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New Yummy Fabrics

I am in cloud nine right now. I got some new awesome fabrics and I can't wait to share them with you.  These are just SOME of them!! I have to think of names.  Hmmm.

 

These are good enough to eat!  I already made a bag out of the lime print.

Chocolate goodness. Can't go wrong with these ones. I especially like the top one. I wonder what will I name these sweeties. I have actually made a bag out of the paisley print.

Bright retro florals--they pop up everywhere. The top one I have decided to call it deja vu, the bottom one cherry blossoms.

So girly and preppy. Bubblegum pink, peach and lime combo. Top is pink lotus then the paisley is called sugar baby (yeah) but haven't thought of names for the two bottom ones.

Love this color combo--brown and spa blue. I am just lovin' all of them. 

Took me forever to do this post. I had trouble centering the images then I realized just get out of the edit html page and just do all the posting via the compose page which has all the icons at the top to do all the editing just like my website. Duh!

Have an awesome Monday everyone.

To zip or not to zip

It's just so lovely today--high 70s. I am 10 minutes away from the beach --maybe one of these days I can swing by there! Not today though I have some sewing to do.
Ever since I started making purses I had a lot of requests for zipper closure but I couldn't quite figure out how to do it. I mean a recessed zipper closure where the zipper is a couple of inches down not at the very top like my wristlets. The reason I like the recessed is it retains the purse's shape and it doesn't look funny at the top.
A year or so I go I had a request from a friend for a zippered closure tote. It took me forever to figure it out  but unfortunately I didn't make any notes! Fast forward a few months back I was back to square one. There are a lot of tutorials online but it is not what I wanted. To cut the story short I finally figured out and confident enough to add it as a closure option on the site. Yeah baby!Here are some custom ones that I made:

For my niece Kristen who loves animals and hearts.

For my sister-law's mom. I was surprised she likes zebra prints. I do.

 

 

These are custom orders.

 

The stripes one is for my mom and the other one is for me.

 

Close up view.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

The Winner Is.....

Good morning. I hope  you are enjoying the long weekend. We have a winner-----HEIDI you won!. Email me your address.

Got my Groove Back

Don't forget you have one more day for the giveaway.

I haven't really added a lot of new bags last year but I am on a roll this month. I especially neglected Cheinna which is very popular since it is very versatile. An all around bag that can be used as a diaper bag, shopper tote, knitting bag and a school bag.

These are the ones that I have been working on. I have a couple more in the works.

Here's another view.

Also the Mikha bag needs some more added. This is actually oen of my favorites. I like these size for an evening out.

I finally finished two and will add some more.

Ignore the generic ironing board cover. That's my next project!

Till next time. Have a great weekend.

New Year Giveaway!!

As I am sitting here in my little cubbyhole my toes are just freezing. In Florida 60 degrees is cold but today is an unheard record low of 28 degrees! My sewing room was actually a part of our attic that is now connected to my bedroom on the second floor (we had to raise the floor a foot so it is level with my room). I still yet to show the whole room as only a portion of it is still not decorated/organized to my liking.Even with centralized heating/cooling system the temperature is extreme. In the hot summer months I mostly sew during the night and during the day when it is cold.

Okay for the fun part since I have sadly neglected my blog I am giving away one Yvette Gadget Pouch in Ebony and Ivory. Just go to my site and tell me your favorite. I will run this until Jan. 16 Saturday and I will announce the lucky winner here.

Happy New Year!!

Yay!!!I haven't posted since July!! Anyway I just wanted to say hello. It's been a busy holiday season--thank you so much everybody. I thought with the economy and all it wouldn't be that busy but it was!!! Let me just get my groove back and I will post a long overdue giveaway. Have a wonderful day.

Wristlets and more wristlets

It always gives me a kick when I see finished orders like these. The Deanna wristlet is very popular as bridesmaids' gifts.

Cute purse print for the lining.

The ever popular Curlz font in lime thread. Fabric is Merry Go Round.

Ta da! Six pretty wristlets all in a row.

Pink Poppies patchwork wristlet.

Lined with one of my favorite fabrics, Fantasia Sherbert.

Aren't they lovely?

Yes I am a TWI MOM!!!

Okay now you know--I am a TWI MOM! Everybody on planet earth probably knows about the Twilight Saga books by Stephanie Meyer. Here's my story:

Last year my 13-year old daughter was reading Twilight and she could hardly put the book down and every spare time she had was spent reading that book. Then she got excited because the book was going to be a movie. When it was out last November her whole class made such a fuss and went one night to see the movie. Fast forward February I rented the movie from blockbuster and wanted to know what the hype was all about. Then a mom fell in love with the movie! That same day I bought my own blu ray. My daughter persuaded me to read the book (okay-- just this first book as I don't have time to read) and loved it even more. To make the story short I bought all the books and read them in a week. I was in my own little world reading till the wee hours of the morning with my newly bought book light. I don't think I even watched television that week. I probably have reread them 2-3 times since then (I just finished rereading Breaking Dawn last weekend). Ask me anything from the book--you won't be disappointed. Hey give me a break sometimes you miss some important stuff. I have always been like these even as a young kid. I would watch a movie or read a book over and over again--you know the feeling. I didn't even know who Robert Pattinson was but I remember Kristen Stewart as the cute girl from Panic Room.

Need I say more?

Of course every Twi Mom should have these too.

We have enjoyed reading the books so much together.

There's a lot of twilight blogs out there but these are my faves--Our Twilight Chronicles. She has a lot of Twi Links that I read and New Moon the movie.

Since I can't seem to get enough I read this fan's version of a 5th book, Edge of Night. She's awesome and writing her style is so much like Stephanie Meyers. I haven't had a chance to email her and thank her for doing this.

Okay I feel so much better getting out of the closet. Stay tuned as I will be giving away some Twilight inspired creations. I can't wait to see New Monn!

Design Your Own Monogrammed Cosmetic Bag Giveaway!!!

Hi everyone. I don't even know what to say--I haven't realized how long it's been since I posted anything. I think this is the longest. I have finished a lot of redecorating though and will share pics with you soon. Anyway, since I have sadly neglected my blog and people really visit it as statistics show (thank you), I am going to redeem myself and do a design your own monogrammed cosmetic bag giveaway or if there's already one made that takes your fancy it's okay too and of course I will monogram it. Check out the cosmetic bags here and the monogram fonts here. You pick any fabric you see on the site or my fabric collection here.

Just go visit my site and tell me which of my designs is your favorite and why. I will run this for a week and I will announce the winner on the 16th in the morning.

Last December I was trying to monogram some gifts and my fairly new embroidery machine kept giving me an error message. It kept telling me to rethread and kept beeping. I did everything--change the bobbin, the needle, another thread to no avail. The beeping noise went on and on. Since I won't get the free one year service till June (which is about now) my hands were tied. I didn't use the embroidery feature until about a few weeks ago out of frustration and necessity and voila! It worked. I don't know what happened but I have been monogramming some stuff for my daughter and I nonstop. I was told it might that particular brand of thread or it was just one of those things! In retrospect I think it might have been the bobbin thread. I was using a not so good brand. So I switched and it might cost more money but worth it. There's so much to learn with embroidery--I guess I will learn as I go along and I have a really helpful forum that I can run to.

I will be back --promise!!

The Runaway Bunny

I am just loving this weather! Last week was cold--35 degrees! Our bunnies seem to sense the change in weather especially Pumpkin. She's very frisky and wriggled out of my grasp last week as I was taking her out. Since Miko and Bella were already in the cage outside I can't leave it open so she can just sneak in. She just stood there close to the water her fur blown by the howling wind.

She was so close to the water's edge I was holding my breath just in case she slipped!

Just taking her time sniffing the air.

She must have been just sitting there for a good 15 minutes. I was hoping she would come closer as I have opened the back door hoping she would go in.

Something might have spooked her and she ran like crazy closer to the outside cage and inched her way to the door.

I love this shot--she looks like a lion (she's a lion head)! Thankfully this is her routine everyday right after I take her out from the outside pen and I just let her go in and jump in the cage inside.

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!!!

Hello everybody. Just a quick hello as I am swamped. I am almost done with my Christmas tree (yes I am very very late this year!) and my Christmas shopping is finally over.

If you need a last minute gift the deadline for orders for guaranteed Christmas delivery is on Wednesday the 18th. I am also offering a 10%discount on all purchases just use code babycakes upon checkout.

Okay the fun part. I am giving away this cell phone/gadget pouch called petits fours. Just check out my site here and tell me which one is your favorite or any comment on my stuff (yes just humor me!). I will announce the winner on December 19.

Please claim your prize within 5 days or another drawing will be done. Good luck!

New Hobby?

Well, not really. Sometimes you never know what will trigger your interest on something. I was cleaning my daughter's room a month or so ago when I stepped on one of her trinkets. It was a key chain with a pink butterfly and some plastic beads strung together. I thought it was really cute and would make a nice zipper pull. That was my main idea--start adding zipper pulls to my silk wristlets (I still have to add some to my site!!). I wanted some glass beads and maybe some Swarovski crystlals. Before I knew it I had accumulated so much stuff I decided I'll make a couple of earrings and charm bracelets for my daughter and I. The thing with beads is you just can't buy a couple of stones but you have to get a whole strand. To cut the story short one thing led to another and I decided I had spent so much on supplies I might as well start selling them.

Photographing them wasn't that easy. The purses are lot easier. I just go in the back and shoot. So I had to buy a small photo tent and some photography lights (an added expense, mind you). Removing the backgrounds was a pain ( I did a couple) but I have been looking online and I have seen that most have backgrounds that had been artistically blurred. I think it is really pretty and requires less time for me to prepare the pics for my site.

Small acorn earrings with unakite stones.

Love these frosted lucite flowers I call "wedding bells".

Amethyst Czech fire polished glass beads. I love the blurred purple background--I didn't even know my camera can do it.

Pink and purple glass beads with Picasso luster which I have named "romance"

Striking cobalt blue glass beads.

Antiqued silver tulips that tinkle when you wear them!

Blue glass beads with azuro coating (darker than Aurora borealis finish).

Sweet sixteen pink lucite flowers. Very sweet.

Check out my jewelry collection here. Hopefully I can add more within the next few days.

Okay I am done with my show and tell. Until next time. I have a giveaway coming up to stay tuned!

Finally--an embroidery machine!

Hello there. It's been awhile! Well I have finally bought an embroidery machine a, Janome 9500 ( about 2 months ago). I have always wanted one way before I started making purses. Since the closest Janome dealer is 2 hours away I decided to buy it online. I paid it off right away and I am so happy with that. I have been very good with not using my credit cards. My new motto--if you can't afford it, don't buy it!

I was sitting by the kitchen waiting for the UPS guy. I was so excited.

I finally found time to make a purse for me for a change. I haven't had a chance to put this on the site yet.

A gift for one of daughter's friend.

My first online order.

Another gift for a friend of my daughter's.

This one is for one of my retailers.

Another purse for me

These are the fonts available. It took me forever to do this. I have to test drive all of them make sure they stitch out really well. Then I took pictures of most of them and took the backgrounds off. I am quite proud of myself it does look really nice, don't you think so? I am slowly updating my site for monogramming but it such a hassle.

It is so much fun and when I can find time I will embroider some pillows for my daughter and I. Holiday shopping has started on the site so I have to be prepared. I am somewhat nervous and excited at the same time. Have a fabulous day!

Fay--The Aftermath

Well--one down! You might have heard about the widespread flood all over Florida. This is the worst that I remember. Not even past hurricanes caused such massive flooding. The storm actually came late since it was predicted to arrive at midnight but actually the relentless rain actually started at about 6:00 am.

This was about lunchtime. That bird is probably Sam. He's a permanent fixture in our backyard. He was so cool-- oblivious to the pouring rain and 60 mph wind! At this point I was getting worried as the water level kept getting higher.

By mid afternoon the strip of grass had all been covered with water and the lake and the small creek had merged. I was thinking we were certainly going to get flooded. We have a strip of grass before the backroom (where our three bunnies stay)but it didn't take long to get the water this high.

The day after. What a mess! At least we didn't get flooded.

Outside around the neighborhood. I was thinking well it wasn't so bad the water will receed soon. Well I spoke too soon because when I tried to get out to the main street the water was knee high!