It's Calling My Name!

I stumbled across The Toy Society (TTS) today, in which volunteers (like you and me!) spread love throughout the streets of the world. Per TTS's blog, "Nothing to it really just a bunch of handmade toys looking for a nice home. What started as a small street art project in Australia is slowly spreading around the world. Should you come across a member of The Toy Society on your travels collect them up and take them home with you!".

The whole concept makes me smile- the thought of handmade toys replacing the dangerous mass-produced toys, the surprise on a child's face, the joy of giving. My December is proving to be a bit hectic, but I'll make sure to carve away some time for TTS...now the question is where should I leave the toy?

One last thing. If you're interested in participating and questioning what kind of toy to make, TTS offers links to a couple of tutorials on their blog (left hand column). I have my eye on the Softy Scottie Dog!

Online Fabric Purchases...

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! Mr. D and I spent the day at my parent's house surrounded by good food, family, friends...we couldn't have asked for a better day! :)


I've been toying with the thought of starting a new adventure, and would love for everyone's input. The new adventure consists of opening an online fabric store, full of bold and vibrant designer prints- the kind of prints that inspire creativity! (I don't know about you, but when I see beautiful fabric I always feel like running home to my sewing machine!) My goal is to provide customers with a user friendly website, solid customer service, excellent prices, and a customer rewards system. When you browse the internet to purchase fabric online, what do you look for?

Photo from www.Trueup.net

The Pioneer Woman!

Have you heard of her? She's witty, updates her blog daily (I wish I was that devoted!), recently released a best selling cook book The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (debuted 10/27/09), and has documented the happenings of her transformation from living/working/going to school in Los Angeles to becoming a cattle rancher's wife (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels- it's better than a romance novel, as it's at true story!).


A copy of her new cook book is headed my way, and since I've been a little more active in the kitchen this week (don't laugh Mr. D!) I would love spotlight some of her recipes upon my trial and error way of cooking.

Orange County Holiday Quilt Shop Hop

Hello faithful readers...it's me again, remember me? :) I'm using the same excuse as I did last Friday- blogger's block (it's the worst!).

I briefly mentioned the Holiday Quilt Shop Hop here, and am back to give the locals more details! Friday, November 20th through Sunday, November 22nd nine Orange County quilts shops (Bear's Quilt Shop, Cozy Cottage Fabrics, Flying Geese Fabric, Fresh Picked Fabrics/Cranberry Quiltworks, Orange Quilt Bee, Quilter's Garden, The Calico House, The Quilt Cupboard, and Timeless Quilts) are participating in the 2nd annual Holiday Quilt Shop Hop in which each shop will be giving away a free pattern and free fat quarter. Get your passport stamped at all nine stores and be eligible to win 45 yards of fabric! In addition, each shop will be giving away a basket worth $100, and a $25 gift certificate.

I'll be participating in the Hop on Sunday with my Mom and Grandma M. (my Dad will also be joining us as it is my Grandma's birthday weekend- how sweet is that!). Perhaps I'll see you there...

Shame On Me!

I know, I know...I've been a really bad blogger this week, and I'm so sorry! I'm blaming it on blogger's block, as it's the worst!

A couple of updates:

• I've been working on a Christmas clutch order this week after work. The fabric is a "collection" of blues, greens, and browns. I hope to be able to deliver the first six clutches on Monday!
• Looks as though Saturday is date night in our house- woo hoo! Perhaps a movie (I vote non-scary...I hope I win!) and dinner- good times!
• I hope to start on my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day project this weekend. I have big ideas and I hope it all works out! :)
• My small group (aka bible study) is having a cookie exchange this year- I'm very excited!
• Lastly, do you read The Vintage Pearl's blog (if not, you really need to check out her jewelry- it's beautiful!)? I'm proud to say that I do, and was tickled pink this morning when I saw my name on her blog! I've heard such great things about the Pioneer Woman's cookbook and I love her story (excuse me for a second...Mr. D- don't get any crazy ideas!). Thank you again Erin!

Craft Swap #2...and I'm Ready for #3!

Saturday's Craft Swap was AMAZING! We started with brunch (yummy!) and then proceeded with the Swap. Have I told you lately how amazingly creative my family and friends are? If not, see for yourselves below!

Craft Swap reveal (doesn't it look like Christmas?)!

A proud and happy Craft Swapper (details of the crafts I received below!).

French memory board by Megan
(Love it- great fabric, beautiful frame, and great details!)

Give Thanks pillow by Debbie
(She painted the leaves on using cookie cutters as guides- so innovative!)

Embroidered hand towels by Robbie (aka Momma)
(So cute that I'm afraid to use them!)

Camera bag by Sherri
(I love the fabrics and am excited to use the bag the next time Mr. D and I go to Disneyland!)

Countdown calendar by Kiara
(One side says 'Days til Christmas' and the other 'December'- so versatile!)

Happy Craft Swapper Megan with the goodies she received.

Happy Craft Swapper Debbie!

Happy Craft Swapper Robbie (aka Momma)!

Happy Craft Swapper Sherri!

Happy Craft Swapper Kiara!

Craft Swap #2 Item- Revealed!

I'm happy to report that we had another successful Craft Swap, and are already talking about meeting again in the Spring! :) I'll post photos and a recap of today's events before the weekend's end, but in the mean time I hope the following photos satisfy your curiosity!

My Craft Swap project were Mod Podge scripture plaques, with verses hand picked for every member of the Swap! I'm so very happy with how the plaques turned out and hope that they are displayed proudly (I know our plaque will be {that is once I get around to making one for our house- isn't that the way it always goes?}).

Megan's (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Debbie's (Isaiah 41:10)

Robbie's {aka Momma's} (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Sherri's (Joshua 1:9)

Kiara's (Jeremiah 29:11)

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A bit off the Craft Swap topic, however in addition I was commissioned to make a Mod Podge scripture plaque by my friend Kara. I love the colors and tone of the plaque, and I must say Kara was a happy customer- woo hoo!


Note to all- I'm thinking about/working on opening an Etsy shop in hopes of offering my Mod Podge scripture plaques to the world (however first things first I have to figure out the shipping issue, as I hate to pay a great deal for shipping and I'm sure my future customers feel the same way!).

Have You Heard the News?

Sew Mama Sew (SMS) is hosting another Giveaway Day- woo hoo! The last Giveaway Day they hosted was in May and my oh my it was great (sadly I didn't participate as I was a newbie blogger and didn't get enough forewarning, however I'm definitely participating in the December event!)! There are so many creative bloggers around the world and with SMS's help it is easy to visit/meet/read about what everyone is up to!

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Now I'm off to figure out what my December 2nd offering to the crafty blogging community should be...

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One last thing- the second meeting of our local Craft Swap is tomorrow morning, followed by a trip to the quilting/sewing show at the LA County Fairgrounds. Stop by Saturday evening for the Craft Swap reveal- I think you'll like what I've been working on! :)

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P.S.- Notice the floating periods in between my paragraphs? For some reason I have not been able to format my posts this week (thus a floating period is required to insure a space between paragraphs). Ugh!

No 'I' in Sewing

I think it's safe to say that I've been a busy sewer since purchasing my first sewing machine in January! I made a handful of projects before creating my 'Handmade By' tag, in which I produced 25 tags in June- as of today I've used 23 of the tags (which means that I have to make more tags before starting any new projects [aka my second Christmas clutch order- an additional 12 clutches!!!]!).

A family friend is coming down this weekend for the Craft Swap (so excited!), she mentioned that she wanted to see the projects that I've been working on which got me thinking- I haven't made (nor kept) anything for myself! (Although that's a-okay with me, as I love to give handmade gifts, that and I did join the blogging world to document my work in hopes of inspiring others!).

My goal for next January (after the crazy holiday season!) is to make something for myself! I'm thinking couch pillows...any other ideas?

Just a couple of pillow styles that caught my eye while browsing Etsy...

joom

TheHomeCentric

ManchesterLane

letterperfectdesigns

rukkola

P.S- Welcome Strictly Simple Style visitors- thank you for stopping by (and I hope you come back!).

Homemade Meal Monday (#10)!

Saturday morning I (and my helpers- thank you Mom and Megan!) will be preparing brunch as part of our Craft Swap festivities! On the menu is Paula Deen's Baked French Toast Casserole (although I haven't yet tried the recipe which makes me a bit nervous, then again with the amount of butter Paula uses in her dishes- I doubt it will be a bust!). :)

Has anyone tried Paula's recipe? If you click on the link above you'll see that there are a whopping 1,277 comments/reviews- crazy! Quite a few of the reviews indicate that the casserole takes much longer than 40 minutes to cook- I'll definitely be on the look out for that!

Saturday's brunch menu will also consist of a quiche, fresh fruit, salad, and pumpkin dessert. What's your favorite brunch item (am I missing a must?)?

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Saturday morning started by participating in a local Quilt Shop Hop in which my mom and I went to two shops and received free Halloween fabric at each (anything to build my fabric stash!). :o) There is a larger Quilt Shop Hop in which we will be participating in on November 21st- it should be a good one (I'll post more details for the locals as the date approaches). November 21st is my Grandma M.'s 84th birthday! She is a quilter and crafter as well, and will be joining my mom and I for the Quilt Shop Hop- I'm looking forward to it!

Back to Saturday's festivities- Halloween 2009 proved to be the year of the cutest jack-o-lantern and Hillbilly (I may be a bit biased, but take a look for yourselves!).





I'll be back tomorrow (daylight savings is really kicking my hiney today!).