26
Feb

Crafter’s Vision Giveaway

I’m really excited about today’s giveaway! Why? Because our lovely blog sponsor, Crafter’s Vision is giving away two $50.00 gift certificates to two very lucky The Cottage Home blog readers. That means you get to browse their shop and pick out whatever you would like and trust me, you could get lost for hours browsing their massive inventory.

If you’ve never visited Crafter’s Vision, you must head over there when you get a chance. They carry a great selection of fabric, trim, ribbons, craft supplies and so much more.

It has been so cold here in Chicago, that I am really longing for spring. So I put together some pinks and greens (pictured above) that I think are calling my name. I love this little bundle of fabric from ‘Blend’ fabrics, plus those nursery prints by Heather Ross are just adorable. I don’t know, pink and green always feels kind of preppy and classic to me.

Crafter’s Vision gets in new inventory daily, but I’m pretty sure if you check them out, that you will find plenty of things that you need to take home right now. I am trying to be good since I have so much fabric right now, but as I was looking through their store yesterday, I saw a lot of things that were begging to come into my home.

Also, how about free shipping in the US on orders over $30.00? Yep, they’ve got that too.
Now onto the giveaway……like I said, Crafter’s Vision is offering two $50.00 gift certificates to their store for two different winners. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter below.
Giveaway open until Thursday, February 28, 2013 at midnight (CST).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

25
Feb

Riley Blake Designs Winner

And the winner of the Riley Blake Designs Fat Quarter Bundle is………..

Congratulations, Tricia! You are going to love this fat quarter bundle. Please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information and we will get this bundle in the mail to you as soon as possible. Thanks so much to everyone who entered and check back tomorrow for another great giveaway!

20
Feb

Knot Dress Tutorial & Riley Blake Designs Fat Quarter Bundle Giveaway

Can you believe that I am registering this little lady for Kindergarten today? Yes, it’s really true. How did this happen? Please hit the pause button right now!

Today I am over at Riley Blake Designs sharing my Project Design Team Tutorial for this Easy Knot Dress. I hope you’ll pop over and check it out if you get a chance.

Click HERE to learn how to make this Easy Knot Dress.

And the giveaway…….

Because it’s my Project Design Team Day, I also get to giveaway an entire Fat Quarter Bundle of one of my favorite fabric lines, Little Matryoshka by Carly Griffith for Riley Blake Designs. This bundle includes 21 Fat Quarters of the entire line. You are going to love it!

To enter the giveaway, please enter via the Rafflecopter below……..
a Rafflecopter giveaway

19
Feb

Pin Cushion Ring Tutorial

When I was teaching at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion a couple of weeks ago, I needed some straight pins for a project I was demonstrating. Our lovely machine educator in the room, Darlene, handed me this sweet little pin cushion that she had brought with her. It was so adorable and perfect for traveling.

Upon closer examination of this pincushion, that had been given to Darlene by her by a friend, I noticed that it was simply made from a plastic bottle top. The bottle top had two holes drilled in the top and a piece of elastic was used for the ring portion. I knew that when I got home, I wanted to try to make my own version of this darling little pin cushion.

I still had some leftover blank rings from the DIY Cabochon Jewelry that I had made as Christmas gifts this year, so I decided to use those as the base for my pin cushion. These pin cushions would make such a sweet gift for the seamstresses / quilters / sewists in your life. Or just make one for yourself……they make the most perfect little travel pin cushion!

Pin Cushion Ring

Supplies:
1 plastic bottle top
1 3″ x 3″ circle of fabric
Ribbon or Trim (4″ – 5″)
1 blank ring base
Fiberfill or other stuffing (just a small amount)
Strong craft glue (i.e. E6000)
Hand sewing needle
Thread
Scissors
Instructions:
Gather up your supplies. You can find blank rings at your local craft store (i.e. Michael’s, Joann’s, Hobby Lobby, ect). I like the adjustable kind because you don’t have to worry about whether or not the rings are going to fit.
Also, choose any size or type of plastic bottle top that you like. It can be big or small…..it doesn’t really matter.
Cut out a circle from your fabric. I used the top of one of my storage containers as a guide. It measured approximately 3″ x 3″. If you make a larger circle, you will have a larger, more rounded pin cushion top. If you cut a smaller circle, then your pin cushion top will lay more flat within the plastic bottle top. It’s entirely up to you how large or small you would like your pin cushion, but 3″ worked well for the standard top.

Do a basic running stitch around the entire edge of the fabric circle with your hand sewing needle and thread. Pull the thread a little to begin gathering the circle.

Fill the circle with a small amount of fiberfill or other stuffing of your choice. Once you have stuffed the circle, pull the threads even tighter to close the top of the pin cushion. Sew back and forth a few times and knot your thread to secure.
Grab your strong craft glue (I like E6000) and apply a liberal amount to the inside of the plastic bottle top and the bottom of the pin cushion. Stick the pin cushion inside the bottle cap and continue pressing until it fits inside well.

Measure your ribbon or trim so that it is a little bit longer than the circumference of the bottle top. Fold under the two ends towards the wrong side of the trim and glue in place. Then apply your strong craft glue to the outside of the plastic bottle top. Wrap the trim around the bottle top, making sure to line up the trim with the edge of the top. Apply a little more glue where the trim overlaps to secure in place.

Apply glue to the blank ring and press in place on the bottom of the bottle top. Make sure you apply a good amount of glue to the ring, but not too much, because you don’t want to see the glue coming out from the ring top. You want it to look neat and tidy.

 After your pin cushion is dry, add some pins and you’re ready to go!
PS: I found some other great tutorials for different variations on this idea that I thought you might like to check out. This one from Prudent Baby and this one from Riley Blake Designs uses a metal bottle cap and here is one that uses elastic as the ring base.
15
Feb

Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion ~ Teaching Recap

I just got back this past Monday from being away for eight days teaching sewing classes at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. It was such a wonderful and memorable experience, but I am so happy to be back home with my husband and little ones. I was so incredibly flattered when I was invited to teach at the School of Art Fashion. I knew that the teachers at this school were truly legends in the heirloom sewing world, so to be included in this group was very special to me. The school takes place twice a year……in February and July.

To be honest, I didn’t know quite what to expect upon arrival. I knew about the school prior to teaching, but I had never attended and didn’t really have much of a visual about the event. I even ‘google’ searched it to find some pictures, but came up short, so I just brought what I thought I needed and decided to go with the flow.

I arrived in Huntsville, AL on Sunday, February 2nd, 2013 to teach for a full seven days. I have never been to AL, but it turns out it is only an hour and a half from Chicago by plane. And it also turns out that Alabama folks have the most charming accents I have ever heard. Oh, they all just sounded so sweet…….’Bless Your Heart’……I loved it!

 Inside The Cottage Mama Classroom
Outside The Cottage Mama Classroom

I prepared my classroom for seven days of teaching. I brought all sorts of samples of my sewing. Most of them were my patterns or things that we were sewing in my classes, but I also brought some other pieces that I just really loved. I hung things on the walls inside the class and on the outside as well.

 Ruby Ruffle Pre-Day Class

At the School of Art Fashion there are three days of pre-day classes and then a four-day school. I taught three different, day-long classes during the pre-day with different sets of students and then had the same group of students that sewed with me for the full four days in my school.

I was also give an assistant for the week. I don’t know what I would have done without my assistant, Terri. She had previously worked for Martha Pullen, attended the school as a student and worked as an assistant prior to helping me. She was a wealth of information and made me feel so at ease with everything. Not to mention that she was very quick to pick up on some of my (somewhat) complicated sewing tricks so that she could help assist the students. I’m so thankful that I had her help!

So what did we sew? In my pre-day classes I taught the Shortcake Double Ruffle Dress, the Ruby Ruffle Dress and the Janey Jumper. In my school, I taught a new variation of my Charlotte Apron Dress pattern, machine applique and embroidery, a double layer twirl skirt, bloomer capris and two embellished shirts.

Also, during one of my classes the students expressed interest in learning about how I pair and select fabrics for garments. So we took a mini-field trip to the Martha Pullen store at the school and I tried to show them the method to my madness. It’s kind of hard to explain what I do, but it was helpful for me to be able to pull several different bolts and discuss pattern, color and scale with them.

Here are some of the students busy at work sewing, tracing, cutting, ect…….

 Cort, Lyn, Michelle and many others……
 Christi
 Michelle from Handmade Martini
 Inside The Cottage Mama Classroom

 Ruth
 Kathy

 Connie and Teresa
I loved my students. I was very blessed with a wonderful group of women who were all so sweet and excited to be there creating with me. We had wide range of ages which was a lot of fun. The entire Martha Pullen school ranged from age 19 to 86, but I’d say the majority of my students were mothers and grandmothers with younger children. I had so much fun looking through their iphones and seeing all their precious little ones.
And I was so flattered when I found out that Michelle from Handmade Martini (pictured above in the mustard colored sweater) had driven five hours just to take this one class from me. Can you believe it? And Christi (the red head pictured above) was also a blog follower who took one of the preday classes with me. It was great to connect with these younger ladies and I’m so glad we had some extra time to go to lunch together. I think we would be friends if they lived close by. You can check out the incredibly sweet post about the Martha Pullen School from Michelle by clicking here.

Charlotte Apron Dress Kit

Each class has a kit that is given to each student upon arrival. I selected all of the fabrics, trims, buttons, ect. Then they had a list of extras that they had to bring (basic sewing supplies, thread, and some other extras). Each kit also contained the pattern needed for each garment.

 Embroidery Thread in The Cottage Mama classroom

We had a lot of fun doing some machine applique and embroidery on the apron of the Charlotte Dress. Darlene, my wonderful machine educator that was in my classroom all week, had some great tips and tricks. I encouraged the students to get creative. Three of my applique designs were actually digitized by Darlene and in all of the students machines so they could use those if they wanted (a strawberry, owl and bird) or they could choose a built in embroidery design. It was very exciting for me to see them all go in different directions and create something different.

In addition to the classes there are several other events such as lunches with amazing sewing and embroidery machine giveaways, a banquet with little children modeling different gorgeous garments constructed by students and teachers, a barbeque, and teachers selling night (where I sold my patterns) and a table top clinic (where teachers each demonstrate different sewing projects or techniques).

 Liberty Lawn
(yes, I did finally give in and purchase some)

 Antique Children’s Garments from Martha’s personal collection that were sold via silent auction. All proceeds were donated to charity.
 Lace. Lots of Lace.
 Dresses and Rompers all gathered and ready for smocking.

Also, there is a giant pop-up Martha Pullen store in the center of the event. There is everything from quilting cotton, linen, silk, lace, ribbon, patterns, books, notions and so much more. I tried to keep myself out of there as much as possible, but I finally caved and bought some things on the very last day. You should have heard the buzz around the school when they had silk dupioni on sale for $5.00. It is so much fun to be around other women who are just as obsessed over quality fabrics as I am. And the ladies who attend the School of Art Fashion take it to a whole new level. I love it!

So I’ve shown you a lot of my experience, but what’s even more impressive is the work from this talented group of instructors hired by the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. Here are some inspirational pictures from some of the other instructors classrooms……

Pieces pictured above from Kari Mecca

Pieces pictured above from Connie Palmer

Pieces pictured above from Trisha Smith of Trisha’s Treasures

There was also a new Baby Lock school taught by Joi Mahon teaching students beginning draping and adult fashion design. I only heard amazing things from the students about their instruction from Joi. Above are some original creations by Joi and the students with their original fashion designs. It was amazing to see!
And finally, here I am with the one and only, Martha Pullen, herself. Martha, in a nutshell, is just simply amazing. She has a presence that brings a room to a complete stand-still. She has a faith that is unwavering. An energy that is completely contagious. And a business savvy that is to be admired. And on top of all that, she is a 70 year old woman who can still rock a pair of gold sequined uggs. Yes, she is that fabulous.
Like I said before, it was truly an honor to be invited to teach at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. I knew that going into this event, but I was told time and time again by the students about how honored I should be to be teaching. I was quite young in comparison to most of the teachers and to be lumped in with this amazingly, talented group of instructors gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. 
I’m not quite sure how I’ve ended up where I am today, but I am thankful and grateful and truly blessed.
12
Feb

Riley Blake Designs Fabric Fest

So I just got back from being away for nine days teaching at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion. I haven’t had time to go through my pictures yet, but I will be sharing my recap of this amazing event later this week. I am definitely spending some quality time this week with my littles that I missed so dearly when I was away.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some information about another event that I will be teaching at later this year in September called ‘Fabric Fest‘. It is a first-ever conference put on by Riley Blake Designs and will be held in Las Vegas September 9 – 12, 2013 (click here for more info). It is going to be such a great time, I can already tell. The registration just opened up so I thought you might like to know about it, in case you want to attend.

The two main keynote speakers will be Nancy Zieman and Eleanor Burns and there are lots of other really great instructors taking part in this event. There will be classes offered in quilting, clothing, home decor and more! Pretty much anything you can think of that has something to do with fabric.

Here is a little look at the class schedule:

I will be teaching three hands on classes about Sewing Lined Garments, Embellishing with Trims, and Sewing with Patterns. I will also be speaking on a panel with several other women discussing Finding Your Signature Style.

The fee for attending the conference is very reasonable (see below) and is pretty much all inclusive, meaning hotel, breakfast and lunch, classes and more. Here is a snippet of the FAQ in case you were interested:

I’m sure these classes will fill up quickly so I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the event since registration just opened today! I know several of you had asked me about sewing conferences and this is definitely one I think you will want to check out.

You can find out more about Riley Blake Designs ‘Fabric Fest’ HERE.
6
Feb

The Cottage Mama’s Favorite Ice Cream ~ Graeter’s

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but in case you are new around here, I used to be into musical theatre. I mean, really into it. Singing, dancing and acting was pretty much all I breathed growing up. It was my passion and it was what I thought I would end up doing with my life. However, life doesn’t always go according to plan.

I majored in musical theatre at University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM). It was a very prestigious school for musical theater, but after my first year of school there, reality sunk in. My parents ended up getting divorced and I realized that if I wanted to truly be able to support myself in life then theatre probably was not the most practical degree. I ended up transferring to DePaul University in Chicago and getting a degree in Finance. Yes, it was the polar opposite of musical theatre, but it was the most practical degree I could really think of obtaining at the time. Working in finance didn’t last long…….definitely wasn’t my cup of tea, but I have used the skill sets I gained from that degree in all different areas of my life.

So why am I telling you this long story since this post is supposed to be about ice cream? Well, when I was living in Cincinnati for a year, I fell in love with Graeter’s Ice Cream. It is the best! Have you ever had it? There was an ice cream shop in walking distance from campus and I’ll never forget my first taste of their pumpkin ice cream. It seriously knocked my socks off!

Well, guess what? You can buy Graeter’s ice cream in stores all around the country now! Why did I not know this? I feel like I’ve been missing out on this deliciousness for too long.

So I was not paid to do a review on Graeter’s, but I was sent a lot of ice cream from them (being a blogger does have it’s perks). Talk about a happy mail day when a giant container of ice cream packed on dry ice arrived at our home. We were sent six pints of ice cream and the girls could not wait to dive in.

Graeter’s carries all sorts of flavors, but the three flavors pictured here are (from left to right) Black Cherry Chocolate Chip, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Chocolate Chip.

The chocolate chunks in this ice cream are out of this world. I got one chunk that was about two inches long. The chocolate is dark and rich and a perfect compliment to the fruit flavor of the black cherry and raspberry ice cream.

Graeter’s ice cream is produced in small batches using the french pot process and uses the very best ingredients. Think fresh cream with no artificial growth hormones, sweetened with 100% cane sugar, hand selected Oregon black raspberries and strawberries and Madagascar vanilla beans.

I’m really not kidding when I tell you that Graeter’s is the very best ice cream ever! You can find it in many of your grocery stores these days (even though I was a little late to the party finding that one out), especially the specialty stores, but if you can’t find it then you can order it and it is shipped directly to your home. To find out more information about ordering, you can click here.

While my time in Cincinnati did not last long, the deliciousness of Graeter’s has stayed in my mind forever.
PS: I had way too much fun taking pictures of all of this ice cream!
4
Feb

Upcycled Boys Dungaree Tutorial

It’s been awhile since I shared a boy project, right? Well, this is a project that I shared a little while back over on Cheri’s blog, I am Momma Hear Me Roar. My husband had a pile of clothes sitting in our bedroom that had just shrunk or gotten kind of wonky after being washed tons of times. Being the good husband that he is, he knew to save those clothes for me and I could probably use them to make something for our little man, Caspian Finn.

Caspian is on the move these days. After having two girls, I had no idea how active boys could be. When I put pants on Caspian, I often find that they have slipped off his waist are are left behind in the dust. So overalls and one-piece outfits are great for him. I love vintage style fashion, so these are my modern take on traditional boys dungarees.

I used two pairs of my husbands pants as well as a small piece of one of his old flannel shirts. I lined the front of the bib with the flannel as I thought that would feel good as a lining.

Today I thought I would show you how I used an existing pattern to come up with these dungarees. I actually used my own printed sewing pattern called the Run Around Romper:

I knew I wanted a similar fit to the romper, but I wanted more of an overall feel. Using an existing pattern is a great place to start, especially if you know that the fit works really well on your child.

I folded down the top of the Run Around Romper pattern to use for the bottom half of the dungarees. The romper is typically lined, but for this version, I did the pants un-lined with a traditional hem. So I just cut 2 of the front and 2 of the back.

I cut two of the pants pieces out of each leg. If you were making these for a larger child then you might have to check to see if the pant legs of the adult pants are wide enough to accomodate your pattern pieces.

I noticed that the back of the pants already had an encased waistband which is perfect for the elastic back for the dungarees.

I simply cut the waistband off of the adult pants and cut it the same width as the back of the two romper pieces. The ends were left open for threading the elastic. I cut a 8″ piece of elastic, threaded it through the back waistband and sewed some reinforcement stitches on both ends to hold it in place.

For the top of the dungarees, I used one pant leg and cut the piece on the fold. I used the top of the romper pattern.

I wanted to change the shape of the front of the romper pattern piece, so I just changed the curve on the top a bit. I also cut this piece out of the flannel shirt for the lining.

For the knee patches, I just cut two ovals out of some of the corduroy pants.

The straps were cut 11″ long x 4″ wide. I didn’t have any pieces of the pants that were long enough, so I had to include a side seam, but I kind of like the look. To sew the straps, just place them right sides together and sew down one short side and one long side, leaving the other short end open. Clip the corners, turn right side out and press.

So here are all the pieces prior to constructing the dungarees. I also used the tab pattern piece from the Run Around Romper pattern. It’s really fun to change up an existing pattern that you all ready own. And you want to know what’s even better? These dungarees were essentially free since I used clothing that we already own!

I used two wooden buttons that I already had and the two smaller buttons on the tabs were cut off from my husbands’ pants.

Caspian has been wearing these a ton and I really wish I had a picture of him modeling them. They are way cuter on than on the hanger, but the way that guy moves these days, I can hardly keep up!

1
Feb

Winner ~ Quilts from The House of Tula Pink

And the winner of the book, Quilts from The House of Tula Pink, is……

Congratulations, Anne! If you could email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your mailing address, we will make sure to get you your book as soon as possible. Thank you so much to everyone who entered!

30
Jan

Alt Design Summit Recap

I’m going to start this post off by saying, that for those of you who don’t blog or don’t care about the business behind it all, might find this post extremely boring (and very wordy). And if so, that’s fine…….just skip this one. Also, I don’t usually talk about how I view and run my business, so I feel like I am revealing a little more of myself than normal. But I guess that’s pare for the course of stepping outside of my comfort zone. It’s hard to know where to start explaining all that was experienced during my three days at Alt Design Summit…..but I will try to do my best.

I chose to attend Alt for all the reasons I discussed in my previous post, but primarily because it was a design blogging conference. I originally started my blog as a place to share the projects I was working on, the recipes I loved and little tid-bits about our family with whoever would happen to want to read about. So I guess you could say it was a fun little hobby type of thing for me.

However, as more and more readers have subscribed and lots more people have visited the website, the tides have turned. And while I love blogging (I mean, I seriously love it), it is no longer just a hobby, it is a business in itself and an extension of my main business, The Cottage Mama. Blogging takes a lot of time and energy; therefore, I can only justify keeping up with it in the way I do if there is some type of financial component that can be used to help support my family. And thankfully, there is and it has been a huge blessing for us.

I pinch myself everyday because I feel like I am truly living the dream. I have the opportunity to stay home with my children and be a big presence in their lives and yet I am able to pursue this dream doing something I absolutely love. I am not perfect and I am not perfect at doing all of those things all of the time, but it makes me feel so empowered as a woman to realize that we really can have it all and make it work. I think there is such a stereo-type in our society that we are either a stay at home mom or a working mom, but we can’t do both and that is just not the case. I am proof positive. And I am beyond proud that my girls see me as more than their mother, they see me as driven, ambitious, creative and someone who follows their dreams…….and that to me is priceless.

So as you read about the different classes and panels I chose to take at Alt, I just want you to understand the fact that this blog is a business to me. Yes, first and foremost I love it (I would not be doing this if I didn’t) and I love all of you that visit and I really feel like some of you are truly my friends. I focused a lot of my energy at Alt in connecting with sponsors and learning where I can build my business from here. Yes, I think you could get some creative inspiration from Alt, but I definitely think it’s a conference for creative bloggers who consider their blog a business or want to take it in that direction.

So here’s how my Alt experience started……….

My sweet, darling husband took three days off of work so I could attend Alt. I felt a little guilty leaving him with the kids, but I knew he could handle it. I flew into Salt Lake City on Wednesday morning and headed over to the Grand America Hotel where I was staying and where the conference was being held. The Grand America is a five star hotel and it was fantastic! While I waited for my two roommates to arrive, I met up with Susan from Crafterhours and Natasha from Little Pink Monster for lunch. We had never met in person, but it’s amazing how much you know about someone or they know about you when you follow each other’s blog, facebook, instagram, ect. We had a great time talking about this, that and the other. And I’m really glad I had this one on one time with these talented ladies.

My two roommates arrived shortly thereafter and I was so excited to finally meet them in person. My husband says I can’t call someone a friend until I have met them in person, but I completely disagree…….blogging is a totally different world. You know what I mean, right? I stayed with Jess from Me Sew Crazy and Stef from Girl. Inspired. I knew I would like these girls…….turns out I love these girls. I don’t know anyone around here who gets exactly what it is that I do and how I try to balance it all, but these girls get it and they get me. And I so wished we lived closer (Stef is in California, Jess is in Virginia Beach and I’m in Chicago). This experience would not have been the same without them.

The first night when we arrived we attended a sponsor dinner. There were maybe 20 or so different dinners you could choose from that were hosted by different sponsors that wanted to connect with bloggers. I chose the Michael Miller Fabrics dinner (go figure, right?). Kathy Miller (yes, that’s the Miller of Michael Miller) and Christine Osmers were the hostesses. Christine actually sent me a bunch of fabric to use in my book that comes out later this year, so it was really great to put a face with a name and meet her in person.

 Instagram Photo – Michael Miller Dinner

The dinner was at the Little America Steakhouse. Kathy and Christine had an incredible table-scape that they had created using some of their fabrics and had adorable laminate and cotton tote bags for us to take home with lots of goodies inside.

Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies and Sarah from Sarah Jane Studios attended the dinner too. I got to sit next to Sarah at dinner and I always have so much fun chatting with her. I met her back at spring quilt market in Salt Lake City in 2011. I just love when you meet talented, creative people and they are truly nice and genuine. Just so you know, Sarah is just that and it makes me love her work even more.

Day 1:

At Alt Design Summit there were three sessions that took place at the same time. One group of sessions was for beginner bloggers (Track A), one was for more established bloggers (Track B) and one was for just about anyone (Track C).

Session 1:

The first morning session I attended was about Collaborations with Sponsors. I’d say my major take away from this was that sponsors want to connect and work with bloggers who have an engaged, loyal audience. It’s not just about the numbers, it’s about the conversations taking place and the community that surrounds the blog. I think a lot of bloggers get caught up in the number of followers and page views that occur on their blog, but really those don’t mean much if you aren’t engaging with your readers. Elembee has a great post that dives into the recap on this session even further (you can check it out here).

Session 2:

I needed this session. Like, really needed it. I am at a cross-roads with my business. Right now I am pretty much a one woman show. Yes, I do not have employees (in case you ever wondered). So that means I’m blogging, shipping retail and distributor pattern orders, ordering supplies, answering emails, writing a book, handling social media, sewing dresses, drafting new patterns, teaching classes and so on………all. on. my. own…….oh yes, and my most important job in the whole world being a wife and good mother (yep, no sitter either……although I did have one part time when I was writing my book).

Yes, my mom will jump on the blog from time to time and my husband is very supportive and helps me make this all work. But at some point, that point being pretty soon, I have to bring on help in some arena of this business. Whether that means I bring on a virtual assitant, add contributors / creative team to the blog, or simply hire out some tasks like shipping and bagging patterns. If my mom lived closer, then we would probably be in this together, but for right now she is in Texas and I’m in Chicago.

A big take away for me from this session is that if you really want to take your business to the next level, then you must focus on what you are good at and hire out all the rest. Even though it might seem like a stretch financially at the time, it will free you up creatively to make that next leap.

Lunch:

Even the menus were pretty at Alt. I would have expected no less, but they were beautifully printed and well-designed.

The lunch keynote address was given by Chris Anderson. To be honest, this was the session I probably got the least out of from the conference. He was a wonderful speaker and presenter, but it was a little too ‘tech’ oriented for me.

Session 3:

This session actually made my entire trip! I almost didn’t attend this session because there was another one that I was really interested in checking out. Jasmine Star is a well-known wedding photographer and such an amazing, inspirational speaker.

My biggest and most important take away from this session was realizing that not everyone is going to like me or my style or what I do and that is OK. It’s very easy to get stuck in the mindset that you must please everyone. But by doing this, we do not reveal who we truly are and we don’t allow people to form that connection and bond with us that happens when we are transparent. She was not saying that we should go through life without a filter, but people want to know who we truly are, what our opinions are and how we think and feel. I needed to hear this and I think I needed to hear this from someone who has become extremely successful in her business. It is an idea I am still trying to process, but I love it and it is something I will think about moving forward.

Session 4: 

I was really excited about this panel, but it kind of left me a little flat. I was really hoping for more direction and a glimpse into the actual schedule and day to day life of these bloggers. Unfortunately, I didn’t really hear anything, I didn’t already know and that most people know about balancing work and life. And basically all of them had family that watched their kids during the week and / or childcare, which isn’t really my situation. They did a great job, it was just that I, personally, did not really get much out of it.

Bing Lounge:

There were several lounges set up during the conference where you could go and get some coffee and network with other blogger’s and sponsors. The lounge below was the Bing lounge which was great and I didn’t get pictures of the other lounge that was set up on day one, but it was hosted by Better Homes & Gardens, The Honest Company, Minted, Michael Miller Fabrics, Wimsey Box and Serena & Lily. It was a pretty amazing group of sponsors to get to connect with each day.

The Bing lounge had a really neat cork map of the US on the wall and you could see where everyone was from. Turns out there are quite a few bloggers in Chicago.

This was another beautiful thing in the Bing lounge. Isn’t it cool? It’s all made with thread. I love this!

You can’t go wrong with fun embroidery hoops. I love the way some of these were embellished with hand embroidery, tulle, rick rack and buttons.

The Land of Nod Lounge:

Stef from Girl. Inspired and Jess from Me Sew Crazy
(My Alt Roommates)

Land of Nod had a lounge set up on the second day that was a Mad Hatter Tea Party theme. They were serving coffee, tea, scones, croissants and lots more during breaks in between sessions.

I was actually on the same flight as the Land of Nod folks since they are based in Chicago. I knew that they were headed to Alt…….you could just sense the hip-vibe coming from them as they sat at the gate ready to depart. So it was fun getting to chat with them before we headed to Salt Lake City.

Business cards. Let’s talk about business cards. I had been told that the business cards at Alt were going to be out of this world. And there seriously were. Some of them were like little works of arts, pretty packages and gifts all rolled into one.

 
I thought about redesigning my business cards to fit in with this ultra-hip crew at Alt, but I decided against it since I happen to really like my business cards. Instead, I added some stitching around the edge of each one with pink embroidery thread. It gave it a little some thing different.

Here is a handful of business cards that I got from Alt. This is not all of them, but you get the idea. They were pretty amazing. And I went through a ton of cards throughout the three days!

Day Two:

Session 5:

Darcy Miller was so lovely. For someone who works with the famous Martha Stewart, she was so down to earth and normal. She shared some of her tips and tricks for personalizing celebrations and gave a TON of sources for all things having to do with parties. She gave each of us these dark chocolate bars from Dean & Deluca that she had covered in her own custom candy bar wrapper. It was very exciting for me to hear her speak as Martha Stewart Living is a company I look up to greatly!

Session 6:

I really love social media and for the most part I feel like I have a pretty good handle on it; however, for some reason not very many people follow along on Twitter (insert sad face). For the last few months this has kind of bothered me. I try not to get too hung up on numbers, but I could not figure out why there are almost 9,000 Facebook fans and 600 Twitter fans? But this session helped me realize, that most of you are not on twitter……heck, I’m not even really on twitter…….I prefer Facebook because it’s more visually appealing to me and feels more friendly. So if you would like to follow me on Twitter, that’s great and I will still have my feed from Facebook feeding over there, but I’m done checking out that number. And by the way, I love getting to know all of you through social media. It really is such a highlight of my day!

Lunch Keynote:

This keynote was SO good!! It started off a little racy (yes, he showed us full-frontal naked pictures of himself), but his session got me thinking really deeply about creativity and life and in a way that made me a little uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable because of the naked pictures, but because he got me thinking in a way I wasn’t used to. I like that. And I’m still thinking about his session. He was simply awesome and I think he might be a true creative genius. Yes, he was that good.

Session 6:

This was a great session! All of the panel members brought something different to the table and really had a lot of great advice to offer. This session was geared towards blogger’s who are looking to take their business to the next level. There was discussion about managers, PR reps, and agents. As well as how to land larger sponsorship deals or collaborations. Also, they discussed certain ways to generate additional income through advertising, advertising networks, e-books and so on.

Parties: 

 

In addition to the Wednesday night dinners, they had a party on both of the other nights. The Clue themed party was amazing. I went as Mrs. Peacock. I wish I would have gotten pictures, but my camera didn’t really go with my outfit. The picture above is from the mini-parties that took place in 9 mini-ballrooms that were sponsored by different brands and each was completely different from the next.

Some Goodies from Alt:

There were a lot of freebies and things that you do get by attending Alt Design Summit. Here are a few things that we received…….

Prior to Alt, we were sent sponsor packages each month for about five months. It was a great way to spotlight each one of the sponsors and it was really fun getting these different little packages. One that I was particularly excited about was the gift certificate to Blurb to make a blog book or photo book. I decided to make sort of a portfolio of all the clothing I have designed / sewn. I love the quality and how it turned out and it was super-simple to make. It’s about 80 pages long and I made it in a couple hours.

Design Camp:

On Saturday there were many different design camps you could sign up to attend. I chose Illustrator for Blogger’s that was taught by Melanie Burk from Fifth & Hazel. I have always been fascinated by Adobe Illustrator, but have felt overwhelmed whenever I try to use it. Melanie did a fantastic job teaching this class. She took us through step by step talking about creating printables, digitizing images, adding text and design elements to photographs and more. I am a visual learner so her teaching style was perfect for me!
 
Probably one of the most fun events during my Alt experience, actually had nothing to do with Alt at all. Several of us had organized a sewing blogger’s lunch at a local restaurant. Most of those that attended the lunch were not attending Alt, but lived in the Salt Lake City area. It was so refreshing to meet all of these talented ladies in person. And after feeling out of my comfort zone for three days straight, I felt like I had come home when I finally got to be with my fellow sewing bloggers.
I pretty much headed straight to the airport after the sewing blogger’s lunch and returned home at around midnight. It was an incredible time and definitely a whirlwind of a weekend. I’m actually leaving again this weekend to teach for a week at the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion, so after I’m done with all of this traveling, I will hopefully have time to start putting some of what I learned into practice.
I hope you enjoyed this post. If you’ve read this far, then a big thank you for getting through the world’s longest blog post. I could talk and talk about all that I learned from Alt Design Summit, so I guess that in itself shows me that it was well worth the trip!