Island Girl

Meet Tawni, the island girl, ninth wee character in the Wee are the World series. She comes to us from the West Indies, or better known, Caribbean. Her islands are full of charm; canvased with a beautiful array of colors, and dotted with tropical birds, large and small.

Tawni was influenced by my very best childhood friend, Stephie, an island girl herself. She and her family had moved from their tropical paradise in Trinidad and I had just moved from the midwest were we met and became immediate besties in the Pacific Northwest, a land unfamiliar to either of us.

I have wonderful memories of being with her family eating fried plantains (okay, not my favorite food:) and drinking tropical smoothies, which back then we called health shakes. I learned new words and phrases said in the most lovely accent, to my ears, which was both British and Island-ish, as my young mind would hear them. I would try to imitate it, but with an “Okie from Muskogee” drawl, it just didn’t have that charm, nor did I.

Steph and I came from completely different backgrounds and really didn’t seem to have that much in common, until we did. And boy did we. We turned culture-clash on its head when we became besties. We were, and still are today, two peas in a pod. No one makes me laugh like Steph does. No one makes me think like she can. No one makes me appreciate life like little Stephanie did all those years ago and still does today. My world is more beautiful with her in it.

Steph has two older sisters who actually are twins, but she will always be my twin, separated at birth, but with a better accent.

My head is in the clouds this Valentine’s Day

It seems like every bit of valentine decor from my childhood had something to do with cupids, lots and lots of hearts and doilies, and red, white and red. Our teacher hung red hearts from the ceiling, stapled cherubs to the bulletin boards and positioned a decorated valentine box on the corner of her desk for all to fill.

We knew the drill come February 14, and we loved it. Miniature valentines in hand, we would file up to her desk and stuff that beautiful box full of heartfelt affection and kitschy phrases. It was a tradition we loved and we prepared for it starting on January 2. Well, we started making handmade valentines in January, but those cool, boxed valentines from the dime store couldn’t be picked out until early February.

Once childhood was over, Valentine’s day lost its excitement for many years. It was sweet, it was thoughtful, but it didn’t have the thrill that it once had. Maybe that’s how it should be, but twenty-two years ago I decided to do something about it. Something that would make February 14 special every year, and would usually begin in mid January.

I decided to create handmade valentines for all of the women in my life; my family, my close friends and my coworkers. I knew they thought the cards were for them. I knew they thought the message was to them. They couldn’t have been more right. In a way, however, the cards have also been for my passion to create from my hand. The message has been to help remind me of the value of these people in my life. The labor has always been a labor of love.

This year my valentine is all about those typical icons that floated above my desk in grade school and were pasted to the classroom walls and bulletin boards during February. Indeed, the hearts, the red, the gold and little celestial beings are all here. They may not be cupids, but they are as angelic as can be.

This year the valentine comes as a little work of art to be placed on a golden easel. The message shares my sentiment, that the recipient is an angel here on earth . . . sent from heaven . . . filling our hearts with love. How true it is, and how lucky for me to be among the people graced by them.

Since few of you will have the handmade valentine waiting in your mailbox today, please think of this post as your valentine from me to you, one of the many angels gracing our earth with love and goodness. Happy Valentine’s day. Now make it that for those you love.

A valentine that is heaven sent . . . and freely given!

It’s almost Valentine’s day and there is just enough time left to make a gift from the heart for the one you love. Fill a matchbox with chocolate covered pretzels, or get a small Russell Stover heart shaped box of chocolates and recover the box with a sentiment from you (and me:). Your loved one will not only think you’re heaven sent, but will start floating on cloud nine.

You can either fill the matchbox with homemade chocolate covered pretzels to show off your sweet side, or leave the matches in the box and couple it with a candle to show your warmth and affection.

If you like giving chocolate to your sweetheart, choose the small heart shaped box to prove your love by simply covering the top and sides, and sharing the sweetness.

I made these labels available for you as a free download and you can get them by clicking on my U-Pick button at the right side of the blog. They will take just a few minutes to print, cut and glue. The only things you’ll need are a large matchbox, a small heart box and a candle or two if you want to light up someone’s life.

Below is an image of the printout. However, you will need to get the artwork from my U-Pick button or click here. The file name is called Valentine2012Freebie. The artwork is formatted on an 11x17 document, and after printing just cut each piece out and adhere to your boxes and candles. I used tape for the candle wraps and tacky glue for the matchbox and heart shaped box.

Here is the information on the specific items you will need (shown in the photo below). A large matchbox (4.75"x2.75"x1.5"); a small Russell Stover chocolates heart shaped box (4"x4"x1"); a pillar candle (2.8"W x 3"H); a candle in a jar (3.5oz). The candles and chocolate were purchased from Walmart, the matchbox from Target.

This is only one way to convince your sweetheart that you’re an angel. I’m sure that is already obvious. Hopefully you and your valentine will be in seventh heaven on February 14. Have a happy and heartfelt one!

Nate has a home to call his own!

We have a winner for the Nate fat quarter collection. And that winner is Katy! Congrats!

This is for the Child’s Play with Nate cotton collection. There is still the flannel collection that I have not done a drawing for, and if you like this idea maybe I can do a few more fabric-freebies for you good, creative peeps.

Don’t forget that I also have a drawing that I will be doing for the Child’s Play with Kate, the flannel fat quarter set, and that is happening on my new Facebook page called Sheri McCulley Studio. So, if you still want to enter that drawing go to my FB page and comment on the Kate collection there. Once I have 100 “likes” on my page I will have that drawing.

Also, for you fabric lovers, I do expect to see the little Woodland Tails animals filling the quilt and fabric shops any day now. The collection is due out in stores in February, and well, that’s only a day away. I have not gotten my own samples yet, but maybe once I do we can have a give-away for that collection as well. Woodland Tails is one of my all time fave collections and I am very excited about its debut in the fabric world. So stay tuned and maybe these little woodland animals will be gracing your presence soon.

Shering with you to create some SherWear

It’s time for me to start shering some of my fabric collections with you. So . . . how about we get a few more bloggers to join my new Sheri McCulley Studio blog and once we do I will give the Child’s Play with Nate (cotton collection) to one lucky winner. You will get a set of fat quarter prints and at least one Nate panel. You will have plenty of prints to work with and might even have enough to sew them into some SherWear for a lucky little guy in your life. Please note that the image above is of the complete Nate collection, both cotton and flannel, and not all will be given in this drawing, but at least half will.

Once I have 100 members on this blog (only six to go) I will have a drawing. Here’s what you need to do to be in the drawing~just comment on this post. As soon as we reach the 100 mark I will collect the comments and draw a winner. You do not have to join my blog to enter, just leave a comment and ~ don’t forget to encourage your friends to check out my new Sheri McCulley Studio blog, website and yes, even my new Facebook page, because I have fabric give-aways going on there too. Fill free to join the fun there as well!