Thursday, December 24, 2009

Where in the world is Santa Claus?


My kids always loved finding out where Santa was on Christmas Eve. It was also a good way to get them to go to bed when they were all wound up. We could check to see how close Santa was to make sure they were sleeping when he arrived. There are several good places to watch Santa's progress:

NORAD Santa Tracker

Follow NORAD on Twitter

Santa Tracker

Merry Christmas!!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Sewing and shipping and hoping it gets there on time...



I finished up the last of my custom orders. Everything will arrive in time for Christmas gift giving.

I am now offering Gift Certificates available in any denomination. For a limited time, if you purchase a minimum $20 Gift Certificate, your recipient will receive FREE SHIPPING when the certificate is redeemed.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Dan's Emerald Forest



Every Christmas season my family heads over to Dan's Emerald Forest to see the wonderful display. My parents still live in the house where we grew up, which is in the same town as Dan's house, so it's never hard finding time to visit both. Usually we pick an awful cold day to visit my parent's and make the side trip to Dan's to see what is new. This year was no exception. It was 32 degrees with a slight breeze and a few sprinkles. Chilly. Actually, our local FOX news was live at Dan's the Wednesday before our visit. We had really strong winds that day, knocking down lighting displays all over town, and the wind kept the trains off the track at Dan's.



We've been taking the kids every year since they were little. The kids love seeing what is new and what they remember from the year before. You can always find something that you've never seen before. My husband always has a hundred questions for Dan. He likes to hear the dirty details of how the changes occurred since the previous year.

I was a bit sad - due to the rain sprinkles the drive-in theatre was movieless. There is usually a small flat screen tv that serves as the movie screen. Here you can see the cars pointing in one direction with nothing to watch. Last year I think 'It's A Wonderful Life' was playing.



New this year - or should I say returning this year - was the ski slope. But I don't think the little gondolas were running up and down the side of the ski slope. At least I don't remember them moving at all.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Little Tree


We've had the same Christmas tree for years and years and the kids have always loved it. It's huge, pre-lit, and rotates - which is just the coolest thing ever. Dad and I have grown tired of trying to get all of the lights to work - we end up stringing lights on it so the whole tree is lit. So this year we thought we'd try something different and bought a pre-lit 6 foot tree (it was only $35). Which is really quite nice and perfect for US. However, my kids hate it!! My son refused to help decorate it this year, and my daughter complains every day about the 'stupid tree', mainly because it doesn't rotate. Here she is in front of the stupid tree. I took this photo as we were heading out the door to her school choir performance 2 weeks ago. Notice the green cast on her arm? She had a blue cast on before, but after a few days her fingers swelled up and I took her back to the doctor. Her cast was squishing her hand, right around the top knuckles of her fingers and causing them to swell. So they cut that cast off and she picked out a different color. She had the cast removed for good on Monday. She's much happier now.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Cardinals Game



This is one of our summertime events that I never got around to posting about. During 4th and 5th grade, my daughter was in show choir at her school. It was an after school activity, and they had several concerts and appearances at events throughout that time. One of the biggest was singing the National Anthem at a Cardinals home game on August 19, 2009. Here is a shot of my daughter on the outfield Jumbo Tron.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Amy Butler Ginger Bliss and Charm Fabrics


I recently had the opportunity to purchase Amy Butler Ginger Bliss and Charm fabrics. The 2 bundles on top are fat quarters, the fabrics on bottom are yardage, and I didn't pay an arm and a leg for these either. Has everyone seen the ridiculous amounts people are asking for some of the prints? I am not that desperate to own out of print fabrics. Truly, if I paid $30 for a yard of fabric, I would NOT want to use it!!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Cyber Monday


The sale in my Etsy shop is going on through Monday, November 30.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Weekend Sale




Rob and I feel the same way about Black Friday shopping. I just don't do it. Too many crazies out there for me!! But I do love online shopping. And now YOU have a reason to love online shopping too. Get 20% off every item in my Etsy Shop. PLUS - Get a free gift when you spend $30 or more!! Please let me know if you would prefer a revised invoice from Paypal. Otherwise, payments are due immediately and all refunds will be issued by me asap. This is the last sale in my shop for 2009!!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Turkey Day Sale!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!


Special Thanksgiving Day Sale for my blog readers!!!
30% off every item in my Etsy Shop.
PLUS - Get a free gift when you spend $50 or more!!

Please enter "Turkey Day Sale" in the message to seller. Also let me know if you would prefer a revised invoice from Paypal. Otherwise, payments are due immediately and all refunds will be issued by me asap.

Hurry!! This discount is only good through Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26. On Friday the sale will be announced in my shop and drop to 20% off every item. This is also the last sale in my shop for 2009.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Laptop Bags




I have made 2 of these laptop bags recently. They are really nice and big and fit a 15" laptop and anything else you may want to carry. The first one was a custom order that the person never purchased. Which really pissed me off. I was contacted on Etsy about making a bag large enough for her to fit her laptop in. So we convo'd back and forth and worked out the details. She also has a shop, so I checked out her sales and feedback and figured it was safe to make the order without the usual 50% deposit for custom orders. How wrong I was. After I made it and listed it and contacted her to let her know it was ready, I got no response. After 8 days I contacted her again, and she said she would "check it out". I have no idea if that meant check it out LOOK AT IT. Or check it out BUY IT. Either way, she didn't purchase the listing and she didn't contact me. I waited a few more days and asked her to let me know if she had changed her mind about the item. Still no response. So I took her name off of it. I have no idea why she thinks it was okay to place a custom order and then back out of it. If I were really, really mean I would post her shop and tell everyone not to buy from her.




Monday, November 23, 2009

Is it broken or not?



About 10 days ago, my daughter went down the street to play with her friend. She was back home within 5 minutes screaming her head off. She had been twirling around, got dizzy, and fell onto the concrete, and of course put her arms out to catch herself. She finally calmed down, and mostly just her wrist hurt. I am over-protective, and she over-reacts (drama queen style), but I thought her wrist may have been sprained. It was a Thursday night, so we decided to wait and see how it felt. It was still sore on Friday and Saturday, it was swollen, and she was favoring it, so I kept it wrapped up. By Sunday she was really complaining about how bad it hurt - worse than it had been. I called the doctor on Monday and got a late afternoon appointment. The doctor checked her wrist and declared it was most likely broken - which made me feel like crap for assuming it was just a sprain. We went next door to the hospital for X-Rays. The doctor called us at home within 30 minutes and said it was NOT broken.

Tuesday goes by, her wrist still hurts. Wednesday it still hurts. Thursday it still hurts. So we called her doctor back and he suggested seeing an orthopedist. Somehow we got lucky and got into the orthopedist the next day, which was this past Friday. He looked at the X-Ray and declared her wrist IS broken, so they put a cast on it. Evidently the break is near a growth plate, so they are worried about long term problems. After 3 weeks they will take off the cast and see how the pain and swelling is and make a decision to recast for another 3 weeks or not.

Friday, November 20, 2009

New Moon And Robert Pattinson


I turned on the tv and as I flipped through the channels I came across the Joy Behar show on HLN. Joy and her guests were talking about People's Sexiest Man Alive 2009. One of the women guests suggested Robert Pattinson should have won instead. Danny Bonaduce busts in with his opinion - he thinks Robert looks like Tori Spelling!! Then Danny goes on about how Robert's eyes are on the side of his head. Joy told him he better watch out or Robert will come on Danny's show and kick his ass. So Danny thinks that would be good for his ratings, and then invites Robert onto his show. He says "Robert, you're welcome to come on my show any time and kick my ass."

Oh, how I wish Robert were a violent person and would go and kick that loudmouth's butt!!! LOL

My husband and I went to see New Moon earlier. They showed the trailer for Robert's movie Remember Me. My husband even commented that it looks like it may be a good movie. So I may actually get him to take me to the movies again before Eclipse comes out. LOL

I am going to say a few things about New Moon, nothing too spoilerish (especially if you have read the books), but if you haven't seen the movie yet, come back and read this later!!

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It was boring. Long and boring. I think my husband almost dozed off. The soundtrack sucks. I didn't listen to the soundtrack prior to viewing the movie. I am a loooooong way from my teenage angst years, so these songs really do nothing for me. The background music sucks. The movie tried waaaay too hard to be intense and dramatic. I feel they tried to cram in all of the good dialog from the book, and in doing so, they left out a lot of the smaller things that contributed to the flow of the storyline. I wasn't all that impressed - it's kind of a let down after all the hype. I guess I just expected so much more. I tried really hard to love this movie. I want to love this movie. But it was just okay. And that makes me very sad.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon made history at the box office Friday, with midnight showings racking up $26.3 million in ticket sales.

**Edited to add: Just so no one thinks I am freaking retarded and hated New Moon, I have a few more things to say. While the wolfie special effects weren't all that great, they were what I expected (if you've seen the "Jacob, RUN!!!" trailer, that's what you get.) I love the Volturi scenes, although they all looked weird and not at all scary and powerful. I loved the fight scene between Edward and Felix. That was pretty cool. And I LOVED the cliffhanger ending (and the very loud collective gasp from the audience). That was hilarious!! I feel the movie could have been so much more. There were long silent moments where nothing really happens. A lot of the scenes are really boring and long, especially scenes that are supposed to be very emotional - it's like they tried to cram as many good lines from the book into these scenes, and it just made them fall flat. I found myself thinking "Just say the line already and move along to the next scene..." And these long boring scenes are made more boring by the lack of motion or movement by the characters. They literally stand looking at each other saying their lines without moving at all. Well, they DO move their lips, but nothing else. It's supposed to be emotional, so EMOTE!!!

Overall, while I found New Moon to be semi-boring, I'd still rate it a B-. I liked it, I just didn't love it. And I am pleased I was able to see it on opening day.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Remember Me


Remember Me

Trailer Park | MySpace Video


I am really looking forward to seeing Robert Pattinson in Remember Me. From the trailer it seems as though he has a pretty good performance. Very different from 'Edward' - which is a good thing.


Thursday, November 5, 2009

14 Days!!!!!


Eeeek!!! Only 14 more days. 2 weeks. Whichever. I still can't believe it's almost here. Unfortunately, we won't be going to the midnight showing. Obviously. We have kids, and we can't just leave them alone in the house while we go off to see a movie in the middle of the night. So we will be going on Friday night. I'll take it. Nothing and nobody better get in my way.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Dakota Skye



The official description of Dakota Skye might not draw in viewers - it sounds really corny. I decided to watch it after it kept showing up in my suggestions on Netflix. If you have Netflix, it's available for instant viewing - which is why I watched it last night after trick-or-treating. I liked that the whole 'superpower' aspect is seriously downplayed throughout the movie. It's basically a movie about coming of age and learning who - and HOW - to trust. The characters seem very real, have great chemistry, most of the acting was terrific, and it has a really good soundtrack. It does start off a little slow, but it starts picking up after about 30 minutes, and there is some really terrific (but sporadic) cinematography. Probably best enjoyed by those in their late-teens and early twenties who can easily relate to the high school age drama, but I really enjoyed it (and I'm 41).

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!!!



I received this wonderful handmade Halloween card from a terrific customer!! Isn't it just the cutest??? And the picture of Robert she used on the card is simply perfect. Thank you!


We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It stopped raining for a few hours, so we thought we better get going!! Grandma came over for a visit, so she went with us. And now that I am trying to find a good photo to use, I realize that I didn't get many good shots. That sucks.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Etsy Gift Guide


One of my Twilight/New Moon zippered pouches made it into an Etsy Gift Guide titled "An Inspired Dark Romance." How cool is that?!?!?!?

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Bright Star


I really wanted to see Bright Star in the theatre, but it looks like that won't be happening. So I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD. It looks really good. Bright Star is a drama based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which was cut short by Keats’ untimely death at age 25.

This is the book that I borrowed from the library to learn more about Keats. It is 656 pages long, and no, I didn't read the entire book. But it is very detailed, and very informative. Here is a wonderful compilation on the history of John Keats and Fanny Brawne. If you have the chance, read the letters that John wrote to Fanny. They are truly beautiful.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

"Happy Windsday"

Piglet: "Happy Windsday, Owl."
Owl: "I wouldn't go so far as to call it a Windsday, just a gentle spring zephyr."

The best Pooh movie ever is 'Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'. Poor little Piglet gets blown all over Hundred Acre Woods. It's cold and drizzly here today, but not too blustery.

I actually miss watching movies with my kids. Now that they are older they don't want to watch all of their favorites from years past. I guess I'll have to start watching them alone. {sigh}

I managed to start making some Christmas zipper pouches using my new Have A Sheri Berry Christmas fabric. They are really cute, and I ended up placing one pouch in each of my packages that I sent out earlier this week. I realized after the packages were sealed that I forgot to take pictures of the pouches. Oops.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Civil Twilight

I downloaded this week's free song from ITunes, Letters From The Sky by Civil Twilight. I was so impressed by this one song that I downloaded the entire CD from ITunes for only $5.99!!! I think it was well worth the money. I'm not big on buying too many CD's since I usually just borrow from the library. But occassionally I splurge on something NEW. I listen to such a great variety of music, but I really have no idea who to compare Civil Twilight to. I DO know that this CD is what I will be listening to while sewing today.




I also love this video. The lead singer reminds me so much of Robert Pattinson!! Watch it and let me know what you think.


Saturday, October 10, 2009

Getting over the sickies and another new bag..



Both of my kids have been sick recently. My son caught the flu that's been running rampant at school. Last Saturday and Sunday he spent in bed sleeping and feeling like crap. Then he missed school on Monday and Tuesday. But my daughter had only a high fever and managed to miss school on Thursday and Friday. So now we are playing catch-up on the homework this weekend.

I was finally able to take pictures of the new bag I made last week before the yuckies hit. This one is available as a design your own bag also, so you can have it made with the fabrics of your choice.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Birthday SALE!!!


Don't miss out on my Birthday SALE!!!
One day only, Monday, October 5, 2009,
take 41% off any 1 item in my Etsy shop.
Be sure to type 'Birthday Sale' in the notes
to seller field during checkout to receive
your discount!!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Happy Birthday To ME Sale!!!

Monday, October 5, is my 41st birthday. To celebrate, I am offering 41% off any ONE item in my shop for one day only. If you purchase more than 1 item, the discount will be taken off the highest priced item. Just type 'Birthday Sale' in the notes to seller field on Etsy.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Happy October!!


I love October. I love the seasonal change, the chill in the air, crunching through the leaves, seeing the colorful mums... I've got the World Series on my mind, along with the start of the hockey season. Oktoberfest. Craft fairs. Carving pumpkins. Hayrides. Getting lost in the corn maze. Warming up with Pumpkin Spice Lattes. It's all good.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Have a Sheri Berry Christmas!!


I just ordered my birthday present to myself!! I decided to get a few yards and 2 charm packs of Have A Sheri Berry Christmas!! Isn't is too cute? I want to make zippered pouches with this fabric. I know it's not October yet (almost though!!) but I need to get going on cutting and sewing if I want to get them into my Etsy shop anytime before Christmas!!

I really should get the fabric panel also. I haven't done much quilting lately, but I think the panel would be cute as a wall hanging or even a table topper/runner thingy.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Happy Birthday!!!!




Don't forget the birthday sale is going on through today only!!)

Today is my son's 15th birthday!!! He's high maintenance in everyday life, but when it comes to his birthday he's pretty low-key. The only thing he wanted to do for his birthday was to go to the St. Louis Zoo. We have THE most wonderful zoo here. And it's free, which makes it doubly good!! We went on Sunday and the weather was sooooo nice. I took tons of photos.








I have not been getting much sewing done lately. Pretty much not at all during the week. I did manage to make this bag on Saturday. A lady at work asked me to make a bag for her grown daughter who's birthday is on Halloween. This is what I came up with:

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Birthday Sale!!


Another birthday, another sale!! My daughter just celebrated her birthday, and my son's birthday is Monday, so I had to have another sale. From now through Monday, September 28, get 15% off your entire purchase. Just type 'Birthday Sale' in the notes to seller field on Etsy. I will refund your discount after payment. (If you prefer, let me know if the notes to seller field and I will send a revised invoice with the discount applied.)

Also, look for me in the Bags and Purses Showcase Friday, September 25.

I just listed 2 'Design Your Own' items - the Marie Bag and the Zippered Pouch With Swivel Clip. I will be listing more 'Design Your Own' items as soon as I can.

I have tons of fabric that just arrived, so I will be getting photos for custom orders updated this weekend.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is my daughter's 12th birthday!! She had her party here at the house last Saturday. 5 of her friends and her (older) cousins. It was just the right amount of people to make it a very good party.

The water balloon toss was a huge hit. The girls went through 2 bags of balloons playing!! It was warm enough that they didn't mind getting a little wet.

My daughter HAD to have a pinata. We gave them a wiffle ball bat to hit it with because these girls do not swing very well!! No wooden sticks for them. We all stood waaaay back when it was swinging time!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

How To Be - Movie


Robert Pattinson's movie How To Be finally has a U.S. release date of November 17.



Another of Robert's movies, The Haunted Airman, will be available on DVD in the U.S. on October 13.








I'm not sure how I feel about watching either of these movies. I'm sure I'll enjoy How To Be because I like quirky British movies, and I actually like that Robert is such a dork in this movie. And I have to admit that I probably wouldn't watch The Haunted Airman if Robert wasn't in it.

If you have seen either of these movies, please comment and let me know what you thought of them.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Meadowsweet


Have you seen the latest fabric line from Sandi Henderson? It's called Meadowsweet and it is absolutely gorgeous!! I really like the pear colorway. AND she made the Henna fabric in brown this time!! I can't wait to get my hands on some.

I also love her previous collections - Ginger Blossom and Farmer's Market. They are both very bright and fresh, just like the new line.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

SOLD!!

Yesterday, I took my 3 newest bags in to work to show off. I sold these 2!!! Took me completely by surprise, as I usually try not to pimp myself too much.

Don't forget that I do take custom orders. If you see anything you like, but want it in a different fabric, just let me know.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”


Hearing that Patrick Swayze passed away makes me very sad. I saw it on the internet, and my daughter was nearby, so I told her first. She ran and told her Dad. I was okay with the news at first since it's been expected. But then my husband comes to check on me to see how I'm taking the news, and he's being all sweet. So I told him "I was fine until you came in here to check on me, NOW I'm crying!!"


Perhaps my favorite Patrick Swayze movie of all time is North and South. My girlfriend and I were in high school when this originally aired, and we used to swoon over Swayze's character 'Orry'. I still have this in my 80's movie collection - it's on VHS, but I still have it.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sage Wildflowers Marie Bag



I managed to create this latest version of my Marie Bag over the weekend between NASCAR, baseball, football, and kids' homework. This version has a strap that adjusts from 24" to 44" in length. Once again I used decorator weight cotton fabrics. These are wonderful to use for purses and bags.

Monday, September 7, 2009

New Items In My Shop




Don't forget the Labor Day Weekend sale ends tonight!!

I have new items listed in my shop. Here is a small zippered pouch with a swivel clip, and a Robert/Kristen/Twilight/New Moon wristlet with detachable strap.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Rainy Saturday, Rainy Sunday



My plan was to stay in and sew on Saturday. I've been dreaming and craving sewing time all week. I only have weekends to sew now that the kids are in school and I am back to working part time. I have about 45 minutes free every afternoon before the kidlets return home and demand my time and attention.




My daughter has named this bag my 'four day purse', since that's how long it took to make it. I know I am anal about measuring, cutting, and sewing, but 4 days is just way too much time to spend on one bag.

Both of these bags are currently available in my Etsy shop. And I have tons of fabric to choose from, so if you want something different just send me a convo.

Friday, September 4, 2009

LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE

Now through Monday
I am offering 15% off your entire order
I will be listing new items over the next few days
Be sure to enter 'Labor Day Sale' in the notes to seller area during checkout





On a completely unrelated note, I have officially placed my husband on the hunt for this magazine. I am so glad he encourages my obsessions!!! (I totally stole this photo from Twitarded!!)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Glee


How I love thee!!! There. I said it. I really love Glee!!! I had such a huge smile on my face after watching the pilot episode again. I can't wait for next week and a new episode. But I may just have to catch the pilot eppy again on Friday night!!

Don't forget I take custom orders. If you see anything you like but want it in a different fabric, or even a different size, just send me a convo and we'll set up a custom order. I have some more new fabrics to add, and I should have even MORE new fabrics any day now.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

You Should Think About Winning This!!


Kelci over at Crafty Mama Creations is having a giveaway. Look at the cute purse she made using Amy Butler fabrics. Just go to her blog for details on how you can have a chance to win this fabulous purse.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Shaq Vs. Albert Pujols and a new purse...

A few weeks ago my husband and my daughter went to the taping of Shaquille O'Neal Vs. Albert Pujols in a home run derby at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, MO. No pictures (no cameras OR cell phones) were allowed, so I wasn't as interested in going, but they had a good time. This episode airs tonight on ABC. Catch it if you can.

On another note, I am back to work at the elementary school part time, and between that and homework - not mine, since I am not in either 6th grade or 9th grade - I haven't had much time to sew. Weekends are all mine to sew, so if you want something, don't hesitate to request it. I just received tons of new home dec weight fabrics, and more will be arriving soon.

I am also in the middle of making a new purse - it's coming along nicely. I was hoping to have it finished this evening, but I just have too many other responsibilities tonight.

Monday, August 31, 2009

"It's too green."



"It's too green" Twilight inspired wristlets are now in my Etsy shop. I was washing the tons of new fabrics I recently received, and while folding my 'greens' I thought of Edward's quote about watching Bella talk in her sleep.

Of course, if you like the wristlets, but want a color other than green, just send me a convo. I have tons of other fabrics to choose from.