It's a Purse

I've been trying to stock up my shop with new things.  It takes time.  On most days I'm very motivated.  I enjoy seeing a bag take shape. On other days, it's just work.  This project was a little of both.   Here's why.

I bought this purse some years ago at Target.  Then one day the little wooden ring broke.  I glued it back together and kept on trucking.  Then I had kids and it was suddenly too small.  I stashed it away thinking I could use it as a pattern and make another one.  That was 7.5 years ago.

Last week I started to process of taking it apart to use as a pattern.  

Here's the result.

It was a lot of work.  But I managed.  I kept the lining of the bag intact so I could see how it was put together.  Here's the new bag. 

I like it and I think it was worth the 7.5 year wait.  It's in my Etsy shop if you want a closer look or you think you might need it for your collection.

New Stuff

It is my goal to make something new for my Etsy shop each day this week.  Of course this means the house work will go to pot, but that's okay isn't it?  Everyone still has on clothes and they aren't going hungry, so it's a win, win.

Here is what I've accomplished so far.

I especially like this one - it has a waterproof lining.  I was almost tempted to keep it.

This morning I woke up to a couple of emails for custom orders.  I'm excited and need to get sewing.

Puzzles

In an attempt to redirect my children from all electronic devices and to calm them down before bed, we put together a puzzle.

Funny enough it's a puzzle that we borrowed from my mother in law.  Who would have thought we'd find a puzzle of the United States in her Swiss game cabinet?

We started in the west and headed east. 

 We focused on a rather important state, for obvious reasons.  Then as we moved along I pointed out other states that have friends living in them.  

 The further east we got I started to realize that we know quite a few people scattered all over the United States.  I'm so thankful for our little International Church.  We have made some great friendships.  It sure has widened our sphere of influence.

All done!

There is a world map on the back side of this puzzle.  

I think we'll do that one another day.

Coconut Oil

I've hopped on the coconut oil band wagon.  It seems everywhere I look people are raving about the wonderful benefits of this product.  You can cook with it, eat it, slather it on your skin, put it in your hair...the list seems endless.  

 I'm going to try it.  For now I'm using it as a moisturizer.  I have also tried it in my hair.  We'll see.  I've also heard rumors of it clearing up breakouts.  I'm a little hesitant to spread oil all over my face, but I'm tempted.  I'll let you all know in a few weeks if this wonder product is actually the wonder product everyone is making it out to be.

A little bit of spring

Last week I saw this on Pinterest. 

Pretty cool.

When I went to locate the website an Asian site came up.  I did some hunting and found the original site. Click here  if you want to have a look.

  Tulips are being sold at my local grocery store.  Since they were on sale I bought two bundles of 20.  Here is my spur of the moment version of this arrangement.  

Of course, I didn't take the time to go back and look at it when  I decided to do it.  

I just started right in.

I would like you to think I actually thought this through and used scotch tape on purpose, since my bowl is clear.  But really, I couldn't find masking tape and this was the first roll of tape I found.  Turns out, it wasn't such a bad thing.

So here we go.  You start out making a grid on the top of your bowl with the tape.  Don't place your rows to close together or your flower stems won't fit.  

You would think 40 tulips would have filled up a bowl...but they didn't.  If you look closely you can see some empty spots.  AND since I didn't go back and look at the directions and tried to do it from memory, I didn't trim my tulips short enough.

However, I still like it.  It makes our kitchen table cheery.  Especially since the outside is still covered in snow.

Here's to hoping for an early and warm Spring!

Late Valentines Day Project

I made one more decoration for Valentines day.  Last year I made a paper chain of hearts.  This year I saw something on pinterest that was very similar, but made out of felt.  So here's my version.

 You will need a couple of large pieces of felt.  I chose red, a traditional Valentines day color, and blue for the boys in my little family.

Next, cut two strips of each color, 2.5 inches wide.

Take the two pieces you just cut, lay one on top of the other and sew a seam down one side, sewing them together.

Take the felt and open it and fold it back down to form your heart.

(sorry for the color change, I forgot to take pictures with the red and had to continue on with the blue felt)

Sew the edges together to form your heart tube.

Cut 1 inch strips to form individual hearts.

Don't worry if they look flat. Bend and form them to make a pretty heart.

How you do this next part is up to you.  But I wanted mine on a long string.  So I used some red thread and strung them together, alternating heart colors.  

Ta Da!

You could use different colors and use them for any special occasion, not just Valentines day.  I think they could be cool for birthday parties, baby showers, or just because.

Happy heart making.

Valentine Fail

I had a great plan to make chocolate covered strawberries for Valentines day.  I bought some on Monday and got them out yesterday afternoon ready to create.  This is what I found...

MOLD!  

It doesn't look so bad in this picture.  But believe me - mold was growing on every single one.  

There wasn't one salvageable piece of fruit.

Needless to say, I didn't make chocolate covered strawberries.  

I guess that's what I get for buying fruit out of season.