Gwenny Penny

It's Back... It's My Party and I'll Craft if I Want To!

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Things have been quiet around here for the last couple months, but I'm back today to tell you that this Wednesday and Friday, Amy (from Ameroonie Designs) and I will be celebrating our birthdays by co-hosting our 3rd annual It's My Party and I'll Craft if I Want To!

I really look forward to doing this each year, not only because Amy is one of my best friends, but also because it gives me a guilt-free excuse to do some selfish sewing. Amy and I will be sharing projects that we are making just for us... no kids, no family, no friends... just things that we have been wanting and meaning to make for ourselves but haven't had (or made) the time to do. So make sure you stick around and see what we've been up to :)

Another Tooth Fairy Pillow

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:01:00 +0000

My nephew's 6th birthday was a couple weeks ago, so I decided to make him a tooth fairy pillow.

I made this one a little different from the one that I made for my daughter. I used the same tooth stamp that I carved for the first pillow, but this time I made the entire pillow tooth shaped instead of square.

I love using stamps on fabric. I picked up some new alphabet stamps from Pick Your Plum a little while back, and I was glad to get the chance to use them on this project to add my nephew's name to the pocket. This stamp set is a little larger than the set I already had. And see my label on the right side of the pocket? I recently found some printable fabric that I bought several years ago, so I made up some new Gwenny Penny labels.

I'm also just starting to cut the fabric for my largest quilt to date... a queen size. I've been talking about this quilt for about a year and a half, and I'm going in a completely different direction than I originally planned. The fabric has been pressed and hanging on my ironing board since last July! I'm so glad that I finally got started. I'm going to take my time with this one, but I'll post some updates along the way. For now, here's a sneak peek of my fabric...

Have a great week!

Another Divided Easter Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:03:00 +0000

Last week I told you I had another one of these divided baskets cut out to sew into a second Easter basket for my girls. This one is for my oldest...

Still loving Anna's basket pattern.

Since I used quilting cotton for my baskets, I went with Anna's recommendation to use both fusible interfacing (I used Craft Fuse 808) and fusible fleece on the exterior pieces of the basket. It really gives the basket a lot of body. Another tip... I had a really hard time finding white cotton webbing for the handles, so I used fabric paint to paint the "natural" colored webbing that I was able to find. It worked really well, so I may use fabric paint again on future basket handles to coordinate the webbing with the fabrics.

I absolutely love these Easter baskets! Can't wait to see them all filled up on Easter morning.

Fabrics: My designs... Available in my Spoonflower shop HERE.

My New Spoonflower Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Yesterday I mentioned that I designed all of the fabrics for my divided Easter basket project...

I've been studying and playing around with the idea of fabric design since last summer. At first I thought I wanted to carve stamps based on my sketches, but that has proven to be a very difficult process for me (with the exception of the tooth stamp I carved for my daughter's tooth fairy pillow). Spoonflower never really seemed like an option I was interested in... until I read the Heather Ross Prints book in January. Then I went back into all of the fabric design books I had amassed over the past 8 or 9 months...

and went through them with the goal of designing a little Spoonflower collection. (By the way, all of the books pictured above are excellent. I love them all for different reasons, but you really can't go wrong with any of them.) After fumbling my way through Photoshop Elements, lots of trial and error, and many late nights, I finally did it.

It's amazing to me that my little pencil sketch of a bunny has turned into this...

and this...

I also sketched a little cloud...

Then I put together a polka dot and a stripe pattern to round out the collection.

Its been a lot of work, but I have learned so much, and it's so rewarding when you get that fabric in your hands and know that it's all yours. If you've ever toyed with the idea of designing fabric on Spoonflower, go for it. It's so worth it!

I have a little Spoonflower shop set up now. If you're interested in any of my fabric designs, check it out :)

Divided Easter Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Have you seen Anna's (Noodlehead) new divided basket pattern? I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. These baskets can be used for so many different things, and I have a feeling these will be my go-to gift this year. First, though, I decided to use the pattern to make Easter baskets for my girls...

I've always wanted to make Easter baskets, and this pattern is perfect for it. I only have one finished so far, but the other is cut out and ready to be sewn up, so it will show up here soon.

This pattern is such a brilliant design. I don't know how she ever figured out the divider, but it goes together so easily.

And they hold a lot! After cutting everything out and sewing it up, I was really surprised at how big this basket is. I absolutely love it!

What do you think of the fabric?

I had a hard time coming up with an Easter fabric that I liked, so... I designed some myself! Yes, I have entered the realm of Spoonflower, and there is no turning back :) I'm so pleased with how these fabrics turned out, especially my little hand-drawn bunnies. Every fabric on this basket is my design, and there are three other designs not pictured here that I can't wait to share with you. I'll be posting about my fabric tomorrow, but if you want to check out my designs now, you can visit them HERE in my Spoonflower shop (and if you're interested, the fabrics are for sale :)

Tooth Fairy Pillow

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:19:00 +0000

Way back in November I mentioned that we had our first loose tooth in the house and that I had made a tooth fairy pillow. Since then my five year old has lost two teeth, and I'm so glad I got the little pillow made in time. I shared a roundup of tooth fairy pillow ideas a while back, but I went out on my own for this one...

The tooth is handstamped using a stamp that I carved myself. I love him! This was my third attempt at carving my own stamp for a project and the first time that I really had success with it.

The back has a little pocket for the tooth...

I should have embroidered the word "tooth" on the pocket, but it was an afterthought, so it's written on the pocket with a fabric pen.

I used some ribbon for the hanger. We hang it on a dresser knob by my daughter's bed, but it could be hung on a headboard or doorknob.

My daughter loves having somewhere special to put her tooth when it falls out. And I love that I finally carved a stamp that works!

Enjoy your week!

Pint-Size 241 Tote

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:01:00 +0000

My youngest turned three a few weeks ago, and she requested a couple of handmade items for her birthday. Last week I shared the bubble dress that I made for her. Today I'm going to share the other gift she asked for... a bag "like mom's." I started thinking about which bag would work best for her to carry her "treasures" − a stuffed bear, a set of plastic keys, and an old cell phone − around in. I decided to go with Anna's 241 tote pattern. I've made two of these in the past (which you can find here and here), and it's just a fun bag to make. I started thinking about how much I wanted to shrink the pattern. I almost went with 50%, but then I figured that someone must have tried this already, and I was right! A quick internet search brought me to LRstitched, where Lindsey had sewn a mini 241 bag for her daughter about a year ago. She had shrunk the pattern to 75%, so I decided to go the same route. It's the perfect size for a three year old...

Love it! My daughter picked out the fabrics herself (Well, by "herself" I mean that she picked out the ladybugs and polka dots, then I gently guided her to the pink solid. Otherwise, we would have had some purple panda bears in there :)

Fabric:

Spring Ladybugs from Urban Zoologie by Ann Kelle
Scattered Dots in Summer from Remix by Ann Kelle
Kona Cotton in Bright Pink

I will say that it gets a little tight sewing the topstitching around the side panels when you shrink the pattern to 75%. I had to pick the stitches out twice, then I almost said to heck with the topstitching before I gave it one last try. It's difficult, but it can be done.

And no bag would be complete without a matching zipper pouch...

And she was very happy to find three dollar bills and a little mirror compact inside :)

Next post, time to share that tooth fairy pillow I mentioned way back in December...

Valentine-y Jello Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:01:00 +0000

Last year I posted my St. Patrick's Day Jello cookie recipe. This year we used the same recipe to make pink cookies for Valentine's Day.

Just sub in cherry flavored Jello for the lime flavored Jello. Easy peasy! Enjoy :)

StraightGrain Bubble Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:01:00 +0000

I don't even know where to start. I haven't posted anything in over two months! Not that I haven't been busy making things... I have, and I hope to show you over the next few weeks. We had a wonderful Christmas, a great start to the new year, and just got hit with 19 inches of snow and no power for 48 hours courtesy of Nemo. My oldest lost two teeth and my youngest turned three. That sums up our last couple of months in a nutshell.

Speaking of my youngest turning three... when I asked what she wanted for her birthday, she told me that she wanted me to make her a dress and a bag. And she was very specific about the dress... she wanted a "bubble dress". I had shown her a picture of this particular dress back in August, and she remembered it! I couldn't believe it! This adorable bubble dress is a free pattern and tutorial (Yes, you read that right... free!) from An of StraightGrain. It is fully lined, and it went together so unbelievably easily.

After lots of fabric deliberations, she chose a pink cotton gauze covered in little bears. (It's from Kokka, and I bought it here.) The pattern is available in sizes 2, 4, 6, and 8. My daughter just moved into a 3T, but I decided to make a size 4 because the size 2 pattern looked a little small when I held it up on her. I'm so glad that I went with the 4 because it's a near perfect fit with a little room to grow.

The tutorial calls for an elastic/button closure at the back of the neck, but I ended up going with a little hook and eye clasp.

The bodice is split down the back almost all the way to the skirt. Shes been wearing the dress with a long sleeve shirt and leggings underneath.

I used my "ultimate ruffler" foot on my machine for the first time. I'm so glad I made that purchase last spring. It made this project go together so smoothly.

The secret to getting the "bubble" at the bottom of the skirt is that the exterior skirt is larger than the lining skirt. So genius. It looks so cute!

I don't love sewing garments. I'd much rather sew other things. So I had some anxiety when the dress request was put forth, but this pattern/tutorial resulted in one of the smoothest sewing projects I've ever made (read that as very few visits from the seam ripper).

So... I give this bubble dress pattern from StraightGrain very high marks. It's adorable, my daughter loves it, and it's a relatively quick and easy sew that looks like a million bucks. You can't go wrong with that.

As usual, my oldest now wants one, too, so you'll probably see another one of these around here in the near future. I mentioned that my little one also asked me to make her a bag... More on that soon :)

Point of View and Ornament Link Party

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme this month is "Ornaments". Here are the ideas the members of Point of View came up with this month...

Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE for the tutorial for my Popsicle Stick Sled Ornament)
Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

Amy from Ameroonie Designs
Jonie from Just Between Friends

Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

My project this month is this cute little Popsicle stick sled ornament...

I love this ornament! It's based on an ornament that my in-laws used to hang on their tree. I've always wanted to recreate it, and I don't know why I waited so long... it's so simple to put together. Click HERE for my Popsicle Stick Sled Ornament tutorial.

I want to let everyone know that I've decided that this will be my last month of Point of View. I've been a part of this group since it began back in March of 2011, and it has been such an honor to team up with these ladies every month. Thank you Amy, Jonie, Leanne, and Ashlee for everything.

Now it's your turn. Do you have an ornament that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View "Ornament" Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have a project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all five blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

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Popsicle Stick Sled Ornament Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 12:59:00 +0000

After my husband and I got married, my mother-in-law gave us a whole bunch of old Christmas ornaments. Included in the bunch was a little red sled made out of Popsicle sticks. I was more than a little excited that she gave it to us because I'd been eyeing it for several years :) I've always wanted to recreate it, and this month's Point of View theme "Ornaments" gave me a good excuse to give it a try.

I'm so happy with how this turned out. And since I'm feeling a little sad about not hosting my annual "Haul Out the Holly" holiday series this year, I thought I'd put together a tutorial for this ornament. Hope you like it :)

Materials:

six 4.5" Popsicle sticks (Although I should probably be saying "craft sticks" since Popsicle in trademarked.)
three 2.5" matchsticks (toothpicks would also work)
XACTO knife

ruler
glue gun
acrylic craft paint
Mod Podge
small paint brushes
8" of embroidery floss (for hanging)
sandpaper (optional)

Instructions:

Step 1: Take one craft stick and cut it in half at a 45 degree angle. To do this, measure and mark the middle of your craft stick (2.25"). Mark a 45 degree angle through the center mark (I eyeballed it).

Lay your ruler along the angle mark and use it as a guide to cut through your craft stick. Take your time!

You should end up with two equal pieces with angled ends. If you'd like, gently sand the cut ends. Set these two pieces aside.

Step 2: Take another craft stick and cut it to 3.5" long with the ends cut at 45 degree angles (see photos below).

If you'd like, gently sand the cut ends. Set this piece aside.

Step 3: Cut all three matchsticks (or toothpicks) to 1.75" long each. Set aside.

Step 4: Take two whole craft sticks and the two angled pieces from Step 1. Set them up like so...

The entire width should be somewhere between 1.75" and 2". Evenly space the four pieces. The angled side pieces should be placed about 1/4" up from the bottom of the two center craft sticks.

Get out your glue gun and two of the matchsticks from Step 3. Glue one of the matchsticks to all four craft sticks near the bottom of the sled. Glue the other matchstick to all four craft sticks near the middle of the sled...

Step 5: Take your 3.5" piece from Step 2. Center it underneath the two center craft sticks, about 1/2" down from the top. Glue in place.

Step 6: Take your third matchstick from Step 3. Glue it to the two center craft sticks across the top of the sled, centering it horizontally.

Step 7: Last construction step! Time to add the sled runners. Take one of your remaining whole craft sticks and glue it standing on edge on top of all three of the matchsticks on the far left side of the sled.

Repeat with your last remaining whole craft stick on the far right side of the sled.

Step 8: Time to paint! Paint the entire sled (glue and all) with acrylic craft paint. Let dry. Embellish as desired. You could decorate it with washi tape, ribbon, stickers. I just painted on some little white snowflakes. Let dry. Mod Podge the entire ornament to seal it. Let dry.

Step 9: Take your 8" piece of embroidery floss. Glue it to the back of your sled at both ends of the 3.5" piece from Step 2.

And now you have a super cute sled ornament for your tree!

The XACTO knife and glue gun don't exactly make the construction part of this project kid friendly, but I made a couple extra and gave them to my girls to paint, which they loved. If you're looking for a fun Scout project or something to do with a small group of kids, you could easily put these together ahead of time and have them paint and decorate the sleds.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you try it out, please add pics to the Gwenny Penny Flickr Group... I'd love to see how they turn out! Happy Holidays!

Holiday Bake, Craft & Sew Along: Linen Stocking Ornament

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Today you'll find me guest posting over at Skip to my Lou as part of the fantastic annual Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along.

Head on over to Skip to my Lou to check out my cute little linen stocking ornament tutorial.

And... I get to treat you to a SEW Amazing giveaway as part of our crafty series. This is one AMAZING giveaway! We are giving away a fabulous Prize Package worth more than $700!

One lucky winner will receive...

Singer ONE Sewing Machine This is Singer's easiest sewing machine! True to SINGER, it is easy to learn on, simple and has basic stitches for crafts. The perfect machine for stitching home made goods or something fun this holiday season!
Simplicity SideWinder Quickly and easily fill bobbins without having to un-thread and re-thread your sewing machine. The SideWinder transfers thread from spool to bobbin effortlessly and quickly; works with most bobbins, metal or plastic. An adjustable tension knob accommodates different thicknesses of thread! So cool!
Simplicity Bias Tape Maker This Simplicity Bias Tape Maker will create customized single fold bias tape with the push of a button!
And so you have something beautiful to sew, $100.00 of fabric from Riley Blake!

Simply wait for RaffleCopter to load below and enter there! Be sure to check out all of the fabulous sewing projects shared during the Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along series going on all month long at Skip to my Lou!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little of This, A Little of That: Holiday Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:33:00 +0000

I've got a few little things I want to share with you, so I thought I'd throw them together in one big post.

Last month I took the girls to the Wee Faerie Village exhibit at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It was fantastic. There were 33 different faerie houses scattered throughout the museum grounds. The girls loved it. Every house was designed and built by a different artist, so they were all unique. This one was by far my favorite...

"Button Up Cottage" by Chris Blackshaw and Justine Lavigne

Next up, Point of View should be happening this Friday, but we've decided to hold off until Friday, December 7th. This month's theme is "Ornaments", and I'm more than a little excited to share my project this month. I even wrote a tutorial for it! And guess what else? Next Monday (November 26th) I'm guest posting as part of Cindy's Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along over at Skip to my Lou, so I've got a tutorial to share for that as well. I haven't written a tutorial in seven months, and now you get two within two weeks of each other :)

In other news, I've decided not to host Haul Out the Holly this year :( I went back and forth about it... As much as I love doing it, it really is a lot of work to put together a three week series. And since I've taken a step back from the blog, I just decided that it didn't make sense for me to do it this year. I'm not ruling it out for next year, though :)

Some info for your holiday sewing: Michelle Patterns is having a "DIY for the Holidays" sale right now...

All patterns are only $5.00. Most of her projects can be finished in 1-3 hours, so they are perfect for making gifts for the holidays. I recently purchased the Pocket Clutch and Keychain Clutch patterns. I'm hoping to get a few put together for gift giving this year. The sale ends November 25th. Check it out HERE.

Also, if you're looking for a gift for ~~yourself~~ the sewists in your life, AccuQuilt has some great holiday deals all this week leading into Cyber Monday...

I'll finish with some big news in our house... we have our first loose tooth! I shared a roundup of tooth fairy pillow ideas a little over a year ago, and the time has finally come. I ended up going my own way with the pillow that I made, and it turned out so cute. I'll be sharing soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm on Prudent Baby Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:48:00 +0000

If you've been around here a while, you might remember my Out to Eat Place Mat...

Jaime from Prudent Baby spotted it a little while back, and today it's being featured over there! Check it out!

Point of View and Thrift Store Link Party

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme for October is "Thrift Store". Here are the "thrift store" ideas the members of Point of View came up with this month...

Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE to read more about my Argyle Halloween Wreath)
Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

Amy from Ameroonie Designs
Jonie from Just Between Friends

Kara from Happy Go Lucky (Our guest this month... thanks for joining us, Kara!)

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

My project this month has been a long time coming. Last Halloween I saw this awesome wreath by katieshandmades (unfortunately, it looks like her Etsy shop is gone). I knew I had to make one for this year, and I'm thrilled with how mine turned out...

Click HERE to read more about my wreath.

Now it's your turn. Do you have a thrift store project that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View "Thrift Store" Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have a project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all of our blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

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Argyle Halloween Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:59:00 +0000

I've been waiting an entire year to make this wreath. Last year, after seeing this awesome wreath by katieshandmades (unfortunately, it looks like her Etsy shop is gone), I knew I had to make one for myself. I normally wouldn't tackle a project that involves tediously wrapping yarn around an entire wreath form, but it was worth it...

And how does this wreath fit this month's Point of View theme? Well, the theme is "Thrift Store", and by some stroke of luck I walked into Goodwill a couple weeks ago and found a brand new green foam floral wreath form. I always get jealous when I hear about other bloggers finding great fabric and craft supplies at their local thrift shop because I have never been lucky enough to find that kind of stuff around here. I guess I can't complain anymore :) Add some white and orange felt, gray and black yarn, a little math, and a lot of wrapping, and you get an awesome argyle wreath!

I took about ten pictures of this wreath, then realized that it looks exactly the same from every angle, so I'll spare you having to look at the same picture over and over :) Oh, and I didn't follow a tutorial for my wreath, but if you're looking for one, I just found this tutorial from Craft Addiction.

Now it's your turn... Check out this month's Point of View collage and link up your past or present thrift store projects at the Point of View Link Party! We want to see what you've been up to!

On a side note, we are anxiously awaiting news about Hurricane Sandy (aka "Frankenstorm") possibly heading our way. After dealing with Hurricane Irene 14 months ago, I'm really hopeful that this storm weakens significantly before it gets here. Wish us luck!

eBook Giveaway Winners: The Key to Natural Posing

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who entered last week's The Key to Natural Posing eBook giveaway.

The three winners are:

Congratulations Christine, Nati, and Michele! (Christine, please send me an email... I don't have any way to contact you.) Thanks again to Katie for the giveaway! Remember, all of Katie's photography books are on sale right now! Just enter "PHOTOBERFEST" at checkout to get 30% off. Click HERE to purchase.

Giveaway and Review: The Key to Natural Posing eBook (CLOSED)

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 11:46:00 +0000

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

About a year and a half ago I was introduced to Katie Evans' first photography book The Key to Taking Pictures Like a Professional Photographer (you can read my review of that book HERE). It changed my life. Seriously. The book has had an unbelievable impact on how I capture life's important (and not so important) moments. I now feel very confident in my photography skills, and I have Katie and her book (and lots of practice) to thank for that. So when Katie contacted me a couple months ago and asked if I would review her newest photography eBook, The Key to Natural Posing, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

The Key to Natural Posing is a great guide. Katie includes tons of sample shots and the information she shares is so thorough and detailed. The book is 99 pages of valuable information on a wide range of subjects... photographing newborns, babies and toddlers, kids, high school seniors, couples, families, and large groups. My favorite chapter is the newborns. Oh how I wish I had this book when I had newborns to take pictures of! Katie has fantastic, easy ideas for getting those perfect, super-sweet photos. She also includes great tips on getting kids to open up in front of the camera. As Katie says in the book "... posing is not necessarily about telling your subject exactly how to stand and how far to tilt your head to the right. Natural posing is about knowing how to interact with and what to say to your subject(s) in order to get them in the right frame of mind so that they essentially pose themselves."

Katie has hit another home run with her latest book, and I can't wait to use some of her tips when I'm trying to get great Christmas card photos of my girls this year. Want a sneak peek of the eBook? Here are a few sample pages...

Make sure you visit Katie's blog and Facebook page for even more photography info, tips, and ideas.

Now, would you like the chance to win a free copy of Katie's eBook The Key to Natural Posing? Well, guess what? Katie has graciously agreed to give away not one, not two, but three copies! That means three of you will win a copy of the eBook. Woohoo! Here's the lowdown on entering...

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

One entry per person: Leave one comment on this post telling me your favorite person/people to take pictures of. It's that easy!

~~Please note:~~

~~Odds of winning are based on number of entries.~~
~~You must be a 18 years or older to be eligible to win this prize.~~
~~Leave an email address in your comment if your email is not attached to your Blogger profile.~~
~~This giveaway will be open until Friday, October 19th at 10:00pm (EST).~~
~~Winners will be chosen using a random number generator.~~
~~Winners will be announced on Monday, October 22nd.~~

One more awesome thing to share... All of Katie's photography books are on sale right now! Just enter "PHOTOBERFEST" at checkout to get 30% off. Click HERE to purchase.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was given this eBook for free, but my opinions about this book and my rave review are all my own. Seriously... Katie's books are fantastic!

Good luck everyone!

Hello Kitty House Pouch

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:08:00 +0000

When I shared my Halloween Haunted House Pillow a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that my two and a half year old roped me into sewing a little house zipper pouch for her...

Just like my pillow, the pouch is inspired by these adorable little house pouches by A.casa.do.Guaxinim. As some of you know, my girls are Hello Kitty crazy, so this gave me a cute way to use some of my Hello Kitty fabric. My youngest tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to my projects, so it was fun to sit down with her and let her choose the fabrics and the characters from the Hello Kitty fabric...

My youngest is also a big fan of cows. (Not the first time I've used this cow on a project :)

And a little apple tree completes the front...

The interior is lined with a yellow dragonfly print. I forgot to take a picture of the back, but it's a bubblegum pink with giant white polka dots.

My youngest loves it. It's pretty big (about 5.5" x 8"), so she fills it up with all kinds of stuff and totes it around. Happy girl, happy mama :)

I have a really neat giveaway for you on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!

Point of View Feature and Theme for October

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:51:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone who linked up their "Orange" projects at the Point of View Link Party last Friday. This month I am featuring this beautiful fall table runner from Anjeanette at by Anjeanette...

I love the colors. Anjeanette used charm squares to create her leaves and handstitched the stems. Make sure you check out Anjeanette's post for a tutorial on creating these beautiful leaves.

Next month's theme is "Thrift Store". Keep an eye out for the Point of View collage reveal and link party on October 26th.

On a side note, a few of you have asked how I'm feeling about the major step back I took from my blog in June. I have no regrets, but I do miss everyone :)

Point of View and Orange Link Party

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:01:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme for September is "Orange". Here are the "orange" ideas the members of Point of View came up with this month...

Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE to read more about my Haunted House Halloween Pillow)
Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

Amy from Ameroonie Designs
Jonie from Just Between Friends

Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

My project this month is a pillow (For the second month is a row. Don't worry... I have no intention of trying to steal Amy's "Pillow Queen" title ;) I saw these super cute house zipper pouches by A.casa.do.Guaxinim on Flickr and thought that it would make a great pillow design. Add Dracula and a little ghost peeking out the windows and you get a little haunted house pillow for Halloween...

Click HERE to read more about my pillow.

Now it's your turn. Do you have an orange-themed/Halloween project that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View "Orange" Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have a project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all five blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.gwennypenny.com" title="Gwenny Penny - Point of View"><img src="http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae14/gwennypennyblog/SummerPoVButtonB-1.jpg" alt="Gwenny Penny - Point of View" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Haunted House Halloween Pillow

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I've been trying to bump up the handmade Halloween decor around our house over the past couple of years (like this pillow and this embroidery hoop I made last year). When I started thinking about what to make this year, I remembered these adorable house zipper pouches by A.casa.do.Guaxinim that I had found on Flickr quite some time ago. I decided that this design would make a cute haunted house. I really didn't want to make a haunted house zipper pouch (because I wasn't sure what you'd carry in a Halloween-themed pouch), but a haunted house pillow would be perfect!

Let me add here that - thanks to my two and a half year old - I didn't get out of making a cute little non-Halloween house zipper pouch. I'll share that soon :)

The pillow is 12"x16". I absolutely love the Halloween fabric I used (Dracula, ghost, and pumpkin). It's Boo to You by My Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Designs. I've been hoarding it for two years. The little Dracula in the door window is my favorite character from the Boo to You print...

The little ghost had to make an appearance as well. I've said it before, but I can't stand the gross-out, gory, creepy side of Halloween. I'll take cutesy Halloween any day, thank you :)

The tree trunk is a birch tree print fabric I've had kicking around forever...

The back is solid grey, and I used a decorative stitch to hem the envelope closure.

I really wanted grey ric rac for this project, but I couldn't find any at Jo-Anns, and I didn't have time to order any, so I ended up mixing some black and white fabric paint and painting my white ric rac grey. It actually worked really well, so if you're in need of a specific color of ric rac, and you can't find it, try painting your own. I'm sure dying it would be the smarter thing to do, but I couldn't find any Rit dye for the life of me. I swear I used to see it everywhere, but it seems to have disappeared around here.

Anyway... fun pillow. It looks great with my Halloween pillow that I made last year. And did I mention that this month's Point of View theme is "Orange"? I added to our handmade Halloween decor and knocked out a Point of View project in one shot. Woohoo! The girls have decided that they are both going to be the same thing for Halloween this year, so getting costumes put together is the next order of business around here. I got out of making costumes last year... no such luck this year :)

Now it's your turn... Check out this month's Point of View collage and link up your past or present orange/Halloween-themed projects at the Point of View Link Party! We want to see what you've been up to!

Peg People

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:33:00 +0000

Over the summer, the girls and I made a fun little project. Liz from Simple Simon & Co did a really cute peg people video tutorial over on the Riley Blake blog back in May. I filed it away on my "someday" list, but then one of my readers emailed me (thanks Regina!) suggesting that it might be a fun project to do with my girls. So, "someday" became "right away" :) These little dolls are super cute and a lot of fun to make.

It took us about three days to complete them. I wanted to make sure each step was completely dry before we moved on to the next. The girls needed a lot of help, but they were really proud of their little dolls.

We each made two dolls. These are the two that I made, one for each of the girls...

I bought my "naked" peg people online from Goose Grease. They sell all shapes and sizes of wooden peg people. And they come in a cute little muslin bag :)

The girls have been toting these little dolls all over the place. And for some reason they like to stack quarters on their heads... they call this the "Peg People Cha-Cha". Don't ask...

So if you're looking for a fun project to do with the kids this fall, I highly recommend this one :)

Pattern Sale and POV Feature

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:01:00 +0000

First, just wanted to let you know that Michelle Patterns (formerly Keyka Lou) is having a big Labor Day pattern sale this weekend!

You can take 20% off ANY purchase using the discount code laborday. Woohoo! The sale starts today and runs through Monday, September 3rd.

Second, thanks to everyone who linked up their "Family" projects at the Point of View Link Party last month. This month I am featuring this gorgeous window picture frame from Erin over at Kaminski's Creations...

Isn't it beautiful? I love how she used scrapbook paper and embellishments in each pane. It really adds a lot to this piece. Love it! Make sure you check out Erin's post for all the details on her fabulous project.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

Point of View and Family Link Party

noreply@blogger.com (Gwen @ Gwenny Penny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Welcome to this month's Point of View reveal! The theme for August is "Family". Check out the great ideas the members of Point of View have come up with this month...

Gwen from Gwenny Penny (Click HERE to read more about my pillow)
Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

Amy from Ameroonie Designs
Jonie from Just Between Friends

Ashlee from I'm Topsy Turvy

As always, you can check out each of the projects by visiting each of the blogs listed above.

My project this month is another bit of a stretch to fit the theme, but it's a pillow that I made as a birthday gift for my sister, and she's part of my family, so we're good, right? :) This pillow was designed around one particular fabric, and I really like how it all came together.

Click HERE to read more about my pillow.

Now it's your turn. Do you have a family-themed project that you would like to share? We would like to invite you to join the Point of View "Family" Link Party! It doesn't have to be a new project... If you have a family-themed project in your archives, link it up! We want to see what you've created. You can link up to the Point of View link party on any member's blog and your link will show up in the party on all five blogs! Add the Point of View button to your post so that others can join the party. And remember, by linking up you have the chance to be featured by one of the members of Point of View next week!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.gwennypenny.com" title="Gwenny Penny - Point of View"><img src="http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae14/gwennypennyblog/SummerPoVButtonB-1.jpg" alt="Gwenny Penny - Point of View" style="border:none;" /></a></div>