creative little daisy

Gratitude Friday and some pink

A couple of weeks ago I went around the house looking for green things to photograph in honor of St. Patrick's day. Today for no special reason I decided to look for pink. I knew it wouldn't be hard since pink is my favorite color.

I am grateful for today. Grateful that I opened my eyes to a beautiful sunny day. I am grateful that I was able to get out of bed and walk with ease and enjoy my cup of coffee. I am grateful that Mitch took Casey to school and brought home breakfast. I am grateful that I was able to walk out onto my back porch this morning and enjoy watching two squirrels run up and down an oak tree and hear a wood pecker hammering away at another tree. I am so grateful for all that is my life. Sure there are some things I would change but if changing one of the bad things meant also changing any of the good it surely wouldn't be worth it.

What makes me happy this week?

• SPRING and all that it brings (except pollen).
• Having lots of purse orders even if it does make me feel slightly stressed.
• Wool felt. I have never worked with wool felt before.  I just thought felt was that stuff they sold in sheets that the kids used for school projects. I made my first pincushion using the real stuff and have found a new love! I didn't take a picture and now it is off in the mail. Maybe the recipient will take a picture.
• Spray paint. I have listed it before but now that it is warming up I'll be out in the yard with my can of spray paint so stay clear unless you want to be painted. Have you seen some of the colors they make spray paint in these days? I have used sweet pea (pink), aqua, and seaside green this week.
• Having sweet internet friends who do nice things for you for no reason. Like Tanya. She made me the cutest banner with daisies and a little yorkie for my etsy shop. Go check it out. And check out some purses while you're there. (is that a shameless plug or what?) Sorry. Just go check out the banner. You don't even have to scroll down to the purses if you don't want to.
• People getting excited about the pay it forward swap. Join us, please! The more the merrier. If you are interested email me with PIF in the subject line.
• Alyssa is going to be home this weekend and after her finals in May she is moving back home to go to school.
• Casey is doing really well with his guitar lessons and he loves it. Something we can both love for a change!
• And as you can tell from the picture above, pink!

***I have gotten a few questions about the PIF swap so I thought I would answer them here as well

Once we've made the gift can we send it to anyone we like in or out of the blogosphere?

It is up to you who you give the gift to. It would be nice if it is someone you would not ordinarily give a gift to.

Is there a suggested amount to send, large envelope full or anything?

No minimum. Since there will be peple matched up with people from other countries I suggest sending what will fit in a flat rate envelope to keep the cost of shipping down.

If you are reluctant to sign up because you don't know what to make some of the things that have come to my mind are, the little travel tissue holder, flower brooches, little zippered pouches, (there are some good tuts out there for all of these) Some of the things Kelli has done are bunnies like this one, aprons, flower pots, (not a sewing project but maybe you could somehow incorproate spring flowers and sewing??? be creative!), Fabric cards are nice. I received one framed from Beki once and it made my day. Other ideas are welcomed!

Using what you have

Toni at Simple Sparrow challenged us all to use what we have in the month of April. I want to try to join her although I know there are sure to be things I need. So I will only buy something if it is needed to complete an order. No buying just because it is soooo pretty. I wanted to share some examples with you of using what I have when it comes to decorating.

Notice the black chair in the corner. It doesn't really go with the new look of my sewing room but there is nothing wrong with the chair itself. So....

A little pink spray paint and some sand paper to distress the edges. I don't think the distressing shows in this picture but trust me the chair is distressed. If you had been painted as many times as this chair you'd be distressed too. I made a little patchwork cover for the seat.

I also gave this lampshade a new look.

This is the third look for this cheap walmart lamp shade. Notice the lovely collage behind the lamp. Made by the very talented Jackie of Littlest Flower.

Thank you to those of you who have signed on to participate in the pay it forward swap. I hope some of you are just thinking it over before emailing me. The response has been a little slow. Hey, it isn't a contest to see who can sew the best or come up with the best idea. It is about doing a little something unexpected to let someone else know they are cared about. It is about spreading some kindness and maybe making some new friends in the process. Come on, join us!! I promise it will be fun!

Pay It Forward/Random Acts of Kindness Swap

I posted about kindness here . I have been trying to think of a way to include lots of people in practicing random acts of kindness or as Kelli calls them calculated acts of kindness. Here's what I have come up with. A pay it forward (PIF) swap. This could also tie in with this challenge. The idea would be to swap something you have in your stash with a partner and they use what you send to make a gift and give it away. Preferably the gift will be for someone you wouldn't ordinarily be giving a gift to. That way it is just a random act of kindness. You can attach a tag that explains why you are giving the gift and ask them to in turn do something kind for someone else. It can be anonymous or not, it's up to you. Just take a picture and email it to me before giving it so we can see what pretty creative thing you come up with to make with materials from someone else's stash. You can add to the materials you receive if you need to with something from your own stash. You can make one gift or several little gifts. I am best at sewing and probably wouldn't be able to create as nice a gift if I swapped with a knitter or someone who does paper art. So I guess if you are interested in the swap, when you sign up also let me know the medium you prefer to work with and I will pair you up with an appropriate partner. There is a link to my email in the right hand column. If you want to join in the PIF swap send me an email with PIF in the subject line. Include your name and address and the medium you prefer. I guess I better set a deadline for signing up. How about next monday. April 3rd.

Hey! Who's chair is that anyway?

This is supposed to be my chair in my room! This is what I find every time I come in here to sit in my chair. Do you like the pillow I made last night? Maggie seems to!

A question about international shipping

I am getting ready to ship a couple of purses to Canada and have had a request from the UK. I have never shipped anything outside the US and don't know the most economical way. I checked at my local post office but didn't have the exact address at the time and the estimate he gave me was very different from what I got on the USPS web site. Fed ex will cost  nearly 20 dollars to ship a 1.5 pound package to Canada. I know there must be cheaper options. How do you guys ship to the UK and Canada and any ideas about what it will cost to ship a purse?

Gratitude Friday

There just aren't enough hours in a day to get all the things done I want to do. My mind just races with new projects and ideas. I am so grateful to be able to spend my entire day doing exactly what I love doing. And what I love doing is sewing. My little purse business really just gives me an excuse to buy beautiful fabric and sew pretty things. I certainly am not going to get rich making purses and my little bit of profit goes right back into materials usually. What I get out of it means so much more than money. It gives me a sense of purpose and challenges me. Making purses led me to this land of blogs. I think the first blog I found was through a google search for a zippered pouch tutorial. And by finding blogs and starting my own I have been even more challenged to try things I had never dreamed of trying. Like this morning, I got up and noticed how bad my ironing board cover looked. So I made a new one. It was really easy and it looks so much nicer.

It only took a few minutes then I spent the rest of the day working on purses. Here is a finished set. A patchwork purse, wallet, key chain and tissue holder.

The wallet is pretty easy to make except for the bias binding. Is it just me? I have the hardest time getting this stuff to lay smoothly around the corners. Any tips on putting this stuff on would be appreciated.

It has a zippered pocket, a velcro pocket, 12 credit card slots and 2 places for paper money.

I also got started on 5 more purses. Just cutting today. Tomorrow will be assembly and hopefully I will have 3 or 4 ready to ship Monday morning.

One last picture. Last night I broke down and decided to try the wee bunny. I have not really wanted to attempt making stuffed things but this bunny is so cute. Well this bunny is so cute and so is this sneaky bunny.  Mine? Not so much. She doesn't have a face yet. I am really not good at hand sewing and I am afraid of what kind of face I may end up giving her. She's kinda wonky and bumpy but she is made of pretty fabric. I may make a couple more for my nieces for Easter. Oh, and Kelli told me she wanted one. Here's faceless Frances. I'll try to give her a face tonight.

I am grateful this week for

• Alyssa, babies, Casey, daisies, Erica, fabric, the grace of God, Harlie and hugs and hope, irises, Julianna, Kelli, Lost and laughter, Mitch and Mac and Mary, Norman, oil of olay daily renewal cleanser, pasta, quilts, ribbon, sunshine, tea, uncle Keith, my voice, wonton soup, i can't think of a thing that starts with x that I am grateful for this week, yellow daffodils and zippers.

My Corner of the World

Most days I spend 10 to twelve hours in the room that used to be our dining room. I start my day there drinking my coffee and checking email and blogs. I spend most of the day in there sewing and usually at the end of the day I spend some time at the computer again. Its not the dining room anymore, it's my room. My sewing room. My little corner of the world. Here is a look around the room.

This is the view looking in from the kitchen. Come on in.

The picture on the right is looking back into the kitchen.

I bought this chandelier over a year ago. It has been in the garage in the box. Mitch painted it for me this week and hung it yesterday. I have ordered some crystals to hang from it.  The little foot stool in the picture on the right is a bushel basket that I use as a trash can. I made this little top for it with some foam I had and a clock I wasn't using anymore. It was the perfect size for the top of the basket. I just stapled the fabric on and instant foot stool. Now I think I'll get in that chair with a book and try it out.

Happy Birthday Mitch!!!

A big happy birthday to my sweetie! I have to confess this picture isn't from this birthday. I didn't make a cake because we went out to eat. Now I feel really bad. Maybe I'll make him a belated birthday cake tomorrow. He is 42 today and I must say he's  holding up well! He is the love of my life and I thank God every day for giving me such a wonderful partner to share in this journey through life. He has been my rock for nearly 20 years, holding my hand and wiping my tears during the hardest times in my life and holding my hand and wiping my tears during the happiest times in my life. He is quiet and thoughtful but can also talk your ear off. He is serious and contemplative but is also the funniest person I know. He is hard working but likes to just hang out with me. He is a wonderful dad. He is my best friend, my other half, my soul mate and any other sappy cliche you can think of. I look forward to watching him blow out his candles for many more years to come.

Transformations

Maybe it is because I am named after a season. Is that why I feel the need to change the look of things so frequently? Right now it is the kitchen and dining room sewing room. (I have decided to make the dining room my sewing room and give up any pretenses it will be a dining room again.) I have been this way as long as I can remember. When I was growing up I thought nothing of rearranging the living room while my granny was working. We built this house in 1996 and it has undergone many a transformation in those 10 years. Some people have the same decor for 20 years. I am stretching it if I go three years. Usually my home decor life span is about 2 years. That is where sewing, bargain shopping and diy has come in handy since I have a very limited budget. My kitchen has had its current look for about 3 years and I feel like it's time for a change. I am not going to paint. That is way too much work and it just doesn't make sense right now. But I can make some big changes with fabric and some inexpensive accessories. I got started with the accessories a while back when I found some pretty aqua dishes on sale.

Yesterday I bought some plates to hang on the wall at Ross for $1.99 each.

Today I recovered my chandelier shades with some fabric I already had. (using what I already had Toni)

On the left is the before on the right is after. They need some trim to finish them off but that will have to wait. Tomorrow I am going to recover the seats in my bar stools and will probably make new curtains and a table runner.

I also used some fabric to cover some storage boxes that I use in the sewing room. Here is the before and after. Whenever possible I recover or repaint instead of buying new.

I'll post more pictures as the transformation continues.

Anyone know a good dog psychiatrist?

Looking at this picture you would assume this is just a happy dog wanting to play catch with her rubber steak. Well you know the old saying looks can be deceiving? That isn't a happy dog and that isn't a rubber steak. My poor girl Gracie has some emotional issues. She has always been very full of personality. At times we would swear she was almost human in her level of understanding. When she was two or three years old she went through a period where she just wasn't herself. She stayed in her bed much of the day and seemed sad. We also noticed her carrying this rubber steak with her everywhere she went. After a week or so of this we took her to the vet and he said she had suffered a false pregnancy and was mothering the steak. She thought a rubber steak was her baby! Apparently when a dog is in heat they undergo the same surge in hormones whether they become pregnant or not. Her little body was telling her she was a mama. Last year we decided to breed her. A decision she was not happy with. She didn't much like the little guy and wanted nothing to do with him. Without going into graphic details ( I already get some freaky google hits) they got together only once. I was sure the breeding attempt was unsuccessful. Our vet doesn't do doggie ultrasounds and there isn't blood test to diagnose poochie pregnancy so we just had to wait. Well about a week before what would be a full gestation we found out she was in fact with pup. Likely only one pup. Sadly she delivered a still born little girl. We were all heartbroken. Gracie was devastated. She mourned for two months. The first two weeks she wouldn't get out of her bed. I had to take food and water to her. And somehow she found this old steak and began to mother it again. I finally had to take the steak away and hide it. She gradually got better and was her self again. It was tough. Well I woke up this morning with the steak in bed with me and every where Gracie has gone today the steak, I mean baby has been in her mouth. How does she keep finding this thing?  Do they make puppy Prozac?