A Bag for the Little One

My daughter sometimes goes shopping with me, and one day about a month ago she went with me to JoAnn's crafts to get the skull fabric I have been making a lot of bags out of lately. While we were strolling around, she picked up this fat quarter and said "make me a bag, mommy". So I said, sure! Not knowing what kind of bag I could make and she's 3 years old, blah blah blah.
So, this is what I came up with...

And I think it's gorgeous, and she is too with it over her shoulder. I think it is the type/size of bag that an adult or kid could love - about 6 in tall, and 16 in wide with a small 2 in gusset at the bottom. So, I think I will make some souped up ones, with pockets for the shop, and craft shows. And I am even thinking that I will do a tutorial for the basic one, because I love how I can always find a tutorial to do a cute bag somewhere, and maybe I should contribute as well.
Have a happy day! It's Wednesday!

Carrot Cake and Buttercream Soap

It's the latest creation by me, an attempt at creating 2 colors and even possibly a swirl - which turned out to smell great but not really look much different than I thought it would. I tried to color it orange and cream, but see how the edges are dark? That is how the yellow sections are now anyway. I guess the air hitting the vanilla / buttercream layer makes it turn. Either way, it smells divine! And the orange faded to pinkish, but I think it might look a little like "upside-down" carrot cake with frosting. Wouldn't you love to have that much frosting? Yummy! So, I made the bottom layer first, and let it sit for a minute while I made the second layer. That's why it didn't blend too well, but the point is - I'm learning more with each batch.
I feel I need to make a few more batches with so many shows coming up, I have about 5 in a row in March, April, May. And I just found another one - www.normanmusicfestival.com - that also has promise and I am seriously considering it! I would really love to see you at one of the shows, you can read more about my shows here and as I am getting ready I will show you my work and my layout for the booth!
And, I am making some BOSS aprons for sis and I to wear at the booth. You will know us by our aprons, I promise. I will show you them soon!

A Posting about my Favorite Soap

http://autonomousartisans.blogspot.com/2009/02/word-from-our-sponsors.html?showComment=1234222680000#c2353445344172084503

This is one of the blogs I do project wonderful ads on, and they highlighted one of my soaps! I can't say how much I appreciate and love it! Thanks...

Plum Spooky!

Yep, I just read that book this week. I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, and lucky for me, the Moore Library has them. I check out tons of books to read on my flights, from romance to sales stuff. The other day, I walked in and there it was! On the sizzler shelf, and I didn't even know there was a new book in the series. There are tons of people waiting in line for this one, and I got it!
This book is great, with suspense and witty chatting and more funny zingers from Grandma Mazur than you can imagine. The story is about looking for a skip who is hiding out in the forest, and it gets a little hairy at times but she "as always" eventually gets her man. The only part I didn't like was no real Joe Morelli (which in these books she does not usually have) but I love him and missed him. Hope to see book 15 in the series soon, and I would definitely recommend this book to all !

A Fabric Organizer that works for me

Ok, does anyone who sews know how much or how many of the different fabrics they have? I was browsing through the March 2009 copy of threads magazine (www.threadsmagazine.com) which always has a lot of nifty ideas that I cannot ever implement, but I found what I was looking for:

http://sewing.organizedhome.com/printable/fabric-organizer/notebook-page

http://sewing.organizedhome.com/image/view/832/printable

on page 18, called the Fabric Inventory Binder. This is going to be awesome for my upcoming craft shows! So many people ask me if I can make them a custom bag, and I am never able to show them what I have. I will be able to have this in a binder at the table, whip it out, and take custom orders. AND, I will be able to plan my projects ahead and match things for my bags so I can take this to the store with me and find the solids or prints that match. I am so excited. It would have been easy enough for me to make, but this one is free and that is the best price of all.
The site has all kinds of organizer sheets for those who want to be more together. You may find something that you can use as well.

New Valentine's Soaps!

It's here and it's ready! I made some soap specifically with Valentine's day in mind. It smells like roses (which I love) and is cheaper than a dozen roses (any day of the week and especially on this day). I took rose petals and interspersed them throughout the pink soap, then I dropped in the pre-made hearts (I did them earlier) so it's fun to call it a "piece" of my heart. hehe

And the chocolate soap is ready, so how about a bar of chocolate, some roses and a piece of my heart to keep your valentine clean!