Is it Wednesday already?!

The random number generator chose No. 6: Janice

Our lucky friend Janice will receive the set of coasters, along with another lovely gift...photos coming tomorrow! 

Sorry for the intermittent postings.  Tomorrow is the first day of school and normalcy should soon return. Bear with me, I have great things in store for the fall!

From this book...

 
Stored in the fridge...

 
Risen a bit in the pan...

I give you: The Criss Cross Coasters

As boring as coasters may seem (ahem, Mr. Plaid), they are fun to make and do bring a bit of excitement to the living area.  I love that they need not match the decor, as Jennifer wisely commented, they can bring a splash of color to the room.

Once I figured out that these guys needed to be pinned, it was smooth sailing. Initially, I made a couple of coasters only to discover during the "flipping" stage, that I hadn't caught some of the fabric layers in the seam.  So, I had to unflip and resew and it was quite a pain.  The slippery fabrics were the worst.  However, these are extremely easy to unflip and fix, so if that happens to you, do not throw in the towel.  

 
I decided to just alternate the backing fabrics, so that you could see more of the fun flowered pattern.  For the lining, I just used a flannel, because I felt like it would be a little more absorbant. And, because I don't always follow directions, I didn't use any fusible web. I didn't feel like my fabric needed it, and I was sewing through an awful lot of layers as it was.

This tutorial was extremely straight forward and easy to do (once I pinned the slippery fabric in place).  The flipping was a breeze. The only other challenge was trying to get those corners poked out nice and square. Which, you can see, I'm still working on...

The fabrics are both from Joann's.  It's apparel fabric I picked up on clearance at the end of spring to make summer clothes for the girls. Since we all know how well that turned out, I thought I might as well use it for coasters.

If you'd like to win this lovely set of four coasters, leave a comment on this post before I choose a random winner next Wednesday.  And for those of you thinking coasters are dull, I'll throw in a little something extra. I'm not sure what it will be just yet, but you'll get the coasters and an accessory of some sort.  (It will not be my favorite Kate Spade teacup pictured above! Because I love, love it!)

Sorry for the vanishing act. Serious back to school preparation is going on around here, including a last minute decision to change schools.  The new school begins next week (!!), which is two weeks earlier than our old school.  I'm having to cram three weeks of summer into one short week, which is proving to be exhausting.

Monday night was the Oldest Child's final karate class, in which she finally received her colored belt. She was thrilled. I managed to take two pictures before the camera battery died. It wasn't until an hour ago, when I decided to photograph the Criss Cross Coasters, that I realized I still hadn't charged the battery (um, missed photos of the final gymnastics class today, too).  Thus, no photos of the coasters just yet.  So, we'll delay Win-It Wednesday until Thursday, since you probably don't want to enter to win coasters sight unseen.

In other random news:

I've been eying the baked goods on Etsy for some time now.  This is a rather delicious looking Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie from The Wave Break. I'm a sucker for chocolate peanut butter anything. Like, Oberweis Ice Cream, or those brownies I made a little while back (see here).

This one has no peanut butter, but I also happen to love chocolate.  This Red Velvet Revolution cupcake from Bangerang Bake Shop actually comes in a jar.  The cupcake in a jar concept is one I've been wanting to try.

Aren't these cute?!  I made some back in December for my sister's baby shower, but didn't make enough to keep one for myself.  I'm thinking of ordering some from Etsy.  

But the thought of buying food from random home bakers on Etsy sort of freaks me out. Has anyone tried it? Good? Bad? Poisoned?

Here are your random numbers:

11	

Timestamp: 2008-08-06 20:47:29 UTC

The random number generator chose comment number 11, Colleen.  Congratulations! Check your inbox for an email from me with details!

Thanks to the rest of you for all the kind words about my apron! Oh, and Mr. Plaid wants credit for the hand-drying flap.  Here's how it went down: I had the flap pinned on (at the sides of the apron) and he said, "Oh, good idea, a flap to dry your hands."  And based on that exchange, he believes the flap was his idea. So,I guess we should give him credit for naming my flap.

For those who were interested, I am working on the tutorial and will post it soon.  

About three years ago, a glorious thing happened here in the Heartland.  The fine folks in our state legislature declared the first weekend in August to be Tax Free. That's right friends, here in Missouri, certain back to school items may be purchased for the actual sticker price. No state sales tax is charged! (Some not-so-friendly areas still charge their own local sales tax...)

I know it sounds crazy, but I get pretty giddy over the thought of pulling one over on the government. I think our tax rate is around 7% which probably doesn't add up to all that much, but the idea of stocking my closet (clothing and shoes are tax free), my art cabinet (school supplies--aka paints, markers, glue, paper--are tax free), and upgrading the computer (which sadly, I had to do before the holiday this year) tax free is appealing.

So, this weekend, we shopped.

I found this really cute dress at H&M for the Kindergartener. It seems very European, which it probably is, and I just love it. It was on their clearance rack for $10.  I like it because it's simple, and if you didn't know it was from H&M, you might think it wasn't mass-produced. 

We picked up lots of other great bargains and cute clothes for the girls, but they tend to be your more typical back to school choices.  And no, all this shopping does not mean that I've abandoned my fall clothing goals.  I'll be sewing dresses and skirts for the girls, so our purchases this weekend were more of the jeans/pants/shirts type.  As soon as I get the summer stuff finished (um, started), I'll start revealing my fall creations.

Now, if only we can convince the state legislature to lift the tax on groceries...

 A huge thank you to Tammy for this award! I'm extremely grateful to be recognized, and so happy to know that folks (well, Tammy at least!) are enjoying what I'm doing here.

I cannot simply accept the award, I must also follow these rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

The nominees are (this could be a repeat award for some of these...I tried to make sure it wasn't, but hard to tell for sure):

Emily, the dabbler

Getting Stitched on the Farm

Misadventures of Mama and Jack

Everyday Chaos

SugarBug

Lazy Jane

Blessed Roots

Happy browsing!