friend and neighbor gifts

 Can you believe I am posting here?  And, I am posting while most others are taking a break from blogging.  I have been waiting forever to have a little time to post, sew, craft and it seems like after Christmas is my time. 

 I had jewelry orders up until Christmas Eve (although I promised to be finished the week before), so my time was not my own.  It's a blessing - the business.  I just miss the sewing and blogging and wood crafts, etc.

 So, here is a quick and easy gift to give to friends and neighbors.  I actually bought the soap last year at Target at the after Christmas sale and kept it up in my closet all year.  My husband thought I was a little crazy (he should be used to my ideas by now), but it was awesome to pull them out, add tags, and deliver all in the matter of a few hours. 

 I hope that next year I will be making something, but as for this year, this soap came to my rescue.  

merry christmas from our family

seven days and counting

In a week I will be flying to San Diego to hang out with my dear family and also be a vendor at the Queen Bee Market in Carlsbad.  To say that I am excited is an understatement!  .  

First off, I get to hang with my awesome mom (and dad) and sisters.  Secondly, I get to be a vendor at a market that I have been admiring for a few years now.  Thirdly, I am going to be hanging out in So. Cal during November and you can't beat that!

  I have been soldering so much that as a friend once asked, "do you have fingerprints any more?"  I may have slight lines left on my fingers.  I usually have a few Band Aids on my hands at any given time with cuts from the glass or burns.  After soldering for about four years, I still tend grab the iron the wrong way or touch solder before it cools when I am trying to go fast.  It's a fun, yet crazy hobby.  I have learned to say nicer words when I burn or cut myself.  That's not always easy!

 There are over 70 vendors with hand made items.  That just amazes me.  I am excited to shop myself.  There are plenty of shops I have been admiring on Instagram over the months and I am finally get to see their awesome stuff in person.  

   So, if you live in the So. California area (it's in Carlsbad        to be exact), I would love for you to come to the Queen Bee Market. 

new charms, a new business and my specialty

So it turns out that blogging isn't my specialty.  I thought that once all of my kids were in school, that might change.  I guess I am better at making things in my pajamas during the day rather than writing about them. Hence, the intermittent radio silence over the last few years! 

But, here are a few charms that I have been working on over the past couple of weeks:

But, I still enjoy popping in to say hello although I am aware that there might not be many out there to say hello back.  So, as long as you (or even I) take me as I am, I am okay with my pace.  So, I will be here documenting my new soldered jewelry and a few other projects when I can.  

Here's something else that I have been up to lately...

 I have started a new business to go along with amazing mae charms - amazing mae signs:

  etsy shop coming soon!

 

I have burned my fingers and they are raw, but it is so worth it when I get to have a jewelry open house.  So, here's to raw digits!

number 31

I'm getting in that mode.  It finally cooled down here (for the moment) last Saturday and I have pulled out my Halloween decorations.  I decided I needed a few more so I am in the process of making a few new wooden signs to place around the house.  Number 31 is first.  It is bold and just has a hint of Halloween with the two grey spiders creeping around.  I put it on my mantel and love how it looks up there.  

  

Don't mind the TV and the Wii receptor on our mantel.  I guess I should be glad I still have a bit of space to decorate amongst the electronics!

Here are are the wooden stacked blocks I made about five or six years ago.  I used to spread them around, but really like them stacked on top of each other instead this year. 

new signs

For the last ten years, I have made stencils and painted wooden signs and blocks with them for the holidays.  I used to have a neighbor that I would pawn my signs and wooden blocks to each Halloween and Christmas.  The poor girl would open her door to find that I hung a sign from her wreath without her knowing it.   I appreciate her and all my other friends that have let me do that.  I finally decided that I wanted to make a few big wooden signs to hang around my house and possibly sell at craft shows in the future.  So, here are a few that I made last week.  I kept the white and grey one and hung it in my hallway last night. As a kid, my dad would have us sing "Love at Home", a song from our church hymn book, whenever we were fighting.  So, I was thinking this might remind me to make sure my kids get the chance to sing this same song whenever they fight.  Or, if they are really bad, I will sing it to them!

yo gabba gabba's plex

 My nephew loves Yo Gabba Gabba!  I think it's pretty cool myself.  I thought I should make him a cool applique shirt with Plex.  I love how it turned out.  I think he did too!

my summer via instagram

still here and with a new baby blanket

I don't know why exactly I go through spurts of blogging frequently and then seem to stop all together. I am usually still sewing and crafting behind the scenes, but life gets busy and I don't have time to sit at the computer and document it. The kids have been out of school for two and a half weeks already and I am still adjusting to the new schedule. Not to mention, I am fighting for computer time! It's a bit odd to go from a very scheduled life to one with only a schedule I produce myself (with the help of the kids, of course). But, I did want to blog about this baby boy blanket I made last week.

I have had this Alexander Henry fabric for a few years and started the quilt around this fabric. I also had cut up a sheet and that's where I got the blue and white ticking.  

The back is navy and white seersucker which is a great summer fabric.

The quilting is just random spaces lines. I tend to keep it pretty simple on the quilting since I don't have much talent or experience in that area. I liked having 4 or 5 lines per strip of fabric because it added so much texture to the quilt.

just a few totes

I know that I am not reinventing a pattern or using too many creative juices when I make a tote bag and with a quick project like this, I prefer not too.

I even avoid adding pockets and too many details to a tote, so that I can get it done quickly and add the goodies inside.  I don't think one can have too many or that I could ever make too many!  If my kids ever get invited to girl birthday parties and I have time, I make a tote like this one and fill it up with coloring supplies.

My mom made my daughter a really cool tote with clear vinyl and fabric and filled it up with glitter glue, markers, coloring pads, etc. and that thing goes with Mallory every where.  So, I can't deny a little girl a chance to draw.

 I know boys draw too, but my boys are older and I don't want to send them to a party with a tote full of art supplies and be embarrassed.

 I love totes and versions of a tote, like this kidlet.  This one is going to be filled with baby bath supplies or baby books to give to a mom who just had a baby she named Benson. 

jams for a teenage boy

I know I could easily buy a pair of athletic shorts for my thirteen year old to wear to bed. And, I have in the past. But, I just wanted to see if I could make something that he would wear. Jams seemed to be the best bet since a.) he would be wearing them in the house and b.) he needed some and c.) i thought I had the perfect fabric for them.

I turned back to my past standard for pj fabric...old sheets.  I still have quite a few of these.  I used to shop for them at garage sales and flee markets.  I also inherited quite a few when my mother in law was down sizing a few years ago. 

I chose a simple adult pj pattern and used an adult small.  I can't believe I am sewing an adult size for this guy that used to be so little.  He went from a size 12 to a 16 without ever touching the 14.  As you know, pj bottoms sew up under an hour.  So, I was able to sew two pairs in a day.

End result - he really does wear them and like them.  It's been about three weeks since I made them for him and he switches back and forth between the two pairs.  So, ultimately I was able to find something that I can still sew for a teenage boy and he will actually wear or use.  Now, on to figuring out what I can make for him next with the same results.

new summer jams in the spring

Every time the weather turns a bit warmer, I break out my patterns for pjs for the kids.

I think I get excited to shed the flannel and move on to something a little more light and airy.

Baby doll jammies and night gowns for Mallory are my favorite.

  In the past I have made her at least one pair of baby dolls each Spring.  This year I made her a pair of baby dolls and a night gown out of some lovely yellow and purple sear sucker that was sent to me as a gift from a blogger over seas, Zia Koko, four years ago.  I think I was saving it for the perfect project. 

I used a simple See & Sew B5119 pattern that is for a night gown and a set of baby doll jams.  I didn't put the ruffle on the nightgown nor the bow.  Mallory is girlie, but not that girlie.  As for the other jams, I added a 2 inch piece of fabric to the bottom of the top since it runs a bit short.  Overall, these were simple and quick..perfect for beginner who wants to get a project done in a day.