busily spinning momma

He's a SMARTIE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:47:00 +0000

My first and oldest baby started Junior Kindergarten yesterday.

I am beyond excited for him and so happy that he seems to enjoy it so much!

I am really sad for me. I'll miss him so much. He's the life of the party around here.

Anyway, I made a little gift to give to his new teachers, as a Thank You for all the hard work they do from the very start.

Here's close up of the tag I made:

I had seen some other printables with the smarties idea, but they never quite said what I wanted them to.

So I figured I'd try making my own. It was actually easy and fun! And really adds such a cute touch to the little gift.

Inside are Smarties and a Starbucks gift card. Yum...coffee and chocolate :) The cup is made of glass and double walled for hot/cold.

I'm pretty happy with the results :)

And just in case you like the tag and want to use it, I made a printable.

Now, I'm not sure if this is the way to do it, but I figured this will work.

Just save the picture, copy it into Word, and resize as needed :)

Oh, and his teachers (he's got two) LOVED them! One said "what a SMART way to start the year! WIth Smarties" lol... :)
Hope you're all having a great day and hope your kiddies are enjoying the new school year.

xo, Dorian

Some Sewing, a Serger and a Shoe...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Hello friends,

it's been a while since I've been on my lil' ol' blog.

Summer's officially started (weather wise) and we've been enjoying every bit of it. And I have found that there is less and less time to blog. So, during the summer I will be posting as much (or as little, I suppose) as the weather, the kiddies, the fun allow me to.

So, I've been sewing again! It's a huge deal since I'd fallen into a rut and not sewn a thing since December! Can you imagine?! Wanna know what prompted me to sew again? Well, you see, last month was my birthday and I got a little spending money. And with that spending money I bought this:

The Janome Jem Plus LSS. The LSS stands for Light Serging System. And yes, it's a sewing machine and serger in one! I LOVE it! It makes SUCH a difference in my sewing! If you wanna read more about it, you can go here. (I can also do a review on it if you guys are interested)

Anyway, it got me motivated to sew and I've been busy making shorts out of out-grown pants, coin purses, NapKits ("what's a NapKit?" more on that in Monday's post!), pjs, and shoes!

My sweet baby Benji, is tiny tiny tiny. And I can never find shoes I like, that fit well AND are comfy. SOOO, I made my own. *insert proud grin here* :)

I made them out of an Elvis printed cotton (how cool, right?!) for the outer and a dark brown flannel for the inside:

I am in love with how they turned out! I didn't use a pattern, instead I kinna went with what I saw in my mind and IT WORKED OUT! Yay! Love when that happens :) I made a pattern but not a computerized one. I think I need PhotoShop for that. Rats. Instead I sketched one and I already have a second pair all ready to go!

Oh, and what am I naming these cute little shoesies? The BENJIS, of course!

Well, that's all I have for now. Hope you're all having an excellent day :)

Be back soon!

Dorian

Monogrammed Market Tote - Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Hello friends!

How are you?

We've been having a slow week around here, as one of my guest posters fell through due to family stuff :( I apologies. I wanted this week to be much more fast paced :( Oh well, such is life.

BUT! I do have one more guest coming soon! ANND, the giveaway is still live! What am I giving away this time, you ask? Oh just over $265 in goodies! Want in? Go here!

Today, I have another easy and fun Mother's day gift idea! It's quick and you can find all of the Plaid's Martha Stewart paints, and stencil at Michael's.

You need:

- Canvas tote

- Newspaper (just a sheet)

- Fabric paints (or regular paints mixed with fabric medium)

- Foam Pouncers

- Stencils (One each in a circular patterned, a letter, and a floral/totally optional)

- Spray adhesive

- Tape

- Fine Point paint bottle

So, start with a canvas bag:

Got mine in a pack of 3 also at Michael's. kinna expensive though at $14 plus tax. But if use your coupons, then it's a sweet deal!

Okay, moving along. Put some newspaper in the bag to avoid leakage to the over side. *just in case*

Spray some adhesive on the back of your stencil. Stick down onto bag (iron your bag flat first). Mix your paint of choice and the fabric medium as directed on the bottle. The fabric medium makes it so you can wash it. Next tape any edge the paint might leak onto.

Pounce the paint right on! (for more pouncing info, go here, to my previous post)

Remove stencil, allow paint to dry. Do all the above steps again, adding the monogram and whatever extra stencils you'd like.

Pounce them in with paint of your choice.

This is what I had when I finished stenciling everything in:

I liked it, but just okay. I didn't like how light the vines were. Bad color choice, Dorian!

So I grab some more paint, medium and my Martha Stewart Fine Tip-Tops in a size 1:

And mixed it all together:

Then I outlined the entire vine and leaves all the way around (please note, this was my first time using the fine tip tops and I had some issues with controlling the amount of paint that came out, so it's not perfect. But it's for my momma, and I know she'll look past my errors and see the love it was made with. I hope. Oy.)

And you have yourself a cute lil' Monogrammed Market Tote!

And lastly, but most important : wait 24 hours, then iron the tote once more, going right over the paint. This sets it, so that you can wash it when needed! How great is that?!

Anyway, it's an easy and fun project that you scan whip up in no time! Ummm...just watch those pesky fine tip tops ;)

Thank you, again, for reading, I hope you're having a great week so far! Almost the end of the giveaway! (with another surprise in store!)

xo, Dorian

BIGHUGEFUN News!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:49:00 +0000

Wanna know a little secret?

lean in real close....

*it's almost my birthday*

but what fun would it be unless we celebrate?! So, I thought...we should have a Party!

weheartit
No, not with balloons! A party with guest posters, tutorials, but best of all...gifts. lots and lots of gifts. with an approx. value of , ahem, over $200. But they're not to for me. Oh no ma'am. They're for one of you!

:O
(pssst...that's a shocked face, btw)

You lucky girls.

draw pilgrim

So, I bet you wanna know what will be the giveaway.

Well, I'm not telling you! Since my birthday is this Sunday May 6, I will announce the AMAZING giveaway items then, so you're just gonna have to wait :) {but I will say there is jewelry, sewn goodies, custom made designs, shop credits and more!} So be sure to come back Sunday, there will be several ways to win and only one week to enter!

For now, feel free to browse through my sponsors's amazing shops and get to know them a bit better :)

Laura from:

"My motto is 'keep it simple.' That's how I approach my work as well. I create jewelry and accessories that are simply delicate, whimsical, and beautiful. Not too big. Not too bold. Just the perfect accessories to highlight the already beautiful you."

Aimee from:

"Helping small business bloom by creating websites, blogs, branding, logo designs and more."

Virginia from:

"Hi! I'm Virginia, wife, mom, Jesus-follower who can be found at Geeky & Sassy.

Where I write about my not-so-perfect journey with my faith, family, life and home."

Lani from:

Lani didn't know what to write so I'm going to gush about her for a bit :) Lani has the CUTEST shop ever. She makes these super adorable Dino Hoodies that every kid LOVES and a grow chart that is off the chart...LOL! Seriously talented lady right here.

Paula from:

shop

"My name is Paula and I run a little shop called Flutterby Kisses. My business is primarily jewelry but I love accessories too . At the moment my primary focus is on Glass jewelry and Chainmaille jewelry. I can admit it.. I am completely addicted to chainmaille!!! Come by and take a look, I'd love to hear what you think!!"

Chrissy from:

shop

"SimplyCreated carries affordable couture accessories for all ages. Looking for that perfect pop of color to your outfit, we have it, at a price you can afford. We are now specializing in custom wedding accessories ie: hair pieces, pins, shoe clips, and necklaces. We can custom make any item to fit your personality, just convo me on etsy."

Jennifer and Melissa from:

Vintage Honey

"The Vintage Honey Shop specializes in {cute}! We make handmade fabric & paper items, ranging from teething & wedding necklaces to diaper cakes & paper magnets! We are two BFF's (Jennifer & Melissa), making quality, handcrafted products just for you!"

Katie from:

shop

"KIS Creationz is a shop that is dedicated to designing handmade high quality headbands and yarn letters for you! Every item can be custom ordered to fit your needs and wants. Have something made for your little one or for yourself!"

Amanda from:

shop

"Our company is based on the belief that our customers' needs are of the utmost importance. Our entire team is committed to meeting those needs. As a result, a high percentage of our business is from repeat customers and referrals."

Heather from:

"It's A Long Story is a place to share, grow and be inspired. My shop, The Flannel Lamb, is a work in progress that I hope to have up and running by the end of May!"

I hope you're as excited as I am!

xo, Dorian

Let's Start Thinking about MOTHER'S DAY...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:01:00 +0000

I recently received an email from the wonderful people at Plaid Crafts asking me if I would be interested in participating in an upcoming Mother's Day crafting event.

OBVIOUSLY, I said yes.

I received a box of goodies that far exceeded the last one, to make some Momma themed crafts. So after *some* excited jumping around and some squealing like a kid on Christmas morning, I got to playin'!

I figured I would use this opportunity to create some special gifts for the two special mommas in my life: my Mom and my MIL :)

Besides the Martha Stewart supplies Plaid sent me, I went out and bought these:

2 Glass Vases from the DS

A pack of 3 canvas totes from Michael's

2 Taupe-y Fabric Photo Albums

2 Wooden Plaques (DS)

2 Trivets and a pack of coasters (not pictured and DS)

Today, I will show you what I did to the albums. And how to do it yourself :)

You will need:

- Martha Stewart Stencil

-Stencil Adhesive

-Paint

-Pouncers ( I used foam)

- Albums

What You Do:

Start of by spraying the Stencil Adhesive on the back of your stencil.

I penciled in where I knew I wanted to but my bird first then positioned my stencil on top.

Because of the stencil adhesive, the stencil doesn't move around because it sticks to your projects. The stencil will still come off easily when you're done. leaving very clean lines :)

Don't forget to tape off the parts of the stencil you do NOT want paint on. Here, I taped over the flowers and the bird's tail. Taping is a VERY important part.

Shake your paint, pour onto t~~upperware lid~~ paint pallet, and tap your foam pouncer (pictured below) into it. You want to them "tab" some the excess paint off on the lid, so you don't have too much paint on. Too much paint will cause leakage, causing messy lines even WITH adhesive.

Take your pouncer and tab it UP and DOWN onto the stencil. Do NOT swipe it, you need to tap it up and down for a perfect stencil :)

Once you're finished painting, you will have this:

*Please note* You should paint every part that requires say, brown. all at once.

Also, see the arrow? That's where some of my tape is.

Remove stencil carefully:

the circle indicates the penciled in bird feet.

I did two corners in the same stencil just in different directions:

Wait for it to dry.................

(wash your stencil while you wait)

Okay, now take your newly clean stencil, spray some more adhesive on it and line it up with your previously painted lines.

Tape over the painted parts:

Use your pouncer (I used the 3/4 inch one) to paint in your flowers a bright dark pink.

I then used a brush (not pictured, but it's just a regular brush) to paint in the center of the flower stencil, while the stencil was still on:

(you don't have to be super neat or artistic about this part, just dab it on)

Before the paint dries, very carefully remove the stencil:

Do that for both branches and add the bird :)

For the "M" monogram I used the Martha Stewart Fancy Script Stencil Set. It's cardboard (strong one, though) but I still sprayed on the adhesive and it worked great.

And that's it! easy! And sooo cute, right?! I love how whimsical it is :)

I made a second album for my MIL:

Isn't it so elegant and timeless?

I really hope they both like their customized albums. I plan to fill them with some pictures I had printed of my boys and some of my boys and them. I really hope they love it.

Anyway, I have 2-3 more stenciling projects coming in the next two weeks, so if you haven't tried stenciling before, you can try it now! It always intimidated me before, I don't know why though, it's fun and Plaid makes it easy with they're products. Anyway, if you wanna try, go for it! There' is plenty of variety :)

"See" you soon!

xo, Dorian

P.S:

Don't forget to check out my Big Birthday Bash! We've got a HUGE giveaway coming up on Sunday, should be fun!

*I feel obligated to say that I am part of a group of bloggers who works with Plaid on special campaigns. I received no monetary compensation for this post, just the material to craft with (BETTER!). All opinions expressed are my own. I wouldn't blog it, if I didn't love it :)

LINKED:
To these parties!

DIY Gift Ideas for Teenage Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:26:00 +0000

A sweet friend of mine asked me what were some great DIY gift ideas for teenage girls. And I, being the blogger I am, decided to write a WHOLE post about it :)
This week has been incredibly busy, and I am working on what I feel are A MILLION projects (a fashion tute for you guys and several Mother's day gift idea with tutes), so this post is a nice break :)

Every young girl LOVES jewelry. Especially unique, one of a kind stuff.

IHOD

the good stuff

This particular teenager like to travel, so what's better than a journal to chronicle her adventures?
{FYI, even the teen who doesn't travel would use this, what with all the high school drama and all ;)}

tortagialla

The Creative Place

Funky Scarf:

lake land local

Customized Tote:
It's no-sew! You can get the package of 3 totes for $16 at Michael's. Use the 40% off coupon and that's seriously a great deal!

Under the Sycamore

Customized tee:
Find a favorite poem or verse, use a bleach pen and voila!

Sweet Verbena via UCreate

A camera strap cover:
(this one is no-sew either!)

A Girl and A Glue Gun

I didn't include any sewed gifts, so everyone can find inspiration!
Thank you to my friends over at the BSM facebook page, who gave me some awesome ideas! You ladies rock :)
Hope you enjoyed the small roundup!

xo, Dorian

An Anthro Knock Off- TUTORIAL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:33:00 +0000

Hello again, friends! I finally, FINALLY made a tutorial for you all!

It's a fairly simple one too, no sewing needed.

This is what we'll be making today:

Yes, it's a knock off. I saw this beauty on the Anthro website last fall:

It's called the Modular Necklace, and retailed for $88 CDN. Say what?! $88 for some embroidery thread and a safety pin is a bit extreme, I think, so I figured I could make it myself :) And, I think my version is pretty dead on, no?

Ready to start?

Read on, then!

These are called "Cord End Crimps" and I bought them off Etsy, $3.99 for a bag pf 100.

I bought my thread at Wal-Mart. Though I saw some GORGEOUS colors at Michael's.

And, I chose these colors to keep it as close to the original as possible. I added a red (I didn't see what color the original had, in one part because it was hidden) and gray (not pictured, but keep reading). Also the Sienna color beside the pic, did NOT go on the charm, but rather near the neck clasp.

You will also need:

- silver chain

-clasps (for the back of the necklace)

- 4 jump rings

- jewelry pliers

Annnnd, GO!

1. take your looped thread and

2. squeeze and twist (in the middle) it as thin as it'll go.

3. Put the twisted part into the crimp, and use your fingers to squeeze it shut, as much as you can.

4. Use your pliers to squeeze shut a bit more BUT NOT ALL THE WAY!

5. This is what it looks like from the back

6. cut off excess from onto the crimp, in a rounded cut.

7. Pull the bottom thread down to bring the cut part into the very top of the crimp. SQUEEZE IT COMPLETELY CLOSED. (use pliers)

8. Trim and even out thread.

9. Do that 10 times.

Moving right along...

For my gray thread:

The original has 10 little thread crimps on the safety pin. For my size pin, 10 felt crowded, so I did 9 :)

Now, add your jump rings into the circle-y part and the entry part of the safety pin, as shown below:

Add you chain, and your clasp, with jump rings again:

Add the extra "dangle-y"

And you're done!

I love the way it looks, it's very different and simple, but so colorful and cheery!

And really, what's better than thread and a safety necklace for a fabric lover like myself?!

SO, I'm not going to say it was super easy, because it wasn't. BUT it wasn't hard, either. Just the putting the thread in the crimps is kinna a pain, but once you've done two, it gets a LOT easier!

I hope you give it a try! It's really not so bad, I promise.

And, as always, if you have any questions, or if I lost you without detailed instructions for the jump ring and added the necklace part, please don't hesitate to ask! I will answer them best I can! Just make sure you leave an email I can reply to, otherwise, I'll reply on this post :)

You can find more tutorials, here.

Thank you for reading!

xo, Dorian

Let's Talk Color Blocking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:13:00 +0000

Hello friends!

Today we're going to talk fashion. This is actually the second part of a Color Blocking post I started last week. I wrote the first "Intro to Color Blocking" for Fancy Little Things and you can find it here.

The thing about color blocking that is possibly THE MOST IMPORTANT part, is color combination. There are some colors that should NEVER be paired together EVER. Take red and green for example. This is a color pair that is best left to ugly Christmas sweaters worn by kind teachers nation-wide (I think that teacher wear them, because the kids love them, and I think that's super sweet, so they're allowed the ugly sweater thing). Complimentary colors (with the exception of blue and yellow) such as red and green usually have too high a color contrast, and may look clash-y. Same goes for primary colors. For instance, pairing red, blue AND yellow all at once can give off the "under the big-top" effect...you know, like a clown's costume. However, if you change the hue of one or both it can sometimes work.

In our example of red and green, you can change that to pink and mint. Or fuchsia and green and you would look spectacular:

WeHeartIt

And by changing the hues from primary to something a bit more interesting, the red, yellow, blue pairing goes from clown to cool in no time:

Atlantic-Pacific

A foolproof way to color block is to stick to one side of the color wheel.

For example: pairing blues and greens,

reds and oranges,

pinks and red,

orange and yellow:

In my opinion, you just need to play around with it. Find what suits you, and what compliments your skin tone and style. It may take some getting used to, but I'm sure with a little experimenting, you'll get there!

Lastly, there are a couple more color combos that I REALLY like and that I'll bet you'll like as well:

blues and greens (yes, I mentioned it above, but I really REALLY love it! same goes for pink and orange...LOOOOVE!)

Emerson Fry

orange and purple:

Me Edit

baby blue and hot pink:

Une Americaine

purple and yellow:

The Glitter Guide

and blues and yellow:

trendystyle

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. I am, by no means, the top authority on color blocking, but I love fashion and do my research, so I hope it was useful!

Another great and short little video on color blocking can be found here. It's not in depth, but it's short and sweet.

Enjoy!

xo, Dorian

Fat Quarter Bundle GIVEAWAY! $45 Value

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:59:00 +0000

Hi Friends!You are in for a real treat today!

My lovely sponsors, the Fat Quarter Shop, have so graciously offered a super sweet giveaway to one of my followers! YAY! You lucky girls, you. I am green with envy ;)

If you don't know the Fat Quarter Shop, I seriously recommend you go take a look at their website, BUT NOT NOW! You'll get lost in the beauty and never come back to enter the giveaway. SO, enter first, run over there after, mmkay?

Besides having beautiful things, they often have discounts over on their Facebook page. And they are so super helpful. You all know that I wanna make a quilt this year, right? Well, I was stuck on what fabric I should use that was non-girly (house full of boys over here) and they were so helpful and directed me to a couple I LOVE.

So now I have to chose between these two:

<--Curio by Basic Gray (Seville Quilt) or Curious Nature by Parson Gray (Urban Grange Quilt)-->

BUT, that's not what you wanna know right now, is it!? I'm sure you're dying to know what YOU will be winning, right?

Well, take a look below:

Kim Knight's Blogger Choice Fat Quarter Bundle!

You may know Kim from her site True Up, and if you do, then you know she has a great eye for beautiful fabrics. And the same can be said about this gorgeous bundle.

I am ABSOLUTELY in love with the colors, I feel like they are so on trend with Spring/Summer 2012. The corals and light mustard yellows paired with the grays and brown make for a striking but neutral-feeling combination, no?. When we (the Fat Quarter Shop and I) talked about doing a giveaway, THIS bundle was at the top of my wish list for you guys. SO happy one of you will get to win this and create with it!

You will be getting a total of 15 fat quarters in 12 prints and 3 solids, valued at $45!
Giveaway wil run from March 1st to March 15th and winner announced March 16th. So, go on, enter! There are 6 ways to win! Oh, and Good luck!

ENTER HERE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crafty, Scrappy, Happy Link Par-tay!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:07:00 +0000

Hello Friends!

Guess what I'm doing today? Go on, guess!

I am co-hosting my first ever linky party!

The absolutely lovely Jamie Lyn from Crafty, Scrappy, Happy is celebrating her blogversary with a linky party to end all linky parties. Seriously girls, it's HUGE. And all you have to do to partake in the celebrations is link up something crafty...or scrappy...or just plain HAPPY (cute, right?)!

So please, let's celebrate! Go on and link up something you're proud of! I'm looking forward to see your fantastic-ness! (what? that's a word! LOL!)

Feel free to link up anything and everything Crafty, Scrappy and/or Happy! No giveaways or etsy shops please.Check out other links, be inspired and make some new friends!Grab a button if you would!And check Crafty Scrappy Happy for features all next week!!!!

"CREATE"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:39:00 +0000

I've been into making jewelry lately. Which kinna weird to me, because it's something I never, in a million years, would have thought I would enjoy.
This is something a made just before Christmas for little ol' moi. But it's not all about me! I've also made a few others as gifts and what not. Anyway, I wore it quite a bit until I got a necklace from my hubby for Christmas that I have been wanting forever. I'll post about it later...it deserves it's on post :)

So here it is. A very simple "Create" necklace:

Isn't it sweet?

(FYI, Winter makes my skin look a sickly yellow...but trust me, I am not that yellow! I am more a sickly pale, ha!)

I wanted it to hit right between my collar bones and I wanted it to be understated in it's simplicity. I wanted the word to speak for itself, ya know? Not a lot of embellishing to take away from what I love to do most..."create" Which is what I wanted this necklace to be about. My love for creating..

I also signed up for a Christmas gift exchange and used some of those little word oval things to make my partner some gifts:

This is an e-reader sleeve (but it can also hold a standard size Bible). I added the word "Inspire" because my partner was a teacher and their jobs is to inspire.

It had a top snap closure, to keep everything inside, which I embellished with some quick embroidering. Easy peasy.

LOVE the interior fabric! I found about 2 yards of it at the thrift store and have treated it like gold ever since! I save it and only use it for my most valued projects! I only have a little bit left, I so badly wish I had more :(

The interior has a small pocket.

I also made her a flower brooch:

Which I wanted to keep for me :)

And lastly, I made her this:

A tiny little drawstring bag. For what, you ask?

Why,I'll gladly show you! For this:

Her very own "Inspire" necklace!

This is her gift all together...looking all pretty and orange-y...

And this is how I send it to her, just some brown paper and simple green yarn. I would've used twine, if I had twine.

She said she liked it...yay!
And, that orange material? That weird, vinyl, faux leather, plastic-y "fabric"? Yeah, it basically the devil. Super hard to work with. So even though I LOVE the sleeve, I may never make one. Ever again. EVER.

Oh, who am I kidding? I need one for my e-reader!

(the pics aren't the greatest. They were taken at night with only my overhead hallway light to help out! Boo to short winter days!)

In My Heart at This Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:02:00 +0000

(this has nothing to do with crafting and I understand if you close this window at any time. I am writing what is in my heart and that may not be for everyone. But mostly I am writing what I needed to read)

via History 1900

Do you ever have moments that your brain runs faster than your voice of reason? Or faster still, than your faith?

Often times my thoughts go off, and don't stop regardless of what I do to distract myself.

They race faster and faster to a place that is wrought with worry and fear, anxiety and panic, and before I know what's what, I'm sitting in front of the computer Google-ing things that are fuel to the flame.

If you're a mother, I'm sure you know what I mean. Every mother can get there with concern over her child. You know the "will he do well in school?" "will he make friends?" "will he be SCARRED for life because he watches TV while I cook dinner???"...and then the late nights "I should have done this..." "we didn't do enough of that..." "I shouldn't have done that other thing"...it never ends, the concern for our precious children. And this is true for all mothers. If you are never like this, I applaud you.and ask you....HOW? Whether the child is sick or not. Young or old. "Typical" or "special". Mothers worry. Heck...WOMEN worry.

via Media Cn

HOWEVER, I think that us "special" moms (meaning momma's of children with special needs) can get there more often and with far more speed. And with much scarier Google search results.

THAT'S when I cling to God and His truths. No amount of Google-ing and reading and studying, will cease the race of thoughts. Nor will they change the present or future. However, there is both comfort and hope in GOD.

via spiritual inspiration

I find solace in the words written in my dishevel old Bible. I find strength in the knowledge of having a God bigger than my fears. I find my faith again, in Him. I may not know what tomorrow brings, or what the next year brings...but HE does. And He cares. He cares SO much more than we give Him the credit for. He eagerly awaits for us to seek him, to talk to him, to hand Him our worries! Yet we keep them, hoarding them. Rather then putting them where they belong...they are poison in our hands and minds, but so small and benign in His.

via There's No Greater Love...

I thank God because my son is progressing well, and is at this moment happy and without any serious concern. I know I am blessed with his health and joy. With his whole little being that is absolutely PERFECT in my eyes. And I know I have no reason to worry that is worth worrying about. Not right now. And even when I have and do...I have a God who is bigger than my problems can ever be.

via Kind Over Matter

JOURNAL SWAP

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:42:00 +0000

At the beginning of the year, the very lovely Aleks from Aleks Handmade had the AWESOME idea to do a journal swap! How fun, right? Basically, we would each be paired up (at random) with another lady who signed up and then we would make/embellish/cover a journal in a way that would be all her. The idea of getting a journal customized for me was super excited. HOWEVER...The idea of customizing a journal to perfection for someone else was DAUNTING!

Anyway, I signed up and got the sweet Laura from Along For The Ride. I began the serious task of blog stalking her, researching her boards on Pinterest and basically being a creeper. LOL!

THIS is what I came up with:

It was based on this free printable I found on her boards:

found via IROCKSOWHAT

She had at least TWO variation of that saying, and her blog name is similar so I thought to myself "self, it seems like she likes that quote"...so I went with it!

I used a beautiful fabric from one of my favorite fabric "houses", Echino which is now mostly sold out, but you can see more from that collection here. And for the embroidery, I used a fabric pen to free hand the letters in and then went over them with the thread an needle.

It ties closed, to keep everything neat and tidy:

An inside look:

I also send her a Sharpie in a coordinating color because, really, there's nothing better to journal with! The one I send her was a dual tip...extra thin to write with and the regular one for sketching or what not.

This is what it looks like off:

And in case you wanna know, I bought this generic sketch book at Wal-Mart for under $7...

I was SOOO nervous to send it to her and really hoped she'd like it. She got it yesterday and said that she LOVES it! ( I may or may not have almost made her tear a bit...YES! LOL!) I am so so so happy she liked it...a lot of love went into it and I hope and pray she fills it with wonderful memories.

***I did NOT use a tutorial. I actually TRIED using one and ended up completely messing up my first attempt at the cover. It didn't fit right, or look right :(. So I started again, from scratch, and kinna made up my own way to do it. I didn't make a tutorial along the way, but I had a request for another cover so I could make a tute, if you're interested. (and ps...the first cover I made I will be using...it's not soo bad, just not good enough to give away!)

And know for the best part...WHAT I GOT!

My partner was the beautiful Natassia from Nat's Knapsack. She claims she not an artist, but I think the journals beg to differ! So beautiful!

I got THREE lovely journals, each loving hand painted and recovered by Nat:

The back flap has a slot to store extra papers:

Let me show you them, one by one.

The first (and my fav!) is this yellow and pink one, I am in love with the dainty, artsy little flower!

She even made a bookmark to go with it!

The next one is the blue and green one...I am loving the yellow flowers on it!

And since she's so great, she made me a coordinating bookmark for this one too!

Isn't it sweet?

And last but not least, the one I call the "Love" one...

The inside is decorated as well:

And the bookmark for it:

This is one of my all time favorite verses, so it was really special that she included it.

The best part is that they're a great size! They're about the size of a wallet, so I can carry them where ever I go without adding extra weight and bulk to my bag! With a baby, I need all the space I can get!

And lastly, the lovely Aleks (the coordinator of the whole shindig) sent us each a GORGEOUS personalized bookmark:

Isn't it so pretty?

And look at what she added just above the flower:

I just love it and will be using it with my bible!

A huge thank you to Aleks and Nat! You girls are awesome!

I am linking up over at Aleks journal swap linky party here.

Thank you for reading this loooong loooong post! Have a super awesome day!

Linking to these parties! Come on over and join!

One Day...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:52:00 +0000

I am super excited, you guys! You see, tomorrow my honey and I are going to start in a new (albeit, small) project. Right now, my craft space is in what I like to call the craft/office/toys/gather all/junk mess/room. We have THREE desks in this room plus a cubby/bookshelf thing. And the desks are not little, no sir, they're full size office desks. And it's a small space!

Anyway, We're hoping to get rid of one desk right off the bat. It's old, ratty and garbage. And then we plan to get rid of the other two once we find suitable (*ahem* cute and cheap!) alternatives.

This room will then functions as a craft (sewing) room for me, home office for the man and playroom for the boys...BUT with organization!!!

Anyway, this is not going to be a quick thing where I show you the after next week. Not.at.all. Actually all we're really doing this week is tossing a bunch of things out, making more room, and moving my son's train table in. The rest (the fun stuff!) will have to wait. There are, after all, a few obstacles in our way:

1.time

2.budget

3.finding the perfect layout!

So, in honor of one day having the perfect room for us all, here are a few pictures of rooms and ideas that inspire me:

Enjoy :)

For the closet:

The Dainty Squid

The Inspired Room

It's The Little Things
but not with toys, rather with craft stuff...okay and some toys :)

Better Homes and Gardens

LOVE:

You Are My Fave

Hubby often works from home, and I usually blog/pin :) while he works late into the night. So we need a desk that can house both my computer and his laptop. I happen to love these long desks:

Better Homes and Gardens

Mathews Family Happenings

Marigold & Sage

houzz (AWESOME site, btw :)

I like the desk type in the above picture, but NOT the formality of it. Not me.

my ideal sewing table(s):

Better Homes and Gardens

All images found through Pinterest. If you want to follow me on Pinterest, go here.

Have a great weekend!

Handmade Presents Part 2.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:39:00 +0000

These are the handmade gifts I made my boys for Christmas.

I'm missing a picture of one more item. So I'll add that with Part 3. :)

For my sweet baby Ben, I made:

(I also made the blanket for my SIL's SIL"s new baby boy...did you catch all that??!..LOL!)

For Ben, I added a couple of pillows:

That's a baby body pillow (! so tiny and cute!) and the long skinny one is for under his neck. He needs to sleep with something tucked under his neck to keep his head positioned properly due to his low-tone. Up until now, we had been using receiving blankies rolled up. I decided to make him a fancy neck roll thing and he seems to like it :)

I made the blanket (and pillows) out of a super cute flannel I found at the local fabric store and the softest minky (first time sewing with minky...super fun!) also from the fabric store. Did you guys know that minky is $15 the yard??!! Lucky for me I got 50% off :)

I added the "B" to customize it just for Ben. I think it really added a lot to a very simple blankie :)

For my oldest, Noah, I painted a family of wooden peg dolls:

and put them into a cute lil box from the DS, (thanks for the box Luc!) I admit that I didn't do the greatest job EVER, but I tried and I feel pretty proud of them.

I made one of each of the four grandparents, two girl cousins, and us. See the *ahem* "busty" dolly with the peter pan collar...that's me :). Beside me is baby Ben, then Noah, and the one in the blue button up is my Husband. On my side is my mom and dad. Next to Carlos (hubs) is his dad and mom and the cousins.

Noah loved it! He just likes looking at them and telling me who each person is. It's so cute :) Problem is, I didn't make the whole family (we're A LOT) and the first thing he asked is when the rest will be done. So now I have to make 4 Uncles, 3 Aunts, and 3 more Cousins....phew. His birthday's in March, I should be able to do it by then!

That's all I have to show you today. I'm missing one, but I'll show you later. Coincidentally, it's the one that gets most use and the one I'm proudest of. I also think you guys will like it and probably want a tutorial. Soooo, I'm already working on one for ya :)

I know things have been slow around here, so I really appreciate you guys hanging around and reading my lil' blog. Your presence makes me smile, as do your sweet words!

"See" you again soon. Have a GREAT weekend! xoxo

What I've Been Up To

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Hello Friends!

I have so much to tell you! We've been dealing with something concerning my youngest for the last 4-6 weeks and it's finally looking better! YAY! But that's a story for another day as it's 12:30 am and I am beat!

I also wanted to let you know what I've been doing.

I've been helping my lovely SIL with a blog makeover. I am so excited by how it turned out! I feel it suits her perfectly and best of all, you can find all her GORGEOUS tutorials easier and faster!

You probably know her...

Lucy from:

If you haven't visited her blog, you may want to. She's got something for everyone. And it's so inspiring and just plain beautiful to look at.

Also, you can take a peak at my "work" ;)

Click here --->>Craftberry Bush, if you want to check it out!

Thanks for reading friends! I hope next week I get back into my regular crafting/blogging groove.

I really, really hope!

A Handmade Christmas Part.1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:54:00 +0000

With all the rush and hectic-ness that is the holiday season, I didn't get the chance to show you even ONE THING I made! And also....didn't want the "getters" to see what they were gettin'! LOL!

But now, I can FINALLY show you!

These first two are for my handsome nephews. They are 9 and 11 and it was kinda hard to figure out what to make them. I ended up LOVING what I made them!

For the 9 year old...a hand crocheted cowl in the softest yarn. We also added a bit of cash, so that way he can get whatever he wants.

I also bought each nephew a pendent (with added ball chain) made from a Scrabble piece.SUCH a cute piece, very well made and great packaging. So impressed and will be buying more from them. Oh, did you wanna know where to buy?? Check out the Home Studio on Etsy. They are NOT sponsoring me or linking to them, but I liked their stuff and wanted to pass along to my friends :) Really cute stuff and so much to chose from.

Anyway, this is what the cowl looks like when worn:

And what it looks like unfolded:

I didn't use a pattern, I just did a long piece (not in the round) of half double crochet, working every other row in the back loop only. To get the "ribbed" effect. Then I joined the ends together. Does that make sense? Feel free to ask any questions!

For the 11 year old:

A wallet!

With the pendent (they're brothers so the same one seemed fine) and yes, we added cash...cuz what good is an empty wallet, right?! He seemed to love it! I think he especially liked that he came filled ;)

About the wallet. Although I wish I could be the genius behind it, since it's absolutely amazing, I can NOT take the credit for it! I used the tutorial over at Noodlehead and I didn't change a thing! It soo easy to follow and turns out super cute! So cute that my husband, son and the nephew who got the cowl has asked me for one! Go to Anna's tutorial for her Basic Boy's Wallet by clicking here.

The inside:

For my one of my lovely SIL (the nephews momma, actually) I made two camera strap covers! She just got a new DSLR in October so I thought it be perfect.

I didn't use a tutorial for these, although I DID have to look up dimensions for the straps, since I don't have a DSLR.

For this one I used some Amy Butler fabric (the blue one) called Ocean Treasure from her Lark collection. You can find it over at here. I can't recall what the light green one is. If you know, feel free to let me know in the comments :)

The flowers are actually a brooch so she can remove them if she'd like. (It's also covering where I had to add another piece since I used a fat quarter and it wasn't long enough)

And the strap is well padded for comfort.

This one is my personal favorite :)

The second one, I made was this one:

LOVE the color combo! So pretty :)

The gray fabric I got at the local fabric store at $4 the yard (of course bought A LOT!) and the yellow is actually flannel with fray check applied on the edges. I chose to go with one ruffle, even though I had made two. But when I had them both pinned on, it looked so busy and overwhelming. So I did the one. I still don't know if I made the right choice...

I didn't get everything I hoped for done. I wanted to make stockings and neighbor gifts and some decor stuff, but we were all hit with a case of the bouncing full (you know...cuz it bounces from one person to the other until we're all sick, prolonging what would have been a week's misery into three whole weeks...ugh) and well, things slowed way down.

And I still have to show you what else I made my other SIL, my mom, a relative's baby and my boys but the hubs is here, needing the computer soooooo, that's all for today!

Be back soon :)

2012, You're Gonna be a GREAT Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:46:00 +0000

I don't really know that, obviously. But I've decided it. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with my "decision" everyday, but I will certainly try!

I have soo many hopes for this little blog. They're nothing extravagant. Nothing flashy or crazy. Just simple things that I hope I can learn and see improvement in. Let's talk about those.

These are my 2012 Blog/crafty goals:

- Learn to cable knit (well, get more comfortable knitting period. I'm more of a crocheter, but wanna do both)

- Learn to knit a hat and cowl (knit in the round and also see above)

Knitted Bliss

- Sew at least one quilt (my first!)

Cluck Cluck Sew

- Embroider more often.

Feeling Stitchy

- Continue to explore sewing clothing (for my boys)

Amazon

(just got this book as a Christmas present and I am SO excited to get it so I can start sewing!)

- Learn more about making patterns, but first sew from a pattern ;)

- Open an online shop (!)

-Learn more about HTML and blog design (this one is for me personally, but it sounds soo fancy, it's not. I just want a pretty blog for free! LOL!)

- Take a sewing class and...

- Sew more (gonna try for a tiny bit everyday)

Google Images

- Keep a Creative Journal and sketch more

Lil Blue Boo

- BLOG A LOT MORE! (don't know HOW I'm gonna pull that one off!)

Little Miss Momma

- Craft for my home A LOT more (make this little house of ours a cozy little HOME)

Cup Of Jo

- Makeover my crafting/sewing room.

Oh, Sweet Joy!

-Take better pictures

-Make more handmade gifts (my poor family's screaming "nooooo!!!!" to that last one! LOL!)

And that's it. I don't think it's too hard. Most of it is learning and that something I'm not too bad at. Well, when it comes to crafty matters...LOL!

I'm most nervous about the online store, and blogging more.

I am most anxious to begin: sewing more, cozy-ing up my home, sewing the clothes and quilt and keeping a creative journal. I used to do that a lot when I was younger, but I stopped and now I don't remember why. I can't wait to see what it looks like in December!

Anyway, I also hope to have a LOT more tutorial up and maybe even some guest posts...exciting! And I can NOT wait to start interacting with you all more, this is gonna be a fun year, thank you for joining me on my journey!

Thanks for reading! Next...my handmade Christmas presents!

"See" you soon!

MY Top Ten Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:51:00 +0000

Yesterday I did a post about the top ten MOST VIEWED post of 2011. So, I thought it would be fun to show you guys MY top ten favorite projects of this past year. They are some that were also on the other list from yesterday, but some of my absolute favs were, actually, not. Let's start at 10...

10. Anthro Tote Knock Off Tutorial

I actually really like this bag, it is SO much cuter in person. I love to carry those "mommy extras" we all need. You know, extra diapers, change of clothes, even snacks. The little things that sometimes my other bags can't fit. It was surprisingly easy to make and I am kinna obsessed with the salmon-y, coral-y pink.

9.Ruffles & Buttons Tutorial

So, little known fact about this tee...I actually made it to swap for FREE on WhoopdWhoop, so I never actually wore it. But Amy did and she liked it :) Right Amy?

Anyway, one of your top faves and one of mine as well :)

8.Beach & Ocean Tee

I LITERALLY wore this NON STOP in the summer! The fit was just perfect and the length hit just right and the flowy-ness allowed for a lot of delicious BBQ enjoyment :) yum....

7.Address Pillow

I know it's nothing earth shattering, but I love this pillow. It matches my front door perfectly, and looked so pretty on my porch. Not that it last long out there. Before I knew what was what, it was inside and under the possession of my 3 year old! I think I love it so much because of how much my hubs and kiddo liked it :)

6.Spring Flowers Necklace Tutorial

This necklace was actually one of my first posts. I still wear this quite a bit and I love the pop of color and sweet simplicity of it. And SO SO easy to make!

5.Lavender Bunting

Every time I walk by this sweet smelling little pillow bunting, I smile. I LOVE the purple floss, the rugged rope, the fabric scraps I saved for the PERFECT project (tiny little pieces), and the fact that I grew and harvested the lavender within those sweet little pillows from my own little garden. It reminds me of sunny days sitting outside with my boys :)

4.Tight Squeeze Necklace Tutorial

I LOVE this necklace. But to be honest with you, I felt that this tutorial is really more about the technique used to add "marbling" to the orange wooden bead. It's not really about the necklace, but about achieving the "look" of the bead. I think that's why it's on this list...loved experimenting to get what I wanted!

3.Pillow Fight Shield Tutorial

Love the fabrics. Love the monkeys. Love the handles at the back. But most of all...LOVE that my sweet boy loves it! A total crafty mommy WIN! I also LOVE how I thought of this fun little pillow...during a pillow fight naturally!!! (with the Address Pillow up top, actually!) Inspiration hits at the weirdest moments! I also LOVE that I received a LOT of emails from mommas of boys thanking me for a boy related craft and saying that they would make this for their boys for b-days, Christmas...etc,. I hope they liked their pillows!!

2.Rustic Spoon Pendant Tutorial

Fun little back story on this pendant. I actually "thought it up" while breastfeeding my littlest. It was such a perfect sunny summer day, and I was wishing I had something to spray paint or hammer or something. And then it was like, "oh, I know! Hammer a spoon!"...because that's what any sane person would think, right?

Another fun little fact on this spoon...it got soo many hits (well over 2500 in a matter of HOURS!) , it crashed my site! And maxed out my allotted picture views on Photobucket! I had to upgrade to pro! That was really REALLY awesome. And unbelievable. I never expected that kind of response, and am still overwhelmed, touched and humbled. And all because of you guys! Thank you so much!

And my personal favorite project of 2011 is.....

1.In the Garden Quilted Tote Tutorial

You know that one project that you are crazy about but barely gets the recognition it deserves? The one you can stop looking at and petting lovingly? No? Just me??? Anyway...that's this bag for me. I am in complete LOVE with it! I wore it all summer and stuffed it to the brim and it's held up perfectly! I got a ton of compliments on it, every time I went out and I can not wait to rock it next summer as well! I love the colors, the patchwork, the lining (bright TURQUOISE!). It was my first ever attempt at piecework and the longest tutorial on my blog but I love how it tuned out. Can't wait to make more!

This post was so fun to write! I enjoyed looking back on MY favs of 2011. It makes me look forward to 2012.

Did you guys do a top 10 post? If so, leave me a link in the comments! I'd love to check them out!

Also, meet me back here on January 3rd for a 2012 Crafty Resolution post! Get yours ready too, so you can post them in the comments for everyone to take a look at!

Until then, have a WONDERFUL New Year's! Be safe, and God bless!

xoxo, Dorian

Top Ten of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:52:00 +0000

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and do a top 10 post! I feel like I don't have very many to pick from, since I keep seeing the same ones over and over again. But I've posted 106 post this year and these ten are the ones I see all the time! So here are the top 10 most viewed post of 2011:

Enjoy!

10. Sun Shine-y Shirt Tutorial:

9. Beach and Ocean Tee Tutorial:

8. Braided Daisies Necklace Tutorial:

7. Pillow Fight Shield Tutorial:

6. Laid Back Summer Tee Tutorial

5.A CHARM-ing Necklace Tutorial:

4.Pretty In Pleats Tee Tutorial:

3.Ruffled Lane Shirt Tutorial:

2.Ruffles & Buttons Anthro Inspired Tutorial:

And the number one post....

1. Rustic Spoon Pendant Tutorial:

And there you have it you guys! Your top ten viewed!

Guess you kinna like tutorial, huh? Especially of tees and necklaces! LOL!

I want to take a quick minute to thank you for visiting my blog and posting sweet comments and just being the best readers around! I appreciate the time you spend with me and am touched when you find something I post "inspiring". I can't believe the friendship that have come from this blog and the personal growth that I have seen in myself. This past year has been so much more than I expected in terms of this blog and I truly hope next year is even better!

I have some stuff in mind that I hope to discuss in an upcoming post. Some new ideas and whatnot.

Thank you all again!

Have a great (and safe!) New Year's!

xoxo, Dorian

T'is The Season!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:15:00 +0000

For being UNBELIEVABLY busy! LOL!

But a good busy, ya know? Making gifts (which I am STILL finishing up! I know, I know....bad crafty mommy!) and wrapping and baking (who am I kidding? I bought the boxed ginger bread houses ready to make!). We've all been terrible sick for the last three weeks around here. It's been gross. First I got it, then hubby. Then my oldest, than the baby. Hubby still had it the whole time, Then I got it again! We FINALLY went to the Dr, and got antibiotics, than the antibiotics made my babies tummy hurt and they had "accidents" all over the house (an early Christmas present of sorts? I think not...ugh!) but we finally are done with the medicine, so we're better now. Thank goodness! But that little game of flu-tag put me WAY behind in every department. Even blogging :( But, not a day goes by that I don't think I should get on here. I seriously THINK in "blogger speak" sometimes! Lame or what?! I've just been swamped. Like seriously guys, it's 3am here and I stayed up wrapping, sewing and am finally blogging, if not one of the tutes I have, at least a quick hello!

Anyway, I don't know if I'll get back on here before Christmas, so I just wanted to make sure to wish you all a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

may you be surrounded with those you love and may your day be filled with laughter and joy!

I am so grateful this time of the year for the gift of Jesus! That sweet new-born babe born in a stable.

It's so easy to forget what the real meaning of Christmas is in the hurry of the season and in the midst of all the gift buying. But I am going to try and slow down and remind my little guys what this day is. After all, it's so important they know. It's a birthday celebration of EPIC proportions! For a God bigger than our biggest fear and greater than our imagination could ever understand!

So, not only do I wish you a very Merry Christmas but I hope you enjoy the birthday party and send out a "thank you" to the Birthday Boy :)

And now, I want to thank YOU so much, as always, for coming back time and again to my lil' ol' blog. Your friendship, words and visits are like Christmas presents to me! So, again...thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

See you soon! (I hope!)

xoxo, Dorian

GUEST POST: Aimee from Fancy Little Things

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:41:00 +0000

Hello Friends...Happy Friday! I am finish up some touch ups on the Tutorial for the Marble bags, like one of you asked :) and I hope to have that up tomorrow!

I do, however, have a special treat for you today! A guest post from the ever-so-lovely Aimee! YAY! If you guys don't know Aimee, you really really must! She is simply one of THE most generous and loving persons I have the pleasure of "knowing"! I hope to one day be able to meet her face to face! {and maybe be neighbors and eat brownies for lunch together ;)} Anyway, today she's got the CUTEST tutorial...

The Little Green Bird {sew easy} Garnet Hill Inspired Christmas Decor

Take it away, Aimee!

hi friends! my name is Aimee Steckowski and i add weekly projects over at FancyLittleThings.com every Monday. i absolutely love decorating for Christmas and enjoy the excitement with 2 small children. i am married to a Marine and we are currently stationed on Camp Pendleton, California. i love making fun, useful projects, home decorator ideas & have a major issue with tearing magazine clippings out & adding to one of my several idea binders {yes, i actually use them}. as much as i adore Pinterest - there's nothing better than holding a piece of paper and creating with my hands.

this sweet little bird. i am in love. but did not pay $40 for him like at my FAVORITE store: garnet hill...

{yes, these are from garnethill.com & sell for $40 - good thing I know how to sew & our Christmas decor colors are green & pale yellow}.

what you need:

1/2 a piece of felt
small piece of white & brown felt
stuffing {take from nearest pillow if necessary}
bird drawing outline on paper
2 sewing pins
needle & matching thread
hole punch

fold felt in half, place cutout on top, add some pins & start cutting

using your hole punch make several white holes

{if MINE can cut through felt, yours surely can!!}

just press the circle onto the felt wherever you want it - no pin needed. cut a long piece of string and thread through the needle... i added two stitches to each circle.

place both pieces together using pins to hold in place

use another LONG piece of string that matches the bird to hand-stitch around the outside

! always sew around the smallest part first and add the fiberfill using the eraser part of a pencil to stuff it

don't forget to cut the small beak -- add when sewing around the outside. then when the majority of the bird is stitched, finish stuffing & sew the remainder

sew cute. sew easy.

Isn't that the sweetest? And SUPER easy, right? You could probably even involve a kid or two to paste on the dots...fun! I really wanna make a few for my "hole-y" tree...hahaha!

Thank you again Aimee, for offering up that lovely tutorial! If you guys wanna see more of Aimee beautiful work, go to Fancy Little Things! So much inspiration to be had :)

I hope you have a restful Friday, "see" you tomorrow!

xoxo, Dorian

Losing My Marbles...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 07:26:00 +0000

I'm back with some stuff I did this week! Yay! I've been so busy sewing (I can't show everything I sewed in case a certain person is reading this...) and making some fun jewelry!

I'm not gonna post everything right now (It's LITERALLY 2 am here!), but I'll show you the easiest, simplest but most loved thing I made this week:

Drawstring baggies! In super cute fabrics! What are they for, you ask??

Why, marbles, of course!

My oldest (who is only 3.5) is super into marbles lately...loves to play with his daddy all day if he could! He carries them up and down the house as if they were little treasures! Which they are, to him. Anyway, he was carrying them in that awful plastic fishnet bags they sell the marbles in and I, being the crafty momma I am, thought he should have something much more fun! And pssst...perfect (and frugal!) stocking stuffers!

I initially made only one (the blue one with the yarn drawstring) but he promptly informed me that Daddy would need his own bag for his marble as they play to win each other's marbles (is that encouraging betting???). So I made the brown one and "upgraded" to ribbon instead of yarn. Okay, so let me be frank....I DO NOT LIKE THE RIBBON! It makes it soo much harder to close and open the bag! It looks WAY cuter, but it is such a pain! Learned my lesson...

Anyway, because they're being used for marbles and the little guy likes to fling 'em and be all boyish and rough with 'em, I made them double thick. I came up with a SUPER EASY (like really easy guys...I did both in like 15 minutes, start to finish!) "method" to making drawstring bags. In fact I made a couple more as gift baggies.

SOO...my question to you is: want a tute? Or are you all like, "come on, Dorian, duh, that's like sooo easy! thanks for the insult!" ??? I'll do a tute even if ONE person says they want it, so make sure to let me know down there...in the comments!

This were supposed to be stocking stuffers, but I couldn't help it! I gave them to him early and he LOVES them. It's too sweet to see him carry them everywhere! It warms my heart, it does :)

AND....wanna see something I put into one of the other (not pictured) baggies I made?

I know it's super simple, but I LOVE IT! This one is actually mine (didn't wanna put up the actual gift) and it's short, hits me at the collar bones. I love that it says "Create" on it, since creating is so close to my heart! And I love the simplicity, I can (and DO!) keep it on all the time and even if I add more jewelry it's not overwhelming or clash-y.

Anyway, I made a ton of other stuff I can't WAIT to share with you! But for now, this Spinning Momma got to be a Sleepin' Momma (HAHAHA! oh wait...why am I the only one laughing???) !

Have a great Saturday ladies, I will talk to you again tomorrow! And don't forget to comment "yay" or "nay" for a tute!

Thanks for reading, you guys are the sweetest :)

xoxo, Dorian

WINNER!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:10:00 +0000

Hello there my lovely ladies!

It's FRIDAY! Woo-hoo!

Sorry for my lack of post this week, it's ironic really. I have been crazy busy sewing and making jewelry (fun!) and I was even thinking of doing a makeup tutorial! (I don't assume to know it all about makeup, but I absolutely LOVE to play with it and have learned a lot along the way) Is that something you guys would be interested in?

Anyway, I've been coming down with a cold and it turns out the girl who gave it to me, has Strep throat. *groan*. I really hope that is not what I have.

So, yeah, that's the bad news. In good news...I FOUND MY CAMERA! So later today I will post some pics up, mmkay?

And lastly WE HAVE A WINNER!

The winner (as selected by random.org) of the Plaid giveaway of all these lovely goodies...

#12 Katy who said:

Katy Cameron said...12

Ooooh, pretty, sparkly things... Oh, wait, you weren't counting drooling over this stuff, right? I have a huge bunch of cards I want to make, and with a stack of chipboard shapes to include that need to be coloured and sealed, this looks like just the job :o)

Congratulations Katy! Please email me your address, so we can get out all this out to you!

And remember to check out Plaid to enter your Christmas craft into a super awesome contest ($1000 is up for grabs!!!)

I'll be back later today!

xoxo, Dorian

Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:08:00 +0000

Hi Friends!

I have soo many fun things to show you in the next couple of weeks! I have tutorials (for Christmas gifts!), knock-offs, guest posts, and maybe a giveaway! So....what's the hold up? I can't find my camera! Oh, the horror! I just know it's around here somewhere...

Anyway, tomorrow is my first sort of none-busy day, so I'm gonna look for it then. Hopefully I'll have the first tute up for Monday. And I have a super fun guest tomorrow and the winner of the Plaid paints giveaway later today so please be sure to come back soon!

And because a post ain't a post without a picture...

Sooo pretty!

Origianlly from My Eco Chic Wedding found here

Pinned onto my "Christmas" Board on pinterest here

xoxo, Dorian

busily spinning momma

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Update!

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