The Sewing Mom

There is still time to enter my Holiday Giveaway, sponsored by You Can Make This. The prize? A fantastic crafty eBook filled with new techniques, ideas and tips for creating your own wonderful handcrafted items.

Enter by 11:59 pm Friday 12/18 by leaving a comment here telling me your favorite handcrafted item you’ve ever given or received.  Be sure to leave your email address and this contest is open to ANYONE with a valid email address.

There will be 2 winners, one could be you!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is so cool, I just have to share! If you are a parent, you know what it’s like when your young child is asking all those questions like “why is the sky blue?” and “where does rain come from?” Believe it or not, I even got this one once, “how do you make cereal?” Well, I now have the coolest way to answer this last one and it’s so much fun. How Wheat Works is an online program that allows you to grow your own wheat product, harvest the crop and then even mill it into the food product of your choice! I think it’s a fantastic way to give a virtual lesson on how wheat grows and is used to feed millions of people!

There are 4 phases to this virtual world, growth, harvest, milling/baking and finally, the grocery aisle. Each of the four phases will only take a few minutes to complete, so even the youngest child won’t get bored. One phase can be completed per day, so the entire process can be completed in 4 days. There are also activity suggestions at the end of each phase to help learn that much more about the process and hopefully help us all to make better, healthier food choices.

What got me even more excited was that for every person that completes the four phase program, the Wheat Foods Council will donate 2 pounds (up to 90,000 pounds) of flour to Operation Homefront, a non-profit that provides assistance to needy U.S. troops and their families. What an excellent opportunity to repay some of those who fight to keep us safe in this country.

I’ve completed phase one and will get an email tomorrow reminding me to return to complete phase 2. I’m going to have my daughter grow a crop too so we compare our results. If you would like more information, you can also check out www.wheatfoods.org

Click banner for more info!

Last year I decided I wanted to utilize my sewing skills to create items I could use in decorating my home for the Christmas holiday. I had discovered an applique/quilt designer by the name of Nancy Halverson and I really enjoy the designs she creates and decided to give it a try.

I began by purchasing fabric and the pattern book, “The 12 Days of Christmas”.

From the numerous patterns in the book, I chose to make the “Countdown to Christmas”. These are individual quilt blocks created along with raw edge applique. I prefer the raw edge for decorative blocks, mainly because it is a faster applique technique (I don’t have to turn under the edges!). My sewing machine has a blanket stitch, so I am able to do most of the stitching by machine. I’ve added the loops to each block in order to hang them individually.

The completed project appears on the shelves in our family room, near our Christmas tree and I change the number panels each day as we “countdown to Christmas”!

For more ideas on decorating for the Holidays, please feel free to continue your blog hop by visiting: A Second Cup and don’t forget to visit the host of this blog hop, The Frugal Housewife

Are you looking for some gift ideas? Have you finished your holiday shopping? Did you remember to get a gift for your kids teachers and bus driver? How about your neighbor and even your mailman? Do you have all of your gifts wrapped and ready for delivery? There are so many people to consider this time of year and I may just have a helpful answer for you!

With the holidays just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to showcase some quick and easy gift ideas you can give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and oh yes…even your family! You can enter to win eBooks from www.youcanmakethis.com and even learn some fun new techniques, tips, and ideas not only for the people on your list, but also creative ways to decorate your home!

In addition, the wonderful people at www.youcanmakethis.com have a free download for some fun MIY (make it yourself) gift tags. Each of these gift tags coordinates with ideas found as part of the DIY Gift Giving Series videos that can be found at the you can make this blog in addition to designs found at swakembroidery.com and www.youcanmakethis.com.

You can also enter to win hundreds of dollars in gift certificates just for watching the videos that are part of the DIY Gift Giving Series and answering a question on the You Can Make This blog!

To enter my contest for the free download, leave me a comment telling me your favorite “make it yourself” gift you ever made or received. This contest is open to anyone with an email address, no matter where you live! Plus, there will be TWO winners!

Be sure to leave your name (not a nickname) and a valid email address. You do not need to have a website to enter this contest. No spam comments will be accepted.

All comments for entry must be made by 11:59 pm CST, Friday, Dec 18 and winners will be announce Saturday, Dec. 19.

I am so excited! I have a new Entrecard Button! I have to thank Laane, she created this beautiful button using the background of a tote bag that I made and that she now uses to carry her small pipes (you definitely need to ask her about her small pipes!).

So, to Laane I say THANK YOU!!

Look for my new beautiful button appearing on Entrecard widgets soon!