so many fun things humming along in the studio! Sooooo, my amazing assistant Susan and I decided it might be fun for you to check out some of our projects in process. We’ll both be posting, but when I’m all tied up, she’ll be able to give you some of 411.

Check out her blog at http://onesquirrelonawire.blogspot.com/. She’s a photographer, which makes her site all the more fun! (This one is of my pushing Siri on our neighbor’s tree swing).

Enjoy!

Carina

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A Bit Ruffled

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…in the best way possible of course! Susan says I get bonus points for the pom poms on top (They are kind of hard to see on the top of the lamp in these photos).

This lamp shade is a breeze to make. I think I got the shade from IKEA (a couple of years ago) and the lamp from a consignment shop. It takes two 5″ x 43″ strips of fabrics to make each ruffle (I have 5 ruffles here using my Love Nest™ fabrics). Hot glue ruffles, pom poms, and a ribbon on top and you are done. How easy was that? Into my girl’s room it goes!

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Riley Blake’s 80s Party

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Crimped hair, jellys, and awful blue eye shadow…classic 80s. Here we are on our way to Riley Blake’s 80s party. My brother-in-law said that Josh looks like Glenn Gulia—the resemblance IS uncanny.

I haven’t posted for a while so here’s a few things going on:

+ I have been working hard on Art of Digital Design critiques. I hope to have them finished this coming week!

+ Art of Digital Design 2 will be up at JessicaSprague.com sometime this coming month. The class will start August 22nd. Plan on some serious designwork and a series of assignments that will help take your skills to a whole new level!

+ If you are a sewing superstar, check out my 3 fabric lines coming out June-July. Of course, we will have free quilt patterns and projects on the blog and newsletter.

+ Along with new fabric lines, comes sewing patterns! Expect 3 more patterns shipped to stores in July! I am SO excited about the new children’s clothing we are introducing! Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to get your hands on one of our current patterns & checked out the beautiful packaging and easy instructions.

Happy crafting!

Carina

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Our Family Photoshoot

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We did our extended family photoshoot on Saturday and they turned out beautiful. The lovely Heather Telford shot it for us—no easy task with so many kids. It was  a beautiful day (thank goodness)! I can’t wait to see all the photos.

Tomorrow is the start of my Quilt Market fiesta! I promise lots of photos and commentary. Susan, Emily, and I will be walking the floor starting Friday (tomorrow is a drop off to Riley Blake, meetings, and dinner with my dear friend and fabric designer Ro Gregg.)

Will check back in soon!-Carina

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Easter Sunday-A Week Late

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I’m finally getting around to posting photos from Easter. I’ve been making models of our first line of sewing patterns because the first samples I made are my girls’ favorite to wear (and therefore not suitable as models due to the daily wear and tear.)

Here they are sporting a couple of the sewing patterns with their Coquette™ church bags made from the ballet bag tutorial (photo above).

Flissa was being a stinker about taking photos, but Siri posed prettily. Mostly I just caught photos of them from behind as we walked to church.

I start work on our second set of patterns this week. They won’t be due out until July so they can be sampled up in Pinfeathers, Dress Up, and Baby Safari. I’m also hoping that I’ll get a chance to enjoy the sunshine and sit aimlessly outside a few afternoons this week. Fingers crossed!

XOXO-Carina

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Flissa’s Birthday Bash

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My baby turned four yesterday! Because it was Easter weekend and spring break, we celebrated with an Easter egg hunt and pizza party in our backyard. My good friend Emily, offered to make this amazing bunny cake {see photo below} (“I want a BROWN bunny, mommy,” says Felicity) and sweet little strawberry cupcakes.

It was probably the easiest little party I’ve ever thrown since the kids painted one little project, ate cake, hunted eggs, but spent most of the time playing on our new Costco playset.

I was thankful for the good weather and being forced (gulp) to get a few things cleaned up in my backyard. This is our first year of having a real vegetable garden. I’ve planted veggies before in our plot in student housing a few years back, but this feels different since I actually have a garden bed and munchkins to help me plant and water our sprouts.

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The race for Easter eggs is on!

Hope you are having a sunny and bright holiday as well!

Hugs-Carina

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The Biggest Bubbles

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One of our neighbors, Joe, brought over a monster bubble maker yesterday. Joe made it for a Science Olympiad at Weber State (where Joe works). It is completely shocking to see a bubble that big!

I’m not completely sure how Joe made these bubbles, but the “bubble maker” is made from two golf clubs (that Joe got from the thrift store) and string. Joe says the string needs to be sturdy but absorbent enough for the bubble mix.

All of the kids were delighted and I couldn’t blame them! I would have loved to have popped a bubble that big as a kid (who am I kidding, I would like to pop a bubble that big NOW!).

The kids lined up and tried to pop the bubbles a myriad of ways….jumping, karate chopping, squirting with water…well, you get the idea.

For me the whole activity was a sign that spring was finally here…although I don’t doubt that we have one more snow storm this spring. Either way, I’m excited that spring is on it’s way!

XOXO-Carina

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A New Headband

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Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t do it justice (That’s what you get when you are trying to take a quick snapshot at night using a mirror!), but I wanted to show you this adorable headband. It is seriously sweet, and I won it at a church auction from one of my dear neighbors Brittany Moffet.

Other than wanting to show off the new headband, I wanted to show off the new lens I’ve been using. It’s March of Tools, but heaven knows I’ve been too busy to post anything about it. So here’s my “tool” of the month: the Canon 50mm f/1.8. I like the price (very cheap as far as lenses go) and how light it is.

I’ve been leaving this lens on my camera for my “all-purpose” photography: the kids at the breakfast table, shots of napkin sketches at the Blueplate Diner, and anything else that catches my fancy.

Most of the photos you are seeing on this blog these days are captured with this lens. Not shabby for an itty-bitty lens!

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Green eggs

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The St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun brought us a very green breakfast this morning…green milk, green eggs, green pancakes, and um, brown bacon (I guess I blew it on that one). The kids were unconcerned that the bacon wasn’t green (wheww!) and thrilled with the green breakfast, the green pins I let them wear, green flowers in their hair…you get the idea. In some ways, this is the best holiday because there aren’t any expectations…so if a leprechaun shows up, it’s special and fun (but not too much work for the leprechaun).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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A Trip Down Memory Lane

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This weekend I visited my hometown in Clarksville, Tennessee. My little sister SuiKim had recently moved there…an excuse to see the little ole town I grew up in. My other sister Yanni met me there so we could have a sisters weekend.

I moved away from Tennessee 13 years ago and probably made it home only 4 or 5 times in between.  You know how everything looks so big and wonderful as a child? And then when you go back, you have to see everything with grownup eyes? It was certainly a walk (or should I say drive) down memory lane. We took photos of the homes we grew up in, homes that we wished we owned (which included a lot of barns, heehee) and visited our favorite restaurants.

This photo is of the Jade Dragon Restaurant. My parents took us there often because it was close to our house, and well, cheap. Things haven’t changed. Two huge lunches (soup and entrees!) were not only delicious, memory-inducing, and filling…but also cheap.

We also visited our old church on Sunday since baby Grant was being blessed. Yanni and I almost missed it since we had completely forgotten how to get there. Note to self, it takes 7 years or less to completely forget how to navigate your old hometown.

It was so much fun seeing people who remembered our family and gossiping with old friends…hearing everyone brag about their grandchildren and saying, “remember so and so?”  Apparently, I still have the talent of completely missing Sunday School by chatting with folks in the hall. Glad I’ve been able to hold onto that talent.

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Highland Park Arts Night

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I’ve been meaning to post these photos for a week now! Here is the finished quilt that Siri’s class made for the Highland Park Art’s Night. The kids did such a great job. Here’s the post about it.

This quilt will be up for Silent Auction at Highland Park’s Art’s Night on April 8th. It is a twin sized quilt and made up entirely of Love Nest™ with the pink paisley covering the entire back.

Here’s the math sheet I made for the class so they could talk about the different shapes made by the triangles.

I’ll check in again pretty soon since I am posting from the airport. I’m off to a little weekend with my sisters (Yippee!), which means I’ll have pictures to share.

XOXO- Carina

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The Oscars

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This is probably the first time I have been excited to watch the Oscars. That’s partially because Anne Hathaway is hosting and because I’ll be rooting for The King’s Speech. It’s a beautiful film. It’s probably the most beautiful film I’ve seen in a long time. Josh will be rooting for it too. So there you have it, two thumbs up!

Are you watching? What are you hoping will win?

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