Easter Dress Search is Over

Who's cheap? Me.
Who likes to torture themselves with a sewing machine? Yep, me again.
There are plenty of fabric scraps in this house that need to be used up.
Cute Easter Dresses are just way too over-priced.
And I like projects.
So after all the blood and sweat (no tears, but yes there was blood and sweat--I pricked my finger a few times and it got on the dress. Ew! And I'm wearing sweats and it's about 80 degrees, so yes, there was sweat.)...
Here is today's finished project. AKA Mirabel's Easter dress. Flaws and all, and there are plenty of those. I had to alter a pattern, and I'm not very good at that, hence the mistakes ;).

This is the first dress I've successfully added a zipper to, so I'm at least content with that accomplishment. Woohoo!

Keeping it Colorful

I think I'm settling in to an official life routine now. Jose started work last Monday (they told him only a week before that he'd be starting early :). That same first day of work he called me and said he'd be leaving for Boston in 2 hours! I wanted to laugh. He got home Wednesday, and now he's working Monday-Friday. Most mornings Mirabel and I spend time with friends/go to a playdate. This morning we attended a mom's support group hosted by our church. It was really lovely.

They're discussing a book called The New Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson. I've been meaning to read that book. Oh, so many books I'm "meaning" to read :). I had to laugh at one point in the discussion when the leader mentioned that you know you have a strong-willed child when you're shopping and the grocery cart doesn't travel in a straight line, because you're constantly going this way and that with your kiddo. Conversely, if you have an easy kiddo you can shop while eyeing everything on the shelves instead of your kid's next move.

Mirabel is full of life. That's how I like to put it. Her highs are high and her lows are low. So when she's happy, she'll smile and laugh and talk up a storm (in her own language, of course). But when she's unhappy... Everyone knows about it. Eyes turn at the store. The grocery cart practically tips over ;). There are things flying off the shelves, or she's screaming in the cart because I won't let her participate in the shopping.

Last week I visited a fabric store and the lady there was so anxious. Well, I think Mirabel might've had something to do with it. They had spools with different colored threads lined up like a rainbow in a cute case. What curious, lively child wouldn't want to play with such an arrangement? :) Oh, it was heaven for Mirabel. Not so much for the tattoo-covered hipster at this fabric shop, nope. She ran from behind the counter to where Mirabel was before Mirabel could even get her sticky fingers on a second spool. Of course, I was right there. And, of course, I was going to put them back the way they were. Moms develop a superpower of being able to scan a store's setup in a flash, so they can leave the store just how they entered it. It's because they know their tasmanian toddlers are going to get into one or two (or three) things during the shopping trip, am I right? ;)

You're probably wondering why I didn't just keep her in her stroller. Well, this store isn't stroller friendly; it's tiny. Also, there was a sewing class taking place (and there was also a sign explaining that all visitors needed to keep their voices down). I had to pick: Screaming or Playing with Spools. When I picked Mirabel up after the hipster expressed her fears about the spools, she began to scream (Mirabel, not the hipster). I ignored it and tried asking this young lady a few questions about the sewing classes they offered, since I was interested in taking one or two. She then proceeded to say, "I'm sorry, I can't talk over the screaming". I'll end it there. But this is just an explanation of a typical day with my kiddo. Of course, at home she's easy (because I've baby-proofed the whole place, so that she can explore every corner of the house--and she does).

I really needed a drink after that. By drink I mean a milkshake from Sonic ;). I got my sugar fix and drove off. My hair was standing on end, but I still felt that having a cute baby is better than having cute fabric, any day. I'd be so much lonelier without Mirabel. Yes, I'd have friends and more free time, but I wouldn't be quite as complete. This doesn't take back the fact that I do believe she is strong-willed. That personality trait will come in handy; she definitely won't ever be known as a push-over, that's for sure. For now, it's all about teaching her how to use that character of hers for good, while I guzzle down the milkshakes...

And enjoy happy hour (aka naptime. I saw that on a shirt once. "Naptime is the new happy hour." ;)

This is what I've been doing during happy hour.

Jam jar vase covered with fabric, for more color in the living room.

Mixed media collage. I love Christy Tomlinson's stuff. Granted, this doesn't compare, but her work inspired it :).

Pillow in the front. Also for more color in the LR. The back pillow was purchased at an antique store a few weeks ago.

Update on Life

Life has been full lately. Visiting with family, quality time with my dear husband (who, sadly and happily, starts work this Monday), and enjoying lots of warm weather. It's been a little rough too. We're still trying to figure things out--parenting is a constant learning experience and tantrums in stores are becoming a common occurrence, because we have a curious toddler who loves to touch everything. But at home, all is well. I've actually started crafting a bit more during nap time. These are two recent projects. Fabric flower headbands with a touch of a pink frilly feather; beneath that, a collage on wood made with mod podge, fabric, and scrapbook paper. Have I mentioned I like nesting dolls ;)?

IDEAS!

Thank you, ladies, for your suggestions! I really enjoyed browsing the blogs. On the search, I came across a few other awesome blogs that are loaded with craft/diy/furniture restoration ideas. I have been thinking about some of them all morning. I have to admit, literally! I'm a little crazy, but when Mirabel woke me up at 4 AM I started thinking about this AWESOME LAMP! I'm kind of obsessed ;). Isn't it adorable? And I have to agree with her, I think it's a lot cuter and has tons more character than the one from Anthropologie--and I am a fan of that store, too :)!

Also, this dresser is adorable. I've never been a fan of yellow...until recently. I think living too long on the East Coast has made me a fan of everything that reminds me of sunshine. Though I love an airy white room, there's something to be said about walking into a colorful room. It's so cheerful. I have to admit, part of the reason why I'm getting ideas from books/blogs has to do with one little thing...I think if I really let

myself go, I might end up with a house that resembles PeeWee's Playhouse! :P But I love how that yellow dresser still looks cute and classy.

Ooh, and it's almost Easter! Isn't this a cute idea??!!

One more thing. Is there a place, maybe a little box under your bed, where you like to store clippings of your favorite things? Magazine cut-outs, maybe? I really enjoy weheartit.com because I don't have to worry about keeping track of that kind of box, or even lugging it with me across the country (because, after awhile, it'd get pretty heavy).

Check out the site! Basically, you put a button on your toolbar and click it whenever you see an image on a page (basically a blog/website) that you like. Then, the images on the page are highlighted and you just select your favorite image from the page :).

Fun, huh?

This is my page.

Yes, we made it to February!

Pic from here, Cran Beach! Where we'll be this May!

If this wasn't going to be my last winter here, I'd definitely purchase a happy light.

I believe the weather is taking a toll on me. Winter isn't over and we've already had over 60 inches of snow, and the average is 41 inches for the year!!!

I'm not a fan of having to walk 3 blocks to my car in the freezing cold, hoping I don't slip on the ice while holding Mirabel, because we don't have an official parking spot since they cost around $1500/year. I'm a little exhausted from worrying about the new damages done to my car, because I may have accidentally parked in someone's spot (though these supposed spots are unmarked and are really available on a first-come-first-served basis). The fear isn't unfounded, someone keyed the entire right side of my car, and someone else hit the back right bumper of my car without leaving any sort of note.

I'm a little tired of outrageous medical procedures, ranging from root canals that are twice as much as they are everywhere else, to incompetent doctors who go on Paris vacations during Thanksgiving with the money they collect from these ridiculous dental procedures--even though they can't fill a cavity so that the filling doesn't fall out, or even fit a temporary crown properly so that it stays put. (Yep, over the past 2 months, ONE SINGLE TOOTH has been filled twice, and that's just half of it.)

Then the pain IN THAT SAME TOOTH became unbearable and I discovered (or an entirely different endodontist discovered) that I actually need a root canal and crown on that tooth. (Even though the first incompetent dentist said I needed an antibiotic for the pain, for an infection that wasn't there. Remember, I need a root canal not an antibiotic.) The endodontist was disturbed by this too. This new endodontist did the root canal, and the old incompetent doc gave me a temporary crown (with a 15% discount, since she messed up earlier), which falls out 2 DAYS after she put it in, much like the filling that was never actually needed on that same tooth earlier on!!!!!!!!!! The irony of it all? The dental hygienist put on the second temporary crown and it fits better AND STAYS ON longer than the one the dentist initially put on. WOW. All that cost us $2500, and we found out it wouldn't have been much less if we had dental insurance (which is also too expensive).

Sigh. This blog is becoming a place for complaints, and I don't like that. But I feel like I'm about to pop because I haven't seen the sun in months. My poor husband is so consumed with school and work (school projects) this semester that I only talk to him about 30 minutes a day, with the exception of Sundays, so I need a place to vent.

BUT it's February, thank God!!!! We only have about 3.5 months left before we leave this place FOREVER. I also have a smilie baby, when she isn't sleepy or cranky because I need a nursing break (because those pesky new teeth are breaking my skin :|). Right now she's sleeping peacefully in my right arm while I type with my left hand (gonna go put her down now :). Phew, free hands now!

She is growing up so fast. Thankfully she's starting to like the sipper cup, since she never cared much for bottles, and she's used it a few times now! We're still trying to introduce solids, she doesn't like those much either, but she ate a few spoonfuls of turkey dinner and loves solid fruits and roasted veggies served in strips!

We are also planning a few mini-vacations, which we'll take in May when our family comes up for Jose's graduation. One of the places we'll be visiting is the beach. Check out the beautiful photo at the top of the entry; I found it on flickr, it's the beach we'll be visiting! Can't wait! :) I hope you all are staying warm! I hope spring comes quickly for us all!

The good thing about the weather? With all the staying indoors, nap times become craft times when I plan ahead and don't have other obligations, this means blog make-overs and Valentine-card making! They are a little cheesy, but I wanted to send some cards out to the grandparents that included her handprint. So I traced her hand and incorporated it into the card, so they can see how much she's grown since they haven't seen her since August!

Watching our bunny grow

...been doing some of this lately. What I like about digi scrapbooking is that there isn't a mess to clean up afterward :)!
images from here

Weekend Projects and Sunshine

When it comes to boutique items, I am guilty of wanting to purchase more than I should. I can easily spend hours browsing all of the colorful handmade items on Etsy. Whether it's a pair of button earrings or an adorable purse with fun fabric, it's all delicious eye candy to me. Sometimes, to save a few bucks (or many ;), I actually try to make these items. I usually don't have the "skillz" or materials, but I work with what I've got.

I just don't feel right splurging on little treats like this very often, especially with a kiddo on the way. And I really don't see myself spending $60 on a sweet looking handbag.

Oh! But Little Odd Forest has such cute handbags and totes, click here to see what I mean. Who can resist? (I can, honestly folks, but let's just say I can't. ;)

Problem? Yes. Solution...

This past weekend I TRIED to make a similar handbag/diaper tote for Mirabel. I have so many random scraps of fabric. And sometimes I give in and buy a fat quarter or two of irresistible/adorable Japanese fabric, from Etsy, of course. I just so happened to have a little more than a fat quarter of pink nesting doll fabric, purchased earlier on in the pregnancy for Mirabel (you see, I was justified in making this "wise" investment ;). But the fabric was so cute, I was hesitant to cut into it... until I spotted the Odd Forest handbags!

Definitely not perfect. It's got its flaws and I'm still learnin'. But, by golly, I had a whole lotta fun making this bag. I will add that my seam ripper came to my rescue many times; it's my new best friend :).

Here are a few close-ups of the final product, including the nesting doll fabric. I added a few big pockets to the inside, too (can't have too many of those, especially with a baby!). The orange buttons came all the way from Bulgaria! They're from one of last summer's Etsy purchases :).

After finishing up the bag, Jose and I felt it was time for a sunshine break! Thankfully, we've got plenty of sun these days :). A nice change from the dreary weather. I think it's safe to say that spring has sprung.

I love pink trees. If only they tasted like cotton candy!

I almost forgot! We have a new neighborhood pal, meet Al. He's the albino squirrel that lives on our block :).

Mirabel's homemade wardrobe (a very small part of it ;)

I was joking with Jose yesterday, telling him that I wanted to make Mirabel a homemade outfit to wear when she's born, or coming home from the hospital, that way I can say that everything is 100% homemade :D (I plan on taking a picture and adding that caption to it ;).

I made the shorts (at the very bottom) yesterday. They are a bit loud :P! I couldn't help but laugh when I showed them to Jose and he asked if she was going to wear them outside of the house! I like to call them her Peewee Herman Shorts :D. Gotta get 'em while they're young, I tell ya. I made quite a few mistakes on these shorts, mostly because I could not figure out how to actually put the pattern together, and then I got tired of 'em and tried to rush through the final steps, skipping some. Putting on the "invisible elastic band" was sort of a struggle, too, which is why I only put the elastic on the tummy part. I was initially hoping to follow this tutorial for bloomers to the T, but, like I said...didn't have fun with the elastic :P.

Thankfully, Made By Rae's Itty Bitty Dress Pattern was simple enough for me :)! It still took awhile to put this newborn dress together (my first dress, ever!), but I really had fun sewing on the extra details and making it extra girlie for Mirabel.

Keeping our fingers crossed :)!

So much is changin' (not just the size of my belly :)... 6 months down, a few more to go. Then she arrives! But that's not all that'll be taking place this spring. We're heading back to Texas, the land of blue skies with puffy clouds and sunny summer days!

Mirabelle's growin'!

This will be our final summer in Texas for Jose's (my husband's) summer internships... because he graduates next May :)! Yay! Planning for our summer stay in Texas is always an adventure. So many things are usually up in the air (housing, borrowing a car for the summer, etc.). This is partly why I cannot wait to settle down! Ah, it'll be nice to live in a cozy home. Though our apartment here on the East Coast is cozy, we're really looking forward to establishing our roots/having our own place. That probably won't happen for a few years, since we want to focus on paying off student loans first, but we will be able to rent a home when he graduates/we permanently move back to Texas next spring -- and that'll be a nice change.

We thought we'd have to wait until next spring to move into a house (to rent), but it seems it might happen sooner than expected! And it's a cottage! And I want to live in a cottage! I am so excited! So what is all of this about? During our final 7 weeks in Texas, Jose will be interning at a firm in Austin. We were considering living in a furnished apartment (corporate housing)...but, my goodness, that will require us to pay a pretty penny! More like a gorgeous penny made out of gold. So I did some searching on the web a few days ago (ahhh... the beauty of the internet) and I came across this cozy furnished little cottage; it is so so so much more affordable than a furnished apartment (the monthly rate is cheaper than what we pay to live here!). And it's available for rent! Only thing is, it seems we aren't the only ones interested in this cute house :/. But I did get a chance to speak to the owner and the phone call ended on a positive note, so I'm hopeful :). We find out Wednesday if it's ours (for the 7 week period only, of course ;). Oh, but it'll be so fun!

In the meantime, we're just trying to make it through this extremely cold winter. So the crafting continues. It seems Harvey wanted to be in the spotlight again; I found him on top of the crocheted blanket I recently completed, trying on Mirabelle's summer hat ;). This is the nifty tutorial I followed for the hat...

Can't wait to dress her up in this matching set of hat and booties! Crocheting is so much fun :D.

Fun Links...
So I found this site called Soul Pancake, check it out!

On the look-out for crafty tutorials and free patterns? Check these out...
Free Amigurumi Patterns
Crib Bedskirt
Sewing for the home, from Sew, Mama, Sew
Newborn Bloomers Tutorial
Arm Chair Slip Cover
Make your own collapsible storage basket
Make a fuzzy Wee Wonderfuls Bunny
Angel Bag (Tote/Purse) tutorial & pattern
Make a girly dress @ JCasa

Craft Update

Say hello to Harvey, my first amigurumi bear! Made especially for hubby, to keep him company on his desk while studying. The boots are from my mom-in-law, they were the perfect fit.

So you'd think that since I haven't been blogging much these days, I must be busy with something! Christmas was a busy time as far as crafting goes, but I've taken on a few other projects since then, like learning how to crochet baby blankets, working on more cards for my empty store :), reorganizing/rearranging the apartment (we've got the crib set up and rented a storage unit--a must when you have 0 walk-in closets and a baby on the way!)...

Finally sold something on Etsy! It's been almost a year, sheesh. I guess it's time to add something new to the store; here's the latest addition. Plump Birdie and Nest button cards (all the birdies look like this around here when it's freezing, so do the squirrels).

Check out our neighbors right below, the squirrel babies. That's a shot captured on Christmas Day, on our morning walk. They are so cute!

I didn't realize crocheting could be so addicting. I have to admit, though, making baby blankets is much easier than making these amigurumi dolls. I'm not very good at keeping count of each round, so usually I deviate from the patterns quite a bit :) (a lot like cooking--can't stick to the recipe!).

The dragon says "JD", it was a gift for my bro. The bear in the middle was for my 'rents :).

Baby blanket for Mirabelle...

It's been freezing lately, literally, so going outside can be kind of painful. We also don't have a car, so that makes going out a little more difficult, when we don't want to wait outside for the bus or walk to the T... so that means no crochet lessons. BUT, thanks to the internet (and YouTube), learning how to crochet at home is a cinch. In fact, I love it more than taking a class. I'm kind of a slow learner with these things, I like seeing things done over and over... just rewind and watch again, no problem with YouTube. This talented lady has a ton of helpful videos and tutorials. I watched this one to learn how to make the blanket/shell pattern above.

An Exciting Life!

3 month ultrasound

I purposely titled this entry An Exciting Life because life is actually quite slow for me right now. Well, maybe life itself isn't necessarily slow, but I feel like I'm moving in sloooow motion. To be honest, I'm pretty lucky that I didn't suffer from much morning sickness the first trimester; there were those few revolting smells that made my stomach churn, and a bit of heartburn, but that only lasted a few weeks. My biggest symptom was/has been exhaustion.

I can sleep 8 to 10 hours and still feel like I need a nap, come 3PM; the rest of the day I'm just dragging. This is pretty funny, since I used to be the type of person that could sleep less than 6 hours and still have energy. Now, just the thought of preparing dinner makes me yawn ;). But... if sleepiness is all I'm dealing with, then I am still very, very lucky!

On top of that, I haven't been baking very much because I don't have a desire to eat sweets (biggest surprise)! My biggest craving? Salty, spicy and sour foods... and cold fruit. Sausage, cheese, ribs, cheetos, sour cream with pretty much anything, salsa and salty chips, french fries... almost any dried fruit like mango, cold pears and grapes... oh yeah, and mexican food, but no desserts.

There is a reason why the word "Exciting" is in this post, though. Every day, something new happens! It isn't necessarily something visibly new, but I wake up every morning knowing that someone is growing in there the way they should be. I love sneaking a peak during the ultrasounds. It always feels like getting to unwrap a Christmas present! There's something slightly different at each appointment, so it's like opening a different gift each time :). And in December, the week of or before Christmas, we'll get to find out if we're having a girl or a boy; that's my kind of present!

Slowing down gives me the chance to think about all of this more. The thought of being a mom is very exciting. Getting to share this experience with Jose is such a blessing. As cheesy as it sounds, sometimes when he's busy with school during the week, I get a warm feeling inside (literally haha!) knowing that a mini-Jose is in my belly.

Before I got pregnant, I used to ask God if I could please, please just have one biological baby. I knew I'd be happy adopting, and I'd still like to, but I really wanted a little piece of my best friend. I know life doesn't last forever, and with my pessimistic/creative mind, I have ways of imagining scenarios where I become a widow (silly, I know). I just feel like it would be easier (if easy is even the word) to endure the loss of your best friend/spouse if there's a child there to remind you of them.

Now that I'm in the second trimester, I feel like I can relax a little more and really enjoy this time. Though I'm not on my feet so much, I'm finding that activities like crocheting and working with clay are ideal pass times. I'm not the world's best crochet-er (?), but thankfully the blanket I'm crocheting isn't crooked :) (it's taken me awhile to get to this point! Ha!). As for working with clay, nothing fancy... Christmas (my favorite holiday) is right around the corner! My mom appreciates homemade gifts, so I made her some kitschy festive figurines (I also made a little sign that says grandma and grandpa to go along with the Santa/Mrs. Santa figurines :P; the uncle JD is for my little brother). I feel like a little kid doing this, but it's really fun and keeps my hands busy!
Right after Christmas is our wedding anniversary! So another trip is in our future. Hopefully it won't take me that long to write another blog post, though! :O)

Up and coming summer/fall project!

We're heading back to Boston in just a few weeks... back to our little 100 year old cozy apartment! Jose and I have been thinking about what we can do to brighten up the place a little more when we get there. This time last year, we had no idea we'd spend so much time indoors (this was obviously before our first snowy winter!). We now realize it'd be a good idea to work on making our living room a little more bright and cheery (it's so dark when the sun sets around 4pm for 1/3-1/4 of the year!). By the way, that picture on the left, that's Boston... well, it's really the bridge we cross (on the T) to go from Cambridge to Boston.

Before we considered changing up the color scheme, we thought about just buying a new and bigger couch. Then we realized it'd be better to enhance the overall look of the apartment in a more affordable and fun way, by hand (we'll also buy a chair instead)! We'll make pillows, frame some of the colorful artwork I've collected, and paint some of our furniture. That last one is probably going to be the most challenging, since neither of us has painted anything before. But thanks to the internet (and the nice folks at Home Depot who gave us a few helpful tips), it isn't going to be a nightmare but an adventure... we hope :)!

I'm so excited! Now we have to decide if we are going to strip one of the items of furniture we have (a plain solid wood desk in our bedroom) or just sand it down before painting and priming it. Hmmm... I'm still a bit worried about using paint stripper, so we'll see how we move forward with that project. The other items are a little cheaper/smooth and made of mostly particlebored, so we'll only have to prime and paint those (says Home Depot).

Here are a few helpful furniture painting tutorials/sites that I've come across so far (feel free to share any tips if you have them! :).

Here's a nifty tutorial on painting furniture

By the way, I just emailed the blogger (Cindy) and asked her a few questions. She was nice enough to respond very quickly! I asked her about stripping (paint! :P silly!). She says she's read of people successfully painting furniture without stripping or even sanding, priming is the most important thing! She says the paint will chip if you don't prime first... good to know. Also nice to know I don't have to strip the desk, I think I'll just spend a day sanding it down.

Apartment Therapy also has a nifty post

(They chose to just sand and it looks pretty good to me :)

Tips on painting old or used furniture

Artsparx.com is another great place to check-out...

5 easy painting guidelines

Info on paint stripper

Info on sandpaper

Tips from the folks at Home Depot:

For particleboard you can just prime and paint; be sure to use an oil based primer for particleboard, though. Water based can cause it to swell and bubble. Oil based by Behr/semi-gloss is a good one. If a hard veneer surface is involved, you can go ahead and use water based paints. But make sure the primer is also oil-based if you ware using oil-based paints. There are primers that say they don't require a sanded surface before applying, but it's a good idea to sand it a little bit anyway, to rough it up so the primer adheres.

Vintage projects and lots of sewing!

Best place to get vintage fabric? Estate sales! I always feel bad digging through the personal belongings of folks who've passed, but I'm sure they'd appreciate that someone is putting their stuff to use, at least I'd feel that way. And guess where this fabric is from? Old sheets and pillowcases! I plan on using them to make new curtains for our room when we get back to Boston, but I think I'll have quite a few left over for throwing a few tote bags together... or maybe a skirt!

Great tutorial for using pillowcases? Check this one out, it's from Craftzine. Instead of making a shirt, I decided to make a skirt with an elastic waist (still can't do zippers on clothing!)... then a summer tote bag...


All of the sewing classes I signed up for in Cambridge were canceled last year, I was so disappointed :(. Lucky for me, I've been able to take 2 different sewing classes here in Houston for the price of one! One of my new favorite Thursday night hangouts? I love the look and feel of Sew Crafty. How cute this craft studio is! And they're moving to a bigger studio next month! I can't wait to take more classes next summer when I come back to Houston.

image from here.

Makin' stuff

I've been taking it slow lately. I did make quite a few Mother's Day cards but decided to give them away instead of sell them :). I've yet to update my store, mostly because I'm purposely taking my time with everything these days. I tend to be a pretty high-energy/rushed person and, as a result, sometimes I don't do things as well as I would if I just took my time a bit more. This also applies to cooking/baking and my food blog. I wanted to take a break from Flour Arrangements because I didn't like feeling like I had to hurry up and post something, it really took the joy away from the whole experience, and inspiration doesn't follow a schedule anyway :P.

I feel like I've been rushing through this year, trying to make sure I have time to cook and bake something new, or sew something new, or draw something new, find new music to listen to, etc. Then I realized I was the one rushing myself! Speaking of rushin' ;) (sorry, I had to!), here's a Matryoshka doll card I made for my mom. The littlest nesting doll isn't actually wearing heavy eyeliner, the point on the felt tip pen I was using wasn't fine enough for the drawing :P.

And here's a shabby chic-ish pillow I made a week later (I've been wanting to make this for awhile now with the fabric I ordered from this site, but I put it off...and it felt nice to put it off :)

The new neighbor and more cards

The mysterious new neighbor...

Say hello to my new neighbor. He's a little feisty, always on the prowl and doesn't sleep much. I was thinking of baking him a batch of cupcakes, as a way of saying welcome to the neighborhood, but he needs some time to adjust, I think. Recently, there was some sort of domestic dispute between him and Mr. Squirrel; a few nights ago, I heard strange yelps and cries coming from that very tree he's pictured climbing. Haven't seen much of Mr. Squirrel or his friends since.

If you look closely at the first picture, you'll see a smirk across the new neighbor's face -- I think he knows something I don't...

I think, maybe, he's the real rebel.



When I'm not working undercover for the raccoon paparazzi, this is what I'm up to -- making Mother's Day cards for the Etsy shop I've yet to update:

I did it!

I did it! :) I sewed my first purse. I skipped a few steps on this one (the zipper and magnetic snap) but I'm glad I was finally able to start and finish something sewn on my own. The sewing machine doesn't look so scary anymore, despite the few needle and pin pokes/stabs I received along the way :D...

Sewing! Yay!

I'm finally sewing :D! These past two weekends, my friend Jamie's given me a total of 5 hours worth of sewing lessons! What a sweet girl! I paid her back with homemade granola bars and a movie -- well, we watched Twilight after I downloaded the rental from Amazon. I got her hooked on the books, I confess! We both agree that the movie can only be enjoyed if the book is read first. For some reason, I felt the movie was made up of mostly adoring/slightly cheesy glances and strange looks, not much verbal content. It reminded me of a high school play. The emotions were also watered down, but it was a fun chick flick, no less :).

So what's the first thing I sewed? A skirt, with Jamie's help, of course. The zipper was a pain to sew on! (It's in the back and looks pretty bad, I didn't photograph it. ;) My sewing skills are very much at the beginner level). But hey, I'm glad I FINALLY did it. My sewing class was canceled not once, but twice. The first time, before the class actually started. The second, the weekend before we even had the chance to sew! But I am no longer intimidated by my pink sewing machine, I can do this!

My next project? This purse! Check it out!

After creating the first 'experimental' purse, I'll make one for my pal Jenn using this fabric (that is, if she likes it ;). Click to enlarge:


Here's the skirt (notice the crooked sewing on the front :D. I can't believe it actually fit me!)