Something for me!!!!

I never make anything for myself.  I say I am going to and then I don't.  Well I saw a blog on this particular pattern and said that when I got my laptop I was doing that bag, well here it is,  a picture of the laptop bag I made for myself. 
The pattern is called Sew Spoiled Laptop Sleeve and Laptop Extras, it is from Sew Spoiled on Etsy and comes in the form of a pdf pattern so there is virtually no wait!!!  I am zipper-challenged and I even managed to do 2 zippers from this pattern!  I chose the small handles so the cover would fit into my laptop bag and I used a smaller zipper on the front pocket than it called for, I also did this because I chose to do the "custom" option on the pattern.  I would recommend being very precise on the cutting and assembling, it will make your outcome much better!  My first attempt at this was not-so-good because I moved too fast and didn't pay close enough attention to my seam allowances/etc.
The fabric is a more boring story, I didn't know what I wanted, but I walked into JoAnn Fabric to purchase some machine needles and ran across this super cute blue and brown fabric and its matching stripes (see inside of bag)!  I used the stripes for the lining and the pocket.  You'll see this fabric turn up again on some dresses in the store!

 

A Little Christmas Cheer!

This is just a little picture of a skirt I made for my angel for Christmas. It's a little long, but that is on purpose...hopefully it'll fit next year! LOVE this little outfit. My mother bought her some pink "cowgirl" boots and she wanted to wear them the whole Christmas weekend...good thing they match the skirt! I made this shirt with a little different coloring (darker green and yellows) for another customer and I liked that better, so I might change that for next year, and add her name.

Let it Snow!!!!

We have been getting a ton of snow lately. Soooo much fun for these Alabama transplants.  These are pics from the first snow fall, it's currently dumping 3-6 inches today! We had 24 inches dumped in 2 days and Samantha and I (and several of the neighborhood kids) found some fun sled hills and spent the day playing outside!

 

And yes, my husband has a tractor.  All this snow is giving him a chance to use it and he is like a kid with, well, a new toy!  In fact a piece of equipment broke on it during the big snow and his eye lit up when he told me he had to use his welder to fix it.  So it's true, the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys!

Color Wonder!

This was one of my Christmas orders and since I thought the colors were so fun I had to photograph them together! These are such great little bags for church, doctors visits, sibling dance/other practices, or whenever you need a little organized entertainment. They hold 9-10 crayons and a regular sized coloring book and best of all....they're personalized!!!! They are kid sized so the little ones can carry them around themselves and in reality when they hand them off to you to hold you can easily slip them into your Mommy Messenger from Milkshake Baby!

I don't have them up for sale yet because I'm still perfecting the pattern and finding the right fabrics, but feel free to contact me if you're interested in them!

Who needs a Charlie Brown Tree?

So it seems like the "Thing to do" is to get a mini Christmas tree for the kiddo's room.  I heard just about all my friends say they did this, that also meant Sam heard it too.  So for about 2 weeks I heard her beg and plead (nicely) for a little Christmas tree for her room.  I saw a flyer for Rite Aide that had them for under $10 for a 3' tree on special so we went down and bought it.  All I did was to put the little lights on it, she did all the decorating.

At first she started with ornaments, then she found some hair bows she thought would "look nice", then she found a random piece of Hannah Montana wrapping paper, then a belt from her drawer, then a glove, then she asked me if we should put cream on it.  Yep, the decorating was a success!  But it got me thinking...she is four and with this comes all the purity of what Christmas should be.  She walks around with Santa hats on and singing Christmas Carols and just being happy!  We get so caught up in the gift-giving as adults that we fail to remember to just enjoy the Holiday season.  I worry about who is getting what, is it enough, will they like that, etc. when I should just be happy to sit around with a cookie, tell stories of Christmas past, and watch "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase.  I use to be so excited abouth Christmas and now the advent calendar is a count down to how many less days I have to shop and sew!  Christmas is about more than shopping and the actual gift-opening process, it's about family and singing, and loving.
So this Christmas I'm trying to take a lesson from my daughter and her eclectic tree and just enjoy the season.  Enjoy the snow, and not get so wrapped up in pleasing everybody! 
Hope you'll do the same!

The Mommy Messenger

So I feel like promoting my messenger bags; even though you can't buy them until January. Oh well, here are pic's of some I've done in the past.
The red one is my favorite, but I accidentally did it with a black duck fabric for the base and it is adorable!!!
 

My favorite bags are the "Design Your Own".  I say they're my favorite because I let the customer design the bag and then I make it, but I love to see the different tastes of my customers! 

The way the "Design Your Own" works is that you first go to this delightful little website http://www.aboveallfabric.com/ and look through her fun collections (that changes frequently) of cotton fabric and then decide if you would like that fabric to match a brown or black base color, then you email me and let me know these choices, pay me, and wait 4-6 weeks then voila! a new bag arrives custom made for you!  There are more details (like size) on my store site http://www.milkshakebaby.etsy.com/.

These bags are so great, I actually call them the "Mommy" Messenger because I totally had car-line in my mind when I made this (you mom's KNOW what care-line is).  You can stick a couple snacks, magazines, trashy paperback, diaper wipes, even a bottle of water!  The bag has 4 pockets on the outside alone!!!  There are 3 inside AND a giant interior.   I love this bag and I don't even own one yet.  Yup! Everytime I get a little bit in stock my friends come over and clean me out before I can get them up for sale.  That's okay, they're my best customers.

Come see me in January when I reopen my store and my sanity at http://www.milkshakebaby.etsy.com/ to get one!

A Bite of Thanksgiving

Here is a little picture of our Thanksgiving.  We had a great time with good friends and excellent food.  I might take a moment to brag...I have never made a pie crust in my life and not only did my apple pie taste great (so I was told), but I was asked (no begged) to make another one that Saturday!  The pumpkin pie was not touched!  I wouldn't normally brag about something like that, but I really had no faith that it would turn out.  

I made Sam's little dress and she only got to wear it twice this fall, hopefully it's big enough to wear next year too.  The cake that she and her little friend are hovering over was made by a friend of mine on Facebook and if you ask nicely she might make you one too.  It was so good that I couldn't walk by the darn table without scooping a little with my finger!!! I was so glad when it was gone.  It was a white cake, chocolate buttercream frosting, and RASPBERRY sauce layered into a heavenly and sinful dessert! I highly reccommend her :)