A New Favorite Artist

I found Jen's work on the front page of Etsy yesterday. Her shop Swallowfield features many amazing prints of her work. The one that caught my eye was Little Boxes on the Hillside:



You see, we have a poster of art by Howard Finster made to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Jason was involved in the organization in college and obtained one of these posters which was signed by the artist. Suspecting it was worth a little I got it mounted and framed. It hangs in the basement and thought it would be neat to complement the piece with other works containing houses.

What I love about Jen's work is that she uses many "textures" (patterns) in her work. To me it looks like the Patchwork Quilt of life...

Other pieces from Jen that caught my eye...

Winner...

The winner of the blogoversary drawing is:


Guess you're going to have to choose which one you want Andie! :-)

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In other life news... The waiting game continues. We thought we'd have some news on Friday, but no. We hope to hear something today but I'm not going to hold my breath. Until then, the hunt continues...

For peppier news visit our family blog.

Celebrate

Today is the one year anniversary of this blog. Tomorrow is my son's 3rd birthday. Because of our situation (which may change soon, I hope!) I can't give away anything cool. I can give away something I've made from leftover fabric or that I made as a prototype so please enter if you like homemade things. I wish I could give these both away but I can barely justify the postage expense for one.

So, here is the fun part for you. If you like either of the items below, leave a comment with your favorite. I would really encourage the regular readers and/or commenters to enter and if you are new, please take some time to look around and to introduce yourself. I will probably want to check out your blog too!

Deadline is Sunday at midnight. Winner should be announced Monday via a random draw.

Revamp

In an attempt to freshen up my Etsy store, I enlisted Jason to take some better photos of my newer items. I am especially happy with his work on the linen towels. My photos just did not do them justice. I hope to have him help with more of the items as well. I've also renamed some items and plan to renew a couple on Monday to hopefully get some fresh looks.

Don't you think these photos are better than what I had? To see more new photos check out my store Sunnypond. I also have a new icon and banner based on a bag that will be in the shop shortly. I hope to create a newer banner sometime soon!

Can I Just Sleep Through Next Week?

If you are keeping up with our life, you know we are going through an uncertain time. I thought the beginning of this time was hard, and it was, but the potential resolution is hard too. I guess not as hard though. At any rate, I've had a rough day emotionally. You see, we are waiting on decisions from a few opportunities. We think they should be coming soon. Jason has his favorite and I am supportive of him. I agree that it would suit him best, allow him to succeed as well as to grow in his career. It would mean a move, and we are both up for it if it all works out. But the waiting is killing me, I can't imagine what it is doing to Jason. Though he is actually stronger and less emotional about the whole thing. So we will see and I hope we have good news within a short amount of time.

On the other hand I'm feeling not so great about myself. I am not doing what I do best, which is science and math. I suppose loving my kids is something I do better than that, but sometimes I just don't feel like I'm being a great mom. I love to sew but don't seem to have the talent to promote myself. Should I stop doing what I love or just do it for gifts and for us and for friends? These are all questions I really need to think about.

Meatloaf Cupcakes from Fine Furioius Life

Here is the recipe I promised you. Mine don't look perfect, but apparently they tasted good according to one adult and three children. I didn't eat any because I had a late lunch. The kids loved that they looked like cupcakes and were asking for more, more so than if it were plain meatloaf. You can find the recipe at Fine Furious Life. They contain pureed veggies, so in a way it is like a sneaky chef sort of thing for kids.

What I would do differently with mine is to smoosh the meat more into the cupcake molds. Meat doesn't rise or expand like breads. Duh. Also I would have used a tip on my pastry bag. Actually to save time I just used a ziploc bag and cut a little hole in the corner. In retrospect it would have been worth it to get out the pastry bag set with tips and made the "frosting" look better.

My Creation

For some reason the peach rose doesn't show up...



You type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.

Then, using only the first page, pick an image.

Then, copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into this mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

1. Kristi Yamaguchi, 2. Amigurumi Sushi by Christen Haden (Usa), 3. Chicago high school gym uniforms, 4. Blooming peachy, 5. Sting Ray City Sandbar, 6. Lemonade, 7. Totaranui, 8. Triple berry pie - Nephinthe, 9. Dance...Dance...Dance..., 10. Jason Ella and Miles, 11. Jax Reading, 12. From the Apronista Group

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

***

P.S. For the giveaway, I think I'll offer a choice of the apron or a wristlet that I made. I would also like my "regulars" to please enter the contest. I'd really like someone who supports me in blogworld to win the prize. I will not keep out non-regulars, but I might be creative with the title of the post so as not to get a bunch of people who just searched for "blog giveaway" in google.

thank you

...person who's name shall remain anonymous, for buying a booklet from my Etsy shop. I have been really bummed that I haven't had many sales lately and especially of my newer items. Somehow the one little purchase really made my day. I am also grateful to my blog friend Amanda who has been so sweet and has faith in my work, enough to try me out for another bag for a gift.

I so appreciate my customers. That is why I create, so someone else can enjoy. It is truly what motivates me and why I am so excited to do it.

Been busy with all kinds of stuff this week. My back is killing me and I'm not getting enough rest. I think one of the unforeseen side affects of no more cable, is that I don't sit back enough and try to relax, I just keep going going going.

Today I helped tutor a friend of a friend in Biochemistry. I truly hope I helped her. Though I was a chemistry major, it's been a while and from grad school on it's all been molecular biology/pharmacology. I know she wants to make this a regular thing, so I guess that is a good sign. In return she said she can do some babysitting and speak only Spanish to the kids. Wheeeee! Also, our common friend watched my kids and then offered to continue watching them until 5 or so, so that I could have some free time. I ran some errands and went to Panera with the gift card I got from one of my dance students. I also snuck in going to the local quilt shop. I did find a couple of fabrics I loved, but left them behind. I have plenty of fabrics. And plenty of projects.

Tonight I made a very cute and interesting recipe which I will share soon. I took pics, but the computer that we use to upload the pics is downstairs and I'm too lazy right now (tired) to go do that. I will have to link to the page where I got the recipe so you can try it too. Plus her pics are far better than mine. There are a few things I'd do differently next time (just for the visual effect). The kids LOVED them (including my friend's son who we are watching tonight) and if you have kids you should give them a shot too. OK, I'll try to post this tomorrow!!

Blogoversary Giveaway, What do you want to win?

Hello blog friends. I see my blogoversary is coming up soon. I was wondering if anyone had a preference as to what I should give away. You've seen what I've made, or you can go back and look if you haven't. I don't want to pull specifically from my store and would like to keep things to the > $10 level just because of our current job status. I also have an apron made from Amy Butler fabric that I don't know what to do with. I can certainly give that away! I can't find where I've posted a pic of it, but I used leftover fabric from this. If you have a preference or a good idea, speak up now!

Quick so I can go outside to enjoy the weather today.

Quick peak at last night's creations...

What is it?


A luggage tag! Spot your bag right away on the carousel and slip your address or business card in the slot to serve as an identifier.


A cupcake embellished towel!

See, Back to Staying Up Late

Here I am just having finished two new projects. Can't take pictures, it is too dark. Will try tomorrow. So what did I do? NOTHING that was even on my list. Of course I came up with new things to try. I guess that's ok right? Isn't that called creativity? Not sure how original or creative I really was, but I'll let you judge tomorrow.

Today I got an hour in at the gym and had an experience which leads me to believe I no longer need to put a pull-up over Miles' underwear when we go to the gym. When the childcare lady came to get me it was not because of an accident but because Miles was freaking out that his pants weren't going on right and he wanted his mommy to do it. The problem was the layering of pants. Underwear. Pull-up. Shorts. It all tends to bunch up. So I think next time I'll go for it, just make I have a change of clothes for him in the car at all times.

I got my 50% off interfacing at JoAnn's, an important letter mailed and some checks deposited. And a trip to the grocery store which pleasantly surprised me. The bill that is. I was cringing at the price of ever item I saw and picked up. But in the end the total was less than I predicted and less than if I had gone to the non-cheap store. This store is also cool because they have all kinds of foreign items. Yummy yummy microwave Indian food!!! The kids wanted a sticker and I told them to ask for it in Spanish as the cashier was of the Latino variety. Yo quiero sticker por favor! (did I spell that right?) then a Gracias. I think they made the guy's day. Really, where we live is close to a community of Hispanic people and I wanted to be able to communicate with them in their own language or at least show we are taking the effort to try. I am so glad I had the kids in Spanish and hope to continue to do so again in the future. They say that kids learning a second language really turns on a lot of other areas of the brain and also is the only chance to develop a genuine accent. When Jason got home we went for a walk and Ella took a nasty spill and really scraped up her knee. We got her home and dressed her wound. Then she milked it for all she could. "I think a treat will help me feel better." "I think if you read me a lot of stories tonight it will help me feel better" etc... And before bedtime I had her read some easy books to me. She has really improved and perhaps ready to move on to harder stuff! She also learned today that the word "yard" is a measurement and what USA stands for. I'm trying all I can to pull lessons from anywhere!

It was just a perfect day weatherwise and the kids had another "picnic" (lunch on a blanket in the backyard). I still have a list of to dos to get done. But first tomorrow I am hoping to get the kids rounded up to go to the free movie of the week. This one is Arctic Tale, which I think I'd love to see and would totally hold the kids' attentions.

Must be off to bed now!

Imperfectly Beautiful

I'd like to say I am the only mom of toddlers (or any age really) who keeps the basement or playroom tidy. But I just can't keep up with it.

Ha, I see my "rule" to keep the toys on the playroom side of the basement has gone out the window.

To see more Imperfectly Beautiful homes you can visit the Nester's post today with lots of links!

Just Some New Towels

So much going on here, very little sewing, but I did make 2 new towels. So I will show you the towels since I don't have time to talk about all that is happening! Sorry! I will be back later with an entry to the Nesters carnival!

Break

It is official, I NEED to take a break from sewing. Not because I want to, and not because I have no projects lined up. I just need to get the house cleaned and organized to preserve my sanity. I also want to be more focused on the kids. Ella is wanting to craft and create all the time and while she is doing fine coming up with ideas of her own (!!), I want to be there to help her and show her new "techniques". I also want to spend more time with her on reading, writing and math. I am already teaching her as opportunities arise. So far we have covered fractions (how she wants her sandwich cut), vocabulary (what a documentary is - Jason was there for that one), obscure pop culture trivia (as I was singing "Choppin Broccoli" and well, chopping broccoli, I explained what a comedian is and that it was Dana Carvey who sang that song, plus and attempt to explain why it was so funny). Anyway I don't want to constantly be consumed with what I'm going to do next on the sewing front. Ella is so bright and Miles is constantly mimicking her and right there when she learns something new.

I also am having trouble remembering things (nothing new). I remember when I brought this up to my doctor, she said that comes with having kids and having so much more to remember and do and keep up with. I start to do stupid things like take the clothes out of the dryer and put them back into the washer. Or forget what I went to a room to get. Am I the only late 30 year old/mom who is like this? I've always had a terrible memory, but this is just ridiculous!!

Today was fun again. The kids had a picnic but ended up coming to the table to sit with me. Ella said "Do you want some company"? Wow, what a big girl she is getting to be. Later I got out the kiddie pool and we filled it up. The kids had a blast and it was SO fun to watch! Later while Miles napped, Ella did many crafts while I sewed up the towels for a wedding gift. After that I started dinner and Ella came in with her smock (she called it "cooking thing" but I think she meant apron) and insisted she help me. "What can I help you with Mommy?" She patiently peeled a bunch of garlic and sprinkled cheese on the broccoli. Then in not one of their finer moments, I cleaned Miles' room while they bathed. I could hear them goofing around, so I knew they were ok. But then I went in to the bathroom when I heard some "potty talk" and discovered them in a bath full of bubbles which I soon found out was from them dumping almost the entire contents of shampoo in the tub. UGH! Now they are in bed and I should do a little more cleaning, read a bit and go to sleep!

One For Me

I must stop staying up until late to make things! I just had to have one of these wristlet pouches for myself, so I made one last night. I rarely make things for myself! I used my favorite fabric at this moment. It took less time that the last two. So that is progress. But tonight I should get more sleep!




Today I will be making a set of tea towels for someone I don't know. The daughter of a man who is helping Jason with the job hunt is getting married this weekend. Sure hope she likes red, black, turquoise and the style (see other posts on tea towels).

Good Day, Sunshine.

Having a really good day, but rather than bore you with the details, here is the story of the birth of a wristlet in pictures.

Embarassing

We went to the bank today to deposit the garage sale money and as I was writing up the deposit slip the kids were looking (touching) stuff on the front table. Next thing you know I hear a CRASH-SHATTER. Miles had dropped a little candy jar onto the tiled floor. I rushed over and glass was EVERYWHERE. I started to pick up the little pieces. And no one NO ONE even came over to see what had happened. Finally an employee was coming in to work and told me not to worry about it, that he'd clean it up. Sheesh. He was very nice and kept telling Miles that it was ok, accidents happen.

I have two, count em TWO of the tea towels in the shop! Don't know how they'll do. I keep counting on things selling to pay for the materials. I wish I was better at marketing. I have no clue and I am certainly not a natural at sales and promotion. I am much more of a behind the scenes type of person. And then today I had to get some more good thread from the nice quilt store in town and was tempted into a few more fat quarters of a different color scheme. Now I need some more linen...




I know, looks the same as the other once. But look closely, the order and size of fabric is different.

And Nilsa, if you want some towels of your own, how about for your bridal shower? What colors do you like?

The house is an absolute wreck and all I feel like doing is sewing. I also bought some fabric to make a new tote. I don't have the interfacing and am waiting until I can use my 50% off coupon at Joann's on the 15th! Right now I want to piece my new fabric together to make another towel and cut out what I can to make the new tote. And my friend would like her wristlet in a different color/style fabric. And I am HAPPY about this because I get to make another one.

But I'd better clean. It will improve my mood immensely when I walk around the house. That and some sunshine!

Weekend

Here is the garage in sale mode. Notice the abundance of customers! We had a fairly slow weekend and didn't make a ton in sales. But we did get rid of quite a few things, including many big things that we will now not have to haul away, and figure out where to haul it away to.

Here are Ella's rain/humidity induced curls. Miles' hair is getting almost long enough to have similar curls.

Next up is my new creation, an "appliquéd" dish towel. I actually made the dish towel it self from linen (sewed the hems) and thus sewed the strip of colored fabrics right into the hems. So the whole thing is very solid. I also stitched one of my labels into the hem at the bottom and a piece of yellow ric rac into a corner to hang the towel from. I love it. Even Jason was passing by at various stages of creation saying how much he likes it. I think it is very classic and simple in a bright fabric embellishment kind of way. This was what I have done so far with my little fat quarter roll gift to myself, I mean investment in my store... I think it could also be used as a hand towel. Can't wait to make more. If you'd like this one, let me know and I'll reserve it for you in my store!! If you need a pair, I am making more and I can set up a custom order. If you'd like other colors let me know if I'll need to invest more in my shop with other fabrics.

Finally a friend who I made a diaper bag asked if perhaps I could make her a wristlet purse. I was wanting to try these out anyway. So here is the result. I don't know if she definitely wants this fabric, but if not I'll just make another and sell this one in the store.

Other news is that there was a tornado dangerously close. But ended up passing us by. Thank goodness we have a basement.

Oh..

rain is expected again for tomorrow. :-( But today I got my baby fix! My friend Heather came over to our sale with her two girls. The youngest is 4 months old. I've been yearning lately to hold a baby in my arms and I got my wish! What a good baby too. I wanted to keep her! :-)

Fun Day, Low Sales

Today we had our little storm mid-day. Overall we did not get much traffic, resulting in little sales. But we had fun. I got to spend time with Gail, my parents came and got to spend time with them too. And the kids had fun.

Tonight Jason has taken the kids over to a friends for a play date. His friend's wife is out of town and he has the three kids. 2 are around Ella and Miles' ages.

And I'm going to Bunco with a group of old friends I haven't seen in a while. The host is raising money for Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. Since I am not in a place to donate extra money, I am planning to bring a laundry basket full of decorative pillows I've been trying to sell for 3 year. People can buy them and I'll donate ALL proceeds to the charity. Can't beat that. They can get a pillow in the name of cancer research. :-) Maybe I'll finally clear these out!!

Run-on Paragraph about Garage Sale Day 1

I woke up groggy this morning and saw dark skies through the windows, but brushed it off and believed that I could will the rain off. I showered, got the kids up and dressed and made them breakfast and me coffee (decaf). My friend Gail called to let me know she'd be a little late because she had to pick up a friends son to watch. No problem, I could set most of it up myself. I put the garage door up partway and organized the last few items for the sale, but didn't dare put anything outside just yet... because it was drizzling. The kids ducked under the door to the driveway and proceeded to splash and dance around in the dirty puddles. At first I cringed, but then just let it go, they are washable after all. At about 8:30 a car pulled up. I went in and opened the garage door all the way. My first customer, 30 minutes before the sale was scheduled to begin. Just a browser. Then it happened, the sky opened and the water poured down. The kids ran in an I quickly closed the garage door. Still, things did get a little wet. While inside Jason called to wish me luck with the sale. I said very dramatically "What sale? There will be no sale, it is pouring rain." He was in another town at a career center where it wasn't raining so he didn't know. And I wonder where my daughter gets her dramatic personality? Gail called again and I told her to just wait until it settled down. And it did in about a half an hour. And right away I had a customer. Then a friend that I have collaborated with on a couple of garage sales stopped by, to browse but also I think to see us. She informed me that some signs were down, so I informed Gail to bring some duct tape and asked if she could fix them. She arrived with her son and the boy she was watching. People trickled in throughout the day, not too many but more than I thought for such a day. The weather changed and warmed up to nearly 90 degrees. The kids were fairly manageable but still a bit of a handful. Better than I though they'd be. Though I did have to send Ella to timeout a few times for panicking and not containing her emotions at what I would consider minor upsets. Ella was such the salesperson trying to push the lemonade. James (Gail's son) did not like this. Not sure why not. He kept telling her to stop yelling at people, that's not how you do it. It was kind of funny. Another friend stopped by from my MOMS group. Her daughter had been in the Park District recital, her husband had been in the dad's dance (which my husband and I created and taught to a bunch of brave dads to perform in the recital). She said her husband thought we were cool and could they have us over sometime. Too funny, we are such geeks, nowhere near cool. Ha ha. She'd happened to be in the area for a playdate and happened to see we were having a sale. Overall sales weren't too bad. A lot went and that felt good. Here's hoping for another two days at least as good as today. Rain IS predicted though... Guess we'll see how it goes.

And now we are planning to go to the pool tonight, so the kids won't even need a bath.

Oh and I have to mention that in this humidity Ella's hair curled up beyond belief. It is too cute. I'll try to get a pic!

Odds and Ends

My mom gave me some of her giveaways to put in the garage sale this weekend. One I couldn't get rid of. Actually I may have not even seen the value of these if I hadn't been reading Sarah and Jack's blog for nearly a year. She collects many vintage things and I have seen her snag up some antique ornaments here and there.



While running an errand for the garage sale today (getting change from the bank) I could not resist stopping into our local quilt shop to get my fabric fix. I decided that since I've made a few sales lately, I could get this roll of 6 fat quarters of Michael Miller fabric. These colors are not my usuals, but I just wanted to branch out a bit. I was going to make more luggage tags, but I should hold off on that because I don't know how they'll do.



This is just a pic for Tausha. It is not big enough to fit around your wrist, if you want one that is, please let me know and I'll make another.



First day of the garage sale is tomorrow... It's supposed to rain, please don't!

New "Tool"

I went to JoAnn's yesterday and looked for a Teflon foot for my machine with my 40% off coupon in hand. Not only did I find one, I also found a Roller Foot. After talking to one of the employees, I opted for the roller foot. This foot was going to make all my sewing with vinyl woes disappear. I tried it yesterday and guess what? It works like a charm! I am so happy I've already starting thinking about what else I can sew vinyl onto.

Well here are the new tags I made using my new foot!

I hope to get these into the shop soon. I have no idea how they'll do, but I enjoy making them.

How Fun

I wanted to wait until the big day for Ginny of iSew. The release of her first handbag pattern in her shop! I volunteered to be a tester and test I did. Ginny's pattern was really easy to follow and mostly I made minor suggestions, very few errors. Then I ended up with a really CUTE handbag. The pink fabric was all I had enough of to make the bag, and I didn't even have enough of the floral toile for the gusset. I love pink but don't know if I'd wear it in a handbag, so this may become a gift. A lovely one!






She blogged about her new pattern here. I've been admiring Ginny's work for a while now, she is so creative, productive and meticulous with her work. She even did her own DIY wedding including making her own dress! Nilsa, aren't you glad you aren't doing all that! :-)

I know you want one of the Diana handbag patterns, at least go and check it out!