Just listed several new pouches in the shop!
Hmm... I just noticed that I forgot to give these little guys rosy cheeks. Where is my mind? If you're thinking about purchasing and want me to add a touch of rosiness, just email or convo me and let me know!
More new things coming soon...
♥
Hello there! Where has January gone? I have finished a few new pouches and am dying to get them listed in my shop... Several days of the darkest, gloomiest weather and a regrettable (idiotic) incident with a kitchen knife have made it impossible to take any decent photos. I'm hoping this can be remedied tomorrow, though.
I am also working on some new whale pin cushions (finally!) and some snail ornaments, so look for those later this week or next week.
♥
p.s. Dear future self: Trying to pry apart two frozen objects with the largest, sharpest kitchen knife you own is a terrible idea... ;)
My first bowling league stint ended several weeks ago, and I've been eagerly awaiting my trophy. Everyone gets a trophy, but I really felt like I earned mine. I was consistently the lowest scorer/ worst bowler all season, but I really started to improve right at the end. Anyway, I finally got it today and had to share...
Um... There are so many things wrong with this picture.
Where do I begin?
This is now my most hilarious possession, and I will cherish it until the end of days. Seriously.
♥
I think 2012 is technically Year of the Dragon, but I prefer to think of it as Year of the Pegasus.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Mine was busy-busy but very nice. I celebrated early mini-Christmases with my mom & Andy, and I spent Christmas proper in Atlanta with my dad's side of the family. I got so many great gifts and felt very spoiled by my loved ones. Andy & I surprised each other with BB guns, which was pretty hilarious. Mine is pink. I am sooo not a gun enthusiast, and never thought I would own a BB gun... But I used one at a friend's barbecue a while back and learned that I am pretty darn good at shooting balloons. (What's next.. Pink camo?) Andy also gave me a Chia Pet, something I have wanted more than anything in the world since I was a little girl. I just think they're neat, ok? Don't laugh. So far mine is not growing, but hopefully I can share pictures soon. Another particularly touching gift was a flash drive loaded with all of my dad's (amazing) recipes... Such a great idea!
I love these beautiful letterpress mushroom bookplates from my Aunt Dana so much...
My mom commissioned tiny sculptures of my pets... Shorty is particularly lifelike. (Can't remember the name of the artist off the top of my head.)
Andy's brother & our sister-in-law sent us this mini pie maker and a book of handheld pie recipes... I think this is going to get us into a lot of trouble! Delicious trouble.
Roasted watermelon radishes from Christmas dinner... so pretty & tasty!
After Christmas I spent a long afternoon with some dear friends visiting from New York, and I got to meet the latest addition to their family. I made a bigger, baby-safe version of my snail out of soft, nubby fleece.
I think she liked it, despite the frown.
They are such a sweet family, and I really wish I could see them more often...
Andy & I spent New Year's weekend at a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with a big group of friends. I had never been to Pigeon Forge, and it kind of blew my mind. The entire (small) town is one great, big, kitschy tourist trap, especially this time of year, when everything is absolutely blazing with Christmas lights. Pigeon Forge is home to Dollywood (sadly, it was closed) and a gazillion other crazy attractions (not to mention dozens upon dozens of pancake houses, mini golf courses, and go-cart tracks). We drove to nearby Gatlinburg and took a (scary, precarious) chairlift up the side of a mountain to ride back down on a (scary, precarious) alpine slide. It was really fun, despite a frigid three-hour wait in line. I decided to continue the terror-adrenaline surge by riding a go-cart for the first time in 26 years. (Have I ever mentioned my traumatic, humiliating childhood go-cart crash?) I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I survived without incident, and I even braved the "pro" course. I think conquering a life-long fear is a pretty good way to start a new year, don't you?
Why didn't I buy this sweatshirt?
Fantasy Mini Golf in Pigeon Forge...
Our "cabin" ended up being in a gated community of many near-identical chalet-style "cabins" all stacked together on a hillside... It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was very nice & cosy inside. And there was a lovely view from our porch. All in all, we had a great time.
Sigh.. back to real life. I have a ton of work to catch up on this week, but I am planning to finish some new pouches for the shop very soon. I've had some requests for more snail ornaments as well, so keep a look out for those. I got inspired to design some little mushroom gift tags for personal Christmas gifts, and I'm considering adding some to the shop. What do you think?
Wishing everyone much love & happiness in 2012! See you soon...
♥
Just had to pop in and share this vintage Christmas ornament my mom gave me yesterday...
So, so pretty!
♥
I took a little break from pre-holiday craziness last Sunday to get crafty with a few lady friends. We listened to my favorite Christmas tunes and sipped delicious beverages while making snow globes and a gazillion yarn pom poms for festive garlands. We used Martha Stewart's snow globe tutorial. The instructions are a little vague ("dashes" and "pinches" always make me nervous), but otherwise it's very simple and easy to make your very own snow globe! I think the hardest part was finding a cute figurine that was small enough for my jar. (I found the deer at Michaels, and the jar was from some ginger spread that had grown moldy in my refrigerator). I used E-6000 glue (trust me, let it dry overnight) and also added a little platform (plastic cap from an empty spice jar) so my deer didn't appear legless. I would also recommend some teflon tape or a bit of glue around the jar lid for an extra tight seal. I am dying to make more of these!
Predictably, my pom pom garland is sitting unfinished on my dining table, but I'm hoping to remedy that later today. Once I started making pom poms, I found I couldn't stop!
I think I might add a dash of rich, mustardy yellow... maybe some pink or orange, too. I'll take some pictures once it's finished!
Several people have asked me about pouches... I don't think it will be possible for me to list any before Christmas, but I will definitely be adding some after the holidays. This week I have to squeeze in a few handmade items for friends & family. I'm sure you understand! :)
I hope everyone is having a lovely & festive December!
♥
Three colors are now available in my shop in limited quantities!
I'm doing my very best to add some more pouches before the end of the week, too.
Happy Monday!
Sweet candy-colored snail ornaments are now in my shop!
They're even cuter in person.
Next up: cute 'lil mushroom ornaments! Maybe some other tiny things. And pouches. Soon. I promise!
Hello! It's that time of year again... The time when I find myself simultaneously enthralled and overwhelmed by festivities and preparations. I think I have a dozen different lists going right now, and I don't seem to be making much progress on any of them! Despite my long blog absence, I assure you I have been working on some new goodies. Dark, gloomy days have prevented me from getting decent photos, but I wanted to share a little peak at some new things that will hopefully be in the shop in the next day or so..
I have been sewing tiny snails galore (in all sorts of colors) as well as sweet little mushrooms. Today is finally a bright & sunny, so I am going to do my best to get everything photographed & listed ASAP.
Also, pouches are suddenly flying out of the shop, so I am going to try to make some more in time for Christmas. I am planning to participate in a local holiday craft sale later this month, and it's so hard not to hoard things. I am so excited to have a little flurry of activity in the shop, but I'm also panicking just a little bit. Deep breath...
I hope everyone in the US had a lovely Thanksgiving! I spent the day with family... family who love to cook and also cook quite well... so I didn't have to do a single thing. Except peel some potatoes and fulfill my role as Official Gravy Taster. ;)
Back soon with new stuffs!
Perfect for squirreling away nuts and other treasures! (Don't you love that vintage acorn fabric?)
I made this last week for a friend's bridal shower gift. I am very pleased with how it turned out, but I'm not going to lie... It was a huge pain in the acorn to make. I almost threw it (and my sewing machine) out the window a few times. I think I discovered a whole new (ugly, terrifying) side of myself. I am a self-taught sewer, and I have long suspected that my ways of doing things are not always the easiest or most efficient. I have always avoided designs that would mean sewing in a zipper on a curved seam out of fear. Now that I've done it once, maybe it will be easier. Is there a simple trick to this that I don't know about? Probably. I would appreciate any tips from more seasoned stitchers! Anyway, I hope to make some more of these soon, preferably without the Hulk-rage.
I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Autumn! (Or Spring, of course, for any readers in the southern hemisphere.) I am annoyed & disappointed in myself for missing the big 12-county fair that ended this past weekend... I really should pay better attention, especially during my favorite season! I'm thinking next weekend will be perfect for corn maze-ing and pumpkin patch-ing, though.
Back soon with more progress!
♥
p.s.
Fox mary janes I found recently at Urban Outfitters...
Andy & I took an impromptu trip to the beach with some friends last week. I hadn't seen the ocean in a very long time, and it was heavenly! I don't think I realized just how stressed out I had been until I felt it all melt away with the lapping waves. I instantly felt like a little girl again...
The sweetest beach kitty I ever did meet...
And a friendly beach pup searching for buried treasure... or a dirty diaper? To each his own, I guess...
The rare chlorinated pool frog...
Homemade veggie sushi... yum.
I never have thought of myself as a beach person, but I could really get used to this...
I can't resist sharing this photograph I came across just before leaving for the beach... I bought it at a flea market years ago and tucked it away for another day. It's captioned "Bradley Beach, 1941." I love it. My fellow beach companions & I were going to attempt to recreate it, but neither of the men wanted to put on those sexy 1940s bathing shorts. I was all set with a very granny-ish swim-dress. Maybe next time!
The beach left me feeling very restored, though I returned home to a sick dog and a mysterious leak above the water heater. Sigh... Back to real life. But I really can't complain when my beloved Autumn is just days away! I can't wait!!!
xoxo
Just added a couple more elephant pouches to the shop!
I am enjoying the first cloudy, gloomy day in many long weeks... I like an occasional sunny day, but too much sunshine makes me very grumpy. Weird, I know!
Hope everyone is having a lovely long weekend!
I've just added a new pouch design to my shop! I am very excited about this little elephant and can't wait to make it in more colors.
In completely unrelated news, I just joined my very first bowling league. That's something I never thought I would say! To be honest, I am a pretty terrible bowler. But I am hoping I will improve and, at the very least, have something fun to look forward to each week. I'm already dreaming about buying my own snazzy bowling shoes... and eventually a clear lucite bowling ball with a dove suspended in flight in the center. Or something like that. (Wink, wink...)
I have a very busy week ahead of me, but I hope to be back soon with some more pouches. Can't wait to say goodbye to August! It's my least favorite month... Hope everyone is surviving it!
♥
Just wanted to pop in with a few snippets of semi-recent life... I have been a bit lost in a fuzzy insomnia-induced twilight, but today I am feeling slightly human again. Insomnia is so maddening, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy! I will mostly let the photos do the talking for me, as I am still... so... sleepy...
Pink Bunny, one of the first stuffed toys I ever made... Perhaps a bit of a self-portrait in felt.
My little Piddler on the Roof... (He piddles when he gets excited, which is pretty much all the time.)
My sweet baby kitty Junebug, who is never bad...
Cherries (they always, always make me think of my grandmother)...
I tend to drink tea for two all by myself, but I would share with you!
Mr. Cicada, my new friend... (Andy is hovering over my shoulder, begging me to call him "John Cicada.")
Sweet little yellow polka-dotted glass(es) I found at Ikea recently...
Amazing customized gift-wrap,from my BFF... (Sometimes very belated birthday gifts are the best!)
Pink polka-dotted straws and a heart-shaped tea infuser... and the most delicious chocolate ever!
Recently-discovered Car of My Dreams, the Nissan Figaro. Go ahead, look it up.
My echinacea, just before it started dying...
Lantana...
Portulaca (moss rose)...
Purple coreopsis... ( I also have yellow. Or did, rather... before the extra-intense summer heat became too much for almost everything in my garden.)
Vintage doll I found at the flea market a while back...
Beautiful spool of ribbon, a birthday gift from my aunt back in May... (Something tells me I am going to hoard this!)
And... a new bear pouch in the shop!
I'm considering crawling into bed early tonight... say around 7 p.m. Is 6:30 pushing it? I'm not ashamed to be geriatric.
Hope everyone is having a lovely & sleep-filled week!
♥
This time in pink!
This snail slowly made her way into the shop today!
She is two-sided and lined with lovely green apples!
I seem to be on a roll as far as pouches go... Hopefully there will be more to come!
I'll leave you with a quote from David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, which I am currently reading & loving: "A half-read book is a half-finished love affair." I think this also applies to creative endeavors, don't you?
Hope you have a fulfilling Thursday!
I bet you didn't know that!
Newly listed in the shop!
I finally figured out how to make a French knot. For real. Just for this. Just for you! I did it with the help of this book, which I bought amid the end-of-the-world-esque chaos of my local (closing) Borders store. While I was shopping, an elderly man burst into the store shouting, "I'm here, I'm here! What's goin' on? What y'all got on sale?" My sentiments exactly.
I have loads of work to do in spite of a nasty summer headache... But I'm planning to catch Midnight in Paris this evening with a friend. Not a bad way to end a Monday! Here's wishing a lovely close to your Monday, too!
Hello! Hello! Hello!
I've been away such a long time, it seems wise to say it three times for good measure...
I have been more than preoccupied with the usual things... And I also had to say my final goodbyes to my grandmother (and only remaining grandparent). Some very relaxing travels have helped with the sadness and strangeness. Otherwise life is good, and I am feeling very thankful!
Psst... A new pouch sneaked into my shop yesterday!
I hope life is treating everyone well!
xoxo
Just listed in the shop!
Jeez... Has it really been three weeks? Where did the time go?
Let's see... Lots & lots & lots (& lots) of work at the day job... My 7th wedding anniversary (!)... A fun little getaway to Birmingham to visit my dad with Andy & Shorty... Quite a bit of springtime yard work & planting (and, of course, the obligatory springtime allergy/migraine hell)... And, um, getting sucked into It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I'm in love with semi-illiterate, glue-sniffing Charlie) and Breaking Bad.
Whew.
I don't foresee a lull in the near future, but hopefully there will be more new things to share soon!
♥
Partly because of this guy!
Little Snail Pouch is now listed in my shop and will soon be appearing in other colors!
This snail may as well have sewn himself... I went through so many phases of redesigning & restitching (and forgetting the antennae 3 times) before I got it just right. Whew!
I was so excited to use my new sewing labels!
Also...
I am very pleased to share with you a lovely new online publication called MOTIF Magazine. "Into the Woods" is the second issue and is filled with stories, fashion, music, crafts, etc. inspired by forests and fairy tales.
I am extremely honored & delighted to be included among some pretty amazing company on MOTIF's list of "Bloggers to Watch."
I hope you will give it a read and enjoy it as much as I have! (A very special thanks to Tegan at MOTIF for thinking of me!)
I am recovering from a bad case of Daylight-Savings-Time-Super-Moon-Super-Insomnia... Does this happen to everyone? Having a full dance card this weekend (which never happens) didn't help much either. I want to curl up under my oak tree and take a nice, long nap, but I have so much to do!
Here's wishing everyone a Happy Spring (or Autumn if you're in the Southern Hemisphere)!
♥
p.s.
I also added a tiny bunny to the shop today!
Just listed in my shop!
As I mentioned, I have been working on some new pouch designs, but I am crazy busy right now and haven't had a chance to finish any others. I promise they will materialize soon!
What has been keeping me so busy, you ask? Well, besides the usual flurry of work at the ol' day job...
Celebrating my sweet Andy's 35th birthday this past week!
Rock 'n roll shows and Andy's very first art opening!
Rescuing socks and doormats and undies (and everything under the sun) from this deceptively sweet little beast, who really should know better by now...
And, best of all...
Spending the day with the four baby goats my mom, aunt & uncle just adopted!
And fulfilling my lifelong dream of squeezing tiny baby goats!!!
I had hoped for idyllic photos of goats frolicking in sunny meadows, but the day I visited was miserably cold and rainy. So I had to settle for the garage. I must say, I've never spent such a blissful afternoon in a garage! (Forgive my messy state... I was too excited to bother with silly things like brushing my hair.)
Did I mention I got to bottle-feed them? (No, they're not drinking The Dew!) Oh my god... There just aren't words to describe how sweet they are. They are every bit as affectionate as a cat or dog. When you pick them up, they make a little heart-melting sort of purring sound. I swear, it's true!
This is the baby of the bunch... She was born deformed (only one fully-formed ear and eye) and almost didn't survive. She was less than two days old. I wanted to stick her in my purse and take her home! I wanted to take all of them home!
My mom getting baby goat kisses. Go ahead and sigh...
My mom & I had to load three of the goats into my car and take them to the goat farm to get treated for sniffles. (Never did I imagine I would be driving around with goats in my car!) There were dozens and dozens of baby goats at the farm, and of course I had to touch each and every one of them! I will be visiting the goats again as soon as I can and will share some better pictures!
If I ever live in a setting that allows for farm animals, you can be sure I will have some tiny goats. And teacup piglets. Why stop there? Miniature ponies, anyone?
Sigh...
Well, I am absolutely drowning in work and better get back to it. I hope everyone has a lovely and safe weekend!
♥
p.s.
I (finally) ordered some special woven blueberry bandit sewing labels! They'll be appearing on pouches and softies soon!
Also, Junebug had a follow-up visit to the vet this week and has made a 100% full recovery! Thankfully there seems to be no apparent nerve damage. She's a happy cat again!
And one more thing... I almost hesitate to mention it because we're all thinking about it and hearing about it everywhere we go, but lots of love to everyone suffering and trying to piece their lives back together.
Not just today, but every day.
♥
