116 days till christmas....

As of right now there is only 4 months, 116 days, 3 hours and 38 minutes left till Christmas! Which means I need to get on the ball and start on my Christmas presents for this year.

We have a big family so I like starting early because that gives me enough time to make stuff for everyone on my list.

Here is a little peak of what I made over the weekend for someone.



This was actually pretty easy to do. I just ordered the watch face here and than added beads to make the band. My mother in law had an amazing assortment of beads which she kindly let me use. (Thanks Again!!!) This was pretty fun and relaxing to do. Now I just need to sew up a cute little baggy to store the watch in.

I have also started on this quilt that I am making for my DD.



I so love the vintage fabric I found at Nancy's. Can you believe it was in the discount area! They only had 1 1/2 yrad left and I am so glad I found it!

Is it just me or has anyone else started on their Christmas projects?

Sushi

So for the last couple of weeks my husband and I have been craving sushi but not just any sushi, we have been craving our favorite, The Lisa Lisa Roll. We have been searching for places that had the Lisa Lisa Roll here in town and we found two places that we love but this could get pretty expensive after awhile so tonight my husband and I attempted to make the Lisa Lisa Roll for dinner.

So what make the Lisa Lisa Roll so good? Well here is what's in it...



Shrimp tempura, avocado, cream cheese w/ crunch. Served w/ eel sauce.

It didn't really look anything like it. We couldn't make the crunch part exactly right. It was a bit messy and it fell apart as we tried eating it but boy did it taste good!! We'll try again tomorrow.

My first tutu!

I have always wanted to make a tutu for Juliana for so long and was just nervous about it not turning out right. But when I saw that Joann's was having there huge sale on tutu fabric (can't think of the name right now, it is 11pm!) a few months ago I bought a lot of it ( in a lot of different colors). I figured it is only 49 cents a yard (I think?) and if I mess up it is only a couple of dollar mistake. So this past weekend I gave it a go and this is what I came up with.





What do you think?

I found a sash I bought a few years ago that was used to tie curtains together and I hardly ever used it and instead of putting it back into the drawer where it will collect dust or what ever, I thought I would use this as a waist band for Juliana's tutu. I think it came out cute.



Also be sure to visit Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on today!

A new shirt for Jules

So a couple of weeks ago Joann's had a sale on McCall patterns for $1.99. I just could not pass this up and so I grabbed a few patterns. This pattern I used to make this shirt was McCall's M5458. This was actually simple to make. I love the style of this pattern.

It was a bit to wide in the middle so I decided I wanted to gather it with an elastic. I sewed a piece of fabric around the inner middle of the shirt and then slide the elastic inside so that way it would be more comfortable to wear for Juliana. And it looks more finished and cute as well.



I think this would look good wearing with tights or a pair of jeans. This fits a size 3 so I am going to have to wait to see Juliana wearing it.

Red Polka Dot peasant shirt

This week I wanted to learn how to sew with elastic thread. After watching this video on Martha Stewart website that featured one of my favorite designer Heather Ross, I saw how easy it was and I decided that I would give it a go. I used this technique on the sleeves of this shirt.



I also made a skirt to go with the top. I used McCall's M5696.

So here is another technique I learned this week! It fits a 3 year old so Juliana is going to have to wait to wear this one.

Watermelon cooler

One way to beat the heat here in Vegas is to drink a nice tall glass of watermelon cooler. I saw this on Weekend magazine, September 2006 issue and tried it the other day. Boy was it delicious! It also smelled so sweet as I was drinking it. All you need is some juicy watermelon....



and this recipe....



So I didn't exactly follow this recipe. All I had was watermelon, water, sugar (I sub. with Splenda) and lemon (I had no lime). I just added a handful of ice in the blender and everything else I had and blended everything up. It turned out great! Maybe I will follow the recipe next time.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer with this drink!

Refashioned Stripped shirt

Here is another refashion shirt that I created from my husbands stash that was going to the thrift store.



It was a simple dress to make. Here is what I did.



I guess you can call this the reversible refashion shirt. You can wear it with the buttons in the front...



or you can go for the chic look and wear it with the buttons on the back along with tieing the bow in the back as well...



Either way, I think it works.

I guess my daughter had enough of the camera for the day.

Refashioned Shirt

A few months ago we did our spring cleaning and my husband had a bunch of shirts that he was going to throughout. Well, I got a hold of them and thought that maybe I can do something with this but didn't know what.

Then I saw these two tutorials on remaking clothes from men's shirts. This dress was way cute. Then I saw these pants and thought this was also way cute and creative way to use the sleeves. So I used both methods and created this ensemble using this shirt.







My husband was way impressed and happy to contribute to his daughter's wardrobe.

Just daydreaming.....

If I had my very own sewing/craft room I think I know how I would like to decorate it. It would look something like this.



I mean look at that wall of frames.



and that couch!

I recently discovered Anna Maria's blog and fell in love with her style, and her booth! Don't you think this would be a fun place to create? What do you think?

... and I think I would add these chairs (taken from her last year's booth) too while I'm at it.

Whats for Dinner?

Peaches are in season! I love peaches. Now you can get them on sale just about anywhere! So I grabbed a bunch and went home grilled them up and served them with grilled chicken and steam veggies. Ooooooo, heaven! Its so simple and soooooo delish!

Its not all about sewing around here you know. A girls gotta eat too.



Now for dessert... more grilled peaches! Just add them to a sandwich bar and YUMMY!

Pay It Forward

I stumbled upon this posting about this awesome giveaway, aka Random Gifts to Total Strangers. I have decided to participate! And now you can play too:

Do I have five readers?

Here's how it works:

The first five people to leave a comment on this post will get something from me. But in return, you have to do the same thing on your blog and make something for five other people. The details are as follows, and if you want to play, copy the following onto your blog and leave me a post:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you. But you may be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely be sewing/craft related.
2. What I send will be made just for you, with love, by my own hands. See, I can go to your blog and read your posts and a really great idea will pop into my pretty little head.
3. I promise I will complete all 5 gifts this year - 2009.
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world, that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.
Perhaps you'll send it forward to someone who will absolutely love it.
5. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
6. Send your mailing address - after I contact you to confirm.
Everyone is welcome. I guarantee that you will receive something from me providing you do the same for 5 other people in your blog post.

Are you game? Let's do this! I will be anxiously awaiting each of your fabulous comments! I can't wait to get started!! I can't wait to send you what I hope you'll consider a nice surprise!!!!!!!!!

The Fashion District in LA

Last week I escaped the hot dry heat here in Vegas and headed to beautiful sunny So Cal to visit family. I had a wonderful time! I have an Aunt there who is an amazing seamstress. She once whipped up a beautiful wedding dress along with bridesmaid dresses in a week! She is truly amazing! While I was there she taught me some sewing techniques that helped. She also took me shopping at the Fashion District in LA. She knows what stores has the best deals and is a mean bargain shopper too. I was just astounded at all the goodies I got for super cheap!






Can you believe I paid 25 cents for invisible zippers! Also a HUGE roll of trim for $3.00! And pretty colored thread for 25 cents each! When can I go back!!!!

I love the Fashion district in LA!

Here are some of my goodies.






My Aunt was also nice enough to give me some of her colorful threads. Score!