Updates all Around

This is my new 2007 purse calender. I got it at Kinokuniya of course and it is adorable! And I am finally finished with my ornaments for the swap! I decided to do an "ornament" that can be used long after the holidays are over. My theme leaned more toward the holiday shopping aspect. It's a little tote bag sachet filled with lavender. It's about 3"x3" with little twill tape handles and a turquoise glass flower button.
And off they go....phew!
I'm finally feeling a little better. It must be the Turkey A La King I've been gorging myself on. My parents made it this year after Thanksgiving using the extra turkey they cooked. It's sort of like a thicker chicken soup but with turkey.

Well, I've got a lot to keep working on. More things for Elizabeth Paige Smith Atelier - there is a late night shopping night on Abbot-Kinney Dec. 8th. All the shops and galleries stay open really late and everyone comes out and shops and it just feels Christmassy. Then, the next day

The Kids Are Alright are also doing the late night shopping thing with all the shops in Sunset Junction. So I'm getting some stuff ready for them too! I'm excited, but feel a little frantic and hurried. I need to slow down, relax, and just do what I can do....and try to have some fun in the process!

Max and Sock Puppies

A scene from my sewing table............. A new find from Kinokuniya. It teaches you to make all these little stuffed animals using either one sock or one glove! The ISBN # is 4-579-11061-7. Hopefully I'll get around to it when I am feeling better.

Blogger Population - A Billion.....and One

I'm a bit under the weather today. A lot of sleeping, Zicam, Alka Seltzer, watching the Rob and Big marathon, and more sleeping. However, my Philip did start a blog today. I'm so excited! See it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just thought I'd post one of my favorite pics of Zero - it's from Thanksgiving a couple of years ago - before I was a blogger. Don't worry, she did'nt get the pie...

Night Owls

Last night, Phil and I were so tired when we came home from work. So, we decide to go to bed at 9:45pm. And we slept alllll the way til.............11:15pm. It was so weird - be both just could'nt sleep anymore. So we got up totally refreshed and I ended up having a very productive night. I made a large placemat type thing for our little eating table. It's coated with that clear iron on vinyl.I also made this tote bag which I am very excited about. This past weekend was my first experiment with Bubble Jet! It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I printed one of Phil's drawings onto some army green ripstop. This is one of my FAVORITE drawings he has ever done - it's one of the characters from Seven Samurai named Kambei Shimada. See the original here. I really like that it looks vintage and faded. We're going to work on some more stuff over this long weekend. He's really excited about it too!
I also tried experimenting with a new shape for my fabric dishes. A rectangular , sunglass holder type size and shape. I also practiced using my machine embroidery on some natural colored 1 1/4" twill tape, to wrap presents with or something.
Yeah, so we ended up going to sleep at around 3am. But today was kind of a short day for everyone, so I had a bit of a nap.
Anyways, I gotta finish up my ornaments for the swap this weekend among other things. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Night That Almost W A S N 'T..........

Well, it's been a fun weekend. My bro and I hit the Tenacious D concert last night. For the FULL eventful story (and the explanation to the title of this post) go here. I like to focus on the positive side of things. A.) The show was awesome and B.) My Green Tea Pocky did'nt get confiscated at the gate even though they searched my purse. It was definitely a memorable night of good times with my bro!

I am very late posting about all this. I woke up at 1pm today! I felt like I had been asleep for centuries. Phil and I headed to J-Town to get some presents and then I spent the rest of the night jumping between projects and cleaning up. I got a lot done, but it still feels like I have'nt put a dent in my "list". Well, I'm sure looking forward to this short week coming up - lots to do!

the visitors....

Happy Birthday to the best momma in the whole world! This is one of my favorite pics of my mom, my bro, and me - probably from about 1979 - taken by my dad. My mom always made us matching mumu/nightgowns which I loved. I lived in those little dresses and I've been meaning to recreate one for myself, they were so comfy! This is what Phil and I gave her today for her birthday. It's a piece called "The Visitors". Phil drew this group of "beings" and I embroidered over some of them with my sewing machine, and appliqued some dot print fabric. It represents the slew of guests that always seem to be coming through my parents house. Their house has sort of become a headquarters, meeting place, base camp, haven/home for wayward friends if you will. This picture also represents how any and all creatures/beings/people are always welcome in their home. And being that both my parents come from restaurant families, they always have at least two pork roasts at the ready!
Happy Birthday Mom!!

Oh where is my Fall weather? It seems to be blustery, rainy, gloomy, and grey, in every other part of the country. I know it might be hard for some people to understand, but that is my favorite type of weather. Being born and raised in sunny L.A. and having parents from Hawaii, everything in my DNA says that I should love the sun, surf, and sand - but I just don't. I mean, I do in small doses, and I love going to Hawaii. But my ideal everyday environment would be 55 degrees, grey and cloudy, with some drizzles and rain here and there. Until then, here are some of my favorite Fall colors................ and this beautiful candle we've been burning. It's a warm, musky rose that makes it feel all wintry and cozy inside our loft .

Super Bowl Sunday!

...well Rose Bowl actually. I went with my mom and my cousin and we had a great time. This is a panel from a white linen 50's style dress I got for $7! It's just about a half size too big so I'll have to get it altered a bit. These are some fabric finds - a cool blue Dutch print, a retro 50's graphic pattern, and an awesome polka dot. I'm so in love with this dot print. It's hard to see in the photo, but the way the dots repeat are so unusual, and it's on the most beautiful shade of mermaid green!

Also found some wooden letters from an old letterpress - I was super excited to get these.
We also scored a few wagashi (Japanese sweets) molds. Very hard to find. This one is a traditional Japanese motif - the moon rising over pine trees.......
...and this one is a kiku (chrysanthemum) which is our (my mom and I) birth flower.
What a fun day, very tiring, but fun. I slept like a rock. Now I can't wait to get sewing!

More dishes and coasters....

These are some large fabric dishes I was working on all last week. They all went to Elizabeth Paige Smith's Atelier.

They can fit 10 stacked coasters...........

or nest with smaller bowls...................

I am so excited to be working with Elizabeth. She contacted me last week after buying one of my pencil pouches from The Kids Are Alright. She is an amazing furniture designer and is responsible for inventing the Kitty Pod! We went to her party this past Tuesday at her gallery. It was also sponsored by Paper magazine, and Hearts Challenger was there! Very cool event. Anyways, you should definitely check out her gorgeous gallery/shop if you're ever on Abbot-Kinney. I was honored to have my bowls and coasters on her tables! :)

Silhouette

I 've had a very busy, exciting week. But I'm way too tired to post about it all right now. I just wanna chill and watch Wolf's Rain (a purchase from Kinokuniya tonight) with Phil. He did this silhouette of me the other day. I like that he chose not to use the traditional black and white. Hopefully I'll be up for a longer post tomorrow! :)

Tree Rings....

These are some Tree Ring Brooches I was working on this past weekend. My bro had cut these "cookies" for me a while ago. Anyways, I just did some simple drawings with Phil's micron pens and markers, sealed it with a matte, water-based varnish, and glued a pin back to them. Then I mounted them on some felt rectangles. They're about 1 3/4" in diameter and vary between 1/4" - 3/8" thick. I just thought they would be a grwat Fall accessory, pinned to a purse or a scarf!