Look what I got in the mail!!

The fabulous Bari J. sent me this bag last week--Look at the theme "Three Little Chickies."  I'm crazy for this bag.  I have a thing for trees in art, and this bag is every bit as lovely in person as it is in this photo.   It's got lots of sweet detailing, like extra pockets inside, and a key holder, and a brooch attached  to the tree.  

As it happens, it arrived to me on my blogoversary.  How perfectly fitting.   

Bari has great line of handbags and accessories, and she's designed a luscious set of fabrics for Windham that will be arriving in stores this spring.   How lucky am I that she designed this bag just for me?!

Pencil Case: ta da!

In a long line of projects, it's nice to have one completed. Here is the pencil case I finished last week. I love the Japanese fabrics. The textured red one has a great feel, and its companion flowery print worked well for the ties.

This picture is a bit off, but you really get the idea of the fabric textures from this angle.

And here it is, just before I sent it off in the mail to C. in England.    Now I want one for me!

A Swap Meet

Personal mail is so underrated. I love getting it and sending it. While email is great, there is something nice about opening a thoughtful surprise that arrived in the afternoon mail. And since most things in the post are junk, receiving something personal is all the more appreciated.

Enter Swap-bot. If you haven't heard of it, here's how it works: you sign up for a swap based on your interests. I'm doing a few swaps there, and it is neat to see what we can trade with others.I like the fabric swaps (of course!) and paper crafty-type ones, and some themed ones are neat, too. (We just did a theme of things relating to monkeys, which was really fun to send and receive.)
Once you get matched with a partner, you look at their profile, blog, etc, and then choose things for the exchange that would make sense to them. I love looking around our house and studio and finding something to make or share--lots of times it's something I don't use but know someone else would like. I also love to make something new to fit the partner's tastes.

Here are a few goodies I sent in the past month or so:



This was for a reusable grocery tote. I love, love loved the fabric, and I thought it would make a great bag--I think I was right! Now I'm making one for me, too.


Here's one of the needle cases I made recently: owls are a favorite of mine, and these winkers are so cute. I especially like the covered button.


I used wool felt for the pages, and included a set of needles with this one.



I made this really fun pencil wrap for another swap about monkeys. See the monkeys jumping? The ties are made from a coordinating print of bandaids.


And here's what we received for the monkey swap. Ada loves her Bento box, and she's eager to use it!



Lots more swaps to come...let me know if you're interested in doing one with me.

A little treasure inside

This little treasure came to us by mail last week. My dad, who has some dealings with fish from time to time, came across this seahorse while cleaning a swordfish. The seahorse was *inside* a 20-pound sea bass--and, get this--alive. My dad was duly impressed. Unfortunately, the seahorse died quickly after coming out of the sea bass's stomach. The next best thing to having it in an aquarium, he figured, would be to save it as a treasure. And he thought right away of giving it to his granddaughters, which he did.

By the time the seahorse arrived in the mail, he was on the stinky side--but still amazing nonetheless. We are currently drying him out and deciding how to preserve the exo-skeleton. Any ideas?

Apron swap--what we sent. And how much fun to make!

We love making things, and this swap was a great opportunity for Ada and I to work together on another project. Here is the apron we made for Patricia's Marley at Willow Lane:

I went with a classic retro style and print--teacups and flowers that Ada helped me choose. As I was working with these old-style fabrics, I couldn't help but thinking about both of my grandmothers--both very crafty in her own way. One was a Swedish farm wife who quilted and knew how to stretch out her materials. The other grandmother was a city lady, refined, interested in collecting, and a very accomplished knittter and needleworker. I just know they both would have loved this sort of swap, and they both would have loved the prints we chose.


For the lining of the pockets, we used a wonderful dotty print. It was so cute, we used a bit more to make a chopstick holder (or an ipod holder--great idea!). And we got extra for a few more things I've been dreaming up...




And then finally the recipes. We had such fun putting this together, I think I'm going to start a whole new recipe project. More on that later...

We just loved this swap. And I can't wait to do another.

Apron swap! Lucky us--look what we received!

Look at the lovely apron we received in our apron swap! Thank you so much to Sarah at Jinjur, who spent a lot of time making the cutest little apron for Ada, and a matching bib for Esme. Ada has worn it several times already. SO, so cute! The funny thing is that Ada used to think she was a bunny, and she would correct people when they would say, "oh, aren't you adorable!" She would say, "I'm not really a 'dorable,' I'm a bunny!" Bunny or no, she is certainly cute in this adorable apron..