My Brassy and fashionable friend Megan is showing us all how it’s done! That’s right DIYers, scoot on over to Brassy Apple for a tutorial on how to make your own Necklace board! Brassy Apple DIY Necklace Board Tutorial

And other ways to store & organize your jewelry in her video here >>

On the weekend I was able to pull together a Valentine Themed Photo booth for the youth dance at our church. The teens LOVED it, so I’m sharing this tutorial today because it was so much fun to do, and you can do it too.

I ran to Michael’s and purchased a red trifold cardboard, the kind your kids use for class projects. Then I set out to decorate it. I cut out some XOXO’s on my silhouette machine, and hot glued on glittery hearts. Then threw a cute dollar store garland on for some dimension. Just place on a small table, drape on a Valentine table cloth and you’re good to go.

The props were so much fun to make. I used some good quality cardstock and cut out the shapes I wanted on my silhouette cameo. I ended up cutting out moustaches, big kissy lips, glasses, etc. and I also found some cute little fuzzy hearts on sticks at the dollar store and used them too. In my craft storage I had a package of adorable pink paper straws with polkadots, I used hot glue to add the shapes so they could hold the props and strike a pose!

The real magic was in using my Instax Mini camera so the kids instantly had their pictures. We put them up on the wall for all to see and giggle at, and at the end of the dance they each took their picture home. With teenagers sometimes they feel self conscious when asked to pose for a picture, but as soon as they saw the props they were all in and it gave them a way to play dress up.

It was so much fun, I would do this again in a heartbeat and plan on doing this for my little kids closer to Valentine’s Day with their friends. If you create your own photo booth for Valentine’s Day I’d love to see it, be sure to leave a link in the comments. – XOXO Daria

I recently made a ton of these Mason Jar Snow Globes with my children and the young women in our church. Everyone LOVED them so much. They are beautiful, fun and easy to do! It’s a great project and when you’re done you feel like you really have accomplished something wonderful because they are mesmerizing. Here’s how I made ours >>

You’ll Need:
-Clean Mason Jar and Lid with a good seal
-Glitter OR Snow Flakes (I purchased Buffalo SnowFlakes at Michaels – see image)
-Something to put inside your globe. I found these cute trees at our Shoppers Drug Mart – a box of 3 for $5 but you can use bottle brushes or other trees from hobby and craft stores.
-Water
-ribbon if you wish
-A Glue Gun

How To:
-Use your glue gun to glue the base of your tree to the inside middle of your lid. Ensure it’s directly in the middle and test it out ahead of time to make your your tree will fit through the opening. Let it dry.
-Add your snowflakes or glitter to your jar, a little goes a long way. I used few generous pinches with these flakes but you can do whatever you’d like.
-Now add your water. You want to fill your jar quite high, almost to the rim so you don’t have big ugly air bubbles. Just a little space. Don’t worry you can always adjust it.
-Now take your lid with tree attached and screw it into place. Tighten it good and tight. Wipe down your jar and make sure you have a good strong seal.
-Add some cute ribbon and you’re done!

Now you’re ready to gift them or enjoy them. Be warned, they are addictive and you’ll want to make lots. You can also experiment with jar sizes and cute things to put in them (i.e. christmas balls, ornaments, figurines etc.). Have fun with the flakes, go make some MAGIC!! – Daria

If you make a Snow Globe please share your pictures or a link with us, we’d LOVE to see what you’ve made!

I was beyond thrilled to find this fantastic tutorial for making a Bow Scarf on one of my fave blogs “Ruffles and Stuff“. Check Check Check it out!!

I’m definitely ready to make these for each of my nieces this Christmas as well as my little Lola bug. Can’t wait to get cracking on this adorable project! Had to share – don’t forget to bookmark her blog it’s full of awesome posts and ideas. XO - Daria

It’s time to Bring on the Bling! I’m thrilled to present the incredible Boho and Glam lines from {Styled} by Tori Spelling on Boutique Cafe! First of all, I want to mention that I absolutely adore Tori Spelling and greatly admire her passion for her family, love of crafting and zest for being a momprenuer. I also enjoy her incredible sense of style (and the fact that she has a chicken as a family pet). Love her! That being said, I was eager to showcase {Styled} by Tori Spelling for our readers, and of course to try it out myself.

The idea behind {Styled} is that by using “simple steps to style”, anyone can quickly and easily put together gorgeous statement pieces of jewelry in just minutes. {Styled} by Tori Spelling offers 4 collections of components (Boho, Glitz, Noir and Glam) including necklace tops and bottoms, findings,connectors to finish your necklaces, even pendants to refine your look. The beautiful part is that NO TOOLS ARE REQUIRED, absolutely anyone can pull together the elements and create a gorgeous design you’ll be excited to wear and showoff.

I was sent a glorious box filled with components from the Boho and Glitz lines. There’s a certain thrill that comes from knowing you are going to create something new to dress up your style. I started playing around with the pieces and findings and realized how brilliant this system is, it’s so easy to do that you can’t get it wrong. If you’re personal style is simple you might opt for using a basic necklace top, bottom and connectors – if however you want to dress it up and inject your own flair you can literally keep adding to the piece to make it special and standout. There are no rules, you can use components from the {Styled} by Tori Spelling lines and even attach things you already own such as vintage brooches with their nifty connectors.

I loved the ease of crafting my own {Styled} by Tori Spelling jewelry. The Boho collection is very much for the free spirit who loves mixed metals, medallions and fresh colours. The Glam line incorporates beautiful metals in gold and bronze, highlighted by ivory, coral and sparkling rhinestones. Glam is very much about the metals and textures. I loved how both lines could intermingle with each other!

There’s nothing more girly than wanting to dress up your look with the perfect piece of statement jewelry, and there’s nothing more crafty than making it yourself! That’s what {Styled} by Tori Spelling allows you to do, and with countless combinations of components you can wear an original piece each day.

***GIVEAWAY: Now it’s your turn to build your own “dream collection” of jewelry with {Styled} by Tori Spelling. One of our lucky Boutique Cafe readers is going to receive $50 worth of jewelry from {Styled} by Tori Spelling!! Here’s how:

Each person can leave up to five separate comments…increasing your chances of winning! One comment per task completed.

• Leave a comment here on Boutique Cafe with which Collection in the {Styled} by Tori Spelling line is your personal favorite.

ADDITIONAL BONUS ENTRIES:

• Facebook about the giveaway and come back and leave a comment below saying you did.
• Tweet about the giveaway using #ToriStyle and come back and leave a comment below saying you did.
• Jump up and down yelling “I need some {Styled} by Tori Spelling Jewelry!!” and email us a photo of you doing it to: boutiquecafe@gmail.com

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: Sept 29th (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen. Must be a resident of the USA or Canada for shipping.

***UPDATE:
Congratulations to our WINNER Tara Molnar who will receive $50 worth of {Styled} by Tori Spelling Jewelry! We are thrilled for you. Thanks so much to everyone for your participation, don’t forget to check out the {Styled} by TS jewelry at your local craft stores and online.

Fans of The Hills and Laguna Beach now get the pleasure of viewing the beautiful LC aka: Lauren Conrad in her new “Crafting Creations” YouTube Video series.

In a few of her new videos Lauren shares how to made a Bib Necklace, Revamped Clutch, Washer Bracelets, Headbands, Stencilled Accent Pillows and more!! I’m totally hooked!

It’s such a fun era to see some of our favorite TV stars getting out of the Crafting Closet and sharing their DIY side in more personal productions (e.g. Tori Spelling with her new Craft Wars show). Our Boutique Cafe readers have loved this genre for years, and are enjoying that celebrities are crafting it up right along with us!

It’s like a dream come true for those of us who love crafting, DIY and boutique design. Lauren we LOVE your new videos, keep sharing! – XO Daria

I’ve been spending alot of time recently on Pinterest (who isn’t? Honestly!) searching out ideas for our family’s Easter celebrations. Now with Easter weekend sneaking up on us in just a few days, I wanted to share a few of my “Fave finds” including some projects and special touches to make your Easter magical and meaningful.

I hope you enjoy and will follow my boards on Pinterest, I love sharing what I love with you and I also truly enjoying seeing what each of you is interested in and working on. If you’d like me to follow your boards on Pinterest be sure to leave me your linky.

Hippity Hoppity Easter’s On It’s Way >>

**As an added bonus: Remember that DIY Owl’s Nest Tutorial I made back in Dec of 2010? Well you can also make those cute and easy nests for Easter and use them in a ton of ways to add a special touch to your Easter baskets or your Easter table. You could make smaller nests and set one at each place on your table for Easter dinner filled with a treat, a message or a beautiful colored egg. Here’s the original tutorial for making my nests, enjoy! Since it was originally put together for Christmas, you’ll have to use your wonderful imaginations and visualize some eggs and bunnies.

PS - My amazing friend Megan at Brassy Apple has her own Nest Tutorial here as well>>

You HAVE to check out the new article about creating collages and gallery walls by Shelley Smith (aka The House of Smiths blog). I am always amazed by the incredible inspiration and DIYposts that Shelley shares, I’m a huge fan. When I saw her recent post on Homes.com I knew I had to take a moment and send all of you over to check it out.

Whether you own your home, or if you rent and can’t alter your environment with paint colors, Shelley has great inspiration to create walls you’ll love!

Enough said, go check it out now

– Daria

If you’re searching for the perfect Valentine Card ideas and cute themed crafts for February 14th don’t miss out on my Pinterest board! I’ve been collecting the best links and ideas for you to enjoy. Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, and if you’ll please let me know your username I’d LOVE to follow your pins as well.

For Valentine’s Day this year let’s get pinned together. – XO Daria

Pinterest Valentine’s Day Board

Jennifer Paganelli and I have teamed up to bring you some fun Valentine Day Ideas using her “Girls World” book and patterns. If you’re thinking that a sewing project is in order for your special little girl for Valentine’s Day Jennifer has put together a beautiful book filled with 21 sewing projects for little girls. Utilizing your own sense of style and choices of fabrics you can make and remake these projects to suit any season, including Valentine’s Day.

What I love about Girl’s World is how Jennifer has designed patterns for every aspect of a girls world – fashion, accessories, decor…it’s all in here! Published by Chronicle Books, it’s a gorgeous feast for the eyes and is guaranteed to get those creative juices flowing just by cracking the spine. All patterns are enclosed and ready to go, inside the inner front cover pocket. The rest is an indulgent glimpse into the beautiful world of a little girl, and how you can recreate that in your own homes.

Now to Valentine’s Day – I would love to suggest a few projects that would be great bets to create for Cupid Day.

Sophie Glittered Apron

This simple tulle apron, would make a darling project for your little girl’s Valentine’s Day. Surprise her by creating this tulle apron with glitter ribbon. Then have her wear it over a sweet solid dress, the apron will totally jazz it up and look amazing! Don’t forget that you can always embellish with a simple heart pocket for a cute Valentine’s effect.

Gigi Ruffled Pillow
Check out the Gigi ruffled pillow! Isn’t it gorgeous as a throw pillow for a bed, or as an accent pillow? Perfect for the little girl who loves to cuddle up on her bed and tell you about the cute little boy she likes at school.

Valentine’s Day Banner
Project No.21 in the book is a Happy Birthday banner, but this project is so versatile you can easily work your magic and create a Valentine’s Day banner in a snap. Using pre-made felt letters you can mix it up and create a banner for any occasion or any name in your family!

Chloe Paper Doll Overnight Bag
This overnight sack is such a sweet way to say I love You to your little girl. If slumber parties are on the horizon, this would be a darling unique present that she can take along and know how much you love her. So sweet!

There is so much more that I can’t show you in one post (memory boards, pin wheels, canopy’s and dresses), you’ll have to run out and grab a copy to cherish. You can pick one up on Amazon.com too!

*** Giveaway! Jennifer Paganelli is giving one winner a copy of her book “Girls World”!!

Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway; please leave a separate comment for each one you do:
• “Like” Sis Boom on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you did.
• Visit Sisboom.com and leave a comment telling us what inspires you most from Jennifers collection of fabrics, patterns and books.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
• Post in the SisBoom Facebook group and tell them you saw the review on Boutique Cafe!

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: Feb 3rd, 2012 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Shirley Clark for your Tweet:

January 30th, 2012 at 8:53 pm e
Tweeted the giveaway.
https://twitter.com/#!/embmimi/status/164194150307217408

You have WON the Jennifer Paganelli book Girl’s World! I have emailed you instructions for claiming your prize. Enjoy – this book is wonderful!

Thanks everyone for entering – more giveaways are coming so keep entering!

I just discovered the blog called This Fresh Fossil, it’s so fun! The bloggers chronicle improvements they are making to their 1st home. Tutorials, freebies etc. are available on the site.

I couldn’t help sharing this FREE grey Chevron pattern background download for all of you. Simply follow the link and download to your desktop using their instructions. Chevrons are so hot right now, it’s nice to get a cute one for free! Happy Happy Day!

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!

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!

“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!

Our interview with the beautiful and “oh so talented” designer Heather Bailey. Heather meets up with Boutique Cafe at Quilt Market in SLC to dish about all the many projects she had going on, “Garden District” fabric, a book called “Signature Styles” that she’s part of, and much more! It’s such a delightful treat for us to have Heather on the show, she inspires us greatly and we’re huge fans of her fabric and design style.

For even more Heather Bailey Inspiration:
Follow Heather on Twitter here>>
Join Heather on Facebook here>>
Indulge in Heather’s popular blog here>>
Shop Heather Bailey’s online store and website here>>

***GIVEAWAY! Heather Bailey is giving away a signed copy of “Signature Styles” book ***

Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway; please leave a separate comment for each one you do:

• Leave a comment telling us why you’d love a copy of Signature Styles with Heather Bailey
• “Like” Heather’s group on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you did.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
• Follow @_heatherbailey on Twitter and let us know that you did

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: Dec 15th, 2011 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

**Special Thanks: Thanks again to our friends at Quilt Market for inviting us as Press to their events. We love to attend their amazing Markets and bring you the most incredible interviews and products. Visit www.quilts.com to learn more about upcoming Market events in your area.

**Special Thanks to Megan (Brassy Apple) and Emily (Is This Really My Life) for being my incredible Boutique Cafe support team at Market providing video recording, interview support and lots of Diet Coke. I love you both!!

I’m so thrilled to be sharing my interview with designer Jennifer Paganelli from Quilt Market. Jennifer is such an amazing designer who has brought the fabric world many well loved lines – especially those of us who are girly girls! Her fabric is feminine, fun and full of Jennifer’s vibrant personality! We also have a quick peek at Honey Child fabric, it’s gorgeous so go grab some and start sewing.

In our interview Jennifer shares her book “Girl’s World” (published by Chronicle) with our audience. Girl’s World is full of 21 projects to sew for little girls. It’s a gorgeous book full of patterns and inspiration. If you have a little girl in your life, you need this book!

Find out more about Sis Boom and Jennifer Paganelli herself at www.sisboom.com. Join her Flickr group SisBoom Sightings here>>

***GIVEAWAY! Jennifer Paganelli is giving away a “Girl’s World” Prize Pack! ***

Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway; please leave a separate comment for each one you do:

• Leave a comment telling us what girly things you’d love to sew with Jennifer’s book.
• “Like” Sisboom on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you did.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: Nov 23rd, 2011 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

**Special Thanks: Thanks again to our friends at Quilt Market for inviting us as Press to their events. We love to attend their amazing Markets and bring you the most incredible interviews and products. Visit www.quilts.com to learn more about upcoming Market events in your area.

While on location at Quilt Market in SLC, Daria had the opportunity to catch up with Carina Gardner. Carina is such a talented lady (fabrics, patterns, she does it all!), and she is also local to the Utah area. In this interview Carina shares her adorable patterns for little girls through Riley Blake. Watch for her little boys patterns coming fall 2011 as well. You can find her patterns all over, we promise!

You can catch up with Carina on her blog, in her Facebook group, as well as on the Northcott and Riley Blake websites. If Twitter is your thing, you can definitely catch up with Carina on Twitter as well by following @carinagardner

**GIVEAWAY
We are giving away an adorable Carina Gardner Ruffle Dress pattern, to enter our drawing comment and share this episode for an opportunity to WIN! We’ll draw a winner on July 25th, 2011!!

Many more interviews are on the way, keep tuning in and enjoying your Cup of Couture and So Much More!!

A few weeks ago I shared a fun link up with you, including some awesome summertime activities for your children. As promised I’m back with some additional ideas to keep the kiddos entertained, engaged and having a blast during the long summer days. Enjoy and please share with others! – Daria

1. Footprint Butterfly – for all those little budding Picasso’s out there, get out the paint and use their feet as butterfly wings. This would also make a fun gift idea for Grandparents, it’s always so darling to capture the smallness of their little feet forever.

2. Adorable DIY Bird Feeders – Bird watching is always an interesting adventure for little ones. What’s even better? Getting a bit messy and making bird feeders. These ones are so adorable, and super easy!!

3. Puff Paint Artwork – you can make this puffy paint in your very own kitchen with self-rising flour, salt and food coloring. Cook in the microwave to puff it up. Voila!! You’re Awesome!!

*Check out my original suggestions here>> as well More ideas to come soon – let me know how your children enjoy these activities too!!

I love the opportunity that Boutique Cafe affords me to meet with creative people on a continual basis. Meeting with Violet Craft at Spring Quilt Market in SLC was such a lovely experience. I have “twittered” with Violet many times, but finally meeting her in person was wonderful as she is such a kind and genuine gal. I definitely recommend getting to know her through Twitter, Facebook and her blog.

Violet shares her beautiful collection of fabrics called Peacock Lane, as well as her children’s clothing patterns and a bag pattern for Indygo Junction!

GIVEAWAY!! Violet Craft Prize Pack including a Fat Quarter Pack of the ENTIRE collection (all 24 designs across both color ways!!) – she says “I don’t think they should be separated!” and we quite agree, they are Beautiful together!

Violet is offering an awesome GIVEAWAY for one of our very lucky Boutique Cafe viewers!!

For Entries to Win Simply:

Comment in our shownotes below, tweet on Twitter, Share on Facebook, or comment on YouTube for multiple entries to win a Prize Pack!! Draw Date is June 27th at Midnight, must have valid email address to win.

CONGRATULATIONS to our Winner Kelly Irene. And Thank You to everyone for your awesome comments and involvement. We have many more prizes to giveaway so keep commenting and sharing. XO!!

Many more interviews are on the way, keep tuning in and enjoying your Cup of Couture and So Much More!!

It’s always such fun to get together with Lucy Morey, Owner of Hot Scott Patterns and Fabric Designer with Henry Glass & Co. Lucy has some gorgeous “boy worthy” fabric out right now Henry Glass: Crystal Pier & Sunset Beach Collection. It’s beautiful and sophisticated for your trendy child’s room decor or clothing!

(*Please be aware that YouTube Videos are loading slowly for some people – they are working on the issue)

GIVEAWAY!!
Lucy’s offering an awesome GIVEAWAY for one of our Boutique Cafe viewers!! Comment in our shownotes below, tweet on Twitter, Share on Facebook, or comment on YouTube for multiple entries to win a Prize Pack!! Fabric and Hot Scott Patterns galore up for grabs – don’t miss out!! Draw Date is June 27th at Midnight, must have valid email address to win.

Many more interviews are on the way, keep tuning in and enjoying your Cup of Couture and So Much More!!

I wanted to “Link you Up” with several websites offering awesome summertime ideas for your children. I’ve been having such fun gearing up for summertime with my own little crew, and we are doing many of these projects and ideas this year. It seemed only fair to share all the goodness with you guys!

1. Liquid Sidewalk Chalk – Get out some paint brushes and have a Ball! Full directions at Stampin’ & Craftin’. My kids can’t wait to do this, it looks easy and don’t forget to snap pictures of the “giggle-fest”

2. DIY Art Kit – Dear Lizzy shared her incredible Art Kit idea on her blog, and I quickly set to work to make one for our family. Ours will go into the van and be at the ready while we are out discovering parks this summer. Then all we need to find is a picnic table and it’s mobile arts and crafts time. Love this!

3. Summer Journals – Brassy Apple (Megan) shares some great Summer Time Journal ideas, as well as ice blocks full of toys, and many other AWESOME ideas in this TV segment! We are making our summer journals today!



4. I-Spy Bottle for road trips – Meet the Dubiens created this coolest of cool I-Spy bottles for those long car rides. I’m making one of these for little Lola this summer.

5. Giant Bubble Wand – Tatertots and Jello always has GREAT ideas! This one looks like so much fun. Create a Giant Bubble wand and the solution to go with it!

LINK IT UP If you have discovered or blogged your own ideas for summertime activities with your kids please share it in our comment section below. We’d love to stop by and share in the fun! More summer ideas will be posted soon – feel welcome to submit yours for a feature to daria@boutiquecafe.com

Moms are so important to us, in fact we try to honor Motherhood year-round at Boutique Cafe. This year we wanted to gift something to each and every mother out there, it’s hard to buy for millions of Mom’s so Maggie and I teamed up again to offer you some amazing FREE printables for your wonderful Mothers.

The first printable download the gorgeous saying, print it and frame it up for Mom! This is a beautiful saying she will want to look at all year in her home. I know that I {adore} mine, I just printed it up yesterday and it’s lovely. We’re offering it four sizes:

Click Here to Download the PDFs, choose the size you want to print at home or send to your local print shop. Your Mom will love it!
4×6
5×7
8×10
11×14

Our second freebie takes just a few more simple Photoshop skills to customize. We’re gifting you a “Mommy Business Card” template. Now you can share your contact info with other Mommys at the playground and get together for Gymboree class or playdates. Drop in your own picture and contact information, have your Mommy Card printed up and get connected. We love this idea {plus isn’t Emalie just adorable on her mommy’s card below? Thanks Maggie and Emalie!}

Click Here to Download the Photoshop template for our customizable Mommy Card

Happy Mother’s Day to each and every one of you!

There is so much a’buzz in the blogging world, and some pretty pretty things that I must share.

1. Elizabeth Kartchner (aka Dear Lizzy) is launching a NEW site this Thursday called “Something Splendid” – isn’t that delicious? I have the launch marked on my calendar because everything she does is ultra beautiful and drool worthy. Just check out this little teaser video created by her husband Collin and you’ll be rushing to your computer Thursday to check out the new site with me:

Something Splendid from Collin Kartchner on Vimeo.

2. Megan (aka Brassy Apple): we all have seen the easy and beautiful DIY method of making those adorable rosettes for your hair, jewelry and more. Brassy Meg cranks it up a notch with this awesome tutorial on making a Burlap Rosette Bracelet. It’s fun and fabulous just like her >>

Have YOU spotted something Fabulous we need to spotlight? Email us the link (daria@boutiquecafe.com – subject: Fab Tip) and if we use your suggestion we will credit you with a link back to your blog or website. It’s a fun little way to share the best content on the web with our BC readers, and its a fun little boost of traffic for you. XO - Daria

Check out my little Dollar Store find tonight! I purchased these little obtuse chicks, but you could EASILY make your own DIY style…for reals! All you need is a kidney shaped piece of foam (cut it that way), wrap with your favorite colored twine or raffia. The eyes can be purchased at Michaels or any craft store for cheap. The beak is merely a piece of orange paper glued on. And the little chick feet are wire wrapped in string. Quick Easy and adorable – I’ve named these guys my little Picasso Peeps! Happy Easter! – Daria

I’ve also shared these little cuties on my blog here>>

In a Special video episode of Boutique Cafe, Daria is giddy to receive the new Project Life scrapbooking system from Becky Higgins! We unbox the kit, and show you all the goodies included in this gorgeous scrapping system. Becky I love you for simplifying my life like this!!

***Giveaway!!

PLUS we have an Amazing GIVEAWAY from Becky Higgins – she is offering a Boutique Cafe viewer a “Project Life” Kit of their choice!! Drawing takes place on Valentine’s Day at midnight (Feb. 14th, 2011).

Here’s how to enter. You may do as many as these as you like. Each counts as one entry into the giveaway. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

– Visit BeckyHiggins.com and comment below telling us why you need Project Life (or what your fave design is) – Tweet about this Review/Giveaway- include @BoutiqueCafe in your tweet (leave a link to your tweet in your comment) – Post this review and giveaway on Facebook (leave a link to you post in your comment) – Follow @BeckyHigginsLLC on Twitter and let her know you saw this video on @BoutiqueCafe – Post a comment to Becky on her Facebook group and tell her that Boutique Cafe sent you!

We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: February 2, 2011 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

We LOVE DIY tutorials and crafts and will be hosting more of them over the coming weeks as the holidays approach. If you have a tutorial you’d like featured on Boutique Cafe please contact us with your idea!

In the meantime, here’s a rehash of some great tutorials that will set your heart aflutter, and bring on the creativity. – Daria

Fabric Wall Art Tutorial – from Brassy Apple
Brassy Banner Tutorial
Make Fabric Candy Dishes
Gorgeous Tulle Garland Tutorial – Lisa Carroccio
Beautiful Bow Making – Lisa “The Diva”
Scents of the Season – Yummy Scents for your home during the holidays
Beautiful Gift Wrapping Techniques and Tips – Lisa Carroccio
End of the School Year Teacher’s Gifts – Daria Muirhead
DIY Camera Strap Tutorial – Priddy Creations
Valentine ideas – Say I Love You DIY Style – Kim of You Can Make This
All the Rage Bib Necklace - Carla the Scientific Seamstress
DIY Christmas Crackers
DIY Wheat Sack Bags – Brassy Apple (formerly Creative Outlet)

My dear buddies Kim and Kris from The DIY Dish (yes they are twins, no they are not related to Marie Osmond) are guests in a fun challenge on the Nate Berkus Show airing Oct 27th!! Don’t miss it! Eeek so excited for you both, I’ll be watching and cheering – XOXO Daria

My “SWEET” friend Jenny aka The Dessert Darling posted this adorable video/tutorial with Leslie Sarna, the “Dainty Vegetarian”. Together they whip up three different Halloween themed cupcakes that are easy and delicious to boot! I’m definitely making those precious pumpkin cupcakes with my kids this week. Which ones will you be making?

Jenny your beautiful Dessert Darling host takes you through the wonderful world of indulgence on her blog. If you’re going to indulge, why not do it right?! Jenny showcases the Best of the Best when it comes to cakes, cookies, desserts and treats. Plus she is just infectiously adorable! – Happy Halloween, let us know how your cupcakes turned out. – XOXO Daria

Please take a moment to Follow Dessert Darling on Twitter
And Like her Facebook group page as well!

-->