Sew Rae!

It's a........!

2011-09-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't hold it in any longer. :) We are so excited!. Well my son and I are definitely excited. My husband on the other hand I think is still in shock. LOL. He was hoping for another boy. But like they say "the mom always knows". I've been telling him since we decided to find out what we were having that it was going to be a girl. The hubbies never listen do they. ;)

Baby thoughts

2011-09-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well the appt. is set for this weekend to find out what my little bun in the oven is! So excited, I want to know. I just have baby items on the brain. :) I'm in such a creating mood that I dont know where to begin. It's hilarious. I want to start so many projects but what one to do first??? I'm going to go bonkers. I think once I find out what I'm having I will have a better grasp on where to start. So in the mean time I'm making some things for my son since his birthday is coming up next month and I have a few custom orders to fill. Those will just have to tide me over for now lol.

I stumbled upon a great blog by Jessica Fediw of Happy Together.
She's a stay at home mom and she just makes the cutest outfits for her little girl. A lot of my friends have little girls so I was just drawn to her beautiful creations. She also recently had a baby and she has a few great maternity outfit tutorials that I'm just dying to try.

I've also gotten into learning how to crochet. I had started knitting a while back but I tried out crocheting and I took to that a lot better. I just find it more simpler for me, plus there's so much more I can make with crocheting then I did with knitting.

Well there's my little rants for this morning :) Thanks for listing/reading. Be back again soon.

Just no time at all...

2011-08-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well hello there. Yep it's me. Yes I am alive!.... hahaha
I know the last time I posted a few months back I wanted to have a whole new look to my blog. (I'll get back to that in a min) I also talked about some BIG news, well the "BIG" news is that we are expecting our 2nd child!. Yep I know it was a total shock to me & my husband. The rest of the family basically had the same reaction "it's about time!" lol.
So getting back to my reasoning for not getting the blog a make over... had to partly to us unexpectedly expecting, plus our son just started 2nd grade. It's just been so hectic lately that I haven't really been able to sit down and blog, sew, scrap, or anything remotely creative. I've probably started 5 or 6 projects and kind of abandoned them all for one reason or another.
I'm just pretty unmotivated as of late. So until I can get my head on straight and slow down on school stuff and baby things I think I can start back up again. I will still try and update everyone on my pregnancy and how things are going all around but it will probably be some what sporadic.
Thanks for being so understanding everyone *^_^*

Time flys by... are you having any fun?

2011-05-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hello out there in the blogging world!.... I feel like such a bad blogger. I used to be on top of posting. It's just been hectic for me from day 1 of 2011. Busy bee, that's me. I've been taking on some new projects, and since I sent in my Sketchbook Project, I've been trying to get back into drawing. I have some big news that's, well not quite ready to be announced just yet. I want to have all my ducks in a row before I make my announcement. Hope you will understand.
I got a brand spanken new laptop all to my little self so I'm hoping to get down to business and get back to posting and creating for everyone to see. For starters I am going to do an over haul on my blog and get a whole new look going. I was just thinking the other day that it's time for a change and that I need to get back out there. I miss everyone *^_^*
I'll be seeing you soon with all new style, lol.

Happy Mothers Day!!

2011-05-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to all you beautiful mothers out there and to the ones I know. I hope you have a wonderful day with family, friends, & loved ones.

This was my mommy's day gift from my Lil man David. He made me a necklace that I had to wear all day, and a tea cup with a packet of tea inside. It was so sweet.
Yesterday, my sister, David and I took my mom to a strawberry breakfast. It was a lot of fun spending time with them. There was also a street fair that my mom was working at (she's a Tupperware lady) and a car show going on, so we strolled the cars and booths while she worked.

My mom and David with her favorite classic car

My mom and sister

New Year Crazyness

2011-01-10T13:33:00.000-08:00

Well I know it's been awhile since my last post. I kinda dropped off the radar when the Holiday's came around. I didn't mean too. Just too many things going on to really get to posting. So let me give you a run down of what's been happening....

So my last post was the beginning part of December. That is when I think I became just stuck in the most worst creativity block I had ever seen. I was truly so uninspired that everything I would start is literally still where I left it un finished. Sad I know. I for some reason took on way too many projects all with close dead lines, and didn't leave any room for just me, to do whatever I would want to. Even my Sketchbook project is takeing big hit and it's due by the 15th. Eekk! I've never done that before and I'm upset with myself for letting this happen. My shop is suffering with having hardly anything in it right now also.
I'm hoping now with the holidays out of the way and with setting some new ground rules for myself. I will have more time for me and getting things done. Now I don't mean one of those pesky New Years Resolution things. No actual rules.

Now I'm just hoping that now that I have the major bulk of my projects done I can start working on things for my shop and for myself. I'm crossing my fingers for a good start and that it will just keep getting better. :)

Innocent ideas, Ramblings from a creative block.

2010-12-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well I have been majorly under the weather the past few days, and with the weather being so gloomy and rainy it didn't help my spirits much to want to be creative. I'm so behind on quite a few of my projects, (the Sketchbook being one of them eek!) that I think I'm beginning to go insane. lol. well anyway. I been randomly searching online for motivation and at times just sitting and reading or knitting hoping some thing would catch my fancy and I'd whip out something amazing.
Then I remember the blog by Keri Smith that my dear friend Lindsay pointed me too. I noticed on Keri's Blog in the Popular Post section a post titled How to be a Guerrilla Artist. It sounded interesting so I read it. Basically the post is about leaving anonymous art pieces in public places, without worrying about getting something for it in return. Just sharing a part of you with whomever wishes to view it. After reading the post I, in a strange way felt refreshed and began looking at things in a different perspective. It also brought me back to a time when I was little and me and my older sister decided it would be fun to write a message, put it in a balloon and just let the balloon go. In the message we wrote a hello note and instructions on what to do with the note. we also had our address in it to send it back later on. Well to our amazement 3 months later a letter arrived to us in the mail from a girl about our age at the time she mailed our note back to us and had a note of her own. It was great to see all the little notes included with ours. It actually traveled through 3 states and i believe 15 people, who all wrote little messages to us. It was fun to hear that our message had brightened someones day.

So really I guess this post is mainly about realizing not to look at my projects as work, but as something I love to do and knowing that whomever it is receiving my work enjoys and loves it too.
I'm ready to get back into my creativity mode and share my work with all who wish to view it. *^_^*

First Sketchbook entry

2010-11-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

It's finally begun!. After a long frustrating spell of what was going to be my first sketchbook entry, I finally just decided to pick a quick sketch idea that I had and drew it out. I was actually pretty scared to do anything to the book. lol, I know crazy right?!?. I am just trying to break myself of the "I'm my own worst critic" saying and do like I love to do and just draw when I have an idea. I used to worry about what others thought, but slowly over the years I've been trying to get out of that shell and just not give a crap about what others think. And take it more as constructive criticism. :) I'd rather speak my mind then have someone else speak it for me. So without further adue, here's is my first entry *^_^*

He wanted hair so bad that because the hair growth formula wasn't working fast enough, he tried a little experiment of his own. He just didn't realize the Hair Growth formula was an all natural mixture. :) haha I know it's weird.

Here is also the back cover to my Sketchbook. I'm debating on covering the front and doing something else. I didn't really think that one through when I started it.... We'll see.

This was actually done using oil pastels for the first time. Just reminds me of crayon. But I like how my trees came out.

Reading Red

2010-11-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

So I've been sick the last few days, and was really board. I was looking through my yarn stash and I had this skeen of this bright red. Not sure why I had it, I had attempted to make a hat out of it but didn't have enough to finish it. I couldn't even find another skeen in the store like it. So I guess it was one of thoes I was just kinda stuck with. So anyway, since I was sick I just wanted to be able to do something as I read. (Big book worm.)
So I desided I wanted to make another scarf. Well I had to redo it a few times, I kept making it to wide or I would mess up in a row. But I finally finished it and I had also finished my book that I was reading while I was at it. Lol.

Slowly coming along & a Thank you

2010-11-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well I can't say that I'm happy about my progress on my Sketchbook right now. I have some thoughts and ideas lined out on note papers but none of them have really gone into the book yet. I guess I'm just a little frustrated right now because when I try to sit down to work on it something comes up and I have to leave it. :(

But I suppose that's how the world turns right?...

I guess I'm a little scared to even try and just begin a piece in the book, afraid of the outcome I guess. I mean I'm a picky person and this is something that hopefully hundreds of people will see, so I don't want just any little scribble in the sketchbook. Lol, but I guess that's something I need to get past. It's a sketchbook for goodness sake haha. I can do this... I know I can,

The cover to my sketchbook, WIP- I am kinda going off of a theme from one of my favorite singers, Kerli Kovi. There's a great song she has, it's called Walking on air, if you've ever called my cell phone that's the song you'd hear. The video to the song is really great, the lyrics start off...
"There's a little creepy house

In a little creepy place

Little creepy town
In a little creepy world

Little creepy girl
With her little creepy face
Saying funny things that you have never heard"

So this is a work in progress of that creepy little house... and then the story will begin from here. At least that's what one of my ideas comes to.

I do want to take a moment to thank a wonderful person, who in a sense got me turned on to this project in the first place. My friend Lindsay of HedgeHog & Rabbit.

She is an amazing crafter, sewer, artist, designer, jack of all trades if you will. I met her about a year ago, on-line. She sent me a message on Flickr and helped me edit a few pictures I had put up. I took a look at her work and was just amazed at everything she had done. I guess I took a shining to her, she was one of the first artisans that ever really took the time to actually help me in a positive way. You know someone outside of family & friends that would just tell you what you'd like to hear. She was never mean or just didn't care. I just admire her attitude too, she's very opinionated and knows what she wants and hows she's going to get it. I think I became a stalker fan lol. No I'm not that bad...
So anyway I Thank You Lindsay for kinda taking me under your wing so-to-speak and helping me along through my crafting journey. So any of you reading this check her out she's not one to be missed.

Sneak Peek..

2010-10-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

So I've gotten some of my supplies together and I have been jotting down my jumbled up ideas for the Sketchbook Project. I have an awesome app on my iPhone called, well.. "Sketchbook". It's a great little tool to have, especially when I'm somewhere that I don't have paper and pencil.

<--- I know a bit strange, like I said I have some crazy ideas. Lol.

Here's a little sneak peek to a few other drawing ideas I had...

Now this is just a crazy line drawing.. the one that will be going into the sketchbook will, I hope, look 10x's better then this..

There is going to be a tiny little comic that is involving this picture. When I have the little strip done I will definitely post it for everyone. It's going to be a cute & funny one that my son actually helped me come up with.

My Sketchbook is here!

2010-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! I got my Sketchbook today!, well actually it was yesterday but I forgot to check my mail. Lol.

I'm getting all my supplies together to get down to work on this bad boy.. or girl. hehe. I'm so excited. my husband is just laughing at me. I'm running all over the house looking in boxes for my supplies. He tells me "I wish you would get this excited when I come home from work". lol He knows I love him.

Jeez... I have so many ideas jumbled up in my head, hey my theme is Science Project gone Wrong :) Where to begin is the question??... Wait and see the drawings unfold... dun dun dun♪♫♪

Crochet Kick...

2010-10-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

So lately I've had an artists/crafters block :( not fun. Plus I've just been giving my fabric stash some pretty evil looks lately... Not sure why, just not really inspired, I guess. But I have actually been on some odd Crochet kick this past week. I started making a scarf, that got put on hold (ran out of the yarn I was using for that), Started making fingerless gloves. I have one done! and I recently got a cute hat/beanie patten from The Beanie Bum. She has such cute beanies!

She sells the beanies and PDF patterns here on Etsy.

Well I've been wanting to make myself a cute slouch beanie but I only know basic crochet. All the hats I have made were just so plain to me and did really look good with what I'd want to wear it with. So I got a pattern from Beanie Bum. Her beanies look so good plain or with a little embellishment. So I thought "hey, why not give her pattern a try?". So I did. :)

Here's my end result...

(I just finished it about 2 hours ago. So this is after all my make ups been takin off )

My son picked out the flower. It's small but it works with the color yarn I used. everyone that's seen it so far says it's really good. So I can't wait till Friday so I can get more yarn and make some more! Yay!!

Sketchbook Project 2011

2010-10-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm taking part in the Art House Co-op's Sketchbook Project 2011, I know it's a little late. They are due the beginning of January 2011, but 2 1/2 months should be long enough right?.
I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. Knowing the way I work, I'll probably end up with writers/drawing block as soon as it arrives in the mail. In 2 weeks it should be here Eek!
My Theme is: Science Project Gone Wrong. I know, a little odd but this late in the game there wasn't many themes to choose from. I don't have to only stick with the theme, it's just a starting off point. I'm hoping to be able to diligently blog about it here and show posts of some of my pages! :) I'd love to hear your critiques and comments.

Happy Frankin Family

2010-10-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

So a dear friend of mine requested a little bit of a unusual order from me. She asked me too make her some plush dolls for her of her family. Why is this so unusual you ask?... Well because it wasn't a normal family of plushies she was wanting. She asked that I make a Frankenstein family :)
Her and I have been really good friends since we were in elementary school and we are a lot a like. She loves the old original horror films, The Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, ect. So to me this wasn't an unusual request coming from her, I was very excited to dive right in.
Here is the wonderful Frankin Family!-

Daddy Frank

Mommy Frank

Sissy Frank

(she was the only one I was asked to make normal)

Baby Frank

The whole Frankin Family

Such a cute idea. She loved them, and I had fun making them :)

Pillow cover sashiko refashion

2010-10-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Okay so I sleep a little funny at night, I'm sure in some way everyone probably does :) Well I use a body pillow when I sleep. I got accustom to it when I was pregnant and so I just stuck with it. So I decided to to give my plain downy black pillow cover a makeover.
I like the Sashiko embroidery style so I found a cute cherry blossom pattern ad tried it out. I'm proud of the outcome.

Sorry about the picture quality, all I had was my cell phone camera.

Featured in a Treasury!!

2010-10-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

Okay I know it's kinda late to boast now, but one of my little critters, "Pin Me baby" was featured in a Treasury on Etsy . Yay!. It was made back in September by stitchesxstones called Lights Out. Love her little bunnies and wallets. My little character was a design I got from UrbanThreads.com and it was too cute to pass up to make.

Continued...

2010-10-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well to get on with my wonderful adventures of why I haven't been blogging.... ;)

My next project was a Boots monkey plush for my wonderful friend's daughter. She loves Dora and boots. I wanted to make something really soft for her and able to be washed if needed, she's only 2. So i found some really nice fleece material, I think it turned out awesome!.

Here he is with her Dora, waiting for her at Nana's. I'll have to get a picture with her and him soon. :)

Next,
My mother-in-law asked me to make her some uniform tops for work. She's a registered nurse and she was having trouble finding scrub tops that fit comfortably. Well I'm no good at reading or using patterns that you can buy at the store. lol for some reason when I try the finished product never comes out right. So this time I made my own pattern.
Here's 2 of her new tops...

I was very proud of the outcome and she loves them. She can't wait for me to make more. I'm debating on if I will make them to sell, beings that I make them to fit the individual it may be kind of hard to do. We'll see though, still batting around ideas.

Neglectful

2010-10-02T22:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe I have been so neglectful to my blog. This summer flew by and I've just been so engulfed with my sons school and getting request finished that I haven't be able to post.... Well on to it then, let me get you up to speed with what I have been working on. :)

I had an order for a sock monkey, well I've never made one before and I didn't have any usable socks to make one. So next best thing that I had on hand was a great pair of dark brown corduroy pants and some fabric swatches that my aunt Cathy sent me.
So here was my first attempt at a monkey-

It was also request that he have a heart tattoo with mom in it. I thought that was cute.

I made 3 cute little owls, that I call Owlies.

Purple

Red

Pink

I had them all for sale in my Etsy shop and were all sold. I have 70% of the proceeds going to my dear friend Katie Davis and her family. Her baby, Olivia, at 19weeks gestation was diagnosed with HLHS. It was the least I could do. **Keep an eye out for more Owlies and passably some bigger ones to be placed in the shop for the family as well.** You can also check out http://weheartolivia.etsy.com for more ways to help out.

Koi Slippers

2010-07-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

I made a new pair of house slippers yesterday. I thought they came out really cute. I even used no skid cabinet/drawer liner for the bottom of the slippers. It works really well. It was a bit tough to get it though the sewing machine, I think I'm going to have to think of a better what to put it together if I'm going to use it again.

I used my serger on the inside to keep the slipper together. I even broke a needle serging it. lol. good thing for spares. I'm hoping to make more and have them in other sizes and put them into my Etsy shop.
I'm in the process of moving right now so I haven't been able to work on too many projects right now. :( but by the end of next week I hope to be back up and working on getting orders done. yay!

Pismo

2010-07-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

On the 5th of July me and my son David went with my family to Pismo. It's been a tradition with my family that every summer we'd go out there. I haven't been able to go in a couple of years and David's never been to the beach, so since I'm a stay at home mom now we finally took the trip.
David had a blast!.

Me and my 2 younger brothers

My dad and my brother Nathan love to play chess and the hotel we stayed at had a large chess/checker board. It's crazy to watch them play because they think so much alike.

and so it begins

30min later

1 hour later

1hr 45min Dad wins!

Check Mate!

Good Game! :)

Some recent Projects

2010-07-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a few projects the last few weeks. I had an order for plush Jack Skellington and Sally dolls. They were so much fun to make. They were completly done by hand.

In total they took me 3 weeks to make. I wanted to make sure they looked great for my customer. Jack is all made from 100% poly eco-fi felt and embroidery thread. Sally's body is light washed blue denim, everything else is 100% poly eco-fi felt and embroidery thread.

I made a plush Alice for my older sister's birthday. The Alice plush is also made by hand using 100% eco-fi felt

The style insperation came from Emily's designs @ Follow the white rabbit her creations are wonderful.

I've also took a stab at making some clothes. I needed a tank top because it was getting pretty hot out and I didn't really have the money to go buy one at the store. So since I was sitting at my machine I hashed out a pattern.

This is before sewing on my hand made bias tape.

The finished top. i was pretty proud. My first try and it came out pretty good. I wear it all the time now. :)

And Last but not least, I recently started my hand at knitting more and crochet. The first crochet project I tried out was a slouch hat that I've been wanting to make.

Sorry I've been away

2010-07-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

So sorry I've been away so long. David's end of the school year came and it's just been hectic with that and summertime.

We celebrated David's Kindergarten Celebration on June 1st.

we are just so proud of him. He'll be starting 1st grade the end of August. It was just a funny celebration. David was so excited to see all of us there. We also found out that he wants to be an Animal Rescuer.

My Swap is here!!

2010-05-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

So myself and BrooklyneChaos had been tweeting and messaging eachother about doing a swap together. I love her work. She is an amazing, crafty woman who speaks her mind weather you want to hear it or not. :) and that's okay to me. You may remember her from UrbanThreads Featured Artist for the month of August 2009. And she also had her tutorial: How-To: Medic Alert Cuff posted @ of course UT. Way to go Lindsay! You Rock.

Here's is my awesome swap I received,

Love all the little things added to my package. It was fun getting to do the Swap, can't wait to do another.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wish all the mother's, soon to be mothers, & grandmothers out there a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day!. My your day be filled with joy and laughter. Relaxation and pampering. I'm truley blessed to be a mom and to have a wonderful mom.
Much love
~Rae

What my son made me for mothers day :)

Serger!

2010-04-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

Oh Serger how I love you so, :) I got a Serger machine from my Aunt a few months back and I had yet to try it out. To be honest I didn't really know what a Serger did.
So I was in Walmart the other day and I happened to see a a cute cover top that look comfy and great for the (hopefully) soon to come warm weather. It was from Miley Cyrus & Max Azria

I thought it was cute, but for $12, Looking at it closely to me it looked like a t-shirt made up. So I had a project idea. :)

When I got home I printed out a picture of the shirt from online and got to work grabbing my materials.

1 XL men's t-shirt ( it was my hubby's) a pair of thin sweats that were no longer used. My Serge and Sewing machines and got to work.

So this is my finished cover. The hood is made from the leg of the sweats. The band on the back is from the scraps. I tought it came out pretty well. I now have a nice light springy summer cover. *^_^* All done with the Serger which by the way was actually simple to figure out. lol

Any tips for a embroidery/craft exchange?

2010-04-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering this for awhile now. I've been asked a few times to do exchanges but have always been reluctant to do them. Mainly because I didn't think my work was all that great. But you know what I enjoy my work and the time I put in to it is well worth it once I finish. So when I was asked today to do an exchange I said why not?!. It's a new year, new experiance. So since I've never done one I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to do an exchange. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

I've also finished my new Clutch today. I'm calling it "Don't be Koi"

This is the design on the out side of the clutch. Koi design from UrbanThreads The clutch is made from 100% cotton black Denim men's jeans, the lining is a 100% cotton oriental print. And the Koi design is all hand embroidered by me. Has a single black snap closure and a peach and gold button for a decorative closure.

Chance to win a Polaroid camera from Cakies!!

2010-03-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I love instant photos! I used to have one when I was younger but I was climbing my favorite tree (which sadly is now cut down) with it and was taking picture from where I could and it sliped and broke. :( Since then I just haven't really had the money to pick up another one.
Today I saw on Cakies blog she will be giving one away! That would be so awesome too win! So wish me luck... and please go vist Cakies blog for your chance as well!.

Just wanted to leave something to brightten your day!

Rice Crispy time!

2010-03-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

So lil david desided that he wanted to make something today (sunday). So I thought simple yet fun.. So he got to make rice crispy treats and he had a blast!.

Have a great week!

Loved

2010-03-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday ws just another day for me. Except for the fact that I've had a terrible sore neck for the last 3 days. I can't turn all the way to the left and it's giving me a headache. Well I got a big surprise....

My husband, just because got these for me. I was so surprised. Honestly he's never done something like this. I started to cry it was so cute. He said because I've been working so hard at home keeping everything together and doing stuff with or son and basiclly just because. I love him so much. Plus to top it all off I got an iPhone! My mother-in-law gave it to me. I was excited. Now I just have to figure out how to work it. LOL

Love Cake

2010-02-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Okay so I was reading Cakies Blog. I love her posts, they are so adorable. She posted today about Love Cake. Inspired by a song that is just so catchy. I put a link to it here under "Get you in the Mood" section to the right of this post. It's a cute song and now I wanna make some love cake. I've listened to it a few times already. So off I go to make some love cake for my hubby. He's been working so hard the past few days taking overtime and what not. He's such a trooper and I love him so much. He's provides so much for our little family.

So if your in the bakeing mood check out the song. :) Have a great day! make a little LOVE CAKE...

V3SWGKRR4G4M

Little forest clutch.

2010-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, if been dealing with migranes due to allergies. So I wasn't really able to do much. I was able to finsih this clutch but due to my camera having a tantrum I wasn't able to post the result. I don't think the pictures are all that great but here it is.
It's the little forest clutch.
It's made from a pair of 100% cotton denim pants, Inside lining is 100% cotton fat quarter. Designs of the deer and mushroom are hand embroidered on black eco-fi poly felt. With single snap closure.
Not sure as of yet if it will be going into my Etsy shop, we shall see.

Touched

2010-02-19T23:53:00.000-08:00

I got the most awesome letter form the gentelman who bought "Coraline's Squid" from my Etsy shop, it was for his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. I'm going to have to post for eveyone to see. I was so happy after reading it, it just made my day. Here's the squid he bought

Here's the note he convo'd me on Etsy:

Hey There,

I just wanted to say that the Coraline squid I purchased from you was amazing. I bought it as a Valentine's Day gift for my girlfriend and she loved it. I think that all of the personal touches you added to the sale (the thank you card, business card, etc.) are incredible and very sweet.

You helped make Valentine's Day very special as going to see Coraline was one of the first dates my girlfriend and I went on. You are doing amazing work and I just wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you very much and I wish you all the best!

-Gerry M.

16 February 2010 2:38am EDT

This was just a wonderful letter to receive. I hope to be able to get responces like this from all my customers. It was very touching. Thank you again Gerry! I wish you and your GF all the best and many more wonderful moments together.

Bite Me!

2010-02-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

Finally it's finished!!. It's sad but I've been working on this bag for a month. I planned to have it done last month but no!. I actually complicated the pattern I had made for myself. So I got frustrated and it ended up sitting and not worked on for a good 2 weeks. :( I felt so bad. When I first started the bag I had this wonderfully simple idea in my head and then on paper. I made a stencile pattern and all my pieces cut and ready to go... then my mind had a mjor malfunction and desided to do things the hard way. So all in all I think what should have only taken me about a week (if that) ended up taking me a month and a half... Just sad I tell you. I was mad at myself. (Still am really) Anyway, here's the finished Bag.

It's called The "Bite Me" Bag. The design of course is from Urban Threads. With the Vampire Craze that's going on I just had to make it. Hence why it's a cream and red bag. The design is all hand embroidered by me.

The inside is deep blue jean. All materials are upcycled from clothing. The outside was the legs of 100% cotton Men's Levi Jeans, the inside was from a pair of my maternity blue jeans. The red zipper is from a coat that no longer fit. I think the only thing that was purchased was the Red thread.

Sorry the pictures aren't very good, still no batteries in camera so I had to use the camera on my phone.

No batteries!

2010-02-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

I feel bad because I haven't been able to post the last couple of days with any new pictures. My camera desided that it didn't like the batteries that I put in it and refuses to work. Plus I have no other batteries in the house anywhere.. AHHHH!!
I would use my camera on my phone but they never turn out good. So thus, I don't have any pretty pictures of Love day to share. Me and David did lots of fun things. We made valenitnes for his class (He was out of school all last week due to an ear infection and so he missed his V-Day party. he was bummbed) so he'll get to bring them to school tomorrow when he goes back. David made me and his dad Heart people. He took little post-it note papers and cut all kinds of squares and strips and then stapled them to look like a person with wings and then drew a heart on the body with mom and Dad inside it. It was cute, and he was proud because he did it all on his own.

Well I hope everyone had a wonderfull weekend. I'm off to the store to get some new batteries. See ya soon!.

Day #5 Love Day has come early

2010-02-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well my love day has come early for me. I got my gift today because my dear husband wont be here on Valentines. He has to work :(

But I was happy to find that he actually was listening and he got me some cute little ballet flats that I've been wanting.

Aren't they cute. Ploka dots and all. He's a good listener when he needs to be. *tee hee* I love him so much. Now I'm not going to say what his gift is, not yet anyway. I don't want him to know yet. So weather you get your gift early or on Love Day I wish you and your loved ones a great day. Hugs all around!. Have a wonderfull weekend too!.

Day #4 My little nook

2010-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hello! I hope every one is having a good day. I've been working on some projects and cleaning house. I boutght a little drawer cabinet the other day for my work space. So I've been cleaning it up so I can actually find things faster.

So here's my little space right now. My other machine is on another table down staires. Solwly but surely it's all coming up here. I need a larger table. I've got 2 projects going right now so I havent been able to strighten up as I would like just yet.

This is another project that I started a few weeks ago that I kinda been putting off. When I finish the to bags I intend to actually finish it.

Well happy sewing everyone. I'm going to get back at it. Have a great week.

Day #2 & Day #3

2010-02-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry there was no post yesterday. My husband took our laptop to work with him. I think I went a little cookoo from not being able to get on-line. lol so today's post is for today and yesterday. :)

Day #2

I have in the works a cute and simple little clutch bag.

here it is on the machine. I hand stitched the 2 deer on some black eco-fi felt. There's also a little mushroom that will be on the front of the clutch. I didn't realize I made the deer a little bigger then the stencil I created for the bag itself, so I don't get to add the atlers. Oh well, next one I make I'll fixe it.

Day #3

So my dear little man David has an ear infection, we went to the Doctor the other day for him coughing pretty bad and it turned into him also having a ear infection. Poor guy. I had no clue. Other then him coughing that's all that's been wrong with him. He acts like a normal 5yr old.

this is him before we went to the Doctor. He was asking me if he had to get a shot. And of course every 5 minutes in the car he asked also. lol crazy little man. Well sorry it's short, I gotta get going to the store. Need to get some fabric for some other projects and some food. Grocery time, yay!. : P

Untill tomorrow...

Day #1

2010-02-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

So here is Day #1 of my 330 day project.

David had to stay home from school today poor guy. He's sick. Coughing like crazy. I got him some meds and he's a little better. After getting out of my shower and getting dressed this is what I find....

He was actually sitting on our kitchen table playing with his legos. I was cracking up. (The photo was edited to be used in a scrapbook layout I'm doing and dummy me didn't save the original like I thought I did).

This is another layout page that I made using GIMP software. The kit I used is by Kristen Aggard called "Sweet little apple". I also have this posted in my gallery on Scrapbook Flair.

365 days... well sort of.

2010-02-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well I was up late last night surfing the internet, just because I couldn't sleep. So I was gettting ideas for this blog and projects that I would like to work on and sell in my shop.
I came across a blog (and now kicking myself for not saving it to my favorites) that had posts of her everyday goings on. She had called it "365 days of me". She basiclly took pictures everyday of things that were going on in her life. Sometimes it was seanery, people, family, work, and some times just herself. She posted the pictures and wrote about what was going on.
I thought it was a cute idea. Kind of a journal. I do journal quite often, usually as I'm working on my projects. So I desided that I wanted to do something simmilar to what this gal had done. But I can't really say it's 365 days since a month has already come and gone. So I guess mine will be more like 330 days. lol.

Let me know what you think...
Many hugs and well wishes to all
~ Rae (Rachel)

Help name my new creature

2010-02-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

Okay so I am on Gaia Online and I have my own little Gaian, that's me there. I'm Kuromigirl16 if you are a member of Gaia, come check it out if your not. Look me up if you'd like.

Well I was trying to figure out some new items to add to my Etsy shop and as I was playing online I came across this little guy...

I'm not sure what it's name is but I thought it was just a cute little creature. So I made one. :) Now I need to name him so I can add him to my Etsy shop. Here's my creation. My husband says that he looks like this guy but the face looks like a mario brothers character.What do you guys think?....

Made of black and red 100% polyester eco-fi felt. The creature is 16 1/2" inches around the body, 16" inches from the top of the body to the tip of the tail, from wing tip to wing tip is 18" inches. Stuffed with poly fil hypo allergin stuffing.

Handmade PIF

2010-01-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

I saw this on Brooklyne's Chaos blog. I thought this was an amazing idea. I would truly be honored to do this. So I decided that weather or not I receive a Handmade PIF I will still do it. Why not. Thanks Lindsey.

Remember to read the rules before commenting, I will be sending my PIF's to a few lucky commenter's by February 22nd. So I'm giving till the 15th of February to enter. In your comment tell me what is your favorite book and what you like about the type of story your reading.

I'll go first, "My favorite book is 'Thirst' by: Christopher Pike. It's the first 3 books of his series. I read the books starting in Junior High and was hooked. It's a vampire series. I've just always been fasinated by the different types of vampire stories out there. I love that many times you go back in the characters past and learn their history. Plus I love suspence and mystery.

*** Here's the rules to participate:

1. I will choose an undisclosed number of people who comment on this post to send a gift to. This gift is handmade, and made with love.

2. If you choose to comment, and you receive a gift from me, you commit yourself to "Paying It Forward" (PIF)

3. You must then make a post on your blog, making the same offer to your readers.

4. On your blog post you must includes this list of requirements (basically everything between the asterisks ***) You choose how many commenter's you will pay it forward to - though it would be nice if it was more than one, however I realize that some of you do make high-end or expensive wares, and I don't want to exclude you from participating, so it is your choice on the amount.

5. In each of your packages, as well as your gifts, please include a minimum of 5 business cards (if you have them). Also include the business cards that you received in your gift - this allows everyone to visit the other people who's generosity brought Handmade PIF to them.

6. Finally. In your PIF blog post, include the history of your gift. ie: the name and blog or shop of all the people before you in the PIF journey.
ie: Handmade PIF 2010- Those who gave before me -
"Name" from "blog/shop".

7. Please only participate once. If you haven't received a gift within 3 weeks of leaving a comment on a PIF post, you can probably assume you missed out that time, and try again on other PIF's or when you see the next PIF post by me. I may do one once a year. We'll see how this evolves!

8. Please use the button above to share that you participated!. *** (Button made by Brooklyen's Chaos)

Let's Pay It Forward Handmade style! ;)

Order of Pena Pals

2010-01-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

I finished my order of Pena Pals and droped them off to their new home today. I wraped them nice and added a little Thank you note and Hand made Business card. (I'm out of printer ink so I wrote one up). I'm still trying to learn the ropes of Etsy on doing custome orders and what not so this order wasn't included in my shop. So I don't get the credit there but it's okay. I'm excited that I got the order and was able to completeit with no hickups.

New item and an Order!

2010-01-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well I recently opened my Etsy shop. No sales yet :( (but I knew I wasn't going to sell anything the first day). I only have a few items in the shop I'm trying to get more in there, it just seems that when I get started on a project something comes up. Like today I had to get David from school because of a sore throat. Monday John had a consultation with the doctor and now Friday he will be having some procedures done that he is not looking forward too.

I am working on a new bag that I actually started the end of last year but put it on hold due to the holidays. Now I am almost finished and hoping that it will be a hit in my shop. I definitely post it here when it's done. I also got an order to make my Pena Pals. They are little stuffed monkeys that I started making. I'm coming out with a set of different animals and the monkey is the first one of the set.
This is my Pena Pal.
This is the order I'm working on. They are all hand sewn. (by me of course )
The name was originally Monchii buddies because I used to have the Monchii chii toys. But John wanted to name them after his friend Pena because he says that they look like him. (Pena is the last name) Pena thought it was funny and he was happy to have them named after him.

Open for Business!

2010-01-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

My Shops on Etsy and ArtFire are open for business!. There isn't much in them yet, still trying to get better looking pictures together and trying to get some new items made to sell. Please bare with me. ;) But go check them out when you get a chance!. Let me know what you think. Have a wonderful weekend.

Coraline's Squid

2010-01-06T12:29:00.001-08:00

My squid, in spired by the "Coraline" movie
Scene from the movie "Coraline"

Okay so for those of you who know me your going to probably groan when you see this. (teehee) But for those who don't know this about me, I LOVE Tim Burton movies!!!, I just love everything about them. So when I saw the movie Coraline, I saw this little guy in her room. He had a one liner in the whole movie but I just thought he was too cute not to try and make.

I made my own stencil to create him. He's hand sewn from a blue soft fleece jacket that was going to be thrown out. Has a large brown and tan button for an eye (I didn't have a peach colored one like in the movie *tear* ). The body is stuffed with poly fill stuffing, and in his legs are the little stuffing beans for a little weight for displaying. From the top of the body to the end of the legs he is 12 1/2" inches long.

I'm actually vary pleased with the way he turned out. X-D I may sell him in my ArtFire shop, but not sure yet. He may be added to my vary slowly growing collection.

I think I'm going to make Zero from "Nightmare before Christmas" or maybe oogie boogie. There's too many to choose from ;)

We'll see

Baby was featured.

2010-01-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

My little dog Baby was featured in UrbanThreads' Blog. In the crafty mascots section Here . She's sporttin the little hoodie I made here. David was so excited to see her on the internet. While we were scanning the blog he shouts "Mom, Baby's on the computer!!" It was cute. I just thought I'd share the cute moment of my day. ;)

Happy New Year and Happy B-day to my lil bro.

2010-01-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well hello everyone, I hope you all had a great and safe New Years. We just stayed home and vegged. Hadn't done that in a long time. Home is usually hectic so never have time to relax and have time with just the 3 of us. Also today is my little brothers birthday. So I just wanted to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY too him.

I wanted to show you what I've been working on the last couple of days. First is my plush doll that I've been wanting to make for a while now. I finally found a great tutorial to do it from BabyLondonStar @ dA (deviantArt). Right now I'm working on adding the hair. I don't have a hot glue gun like everyone else says to use so I have to sew each piece on. (Hence all the pin. Crazy I know leave it to me to do things the harder way. teehee.)

I also made a new Checkbook cover. I made this cute little fox so I had to add it to something. This is what I came up with.

I was also working on a bag for the twilight fans, but I ran into a little snag with that. So I have to post pone it for a little while. Hopefully soon I'll be able to finish it.

Spotty the salamander

2009-12-31T19:34:00.000-08:00

The other day my husband brought home a Salamander his co-worker found. He gave it to David as a pet. David wasn't too sure about it a first but now he's constantly worrying over it. It's hilarious. He named it Spotty. It's a tiger salamander.

Sorry the picture is great. Right now he's in a container that has plastic wrap on top so we can see in side.

Send a Thank you card to our Soliders!

2009-12-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

I was on my Scrapbooking site a few minutes ago and I came across this message in the forums and just had to share it with everyone. I have family as well as friends serving over-seas, I would love for all the ones serving to know how much they are appreciated.

"I think this is a wonderful thing that Xerox is doing to help us let our military know that we support them. It's always hard to be away from family at any time, but especially at this time of year.If you go to this web site, LetsSayThanks you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq.
You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.It is FREE and it only takes a second.Whether you are for or against the war, our soldiers over there need to know we are behind them. This takes just 10 seconds and it's a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you's. Thanks for taking to time to support our military!"

I'm not saying you have to go do this. I just wanted to put it out there. Have a wonderful week and Happy Holidays!

Post Comments, Thanks Melanie

2009-12-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well it's been brought to my attention that people weren't able to leave comments on my posts. I had to make it to where there's a pop up window for leaving a comment. That was the only thing I could think of to do. Not sure why it isn't working the other way, but I hope this fixes the problem.
I do love reading comments from my followers & visiters to my blog. Thanks Melanie from Craft Studio M, I had no clue they weren't working.If there's any other issues please let me know.
I think I'm going to post items in my shop after the holidays. I'll be able to bundle stuff together better and I'm a little worried about shipping this close to Christmas.I want to be sure that customers get their orders with no issues, especially since it will be my first run ant the whole selling on-line thing. Plus I have some new items that I hope everyone enjoys.

Thanks for viewing, keep bundled up (it cold out there) and as always have a great week.

Cookie man Army Sold!

2009-12-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

YAY!! I made another sale. My mom took a bunch of my items to her rally the other day (she sells tupperware) and a gal bought all 4 ginger bread men I made. She got them for her church. Also a bag that I made a few months back with the little bunny sold as well. So I'm off to a good start. I'm vary happy with that.
So probably after another week or possibly after the holidays I post the rest of my items and some new ones I'm working on into my Etsy shop. Still trying to get it all set up. Need to make my policies, shipping info, and descriptions together and presentable. Look for it soon. So far I've got my draft of all those things and my banner and icon up and that's about it. :)
I thought my banner and icon are cute. I made them with a scrapbooking kit I bought at Gotta Pixel when my favorite designer was there. The kit is called "Bird Song" by Kristin Aagard. I just LOVE her kits. They are all awesome she now sells her kits at ShabbyPickle.com. The banner here on my blog is also the banner for my Etsy Shop. That's the one I made.
Well as soon as I get everything straightend out and posted my items I'll post the link to my shop for everyone.
Take care, happy crafting. And have a wonderful weekend.

Wow it's December all ready!, Thanks Cathy

2009-12-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe it's December all ready. It just feels like this year just flew by. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate) if not then I just hope you had a great week. I didn't brave the Black Friday sales (funds are low and I'm determined to give handmade this year or at least something handmade to go along with the gift).

Over the weekend my dad's uncle stoped by and brought 3 machines that his wife is letting me have. I was so excited. They are gently used machines, there's a sewing machine, a baby lock, and a serger machine. I have a sewing machine that I was borrowing from my husbands aunt but it's vary old and it's had quite a few problems and only does a straight stitch. It was a little hard for me to get projects done that required certain material or stitching. But since I got home Saturday with the machines I've been reading the manuals and trying to figure them out. (even as I'm typing I'm reading a manual.) The Sewing machine was pretty easy now it's just the serger and baby lock that I'm kinda scratching my head on. :) but I've been looking at great tutorials on-line that have been a big help. Thank you so much Cathy!.

Well my husband came home from work the other day and handed me a pair of his paintball BDU camo pants that don't fit him any more. He said that a friend from work wanted a pair of the Comfy feet house shoes that i had made but in camo and a wallet. So this is what I made.
The Camo wallet has 3 card pockets, 2 deeper pockets, and 1 money pocket, with Velcro closure.
The house shoes are made from the same BDU pants and black jeans. There is also semi thin foam lining in the bottom for more comfort. They are a men's size 11.

Holiday Cards

2009-11-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Well I'm a little bumbed because the boutique I was going to be selling at for the first time was canceled due to not enough vendors. But they will try and hold one in Dec. Which is somewhat good, it will at least give me time to get more items made. I didn't think I had enough things to sell personally. So maybe it was a blessing. We'll see I guess.

En-y-whoo!

So I've been knocking around a few ideas about other things to make, I haven't made any cards in a while so I figured, what the heck... Why no make some Holiday cards. So I looked through my design files and of course I have a few from (my favorite embroidery shop) UrbanThreads. So slowly but surely I've getting them made. I'm thinking of selling them in a bundle, all depends on how many I get done and the responses I get via Flickr and viewers to my blog. So here is the first ones I made late last night. (I know when I get an idea I have to do it right then or it's lost the next day.) note to self ***I nee to start writing things out***

Toasty Card- Materials: blank folding card, Scrapbook paper, brown &white felt, scarf and hat were made from a large furniture swatch, Toasty design. Handmade.

Retro Reindeer Card- Materials: blank folding card, black pen, color pencils, Reindeer design. Hand drawn.

Panguin Card- Materials: blank folding card, polk-a-dot scrapbook paper,white felt, sweater reminants for the body and scarf.

Bag for a Cause

2009-11-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know that Breast Cancer Awareness was last month but the way I see it is the ones who have it have to think about it everyday, so why just dedicate 1 month to it?. I know a few people who have or has had breast cancer or just cancer in general. I just want to pay respects to those who have lost their fight and help in anyway that I can in fighting for a cure.

I was hunting around on Google and Bing to find some project ideas that I could make and sell as well as donate. I came across this great tutorial on Craft Style to embroider a t-shirt.

I got the design and added it to this bag I made from the legs of some men's jeans and the inside is made from a pink t-shirt. On the design I changed the bird that it had to this one. I stitched it by hand. I'm going to sell it at a craft boutique I'll be at later this month.

More great pieces coming soon. :)

Cookie Man Army!

2009-11-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

It's never too early to think about Christmas gifts... I mean the stores are all ready talking about it and it's barely the 2nd of November. Well I'm making most of my gifts this year. Mostly little things to give to family and friends. Like my little cookie man ornaments. I had found a cute tutorial on UrbanThreads and just had to try it out. My first one I had posted about before and now I wanted to show you his friend.

He's made of brown felt and embroidery thread. The white on his head, hands, and feet are actually from my purex dryer sheet. It's the all in one. Lol, I didn't have any white felt on hand so I improvised. :)

Well looking at all the pieces I have prepared to be made I have a lot to do. Big family... My son said that I'm going to have a Cookie Man Army! and the one that has his leg bitten is wounded from battle. I thought that was just adorable.

Dancing Fairy teardrop bag

2009-10-30T23:03:00.001-07:00

My newest bag, Dancing fairy tear drop bag. Made from a pair of blue jeans and some remnants. The fairy design is called "Aquamarine Fae" from Urban Threads. The fairy was hand stitched. The bag has a small single zipper pocket on inside and a small snap closure.

The fairy has a red dress to go along with the flowers on the lining, deep pink wings with a sea green shall. She also has green eyes I couldn't get a good enough picture to show it though.

This bag took me about 2 days on the hand stitching and a day to make the bag itself.

David's 5! and Where the wild things are movie...

2009-10-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well my son David's birthday was on Wednesday. He turned 5. He was so excited to go to school. He got a birthday crown and a yoyo and a certificate. I also helped in his class that day. They did jump roping and patterns. David loves patterns and matching.
After school Grandma took him to see Where The Wild Things Are. It was a good movie, to me though dialog wise it's more for the tween age to understand. I loved the book as a kid and was happy that they made it into a movie. But with it being a short book of course they needed to add more to it in order to make a movie. There's references on divorce. David was only interested when something was going on. The dialog was kinda above his level.
To for warn you if you have little ones that want to see it, it is a tad scary when Max first meets the Wild things, there is a lot of ruff-housing and there is a scene with biting. Me and my husband think that if your little ones want to see it, we suggest to see it yourself first and make your own decision to let the kids see it.

Saturday we had David's birthday party. We were low on funds so we had his party at home. I made a cake for him. It was confetti cake with blue icing and the decorations were of course Transformers. Bumble Bee is his favorite. That's also what he's going to be for Halloween. He had fun, we had just family. Unfortunately he's the only one under 15 on both sides of the family. But he didn't mind. Next year he'll have more friends from school he'll be able to invite.

Well this was my ramblings for the week. Hope you enjoyed my little movie review. Have a great new week. Keep the good crafts flowing.. :)

Cookie Man

2009-10-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know it's a little early to be thinking of Christmas gifts, but if I don't now I'll be working on them till Christmas Eve. Plus I'm on a vary tight bugdet this year, and what better gift then a handmade one ;)
Urban Threads had these cute guys on a tutorial. I thought they would be perfect gift.
This is my little test cookie man. I wanted to see how it would come out.

It's all stitched by hand.I think I'm going to try one with potpourri next. Either Cinnamon or ginger smells...hmmm... **writing notes to my self**

Sold!

2009-10-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm vary excited, I just sold my Foxie Moxie Brown Bag!. Yay. My first sale. I hope I'll get to sell others.

I got a request today to make a diaper bag for a little boy. So I will have that in the works fairly soon. Plus I have a few donation ideas and gift projects that I'm currently working on. So I'll post those when I get them finished.

Messenger Bag, Froggie Freddie

2009-10-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

This is the first messenger bag I've made. I searched and searched for good tutorials on how to make one. Here is the link to the tut I found by Heart of Mary .
The one in the tut has a zipper top closure I have the just the flap and I added some thick board in the bottom of the bag to make it sturdier,as well as added some foam padding to the strap for comfort.
The out side of the bag is from a pair of men's blue jeans, I cut the pocket off the rear and sewed it to the front of the bag for storage of pencils, pens, cell phone, glasses, ect. The inside. The remnants material was too cute to pass up. You can fit a 2"inch binder along with any other papers, books, necessities you may need for the day. It could also be used as a cute diaper bag.
This is froggie freddie. He was a cute little frog picture I found and made him into an embroidery design. The inside of the messenger bag is of "The littlest pet shop" characters so I thought he fit nicely with the theme.

Everywhere Bag

2009-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

This is my new "Everywhere bag" It's a large bag made from some plaid material my mom had given me (she was originally going to make some curtains with it) and a black pair of jeans (inside) that had some holes. It can fit one 2" inch binder and all the little needed things for the day or even overnight. The image "lonely robot" is from Urbanthreads.com. I thought it made a cute addition to the bag. This took me about a day and half to complete. Would have been quicker if it weren't for my machine having issues. It was a fun bag to make though.

Sorry the pictures aren't a great quality, I only have my camera phone to take pictures with. Trying to save to get a good digital camera soon. **crossing fingers**.... *^_^*

Go Pandi

2009-10-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well I think Panda Bears are just adorable and when I got my materials together for this new bag I just had to use the design from UrbanThreads called "cutie patootie panda".

The bag is made from a green and white top and a pair of blue jeans. I hand stitched the design on the front. The bow was a strap from the top and it has a small snap closeure. The bag itself took me about an hour, the hand stitched design took me 2 days.

Night Nurse Bag is a Hit!!

2009-09-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! I was looking at my Flicker account this morning and my "Night Nurse" Bag has had 43 views! That's awesome. I only have one comment though. I wish I knew what everyone thought about it so I can improve on the next one I'm making.

Thank you to Brooklyne Chaos for the great tips and comments on my work. It has really helped get me out there and get noticed.
She has awesome creations herself. You all have got to check out her work if you get the chance.

Oh before I forget, I will possibly be selling some of my work at a little handmade shop that my mom's boss is hosting, she was looking for some more crafters and my mother mentioned to her that I made handmade items. So when I get more information I'll post about the event. I'll also take pics while I'm there.

Remember to buy Handmade and as always have a safe and wonderful week!.

Night Nurse Tote bag.

2009-09-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished my new bag last night. It is for my Mother-in-Law. She's an RN of the NICU here at our hospital and gets to help all the little babies. I had made her a bag a while ago cuz she was telling the other nurses she worked with that I made them and they were wanting to see my work. Well the one I made her served her purpose for awhile but she now needed more room to carry more things.

I call it "Night Nurse" because she works at night and because of the moon design I stitched on. The design is "Florida Fauna Moon" of course from Urban Threads :) The Original design had a small bird on it but since I have to do the designs by hand, transferring the design by hand the bird image just didn't want to cooperate with me. So instead I kinda made little pink bubbles. I like the reeds that were in the design and so I added the to the strap on both sides so no matter what side it was carried on they'd be seen.
This bag took me about a day to work on with the hand stitching the design and hand sewing the lining. It has the original 5 pockets from the pair of jeans and the lining is from a t-shirt. I can hold up to one 2" binder or two - three 1" binders.

Comfy Feet slippers

2009-09-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting a cute pair of house slippers for awhile and so I searched the Internet looking for a tutorial that would show me how to make my own. So I googled, I had found a few different ones that were good but still weren't as clear on some key points. I was just about to give up and I found a blog from Shabby Raggy Roses. She had great step by step instructions and photos that helped a lot (I'm a very visual learner).

And here they are...

My slippers are made from some plaid remnants (outside). The inside actually has 4 layers to make it comfortable. I didn't have any foam padding so I used a T-shirt (the black you see inside) 2 layers of soft stretch jeans, and then the bottom is a little harder jean so you don't slip when walking in the kitchen or bathrooms.

Took me about a half hour to make them. I stoped a couple of times to make sure they fit and that they were coming together okay.

My first T-shirt Re-construction

2009-09-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Well I found a kewl site a few weeks back called What the Craft.com and they had some great tutorials on T-shirt Re-construction. So I thought to myslef that I needed to try it. I love handmade clothes and I want to one day be able to make some great items.

So I studied one of the tuts and constructed a simple but cute (I think) top. I call it "Perty in Pink".

It's made from a Black Tee and a Pink Tank top the had a tear in it. I made the sleeves from the left over material from the tank top and added the buttons to it. It's sapposed to be like an empire waisted top.

I wanted to have a picture of it on but, silly me didn't give enough seam allowance and it's a little too tight in the waist area. :) So I'll have to remember that for the next one and also add a little more to it, like a design or something.

A few more witchy creations

2009-09-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks to one of my new Followers, Melanie from StudioM. I checked out Cloth,Paper, Scissors Magazine. (I will be definitely getting a subscription.) And found a few more creepy creations that I had to feature:

Kristen Beason
Hudson, OH

“Jack O’Lantern”

Profiled artist Kristen Beason likes to give her Halloween creatures a whimsical bent, and often uses non-traditional colors. The fancy brooch makes this pumpkin-headed ornament all the more approachable.

Christy RePine
Austin, TX

“I started this challenge with a black box I found at a thrift shop. Suddenly, strange ideas about what lurks inside a closet began to haunt me. I had to create my own monstrous closet complete with my hidden fears and skeletons."

Marlene Denn
New Lothrop, MI

“A witch’s collection box with old bottles, skulls, skeletons, and a few hidden secrets.”

Images and crafter's snip-it from Cloth,Paper,Scissor Magazine. Images belong to the original crafter and were resized for space purposes. To see more great crafts and ideas check out Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine.

All Hallows Eve.... Haunting Goodness!!

2009-09-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

It's my favorite time of year, Fall, and you know what that means (Everyone who knows me is groaning right now. teehee) It's almost time for HALLOWEEN!!!!. I love Halloween, I love getting dressed up and having candy and all the haunting greatness that comes with the holiday.
Urban Threads has 2 great tutorials for the Fall season.
A cute SIY (sew it yourself) banner "Autumn Bunting" and great googley moogley "Fright Lights". Check them out. I found a great blog all about it's witchy goodness Called "All Hallows Design" by Niamh at Urban Threads.com
It has great posts on Snacks, craft projects, contests, ect. All for the big day. So in joy the site, I'll be adding to this post as I find more great things.

It's Natinonal Sewing Month!!

2009-09-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yay for sewers everywhere!. Keep whipping out those great projects. I love to see the great ideas and creations everyone has. Keep sewing your little hearts out! ;)

Clothing Re-construction

2009-09-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've been trying to find some other things to make since I'm teaching myself to use a sewing machine. I found a cool site the other day called WhatTheCraft.com
They have a lot of kool tutorials that show clothing re-construction, so I've been going through my clothes and stuff that I've gotten from family and I'm going to attempt to make so new clothing. So as soon as I get some done I'll post them up. I unfortunately don't have a dress form so hopefully what ever I make comes out good.

Just some thoughts for the night. Just got my son to sleep and ready to get to work. Good night everyone!

Eye glass pouch and Foxie Moxie Brown...

2009-09-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

This is my new Fall bag I just finished. I call it Foxie Moxie Brown. It was made out of a pair of men's shorts and an s torn pair of blue jeans that were just going to be thrown out. So I thought they would be perfect to up-cycle. Why throw garments out just cuz they have holes or tears?, I'm always going to my family for their old clothes that they don't want or doesn't fit anymore. I also got "Maple Fox" from the awesome UrbanThreads site and it's a great addition to the bag. I used it as an applique.

Here is my cute and simple eyeglass or sunglasses pouch. I got tired of carrying around the bulkie case that I got with my eye were. So I made a pouch, it fits a lot better especially when I use my smaller bags. Again I got the "Peacock Plume" from UrbanThreads, (LOVE THAT SITE!!!) It's hand stitched on. It was fun to make.

Flowers in Blue

2009-09-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well I wasn't feeling well the last few days with really bad migraines. So between the not being able to see stright when I could open my eyes and all the sleeping I did, at night I was actually okay. So I was bord since my son and husband were asleep (I'm a major night owl) I had the need to sew. So I dug through all my scrap material and fabric and found an old jean jacket and a fairly large fabric swatch that I had gotten from a friend. I sketched out a bag, I had seen retail stores with similar bags so I thought why not try it. (I'm very visual so this wasn't done with a pattern or mesurements.It's all just from what I have seen) I call it "Flowers in Blue" the swatch is the out side you see that's a cream color with blue flowers. It was called "Ashley Blue". The jean jacket I used is on the inside for the lining.

Skeleton Key

2009-08-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well this is the finnished product of the skeleton key graphic i got from Urban Threads. The wallet didn't come out as good as I would have liked but this is what happens when you have your heart set on using a sewing machine and it ends up not working when you want it to.
I hand stitched the design and hand stitched the whole wallet.
There's a money pocket, 1 card pocket (it can fit up to 3 cards) , and a small coin pocket with a snap closure.

Name change

2009-08-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Well you may have noticed that there has been a name change on my header from "Rae's Scrap's" to "Sew Rae". This is because not only do I do sewing and paper crafts, but I also scrapbook. So I thought it would be better to separate the two. Now the original name fits all of what I do, I wanted them to be more individual. Hope you like the new name.. Thanx for viewing! :)

If you would like to see my scrapbook work you can go to:
http://raesscraps.blogspot.com or
www.scrapbookflair.com/animerae

Hopefull...

2009-08-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so for awhile now I've been wanting a sewing machine, I'm borrowing an old one form my husbands Aunt right now and it's having a conniption and not wanting to sew. Not only do I work on my own craft projects and do a few simple alterations on my husbands uniforms. I also do simple ones for some of his co-workers. I used to work for a uniform store and we did alterations and embroidery so I know a little bit on hemming, adding patches, ect . Well I do alterations by hand and if I haven't touched on it before I used to be scared of sewing machines... yes I know weird ;) But now that I've been able to use one I'm beginning to rely on it. I get things done a lot faster and things that I wasn't able to do by hand I've been self teaching to do them on a machine, my husband has also been bugging me to learn to do embroidery so I can start working on their shirts and possibly make patches for them.
Well we had gone to the store this morning and I had to get some snaps for a few of my projects and we passed by the sewing machines. I spotted this Brother Sewing & Embroidery Machine SE350.
It looked like a really great machine. It had everything I wanted. From regular sewing to embroidery. It comes with accessories like the hoop, scissors, bobbins, ect. Has 70 sewing stitches, I believe 60 pre-loaded embroidery graphics, and usb port. My husband was looking at it (of course asking me questions like is it what I wanted/was looking for and if it would work for what he's been wanting me to do for him) he said that it wasn't a bad price. It's about $400. So he said if that's the one that I want then he'd work a little over time so I could get it. :D He's so supportive of me. Plus, he gets what he wants and I can do the uniforms. So I guess we both have a win. Hey it works for me, I'll finally be able to do more of my projects and have fun instead of frustration with a sewing machine.

My son's going to Kindergarden!!

2009-08-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited and yet so scared.... My little man is growing up. Today me and my husband registered him for school and he starts on Monday. The school year just started on the 17th. So he's starting a week late. It was a big decision for us. See he will be 5 at the end of October and a few people that we talked to (who have kids) said that we should wait till next year to start him.
Their points were....
1) because he's a boy and I guess it's a bit harder for them(from what was said),
2) he will have a possible chance of being held back,
3) He didn't go to pre-school,
4) he's not around other kids often so it would be harder for him to adjust,
5) he is a little hard to deal with at times (what kid isn't)
So with him being an only child I thought "ok maybe it would be better if we started him next year". Get him more under control at home, and just work with him.
Then my husbands aunt and my mom kept telling me that he would be fine going to school now, and calling the school again they said it would actually be better if I put him in school.
So sitting down with my husband again my thoughts...
1) If he is held back at least it's kindergarden and not later on in his school years where it would be a big deal and effect him more,
2) This would be a great opportunity for him to get to socialize and be with other kids,
3) The teacher will work with us and with him with any issues
4) What does it hurt to try
5) he's a vary intelligent boy for being 4
6) he may be fine and be able to do great in kindergarden and not be held back.
So we agreed and it's official, we took him and registered and he's really excited. It will take some getting used to for me and my husband, but we new this would come sooner or later. He's growing up and we need to let him.

Self teaching

2009-08-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well the last couple of days I've been kinda self teaching myself on how to use this old sewing machine. See all my work that I've done has always been by hand (literally). I want to start selling my bags and other little projects but I needed to be able to get them done more quickly. So my husbands Aunt let me borrow a sewing machine that she doesn't use. It was a bit intimidating at first but I'm starting to get the hang of it. Here's a smaller wallet that I just finished this morning. I got the cute graphic from Urban Threads (it's a great site, my new craft friend XD) it's called "Happy Bear". So I thought it would be cute to go on the wallet.

Flat Green Dot Wallet

2009-08-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here is another version of the Spidey Wallet. It has a main pocket with 2 card pockets and 2 button closures. This was my first attempt with a sewing machine. :)

Checkbook Cover

2009-08-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well I've bought some graphics at Urban Threads and was looking through their tutorials and found a cute one that I had to try. It was making a cover for your check book and adding a graphic to it. I thought it was a great idea, especially when you can make it (it's a lot cheaper) instead of buying one. Also you don't have to look at the boring plain blue one that comes with the checks. The graphic I chose is called "Milk Love" it was too cute.

Great site to check out & Doggie Hoodie

2009-08-19T09:37:00.001-07:00

So I've been board around the house and looking on-line for new sewing projects for me to do. I was looking at my dog "Baby" and thought, "hey, why not make a cute hoodie for her". Well I searched and searched through tutorials looking for the best one, also one that would be easy enough to do by hand. Well I landed on this tutorial from Urban Threads called "Hound dog Hoodie ". It was an awesome tutorial and really explained well. I tried it out and it was great!. So then I got to thinking, " Embroidery would be a great addition to my crafts!" So I went back to UrbanThreads and went through the site and saw that they had a wide variety of graphics. It's all stuff that's "in" right now, (at least in for me, I love the alternative style not just the everyday frilly stuff) these are right up my alley. So of course I became a member and have bought quite a few files now. I hope this old laptop can handle it. :) My husbands freaking out with all the downloads.lol. They also have great project tutorials and features of artists that are up and coming. I really recommend this site if you are looking for an alternative look of embroidery. Can't wait to see the graphics they come up with next!.

This is my rescued Yorkie "Baby". My mother-in-law rescued her and gave her to me. She is such an adorable little dog. She was vary malnourished and treated vary badly. Now she plays and runs around like a happy little dog. I thought with summer coming to an end (even though the weather doesn't think so) I'd make her a little hoodie (she doesn't like the rain).

So for now I made her a little jogging type hoodie. "Isn't she cute."

It was still too plain when I was done originally on Urban Threads i found a cute girly skull to add to the hoddie for Baby.

TearDrop Bag 2

2009-08-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another teardrop Bag. This one is a little smaller then the first. I also hilighted where the stitched embellishment is on the bag. I know it's kinda hard to see sorry bout that.
I'm hoping to get my prices up soon. I found a great site that I can get stitching patterns from. It's called Urban Threads. They have really cute pic's that I'm excited to get and use on my bags. So I will have thoes soon. With everything being done by hand it does take me a little bit to get things up, but as I finnish each bag I'll post them.

Tear Drop Purse

2009-08-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

My sister showed me a picture of a purse she liked, well this type of purse can run anywere from $40+ dollers. She asked me if I could make a purse like it. I told her that I could try. So I attempted and this was the end result...

I also stitched the sparrow that's on the front. I like sparrows and thought it would be cute for the front of the purse.

A purse for my sister

2009-08-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

This tote/purse was made for my sister. I like Kokeshi dolls so again that was my inspiration. It took me about 2 days to make because I also made the purse from a pair of caries that were way to big for me.

Spidy Wallet

2009-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here's another project I was working on, The Spidy Wallet. It's a fold up wallet made out of David's old crib sheet. There's 3 sections, (2 large pockets and 2 credit card slots), with a snap closure.

Tim Burton's New movie!!! Alice in Wonderland

2009-07-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

So awesome!, I just saw the clip for Alice in Wonderland from Tim Burton. I love his work, huge fan!!. And of course huge fan of Johnny Depp who is playing the Mad Hatter, YAY!!!! it's also Staring the Wonderful Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Ann Hathaway as the White Queen. Check out the trailer!,

Coin Purse

2009-07-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well I made a new coin purse, again inspired by Asian elements. I love Kokeshi Dolls. So that's what I was inspired by this time. I'm going to be making more, all my sewing I do by hand (no sewing machine what-so-ever) I know crazy right. But that's just how I've all ways made things. So my next one will look a lot nicer. I'm going to be doing different sizes and styles, like clutches, wallets, ect. Enjoy!.

Asian inspired crafting

2009-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've always liked Asian crafts, since I was little. I do a lot of sewing, drawing, paper crafting that come from different asian insperations. I love the way colors are used, shapes, the way people are drawn.
This is my Aranzi Cat. Normally they are made smaller and out of felt. I wanted to make it a plushie. Isn't it cute?!. I go to Craftzine , they have lots of great tutorials on crafts. Aranzi Aranzo was created by sister Kinuyo Saito and Yoko Yomura in 1991. Their site has books (now in english) that show you how to created the cute cats and other great crafts of their trade. Check it out if you can here .