MORE AVA ROSE TOTES!

Can't seem to get enough of these bags.  They are so much fun to make!

Ava Rose tote made with Hawaiian Print fabric

Ava Rose Tote made with Asian print

Ava Rose Tote made with zebra cotton print

You can find the pattern here.  Do you have a favorite pattern?

ENERGY BALLS

For some reason, I've been having a sweet tooth lately and it's been making me snack on things that I really shouldn't be.  Someone turned me on to some tastey "energy balls" and since then have been looking for a recipe that can satisfy my sweet tooth and at the same time have some healthy benefits for someone my age (ahem.....forty-something....).  Here's one I found that is easy AND my family loves it, too!

SIMPLE AND EASY ENERGY BALLS

1.  Put the following ingredients in a large bowl:  1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup peanut (or almond) butter, 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips, 1/2 cup ground flaxseed, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1 tsp vanilla.

2.  Mix ingredients well.

3.  Form into balls and store in an airtight container in the refrig.  I used a small ice cream scooper to make my balls.

Doesn't that sound easy?  Great for the on-the-go working parent and a healthy snack for any student.  I'll be going to a picnic this weekend and will pack a bunch of these with me to share.

You can also add coconut flakes and chopped almonds.  Of course, use low fat and organic as much as they are available in your area.

Have you had energy balls before?

AVA ROSE TOTES, AGAIN!

Here are a two more pictures of the Ava Rose Totes as previously posted here.  It's amazing how productive and accomplished one can feel after some "sewing therapy".

Ava Rose Tote pattern by Artsy-Crafty Babe

The tote is made with vintage Hawaiian print fabric that is 100% pre-washed cotton.  I tried to center the lovely hula gal in the front's middle.  The interior is burgundy and am quite pleased how it turned out.

And here's another tote:

Ava Rose Tote pattern by Artsy-Crafty Babe

This lovely tote is made w/upholstery fabric and is very sturdy!   It has a wooden button closure and a contrasting cotton interior.  Yes, I have an early start for Xmas.  Trying  move my fabric stash so I can buy more (wink).

What do you do for your own zen therapy?

BACK TO SCHOOL BAG

Remember this BACK TO SCHOOL BAG that was posted sometime ago.  Well, my daughter's friends were admiring this bag and so I thought it was time to make more.  My daughter actually had some hands-on time with these.  With the new craze of Marvel Comics, we found some very cute fabric prints and finished these two:

Marvel Comics cross over sling bag

Marvel Comics cross over sling bag

The Pattern is from KWIK SEW #3749. 

Creating things w/my kids is so priceless!  I hope one day they can take our time spend creating and making more things on their own.

What have you created lately?

AVA ROSE TOTE

G'morning!  I realize it's been awhile since my last post but I've been busy making this Artsy-Crafty Babe's Ava Rose Tote.  I first learned of this tote when I saw it here on flickr.com.  I placed my order for the pattern at Artsy-Crafty Babe's website and as soon as it was received, I made the first trial run tote.  It has since survived carrying bottles of water, been to various sports games, few vacations and it still stands as good as new.  There's plenty of room for really anything you could think of.  I just luv the silhouette and the size.  Here's the most recent Ava Rose Tote I made for my sister as she specifically wanted a black/white tote.

Ava Rose Tote by Artsy-Crafty Babe

I modified it to have magnetic closure versus a button closure (you can barely see it above the red interior pocket):

And added a key holder, too.  I saw this in a few fancy bags in a department store and thought it was such a great idea and started making these in all project bags:
 

And of course, I sewed on my label just to see what kind of feedback will come my way.

My motto this year is to "RID OF THE CLUTTER" which specifically is targeted towards my ridiculous fabric stash.  As each project is done, I feel a sense of accomplishment that a little bit of room was made in our little humble storage shed and another project is complete!

Did you give yourself a motto to follow this year?

T-SHIRT BLANKET

Good morning!  Here's a quick post for today.  I finally finished my son's memory blanket so he can take it with him to school in a few weeks.  It is made out of collected treasured T's he purchased and/or rec'd as gifts and at sports camps in the past few years.  He'll be traveling to another state so making this blanket was very important to me as it will ease the home sick blues most freshmen go thru their first year away from home. 

I've seen many T-shirt projects but I have such a difficult time machine quilting large blankets and quilts on my little sewing machine.  When I cam accross this blog called Maiden Jane, she had a pattern that didn't call for machine quilting and knew it was right up my alley.  The blanket was finished in one week, just in time to pack it up and get it ready for traveling. My family can now have the dining table and living room back! 

What treasured items to you collect?

Sew Easy Simplicity 1995

It's been a rough few days.  So many things to do in such little time and my procastination has gotten the best of me.  There comes a time when I know I need to somewhat slow down and unwind, or as the saying goes, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES....Well, I did,...slow down and unwind that is.  I purchased this pattern sometime ago after seeing this beautiful bag on flicker:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritafazfita/4905450248/in/faves-37483854@N04/

The Patterns is a Sew Easy Simplicity 1995

 

 

I interfaced both the front/back and the lining with 906F Pellon to give it strength and structure.  This sewing project gave me the much needed time to slow down a bit.  It took me just a few hours and not only do I have a new bag but my focus back.



 

 

I even had a spare kanzashi flower to pin as an accessory. 

 

This was a long over-due sewing threrapy session.  I feel so much better now.

 

What do you do to unwind?

HELLO AND A NEW BAG!

Oh my, where have the time gone?  Guess it's true for the saying, "Time flies when you're having fun!".  It's been little over a year since my last post.  Family time took precedent over blogging and know everyone will agree.   During my blogging absence my curiosity in photography resurfaced and I've been getting familiar with my camera.  It's amazing how a camera can capture precious moments and in today's digital world, photo editing is a whole new beast in itself. 

My family will be doing a little bit of travel this summer and my daughter's been mentioning for a new bag.  While doing a some errands just a few days ago, we had some time to browse the local fabric discount store.  Having recently watched THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, she saw a few Batman fabrics and after contemplating over a handful of options, she chose a really cute MARVEL COMIC print and carefully picked an interior of blue.  After pre-washing, cutting, ironing,interfacing, and sewing, her bag was ready in a day and she loves it!  Her BFF's also hinted that they'd LUV a bag, too so I have a feeling someone will be busy making a few Christmas handmades for her BFF's.

This bag is from KWIK SEW 3749.  A fairly easy pattern for me which I luv.  We added interior pockets for her itouch and writing utensils.  Looks like she's ready to do some traveling!  And so am I!

Oh, here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on....

Are you traveling this summer?

FATHERS DAY APPLE CRISP AND LO MEIN

Sunday, we spent Father's Day at home.  We finally had a day w/out having a schedule and that is always a treat for us.  In the morning everyone pitched in and did a few chores and by mid-day, my husband got to relax and watch the NBA finals....Heat versus Thunder  (go Thunder!). 

As every Father's Day and his birthday, my husband always requests for steak

Seasoned beef ready for the grill!

and grilled veggies

Gettin' ready the veggies

so that was a given for his Father's Day menu.  My daughter pitched in with her Chicken Lo Mein (for recipe click here).  

We opted to leave the chicken out of the noodle dish and make it more of a vegetable dish so we added more veggies instead.  She substituted the angle hair pasta and used spaghetti instead since that's what we had on hand.  My son purchased a bunch of apples from the local wholesale store so he pitched in with the Apple Crisp (for recipe, click here) dessert. 

Fresh Apple Crisp with brown sugar/oatmeal topping

A scoop of macadamia nut ice cream topped with whipped cream on the warm apple crisp was the icing on the cake for the evening.

Hope you had an enjoyable Father's Day.  There are those who do the double duty as a single parent 365/24/7, and there are those who cares for children as if they were their very own.  Some of us were blessed to have fathers from the day we were born and care for us in every way all parents should, and for that I am extremely grateful.  In anycase I hope everyone had a chance to experience a real dad, even if it was only for a little time.

“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.” -Anne Geddes

Did you have a special menu for that special dad today?

T-Shirt Bag

There are so many way to re-cycle and up-cycle T-shirts.  personally think its an awesome way to remember the memories they come with.  Most of my T's comes from places I've visited, concerts I've been to, favorite logos, (to name a few) and when I look at them, they just bring back happy times w/my favorite people!  Well, the T-shirt blankets have been so much fun do to for my kids.  This time, I'd like to do something for ME!  Let's see....There's always a NEED for one more bag, right gals?  Thank goodness for this blog called A Very Purple Person, there's an awesome tutorial for a reversible bag.  You can see more inspiration of her reversible bag here on flickr.  So, here are my version of the reversible bags using interfaced T-shirts:

T-shirt tote #1

This one is a beach bag:

T-Shirt Tote #2

This one's my fave!  It came from a family owned surf shop in a sleepy little town on the Big Island of Hawaii.  To my surprise, when I used this tote, I had a lot of compliments and interest! 

T-Shirt #3

Interior pockets were added and the pattern was adjust slightly making it a few inches longer and wider.  Another wonderful bag from a wonder tutorial!

Any other suggestions for up-cycling/re-cycling T's?

BABY BOOTIES

A friend is expecting a baby girl...how exciting is that?!  Oh baby things are so small, so cute, so adorable but can be so expensive.  I was motivated to make a baby gift  that would WOW the mom and give myself another challenge to find that perfect gift to make.  Oh the wonderful world of the world wide web, I found the cutest bootie pattern at I Think Sew's website here.  Honestly, I had the hardest time selecting just one pattern because they are all amazingly adorable!  So, to make a long story short, this is the end result of my first ever bootie project:

Suede pink/black cheetah print with zebra faux fur baby booties and a matching gift bag

Black faux leather with animal print fleece baby booties and a matching gift bag

I couldn't stop with those two cuties...had to make just one more set:

Fagitues baby booties with matching gift bag

Had to give this little one his own onesie, too!

So, let me take this moment and give a few credits....you can find the adorable and oh-so-easy to make gift bag tutorial here at In Color Order's blog and the odorable onesie inspiration came from this blog.  Thank goodness for talent bloggers out there who unselfishly share their ideas with people like me....THANK YOU! 

Wait, got one more to show you....this was a special order and I was honored to make it for "Chaun" that has a friend expecting:

Faux zebra fur with pink trim baby booties and matching gift bag

So excited to know these little thingies will soon have an owner.

Hmmm, wouldn't these look cute on an adult, like say....ME?  Oh, oh, I just got a thought (again)...Maybe mama will want a matching pair for herself.  What do you think?

MAXI SKIRT

Oh how I love maxi dresses and maxi skirts!  It seems to be the hottest new trend this summer.  They seem so simple and elegant.  I've been wanting to make a summer maxi for myself but shopping choices are so limited in my area.  There was the cutest maxi skirt in a boutique window but, of course, they didn't have my size.  Luckily, to my surprise, I found a wonderful tutorial from Jaime Christina of Pretty Ditty here.  To make things even better, the local "Discount Fabric Warehouse" just rec'd a large shipment of assorted knits and there they were, rolls and rolls of "Ella Moss" labeled fabrics....I love Ella Moss.  I just can't afford to have an entire wardrobe of her collections.  After my purchases of "a yard of this, a few yards of that,...."My "Ella Moss" striped knits came home with me.

After about two hours (this includes taping newspapers together to make out the pattern), I end up with my very own Ella Moss copy cat skirt:

I LOVE IT!  My new summer maxi needs a quick steaming and it's ready to go to town!  Oh, I added a waist band following this tutorial. 

Thank you tutorial world for the inspirations! 

What's on your "make me this summer" list?

T-SHIRT QUILT, MEMORY QUILT

A friend of mine wanted to give her high school graduating son a memory quilt that he can reminisce through his childhood years.  Not having enough confidence to complete the quilt, I gladly offered to make it for her (even though I had all the confidence in the world she could have accomplished this task).  You see, she's visited a few times and along with a few other gals, we spent some time crafting and learning how to sew and she wanted to make this for her son.  Unfortunately, her schedule got a "tid-bit" hectic as graduation day approached and really, there wasn't enough time that would allow her to finished the quilt as scheduled.  Lucky for me, she did all the cutting and interfacing.  Personally, I think that is the hardest part of it all!  She dropped off the perfectly cut T-'s and together, we managed to finish it in the nick of time...one week before graduation day which  make it possible to have the blank block that was reserved for signatures from his family, teachers and friends to be filled in.....Congratulations "Mr. K"!  Hope you enjoy your quilt in the years ahead and wish you all the happiness and success in the world!

I found my inspiration on T-shirt/memory quilts a few years ago while watching HGTV's Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson.  I was actually watching something else and left the television on.  When I returned to the living room, Alex Anderson had a Special Guest talking about recycling out-grown apparel to quilts.  This is where I also learned about rag quilst which is how "Mr. K's" quilt was constructed.  The fringes will become more soft and "fluffy" as it is used and washed.

Of course as I was making the rag T-shirt quilt, I remembered a bin of T-shirt squares that was prepped a few years ago for my son.  With a few hours here and there on my good old faithful Jan (my Janome sewing machine), wallah, it got completed:

Oh the memories of each block....

If these blocks could talk, what would they say? 

Kalaeiki baseball camp for youths that pushed the purpose of academics and good sportsmanship:

 

A football T from my talented neighbor who played football for the local high school (#7) and the World Cup when it was in San Francisco:

Oh, this was a trip to a neighboring island and we tried the new burger joint with the kiddos:

A restaurant at I think, Newport Beach, Cali a few years back...they had delish food! 

Uncle's VW shop....

For the second quilt, I made it differently from the traditional quilt where there's a backing, batting and then the top pieces.  Instead with right sides together, I sewed the top piece with a 1/4" seam around the edges onto fleece leaving a gap about 8" wide for turning.  Once the corners were clipped, the quilt was turned and the gap was hand-sewn closed.  This method seemed much easier for me.  Machine quilting a large piece on a traditional table-top sewing machine is not my cup of tea so this seemed to be the route to take until I can "perfect" my quilting techniques.

Do you have a sentimental item that takes you back through the years?

Silhouette sd

Last Christmas, I treated myself to a silhouette sd as an early gift to myself.  It makes the world of crafting so much more easier for me which motivates me to keep creating personalized gifts for others.  As in my last post,   I mentioned about fun gifts that was created with the silhouette sd die cutter. 

First are T-shirts for sisters..."Tita" in Hawaii is a word used as "sister".  So, here's LITTLE TITA's and BIG TITA's matching T-shirts:

Two other gifts made with the silhouette sd cutter using store bought ready made aprons:

The silhouette's website provides easy to follow tutorials.  This is the tutorial that I used which was very easy to follow. 

Have you had the opportunity to make home made gifts, lately?

Practical Bag

One of the other projects I had a chance to make this year for Christmas is Grand Rivival's Practical Bag.  It is another one of those projects that can be done really fast.  It has just two pattern pieces and this is another great project for any beginner. 

Grand Revival's Practical Bag, denim exterior, cotton interior w/removable kanzashi flower pin made from the same fabric as the lining. 

Grand Revival's Practical Bag, faux leather exterior, plaid fabric interior w/removable kanzashi flower made from same fabric as the lining.  I call this my "wanna be Burberry" bag.

Grand Revival's Practical Bag, home decor exterior fabric with cotton interior lining, removable kanzashi floral pin decor made from same interior lining fabric

Two things that were added/modified from the original pattern and instructions was an interior pocket and magnectic closure.  Wait, I'm not done yet.  Stay tuned and I'll show you another fun gift I had the opportunity to make this year.  Hint:  My Silhouette sd "toy" Santa gave me last year!