I'm an Artisan, what are you?

I am bored and was passing some time looking around the web when I came across this little 3 question quiz. This was my result:

Your Personality Is Artisan

You are both grounded and flexible. You adapt well to new situations. You are playful and free spirited - but you are also dependable and never flaky. You don't do well in conservative, stuffy situations. It's probably very hard for you to keep a normal job or stay in school. You are always up for fun and adventure. Most people are too boring for you. You take risks and bend the rules. And if things don't work out, you chock it up to life experience. In love, you tend to take things quickly - but you have a huge problem with commitment. At work, you need to make your own rules. You're best suited to be an entrepreneur. With others, you are animated and physical. You prefer doing something with friends to just hanging out. As far as your looks go, you tend to be buff and in good shape. Your spend more time on your body than your clothes. On weekends, you need to keep active. From cooking up a storm to running a 5K, you wear yourself out.

It's pretty true except for never being flaky, and the buff body part. More like flubby! My nice figure went out the door with pregnancy #1. I gained way too much weight. I have a thyroid condition that makes it hard for me to get the weight off. Thanks kids :) Now I have a womanly figure as I like to call it. To take the quiz go HERE.

Have a fun safe New Years Eve. Mine will be spent at home with the family :0)

Gift for my mom

Here is the bag I made my mom. I was in the process of making a zippered pouch to go with it when my sewing machine decided not to work. This was Christmas morning before we left for her house. She was very happy with her bag though. I really liked how it came out too....It was HUGE!! It would make an excellent overnight bag, or market tote.

On the flip side....


I used a Cotton Blossom's Charm Pack by Moda. The lining and handles were made using unbleached Muslin. I really like this Muslin. It is a new found favorite fabric of mine. The fact that it is in-expensive, and neutral is great. I use it to line my tissue cozies too :0) It looks great with this line of fabric with all the browns, blues, greens, reds and orange. I'll be making another one of these bags real soon! By the way the pattern is from JoAnn's Fabric Store. It's like $3.00 for the pattern. There is this one for charm squares and another for jelly roll strips..that's next on my list, for my Grandma.

Sunday Stash

The fabric I am sharing today is not the fabric I wanted to share. My camera is on the Fritz :0(
Oh well, there's always next week right? Today's pick is a very nice fabric...the picture is not the nicest..sorry! I have chosen to share Urban Chicks fabric, the line is 1974. I love this fabric!! I am actually in the process of making my first quilt using this particular jelly roll and charm pack. Since Christmas is over, I can now focus on my quilt. I can't wait!!


Here are some links to see the rest of the fabrics included in this charm pack, and jelly roll.

I am going to go finish being lazy today. I am exhausted due to the holidays..whew! Thank goodness Christmas is over. All I have to do to get ready for New Year's is pick which mixed drink I'd like to have :0) Which I have already done...Smirnoff and Cran-apple juice..mmmm.
The kids will be off to bed early and my hubby and I will have a mild celebration. I may or may not post again before then. If not Have a safe and Happy New Years!!

Happy Holidays!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah! Enjoy the company of your friends, family, and good food! I'll be back after Christmas :0)

One more down...many many more to go!!

As promised, I am posting my sisters finished Christmas gifts. Hopefully she will not read this. Generally she doesn't unless I want her to see something. So, I made her this bag. As well as a smaller version of this, to be used as a makeup bag. Then I had to make a matching tissue cozy, of course! Here they are, drum roll please......



Both sides of the bag. It is reversible, but only one side has a pocket.



The Makeup case, and tissue cover.



A close up of the covered button, and loop closure.


I love the covered button!! I also used a hair band for the loop closure, instead of the ribbon the instructions called for. I really like to used these as closures for things such as crayon rolls. They are much less of a headache. What I mean is A)Kids can open and close themselves, B) Kids are not constantly asking you to tie their crayon roll they keep undoing...over and over again! Just makes life that much more easy peasy!! Hopefully you all won't get too tired of me sharing my goodies. I just get so excited. Luckily our families live and hour and a half away or I would be gift giving early :0) Now I have one gift completely done. Off to finish some more. I will be posting again tomorrow. Hopefully with several more finished goods. Goodnight!

Sunday Stash

Wow, these weeks are just flying by. Here is my Sunday Stash again, so soon...at least it feels like it is too soon. Here are this weeks choices, I can never pick just one to share :0)

All are Amy Butler fabrics from her Daisey Chain Line. The color is Rose. It looks purplish-pink to me. Two of these beautiful fabrics have already been cut and are going to be several Christmas gifts for my sister. She picked purple as her color...this is as close as I had to purple in my stash. I am making her this bag, and this, and this too. I think it's a nice little set. I will post pics when I am done. Hopefully tomorrow mid morning :0) I still have more gifts to sew and my baking to begin. Hubby will be home tomorrow so he can help...with the kids and baking. He can't however help with the sewing because he is banned from using my sewing machine(s). Yes, machines I have 2 of them. Nor can he uses my scissors...I caught that punk trying to cut paper with my fabric scissors. As you can imagine I had to lay down the law about MY STUFF!! Just like with the kids my hubby was scolded and told to NEVER, EVER touch my sewing stuff again!
I gave him a pair of his own scissors, and if something needs sewn he needs to let me know and I will do it. Control issues, what? Who me? Never! (hahahaha) Ok maybe I am a little bit of a control freak. It is what it is. :0)

Handmade X-mas Gifts Galore!!

There are very few days till Christmas as we all know. I have been so focused on Swap items, and orders I have really neglected my list of Handmade X-mas gifts. Now I am kicking it into high gear and sewing...sewing...and sewing some more. All orders have completed have been received by the those that have placed their orders. I am so pleased that they love all of the goodies I have made. Whew!! I try to make everything perfect, but still worry that they will hate what I made. But they didn't!! Here is a recap of recent items I made :0)


From L-R clockwise: Amy Butler Birdie Sling with Heather Bailey Fabrics; Small Handbag with Amy Butler Fabrics; Sandi Henderson Market Bag(boxy version) with HB Fabrics; and another Small Handbag with HB Fabrics.

Ohh and look what I got for my B-day! Aren't they Beautimus?!! Hopefully I won't kill them.


Now back to the purses and patterns. I love the Birdie sling by Amy Butler. I have read before that it is a large bag. I have to say I was still suprised to see how HUGE it really is. It also has 2 pockets on the inside...I love pockets. I am happy with how my work came out. Just as I am happy with how my Sandi Henderson Market Bag turned out. Again anothe good sized bag w/pockets :0) It was my first time using both patterns. I am always apprehensive the first time doing anything. But the instructions on both patters were great. The Birdie Sling is just A LOT of cutting...lots of pieces. But once you piece it and start sewing it's a breeze. It also called for more fabric then needed..so I have some left over for some smaller projects. I am going to have to do a post at some point dedicated to pattern reviews, hmmm....definetly!

Anyhoo, I have some sewing to get started, and finished. As well as some baking to get done. I am baking some goodies for my neighbors, and family members for X-mas. I live in a Cul-d-sac, so all 5 neighbors will ne getting Peppermint Marshmallows, Brownied, and a for Recipe Cards for Homemade Hot Chocolate, and such. Wish me luck (Wink) I'm going to need it due to there being so many hours in a day, and 4 days to do it all in. I'll leave you with a project sone by my hubby. He is from the Philippines. In the Philippines the have something called a Parol. It is a star shapped lantern that is put up around X-mas time. Well, he found some bamboo and made this star......


Then he found some holiday Cellophane type paper and it cam out like this....



Not bad huh?! He is quite crafty. I've caught him messing with my sewing machine...who knew!
Now I am off to make my handmade gifts. I'll post my Sunday Stash later this evening.

Market Bag Success Woo-Hoo!!!

I had a custom order for Sandi Henderson's Market bag. I am always a little apprehensive when trying out a new pattern. But I have to say that this pattern was AWESOME!! It was so easy to follow. With colorful pictures, and great descriptions it was a breeze. I think it helped that I followed the directions to a tee.....sometimes I am very bad about that. Maybe some of the success was from doing what I should always do when using Directions...you know following them :0) Here it is...it's so purdy. I made the boxier of the two patterns. Let me tell you I am going to have a hard time handing it over.....


and it is reversible, but the second picture came out funky....


I love it!! I also made 2 handbags for a mother and daughter. One side is the same and the lining is different for each bag. I pulled the teal out of one for the lining, and the one pictures has the lime green. They are both reversible. I think reversible bags are great makes them a bit more versitile. Don't you think? I still need to add buttons and they will be Fini!! Here is a picture of one of them.


Tonight I need to finish Amy Butler's Birdie Sling. I have everything cut and ready to go. As soon as it is finished this order will be complete. Four custom bags in all..Whew. This is my third custom order. YAY!! Just a side note all bags were made using Heather Bailey Fabric. Except for the lining on the two handbags :0) I'll post pics when the Birdie Sling is complete which will be soon.

Swap Goodies!!

My first swap has been completed. The Happy Scrap Swap is where everyone was put in groups of 3. Each person sent a sandwich bag full of scraps to both of their partners. In turn all several small items were made for the partners form the scraps, and the goodies were sent. I have finally sent out my packages for my partners. I did however send swaps to the wrong person. She was very kind to actually make me some goodies and send them back to me, though she didn't have to :0) Thank You Heather! Thank you to all the ladies who participated. I have cooked up a new swap idea. Keep on the lookout for it in the new year. Here is what I have received thus far....By the way I have been playing with Photoshop Elements, it's great!


OK, now back to my swap gifts from upper left and then going clockwise; A new pincushion, Fabric flower magnet, key chain fob; Bird ornament, Stuffed owl, and zippered makeup bag; Margarita Doll (Doodle Girl); Bookmark, House Ornaments, Scarf, tissue cozy, and Needle book.


The doll was not part of the swap it was a gift to my daughter from my friend Abbie. Isn't she cute? Her name is Margarita. I will definitely be trying my hand at some dolls as soon as Christmas is over. There are some really great patterns on Etsy. Like Bit of Whimsy Prims, and
Herbst (which I have already purchased), and don't forget Wee Wonderfuls (I have these too). These come in PDF form which is awesome. I don't like to wait for patterns because I am a bit impatient. PDF's are great, you get them within 24 hours, and you can print them out :0) For the E-Book/PDF's that have more than 10 pages you can usually upload the file to Staples, Office Depot, at Kinko's. The prices aren't too bad, and your not waisting all of your ink!

I love my stuff, thanks again. I hope my partners like what I made them :0)

Also, I took a poll in regards to my website, and seems like the textured blue is the winner...It was my fave too...Thanks to those who took the time to vote, I appreciate it. I will be moving froward and working on finishing the site....eventually :0)


Well I need to go get my butt in gear. It is my 30th B-day today!! My friend has offered to watch my children so my hubby and I can go out on a date. Gosh, I can't remember the last time he and I went out together kid less...It's un heard of. Hopefully we make it home safe, it decided to snow today :0( Everyone have a good one. Stay warm!

Sunday Stash!!

Sunday is here again. I'm a bit late on my Sunday Stash post...sorry! I have been feeling pretty ill since yesterday. Last night was horrible as I was up half the night praying to the porcelain god. Now that I have shared more than most of you would like to hear, here is my Sunday Stash for today. The theme for today is "New found Fun". Because these are all new fabrics to my stash and they are all fun prints :0)



From left to right:Michael Miller Eiffel Tower in pink; Amy Schimler for Robert Kauffman Creatures and Critters, the third fabric is the same line as the second; lastly Robert Kauffman Polka Dot Chickens.

See I told you they were fun! I an still trying to decide what creations I will make from these fabrics.....any ideas? I bet you do have some. Let me know what you think would be a cute project for any of these fabrics :0)

I don't know about you but I am somewhat ready for X-mas. It really kinda snuck up on me. I still have a few gifts to finish making, and others to ship out. I guess I better kick my butt into high gear...but now that I am sick I really don't feel like doing much. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, as it is a new day! Ok I am off to bed, have a good one!!

Web Page Update...

Hello there! I have decide to change 2 of my web pages already. If you don't know what the heck I am talking about read the previous post :) I change the first and last pages, which had 1 vote each. The stripes were waaaay to busy, and the herringbone was too blah. Those of you that have been so kind thus far by looking and voting, Thank You!! Please take another look and see if I have picked something else you like better, or not. If there is please change your vote. My poll will close Tuesday. Then I can start working on my site again! I will be posting again with some finished goodie updates, and a few other things as well.

Calling all opinions, Please....

Well, I am in need of some opinions people. I babbled on and on in a previous post in regards to which website I wanted to host my new store at. I currently have Homestead and sue to their cost have decided to stick with them. Now I have to work on building my site...which has been on the back burner lately. This is because I have been so indecisive about keeping my site at Homestead. A friend of mine pointed out a very painful but true fact...I am not selling a ton online *sniff sniff*. So I basically do not need all the bells and whistles at this point.

All that said I have begin to build my site but am not sure on which background I like. Soooo....I wanted to ask of the few that read my blog to help in my decision process. What I am going to do is add a link to my store. Please do take a look at each page because they are all different! Take note of the page you are looking at (ie:Home, Purses, etc..). Then come back to my blog and at that point I will have a poll on my sidebar. Cast your votes. If you have anything else to add in regards to my site(pointers of any kind) please leave a comment on this post. I will close the poll on Dec 16th, which is my birthday.

Click on the picture to link to my store!!


Thanks in advance, and I can't wait to see which background page is liked the most :0)

Sunday Stash!!

I can't believe it is Sunday again, already. Time has just flown by lately. Here are the fabrics I chose to share in this weekends Sunday Stash.....


Both fabrics are by Tula Pink. The first is Flutterby Dragonflies in Teal, and second is Flutterby Bumblebees is Teal. I love how Tula Pink hides insects in her patterns. LOVELY!!

The Sunday Stasher's now have a flicker group. Check it out HERE.

Sew Tote-ally Busy!!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am exhausted...to say the least. I have been busy busy as usual. I feel like I've had so many projects going on, but I don't have a ton to show for it. Does this ever happen to anybody else? I swear I have sewn way more items than I have...hmmmm? I have made some totes. Wanna see?!


Sorry about the crummy pic. I am no photographer, nor do I have the patience to load each picture separately. I do like how these came out though. They were easy to make too. The link to the tutorial is in a previous post :0)

I have also made a few wallets. I FINALLY got that pattern down pat. I have the hardest time following directions to a tee. It's a real problem because if I would life would be so much easier.
I was reading my Astrological sign info the other day and it was pretty much dead on. It states that I don not like to follow the rules....hahahaha!! Hence not following directions completely. Anyone else find their signs, horoscopes, etc interesting. HERE is the link to mine, I'm a Sagittarius. As a matter of fact my 30th B-day is creeping up on me....I'm not to happy about that :0(

Oh yea, here are some wallets I've been busy making.



I also decided to try Pink Penguin's Fabric Basket Tutorial today. I have some left over skater print fabric, and will be making it for my Step Mother who loves anything ice skater themed. I took a pic before I added the handles ( which I have now done). I still need to add lining, but ran out of the polka dot. I guess I'll be taking a Sunday trip to the fabric store....which is OK with me.
This Tutorial is easy, and the basket is fairly small. I think it would be good for a place for makeup you keep in your bathroom. At least that is my suggestion to my Step mom. I'll be making more of these for sure!


I finally listed some items in my Etsy shop. I have also been on the hunt for a new E-commerce type site. One that isn't expensive. I have one through Homestead, but I dunno...Not too happy with it. Although it is only $4.95 a month. But, you cannot sell items unless you upgrade..? What's the point? I've seen a few places like Big Cartel, and Zen Cart. With Zen Cart you have to host through someone else....which I do not like. I bought my domain name so I can transfer that with me until I find a site I am happy with. Hopefully soon please as I started with, Vista Print, then Freewebs, now Homestead.....I just can't make up my mind. Can you tell? If anyone out there has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Please!!!!

I'll leave you with a picture of my Fia :0) My hubby took her pic and then she told me that she was a monkey. Who knew monkeys put their hands on their ears. I thought of hear no evil when she said that. Can you spot her chocolate cake crumbs on her seat? She is one messy little thing. But, she makes me smile anyway!

Oh my Gosh I WON!!

I won a giveaway from Little Birdie Secrets. What did I win you ask....Scented Play Dough with a reversible play mat. It is actually called "Chalk and Dough on the Go Play mat". The play mat has a smooth surface on one side and chalk board on the other. How cool is that?!! Thanks to Heather from Cutie Patootie Boutique for donating the prize. Check out her shop as well. She has some cute goodies over there :0) Here's a look at my prize.

This is going to be a great joint gift to my kids from Santa!! I am still so excited. Thanks so much!!