Fleece is... S i m p l e.

Woohoo, colder weather means fleece fabrics.  I love fleece, such an  EA S Y and S I M P L E textile to sew with.  Are you listening greenhorn sewers, felt is    S I M P L E.  I've started back designing plenty of fleece hats for this winter, similar to last years styles.  The custom orders are slowly trickling in from my Etsy Shop, in fact I've got F O U R  hats on my design table as I type.... which err, kinda need my attention.... but what's a short diversion like a blog post, no worries, right?!  LOL.  okay so here's the latest pictures, cuz that's all you want anyway, is to see the images....

It's F a l l !

When I think of Fall, I think of what i fondly like to refer to as "SWEATER WEATHER".  Just chilly enough for a light weight sweater.  But apparently here in Texas all we've been getting is a "fall teaser", which is totally crazy.... one week I'm packing away their summer clothes, the next week I'm digging through their storage bins to get out a pair of shorts or sleeveless tank.  Hurry up Fall!  Our family eagerly awaits your arrival... I'm just saying ;-)

As for what I've been doing lately.... well, part-time teaching PreK doesn't exactly leave me with much "free" time to sew as I would like.  BUT I've been spinning my creative energy in the evenings (once munchkins are in bed) in a MUCH needed area... home decor!  if you remember anything about our past life these 4.5 years... it's been FILLED with moving boxes.  We've moved in/out of our 4 year old house 5 times, yes, you read that correctly, F I V E times :-(  Sometimes you just gotta go where life takes you, and life kept pulling us back to Washington DC.  To make a long story short.... moving so much didn't leave me any time to decor our "builder beige" home.  And oh yes, did I mention I also had my premature son born in-between those moves?!  yes, so life has been crazy... think we're about as "sett;ed" as we're gonna get now.  So my focus has been on creative design on a tiny budget, did i say our budget is tiny... yes it's TINY.

I've started image inspiration boards for a few of our rooms... ABOVE is ideas I have found to inspire our master bedroom makeover.  We do have black furniture and pale yellow walls.  So naturally I've flocked to the color palette of  black/yellow/gray.  More updates on this room will come as the progress begins ;-)

School D-A-Z-E

This blog post is a TAD bit late.... BUT, better late than never ;-) Guess what?! I'm teaching preK now! So far, I have survived the first few months. Probably learning as much as I am teaching. SLOWLY I'm starting to get the hang of teaching tiny ones and plenty of prayer and leaning on others for advice has got me through the first few months. PATIENCE, this is literally the key, lots and lots of it ;-) I have two preschoolers myself, so this isn't exactly a departure for me. So excited to be in a creative and teaching atmosphere, possibly just the right combination I needed of a "real world" job and creative outlet... all while only working part-time. Feeling Blessed :-)

MORE SEUSS RIBBONS HAVE ARRIVED!!! :-)

MORE SEUSS RIBBONS HAVE ARRIVED!!! :-) Mr Grinch & the Lorax with the trees. Super excited about getting these custom designed ribbons just avialble in a FEW slect ribbon boutiques, these ribbons are available by the yard in my shop: http://HBAmanda.etsy.com

Happy Crafting!

Where Y'at?

I know I know... I've been a bit ABSENT latley from my blog.... BUT I have been busy trying to stock my inventory in my shop, which includes these ADORABLE Seuss Collections Grosgrain Ribbon!

ORDER THESE RIBBONS IN MY SHOP HERE.

“Oh me! Oh my!
Oh me! Oh my!
What a lot of funny
things go by.”
~ Dr Seuss,
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

“Oh me! Oh my!
Oh me! Oh my!
What a lot of funny
things go by.” ~Cat In The Hat

Which one is your favorite?

MORE Seuss collections will arrive in June 2011... The Lorax Collection & The Grinch Collection.

Ready for a Tutorials? Bow Tutorial #1: How to line an Alligator Clip

Okay, well let me start off my warning you about my fingernails & my left middle finger...

I'm a nail biter, gross, right? Always have been... actually ONLY times I've ever succeeded in stopping was for: my wedding in 2001, the pregnancy w/"Miss C" in 2006/2007, & "Lil J's" pregnancy in 2008. My left middle finger was injured in an accident when I was a child & required surgical intervention, thus it's noticeably shorter... well, it's barely noticeable thanks to Dr Matthews the hand surgeon... That's it, I'm a nail biter with a shorter left middle finger, lol ;-)

Here we go...

To line an alligator clip you'll need:

• 3/8" width ribbon, preferably grosgrain
  
• alligator clip(s), you choose the type
• any size/type glue gun
  
• glue gun sticks to fit your size glue gun
  
• 25watt wood burner/soldering iron *use EXTREME caution, VERY HOT*
• burn proof surface, like a GLASS cutting board

• Next you're ready for your preheated glue gun and your wood burning/soldering iron tool. I place everything on an old glass cutting board, be sure whatever surface you use is *FIRE SAFE*.

• Also I have problems with the cords getting in my way, I use these fleurdelis to help me "contain" the cord madness ;-)

• Use *EXTREME CAUTION* when using this iron. Heats up to around 750 degrees Fahrenheit. (I found my iron at walmart in the tools section, cost was around $9.00, came with metal stand for safety. I've actually removed the screw on tip (when iron was NOT HOT) and just use iron.)

• Use the iron to JUST heat seal the ends of the ribbon to prevent fraying, before you start any gluing ;-)

• ....to be continued....

DESTASH DETOX SALE

Thank you Lord for answered prayers! :-) WOOHOO!!!!
One GREAT opportunity has come out of all the "cabin fever" we've been having in North Texas the past two weeks... I've been able to FOCUS on taking pictures of all my overstock and get it all posted in the "MEGA HUGE... BIGGEST MOST GIGANTIC FACEBOOK SALE EVER"...
well biggest Facebook sale I've ever had, lol.

The above picture is just from one day last week's post office drop off! ;-)

Isn't this silver hat great for a little girl's dress up? It's one size fits all... sooooo, you Mom's you can even wear this cute lil' sparkly hat in the carpool line and turn some heads. LOL. If we can't laugh at ourselves, then who can, right?!

Of Course... "Miss C" has a hat of her own as well ;-) She was looking particularly "hippy chic" that day.

If you haven't already discovered my facebook sale, then you REALLY need to rush on over and have a look.

SALE PHOTO ALBUM IS HERE: MY FACEBOOK PAGE
RULES ON HOW TO PURCHASE FROM ALBUM: HERE

I have supplies & overstock designs left over from 13 craft shows last year!! Some of it I'm having a REALLY hard time parting with, but hope that it'll all find good homes soon! ;-)

Below is just a SMALL sampling of what the album has to offer! ;-)