Still Sewing and sewing and sewing....

I have been sewing just no posting.

Halloween is just a day away! Luckily this year I picked up the younger 2 kiddos a costume at the goodwill store. Noah is going as Batman and Skylar a very cute Wonderwoman. Dustin decided that he did want to trick or treat this year after much going back and forth. He is 15 and couldn't decide whether it was still legal or not, LOL. I told him as long as he dressed up I didn't have a problem with it. So he decided just 2 days ago that he wanted to be the Joker(heath ledger version), but in a nurses dress, not the suit. So I headed to the store and bought the needed materials and took the bag to my mom's. I know, not a good sewing mama, but I have orders and grandma is a better seamstress than I! So she is making a costume today, she is the best mother in the world!

I did squeak out some yummy mummy cupcakes for Noah's class yesterday. These were so easy to make and Noah said everyone in his 1st grade class loved them. Noah couldn't wait to tell me that his teacher snuck two! Must have been yummy!

I promised the other kids that we would make some later today for the weekend. Can't have too much chocolate tempation can we?

Earlier this week I finally put together a PDF pattern for my beanie hats. They are so easy and fun to make. Noah truly loves having lots of beanies for winter. Even my 2 oldest feel the need for a few new beanies! This will be in my etsy oliomomma store soon. I decided after finishing it that I wanted to add the adult size too, so I need to redraw the pattern. The next day, I ironed all of my Arcadia prints by Moda and washed up a piece of lovely linen. I am going to see how many things I can get out of 1 yd of linen and scraps of my beloved Arcadia. So far I have 2 patchwork sets of coasters almost finished and I am thinking of starting a bag this weekend. Stay tuned! So many ideas!

Yesterday I decided to tackle my pile of tees that I have been collecting from the thrift store! I managed to get 9 tees/beanies cut out and sewed up 3 of them and put them in my zootz shop. 1 already sold, but 2 remain!

I have so many cute tee fronts and I can't wait to finish the rest today. This one is my favorite. I think because it was made with a power ranger knit that was printed the year my first son was born. Don't think that qualifies for vintage, but it is old!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33509158

Then 2 Batman Lego tees, one for the smaller guy and one for the little bit bigger guy! The big guy one already sold, but the little one remains. I just love the colors, these are always so much fun to make!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33509514

And of course, all the time in between has been spent on custom orders and time with my kids and hubby. My husband is hopefully starting a new job on Monday. He was already to go last week when they realized he hadn't been given a portion of the paperwork, so that was finished and now he waits. My fingers are crossed and prayers have been said. If you believe in the power of positive thinking, we could use some.

My happy give-a-way has 5 days left! I have enjoyed reading what makes everyone happy. I think it's wonderful that people make us happy. All those little moments we cherish are usually with the ones we love. Well fabric too, but that is a given! I will announce the winner on Nov. 5! Still plenty of time to comment on the Happy post and let me know what makes you happy!

Hope everyone has a great and safe Halloween!

J. O. B. !!

I just had to come back and post again tonight. I am enjoying every one's comments immensely. The little things and places that we find happiness in are truly inspiring!

My husband got a call today. He has a job!!! He starts Monday and there won't be a pay cut. I am so excited and beyond relieved. I would have never dreamed that I could make the bills this month on my own, it was a lesson in patience and perseverance. I just hope I don't have to do it again anytime soon!

Happiness Is.....

Waking up to a brand new day ahead. Having a family to share it with and friends to laugh out loud with. Hitting the snooze on the alarm clock just that one time. Seeing your children smile. Holding someone's hand that you care about. Listening to someone tell about the old days. Just feeling the sunshine on your face.

Someone asked the question, "Are you Happy?" on a forum that I belong to, just the other day. It made be stop and think for a minute about what happiness truly is. Do we make our own happiness? Or are we born with a certain personality, certain traits that determine whether you will be happy or not?

I have come to the conclusion, at least for me, that I am responsible for my own happiness. Sure, there will be sad days ahead, life as we know it couldn't exist without rough times. But, I have decided that with the exception of those few days, I will be happy.

Today would have been my grandmother's 81st Birthday. Sadly Grandma passed away in January of '98, but it really does feel just like yesterday. I can still hear her laugh, it was infectious and funny. I can remember watching Steel Magnolias with her one day, and the laughs were plentiful. She was an amazing woman and her heart so big. I miss her, but I am thankful that I had the time with her that I did. She was always around; every birthday, every special moment, everytime that you needed an ear to listen. So instead of being sad, I can be happy today that I had her in my life for those 23 years. It was a priviledge!

So what will make me happy today?

My kids. Above is a picture taken when we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC, years ago. We had the best time and when I think back I remember this picture of all 3 kids in the biggest chair they had ever seen. Pure happiness.

This morning my 6 yr old son begged me to tickle the bottom of his feet. I think this was merely a ploy to stay in bed a few more minutes before getting dressed for school. Well, it worked!

My 13 yr old daughter managed to get out of bed on the first wake up call, get dressed and make breakfast for herself. Giving me just another few minutes to hit the snooze.

My 15 yr old son woke himself up(this part is miraculous!) and gave me the nicest smile when I dropped him off at the bus stop!

My husband, whom has been out of work for the last month, just left for an interview. He is waiting to hear back today on an offer from an interview this past Monday.

My mug. Yes, I know it is silly. My mom bought 2 of these for me a few weeks ago, no occasion, just because, I think she paid $1 each. They are apple green with painted white dots and were made in Spain. I'm not sure why it makes me happy to drink my hot tea from this cup, but it does! A few pictures here, because well my camera makes me happy too!

My curtains. As I sat drinking my hot tea and eating my cinnamon peanut butter toast(yummy!) this morning, I was reminded of how happy my cafe style curtains make me! I made them from a Michael Miller 50's Kitchen print. I haven't gotten around to the top curtain or the matching placemats, but these rather plain curtains make me happy just the same.

My scraps. I have the biggest tote full of scraps. I went through it the other day to give Noah's teacher a big bag full for her Kindergarten class to use. I put everything away, except for these scraps that remained on my cutting table. They just make me happy, not sure why.
My selvedges. I have to be honest and say that I have sadly been throwing these away for years! Oh, the horror! Not until I read all the great things that can be done with them here, http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/10/big-selvedge-project.html ,

did I realize their true potential. I have yet, to sew any up. But one day, oh one day, what fun they will be.So many things to be thankful for and it's only 9:30 in the morning!

I think my happiness should be spread around! I am going to do my first blog give away in honor of my Grandma, Clara Nell.

I have thought about it, for just a few minutes and decided my Scalloped Fancy Flea Market tote would be the appropriate gift. I had it for sale in my etsy shop, but it would make me happiest to just give it away. My first love of sewing was tote bags. My favorite line of fabric ever, Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt. And it even has a vintage button for the center of the flower, and vintage makes me smile too! I will even throw some things into the bag that make me smile and hopefully you too.

So just leave me a comment on my blog about who or what makes you happy. It can be the smallest thing. It can be silly or sweet. Just whatever puts a smile on your face. I will let you know in 2 weeks who the winner is.

Sew Much sewing!

I have been sewing a lot lately, just no posting! Some for customs, some for Noah, some for Ebay! I really need to get moving and put some more things in my Etsy stores. I plan on doing that early next week.

Here are a couple of tees that were repurposed and already sent to their new owner! These were repurposed from tees that featured a front and back, so I will be adding 2 tees to my store that are very similar to these!

Here is a fun set that I put on ebay earlier. A cute OOAK 3 pc set repurposed from a spidey tee. I added matching pants and a beanie. I love how this turned out and I hope someone else will too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260491474041&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I have sewn about 3 new pairs of shorts for Noah for school, but no pics. I can't believe it is October and we are still over 90 during the day! Yuck!!

Gotham City!!

This was a fun one! Batman is looking out over the city from his view from the Batcave. Suddenly a light flashes into the sky lighting up the night in Gotham City! The bat signal! Time to jump in the Batmobile and save the world!!!!

Okay, well maybe not all of that, but close! This super sweet 2 pc set is available over on ebay(or feebay as I call it lately). Custom set available from a size 2T up to a boys 8!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260485166176&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT