August Lately

Oh Happy Day

Today was my morning to work at the Post Office, and when I came home, the boys were out with their dad, so of course I took advantage of the uninterrupted time to sew. I decided to make something that I had had in my mind for a while, but just hadn't gotten around to doing.

Do you ever have such a wonderful idea for a project that you're afraid to make it, have it flop, and ruin your vision? That was me with this idea, and I know I had been somewhat unconsciously putting it off for that exact reason.

Well, I'm glad I finally did it, because it was one of those rare times when the finished product came out so much cuter than what I had envisioned.

It's a clutch version of the vintage totes I've been making. The front pocket has a hidden snap closure and the main bag closes with a flap and vintage button. At 7x5, it's a roomy little bag with plenty of space for all of the essentials.

I just put this one up in my Etsy shop, but I'm sure there will be more in different prints. I'm thoroughly addicted.

Thank you Carrie for reminding me that it was Janet who had found the little flower bowl! After reviewing her post, I realize how very similar the two are. How awesome is that?

So now that I've completed a sewing project and a blog post, I'm feeling pretty accomplished. I think I'll make a fresh cup of coffee and snuggle up in the hammock with the latest Blueprint Magazine.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thrift Thursday a Day Late

I had the photos downloaded and ready to post yesterday, I promise! But I had a little boy who wanted me to go upstairs to read to him and I never did make it back down to the office.

Not much in the way of fabric, but I did make some great finds!

This is a cute little vintage apron in a design I've never seen before- someone actually cut a half-circle out of a rectangle of fabric and ran the ties along the curved line, then used bias tape on the rest of the edges. The result is a very wavy, pleated-looking apron with considerably less work. Clever!

A tea towel apron that I just had to have. I love the orange flowers.

I can't remember where, but I read on someone's blog just the other day that they found a flower shaped bowl while thrifting. I thought to myself- "geez, I'd love to find one of those!"

Well, lo and behold, what did I find at the thrift store?

A pretty little white bowl that looks like a flower! Also a cup and saucer from a particular 1930's collection called Georgette (AKA petalware) by W.S. George. It's not a terribly pricey thing to collect, which makes me happy, and the pretty designs and colors of this collection make me smile. I found several pieces for my mom for her birthday, and then found these. I decided to keep these for myself and build my own collection.

I also found a vintage sears nightgown in a sweet print, and vintage yardage cotton in a nice floral print. They were both in their oxyclean soak when I took photos so we'll have to wait for those. I also snagged a couple of jars of old buttons. Nothing terribly exciting in there  but I did find a few that looked like bakelite and another that appears to have swarovski crystal in it. The rest will make great crafty fun for my boys, so all-in-all a good investment.

Along that subject, I've been quietly amassing a collection of vintage plastic buttons. I love the flower shaped ones and I've been haunting ebay for them. I almost won an auction for 300 of them, but was outbid in the last few hours. I really, really prefer the buy it now format, but buttons are so collectible that smart sellers know they have a good chance to make more money if they go auction style. Ah well, there's always the next mother lode!

I've been meaning to photograph my little beauties to share, so hopefully some time soon (after I get my new digital SLR. Shhh! I didn't say that, really. I'm not obsessing about getting a new camera! Not me! Ok, fine. Yes, I'm obsessed with getting this thing. I'm a photography lover, and actually have a fair amount of college education in it. The little point-n-shoot Canon is wonderful, but I sorely miss the artistic freedom of SLR. I'm afraid there will be a momma needs a new camera sale at Adorneya in the very near future. Can't. Hold. Out. Much. Longer!).

I'm excited to share the second vintage pocket tote that I've made. I'm really enjoying making these.

This one makes use of a cute birdie print that I only got a teeny amount of. I probably have enough to make one more tote like this, but that's it. They way the print is laid out, there are only birds every 12 inches, and who wants a birdie print bag with no birdie? This one's going up in my etsy shop later today.

Still Catching Up

Yep, still trying to get back into the swing of things since everyone has gone home. I sent out two orders yesterday and some product donations for an event that several of us at Indie Finds are contributing to. I still have to finish that custom order, but it's getting there.

Thanks to the feedback from all of you, as well as some really helpful family and friends, I've decided to make my new wristlets include a removable strap that can double as a keychain. The new wristlets will also include one large pocket and several credit card slots. As my brother-in-law Evan said, it's all about the pockets!

I was so busy getting orders ready to go, that I completely missed Thrift Thursday! I don't want to miss out on the fun, so here are some of my favorite finds from a thrifting trip with my mom this week: All for $4!

For more fabrics, and to read descriptions, see my thrifting finds set on Flickr!

Ok, that's it for now. Once I've had some coffee and gotten some work out of the way, I'll be back with a WIP or two.

I know I Said No Pictures Today

But then I checked my mail! The lovely Valerie offered some left-over craft supplies a while ago and I was lucky enough to receive them! There's a ton of adorable stuff here, but here are some of my favorites:

I was totally blown away with the amount and quality of the things that she sent to a complete stranger. Thank you Valerie! I'll be sending a little gift soon :)

And I forgot to share some of the photos that my budding photographer took with mommy's digital camera yesterday (yes, I caved. It was hot!) while she followed around ready to save it from hitting the floor at any moment:

Now these might look like he needs to work on his focusing abilities, but he's really experimenting with depth of field. You photographers know what I'm talking about! My sweet little boy very purposely went around and took pictures of objects that were meaningful to him. His trucks and his little books are his most prized posessions. I was one very proud mommy, being a lover of photography myself!

Can anyone recommend a good, hard-to-break starter digital camera for a 3 year old?

Down to the Wire

Thank you Donna and Crystal for reminding me that the lines in corduroy are wales. I totally knew that, but apparently the inventory clerk in my head needed to make room for something more important. Does anybody else have the problem of completely blanking things that they *know* they know? Nobody warned me that your brain starts to melt in your late 20's!

No pics today, sorry folks. But soon! I'm finishing up my color-iffic swap package (I want to include a few more handmade items) before the August 5th ship deadline. I also have a fun custom order to work on. Yay!

The wedding is this Saturday, so things are now in full-swing. Tomorrow is a family/friends canoeing event and a rehearsal/dinner in the evening, and of course Saturday will be one big party.

Tonight we are going out, just the kids (meaning Am, his sibings and their spouses/friends). That will be fun, and a nice break for us to spend time with them without the distraction of chasing kiddos around!

Tomorrow is my sister's sweet sixteenth birthday (yes, there are more than a few years between us!) and we will have to miss it. It makes me sad, as birthdays are really special in our family, but I know she understands. The boys are going to stay with my family this evening and they're going to have an early birthday celebration for their super-beloved Auntie, so it works out great that way. Happy birthday Em!

Thank you for all of your comments about my thrifting finds! I was really surprised because I never feel that I get particularly lucky thrifting. Probably due to the fact that we're in such a sparsely populated area. There just isn't a large pool to draw from. I don't expect to have another day like that for quite a while!

I definitely know how lucky I am to have my mom around and willing/able to take the boys for me. My children are exceptionally fortunate in that they have two very, very involved and nurturing grandmothers. They also have two awesome grandfather figures in my step-dad (who they affectionately call Poppy) and Am's soon-to-be step-dad (Yay! I can't say yay enough!!) Bert. For all intents and purposes, they are the kiddos' grandpas. Both of our dads are pretty far away and not very involved. We are so thankful, though, for our extended family and how much they love our boys.

And geesh, Crystal, I can only imagine what your stress level can be like. If I was in your area I would definitely be in for a sitting swap every week or so!

Well, I think that's about it. Don't be surprised if you don't hear much from me in the next few days. I haven't dropped off the face of the blogosphere, just busy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

What I Don't Love About Blogging

Bloglines and Feedburner have been playing a nasty joke on me since yesterday. If you're getting an error in your bloglines for this feed, you're not the only one. I've emailed them about the problem, but it may be two days before they respond. Ugh.

Well, on to the crafty stuff!

Here's my finished Les Mis apron. The photo is horrible. Turns out it's really hard to photograph yourself in an apron! The pocket is all wrinkly (I would use thicker fabric next time) and the apron should be a bit wider. Since I really decided to wing it, and I was in a huge hurry because of all of the family happenings, I'm not terribly proud of it. I guess I can't expect much better. It was a learning experience and I have some good ideas for how to improve upon the next one. Not a total loss!

Playing Catch Up

Today was one of those days. I worked at the post office this morning and then took the afternoon to catch up on some orders, prototypes and swap goodies that needed to go out while Ama took the boys to visit his family. Whew! I feel much better having some things completed.

Here's a little preview of the handmade item for my August coloriffic swap-

As you can see, yes, my partner has *very* different tastes from me. I liked this fabric in spite of myself and actually had a fun time working with it. I hope she likes it!

Friday!!

Friday is a busy day in the crafty blogosphere!

First, there's WIP Friday. I've been working on the "my favorite musical" apron for the tie one one challenge. I first fell in love with the music of Les Miserables in high school when I performed selections from it for chorus class. Years later, I finally had the opportunity to see the show on Broadway. It was one of the most spectacular experiences of my life.

So here is the future pocket with the embroidered logo- I think I'll use a red fabric as the body of the apron and maybe some blue trim somewhere, since the logo uses those three colors.

Another Friday tradition for crafty bloggers is Studio Friday which I have also decided to try my hand at. This week's theme is studio sidekicks. My sidekick is Harry, my gorgeous gray kitty who thinks he is human. He loves nothing more than to come and stretch out in the comfy chair in the studio. And yes, that's the vintage green dress I found a few weeks ago. Luckily for him, he decided to nap on it *before* it got washed!

On the family front, we've spent two wonderful days with Ama's sister Fonta and her husband Evan. Also, Evan's sister Joy, her husband Mike and their two incredibly adorable boys Zane and Tate were here as well. They all are from San Francisco (Fonta and Evan are in London for a year however) so we don't get to see them as often as we would like.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at their inn playing in the pool, and today we went on a hay ride with a neighbor's beautiful work horses. Mike and Joy are flying back to California tomorrow, so this evening was goodbye. We were truly sorry for them to go, we have had a great time with them! Pictures to come soon, but tonight, we're ready to read a story and go to bed.

Happy Friday everyone!

One More Thing...

I just added a bloglines subscription button to my sidebar, but it's waaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy down there.

If you're a bloglines user, all you have to do is click this button to subscribe to this blog:

And if you're not a bloglines user, what the heck are you waiting for? I subscribe to over 100 blogs, and I usually manage to keep up with them pretty well, thanks to bloglines! Check them out!

A Year of Color

Amy at Happy Things has dreamed up a nifty little color 'scheme'- A year of color! Every week, a new photo representing a color from her crayon box. As someone who has been known to hoard a new, unused box of the full spectrum of crayola colors just to marvel at all the pretty colors, I'm excited!

I had hoped to get some serious sewing time in this evening, but it seems that Liam has developed a low-grade fever and some tummy issues. I hope, hope, HOPE it's not related to swimming in the lake these past two weeks. Ugh! Things were so simple when I was a kid. Parents back then didn't even worry about seat belts or sunscreen, much less e coli (which often shows up in lakes, ponds, fruit juices and fresh produce), lyme disease (from tick bites), west nile virus or EEE (both yucky viruses that we can get from mosquito bites in this area). Oh, to be a parent 30 years ago...

In case you didn't notice, I'm a big worrier. I will be in hypervigilant mommy mode this weekend.