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Giveaway!! Enter to Win a Free Craftsy Class!!

March 12, 2014 By JulieK

The winner was chosen by Craftsy using Random.org… Congrats to Jean-Martin!!! Craftsy will email you the details of how to redeem your class!!

I love Craftsy, and their online classes!! When I was asked if I wanted to do a giveaway of one of their classes on my blog, I was so excited!!

All you have to do to enter is click on this link!! Enter to win a Craftsy class

Simply enter your email address and you’re all set!! The giveaway is open from March 12-March 31. Simply click on the link above to enter. One reader from my blog will be chosen to win a Craftsy class up to a $59.99 value. What I love most about Craftsy classes are that they don’t expire! You can watch them as many times as you’d like, and whenever you’d like!

Did you know that Craftsy currently has 361 classes in their catalog? With that many classes, it can be difficult to decide which classes you should take. Here’s a list of their best selling classes in various categories. Check them out! (But don’t forget, to enter the giveaway, you need to click the link above!)

Best Selling Craftsy Classes

Cake Decorating
Clean & Simple Cake Design
Cake Topper Techniques
How to Start a Cake Business

Food & Cooking
Artisan Bread Making
A Modern Take on the Mother Sauces
Classic Croissants at Home

Knitting
Knit to Flatter
Knit Original Toe-Up Socks
Knit Lab

Photography
Portraits With an On-Camera Speedlight
Photographing Flowers
Off-Camera Flash Photography

Quilting
Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine
Free Motion Quilting a Sampler
Machine Quilting

Sewing
Tailoring Ready-to-Wear
Beginner Serging
Sewing With Knits

Welcome Baby

May 1, 2013 By JulieK

I LOVE making presents for new babies…

In fact, I firmly believe that EVERY baby should have something handmade for them :) Mike’s cousin just had her beautiful and healthy baby boy, so I thought I’d share the little quilt that I made for him.

I forgot to measure it before I gave it to them, but it isn’t huge, it’s the perfect size for playing on the floor or for a crib. I used Moda Lil Rascals Quilt Cotton Fabric
… I just love the “old-timey” look of the fabrics!

This quilt was the very first that I quilted on my new sewing machine, and the first that I’ve free-motion quilted (so don’t look too close :)

Here’s the whole front…

Here’s a full shot of the back… Isn’t that fabric adorable??

JulieK, Julie Kelley, Quilt, Baby Quilt, Baby gift, FMQ, Moda, Lil' Rascals

The front is a Disappearing 9 patch made with a pack of charm squares, and then a border added around the edge. Here’s a closeup of one of the fabrics :) love that little kitty!

And here’s a close up of the backing fabric… Aren’t those pups adorable?

And a close up of the finishing touch :) the tag…

We just got the sweetest thank you note from them, and they just had the baby last week… I can’t wait to meet him in person!!

Here’s a link to the fabric I used for the border…

I have a bunch of projects that need to be posted… Now that the weather is nice, I’ll get them outside to take pictures and post them soon!

My “Big Girl Mixer”

January 8, 2013 By JulieK

So, I have ALWAYS wanted a “Big Girl Mixer” AKA KitchenAid Stand Mixer… But, firstly, they’re expensive and I just couldn’t justify spending that much money on a mixer… And secondly, I’m a terrible cook (true, just ask my husband, he’ll tell you), so spending that amount of money on a kitchen appliance just seemed silly! BUT, Santa heard my plea (well, the kids were with me one day when I was in a store drooling over the big girl mixers, and they told Santa (AKA Mike).

Here it is… My precious…

Isn’t it pretty??? Especially on my brand new butcher block counter tops!! The kitchen renovation is a whole other post :) I kinda wish that I had had my beautiful mixer for Christmas Eve dinner, when I made chocolate mousse and REAL whipped cream for dessert!! That was a lot of standing at the counter with my little hand mixer… But, man… I love it!! I’ve also been a cooking maniac since I got it!! I kinda feel like he got me this amazing mixer, I SHOULD make some amazing food with it, right??

So far… I have learned that I totally stink at making brownies… doesn’t matter how good the reviews are for the recipe, I can’t cook them…

Then there’s cookies!! OMGosh, I don’t make cookies ’cause they’re too hard to mix… well, not any longer… I made THESE and wow… Even Sean, who’s not a “sweets” boy loved them and keeps asking me to make them again! Yummy, yummy, yummy!!

Then, there’s bread!! Oh, dough hook, how do I love thee? I made dinner rolls the other night, which were yummy, but I didn’t take a picture… then last night… Oh, yeah… One hour bread! Which came out great!! Hot and fresh from the oven with butter and our pasta dinner, YUM! and today I have it sliced and toasted for my sandwich!

Speaking of being a horrible cook… I so LOVE the idea of cooking, but you know how busy it gets when you have a husband, 2 kids who have activities, you work full time, and you co-own a crafting place!! Planning and finding time to cook is a challenge to say the least!! I’ve tried a ton of different recipe plans, most of them use ingredients that I simply don’t have, or that my picky-pants husband and kids won’t eat… I recently signed up for emeals and am already very pleasantly surprised!! The pasta meal we had last night with the yummy bread? You guessed it, that was from my new emeals subscription!! Check it out, it’s not very expensive, you get a whole week’s worth of yummy recipes, and for a limited time you can save 15% on your subscription cost with the code newyear . Check them out! They have lots of different menu options! I got the classic meals, and if you get a subscription and change your mind on the menu, you can change it!

SHOLDIT Scarf/Wrap Review

December 31, 2012 By JulieK

I was thrilled to be asked to review the SHOLDIT! What a great idea, especially for this time of year. When I’m shopping or traveling during the winter I hate to carry around my heavy purse… No matter which jacket I wear, the purse slips off my shoulder constantly and drives me batty! The SHOLDIT is the perfect solution. It’s a scarf/wrap and can be worn in many different ways, but it also features 2 zippered pockets to carry what you need! If you’re looking for more information on the SHOLDIT, here’s where you can find it… at their WEBSITE, follow them on FACEBOOK or their TWITTER

Here’s a photo of me with the SHOLDIT ready for New Year’s Eve in Boston (we were home WELL before the ball dropped :) but the family events in town were really fun way to spend the afternoon and evening, especially when you didn’t have to carry a purse… the T was so crowded!!

The SHOLDIT that I received was orange, which happens to be my favorite color! I’m loving it and I only wear it as a scarf, but it works fine with my big heavy coat with one less thing to carry along and keep track of at the stores and other random places that we go!

This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.

Fun Online Games

September 18, 2012 By JulieK

I don’t play very many online games, but, Reel Cash Critters is not your typical online game. To play, you wager your GVs (Gamesville’s virtual currency that you win by playing games) and spin. You can win cash prizes from $5-$10. An online game that’s free to play where you can win actual cash prizes! Sounds pretty cool to me!
An added cuteness factor bonus? The mini games and critters – who doesn’t love cute woodland creatures? Within the game, you can hit the “Spin-o-Matic” which is a dial that you spin and depending on the critter that you land on, you get an extra GV bonus.

I thought that Reel Cash Critters was a lot of fun to play, it’s a great way to spend a couple of minutes to chill out in between events! The Gamesville site was very easy to navigate, including getting registered, logged in and ready to play quickly! I love when the little bit of “play” time that I have is spent actually having fun instead of trying to figure out where things are on the site.

If you are a Gold member you get another game on top of the Spin-o-Matic. “Reel Slots Shots” is a county fair-style shooting gallery where you can win GVs. Ducks, rabbits, and even our mascot Poke pop up for your chance to hit. The more you get, the more GVs you win. Another bonus to being a Gold member (and in my opinion, the best part…) No ads! It is so much more fun to play when your game isn’t interrupted by ads every so often!
Reel Cash Critters isn’t the only game that pays you real money on Gamesville. Some of the jackpots for the various games can reach up to $10,000! Plus, if you’re a Gold member, the Jackpot is doubled. If you play Reel Cash Critters, be sure to play other games like Frantic Fish or Super Chef to boost up your GVs.If you use THIS LINK to sign up, you will receive 10,000 free GV’s added to your new account!

Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I received a Gamesville Gold Membership and compensation for my time investment and work on this campaign.