wonky camera

boy, have i been trying to get a new post out to you.
the camera has been acting wonky...we tried to take pictures of these Christmas Stockings out of upholstery fabrics and pillow trims to show you that we were trying to put in the shop but the camera distorted the fabrics...weird.
anyway, we will try again today as the pacific northwest has given us a surprise of sunshine for a bit. ~grin~

we did manage to get two semi decent pictures of little girls strawberry shortcake aprons that are so cute. the fabric really is white and not cream colored. ~snicker~
i found the sheets from the original strawberry shortcake and all of her gang and made some vintage aprons out of them.
my girls already have one for each of them except Tes-she's 16.

i have been making all different colors of giddy-up horses on skirts though. that has been so much fun...i had forgotten how much i love designing things for little girls.
they are so colorful and cute!

anyway, there are still a few custom order spots for giddy-up skirts still in the shop and also two vintage Strawberry Shortcake aprons that would be great unique Christmas gifts for a little girl in your life.
lori

old to new...

Tessa thought she would give it a whirl with patchworking a pair of her jeans.

turned out pretty cute...two of these fabrics are in my favorite stash...the black with tiny white flowers I only use as an accent on things because I love it so and the flower I still have a couple yards of but see it disappearing too quickly for my likings in the spring on pinafores and bags and such.

child's turkey craft....

this weekend was a very full one.
the kids went to a magic show with their dad. the guy is world renowned.....we were all surprised he made a stop in our tiny town but the kids said the place was packed out.
Andre' Kole is the name and he is the one that made the disappearing Statue of Liberty famous.
the kids had a blast and are still talking about it!

The two younger girls and I also went to Hannah's soccer coaches house for an end of the season party....we were the only ones to show so we had a great visit. coffee, conversation (the mom is an acquaintance of mine I hardly get to see), home baked pizza and a craft for the girls.

They made the cutest turkeys that they actually designed as they went along.
all you need is:
a Styrofoam ball
brown paint
chenille stems of your choice (traditional colors are red, orange, yellow, and brown)
sharp knife
art smock LOL!
glitter optional

cut the ball in half and paint it. (if you want sparkly stuff sprinkle it on the wet paint at this time.)
take a full piece of chenille stem and make a circle with the ends twisted together.,
stick the twisted stem 3/4 back on the half-ball
cut *turkey feathers*-
snip turkey feathers chenille stems into three pieces twist into small tear drop shapes with the ends sticking out.
attach feathers by clamping the feathers on the tail piece
make another teardrop piece for the head and insert it in the front...attach another small tear drop piece for the beak.
take two small pieces and twist the middle part so the two prongs are sticking out and insert them for the feet.
voila! a turkey fit to grace the Thanksgiving table.

it is really easier than the amount of instructions took to tell about it.

my second oldest daughter and I spent a chunk of time up at the emergency room last night.
she had an earache that just wouldnt stop.
i tried-
accupressure
lavender oil
massage
hot washcloth
cold washcloth
tylenol-couldnt find the childrens liquid tylenol so i used a prescription childrens tylenol with codeine for her. just our luck it made her legs to fidgety. poor, poor girl.

we ended up with this great doctor who believes the same as i in ear infections usually heal themselves and was actually thinking of becoming a naturopath.
great conversation....then they gave Aliss some numbing ear drops. finally pain relief for my girl.

she is enjoying chicken broth as we speak.

Trunk Show

blurry picture warning...

my 13 year old daughter Aliss made the mother load of brownies and my 16 year old Tessa packed the cloth and decorations and decorated the table.
martenilli's chillin', chips & dip and brownies.....mmmmmmmmmmmm

my girls also helped lay things out on the tables....what a team.
those big things on the table really arent pillows, they are purses with the handles down..giddy up skirt in the front...I love purple and red together..this skirt is wide wale corduroy. boy, i wish the pictures turned out better...sorry.


two purses i made this past week...


table full of some fabric samples to *build your own* purse...the girls said it was like *build a bear*. ~grina surprise that came in the mail today from the local City Government for a thank you for contributing to the *shows its best* auction benefiting the city. what a treat to have a bona fide certificate hanging on my wall.

can bearly sit still...

the time is drawing nearer and nearer for the Trunk Show tonight.
My 13 year old daughter Aliss just finished the big dish of brownies cooking. After the brownies cooked she tossed on heath toffee bits to melt onto the top.
We are going to cut those up into 1 inch pieces and arrange them prettily on a platter.
I found a sale on martinellis' sparking cider in the flavor of apple-grape and apple-cranberry.
I am going to fill my fluted punch bowl halfway with ice and use it as an ice bucket for the martenillis.
for a savory i am mixing three packages of cream cheese with a thing of salsa, putting it into a pretty bowl and arranging chips around it.

so exciting, so exciting.
this is the first trunk show *I* have hostessed....I have had two other parties and one was in an office lunch room at an orthopedic surgeons office and another in home of a friend.

we will share pictures tomorrow...Tessa promised to take a few before people start showing up.
Lori

sewin, sewin, sewin....

wow...that turned out blurry but I wanted to share a w.i.p to ya for my Fall Trunk Show and dont have any more time to have Tes take another and all that entails so bear with me and pretend its beautiful will ya?
Dont ya love the decor too? ~grin~

phew its been full swing around here.
so far i have had orders for 4 of the Giddy-Up skirt...well sorta, one of them was actually a kitty skirt with a sweet little mouse on the back instead of the horseshoe.
I cant wait to make that order.....it will be so much fun.

When a friend at church said that she had some fabrics from the high end furniture show room she was an interior decorator at to give me I would have never guessed the journey I would have been on these past two years with the handbags.
People are telling me now *I saw one of your handbags at so and so on a ladies arm*.
What a thrill!

In the making of handbags however, I had forgotten how much I love to make little girls things.
I have been making little girls clothes for around 16 years now.....started when my oldest was a few months old out of pure need. Easter was coming and I couldnt afford one of the kind of dresses I wanted at the store so I started there.

My oldest daughter (Tessa) is now making things...she makes wallets, credit card holders, sunglass cases and mp3 player holders out of the recycled upholstery pieces too.
Last night she was hammering away at a snap on one of her creations and was fussing and fuming about one of the snap prongs going the wrong way...I hate it when you get in a groove and have to redo something too.

Anyway, it took me back to *the day* when I didnt know how to put in a button hole so I would hammer snaps in the seam and on the outside sew on a decorative button. ~grin~ Do what ya gotta do, right?

Right now I feel like I live in my sewing/computer room getting ready for my Fall Trunk Show in the fellowship hall of our church.
Its this Thursday, EEK!!
I keep thinking of new things that *have to be made*. You know how that is dont you? When you are getting closer to the date of something and keep remembering forgotten things.

Also, 5 kids still need schooling everyday and.....ahem..... to be fed and loved on.

phew! will update after Thursday about the Trunk Show.
I am hoping to make some fancy snacky foods and special drink like martinellis...Tessa has a classical cd we will play softly in the background too.....hopefully it all comes together. I am trying for the environment of a ladies getaway where you can have something yummy to eat, something relaxing to hear along with friendly conversation and pretty things to look at without having to brave a high end boutique clerk. ~grin~
Lori

my girl is so sweet....

Did ya see the Etsy shop little picture thingies in the sidebar?
Tessa did that for me.
She is also the one who made the banner so fall like and pretty.

I dont know a bit about technical stuff....and right now there aren't any braincells to learn something new if I wanted to.
I envy the gals who can draw, paint and make their own banners that are soooo cutesy.
But...my Tessa now figured out how to take a picture or a few pictures and make a banner for me.
woohoo

Doesn't this newer generation come by it much easier? Were they born with more techno cells or something?
I dont know.

edited the *deep* stuff that was here.
Lori

Giddy-Up!!

Ooooooh, I am so excited to show you this skirt. Can ya tell by the title? One morning my daughter Hannah (8) woke up and asked for a horsey skirt. well, I wasn't too sure about putting a whole horse on a skirt and told her so but said I would give it a go on putting a head on one. we sat down and drew and drew horsey heads until we landed on this one.

This skirt gets heads turning where-ever we go....seems to be picking up speed on heading out the door as soon as i get em made.
i am still so surprised and tickled with the response.
when we came back from NY there was two local auction that i put one skirt in each.
one auction was for local businesses to show off their stuff and one was an auction to benefit a local mommies club.
the skirt pictured here is a style of the skirt i have for sale in my etsy shop for custom order. there will be two styles of skirts...one lightweight with side panels like this one and one out of corduroy or other similar thickness of fabric without side panels.


Giddy-Up! heeheehee

Niagara Falls area

water before it hits the falls....this whole area is breathtaking...especially this time of year...imagine walking paths lined with beautiful colors of trees, people milling around, and the roar of the falls.

my youngest daughter thought i would never let go of the vice grip i had on her arm...it seems the realness of a large mass of water only feet from us caused a bit of worry for this mama's heart.
one of the bridges to cross to see the falls on the American side...
more pictures of our beautiful trip soon....my daughter (16yo) is the taker and keeper of the photos so I need to sift through her collection for the ones I would like to share with you.
Has anyone here been to the Canadian or American side of Niagara Falls before?
Did you know there are actually elevator shafts that take you to spots near the falls in the side of the cliff? Heavy raincoats and special sandals are required....I wonder why? ~grin~