Fantastic February

Hey Everyone!

I hope you're enjoying the weekend. I sure am. I've spent a lot of time exploring other blogs and learning new tricks and tips!
Yesterday I made an "ice cream cozy" for one of my new daughters. She loves her ice cream and likes to eat it from those individual containers.The problem is, they freeze your hands! I took a Starbucks cardboard sleeve I had on hand,opened it up and used that as a guide for the basic shape and curve.  I actually needed my pattern to be larger than the standard coffee cup holder.  I used a Michael Miller fabric for the outside and pink flannel for the inside. I think it turned out cute.

Ice Cream Cozy, Secured with large button and hair elastic

A better view of closure

It was fun to make.... and easy. My first attempt was a quilted version.  The only problem I ran into was thickness {if I sewed right sides together and then turned}. My other option was to use seam binding and for the most part, I avoid at all costs. It looks a little wonky only because our Lab Tobie, got a hold of the ice cream container {my sample!} and started to tear it up.  The actual cozy is fine but the picture looks lop-sided!
This was a really quick project and I'll probably make one for my son out of a super hero fabric. I'm sure he'll like that.

My son in New York is finally experiencing a NY winter. Last year he brought California with him and it hardly snowed.  Here's a few pictures he sent me via text yesterday...

Standing outside his front door. Midtown, NY

His cute girlfriend being silly. Look at the snow whip around!

His view in the morning. 3rd floor apartment.

Of course to me, this does not look like a good time. I shut down when the temperature dips into the low 50's. I just don't tolerate extreme temperatures {thin blood? midlife? cranky?} I've seen FB photos of friends on the East coast- they open their front door only to be greeted with a wall of snow. They can't exit until they get the shovel! That is crazy.

On a sunnier note, we took a stroll to the Harbor last week. Dana Point Harbor. It was such a nice afternoon. Perfect weather and lots of entertainment from the pelicans.  I've got a video of these crazy birds but not sure if I can load it.  As we stood at the rail, they would sit on a boat and wait... all of a sudden they'd take off in the air, do a circle and just drop into the water to get the fish! It was hilarious. Many times it looked as if they were flying straight at us, only to dive down with a plop directly in front, into the shallow water. Here's a few pictures.

Dana Point Harbor~Stroll Around The Harbor

Crazy Pelicans, Waiting for the perfect moment

Snack Time

Pelicans

Hope you enjoyed my pictures! Lot's more activity in the sewing room which I'll talk about in a future post.
Until Next Time,
 
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Hodge-Podge: Valentine Giveaway!!!

Hey Everyone!
I wanted to share a giveaway that I learned about earlier today. Tamie over at Macaroni Mom  is having a Scentsy Valentine Giveaway. Click below to read the EASY directions to enter. You have until Jan. 17th... so what are you waiting for?

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Tamie says:
Click here ---------->      Hodge-Podge: Valentine Giveaway!!!: I am giving away a Scensty surprise!!  Leave me a comment, share this post and you can be the chosen one.  A winner will...



Until Next Time,

Baby,It's Cold Outside!

Hey Everyone!
Is it cold enough for you? We are getting our fair share of cold here in OC.  Maybe my blood is thin but regardless of why, I  have low tolerance for this kind of cold.
Living in So.Southern Calif brings about a feeling of mild weather that we all come to expect.....

Laguna Beach Sunset... {pic taken by Jack!}

According to the news, we are to prepare for a deep chill.  Like 29 degrees! I want to chuckle a little because I know my cousins in Michigan and all you Canadian folks are thinking we should just suck it up. My son is home for the month, working locally instead of in NY. I believe it's warmer in NY right now.  I think most people here do suck it up although the problem is, we don't really have the proper clothing unless Skiing is a big pass time. {I gave that up a decade ago}. This is where "Layering" comes in.
Besides the cold..... everyone is sick! Nothing like being inside a warm coffee shop with a bunch of sneezing, coughing humans. I have a visual of germs festering on door knobs or counters and floating in the air. Ewwww. Not good. Luckily, it's only temporary. Hope you all got your flu shot this season.

Whale Watching Boat spotted in Laguna Beach

One of my Instagram photos above. I snapped this one the other day at lunch. Hope I'm looking when the whales swim by! According to surf-forecast.com, the water is about 52 degrees right now. I'm pretty sure the whales are not happy campers. It might be a while before I see anything swim by.
In my last post, I shared that my youngest brother {and his Bride} are having a baby in July. We are so excited....here's the first blurry ultra sound picture.

My New Niece/Nephew looking like a Tad-Pole.  *Love*

They'll know in a couple weeks if it's a boy or girl.  I'm wondering,does pre-natal care consist of several ultra sounds these days?  I only had one and that was to rule out twins in my first and third pregnancy.  We needed a reason before getting the little blurry picture. I'll have to ask why they had one earlier this week and having a repeat in a few more weeks.
Humm..... 
I can't wait to start sewing little baby things! This is so cool because I'll get my baby fix. I worry that my new daughters can sense my anxiousness to be a Grandma! No pressure or anything. Haha. No, I don't really bug them although the entire world knows I cannot wait for the big moment.
Wouldn't you rather see my grandbaby pics instead of my furbaby pics?

Mia's Mani/Pedi. We got polish all over the place that day.

See? Don't  you agree that I need a little "mini-me" to sew and do fun things with? Everyone loves Spa Sunday at my house.
Here's to less cool weather and a wonderful weekend.

A warm drink for those chilly days!

Until Next Time,
  

Hey Everyone!
Thanks to my friend Laurie at CREATED BY LAURIE, I've learned a new way to discover awesome blogs! It's a "meet and greet" opportunity where other bloggers link their blog to the Host page and everyone visits and follows each other.  Doesn't that sound easy?  It wasn't to me at first.  I had to email Laurie for personal instructions... which ended up sounding just like the original directions.... but you know how it is when it's the first time for something.. you don't want to embarrass yourself right off the bat, so I had to get that extra hand-holding. Laurie is so sweet like that!  I'm happy to say that I was able to do it without additional emails begging for help :-)
If you'd like to join in, Click right here to be directed to Laurie's blog, including complete {easy} directions.  She does this on Sat/Sun/Mon so hurry on over before it's too late!  I think you can do it again next weekend if you miss this one.
I hope your New Year is going along well... all seven days of it! 

Until Next Time,
 

Happy New Year!!

Hey Everyone!
I hope that you all had a safe night celebrating the end of 2012. I can't wait to see what the new year will bring. For our family, for sure another wedding....

Melissa's Ring! They announced their engagement on New Years Eve.

and a new baby... no, not my boys this time but my little brother {who isn't so little anymore!}.

Lil' Bro "modeling" crazy jacket. Another Instagram Moment.

I'm always SO excited for babies. I get to make little clothes and baby quilts. Maybe even a Raggedy Ann or Andy!

Raggedy Andy {minus cap} | made for my little Nephew 2008

Good thing I like hanging out at JoAnn's Fabrics. I see lots of crafting in my near future.

This year might also bring some changes to my shop.  When I started it a little over two years ago, my intent was to have a place to channel my crafting & sewing obsessions while I recovered from surgery. Much to my surprise, I became hooked on Etsy and all the wonderful people I met while learning the "ins and outs" of the site.
When a friend or family member has a birthday, often I'll make something if time permits. I'll usually make duplicates and list in my shop.  While it's good to have variety, I'm thinking I should focus on just a few items that people want and make a variety of those items. Another thought was dog items, mainly coats or cold weather wear. I'm being gently nudged in that direction. Afterall, we do have two rescued Italian Greyhounds that I may have mentioned once or twice to you in the past!! Those sweet girls just love to model the things I make for them!! NOT!  Ohmygosh, they act like they are frozen statues when I put their jammies on. The jammies are different than their usual outer wear because all 4 legs are covered. For some reason, that makes it so they can't move. It's hilarious. {One way to keep them out of our way when company comes over!!} Here's a picture of Abby from last post, wearing her jammies.

Abby, frozen in time. Aka, wearing her Jammies.

Here's another outfit that apparently allows more freedom of movement for my little timid Fur-baby...

Abby, wearing her faux-fur trimed vest style cover up.

You can see above, that Abby's head is held a little higher in second outfit. No restrictions and she can run, jump and leap off tall couches with no issues. That is, as long as nothing gets broke... otherwise there will be issues!

Not too many people make dog clothing.... I know, I know, not too many people make their dogs wear dog clothing. But I do because they are little and unlike me, they hardly have any body fat!  And since So Cal is out to prove there is no such thing as global warming... haha and as long as we continue to dip into lows of 34 degrees, my girls will wear clothes!
Oh, and after the past summer house remodel, we no longer have carpet. For me, as I wander aimlessly through the hot-flash time of my life {that's a whole other story...hormones, ugh} I'm very happy without carpet. Since the girls do not like wearing their socks, this winter they seek out the throw rugs!

It'll be fun to see how things change and evolve as time goes on.  For me, right now the house is quiet so I should sneak off into my sewing room before my opportunity vanishes.
Wishing you and your family a very happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by.

Until Next Time,
 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone ! I wish you and your family a very Merry and Blessed day.

I've been really busy here, like most of you have been. I did make a couple outfits {jammies}for our girls. They are so soft and cozy. These are a bit different than the outfits I usually make for them because these have "legs"... and I'm sure they really appreciate the warmth provided, even though they stand or sit sort of frozen when as soon as the outfit is on.  Those doggies make me laugh.  And you might too, when you see this...

Abby sporting her new jammies.

These were taken right after I snipped the last stray thread. It took me a little longer to make Mia's because I always have to expand her stuff. Gusset Girl is her latest nick-name.
Also new in my shop is a phone holder. I used an easy pattern from a favorite fellow Etsian
 MichellePatterns on Etsy .

These are easy and everyone could use one! I might add a few that aren't so Pink for the males.
One other quick item In My Shop is a drawstring bag.  My plan was to give a gift card a nice presentation when giving.  No pattern was used and at 10x5 inches, it's a tad bit bigger than your average gift card but cute anyway!

I told you I'm pretty obsessed with INSTAGRAM,

You know how it is when the creativity is flowin' and one thing leads to another....I started thinking about adding a ruffle and coordinating contrast, then I thought it would be best to line the bag.   The good thing is that it's totally reusable. It could also be a make up pouch or sunglass case. The possibilities are endless for items that are 5" wide and a little less than 10" long.

One last photo before I go. A partial family picture... we went to Newport Beach, CA two days ago for the annual boat ride with dinner and a perfect view of all the Christmas lights!
All three of my boys, one new daughter and a brother of my other new daughter. We had a great time.

Of course I had to embellish with INSTAGRAM .. i love the cute frames and colors.

Merry Christmas!

Until Next Time,