WHEW!

What a busy day. Woke at 4:00 am. Usually rise at 5:00, but had an idea pop in my head and my brain wouldn't turn off, so I just got up and headed for the Studio. Did a little creating; nothing at all to do with the idea that woke me, but still a good one.

Walked 6 miles. Then vacuumed the house, washed Mollie, demildewed the outdoor furniture (scrub, scrub, scrub), recovered three of Mollie's beds, and deconstructed some tees. It's sure getting sleepy here.

Sadly, I've got no pics of Mollie getting her bath, but here are pics of her showing off her newly recovered pillows. And also a shot of the flower I purchased in Bastrop. It is so cute. It's made from spoons.

LAUNCHING SOON

I've been working hard lately and will soon be  launching -- well, relaunching, actually - Milk Money, the little coin purse I designed, one of my favorite upcycle designs.  The proceeds from the sale of Milk Money will be donated to the Episcopal Relief & Development to purchase a cow for a family in a Third World nation so they will have milk to drink and sell to support themselves. (I've purchased two shares of a cow so far.)  I'm busy sewing lots of them. And they're so fun. I'll be adding them to my Artfire store soon along with my Tee Leaves, the bookmarks I upcycle from tee shirts.  Stay tuned.

STUDIO BEFORE AND AFTER

It's been a while now since I've made the changes, but I wanted to show some before-and-after shots of my Studio. 

On one wall I had a hodge-podge of storage that served its purpose but wasn't particularly attractive. It consisted of half of a bookshelf, rolling drawer thingys, filing cabinets and an old desk.  I had only half a bookcase as I broke the full bookcase when I foolishly tried to scoot it over without emptying it first. (Geez. I know better.) 

While out thrifting one day, I stumbled onto a cabinet that was 8' long, white, someone's DIY -- and a very good one at that. I bought it, called MHSNL who has a pickup and he graciously agreed to haul it home for me. I cleared out the hodge-podge and installed my new cabinet and added the half bookcase and a little cabinet and scooted the file cabinets to the end. Turns out that having only half of the book worked out just fine; the full bookcase would have been too tall. Here's the work in progress and the finished project. Pretty outstanding, I must say. All white and coordinated-looking.

On the adjoining and opposite walls, were my sewing desks. Yes, desks. Vintage desks that I was going to paint white so all of my studio furniture would coordinate. But instead I got a brainstorm -- more like a brain hurricane -- and got my DIY on. I'm soooooooo proud of my handiwork. I combined four 6-cube cabinets, two 20"x 6' tops, four 2x4s (to raise the table tops up to the correct height.  Here's the before and afters.

In the middle of the room is my worktable. It began as one of those trifold-on-metal-frame-on-rollers deals from Hancocks and I've had it for years. But I wasn't able to store much beneath it and that was a huge waste of space underneath. So I purchased three little bookcases, put casters on them and attached the table top to one of the bookcases. It works the same, hinged with two drop leafs. I have so much storage. Another KC DIY that I'm very proud of.  I have a pic from the internet for the before shot.

My next DIY? To paint the dresser that I bought at an estate sale. It's a wonderful dresser. The doors hide lots of sewing and crafting supplies. The drawers are all graduated heights. The first is perfect for cutting tools. I have my patterns in the second. The third holds lots of goodies, too. I will be painting it white, of course. Then my studio will be super coordinated. Here's the before. The after will be a while coming as I'm finishing up a coffee table I've been working on and have a hutch to refinish next. Then the studio dresser will be tackled.

"Coordinated" seems to be my Word of the Day.

MORE ROADTRIP

While in Bastrop, we shopped at some of the little shops and ate at a couple of the Mom & Pop cafes.

great breakfast spot

MBD at breakfast spot

cute shop

lots of pretty clothes

dinner Friday night

We didn't make it to PawPaw's, but will definitely have to go back. Check out the menu. Fried Deviled Eggs. Sounds yummy. The young man in the pic was busy washing the windows and wore a PawPaw's tee, so I convinced him he would be a great subject in our pic. He graciously agreed. Such a cutie.

PawPaw's Catfish House

Interesting menu selections

Bastrop is a pretty fun place to visit. We'll have to go back and check out the other shops. We arrived late Friday, so many were closed.

We made the Renegade Craft Fair on Saturday. Saw a lot of pretty things. Lots of jewelry, tees and other interesting products like bags made from inner tubes. There were also some vintage clothing; lots of Sixties and Eighties pieces. Brings back memories. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Didn't take too many pics; well, hardly any at all as most crafters are leery of pics of their stuff fearing that their designs might be copied. I totally understand. Did get a pic of MBD while purchasing some hair ties and headbands. The little guy in the bow tie was also a cutie.

ROAD TRIP

Just back from a road trip with MBD to attend the Renegade Craft Fair in Austin. We stayed in Bastrop both nights. Besides the Renegade, we did a lot of junkin', antiquing, browsing -- SHOPPING. It was a wonderful time. Lots of girl time. Lots of fun.

Didn't take as many pics as I meant to. But here's a couple of the best candy store ever. Fudge to die for. YUM!

SEW AFRICA

One thing I have been doing this year is sewing dresses for little girls in our sister parish in Malawi. Women of our church have been sewing dresses and britches. We began making the little pillowcase dresses that have the little ties at the shoulder. The britches for the boys are made from men's t-shirts. It's a very clever design; the armholes become the crotch of the britches.

When looking online for more examples and tips for making the dresses, I found lots of pics of the little girls wearing the dresses; and most wore shirts under the dresses. I also found examples of the t-shirt dresses, and decided to make those.  I made five or six, which are included in the over 100 pieces of clothing that were blessed this May for their upcoming trip to Malawi.

Last night I made three more. They're quick and easy, and I really enjoy making them. It involves merely attaching a skirt to a t-shirt. Here they are.

HAD A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Started off Mothers Day at church with my church family. Then home to sew on my VesTotes, four of them. Had taken the vests apart Saturday night. Got all four put together and they look great.

Then off to Mom's where the whole famn damily gathered (except for MHN as he's still in Ecuador). MHNNL grilled burgers and hot dogs. Sister and MBN had all the fixins' prepared. We topped off our meal with strawberry shortcake. Yum. Best of all, though, we had a wonderful time visiting and catching up on "What's new with you?"  We all live within 15-20 miles of one another, but everyone's busy and we don't get together as often as we'd like. So, when we do, we have to make it count. It was great fun.

MBD posted some pics on Facebook that are so cool. Her and I when she was just a toddler. And one of the Chisam girls (from left to right Me, Mom, Sister; Mema seated). Don't you just love the hair!




Oh my Gosh! I look 12 in the pic of MBD and I.  Well, I was 12 when she was born! :) (NOT)

Okay. Back to the present. Speaking of presents. I received a lovely card and a VISA gift card from MSH; a sewing book from MBMD2 and hubby; a bracelet "The Story of Jesus" from MBMD1 and hubby; a hibiscus plant from MBD, MHSNL, MBGD and MHGS; and a phone call from MHMS.


The book is by THREADS and has more information than I can ever use (but I'm gonna try). The bracelet is awesome, comes with a card that shows you how to tell the Gospel with the beads in the bracelet.





And the hibiscus is already planted in my huge planter; gorgeous orange flowers.







Wonderful day. Wonderful family. Wonderful life. Thanks be go GOD.

SHOPPING, NOT DROPPING

Another shortcoming -- oh, so many -- that I must confess to: shopping for fabrics and notions for my bags. If I did more sewing than I did shopping, I'd be a lot better off. And so would the closet in my studio. It's full. I mean FULL. But I keep on shopping. I mean, if I don't, I might miss the perfect thing for my next project, right? Don't you feel that way, too? At least I shop THRIFT. I haunt the local thrift shops and garage sales to scoop up those wonderful finds.

So, in honor of shopaholics, thriftaholics, GSaholics everywhere, who live for the hunt and smile over the finds, this is for you.

Check out the double-knit fabrics from the Sixties. If it were a puppy, my mom would say, "It's so ugly, it's cute."  I mean FUGLY, freaking ugly. But, oh, so, wonderfully cool. Is that what you call "kitschy"? 





I also snagged a bag full of ribbons and trims. Most are so-so; nothing you'd wake up in the middle of the night screaming for, but the ones wrapped on the flat card are the ones I bought the bag for. Really nice trims that I can envision on one of my bags in the near future.

And check out the envelopes of embroidery transfers. These have to be from the Fifties-Sixties, too. They retailed for 19 cents, for crying out loud! And were made in the USA! I don't know if they'll actually transfer, but I can scan them and trace them if NEED BEE. (Note the cute reference to one of the envelopes of cute bee sayings.)



Last, but not least -- well, maybe least. Naw! It's pretty cool -- is a brocade valance with tassels. I can see this becoming some pretty amazing Just Enuf bags, and maybe some larger versions of Just Enuf bags. Perhaps they'll be More Than Enuf bags. (My cleverness at naming my bags is exceeded only by my silliness at naming my bags.)





Uh, oh. Almost forgot. Whew! (So, the valance is not last nor least.) Here's some vests I snagged for future VesTotes. You know, the soon-to-be famous YAYAMADE design that is to appear in the gallery section of the August edition of   GREENCRAFT magazine. (See "Whoa, Nellie" post below.) Not that I'd brag or anything by repeating that I'm going to be published!

FUNNY LITTLE VALENTINE

I got inspired to create some Valentine gifts. A first for me. It's like the creative bug bit me and CHEWED for a good long time and it was either create or -- okay, I'm done with that little bugger.

I tried my hand at strip piecing and log cabin, for some Mug Rugs. They turned out quite nice. I even decorated the envelopes I put them in. Mug Rugs, good. Envelopes, not so much. But, hey, it's the whole thought thing, right?



Here's what I made for my BFF Ruth:
I chose the butterfly, because it's the symbol for the ECW (Episcopal Church Women) of which Ruth and I are members. And it's the sign of the Resurrection, and Ruth and I both love Jesus.








Here's what I made for MBD and MHSNL:

I chose these colors because they're "beachy" and my kids love and live near the beach.





And here's what I made for MBGD and MHGS.

 I chose the oranges/browns for MBGD because she had pinned a comforter that had those colors in it. (See Pinterest can be used for good).




I did "My Mug Rug" for MHGS because he's 20, a guy, and, face it, he needed a clear explanation of what the thing was.

Whoa, Nellie!

Okay. OVER a year since I last blogged. So sad. I've been thinking: I spend way too much time surfing the web instead of contributing to it. Besides sucking the time out of my life, it sucks the life out of me. No productivity. No good feelings of accomplishment.

No, I've not been depressed. It's just way too easy to get on the net and Pinterest or Facebook my life away. Both fun sites. Both way too easy to stay on and get nothing else done. They're like the candy and magazine displays at the checkout.

It's time to break the cycle. I'm thinking egg timer. Set that puppy for 15 minutes or so, and when it dings, that's it. Off the site I go and back into the studio to create wonderful things.

So, here we go, F&F (Family and Friends -- or -- Friends and Family -- whatever you feel more comfortable with), time's a-wastin'.

Besides all this deep thought, I also have some GOOD NEWS. Perhaps -- not perhaps -- for sure, that's what has inspired me to be more inspiring and get off my net.  Ready? Interest peaked? or is that piqued? Anyway:

I submitted three of my YAYAMADE items to GREENCRAFT magazine -- Tote-A-Tee, both regular and messenger styles; Milk Money, several pieces; and VesTote, two or three.  I received an email this week that VesTote will be included in the gallery section of the August issue.  I AM SOOOOOOO EXCITED. 

Now, keeping things in perspective, the gallery section is like the honorable mention section, where you get a page or half-page for a picture of your item and a brief write-up. But to me -- I'm so freaking excited! I'm going to be published!

So, I was thinking, why don't I get off my net and get more serious about this whole creating and blogging and promoting/marketing and selling thing. I mean, I love to create/sew bags and the like and I really enjoy selling them. I could use the money. So, here I am, blogging.

I HAVE created a few things. I'll be posting about those things, including pics. We all love pics. And I'll also post pics about some of my recent finds at my local thrifts and garage sales.