Oh the Cuteness!

I've been pretty lucky lately, first winning the  plushie from Heidi Kenney , and I just found out I've won another blog contest I entered! This time I've won a set of three pop-up poster prints from one of my favorite paper artists,  Jurianne Matter .  The concept of these is what I fell in love with (not to mention the beautiful designs). Each print comes with a few different colored backings that show through when you fold all the little pop-up cutaways out. I can't wait to get these and frame them, I just need to decide where they will go! Also, I wanted to let you all know that I've got a very exciting tutorial that's all typed up and scheduled to post in a few days. It's a complete photo tutorial on how to make a simple quilt! I hope you will all stop by and give it a try if you've never quilted anything before!

My friend Shannon turned 25 this week and in celebration she threw herself a "Beer and Cheese Pairing" party. She works at a local cheese company, North Bay Curds and Whey , manning their farmer's market stall and I knew we'd all be in for a treat when she told me her idea. I'm so happy I went: her friends were wonderful, the food was to die for, and I loved her retro apartment building more than I should have! Shes such a sweetie: Oh, the food... That's fig jam made by one of her friend's aunts, or grandmothers, or something. We all agreed that even if she couldn't remember which relative made it, if an old woman hands you a jar of jam it's bound to be good. There was creamy sheep's milk bleu cheese with apples, amazing crackers and honey drizzled on a cheese that was rolled in wine grape husks, mac & cheese made with gluten-free pasta, fancy cheeses, yogurt, and purple kale that got deliciously crispy while baking, s...

I don't enter a lot of contests online, but when I saw that Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane was giving away some of her new large plushies from Kid Robot, I had to try. And I won! She sent the different kinds out at random and I'm so happy she sent me the yellow jelly doughnut! It's so cuddly and adorable, and it's living on my sofa now. She's one of the crafters and bloggers who has always been a huge inspiration to me, and I'm so happy to have one of her pieces in the house finally. My favorite detail of this little guy is the little place where there's "jelly" seeping out from where the makers of plush pastries piped it in: Yay!

Up in the hills above Berkeley there's a myriad of family attractions to go see, including a giant old-fashioned carousel hidden in the woods, a natural history and conservation museum, and great hiking trails, not to mention the beautiful views you get to see on the way up. I'd never taken the trek up the long, windy, wooded roads before, but last week a dear friend asked me to go. Unfortunately the carousel and museum are closed during the week, but we got to take in the view of the bay and the sunshine and fresh air, and we got to roam the Little Farm. It's exactly what the name says - a sweet little farm tucked away in the woods, and it's a great place to take your kids to learn about good farming practices or just enjoy feeding and petting them.  When I was a child I wanted to be a farmer. For real. And it was a long time before the dream died when I learned about big agriculture destroying the family farm. But the new local- and slow-food movements have...

As promised, here's a little tutorial that shows you how to make a lettered felt bunting like I made for my table at a recent craft fair:  Mini Bunting Banner Materials Needed: Steam-A-Seam Sticky Back Fusible Web for Applique (This is exactly what it says on the package, and you can find this at most places that carry fabric.) Baker's Twine Eco-Felt (Bought mine at Michael's for twenty cents a sheet.) Fabric Scraps 2" Letter Stencils (These can be found in hardware stores in the same section as house numbers and signage.) Pen Sharp Yarn Needle Iron & Ironing Board Bunting Template (See below.) 1. The letter stencils I used come in a few different sizes. At first I used a 4-inch set I had, and when I was done with the banner I realized it was about three times too big for my table! It will be super cool to use if I have a big tent at a large outdoor fair, but I started over with the two-inch version. Here is a printable templa...

As most of you know, I've been doing a lot of little custom projects for people for extra money as I try to get my business together online. I've done everything from professional organizing to hemming pants and I'm having a blast! Recently, a good friend of mine asked me if I had ever installed a zipper in a sweater, and if so, could I do it on one she was knitting for her father-in-law's birthday? Sure, no problem, I've sewn with zippers many times. But there was a catch: the sweater's pattern called for it to be knit as a pullover, then have the zipper installed, then be cut open. Dear sweet mother of God, what have I agreed to? I was faced with the very terrifying prospect of not only having to neatly sew a zipper into a hand-knit garment that a friend had painstakingly made, but I'd also have to make sure I didn't completely destroy it as I cut it apart. The idea of holding the fate of a gorgeous hand-knit piece of art in my hands, not to mention ...

My parents came up to visit me recently and brought me some truly precious treasures from my childhood. They cleaned out the rafters and brought me some awesome relics, including my collections of action figures, Breyer horses, and Beanie Babies (Ha!) that I thought were lost to the ages. But the most precious of all, pictured above, were two minuscule Easter baskets I made for them when I was in middle school, probably the year 2000. Yup, they're that small. And guess what they're made out of? No, not plastic, but REAL EGGS! I don't know how I ever made such things as a kid; I could barely set them up to photograph them today! I remember it clear as day, using cuticle scissors to cut tiny pieces out of a hollowed-out egg. I think I broke 2 or 3 before I got two good ones. And the bases are paper pieces that I cut out of a doily. I can't even see the glue where I attached them, but they're on there real good! I filled the basket with tiny toys, ...

Remember when Dennis and I made  pickles with Splenda ? Well I am happy to report that they turned out swimmingly! The sweet onions are superb - you can't even tell that it's not real sugar and the cinnamon and anise make them so spicy I couldn't believe it! Anywho, while we canned the four separate jars, we also took the veggies that wouldn't fit and mixed them in a tupperware and stuck them in the fridge. About a week later I made caldo de pollo and we ate the fridge pickles with the soup and tortillas, and they were so good! So, for those that are intimidated by canning, here's my recipe for quick and easy fridge pickles! Ingredients: Mixed raw veggies, cleaned and cut into manageable pieces. Mine included carrots, beets, and fennel, but cucumbers, cauliflower, etc, would work well too. 2 tbsp dried whole mustard seeds 2 bay leaves 2 whole Thai chilies 1 tsp. whole coriander 1 tsp dried dill 1 tsp. salt Enough cider vinegar (or a mix of a...

Since about September I've been helping a local artist, Lea Redmond of Leafcutter Designs , with her crazy-busy holiday production. I adore working for her - her studio is so inspiring, her products and project concepts are amazing, and she is just an absolutely delightful person. I highly recommend that you browse all around her site and see all the lovely things she has going on, there are so many cool interactive projects you can do. It's so nice to be working for someone who is running an extremely successful "cottage industry" business, and I feel like I'm learning a lot about what it takes. As an added bonus to the job, besides Lea I have met a lot of local creative types, one of whom is Sharon Murriguez of Casa Murriguez . She hand-prints fabric and paper goodies with her own beautiful artwork. I love her stuff so very much, and she and I will *hopefully* be joining forces for a special project, but that's a bit down the road. Anywho, a few weeks ago...