Weekend Finds and Wants

I was looking at my flickr today when I came across the most amazing animal bear of sorts. Its called Toysfield Kuma Animal to be exact. I was a bit shocked to see the price, but they are 25cm tall. I found them
here, if you want to check them out. They are so adorable!
We did a thriftstore shopping late in the afternoon, which I usually don't expect to find much , but I did come across these (Stitch n' Bitch) knitting books. Not bad for only $2.80 each. I have been saying I was going to learn how to knit for several years now. Maybe these can get me jump started.

Okay, gotta make dinner. Chicken, pita, hummus, and peppers!

Busy Bee

I need to make time to play dolls. I miss "My Girl." I took a crazy amount of picture of her when I first go her, but I've been too busy. She has the cutest pink dress on today too. Do you ever feel like you have a huge amount of work to do, but are moving at a snails pace? My days seem to go by in a blur. I did sew for a bit lastnight and get some embroidery done, so not totally lazy. I have been in the mood to cross stitch lately, so thats on my list of things to do. If I could be an octupus with eight arms, I would be crazy productive.

Fun Summer Fun

We have been doing a whole lot of little projects this summer. When school's on break, you gotta find something to do, or you might be bitten by the "I'm bored, what can I do" bug. We have been doing a whole lot of play-doh, painting, and a whole bunch of "I Spy" books. I never realized how fun "I Spy" books were until recently. It is a nice way to sit and relax with the kids.

I know you know I love dollhouses, so when I saw this video on Etsy the other day called "Miniature Frolic", I was so excited. I love how the film is shot to peacefully showcase the vintage clothing creations of Lara Kaluza. The little houses add the mysterious touch to the video.

Handmade fun for kids

I love to make some handmade gifts for my kids. A couple of years ago I made them a puppet theater of sorts using Amy Karol's " Bend The Rules Sewing Book." It was such a fun gift to make and the kids have enjoyed it. (I need to buy a new pole, it got bent in one of the shows.)

I have thinking about another big project this year and I think I'm wanting to make a teepee. My kids are obsessed with building tents around the house and it would be fun to have one we could put up and take down when we needed to. I would love to customize it for them. Something to think about. I need to figure out all the specs and prices of equipment. I found a tutorial on "Sew Mama Sew" that I plan on using. Okay, all for now!

My husband got a new ride this weekend. I love the color! We have been having crazy heat this year. I feel like I haven't enjoyed my summer to its fullest extent. I have been looking forward to the holidays already. Crazy I know. I have all these holiday ideas swimming around in my head. I can't wait to get to work on some of them. I made some more progress on my dress I'm working on. All I need to do is put the buttons on and the collar. I have been in the mood to work on home decor items. Like door greetings, coasters, basically fun decor stuff. I make pictures for wall decor, but I think it would be fun to venture out a bit. Change it up a bit. I'll keep you updated on that. Happy Monday!

Miniatures

via CBS
I love miniatures. When I saw Willard Wigans Micro Art on CBS Sunday Morning I almost couldn't believe my eyes. You literally have to see his miniatures with a microscope. Now that is little. He has an exhibit in Atlanta and one in New York. I would love to see them.


We did some Shrinky Dinks the other day (Skunkboy Creatures gave me the idea). I decided I would do my very own sewing themed shrinky dink bracelet. I love the way the pictures turn out on shrinky dinks.
Okay all for now!

Friday!

I started a couple nights ago pattern Simplicity 2447.
I am going to do version D. But I am going to minus the sleeves and I'm lengthening it into a dress. This is a "easy-to-sew" pattern, and I can tell this one is going to be a fun one to make.



I finished a new piece the other day. I still need to finish painting the frame. The theme of the piece is "My covers will protect me from the storm." Even as children when it is storming we would put our covers over our head so that we would feel safe. I think even as adults our covers take us away from our worries to just rest and relax and feel safe from the storms of life.
I have been seen a whole love of plaid. Last night we were bored so we went to the mall and let the kids throw pennies in the fountain. I always head to Forever 21 to get an idea of whats coming up for the next season and whats out there. I'm seeing a whole lot of plaid (which is what I love), cute tanks, skirts that are totally eighties, floral. You know whats awesome, I don't think I ever stopped loving that style. The great thing is, is that you could recreate this style from the thrift store, or sewing some of the pieces yourself. I typically don't like to buy stuff there, except if it is a piece I know I won't find anywhere else, but most of the clothes are make very cheap and low quality fabric. Sorry for bashing, I'm just always shocked at the quality when I look at the clothes. Anyways, I'm looking forward to the styles this next year. It's like me in junior high all over again!

Funnies

I know everyone has heard of "Flight of the Concords" right? Their songs make me laugh so hard. I got to thinking about their show again when I saw that Jemaine was going to be in the new movie " A Dinner for Schmucks." The first show that they did I still laugh at the song," I'm not crying."



I was one of those kids that would laugh hysterically at all the Weird Al Yankovic videos. I thought it was a real treat to watch the videos on MTV and VH1. I love silly songs. My husband and I are quite silly anyways. We are always making up funny random songs that get stuck in everyone's heads. My kids have started doing this too, which makes me crack up. We make up silly names for things. Our youngest, whose name is Esme, was given the nickname "Neens" which has some how stuck. We have many more crazy words I will spare you. Its the little silly things that can make a crazy day turn around. Have a great day!

Re-menty goodness

I took some pics a few days ago of some of my newest Re-ment. I was stoked to see the Hello Kitty a few months ago, but have been waiting to buy it. I finally got the toaster oven and the rice cooker. These would be simply amazing in real size. I'm so excited to have go them though. They are easily some of my favorite pieces. Okay but the mustache teapot, hands down my favorite. I saw this little guy in the flickr re-ment group and I had to have it. The great part was, is that this is an older set, so my seller had it for only 3.49. Score! I love seeing his little smiling face with the mustache.
I have to say, I have bought from several sellers on ebay but the best seller of all time has to be Lucky Kaeru Fabric and Supplies!
She has the fastest shipping I have ever seen coming from California, and she has the cheapest shipping. If your are in the market, buy from her!
She always gets the newest pieces, but has some of the old goodies too!
Have a great day!

Around the house in pictures

My parents know my love for vintage children's stuff. They gave this to me a couple of years ago and I just adore it. The girls love to put their babies to bed in it. It is in great condition for be almost 60 years old.


The little vintage highchair was from my parents as well. It has two little dutch people dancing on it. I bought the little hangers almost seven years ago when I saw them in a Martha Stewart magazine. I love the colors and the little animals on them.


I always collect vintage books when I ever find them. I have been given some, thanks to emmie and papa, and I have found some at garage sales and thrift shops. I have collected almost all the vintage princess ones, a fave of the girls. I just realized I had an old Bambi today which went on the shelf.


Paint by numbers seem to be all the rage right now. Thanks to my mom who saved alot of my childhood treasures for keeping these. I'm glad she did. It brings back alot of memories of her and I painting these together.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Post

I woke up this morning and decided that it was the morning to try to make from scratch vegan cinnamon rolls. We had always enjoyed cinnamon rolls in the past, but didn't feel like it was fair when my daughter had allergies to eat them in front of her. I have been looking for good recipes for sometime and came across this
one. Let me tell you, it does not dissapoint. They are time consuming. I believe with making the dough, filling, icing, and baking them, it probably came to two hours. The recipe makes 12 rolls. We did not finish them and I plan on reheating them in the morning. They turned out absolutley delicious. The rolls turn out quite big, so they don't dissappoint on the portion factor. Even if you have not allergies, and your in the mood to bake, this is the recipe to try!

A few weeks ago I won another giveaway (crazy, I should play the lotto) and won a beautiful print from "Gingiber." My postman decided to shove it in my mailbox, so I have to flatten it. I love it though, and can't wait to hang it up.


Unfortunatly our trip to get my husbands bike was as he says," An epic fail." We drove over 2 hours and the bike was super less than expected. Oh well, we took a day trip and at a nice lunch. Not too bad.

Novelty items, and random Friday fun!

You know I have always, ever since childhood, loved crazy novelty things. I mean when the dollar store was first opened I was thrilled. Cheap crazy stuff. I have an oversized safety pin that my husband got an "In and Out" burger to sell to him (It is a part of their uniform). I love oversized sunglasses, old novelty toy stores, and forget me in china town in San Fran, my husband had to practicly drag me out of there when we visited years ago.(And we are hoping to go back next year). So much to my excitement I came across these hair clips the other day!



You get two for $15 dollars. I don't know if I can justify buying these, but they would be so fun to have. And you can get them here.


I was up too late last night watching "Jimmy Fallon" and the roots did this remix to current shows audio. They did this one last night called "5 million dollar house" (based heavily on a New Jersey Housewives show clip) and I can't get it out of my head. Its so catchy. Disclaimer: There are a couple bleepers. Skip to the middle to hear the song, if you don't want to watch the whole segment.


I did some painting last night at like ten o'clock. It turned out really cool. I hope to make those cinnamon rolls tommorrow, but we may be on the road getting a motorcycle for the hubby. He's been wheelin' and dealin' saving up for this. I can't wait to see what he finds. I'll totally be a biker momma! I'll have to get a leather coat with the little streamers, okay, maybe not. Have a great friday!

Music....La... La.. La..

I don't know if I have mentioned this band before, but I love "The Finches." The singers voice is absolutley amazing. This is one of my favorite songs. I have been listening to them for a couple of years now. If you've never heard of them, do check it out.

I have been trying to get back in my exercise groove. It feels good to have a good run. I feel my best when I do two miles a day. Now if I could not crave sweets. You know what I really like is Arizone tea. Mmmm... So good in the summer. I grew up drinking Kool-aid, and sad to say , this is still a weakness of mine. I have a thing too for chocolate. What I have found to help with controlling eating too much, is just buy the little mini candy bars. Gives me the kick I need without eating a whole candy bar. I don't believe chocolate can or will be something that goes away. I have successfully kicked full sugar soda. I will have Coke zero on occasion, but don't want to overload on the artificial sweetners. I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I have noticed I am caffeine sensitive. The other day I had tea with dinner and then decided to have a cup of coffee in the evening. Not a good idea. Caffeine overload.

I have been dying for cinnamom rolls as of lately. Because of allergies most of our desserts are vegan. I found a
recipe that I'm dying to try. I will take pics when I do.
Have a great day!

Pics around the house

This is how Penny feels about picture taking.


We made finger puppets a couple of weeks ago and I have been meaning to take a picture of my son's Lando puppet. It is so awesome!


I love old books. Last year the thriftstore had a deal going on , that you could fill a bag with as many books as could fit for $2. Who could resist, right? So this was one of them , and I keep it in my bedroom for decoration. I love the colors and the beautiful picture on the front.

All for now!

Brain Freeze and Movie Recommendations

I feel like my creative juices have hit a brain freeze lately. As soon as I think I'm about to come up with a new idea, fail, I end up not liking it. So in the meantime I have been working on the quilt. I may have mentioned this before but absolutely love amiguirumi. I don't know how to crochet, so this makes for a problem. I have long made this crafty goal.

This is what I'm talking about. I love love love these little guys. I may just have to buy one. KnittingDreams makes these adorable bears. Want, and want to learn how to!
I taught myself to sew, embroider, quilt, cross stitch, so I know if I put my mind to it I can figure this out. I have book I won awhile ago called "Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful" by Narumi Ogawa, with the most amazing little animals. I must make use of this book to help me. Have a Happy Monday.

Oh wait. Have you seen "Brothers Bloom?"

Gotta love "bang bang" and her crazy style. Her character is awesome too!

We saw this at the theater when it first came out, and we finally found the dvd in the Big Lots bargain dvd's for $5. Super excited. I love this movie by director Rian Johnson, who also directed "Brick," also another great movie.


Let me know if you check these out! I would love to hear your take?

Friday!

This week went by suprisingly fast. I guess we got a holiday on Monday, so that helped the week along. I wanted to share a giveaway I won. Danielle from "Thompson Family Blog" had a wonderful giveaway from artist Danny Brito. I got a whole batch of goodness yesterday. The pictures are so colorful and fun!




I wanted to share some goodness I have found on Etsy.
First I found this cute fox ring. I love foxes and this is super cute by SarahBirtJewellry.


I adore the work of
Joetta Maue. Her vintage linens with embroidered words are my absolute favorite.


I so wish I had money lying around to go to
Forecastle this weekend on the river. The Flaming Lips and She and Him are going to be there. I wish I could go.
Have a great weekend!

Talking Heads

Mid Week Mayhem

I am really enjoying "1984" by George Orwell. Its kind of a scary reality of some of the aspects of our society that could go wrong. You know I don't like watching the news all that much because it is quite overwhelming, but when I do, I am quite shocked at the state of our country. I remember when I was in school learning about the great depression and looking at all the pictures. It seemed like that couldn't ever happen to our country again , right? It makes me wonder how our generation can cope with the same sort of tragedy. I feel bad for all the people who aren't going to get benefits or unemployment. I can relate to how hard this situation is. I watched my family go through all the losses that go along with loosing your job. As soon as I start thinking about my parents loosing our family home, car, and seeing their life crumble in front of them, I want to cry. This happened just a couple of years ago, and was probably one of the most devastating things to watch my parents go through, and not be able to help them. I am disturbed by how our government has a lack of concern for all these families that will have no where to go. I watched CNN the other night listening to two women who work at the DMV in California and face only making minimum wage, and one of the comments that they get from a government official is ," We all have to make sacrifices sometimes." Really? It's not their fault the state is in debt. I don't know why I decided to talk about this today, but I can't stop thinking about it. It keeps running over in my head. I don't like the people suffering for the governments mistakes. I really hope that our country can turn around. Yucky to think about but, the reality of the situation. Our president has a whole lot to think about and deal with. I don't know how he does it. I'm just one citizen of this huge country, a small voice, but I do pray for things to get better, and that brighter days will come. I want this for my kids and for the future of not just our country , but the world. Sorry to be downer, but I want to share my brain.
This makes me laugh!

Tuesday...

Okay, I came across this the other day and I was totally blown away. I love cuckoo clocks and would love to some day have a collection. This one how, ever, is made of legos, and is a real working clock. Simply amazing!

Not much going on around here today. One of those lazy days. I have some continued projects in the works, an order to work on, and some quilting to do, but other than that, I'm relaxing. I have had a couple cups of coffee, but it seems like nothing is waking me up today. I recieved my Hello kitty re-ment in the mail. I hope to take some pics soon. Duh! I forgot to show the quilting that I have started.
I am doing a log cabin style. It is so much fun to do. You quilt each square to the batting before you sew the blocks together. It is a fun process. I will sew those squares together (30, Oh my when will this be done!) and then hand tie the front to the back. I don't plan on having this done shortly, but it is a fun side project to work on. It will make good use of all the fabric scraps that I have.


Oh yes I started read the book "1984," upon request from my husband. My husband is an avid reader and I told him the other day I wanted him to put a mental summer reading list together. I used to read all the time, but for some reason or other I have really thrown that on the back burner. So needless to say, I'm going to get on the band wagon. It is kind of funny. I have my kids do the summer reading at the library, and I'm not reading? This must change. I hope to get a list going. Okay, all for now! Bye.

Some various thrifty finds and such...

We did some painting the other day. I have been wanting to buy little canvases so the kids could do their own painting and finally I remembered when I was at Michaels. You can get a three pack for 3.49, and I already had the paints. They had so much fun. I can't wait to hang them up.


When I found this little suitcase I was so thrilled. I love vintage suitcases anyways, but this one with the little girl and dog going to grandma's , I couldn't be more thrilled. My girls have been taking all kinds of trips ;)


I found a cute set of vintage sheets to add to my growing collection.


My husband was so super thrilled to find this set of "The World of Motorcycles." They were only 80 cents each too!

I'm off to relax and do some more sewing on my quilt square. I started it the other day. I will take pics later. Have a great day!

Friday! Fourth of July Weekend

A little fun song for your holiday pleasure!

Check out the amazing artwork by Etsy artist
"Naokosstoop." I came upon this artist in my Etsy suggested shops, and its just magical!!

Okay I would love to use this for my packaging from "From Japan With Love."


I have been going through all my fabric scraps in hopes to getting to work on quilts for my daughters. I am going to do the amazing log cabin style from the book,
" Patchwork Style." The pictures are so beautiful.


I can't believe it is July, and this weekend is the fourth! Have a great weekend!

Mozzarella Sticks= Success

I have been wanting to make homeade mozzarella sticks ever since I read this post on the amazing Emma's blog "From Scratch."
Sadly I decided that I needed to make these, at 11 o'clock at night. Well I didn't realize I need to put them in the freezer for thirty minutes, so that threw a few things off. I have to say, they were still delicious. I don't know what time normal people go to bed, but I don't turn in until around 12:30. I just can't wind down until then. But when I hit the pillow, I'm out. I had drank a coke zero at dinner, and then had two cups of coffee as well. Needless to say, I think I was on a caffeine kick. I have all these ideas swimming in my head to try some new items in my shop, so if I can get these designed and figured out I will be a happy person.
I love to cross stitch and I haven't in some time, so I'm wanting to do some projects along those lines. I wish I could see everything pixelized, but since I'm not a computer, graph paper will do. I found some web sites that you can just print out the paper online. Super awesome. We have been having the most amazing weather this week. I mean cool in the morning, and then only getting up to the 80's. Crazy nice. This morning after I washed some dishes I headed down the hall to hear water flowing somewhere. As I imagined it was coming from the hot water heater. So immediatly I call my husband at work, to stress him out (aren't wives great at this?) He came how to access it, then called a plumber. Thankfully it just looks like we need to replace a valve. Phew! Dont' know why I wrote that, it just threw my morning off a bit.

Check out this adorable fox shirt from etsy seller "Dandyrions."

I have been following the "Pin Pals" for a little while now on Flickr. Their work is so inspiring and amazing. Check out their blog for some major fun cross stitch.

Okay for now! Have a great day!!