An Inspirational Sponge???

Okay…I know that this isn’t exactly crafty, but it is creative (if I do say so myself!).  And, while I fully acknowledge the absolute corny-ness of this……I still liked it and it served its purpose.  See what you think……
So, as a Nurse Educator, I am responsible for teaching the lecture portion of a 16 week Internship for new NICU nurses.  On our first day, we gave a presentation reviewing the basics…parking, uniforms, attendance, etc.  We also talked a lot about expectations and how the new hires could get the most out of this Internship.  Another Educator made the comment that the new nurses should be like sponges and soak everything up.  Sponges! 
I wanted to leave them with a little something to inspire them and the sponge comment kept coming to mind, so my son helped me to make a list of all the uses for a regular household sponge.  Then, I started writing thoughts to go with the list.  The inspirational sponge was born!The dollar store sells bags of miscellaneous sponges for $1.00 to $2.00 and each sponge was easily cut into thirds with scissors.  The quotation was typed and printed onto cardstock and simply tied to the sponge with a ribbon. 
Some of the Interns may have rolled their eyes, but most thought it was a cute idea.  I even saw a couple of them still carrying it in their notebooks on the last day of classes!  The concept applies to nearly any setting, so maybe some of you might find it useful!

Here is what I wrote:

”A sponge absorbs…
so much more than it appears to be able to hold.
A sponge is always thirsty…
even when it seems full, it soaks up a little more.
A sponge is reusable…
it is never done on the first try.
A sponge is multipurpose…
it can handle jobs for which it wasn’t even originally intended.
A sponge lasts…
it doesn’t fall apart (even when over-used).
And finally, it is not until you squeeze a sponge 
that you find out just how much was really inside!
Be a SPONGE!”

This post is linked to:

http://www.niftythriftythings.com/2013/04/nifty-thrifty-sunday-105.html

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2013/04/show-tell-saturday-042013.html
http://www.youngandcrafty.com/2013/04/free-for-all_19.html

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2013/04/silhouette-portrait-giveaway.html

Cute & Colorful Owl Quilt

I love all of the adorable owls everywhere, don’t you?  When my friend asked me to make a quilt for her sister’s new baby girl and told me that her theme was “owls”…I was so excited!!  For colors, she specifically requested purples, pinks, and browns; so I headed to Hobby Lobby and found these fun prints:I picked out an orange chevron fabric and a purple vine for accents.
My friend asked for something on a smaller scale than some of the animal quilts I’ve made in the past, so I decided to design my own quilt.  After searching Pinterest for “owl quilts”, “owl blankets”, and just plain old “owls”…..none were exactly what I was looking for, but I was “pinspired” a bit.
So, I grabbed some newspaper, scissors and a marker; then drew and cut out my owl shape.  I cut the eye pieces out of some white and black scrap fabric after using a dessert plate to make a paper pattern.Two of the main body pattern piece were then cut out of the floral fabric and one piece out of purple flannel (for the batting). The wings and face were made with the purple fabric and the feet and beak were cut out of the orange chevron.After pinning all of the pieces in place, I used an applique stitch and a coordinating thread color to attach them to the quilt front.Using my embroidery machine, I added the Baby Girl’s name and the year on one of the feet.  On the back of this foot, I also attached one of my “Made by Julie” tags.After stitching all the way around the quilt (leaving ~ 1/2 in.), the raw edges were clipped and the quilt was washed and dried in order to fray them.
I love the way a rag quilt turns out and how they get softer and more frayed with each washing! This one was no different.  It frayed perfectly and I think it is really cute.Happily, my friend and the mother-to-be loved it too!



Happy Spring Break!

This post is linked to:
http://www.youngandcrafty.com/2013/03/free-for-all_8.html
http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2013/03/show-tell-saturday-030913.html
http://tatertotsandjello.com/2013/03/weekend-wrap-up-party-and-wallpaper-for-windows-giveaway.html
http://www.shakentogetherlife.com/2013/03/whats-shakin-link-party-50.html
http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2013/03/wildly-original-link-party-42.html
http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/2013/03/whatever-you-want-wednesday-112/
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2013/03/whatever-goes-wednesday-160_6.html
http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/2013/03/tuesday-to-do-103-and-102-list-makers.html
http://www.sweetlittlegals.com/2013/03/trendy-tuesday-27.html
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2013/03/the-sunday-showcase-party-no-143.html
http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2013/03/motivate-me-monday-164.html
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/2013/03/creative-bloggers-party-hop-102.html