Added to the Shop

I've added the sister quilt to the give-away one to the shop.



Remember, free shipping through Monday, July 20th on all items in the shop!

Shirr Crazy

***Enter the quilt contest below. Free shipping in the shop through Monday, July 20.***

I can't seem to get enough of this shirring business. From what I can tell I only have three more items to make ... two dresses and a top ... so I won't be boring you with these images for too much longer!

The dress is for my niece, the other two tops are for C.

Big Quilt Give-Away

It's about time to give something away!



Why? Well, no real reason, except that it seems like a good idea.

But just in case you need a reason, and a really good one, the quilt give-away is to announce and celebrate the fact that right now, through next Monday, there are no shipping charges on any items in the shop. None at all. Not to Canada, not to Topeka, not to anywhere at all.

This means that you can get a sale quilt at 20% off AND free shipping. It's the opportunity of a lifetime (maybe not quite that, but a great deal).

So here's the scoop ...

This is one of my favorite new quilts. It hadn't yet made it into the shop, and is really excited to be given away. There's a lot more information about the quilt here. Basically, it's crib or lap sized, full of bright fun colors, and just lovely.

To enter leave a comment of any sort ... a compliment, favorite summer treat, a simple hi ... whatever floats your boat (one per person). To get another entry post about the contest with a link to this post on your blog and leave a link to your blog in the comment section here (one per blog). For another entry twitter an announcement of the contest and the link to this post, as well as @becauseimme somewhere in the tweet. To get five more entries buy something in the shop and let me know who you are and what you bought in this comment section.

This contest will end Monday, July 20th at midnight.

Something to Love On

A few weeks ago I made R. a blanket. He'd been feeling icky - running a fever, lethargic, etc. - and I felt he needed something special to cuddle and snuggle. The poor guy looked so miserable I'd have done just about anything to make him more comfortable.

His favorite thing to hold onto, chew, grab, snuggle is a large Ikea burp cloth/cloth diaper. He has a bunch of them and just thinks they are the bomb. I think that because they aren't super soft they feel good on his gums and in his fingers.

When I was a little girl I was a thumb sucker. While I sucked my thumb I ran my fingers along a Curity cloth diaper, unraveling the edges. I can still feel the texture of the cloth and the security it brought me when I think about it. So I can understand the appeal these cloths have for him.

For his blanket I used minky-like fabric and flannel blocks on one side and a large Ikea burp cloth on the other. Three good textural fabrics. Randomly along the edges I added ribbon pieces to give him something else to explore and feel.

That blanket goes just about everywhere River does. It is much bigger than a traditional tag blanket, most of which are only about 12" square. R.'s is big enough to snuggle with, cover him during a nap, place under him for a diaper change, clean up spills, use as a nursing blanket, use as a sun shade, and, oh, just about anything else that comes along. And the cloth dries really quickly.

Because R. loves his blanket so much the last time I went to Ikea I picked up more of the burp cloths to make some to sell. For these I opted to use chenille instead of the minky fabric, it's more breathable and still really soft and snuggly. The blankets measure about 22" by 24".

I'll be listing this one on etsy within the next day or two, if R. lets go of it.

Big Fabric Sale in Fort Myers, FL

If you're in the southwest Florida area be sure to stop by Quilt Lover's Hangout today through Friday for their huge sale.

I'm sorry I didn't mention this sooner ... I've been waiting anxiously for the sale but completely spaced out posting about it.

The ladies at Quilt Lover's Hangout are super nice and helpful and it really is a fun place to shop (huge too .... lots and lots and lots of fabric).

Swagbucks

Yeah, I'm the last to jump on the bandwagon ... but just in case you haven't heard of swagbucks, or just haven't wanted to bother with it ... it's not a bad deal. In fact, you earn points just for searching the web (really!), which you do anyway, and then you get to redeem those points for prizes and cool stuff.

There are other ways to earn points as well, by finding codes or making purchases, or by referring others to the site (hint, hint) .

These days I'm all about saving money and trying to get the very best deals I can on just about everything. If I can earn enough Swagbuck points to get Amazon.com gift cards before Christmas ... well, there's a gift off the list. Just for searching the web! I can handle that.




Because I'm Me is now on twitter. Why? I'm not yet sure. But I'd love to have you as a follower.

Thanks

Thank you to Efi for including me in her wonderful pea pod treasury on etsy.

A thank you also to Kellibeans for featuring me in her blog last week!

I'm feeling the love. :)

And a heads up ... I've added more to the sale section of the shop and have 11, yes 11!, quilts on sale right now. The prices are great ... hurry over and check them out!

Summer Bags

Last week R. and I went up to Tampa and spent the day at the local aquarium. He loved it. I had run out of ideas of things to do with him and my girlfriend suggested an aquarium ... apparently she meant a fish tank, like at WalMart, for him to look at, I didn't understand that part though so we went to a BIG aquarium a two hour drive away from home. Really though, he loved, loved, loved it. He and I spent over two hours there, looking at the fish, talking to the fish, talking to and smiling at all the other people, and just generally playing and having fun.

R. is truly a water lover. Anytime he can splash, kick, "swim", watch water run, whatever ... he's in heaven, so an aquarium was right up his alley.

For Mommy's added enjoyment, we did a little shopping. A brand new Ikea (fun to shop at, but I get extra excited when I find a clearance sale at Ikea, and this location was just too new to have anything on clearance), Pottery Barn Kids, a few consignment shops, and a "new to us" Target gave me my fill of eye candy.

At Target I found some awesome summer dishtowels (on clearance ... I'm all about shopping the endcaps) and picked up a few sets to turn into library bags ... or sewing bags, or grocery bags, or beach bags, or take to the aquarium bags ...

The dishtowels are oversized (if you happen upon them at your own Target they're really nice ones and I do recommend them ... I may go pick up a few for my kitchen) so I had to trim them down, and I still ended up with a large bag.

It doesn't show in the pictures, but the tote is lined with a vintage floral sheet.

I made a few of these and they'll be available in my etsy shop within the next day or two.

I have been very scarce lately. Summer is upon us and keeping me and the kids very very busy, and tired. I have a zillion ideas in my head for projects, and a "to do" list that's embarrassing long, but finding the time and energy is just not that easy these days. I guess we're just too busy having fun playing in the sun to do anything else ... what a shame! :)

Alice.com

I've always wanted something like this ... and now here it is. I haven't placed an order yet, but I will ... with free shipping and $10 off, why not?

From the "about me" page at Alice:

Alice is here to help

Let’s face it; you can probably think of a thousand things you’d rather do than drive to the store again and again for toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and the dozens of other home essentials that keep your home running. We can too. That’s why we started Alice.

The Internet has changed the way we shop for things like books, clothing, shoes and electronics. We buy online for the convenience and the power we have to get product reviews, choose brands, see price comparisons, and make better choices.

But when it comes to home essentials, we still trudge off to the store, load up the cart, and haul a trunk-load of stuff out the parking lot. Why? Because no one has come up with an efficient, cost-effective way to buy these goods online. Until now.

Scratch Household Shopping off the To-Do-List

Alice provides you a better way to manage all of your household essentials online. You tell Alice what you buy—choosing from great deals on 1000’s of products—and Alice goes to work. We organize all of your products, find coupons and deals for you, remind you when you might be running low, and help you order just the items you need so you can avoid that trip to the corner drugstore or the big-box store. And all this convenience comes direct to your door with free shipping included.

Get Big Box Savings & Free Shipping

Best of all, you won’t over pay for the power and convenience of Alice. In addition to free shipping on every order, you’ll find great prices too. That’s because Alice isn’t your average retailer. You order from Alice just like you would a retailer, but behind the scenes we work like a marketplace, allowing manufacturers to sell directly to you. This direct to consumer model eliminates the retail middleman, saving lots of costs that can be passed directly on to you. And in addition to saving you money, the Alice marketplace allows your favorite brands to have a direct relationship with you—to reward you, personalize things for you, and work smarter for you. It is a win-win that gives you fantastic convenience AND tangible savings.

Alice Isn’t a Person, She is a Team

Our team at Alice is made up of a talented group of people that are passionate about changing the way you shop for the goods that keep your home running. Our mission is to make your home run smarter, to give you extra time to spend on the important things in your life, and, of course, to make sure you never run out of toilet paper again.

The Alice co-founders, Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire, have spent their careers building customer-focused companies. Their formula is simple: use the web to disrupt existing business models and shift more power to end consumers. With a strong team in place, Alice is ready to shift the power back to you one trash bag, toothpaste tube and pack of diapers at a time.