“Smiling is definitely one of the best beauty remedies. If you have a good sense of humor and a good approach to life, that’s beautiful.”– Rashida Jones

“Peace begins with a smile.” — Mother Teresa

“The world always looks brighter from behind a smile.” — Unknown

“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” – Dolly Parton

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” – Mother Teresa

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

“Everyone smiles in the same language.” – George Carlin

“A woman is most beautiful when she smiles.” – Beyoncé

“And in her smile I see something more beautiful than the stars.” – Beth Revis

Something I Don’t Usually Share

…how much I miss my dad. His loss is still so tangible to me even though it has been 35 years. I work to keep my memories alive, replaying them like reruns of a favorite show. I can’t hear his voice anymore. I can’t hear his laughter but I remember it vividly, how he would sometimes laugh until he was crying. He loved to laugh. I believe in heaven and hope someday to see & hug my dad again & spend time with him. I know heaven probably isn’t like that at all, but I like to think about it.

Something I Don’t Usually Share

…how nomadic my life was while I was growing up, moving from place to place or between parents, always the new kid in a new school. I lived in 19 different cities in 18 years. I was always trying to fit in, to not be different, to be accepted. While that has made me resilient & adaptive, it has taken me a long time to learn (still) to walk through life boldly and authentically as me.

Something I Don’t Usually Share

…that when I was a teen we moved to a farm & I was introduced to farm fresh eggs & meat and was grossed out by it all. I wanted that USDA sticker on my meat & white eggs. Gardening and growing things was completely foreign to me and woe to the plant that I had to take care of. I wanted nothing to do with the farm & moved to the city with my dad. I wish I’d given the farm a chance. I wish I lived on one now, with fresh eggs & meat & a huge garden. When I think of this I’m reminded of that phrase, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it & that what you actually needed, you maybe ran away from.

Something I Don’t Usually Share

…how much I love slapstick comedy-Abbott and Costello, Lucille Ball, Dick VanDyke, Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English & Mr. Bean’s Holiday. I thought I would die laughing when Mr. Bean got his head stuck in the turkey. 

Something I Don’t Usually Share

…how much I hate fancy food & restaurants & Michelin stars (though I did love The Hundred-Foot Journey). Maybe I am not sophisticated enough? It seems pretentious. Like a $2,500 margarita. Seriously?! I like rustic tables simple food, & love, laughter & conversation around the table. And a cheap pitcher of limeade margaritas. And hospitality.

Here is a round up of some Valentine’s Day crafts and treats that caught my eye.

Diy Art

Painting is not really in my wheelhouse but I think these Love Letters from We Lived Happily Ever After are just gorgeous and would love to give them a try.

I’ve always wanted to do one of these string art projects. This one is over at Green Wedding Shoes is really cute!

How about some Scrabble tile inspired coasters from blue I style?

Hand Sewing

I just LOVE these mini hoop hearts by Laurenmakes. They are super simple but striking. I think they are so adorable and they are on the top of my make list right now!

And how cute is this little felt love note hoop by Amy Chappell from Ameroonie Designs at the Polka Dot Chair.

Machine Sewing

I also found a couple of adorable pillows to add to my Valentine pillow collection. First up is this adorable Love You Pillow by Amanda at JediCraftGirl guest blogging at Amy Smart’s Diary of A Quilter.

And how about this cute heart pillow by Anna from Noodlehead guest blogging on U-CreateCrafts.

I don’t really sew plushies but these Love Koi by Sew Desu Ne? on Blueprint are making me rethink that!

I also saw this felt heart table runner at Pottery Barn Kids. This would be so simple and cheap to make and they want $39.00 bucks for it?

I LOVE this one by Center Street Quilts. I might need to make one of these!

Sweet Treats

How about some delicious treats? I love a quick and simple yummy treat and this bark from Lauren at Delish looks amazing.

And who doesn’t love a yummy Rice Krispy treat? These from Midwest Living look so good!

I’ll wrap up this post with these Cookies ‘n Cream Strawberry Cheesecake Bars from Creme de la Crumb look amazing! I think I may be able to get Sam into making these with me!

You can find my treat bag tutorial here.

My Valentine pillow covers sew up quick! You can find the patterns here. They are on sale all through February.

And if you’re looking for a little bigger project, try out this Flying Home pattern. It is 30% off all month long.

I’ve also been meaning to make a Valentine version of my Christmas Cards quilt using some reds and pinks and calling it Love Notes. Can you see it? You can find the pattern here.

I hope these ideas have you inspired! I know I am, and I think I have a few ideas of my own!

Krista

Shop Related items

You can download them here!

I hope you enjoy!

I had seen these beautiful ornaments just before Christmas 2020. Each one is so beautifully designed and detailed by Larissa Holland at mmmcrafts.blogspot.com and her patterns are for purchase in her etsy shop.

On Larissa’s website is the comprehensive list of supplies you will need to make your 12 Days Ornaments along with color guides and everything else you need to know. You’ll want to decide on your colors so you can order either one of the color bundles that Benzie Designs has of the beautiful wool felt or choose your own colors. You’ll also need the floss and the Notions Bundle. I’ll be honest. I did look around locally in combination with Amazon to see if I could get everything cheaper but nope. The notions bundle is a deal and don’t forget the fiberfill! You will also need one additional pack of the 8.5 x 11 printable Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy because 2 of the series have two pages of pieces you will need to print, for a total of 14 pages, and the packs only contain 12 pages.

I used cellophane envelopes and made a little kit for each ornament with the pattern pieces and notions needed to make each one as well as the color guide for each ornament from mmmcrafts. That way I could grab an ornament and my floss and work away. Larissa’s guides take you through each step in detail.

Then you’re ready to assemble the pieces into the adorable ornaments you see below!

Once you get all your supplies, it’s time to get everything organized and prepared. The first step is preparing your wool felt. You need to rinse each piece in warm water and then allow to dry. It will shrink a bit and you want to have that happen before you start cutting out your pattern pieces. You can hang to dry on a line or lay flat. I put some thick towels on our table and after gently squeezing out all the water from the sheet, I smoothed each one out and let dry over night on top of the towels.

While my felt was drying, I printed out all my patterns and put them in a three ring binder to keep them organized. Then I copied each sheet of the pattern pieces onto a sheet of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy. Once the felt was dry, I cut out the pieces for one ornament at a time, affixing the sticky fabri-solvy pieces to the colors I had chosen and cut them out.

Once the pieces have been embroidered, you rinse them under warm water to rinse away the Sticky Fabri-Solvy and let them dry.

This project was outside of my wheelhouse and not something I would normally choose to do but they were so exquisitely detailed and pretty, I just couldn’t resist and I’m so glad I didn’t! They patterns were written so well and so thoroughly that they were easy to follow and each ornament was just so fun to make! So much fun, I’m prepping another set!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Krista

#twelvedaysornaments #12daysornaments #mmmcrafts #benziedesign #benziefelt #dmcembroidery #dmcfloss #sulky

Last year was rough all around. There was so much fear and pain and frustration and anger and loss with us and all over the world. And so many things changed. We also had a few good things. Tom had both his hips replaced, one in February and one in August. It’s hard to believe watching him now when we walk our dogs that this time a year ago he had difficulty walking to the other room and was living with chronic pain. He worked so hard through his physical therapy and is moving around better than ever. Andi was accepted into and begins the nursing program this semester. Sam started college and is doing really well with school. We got a new puppy, Gracie, who is super energetic and has really gotten us moving!

For me, I went back to school to work toward a career change. It has been exciting and has kept me really busy. I wasn’t able to spend as much time creating as I would have liked last year, but I did manage to make some fun things!

I have a quite a few pillow patterns but these Valentine Pillows are my favorites of the bunch and live on my couch most of the time. You can find the patterns for these pillows here to make some for yourself!

And of course, like all of you, made some masks.

I did some bee blocks for my Sew Bee It quilting bee friends. I sure miss being able to meet with them all in person! I also have a handful I need to catch up on this month!

I joined in with some Sashiko sewalong fun with @surrur_sunday and @amandalovestocreate on Instagram. These coasters are still on my WIP list.

But I did finish a couple cute bags as well!

I made some fun drawstring bags for goodies. They are super quick and so cute. You can find a tutorial and make your own here!

I also made a valentines day version of my Flying Home quilt pattern. I love this pattern and making 8 half-square triangles at a time makes this quilt a very quick make! You can find the pattern 40% off now through Valentines day!

I made a Sew Kind of Wonderful Metro Hoops quilt. The fabrics are Kona white and red cottons and April Rosenthal‘s All Weather Friend. I love how it turned out and I really enjoyed making it. Sew Kind of Wonderful’s pattern instructions were very clear. This quilt was gifted to someone special.

With the left over All Weather Friend fabrics, I made a free pattern by by Happy Zombie called Lawnchair Quilt. I used Essex Linen for the backing fabric. I love how it turned out. It’s one of my favorites. The linen background really makes it.

I also put out a new quilt pattern, Pinwheel Star. My friend and neighbor was nice enough to hold my quilt for some photos. This was also a quick quilt to make. I used white Kona and Mister Domestic‘s Loved to Pieces fabric line. The link above will take you to a digital copy. If you’d like a paper pattern, let me know. This quilt was also gifted to someone special.

I also started working on a large version of Sew Kind of Wonderful’s Metro Rings Quilt for our daughter, Angela. I’m suing a light gray and darker gray Kona cottons and two neutral jelly rolls including a Blueberry Park Neutrals by Karen Lewis.

I did a little home sewing by making some cushions for our patio table. I just kind of winged it with these making upper and lower cushions and adding ties. I used an outdoor fabric to make it last longer.

I also participated/am still participating in a Traveling Quilt Bee. This has been fun. Each person makes a starter block and sets their theme, color, style parameters. Then each person in the been takes a turn and adds to your quilt. This was the first I worked on for my friend Gayle. I added the top, bottom, and sides. Gayle’s quilt parameters had to do with color and styles.

Next was Annie’s quilt. I added the left column and the bottom with the bear paw prints. Annie’s parameters were our interpretations of her travels she had taken.

Finally, I added the top and bottom rows to Marie’s quilt. Marie’s parameters were more classic style blocks and using her Cotton and Steel fabric collection.

I have two more quilts to work on and will share them when I finish!

I also did a little crocheting and finished this Earl Gray Wrap by Two of Wands. Alexandra has some gorgeous knit and crochet patterns.

Finally, I made a quick tree skirt and extra large stockings with some fleece I had on hand. I didn’t really use any patterns. For the skirt, I cut a large circle. I folded it into qurters and cut out a center circle and then cut along the radius I bound all the edges with left over binding from Tom’s quilt from a few years ago.

For the stockings, I taped together some printer paper and then traced a stocking. I cut out the stocking way bigger then the outline and just stitched up wrong side. I folded the top over twice and top stitched and added a wired ribbon for the loop to hang them up.

I also got into a little cake baking and decorating. I have so much to learn but it has been fun. Here are a few of my yummy creations.

Anyway, that’s about it for my creative round up. Now, to finish planning out my projects for this year!

Have a great day!

Krista

I never really got to know my Grandma because I was young and, of course, not really interested in old people at the time.  She and my Great Grandpa Gordon lived in California and I think I only saw them a couple of times.

She always seemed so interesting. She met my grandpa and wanted to seem more exotic so she changed the spelling of her name from Amy to Aimee and never told a soul until after my grandpa died as an old man. She said she was so relieved to have that secret off her chest!  And my Aunt Aimee was named after her and her name spelled the same way but that wasn’t even her real spelling!

Anyway, she wanted to be an artist and go to art school but she had a hard life. Then she met my grandpa and got married and went to work. However, that didn’t stop her from being a maker and artisan, which she was in every sense. I wish I had photos of all the beautiful things she made. When I was little, I had handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. One year, she knit everyone afghans. She dabbled in mosaics and a large mosaic hung in my Nana and Pappy’s house as long as I can remember. She was also a quilter and made two cathedral windows quilts, one of which my sister is going to send to me to repair.

I wish I could sit down with her now and hear her stories and learn from her. If you’ve got someone in your life like that, enjoy it and soak it in! Most of us only get that perspective as we get older and it’s too late.

The photo of her makes me think of the idea of following your bliss. We each have gifts and talents and when we get over our fears and follow the things that we were made to do and share that with others, I think it creates such connection.  That’s what I am trying to do, just living my life and following my bliss, my passion for creating, and I hope that by sharing that with you, I can inspire and encourage you to do the same.

The photo of my grandma reminds me, too, of the Maxfield Parrish painting, Ecstasy, that I learned of through my sister, Kendra, who is a big Maxfield Parrish fan .

Anyway, I’d better run this morning. I’m going to Giuseppe Ribaudo (AKA Giucy Giuce) Tiny Piecing class today! More on that later this week!

Have a great day!

In getting organized, I discovered just how many scraps I really have so (yikes) so you can expect to see a lot of scrap buster tutorials in the future!

Since I’ve been on the fall pillow kick, I thought I would make a couple of quick applique pillows to add to my #fourrobbinspillowofthemonth collection. And I love leaves!

• Birch leaves PDF
• Maple Leaf PDF
• Sharp Scissors
• Scrap Fabric
• Backing Fabric
• Lite EZ Steam II

Cut out your leaves to use as templates then follow the instructions from my mum tutorial substituting your leaves for the mum petals. It will show you step by step how to use the EZ Steam for your pieces. I cut out the large birch leaf and then just two (2) of the other smaller ones to cut out the six smaller leaves. For the maple leaves, my pillow has about 21 leaves. I quilted these with a layer of batting behind but no backing. I used Aurifil 50 wt. #2340, which is a golden tan color. The birch leaves idea came from this beautiful free photo by @chrislawton

I tried to follow a similar look with my quilting.

Next, for the maple leaves, I laid them out in a heart shape. To quilt, I free motioned hearts over and over in multiple sizes and then free motioned fall over and over as well.

To finish the pillow backs, you can use my hidden zipper pillow back tutorial or turn them into minis to hang up.

I think they turned out so cute!

If you make one, I’d love to see! Post using #fourrobbinsscrapbuster on social media!

First, I’ve been thinking of the connections we make as we go through life. Some good, some bad, some unmemorable as time passes. As we get older, we have an opportunity, hopefully, to learn and grow and reconcile some things. Each decade brings a different awareness and a different way of thinking about things and a different importance to what we care about.

My dad only made it to 40. Me at 40 was a scary thing to behold. Still trying to figure things out, still so unsure of myself, still using all my defense mechanisms to hide from authenticity. What would people have said about me at age 40 if anything at all?

So many of the stories I have heard about my dad have been negative colored by dumb things he did or hurt feelings or resentments. Many of the bad or broken connections he made going through life were unreconciled. I don’t know but I think he was still trying to figure things out and figure out who he was. I think he was still running and using all his defense mechanisms to hide from his own authenticity. Unfortunately, he never made it to the decades where you start really thinking about what matters to you and who you really want to be. I’m sure there are some people out there who figure these things out earlier, those healthy people you imagine are out there somewhere, but he wasn’t one of them and neither am I.

Most of my memories are a jumble of images like a movie montage of memories, little snapshot moments. Some of my memories, I think, are not really memories but have become so from the images in the few photographs I have. Some are things I clung to as a child when my parents split up so I could be like him like cream of chicken soup and Thousand Island dressing and green onions, radishes, and raw potato with salt.

I do have some real memories. Dinner at a steak place and a movie on my birthday. At the restaurant, we’d wait in the bar area and my dad would order a White Russian or a Seven and Seven or if he was splurging, a VO and Seven. We saw Smokey and the Bandit at the theater back when Burt Reynolds was cool. We saw Top Gun and I remember being embarrassed and uncomfortable sitting next to my dad during the love scene just waiting for it to be over.

So many things make me think of him. Burgers and battered onion rings and homemade vanilla milkshakes, hamburger patties served with eggs, corned beef hash made outdoors while we were camping or out on the boat. Level 42 and the song You’ve Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest, which he blasted on a drive during a winter day. Short boots that zip at the ankle and Chaps cologne. It’s so weird the things that you remember.

My dad loved to laugh. I remember him watching an episode of the TV show Fridays with Michael Richards and laughing so hard he fell out of his chair holding his stomach, tears streaming down his cheeks. My dad was the kind of guy who when he smiled and laughed, you could see it in his eyes.

He loved being outdoors. We camped and had great meals and campfires and smores. He loved boats and from my early teens, always had one. The first one was rough and he worked hard to waterproof and reupholster and paint and fix, then trading up each year or two or three for a better boat. He loved spending time on the boat, the feeling of the wind in his hair and sun on his face.

He loved going for drives and always loved a sports car. He loved going to the cider mill on a crisp fall day for warm donuts and cold cider.

I also wish I had gotten to know him as a person. I knew him as a child. I knew what he let me know. I knew brief glimpses and shallower conversations. I would have loved to talk with him about so many things, to have been a be part of things, to get to know him as an adult, to have the conversations that matter, to have him know my children and be a part of their lives.

When his birthday came around this year, I just wanted him to be remembered.

One of my dearest friends celebrated a birthday this month and I took her to lunch, her choice. She chose to go to Marcella’s Mia Sorella. She said it is one of her favorites because they have “delicious food and in warmer weather, they have a wonderful patio where you can eat outdoors.”

Marcella’s Mia Sorella is located at 14426 Clayton Road in Chesterfield, Missouri. Opened by siblings Steve and Jamie Komorek of the upscale south-city restaurant, Trattoria Marcella, Marcella’s Mia Sorella is a more casual restaurant with an atmosphere more conducive to large gatherings or family and friends. The menu features amazing pizzas, paninis, and salads as well as delicious Italian classics and pasta dishes.

We went for lunch and there was a good crowd. We were seated right away by a friendly and attentive waitress. She was great throughout our visit!

I’m try to limit my carbs (I know! Why choose Italian?!) I ordered the Peppercorn Burger, medium well. It came with Crispy Fried Onions, Fontina Cheese, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Aioli. I skipped the semolina bun but I bet it was amazing. I opted for the insalata mista rather than the truffle fries. I’m going to just say, wow. The burger was cooked perfectly. The salad was so so good, a salad of mixed lettuce, red onion, artichoke, Parmigiano, and red wine vinaigrette.

My friend ordered their Crispy Eggplant Parmigiano along with a side of Pasta. I can say, their portions are generous! She got a second meal out of that! I’m not a big fan of eggplant, but she got me to try it and even I liked it. She loved it and it was nice and crispy and prepared perfectly and loaded with melty cheese.

A large portion of sauce was served on the side along with a big bowl of pasta.

We finished our meal by sharing a large piece of Tiramisu that was amazing.

This was such a fun and enjoyable meal. The food was so great and the service fantastic and friendly. I would recommend Marcella’s Mia Sorello and plan to go back again soon!

Hope you enjoyed!

Krista