Christmas Swap Sneak Peak

These are some of the fabrics I am using for the swap items I am making for the swap at Pink Stitches.  My partner is swaping with me so I've gotta be kinda discrete until she receives the package in the next week or so.

I love all of these fabrics and I have been holding on to them for a while.  The Red Snowflake and Beige Christmas Toss fabrics are from the 12 days of Christmas collection by Kate Spain and made by Moda. I love the colors and the patterns within the items like the Christmas tree and stocking.  The Stripe and the Dot are Candy Cane Christmas by Stampin' Up!. I love how these two totally seperate collections coordinate.  I had been saving these fabrics for special projects and the day to use them finally came!

I'll be posting the finished projects in the next few days so sit tight and thanks for stopping by!

Bloomers for Trinity

Just embrdoiered these bloomers for someone in San Antonio.  I wish I had had an embroidery machine when Micaela was a baby, her bloomers would have all been embroidered!

These are available in my Etsy store for $13 and available in any thread color combination.  More sizes coming soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Master Gardener

Hallelujah!  I am done with my Master Gardener classroom training.  WooHoo!

This was a long twelve weeks of homework and quizzes but final exam and graduation was last week and I was so busy I forgot to post about it.  I am now officially an intern.  Now I have another 65 hours to do in volunteer work before I am certified but somehow that seems easier than all that classroom training! 

I have learned so much!  I am dying to get in the yard and start working.  I have so much I want to do!   I am also looking forward to sharing much of what I have learned in the green seminars I host in the community for work!   Thanks for letting me share and thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Rainbow

Thanksgiving rainbow. Thanks be to God!

This appeared outside my in laws back door while we finished dessert.   Hope you have had a great Thanksgiving. 

Legally Blonde, the musical

Took Micaela to see Legally Blonde, the musical at McKinney Boyd High School last week.  It was really terrific.  We really did love it.  We pretended it was Broadway and got all dressed up. 

I thought it would be great fun because Elle Woods is like a Barbie doll with a cute dog and Micaela loves both. 

Well, I TOTALLY forgot about the gay pool guy accused of the affair with the stepmom, the wife accused of killing her husband PLUS the daughter that kills her Dad.  It was hard to explain all that on the way home.  I tried to focus the conversation on the incredible music and singing.  Wish someone had warned me, putting this out there for any Moms out there who might research ahead of taking young daughters.   I will say, the musical was really wonderful, it's just not totally appropriate for young children. 

We just returned from four days in my hometown of Mission.  We traveled there so I could attend my 25 year High School Class Reunion. I graduated from Mission High School in 1988... gulp!  Of course it's hard to believe it's been 25 years!

We had a 500+ mile drive each way and our daughter had to miss two days of school but it was so worth it.  The reunion festivities were spread out amongst three days.  On Thursday we got to tour the school campus and see all the changes and additions that have been made since we left. 

The campus is giant now and even includes a collegiate campus which allows students to get their associates degree while still in high school. 

After the tour we were hosted at a small reception with alumni from other classes. We felt pretty young next to the classes from 1962, 1973, 1983, but a little old next to the class from 1993.




After the reception we attended the Pep Rally.  That was great fun and I was so excited to hear the Mighty Mission Eagle Band play the Fight Song-- weird little things make me happy!








That evening we attended the football game and got to walk across the field-- walking across the field was fun and corny.

Here we are at the football game.  You can see everyone shows thier Mission Eagle pride by wearing marroon and white.  Notice the guy in the red STL hat?  That's Troy showing his hometown pride, LOL.

The next day was our big party.  We had a social hour, sit down dinner, presentations, live band and a photo booth.  It was terrific. 

 

All the walls at the venue were decorated with poster size copies of our yearbooks, it was great!

 

Here's a picture of Troy and I.   We really had a good time.

 

About 20% of the people there I had known since kindergarten, the rest from junior high and of course high school.

Here's a picture of my kindergarten crowd.  This is one successful bunch, we've got people in every field, pharmaceutical sales,  nurses, lawyers, entrepreneurs, pilot, restaurateur, law enforcement, oil business, etc.  Our elementary was one of five at the time and we had the most representation.

I can't tell you how much fun this weekend was for me,  Troy was a good sport to come along to all the celebrations-- he did well getting to know the few non Mission spouses that were brave enough to attend as well.  I look forward to the next celebration in 5 years!  Thanks for stopping by!

100% Baby Boy Set

One of my cousins is expecting her baby boy in the next week. I stitched out a few items for her before leaving town. Here is the set.

  I love this fabric, it has cute boy words all over.  Here is a close up of the zipper bag.  

 

And the finished hem on the opposite end of the burp cloth. 

 Thanks for stopping by....

Getting into Christmas Spirit

Many stores are already decorated for Christmas and I've had a few items in my Etsy store listed for over a month.  The other day I was surprised to get an order for three Christmas Santa Towels from a grandma in North Carolina.  She wanted them for her toddler grandchildren to go in her Santa themed bathroom.

Here are the towels...

She was so happy when she received them, this is what she wrote:

They are GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! OMG, they are going to look fabulous in their Santa bathroom!!!!! WOW!!!! I am sooo crazy about them!!!! GREAT job!!!  I absolutely LOVE them!!!!
Thanks so much!!!!!  My Grands are going to FLIP over them.......... their Mom too!!!!  Thanks again!!!  Regards,  Barbara :-)

It's always nice to get a note from happy customers!  Thanks for stopping by!

Secret Santa Swap 2012 by The Apronista

As you all know I participated in a couple of Halloween Swaps last month and loved it.  Now I am hooked!  The other day I was literally googling to see if I could find others and found a really cool one at http://flirtyapronswap.blogspot.com/ by The Apronista, Shawnee Halligan.  I am so excited.  Her swap is a little more structured and I am required to post my questionaire and info here on my blog so here it goes....

1. What are your hobbies?  Making a house a home, Sewing & Embroidery, Texas Native Gardening, Baking, Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts (card making).
2. What are your favorite colors?  Rich Ruby Red, Dark Green and Vintage Gold
3. Do you collect anything? Seasonal Dishes & Tabletop Items (love snowflake and gingerbread items), Vintage Sewing Memorabilia, and commemorative postage stamps since I was a child
4. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?  None
5. Do you have any pets?  Yes, a black & white Piebald Daschund named Oreo
6. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?  Not a fan of dark chocolate, coffee or tea (yes that is weird).  Love Milk Chocolate...
7. What do you like to read? Yes, magazines & books mainly anything from Better Homes & Gardens or Good Housekeeping... not much into fiction but like biographies from women I admire.
8. Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?  Love anything with pecans, candy or cookies....anything with caramel, pecans, walnuts, and fudge.
9. What is your favorite holiday treat?  Candy Cane Kisses by Hershey's
10. Describe your favorite holiday tradition. Traditional Mexican Catholic Posada on December 24, Virgin de Guadalupe mass and Las Mañanitas with live mariachis on December 12 at dawn and christmas shopping with the family afterwards
11. Did you believe in Santa as a child?   Yes, very much so until I was about 8-9 years old.
12. When do you open presents?   We open some on Christmas Eve and some on Christmas morning.
13. Do you put up a tree and when?  We put up several trees in our home.  A large one in living room and small ones in kitchen, dining room, and some bedrooms. 
14. Does your tree have a theme?   Living room tree is traditional stuff in red, gold, bronze and green, kitchen one is gingerbread and cooking items, daughter's bedroom one is whimsical bright stuff like hot pink, lime green turqois, etc. 
15. What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive?    I love the Texas-shaped Waffle Iron I got from my husband and the Cricut I got from my parents many years ago.  Gave Micaela a Janome mini sewing machine last year and a dollhouse many years ago- she was over the moon for both. 

Secret Santa Swap package should be a minimum of $15 in value before postage, and include the following:
At LEAST One Handmade Item

Something to Read (book, magazine, poem)
Something for the Tree (garland, ornament, topper, skirt)
Holiday Goody (candy, cocoa, tea, coffee, chocolate)

Challenge: Include one gift for each letter needed to spell out a word from the season (SNOW, JOY, FAITH, LOVE, HOPE, GIFT, TREE, JESUS, STAR, SANTA, etc). Of course, the perfect gift for an "A" is an APRON.

Zipper bags in school colors

Made these zipper bags for my two God-daughter's in their high school colors, royal blue and gold.  We got together with them a few weeks ago and went to a football game at Highland Park High School.  HPHS is an old very established high school and it was a nice change from the schools in our area which are less than 5 years old.  The band was incredible, the drill team was incredible, the football team won by a landslide and it was so nice to get together with my Comadre and chat. 

Emma is a junior and is on the drill team, Nina is involved in choir.  I thought these bags would come in handy for make up or stuff in their purses.  I love making these little zipper bags, can you tell?  Thanks for stopping by!

Owl Dish Towel & Pot Holder

I found these cute little owl dish towels and pot holders the other day and just had to buy them, I thought the applique was so cute.  I personalized 3 sets of these for my mother in law and two of hubby's aunts. 

I need to stock up on these because they turned out to be great quick gifts I could stitch up in no time when I need something fast.  Thanks for stopping by!

2nd half of October is a blur...

Sorry about my absence the last few weeks.  As I mentioned before, we've had some big changes at my work which has dramatically increased my responsibilities and work load... 

Since my last post, I have been a little busy with the following:

• My Master Gardener certification class is almost done, we have three more class meetings and then I am done with weekly tests and homework.
• Hosted a litter pick up event (Trinity Trash Bash) with 150 volunteers on October 20
• Co-hosted a water conservation event (Water Wise Irrigation workshop) with 5 other cities on October 23
• Hosted another city wide event (Recycling is Fun Day) with about 300 attendees on October 29
• Hosted another city wide event on Halloween (Be Green on Halloween Costume Contest) on October 31
• Hosted a Lunch & Learn for city employees on November 1
• Presented to elementary student body and went on a field trip with daughter's school on November 2
• Was intending to catch up on November 3 (yesterday) since we had nothing going on except a pot luck at church but while I was grocery store, daughter had an accident and ended up in emergency room with 3 staples in her head!  (all is okay now but last night was a little scarey).

So now that all that is done, I am going to get back to regular posting.  I have so much comp time accumulated at work, I am going to take two weeks off in November.  Woo Hoo!  Thanks for hanging in there with me, I appreciate it very much.

Halloween Swap headed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Here is everything I mailed my second swap partner in Baton Rouge, LA. 

It was so fun to make everything.  I really hope she likes it all.  I had no hints on her style or preferences so I am crossing my fingers. 

The zipper bag and coaster were my two favorite items.  Here is a closeup of each.  The coaster was actually an applique design I modified to be a coaster with a backing.  The coaster is almost 5 inches in diameter.

The other favorite item was a zippered bag.  I was pleased with the way it turned out when I fussy cut only one witch in the design.  .  I love the bat charm on the zipper.  Again, I hope she likes it.

The Halloween Swap was hosted by Bonnie at Pink Stitches, I think she is hosting another swap soon and I am hoping to participate.  Hope you all have a great week.

More Fun Mail part 2

Hope you had a great weekend.  I can't believe it's already Wednesday and I posted last Thursday.

Here are a few more things I received from Ruth, my swap partner in Laredo.  Did she spoil me or what!  Isn't this draw string pouch totally cute!  I plan to use it to carry little stuff that gets lost in my big tote to work.

 

 Next is a few more things.

I love the print on the square zippered bag, the weenie dog push pins, the key chain, owl charms & post it notes, halloween hand sanitizer and even some magnets!

Can you believe there is more? Yes, stuff she sent to Micaela!  Isn't that sweet?  I never knew swapping online would be so much fun.  I'll post the other stuff in the next few days.  Thanks for stopping by!

More fun mail...

Came home to a package from my other sewing swap partner, Ruth in Laredo....  She sent so many cute things, I will post one at a time.

Here is my favorite thing....  a teacup pin cushion with clay pins she handmade herself.  Are these not the most adorable pins you have ever seen?

I will post more of her goodies in the coming days...  Thanks for stopping by!

More Swap Stuff

Here are a couple more things I made for my swap partner.

A Halloween Jack O'Lantern Hand towel for my swap partner's 3 year old son Jacob.  She said he wants to keep washing his hands to use it,  I guess that is a good thing since flu season is here.

The other item I made for my partner was a Halloween Witch Dish Towel.  I have been making these since last year, they are like a staple.  I have made one for most of my friends and family.

I have more things to post, thanks for stopping by and keep checking in.

Halloween Pennant Banner

Here is another one of the items I made for my swap partner Ruthie.

This Halloween Pennant Banner is more than 60 inches wide and was difficult to photograph.  The pennants measure 10 inches wide and are 11.5 inches long. 

This fabric is called Pumpkin Patch Jack o'lantern and it's by Alexander Henry.  I'll post some more stuff tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!

Fun Mail

As I mentioned I am participating in several sewing swaps.  Yesterday I came home to a wonderful package from Marysville Tennessee.

This is what I got....

It's a set of four coasters, an acorn stamp, a little canvas bag that was stamped, a hand woven fabric bowl and some buttons.  I love the fabrics Lora used.  I am looking forward to buying an African Violet to put in the woven fabric bowl and using the coasters.  Thank you Lora! 

Elf is Back

Our Elf is back.  Midas Carlos (Micaela named him) is back in town early.  He spent all of December with us last year.  Micaela has been asking about him for weeks, so he's on special assignment from Santa.  The elves in the North Pole (me) made him a special outfit for the month of October.  It's a cape and belt with Halloween candy all over. 

We've been finding him in the weirdest paces.  Here he is in the breakfast nook, hanging out in the soup tureen.   I expect this is the last year Micaela will BELIEVE, so we are embellishing as much as we can.  So fun to be parents.  Thanks for stopping by!

Halloween Witch Zippered Pouch

I mentioned that I am participating in a Halloween Sewing Swap sponsored by Bonnie at Pink Stitches.  I've been dying to post pictures of my stuff but didn't want my partner to see them so had to hold off until she received her package.  Here is one of the items I made for her. 

The fabric is called Moon Dancer by Diane Knott and manufactured by Clothworks Textiles.  I bought the fabric two years ago.  The fabric has rows of witches, pumpkins, cats, and witch hats.  I fussy cut the witches and centered them on the front panel.  The inside lining has no exposed seams and I used an orange zipper and added a spider web charm to the pull.  This was so fun to make and my friend Ruthie loved it.  I plan to make more!  Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Ketch Up

Well, I didn't mean to be away for almost three weeks.  I've been crafting a bit, sewing up a storm for various swaps, working, doing my Master Gardener Class which is really time consuming, driving Micaela around to birthday parties and activities and then had a trip to San Antonio for my neice's wedding so it has been non stop!

I will do seperate entries for craft items but wanted to show a picture or two of my neice's beautiful wedding last weekend.  Micaela was responsible for distributing programs and took the job very seriously, here she is....

 Here is a picture of the beautiful couple Steve & Kristina, they look so happy together!

This was such a lovely wedding and we had so much fun.  Micaela danced the whole night and then passed out like a light as soon as we got to hotel. 

While in San Antonio we made a quick stop at The Alamo for a quick Texas History Lesson.  Micaela was very intrigued!

I'll be posting pictures of everything I have crafted the last few weeks in the next few days.  Thanks for checking in and I promise to get back to posting regularly.

Earthy Zippered Bag

Made yet another zippered bag.  This one is for my boss who is leaving. Her last day is next week-not by choice.  

This Timeless Treasures fabric called "Save the Planet" couldn't be more perfect for her and those of us who work in Environmental Sustainability.    The entire print throughout the fabric features great earthy quotes in bold fonts.  I fussy cut the fabric to feature "Respect the Planet" on the front of the bag and "Green is not just a color" on the back.  

I used an owl for the charm because 'owls give a hoot!'.  Corny I know but she'll appreciate the thought and humor. 

  In case your keeping count, we WERE a dept of 7. 4 interns left @ end of summer, 1 coworker left last month & boss leaves next week. Do the math & sadly that leaves me only! 

Zipper Organization

If you have been reading my blog lately, I am sure you have noticed my new love for zippered bags and pouches.  This love has resulted in a new obsession with zippers.  Nothing is more frustrating to me than wanting to start a sewing project and not have everything I need.  You all know I have plenty of fabric and thread but I really did not have a stock pile of zippers.  A few weeks ago I hurried to Wal-Mart at 10pm, crossing my fingers for a zipper.  Crazy I know!

So, no more running to the store at 10pm for plain white zipper for me.  I have decided to stock up on zippers in a rainbow of colors.  Luckily, I found a vendor that was going out of business so I bought a nice supply for a song. 

The zippers arrived while my parents were visiting last week and Mom & Micaela helped me organize them.

I decided to group them by color and keep them together by pinning them with a safety pin.  Then we played with a place to put them... First we tried a wire basket, not enough space, then the fabric racks where I have my small pieces of fabric...nope did not look good... then we experimented with wire and how to hang it on the wall...  THEN my brilliant 7 year old daughter suggested nailing buttons to the wall and stringing wire between them!!!  OMG, not even me and my mother thought of that!!! 

Here is how we did it... Nailed Button to wall and then strung the wire between the nails under the buttons. 

Here is the rainbow of zippers...  I should not be running to the store anytime soon.  I love the way it looks.  What could be more perfect than nailing buttons to the wall.  Have I mentioned I think my daughter is BRILLIANT!!!

Here is the whole wall, rainbow of buttons on a wreath, rainbow of fabric on my racks and now a rainbow of zippers..... I love it!    Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

Springtime Vintage Zippered Pouch

My parents visited over the weekend.  While they were here, Mom, Micaela and me escaped to the sewing room to hang out and "play".  I showed my Mom some of the zipper bags I have been making and asked her to pick out some fabric so I could make one for her.

This fabric is from Stampin Up! and is called Springtime Vintage.  I love this pattern, it is very much my Mom's traditional style.  We chatted while I worked on this, it was really fun.  In no time I was done and now she has the perfect zipper pouch for her rosary. 

Zippered Pouches like this one are available in my Etsy Store.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Cowboy Pillows

Made these cowboy pillows for the toddler sons of one of my high school girlfriends.   Aren't these great cowboy names?  The Daddy is a big fan of old western movies (obviously). 

These are 15x15 empty and made of real denim.  The fabric in the appliqued monogram letter has a rope pattern.  I love how these turned out, I hope Blaze & Weston enjoy them. 

These are available in my Etsy Store.  Thanks for stopping by!