Button-Covered Candles

If the dull, low-light Winter days are getting you down, I have a lovely, crafty way to light up your world!

Last December, I designed these Button-Covered Candles using the great bags of buttons and E-6000 glue that we sell in our stores. We've had fun inspiring customers with them at the Everett store where I work. I love coming up with projects that use the wonderful supplies we sell and these have been a big hit. I used a subtle, monchromatic theme, but you could make them colorful or coordinate buttons and candles with your decor. They'd be fun as a mid-Winter gift for a friend, too!

I wrote up a pattern and you can download a PDF of it by clicking here.

Hope you have as much fun as I did!

~ Memory

(Memory is a very talented member of our Everett store staff who is always on the lookout for new ideas!)



Before & After - Banish the Post-Holiday Home Blahs

I LOVE Christmas and I especially love all the wonderful decor we surround ourselves with during that wonderful season. But, every year, there's a little dilemma. Our homes look amazing with all that marvelous sparkle, then after the holiday we start to wonder - what now? So, I was thinking, if you could spark up a post-holiday room or two for under $100 just for you, would you? Take a look at what I found in our stores . . .

We recently found this super inspirational book by Candice Olson of HGTV's Divine Design! Candice Olson On Design holds 24 before & after room transformations from every area of the house. The book is full of Candice's sharp tips and fun sense of humor and very easy to use. You'll find swatch images, room sketches and the dramatic before and after pictures that will get your decorating genes switched into high gear. It's a great collection of simple to do, high impact ideas you'll love! Available at all our stores except Bellevue.

A makeover book for your home! Better Homes & Gardens Before & After Decorating book will efficiently lead you to a new, fresh look for any room you choose.  You'll see 43 transformations, tour 3 homes and learn to do 26 DIY projects along the way. The uber-helpful tips and how-tos make this a great reference book to keep around for future years, too. I love the "do this-in this way-for this reason" approach that makes perking up your home an "I can do this" kind of thing. Really a great book and you'll find it at all our stores!

Would you like to learn more about color, decorating styles, makeovers, storage solutions (yes!) and DIY projects? Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book is just what you need! Chapters include: Design Basics, How to Discover Your Decorating Style, Style Solutions, Room-by-Room and House Tours (10 in all). I'm really impressed with this book! It holds a whole decorating course between it's covers for just $24.95. Definitely one I'll refer to again and again since there are other times of year when homes look a bit dull, too! Available at all our stores.

There you go! You can have a new look that suits your budget and can be done your way. Plan a stop into our nearest store soon, thumb through a book or two, then take your dreams over to our lovely Home Decor Fabrics & Home Decor Trims (20% off through 1/15/11!). It's time to take down that Christmas decor and start freshening up your rooms!

~ Annette

Placemats, Runners & Napkins - oh my!

I LOVE table runners and placemats. They're fun to make and you can have a set for every occasion. Which brings me to the point of this post. Thanksgiving is coming and it's time to brighten up the table! Here are my suggestions:

Valori Wells designs sweet little pattern cards and Placemat & Napkin is one of the best. Use playful colors to make these zing, then add a little big stitch embroidery to make them artful. Available at all our stores except Outlet on 4th. Just $2.95 for the pattern card!

Our perennial favorite, Take 4 Placemats from Quilt Woman makes uber-great placemats from any 4 fat quaters you choose. So easy - cut, re-position, stitch and you're done. You gotta have this pattern! Perfect for everyday tables, wonderful for gifts and marvelous for the holiday. Available at all our stores except Outlet on 4th.

So cool and the picture just doesn't say it all. Easy Striped Table Runner from The Quilt Company is amazingly quick, easy and fun to use with all sorts of fabrics. Five seams and no binding combined with a magical 60 degree ruler (sold separately) will make this your new fave for your own tables and to pop into gift boxes for every occasion. Gorgeous in quilting cotton prints, but think about batiks, dupioni silks or linens, too. Yum! Available at all our stores.

Stunning! That's what your guests will say when you stitch up the Simply a Pleasure Table Runner & Placemats pattern from Tiger Lily Press. Choose a fabulous bold print, a charming coordinate and a just right solid for this terrific design. Gorgeous in holiday fabrics! Available at all our stores except Bellevue (coming soon!) and on our web site, too - click here.

~ Annette

What Goes Under the Turkey? Top Your Table With Peace & Safety

Do you fear gouges in your heirloom wooden dining table? Are you tired of trying to figure out how to get cranberry and who knows what out of your best tablecloth? Pacific Fabrics to the rescue! You'll find these terrific products at all our stores.

We have wonderful Table Felt or Table Padding (above - left side & middle) to protect that special table and Clear Vinyl to go over the holiday table cloth. Think of it as an investment in your peace of mind and the peace of your Thanksgiving gathering. Or you may want to pick up some Vinyl Lace or Oilcloth (shown above on the right) for the table. Let the kids (big and small) spill and pound all they like - you've got it covered!

 And if your silver looks a wee bit tarnished when you bring it out, plan to stitch up some Pacific Silvercloth (above) covers before you pack it up again. This fabulous fabric is impregnated with a solution that keeps your silver shiny and you can easily make storage bags for those seldom used serving pieces. Another peace of mind investment!
So there you go - now you can relax!  ~ Annette