So Cute It Hurts

carry all.

I still haven't totally recovered from what i now refer to as "coming down with the funk" (congestion, sore throat and headache), however i had quite a productive day yesterday. Pretty proud about that...

These are some of my newest miniature tote bags, one is a custom order for a dollhouse settings and some others are Coco's goodies. She needed a few more (okay, i needed her to have a couple more).

These tote bags are definitely a great way to use up some fabric scraps, and i always like it when i find projects that work for that.

This is a new bag design. I made a pattern out of a paper and tweaked it along the way. I really dig how it turned out. Very spring. I finished it with some raw edges and Coco seemed to be down with that. I love it's raw edges and that vintage shabby chic rose print paired with the linen.

This new bag pattern is easy to sew, and it's cute ~ sometimes something being easy doesn't necessarily mean it's cute, not the case here. I love it so much, i made another one bigger in size. This time i used my all time favorite vintage cross stitch pattern and finishd it with some tinny small gathering stitches. Cute, eh? I am filled with total giddiness.

I'm looking forward to...
Taking it easy this beautiful Sunday.
Afternoon Sunday tea.
Sunday nap and reading this new book.
Love to you.

totein' about

It took some time, but i finally had the chance to finish some photos and loaded my first batch of spring tote bags to the shop! I'm feeling sorta like patting myself on the back for meeting this crafty goal. Now i've got to get started on several projects for sweet Coco and the second batch of spring tote bags in French Macaron theme (*cough Pei Li cough*) ~ more info on that as it comes in.

I"m pleased with the result. These are just simple tote bags with some inside organization (very much needed). BUT each fabric makes up for the simplicity.

I've wanted to use these vintage fabrics for a long time now and i think each tote bag turned out beautifully. I even got to make good use of my button making tools.

Give it a look and happy browsing.
Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
Love to you!

patience is a virtue

Hello.
Sorry things have been so quiet around here. I can't seem to get it together to post much lately. I guess i've also been feeling a little on the quiet side.

I hope your weekend was nice. Mine was. I spent all of last week hard at work on finishing two of my embroidery projects. It has been nothing but fun and mess-making in the studio (it's not so quiet in there...thanks to Birdy}.

I tried to give these journals the finishing touch last night, but gave up after 10pm ~ the thought of continuing made my eyes cross. As soon as i can get the finishing touches up and things photographed, i'm planning a nice story update.

The mister said : "...the scent of fall is in the air".
I think Fall is rolling in.
Happy Monday to you.
Love to you and yours.

*Edit* : My interview over on Art, love and Joy is up today. I'm thrilled and completely honored to be featured in such a beautiful and inspiring space. I can't even begin to tell you how much love has gone into putting this post together.Thanks again, Wini!

may holidays bring creative energy?

The holiday spirit is moving right along. I have been playing around the studio lately making stuff for all my sewing projects. It has been fun to dabble with no hurry.

Here's a new project I finally completed for a custom order. She wanted to collect and own something handmade from me (as an artist, i couldn't have ask for anything more inspiring than this). She requested a journal ~ since she is slowly starting to tap into her own creative dream.

Immediately i thought about a blank little journal with a handmade cover ~ a cover she could reuse over and over again. Since handmade is my livelihood. I didn't want to just pick any random blank journal off the bookshelves, i wanted the whole project to be handmade.

Inspired by my on going collaboration project with sweet Pei Li of Pei Li's Miniatures, i contacted a talented friend, Evelin of Angelicquirk, to whip me up a few naked handmade A6 size journals. It goes without saying that i know how important it is to support other artisans. Being in support of one another in ways you are comfortable with, either financially or spreading the word, is one way to boost our handmade market growth.

After months of waiting (I've been known to get distracted) the journal is complete and out the door soon. Thanks for being so patient! I hope you like it.

This little piece of embroidery is a reminder of a sentiment that "if you have dreams that you want to see come true? Go for them". I write this as a believer in the idea that dreams do come true. Reaching for that dream(s), can be exciting and a little bit scary because it hasn't happened yet. So this embroidery is symbolic of all of those beautiful things and obstacles (represented by the beautiful blooms) happening around each one of us as we take the leap to realize our dream be it creatively or not. And the bird of course is unlocking each of beautiful things or the obstacles as you step a little closer to your dream.

This particular bird has it all figured out and knows that it takes bravery, believe, faith and learning to turn feelings of desperation and fear as to whether it will happen, into feelings of hopeful expectation that it will happen.

I've used japanese natural linen for the outside layer and a sweet pink Polka Dots japanese linen for the inner layer.

I added a sweet soft pink grosgrain ribbon and attached a handmade fabric embroidered button as the bookmark for flair. Having not pulled out my embroidery needle in so long, i forgot how relaxing embroidery can be ~ very tedious, yet very relaxing.

Have a lovely merry happy mid-week.
I'm going to sew, drink tea and make a big salad.
At least those are a few things i hope to do today.
Love to you!

keeping it simple

Just like that, another week has flown by. Overall, it has been a pretty nice one. I even managed to get a little crafty.

I finally got around to knock off another special custom order this week and i'm pleased with the result. Two sweet and simple Wesley purses in natural linen sky dots with matching natural linen shabby chic roses for the lining.

Notice that these two are made without the detachable little handmade mod flowers? I actually really love the simplicity.

They will be off to their new home in someone's bag soon.

Thanks for all the super sweet compliments about my new tote bag. I really love finding inspiration from things i've made and using that inspiration to make something new and improved. It's very satisfying.

I'm keeping the weekend activities extremely simple. My yoga enthusiasm is moving along swimmingly, my teacher is off to a workshop today so i'll have to wait patiently till next weekend's class. However, i'm thrilled about the sunshine and nice breeze blowing around here today. It's a beautiful Saturday indeed.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
Be Well.
Love to you.

introducing...Madelyn weekend tote

Hope you had a great weekend. I certainly did. Not sure how i pulled it off, but i managed to be social, restful and productive all in one weekend. My first Yoga lesson (finally!) followed by an afternoon tea and shopping with my best girls on saturday. And, i took two-hour nap on sunday ~ i might just rate it as the best nap i have ever taken. I also made progress on a few new projects. Not bad at all.

I spent numerous hours making a mess in my studio and i'm finally getting around to show you my new weekend tote design. I'm thrilled with the result. This bag is inspired by Marlynn weekend tote. A tote bag with zipper closure, leather handles and lots of inside organization (very much needed).

It's a simple tote bag with four slip pockets finished with two magnetic snap closures, but the thing i love most is the sky Hydrangea print paired with the gorgeous sky blue polka dot linen. Boy, do I love that print. I've been hoarding it for a while now.

I added a Japanese batten lace (i've collected it for years) for flare. And finished it off with a pair of beautiful leather handles.

A small clip can also be found inside ~ perfect for clipping on keys, trinkets, etc. A secret layer of quilt batting is stitched inside, for added fabric reinforcement and a bit of padding.

The rest of the Japanese batten lace (from the front) embraces the back of the tote bag. I hope the photos tell the story a little better. I foresee a few more totes on the horizon. Everyone loves a good weekend tote bag, no?

My morning coffee calls....

Happy Monday to you!
More soon!
Love to you and yours!

adventures in crafting

Although it probably seems as though i've fallen down the rabbit hole, i promise i haven't ~ i have spent the last week completely absorbed in creating during every free minute. Honestly i feel a little nuts but i did take advantage of the weekend to sneak out to Craft Art Market with my best girl, Adeline. It was lovely spending time with her.

After what it seems like a long time in the works, i'm thrilled to introduce a new line of purses known as Reymi Bib Purses. These bib purses were inspired by Reymi's (my baby nephew) adorable bibs and my love for ruffles, bows, beads and all things linen. I really dig how they turned out.

Honestly, at first i had no idea if my purse design was going to materialize. I started out sketching my idea on my little journal, cut the pattern from a brown paper bag, and then created a prototype for it before i started the actual creation using these gorgeous Japanese linen fabrics. I can't tell you how psyched i am with the result.

I added my "So Cute It Hurts" button for flair and finished the inner layer with my new labels just because.

The Pipit Wonderful market is next Saturday and i'm getting really excited. I can't wait to post some photos and a little synopsis. If you're in the area, you should swing on by.

Not sure how this week is going to look with regard to posting.
In the meantime, have a wonderful merry happy week.
Love to you.

bright and merry

Hope you had a lovely week. Mine was nice ~ sort of. I had this weird 24 hour flu bug starting on Wednesday morning. I'm always bummed when i get sick, but coming down with something on a busy week is brutal.

Remember the holiday apron project i mentioned a while back? It's finally completed, using the Pretty Ditty Apron pattern from Jamie Christina. So glad I did. I'm really happy with how sweet it turned out.

This sweet paris downtown japanese cotton linen blended fabric was purchased a while back. I fell in love with it ~ i mean paris city, gingham, dots and strips all in one piece, geez!

Here's a few closeup shots. It may not be perfect, but I'm pretty happy with how my apron experiment turned out. I will definitely want to sew more of these.

I wanted to say thank you for all the super kind and supportive comments sent my way this year. I am truly grateful. I'm in awe of how amazing the blog community is and it reaffirms for me that people are mostly good and kind and supportive of one another. Thank you so much for that.

Wishing you JOY and LOVE this wonderful Christmas sweet friends! As Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) said it best, "God bless us, every one!".

Happy holidays to you and the ones you love.
Now let Christmas begin...

More from the fabric addict

Another weekend has come and gone. Overall, i had a wonderful weekend working away and i even had the pleasure of meeting a reader at a local Bazaar i never knew was out there reading. I really appreciate those of you stopping by my little bubble space here.

Recently i found a local online fabric shop, Fabric Fanatics, by Kelly and was so happy i did that i went to visit her table at the local I love Bazaar. All of her fabrics are beautiful and adorable, i have a hard time deciding on a favorite. oh, and the kicker for me was, i basically got to chat with her for a bit and scored some fabrics loveliness. I don't know about you but i think fabrics are additive. Sometimes i wonder if my obsession is a kind of sickness. I just can’t stand the thought of not having anymore fabrics.

Seeing these amazing fabrics, handmade items and the artist in one place (my city!) just make my eyes glaze over. Here are some closeup shots of her table. Her fabrics were a big hit.

I'm heading back to work...Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and i've got some sewing to do. I can feel the stress starting to build a little.
Hope you had yourself a nice weekend.
More soon, friends
Keep warm and love to you!

Good things. Happy things

After an emotional weekend, i'm happy to say that my brother is on the mend. Thanks so much for all the wonderful offerings of love and healing for him. You guys are the best. And i am so grateful to be able to send such bummer news like this out into the world and feel such kindness and support from people i have not even met {yet}. This really blows my mind. The boy is back from the hospital today and feeling much better. He is to return to the hospital for another round of tests as he seems to be thalassemia minor carrier. Otherwise, it's all good.

There's nothing like sewing to life ones spirits. A little sewing boost was just the ticket to get my synapses firing and my mood stepped up. You may remember this purse from a week or two ago, well, i made a few more {with a little tweaked to the handmade mod flower ~ it's now detachable!} and enjoyed every minute of it.

I'm thrilled to introduce a new line of cute little purses known as Wesley purse {named after my brother} now available in the shop. I just love each of those fabrics. A perfect little purse for a whole lot of purpose! The front is topstitched with a vintage lace trim and a detachable little handmade mod flower is added for flare. The back is bejeweled with a small SoCuteItHurts wooden tag. Makes a great wallet, tissue and cards holder, ipod/iphone cozy, and the possibilities are endless! Eveyone loves a good little purse, no?

Buy Handmade!
Hope you are staying cool out there. Happy monday. Love to you and yours.