Swimming & Embroidery

Sunday sure was warm, it was definitely a swimming day. The kids are playing catch with a small water ball.


I finally got back to some embroidery this weekend. It's been awhile since I've picked up this sampler. I did a few flowers and some swirls.

Weekends sure go by fast, can't believe it's a new week again.

A Great Find At Craft Depot

I did my usual Friday run to Craft Depot today. Lana dropped by this afternoon and we went together. We realized that the beginning of summer is a great time to go, cuz many of the schools drop off used supplies from the school year (e.g. water color paints, brushes, chalks, crayons, etc.). Today I came across one of my best finds ever - a tiny box of vintage Dennison gummed labels in an adorable box for only $.50. I just love them.

I also wanted to show you my other latest purchases. Because of my back ache, I've been worried about carrying my laptop back and forth to work, so I purchased a rolling cart. I know - what a nerd - but carrying a laptop for 13 city blocks one way gets really heavy. So I knew I had to do something. I found this cute cooler that I'm using to carry my laptop back and forth - not your typical rolling cart huh?

Tomorrow morning, we're going to see Toy Story 3 in Imax - we can't wait.

New Look for The Blog

I thought I'd try one of the new templates out for my blog. Lighter color for summer. What do you think - black or pink?

Finally, my back is better - phew! I can't believe what a difference just a week makes. No more pills - yeah! I'm going to stay off of high heels and take a break from running - just to make sure I'm completely healed. I'm looking forward to our family summer vacation in just a couple weeks - I'm so ready for some fun & sun!

Seam Binding - Crinkled & Dyed

Another Connie Govea Stuart inspired project for today, crinkling and dying seam binding. The last time CGS came over, she brought over a pile of yummy crinkle dyed seam binding. I've been thinking about making some ever since. I went and bought some white seam binding from etsy and used tiny rubber bands from my daughter's hair accessories. Rachel helped with this project. We folded up one yard strips of seam binding into tiny bundles. Then using Easter egg dyes, we dipped the tiny bundles into various colors. It was a fast and fun project. These will be so great to use.
Here are the bundles, ready for the dye.

Bundles all dyed and waiting to be dried.

Here's how they turned out - I love them!

To celebrate Father's Day, we had lunch in SF's Japan Town - it's a treat for all of us. We love the ramen restaurant and the book store there. I found a great felt craft book with some cute ideas - that I can't wait to try. The only problem is that the instructions are all in Japanese.


We ate at home for dinner. For dessert, the kids made Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes...



Looks just like the picture.

And they were so delicious.
On another note, my back is feeling better. I able to be up and about much longer than before. I'm not having to take as much meds either. I should be able to go back to work tomorrow - after being off for a week trying to recover.

New Crafting Projects

This week I received a new kit from Charlotte Lyons, a "Folding Paper Tray". She sent instructions and a variety of papers/images to use. I couldn't wait to make it. I could of used the papers that she sent, but I was anxious to use this new paper line that Connie Govea Stuart told me about; K&Company's Olivia Rose. Here's how it came out...
When you untie the sides it can lie flat for storing.


The next project I worked on this weekend was PaperClay. It was inspired by Connie Govea Stuart in some of her projects and also an article she had in Somerset Life. I used the Crayola Model Magic color bisque. I first molded a bunch of shapes and then stamped a images on them, then made button holes.

I can't wait to use these on some of my projects...thanks CGS for your inspiration.

Another Busy Weekend

On Thursday night, Rachel performed in her Spring Concert at school. She's there playing the violin in the front row. It was incredible to see so many talented kids. I played the violin too when I was in school - so very long ago.

Friday we had my Mother-in-law over to celebrate her 87th birthday. We had a simple dinner at home. This is the year that Chris (15yrs old) is taller then his grandmother.

Then Saturday we had a sister outing to the cemetery and some "Artful Play". Five of the six sisters (Lana is in Australia) got together to visit my mom and dad in the cemetery. My parents have a wonderful spot with a breathtaking view. We miss them so much.


After the cemetery, we did a quick stop at Craft Depot. I don't believe I've ever showed pictures of this place before, but it's definitely one of my favorite places to go to every week.



I always find some fun things to use for craft projects. My favorite find was a small perfume bottle that I used on our project today. Then it was back to my house for lunch and some "Artful Play". Frances brought over some yummy pasta and chicken. After that we moved onto the project of the day - some canvas art. We had inspiration from many people in the past: Lisa Super's class, CGS's class and an article from Somerset from Anni Schwabe.




Everyone's project came out great. It must be from all the classes we've taken - we've had some wonderful teachers.

The last couple of comments for the weekend aren't as positive. I've had a bad back ache all weekend. At some points I was even crawling on the floor in pain. It's probably been 18 years since I've had severe back aches like this before. I've been icing and heating my back and taking lots of ibuprofen - boy you sure take it for granted to be able to walk normal. We're also concerned that our old white mini-van might have taken it's last ride this weekend. We had to have it towed to the repair shop this weekend and it doesn't look good. We've had this car for more than 15 years - so many memories with it which makes it kind of sad. It's taken us many times to LA and Tahoe and everywhere in between. It's hard to imagine life with out old clunker.

Free Motion Sewing

I've been meaning to try free motion sewing again. Looking through the Sew Somerset magazine, I'm so inspired to make something. So today, I took out a small piece of muslin and did some swirls and loops. Then changed I the thread and tried some little flowers too.


I also ran to Craft depot today and picked up lots of good sewing supplies, which included some ribbon embroidery thread. I used a couple of colors to add some leaves and buds to my mini project. Not sure what I'll do with this little piece of fabric, but it was fun to make.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Weekend Fun

Rachel has been busy making her custom iphone/itouch cases for her friends. Here are some of her latest creations. She continues to amaze me - such an entrepreneur already.

This weekend was also Rachel's spring ballet recital at Holly Names College. She had a piece dancing to Shostakovich Waltz. It's so fun to see her performing on stage.

This is Rachel with her friend Maddie after the performance. The only time Rachel gets to wear a little makeup.

Sunday I went to the Alameda Pt. Flea Market with Frances. It was such a beautiful day - look at this view from this place. Diana was there with her friend Margie. We got to shop with Dee for awhile and look for old jewelry parts and other misc goodies. Maryl was there with Rocky but we never ran into them - too bad, but this place is so huge.

Here are the few things I found at the flea market.