Gold Shoe Girl

Cute Little Pins and A Window Treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:03:00 +0000

I've been busy. Here in the midwest we are winding down the school year which means lots of school activities and sports tournaments and birthday parties.

Well, this weekend we are having my daughter's party and as part of the favor bag I whipped up these cute little pins. They came from an American Girl kit that I bought at my local Meijer for less than $5. It came with everything I needed: embroidery floss, needle, the felt cut outs, little embroidered patches, flower shaped sequins and adhesive pins.

I could not have made all these pins myself for the price. Sometimes these little kits are a real bargain. And they turned out so cute.

Originally, I thought my daughter would help me put them together but this past week has been our first really nice warm sunny weather so she has been out playing from the minute she gets home from school until bath and bed. I guess I can't blame her. So anyways, it probably took me less than 2 hours to whip them all up. I am sure the little girls will love them.

Meanwhile, I was also working on a custom quilt order. My lovely customer asked for a quilt with a rod pocket so she could use it as a window treatment. Well, it turned out fantastic and she just ordered another one.

That's my oldest holding up the finished product. I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was in a hurry to get it shipped out but you can get the jist of it.

It's a basic HST pinwheel pattern measuring out to 40 inches square. The customer and I worked together to pick out the fabrics which are all from Tanya Whelan - some petal and some from her other collections.

I quilted along the seams the width of my walking foot - down and across and then diagonal. I am always amazed at how cool it looks on the back when you get done quilting it this way.

We did the back and the binding in white since she is using them as window treatments and the back will be facing the outside.

I think that green paisley fabric was my favorite.

Now I am off to a Kindergarten picnic, a dentist appointment and then an all day lacrosse tournament on Saturday. Oh and then that special person's party on Sunday afternoon!!! Busy weekend here. What are you all up to?

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Crazy Mom Quilt's Friday Finishes Link Party

Beachy Pillows & Reader Special

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:49:00 +0000

So you knew I wouldn't be able to stop at just one pillow. As long as I have scraps I have to use them up. I ended up making 3 cute pillow covers in all.

You can see the adorable seahorse above. I made it using leftover strips of fabric. I sewed them all together and then cut them out into the seahorse shape and then used Wonderunder to attach it to the pillow front. I top-stitched it using a bright blue thread.

I just love his little button eye.

Then I used some leftover patchwork squares to whip out a little 9-patch pillow cover. Nice and simple but still cute.

I did quilt the pillow front up and down the seams. Nothing fancy but just enough to make it feel cozy.

And here's the last pillow cover.

I still need some practice getting my satin stitching done just right but from a distance it looks nice. Up close a good seamstress would be able to see my mistakes. I still think it's really cute.

Anyways, I thought I would offer my loyal blog readers a special in my etsy shop. If one of my readers purchases my beachy quilt I will throw in the beach pillow cover above for free. Just click here to go to my etsy shop, purchase the quilt and in the notes to seller section let me know you are a blog reader.

This set would look so cute in your 3-season room, draped across a wicker chair or laid out on the lawn for summer concerts. I hope one of you can take advantage of this great deal.

Now I am on to a custom pinwheel quilt for a special customer!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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crazy mom quilt's finish it up friday

Beachy Picnic Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:36:00 +0000

My goal was to finish this quilt by Friday and I did it. Of course, as soon as it was in the washer I started a little pillow to match and now that is not finished:) Oh well.

I was alone when taking these pics so I can't give you a good full size picture of the quilt, but it is a great lap/beach/picnic/throw quilt that turned out approximately 52 x 70 inches.

The patchwork squares are 5.5 inches finished.

The fabric is Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake. I bought it a while back and just got to it this week. Although I think my timing is pretty good now that we are finally starting to see signs of spring around here it kinda makes you feel like going to the beach.

My favorite parts are that little girl in the sand and the too-cute red polka dot binding. I machine quilted straight lines along the seams and did the binding with my machine too.

The back is a pale yellowish/off white color that matches the background of the prints just right.

Here's the pillow front.

Sometimes I impress myself with my photos. Most of the time not so much. Anyways, the pillow is going to be 12 x 16 and as you can see I'm about to stitch around the letters with some blue thread. I'm sure I'll share when I'm done.

In the meantime the quilt is for sale in my etsy shop. I was really torn about selling it because as I was making it I started loving it - a lot - and it would look really cute at our cottage - especially with the little pillow to match - so if you want it you better get it quick before I change my mind:)!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Gemini Stitches

Status Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:19:00 +0000

It's been busy around here the last couple of weeks - - - not getting a whole lot finished but making progress on a bunch of things. I'll give you my lists and a few teaser pics to keep you on the edge of your seats:).

Upstairs bathroom project -

what's done:
*walls painted
*new light installed
*frame around mirror installed
*hung hooks for bath towels
*hung new art above toilet

You can see the new light fixture, the new mirror frame and even a peek of the new artwork in this picture. I'm still not sure I like the way the light is hanging. I prefer it to hang down like this but I don't like that it hangs over the mirror so far. We can switch it so the light faces up but then all the light will be going up towards the ceiling and since this room is windowless we really need all the light we can get. My husband says it looks fine but I don't know - what do you all think?

what still needs to be done:
*finish trim painting including both doors - UGH
*replace gold doorknobs with brushed nickel
*caulk and finish paint mirror frame
*reattach and caulk splash guards on sink

Sewing/Craft Room project -

what's done:
*wall paint
*floor
*restocked shelves
*hung clock, art, bins, spool holder, etc
*moved computer and stuff into room
*hung new chandelier

This is the new chandelier. Much better than the old ugly light.

Just a little gratuitous picture of my fabric stacks. All back on their shelves.

what still needs to be done:
*finish painting closet door
*finish painting window trim - another big UGH
*hang super cute pompom curtains
*come up with some system to hang quilts on wall so I can photograph them better

Other Works in Progress:

Beachy Quilt

I'm using Seaside by October Afternoon for this lap/picnic quilt. I'm about halfway done with the quilting and then I'm gonna use that awesome red dot for the binding. Hopefully, I'll finish by Friday.

A Custom Order Quilt

I am working on a custom pinwheel quilt order for a really nice lady who wants to use these fabrics from Tanya Whelan's Petal Collection. We're waiting on a few other fabrics to arrive in the mail this week and then I'll get started cutting and sewing.

Things I Actually Finished:

Pink Preppy Baby Girl Quilt

This one turned out so cute and it crinkled up and got so soft after I washed it. This is available in my etsy shop if anyone is interested.

Baby Quilt Set

I made this from the same fabrics as the baby quilt. It sold in one day from my etsy shop. I've sold 3 of these sets so far. I started making these as a way to use up all the scraps but they seem popular so I guess I'll have to make some more.

So that's what I've been up to lately. I'm trying to finish up as much as possible in the next 30 days because before I know it school will be out and then my daytime freedom will be gone.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Sewing Room Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:31:00 +0000

Over the weekend we got a lot done for my sewing room makeover. Here are just a few teaser pics. Now I am busy loading up the room and installing the finishing touches.

Gone are the dark walls, icky carpet and ucky oaky trim. It's so light and bright and lovely now.

I can't wait to show you the shelves all filled with lovely fabric. I ordered a set of pompom curtains for the windows - normally I would have made curtains myself but the price was just too good.

Notice the new floor. I love, love, love it and I love my husband for installing it:).

And just before we had to dismantle my sewing machine I finished off this cute little blanket.

It's Kate Spain Cuzco patchwork on the front and white minky dot on the reverse. It's super snuggly.

The fabrics are bright and vibrant.

The cute peacocks are the best.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

I {heart} this Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:18:00 +0000

It's gonna sound corny but I am so in love with this quilt. It may be one of my favorite finishes so far. It was simple and quick and easy - 3 of the best things to be - well as far as quilts go:).

A few weeks ago I was perusing pinterest and came across a version of the pixelated heart from Blue Elephant Stitches. I really liked the concept and so following her pattern I constructed my own.

I also used 3 inch squares but I picked a more subtle color palette. I wanted to make the heart more hidden. Plus I had just gotten a gorgeous fat quarter bundle of Kona pinks so it seemed like the thing to do.

I used Ana Davis' Animal Parade collection for the heart. So I did the heart all prints and the area around the heart in the Kona solids.

Obviously this one is super girly. I'd like to make a more gender neutral version but I'm not sure that even in blues it would appeal to boys. Although I do think I'm gonna try it in yellow. I think it would make for a really sweet throw quilt.

The binding is made from the scraps and I machine sewed it on as I am not patient enough for hand sewing.

Here's one last lovely picture:).

If you're interested it is for sale in my etsy shop.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Sewing and Craft Room Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:42:00 +0000

Since we had a long weekend I decided to put it to good use and begin the sewing/craft room remodel project. Just a few quick pictures today and then I'll give you the full nitty gritty as it comes together.

This is how the room looked for most of the past 6 months. The top half was a creamy yellowish color and the bottom is a burgandy. There used to be a border between the two colors but it was of golf clubs and ugly so one day I just peeled it off.

After Santa brought my sewing machine my husband was nice enough to hang the shelves for me for my fabric and stuff. Normally that big roll of batting is hidden in the corner but we had just moved so we could rearranging before tearing out the carpet.

The carpet was just awful. At one point I'm sure it was nice and clean and actually white, but then we moved in. And there was a time when this room was the playroom - - enough said. So now the carpet is gone, and I think I am going to lay down either a laminate wood floor or some vinyl tile. I want something that is easily swept and that can withstand a rolling chair.

So far I have gotten a coat of paint on the walls and trim on one side of the room. After this side is done I'll move my sewing table over and then take down the shelves and paint the other side of the room.

We're doing the walls in a Valspar color called Churchill Hotel Ecru. Then the trim will be white like usual. I wanted the room to be fairly neutral since I have all kinds of fabric and ribbons and such to provide visual interest.

I already have curtain fabric and so I'll whip those up soon too. Plus I want to get a new ceiling light. Anyways there will be lots to show and share so stay tuned.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Animal Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:44:00 +0000

So I know I promised an Easter decoration but it just didn't turn out blog worthy so I decided instead to show you what else I've been making. It all started with an idea for another baby girl quilt.

I decided to do some more half square triangles again. Small ones. They took a long time to make. A very long time. And I made a ton of them. At first I thought I would make an entire quilt top out of them but then when I laid them out it seemed way to busy. So I added some white borders. I really like how it turned out now. I quilted in straight lines in all the white space. I haven't done my quilting this dense before and I really like it - I don't like that it took a long time but I like the effect.

I used Ana Davis' Animal Parade fabric collection plus a few Kona solids and I can't remember what or where the floral on the back came from but I thought it coordinated so nicely.

And, of course, since I had leftover fabric I made some pillows.

Well, 1 pillow and 2 pillow covers to be exact. I won't bore you with a ton of details but the patchwork one has a super soft minky dot back and the other two are applique projects. One of the prints from the collection featured some cute animals that I thought were just the perfect size to be cut out and appliqued onto a pillow.

Of course, all these items are available in my etsy shop and just to thank all my loyal blog friends please use code GSGBLOG10 to get 10% off your total purchase from now until April 15th.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Follow Gold Shoe Girl on Bloglovin

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:13:00 +0000

As many of you already know Google Reader is going away. If you read my blog on Google Reader and want to ensure that you still get my posts you can now follow my blog on Bloglovin by clicking on this...Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Or on the right hand side of the blog you will notice a header that says SUBSCRIBE. There are a bunch of other ways to follow like getting my posts sent directly to your email or using another reader via RSS etc.

I'll be back later today with a little Easter project post.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Simple Life Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 19:26:00 +0000

So I have this thing about hoarding and being wasteful. It compels me to use up all my fabric, every little scrap of a single collection before moving on to the next project. I don't like to have more than a couple of unfinished projects going on at once or I get all freaked out. So that leads me to the picture above.

Yes, there are more pillows and quilts and burp cloths with the Simple Life fabric. I am sure by now you are sick of seeing items from me in this fabric so you will be glad to know I am done. I have used up 97% of the stash, I am satisfied I have not wasted anything, everything is finished and so I can move on without guilt to new projects.

For those of you who like the house diy type projects I am finishing up the upstairs bathroom this weekend because my new light has arrived. My husband has already taken down the old one so I should have new pictures of that next week.

Also in the works is a revamp of my sewing/craft room. It will be a full before and after project that includes new paint, curtains, lighting, flooring, etc. I'm anxious to get started on that soon. We're also going to try to make our library/office room more work-from-home friendly for my husband by adding a set of french doors.

Stay tuned. This spring promises to be a busy one.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Busy Busy Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:46:00 +0000

I've been super busy in my sewing room whipping up all sorts of things this past week. I'm just gonna show you a few pictures.

The nice thing about opening my etsy shop is that I don't feel so guilty about spending my time or money on all these cute little projects. I mean, really, I can only make so many pillows for my own home. Plus all the marketing and strategy and planning satisfies the business woman in me.

I am having a lot of fun just sewing up whatever my heart desires on any particular day - - baby quilts, pillows or doll stuff.

I have another quilt top done waiting to be quilted and I do have to get back to finishing up the bathroom painting since we are expecting guests this weekend.

More later...

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Sweet as a Cupcake

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:49:00 +0000

On Friday I showed you the quilt I made for my husband's colleague. I finished the matching pillow last night during Downton Abbey.

So the deal with this pillow is that the woman who is having the baby is the office cupcake maker. Every office has one - the person who loves to bake and is always bringing in treats and such. Anyways, for the past year she has been baking and keeping my husband all sugared up while he's at work. So I thought a cupcake themed pillow for her baby was the obvious choice.

I appliqued the cupcakes then did a tight zigzag stitch around the outside edges. The "sweet as a cupcake" is hand embroidered using 2 strands of purple floss. Then I did the front border and back in the same floral as the quilt. There are some french knots on the left cupcake - they're trying to pretend they are sprinkles. Then I added the little felt flower to the center cupcake while the right cupcake just has a simple heart topper.

It turned out really nice and is off to work tomorrow. Now I have to decide what to work on next. I really should paint the trim in the bathroom but I may procrastinate on that for another few days because my vanity light is on backorder - ugh - very frustrating. I kinda have an itch to try a triangle quilt so we'll see what happens.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Friday Finishes

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:40:00 +0000

I haven't gotten much accomplished this week. I spent 3 days at school with the kids and then way too much time after school making Valentine's boxes and addressing Valentine's cards.

I also had to spend most of Monday cleaning my house because the appraiser was coming. By the way I should mention that we are not moving just refinancing. In any event, while our house is mostly picked up most of the time mostly is not really good enough for either guests or the appraiser (who took pictures of every room including the laundry room which I definitely was not expecting because I stashed all our dirty laundry in there and so now everyone at the bank knows I had at least 6 baskets of dirty clothes to wash plus there may or may not have been a few loose piles of sheets and blankets).

So I put the bathroom on hold while I made a cute little baby quilt for one of my husband's colleagues. Next week is her last week so I wanted to get it done before she goes out on maternity leave.

You may recognize the Riley Blake Dress Up Days fabric as the same fabric I used on my daughter's quilt. It worked out great because the mom-to-be is having a girl and her nursery is done in purple and gray.

This baby quilt was made from 5 inch squares and finished at 36 x 36. I backed it with the floral pattern and used the same floral for the binding. I quilted it in straight lines on each side of the seams.

Now I am working on a little pillow to coordinate. I'll show you that soon. Well, by Monday. I'm gonna have to work fast because it has some embroidery and applique to get done.

I did also manage to finish up this pillow cover to match the simple life quilt I made last week. I was inspired by the cute pillows that were featured on Tasha Noel's blog .

I made it using a panel piece from Tasha Noel's Simple Life fabric line.

The panel is surrounded by patchwork pieces also from the Simple Life fabric. The straight stitches around the panel were hand embroidered and then I also added some red ric rac trim on the top and bottom of the pillow cover.

I love ric rac.

I have a few more of these panel pillows in process but this one will be available in my etsy shop today.

So I guess 2 finishes this week isn't too shabby. What have you all been up to?

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

So I Went a Little Crazy...

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:04:00 +0000

...on Friday. Remember when I said I bought a couple of paint samples. Well, I loved them. So I decided that it would be good idea to just jump in and paint the upstairs bathroom. This weekend. Oh and did I mention that the appraiser was coming on Monday. Hee hee.

I just couldn't help it. That bathroom was so boring and blah. And the new colors looked so good.

So Friday night I used up all the paint in my little sample pots. Then I decided to remove the side pieces of the countertop. They were put on all wonky - like the caulk was laid down first and then the pieces were resting on top of the caulk. I also wanted to take down the awful towel bar that was on the wall above the toilet (you can kinda see it in the picture above) which is just a ridiculous spot since it is just asking a child to drop a towel in an open bowl - not that that has happened at our house but I'm just saying. Of course, both the counter pieces and the towel bar were stuck with adhesive so it made for some largish unsightly holes when I pulled them off.

No problem. I still had 2 days before the appraiser.

So I hightailed it back to Home Depot on Saturday for more paint. And then I painted. And patched. And painted some more.

In the meantime, I did get my husband to install a new faucet. The old one was a cheapo plastic handle version.

Well, by Sunday night I had managed to finish the vanity and get the new hardware on that. Plus I was able to get one coat of paint on all the walls. I purposely did not paint above the mirror because I ordered a new light fixture so I'll finish that when we install the new light.

However, I have not had a chance to paint any of the molding or the doors my favorite white and it really needs a 2nd coat of wall color but it was almost 8pm and Downton Abbey was starting.

So this morning I stashed all my supplies in the tub and pulled the curtain closed. The appraiser never even batted an eye or asked me why one wall was missing paint.

Yep. So now I am waiting on the new light because, of course, I hated all the in-stock ones at both the Home Depot and Lowes. My hope is that it will arrive just as I am finishing up the trim.

Stay tuned for a real before and after post.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Goodness Gracious Granny Square

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 18:07:00 +0000

Well. Unlike my previous post where the quilt turned out exactly how I had envisioned it, this one did not.

I had such high hopes for this one. I purposely bought this Lecien Antique flowers fabric to make into granny blocks. That part went okay. Although I spent way too much time making sure that none of the blocks were the same. I wanted the center square in each block to be the same to tie them all together so I used the white floral that you see in the block below which is also at the center of the quilt.

I also made sure that I had an equal number of blocks that had pink versus yellow as the outside squares. Then when I laid out the blocks I made sure to alternate my pink outsides versus yellow outsides. I also have this thing about similar fabrics being too close together so I spent a lot of time rearranging blocks until it was all just perfect.

Then came the sashing. Ugh. Even though I attempted to square up the blocks I must not have done it well enough. I had trouble getting the rows to match up so I ended up with some wonky looking sashing. And then when I started to quilt it I ended up with a few tucks and puckers here and there.

It still looks pretty, but it is just not as perfect as I wanted it. It's one of those quilts that looks great hanging off a chair or folded in a stack or on the end of the bed, but once you lay it out you can see the flaws, or at least I can.

~~In any event, I decided to sell it in my etsy shop for a big huge, less than cost, discount if anyone is interested.~~ Thank you - this just sold!!!

I figure it was good learning experience and what I learned is that I won't be trying those granny squares again for a while:).

Today I am finishing up some pillows and then I am on to a quilt for a nice girl who works for my husband. I did stop in the Home Depot this morning and even though I was just supposed to be getting a garbage disposal I managed to sneak in a few paint samples. Our hall bath upstairs really needs a little facelift so I may or may not push my luck and just put a little paint on a few things. There is a part of me that thinks that I could paint that tiny room myself while my husband is at work one day and it might take him days or even a week to notice. Hmmm...

~Gold Shoe Girl~

Simply Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:24:00 +0000

I just love it when something turns out the way I envisioned it in my head. I'd like to think it is all because of my mad designing and quilting skills, but really I couldn't go wrong with these fabrics.

This quilt is made from Tasha Noel's Simple Life collection for Riley Blake fabrics. I love the combination of the red, pink and aquas.

I did a traditional 9-patch pattern for the prints and did a solid white block in between each 9-patch block.

Once I finished the top I quilted it diagonally across the squares. I love the pattern the quilting made on the solid white blocks and the back.

Then I did the binding in the pink floral.

It just turned out so cute I can't stand it.

For those that like the details:::
It measures approximately 45 x 60 inches. The 9-patches were made from 3.5 inch squares. I machine sewed the binding.

I'm also working on some coordinating pillows made from the same fabrics. I'll share those in the next day or so.

This quilt is for sale in my etsy shop. Click here if you're interested.

~Gold Shoe Girl~

A Little Retro Valentines Love

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:25:00 +0000

I whipped up a new wreath for the front door yesterday. I have such a hard time with the front door after Christmas until spring. I feel like I don't get my money's worth out of Valentines and St. Patrick's decorations so usually I just skip straight to the spring stuff, but this year I gave in and now we have a little Valentine's decor too.

I am okay with this because it just cost me the time - more than you would think - to print and cut and glue. And I am even more happy because I already got a compliment from someone (no, not a family member - a real legitimate random person who came to the door).

This is not my own original idea. I saw it googling around but the original person does not want to be pinned or anything so I can't give her a shout out but I do want to acknowledge that unfortunately I cannot claim to be the cool person who thought this up.

Anyways, should you want to make your own I will give you a brief outline of what I did.

First trace or free hand 2 circles onto free cardboard box and then cut out wreath form. This doesn't have to be perfect at all since you will be covering it up.

I made mine from a cardboard box that came from Pottery Barn. (By the by, I ordered a set of those artisanal candle holders from PB last week. They are nice although I think the boxes they came in may have cost more than the candle holders.) The boxes were super duper thick heavy cardboard so I had to cut them with a handsaw.

Then I hit up Graphics Fairy and Two Crazy Crafters for some cards. Next, I googled "retro school valentines" and "vintage school valentines" to fill in some extras. I found plenty I liked for free using this method. If you want a quicker, but not free, method I did see some etsy shops selling them too.

To print the image click on the one you want until you get to the original page that it came from. Then right click on the picture and copy it to word. Once in word you can right click again, choose size and make the image bigger or smaller depending on your needs. I sized most of my cards to 4 or 5 inches and I was able to fit 3 or 4 on a page by moving the page margins to the edge.

I printed all my cards onto white card stock. You can buy a package of 150 sheets at walmart or meijer or such for less than $5.

Then I just cut them out. On a few I did go over the lettering with a black ball point pen just to make them stand out a little bit more.

Okay this is getting way longer than I thought but I've started so I will keep going.

You'll want to cover at least the front of your cardboard wreath form with something pretty just in case the cardboard peeks through. I hot glued a piece of spare ribbon all the way around but you could use paper or yarn or whatever you have on hand. Then before you glue on your cards you need to attach a hanging method. In my case I hot glued a pieceof red ribbon to the wreath form.

Now finally make a pleasing arrangement of your cards and then hot glue them down. I did cut out some hearts from scrapbook paper to help fill things out. Also, I glued them on the top of the form and from the bottom just to give it a little depth.

I think it will do for now. I can't wait for spring!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

A Finished Quilt and a Work in Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:29:00 +0000

Here is the 2nd finished baby quilt I promised yesterday. Again, I used the last of my Lecien and this time added in a blue patch as well.

I like how the blue patch pulls out the blue in the floral patches.

I used a single fabric for the binding on this one. Just a yellow with white dots.

And I quilted it in my favorite straight lines diagonally across the patches.

Now here is what ~~is keeping me from folding laundry~~ I've been working on the last few days.

Cutting these...

...and sewing them into these...

...to make??? Stay tuned:).

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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Patchwork Baby Girl Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:01:00 +0000

This is my most recent finish. I had started quilting my granny square quilt but it was frustrating me so I set it aside and did this instead.

I used up the very last of my Lecien florals fat quarters and added in a solid yellow and white and some dots from Holly Holderman's Penelope collections.

Of course the back is my favorite Kona white. I quilted across the squares which made a really nice diamond pattern on the back.

I did a scrappy binding and sewed it on by machine.

I also finished another baby quilt with the same set of fabrics but added a blue dot fabric to bring out the blue in the floral pieces. I'll show you that one tomorrow (click the link above).

For now I am moving on to a crib/toddler quilt using Tasha Noel's Simple Life, but I am also getting a little antsy to paint either the dining room or a couple of dressers. Unfortunately, it's still too cold to even paint in the garage let alone open a window in the house for some ventilation. I am hoping again for an early spring.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

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crazy mom quilts' finish it friday

Quick Picture Frame Update

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:42:00 +0000

This is gonna be a quick post for a quick project. I found a set of 3 matching framed prints at Goodwill last week which is unusual. Usually one of a set will be missing or really damaged or the style will be so ugly that not even spray paint can save them. Another plus was that the mats were a neutral color and in great shape. I wasn't sold on the pear prints initially but I knew I could always swap out for new art. At $4 each I was willing to take a chance.

I have been on the hunt for artwork for awhile now. I'm one of those people that prefers blank walls over hanging up just anything just to not have a blank wall. I like to find the perfect piece for each situation much to the dismay of my husband who has the hang whatever so the wall is not blank and change it later philosophy. So I knew this set of 3 would not only work in our dining room but also help out our blank wall decorating dilemma.

The only thing was that the frames were clearly fake gold. As in fake faux sponge painted plastic ugliness. Luckily I was headed to the hardware store right after I left Goodwill. I picked up a can of spray paint and then taped and painted the frames in the garage.

I thought about changing out the pears but after looking at them in our dining room I decided that the pears coordinated nicely with the rest of the decor. You can check out the custom curtains I made here, see how I recovered the chairs here, and peek at the new chandelier here.

So here's the repainted set all hung up. The white paint totally disguises the faux wood frames and makes them seem nicer and more expensive looking.

They fill up that wall nicely and it all cost me less than $15.

So does anyone else live with blank walls in search of the perfect item for years or is it just me?

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

...and the Winner is...

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:21:00 +0000

...Amy who said...

That little birdie is so sweet and smart! Your embroidery workmanship is excellent, and the fabrics you put with the designs are charming to set off the center just right!

Congratulations!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Granny Square Quilt Top

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:24:00 +0000

I thought you might be interested in seeing what created all those scraps for my recent pillow binge.

This is my granny square quilt top. I finished it before Christmas but I held off quilting it because I was hoping Santa was bringing me a new sewing machine. Well, Santa came through so now I pulled this out of the closet and I'm gonna get busy quilting it up.

If you love this fabric - which is Lecien Antique Flowers - be sure to enter my pillow giveaway here.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Joining up at....

Finish it up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts

A Little Birdie Told Me..

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:13:00 +0000

...that y'all might like to win something!!!

So how about a one of a kind hand embroidered patchwork pillow cover!!!

I was so blown away by the positive response to the kitten pillow that I whipped up something special just for you guys.

The bird was embroidered using a pattern from the internet. Just google vintage embroidery patterns and you will find a ton of freebies.

Again the patchwork was made from my Lecien ancestral flowers stash and the white is Kona cotton. It also has a cute pink with white polka dots trim machine sewn on above and below the embroidery. The pillow cover fits a 12 x 16 insert which is not included.

These pillows are so fast and fun to put together. I even started another one last night during Downton Abbey.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

So if you'd like to win this beautiful blue bird pillow here's how you do it...

1. One entry just for leaving a comment.
2. An additional entry for leaving a comment telling me you're a subscriber or follower.
3. And another entry for leaving a comment letting me know you pinned a picture or shared this post on facebook.

That's 3 chances to win!!! I'll use a random number generator to pick the winning comment next Monday. I'll email the winner so make sure I can find your email. Giveaway is open to my international friends but you are responsible for customs or whatever hoohah that entails.

Good Luck!!!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Linking up...

Cozy Little House's Tweak it Tuesday

JenniferRizzo.com

Cutest Pillow Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 23:12:00 +0000

Yep. I love it.

Using up more of my Lecien Antique Flowers scraps.

I found the pattern for the kittens on a blog called doe c doe. It doesn't look like she's posted in quite a while but you can still find a lot of neat vintage embroidery patterns there.

My embroidery skills are not the greatest but I think it still turned out fantastically adorable. I picked floss from my stash that coordinated with the fabric.

I added the lace trim at the last minute and I think it was the perfect touch.

I mean what more could you want kittens, mittens, patchwork, and lace trim.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

If you loved this pillow check out my giveaway for a birdie pillow cover here.

Scrappy Doll Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Gold Shoe Girl) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:53:00 +0000

My daughter and her best friend decided to exchange Christmas gifts this year. Of course my daughter didn't tell me until after her bff had given her a cute winter coat and boot set for her American Girl doll.

Luckily I had a pile of scraps from a granny square quilt I am making and it was pretty easy to whip up a quilt and matching pillow for her friend's American Girl doll.

I just pieced the scraps together in rows. The scrap fabric is Lecien Antique Floral. I used Kona white every other row and for the back. I did straight line quilting on the white which was plenty for this small project.

I used my longer scraps to make the doll pillow. I didn't bother quilting it just pieced it and stuffed it.

They both turned out really cute and my daughter's bff was thrilled because she didn't have any blankets or pillows for her doll.

I did finish my granny square quilt top and I'll show it to you soon. I am hoping that Santa is bringing me something to help with the quilting part of it so I've held off on finishing it up for a few weeks:). In the meantime I've been busy working on a few pillows to match using my extra fabric and scraps. Everything is coming together nicely so I promise pictures soon.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~