Thanksgiving & Black Friday Weekend Celebrations!

I’ll tell you something … We here at the Cath’s Pennies Designs house really have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Oh yes indeed, we are thankful here. 

To celebrate our thankfulness, I’m having an Open House at my brand new website.
Details for the Open House and the special sale are on the website.
I just sent out a newsletter which also gives details of the open house.
If you have not received the newsletter but are sure that you signed up for it, go check your spam folder to see if it’s in there.
Or, if you signed up for it but never confirmed the subscription, then check your spam folder for the email confirmation notice.
Or, just try signing up again and then watch for the confirmation notice.
Anyway, my new website is http://www.cathspenniesdesigns.com/
I’ll tell you, it wasn’t fun getting it up and running, but I do have to pat myself on the back for being determined to figuring it all out.  I admit there was that one Sunday night that I was so frustrated, I wanted to just pay someone to do it all for me.  I didn’t give up though.

So, special celebrations for Thanksgiving day are …. on my new website … all patterns are only $6.00 each. Shipping is free for US and my lovely Canadian friends.  From 8am to midnight on Thanksgiving.  (eastern standard time) So get yourself outta that kitchen, sit back with your computer for 10 –15 minutes and order yourself some patterns!
If you can’t get to it on Thanksgiving day, then  Friday, all day, I’ll sell you any and all of my patterns for only $6.75 each.   If you take a look around on the website at different times during the day on Friday, you might even be able to snag something up for free!  I’m doing some quiet little giveaways but you have to pay attention!
If you can’t shop on Thursday or Friday, I’ll still give you a chance for special sale priced patterns!  On Saturday & Sunday, all patterns are $7.85 each.
Just go to the website for more info and the exact times  but basically, the earlier you shop, the better the deal.  You need to take a break on Thanksgiving.   The guys all sit and watch football while you work… take a break and make them go in to peel potatoes while you do some shopping!

I do have a favor to ask of you ladies.  I have a special place on my website that will be devoted to pictures of the projects or “art” you have made.  I’d love it if they are pictures of a candle mat from my pattern but it can be anything else that you wouldn’t mind sharing with the viewing public.  I will credit your name and website and give any info you wish about it.  If you’re selling it, I’ll give links to where it can be purchased.  But the page is devoted to my oh so wonderful online friends who just happen to be customers also. 
I’d especially would love to show one of my pattern designs made up differently than the pattern picture.  If you’ve done that, we would all love to see it!

With all of that I want to wish all of you very special readers a very happy and thankfully thankful Thanksgiving.  I treasure my customers who have become friends and I’m ever so thankful for all of your kind words of support and encouragement! 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

“Two Olde Crowz” New Pattern For Valentine’s Day!

Did you know that real crows mate for life?
Granny and Gramps Crow are still in love after all these years!
Granny is decked out in her Sunday hat and Gramps has his reading glasses on

The finished candle mat measures 14” across.    The picture shows it made with 100% wool but woolfelt can be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements to save on expense.
The crows eyeglasses are made with jewelry jump rings and for a limited time, the pattern will include one set of the rings.
To purchase more, they can be easily found at Joann’s or Michaels in the jewelry/bead aisle.
Basic hand-stitching … blanket stitch, french knots, straight stitch & whip stitch.
Wool kits are available too

To purchase the mailed pattern  CLICK HERE

To purchase the instant download E-Pattern, Click   Pattern Mart  OR Pattern Cupboard

To purchase the Wool Kit with Pattern  CLICK HERE

Wish to pay with check instead of credit card/Paypal?  Just email me
cathy@cathspenniesdesigns.com   and I’ll send you my mailing info.

Thanks so much ladies! 
Happy Day!

New Design … With The Help Of A Friend!

I always have ideas for designs in my head.  Only a few of them make it onto paper though.  The rest of the ideas are either stored away, deep in the file cabinet of my brain or just forgotten. 
When I do draw out the design in my head onto paper, sometimes it flows  easily and quickly onto paper.  Other times though, it’s a battle between my brain and my fingers.

My fingers sometimes just can’t draw what my brain wants them to draw and it turns into frustrations.  
This is what was going on with me one day a few weeks ago.  My brain and fingers were having a battle. 
I had a Valentine design in my head with cute bumble bees and hearts.  I just couldn’t draw the bee’s legs to dangle over the edge of the heart the way my brain wanted it to look.  My eraser was smoking hot from all the work it was doing and I was in complete frustration. 

In between my battle and eraser smoking, I was exchanging emails with a customer.  This customer was making me chuckle because she seemed to be having a battle of her own …only it was with her computer and trying to figure out how to correct a problem with her order. 

We finally got it worked out and she was a sweetheart during the entire time.  In and out went our emails and I noticed at one point that her email name was “TwoOldeCrowz”.

Now, I have a thing for crows, you should all know.  I’ve said many times in my blog that I really dislike crows.  They’re obnoxious and loud and they wake me up in the morning with their caws.

But yet, I did a crow design a few months ago which sold pretty well and then I did a turkey design which is …at least in my design head … a relative of my crow …

So anyway, to make a loooong story short, Dawn of the twooldecrowz, gave me the inspiration to scrap that bumble bee idea and to stick with crows.
So here is the birth of my bumble bee Valentine 2 Olde Crowz.
I don’t know about you but two olde crowz makes me think of a sweet elderly couple that have been happily married for 50 years.  The gentleman has his spectacles  and the lady has on her special Sunday hat.
This is what my bumble bee candle mat turned into ….

And this is the entire candle mat finished …..

  “2 Olde Crowz”

This new design pattern should be ready to sell on Wednesday so stop back then if you like it.  I’ll have it at a very special price just for my blog readers.  I know it’s early to think about Valentines Day, but c’mon, Christmas will be here and over before you know it and you’ll need to have something ready to work on when that time comes!

Dawn, thank you for helping me through my bumble bee turmoil.

Bless her heart for her sweet emails and her touching story that gives even more meaning to that two olde crowz name!

Happy Day everyone!

Thinking Outside of the Pattern!

About 15 years ago, I remember walking into my local quilt shop, with quilt pattern in hand, and asking the owner for the exact fabric colors that were called for in the pattern.

Maxine, the owner told me that sure, she could show me the exact colors to use, but she suggested that I think outside the box pattern.

She explained that so many ladies want to make something exactly like the pattern picture shows but they could so easily make it look completely different if only they would choose the fabrics they really loved instead.

She offered to help me select colors using the fabric colors that I really loved in her shop.  And I learned then to think outside of the pattern.

And this is why I always encourage customers to visit their local quilt shops.  Each time I visited that store, I learned something new.  They are there to help you become a better stitcher/sewer.  You might pay a little less at your local Joann fabrics, but you will never get the service or the lessons like you do at your quilt shop. 

So anyway…. haha  … I was messing around with my pattern pictures, resizing and touching up, when I discovered a feature in my photo program called “metallic gold”. 

Here’s what it did to my “Apple Blossoms” candle mat picture:

What pretty Fall colors!

 

So what used to be a Spring/Summer candle mat:

Can be made into a pretty candle mat for Fall, just by changing the colors! 

So take a look at your patterns again and try to imagine what it might look like if you changed up the colors a bit!

 

And speaking of Fall.  Rachel bought some deeelishous pumpkin cookies from the grocery store bakery.  They were puffy and cake-like with a thin frosting on top.  If anyone has a good pumpkin cookie recipe, please send it my way.  I’ve found it to be so much better to use recipes that other people recommend rather than opening a cookbook.

 

Happy Day everyone!

New Pattern ----> “The Melt”

My new pattern …. Just in time for your holiday gift-giving stitching! 
I’m calling this one “The Melt”   It’s really a trick for the eyes…
Take a look at this picture…

Were your eyes naturally drawn to those cute little red cardinals?
….and then did you look down and discover that the cardinal is nesting on a melted snowman?  Yeap.  It’s a surprise for the eyes!

It’s smaller than most of my other designs.  It’s just a little over 12” across … just the perfect size for a votive candle holder or a small pillar candle.
The really nice thing about this is that it takes very little wool to make this.  12 1/2” wool for the front and backing and then all the rest of the wool is just small scraps with the white wool just needing 4” x 12” .  So for very little $$, this can be a wonderful gift for anyone!
The picture shows it on a blue background but black would look just as nice.
Just click on the Paypal button on the left to purchase the mailed pattern.

The e-pattern is also available for this.  You can purchase it from my PatternMart site CLICK HERE  or from my Pattern Cupboard site CLICK HERE
Oh yes, …almost forgot… if you wish to pay by personal check instead, just email me and I’ll send you my mailing address.  cathspennies@gmail.com

I really do hope to start back to my regular posting.  Life has been rather hectic this past summer, but I will fight to get myself back on a regular posting schedule …simply because I miss it!
Happy Day everyone !