JCasa and her kidlet

Earlier this week I received my winnings from JCasa and I have to admit I was super excited. For whatever reason I didn't realize that I would actually have to sew this gem, so taking it out of the envelope is about as far as I got... for now.

at first i was like, "oh it's just wrapped up nicely for shipping." and then i saw the pin.


i can do this. i begin sewing lessons on tuesday, so this will be the first project i will do on my own. until then... a few more photos of the unfinished project. i love the fabric she chose.





i'm really excited to start my sewing lessons. i've wanted a sewing machine for so long- i always seem to have ideas for clothing pieces but no means to an end. it never seemed logical to "commission" pieces that i could easily learn how to make myself. i'm even more excited to learn how to sew so that i can make clothes for charlotte. you always hear people talk about how they had learned to sew from their mother/grandmother that had sewn clothes for them when they were little. to me, it's a great skill to have in your pocket. not only will i be able to now create my own clothing pieces, but i can also begin to incorporate sewing into my stationery. i've seen this done many different ways (even designed pieces for someone else to sew), but i have ideas that i think would really be interesting mixes of the two.

hopefully after the weekend i'll have some more exciting news to share! until then- have a great long weekend!

Mini favorites

I haven't had a lot of time to really post something of substance- I'm so sorry! For now, here's a little mini of some of the items on my favorites list!

Apple Orchard Overalls GIVEAWAY !

Apple Orchard Overalls GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

how amazingly adorable is this?! my heart is melting...

My Goodies!

I forgot to show you my goodies!


i love how they turned out! now place some orders so i can ship these off for you to enjoy and i can get new goodies to send out!

Featured

check me out. I'm featured over on the EtsyGreetings blog. Come September, this blog will have a whole new look... and I'm happy to be a contributor! The lovely Lisa of PinkyCreations and I have headed up the "Articles" that will be written by members- 2 per week. Leave me a comment letting me know what you'd like to read about over there!

I Win!

Oh I'm so excited to win a little "kidlet" by jchandmade! lately i've had a huge urge to learn how to sew, but i'm having a hard time finding somewhere around here that offers lessons. and even though i keep dropping VERY STRONG HINTS that i want, would love and cherish a sewing machine... it's not sinking in with SOMEONE. *ahem* oh well. one of these days i'll have some spare cash and i'll just go do it myself and learn by trial and error.

saturday nite i cut out the pieces to make this gratitude wrap. i had some leftover scrap fabric that my aunt used to make the decking of nugget's cribskirt, so i just went to town. i didn't get a chance to get the needle and thread to try my skills at hand-sewing (mind you, i don't know how to do this, either. i was going to guess and hope it didn't fall apart.) i was going to get the thread out last nite, but i put her down for a nap at 6:30 and i was just waiting for her to wake up, but that tired little munchkin slept until 6:30 this morning!


i'll leave you with her first ever piano recital from sunday...

Never thought this would happen!

I stumbled into a treasury!



i named it "brown chicken brown cow" (if you watch flipping out, you'll recognize the saying). just click on the image to go see it in person!

This missing piece...

i think i can now move forward... yay! well, that is as soon as i finish the line.

Top 10 List

(click to make it bigger)

1. how could you not LOVE to work in this space. i want one. next house.

2. my favorite drawing utensils. i just recently started using the berol verithin to sketch out vague ideas. the blue is light enough to make a stroke and refine without committing the first few times. i tend to have a heavy hand when i draw, so the faintness of stroke this pencil creates is perfect for lead hands like me. and i will always love a good sharpie.

3. i have wanted this bag for years. years i tell you.

4. i found fontifier about 5 years ago (or at least a similar company if it wasn't them) and LOVED this idea of turning your handwriting into a font. how fun would that be to truly personalized your correspondence pieces! just fill out the form, send it in and they do the rest.

5. we do not have the luxery of having a home office. right now, all of our office goods reside in the spare bedroom and in a small desk in our dining room. space becomes an issue when you have a color laser printer. until you buy this bad boy. now my color printer has a clean, happy home.

6. for $20 i'll buy one for all my friends this christmas. ahhh... the mix tape USB stick. the modern way to show your affections with old school flair.

7. another way for an architect and a designer to live harmoniously and conflict-free. as of right now, we own the pantone dishes as our everyday dishes and i'm sure i'll add the floorplan dishes soon.

8. i think when eating french fries out of a porcelain french fry pouch, it's only proper to dip them in fancy ketchup. and i don't think the calories count because they're oh so fancy.

9. i've always wanted one of these antique pedestal mailboxes. nothing like getting a lovely five dot design greeting card in one of these!

10. color color color color color color color color color color color color

This is what i dream of...

OrangeBeautiful sums it up best...

this was my sneaky way of bookmarking the page so i had the links! i think it's high time i made my own "top 10 list" of stuff i love to pieces

Hey! Look at me!

I'm in a treasury! :-)

Blog mention

Casey mentioned my sweet pea baby announcements on her blog! Thanks, Casey!

Fresh Look

at the 2009 desk calendar

i'm super pumped because the thing took me over a year to create! i had to be very careful to match the visuals with the season without looking too "planned" (this could also be considered a sneak peek because all of these designs started out as single cards!) it will be printed on a natural linen to give it an antiqued feel and keep the eye from being blinded by white. i wanted the colors and designs to speak for themselves and pop, but not overwhelm. february and december are a little awkward to me, but i don't know... they work with the style and no sense in spending another year with my OCD tendencies!

they'll be up in the shop soon- i have to test the prints to make sure the colors work out and then figure out a few other things... hopefully by the middle of the month!

Photo session

so, i spent 4 hours yesterday retaking every photo i took sunday. the lighting is horrid at my house and i had the day off, so nugget and i (well, she's beginning to be more of a chicken patty now- the way she's growing!) headed up to my parents house where one entire side of the house is nothing but windows. you can hear the choirs sing when the sun comes thru and you have a camera and product in hand. lucky for me, my parents WANT me to come up (amazing how they couldn't wait for me to move out and now they can't wait for me to come back) and they're more than happy to keep an eye on Charlotte while i do what i need to do. granted, nothing around the house got done and i'm contemplating a few major movings of furniture, so i need to get the house in a reasonable order before i destroy it again... because chances are we'll get halfway thru moving stuff around and stop.

so here are a few of the items i posted monday re-shot yesterday. i just think they look so much better.



i've gotten a great response on this set of notecards. wish i would have bought more of the lemon envelopes now when they were on clearance- anyone know where to find them? sorbet lemon A2... did they discontinue that color?!



i love my little sheep. they'll look fabulous once i get some blue envelopes to match. i can't wait to try them out letterpressed!

i have a slew of photos to color correct, so back to that! keep checking the shop to see new items. i should be listing some more today!

Open for business

Here are a few designs that are being offered in my shop today!





i'll be adding new designs all week, so keep checking! i have some good stuff up my sleeve. ;-)

And the winner is...

the winners of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival are...

robynsonlineworld
and
noreen!

i held a secret drawing on wednesday and the winner of that prize was
my preppy purse!

if your name was mentioned, i have sent you an email! if i have not heard from you by wednesday, August 6th, a new winner will be chosen

Thanks to all that have entered. Please check back to be notified of sales, coupons and more giveaways!

thanks so much!