I prematurely mailed

I was so excited to finish my swap item for Marie, I mailed it on Monday without taking pics first. So, you'll need to go to her blog to see it. And please try not to get stuck looking at pictures of her cute kids and rather attractive husband, focus on the bag at the end of the post. I used some of the fabric my fabulous customer, Heather sent me and I'm really happy with how it turned out (and hope Marie is too). When I opened the fabric, this pink and brown combo said "Marie" to me immediately. Since I've never met her though, maybe my little voice had no idea what it was talking about. Hey Marie, is your husband a fire fighter or am I making that up? That has nothing to do with the bag, just would totally add to the cuteness factor.

Don't forget swappers, that you only have until the end of this month to send your item. I can't wait to see what everyone gets and hope we're all happy and willing to participate again. I'm already thinking about a Christmas themed swap.

On a side note, I've been in a total funk lately. Very little sewing, lots of pity parties, etc. I think it's just a combination of a bunch of stuff - slow sales, money spending freeze sucks, stay at home mom-ness wearing on me, stuff going on with a friend - and I'm trying to decide whether I need to indulge my lack of motivation or force my lazy ass to get back into the craft room and make something.

Bella-approved Creation

I've done lots of sewing for the girls in the last week, including my first Anna Wrap Dress. As Jona promised, it came together quick and easy. I was confused by the directions so I just put everything together on my own and realized when I was finished that I had screwed up the apron tie attachment but it's still functional so I'll cut myself some slack.

Quality of fabric definitely makes a difference on this one. I used cheap Walmart fabric and I really think it's too stiff and just doesn't hang well. But, Bella picked it out and REALLY wanted a Tinkerbelle dress so we compromised. She got to choose the fabric, I chose the style, and she showed slight appreciation. She's wearing another outfit made by mom today and I'll post pics of that later.

And be sure to check out my shop today. I just added a few new bags (you may recognize them...they're oldies that didn't sell in the boutique) and my 15% off $35 or more is good through the end of the month.

Thoughts?

My niece, who just graduated from 8th grade, has a birthday coming up soon and as resident gift picker-outer in the Crafty Family, I've decided to give her a glass tile necklace from Etsy. I'm having trouble deciding, mostly because I want one for myself but we're on a money spending freeze right now (I think I'm going to post about the freeze later this week. Maybe share some of my money saving tips and have a give away for the person who shares the most helpful tip or something like that).

Anyway, back to the necklaces...which one is best for a young teen? Maybe Tonya and Jona and anyone else with daughter's near this age group can ask their opinions. I love them all...like really, really love them and want to sell one of my possessions so I can buy one...but don't know whether I'm doing a good job of looking at them for a teenager versus my own taste. I mean, I am just a few months shy of being a 30 year old old lady:)

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Stuff

First, I'm extending the "June Special" through the end of the month. Spend $35 or more and get 15% off your entire purchase. I'm sure you haven't noticed, but the economy is in the crapper. You need a discount and I need income.

Second, and totally random, any "Gilmore Girls" fans out there? I used to watch the show every Tuesday night and then kind of gave up during the last season because it just go to be too dramatic with Luke and Lorelai and I hated Logan. We stopped by the library yesterday so I could find some good movies to watch/listen to while I sew (yeah, you need to get to your library much more often if you didn't realize they have a good movie selection) and I picked up season one of "Gilmore Girls". I've been watching it all day, just what my husband wanted to do for Father's Day...not. Anyway, I realized that I had no idea how the show ended so I hopped on Television Without Pity to read a recap. Holy Crap! It's one well written recap and I was totally teary eyed. Naturally, I went on the library's website and put a hold on season 7 so I can really ball my eyes out. Do towns like Stars Hollow really exist? I want to move somewhere like that...and have a man like Luke running the little cafe, that's really key to my dream.

Long time no post

I haven't posted much this week, mainly because I haven't done much "business" sewing. I did manage to make two new outfits for each of the girls but since Bella has a fever and Matea is almost two and totally against the idea of cooperating, I don't know when I'll be able to post pics.

I bought two new patterns from "Bit of Whimsy Prims", a monkey and a kitty. I'm listing this monkey in my shop this morning and am hoping to work on the kitty later today.

Weekend Update

Didn't do a lot of sewing this weekend but I did manage to crank out two new bags in between yard sale chaos and a still feverish baby. The first one features some of the fabulous RAOK fabric that my wonderful customer, Heather, sent me. The second bag is made with the new Bell Bottoms line and I absolutely love how it turned out. I tried to sew several times yesterday and just wasn't feeling inspired. I kind of forced myself to make this one so I'm surprised at how pleased I am with the result. Kinda sweet and kinda funky.












































As I was clipping coupons yesterday, I thought it was time to post another Crafty Mama Creations coupon here. So here you have it...

Friday Favorites

Bet you thought I forgot. I've just been busy all day with our yard sale (made $200 and still have another day left!) and a fussy baby who must be getting sick because she developed a fever tonight. So here goes...

Crocs. I know some people (cough, Lena, cough) really hate them and I'll definitely admit they're not the cutest shoes ever. But you can't deny that they're one of the most practical inventions ever. Between playing with the sand table in the backyard, going to the beach, and camping, we've definitely gotten our money's worth from ours. I love being able to just hose them down and they dry super quickly. And they have so many new styles that are much, much cuter than the original, super ugly clog. We have the mary janes and ballet flats and love them.


















Scrabble Tile Necklaces. Ever since my awesome friend, Jenni, sent me an adorable birdie one a few months ago, I've spent way too much time looking at these necklaces on Etsy. Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12371615
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12035732
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12355558

Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge. I've become mildly obsessed with this cartridge recently. It's totally not my scrapbooking style but I think the girls and I would have so much fun creating different dolls and outfits. And I think it would be fun to make some handmade card sets for my Etsy shop that feature the paper dolls. It seems like there are tons of handmade cards out there that are perfect for adults but the little kid card market is lacking. Crap, I just looked at that link and the price is even lower than I thought. Hmmmm, I've sold a bunch of scrapping stuff this weekend and if I give Bella a microphone and tip jar tomorrow at the yard sale, she might be able to bring in the rest of the money.