hmmm, what can I possibly say about Ayumi and her blog Pink Penguin?!  Other than the fact that I’m very honored for her to take time to contribute to Spice up your Kitchen. 

I know Ayumi wouldn’t be able to resist the kitchen theme when I asked her to join in.  She makes the most adorable, fun and functional things.  Each piece of fabric is chosen with such precision and thought.  Oh, and besides having an awesome array of beautiful easy to follow tutorials, she has a great etsy store, AND she has two tutorials (apple coasters and a plastic bag dispenser) in the most current issue of Stitch!  Be sure to check out her blog because she’ll be one busy lady with her upcoming wedding.

Please welcome Ayumi!

Hello, everyone! I am Ayumi from Pink Penguin blog. I got really excited when Anna contacted me and asked if I would like to be a part of Spice Up Your Kitchen. Of course, I said YES right away. Anna has been a very nice, inspirational blog friend for me, and I’ve always wanted to be a part of some fun blog event like this where I can connect with bloggers/seamstresses 😉 Thank you again Anna for including me for the fun!

To tell a bit about myself, I was born and raised in Japan, but now I live with my fiance in Northern California. I’ve always loved creating things, having someone create something for me, and owning handmade items made with love. Today I’d like to introduce a tutorial for a quilted placemat that is easy and fun to make!

Not only can this simple project help you detash your fabric scraps but also that it will be a great way to bright up your dining time!
Go check out Ayumi’s complete Quilted Placemat Tutorial HERE on Pink Penguin.

Thanks Ayumi for sharing this project, I know my girls would love one!

Okay, today’s guest is someone I just don’t have enough words to describe.  Dana of MADE!!
Yep, she’s here and with a great project, of course another stunner with beautiful pictures and descriptions to top it off! 

When I started my blogging journey late last year I would have never guessed Dana would be friends with me.  And to make you all really jealous, we’ve meet in real life (more on that another day).  I would read her blog and just dream up all sorts of cool projects using her tutorials, not ever thinking that she would actually take time to reply to my little comments.  Well, she did, and the rest is history I guess.  I’m very grateful that Dana has had me guest blog a couple times now and that she has trusted me to come up with some fun projects.  So she’s visiting today with a cool project to spice up your kitchen!  Don’t forget to check out all her great patterns and tutorials (just in case you’ve been living under a rock).
Thanks Dana!

Hello to the Noodlehead world! I’m so happy to be part of Spice Up Your Kitchen.
I’ll be honest, when Anna asked me join you….I was at a loss for ideas. The obvious kitchen stuff popped in my head: potholders? (I really hate making those. Can I hire one of you to do that?), aprons? (so many cute versions are out there already), place-mats? (I’m sure someone already signed up for that). I was stumped. And so, I’ve been amazed at all the cool ideas the other Kitchen Guests have come up with! My kitchen thanks you as well.

So….to find my niche, I decided to spice up my dining room, which is actually part of our kitchen. And today I’m sharing a very, very simple idea: Table Toppers. I know, nothing original. But it’s so simple, it seems silly not to share it.

My mom loves to cook, entertain, and throw parties. And so, dinner at our house growing up (on a small night) meant 12 people at the table……6 kids from our family, my cousins who lived next door, and a family friend or two. Dinner was, and still is, a very social event and one that my mom liked to spice up with decorations.

With one or two tables to decorate, however, sewing cute table cloths required yards and yards of fabric. So instead, my mom started making Table Toppers. These are large squares or swatches of fabric which are hemmed like a normal tablecloth, then thrown on top of a white or black tablecloth to give a color pop.

With a variety of Table Toppers in her closet, my mom was ready to decorate any number of dinner tables, table rounds, a small classroom table? A spectrum of possibilities.

So for Mother’s Day a few weeks ago, I surprised my mom with a slew of new Table Toppers. Every woman enjoys an updated look in her table wardrobe.

Table Toppers are easy to make, less expensive than making full tablecloths, and they make great gifts. Go rummage through your fabric stash and let’s get started!

You can find the complete Table Toppers Tutorial HERE on MADE.

Thank you Anna for letting me join the kitchen party!

These are great Dana, I’m going to have some fun mixing up fabrics with these!