Day 2 of our 5 days of Giveaways!

I can't tell you how much fun yesterday was!  Every time my phone dinged to let me know we had a new email, I couldn't wait to see what comments you had all left.  


Ok, I know you are all waiting to see who won...so here we go...the winner is...

Congratulations!!!!  Contact Karen @ ksmisek@homealamode.com and give her your shipping information.

Today, we want to introduce you to Angela Yosten...

Isn't she GORGEOUS?  Well, let me tell you...she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.   She is an amazing artist, designer, seamstress, and an absolutely phenomenal  mother.  Well, today she is sharing her love with all of you...she has given us these...

Three of her absolutely adorable patterns

Also, just because she ROCKS, she has also given us this, just hot off the presses for your viewing and ogling pleasure...

Stop. Go. Quilt. Sew! Book

Did I just hear a little squeal?  Hehe, trust me I am just as excited about letting one of you get your hands on this as I am that we are giving it away.  This book is so full of the cutest projects.  I could go on for hours, about how beautiful the pictures are...how easy the patterns are to follow...how bad I really need to stock up on more fabric so I can get started with making the whole book....

To Enter:  Today we would like you to tell us which pattern you would like to make first if you won this great package.

Good Luck to you all!!!

It's time to...

C E L E B R A T E!!

We are celebrating the 5 year Anniversary of

Home a la mode

with a week long of Giveaways!!!

Check everyday to see what we are giving away and for your chance to enter.  We will post the results every morning by 8 a.m.

Today's Giveaway

Can you  believe it!!!!  I know that it would take me about 2.2 seconds to spend this gift certificate.  There are sooo many cute items in the shop that I want.  

To enter:

We want to make this very simple.  Just head over to the SHOP, take some time, browse around, then come back and tell us your favorite item that we sell.

Good Luck to you all!!

A Simple Coaster Tutorial

 Hey there...I wanted to show you an easy tutorial that would make a great gift out of a charm pack.  

Patchwork Coasters without all the work.

 I started with a Deep in the Heart of Texas charm pack.  I was checking to see if we still had these...it looks like we don't but you could easily use a Deep in the Heart of Texas Fat Quarter Bundle or any of our other charm packs or precuts.  Just make sure you cut your fabrics to 5" x 5" squares.

 You will also need fusible fleece.  

 Separate your charms into 4 stacks of 5 pieces.   

 Cut a 5" x 5" square of fusible fleece for each stack.

 Iron your fleece to the wrong side of the fabric piece that you want as the bottom of the coaster.

 Take the other 4 pieces, fold them in half and press.

 Now you want to start "stacking your 4 folded pieces onto the back piece.  You want to lay the pieces down so that half of each strip is showing.  I took several pictures to demonstrate this step, above.

 Repeat the stacking for each stack of 5.

 Sew your pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Then cut the corners at an angle.

 Now you want to turn your coaster right side out.  Open the center and pull the back through the hole created by the 4 folded pieces.

 Keep pulling the piece through.

 This is what it will look like.

 You want to work your corners out so they are more square.  See that really pretty Classic Crystal Point Turner?  I absolutely adore this tool.  I always used scissors or a pencil and always wound up poking out my corners.  I would recommend that everyone needs one of these.

 Get your corners squared as much as possible and press your coaster.  You are now DONE!  Wasn't that easy?

 Repeat for the other 3 stacks.  

 I had enough of the charm pack left to go ahead and make 8 coasters.  I have a certain someone in mind who I think will love this coaster set.

Here is the back of the coasters.  Just as cute as the front.

Enjoy the tutorial and I hope you are all having a fantastic day!

Our latest winner!

What do I do with this Jelly Roll?

One of the most asked questions we get at a show is, "What do you use a Jelly Roll for?"  Well, there are many uses - besides just making a quilt out it (which is fabulous!)

Kristin, the Great (as I like to call her) has amazed us with all the wonderful ways to use a Jelly Roll.

The Chevron pattern takes on a new twist with Jelly Roll strips on this Zippy Bag.

And because of the way these are cut, you can do a Shabby Chic ruffle without having to surge off the ends, like on this super cute Quilted Zippy Bag.

 

We would love to see what you can do with your Jelly Rolls!

Happy Sewing! ~Jill
Happ We

Sometimes you just mess up!

Well, you know when you have a really great idea, and then half way through it, things go south?  I am going to show you one of those ideas.  I wanted to start showing you some of the recipes that I make for my family.  The first one is how to make simple calzones.  

 I started by gathering all my supplies and taking pictures.  

After I had followed the directions on the hot roll mix box and let the dough rest....I was ready to section it and put it in the oven to rise...here is where the problem came in...

See how those balls don't really look like balls?  How they just look mushed together with no conformity...After taking this pic I noticed this.  I knew the dough didn't really "feel" right but wasn't sure what had happened.  I looked back up at my supplies and saw that I had not added the egg and butter to the dough...UUUGGGHHH!  I freaked!  I had to feed my family...and I had completely messed up the dough...So, in my panic I pulled out a can of pizza dough (BTW...yuck!) and finished the calzones.  I was too embarrassed that I had messed up to take pictures of it.  So, long story short, first recipe post = failure!  I will try again next week.

I did want to show you these cute Kitchen Dishcloths.  I like how lightweight they are.  I also like how bright and cheery they are...trust me, after my cooking disaster, I needed bright and cheery.  I hope this made you smile and maybe make you see that everything isn't perfect in the blog world.

Christmas in July!

First off, we had a fantastic time in Tulsa.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hi.  The ladies have made it back home and are already getting ready for our next show.  

Today we are helping you get a kick start on Christmas.  Can you believe it is only 5 months away?  I know I can't.  This year has already gone by so fast.  Here are just a few of the items we carry over at Home a la mode...

Primitive Snowman Pocket Ornaments

These would be really cute hung across a mantel.  Or tucked into your Christmas Tree.

Snowflake Girly Bib Apron

Why just dress your house up?  Dress yourself up also.

Wooden Santa Game Boxes

I am going to get a couple of these and use them as gift boxes for my kids.  The inside has sections in it.  Great for little things.

Snow Buddies Bag

I made this bag to be carried while you are shopping.  Wouldn't this make the perfect gift for the woman who has everything?

These are just a SMALL sampling of all the CHRISTMAS items we have.  This has put me in the Christmas spirit.  I am ready to go make some new cute bags.  Check back on Wednesday to see what I have come up with!

An Affair in Tulsa!

Hey there!  Our ladies are off to have an affair in Tulsa this weekend.  They are working at Affair of the Heart in Tulsa.  They have set up a beautiful booth for you to shop.  

This is Jill.  Isn't she adorable.  She is the force behind doing all of our website work.  Making sure that we have inventory...the person I call late at night when I have issues with the blog...She ROCKS!

All of our cuties all lined up and ready for you to take home!!!

This is Karen...she is under the weather right now...I know you can't tell from this pic...but she had knee surgery 3 days ago...YES three days ago!  Then turned around and went to Tulsa for the show.  She is AWESOME!  When you see her...go up and give her a hug...she will need them...trust me.

All of our Kitchen towels.  Don't you just want each and every one of them?


I want to say hi to Brenda, she is the one who sent me these pics.  She is so wonderful!  I think she meant to not send a pic of herself.  What do you think?


We would love for you to come and stop by the booth!  I was unable to go to the event...(tear)...so anyone who has read this, needs to go give a shout out to the ladies from me!  Tell them that I am there in spirit.  Let me know if you stopped by...also tell the girls that you saw this blog,  I think they may have a special surprise for you!!!

The one that hurt....

I have a confession.  When I am designing projects I never plan anything out.  I usually start cutting fabric and see where the project leads.  Sometimes I will hit a snag, but usually things go along pretty quickly.  Such was not the case with this quilt....

I started with a Brights Jelly Roll and a Say it With Words Comfort of Psalms Panel.  I am not going to lie, my lack of preparation going into this quilt, really showed.  I felt like I was hitting a snag every time I turned around.  After fighting it all day long, I had come to the point of being able to quilt it.  I was under a bit of a time crunch so I got in a hurry.  The next thing I know, I am standing in front of my husband holding my hand with a shocked look on my face saying, "Honey, I just did something bad."  That's right folks, I had just SEWED through my fingernail and finger...not just once, but 3 times!  Let me just tell you...it hurts.  Not just kind of, either...it really, really, really hurts.  Especially when I type...why am I typing, oh the pain and agony.....No really,  it is already healing.

With all of that being said.  As much as I struggled with this beauty creating her, I have to say, she is now one of my favorites.