Nancy Drew Tote Bags

Remember my “Get a Clue with Nancy Drew” coasters? When I bought the charm pack, I also bought a yard each of two different Nancy Drew fabrics to make lined tote bags for a couple of cutie-patootie girls in my family . . .  and fill with their first sets of Nancy Drew books!

I used a tutorial from Quick Stuff to Sew (Volume IV), a publication of Craftstylish.com, for the totes (like this one, minus the stripes). I hope there will soon be two new Nancy Drew fans in the world! ♥

• Book 1: The Secret of the Old Clock
• Book 2: The Hidden Staircase
• Book 3: The Bungalow Mystery
• Book 4: The Mystery at Lilac Inn
• Book 5: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
• Book 6: The Secret of Red Gate Farm

New FREE Book You’ll Want to Grab This Weekend!

Do you follow Awesome Sauce and Asshattery? If you haven’t discovered it yet, please pay Sheri a visit soon! Her creative projects and fun-loving writing style are guaranteed to inspire you and make you smile. Sheri has also written TWO books now! I previously reviewed the first one, Life on the Zig Zag, which is now available in a Kindle version. And Sheri is offering the second book in her “Confessions of a Refashionista” series called Bewitched Bedsheets FREE from Friday, August 30 through Sunday, September 1! It’s on Kindle, too . . . but remember that you can read Kindle books on any PC or tablet with the free Kindle App. I can’t wait! Click HERE for complete details and worldwide links, and thank you from all of us, Sheri! ♥

Word Plays!

My two newest books arrived today! We wrote a series of 24 Reader’s Theater scripts based on the Grade 1-2 Common Core State Standards for Language Arts. They’re fun and funny to write AND to read! Plus, I got to write the teacher’s guides for all 24 of these books and the Grade 3-6 scripts as well . . . another fun, creative project.  I do love my job! ♥

Related Link: My Books

FREEBIE ALERT: The Upcycling Queen Strikes Again!

In my “Meet an Upcycling Queen” post last month, I introduced Mahe of Altered Upcycling. Many of you picked up the free ebook she offers from her blog and loved it! Now Mahe has another free offer starting TOMORROW, February 23 and running through Wednesday, February 27—a card-making ebook available here on Amazon.com.  (If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download “Kindle for PC” from Amazon.com here, also for free.)  Mahe was kind enough to send me a preview copy, and I found:

• cards featuring paint chips along with items many of us already have around the house,
• cards for lots of different holidays, seasons, and occasions,
• step-by-step directions and photographs,
• links to youtube video demonstrations,
• and much, much more!

Please take a moment to help yourself to this lovely gift which is regularly $2.99 but ours for free for the next five days. Thank you, Mahe! ♥

New Books!

This isn’t my usual sewing or crafting post, but my “real” job is writing education materials for students, teachers, and parents, and . . . my newest books are out!  These 14 books are part of a 60-title Classic Tales series consisting of retellings of short stories, folktales, fairy tales, pourquoi tales, myths, legends, and fables for kindergarten through second-grade readers.  Didn’t the artists do a fabulous job on the covers???  (My earlier books are at www.edwriter.com—click on the BOOKS link and then use the pull-down menu to select “Books for Students” or “Books for Teachers.”) Most of my assignments involve writing or editing teacher’s guides and language arts lessons, prototyping new products, and other non-book tasks, but they’re ALL challenging and fun.  Thank you for letting me share a bit about my other creative ventures today! ♥