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Design | Family

Reboot
ByHeather Bailey July 24, 2014

Aaaah…yes.

Wow.

What a summer.

I have been all over the place—everywhere except home.

It was refreshing and fun, but I am seriously ready to get back to real life. And that's a great feeling.

I had a design project that was about two days off of delivery when we left town. Evan's chickenpox slowed me down just enough that I had to wait till we were back to get that wrapped up. I finished the work last week, unpacked, ran around getting kids set up for the new school year, took a few deep breaths—including a hike to our favorite waterfall last Friday with friends—and now I'm back in the ring.

I've decided to have at least two Wonder Woman Days each week where I tear through my to-dos like I'm battling a horde of supervillians. I'm still debating whether this calls for a token tiara and gratuitous gauntlets to enhance my resolve or whether my invisible airplane is enough.

Yesterday was such a day. By the end of the day, my 'completed' list was five times taller than usual. Yikes. I really earned my stripes when I gathered up suit and tie for Elijah's senior yearbook photoshoot, picked him up early from his graphic-design course, shuttled him on time to his appointment across town, dressed and ready to go… and one last look-over revealed that the child had not shaved. We're talking 1/4" of growth or more—allbeit sparse—peppered all over his face. Not good.

Now, I don't shave my face. And he hardly ever does. Neither of us remembered this little detail. I was quite tempted to throw a nice little tantrum in the waiting room. This wooly diversion could set us back by hours while we waited for another opening or rescheduled for August.

I closed my eyes, took several deep breaths and it dawned on me that this was one of those bad-in-an-extra-funny-way moments I would look back on fondly one day. I gritted my teeth, then gathered my golden lasso and my shaggy son and we headed to the grocery store for supplies. He put his tee shirt back on, shaved in the restroom, re-dressed in his fancies and headed back to the photo studio to wait.

The shoot was much more involved than I expected, including shots of him in a cap and gown. Be still, my mama heart. I'm so glad he was clean-shaven. If I hadn't decided earlier to be Wonder Woman, I don't think we would have dodged that speeding bullet very well. I have so much to catch up on. Rescheduling would have been a defeat.

I was even nice about it. How about that? And I fed the hungry boy a giant's serving of Backyard Tacos to celebrate our victory.

I love that kid.

Today? Today is not a Wonder-Woman Day. It's a secret-identity day and I'm proceeding at normal speed — rebooting for another blam!-kerpow! day tomorrow.

Glad to be back.

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HELLO Giveaways!

HELLO Giveaways!
ByHeather Bailey August 1, 2013

I was chatting at my baby earlier this week, conspiring with him to
start a Birthday Month tradition for August—as we are the only two
August birthdays in my immediate family. With enough fuss, we'll surely
make the Mays and Januaries jealous. Midst our little tete-a-tete it
dawned on me that I neglected to host my annual birthday giveaway last
year. Boo.

I will now make up for that. Right. About. Now. In the spirit of Birthday Month, how about a GIVEAWAY EVERY DAY for the month of August!? I'm talking about fabric, patterns, jewelry, equipment, supplies, etc.

I
am SO very grateful to each of you for your love and kindness—and for
your support of my business and consequently my little family. I am
inspired by you daily and I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Thank you so much for your encouragement.

I know this madness will put me in a swirl, but I don't care. I want
to show you my appreciation. Celebrate with me. And let me celebrate
you. I'll post one new giveaway on my blog each day in August. To enter a giveaway, simple leave a comment on that blog post by 11:59pm PST on the day of the post.
Be sure to enter your email address so we can contact you if you win.
We'll draw a winner at random, send out an email, then announce the
result with an update at the bottom of that post.

If you are on Instagram as well, enter an additional daily giveaway for a $15 gift certificate. (See footnote in green below.) That's actually two giveaways each day, isn't it? This thing keeps growing!

To kick things off with a splash, today's giveaway is for a $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE to our online store, HeatherBaileyStore.com
where you can stock up on fabric, felt, sewing kits, patterns, paper
crafts, and more. I have a new fabric collection I will be announcing
later this month. And I'll be releasing all-new embroidery patterns as
well—in between blogging about giveaways, right? This prize should come in handy.

Remember, comment below
to enter and make sure to submit your email address so we're not stuck
with no way to reach you!

Good luck. And again, thanks for your enthusiasm and support. I love you guys.

xo—Heather

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Sewing

Did a Bat, Bat Thing
ByHeather Bailey October 26, 2009

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.

Velcome, 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.

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.

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!

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:

**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.)

Read More Did a Bat, Bat Thing
Family

A Worm Named Snowflake
ByHeather Bailey July 20, 2009

We
just returned from the best campout with my two brothers and their
families. Isaac set up a kitchen to feed an army, complete with
stovetop, grill, wash tubs, canopy & a tank of water for clean up.
Fortunately for the rest of us, he also set up a hammock with its own
canopy, so we could leisurely ooo & ahh at him while he cooked all
of our meals — almost. Cooking is Isaac's favorite pastime on
campouts. I prefer laziness (fatigue-ziness really — I'm not the best
tent-sleeper), so it works out well all around.

We cooked, we ate, we sat about and we fished. Then we repeated. I haven't done that much sitting about for years.

Best Fishing Tip:
If you're fishing to make memories for a pack of little kids, pick up a
tub of live worms. The worms will keep the younger kids engaged while
the older kids have their turn at the poles. By the time we left
yesterday, all remaining worms were claimed & named. Every child
left happy as could be, fish or no fish.

Nothing like a bit of
grime & a hot tent to help you appreciate a warm shower & clean
sheets. Works every time. Camping is great that way.

Giveaway News: Thank you to everyone who participated in my Store Giveaway Promotion from the June Newsletter. Congratulations to Jennifer Dessert
for winning the stack of
Freshcut fabrics & strawberry pincushion above. If you'd like to
find out first about future giveaways, tutorials, products &
company news, sign up for the Heather Bailey Newsletter here.

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Fun Stuff

Bead It, Kid
ByHeather Bailey July 13, 2009

So, guess who made these necklaces?

Four-year-old Charlotte did this all by herself. I thought I was
embracing disaster by allowing her free access to several bins of beads
while I worked on the computer today. I was entirely wrong.

Not
only did Miss C patiently string together all of these designs without
my oversight, but she made them all symmetrical. Even her most
eclectic necklace doesn't miss a beat
bead. Hours and hours of necklace-making. All I did was add the
clasps. And I bent a loop at the top of her one pendant. That's it.

When I was four years old, my bottom dresser drawer was stocked with
white paper, a stapler and staples. I made all sorts of wild
inventions with white paper that year. And here I thought I had been
tricky-stuff at four, with my paper robots and elephants. Looks like
Charlotte has 4-year-old me mightily whooped.

The moral:
Moms, Grandmas, Aunts and Alligators, let your kids have access to some
of your precious supplies. They may surprise you with tidiness and
ingenuity! I can only imagine what I would have done with real art
supplies at that age.

Of course, they may surprise you with a royal disaster instead. I've been there too — many times.

Read More Bead It, Kid