perfectly imperfect: simple sewing book review (+ giveaway!)

in typical social media tangled web fashion, i can’t even remember how i first came across katie of the red kitchen. i know it was on instagram, where i followed the writing and development of her book like i was watching updates on the development of a baby. and i think, for her, it was.

so when she sent out the call for some bloggers who would be willing to review her book after it’s birth (!) i volunteered right away. i had watched this thing from it’s infancy, i kind of feel like a grandmom. or at least a really cool but distant aunt.



meet katie’s adorable bouncing baby book: SIMPLE SEWING: 30 Fast and Easy Projects for Beginners.

here’s the thing: i can’t even begin to count the amount of times people have said to me “i wish i could sew” or “you need to teach me to sew”. the truth is sewing isn’t rocket science. and if you have the ability to read and the desire to learn then this book is exactly what you need—a primer for learning the basics. learning your way around fabric and notions and a machine and pumping out a couple decent projects to build your confidence and get you excited.

let’s dive in, shall we?



the beginning of the book gives you an illustrated overview of the tools—both big and small—you’ll need, why you’ll need them, what kind to look for, and how to use them. everything from needles to irons.



next up is a detailed explanation of the techniques you’re going to need for all the book’s projects: how to pin, how to stitch…all the basics.



then the book is broken up into (very logical) groupings of projects, which makes it easy to find the one you’re looking for.



and here’s where the book really shines—not only are there gorgeous full-color and full-page illustrations throughout…



each step of each project has a corresponding photo showing you exactly what to do. if you’re a visual learner this is priceless. even as an experienced sewer there are times i simply do not understand a written instruction in a pattern. it is quite true: a picture is worth a thousand words.

and at the back of the book you’ll find all the patterns for your projects, which can be traced or copied. or cut right out if you’re a rebel.



so what did i do with my book?

my girls are some of the people who have asked me countless times “will you teach me to sew?” they want to Make Things. i even bought them their own machine. but i know my limits and a big one is that i am just NOT a teacher. i don’t have the patience, the organizational skills…i want to jump in and fix the mistakes myself, make it perfect, make it right the way i would do it.
this is tough to admit--but i even seriously entertained the thought of putting the girls in a sewing class at joann’s. how dumb is that? i feel strongly that they should learn to sew, but i convinced myself i lacked the ability to be their teacher.

this book serves as the perfect buffer. i realize now it was just what i needed. even the best of teachers uses a textbook as the basis for what they’re teaching.
this is our sewing class book.

i set ava loose on it first, and she picked the toy camera project.



i let her pick fabrics, and helped her cut her pieces. i gave her some little tips, showed her how to organize everything and how to follow the step-by-step directions. i was there to guide and lend a helping hand, but she did it.



at first she waited for my guidance between steps, but by the end she was off and running on her own. i’ve given her basic sewing machine instruction, so with the illustrated instructions in the book she could easily proceed without my help.



and in the end she had a toy camera.



an actual for real project that she made herself. are the stitches wonky? the circles less circle-y and more octagon-y? yup.



and that’s what makes it perfect.
but we didn’t stop there. that’s the fun of a house full of kiddos. when word spreads that there’s “projects” happening…



gigi wanted in. and the book was awesome yet again: she picked a project and fabric and we got to work. i was a little more involved this time, but we learned how to follow directions, how to measure and cut and pin…



she sat on my lap for the sewing—official Pin Puller and Presser Foot Lifter.



then we pushed out corners and filled our warmers with rice…



and voila. two hand warmers. also perfectly imperfect.



she was nervous about how hot they were (not very)



so she donned some protective…socks.
and there you have it.



these two little projects represent together about an hour and a half of my time and a monetary investment of $0.
but more importantly—they represent the first time we have successfully done sewing projects from start to finish together. they show me that i can teach my girls to sew, and watch it happen without frustration on any of our parts. i didn’t realize what i was missing all along was direction for me, not them. (yes yes, there’s a “priceless” joke in here somewhere. i’ll spare you.)

so, now that i’ve touched your hearts so deeply you can’t wait to have such memory-making moments with your own offspring (or you want to learn yourself)…



you can purchase a copy of katie’s SIMPLE SEWING book from any of these retailers:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books & Things

you can also check out some other projects from/reviews of katie's book by visiting her website.
and be sure and swing by today's other reviewer--the incredible delia creates--and see what she did!

AND you also have a chance to win a copy of SIMPLE SEWING here by entering below!

before i go i just want to say again that this book is seriously awesome—i honestly mean it. if you want to teach someone—whether an adult or a child to sew, or you want to teach yourself you sew, this book is a must-have place to start. thanks, katie, for letting me be a part of your virtual baby shower book tour!

*please note this contest is open to US shipping addresses only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

we’re all winners here.

except, today, one of us is actually a winner. and the rest of us are just…not.

that one is…

the #7 commenter on my RODAN + FIELDS giveaway!

that was…

 

oh hiya! looks like being able to comment this time worked out for ya, eh? ;)

yay! and thanks to everyone who entered!

time flies.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

scene: foggy bathroom, post-shower. shannon, hair wrapped in a towel, wipes down the misted over mirror and goes to begin her daily toilette.
suddenly our heroine gets a glimpse of her reflection—shock, dismay. the years are showing. the too-many-bad-sunburns are taking their toll on her fair skin.
but wait! all is not lost! her 20’s a mere memory, she is still in her beginning 30’s—there is still time to prevent more damage! still time to…uh, slow time.
quickly she slides open her drawer of beauty products and…

ugh. it’s a sad sad state of affairs. a mishmash of store brand firming masks and eye creams mixed with deoderants and baby shampoo, rarely used makeup and unfortunately still used acne medication. (and we’ll just ignore those self-tanners, mmmkay?)
like so many other things my beauty routine has also fallen prey to The Mommy Syndrome. you know the one—where you’re too tired/stressed/frazzled/poor to give full attention to something? especially something for YOU? so you do it halfway or not at all?
yup. i see you nodding in agreement. you’re with me.
so this is why, when i was contacted by a rep for rodan + fields, i was all over it. the bulk of that mess of a drawer emptied in favor of this:

one little package containing four products:

a simple anti-age skin care regimen developed by the same two women dermatologists who developed proactiv. they offer four different regimens: REVERSE, ANTI-AGE, BLEMISH, and SOOTHE. i chose to try the ANTI-AGE one…because, well…i’m not getting any younger.
okay, here it is. i’ll admit it: i was skeptical. i tend to be fairly cynical about, well, everything. so the first thing i did when i got the products was take my camera out in the sunlight and take 4 bazillion photos of my face, sans any products at all. and now i’m going to share them with you.
presenting ME, in all my natural glory:

these photos are all straight out of the camera. i didn’t do a thing—not even a basic levels adjustment (muusst…noottt..photoshop…arrrgghhhh!!)
this is how much i love you guys. i took these photos, and now i’m sharing them.
okay i’ll be the first to admit that i don’t have the world’s worst skin. but it’s not great. one of my biggest concerns is that area between my eyebrows and my forehead.
hey—i’ve got five kids. i spend a lot of time doing things like this:

but i figured i’d try it—nothing wagered, nothing lost.
this is the 100% total, unvarnished, un-paid-for truth—i COULDN’T BELIEVE the difference. 2 weeks in i had to go back and look at the date on these photos, because i couldn’t believe it had only been 2 weeks of using the products.
you apply the daily cleansing mask both morning and night and allow it to dry for 2 minutes before rinsing. the first few times i used it it felt tingly. not a totally awful sensation, but not my favorite. now it doesn’t bother me.

you follow that up with the pore minimizing toner, and then one of the lotions—one for day and one for night.
my skin felt softer and smoother and healthier. i actually—for real—had multiple people, out of the blue (both strangers and friends), tell me how young i looked. even my husband noticed—and you ladies know how amazing that is.
here’s some more honesty for you—i almost, almost didn’t really want this stuff to work. because the one flaw i can find in rodan + fields products is their price. the system is not cheap. but the results speak for themselves.
not until this morning when i was taking my “after” photos did i realize just exactly how well. i guess i’ve gotten used to my “new” skin, because i actually was nervous that the photos wouldn’t show much difference. i figured i could explain how different my skin FEELS, and how hard that is to capture in photos. but i don’t think i need to.
again, these are straight out of the camera shots. i did my morning cleanse routine and went outside for photos. i’m wearing lip gloss and last night’s mascara.

okay, fine. i did put a little bit of eyebrow pencil on. dude—i have BLONDE eyebrows. as in—virtually invisible. that’s just weird. but other than that it’s just me and R + F. 
let’s do a side by side, shall we?


less red and splotchy, more smooth and glowy. amirite? i swear to you—these photos were both taken right outside my back door, using only sunlight. same camera, held arm’s length away. (my freckles are darker because they always get darker in the summer and we’ve been to the beach a couple times since i started using the products. tra-la-la, the joys of red hair.)
thank you rodan + fields and sage for letting me try your products! you’ve made a believer of me!
now what about you? well my r + f rep—sage bowman—has generously offered a giveaway to one of my readers. you can win one EYE CREAM and one MICRO-DERMABRASION.


i’m kind of seriously jelly of you guys right now, cause i really want to try the eye cream.
TO ENTER: + just leave me a comment. tell me something, anything. tell me about your beauty regimen (or lack thereof). tell me about the time you smeared egg yolks all over your face to minimize your pores and you stunk the house up. tell me the beauty routine old wives tales your great grandma told you. + one entry per person.
+ i’d love it if you were follower of googiemomma, but it’s not required.
+ i’d also love it if you would go check out rodan + fields website.
+ please leave your email address in the comments if it’s not easily located.
+ giveaway open until 9/30/2010, 12:00 am EST. winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

note: i was provided with products for review. i was not paid, and all opinions are my own. trust me—i have plenty of my own opinions. i don’t need anyone else’s.

things i think you should know.

o1) did you enter the contest for a $50 Visa giftcard courtesy of Venus and Blogher? just tell me your all-time WORST, MOST EMBARRASSING beauty mishap. errr…or just a summer beauty tip. BUT PLEASE THE FUNNY EMBARRASSING STORIES!!!! click HERE to go to the post

o2) did you enter to win 3 awesome crochet patterns courtesy of luz mendoza? seriously folks—winter will be here before we know it, and if you’re like me you’re going to need a solid 3-4 months to actually complete anything usable. click HERE to check that out!

o3) remember my e-shakti dress review? well they’re offering my readers a discount code good for 10% off your order! woot! and you can stack this discount on top of other discounts they’re offering! double woot! act quick though—this is only valid until 8/31/12. just go HERE and enter code REN9NXN in at checkout!

o4) i have very little food in my house right now. so i’m off on a massive food shopping trip, with five children in tow. pray for me. that’s not really important, it’s just something i thought you should know.

googiemomma out.

start now, maybe you’ll be done by winter.

is it too soon to talk about crocheting?
the way i see it—school supplies are out, jeans and sweaters are appearing on shelves, and who cares if the actual temperature doesn’t agree with us i say cooler times are on the way! personally—i could not be happier. fall is my time of year. it’s crisp air and jeans and boots and sweaters and gloves and walking through apple festivals with hot cups of coffee. its no less sweaty, less annoying, less heat-induced-rage causing. fall is our anniversary, fall is our time of year.
so who’s with me? maybe if we all take up our crochet hooks and knitting needles en masse we can sway the rotation of the earth just a smidge—enough to bring on the cooler climes we so desire.
and how about a little something to really inspire you?
how about the chance to win three crochet patterns from the talented luz mendoza?
you know, a pattern for something like this:

or this:

or these:

or maybe a little something for you, like this:

right?!?!?! how can you say no to that!?!? (and side note—how pretty is she???) i couldn’t! ms. luz contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked if i would be willing to host a giveaway of some of her patterns, and as soon as i checked out her shops (HERE and HERE) i wrote back and said YEAH BABY! she designs the cutest hats for littles and biggers alike, and that scarf—to die for!
i picked the dinosaur and tail/scarf pattern to try, and my boy is 10 so i’m not sure who i’m making it for but how could i not make this???

i figure i can add a pink bow and make it a girl dino. gigi can definitely pull that off.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!

want the chance to win some patterns for yourself?
THE DETAILS + one entry per person

+ luz asks that you please “like” her page on facebook. if you don’t facebook (like me!) please visit one of her shops and browse through all her awesome patterns!
luz has a shop on craftsy and also sells on amazon

+ leave a comment letting me know if you liked her facebook page or visited her shop, and put your email address if i won’t know it

+ contest open until 8/30/2012, at which time a winner will be chosen via random.org and emailed. the winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen! (don’t make me do that—it feels really mean)
that’s it! get commenting!

summer beauty

+++THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!+++

I'm 32 years old. I have five children. I think I can reasonably be called an adult.

And yet every time my mom sees me rub my eyes she yells at me: Don’t rub your eyes! That skin is very delicate! Do you want to get wrinkles?

This tells me a couple of things:
1.) Your mom is ALWAYS your mom, no matter how old you are.
2.) Your mom is a great source of beauty advice ... even if she’s yelling it at you.

With this in mind I sat down with Guinevere to talk about beauty-related things. A couple of weeks ago she asked me about wearing makeup. I helped her pick out some light lip gloss and clear brow tamer/mascara (my girls got their daddy’s eyebrows … those things NEED some taming).
But there’s so much more to beauty than just makeup, particularly in the summer.



We spend a LOT of time outside in the sun during the summer -- at the park, at the beach, in the yard, riding bikes. and now that Guinevere is getting older, there’s more involved than just letting mom slap 50 SPF on her wiggly body.

So we sat down to talk, and I asked if she had any questions for me. This is what she came up with:

Guinevere: Did you ever have any problems? Or have anything go wrong during the summer?

Well, the number-one thing I can think of is my skin. Everyone should wear sunscreen all the time, but as a fair-skinned redhead it’s like quadruple important for me! And as a hard-headed teenager there were plenty of times I skipped the lotion at the shore. I wanted to be like all my tan friends -- and I PAID THE PRICE, BIG TIME. I remember getting burned one time so badly that it peeled within a couple of hours. That is SOOOO bad. Now that I’m older I’m nervous about skin cancer and wrinkles and all the damage I did to myself. STUPID STUPID! So my advice to you: Wear SUNSCREEN! Trust me, it's worth it! Fortunately all you kids are blessed with your grandmother’s skin -- not the fair redhair-type skin. But the advice still applies!

See, now I have to do crazy stuff to try and repair the damage!

G: What sort of things should you NEVER EVER do in the summer?

Well, obviously never skip the sunscreen. Definitely take showers as often as necessary, but not more often than necessary, if that makes sense. Like, if you’ve been sweating and gross, definitely take a shower to clean up and so you don’t break out. But don’t just shower if you’re hot or bored—too much will dry out your skin and you’ll break out from that too!

G: Any other beauty tips for me?

Oh -- this is important! Sometimes all the shaving we do in summer can irritate the skin -- especially in the bikini area. So after I shave I use a little bit of witch hazel on a cotton ball to sooth any sensitive areas.
The other important thing is to use a good, sharp, clean razor! We’re still loving the Venus Embrace razor. It has five blades for a close shave, and the moisture ribbons around the blades help minimize nicks and cuts, which are never fun! Venus has some more great tips about shaving on their website.


Oh and of course: DON’T RUB YOUR EYES! Do you want to get wrinkles? Hahaha!
But really, don’t rub your eyes.

This was fun! Entering this new stage with you, Guinevere, is so exciting to me! Plus I’m loving all the mommy and me time we spend together -- like last week when we did home pedicures together sitting on the edge of the tub!

looks like it’s time for a new one!

And to the rest of you: What’s the best beauty tip you have shared with your daughter to prepare her for the summer? Or share your funniest beauty mishap for the chance to win a $50 Visa gift card! Personally, I’d love to hear all the funny mishaps, because I like to laugh

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/26 - 8/23.

Be sure to visit the Venus brand feature page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
Have you checked out the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com? There are some great tips and expert posts on everything from Looking Your Best to Getting Happy and Getting Organized

giveaway winner!

THANKS to everyone who entered to win the patterns, and to two girls patterns for sponsoring this giveaway!

so the winners of two patterns each from two girls patterns:

 

#5 who is:

 

Laura said...

I've seen those little diva toddler boots in person people. ADORBS! Especially since the googster crocheted (sp?) them in my favorite yarn....Caron Simply Soft. Waiting patiently for hand me downs : )

oh great. someone i know. here comes the “cheating” accusations. i swear! it was True Random Number Generator!!!!

okay, moving on…

and #10 who is:

kates_mom said...

Never entered a contest before, but these are just too cute. I'll make them for my grand nieces, my daughter's buddies' babies, probably hand out extras to strangers' cute babies at the grocery store. They're probably addictive.
If not, I'm going to have to join the 22nd century and learn how to use paypal, just to get my hands on the patterns.
xo
Kates_mom

YAY!!! girls, i need your email addresses! thanks again!