Under the tree...

I won't lie to you and claim that I only gave and received handmade gifts, 'cause my nose would grow like Pinocchio's. With items like Wii and Nintendo DS games on some people's lists, it's nearly impossible to stick to a purely Handmade Pledge. But I did do a heck of a lot more sewing this year than any prior year, so I'm pretty proud of myself (and exhausted!) Here are just a few things that appeared under the Christmas tree...

I made Andalucia kitchen sets for each family. I embellished some pre-purchased towels with my 1.5" wide ribbon and then added either a pot holder or an oven mitt to each set.

My mom & dad got the Mod Blooms Fire set and my sister, Caty and hubby, Jason, got the Birdie Damask set:







My brother-in-law, Sean and wife, Alicia, got the Mod Blooms Earth set:



And my father-in-law, Jim, got the Moorish Tile set. I made him a pot holder instead of an oven mitt (cause I was told guys like pot holders better... something about big hands...)



I made an appliqued name pillow for my niece, Asja. Her room in FL is decorated in an "Under The Sea" theme -- lots of blues, greens & aquas with a touch of Nemo. So this should fit right in:



I made another appliqued name pillow for Sophie. Her room is pink, pink, pink with a Princess theme:



And since Sydney already has a name pillow, I made her a giraffe stuffie based on a pattern from Melly & Me (I met these ladies at Quilt Market this past October and they were such a delight! I couldn't wait to actually make up one of their cutie creatures!)



I just adore how she turned out! I used Tiny Dots Petal for her main body and Tiny Dots Earth for her hoofs and horns.



My dad received a handmade leather-bound sketchbook I purchased on Etsy from this seller. What great customer service -- he shipped it out the same day! Then I went to Heather's parents shop to get a plaque with his last name put on the front flap. Papi loved it!!!



Even Jon got bit by the handmade bug this year and decided at the last minute to make a Beer Turkey! Yep, you read it correctly. His friend, Todd, pointed him to this recipe using Hennepin beer and a few spices that I was not too keen on... especially the rosemary! I don't know about you, but I cannot stand the smell or taste of rosemary, so I was a tad nervous about this. But, to my utter surprise, the turkey turned out AMAZING! I could not taste the rosemary at all and it was so juicy and tasty I had seconds & thirds... and so did everyone else!



Christmas was great! And the best part of all, as usual, was watching the kids as they opened their gifts, jumping around so much I could barely get a good picture! What a blessing that is!



Sophie was beside herself with her new princess pillow... "A perfect match!" she said.



But by far my most favorite memory of this day was watching Sydney running around the house while clutching her new giraffe -- which she quickly named Pinkie -- and screaming "This is the best gift EVER!!!" WOW, that in itself made all the sleepless nights, back pains and headaches from the past couple of weeks totally worth it.



I'm happy to report that my family stuck to my wishes for a handmade Christmas too. I set up a Wishpot list a couple of weeks before Christmas and it contained lots of items I had *hearted* on Etsy, like handmade jewelry and knitted goodies, which are now in my possession... YAY! I even got a gorgeous handmade necklace from my dear friend, Daria, which brought me tears of joy. I'll share all these soon! :)

Oh, and I can't end this post without mentioning a little surprise I received in the mail a couple of days before Christmas. This Andalucia camera strap and fabric-covered journal came from Gabi at My Funky Camera. I have to say, my camera and I are feeling mighty spoiled these days. Thanks, Gabi!



Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas! off to veg out some more...

A new bag and a new do

I'm carrying a new Marieliz original on my shoulder as of yesterday! Not that my old one wasn't good enough anymore, cause it so is! But with all the hand-beading and special details, I thought my Birdie Damask purse was better suited for special occasions. My new ModBlooms purse will be my everyday bag... big enough to carry all my junk (and those of you who know me well know what I mean!) but still stylish enough to turn heads. Get your own here.



I'm also sporting a new do as of this morning. I cut off all my red tips, which were not even red anymore but some kind of yucky, faded, in-between shade, and made it more of a blunt cut. No layers this time... long and straight in the front and a tad shorter in the back. Sorry about the blurry picture... best I could do in a bathroom mirror with terrible lighting...



If you're wondering who's jewelry I'm wearing, my necklace was custom-made by Erin of The Vintage Pearl using Andalucia fabric scraps and my ring was also custom-made by Ash of In Full Bloom.

Support Indie artists. Buy handmade!

Market Prep, Part 3.
Hanging out on THE GOOD side for a change...

I decided to give my fingers, eyes and ever-diminishing sanity a break and work on a fun project that definitely falls on THE GOOD category... another patchwork pillow, this time showcasing the softer shades of Andalucia.



In the "Petal" colorway, you will find soft pinks, flirty fuschias, citrusy greens and crisp whites. Bright oranges and chocolate browns make cameo appearances every now & then too, so they can play well with the deeper shades of the collection.



I got news yesterday that the sample yardage should be arriving late next week so I got brave again and put scissors to my strike-offs. You may notice that the patchwork in this pillow is not perfectly matched, which, believe me, bothers me more than it will ever bother you. But the pieces I had left of some fabrics were so tiny that I couldn't even get a perfect 4" square out of them, so I had to borrow space from others...



I love how well this medium pink baby-wale cord plays with the quilting cottons... so soft to the touch. I can totally see a girlie nursery decorated in these colors/prints.



Candy, my Papin Pullip doll, even came out to play. She thinks this pillow is hers but she may have to fight Sophie, the "Queen of Pink," for it.



I'm thinking Candy may need a new outfit made to match the rest of this décor, but I'm not good with sewing teeny-tiny things. Anyone out there up to the challenge? I'd love to bring her along with me to Market. She is excellent company... hardly ever disagrees! ;)



Finally I wanted to share a Pumpkin Fair find from this weekend. Yes, we went to a Pumpkin Fair but it was so rainy and muddy and yucky outside that I didn't dare bring my SLR with me so there are no good pictures to share, but something good did come out of our little outing. I came across a local artisan mother & daughter team selling these adorable bracelets made out of old typewriter keys... how cool is this?! I fell in love with this one immediately and clutched it close so no one would swipe it from me.





They were also selling these clever photo holders made from vintage cameras. One of these days I will share with you my extensive collection of vintage cameras. I actually had one just like this one already but was surprised to see this one come with the original flash bulb (my other one has no bulb).



Me thinks my new Andalucia Moo cards (should be here soon!) will look smashing displayed on this old Kodak Duaflex II.