Happy Birthday Daddy! I miss You!

Today would have been my daddy's 63rd birthday and I woke up this morning missing him. Dad's newest grandbaby was born this week on the 18th of August, weighing 5 lb 5 oz. and 19.5 inches long. He almost made it until grandpa's birthday! We named him Tristan and decided that his middle name should be David, after his grandpa. I hope that my daddy can see Tristan from heaven and watch over his namesake from there. My other hope is that Tristan David will learn to treat people with respect no matter what walk of life they are from, something that my daddy always managed to do here on earth.

Love you daddy!

New Blog!

I have fallen down on my blogging yet again! But I have a good reason this time I promise. I have started a new blog called "Sewing for my Baby boy!" and it is all about sewing for the little guys in your life. That's right we found out on the 11 th of this month that we are expecting a little boy again! And we are so super excited! I don't know what it is about sewing for little boys, but I really think it's the best!

I am determined to sew everything that our little one will need for his wardrobe for at least the first 365 days of life. I thought at first it might be a little too big for me to handle, but now that I have started, I am enjoying my sewing more than ever.

If you would like to follow my new blog here is the link.

http://sewingformybabyboy.blogspot.com/

I hope to have lots of tutorials and some suggestions for lots of little boy sewing! In the meantime here is a little pic of our "little boy". Yes, he has no name. Hopefully something will stick very soon!

Itty Bitty Sewing, Sew Much Fun!

Oh, I am falling down on the blogging! I have so many ideas dancing around in my head, but haven't found my way back to the sewing machines!

I do have an excuse though! We finally saved up enough to buy some furniture for our home! How long have we lived here you ask? Well, June 8 will be 2 years. Sadly our downstairs has sat furniture-less for all of that time. It has been quite comical because the kids friends always ask if we are moving out! I never knew that 2 living rooms and a dining room would be so hard to fill up. We believe in the not buying something unless you can pay for it with cash. Not that we don't have debt, we just don't want anymore.

Wednesday is delivery day and I couldn't be more excited. I purchased a set for what I call my fancy living room and a set for the lived in family room. The fancy one will have a new couch, loveseat, 2 end tables and a coffee table. I also purchased a new big rug and 2 really cool lamps for the room. The lived in one will now have a huge sectional, just what we needed. I have disliked the thought, because I think they look a little sloppy, but with our growing family I think it was the only smart option. Everyone will have their own spot now to watch tv and most seats will recline, which my hubby thinks will be heavenly after a long day of work! Haven't found the perfect rug for that room, but hopefully it will find me soon!

Next up on my to do list, is to find the perfect fabric for curtains. A big job considering two of the windows are over 100" wide. I know it will happen though! I also need to start looking at the thrifts for some chairs to recover for the dining room table. I have an older table that I repainted that I think will work perfectly, but no chairs! And then my rooms will look naked still, because I have no artwork to hang. I am hoping to take some pics of the kids and maybe do a sepia look to take up some space. I have seen this in a home before and it was really cool looking. Now to make them all 3 agree that it is a good idea!

Here are just a couple of sets that I sewed up in the past month. First I was feeling like the new baby would be a boy, so I did this little 2 pc set. Sadly the tee is a smaller fit than the pants, so I will have to redo a little bit.

And then I felt like no, this baby is a girl. So I sewed this 2 pc set up and added my first diaper. Lots of fun, but I can't say I am overjoyed at sewing up a bunch of these!

I will have to share some pictures when everything arrives and I get set up a little. It will be so different to walk into our house and see furniture! I can not wait!

Another Bag for Me!

I just couldn't help myself after finishing the 1st one. I thought I would have another go at it just for fun. I have had this fabric sitting around for at least a year and I loved it, just didn't know what to do with it. So I made it a bag and I think it turned out very pretty with it's punches of color!

Made from the same download as the previous one and with my same measurements. I made both a little smaller, cutting my pcs. at about 13" x 17" and the corners about 5" x 6" instead of the bigger ones.

Today I think I need to make something I can sell. I love bags, but sadly they do not bring in the money that they once did.

I have a new focus, baby clothes! Yes, I am baking my 4th little one. Once the baby arrives, sometime around the 1st of Sept., we will have a total of 5 kids, wowzers! My husbands daughter will be 22 by then, and our other 3 will be 16,14 and 7. What a grand range. It's a good thing they say little people keep you young, we are going to need it!

I am going to give the cloth diapers a chance this go around, so I am super anxious to get started. I have already ordered a few supplies, just waiting on them to make their way here to get started. I have heard once you start you can't get enough of their fluffy goodness. Time will tell!

Summer in the City Tote Bag

I have been hoarding this fabric for well over a year now. I just adore every piece of the Summer in the City line by Moda. The colors do just scream summer! I finally decided this weekend to cut into my precious stash and make a bag for myself!

I found a tute at studio e fabrics for the Flourish Bag. I love the fabrics they chose for their sample and I thought it would look just as great with the Summer fabrics. I think it took me most of the day to decide which fabrics to use where. Really! I just stood there admiring them all spread out for the longest time. In the end, I used some of the floral ones and polka dots, saving my precious birds for another time. I really like how it turned out and I can't wait to make another.

I did change the dimensions on my bag a little, the tute one just seemed a little big for my taste. I'm glad that I did so, because it still turned out plenty big enough! I also decided to do a braided belt instead of the tie one that they chose and added a magnetic closure to the inside. Oh and I changed the pockets on the inside too. I prefer mine up a little higher and I decided to just put them on the one side. Oh and I made my handles a little longer, cutting them at 26" for length.

My Sewing Slump!

Yes, I know that we all get them, but I really dislike a sewing slump! I love creating things and yet, my brain seems so bogged down!

Yesterday, I decided that in anticipation of Sewing Mamas Stash Game for February, I would clean my sewing room, top to bottom! I just knew that the juices would start flowing if everything were organized and pretty again! Not that it was a total disaster area, but things were definitely out of sorts.

I started by emptying out 2 big rubbermaid totes full of fabric that had accumulated in my corner. Most were ones that I was hoping to sell soon, but unfinished projects were also there, along with some books and things. After dumping things out I had a big mess on my hands. Including the dust bunnies that had happily made their home in my very neglected corner!

Luckily, my daughter had decided she no longer wanted a shelf of mine in her room, so I now had an organizing solution! This shelf system now holds my etsy offerings, my unfinished projects, fabrics that are being used at the moment, and those that I would like to purge soon. Please forgive my sad blue chair I purchased at goodwill over a year ago, with the intent on taking it home and recovering it, showing it's true potential. Well sadly it's great potential is still in hiding!

And then we move onto my Rocketeer desk, which couldn't really be seen before I started. It now has my 3 drawer serger thread station and this huge tote of scraps that still need to be gone through. Why must I save all of my scraps? I just have this fear that if I unload them, I will need them for something useful. That would be sad! So here they sit, but I really need a prettier solution, this thing is just ugly and clashes with the decor!!


Most of my fabrics have been folded and stashed away on their shelves. I tried to do a little bit of organizing, but I think I missed a few cubes. Have to get to that later on!

I do have a horrible hideous pile of denims sitting on top that will not fit anywhere! I did at least refold them so they look a litte prettier than when they were just thrown up there!

And that brings me to my buckets of storage on top. I promised myself that I would recover the striped ones so they would "pop" a little and improve the look of my shelving. Well no pop yet, it's still on my to-do list!

And then here are my other machines, sitting here begging to be used! I did at least wipe everything down and remove the lint from behind them. I can't believe how much gets stuck back there!

I hope that this will help anyone else that is in the middle of a sewing slump. I really do think that the more organized your space is the more you will accomplish and the happier it will make you feel! I am off now to find something to cut out! I can only hope that by the time the stash game starts in February my space will still be clean!

The New Year has Arrived!

All the decorations have came down, the trees put away, the Nutcrackers safely wrapped and stored, my house feels so empty! The blog has returned to it's usual state, but I have the feeling it will change very soon. I feel the need to play with PSP sometime this week.

We had a very merry Christmas this year. Time was well spent with family and friends, life couldn't have been any better. We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and luckily Santa found Noah's letter and redirected the children's presents and stocking stuffers to grandma's house! He could not have been more relieved!


I haven't sewn much, but was tempted this weekend and tried an idea that I had been playing with. I took a couple of thrifted tees and turned them into a newborn gown and beanie. Oh, it is so cute and cozy! I see more of these in the future for my ZooTZ store. The only thing not recycled is the blue rib knit.
Now I am off to sew some tees for Noah. He desperately needs long sleeved tees, we don't have much use for them in FL. But we are supposed to have a very cold spell this week. He has requested skater style tees, so we will see how I do!

I wish everyone the best of things to come for the New Year! May You and Yours be truly blessed this year!

A Tropical Christmas!

My favorite girl cousin came to visit me this past week. She and I went thrifting together which was a lot of fun! I was lucky enough to score a Christmas tree for only $10!!! The box was marked around 200! What luck!

We dragged it home and I immediately began assembling, it took about 6 hrs, but I am proud to say all the pieces were there, more luck! I stared long and hard at it the next day before deciding that this would be my "Tropical Christmas Tree"! I mean after all we are in Florida!

I have been hoarding the perfect fabric, "Kris Kringle in Paradise", a really great print from Michael Miller. The 2 prints have been sitting on my shelves marinating for years and I finally had the perfect thing to use them for, more luck!!

I found a tute on the internet and went to work on Saturday, cutting and measuring, binding and sewing, took me all day, but I am so happy with the end result! Super festive and it really brought my tree together once it was on.

I went out with my mom and found some beautiful ornaments, get this, they were called "tropical!" more luck! They are wonderful and I can't wait to search for more. I'm sure it will take years before I am really satisfied, but the wait will be worth it in the end I hope. Oh and if you would like to try the tute, I found it here. There were lots of great tuturials there.

http://sew4home.com/projects/fabric-art-a-accents/390-citrus-holiday-simply-quilted-patchwork-tree-skirt

Small warning though, the middle looks really wonky before cutting the center out. If I were going to do it again, I believe I would sew 2 petals together, four times and then assemble the pairs. I think that would help.

I plan on giving the elf stockings a go tomorrow! Hope everyone is having a little Holiday fun!

Lots Going on...

Sew much going on lately! I am in the midst of my holiday sewing. I have so many things I would like to get done in the next week, only time will tell how many I will accomplish!

All of my custom orders were sent out last week, boy that is a good feeling! I love sewing for other people, but I really cherish the little bit of time that I get to sew for those closest to me.

I made a tee today that my little guy claimed right away. Truth be told I was sewing for my etsy shop, but luckily this one was his size and Star Wars, with Clones! His favorite thing at the moment!

I have sewn 3 crazy log cabin blocks this past weekend in Arcadia. I am hoping to make a bench seat with them next week. Just need to find time to go the fabric store and select that perfect solid to help me along! Here is a little sneak peek of them so far. This line has to be one of my favorites ever.

Noah and I took a little break yesterday from house chores to try our hand at candy making. We are hoping to do a new batch this week to give to all of his teachers and helpers at school. Just need to go to the store and find something cute to put the candy in. I was inspired by the http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/ blog. She made so much yummy looking Reindeer Bark, that Noah and I just couldn't help trying some too! We used the white bark and added it to pretzels and m&ms, yummo! Then we drizzled some chocolate bark over the top. It was really quite good, but the next batch needs more pretzels!

Well I am off to cut out more tees for the shop and hopefully sew something for my mom. I have things planned out to sew for all 3 kids, I need more time I think! I leave you tonight with this yummy close up, yyyyuuuummm, can't you just taste it???

So Much to Do!!

Time to write my list, and it's not the Naughty or Nice one! I have so many ideas and projects that I would like to get sewn for family and friends this holiday season. It seems like my time is getting away from me! Hopefully I can organize my thoughts onto paper and schedule some time each day to work on them.

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. Mine was spent with family and it was so nice and relaxing. Ate way too much food, but it was well worth the tummy ache!! I have given the blog a little facelift too for the upcoming holiday season!

I have put a few tees in my esty store this past week, but I have quite a few more cut out. Hoping to have a Cyber Monday sale this week!

Here are just a few pics of last weeks tees!

My mom celebrated a birthday in November. I had just a few minutes one afternoon to whip her up some coasters using my favorite Arcadia fabric by Moda. I love how they turned out. I also gave her a coupon clutch made from Objects of Desire by Moda. I hope it will be well used!
Stay tuned for some more fun sewing this week! I will also be putting my Beanie Pattern into my esty shop this week! It's a lot of fun to sew and a great way to use up your knit scraps!!

Oops, 1 more tee to show. This one just added tonight. My last holiday one for the year!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35506563

Super Hero Custom Sets Flying OUT the Door!

Short post today. I have so much left to do before Christmas and so little time. Lots that I would love to accomplish before then. I am down to 2 more custom orders, yahoo for me! Then I would love to stock up my etsy store for the Christmas shoppers!

I really enjoy sewing on special sets that little guys love to wear. There is so much time involved in each of these, but I think they turned out cute! They were a special request from a mom that has a 2 yr old that just LOVES Batman, Superman and the Joker! I had a lot of fun creating these, but I hope he will have more fun wearing them.

Here are a few pics of the sets before I wrapped them up and sent them on their way.

Christmas Time....

is just around the corner! Unbelievable, this year has really flew by! My kids are already asking how many more days until Christmas, how many?? Little do they know that Santa could use the most he can get!

I have so much to get done this week and today is Friday, yikes! We are having a garage sale tommorrow and there is so much to still do to prepare. I have so many kids books that mine have outgrown or don't read. Sew much fabric too!! Why is it so hard for me to let go of my fabric, even when I know that I am not going to use it??

To make things easier for us, I decided to have hubby pull out all the Christmas decorations so we can find our way around the garage. I can't wait to decorate! I think it may be the earliest I have ever started, but I am excited! I just love Christmas!

Earlier this week I found this on the side of the road, much to my teenage daughter's dismay I couldn't resist loading it into the car. Great post to come, but here is a sneak of the before!

Last night I loaded up my store with some upcycled Christmas tees to put me in the Spirit. I sang the Grinch song all day long while I sewed much to everyone's dismay!! That's okay when I pull out my Rat Pack holiday CD they will appreciate it even more!

Here are a few pics of tees. I think this first one is the only one left in the store!