My Sewing Drawer...

Confessions of a Teenage Fabricholic!:) All right, I am not THAT bad, but really, girls, we do have a soft spot for cute fabric, right? That's why, I shope at Birch, a sweet fabric shop full of modern and chic fabrics! (Although expensive;) I do save at least $20 of my cleaning money to buy things, and you know what I buy? Fabric! (and cardmaking stuff of course:) Usually, I do not buy modern prints, but Birch's fabric is just too irrisistable. This is my sewing drawer! *Gasp* Yes, I actually did orginized it!!! And when I did, I had just a little more space to buy some more fabric! (But you know, you always have just a little more space for those cute fabrics, right?:) Here's what I bought from Birch:

I love these greens, and the the grey serves a good accent colour!
Olive green...

I think I might make a headband out of this fabric (directly above) for the band, and the green and grey for the flower.

I have also had my eye one this one ever since we stepped into the shop:

Wouldn't it be a lovely skirt? *Sigh* Too bad I do not know how to sew and too bad I did not purchase a $9.50 yard.

This fabric, I absolutely love. And just as I was about to make my purchases I looked at it and absolutely fell for it! It is so whimsically (with the sparkles), and vintagey! I have to make something very special out of it. It was $15.00 a yard, so I just had to purchase half a yard!:)

My first visit (not my very first) to Birch's new store, I bought these:

Sew summery, right?:)

And this:

I made flowers out of these. You can find the tutorial here:http://mariemadelinestudio.typepad.com/mariemadeline_studio/2009/09/festive-posies.html (basic flower, I do 6 petals)

and here: Simple Delights (This is the one with the covered buttons)

Those flowers are really popular around here!:)

Love from your sewing friend,

Catching up on a Few Things...

Dear Readers,

Just wanted to give you a few updates! I have not had a real post in awhile!

As you know I am having a story contest with some great prizes!

Ismikendra is hosting a blog party soon too!

*********************************

~Wildlife~

For some odd reason, during the hot spell we had a few days ago (it has been mildly temperate, more like COLD!, weather here right now; very unusual for the middle of July!:) The baby lizards have been coming to drink from the cat's water bowl (just hopefully she will not catch them!)

So small!!!
Our house finches have been quite comfortable here as well!

~Photography~

My niece payed a visit to us a few weekends ago; she is such a darling thing and I love taking care of her during her visit. Here is a movie of her:

~Craft Projects and More~

Right now, I am in the middle of making cards to be sent off to my penpals!

List of projects that I WANT to make (This will be a good reminder for me since my lists seem to become lost all the time; I need a cork board:) :

Lace hankerchief, but have to purchase some linen

Crochet some more things

Knit headband and learn how to cast off

Restock my nearly depleted card pile

Sew some more sachets

Learn how to quilt, and make blankets

Sew some more fuzzy pillows for friends and big one for myself:)

Johanna from "An Old Fashion Girl" has created a group on Shelfari which I am helping out with!

So much to do, only one more month of summer!

Hope all are having a peaceful evening!

Love always from your busy sister,
Grace

My 100th post and STORY CONTEST!!!!

I have not posted in Soooooo long! I have missed it very much, so that's why I'm starting this early. I have missed posting, but it was nice to "relax" for a change :)

So I should probably start off with the rules first:

PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW CAREFULLY:

1. Only one entry per participant. Your entry must or can be a little over 2,000 words. You must be a follower of this blog to enter.


2. Post your entries on your blog (that will make it easier for me instead of giving you my email and such), with the painting that inspired you to write your short story. PLEASE LEAVE THE LINK GOING DIRECTLY TO YOUR ENTRY


3. Girls ages 11-18 who have a blog may enter.


4. Please keep all entries God-honouring and clean. Stories that have inappropriate content will not be entered that includes mushy romances and crude humour. You may enter romances like Jane Austen novels.


5. Your stories need to have a title and cannot be in poetry form nor in letter form though there can be letters in the story. INCLUDE THE ARTIST AND TITLE OF THE PAINTING WHICH INSPIRED YOU IN YOUR POST


6. I shall be judging your story by how original it was and how well you combined your art piece and story together. This is not a must, but please watch your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. (I was reading my last post on the "unofficial rules" and I thought that was a bit harsh to have an entry be based on the things above.)


7. All late entries will not be accepted


8. Have Fun!!!

Here are some buttons I created for you to spread the word.
<br /><a href="http://gracesgardenwalk.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 293px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498416945303029970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKquiJfDRBLU4j3l8s-mFM9UgGZHVXgtfYJVeEtlVzYGsvH1u58NlOVliaLJg_GElc0YOyH_M79wXVCJWZaiO_9YBDxEi77KNWRqXBIIv0JtGWMfVVgUQbVuJIcitzMxEvppTEp6ySJU/s320/story+contest+button.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br />

<br /><a href="http://gracesgardenwalk.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498417602171865458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5BgMRo2k-zTQWc6qCFkHeXDAjrKl6AorDTmeDo8eXEB7aBbzSCz69kGOweCPWbwADcC7amHe-6Z3BmqF8L4PzgzYm_qTA_v1GqWJ-4sgS9Phta4B3ndy0hzLatOcrcubW4TGBRhXuGo/s320/Story+Contes+(North+hanger+abby).jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />

<br /><a href="http://gracesgardenwalk.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498418286616420434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAzcWdWiufQ1jlKKE5ErntEMknOQLDblKBFi1ER4kh19J-mN35pmAdT0Q_tjLAaqT_GgZyU-2SPEdxrAQ3W_JjorNlIMIckbcOv13HYCCoxix-HbKtDxdbLt58DoO0kCc3apRNVqjDu0/s320/!cid_image1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br />

Now for the fun part! The prizes. I want to tell you a little bit about the first place winner prize.

I did not want to take the time of making a frustrating drawstring bag. So, I took one I had purchased from my trusty herb shop. It started as a plain muslin bag...

And with a bit of sewing here, a bit of ribbon, and a few embroidery stitches there we have this:

So, this bag has one of my crocheted flowers sewn on it, and I embroidered the word by hand. (Click for a larger image) The FIRST PLACE WINNER will receive this lovely bag along with a handmade sachet and this lovely flower:

...and this....

....a beautiful bracelet handmade by me:)

Second place winner will receive a sachet (now you see why the hint was lavender, right?)

....a handmade flower with covered button
...and a bracelet handmade by me!

Third place winner will receive a sachet and bracelet as well.

(Recognize the material of the sachet? This is from the blouse I wore on Modest Fashion Week Day 3! It had a hole in the lining, and was getting too small for me, so why not recycle it? It was a little weird cutting up one of my favourite blouses:)

When spreading the news about my giveawy, go ahead and post some of the pictures of the prizes.

WILL ONLY SHIP PRIZES IN THE U.S. NOT INCLUDING ALASKA AND HAWAII SORRY!

However, if you do want to still enter and win, I will create a button that you can post on your blog saying "I won Grace's Story Contest." There will be honourable mentions as well.

Hope everyone has fun! Contest will be starting this evening and going until August 16th (three weeks from now). It's good to be back! I have so much to tell you all! :)

Love from your scribbling friend,

P.S. If you are looking for an art piece for your story, this is a good website

Eras of Elegance

More Thoughts on my Story Contest

Dear Readers,

Well, this is my 99th post (I had to delete a few past posts {unimportant ones of course} to squeeze this one in), and I am so excited because I am planning on making some wonderful prizes for the winners of my story contest! I think I will stop posting for awhile (not blogging but posting:), but I am not sure that I will be able to hold out. We shall see how it goes though!

I do need your help, though. Post this on your blog (you can paste it to your sidebar or include this in a post), telling your followers who would be interested in a story contest to come follow me! I just need 100 followers:)

<br /><a href="http://gracesgardenwalk.blogspot.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 279px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493994504340072402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmUBqBgXpdPl_DYAvG30Ny5GsULQdCUzE7xkPWLvYRVohZfnNe3fzKdzs7XN472VEEP8Pcr4M7LgOl-KVXUrTbQuEeYcp4Z6wttf5KlfOP6qSgu5bUzK5IpgnOZp0pQxo3I_qkjtP1yI/s320/Need+More+Followers.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /></div>

Texture from button used from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubyblossom/sets/72157604064754207/

I think it is only fair to tell you a hint of what the giveaway prizes are. Well, there will be three winners; the first two will get a "bigger" prize then the third one. Your hint is...Lavender. One prize has lavender, the other one involves yarn...hmm..... I have to stop there, for I am too tempted to tell you the prize!

I will be reviewing the rules in my official post (If thinking of entering, please carefully read instructions below; questions? just leave a comment) :

Only one entry per participant. Entries may be a little over 2,000 words (please count the words and post them for me when you post your entries)

I will be having you post your entries on your blog (it will make it easier) with the painting that inspired you to write your short story.

Stories that have inappropriate content will not be entered including mushy romances and crude humour. Please keep all entries God-honouring and clean.

Everybody between ages 11-17 who has a blog can enter, however I will only ship the prizes in the U.S. not including Alaska and Hawaii. Sorry. The people who do not live in the U.S., but are still entering for fun and win, will receive an award that can be posted on there blog saying that they won my story contest.

I shall be judging on coherence, characters (how well you molded your characters), how well you combined your art piece and story together, spelling and grammar. I WILL ALSO BE JUDGING YOUR STORY BASED ON YOUR SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND GRAMMAR.

Your story needs to have a title and cannot be in poetry form. You may have a poem in the story (as long as you include the author), include the artist and title of the painting of which you based your short story on.

And you may include a letter in the story, but the whole story cannot be in letter form.

There will be honourable mentions as well.

Note: This is NOT the official post of my Story Contest! These are NOT my official rules to my Story Contest.

I hope this all made sense to you. I will be more organized next time:)

Love from your scribbling friend,
Grace

Happiness is Homegrown Lavender...

Hello, dear readers!!! What a lovely (yet hot, it got up to the 100's to-day;P)! I have been posting alot about harvesting and drying my lavender, but I have not posted on how it's done. I thought you might enjoy seeing how it's harvested and dried:

First I pick it,

Then, you can organize the lavender according to how long it is....


You cut the bottom of the stocks to make them even...
Tie the stems together and hang them in a dark warm place with lots of air flow for a few hot days or a few weeks depending on the weather; drying it in a sunny place will fade the flowers. When the buds start to fall off, shake them in a bucket or container and store in a sealed container (I put mine in an old, glass olive jar to make it look more old-fashion looking:)

The little sprigs that are not fit for drying I put in a little jar with water. Not only is is pretty to look at and makes my room smell great, but it is also easy access to put a few sprigs on gifts, letters, and more!

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. ~Helen Keller
Hope you enjoy! Hopefully I will be giving away some of my lavender on this blog!

Love always from your lavender girl,

Johanna's 200th Post Giveaway!!!

Johanna from "An Old Fashion Girl" is hosting her 200th post giveaway!!!!!
She is giving away some lovely prizes including this:

From Roses and Tea Cups one of her favourite online store,

A Sense and Sensibility pattern from Sense and Sensibility Patterns (They have the most amazing patterns; makes me wish I was an expert sewer:)

A Marie-Madeline Studio Jumper pattern...

And your choosing of the fabric!!!

Finally she is giving away this lovely pair of earings....(Wish I had my ears pierced so I could wear these beauties!)

So go check out this lovely giveaway by clicking on the highlighted words earlier in this page!!!

May the Lord Bless You, dear Johanna!!!

Mail Call! (And a few more things:)

At the beginning of this day, I had a sort of bad day. A whole bunch of little things piled up to be a great big huge mound, but my nerves calmed down when mom walked through the front door carrying the mail, and that's when God showered a few blessings on me:). She handed me two letters that cheered me up and brightened my day. One was a first letter from my newly gained pen-pal, Kendra over at "Ishmikendra," and my beloved, former violin teacher.
Thank you so much, dearest Shawna for the sweet letter, and for this...

I absolutely LOVE it!!!

However, what makes it even more special is this: it came from you, and therefore I shall cherish it always and forever. Will write back soon to you both...

Amanda from Farmgirl Writes is hosting a blog party full of neat giveaways and fun tags!

She asked this: What are your three of your fondest memories of summer?

Well, let's see....

1. I love the the beach, swimming in the cold water, hearing the waves beat against the shore, the balmy warmth from the sun...*sigh* I just love going to the beach. Collecting shells, and building castles are in my top list when going to the beach:)
2. Harvesting my lavender. The snipping sound as the scissors cut the woody stems of the plant, the sun difussing the scent through the air, the bees buzzing from bud to bud, and the relaxing scent of the lavender itself. After I tie the bundles, I hang it in the eves of the house, I shall never forget the lovely scene of the lavender bundles gently swaying in the breeze, and what a unique scene it is...
3. The farmer's maket; walking up and down the stands, seeing the fresh produce, and tasting the sweet fruit! There's nothing like it in the whole world!

Your's forever,