Five Dollar Friday!

Hey Everyone!
I've been meaning to post about one of my favorite Etsy shops,  MICHELLE PATTERNS ETSY SHOP    OR   MICHELLE PATTERNS  {her Dot Com Shop}. Every Friday she offers her awesome patterns for only $5.00.  Such a deal!  The patterns that I've purchased have been super easy to follow and the finished product turns out so cute. Also if you have any questions, she's very easy to communicate with. In the past, I've sent an email and heard back right away.
I know it's afternoon already here in Calif. but hopefully you'll have a better memory than I do and will go shopping next Friday at Michelle's!

February has flown by much quicker than January did.  My FAV holiday is Valentine's Day. I just love decorating with all the Pink, red, lace and fluffy sparkle. And that's just my wardrobe!  Hahaha, just kidding...   I really meant my house but I do "dress up" for work as well.  I take advantage of being a pediatric nurse because with kids, I get to be a little goofy and get away with it.  So red flashing heart earrings & necklace, scrub tops with hearts all over and matching socks. Believe it or not,  simple things like that can make that shot I give them, hurt just a little bit less.... so far it hasn't backfired and scared anyone away! I'm lucky to have such a great job, awesome boss and co-workers and little patients, too.

My niece and nephew came out to visit over the long weekend - President's weekend here and it's also their birthday's. They used to stay summers with us but the last couple years they've signed up to be in the working world and it's not so easy to take off 2-3 months. Now they've got bills to pay: car, auto ins. etc. 
Here's a picture of us the morning they left. I was leaving for work and it was time to say "goodbye". My niece didn't get her usual hour of primping in front of the mirror before this quick pic.

Early, early morning. Jason & Kristina go back to TN today

 I actually made something for myself the other night. It's silly but not having a make-up roll was bugging me so much that I made it after a long day at work... {I usually have a late dinner and get ready for bed}  They are so easy to put together but the biggest decision is usually which fabric to use. I had enough left over of the Michael Miler fabric that I love so much and used that.  If it looks familiar, it's because I made my new daughter an Ice Cream Cozy out of the same fabric just a few weeks ago. I love the big bright flowers.

Make-Up Roll Open

Make-Up Roll Closed

I don't have a pattern for this, I just measured out enough scrap fabric for what I thought would accommodate my brushes and other long, narrow things. And then I picked a soft pale pink for the inside and cut the exact size as I did for the outside. I used a smaller scrap for the panel on the inside that would hold the brushes in their spot - it is also lined.  On this roll, I got ahead of myself and ended up having to use seam binding for the two short sides. I hate strongly dislike seam binding. No matter how many tutorials I watch or how many ways I apply it or how many times I practice, IT NEVER LINES UP WELL.   Oh it makes me crazy.  I get a little OCD when it comes to seam binding and I really try to avoid at all costs. I had to keep telling myself that no one will see this, it's just for me. It's getting late and it's a work night so suck it up.
If you zoom on the top picture, you see how "off" it is.  I'm only bringing it up so you know that I know it looks bad. Normally the things I make for myself I strive for perfection just because it represents my work. {And I say no one will see it  - yet here it is posted for all to see, haha}.  I have a few requests for a make up brush roll and you can bet I'll slow down and assemble in a different order and avoid the seam binding!
As things begin to slow down, I'm hoping to add a couple to my shop!  I love having extra time to sew.
Until Next Time,

My FAV "Holiday"

Hey Everyone!
I know it's been forever {or about 3 weeks} since my last post. Not good!  I hope that won't happen again.
My favorite "holiday" is coming up! Yep, Valentine's Day.  I love all the PiNk and Lace and Hearts, Sparkles.  In honor of this lovey~dovey week ahead, I made this totally easy bunting/garland decoration.  Lookie Here....

So seriously, these little buntings are the easiest and quickest way to add color and a festive touch to a room.  Whatever shape you can cut out repeatedly is fair game.  The worse part is waiting for the glue to dry.  Or, if you don't glue on sequins & beads, another option is to sew your shapes to the string and you have instant gratification!  I've also used the triangle shape for my other garlands.  Possibilities are endless... besides being a great use for scraps.
I have one up in my shop now ~ that was for sale ~ but I'm donating it to my  Etsy Team-IrihanaArts.  Besides great shops {with equally great items} in this weekends BNR, there will also be a raffle with lots of great giveaway prizes. Here's the link:  All You Need Is Love!

So my pink laptop is officially gone.  It was the motherboard.  Luckily my son is able to remove the hard drive and transfer everything to an external drive. I finally learned my lesson, the hard way and I'll save the important files to icloud or some other happy place beside the hard drive.  Even gmail is better than nothing!  I love how I am continually learning, even at my old age :-)  You may be wondering what I'm posting with.   I'm now a Mac Book user.  It's taking some getting used to but I think it'll be okay.  Did you know everything is on the wrong side?  And what's with the red light, green light thing?  Lol, I do like all the bouncy icons below on the dock.  And my most fav thing is the size.  I have the 13" and I really prefer that over the gigantic one for sure.  Way easier to take along.  So easy in fact, I'm sitting in my backyard typing away... and I think the sun is actually burning my legs right now. Who knew it was so strong at 10:45am in the winter? Gotta love So Cal.
Until Next Time,

In The Sewing Room... my favorite place

Hello everyone and  Happy Valentine's Day!!
I hope the weekend was enjoyable for you as it was for me.  I spent a good amount of time in my sewing room (I just LOVE it there!).  I finished up a couple pair of sleeping shorts for two of my besties for Valentine's day.  Not that we usually exchange gifts but I had this idea and needed an excuse to sew.  Here they are,

Pink.  More Pink. Semi-patchwork. Drawstring. One Button.

White with Red Dots All Over. Drawstring. One Button.

They haven't seen them yet, in person that is.  I sent them to this blog to check them out! 
Next I made a simple bag. Very simple.  I decided to make it way harder than necessary!  I really wanted to see how well my seam ripper worked. (by the way,  it works great!).  It was a simple drawstring type of bag that I'm going to package my items in as well as sell sets of them in my shop.  Everyone can use re-usable bags, right?  Well, at the rate I'm going, no one will get to use them.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have a fresher outlook on those bags.
This evening I wanted to use my new zippers that I received the other day from this ETSY SHOP. I had this idea for a half rounded zippered pouchs.  I also wanted to include a divider in the middle and I wanted to quilt it.  So I started cutting and sewing. Ripping out a bit and sewing again.  Opps, ripped out some more and sewed it back up.  Yay, Finally I finished!  I was able to post to my shop.  Here it is:

Zippered Flamingo Print Make-Up Pouch

Inside Of Pouch - Phone Inside But Still Lots Of Room!

Green Flamingo Fabric Divider Inside Pouch

At least I was able to finish this!  I will streamline the next one I make and probably offer a couple different sizes.
Now that I've written this new post, the picture of the Orange tree in my yard will move lower! I'd better insert a picture of the pretty pink roses next to the orange & lemon trees.

I know this could be a little more focused but aren't they pretty? Especially for mid Feb.

Until next time,

Looks like another great day today!  I've been busy figuring out (still) all of the internet stuff.  I hate to think I'm a slow learner, but I do know that my talents are really in the sewing! Although It's always good to challenge my brain every now and then.
So I've got Valentine's Day on the brain.  Check out this cute fabric I found the other day.

I've started an Apron and should have it posted on my site by tonight.  I'm lining it with an off white Linen. I'll need to figure out something foofy to put on the pocket, after all, it's for Valentine's Day!  YaY !
I finished a narrow scarf.  The yarn is darker, with blues and browns.  Before I post to my shop, I'm going to add a little surprise to it. Hopefully it will turn out.  The picture in my head is totally awesome. Let's see if I can duplicate that.  Here's a preliminary picture:

It seemed to take forever to make this one but maybe because I limited knitting time to car rides and waiting rooms.
My next project won't take as long.  I LOVE the yarn.  Besides being so bright and rather colorful, it's thick and feels like a chenille, Very warm and cozy. Will be hard to sell. Only because when it's finished, I'll want to keep it for myself.

Here is a picture of the newest knitting project:

Sooo  soft and sure to be warm!

I can't seem to stay away from children's clothing clothing,  I think because I can usually finish a project in a day or less. So last night, I cut out a bib, out of Valentine print.  It's a cotton knit, nice and soft.  I think I will make the reverse side in terry cloth.  I remember how little one's need absorbent items around them when eating.  This bib won't catch the projectile stuff but will certainly serve well in the dribble department!

That's all for now.  Happy sewing to you!  I'm always open to hearing what project you are working on.  Please leave me comments, I love reading them.
Until next time, stay sparkling.

The Weekend Again

It's the weekend again!  Where does the time go?  Believe it or not, I've been meaning to write each night but things kept getting in the way.  One of those things was my broken molar. Yikes that was a big bummer, Must have been cracked and I didn't know it, so when I took a bite of that pizza (by the way, it wasn't stale), it broke away. No pain.  I just put it in my pocket.  Luckily, I have the most awesome dentist and now I'm as good as new!!

I'm so excited that Valentine's Day is coming up.  My FAV "holiday".  I just love all the pink and red and little cherubs and lace and hearts everywhere!  I love to decorate (just a bit) inside the house.  Hopefully I can locate everything in the garage. It appears that some re-organizing has been going on out there, and I'm sure it looks organized to the person organizing it, but to me, not so much.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I've been busy thinking of things to create for my ETSY shop.  Right now I'm cutting out a bazillion fabric hearts, mostly red and pink, to sew together and stuff with batting. My plan is to string them together to make a garland for hanging.....But not without embellishments first!  It's taking lots longer than I planned.  Sometimes those little things that look so simple can take up the most time. In my mind it looks totally adorable though.

More pics are coming.  I just recently uploaded little jammie pants, made from soft & cozy fleece. They are multi-colored stars and really bright.  Not a lot of sleeping will be going on!  Oh, and to add to it, I just finished the adult version. Once I get the pictures taken, I'll be able to upload that as well.  I'm also just about finished with a scarf I knitted earlier this week.  I used a mixed brown and blue textured yarn.  In just a few days I've become attached to it and hopefully won't have second thoughts on selling it !


I thought of some great tips to share but now I'm blank!  (to those that know me, No Comments ).. maybe the current time is to blame?  Next post for sure  :-)
Until next time, stay  *sparkly*
~  Tammy