My sister's birthday was way back in June, but since we had a few other things going on at the time, a gift for her managed to slip by me. I couldn't leave it that way! So I did something very fun - went on a little Etsy shopping spree!


Earrings from pleasebloom


Necklace from littleput


Cards from Satsuma Press

And of course I had to contribute something of my own, so I finally got around to doing her tea towel tote!



I use mine so much - I took it to England and used it to take snacks and my book to the park, or swing by the market, and if I have a lot of extra things to take to work it is the perfect size. Hopefully she'll enjoy all the little gifts!

Labels: bags, jewelry, sewing

I really love how there are so many people sharing cool things they find online. I get an email regularly from Photojojo with cool photography gadgets, and I really love this latest toy from Animoto.



You just upload your pictures, from a photo site (like flickr) or your computer, and pick your music, and it makes a video for you. No more slideshows! 30 second clips are free, or you can get unlimited for a few bucks. Just thought I'd pass it on to anyone else looking for a neat alternative way to share pictures!

Labels: misc, photography

Since I didn't get a chance to do handmade invitations for my sister's shower (yay, eVite!), my co-host suggested I make a little favor for the guests. I went around and around on what to make because I have bookmarked so many good ideas! I finally chose fabric clip frames I first saw at Two Straight Lines.



After assembly-lining the fabric background, I printed out a little note to put in the frame.



I stacked them up in a cute basket and was ready to go!



These went together really quickly, and everyone seemed to love them!

Labels: sewing

Thank you so much for all the blankie love!! I really am so happy with it. Luckily I don't have to wait too long to find out if my new niece/nephew loves it too.

Sorry for the slight absence! Much shorter than you've put up with in the past, of course. I went down to the Los Angeles area for a few days for my cousin's wedding. It was gorgeous - overlooking the ocean at sunset, perfect weather... They couldn't have asked for a better setting!

The bridesmaids all loved their necklaces. For once it occurred to me to take a picture of the gift recipients!



Otherwise I didn't take very many pictures - I think I photo'd myself out in England!

Labels: jewelry, photography, travel

I finished the baby blanket for my sister's shower just in the nick of time - literally! I was wrapping it and signing the card as they pulled in the driveway. I couldn't be happier with it, though! I wanted to keep it for myself!



I fussy cut sock monkey fabric, and Heather Ross camper vans and gnomes. The overall design was definitely inspired by this quilt at Hillary's.



I saved a little time using the flag trick I saw on Lady Havertine. I sewed the fussy cut pieces to one long white piece before cutting it apart, and strip-pieced the other fabrics before cutting to the right size.



I used fleece on the back for extra cuddliness, of course! And I added some of my favorite books to complete the gift.



I think the mom- and dad-to-be are pleased, and my sister promises she'll try to influence this quilt into "blankie" status!

Labels: quilting, sewing

Wow, it's so good to know I'm not the only one that struggles with what to put up in my house! I just don't want my house to look like I went on a shopping spree at one store and my house could be from their catalog, I want it to be meaningful. I guess what I need to learn more than anything is patience.

We threw a baby shower for my sister today and it went well, I think! My mom let us use her house which was wonderful, since it is beautiful and I didn't have to clean mine. Haha!

We had a good spread of snacks:



The cupcakes on the tower are made with this recipe in lemon from the Cupcake Bakeshop. And they are delicious!

I made tissue flowers from Martha's tutorial that I first saw in blogland somewhere - I feel horrible that I can't remember where!



It was an exhausting but fun day, everything went well and I think everyone had a good time! Of course, now my kitchen looks like this:



So the work is not quite done for the day...

I have a big problem finding things I like to hang on the walls in my house. I finally got fed up with the bare walls and picked out some photos to put up. First I moved this sampler above the piano:



My mom made this many years ago and I love it! Also on the piano is a wedding sampler from a close friend, and the little clay house I made my grandma when I was in preschool - the roof comes off and there's a little couch and chair inside. Where the sampler used to hang I put up an arrangement of travel pictures.



(Seeing this really makes me want to finally paint this room!) I also printed some of the flower photos I took in England for our small bathroom.



(Frames coming soon!) So how do you decide what to hang on your walls? I don't like bare walls but just can't figure out what I'm looking for!

For a few years now (2005 and 2006) I've donated jewelry to our United Way silent auction at work. With everything else going on this year, the deadline snuck up on me!



So not only was I almost late with my donation, I didn't even do a new design! I'm so ashamed.



I do like these, and I'm glad I was able to donate something. I used a little tin I picked up a while ago for the packaging to keep things simple.



Maybe next year I can do something a little fancier!

Labels: jewelry

After making the necklaces for my cousin Megan's wedding, I really wanted to have something for her, too. She had mentioned needing a necklace for the rehearsal dinner, and said her dress is black and cream with red flowers.



The first thing Peter asked when he saw this was if the red stone was supposed to be in the middle. I did it off center on purpose but am having second thoughts.



I do like it. I'll send the pictures to Megan - the bride gets final say in everything for her wedding, after all!

Labels: jewelry