25 Day of Chrismas Days 10, 11 & 12

Some days I wish I could just fill my life with cute things that make me smile. Like today I put this picture of my baby kitty on my desktop at work.

So now every time I unearth my desktop I am greeted by her cute little face and I smile.

I think it is good to surround yourself with things that bring you joy. Whether that be a good friend or an impossibly cute necklace it is good to find happiness surrounding you.

Today I wanted to share with you a few items that I am sure would bring on the smiles if they were around me.
EM&Sprout is a great little etsy shop filled with cute. I am absolutely in love with there amazing maryjanes dressed up as cute little creatures. I think my favorite would have to be the little chihuahua shoe.

I can just imagine my feet skipping down the street (because skipping is the only way to travel in something this cute) in these bringing happiness to the world.

Next on my smile list is an amazing necklace from yellowgoat. This fly away with me necklace is so dreamy.

yellowgoat's entire etsy shop is filled with amazing imaginative items that I am sure will make anyone happy.

I have just one more item on my smile list today. Look at this amazing ladybug rug from peanutbutterdynamite

Oh so cute! I wish I could just cover my floors in all of their rug creatures.

25 Days of Christmas make up (again) days 7, 8 and 9

Once again life has gotten in the way of my blogging intentions. Not only have a been busy with Renegade preparations but I also had my wisdom teeth pulled last week (which kinda just stopped all productivity) and had a birthday on Sunday. I have been quite busy and sadly my 25 Days of Christmas just didn't work out as I had hoped.

I am back today though I am excited to share with you 3 new crafters with some super awesome items.

One thing that I am truly missing this year is a super awesome Christmas baking fest. With the way things are going I am afraid that I am going to have to miss out on it completely but that doesn't stop me from pining after some amazing baking gear.

The first item on my list of baking is this amazingly cute set of measuring spoons from beehivekitchenware

I just think they are the cutest things and I would love to see them hanging in my kitchen.

When it comes to my personal life and items I am very unorganized. Professionally I am able to keep it together and be organized. But when I go home I am a mess. I rarely put away my clothes and if there is paperwork I need I usually have no idea where it is. My recipe collection is no exception. My current method of recipe storage is shoving them into the back of my most used recipe book. When I am ready to back something I pull out this book and sort though about 50 recipes I have crammed into this poor book.

A few months back I actually bought an adorable vintage recipe card box but I haven't taken the next step of buying recipe cards. That is why I need these recipe cards from boygirlparty

I am pretty sure if I did have them my recipe collection would be the most organized recipe collection ever.

The next on my list of baking essentials comes from CupcakeSocial. Let me just tell you now that I love this shop just look at this

How could you not want to make cupcakes in liners like this? An even better question would be how couple you not want to eat cupcakes in lines like these? But they don't just have amazing cupcake liners they also have the sweetest cupcake toppers and oh my goodness cookie cutters.

I will attempt to make up for the rest of the days I have missed but I can't make any promises.

Renegade!

Renegade is just days away and I am currently working myself into a frenzy of productivity. I was taken out of the game for a few days but I am back now and ready to sew. Now if I could just stop adding things to my to do list that do nothing but cause me more stress.

25 Days of Christmas make up Days 4, 5 and 6

Ok I now feel like a huge failure. I didn’t just miss one or two days of my holiday cheer inducing 25 days of Christmas I missed three whole days. Perhaps the lack of holiday cheer is the reason for the funk I have been in. Well probably not but perhaps it is a contributing factor. Well because I am a such a super slacker I will use today as make up day and give you a whole collection of goodies that are sure to bring you warm and fuzzy feelings.

The days have gotten cold here in the bay and the nights are even colder. So I am on a constant search to find thing to warm me on me treks to the office and playtime at the park.

The first thing on me list today is a beautiful versatile set of arm warmers from xmittens on etsy

I don't know about you but I am always in the market for a pair of arm warmers (obviously, this is the second time I have featured them in my 25 days of Christmas) but these ones are extra awesome because of their versatility. They are long so if you are hooked on three quarter length jackets and cardigans as I am you can just slip on these bad boys and still get the full coverage warmth you need on winter days. My other reason for needing a pair of these is for tattoo coverage. I am an inked up girl that works in an office where things like that aren't really supposed to show. I think these would be a nice alternative to the long sleeved cardigans that have become my daily uniform.

Next up for today is lizarietz. This shop is amazing and one I been drooling over for way too long. lizarietz makes the most beautiful and amazing cloche hats I have seen. If you look at this shop and don't want at least five of these things well, I don't know if I can be your friend. Here is my favorite one today

I have been telling myself for the past 2 years that I am going to buy one. Why I don't have one is beyond me.

Over the past couple of months I have found a lot of comfort in hoodies. They have become something of a security blanket for me. If I am able to I am wearing one of my many hoodies.
I recently discovered an etsy shop blackmarketbaby that make this amazing asymmetrical hoodie

I am just in love with the over sized hood and cut and construction just looks amazing.

Alrighty, that is all I have for now I will be back later on this evening with another item for day 7 of my 25 days of Christmas.

My cute little fatty

Today I decided to move Eleanor's bed from Frank's office where she never uses it to the sewing room where she spends most of her time. I think she is happy with the change. She followed me up the stairs and immediately crawled into bed and went to sleep.

Looking at her sleeping I am amazed at how she has grown from a little peanut of a kitten to a giant fatty cat in just a few months.

25 Days of Christmas Day 3

I am having a rough day today so, I decided for my third day of 25 days of Christmas I wanted to feature a product that could make me laugh out loud. After abusing the Pounce feature on etsy I finally got a good giggle out of this item from HipChickCrochet

Oh my goodness that is one of the cutest most adorable things I have ever seen. In addition to elf ears you can also decorate your little one with reindeer antlers or cute little mouse ears. Everyone of these sweet little hats makes me wish my little Miles didn't yank off every hat I put on his head.

Stressed

This is what happened when I realized that Renegade is about 2 weeks away leaving me with only 16 days to prepare.

And here is a completely unnecessary picture of my cat in a box.

25 days of Christmas day 2

I am a sucker for pockets. Pockets are always a good thing. They give you a place to store all your daily essentials like you ipod or cellphone maybe even some lip gloss. Whenever I happen to dress myself in an outfit without pockets I feel as the world has been turned upside down. Extra pockets are always welcome as far as I am concerned. That is why for day 2 I would like to talk about PollyDanger. I am pretty sure that PollyDanger is an etsy shop that prides its self in making all that is handy. Of instance these amazing aprons.

I am pretty sure I need an apron. Just look at all those pockets. It is oh so handy. Just imagine all the things you can stick those pockets ready for you to grab whenever you may need them.
But don't you start thinking the handiness ends with this lovely pocket apron PollyDanger also has these super awesome Mini Fix Kits

and coupon organizers! Oh my Oh my.

All the super handy options just amaze me.

25 Days of Christams Day 1

I am finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit this year. Yes I know it is only December 1st but usually I by November 30th I have fetched the Christmas boxes from storage and had Christmas music ringing in my ears since Thanksgiving. This year though for obvious reasons I would prefer to just cancel Christmas all together. But, I am afraid that Christmas just isn’t something you can or should hide from especially if you have little one at home. I would feel tremendous guilt if I didn’t at least attempt to give him the Christmas he deserves.

So, in an attempt to brighten my spirits and maybe yours I have decided to do my own little 25 days of Christmas. Every day from now until Christmas day I will post some crafty finds that I wouldn’t mind having under my tree this year.

For my first day of Christmas I would like to feature my craft crush Giant Dwarf. I have been in love and ever so slightly obsessed with Giant Dwarf's etsy shop for a while now. I have one of her fascinators in purple that I absolutely love and get complimented on every time I wear it. I would love to have one in every color if my finances would allow. In addition to her beautiful fascinators she also makes sweet little hats and fingerless gloves that I have been drooling over for weeks.



I am sure you all agree with me on the greatness of Gaint Dwarf. Now you should come back tomorrow for more greatness.

Super yummy sweet potatoes

Thanksgiving is just a couple days away so I thought I would share a little something with you all. If you don’t know already you should know that I make some of the most awesome sweet potatoes ever. If you usually are opposed to sweet potatoes I can almost guarantee that you will love mine. So I decided I would share my “recipe” with you so you can spread the goodness around. Now I am going to warn you here I put recipe in quotations back there because I have never worked from a written recipe I usually just throw everything together and then keep adding more till it tastes right. So with this it is best not to be a rigid recipe follower. Ok, now that the warning is out of the way lets get started.

Ingredients:
3-4 sweet potatoes (I prefer white sweet potatoes but it doesn’t really matter which you get
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup(1 stick) sliced butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla (I love vanilla so I always twice as much as I should)
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans or cashews
About ½ a bag of marshmallows (These are optional but super awesome)


And here we go…
- Cut off the end bits and discard. Chop up sweet potatoes (don’t peel) so they fit in a large pot.
-Cover potatoes with water and boil until they are soft. You should be able to easily slide a fork in the middle if they are done.
- Drain water and set potatoes aside to cool
-Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to touch you can go ahead and pull the skin off. It should easily pull off.
- In a large mixing bowl mash the sweet potatoes adding the eggs milk and butter.
- Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until potatoes are smooth.
At this point you should take a little taste and see what you think. I usually add a little more sugar, cinnamon and vanilla I like my sweet potatoes to taste like candy.
- Once you are good with the flavor transfer your sweet potatoes into a 13 x 9 buttered baking dish. Smooth them out and sprinkle top with brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts.
- Cover pan with foil and bake for about 35 minutes at 350 (I usually just throw them in with the turkey so the temp doesn’t need to be exact)
- After about 35 minutes remove foil and bake another 15 minutes

At this point you could be done it you want or you could go super crazy and the marshmallows. If you are super crazy like me cover the top of the potatoes with marshmallows and put them back in the oven until they are lightly browned (about 5 minutes).

Now you are done and it is time to enjoy your super yummy sweet potatoes.
My brother in-law describes these as a delicious, cinnamony, vanillay sweet potato pudding

Enjoy!

MmmmMMMmm Cinnamon Rolls

A couple months ago found this recipe online for Cinnamon Rolls . I saved the link to my favorites and every so often I go back and drool over the oh so delicious looking pictures. I decided I should make them this weekend and make half for us here at the house and take the other half south with me to share with the family for Thanksgiving.

So, I woke up this morning prepared for some intense baking of cinnamon rolls and boy was it intense. I think I got started before 8 am and they were not ready to serve until after noon. But we all agreed it was worth the wait.

There were just a couple changes that I made
- I added delicious pecans
- I backed them at 375 for 20 minutes
- I was fresh out of maple extract for the frosting so I just used maple syrup

Also, next time I think I will only use 1 cup of butter instead of 1 1/2 cups. It just made a buttery sugary mess all over my counter. While some may not me opposed to such messes it was no fun to clean up.

Unloved vintage place mats finally find a new life

Months and months ago while out thrift shopping I came across a set of beautiful doily place mats. I didn’t really have a purpose for them. I am not really the type to use place mats I don’t even think I had an actual dinning room table but I bought them. Needless to say the darn things sat a around for quite a while. They hid from view tucked under piles of other goodies I was attempting to hide. I think at one point I even tried to pawn off on my sister who refused them due to her already too large collection of vintage linens.

Finally after months of not knowing what to do with these stinking place mats and coming too close to the point of disliking them I was hit with inspiration. I knew someday they would make themselves useful. Here is what those silly place mats finally decided to be.

Super Duper Man Wallets

Since I am married to a man I like to think that I know a little something about what a man looks for in a wallet. First of all men aren't interested in frilly things like appliqued flowers on their wallets. Some of us might think the lack of floral applique a little boring but men simply don't need it. They prefer manly things like race cars, trains and trucks.

Second velcro change pockets are not necessary. Men like to dump all their change into their pant pocket. I think the sound of it jingling around in there makes them feel super manly.

Last of all most men look for something that is stream line. Things like buttons get in the way while they are forcing their wallets in and out of their back pocket.

With all of these things in mind I am please to introduce to you Petals' Metro Male Wallet!

So Many Things To Do

I have found myself unable to sew since Wednesday. So what does a girl do when she can't bear to sequester herself in her sewing room without human contact (aside from Harry Potter of course)? She lugs her many piles of fabric into the living room and cuts out wallets and makes and enormous mess while enjoying brain rotting cable television with her husband.

That right there is 2 bags, 6 pouches, 40 wallets (oh my!), and some pins waiting to be made

Owls

Back in May when I did Bazaar Bizarre several people asked me if my stuffed owls were pouches.

I decided to take the inquiry as a suggestion and made a little owl pouch prototype and I love him!



He turned out so good I decided to make more. So, I spent some time yesterday making an actual pattern and cutting out six more owl pouches to sew.

Things to do today:

- Get logo ready for Renegade
- Take pictures of new stuff
- List new items on etsy
- Sew, sew, sew
- Finger paint with Miles
- Wash fold and put away laundry
- Cut more owl pouches and wallets
- Keep my sanity...


We'll see how this goes

Me and my sewing room

When you are a crafter living a small apartment you always dream of having an actual workspace. Maybe you are even so bold as to bream about a craft room. Oh my! A few months ago we were able to move into a house that has the perfect amount of space for all of our needs. This means that I finally have my very own sewing room. I have a room where I can keep everything in one place in a somewhat organized fashion.

My sewing room is the most perfect room in the whole house. It is actually a sunroom so it has two huge windows that overlook the fine city of Oakland and the freeway.

Some nights I like to sit in there with lights off and just watch the city lights and let me just tell you the sunsets I have seen from my little sewing are amazing.
But more important than anything else I finally have a place of my own to work in. I am not shoved into a corner a with my fabric and supplies hidding in every imaginable nook and cranny. I now have a space where I feel comfortable doing what I love to do and creating.

First show of the season

The Holiday season is upon us and while I dread this for many personal reasons I have decided to put all of my energy in doing shows and getting enough wallets and bags stock piled to get me through the season. My first show of the season was Union Design Festival which happened just about two weeks ago now. Despite the cold weather and the thin trickle of customers good times were had. This year I shared my booth with the lovely Michelle of Atomic Sweets and we were kept company by the beautiful Caitlin of Blue Ballad Design

I can't decide what I am doing here. I am either packing heat or stealing my own product.
Either way I am looking shady

Michelle!
Caitlin getting knitty at my table