Easy Mushrooms with Sizzix Circle Dies

I'm over on the Sizzix blog today showing you how to make these really easy mushrooms with various Sizzix circle die cut sizes. You can customize them any way you'd like, to make coasters, decorative tea towels or hot pads.

I made this entire set for my swap partner when I hosted the Gnome Swap on instagram. She asked for something "gnomey" for her kitchen, and I just couldn't resist. The coasters fit perfectly in this little cross stitch box I picked up at Target. They finish at 3 1/2" wide.

 
If you want to make a cute and simple tea towel or bar towel set, do a little needle turn applique or make it quicker with raw edge applique as I did.

To make a set of hot pads - make them as quick and easy as the coasters, or treat them like mini quilts and add some fun quilting and of course binding around the edge.

Check out the tutorial over on the Sizzix blog and share your #kidgiddy mushrooms with me on Instagram or Facebook! 

Thanks for stopping by. For more info about my dies with Sizzix, check out the Sizzix Website and watch my videos on You Tube. To get the kid giddy inside scoop before everyone else - sign up for my newsletter below. Have a great weekend.

Totem Eagle Paper Piecing Pattern

A long time ago I got this Totem Pole Quilt idea. I wanted to make an entire quilt that represented my family in totem pole format. For my Totem, I decided to start with the eagle, which is by far one of my most favorite creatures to watch endless soaring in the sky, especially in my own neighborhood. I guess making a totem pole quilt felt right and fun, knowing I have Native American blood in my ancestry (the Tribe of Powhatan) and am excited to see where this takes me. If you are interested in making a tribal totem eagle for yourself - you can find my Totem Eagle pattern in my Kid Giddy Etsy shop or in my Kid Giddy Craftsy shop.

You don't have to make a quilt out of it and you don't have to use printed pattern fabric as I did - you can easily make the eagle as a banner, as Holly Hughes did below (@hollygetsquilty on IG), and choose solids or a combination or solids and prints. Holly also added some embroidery which gives it a special touch too. Thanks Holly for testing my pattern and for the pics!

When I have time I will continue to add more animals to my own totem (and in my shops), and then begin making all the animals for my husband's totem, as well as animal totems for each of my daughters too. They have already picked their animals - I just need more time to design them and whip them up in EQ7.

If you join in the totem making fun - please share your pics with me on IG @kidgiddy.

Have a great week.

The Banner Adventure Swap

I am so excited to be hosting a really awesome Banner Adventure swap with Christopher from The Tattooed Quilter. To give you a little background...I fell in love with April Rhodes fabric a long time ago (didn't we all?) when her Arizona line came out. When she sent me some of her new BOUND fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics to play with, I was so excited and knew exactly what I was going to make. I've had tons of paper piecing pattern ideas kept under wraps since I haven't have any time to work on them. The day that I knew April's fabric was coming, I sketched and drafted the first block. This weekend, I finished sewing up all the pieces for this guy...the Eagle.

After getting her beautiful fabric, one idea led to another. I started emailing April to get this idea off the ground. I knew I would need some help from someone awesome - because swaps are really fun, but lots of work, enter Christopher. YAY! I'm so glad he joined in on the fun. Have you seen his work? It's awesome and tremendously inspiring. I hope I get his banner! lol.

Soon Christoper and I began emailing back and forth, (lots of emailing going on here)! I threw a couple of ideas his way because I didn't want to do another "mini quilt swap". Everyone's been doing mini quilt swaps and a big one is going on right now - so in talking with Christopher, we decided a small wall hanging - banner style - would be best. But that's not all...we decided to add a challenge! (You know - to mix it up a bit, and because anyone that knows me, knows I don't do simple very often.) 

So now that you know the back story...you want in? Want to know what you are getting yourself into? Here's all the official details about the swap....read them carefully before signing up. Then read the sign up form again - before you fill out the form. We want you to be super clear on what this is - and super committed to delivering a banner in the end.

The Official Details for the Bound Banner Adventure Swap  

1) You MUST use April Rhodes fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics. It can be fabric from any of her lines, but only her lines, and must be pieced or appliqued, and quilted where applicable.
2) Size requirements: This is for a banner - not a mini quilt. It must be a rectangle no larger than 8" x 16". It can be vertical or horizontal.
3) You MUST incorporate one of the following: feathers, yarn, leather, etc. (think April Rhodes).
4) Because it is a banner - it must be able to hang, so it MUST contain a way to hang it. Think driftwood, rod or other cool factor.
5) We have decided to not allow extras. No candy, supplies, etc. with your banner. We feel this will require all participants to focus on the banner itself and really put in their best effort. Not to mention cost of shipping (overseas) can be crazy. Please respect this.

By participating you agree to the following:

1) You MUST post 2 progress photos on IG during the swap. (There will be 2 mandatory times - but extra pics are ok.)
2) You MUST post 1 final photo on IG. PRIOR to shipping. (Make it your best photo - there's a reason for this!)
3) You MUST ship swap packages by November 30th for International, and Dec 7th within the US.
4) We will be using the following hashtags:
#BannerAdventureSwap
#BoundFabricsAdventure
#AprilRhodes
#BoundFabrics
If you'd like your projects seen and shared - please be sure to use these hashtags.
5) Tag @kidgiddy, @the_tattooed_quilter and @aprilrhodes in the comment sections so we can see them. If you don't - we may not see them and only those that follow you will. We want everyone to get to know each other - so please share likes and comments through these hashtags.

This is a three way secret swap - because fun secrets are always the best secrets. You will get a swap partner, and someone else will get you.

If you sign up for this swap, please keep your commitment to deliver as you say you would. No one wants to feel like their partner didn't care enough to send their package. I know life can get busy and hectic, so please keep in touch with us (or your moderator) so we can make sure your partner is not shafted in the end. If you do not communicate appropriately AND do not fulfill your end of the swap, you will be banned from all future swaps (and added to the black list). Communication is key!

Sign ups will be open from September 8th - September 12th (or until we have reached 150 participants) and hope to have partners assigned by the week of September 18th. Swap packages must go out by November 30th for International, and Dec 7th within the US. Please use your best judgement when shipping packages and please consider insurance and tracking!

If you are ready - if you are truly interested (read: committed to honoring your swap, so you are not added to the black list) click on the Google Doc link to fill out the form.... HERE IS THE FORM!

By the way....Don't wait too long to sign up - we are only accepting 150 participants. Swaps can be very time consuming on the hosting side - so we were going to make it 100 - but decided to max it out at 150. We'd love for you to share the word, please feel free to share the top banner or button so everyone can find us for sign ups.

I can't wait to see what everyone makes, and for those of you signing up - keep your eyes and emails open for more fun stuff to come. The really good stuff!

Thanks so much!