HELLO my name is Heather

  • Smarty Girl

    ByHeather Bailey

    MEHC_SmartyGirl

    While I'm busy finishing up a jazzy slideshow for Nicey Jane, I thought I'd pop in and share another bit of news.  Who recognizes this photo above? It's from the cover of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion back in May 2008. 

    SmartyGirl
    I hadn't originally planned to publish a pattern for this book bag. 
    However, after hundreds of requests for it, I finally got a clue and
    did the work. The Smarty Girl book bag mini pattern arrives at the studio on Monday and will start shipping out on Tuesday. 

    I
    use my Smarty Girl to carry a sketchbook and pencils. Charlotte has a
    Smarty Girl for her coloring and activity books. It's a simple sew,
    perfect for holiday gifts and birthday presents. You could make one for
    your child for Christmas and fill it with activity books.  With a
    coordinating baby quilt folded up inside, it makes a great shower gift.
    Then, of course, you could do a sketchbook & pencils — my personal
    favorite.

    (Pattern cover features my new collection, Nicey Jane!)

  • Red & White All Over

    ByHeather Bailey

    HolidayTags470

    I'm so ready for Christmas songs, twinkle lights, gingerbread
    cookies — the whole shbang. I have looked forward to the holidays all
    year.  Our last Christmas
    was pretty hectic and tiring with Isaac in the hospital and whatnot. 
    This year we are all drinking an appropriate amount of water, to say
    the least.

    I've been working my tail off to wrap up my first stationery release
    (Inviting Company, Jan 2009), to get new patterns to the printer, and
    to prepare for my new fabric collection, Nicey Jane™. 
    I'm so thankful these projects hit in November and not in precious,
    chilly December.  Despite the hubbub, I channeled some of my holiday
    excitement into designing a fun stack of holiday gift tags as a present for our customers this year.  A set of these tags will be sent out with every order placed in the month of December.  And they are DANG
    cute.  My favorite is perhaps the holly berry design at the bottom-left
    of the photo above, or the reindeer.  There are other great holiday discounts and freebies right now at HeatherBaileyStore.com as well.  Click here to take a look.

    Part of my holiday plan is to blog more.  My goodness, where have I
    been?  That's right, under a heavy stack of deadlines.  With new
    patterns on the horizon and plenty of holiday projects in the works, I
    have lots to share, including several sewing projects that have had to
    stay under wraps the last two months.  Ah, what a relief.

    First up is Miss Nicey Jane (next post) — can – not – wait!

  • Easy-Peasy Palette Packs

    ByHeather Bailey

    RollsyRolls470

    You asked for it.  Felt palette packs are now available for faster and easier shopping.

    Five palettes:  Reds/Pinks, Blues, Greens, Oranges/Yellows, Neutrals — and a limited-edition Holiday pack. The five staple palettes cover 25 of the available 40 colors, so don't forget to check for other felt you may want to add on.  All colors continue to be available by-the-sheet as well.

    FeltCollage

    I'm heading out to dinner in a bit with a gaggle of girlfriends, then over to the movie theater for an 8pm showing of New Moon. It's a special-screening of
    some sort. I haven't read the book yet, but I do love to go to
    dinner & a movie with friends. And it's for a good cause.

    Till then, it's clean the studio, play with my nephews, and design, design.

  • Couch-Plop, Flip-Flop, House-Mop, Non-Stop

    ByHeather Bailey

    CabinW This weekend, I relaxed at a cabin in Pinetop with six girlfriends and
    one agreeable little baby.  All
    we did was talk and eat sweets. My new quilt & I claimed the fat,
    fuzzy recliner. (Ugly never was so beautiful; I need a recliner now.) I
    also learned that I'm not the only one who isn't too cool for
    flip-flops-with-socks (Renee, you're awesome). It was
    wonderfully-freezing outside. 

    It's been a busy few weeks. I've been immersed in many great
    projects, and have been dealing with a few difficult things too —
    hence the blogging slow-down.

    After leaping from event to event
    this Fall, I am thrilled to stay in one place for a while. Carpools,
    family dinners, piano lessons, I'm loving them all.

    YarnFlowerCropT On the work front, I'm designing my debut stationery collection with Inviting Company, prepping for the release of my next fabric collection, and motoring-along on new sewing patterns and finished goods.

    At home, I'm getting my house put back together, including happy,
    new petunias and roses out front, and I'm enjoying time with my kids.
    (I like them.) Charlotte and I are playing with her new Knifty-Knitter Flower-Loom. We're considering crochet next. Is four too young for crochet?

    Elijah
    and I seek every opportunity for a bike ride. Even Isaac can be seen
    riding my new, pink bike around — usually when it's dark outside, for
    obvious reasons — it's that fun to ride. It's time to get that man a
    blue cruiser already.

  • Yee-haw

    ByHeather Bailey

    Arizona neighbors! You will seriously miss out if you don't make your way to downtown Mesa, AZ this weekend for Blissfest 2009, presented by my ever-fabulous friends at Domestic Bliss, Kristin & Dan Alber. Stephanie Nielson and her husband, Christian, will be there. Tara Frey will be doing a book signing with her new book, Blogging for Bliss. Jaimee Rose is coming too. There will be music, dancing, dozens of artists' booths, a stagecoach — I mean, come on, a stagecoach! 

    Blissfest

    I'll be at the Blogging Lounge on Saturday afternoon and the HB crew will be there too, with our own version of a general store: Trash Ties, fabric, felt, patterns, kits, chit chat, perhaps some chocolate to snack on. So, AZ folks, put your cotton-pickin'
    boots on and mosey on down to Friday night's 'Grand Fandango' and
    Saturday's Blissfest Market. Details on the flyer above or visit the Blissfest blog.

    Happy Fall. I don't know about your neck of the woods, but, here, the weather is gorgeous. Finally.

    See you there!

    (Felt supply all fat & re-stocked by the way — if you've been waiting.)

  • Pumpkin & Dot

    ByHeather Bailey

    Pumpkin

    Meet Betty Boo's friends, Pumpkin & Dot, two more sock doll kits to go with the free Betty Boo Sock Doll pattern download.  It's a toss up which is the cutest.  Both Emily & Lindsay are both partial to Dot, with her bohemian stockings.

    BatLine2

    As Halloween is upon us, it's time to announce the winners from Monday's giveaway. 
    The following four commenters will have their pick of of sock doll
    kits. If you are one of the ladies listed below, please email us your
    address so we can send your kit right out — email emily@heatherbailey.com.

    Congrats & Happy Halloween!

    BatBorderTall

    Reminder: Through October 31, 2009, get a FREE Betty Boo Kit with coupon code "BatBatThing" on $35+ purchase at the HB Store. See details at the bottom of Monday's post.

    DottyDetail

    Giveaway Winners

    1. Christie Sproul, who wrote, "hi heather!! betty is so cute…..just starting on my 6 yr old daughter's
    costume…I am making Autumn the Woodland Fairy costume with no tutu as per
    her orders!! lol!"

    2. Maribeth, who wrote, "too cute!! at our house, my little girl loves the nursery rhyme, three
    little ghostesses, it gives her a little bit of halloween without all the
    scary just yet."

    FlapFlap

    3. Cathy P., who wrote, "So cute! love the girly bat.
    My 4-year-old daughter is going as a flower – I made the costume using an
    oversized green tee and some craft felt. I also knit a headband and added
    some more felt petals to it. My first time making a costume….but my
    daughter loves it!

    And my 4-month-old daughter is going as a bee (her sister's hand-me-down
    costume from BabyStyle)."

    DottyBat

    4. Kay Prince, who wrote,

    "Here's a poem for you:

    There once was a girl named Heather
    She couldn't decide which was better:
    Christmas or Halloween
    On both she was quite keen
    In the end it was decided by the weather.

    Okay, it's not great, but at least I tried! I would love to win a little
    Betty Boo Sock Doll kit! So cute!"

  • Did a Bat, Bat Thing

    ByHeather Bailey

    TeLOGO

    Welcome
    to Trick-Or-Eat at HELLOmynameisHeather.com. Today, nine favorite food,
    craft & lifestyle bloggers await behind nine haunted houses — with
    an array of holiday tricks and treats to greet you. At the end of this
    post, you will find two mystery houses. Join in the fun by clicking on
    one of the next homes on the block. Discover all of the Trick-Or-Eat
    contributors and find direct links to their posts at
    www.Trick-Or-Eat.com.

    BatBorder

    GhostlyGardenVelcome, my vriends, to the Ghostly Garden Cottage, where even the flowers can’t be trusted. Who says scary can’t be cute?

    To
    prove the point, meet Betty Boo. Some might say she’s a spoiled bat,
    but I think she’s rather sweet, as far as vampires go. Betty is
    not too cross to wear flowers — but she’s not too kind to sock-you-one
    either — so, stay on her good side.

    BettyBoo
    Come on inside — no tricks here, only treats. Don’t mind the carnivorous plants creeping out the windows.

    Today I’m handing out a NEW, FREE PATTERN —
    fun-to-make & easy-on-the-thighs. Click here to download my free
    pattern for a snappy little sock doll. Make your own mischief from one
    unassuming sock, wool-blend felt, and a few other bits & baubles from your crafting scraps.

    BettyBooDownload

    Don’t
    go batty picking materials. If you want some help, I’ve dug up all
    sorts of spooky socks and supplies for a handful of kits at The Heather Bailey Store (while supplies last).

    Win a free Betty Boo Sock Doll Kit. Four winners will be picked at random. (If you’re not a gambler, see the Freebie Code at bottom of post.) Leave a comment; make up a Halloween poem, share a Halloween story — or just say ‘Hi’. 

    Now, vahtch your step. And Happy Halloween!

    UpsideDownT

    BatBorder

    Whooo’s Next?  Head to the next house on the street — or run, run, run, with your candy-bag wide-open.
    See what the other Trick-Or-Eat hosts and ghostesses have cooked up for
    you today;  Click on one of the haunted dwellings below:

    Sophistimom

    TongueNCheeky

    BatBorder

    **Freebie Code** Happy Halloween! Treat yourself a FREE Betty Boo Sock Doll Kit, by entering the
    code “BatBatThing” (on a purchase of $35 or more) at The Heather Bailey Store.
    While supplies last — first come, first serve. (When you’re ready to
    check out, add your selected bat doll Kit to your cart, then enter the
    coupon code where indicated. The price of one kit ($9.95) will be
    removed from your total. Code expires 10-31-09.)

  • Trick-or-Eat!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Announcing

    Halloween is coming right up. Charlotte will flit around as a 'Bat Fairy' and Elijah is ready to skip the costume this year — he's in junior high now. I'm sure he'll help eat the candy though.

    In celebration, on Monday, the 26th, I'm decking the halls with HoWls of fOlly
    for a Halloween Block Party with eight of the web's best food &
    lifestyle bloggers. Nine virtual haunted houses of culinary,
    craftiverous surprises await. Which of your favorite bloggers lurks at
    each haunted dwelling? What have the hosts and ghostesses prepared?

    Visit my blog on Monday — if you dare.

  • Sundry Snippets — and a Sale

    ByHeather Bailey

    The HB Store was offline for a while earlier today. It looks like our hosting service fixed the issue and now everything is back in order. We apologize for the disruption. As a thank you for your patience, enjoy 20% off your entire order for one day only.  Enter code "OneDaySale" at checkout. Expires  on Wednesday, 10/21/09, at midnight MST.

    Designing stationery products today. Must get back to it. Will be back soon with Market photos. Picked up a copy of Modern Bride this morning — issue includes a wedding decorated with my fabrics. Trying to avoid the sizable bag of Dove chocolates in the other room. Blogging twitter-style.

  • |

    Re-Entry

    ByHeather Bailey

    I'm back from Market and restoring sanity at home — and
    cleanliness. My kids kissed me awake yesterday like two little pecking
    chicks. It was a contest.

    Market photos are still on the road
    with Isaac, so I'll save the reporting till he rolls in later today.
    I'm excited to be home and thrilled that my long-awaited
    bicycle-weather has arrived in AZ at last. It's gorgeous out today.
    We're packing a picnic to the park, for sure.

    DooHicky

    Also, here are a couple of discount codes for you, to shake things up and keep it interesting at The Heather Bailey Store.

    • 20% off of all Trash Ties™ with code "TwitTies" (posted on twitter first)
    • 25% off of Freshcut™ fabric with code "FreshOut" (Freshcut is no longer in production, so get it while you can.)

    Discounts available through Monday, October 19th. Both codes can be used on the same order.

    It has been a wild few weeks — since Creative Escape,
    really. I'm ready to move forward, with lots of design work up next (my
    favorite!) — after filling these kids up with love and attention,
    picnics and parks, movies and popcorn, haircuts, and a few home-cooked
    meals.

    Now to resolve my hopelessly-clogged kitchen sink. Next
    time I'm tossing the old spaghetti in the trash and not down the
    garbage disposal.