Happy, happy weekend!

Its Sunday? Where did my weekend go? Has anyone seen it? My life has become a flash, or at least sometimes it feels that way. It is tough being a shop owner times two, and Mom. But I can't complain, I make my own life stressful by taking on to much in a given time!

That being said, even though I have not upped my inventory yet, or started getting potentially ready...

I applied to be in the Bust magazines Holiday Craftacular !

I am so excited!! We (All of us crafters) find out if we got in on Tuesday! I really hope I did! It was such a blast last year, and I met so many wonderful people! This year I have so many new items I would love to share, and I have an awesome table display up my sleeve! hehehe

Well cross your fingers for me! I would sell my left leg to go! Is that weird?

The Bust ladies know how to throw an awesome show! Oh and last year I got to meet my idol Amy Sedaris (I am also in love with her very talented brother) so it was a dream come true!

Ok, tootles folks! I am off to do some work, and maybe eat lunch. Veggie Chili is on the menu today and it is sooo yummy! Have a smashing rest of your weekend!

Cheers!

xoxo

Head on over to Treat Street!

I am head over heels for these ladies! It doesn't get much cooler then random street bake sales filled with yummy and fun goodies! I only wish the ladies of treat street lived on my coast. After reading their blog I fell in love and headed over to their website Yummyfun and ordered up a indie movement dream of a cookbook. You can't beat it for $5! It is chalk-full of awesome sounding treats and even cooler sketchbook drawings! I can't wait to start baking these yummy delights! I also think this little cookbook would be a perfect gift (maybe throw in a rolling pin or whisk and your golden!) So head on over to treat street and grab a copy while supplies last and start baking!

* pictures like this make me drool!
xoxoxoxo

Cute by the dozen!

Well the holidays are fast approaching and I am started to feel the stress of it all. With the order s starting to step up, and family to shop for, it gets a little hairy. So over the last few weeks it has felt like everything has to be made on a grand scale, by the dozen or 3 dozens! Phewww I think I broke a sweat just thinking about it all! So I hope to start making and adding some new additions to the shop, but I can only cross my fingers and hope for the best!

This past weekend was super busy! My Son turned 4 and we had a (at his request) transformer party. We had 10 (or 11) four and five year olds , and about 9 adults. So my house was crazy, but it was a controlled chaos. At least that's what I want to tell myself. I think it went well. No injuries, the kids had fun, and my house was in pretty good condition when everyone left. Not to shabby!

Well off I go to continue sewing and maybe sneak in some nachos for dinner! Yum!

xoxoxoxo

Something cute and something manly!

I have been crazy busy like always. With the store, itybitybags, the holidays and just plan normal craziness. We did manage to sneak in a day of pumpkin picking! Fall is my favorite time of year! Since moving to NEPA we had to find an awesome location for pumpkin picking, and I think we found it! Last year was our first year at Roobas farm and we loved it! It is already becoming a tradition in our house. The pumpkin patch is not as rustic as I would like, but there are animals, bonfires, a pond,playground, pig racing, corn mazes and tons more. My Son loves it! They even have Santa at Christmas's and real reindeer! If you live anywhere near this place you must go!

Here is my cute and manly pics! First we saw this baby bunny. How adorable is this! I soo wanted to steal him and take him/her home! such a cute fuzzy little bunny!

Then came the pumpkin canon. This the boys went nuts over. Who cares about an adorable bunny when you can launch pumpkins at high speed into fake cows and trees! ohh the joy of parenthood. But all in all we had a amazing time and I can't wait to journey back for Santa come December!

What to do...

It has been an exhausting couple of weeks. My Son not being in school, was bored and with me all day at the store. No matter what little games, crafts, or books we read...it was long and boring for him. So finally school has started! Yay! Now I have that little extra time I need in the morning, and most importantly he is doing something he enjoys :)

Besides school it has been a busy past week anyway. It has become a challenge to keep up with everything. I defiantly need to focus and plan out a better schedule.

Last week marked the centennial anniversary for the volunteer firefighters federation. They picked our wee little city/town to have their ginormous parade. It was super fun to see all the antique fire trucks.

They passed out cool little freebies for the kids and throw candy. Because my Son is allergic to corn A.K.A everything. This always poses a problem, because he can't eat the candy they give out. So we went home after the parade and made yummy cake. It is, I swear to you a really good cake. It is made without wheat, corn syrup crap or anything else most people are allergic too. We topped the cake with strawberries and whipped cream! Yummy! So here it is *drum roll* the...

Chocolate cake recipe:

2cps of Buckwheat flour

2 cps of sugar

3/4 cp cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)

2 tsp baking soda

1 extra large egg (I use brown eggs)

1 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

1 cp of vegetable oil (made without corn)

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract (sometimes contains corn)

1 cp of boiling water

1. preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. spray 9x13 pan with veg. or olive oil spray (or you could use shortening)

3. mix all the ingredients in the bowl on medium speed until smooth

4.pour into pan, bake for 1 hour or until you can stick and a knife in it and pull it out clean.

Strawberry topping;

Quart of fresh strawberries

1 cp of sugar

1 cp of water

1. slice and wash strawberries and toss into small pan.

2. add sugar and water to strawberries and mix in pan on stove top.

3. Put stove top on med heat.

4. Let strawberries cook down. Mix occasionally. It takes about 20 mins.

Let cool and add to cake for topping.

I also made whipped cream from just whipping heavy cream. You do have to be careful, because some heavy creams have corn in them. It really is a shame how much food they put crap in these days. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this super moist yummy, most allergy free cake!

Cheers!

xoxoxo

I hope everyone is having a yummy labor day weekend! We celebrated with a weekend of family, baseball, and laughter. It was a nice, crazy, but nice weekend. I am trying my hardest to keep up with the blogs, the shops, and the websites! I think I need more arms!

So tonight I thought I would share some of my favorites on Etsy.

Recently I have been moving towards textures and geometric patterns. Its weird how different styles or designs go with certain moods. I have no idea what these things say about me, but I love them!

Above are the a set of three modern wood paintings by Focuslineart

not only are these paintings the most beautiful enamel shades, but they are also on pieces of tree trunk! I need these for my living room!

This apple green wrap by Bonzie is to die for! It is amazing and looks like it just step off of a Paris runway! I only wish I had somewhere to go? I think it would have to be a pretty amazing event for this lovely!

Below is something simple, but texturally brilliant. I love the warm fall colors, but I most enjoy the puffy knot scrunchiness that just calls me to twirl my fingers around them! I wish this cozy came in sweater form!

(by Soulybarb)

ok my sweets! Its time for some dinner, and we are having brunch! Wait is there a word for brunch dinner?

Maybe breakner? breadin? Breakdin???

Whatever its called, its good!

Hello my sweets!

Even though I am super busy as of late, I hope to be popping in more to update the blog.
I wanted to share all the little snippets that having been brewing. My B&M shop is up and running. We are on our 2nd full week of being open and I could not ask for a better 2 wks. Things have been busy and weeks fell like whirlwinds! Soon we should have a website for the B&M, which will feature all my favorite artist available at the shop and some itybitybags. I will post more when things are up and running. I have also been working on some new things for the itybity shop. It is hard finding the time to sew, but I am managing. With the holidays sneaking closer and closer I know I have to get moving on updating the shop and adding some surprises.

This idea as been swirling around in my head for a while. Believe it or not I think I made the first grumpy bear tissue cozy (yes, I said grumpy bear) like 3 months ago. Finally grumpy bear will be making his appearance for the fall season! He is beyond happy to be showing his pearly whites to the world!

So keep an eye on the shop for new surprises and watch here for soon to be holiday recipes, crafts and more!

I hope everyone has a cozy day, because I am freezing my buns off!

xoxoxoxox

Oh my! It has been so long since I have gave some love to my little old blog! I have been beyond busy as of late and have had zero time. As you all know I am opening my own B&M shop, so most of my days have been spent there. As for itybitybags, I have my usually orders and accounts to fill and I truck along. I do wish I was a little more ahead of the game this late in the season. It is scary how little prepared I am for Christmas and the holidays right now. ugh. I need to get on the ball! I hope to have some new and fun additions to the shop soon, and some yummy recipes and such on the blog. Below you will find one of my new little itybity shop mates :)

Turtle anyone!

Ok, Off I go to tackle the morning. Last night we were suppose to have meter showers, but I missed them again :( errrr. I always miss it! Try as I might to remember, I always miss it! Well tata for now, but I promise to be back soon in full swing! Have a cozy Thursday my sweets!

xoxoxxo

In desperate need of more time and more energy..
I am in need of extra hands and more time. I have missed writing in the blog as of late. It was and is a nice little "time out" from the everyday grind. Lately I have been so busy that poor little blog has been abandoned :(

So I decided to stop in and say howdy! And maybe give you a little update on whats going on.

Well for starters I have been knee deep in custom orders! I love doing them so bring them on! Above is a custom order I just loved doing! It was for a customers Son to bring to school for snack money :) How cute! Oh and did I mention his nickname is Monkey! I love it!

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Below is a custom order for a customer/business owner. She is also the sweetheart that had her engagement cake made into itybitybags!!! This project was fun because I made something I had never made before! A giant laptop pouch! I mean I have made laptop cozies before (checkout the one I made for Lark books in their up coming book "quilting with wool") but never a zippered giant pouch! It was pretty fun seeing my bacon buddies in mega form :)

So besides the regular itybitybags daily agenda I have been making lots of custom orders for all you lovely peeps! Now all of my extra time goes into working on my soon to be B&M shop opening this August! So needless to say I am a little stressed! We finally got our store sign and I love it!

To check out more info regarding my B&M shop visit

http://bentoshops.blogspot.com

Ok my lovelies. I have to start cleaning and prepping for family visitors this week!

Hope you are having a cozy Wednesday!

xoxoxox

Tickled Pink!

I hope every ones week is off to a good start! I have been buzzing around like a lost bee for days. So much to do, so little time! I have a huge lists of "Things to do" and have not even begun crossing anything off the list! At least today seem to be sunny, but tomorrow looks like sad rain clouds are headed our way :(

To keep the happiness of the sun marching with us, I thought I would share a new little guy!

Leebo the shy (available soon in shop) on a pink vintage fabric bag. I am loving these little critters and who knows maybe they will become a series? So check out the shop for some new yummy treats and shy critters!

Oh I had to share this with you!

It is so adorable and amazingly nice. One of my wonderful customers sent me this picture. It is of her engagement party cake! She was so smitten with her itybitybag she had it made into a cake! How cool is that! This is why I adore my itybity fans. They are truly the nice's bunch of sweethearts you could ever meet! Much hugs and kisses to Grace of PinkOlive, I wish you the best of luck and happiness!Have a great Wednesday everyone!

xoxoxo

Soo whats been going on....

well some of you already know about this exciting news! I am finally opening my own Brick and mortar store! I am so excited and stressed, it's like having another kid! Yikes!
So most of my time as of late has gone to getting the store ready to open in August, and filling ity-bity bag orders. My life has been a little crazy (but crazy kind of good). The shops name will BENTO. Why "BENTO" you say? Well I think the definition is perfect!

(Bento: is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables as a side dish. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware.)

My shop will be a retail boutique (this is the takeout) with an assortment of different clothing, accessories and home goods for Men and Women (rice, meat,and veggie) made by up and coming designers and craftsman ( hand crafted goodness). All of this Will be available in my shop or Bento box for the sake of the name :)

Soon I will be launching a blog with pics and updates on the new shop! So stay tuned my lovelies!

xoxoxox

Jackpot.....

I hope everyone is getting ready for the 4th of July fun filled weekend! We are having a family get together at our home. So today will consist of cooking, cleaning, and some quiet time (down time before the impending ruckus). Because I live on a gigantic hill we can see the fireworks right in our backyard!

This week has been pretty stress filled and I can't wait for the weekend eating and laziness to begin.

(above) Yesterday I hit one of the local thrift shops and came across this loveliness! I had to give them a home right away! I have no idea what it is, maybe a toy of some kind. It is hand carved and from Canada. Its a fox and a bear sitting a log looking like they are about to eat! They are now sitting in my dining room window! Hurray for 2nd hand finds!

(Below) I also wanted to share my new fabric "Coffee break"! I designed it a while back, but decided to finally make it into fabric. I hurried and sewed up a pouch super quick I was so excited (now in the shop). I think it came out pretty cute :)

Happy 4th of July everyone!

xoxoxox

Lovely finds....

I found this really wonderful set of vintage robin juice glasses at the local thrift store! I fell in love ass soon as I saw them. They are perfect! I kind of did one of those rush over, look around, can't believe someone hasn't swiped these up kind of weirdness. I thought these would be a lovely reminder of the robins nesting on our porch this past Spring. Now they sit all pretty in my cupboard waiting for my orange juice. I have already warned the other inhabitants of my home what will ensue if these are broken!

Well off I go with much work ahead of me this week. I hope to share some VERY exciting news with all of you soon!

xoxoxo

New!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I am so excited to release my new little cutey! Meet "Flash" the shy camera :) He is in the shop right now! He is just one of the new projects I hope to roll out before the holidays! I really love these little guys!

He comes on a satined plaque that is ready to hang!

awhhh so cute! Keep watching for more surprise!
xoxoxo

Late night appliques and movies.....

So Friday night and Saturday morning consisted of lots of cutting and sewing. Friday night I started late with some cutting of appliques and movie watching. I made a nest on my living room floor of felt, scissors and a cup of tea. Now it was time to sit back and enjoy a movie. We watched Zelig. Its an older Woody Allen movie/mocumentary about a man who suffers a sort of split personalty disorder. It was funny, but not on the top of my list for best Woody Allen movies. I did manage to get some appliques done. By the end of the movie I was tired and my fingers were about to fall off! Time for bed!

Above is a snippet of my studio space or the corner I am shoved in that resides in the family room. My upstairs "Real" studio has yet to be worked on. I hope to move in at the end of the Summer, but I guess only time will tell! Right now I have so many projects going on that my work space is a disaster! Piles of fabric,ricrac and projects in various stages getting ready for the Fall/Holiday season. I hope to share some of my new surprises with you soon!

(above: Late night appliques)
Well I guess I should get that last cup of coffee, watch the end of CBS Sunday morning and get my rear in gear!
Happy Fathers day and Happy Sunday!
xoxoxo

I have been so behind in blog posting that my poor little blog has become beyond sad. I have been so busy as of late and finding the time is a pain. But I am trying :) Over the past weekend we had a little family outing. We packed up a lunch and headed to NYC for a day at the MNH! It was my Sons first visit (I still think he is a little young) I think he enjoyed it, but it was a long and tiring day. I thought I would share some snippets of my adventure!Here are some Buffalo! I can't tell you enough how much a love the diorama/ taxidermy exhibits at the MNH. They look so real you just want to touch the animals! So beautiful! There is so many animals and I took a load of pics. They even had a squid diorama!

Next on my list of favs was the woolly mammoth. I wish I could see one of these big boys a live. It must have been magnificent!
This hand carved boat is part of the Pacific islander exhibit. It was a truly amazing piece of craftsman ship! My Husband ogled it for 1/2 hour! It really was pretty amazing.

As luck would have it we went during there frogs from around the world exhibit. It only runs for a short time. It was pretty cool! I have never seen such an array of different frogs in my life! I had a few fav frogs, but this guy was one of a kind. He just had this stare. He kind of reminded me of Christopher Walken! Ha!

My surprisingly favorite exhibit (and my Sons favorite) was the rock and mineral wing. It was really amazing how some thing so beautiful and unusually happens so naturally.

So that was the end of our NYC little trip. The next day Sunday resulted in a hike in the woods that went terrible wrong! So it was kind of half a lovely weekend, half the weekend from hell.

Maybe this weekend will be more relaxing!

xoxoxo

Well its Wednesday! Thank goodness! It has been a long week and past weekend filled with family, sewing, yard work, visits to the dentist, cooking and trips to the PO. Pheew I think I just broke a sweat writing about it! I have added some new little pips to my shop like this little guy! So welcome Chatty Bear and visit in the shop!

I am trying really hard to get back in the swing of things (including my neglected blog) and hope to be back in full swing next week. I have been kicking around the notion to start a recipe day with special allergy sensitive menus (for all you allergic fellows).

Ok. I am off to visit the Post lady again (her name is Shirley and she is one awesome lady)!

Ok I know its Tuesday and your probably looking for a DIY project....or how about a quick and easy Summer recipe!

Yummy roasted vine ripe tomatoes

What you need:

4-6 vine ripe tomatoes

Coarse sea salt

Fresh oregano

Olive oil

*

Cut tomatoes in 1/4inch slices. Place in one layer on a oiled foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and oregano. Now kind of shake some olive oil on top of them. Place in a 325 degree oven for 2 hours. Once cooled you can pack them in an air tight container and keep for up to 1 week! So yummy!

These are perfect as a side, in salad, over pasta, in a sandwich or just a snack!

So I am still working on my house, and sewing up a storm. I need to get outside today and do some gardening. Plus the fresh air would do me good! Over the weekend I did a custom order for a loyal (and always sweet) customer. I think it came out super cute! I am even considering making them for the shop! What do you think?
Well off I go to get dressed ( yes, dressed. That is a perk of working from home) and tend to my wee-little garden.
Maybe I will share some garden pics in the future :)
Cheers!

what have I been up to....

Well to tell you the truth ever sense I got back from Disney I have been at full capacity! I have been painting and fixing my house, playing with my Son, and every other second in between I am sewing. It has been non-stop! I am a bit tired but I plan on riding this energy wave as long as I can. I decide to show some (work in progress) pictures of what has been happening. This is my living room. It was a weird baby poo mustard before, with burgundy molding :(

Now it is a fern green with a mix of dark brown and original wood molding!

This is just one finished corner that I am so proud of! I get an idea in my head and I search for stuff to make the idea come true. I wanted a black bookcase, with deer, a globe, and some of my most cherished books. I think the vision has been achieved! Right at this moment I am in love with this corner. Hopefully I can pull off sprucing up the rest of the house!
Whats on those shelves...
1. Painting by PaintBox
2. Early female womb sculpture from my college years
3. Vintage books (old man in the sea, Poe, and early school books) found over the past 10 years
4. Vintage Brownie camera from my collection
5. Vintage Globe found at an auction
6. Vintage Buck and Doe from an auction
7. Vintage frame holding my Red Cross pin collection
8.Old blood letting kit, Victorian photo album housing my antique photo collection, and an early Dictionary.

Hello! Well I am back and I survived Disney and the heat. Actually I was more afraid of the plane ride then anything else. But now I am over it and can move on with my life (is that enough drama for you). So this week I bring back DIY Tuesday! I decided on a project that is a vintage project, but perfect for the trends of today! With all the faux bois and bark craze what could be a better project than a wood collection!
I always enjoy museum look home decor don't you! So slip on some hiking shoes and head for the trails! Gather up some branches or chunks of wood. I would keep the Branch diameter down to about 2 inches (this way they can fit on a shelf). Keep your branches in a dry place, making sure to get rid of any excess moisture. Cut the bottom and top off branch to make them flat for standing. Now you can saw out a 45 degree angle chunk to reveal the wood grain. You can either leave the wood exposed or cover it with a poly sealant. Each piece of wood (preferably from different trees) you can now label with the specimens name. You can either glue these labels on or pin them. I made some simple labels (below) so feel free to use them or make your own. This project literally needs no artistic or crafty talent. Its simple, fresh, and gosh dare I say educational!
xoxoxoxo

This week will consist of quick post here and there. I am getting myself and my family ready for a week long vacation. eek! So next week there will be no DIY Tuesday, but it will resume the next after.

I wanted to share with you an amazing artist name Kari Herer. She is a photographer and an awesome one at that! Her shop is filled with amazing and soft photographs of all types of flowers and odds n ends. But what I find the most striking of all is her use of magnolia leaves to make beetles!

I have to say I was pretty much blown away by how utterly beautiful these are! I am sort of a freak when it comes to beetles, but really these are amazing! So stop on over to her Etsy shop and pic up a print!

xoxox

Hello my sweets! This week I found a truly lovely tutorial on making those cute little (or big) tomato style pincushions. The instructions are brought to you by the fabulous The Purl Bee .

If you are not familiar, The Purl Bee is the blog by the Owners of Purl Soho! Purl Soho is an amazing fabric and notions shop in NYC! This shop is beyond yummy for the fabric addict! So check out the shop and the tutorial and make yourself or your Mom a sweet as can be little cushion.

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I will try to post as much as I can this week. My family and I are soon to be off on a vacation. It will be my first time on ..dare I say it.. an airplane! So I am a tad bit on the jittery side.

wish me luck :)

shhh....

I am completely obsessed with the Beales. I had never heard of them until about 8 years ago or so. I read an article about them and Jackie Kennedy. I found the whole thing very intriguing. I read a little bit about them, and then life push the Beales to the back of my brain. One day while searching on netflix a couple of years ago I stumbled upon Grey Gardens the documentary. I new I must see this.

After watching this stunning piece of work I realized why I was so fascinated by these 2 women. They reminded me of my family. This may seem strange to people but my Grandmother was a shut in of sorts. She lived in a large old house that was falling down around her. She never worked a day in her life and seemed to push away the 21st century. This week the New York times has some wonderful photos from the Beales house. To most this may be shocking. To me it brings back memories.

Sunny day...

The last couple of weeks I have been busy like a bee. I had tons of ideas for a new Spring line of casual and formal clutches. I am really loving how they are turning out! I had to put a couple of projects on hold because unfortunately I hurt my wrist. Trying to sew with a arm brace is kind of tough. Anyway, here is one of my clutches! This one is called "The Dreamer" . All of the bags in this line will be made entirely out of vintage fabrics.

(below) Here is another bag, yet to be listed in the shop. I love this little guy! I wanted to keep him for myself! I will probably list it when I take better pics and come up with a name. I was so excited to find these vintage wooden handles and insert! I think it came out awesome!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! This weeks tutorial is "How to make a mini book". Now you can use any size paper you wish to make this little book. Actually you can make a big book this way too! I like to make these for my Son using plain old printer paper or scrap paper, but you can use prettier paper.

Mini book
Step 1 &2: Fold paper in half vertically. Now fold it again horizontally.
Step 3& 4: Fold paper again vertically. Now unfold paper until your back to step 2 . You should have a piece that is 2 sheets thick and has a cross fold crease in the middle. Using scissors only cut the bottom fold crease when holding the papers horizontally. (See diagram below, cut where thick bold black line is in 2nd diagram)
Step 5& 6: Unfold the paper entirely. It should look like diagram 5 below. Next Fold the paper in half horizontally with open cut in the center. Hold onto each side and push toward the center. This should push open the cut you made earlier and make a diamond box. Now you should be able to see your mini book coming to life! You can use a glue stick to glue the center pages together.

Perfecto! Now you are ready to start drawing and writing in your mini book! Some wonderful ideas are making the spine out of cute fabric, or laminating the pages. You can even do this to make many pages and make your own flip book!

Well now I must run off and do my daily list of chores. It looks like it may be a beautiful sunny day today, maybe a good day for a walk!

xoxo