Crayon Rolls!

Last month, my mom asked me if I wanted to get a table at their local hospital craft fair in November. Hmmm ... what to do, what to do? As much as I would love to, I have a ton of things coming up. I'm moving to a bigger apartment (with a room just for crafting!) and a short trip to Oregon in October. The move is the biggest thing scaring me. My small 1 bedroom apartment is crammed with stuff, and yes, it is mostly crafting stuff. My poor husband, what he puts up with! But, I figured I could at least start on some crafty goodies just in case I do end up attending the craft fair. So the first thing I worked on were these:

Crayon rolls! Fun!

These were really fast and simple to do, once you got all the prep work done (cutting, pressing, fusing). The worst part of it was sewing the lines for each pocket. I will mention that careful measuring is essential! My first roll ended up with only 15 pockets! Yikes!!

I was able to use a few fabric oldies, but I also got to go and buy some cute new ones! Like the little Hawaiian kids above. They came in pink and blue. Perfect! I did try to put rick rack around the edges, but that was harder than I thought. I would miss stitching some of the rick rack, so I gave up. I later figured out that the rick rack I was using was just too small. So next time I will need to purchase the regular sized packages and maybe give it a try again.

I did about 10 rolls. I think my favorite has got to be these old-time cowboys and cowgirls They're so cute. And I chose red bandana print as a coordinating print. Cute! For some reason, they just remind me of Pioneer Woman's ranch kids!

Sew what's next? Baby minky blankets! See you soon and happy crafting!

Dear Blog,

Yes, I have been MIA. And yes, you have been neglected. All I can say is I'm sorry and I'll try harder. I do have lots to share. Some fun crafty stuff I've been creating. A big apartment move coming up. A trip to the west coast in October! And what ever happened to the cupcake baby shower? See, lots to share. But it's late and my eyes are droopy. Real soon! I promise.

Signed,
Marlene

P.S. And since you asked for a photo, here's sneak peek at a little flower I created a while back; just ignore the dark shadow!

Dear Author of this Blog ...

... where have you been? I sit here, waiting for content to share with all the world. But you're not to be found! Will you ever come back to blogland? Even just to share a photo or two? I will keep hoping and waiting for that magical day you log in and post something. A neglected blog can dream, right?

Signed,
Your blog

The New Year Has Come & Gone!

Wow, it's already the end of February! So much has gone on since the last post. Some good, some not so good. Our new year saw a medical emergency ... one that has us at the hospital daily since January 3rd! My dear grandmother was flown to Oahu, underwent surgery, was in ICU for over 6 weeks, and continues to be in the hospital. But she's getting better every single day! Thank you, Lord! Constantly going to the hospital to be with her (who wants to be alone in a hospital?) and driving family to and from the hospital has finally taken a toll ... yep, I've come down with a stinkin' cold. Ugh! So I haven't been able to drop by the hospital for the last two days. Gramms will probably scowl at me when I do finally show up. Thankfully, Jess has been going.

So needless to say, I haven't done any crafting, cooking, baking or anything fun! And once again, have ignored blogland! Remember the raggedy from Furlough Day 2? Well, here she is:

She's such a cute size! And I love her pink dress! She was eventually going to make it to my Etsy shop, but has been brought to the hospital to (hopefully) bring a little sunshine into grandma's room! I definitely need to sew another ... she was so quick and easy to do! Now to find the time to go work on another!

Did you know that the best people are born in February? Yep, it's true. Moi! Hubby! Dad (one day after me, what a great gift you got, huh?)! Brother #1, born on Valentine's day! Sorry mom, you missed February by one measly day! Bummers. So yes, a lot of birthdays. My b-day happened to fall on Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, so no nice dinner for me. That's okay, Hubby didn't get his b-day dinner either (too stressed out and busy). But that just means we get to have a huge treat once Lent is over. Hahaha! But back to February birthdays ... like I said, only the best people are born in Feb. And meet our newest little addition to the February b-day pack:

Isabella Corinne, my newest neice! She's adorable! You should see how she has her parents (of cupcake wedding ... no, they wasted no time!) wrapped around her tiny finger. I haven't seen her in almost a week, and now with this cold, all the more so I need to stay away. Can't be passing germs to the little one. I'm sure the next time I'll see her she'll have grown a bunch! I better get over this cold soon ... I need to squeeze the little bambino!

Funny, I refer to her parents' wedding as the "cupcake wedding" because of the more than 100 cupcakes that I baked. Addy must really like cupcakes ... because her baby shower also had cupcakes. It was bakery themed. And while it was a lot of work, I think we pulled it off. Maybe I'll blog about the shower in my next post. Until then ... have a great day!

Furlough ... Day 5

Hi all! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! My Christmas was quiet and relaxing. I got some kitchen stuff from the hubby. Of course, like I mentioned in my previous post, I also bought some fabrics for myself. So I got my two favorite things -- kitchen stuff and craft stuff! Now to find a place for this stuff. Living in a small one bedroom apartment is not fun and it's about time to start looking for a bigger place.

Today started the second week of our furlough and I spent the day being a complete bum! I slept in and when I woke up, sat around watching TV. Ugh! Talk about being unproductive. Well, no ... I did stitch the dolly legs on and put her dress on. Okay, so it's taking a week to get done, but I will get it done tomorrow. Promise! And, I also brought lunch to the hubby. What a nice treat.

Take a look at what was perched outside my door:

It's two birds sitting in my basil pot. Of course, this was taken a while back, but I happened to come across the photo and had to smile. There were two nesting in the pot, maybe even three! Sadly, I have a black thumb and the basil plant didn't make it. It's probably too hot to sit outside. Maybe next summer I'll try again.

Here's hoping for a productive week (anything is going to be more productive than today), so until Day 6 ...

Furlough ... Day 3 and 4

Can you believe I spent most of Furlough Day 3 at ... WORK??? Yep, I had to go into the office to work on crunching some numbers and reviewing a few contracts. Sigh. So long for a nice break. Truthfully, my break so far has been nice and quiet. Just how I like it! For Day 4, I spent it browsing fabrics at Kaimuk Dry Goods and books at Barnes and Noble. I did NO Christmas shopping this year for anyone (sorry gang), but I did manage to buy some fabrics and a couple of new books.

I also made some yummy treats involving these three ingredients:

Can you guess what it was? Hahaha!

Tomorrow is Christmas and I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Since there was no holiday shopping going on here, there's not going to be much presents to open. Although, a Crate and Barrel box was at the door when I got home this evening. Sweet!

Furlough Days will continue next week! Check back then ... hopefully I can finish that little Raggedy Ann doll (no she's still not finished)!

Furlough ... Day 2

Day two of furlough! Chatted on the phone with mom and spent the day being mostly lazy! Hahaha!

Besides spending some quality time on the treadmill (two days in the row, think I can keep it up?) and cleaning the bathroom (yuck), I started on a raggedy ann doll. It's smaller in size ... I had to start small! She'll end up being about 11" and will wear a strawberry dress. Maybe she'll even hold a sweet berry, we'll see. She's made using a Raggedy Old Annie's pattern. Here's what I accomplished yesterday:

And all I did today was work on painting the legs:

Hopefully this little cutie will be done tomorrow! I just need to stitch her face and hair on and then add some accents. And then I'll need to think of what I'm sewing next!

Furlough ... Day 1

Hi all. I've truly neglected this blog for months! Ugh! I don't know ... maybe blogging is just not my thing. I love reading blogs, but by the time I get home from work every day, well, let's just say I'm just too tired to do anything else. And yeah, my crafts have suffered too. Sigh!

But, good news ... I'm on furlough for the next two weeks! Well, not really furlough. It's called "Administrative Leave;" I took a 5% pay cut for this fiscal year but I get these next two weeks off (and another week during spring break). Kind of sweet! So let's see if I'm going to be productive this next two weeks. What do you think? I at least want to get to some crafting!

But this is what I'm facing:

A complete mess ... this is just one small shot of the stuff I've got to go through. Ugh! Wish me luck!

Getting Married?

Sister #2 and her hubby (of cupcake wedding earlier this year) have their website up and running. Julian is an amazing videographer and his wedding videos are so cool! He did our wedding slide show, oh so many years ago. While our slide show was amazing and everyone had to dab at their tear-y eyes, those were his amateur days. His work is fun and fresh and his photography is out of this world!

If you're looking to get married in Hawaii, go check out the 10thlettermedia website. And they have a promo running if you act quickly!

Where have I been? Cupcake heaven!

It's been forever since I've posted. I have been one lazy blogger! Just work, work, work. Not even crafting. Or cooking! But who can resist Etsy? Not I! Especially when browsing cupcakes! Check out all the cupcake goodness!


Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right):

Bambina ... Can you imagine pulling this out of your purse?
Pinks & Needles ... I need to whip up a pin cushion just for these little gems!
Poppy Chic Designs ... Sweetness for your hair!
KaraEileen ... OMG! I could lick my monitor right about now!
Gifts Define ... Adorable toppers!
BeePart ... Yes, I could get addicted!
Jennys Bake Shop ... I should live by this!
BeePart ... Edgy cupcake with a bit of bling!
City of Dionne ... Who wouldn't want a cupcake in the mail?
Candy Cakes ... Cupcakes in soap form, imagine that!
Rkdsign88 ... Pouring on the sprinkles!
Sea Pinks ... Mint chocolate, yum!

Doesn't this just make you want to head into the kitchen and bake up a batch of cupcakes? Hmm, on second thought, after baking over 100 cupcakes for Addy's wedding, maybe I'll just head over to one of these shops and buy some sweetness? Heck, most of these are calorie free!

Stay tuned for more Etsy finds and maybe a peak into some crafts that I've been toying with! Hopefully my next entry will not take 2 months to get posted ...