A Long Day

Yesterday started so nicely, and ended nicely too, there were just some bumps in the road along the way. The kid and I did alot of running around at the mall (she needed MORE t-shirts from Pac Sun-aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!). Then we had to go to Petco and buy a dwarf hamster, she's been asking for another one for awhile, so I saw no reason to say no. I was like, they're only like a dollar... But when we got there, they are actually 15.99! Oh well, much cheaper upkeep than Weezer (our pug).

So then, we go back out to the car, and it wouldn't start (it's been doing that lately), and we sat there for an hour and a half, hoping that "Ollie" the hamster wouldn't die in the heat. (Named after the skateboard trick). So her dad came and rescued us, and had the car started in like 2 seconds, but said I need a new starter. Cars!
So last night I figured out what was wrong with my summer hat pattern that I've been tweaking for the last 2 weeks. I'm not sure how it happened, but I finally had to take mine apart and use that as my cutting pattern, because I couldn't get any of them the same after that one. It worked, and voila! Here's the black and white linen one in the shop today:








It was kind of funny because I had tried to explain to my hubby that I needed a picture of me wearing my hat, to use as the 5th picture in the etsy listing, and he couldn't understand what I was saying. He thought I needed him to take pics of me wearing ALL of them. I'm like, no, honey, I need ONE picture of me wearing MY hat, to use as an example. After explaining it like 3 times, I gave up. So we did a 'photo shoot', and some of them were pretty funny. I'm smelling a fake flower in some, and some I have my eyes closed, because I tell him to count 1...2...3...click, and he goes 1-2-3-and clicks on the "3"! So I finally sent him inside, took 2 of myself, and guess which one I ended up using as my new avatar photo? Mine, of course!
Here's one of the mess-ups:

and the chosen one:

that reminds me, I've never added a profile photo for my blog, so I think I'll use it for that...and maybe a new Flickr profile, too. It's just so rare when I get a picture of myself that doesn't make me want to hurl. Sorry for such a narcissistic post~ Caio for now~

CHARMED~

Ok, so here are the pics from one of the charm bracelets, start to finish. These little buggers are a little time-consuming, but you can't beat a project that uses 1/2 inch pieces of fabric!
So here are the tiny cut out pieces:














and after they are sewn together and stuffed (and I'm getting ready to install the eyelets):


















and the final outcome:











So this one is in the shop, and I think I will make more soon. I figured out that I saw a similar idea in 'Cloth, Paper, Scissors", and Ruth Rae designed them. So fun! Ciao~

Now the fun begins...

Yikes, it's been awhile since I checked in with y'all. sorry 'bout that. I finally finished the last kiddie class yesterday - UGH - and my little one's last softball tournament game was this morning. So after closing ceremonies in about an hour, I'm OFFICIALLY ON SUMMER VACATION! Finally, jeez. I know I shouldn't complain, but I've been ready for this break since about February (see older posts- ha ha). I've been having lots of fun playing with a bunch of new fabrics, and some old ones, and a ton of other jewelry stuff. Now I'm going to go full throttle ( or however they say that), and be prepared to be dazzled, ladies, because there is no stopping me now! Today I'm going to finish a skirt, probably start a new one because I've got some more applique ideas, and work on a fabric charm bracelet. I actually am remembering to take some pics DURING the process, instead of waiting until I'm done and wishing I had documented parts of it for you all. So here's the lovely fabric:















...and the cut out scraps:

I saw some adorable fabric charms made with eyelets somewhere in a craft book, and I thought it was another great way to use up tiny scraps that I just cannot bear to part with. I have a hoarding problem, btw. I buy really cute stuff for crafting, and then I just save it and can't bear to use it because it's just soooooo pretty. What if I run out? I know, it's dumb, but I'm working on actually using the stuff I love, and instead of rushing through a project to get it done, I'm trying to enjoy the process of laying out the design, and thinking and planning, etc. Here's another of my totes (my daughter and I use these for absolutely EVERYTHING on the go), and I had such a relaxing, enjoyable time laying out the pieces and coordinating the fabrics.

Of course it's not too hard to coordinate, because pretty much my entire fabric collection consists of black, white and red. I do try really hard to expand my horizons and throw some aqua in there, but I guess I just love neutrals. Sometimes I'll spend an hour meandering around Joann's, and I'll get to the cutting counter and place my stack up there to be cut, and the ENTIRE stack is black, brown, and cream. Oh well. See how much I blab on and on when I haven't posted for awhile? You guys will be so sick of me cuz now I'm gonna actually post a few times a week now that I'm on VACAAAAAATION! (sorry I can't help it) luv ya~ Caio!

whirlwind

wow, it's been very busy lately. I'm done with my first week of half day art classes that I'm teaching, so I'm officially on vacation for one week before doing it again. I haven't had time to get on flickr or various other things, like planting flowers, or laundry. This spring has been the first time I can ever remember not getting excited about planting anything. I'm not much of a gardener, but at least I could count on 3 weeks of sunny creativity. This year there's just too much crafting to be done inside, but, since I moved my 'studio' to the living room window, I think I'll put some potted plants on the front porch area so I'll have a beautiful view. In the 6 years I've lived here, I've never really put anything out there, because we never use the front door, and are hardly ever out there. But, the back yard is so shady all I've ever been able to grow are pansies, petunias, and various other "p" plants. Anything requiring sun has never worked. The front porch is facing southwest, so I can now revel in learning about actual sun-loving plants.
I reached 75 sales today on etsy, (AMAZING!), and I'm well on my way to reaching my goal of 150 by the end of the summer. I've been really enjoying working on the summer wrap skirts, (see? I'm using my dress form already!)

















and asymmetrical necklaces, and have lots and lots of projects in my to-do pile.

















Also, I finally sold the menswear tweed vest to a lovely girl in Finland, who gave me the most wonderful comments. I don't think I'll relist it now, though, because alot of people need different sizes than the one listed, and I've got so many things I want to make that custom sizing is too time consuming at the moment. I really enjoy doing my own thing and listing it when I'm ready- no deadlines, no pressure. My Finland customer was so patient, though, knowing that I was finishing up grades and everything.
Been making lots of these adorable little houses lately:


































bye for now- Ciao!