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    Betty Boo Bat—Halloween Sock Doll

    ByHeather Bailey

    FREE Pattern and Sewing Kit! Betty Boo Bat—Halloween Sock Doll—FOUR Designs to Choose From


    CasparBatSockDoll_BettyBoo

    Hello, friends! It’s time for some fall-time fun. I have four ADORABLE Betty Boo Sock Doll Kits in the store this fall: Ziggy, Pumpkin, Trixie, and Caspar. Each bat-doll kit includes a sock, fabric, felt, multiple buttons, embroidery floss, ribbon—AND the FULL SEWING PATTERN! Each complete kit is priced at ONLY $12.95, a great fall project and gift. Collect all four!

    Find all of our popular bat-doll, purse, and pincushion kits in the Other Fun Stuff section of the store.

    PumpkinBatSockDoll_BettyBooWith a purchase of $35 or more, enjoy one FREE bat doll kit which includes all materials (except stuffing) AND the pattern ($12.95 value). Once your purchase adds up to $35 or more, add your choice of bat doll to your cart as well. Enter promo code FREEBATKIT at checkout. The price of one kit will be removed from your total — a $12.95 value.*

    ZiggyBatSockDoll_BettyBooPsst…the promotion info and promo code is also posted on the home page of the store. Please share a link with your friends and family.

    TrixieBatSockDoll_BettyBoo*One FREE kit per customer. This offer expires 10-31-19, at midnight MST, or while supplies last. If making a bat doll for a small child, please make sure all parts are securely sewn together, and that no embellishments present a choking hazard.

    Here’s a link to The Heather Bailey Store. 🙂

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    Giveaway Day 30

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day30_HELLOgiveawayBanner

    Author2_final

    StationWagon_300ShortToday, I had the privilege of flipping through an early copy of Kerry Goulder's new book, Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love. The release is set for mid- October, but I got my hands on one of the only two copies Kerry has seen herself.

    That's right, Kerry (aka Kid Giddy) sent me one of her only two copies so I could share the book with you as part of my August HELLO Giveaways celebration. So exciting! Thank you, Kerry.

    My first peek at this charming project book was earlier this year
    when Kerry asked me to write the book's foreword. Over the course of
    several emails back and forth and a couple of phonecalls, I got to know
    Kerry and her concept. Each project in the book is tied to a story and
    centered on four themes, taking us "from a fairy woodland, to the
    coastal waters, to the arctic, and back."

    Pinchy_300ShortKerry
    lives in Maine with the ocean as her neighbor. One of my favorite
    projects in the book is her Pinchy the Lobster character. Coming from
    the land of paisley turtles and floral elephants, there's something about a calico lobster that certainly works for me.

    I also love her station wagon and hipster-camping-trailer pattern
    above. Not only does it wax nostalgic, but here's one car toy that won't
    split your eyebrow open when your toddler attacks. That's a true bonus.
    I've had more than one request from my family to design some soft
    boy-toys suitable for snuggling. Our Evan likes a big reaction. This often translates into experimental hammering on his siblings and parents—especially at bedtime.

    Beyond these great projects, Kerry has also included a dolphin
    pattern, an orca whale, a row boat, a hot air balloon, a teddy bear, and
    an igloo—to name just a few. A wide variety of projects for one book.

    SewingTalestoStitchLove2

    Join me in congratulating Kerry and KP Craft on their lovely new book. Watch for Sewing Tales to Stitch and Love: 18 Toy Patterns for the Storytelling Sewist to reach your local bookstore or fabric shop this fall and go get yourself a copy. Also, keep up with Kerry on her Kid Giddy blog (she's just beginning to post reveals of her gorgeous new sewing studio), and on facebook, twitter, pinterest, and flickr while you're at it.

    Foreword2

    Today's giveaway winner will receive this early copy of the book—signed by the author and me. Invaluable 🙂 Comment to
    enter. One entry per household. Be sure to include your email
    address
    in the comment form so we can contact you if you win.

    Giveaway closes at 11:59pm PST on Sunday 9/1/13. It's
    a holiday weekend and the final stretch of my giveaway marathon. As
    such, I'm giving you through the weekend to enter so everyone can have a
    decent shot—even those who have found time away from the computer with
    their families! Watch for the winner to
    be announced within the week at the bottom
    of the post.

    For more info on my August giveaway party, click here. Please
    share the word. See you again tomorrow. And Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather

    Read More “Giveaway Day 30”

  • Any Guesses?

    ByHeather Bailey

    SneakyPeek_HeatherBailey

    I have been immersed in designing a fantastic new collection for a great company with a great product. The big announcement goes live on their website today. Once they spill the beans, I'll come back and add some salty photos and spicy details to the news.

    It's exciting to be able to share a project with you so soon after I completed the artwork. Usually, I have to wait a miserably long while—at least that's how it feels. But not this time! Just a few more hours. Till then, here's a teaser photo.

    Update: The word is out. Read more about the big announcement here & here.

  • Happy Spring!

    ByHeather Bailey

    I have a serious crush on vintage Springtime decorations.  At the
    turn of the 19th century, there was decoration after decoration and
    postcard after postcard of a fluffy bunny pulling a cart of flowers or
    candies. By the 1920's and 30's, illustrations became more graphic in
    style and less painterly, but the cart concept stayed put.

    Bunnycard_470b

    In homage to these early depictions of the Easter Bunny, I designed
    my first-in-series Springtime Paper Craft Freebie. Sage, here is 2"
    tall, and together with his wagon, he measures 6" long.

    Have one for free. 
    We're putting one card in every package that goes out
    this Spring from www.HeatherBaileyStore.com, while supplies last.  To
    craft up your own little bunny, all you will need is a pair of
    scissors, a glue stick, and a tool for scoring fold lines;  I like to
    use the rounded tip of a crochet hook or an embossing tool.

    HippityHop470

    There's no promo code to
    enter.  One white bunny will
    mysteriously hop his way into every package.  Happy Spring, everyone!

    If you would like to have more than one bunny — for table decorations,
    teacher gifts, kids' Easter baskets, etc., you can add more kits to your
    cart.  They are available in packs of 3 for only $4.95.

    – – – – – – – – – –

    Oh Yes.  Check out this crafty, new web-show, DIYdish.  To celebrate Kris & Kim's first episode, I've donated 10 sewing-pattern-and-pincushion-kit goody bags as prizes.  And you know what that means — good odds.  Leave a comment here to enter.  The drawing takes place March 31, 2010.  Go check out their fun, new show.  The first episode is about
    pincushions    .

    – – – – – – – – – –

    Hello, btw!  It's been a nutzy couple of months. Fortunately, several big design projects are moving from Hide-N-Hush status to Show-N-Tell status.  For starters, my new stationery collection started shipping to stores this week, including invitations, note cards, paper plates, napkins, notepads.  Wait till you see.  They are so cool.  Of course, new Hide-N-Hush projects are in the works.  This drives my blabbity-share-everything self crazy.  Thus, the bunny-wagon design — dreamed up, designed, printed & posted in a matter of days.  Love that.

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    In Limited Supply:
    album kits, fabric… patience

    ByHeather Bailey

    It is refreshing to be home again.  Not only to sleep in my own bed
    and hug on my little kids (of course), but now I can start scratchin'
    at those irresistibly- itchy projects I sketched up while I was away. 
    Here and there, at least.  First, I have some emails and interviews to
    complete, as well as some fabric strike-offs to sort through (yes,
    round one is in the house!).

    Flutterby4a600

    So, check out my Flutterby Flip-Book mini
    album.  I used an old-fashioned wooden clothespin for the butterfly
    body.  A variety of cardstock wings make up the album's many pages,
    with a sprinkling
    of flowers and miniature butterflies thrown in for good measure.  The
    perfect album for celebrating a special event, a summer-load of
    activities, a new baby, a birthday, quirky kid-drawings, etc.

    FLUTTERBYkit2

    This is the workshop I taught at Inspired in North Carolina this month — the stinkin' cutest-est album ever.  We kitted up
    some extra albums, with full-on illustrated instructions included, so
    you can make an album too if you like. (Or maybe set up your kids or
    grandkids with a kit — gotta keep those children engaged over the
    summer.  My two have been squabbling all day.)  So, if you're
    interested, hop on over to the HB store.  Limited supply!  When they're gone, they're gone. 

    FlutterbyInstr400

    Freshcut™ is in the same boat too.  Free Spirit's warehouse is plum out of my Freshcut collection now.  We received our last supply.  Though the demand for that collection never subsided, the supply certainly now has, so last call for Freshcut!  Heck, here's a discount while you're at it.  Use the code "AlmostGone" through June 1st for 10% off any fabrics from my Freshcut collection.  We'll all sigh as it trickles away.

    And this week is my blogiversary again — three years now.  I'll put together some sort of giveaway, so stay tuned for that. 

    I'm
    off to dig myself up an urgent dose of Tylenol.  My kids aren't used to
    being around each other all day.  It's adjustment time — for all of us.

  • Flirty Skirt, Dirty Dirt

    ByHeather Bailey

    Skirty1Detail

    My
    friend, Jill, has two cute little girls and she always has them dolled
    up to the nines.  (And she's the best hair-bow-maker around — a new
    bow for every outfit.)  Jill watched Charlotte a couple of
    times a week last year.  During that time her girls became like sisters
    to Charlotte — and Jill really did a great job of keeping them all
    busy and entertained with swimming, carousel-ing, park-time, etc.  So,
    as a heart-felt thank you to Jill, I designed her girls some matching,
    skirty outfits.

    Skirty1

    The tee shirts — Talk
    about a high impact-to-effort ratio, decorating tee-shirts can be
    easy-peasy.  I fused floral elements from my Rose Bouquet print from
    Pop Garden to each store-bought tee shirt using fusible web.  I then
    stitched around the edges of each fused piece (with a ball-point needle
    installed in my machine to prevent holes from forming in the knit
    material.)  There are at least three or four flowers in this print that
    make perfect appliques. 

    Shirty1

    The two skirts — I had a lot of fun putting the fabric combinations together.  I wanted them to match each other, but not really match.  I didn't draft a pattern as they're just sewn from various
    rectangles.  I probably should have jotted down some measurements as I went. 
    However, my friend Jona does have pattern for a similar skirt all
    ready to go – The Edith Twirl.  (Check out the embroidery on those
    Edith under-skirts.)

    Skirty2w2
    The floral print in the skirt above is probably my favorite print from Pop Garden.  It's
    soft and romantic, yet electric and sassy.  And the ziggity Zag Stripe to the right is entirely too fun to sew
    with.  I still need to bind a quilt in this print and see what it does.
    Fussy-cut quilt blocks made with this fabric could result in some
    interesting effects too.  More sewing, more sewing.

    I'm not sure if I
    scratched that dern sewing itch well enough with this one project, but
    I expect to do more sewing once my next fabric collection is off to the
    mill here soon. And OH, it's pretty.  And sweet. 
    Sweet and pretty.  That's all I'm going to say.  Like that
    housekeeper-lady says in The Parent Trap, "I'm not saying a word."

    Shirty2aa

    What else, what else?  OH!  I should have mentioned this first —
    yikes.  Tara's baby girl, Grace, was born this week!!  And she's
    stinkin' beautiful.  Which is really unfair to the other bruised,
    swollen newborns in the nursery.  I mean, come on — tilting, exotic
    eyes, high cheekbones, a perfectly-shaped head covered with beautiful,
    dark hair.  At three weeks early, we were only caught slightly
    off-guard.  Isaac's been phone-interviewing for a new Office Assitant
    this week and then final interviews are next week.  Tara will be back
    in a few months in a new position.  We'll miss her while she's away
    smooching on that sweet, new baby.

    Skirty2Detail2
    We're really overlapping about five or six projects at the
    moment.  And as I'm not so great at falling asleep when I'm excited
    about a project – or six projects, imagine my self-satisfaction at
    rolling out of bed on time this morning for my 8 o'clock tap class —
    jazz hands!  : )

    And then there's the yard.  Wednesday
    was Fill-the-Raised-Garden-with-Dirt Day.  Thursday was
    Move-the-Big-Rocks-Around Day.  (Isaac might as well have been at
    Disneyland.  He wouldn't climb down from that bulldozer for anything.) 
    Yesterday was Rake-the-Dirt-All-Smooth Day.  And today has been
    Form-the-Perfectly-Curved-Curbing Day.  Isaac's ready to move onto
    Install-the-Five-Valve-Sprinkler-System Day, but I'm entirely ready for
    a break, so we've pacted to give ourselves a week of
    Avoid-the-Yardwork-Alltogether Days so we can celebrate
    Get-Back-to-What-We-Should-Have-Been-Doing Day – which may evolve into
    a week-long celebration in the end.

    JillBows

    And
    I'm looking to do March of the Tools again this year.  One more day
    till March.  There are a number of gizmos, gadgets, thing-a-majigs and
    who-z-whatzits I'm excited to share.  I'll have the badge back up in my
    sidebar later today.  I'd love for you to join me – yes, please join
    me.  Infact, email me to let me know you're doing March of the Tools
    too and I'll post a link to your blog on the March of the Tools page so we can all see who is playing along and get some leads on new, must-have tools.