Funky Aprons

My friend, Kristi, custom ordered two aprons and placed her order in my most favorite way. She told me which fabric lines she really liked and then left the rest up to me. That's really the process I prefer as opposed to me just being a seamstress for hire where the customer tells me how to do every single little detail. I have a really hard time completing a custom order that doesn't allow for some creativity on my part. But since Kristi was nice enough to give me some freedom, I easily finished these within days of receiving the fabric.














































I think these would make a great Christmas gift. Picture the wearer's first initial monogrammed on one of the pockets...how cute would that be? Ooooo, perfect for a teacher's gift. Excellent, now I know what I'm giving to Bella's preschool teachers this year. Someone remind me of that in two months when I remember that I had an idea but can't remember what it was.

Also, for those wondering, I probably won't be listing any new items during this weekend's sale. I fully intended to sew yesterday but Tate decided to skip her nap so I was forced to snuggle:) I'm giving myself the weekend off and Crafty Papa has been nice enough to take the day off on Monday so I can have a vacation day from stay at home mom duties for my birthday. Don't hate me because I have an awesome husband.

As promised

My special 30th birthday coupon...

Saturday Morning Friday Night Knitting Club

So, I was feeling anxious for Saturday morning to get here so I could buy my yarn, attend my crochet class, and start on my vest. So anxious, that I went in this morning armed with my pattern and tutorials, ready to buy yarn and ask a few questions. I totally did not get a Friday Night Knitting Club vibe. Maybe because it's not Friday Night. Or maybe because I'm crocheting and not knitting. Or maybe because that was a book and not reality.

Anyway, I just didn't feel the warmth and "you can do it!" that I was hoping for. So now I'm questioning whether I can do it. I told them my pattern was in the "easy" category but wanted to make sure it really is appropriate for a beginner who's never used a pattern. I was met with some concerned looking stares.

And the class on Saturday is with a man. What's up with that? Totally not Friday Night Knitting Club appropriate. There was a class in progress when I was there this morning and not only did I not see Friday Night Knitting Club style pastries, but also absolutely no talking. It was weird. I was all excited about trying to become a Thursday Night Open Knit regular but I think they'll ask me to leave. I think I need to start my own club. Thursday Night Crocheting Club...any takers?

Randomness

First, just listed this fabulous new bag. Love this fabric combo, as evidenced by my new red and brown logo.























Second, I'm taking a knitting/crochet class this Saturday. I already know very basic crochet but just like sewing, I can't read a pattern to save my life. Our local shop offers free classes with purchase so I've picked out a pattern, have my hook ready, and am going to learn to crochet, read a pattern, buy some expensive yarn, and make a cute little vest for the baby this weekend. Ok, I probably won't finish this weekend but I predict I will become completely obsessed and finish it quickly. The shop also has an "open knit" night every Thursday so I might use that as an excuse to get out of the house regularly without my constant mini companions. If you're in the 5 cities area and feeling domestic, email me at craftymamacreations@gmail.com and I'll give you details on the class.
























Lastly, I'm turning 30 this Sunday. I don't find it to be a really big deal but it does somehow make adulthood feel more official. I know, kids and a husband kind of already made me an adult but thirty just sounds really different from 29, you know? Anyway, I'll be having a fabulous sale in my shop Friday-Monday to celebrate. Make sure to check back here tomorrow for details.

Makeover

As you can see, Crafty Mama Creations got a makeover! Back when I was still working, my employer changed their logo all the freakin time. At first I thought it was weird but then I started to think it was really fun to see how the company was constantly changing its image. It was time to order new business cards so it seemed like the perfect time for an image update for Crafty Mama.

You can see my new blog/store header up above and I also made new business cards...















Hang tags...
























And labels...









Hope you like!

My productive morning

I've accomplished a massive list of things this morning and I feel the need to brag about it to all of you so you can say, "She's super mom, I can only dream of being that motivated and productive." First, lets pretend two things...1. That my house was not a complete disaster during task accomplishment and that it is not still a disaster right now and 2. That Matea was not strapped into a car seat in the middle of the play area for much of the morning (her choice, Bella got a new car seat and they were playing "car").

So, here's my day and keep in mind, it's only noon:

1. Empty dishwasher and do dishes
2. Chop up ingredients for carne con chile dinner
3. Bake a pumpkin pie
4. Paint all trim work in hallway and bathroom
5. Pick up miscellaneous clothing items strewn about the house
6. Make a tomato and basil pasta for lunch
7. Pack a cool bento snack for school for Bella
8. Ship two packages
9. Vacuum
10. Bathe children
11. Get a snack cup stuck in the garbage disposal (not really a good thing but it did eat up a lot of time so I felt it should be included)
12. IM'd Crafty Papa most of the items on this list so he would pat me on the back and make me feel proud

Did I make you feel bad about your pathetically unproductive day? Don't feel bad, I can promise I won't do anything remotely productive for the rest of the week.

Question for moms of boys

Why do a lot of you feel like you can't carry a pink diaper bag if you have a boy? I mean, he's not wearing the bag or being carried in it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Oh, I love that bag but I can't buy it because it's pink" or I get a custom order request that says "anything but pink or floral, I have a boy so no fun girlie stuff for me". I'm really baffled by the whole thing.

Anyway, part of why I ask is that a good friend's wife is having a baby shower next weekend and they don't know the sex of the baby. I wanted to send her a bag and checked out her registry to get a better idea of her taste. She registered for a lot of brown/blue and brown/green combos in mod patterns so I thought this bag would fit her taste...



















But, if she ends up having a boy, will she not want to use the bag because it's pink? Someone please explain this whole issue to me.

Anyway, if you've had your eye on the above bag, now may be your last chance to scoop it up. And I think it's time to give myself a new bag too so either one of these might be gone by Monday if you don't make a move before then.

Friday Favorites

1. My new pink pearl Electra beach cruiser! We had decided to get me a new bike for my upcoming birthday but Crafty Papa snuck behind my back, teamed up with my mom and grandma and got me this bike which is waaaaaay nicer than what we were planning to buy. He suggested we go into our local bike shop last night and see what they had. Turns out he had already gone in, test driven some bikes, and picked out and paid for this one. I love the bike but even more than that, I love that he put so much thought and effort into it.



















Matea just got this really cool Trek Trikester from my dad and stepmom for her birthday.














Now Bella's sad that she's the only one without a really nice pink bike so declared last night in Trinity Cyclery that this Electra bike should be hers. Unfortunately, she just got a bike for her birthday last January and this one is $190 so she's stuck with her teal metallic ride for a while.













2. Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cups. Bought them last night, half the container is gone. Enough said.

























3. My neighbor, Sharon. I've mentioned her here before asking for thoughts and prayers for her after she suddenly lost her husband and mother in law earlier this year. Somehow, even after such terrible events, she's remained an amazingly selfless friend and neighbor. She's sort of become like my fill-in mom in between my mom's visits and calls. At least once a week, I go to her with, "look at this weird thing", "come over and smell this", "can I still eat this".

This morning, she called and said she was heading out of town to see her son and his family and had left some pizza on my porch and told me to go pick some tomatoes. My tomatoes are taking forever to ripen so I happily took advantage of her garden and came back with a huge bowl full. I think I'll use them to make carne con chile on Monday and invite her over for dinner.

Custom Order Craziness

I know I haven't been listing much in the last week and that's because I've been buried in custom orders. Two bags, two aprons, and 8 trick or treat bags. On top of that, I've been battling my usual "not feeling well" crap that seems to be hanging over me for the last 18 months. But, I think I finally have a diagnosis and treatment plan and there is an end in sight with the custom orders so I should be back to regular sewing soon.

Here are the two super fun custom bags I delivered yesterday. Really happy with how both of them turned out and I'm hoping to make another bag today in the same style as the rocket babies bag. And, in case you're wondering, I do have a small piece of each of these fabrics left so keep your radar on for some really cute rocket and frog bags.

Remember when...

That tree fell through my house last year and I bitched and whined for 5 freaking months about the whole terrible ordeal? And how I couldn't get over questioning why this freak thing happened to us? Well, it happened to a regular Crafty Mama reader/friend, Marie. And, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to another good online friend, Kristi too. They're both in Texas and just survived Hurricane Ike. Marie's family is safe but after living through similar damage, I know they have a long road ahead of them. It's been a week tomorrow since anyone has heard from Kristi but I suspect she probably has lots of damage to her house too. I'm still really worried about Kristi and her family and thinking about them everyday. Please keep both of these families in your thoughts. Marie and Kristi are talented, creative women who are also wonderful mothers and wives and they'll be tested a lot in the coming weeks and months.

The End is Near

For the Babycenter Bargain Board. THE Bargain Board. I suspect a lot of people who read my blog probably lurk there too. Even though I rarely post there, I've been reading that board for over five years and can't believe that the idiot head honchos are really doing away with the current format even though a huge percentage of people have said they won't be part of the new board.

Anyway, the end of THE Bargain Board should free up lots of time for me to do other more important things like clean, care for the children, etc. I know it's probably a good thing but I have several unresolved issues such as:

-Will Wenders ever get baby Clarissa from China?
-Is 5Familypluskitty really as irritating as she seems online or does she know everyone makes fun of her and she likes the laughs?
-Will JordansKisses reach her goal weight and finally meet her match.com match (or wherever her personal ad is)?
-What happened to ChuckleHeads lady (Kiera? Kara? can't remember) and her estranged husband getting arrested?
-Will newmommyinvegas get her old landlord to pay her crazy utility bill?
-Is JoJoBob really another poster on the board with a separate identity or just some random person?
-Is WigglesandGumballs really as perfect as she seems? I swear, she has the right answer for everything and seems to communicate it in a really nice, effective way. I keep waiting for someone to bust her.

Yeah, none of the above has anything to do with bargains but it was still good times. I foresee some lost sleep in my future.

Those Freakin Trick or Treat Bags

Remember me going on and on last year about how I wasn't going to do these personalized trick or treat bags ever again? Well, here they are. Crafty Papa kept bugging me, asking if I was going to make them again this year. I'm not sure why he cares. Then a bunch of my mom friends who bought them for their older kid last year, had a new baby this year and of course, the new baby needs a matching bag. So, I'm offering them on a very limited basis, probably only about 10 of each fabric.

























I also made this cute (and neutral for you boring customers) birdie bag this afternoon. This line of fabric is called Cotton Blossom which makes me think of my grandpa whenever I look at it since he was a cotton farmer.

Kristi, you out there?

My talented friend, Kristi, had to evacuate with her family from her home in Texas on Thursday. We haven't heard from her since and although Crafty Papa keeps pointing out that she probably has better things to do than be on the internet right now, it would still be nice to get confirmation that her and her boys are ok. Kristi, I'm thinking about you.

Two for Tuesday

My grand stack of new fabric has me feeling extra inspired so I burned the midnight (ok, 7:00) oil and cranked out another bag after working out tonight. The first bag is made with fabrics from the new Park Slope collection which I think is absolutely adorable and really fun. Hoping customers will agree so I can order a few more color schemes of some of the prints.

Stunning!

Yep, I know it's totally not appropriate to describe my own creation as "stunning" but I'm really describing the fabric more than the bag so it's ok. Furthermore, I can't think of a better title for this bag. The fabric is gorgeous, really vivid colors, and the birdies are just enough birdie without being too birdie, if you know what I mean (we already established months ago that some of you are anti-birdie).










































In anticipation of Bella going back to school and my sewing schedule getting back to a more steady pace, I've been buying fabric like a mad woman. I received about 15 yards of new fabric today and have more on the way from Jona later this week. Good bags are coming soon, I promise.

Productive Weekend

Somehow, despite staying in my pj's all day yesterday, I've managed to have a productive weekend on the sewing front. I've listed this two very different bags thus far and plan to make another one or two later today...

And don't forget about the great coupon I have out right now that expires today.

Do you ever...

find that you really like a song that you don't want to like? You hear it once on the radio and hate it but somehow you can't help singing along the next time you hear it? Or, you think the song is really good but the title or words are really stupid so you don't want to admit you like it?

I've been going through a bit of an embarrassing Fergie phase. I really don't want to like Fergie. Her music totally isn't my style and some of the words are nasty. But I can't help but sing along. I walk around the house randomly saying "workin' on my fitness" or "g-l-a-m-o-r-ous".

More embarrassing than that though, is asking your husband to download a song called "Chicken Fried" for the ipod. I couldn't find it on itunes but I've watched this video three times tonight. I find the lead singer guy to be really cute in a weird way.

For the rest of the weekend, I'll replace "workin' on my fitness" with "like my chicken fried, a cold beer on a Friday night (really, I'm drinking one right now - how trashy of me), a pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio uuuuuuuuuuup". Now you'll be singing it too. You're welcome.

Friday Favorites

1. This new fabric I just ordered from Fat Quarter Shop. Love the unusual colors and the deer. I really think it's different from anything I've seen recently and was immediately drawn to it. Should have it next week along with about 10 others:)























2. www.sesamestreet.com Great website for both girls. There are even some games that Matea who just turned two, can play on her own. And it's one of the few activities the girls seem to do together for more than five minutes without killing each other.

3. These monogrammed onesies I added to my shop earlier this week. I like the simple and classic look of a monogram and think these make a really great baby shower gift. And they're really reasonably priced, so they could be a good "just because" gift as well. Thinking about offering some holiday themed ones. What do you think?

















Don't forget to do your Friday Favorites and link your post in my comments.

Back to School

Yesterday was Bella's first day back at school after being out of preschool for the last two months. We were both very ready for summer break to end and she was super excited about starting her new Pre-K program.

I told her I wanted to make a special outfit for her using Jona's new skirt pattern. I thought Heather Bailey's new Pop Garden fabrics would be so fun and cheery...all Bella thought was that they weren't pink. After some arguing in the beginning (and fake crying from mommy), she ended up very happy with the result.























This is the most "twirly" skirt I've ever made and had no idea how happy it would make Bella. She was literally running around the house singing and twirling when I had her try it on. You can see I made a few adjustments to Jona's pattern...not so much adjustments as omissions. I'm really lazy when it comes to sewing clothing. Like Jona, I can see how important the little details are but unlike Jona, I'm just too cheap and lazy to do them. I didn't do the border and I also axed the bias hem. I really do think the bias hem "makes" this skirt but again, I was just trying to save time and move on to my next project. If I was a better mom, I would have gone all out like Marie did for her Isabella.























Hopefully, now that Bella's back in school and the whole family is on a schedule again, I'll get back to sewing more regularly. In the meantime, here's a special coupon for blog readers in honor of going Back to School...