Zip It!

 Who couldn't use a cute little zippered bag? Everyone needs these...right? At least that's what I'm hoping for :) I made these yesterday to list in my shop this weekend. I'm loving these fun little bags and the zippers keep everything safely inside. I'm going to play around with a few different sizes later today as well. Maybe a few coin purses? It'll be fun to match fabrics and see what happens! I even broke into my scrapbooking stash for the printed twill tape *Gasp* I know right? I'm trying really hard to use up what I have on hand before I run out and buy new things.

A Make-Over for Mom :)

Who doesn't love a make-over? My favorite part is always the before and after shots!

One of my favorite thrift stores for finding great deals on clothing is Sav-More Thrift. I bought this linen blend skirt for $1.91. I loved the embroidered detail at the hemline. I didn't buy it to wear it but I knew I wanted to "up-cycle" it. (I have nothing against thrift store clothes and if I could find a way to squeeze my ample curves into this skirt and still be able to breathe, I would totally wear it!)  Just wasn't sure what to make. This morning I decided to use this free tutorial and make a cute little zippered bag for my Mom.  I've used the tutorial before and liked it alot. This time I tweeked it a bit. Because I used the zipper from the skirt, I needed to cut the dimensions from 8 1/2" wide to 7 1/2" wide or my zipper wouldn't be long enough. Also because I was using a linen/rayon fabric I used fusible fleece rather lightweight interfacing because I wanted to give it a bit more body. The tutorial is super easy to follow and totally FTS. It's a great project to do if you've never sewn in a zipper before.  I still have plenty of fabric left over for other projects.

Things that make you go Hmmmmm????

The winner of the Apron Giveaway was announced on Monday and I have not heard from my winner  Jan. She is a no-reply blogger, so I have no way to reach her.
Jan, if you read this, please email me with your address info by Sunday. If I don't hear from you, I'll have to choose another winner and announce it Monday the 23rd.

Star Trek, Menopause & an Octopus?

I recently made a darling brown & pink polka dot Octopus for my sweet little Sofie. At least I thought is was darling.  My dear friend Regena said that she didn't like it and she would never give her grandchildren an Octopus.

Oh really? We'll just see about that!

Well thanks to the fact that I am entering into the abso-stinkin-lutely-fabulousness of the sleepless nights in early menopause, there are many nights that my brain just doesn't want to shut down. So there I lay in my bed... trying to figure out a way to make Regena admit that the Octopus was indeed darling....
I thought about her Star Trek obsession and figured if I could somehow combine Star Trek with the Octopus, I could make an Octopus that even Regena would love!!!........ <---------- (insert evil laugh here)

Later that night while the hubs and the dog and the cat were happily snoring away ... I was designing "Spock-topus" in my head. I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and get started on those ears! I used fleece and felt and played around with the ears and the facial features for a while until I came up with this guy. I have to say I find him oddly attractive :) I'm thinking of making one for my etsy shop to see if anyone else would want a Spock-topus of their very own. Lucky for me, I actually made pattern pieces this time around. I guess my brain is not completely gone.....yet :)


UPDATE: you can special order your own Spocktopus here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/75679530/star-trek-spock-topus-plush-free-us

And then there were 6 :)

There are moments in my life when I wish I had some kind of recording device that could capture a snippet of time. Those fleeting little moments that are unscripted and unexpected and happen before you have a chance to snap a picture and they can never be re-created. One of those moments that I never want to forget and something that I wish I could watch over and over again happened yesterday when my Mom and I took the boys to see their Mommy & Daddy and new baby sister at the hospital. Their Daddy was holding little Sofia and suddenly Elijah, who is 7 yrs old got up from the chair were he was sitting and went over and hugged his dad's legs and said "Now we are a family of 6!" and then Caleb, who is 5 came over and hugged his dad's legs from the other side and said "yeah, we're family". To see my tall handsome son standing in the hospital room holding his tiny new baby girl in his arms with 2 of his 3 darling sons clinging to his legs was one of those moments I never want to forget. The love they share as a family is something that swells my heart in a way that is so hard to explain. I find myself sitting here in tears at the thought of it. My hubby and I have been so blessed beyond measure that our children have married such wonderful spouses and these grandchildren are truly the sprinkles on my cupcake!  They make life sweeter and add riotous color and fun! Welcome to the family, Miss Sofia Mae! You are an answered prayer all wrapped in a soft pink blanket. I loved you before I met you :)

Caleb and Sofia :)

Elijah and Sofia :)

Brotherly love :)

Gabriel is not quite sure what to make of his new sister :)

Giveaway Winner1

The winner is:

Jan

Great apron!

New follower. :)

Congrats Jan! Sorry for the short post today, but my darling grand-daughter was born yesterday late afternoon and I'm still babysitting the 3 boys until their new baby sister and parents come home.

Inspiration

When Blogger was "unavailable" on Wednesday and Thursday I was so lost! I didn't realize how much time I spend wandering through the Blogosphere marveling at the creativity of others! I really love it. It's like having the most amazing library of craft books at my fingertips any time of the day or night. And there is new and wonderful things to see and learn everyday! Lately I've found myself drawn to bright patchwork paired with neutral backgrounds. My newest apron is inspired by what I've seen and I like the way it turned out, but I think my next attempt will have smaller, more intricate patchwork. You can read about this totally cute wonky star quilt over at the Undercover Crafter. And this beautiful sewing machine cover pattern can be found over at Bloom. My list of blogs that inspire me just keeps growing!

I decided to pair these great prints from Robert Kaufmann with some wonderful 100% cotton. I love this fabric because it has the look of linen with the ease of care that you get with cotton.

What inspires you?