Home-made Pet TREATS!

  This yummy donation for the May Project required peanut butter and oats instead of fabric and thread!

The kids LOVED getting to help with this and we made 4 batches! :)

I got the simple ingredient recipe here.

They smelled so good mixing and baking, we could hardly wait for them to cool to see what Sophie thought. Sophie buries EVERYTHING!!! No really....everything. She LOVES to hide her treats and bones all over the back yard. But not these. She chomped down as many as I let the kids give her! 

When we were done baking, we broke out the scrapbooking supplies and made these little labels for the bags. We included the ingredients just in case. 

Slid a few treats in a cello bag, added our label, and we have a bunch ready to be added to our other donations for our fur friends this month!

Lots of creative ways to show our support for pets, pet care and bonding opportunities this month. 

Join Us!

MAY Mid-month Reminder!

For those stitching in support of the May 2013 Project....it's that time again!

Have you found a local shelter or rescue to donate your handmade gifts to this month?

Or, will you be sending to me for H.A.B.I.T.?

Either way, I hope you are enjoying the opportunity to give back through your sewing/creating this way!

Need inspiration or ideas? Check out our "Furry Friends" pin board here.

You can also add pics of your finished projects to our May Project album here. 

SEW ON!

The Power of the Pet Bond

I shared earlier this month that we have 2 cats. 

Sir Smokey is our gray male that reminds me of a Blue Russian, which has always been one of my favorite cat breeds! When we went to LOOK (yea right! That's just what we told daddy!) at cats when we were ready to add to our family, we all immediately fell in love with Smokey. He was playing with our fingers through the glass and well....

I mean look at him....

There was NO WAY we could leave without him!

The children and I quickly convinced daddy that this was the kitty for our family. And so....we went back into the store, our local Petsmart hosts one of our local rescues so that those looking for pets have the opportunity to consider adopting one of the pets looking for a home. I love that! As we started talking to the volunteer vet there that day, she shared that the other little black kitten with Smokey had been his foster litter mate in their temporary rescue home. That she was the last one left. 

Yea....you see where I'm going! :)

So, we left that day....the day we were just "looking", with 2 new additions to our family. 

But how could we resist???

Now, I love my cats. While I have had pets of all kinds and love them all, I'd have to say I'm a "cat person". Smokey is my bud and I love him and his dominant arrogance. But.......our sweet Princess.....well, she is hands down the sweetest, most affectionate cat I have ever had and I am reminded daily how thankful I am that we said yes to 2 that day. :)

She and my son have the absolute sweetest bond. 

What about you? Do you have a very special pet? A fur friend that offers a unique bond?

I invite you to share pics on our facebook page all week as a reminder of our May Project and what we are sewing for this month. :)

And if you are looking to add a new fur member to your family, remember to check your animal shelters, humane society and/or local rescues for many, many pets looking for loving homes. 

Happy Mother's Day!

For all of those that fill the irreplaceable role of "Mom", I wish you a beautiful day! 

You matter more than I'm sure you will ever know.

Free Printable Source

Print Your Fiesta GIVEAWAY!!!!

Today you have the chance to WIN your own customizable party kit printable PDF from Print Your Fiesta!

Check out some of the fabulous party theme kits currently in her shop!

See our recent Print Your Fiesta party here!

To enter to win, simply follow the Rafflecopter prompts below. Open to all eligible. Winner announced and emailed 5/17/13 and asked to respond within 48 hours or an alternate winner will be selected.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

+++PLUS!!!+++
You can also receive 25% OFF your Print Your Fiesta orders now through Friday, May 17th by using code "INTRO25OFF" at check out!

Good Luck to all!
Thanks to Print Your Fiesta for this generous giveaway and adorable party supplies!

A Birthday Party with Print Your Fiesta!

This is such a fun thing to get to share with you all!

We recently celebrated the 3rd birthday of our youngest Princess, and got to use all kinds of fun decorating goodies from our sponsor Print Your Fiesta!

Print Your Fiesta is the newest creative endeavor of our friend Ceci, the incredibly talent design mind behind one of my favorite pattern companies, Lily Bird Studio. In addition to her stylish, easy to follow sewing patterns, she is now creating printable party PDFs. We are so happy to help her introduce this new addition to her creative portfolio!

We used the Ballerina Party Kit, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and inexpensive it was to create personalized decorations for our Lil' Miss' party.

 The PDF file is emailed to you and you can then edit it with the name, age or any other personal info of the birthday child. You can of course print at home, but I simply copied the file to my memory stick and took it to the local copy center. They printed it out for me on the spot on a nice heavy cardstock and it looked great! It was about $25 for all I had printed and it was a bunch! Cupcake toppers, cupcake wrappers, drink wrappers, candy bar wrappers, signs, banner....around 30 pages.  

 Once we got home with the printed pages I broke out my handy cutter from my scrapbook stash and my older girls and I went to cutting and prepping everything. 

I ADORE these sweet candy bar wrappers!

We sent one of these home with each guest as a party favor. 

Fun, personal, simple and chocolate....what more could you want? :) 

 Plus they made a really cute centerpiece on the table too. 

We tied our "Happy Birthday" banner with black tulle to make it even more ballerina like. 

 We also had adorable little signs to label things for our guests as well.

 We used the bottle wrappers on the matching pink plastic cups and they fit perfectly and provided a place for us to write the name of each guest as well. So much prettier than just an old black marker!

 My favorite of all....the ADORABLE cupcake toppers!

This little sweetie even looks like our daughter!

She LOVED it all! 

It was such a fun birthday for her....this pink blur is about all I caught once she started!

She made us keep up her banner for several days too! ;)

Print Your Fiesta currently offers a variety of party themes including the ballerina kit shared here, and others like a pirate theme, jungle theme, also clowns and teddy  bears perfect for toddlers!

If you are ready to purchase your own party kit, Print Your Fiesta is offering Hopeful Threads readers a special discount! Use code "INTRO25OFF" to receive 25% off your Print Your Fiesta orders from now until Friday, May 17th, 2013.

You also have the option of purchasing the complete kit or she offers many of the kit components individually if you are only in need of specific items. Be sure to drop by the Print Your Fiesta shop to see all that's currently available! Many more designs coming soon too!

Disclaimer: Print Your Fiesta provided this PDF for our party, but the opinions shared are all mine. We truly loved it! 

Be sure and drop back by tomorrow for your own Print Your Fiesta surprise!

Easy Catnip Toys Tutorial with Template

How's your sewing for our furry friends project going??? 

I've got a fun tutorial that is a perfect scrap buster for you that would be great for May's Project!

Catnip Toys

They are so fast, fun and easy to make! Are you ready???

Download Template HERE.

Supplies Needed:

Fabric Scraps, Thread, Stuffing, Catnip, Sewing Machine, Pinking Shears

Optional - Embroidery floss, ribbon for enhanced features

Print and cut out your template. The template includes shapes and suggestions for a fish, mouse and bird.

With your fabric folded wrong sides together, trace your template shape onto your fabric scrap. Using a disappearing ink pen would be ideal if you have one.

Stitch right on top of your pen marks around your shape, leaving a small opening for stuffing.

 Trim around your shape using pinking shears.

Stuff the toy with a small amount of polyester fiber stuffing and add your catnip.

 Sew the opening closed, and you're done!

Repeat again and again!

Quick, easy, cute and a great way to give back this month!

Get the details about May's Project and how you can participate here!