ideas

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    Giveaway Day 14 — Art Supplies!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day14_HELLOgiveawayBanner

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    Art supplies! Who doesn't love to collect art supplies!?

    I'm incredibly excited to share today's prize with you. Copic has generously contributed a set of their Ciao Too
    artist-quality markers. I've been researching markers heavily all year
    and Copic stands tall at the top of the list. Not only does Copic offer
    their markers in scores of colors, with a variety of nibs to choose from, but Copic markers are also refillable and blendable. That's right—blendable. The ink flows smoothly and colors can be blended together without glaring streaks or stripes.

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    They make several styles of markers which hold differing amounts of
    ink, but follow the same color system. The Ciao markers
    here come with a brush tip on one end and a chisel tip on the other.
    With some product lines, you can choose which nibs you like best and
    swap them out as you see fit. Most of their markers are
    double-ended—except for the super-duper wide ones.

    One popular style, the Copic Sketch marker, can be attached to their proprietary air-brush system where
    colors swap out easily and there's no fussy clean-up.

    I'm just mesmerized by these. Like every product I'm including in the
    giveaways this month, I contacted the company because I genuinely love
    what they do. I have been fawning over this prize ever since it arrived
    at the studio on Monday. Someone is going to be one lucky duck.

    CopicCutout_300Copic
    markers are top-of-the-line. They don't come cheaply, but they do their
    job fantastically and they maintain their value quite well. With refillable alcohol-inks and replaceable nibs, these valuable tools can be used in perpetuity.

    They work great for fabric studies and that works for me. I love them.

    So, here's your chance to get hooked on these amazing markers too. Today's winner will receive this 24 pack of Copic Ciao Too markers. A $130 value. Thank you, Copic!

    Follow Copic on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the Copic Marker blog. In fact, check out the Gallery on their site for inspiring artwork and artist interviews.

    Comment to enter today's contest. Be sure to include your email
    address
    so we can contact you if you win. You don't have to type your email
    address into the body of the comment if you entered it in the email-address
    field on the comment form; I can access that info from behind the scenes. Today's giveaway will close at 11:59pm PST on Wednesday 8/14/13. One entry per person. Winner chosen at random using the random number generator at Random.org. Watch for the winner to
    be announced within a day or
    two at the bottom
    of the post.

    For more info on my August HELLO Giveaways, click here. Please
    share the word. Check back every day. 

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather


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  • Watch Me on PBS

    ByHeather Bailey

    I am guest-hosting an episode of Sew It All on PBS
    this spring. Every PBS affiliate has a different schedule, so I can't
    give you an exact date. BUT, the episode should be airing very, very
    soon. So, visit PBS.org to
    check the schedule in your local area. Sew It All slated this as
    Episode 4, but from what I hear, the episodes can be shuffled around by
    the PBS program directors. And different areas will carry different
    shows. Very interesting stuff.

    SewItAll_HeatherBaileyBW_BabyBib

    Anyhow, we're making baby bibs. Here are Sew It All host, Ellen March,
    and I holding up a baby bib together—it must have been very
    heavy—weighted down with cuteness. I'll post about the free pattern next
    week, along with a little monster you can applique on the bibs—or on a
    kid's tee shirt or bag, etc.

    The fabrics shown above are laminates from my Nicey Jane collection—I LOVE them. They are so fun to work with!

    Chances are, you'll see the episode before I do. Stop back by and let
    me know if you have any questions afterward. We filmed the show in one
    take. One, long 30-minute take. Can you believe it? No pressure, right?

    It was a blast.

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    A Box of Happy

    ByHeather Bailey

    ColoredChalkT_470

    Here's an investment with guaranteed returns.

    For $1.00, make a child's day with a box of colorful chalk. Leave the box on her bed with a love note. And that child's charming artwork will bring you far more than $1.00 of happiness. Take photos and your returns will double in the years to come when you both reflect on those sunny days of childhood.

    ChalkFamily4_470wWe haven't been able to fit in a family portait in years. At this point, I'm counting on Charlotte's artwork to catalog our family make-up. In fact, I dream of assembling a coffee table book of her artwork to help me endure an empty nest. I thought of naming the book 'I Love You, Mama' as this is the tag line on most of her drawings. My latest thought, however, is to name the book 'A Spoonful of Charlotte' as this mighty book is bound to help the medicine go down—the fleeting of time, a deterioration in health, vision issues—whatever is in store for me should I be fortunate enough to make it to a beautiful old age.

    I'm planning out my happiness.

    In fact, I've been giving a lot of thought to mindful happiness the last few years. I've been assembling my children's traditional keepsakes (artwork, report cards, photos, etc.) into files for their easy retrieval as adults. When I started, it struck me to include more meaningful things as well—bits of wisdom when they come to me, a love note for my far-off descendants—and my take on happiness and how to foster it. The more I move on it, the more convinced I am that everyone should leave such a guidebook for their kiddos. What to do, what NOT to do. I mean, isn't happiness the thing?

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    So far, I have a handful of essays. Gosh, 'essays' sounds so—so what? Collegy? So far, I have a handful of studies. What's the word here? Though some stories are typed up, not everything is written out yet. I scribble down notes and test out my theories regularly. Some experiments are spiritual, some are physical, some are silly. Really, these are all excuses to be mindful about happiness because I believe mindfulness can make for powerful results.

    Code name: Hello Happiness.

    I made a list the other night of some of my sillier experiments with happiness and I realized that I should be including you guys in this. For instance, why have I not posted about my Cleaning Crown? Or video-taped a Family Dance-Break for you to laugh at? Though I did post about taking a Clogging Class with my friend, Sarah, and learning to Make Yogurt, I did not revealed my intent nor my impressions. 

    The colored chalk was a simple plan to make the lessons I teach at my church a smidgeon more fun for the ladies. I wish I had thought to get an extra $1.00 box for Charlotte and leave it on her bed with a love note. That idea didn't crystallize till after we divied up my teaching supply and enjoyed a few minutes of scribbling on the driveway together.

    I'll have to surprise Charlotte with a new box of chalk in a couple of weeks when these others are worn to nubs.



  • When I’m Sixty-Four

    ByHeather Bailey

    Look what Laura made for me.  This is such a great idea.  She took a
    silk purse from The Limited — found on sale at TJMaxx or Marshall's(?)
    and heatherized it with handmade silk flowers and vintage buttons. I
    love it!

    BloomingT
     
    There
    are two dupioni flowers, plus two little buds from a Kaffe Fasset
    print. The leaves are made from lace and a vintage kimono print.

    PurseonWhite On
    the home front, my 13-year-old is now nearly my height — about 1/2" to
    go. So bizarre. On our way to my parents' house yesterday, Elijah was
    telling me how awesome it is to have a mom so close to him in age. (I
    was 21 when we had him.)

    "When I'm 60, you'll be 81," he said.

    "And we can play shuffleboard together, " I replied.

    "We can have a walker race to the country club!" he concluded.

    An
    image that will stay with me for oh, at least 47 more years, if I'm
    fortunate enough to make it to that race. Now, of course, no
    60-year-olds I know have a walker, but at 13, anyone over 40 is a
    candidate for a walker, right?

    I love that kid.

    -o-o-o-o-o-

    (McCartney wrote When I'm Sixty-Four when he was only sixteen years old! Although it wasn't released till he was 25 or so.)