I decided, last minute, to take a quick photo of the baby shower gift I made. Of course, it's not the real gift (which is a strip of fabric on a design wall) but I couldn't show up without anything. Plus, I was going to make her a fabric box for the nursery anyway.

Originally, I wanted to put some margarita mix and chocolate into the box as a 'mommy-to-be' gift. However, I don't like margaritas (I know...) so I was clueless about which mix to buy. Then I started thinking about all the things I could include. And of course some items had to be funny, especially for this particular friend!

In the end, I put in some tea, honey sticks, Dove dark chocolate - normal items. But as I wandered the drink aisle, I had an epiphany! Mini-box wine!

AKA, The Mommy Juice Box, although being a mommy is not required (they work great for jewelry conferences too). Warning: If you enjoy wine, like for real wine, these are pretty disgusting... use with caution ;)

To add to the joke, I also bought some grenadine and 7-Up. Even when she wasn't pregnant, my friend often ordered Shirley Temples when we went out and I always harassed her about it. How could I not include them?!

For a last minute substitute gift, I thought this turned out great. In fact, I think fabric goody boxes would be great for any occasion and may just become my go-to gift!

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On The Design Wall... or The Slacker Post

So Mother's Day came. And went. And while I actually made quite a few gifts, I failed to take photos. And because I didn't take any pictures, I didn't blog. What's the point of a blog post without pics? Anyway, all I can tell you is that they turned out pretty cute. My favorites, though, were the fabric boxes. If you search Google, you'll find a ton of tutorials. Here's one that is really easy to follow! I'm planning to make some more - nesting boxes, specifically.

Onto the wall


So this chick I know (that never reads my blog) is having a kid. She's also having a baby shower - TOMORROW! See that strip of fabric? That's her present. A strip of fabric stuck to a design board.

I'm considering wrapping my sketch and giving that to her. You know, just so she can see that I'm actually in the process of making her the best gift she will ever receive in her lifetime. I mean, I even did MATH for her!

Or maybe I should just go with some fabric boxes. Maybe I'll even take a picture of them...





On a serious note:
A dear friend from high school has just been signed into hospice care and could really use prayers/positive thoughts/etc. She's a wonderful person and I can't even begin to imagine how hard this must be for her, her husband and little girl. So, if you're reading this, maybe you could send a little love her way. Thanks!

Brief Hiatus

Luna in a pot... guess there won't be any
strawberries in there this year. lol

With the nice weather and impending doom of summer (yes, I really feel that way), I've taken a brief hiatus to start/finish up some yard work. Once the heat settles in I won't be doing much of anything so I had to take advantage of the beautiful weather!

We are overrun with blackberries. Most people think this is the greatest thing in the world. Have you ever tried to control blackberries?!?! Once the vines hit the ground, they root. That bush looking thing behind Luna (on the left) is a blackberry thicket or the Fairy Fort. This year, do to downsizing, the fairies lost a bit of their ring. Sorry guys, we're all feeling the sting of the economy :/

Friendly little snake :)

Typically, I spend each spring ripping out blackberries, honeysuckle (which I love) and poison ivy. I've been told I should just spread some weed killer on everything but I can't bring myself to do that. Besides the fact that I don't want to poison the animals, (mine or nature's), we live on a peninsula and are surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean, the James and York Rivers, as wells as numerous lakes etc. I really can't justify polluting such a fragile ecosystem, which is already in danger, simply to save myself some manual labor. So... I spend weeks ripping, pulling, mowing, sneezing and cursing until I get the yards somewhat manageable.





In between the piles leaves and vines - and blood - I've managed to get in a little sewing. I'm currently playing around with some linen fabric. I love the look of linen but it does stretch a bit (perhaps I cut it wrong) so that was challenging for me. You can see in the photo how warped it looks. I think I rushed and should have slowed down a bit. I still have to make my Sewing Dare shirt that Leila assigned to me and that will involve using a knit. I'll definitely go slow on that!

Okay, back to the yard, or couch since I can't breathe...