Great Gift Idea!

Ok, my shops are full of great gift ideas.. sheesh.. but we knew that.

Not every gift can be made by me. Although, I try!! (no pics though, they went hot off the presses into gift bags and recipients!) There was someone that I found on etsy that I set up a swap with and was able to give her 'ware' with great excitement!

Rene' of DeSigns by Rene' got me my sister's, brother in law's and nephew's name in the coolest ways to gift to them. For those of you who don't know, my sister's name is "Liza" which isnt' the most common of names and Rene' was able to accomodate! I could go on and on but you really should just click on her shop and see for yourself.

It made for a really fun gift.

Oh and the rest of Christmas was super, too! Christmas Eve was a blast and Christmas was a wonderful (albeit harried) day. Blessings to you all for a wonderful New Year!

The Feliz and all it's glory!

Fri am the last of my custom orders were sent out. Fri pm I spent tracing the pattern for the Feliz dress and then cutting the fabric.

Saturday-- I spent the ENTIRE day sewing this puppy. The patterns from Farbenmix are in German first and translated over. I do not know if that's part of the reason why this was SO DIFFICULT to follow. Many other sewers have had this problem, hence why I googled "Feliz tutorial" and, thanks to the vast web, found this kind soul. I kept her pages open and ran back to the computer over and over. Sure, had some margin of error still. For instance, where, oh WHERE, does it say ONE time to attach the front middle of the underdress?? At least it was an easy error to correct and this is my final product! I'll definately be making this again. Especially with my treasured Tillbrook Fairies fabric.

(sorry, pics are kinda crummy. I'll try to get better)

Ribbon added. Snowflakes on hemline.

Twirl shot! Thanks for looking!

And today's sample with "custom orders" update

And here's the view out my back deck today! And it's still snowing..Rare pic of dh~~~>
What exactly is that boy shoveling? The back yard...?
And Lil Lady clearing off my van..Custom Orders. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love being able to be artistic with my 'meduim', love getting the chance to share my work, and love getting more money for my fabric habit! But, the relief I felt when I handed over the last batch of shipments to my PO worker on Friday morning was palpable! It was invigorating yet demanding and a teensy bit stressful..
Now, for the gallery! Isn't that the cutest? Made for a little blonde and embroidered by my friend(thanks, J!)

Sorry, crummy pic-- these are just a few of the weighted blankets I made for Christmas orders.

These wooden ring teethers were a hot seller!

And a totally fun order for the wackiest, wildest dress I could think of for a special little girl whose mom found me on etsy. I made the "santa" shirt too!

A little ipod holder for a swap with another etsian. I can't wait to get her product to give as a gift to my sister! (I won't link it in case she checks my blog ;-P)

Plus the others I made and shipped too quickly to take pictures of. I had a very successful season this year and am very thankful. It was nice to not only spend money but to make money too. But boy, with T minus 5 days left, I'm sure glad the custom orders are done and I can start to make a gift or two!

Just a sample of nature's wrath

Above is a picture of my backyard. I *love* my backyard. It's just enough for me. It's quiet even though I live in a very suburban area, it's semi-private (mostly b/c the other neighbors rarely venture out) and it has a great set of aging Willow trees in the back. They took a beating with the recent ice storm but, wow, do they look amazing or what? This was our view right across our street. We got out virtually unscathed(lost power in the middle of the night --woke to get dh out on time by Grace of God only! LOL-- until early the next afternoon).

Most in MA have power now but there are plenty without still. Blessings to all of those who are being whacked with 8+ inches of snow right this very moment and still without power!