An unexpected visitor

Remember my nesting pal that has already made it here on the blog a few weeks ago? J and I came home on Saturday and found him IN my office. (which has a door that is never opened, we've got no idea how or when he came into the house)
I was a total mess considering i'm terrified of birds... And it took us a solid half hour to get him outside. He ended up fine, made it back out, but needless to say - I'm still scratching my head.

Earrings on Etsy

If you've known me or my creations for a while, you know that I started off on my own many years ago when I left my textile design job to make handmade jewelry. It was a lot of fun, but a little hard on my hands to be wrapping wire for 8 hours a day.  I still have all my supplies, though, and lots of jewelry that I keep finding stashed places that I simply stopped putting out at sales, etc.

Today I've listed a few pairs of earrings on my etsy store - I used to sell these for $22-$30 each, but now I just want them out of the boxes and onto people.... So they are all less than $20.  Depending on how these sell, I might be coaxed to put some of my clearance necklaces onto etsy as well.  We shall see.

And I also have a sale on my profile charms, too... They're only $10 (because I am crazy like that) just for a week. snatch them up.... supplies are limited.

I have the coolest friends - Rachel, the Artistic Doctor

So I've written about my pal Amy on this blog a lot.  Last summer we worked a ton on fun projects for her wedding. One of the fun side effects of all that work was becoming friends with Amy's super great sisters.

Rachel (pictured here with me as we did the flowers for Amy's wedding) is not only a new doctor, but a super artistic and creative gal herself. She's multi-talented and SO fun to be with. One day, she even sent this awesome drawing in the mail to us!

This week she sent me these pictures of this awesome laptop bag that she made with scraps from my scrap bins.

 I was amazingly impressed,  and THEN when I read further, I realized she made this by hand! She doesn't have a sewing machine! Wow, Rachel, you rock. Great job!

another cutie in a onesie

I made this onesie for my friend a long time ago... now her baby is big enough to fit it!
super cute!

Red Dot Boutique - you've got my number.

My neighbor calls it the "Red Dot Boutique" - but let's face it, we all love Target, right?
A few weeks ago when I went in (mind you I was already aware of my attraction to their Liberty of London collections), there was a new collection right at the entrance to the store that caught my eye.
  It's called the Stephen Burrows Collection and it's inspired by the art of Harlem. How fun is that? Target, must you continue to entice me? (answer: yes.... apparently, they've got me pegged.)

I may not be a mod-type gal in my decor (even though I spent years in love with mid-century modern design as a textile designer in the Interior Design industry), but you can bet I'll wear it...

I bought this dress and the shirt below (looks cuter on than in this pic, trust me). I've worn them both already and been asked both times if I'd made them... I think they scream "LIBBY!"... but I won't be offended if you buy them too... After all, it is the "red dot boutique".

Ticker-Tape quilt for baby Maile

Those of you who see my flickr pics will know that this was done a little while ago... I didn't want to post about it until my friend who it was for actually received it. She's got it now.

 This is a ticker-tape style quilt that I made for a friend's new baby. The fabrics in it have a lot of sentiment, there are pieces that are new and vintage, pieces that she and I shopped for together, pieces from J's grandmothers, pieces from AJ's one receiving blanket that I held onto...  There are pieces from all over the world and many of them have deep meanings to both my friend and I.  I had so much fun making this quilt, I am sure that there are more ticker-tape style quilts in my future... it's a fast and fun way to quilt. Plus, the raw edges are really... well... edgy.

I sent this quilt with a note for my friend telling her that this quilt is not a fussy quilt. I am hoping that it gets stained, used and loved.  (I guess I hope that for all my quilts.)

Comfy Shoes

To my chagrin, this year I learned that I've spent a few too many days in flip flops and flats that have no support. My feet have been in constant pain and I've probably purchased about 8 new pairs of shoes this year that I've finally found are both cute and good for feet in pain.  It's not easy to find shoes that are cute and that don't hurt and I've had to accept the fact that my shoes must now be very comfortable from the first moment I put them on, or I will have serious foot AND knee pain ... sigh... I'm feeling a little old.
I figured that I'd write a mini-endorsement for some of my favorite sandals this summer, because I'm sure I'm not the only person to have foot pain and still want to look cute.
I have extremely high arches and need to wear shoes that support my feet well. Some brands that I've learned are great for feet like mine are Sanita, Alegria, and Fit Flops. I've also learned that I can trust www.footsmart.com.  Here are some pics of my new favorites and links to where you can get them...

FitFlops

 FlyFlot

 Sanita

 Spring Step - Marsi Slide

 

Oh, and of course these all work with my summer wardrobe of skirts and sundresses... Libby Dibby skirts included.  Here's to some happy feet for you too...

Bowls and books

I know you think I've just been playing craft hooky all summer... (wink wink) as I've been traveling and not posting like usual (hubby is quoting my numbers of posts tonight. According to him, I'm way behind for the year)
Anyhow, between my kitchen table makeover, bathroom painting project, nesting for another baby (we await the call!), and the many quilts underway... I've been trying to still do little crafts as part of Camp Mommakiddo ...
Yesterday's random project (between babysitting a friend's kid and carpooling my own) was a few scrap journals. See, my friend Melissa, picked up these amazing polka dotted bowls for me at Costco (can't shop there, my kitchen is too small!)... And I liked the heavy weight and glossy colors of the box. So out came the much-abused paper cutter and I ended up with 5 of these. Now what am I going to do with 5 more journals?

I believe this makes me a Soccer Mom

And yes... In my handmade journal are sketches with new ideas, and there ARE indeed yoyos to sew and work on hiding in the expandable Libby Dibby bag... Because I'm hopeful that way... Even when most of my time on the sidelines is spent trying to keep Z from hurting others during his massive screaming tantrums.

Spiderweb quilt progress

I've got only 2 more rows of six before this quilt (my biggest yet) is pieced. Kind of exciting! I'm making it full sized... Which is not the size of any bed we have, but seemed a fun size to cuddle under or lay on at the park. I've had so much fun making this.
The pattern itself calls for a lot of waste, so I redesigned it a little (with a lot of math and an old phonebook for paper piecing) and was able to use almost every single piece of waste I made. (yay)
The quilt itself is pretty obnoxious, but around here, it fits our world-view and we all love it.
The kids asked if they could pose on it, so I figured that they were good for demonstrating scale.
Almost there! (then all I have to do is pin it and quilt it and bind it. Hmmm. Let's not talk about that yet)