come and see

I have a great friend at Style Crush aka Pepto Girl, named Amy.  She does all sorts of wonderful things for me.  Like redoing my website, helping me out with my blog and even making little banners and ads.  Amy is my go to girl.



Amy has just created for me this great new tutorial icon.  Now you can see the little things that I make and you can make them for yourself, or for a lucky friend!  I hope you use it.  And even better I hope you make something new!

In the future if I will try to get even craftier and pass on even more interesting things for you to make.  But I must warn you, I did just make a new flower brooch and I have taken many, many pictures of it!

post party

You know I think I am still recovering from my husband's birthday party that we held in our home over two weeks ago!  There are still birthday cards on the counter, and thank you cards to write.   Plus a ton of beer and wine left unopened!

All of my new serving pieces that I had to have, are all put away.  That was a big challenge for me.  I don't have a lot of kitchen space.  So, I got to clean out my cabinets.  Which I think feels like I've lost weight.  I wish that actually worked!

The prep for the party was filled with days of running around town.  My sisters were staying at my house so that made everything a lot easier.  I relied on their opinion for everything!  Even lipstick.  Which we all know is a big decision to make on one's own.



The kids put up with our shopping at the mall.  See's Candies doesn't hurt either!  We got a lot of great decorating ideas at Pottery Barn.



We went to Gram's Ranch.  While the boys climbed in the trees,



the girls were busy cutting olive branches that we were to use in all of the floral arrangements.



Isn't it beautiful? My wonderful and talented neighbor Ralph made these beautiful arrangements for each table.  The flowers were the perfect finishing touch!



And here we are all in the midst of the party.  Can you tell we are related?  That is my husband Jeff in the right corner of the pic.  We were having such a good time, that I didn't take any other pictures.  I do have one of a friend climbing the fence, but I'm holding onto that one!

Thank you to my dear friends and family who were such a large part in making the evening a success!  I had such a great night.  And most importantly, Jeff had a great time celebrating 50!  I love you babe.

my first

My first book signing (yes there will be more) was a great day.  Thanks for coming to see me!  Here are some sweet pics I took of my day.

my pillowcase collection

cupcake treats, and I just fell in love with these tea cups and saucers

coasters, special box, and little match box all made with pillowcases

chattin' away, it's actually funny seeing a picture of myself not smiling.

I had a great day, so thanks for coming to the beautiful New Castle, Tin Thimble.  I'll be doing another book signing at Indie Sac on May 2nd.  See you there!

summer baby

I have been on a sewing hiatus this week.  It seems like every time I do a show, I spend a week or so picking up the huge mess I made in my sewing room.   And I do end up spending a lot of time on my computer.  I just can't seem to step away from it!

So today my girlfriend and great neighbor, Kathryn stopped over.  The 5th grade teacher at the elementary school is having a baby.  And she came over to pick out a present.  Which is a lot of fun because Kathryn used to be textile designer.  She loves to look through my fabrics and she always picks out something that I haven't used yet.  And then she uses it in fun combination's or just unexpected ways.



Which is great that she uses what I already have.  I often buy fabric with no idea of what I will make with it.  And what she picked is this fresh, summery fabric.  I always thought I would make a special dress with a little white peter pan collar with it.  Now, it will be a classic baby onesie and minky blanket combo.  I will also be making up a set for my shop, if you're interested :)  I'll also show you a new photo when I'm done.

stephanie

Have you seen this?  I guess I am slow on the up take!  Stephanie is back!

the girls

I had such a great time at Indie Sac.  Thanks to all of the girls (aka Amy, Lauren, Tamie, and Stacey) who helped make this such a successful day for all involved, the vendors and the shoppers.   It was a cold and foggy day, but that did stop anyone from coming out to support all of this handmade goodness and to support shopping local. Over 700 plus people attended!  And over a barrel of food for the Sac Food Bank was collected!   I even picked up a few cool gifts myself.  And made a crafty trade.  Such a fun thing to do!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/indiesacramento/pool/show/

Click above to check out all of the great photos.  And if you weren't able to make it... here are some of the cool crafters that I met.  I'm sure you will love them as much as I did!

Cori Crooks, Artist and writer

Nancy at Queen Puff Puff

Julie of Zuiliblu

Nicole of blue bicicicletta

Rain, jewelry designer

Tram Truong, photographer

crafty day

How would you like an invitation to my home? I will be hosting a day of sewing! I would love to help some of my friends get ready for holiday gift giving. And what better, than to give a gift that was handmade by you!

[caption id="attachment_498" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="some of my vintage pillow cases and sheets"][/caption]

This first crafty day you will learn to make a pillowcase. All you need is your own sewing machine, fabric, and basic sewing knowledge. The class cost is $15.00 and is limited to the first 8 registered students. I will provide some light drinks, snacks and a few door prizes!

Saturday, November 1, 2008
1 - 4 p.m.
at my home

I have made a few of my own pillowcases for my own three little ones. It's a great little way to decorate their room, when one year they love hotwheels and the next year they love pokemon. And for your girl friends, it's a nice gift to make up a pair of pillowcases in a sweet fabric combination that will compliment their bedroom. Since the fabric choices are unlimited, this could really be an inexpensive gift for you to make for everyone on your shopping list.

Just email me at trottgirl@sbcglobal.net if you are interested and I will then mail you a material list with your sign up confirmation.

Some other classes I would love to host before the holidays will be making a scarfe, knitting a hat, and scrappy fabric coasters. What are you interested in learning to do?

hopscotch

Here's a small preview of a little something that I've made especially for the upcoming craft fair that I will be at this Saturday, September 27. Come and see for yourself! I will be there with almost 30 other crafty vendors.

College Greens
Cabana and Club House
10 am - 5 pm
2707 Nortre Dame
Sacramento

Remember there will be an all day raffle, snacks, and drinks! Stop by to see me, and I will have a little gift for you!!

holly hobbie

My girlfriend Mindy came to visit with me last week. She is pregnant and due in about four weeks, so we went to look at some fabric together. We didn't find anything for her new baby, but she got a lot of fabric to make a cowboy quilt for her little boys room.

She didn't come over empty handed either! Look at what she brought me!

A package full of vintage fabrics. They all look like their from the 70's. She wasn't sure if I would like them!! I thought she knew me better than that :) Can you see the packs of ric rac there too? Mostly there are Holly Hobby fabric and some Raggedy Ann fabric. The Raggedy Ann is red, white, and blue so I think this one has to be from 1976.


Her mom cut out a lot of these little vignettes to make cards with. Aren't they cute! So, with her baby shower coming up, (it was yesterday, I'm not ruining the surprise!) I made her a little long sleeve appliqued onesie (and some other things). When her mom comes to visit from Colorado, I think she will be surprised to see it!

p.s. I just added this onesie to my etsy site if you're interested!!

take a look around

Thanks Rebecca for the blog award. How fun!! Now I get to tell you about some of my favorite blogs! Most of them I talk about all the time, and I already have them on my blogroll. So, I thought I would tell you about a few more that I really like looking at. They are always great inspiration for me!

butt naked baby
everyday beauty
objects of affection
oliver and s
pretty little things
sweet peas and snapshots


And here are the rules for those of you (if you so choose to accept your award! :) who are nominated:

1. Add the logo of the award to your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.

3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

shopping

Now that my boys are back in school, it was time for me to catch up on some of my shopping! The girl and I went to see some of our favorite girls at The Tin Thimble. You know they are always an inspiration to me and this time was no different. I went there to buy some cute vintage Christmas fabric with poinsettias on it that I had seen before. I needed to make some Christmas stockings of course! But after talking with Sharon she helped me decide on some beautiful less traditional fabric.



I think I love them even more than I would have because the stockings turned out kind of fun and quirky! The fabric looks like stained glass, I think.

While there, Sharon also showed me some of her own most recent finds. And this one is beautiful!



It's all yo-yo's made using bark cloth. It's just in fabulous condition and the colors are all so beautiful. It would be really pretty in a post modern home, hung carefully on the wall like a piece of art.



And they also are selling my spec cases. Each made using vintage tablecloths. Nice, huh?

for diane

[caption id="attachment_227" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="inside specs case"][/caption]
Here is the picture that you asked about. Thanks so much!

getting ready

I am now getting ready for the next Glitter and Grunge release for June. (June already!) I have been doing the usual, and digging through my fabrics for inspiration and deciding what little kj original to craft up. Well, I got some cute stuff! But, then again, I always think it's cute. I love my fabric. I just love fabric.



And so does my friend Diane of little birdies nest. She came over today and we have more than that (our love of fabric) in common. We have the same wedding ring. Cool huh? And we both love to travel! Gosh it makes me want to jump on a plane just thinking about it.

I asked Diane to make me some of her hair lovelies to match what I am making for G & G. So, when you buy my new little June creations, you will have a free little hair accessory to match. And they are cute. She even made me a little pair for my Molly, who happens to be enjoying kitties right now.

Take a look for yourself. I think they would make cute little girl party favors too!

my website

There are some changes going on! This one I am excited about and have been dreaming about for awhile. This one has always been in the back of my mind for at least a year. So, thanks to some friends, and good references, I will be updating my website. Well, not me! But, Amy Cluck of Pepto Girl.

I have been busy doing some research of websites that I like, to get some good ideas. Do you have a favorite?? Mostly, I have been looking at my long list of bookmarks. There were over 80, and some that aren't around any longer. I wonder how this happens, and it's kinda sad. I know someone has either lost their business or just lost interest in what they were doing and has moved on.

Here is one that I just revisited and find so cute. And she has free downloads. Like this one. I love silhouettes.



So, look at the before of my website, and wait for the after. It will be clean, and easy to navigate. And I will finally have pay pal! Also, check out Amy. She has some fun, and sassy handmade crafts.