I’m sitting here today listening to Foster The People’s album Torches, it’s so amazing I love it!! Check it out if you haven’t yet.

Being the Mom of 5 children I have a goal this year to get ahead of the ball and plan better for my kids events. Project #1 is Valentine’s Day - Last year I was snapping these pictures before school on Valentine’s Day itself and rushing to get the cards printed and ready before the kids got home at lunch to take them back for their friends. I seriously had my glue gun plugged into my minivan and was hot glueing heart shaped lollipops onto their cards in the Costco parking lot! People were stopping and laughing, I was a sight to be sure! Thankfully I managed to finish the cards and they were a Huge Hit at their school. This year I want to plan ahead better so I can involve them in the card making for their friends, and I don’t look like a maniac with a glue gun in public again.

Last Year’s Valentine Cards – 2011
Snap your pics, edit in Photoshop and add some cute text, I had them printed at Costco on photo paper, then hot glued a heart shaped lollipop into their hand on the image. Supercute right?!

My Valentine plans this year are being greatly influenced by Pinterest. I have an awesome board with Valentine ideas ready to share. I think we’ll be doing the Moustache Cards this year with my boys. Let me know what you are doing and don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest for inspiration and fun all year long!

We’re having a blast tonight sharing some Past Quilt Market photos in our Boutique Cafe Facebook Group >>

Pop by and see who you can spot! What an incredible year it has been, we loved seeing you at various events and sharing the designers and products that inspire you, and make your life beautiful!

Looking forward to a bright and shinning 2012 with all of you.

Happy New Year to each of you! It’s not too late! There are so many cute and wonderful ideas that can still be pulled together for a fun and enjoyable New Year’s Eve. Don’t feel like everything has to be bedazzled and glittered from the ceiling to the floors, a few simple touches will bring it all together and can be fun.

First of all I love to go to “The Source” AKA Pinterest for amazing ideas on New Year’s Eve parties and printoffs. Pinterest is a treasure trove and you’re sure to find the perfect little touch to add to your celebration whether a big party, or fun time at home with the family tonight. Here’s the link to my own New Year’s Board on Pinterest – have fun and please follow me, I’d love that and I love to follow you back!

Another great source for New Year’s ideas is our dear friend Megan over at Brassy Apple! All week she has been sharing awesome ideas for a festive New Year’s, and she knows her stuff. Memory packets, New Year’s Surprise Bags, shakers, time capsules and more! Go check it out – you’ll love Brassy Apple.

I LOVED this free printable from Simply Creative Insanity (don’t you love the chevron??!!) Print this cute saying off and throw it in a frame – you can use it anywhere in your home tonight for a little New Years fun.

Whatever your plans I hope you have a safe and fun New Year’s Eve. Take care and enjoy the relationships and make some memories. Be sure to snap those pictures tonight and preserve those moments in a creative way. Thank you for all of your ideas and involvement with Boutique Cafe in 2011! Happy New Year to all of you! – Daria

Dear Boutique Cafe Readers, thank you all for a wonderful fun-filled year! I hope you have enjoyed our Christmas Festival of Traditions & Tutorials – thank you to each of our special guests for making it happen! I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and Holidays filled with the love of family & friends. I know many of you are rushing around getting the last minute things done on your checklists, don’t forget to take a moment to soak in what really counts when you gather (and give yourselves a pat on the back!).

May you all feel the joy of the season, and your cups of couture will be overflowing with creativity in the New Year! From my family to yours I wish you the happiest holiday. XOXO - Daria

Today we are featuring an amazing project from my talented sister-in-law Elizabeth. Liz has a wonderful blog, be sure to check it out Lizzy Anne here>>

“I try to be true to myself in any holiday decorating. Keeping my personality even in the face of Christmas glitter. I fell in love with a banner at Anthropologie. But did not fall in love with the price tag! Every year I feel like I have to decorate before I start on my other Christmas projects. So this year I did this one for myself before anything. A treat to me for all the hard work I’m about to embark on to pull off Christmas once again. It has been the perfect touch at our front entry and I love walking past it everyday! Merry Christmas to me! You can give yourself this gift too! Here is what you need.” – Liz

Supplies Needed:
-15 Sheets of Felt various colour ( you might want to buy a couple extra to allow for matching options)
-Cross stitch Thread ( I bought this huge pack at Walmart for $10 ‘craft thread’)
-Yarn 3 colors
-Needle
-Printed Letters I used Arial in Bold and outline size 160
-Sewing machine
-Mat and Cutter
-Safety Pin
-Elastic band

Make your cuts. You should be able to get 2-3triangles out of each sheet with salvage
You will need 2 triangles per letter in the banner.

Save your salvages. If you only need 2 out of the color, stop cutting. The Salvage will be used for your letters and circle details.

Next print your letters, cut and trace them onto the felt salvages. Then cut out. Use any extra felt to cut out free hand circles of various sizes.

Line up 2 triangles of the same color. Sew ¼’ seam around all edges. Center and pin letter of contrasting color and sew as close to edge as you can.

Use your floss (craft thread) and needle to do a blanket stitch around the triangle. I doubled my thread for a thicker detail. Pick a thread of a contrasting color yet again for this look. Repeat on your circles as well. This part is what takes the most time, but the look is so worth it!!

For the braids use your colored yarn. I chose a variegated to save on money and still get a variety of color. Cut your full length of both Merry and Christmas and enough to hang, about 4.5 m. I used 2 length per section of the braid for a total of 6 strands. Tie ends in a knot and put a safety pin through the knot. Attach to carpet or somewhere you can anchor it.

Before braiding wrap up each section and put a rubber band around to make it easy to manage and easy to pull more length as you braid. Braid, braid, braid! Then repeat with second color way.

Voila!!

Now your ready to string your banner. Take your cream Yarn on a tapestry Needle and pull through the top portion of each triangle. This is also the time to randomly string your circles on between letters. To attach the braided portion you will need to cut small slits at the bottom portion of the triangles through only the back layer and feed through. If you use the safety pin at one end, it’s easier to pull through.

Once you have everything spaced how you like on the strands of yarn, pull your top and bottom strands together at the swag you are happy with. Do a simple slip knot to attach the strands, as well as create a loop to hang it from. You can either trim or let the ends dangle like I did. YOU DID IT It’s beautiful! Hang it and feel the Christmas spirit! Of course you could spell anything for any occasion in any color way and it’s sure to light up your day!

At the end of it you have this incredibly festive banner to love for years to come! Enjoy and Merry Christmas to you all!

Hi this is Gina from Quilter’s Buzz! This is a family favorite for many many years. What’s a party without some “throw up”? Not a good party, that’s for sure. (wink)

This simple and quick “chili con quese” dip is so easy to make, we let all the kids and grandkids help. Plus, it is a tasty treat for those in our family that are “gluten intollerant”. You can even make it a couple days before the party.

Why the name? Because it looks like “throw up” after you make it!

One recipe is great for 12-15 people. Easy to double the recipe for a bigger crowd.
We add an extra 4-5 more bacon strips to our dip, ‘cause we LOVE bacon. (My personal favorite meat!)

Gramma Halladay’s Throw Up Dip

1- can chili (without beans)
2- cans stewed tomatoes, drained
3-5 pieces of bacon
1 large onion-diced
1 lb processed cheese (Velveta)—cut into small chunks

Fry the bacon and crumble into small pieces. Add diced onions and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
Drain the stewed tomatoes and add to the bacon/onion mix. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. Add the chili and the cheese chunks. Cook over low heat until cheese melts.
(I transfer the dip to a crock pot and let it simmer until party time!)
Serve warm as a dip with tortilla chips.

Save the leftovers and reheat the next day—sometimes it even better!

Its the best “throw up” you have ever tasted!

Gina Halladay
www.QuiltersBuzz.com

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

You can find more great recipes on my blog:

www.pinkfigdesign.blogspot.com

Under the Pink Fig Recipe Collection Tab on the right side bar.

Here is the link to the cookie recipe on my blog:

http://pinkfigdesign.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-first-day-of-christmas-my-true-love.html

“Daria, Thanks so much for asking us to be a part of your special Christmas blog. We created a really awesome pink tree for our studio a couple of weeks ago and we have gotten so many questions as to how we made it that I thought this would be the perfect project to share. Since my assistant, Emalee, was the mastermind behind this fun and crafty project I will let her tell you—in her own words—how the tree came about. Enjoy the tutorial and several pictures I captured on assembly day. As you will see, we had lots of “helping hands” in the form of a group of local college students from the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising.” Patty Young

Instructions by Emalee Grambo. Photography by Patty Young.

Our pink tree, while a fun experience, was definitely a group effort to put together. So find your friends and neighbors to help you put this beauty up.
For starters, you will need some sort of small round object for the tip top of your tree. Being a sewing studio, we had plenty of sewing embroidery hoops lying around and we chose one that was 4” in diameter. Anything similar to this will work great. Just be sure there is no chance whatever you choose can crack… the first item we used—a clear plastic plate—cracked when we tried to put the tree up. This tree ends up heavier than you think.

You will also need:
1 Hula Hoop (at least 3-feet wide)
Colored duct tape or spray paint to cover the Hula Hoop if you wish
Clear fishing line (a bit on the stronger side)
180 shatterproof ornaments in glittery pinks (or the color of your choice)
Clear tape and a hot glue gun to reinforce areas of your tree

We decided we wanted our tree to be about 10 feet tall with ornaments placed every 6.5”. So:

1. Mark your hula hoop and embroidery hoop with ten evenly spaced marks around the circumference.
2. Cut 10 strands of fishing line at 12 feet each.
3. Starting at one end, measure a foot and mark with a permanent marker. From this point measure every 6.5 inches and mark with a permanent marker. About a foot should remain at this other end as well. This will allow room to tie each strand to the top and bottom hoop. All 10 of your fishing line strands should be marked in this way.
4. Proceed to string your ornaments onto each strand and tie three knots at each mark you made. On 5 of the strands, leave the very last mark empty. On the other 5 strands, leave the second to last mark empty. These will be the “top” of the strands. This will keep the very top of the tree from getting too congested. If you have the space, spread each completed strand on your floor to keep it from tangling up with one another. (Trust me on this!)
5. Once you have all ten done, spread them out as best you can in a circle around the object you have for the tippy top of the tree.
6. Tie the top of each strand, alternating between strands with the last mark empty or the second to last mark empty, to each mark on your tippy top tree piece. From four evenly spaced marks on this tippy top piece string fishing line to create a loop to hang your tree.
7. Now this is where you will need all the helping hands you can find. Have each person grab two strands as you lift the center of your tree up. If you don’t recruit these lovely friends, you will be spending the majority of your afternoon untangling these ten strands and your pretty pink tree won’t be looking pretty anymore.
8. Once you have your tree hung, you can proceed to tie each end to your hula hoop where marked. We found it most helpful to place the hula hoop onto a flat surface at the level where we wanted our tree to fall and then tie each end to the hoop.

Lisa’s Christmas Confessions:

Christmas Confession #1: I’ve never let my kids decorate MY tree. They can put their handmade ornaments on their smaller trees in their room. I know, I’m a bad mother.

Christmas Confession #2: Even though your Santa may wear a RED suit, mine doesn’t. I loathe RED. There is not a speck of RED (or Christmas Green) in my house during the holidays or any other time. My Santas have Gold, Cream, White, Silver, and Aqua robes…LOL!

Christmas Confession #3: I like getting Christmas cards with pictures of your adorable kids. Except the ones that include those annual summaries of their overachievements.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas! Lisa – The Domestic Diva’s Disasters Blog

Lisa’s Glamorous Lined Christmas Stocking Tutorial

Materials Needed:

• 1/2 yard outer fabric
  
• 1/2 yard lining fabric
  
• 1 yard fusible interfacing
  
• Sewing Thread

Print out a template or trace an existing Christmas Stocking.

Stocking Templates:

Tipnut’s Stocking Template

Martha Stewart Hankerchief Stocking Template

Martha Stewart Quilt Stocking Template

Martha Stewart Remnant Stocking Template

About.com Stocking Template

Woman’s Day Stocking Template

Fuse interfacing to the back of both your outer fabric and your lining fabric..

Layer both outer fabric and lining fabric right sides together. Trace template and cut out layers.

Sew one top of outer fabric to one top of lining fabric. Repeat with second outer fabric and lining fabric.

With right sides together, place outer fabric/lining piece on top of other outer fabric/lining piece. Sew together …

leaving a 3 inch opening on the lining (for turning).

Clip your curves.

Turn right side out and press.

Stitch Lining Opening closed.

Stuff lining inside outer fabric. Fold over lining to outside to create a self-cuff.

Make Cuff

Measure the circumference of the top of the stocking (mine is 16 inches) and add 1 inch to that measurement. Now take that measurement (for me it’s 17 inches) to cut the width of the cuff fabric with a height of 7 inches. My cuff fabric is 17 inches by 7 inches. You following this?

Fuse interfacing to the back of your cuff fabric.

Fold in half width-wise, right sides together.

Now fold height wise.

Stitch through all four layers of raw unfolded side. Turn right side out. You now have a cuff with the a raw bottom edge

Line up raw edge of cuff with finished edge of stocking. Stitch or serge.

To make a loop to hang your stocking, cut and interface a 2” x 10” piece of fabric.

Fold fabric in half lengthwise and stitch to conceal raw edges.

Fold finished loop in half right sides together. Stitch or serge together bottom edge.

Attach loop to inside cuff seam. Stitch.

Fold cuff to outside of stocking, add a fancy crystal brooch, and hang your stocking!

Martha, is a gorgeous Young Crafty Wife with a fun blog always brimming with great DIY ideas. She also has an Etsy shop that houses some of her fabulous creations. I’m very privileged enough to call her family, when I married Nathan I got Martha in the deal! She’s a darling cousin and I adore her creativity! Thanks so much Martha for your Ornament tutorial – XO Daria

Monogrammed Cranberry Ornament

You will need: – Some “Cranberries” I used little red foam vase fillers – Glue Gun – A Letter – Burlap – Wire

1. Glue the Cranberries around the boarder of you letter.
2. Continue to fill in the rest of the letter.

3. Make your burlap bow – above is how I made mine

4. Glue your bow right on top!

5. Take your wire making a little hook and glue it to the back as close to the centre as possible

6. Hang it on your tree!

I didn’t have a Christmas tree so I display it on – so my lovely barren tree outside our apartment will have to do! Merry Christmas!

The Dessert Darling’s Favorite Holiday Cookie!
While I critique and review desserts at DessertDarling.com, I’ve long since given up on baking to leave it to the pros. That said, there is one holiday treat for which I must roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty with lots and lots of men. Gingerbread Men, that is.

This recipe was passed down from my Grandmother who’s ancestors used to run a bakery in Germany.

My little frosted men might look unassuming in their simplicity, but I assure you they are extremely delicious, addictive, and make for a wonderful family tradition!

RECIPE:

5 cups sifted flour1 cup shortening
1 tsp. salt1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg1 egg well beaten
3 tsp cinnamon1 cup light molasses
1/2 tsp ground cloves1/3 cup water
1 tsp ginger1/8 tsp baking soda

Sift 1 cup of the flour with salt, spices, and baking soda. Cream shortening. Add sugar gradually to shortening beating till light and fluffy. Add egg and slightly warmed molasses. Stir in water. Add remaingin flour 1 cup at a time till dough is soft and moist. Chill for 6-8 hours. Roll about a quarter of it and cut with cookie cutters. Continue. Put on lightly greased cookie tray and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool and then ice with mixture of confectioners sugar and water beaten till smooth and colored with food coloring if you want to be creative.. Raisins can be used as decoration.

Jenny Alden Barth critiques and reviews desserts at www.DessertDarling.com with a 5-cherry rating system to guide you to the very best. She eats the good, the, bad, and the ugly so that you don’t have to.~

In kicking off our Boutique Cafe Festival of Traditions and Tutorials, I asked my Mom Sharon to share her recipe for popcorn wreaths. This is something we have made my whole life, and each year I know Mom will be making these. It’s always so heartwarming to see and smell the delightful traditions in my Mom’s kitchen each year. I love having a list of favourite things that she makes, and knowing that when I come home they are waiting for us to snack on. Thanks so much Mom for sharing your recipe and for all the beautiful Christmas’s you have given me over the years. Love, Daria

Hi this is Daria’s Mom. One of our family’s favourite Christmas traditions is making popcorn wreaths to give away to friends and neighbors (and teachers). It is an easy treat to make and tastes yummy!

I use an angel food cake pan to get the shape of a wreath, and then I also form my own candy cane shapes, which are also fun. If you want to be creative you could do star shapes or whatever else you can think of to make this fun and interesting. Our children still look forward to this tradition and now we are passing along to our grandchildren. Hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Here’s the recipe (I do up several batches)

Pop 1 ½ cups of popcorn (remove all unpopped kernels).

Syrup:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
½ cup marjarine
1 pinch salt
Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. (Burns easily, watch closely)
Cook to almost soft ball stage in cold water. Remove from stove and add 1 tsp. Vanilla.
Pour over popcorn. Mix well.
Pour syrupy popcorn into well sprayed angel food or bundt pan. Press and leave about a minute to take form.
Remove from pan and decorate with jube jubes, and/or Christmas candies of all sorts.

Note: Prior to preparing the recipe I cut out cardboard squares big enough to hold the popcorn wreath, or rectangular ones to hold the candy cane shapes. Cover the cardboard with tinfoil and you are ready to go. Makes it easy to deliver your decorated treat!

As many of you know I am Canadian and I celebrate Thanksgiving on a totally different day than you, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing each of you the Happiest Thanksgiving Ever!

Today I am grateful for: – a new and comfortable home – island living is quite special – my adorable, supportive and gorgeous husband who I love more each year! – 5 of the sweetest children ever created – extended family and friends who make this life beautiful and full of possibility – my freedom to worship, believe and have hope each day, and for those who fight to make that possible – each of you! Truly, I am grateful for you!

Happy Thanksgiving my friends

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone! If you blog about your children’s costumes be sure to link up with us and share in our comments section. We LOVE your ingenuity and of course the cuteness!

October on the I AM blog is all about “standing a stand against cancer” – So why not in your favorite pair of shoes!?

Snap a photo and send it in to Megan! Each photo will help raise money for cancer research and will be donated to Stand Up 2 Cancer.org (remember – 1 only photo per person this month! You’ve got to encourage your friends to submit!). Let’s show off those shoes everyone!

Hello everyone, I have arrived safely to our new island home and am busy unpacking and organizing our family. It’s a huge undertaking to settle into a new lifestyle and I could use your help. If you have ever wanted to be a guest blogger on Boutique Cafe this is the perfect time for you!

We’d like to invite a few of our readers to share your favourite project, craft or DIY idea on Boutique Cafe this month. Posts should include clear photos, and will link back to your own blogs. We also require a mini bio about you (and a headshot – say Cheese!).

If you are interested in strutting your stuff on BC simply email me your idea. We are so excited to see what you come up with to share with our readers, and it’s great exposure for your blogs and businesses as well.

Email your ideas to: daria@boutiquecafe.com

Yes it’s crazy but true – I’m moving out to Victoria B.C. in just a few short weeks. The realization has hardly set in for me, nonetheless boxes are being packed and arrangements are being made for our family to move to Victoria. Many of my friends are asking “Where are you going to live?” “What’s your house like?” to which my response is that we DON’T have a home yet. LOL! We’ll be renting for awhile to get to know the area and ensure we’re in the district that appeals most to our family. We have to hurry and get the kids settled before school starts so the race is on.

This week I’m heading out to the Island with my hubby and Lola in tow to seek out a home for rent. I’ve only visited Victoria once before, I don’t know anyone out there so it’s a bit scary, coupled with sheer exhilaration at the thought of such a big adventure.

If you walk around my house right now you’ll see little notes all over with two columns:

Great Things about moving to Victoria / Not So Great Things About Moving to Victoria

Missing our dear family and friends definitely lands on the right side of those lists (and right at the top). I’m not entirely sure how I’ll cope without a direct road to our parents homes within arms reach. We’ve been so blessed to be near our family the past 4 years, within an hour or so. Every few minutes my mood changes and you may catch me mid cry or mid laughter at the craziness of what we are doing.

Victoria BC is beautiful. An island surrounded by the ocean, beautiful beaches, lovely weather (goodbye Alberta winters), gardens, orchards, vineyards, whale watching, and a slower pace. My ultimate dream is to have a Palm Tree in my front yard…it’s gonna happen folks.

Hence this post is just to let all of you know that I’m here and have many things to share, however I’m not sure exactly when the posting will take place. I’ll post as I can over the next few weeks. Lots of Market Videos still to share and giveaways to well…giveaway!

XO - Daria

I am back home after an incredible visit to International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. Joined by my partners in crime, Megan (AKA Brassy Apple) and Emily (AKA Is This Really My Life) we took on the gigantic venue in cute heels and came back toting hours of video interviews, hundreds of photos, and oodles of Giveaways for YOU! I can’t even begin to express the gorgeous things we saw at market, the designers have outdone themselves this year. It was such a treat to meet up with so many new faces as well, we enjoy cheering on the new designers on the block.

While at Market I was able to attend a few of the events/parties including the exclusive Sweet Hot Yam’s Event and the Bloggers Quilt Market Meetup which Boutique Cafe helped to sponsor. Both events were a blast, jam packed with attendees, and I was so honored to be included in the festivities.

Our interview schedule was literally packed from sun up to sun down. There wasn’t time to stop, it was go-go-go – but I feel it will all be worth it as I roll out the new episodes (as quickly as possible) over the coming weeks. I hope you will all be thrilled to hear from the designers themselves about what they were showcasing, what their inspirations are, and how fun and hilarious some of the moments were that we captured for you on video.

Some Highlights of my trip included:

-Seeing all of my dear friends at Market that I have missed over the past few years.
-Hanging with my girls, Megan and Emily – they are incredible friends and I am awed by their help in getting all of our footage, photos and networking for BC at Market. Amazing!
-Rooming at the Marriott with Paula Prass, Jennifer Storey, and Jona Giammalva – you gals rock!
-Having the tables turned on me and being interviewed by Kim and Kris of The DIYDish! Can you say Hot Seat?
Meeting Nancy Soriano and Jo Packham Cofounders of The Creative Connection
-Chatting with local bloggers in SLC about Boutique Cafe, Market, my family and the gorgeous and incredible weather while we were down there!
-Soaking my feet at night
and many more things I will be sharing throughout our coverage so stay tuned!

PHOTO SHARE

**To visit my bursting gallery of over 300 Quilt Market photos that we took while in SLC click here and head to my Flickr album. I’d LOVE to read your comments!

Please watch for our upcoming Market Interviews coming soon – I’m so excited to share them with all of our Boutique Cafe viewers! Now get clickin’ those Flickr photos because there is great stuff in there! – Daria

I am giddy that this week, in just a few days I’ll have the experience once again of attending Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. Quilt Market is a twice a year phenomenon where fabric designers, pattern makers, sewing enthusiasts and industry gather to showcase what they have been working on. It’s a treat and there is always great energy in the air. Sometimes you feel like you’re bursting with ideas just by being in the room.

We have been covering Quilt Market as Press for our viewers for several years now, and I have a feeling that this year is going to be the best ever! To share in all the creative fun I have a great team coming along with me – Emily our Contributing Editor and owner of Is This Really My Life, and Megan (our past Queen of Chat on Boutique Cafe) and owner of Brassy Apple. Aren’t I a lucky girl to have such a talented and amazing team?!! Just look for the two tall, amazingly stunning gals with cute hair and great shoes and you’ll spot Emily and Megan!! We are gearing up for all the fun and mayhem that Quilt Market provides. If you are attending and see us in the aisles please stop and say hello, we would love to meet you. I also have a few goodies to give away…shhhhhh its kind of a surprise.

Boutique Cafe will be featuring a huge selection of Market interviews, pictures and oodles of giveaways with many of your favourite designers, so be sure to check back here for post-Market coverage. We will even be partying with many bloggers at the Quilt Market Meet-up on Saturday evening. Thursday evening I’m hoping to make it to Quilt Market Sweet Treats and Drinks, a mixer so I’m crossing my fingers that my plane arrives on time for us to attend. It’s going to be a whirlwind of a weekend (feet don’t fail me now), but I can’t wait to get back and share all that we have discovered with you.

See you in SLC and beyond everyone! XO - Daria

If you have questions for specific designers, we would love to capture them answering you on video. Simply post or email your question and we’ll do our best to ask the designer for you at Market. Just a fun way to bring you all along with us.

Welcome Everyone to Boutique Cafe! We’re so excited to have you here as a stop in the Ultimate Blog Party this year. This week Boutique Cafe is excited to “party down” and join the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes For Mom. We love their website, and are thrilled to be able to join in the groove with many bloggers and websites across the blogosphere.

As means of celebration Boutique Cafe wants to give one of you a FREE 6 Month Advertising spot on our popular website valued at $540!! We are all about helping small businesses get their name and products out there, and a free ad on BC will do just that for you! This will give you a small taste of what Boutique Cafe has to offer, but don’t stop there listen to our past podcasts, shop till you drop in our Market, Follow us on Twitter, Join our Facebook Group and come back often for our Daily Dish hot product reviews and BC FINDS!

To all our New visitors this week, welcome to Boutique Cafe. Don’t forget to bookmark us and come back often – to learn more about BC check out our About Us page. Thanks for stopping by for your cup of couture and so much more!

Now let’s PARTY -

**GIVEAWAY – Boutique Cafe is giving away a 6 MONTH Ad Spot in our sidebar to One lucky poster (valued at $540) that’s 6 full months of free exposure for your blog or website. To be eligible simply post a comment about our website or this show – we’d love to hear from everyone that visits. We’ll draw the winner on April 9th at midnight.

To Enter:
Leave a comment below with a valid email address for our drawing.

For additional entries:
Follow us on Twitter and tweet about our Giveaway using Hashtags #UBP11 #BoutiqueCafe

Join our Facebook Group and come back here to let us know that you did

Share our Giveaway in your Facebook status – comment here with link to your post

Awhile ago I promised to totally embarrass myself and dance for my Facebook group if we reached 1600 fans. Well, we made it …and then some, in fact we continue to grow everyday!

So here, as promised is your own little piece of blackmail Makes me wonder what I should do for my Boutique Cafe TWITTER followers when we hit 8000!! Thanks everyone for supporting Boutique Cafe on FB and beyond!! XO Daria

Join our Boutique Cafe Facebook Group today>>
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I don’t think I can stand to wait until next Monday! A little bird happened to tell me that Season 3 of the DIYDish is kicking off on Monday with special guest and fabric designer Joel Dewberry. I’ve met Joel Dewberry before and he’s a wonderful guy with a great personality Plus he’s so talented! Together Kim, Kris and Joel will work on this adorable bird pincushion, and my guess is that many of you will be working on it too over the coming weeks! See you on The DIYDish this coming Monday March 23rd. – Daria

We certainly think Sandi Henderson is a head turner, and you can be too! Sandi had listed these adorable headband fabric kits on her website, with all the fabrics and elastic used to make her adorable reversible Head Turner headband.

*You will need to purchase the magazine for the instructions, this is only for the materials (We don’t want you to be surprised!)

This project was kitted in very limited quantities, grab one now! Think how chic you’ll look at International Quilt Market in SLC this May wearing one of Sandi’s head turners. Time to go shopping!

For all of you fabric loving design types out there, this is a dream come true! Michael Miller Fabrics and SpoonFlower have teamed up to discover their next licensed fabric designer…is it YOU?!! The hunt is on, so get sketching and dreaming and be sure to go to Project Selvage for all of the details here>>

The winner of the challenge receives the following:

• Licensing Contract to print their collection with

Ten finalist will recieve the following:

• $100 Spoonflower Credit
• 10 yds of Michael Miller Fabric (Chosen by individual finalist)

Emily is always raving about the adorable shoes offered at See Kai Run. I decided that a little shopping was required for Lola my 13 month old, so I wandered on over to their website to take a peek. When what to my wandering eyes should appear?!! but these incredible mustard yellow/RUFFLE shoes (called the Tiana Yellow on the site).

To me these were utterly irresistible, they might as well have been dripping in chocolate! So the package arrived today, and inside were Lola’s new ruffle shoes. I ordered them a bit big so she has to wait a few months to wear them, but we’re ready to be all stylin’. Lola’s reaction was priceless, she literally gasped when she saw them. That’s my girl!

Thanks Emily and See Kai Run for adding yet another vice into my life. XOXO - Daria

Crafters, Small Business Owners, Designers and Moms : Have you joined our Boutique Cafe group on Facebook yet? We’re having so much fun together this week sharing great Valentine’s Day DIY links and craft ideas.

QUICK! Join Here>>

I am honoured to have submitted the launch photo for Megan’s new blog adventure, we all need to pack our virtual bags and enjoy this together. Megan (aka Brassy Meg) kicks off her new blog today entitled “I am…more than just”.

Of her new blog project Megan says:
“This blog is about sharing snapshots from women all around the world. We are more than just all the labels, advertising, and categories we are put in or put ourselves in.

We are more than just…........

We all have different forms of beauty, different talents, traits that make us who we are and ideas that drive us and mold our character. We all have a story to tell.

So what can you capture through the lens of your camera to share? Often we as women and mothers are behind the camera capturing life without us in that moment. I want you to share those moments and occasionally step in front of it as well. We capture so many beautiful moments, images, stories and emotions through a single photo. We can learn so much from each other.

This blog will have a monthly theme that all the photos will be based on – like a tiny window into your life wherever you are on the globe. My hope is that we will see how similar we may be, to connect with others, to share a bit of our stories through a picture and a few simple words. To be intrigued about our differences. To laugh, cry, smile…..to be seen.

We are more that just….........women, mothers, teachers, stay at home moms, working moms, single, divorced, married, tall, short, blonde, brunette….......”I AM” will let you declare through a photo bits of yourself and your daily life to share with other women.”

*Please join me in congratulating one of the most talented and kindhearted women I know on a worthwhile and amazing project. I can’t wait to see my readers participate by sending in your own pictures, and sharing the many parts of you with the world. XO - Daria

Follow IamMoreThanJust on Twitter>>

A few of our readers have been asking for an update on how my little Lola is doing. I’m happy to share that our darling girl is now 13 months old and the joy of our lives. We’re crazy for her, the boys are all so proud of each little thing she does. Thank you all for caring so much about my family, I will try to share more pics and fun stories since so many of you have been asking me to do just that!! I hope you enjoy the pictures, she is growing up so fast. – Daria

Lola’s photos were taken by: Lizzy Anne Photography

Got a great Biz but no funds?? Tell me why you need FREE Ad Space on BoutiqueCafe We’re drawing a winner tonight at 10pm!! Good Luck!

Entries are coming in:

Here on our Twitter Account – just tweet to @BoutiqueCafe
and on our Facebook Group – Just post and let us know why you need a free ad for your business

AND This Contest is Now CLOSED -

The FREE AD Frenzy is complete and we have our winner…well WINNERS! I loved all of your comments on Facebook and Twitter so much, I understand the pangs with owning your own small business so I’m giving free ad spots to THREE winners instead of one. I’ve randomly drawn the winners and they are as follows: Artsy Fartsy Scraproom (AKA @Hotmamabree on Twitter), LuLuBelle’s Couture, and MyLilDarlings Boutique! Congratulations

Obviously there is great need for affordable advertising and getting your name out there in as many places as possible. I am currently working on an idea for Boutique Cafe which I hope will be a real help to all of you. I’ll be posting about it shortly when I’ve worked out the details. Hang in there friends – someone cares…ME!! Daria

We would like to take a moment to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, and a bright and beautiful New Year. We hope each of you will experience the true joy of the season, and be surrounded by love and happiness.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Boutique Cafe – XOXOXO