Like A Breath Of Fresh Air.

Now lovelies, I did not mention it but I've been working with approximately 9 minutes of laptop battery life for longer than I can remember. My battery was recalled so I finally got a new one (free of charge. yay!) Working on the computer was a real hassle because the cheap replacement battery charger that I had just would not stay connected. So today with a new battery charger and a new battery I have 3 and a half hours of battery!!! That is 3 hours and 21 minutes more than I have had in at least 6 months!

I have my sewing machine out (we got a little table last week) and I am working on a new project. I switched from the Coats thread to the Mettler thread and now I am having stitch problems. If you have any suggestions, I could really use them.

This Amy Butler Vintage Backpack Tote is for an expectant mother who lives with her husband and adorable one year old in Jerusalem. I figured it would be nice to have a backpack with two little ones in tow. I am also planning to make her a matching head scarf and maybe some toys or blankets for the kids. We will see. The fabrics above are the outer main panels, lining and outer side panels of the bag. Hey Hugs! xox=vv.

February In Review.

Hello lovelies. Do you know that this place makes me nervous? I never know what to say or how to say it anymore. I feel overwhelmed and typically when that happens I procrastinate. I want to share with you, but I get scared. So, with that in mind I am going to attempt something slightly different. This month I am going to give you the review in several installments.

I took a lot of pictures today, but this is the only one that came out "share-worthy." This adorable little kitty is from the Lovely Lisa Solomon. As a matter of fact, February was full of AMAZING gifts from the most INCREDIBLE people. Definitely more photos coming soon. Hugs. xox=vv.

Oh Yes. There Have Been Many Projects This Month.

Have I shared them with my favorite lovelies yet? No. I am a naughty naughty blogger. I will try to add a few of them to the monthly update. In the meantime, I apologize.

I am sharing this with you though. You may or may not remember my painting for my grandfather last year. Well, this is technically it's companion piece as it is a birthday painting for my grandmother. They are similar in their sparse design, but not in their themes.

You may feel free to laugh at it heartily. All I ask is that you try not to laugh so so loudly that I can hear you all the way over here in Washington. Thank you lovelies. Hugs. xox=vv.

Our Car Done Broke.

Oh hello Lovelies! Have I mentioned lately that you are ALL on my mind? Well, you are! It is nice to have you on my mind because otherwise I would have to think about our transmission pump problem that is affecting the carburetor, the rear bumper and umm ... the glove compartment!! (?) Those are all car words right? Yes, well I am sure that they are all some how affected by whatever done broke on our car! Now Charlie is constantly barking his big scary dog bark that gets on my nerves, because He is off getting a rental car and left the dogger at home with me! Fun!!

This absolutely beautiful card is from the beautiful Miss Dawbis. It arrived today and absolutely made my heart sing! Isn't it incredibly perfect in every way? I agree, it is!! Thank you miss. You made a downhill day pick up and fly off into the clouds, where I now sit upon #9. There is a small similarity to a card that I am working on for her which I will show you later, however this card is a million times better! A million times better!!

In other news Etsy is still down, so I will share a tiny amount of goodies with you tomorrow and put them up for sale. It has been a loooong time since I have had anything available at Etsy. Also, a few more Shy Monster Sets will be on their way to Mahar DryGoods very soon! Yay!

Did I mention that I am thinking of you? Oh I did? Good! Hugs! xox=vv.

Let’s Bring It All Down A Little.

Okay, today we have to get serious (just this once I promise, until the next time I need to be serious, of course. I don’t know when that will be. Sometimes I am in a serious mood, sometimes I am not. It just depends. You know like nuts in your chocolate, one time one way , the next time the next. Ooooh... speaking of chocolate, have you tried this Haute chocolat for Vosges? Hmmm, yummy with strawberries... or rice. My point is that it is very good. Oh, wait ... my point. Did I get off track? I think I did. Where were we? Oh yeah...) really, we need to get serious! Sheesh! You guys! It’s tough to keep your attention for very long *wink*.

Yesterday was my Grandfather’s birthday !! He turned 80 and that is very exciting. My family celebrated with a huge party for him over the weekend. Sadly, because of our current non-local location, we could not join in the hoopla!

I wanted to make him something special though, so I painted this. There was a somewhat interesting disaster when my green tube of paint (which apparently was broken when I bought it, darn) leaked all over my bag and this canvas. It did come out the way I planned though. I hope it is masculine, but clean, simple and understated (I know that doesn’t necessarily make it good though). Above is the fixed-up and finished product.

Of course, I was going to just pick a random item to paint (you know old shoe, floss, whatever) but then I thought “why not paint something meaningful?” When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to wheel me around in his wheelbarrow to do the gardening! We both wore bandanas and I think I may have joined a gang. It was lots of fun! We always shared this special memory. Thanks for letting me share it with you too.

Okay, thats all, I promise. You may commence your wild revelry till the next time we need to get serious again!

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*

Getting My Monthly Fix.

This calendar year seems to have a theme thus far. Subscriptions. Lots of subscriptions. Most are very kind and generous gifts and I thought I would share their links with you. Gosh, isn’t that terribly generous of me. Well, tell ya what. If you want, I will read the magazines over the phone to you also. I will even describe the pictures. Now that really is generous!

Magazines:                       Kits & Samples:
Real Simple                      Jenni Bowlin (photo above)
Martha Stewart Living            The Sampler
Blueprint
Lucky
Domino
Juxtapoz
Smithsonian

*All of your sweet comments were saved to Haloscan at the time of original post*