Greenville, SC shout out!

We took a quick road trip last weekend to scenic Greenville, SC.  Why Greenville? We were on a (slightly frivolous) mission to visit the new All-American Cottage house tour before it closed!

Maybe you've seen pics of this charming house in the recent Southern Living magazine? It's a joint project between Southern Living mag and This Old House. The house will be featured in both July magazine issues, but the open house is almost over. One thing that makes this house unique, is that it uses 97% building materials made in the good ole USA! That's not typical on most new homes.

This house is considered a "cottage" as in "small size", but we think it's just the perfect size for most folks...even empty nesters like us. The house was charmingly decorated, and appealingly simple. We loved it!!! Check out a few pics below.

Living room above, including a colorful fireplace painting that I adored. 

Adjacent dining room...no formal and informal seating...all in one!

Master bedroom was lovely in beige and gray. Check out the old sewing machines repurposed into flanking bedside tables.

Just a cute hall nook. Loved the bedspring/birdie sculpture thing and the chalkboard above. This photo would make a great Pinterest pin!

Cute kids room upstairs, using my favorite springy green color.

All finished off with a charming back porch and beautiful (real) plants. 

The house tour was worth the trip, since we're considering moving and downsizing. If you want to see more, check out the links below.

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130430/LIFE/130430007/Video-Tour-All-American-Cottage-Hollingsworth-Park-Verdae

https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-American-Cottage-Greenville-SC/164613763689927

While we were in Greenville, we did the tourist thing and checked out as much of the town as possible.

OH MY!  What a fabulous downtown area they have. We dined outdoors repeatedly. It's a treat for us, and rarely just the right temp, wind speed, etc. to do that in our changeable Kansas weather. We tried to eat "local" food, including the ever-popular Southern favorite, pimiento cheese spread....YUM!!! This restaurant kicked it up a bit with some hot peppers.

We also visited the local Confederate Museum, surprisingly tucked into a small house. The exterior didn't hint at the treasure trove of interesting Civil War momentos and memoribilia crammed inside. 

Our eager tour guide, (who swore  he was a relative of Daniel Boone) couldn't let the tour end without letting Alan hold a real Confederate saber....that was a first, for sure.

This was a spur of the minute trip, so we looked up needlework shops when we got there. Thankfully, we found a great shop, Panda's Crossing, in nearby Mauldin. We dropped in to say hi and accidentally found a weekend Stitch Retreat.

The enthusiastic owner, Donna (above left) invited us to stay for dinner, and who doesn't love a good potluck?! YUM!!!

After dinner, we left the gals to stitch the night away, while we returned downtown for more fun on our last night in Greenville.

We had a great time (loved the house and loved Greenville), but it's always good to be home. Just like our famous Kansas gal-pal Dorothy said....there's no place like home!

Ali (Kate) is 30!!!

Do you remember when you turned 30? I can't remember a thing! But I did have a fabulous time helping our daughter, Ali, celebrate her 30th this past weekend.

It was such a FUN weekend...too bad I almost forgot to take pics. I'm always the girl with the camera, talking friends into posing for a quick shot, coaxing smiles from a group, etc. So why did I forget to photograph this weekend? Only menopause knows for sure! Anyway....

We traveled the well-worn 3 hour route to KC early last Saturday morning. We had planned to meet Ali for lunch, and had to get there early to pick up her sis and brother-in-law (SURPRISE!) at the airport. Sarah and Jeff had flown in early from Chicago to surprise Ali for lunch and the big 30th party.

The gang was all smiles after we surprised Ali at a Kansas City hangout restaurant, Houlihan's. Birthday girl Ali (left), Jeff (middle) and little sis, Sarah (right).

Ali put us to work after lunch working on decorations for her Cinco de Mayo themed birthday party. Wasn't it convenient for her birthday to fall so close to this fun holiday, especially considering our family's addiction to Mexi-food?!  We made these giant crepe paper flowers to hang. My first one was a flop and required major floral repair, but I got the hang of it eventually.

Then we baked 90+ cupcakes...spiced Mexican chocolate, vanilla and vegan vanilla (believe it!). Being a pro food blogger, Ali was resistant to using cake mixes, but relented and added some flavorings. She insisted on making all homemade frostings and piping it on in true blogger fashion. I was in charge of sprinkles during this operation. (just haven't mastered the pastry bag thing yet). We didn't have room in her loft kitchen for dozens of cupcakes, so we put them to rest on her bed.

We had a great day spending time together talking, eating, relaxing, and just catching up. You'll have to believe me, though,  because I didn't take pics!

The next day we gathered at Quay Coffee, a charming coffeehouse conveniently located a floor below Ali's loft in the River Market area of KC. Ali loves to hang out at Quay, so it was the perfect location for an after-hours private party for 60+ of her best friends. You can see our cheerful paper flower balls in the window.

We schlepped aforementioned cupcakes to the party, where they were joined by 90 burritos (thanks, Cilantro restaurant), chips, salsa (we made a couple gallons of this, too), fresh fruit and a beautiful frozen margarita machine. Sadly, no PICS!

As the guests flowed in, we were happy to welcome one of our fam's best friends, Dr. Erin McGonigle (right). We've known Erin since our kids were youngsters hanging out at Twin Rivers pool in the summer, and Erin and Sarah have been best buds for years!  Erin is presently in KC doing her medical residency and, amazingly, had the weekend off and could share in the fun and food!

Erin also confessed to me that she has always secretly wanted to be pictured on the famous L*K blog (who knows why?), so this is our shout-out to the famous, talented, beautiful Dr. McG! She's going to take care of me when I'm old, which (some days) isn't far off.

Even though I don't have a bunch of party pics to show it, we had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Ali's birthday with crowds of her best friends in KC. Above pic is the whole fam (minus Ali's pup Henry), with smiling birthday girl Ali in the middle. 

How do I describe the beautiful, thoughtful, creative woman my daughter Ali has become at age 30? I don't have the words (or the room to express them here!), but you can check out her reflections on turning 30 on her blog at http://www.gimmesomelife.com/30-things-i-have-learned-at-30/

Love you, sweet birthday girl!

Thinkin' Christmas in April

Actually, we're thinking Christmas year-round, here at Lizzie*Kate. We sell Christmas to our needlework shops all year long, and sometimes we're designing and releasing Christmas designs during very non-holiday months...like April!

Here are the next 3 designs in our 12-part Jingles series! Just like their already released companions, each design has it's unique shape and size, and comes with button/bead embellishments.

All of the Jingles are great for stitching alone, and finishing into ornaments, pin pillows, merry fobs, needle rolls, package toppers...whatever your holiday heart desires.

We've also provided FREE finishing instructions on a separate finishing blog from our finishing guru, Mona. If you want your Jingles to look just like ours, visit her site at magicbymona.blogspot.com and follow along with the finishing fun.

Or...turn your Jingles into one, big holiday extravaganza and stitch all 12 designs together!!

There's plenty of time left before Christmas rolls around. I haven't even put all my Easter decor away, if that's an encouragement to you!  

Join us on our Jingles stitching journey, and keep us posted on your progress.  Don't forget to download the FREE instructions for combining all 12 designs www.http://lizziekate.com/BorderInstructions-for-JinglesFlip-Its2.pdf 

Meanwhile, here in L*K headquarters, you'll never guess the project at the top of my desk (after this post!). Yes, I'm sending the next set of Jingles to the printer, trying to get them ready for our next release in June. I photographed them last week, and am finishing the text, graph and all the info today. 

Have a great, stitch-y week!

Think Deeply about those pretty/pesky yellow flowers!

We're spent the last couple days packing orders for needlework shops around the world, and today they're shipping out - WHEW!  I've been previewing the new stuff on the last few posts, so here is another SNEAK PEEK!

I'm loving this sweet, height-challenged design! The saying is  really lovely, and I added in some antique letters and classic L*K doo-dahs. The design is #157 Think Deeply and it's packaged as a chartpak.

On another topic, we can't decide what season it is here in Kansas. For a few days we'll have lovely spring-y weather with sunny skies and balmy temps and I pull out my flipflops. Then we'll have a few days of weirdly winter-y weather with some strange meteorological stuff like thunder sleet and (gasp!) SNOW. All of this is 

confusing me...and my yard!

After a beautiful 75 degree day yesterday (that's SEVENTY-FIVE!), here's what we woke up to this morning! Yes, that's ICE coating the trees and (sniff) my tulips and almost- ready-to-bloom fruit trees. The weathermen have gone from their annual scary spring warnings about tornadoes, into full-blown winter weather coverage!

In between these weather contrasts, we need to mow the yard (desperately), but we're too busy doing L*K on those nice days, and then random blizzards return. Whatever...we're engaged in the battle of the GOOD yellow and the BAD yellow right now. 

BAD yellows are dotting my entire yard and flower beds. BAD yellows are otherwise known as dandelions. They are flourishing!

GOOD yellows are my daffodils (perfect for my Easter table centerpiece, but gone now) and my beautiful forsythia bushes right outside the L*K office (above). Clearly I shot this photo yesterday, because my office windows are coated in ice this morning and I can't even see these bushes.  

Happy Spring, wherever you are, and whatever spring looks like (today) in your town!

Buzzy String

Another post...another SNEAK PEEK preview of a new design....BUZZY String!

"What's the buzz? Tell me what's a happenin'!" I couldn't resist using this line - does anyone recognize this lyric? It's from Jesus Christ Superstar musical, the unofficial soundtrack of my youth. But I digress...

Buzzy String is our new Snippet, shipping to needlework shops this Wednesday. We're busy packing orders today, and I'm taking a break to rest my aching knee. It's tough getting old!  We named this one Buzzy String because there are lots of buzzy things in it...bees, dragonflies and ladybugs, all intertwined with alpha letters and summer-y motifs.

Buzzy String is a companion piece to Spring String, which came out a few months ago. We'll continue the series (since you asked for it!) with Spooky String in a couple more months. All the String Snippets are really quick, fun little projects. I stitched them myself, and completed each model in a couple evenings (translation: 3-4  of my favorite TV shows or a couple movies). 

Speaking of which...I'm looking for ideas for new stuff to watch on TV...CAN YOU HELP???

We record almost EVERYTHING we watch, because we just can't deal with the commercials. Then when we're winding down in the evenings, (if we're home!), we scroll through the list and decide what to watch. I work on stitching models and Alan is busy sacking buttons. 

Some of our  favorite shows to find waiting for us to watch are The Good Wife (drama!!!), Modern Family (therapeutic comedy), Elementary (Alan likes this Sherlock Holmes revival), Smash (my music theater fix), Downtown Abbey (heartbroken about the final episode)...and more which I can't remember without checking the queue.

What are your favorite things on TV right now? Send me your favorite shows and why you like them! I just finished designing a really special TOP SECRET project, and I need some stitching time in front of the TV!

Robin's egg blue and spring things

I'm a little obsessed with robin's egg blue color!  I'm not normally a "blue" person. I enjoy it in other people's homes, but narry a blue thing in my own house.

Maybe because it's springtime, maybe because it's a happy color, whatever. Robin'e egg even has it's own Pinterest board on my Pinterest page! So I've decided to de-yellow the Lizzie*Kate office and paint the walls a gorgeous robin's egg hue.  But which one??

Inspired by the beautiful blue ocean on my vintage globe, some pretty needlework frames and bunches of magazine clippings,  I grabbed a few dozen color swatches at the home store. I guess the next step is choosing a favorite and trying some patches on the walls? It's a real robin's egg dilemma!!

While I ponder my updated office walls, I've been busy getting the next batch of L*K goodies ready to ship. I'll do some sneak peek preview pics for the next few posts!

This is the new Perfectly Kept House Boxer kit and I LOVE this saying! My brother and I come from an obsessively spotless home (thanks, Mom), but I looked at him the other day and said "John, whatever happened to us?". Neither of us inherited the super-clean gene! 

I probably won't show my mom this design, because it wouldn't apply to her, but I hope lots of you can relate! Ironcally, this is part of my "inspiration" Boxer series, so I hope it inspires you...to clean, create, whatever makes you happy!

Inspiration Boxer kits always come with a bonus design. Here's the bonus for this new Boxer.  It's a real cutie and has a definite spring-y appeal!

On another spring-y topic, I made some fun Easter cookies with my cookie guru, Glenna. She is teaching me how to use those confounding pastry bags and do pretty cookies. We both baked sugar cookies ahead of time, then got together last week to frost dozens of little tasty treats. I admit I lost interest after about 2 hours of outlining and flooding the cookies with sweet icing, but the results were satisfying. I had fun taking little plates of cookies to several events and sharing with friends. 

I even discovered one new toy to add to my cookie decorating stash. An edible black marker!  Check out the eys on the chicks and bunnies...so easy...and I didn't have to mix any black frosting.

Another Easter treat was having our sweet daughter, Ali, home to celebrate. I did most of the cooking, since she cooks ALL the time as a pro food blogger over at gimmesomeoven.com. But we collaborated on this key lime tart and it was DELICIOUS!  I'm going to make another for my ladies' group at church next week...and pray for leftovers!

New kits on the block

Q. What's new at L*K?
A. KITS!!! 4 of them!

We've been so busy kitting and shipping, these "new" kits may be "old news" to many of you. We're shipping these out every day, so if you haven't seen them in your needlework shop yet, have a look!

At Our House kit - this saying really has it all...swseet, silly, sentimental, bursting with family and love. Kit includes beautiful Crescent Colours threads. You supply your favorite fabric for this really fun project. This kit is NOT Limited Edition...it's here to stay, and hopefully find a place at your house!

We went to market a couple weeks ago and made 3 little Limited Edition kits to take with us. These 3 kits won't be here for long, so grab them while you can. In the spirit of "grab bag" we used assorted fabrics on these kits.  There are lots of neutral fabrics, but also some fun color and overdyes. You might even recognize some bits of fabric from retired L*K kits!

Chicks Limited Edition Kit - includes fabric and tiny chartreuse beads. This project is so quick, you'll have plenty of time to dye eggs and dig into that Easter candy.

Flowers Limited Edition Kit - Sweet little square design with vintage flower motifs. Kit includes muted red flower button, golden beads, and assorted fabric.

A Bee C Limited Edition Kit - Lots of "b's" in this design...3 buzzy bees and one letter "b"! Kitted with assorted fabrics and rusty beads.

These little kits have been SO fun for us, and the fabric scrap pile is definitely looking smaller. (I just can't bear to throw away the small stuff). Check back next week and we'll SNEAK PEEK some projects currently on my desk!