4 All I Want For Christmas

1 and the winners are...

Jodi of usairdoll

"Oh I love the Kawaii Scarves, too cute. That would be my pick.
Thank you for a great giveaway and a chance to win. Two winners! Woot! Woot! You Rock!"

and

Laurie

"I love the hoody scarves- so, so cute! the pink one for my daughter would be lovely."

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Thank you so much everyone for participating in my giveaway! It was a lot of fun. Jodi and Laurie... please shoot me an email with your mailing addresses so I can send your lovely goodies!

Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend!

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4 A Stranger No More

Sometimes all it takes is one email to plant the seed.

via Everything Else We Do

Meet Ashley from Everything Else We Do.

She had sent me an email several weeks ago regarding a dress I had made for Lala. She wanted to make one for her little one and had a few questions how to go about it. Being that time of the year with a gazillion things on my list to do's, I could've easily just answered her questions and went along my way, but that's not who I am.

I blog to not only document my creative endeavors, but to inspire  and BE inspired from others. There are so many wonderful and talented women out there... it's mind blowing, and through the blogosphere, we are able to share and grow. I am a firm believer that you are greeted with fantastic "opportunities" throughout your life be it events or people. It is up to you to welcome it or dismiss it. As children we have no fear of going up to someone and saying, "Hi! Will you be my friend?", and as we grow older we loose that gift.

It's lonely isn't it? I know I'm lonely at times. Staying home most of the time, chasing a toddler all day and having little to no quality time for myself. It's tough. So being here in the blogosphere, it's comforting to see that I'm not alone. It's my "virtual therapy". So when another fellow blogger reaches out and asks for help, I make it a point to reach back. So through emails and a little guidance, Ashley made this beautiful dress in time for Thanksgiving for her little darling.

Isn't she a doll?!? Look at those curls... I would kill for that!

It turns out that Ashley knits. KNITS! *sigh* Some of you know me  and know I can't knit to save my life. It's like my brain goes on retard mode and I'm all thumbs. Seriously.

So when Ashley sent me this gorgeous knitted cowl scarf as a thank you for my help, I was beside myself. When I give, I NEVER think of anything in return. I give because I like to see others happy and when they're happy... I'm happy. It made me teary eyed to think that someone was so grateful of my help to take the time and make something for me. That rarely happens.

This is awesome. I LOOOOOVE it! I will be wearing this A LOT... thank you Ashley!!!

If you're a knitter or want to learn how to knit, I STRONGLY advice you head on over to Ashley's blog. It's wonderful! She's doing a weekly "knit-a-long" and for the next few weeks, she's doing a different versions of the cowl neck scarf. She's fairly new to the blog world and has so much to share. Please-please-please be a kind neighbor, pay her a visit and make sure to say hello. You'll be happy you did.

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Have a wonderful weekend folks!

21 Lala's Cowl Neck Tunic

After making a cowl neck tunic for Lily Moon, I had to make one for Lala.

I added big pockets with a slight gathering on the side. I think next time I need to add more gathering.

The fabric for the top is from JoAnn's and I lucked out... it was on sale (half off) and so I spent a total of $5. Not too shabby. The leggings are from Old Navy. 

Okay, so I made a cowl neck for Lily Moon, Lala and next, Sophia. Stay tuned...

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I'm linkin' up:

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202 GIVEAWAY!!!

Sew Mama Sew! is hosting their biannual Giveaway Day again and I thought it would be fun to participate. For those who are new to our little ol' blog, welcome! It's always nice to meet new people, so please make yourself at home and take a look around.

 It's been a long time since I've done a giveaway and instead of giving one goody, I'm doing two. So there will be 2 winners with your choice of any one of these prizes:

Kawaii Hoodie Scarves (size: 2-4 yrs)

 Miss Molly or Miss Jenny PDF pattern.

*For more information about these prizes, click on the shop bar and head over to my shop for product details.

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So here's what you gotta do:

-Leave a comment on which prize you'd love to win.

-Followers get extra entries, just leave another comment that you follow.

-Be sure to leave an email address in your comments.

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Giveaway ends on December 7th at midnight(PST)and two winners will be announced on December 8th.

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Please be sure to visit Sew Mama Sew! blog for more fabulous giveaways.

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Good luck!

5 Link Ups: Navy Sweater and Top

 Sometimes I have an entire outfit all laid out in head and other times it's one piece that leads to another. This is the "other" times. The cardigan is the seed and the rest grew from that. 

Cardigan: Old Navy

Top: Pattern V from "Les Couleurs Francaises" Japanese sewing book

Leggings: Drafted pattern

This is a great book.

Easy to follow instructions and what I really like about this book is most of the patterns are in both children's and adults.

Lily Moon had to dance in the back to get Lala to smile. First a cookie... now dancing... what next... a pony?!

*Sheesh!*

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I'm linking up over at Kilee's today and Morgan's tomorrow. Come on over and check it out!

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0 Suburbia Soup Tutorials: you made it

Here are a few awesome people with their amazing creations using our tutorials:

Carrie's adorable hoodie scarf for her youngest one.

Churrl incorporated deep pockets to keep her little dinosaur warm.

Minna made teddybear heads using the cookie cutter tute. Check out her fun blog HERE.

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Have you made anything using our tutorials? If you have, post them on our Flickr group or shoot me an email. I'd love to see what you've created. Nothing makes me happier than to see what people make using our tutorials... it makes the time and energy creating them all worth it.

C'mon... don't be shy!

*wink*

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12 Improv Sewing: Cowl Neck Duffle

Happy belated Thanksgiving folks! 
My belly is full and spirits high and I'm particularly excited to share with you my first Improv Sewing project, the cowl neck duffle. 

When Kelley and Rachael posted about their new sewing adventure, I had to take part. The concept is easy... get the book, Improv Sewing, every month they'll pick a project from the book, everyone does it and we all post about our creations. Easy. What I like about this sew along is seeing everyone's interpretation on the same project. 

I wasn't able to participate in the first project, the linen placemats, but when I found out the next project was the cowl neck duffle, I was rarin' to go! At first glance this project can be daunting for some, but after reading the instructions and how it's broken down, it's actually not scary at all. It was really simple... so simple that I whipped this baby up Thanksgiving morning in between baking.
No joke.
AND Lily Moon got to wear it for dinner.
How cool is that?!
I'm thinking of making one for Lala, Sophie and myself as well in between gift making...
who needs sleep anyway...
SO over rated...
HA!

*If you'd like to learn more about this sew along,  click on the button below or on my side bar.

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0 Black Friday Donuts

No Black Friday shopping for us.

Nope.

Just sleeping in and baking these lovely little gems.

Petite pumpkin spice donuts...

mmm...

When Carla posted a list of 8 yummy recipes for breakfast, I had to try these beauties. I've never baked donuts before and let me tell ya...

these are the moistest, deliciously flavorful treats I have ever tried.

 Seriously ridiculous.

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11 My Anthropologie Owl Jar

Do I have this one?

*sigh*

No.

I wish.

I've seen them in the shop and I absolutely adore them... all of them. They have such a distinct personality, each one of them, but the price...

yikes!

If I had the extra moolah, I so would. Luckily working part time at a ceramic shop has its perks.

Say hello to my little friend!

We only had four of these beauties in the shop over the summer and I had to have one. It's a pretty big jar and so it sat atop our piano all white...no color. No life.

I had no clue what I wanted to do with this guy.

One day I had a fit. A terrible fit. Grumbling to myself... mad at the world... I had to vent and there he was. With his BIG ol' eyes staring at me. I went for it. No real plan.

It took the entire night and part of the next day to finish him and it took that long for me to settle down and be okay. Sometimes talking doesn't soothe my soul. I need to work with my hands to work on my inner self.

And it feels good.

When I look at him, I am reminded that every dark tunnel there is light at the end. That makes me smile.

Now I'm itchin' to bake!

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6 Mugs 2&3 Done

I did say I would only make these for the fellas in the family for Christmas...

I should've known better.

I had a hard time finishing Mug #2, figuring out the style of hat and what kind of graphic could I use to describe her personality. It was only when she mentioned how she likes peacock feathers that I could finally finish it.

Ah... Mug#3...

I had fun with this one. He's a banker and yes ladies... he is single! This is my nephew... good looking, ay? Yup... it's in the genes. HA! I thought it would be fun to add a pipe and a bowler hat.

He's a watch man. Ugh... what a pain to paint a watch though. I think I could've done a better job, but this will do. I know-I know.. I'm my worst critic.

Okay, so as I said earlier I was going to make mugs for the fellas, but now there's a change of plans. So what was going to be only about 9 mugs has now just about doubled.

AAAAACK!!!

Have I lost my mind?! I'm a gluten for punishment. Seriously. So here's to late nights of painting, sewing, baking and decorating... 

yup... 

it's gonna be a great Christmas!

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