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A few of the things that I’ve been up to lately…

Here’s my latest custom purse, made for a friend’s wedding…as a gift to her maid of honor (I hope that maid of honor doesn’t happen to come across this post before receiving her gift!) The blue matches the bridesmaid dresses.

And yes, I also made the little checkbook wallet, but I decided to keep that one for myself!

I’ve also been trying to get my home more organized from cleaning to cooking. I accidentally stumbled upon a great idea for organizing bathroom necessities. Honestly, I was at a get together with friends and went to use the washroom…that’s when I noticed their cabinet was left partially open and I could see her organizational skills and I was inspired! Perhaps many of you have already discovered this method, but it’s new to me!

I know it may not look terribly fabulous, but keep in mind it is behind a closet door and now everything (or mostly everything) has it's own place. From top to bottom, I've categorized each drawer (with masking tape-I suppose a label maker might help) as follows: Tooth care, Shaving/Nail Care/Feet, Aloe/Sunblock, Hair Products, Soap/Lotion, and Feminine Products. This has solved the problem of searching through the usual standing pile of bottles and whatnot all lined up on the shelves! Now I don't need to move every thing over just to get one item on the back of the shelf! I bought the drawers at Walmart for around $7 each.

Other Blogs!

Another way I've been inspired to get more organized has been by reading this blog...Beautiful Work. A group of wives/mothers have some wonderful household tips, recipes, etc. And though I'm not a mom yet, I'm sure I'll benefit from some of their suggestions when I do have my own kids! (I've noticed they they have also used the plastic-drawer method for organizing bathroom stuff too...I guess I am a bit behind on these organizational skills!)

Random cleaning tip for the day (from a friend at church)

Bring a household cleaning sponge or scrubber into the shower with you...It'll only take a few seconds to wipe down the corners of the tub, etc and you're already in there anyways! Might as well take a few more moments to do a quick clean!

Future Endeavors

I'd love to try some stamp making some day (hopefully in the near future). I found this video on a blog I enjoy... Geninne's Art Blog. I love her work :-)

If anyone has any stamp making tips, please tell me!

My Latest WIP's

A few of my works in progress...small crocheted handbags (the middle one is actually more of an olive green but it turned out tan-looking in the lighting).


And then we have the baby blanket I'm working on...this one is wonderfully soft, fuzzy and cuddly! Eventually I will probably be adding a light blue border to it. (As you can see, these pictures are from the very beginning of the project...looks like it's supposed to be a scarf! Though it would make a wonderfully warm scarf...)

Custom Orders!

Lately I've had a few custom orders requested, which is so wonderful! Honestly, I love having custom orders...then I know EXACTLY what the customer wants, rather than making something and hoping that someday it will have a home!

I thought I'd share a few of my recent orders:

Custom Order # 1 I had a request for the Dusty Blue Shawl to be made in a chocolate brown. What a beautiful, rich color!


Unfortunately I don't have a full picture of the shawl, so here's the blue one for color comparison.


Custom Order #2 A friend asked for a book tote for grad school, no zipper, no pockets, nice and large for all her books and I totally wish I were back in school again so I could make myself a fun book bag!! The pictures make it look small, but it measure about 13 inches tall, and 15 wide. It also has a reinforced bottom that measures about 4 inches wide.






Custom Order #3 This one you've already seen in an earlier post, but I don't want to leave it out! The monkey Amigurumi! A friend originally ordered him as a gift for someone, but we'll see...she may keep him for herself! :)

The Traveling Tote

I apologize for my absence lately. This summer has just flown by!! I suppose I should do my best to bring you up to date on my crafting lately...

The first project I'll show you is a custom tote I made for friend. I was SO excited to make this bag for her! She's going to be teaching little kids in the Bahamas for a year and needed a teacher bag for all her books and projects, so after picking out fabric and sketching out the design, this is what we came up with!

It's actually a pretty large tote, though at the same time it didn't turn out ridiculously large, so that's good! :) It has plenty of room for books and teacher supplies, very sturdy and durable. She can even use it as a beach bag, lots of room for towels and sunscreen!

This is the backside view, though honestly, I think this could be used as the front side too! Can you tell that it has a huge exterior pocket? I thought that would be a nice addition for any random papers, projects, etc.



The interior fabric she picked is just great! Perfect for the Bahamas!

And a little removable reinforcement for the bottom.


Her tote zips closed, stands about 14" tall and has 6 interior pockets.
It was so fun to see her excitement once it was finished!




And once again, I wanted to keep this one after it was finished! But I'm more excited that she gets to use it in the Bahamas! Maybe she will bring me some business from her Bahamian friends! ;)