owl gift

i made this owl for mary topogna... the mosaic artist from portland, oregon. i had such a nice visit with her, even though it was super brief. It's always inspiring to meet artists actually making things and selling them, living the artist life. being able to spend all that time doing what you love to do. she had a fantastic collection of owl trinkets all over the store (portland has the bomb thrift stores) so i thought she might like one of these. i am happy with the fabric combination and am continuing to pull out some of my favorite stash fabrics.

xmas 2009

a few highlights


first look at santa's gifts




one of my favorite gifts:a chasing bluebird! bought at bella cosa our new local shop full of local crafter's items (my owls and new snakes are there, hint hint)


the bag i made (one for each girl)






so thats a glimpse of our morning, this christmas felt more relaxed for some reason, glad for that! Merry Xmas everyone!

flip flops and christmas

ugh!! it was so warm today, flip flops were in order. i have a hard time getting into the christmas spirit in this gloriously perfect weather. i crave rain and wind and snow... but still managed to complete most of my christmas present crafts, some baking (this is amazing!!) and have cookie dough ready to bake off on christmas eve. whew!!


the potential lunatics are a local kid punk rock band that we recently met up with, they are soooo awesome and i can't wait for my two camp fire groups to meet with them next year. they are home schooled and so very mature, talented, confident and self assured. watching emma i was inspired to look into guitar lessons (yes i will be starting in january) and i am reminded of my love for "the brat" and other punk rock girl bands of the 80's.





liz and our neighbor friend lauren took over the "bar" serving up soda and water.


here is a cool shot of emily. she is in the student council and recently met the mayor of long beach where she was asked to bring christmas cards for the local childrens hospital... well she took it to heart and spent hours writing up cards... begging to stay up late to finish just one more!!! i saw a real "camp fire spirit" in her and i am so proud of her!
Last, i have made a new animal to sell, snakes!! i am hoping they will be a big hit at our local crafty store. pictures to come soon!

my day

groceries

clouds

ikea visit


20 minutes on the trainer = 200 calories burned

sewing projects


the tutorial for these was found here and last

the tree fabric from ikea i have been dying for...found at last! i saw the idea to make pillows by just cutting out the trees somewhere but cant remember!! there were examples that had embellishments like birds and critters in the tree that i really liked. i just dont have the time for that right now. getting ready to visit family in colorado and wanted to make some quick gifts.

i havent mentioned here that i am in training for a half marathon in october, on my second week of serious training and so excited! i feel so good and am up to 6 miles (just run/walking) already! it is hotter than hell here right now so we are spending time in our little blow up pool and drinking gallons of water. really feels like summer!

so my day off went well, back to work tomorrow and then off to vegas (for an ultrasound conference) then colorado (with a visit to mt. rushmore thrown in) i will try to post pictures of our trip!

mish mash

a few bags made for the preschool teachers

and a bag made for a future camp fire girl (lizzies group starts soon)



a little something from the thrift store (my dad of course)

breakfast at a favorite hang out

love this hammock, it was just taken up to the cabin but i think we need another here at the beach!

lots of tomatoes coming in, couldnt find the juliets this year so i planted some strange ones: pineapple, plum and two different kinds of roma



hanging at the skate park, liz was fascinated by it. i see a skateboard in her future, she is such an interesting kid. you never know what your kid will be attracted to, just gotta go with the flow i guess. since i have been facebook obsessed, i thought a little update was in order, i think we are pretty caught up now. happy weekend!

kick ass dolls

these are the kickingness of ass dolls i have ever seen. oh man!!!!

damn it if these are the coolest, go check them out yourself and see.

new owls, new year

and one old owl from years gone by, thank you to my goofball supermodel, liz. (ps. dont mind the big black "thing" in her teeth, its temporary! yikes liz!)

handmade christmas, busy busy

these are as wonky as it gets

happy present making!

handmade christmas

a new design, not quite right but good enough for a christmas gift, shhhhh dont tell!

day off part two

making blocks, your turn

ok guys, here goes... remember the only sewing i had was in home economics class about 25 years ago!



start with 6 sides, make sure they are straight and square (i get sloppy sometimes and it makes the corners harder to match up) designate a "bottom" and sew 4 sides to it.




add a "top" to one side


sew up the sides to make a box, this is the trickiest part because your corners can get bunchy. i just make sure the edges line up and the corner match. when you sew you will sew across the corners like this:




just run right to the end and even though it looks weird, the straight stitching will make a crisp corner when you turn it, oh did i mention in the beginning that we are sewing all right sides together? making a box that is inside out... see i am great at tutorials! geez...


here is the box, just fold the top over and sew three sides down and then half of the fourth, leaving an opening to turn right side out and stuff.


almost done


the fun part is stuffing and finishing off


i dont recommend using a pencil (i like chopsticks) and these dont really need anything, the hole you leave should be big enough to get your fingers into easily


finished! sorry this is the last photo, i was on to something else and forgot to get a "smiling kid/block all done" photo... this is emily's personalized block and she wisked it off to play with.

good luck! remember these blocks are homemade and all the imperfections make them unique and special, right?