The Best Brother Ever

Oh my goodness! Look what my bro surprised me with last night. It's a custom portrait of me by the black apple. I could'nt believe it. It was something I had always wanted to do but never told anyone about. He just knew I would like it!! It turns out that he had been in contact with Emily for the last 3 months!! Sending her pics of me and emails back and forth. What a sneaky guy :) Anyways, I am still in shock and I gotta find a place to hang it. Thanks again bro!!!

Weekend Works

A Work in Progress of a Peter Pan Collar style tote

New purse on Etsy

New Purse

Well, I finally bought this today. Actually, I thought I bought it several days ago but, like a doofus, I did'nt hit the "PAY" button. Sorry Emily! Anyways, I'm clearing a spot for her already :)

This is a new tote I made for myself today. It has all the details of a skirt with a waistband, pintucks, pockets, and buttoned tabs.
It's my first run through, probably make it a teeny bit smaller for Etsy. It's sort of school bag size right now rather than purse size.

There are giant clouds over Downtown right now. It's very gloomy and overcast - I love it. I simply cannot wait til Fall - I've actually forgotten what it feels like to have sleeves on my arms. Happy cool-down everyone!

Pagoda Rugs Make Me Happy

I got this rug yesterday at Urban Outfitters, and today, the notebook with the same motif is on the Print and Pattern blog!

I am soo happy it's Friday - I could really use a three day weekend in here soon. I hope to get some sewing done this weekend, have some new ideas swirling around.

My bro said he has a surprise or something for me tomorrow so I have to meet him at our parents in the evening. I wonder what it is? He's ridonkulous sometimes :)

Purse, Pangea, Pacifica.....

A Peace Dove purse I made this weekend.

Today's finds from Whole Foods. The Pangea shower gel smells awesome - it's Pine and Sage. I think some people feel that pine is too medicinal or masculine, but I love it. It reminds me of this Avon bubble bath my mom used to get me when I was little. It's perfectly refreshing for this hot weather. The Pacifica candle smells beautiful too - and look at the box! I also got one for my mom.

It was just too hot in the valley today. Is there any relief in sight? I have so much I want to do. I have been itching to work on my WeeWonderfuls Put Together project, a glass etching cream thingamajig, a large quilt for a friend, etc. Even though we have AC, being out in the heat all day kind of zaps your energy and all I want to do is lay about and watch Animal Planet. Did you see Growing Up Seal, the one with the Ring Seals? Oh my gosh, I've never seen anything cuter in my life!!

Well off to fix us some ice cream cones!

Hot Pockets

More 3-Ring Binder Pencil Pouches waiting for their eyelets.

Zipper pull detail

More pencil pouches

I had a very productive weekend in that I was held hostage in our loft by this insane heat. Phil and I dared not emerge from the comfort of our AC'd abode until after 10pm every night. Even though it was still 90 degrees at midnight!

But, I did get a lot of sewing done - pencil pouches and purses galore. We did'nt go down to Comi-con this year, but my Bro and his wife went with their video cam. He always comes back with some hilarious footage and a Cliffs-notes version of all the good stuff - new toys, comics, anime, movies, etc, coming out.

It's strange for Phil, being a comic book guy, to not be able to go to Comi-con because he had so much work to do - on a comic-oriented project. He finished drawing his piece for the Invincible Handbook, and it's beautiful. Maybe he'll let me post it when it's all colored. But you can check out his Deviant Art Page for other stuff he's done! :)

Hello Pretty

I know this isn't a beauty blog, but my mom gave me the cutest thing the other day. It's "Hello Pretty" body lotion from Mark. How lovely is this bottle?! And it's got a lychee, watermelon, white pepper scent. Very light and perfect for this Summer heatwave. Thanks Momma!

Have'nt been sewing much this past week - but The Kids Are Alright called today and asked for some more purses! They already sold two of the three they bought last week. So I went back to the store this evening with another armload of stuff. They took three more purses, two pencil pouches, and the 3-ring binder pencil pouch! I was also asked to participate in the Sunset Junction event that happens at the end of August! I'll keep you posted. I plan to do a lot of sewing this weekend and try to stay cool......

Wednesday Dinner

Zero and my feet

Zero, kissing my cousin Fernando, as my brother Jason looks on.

The three musketeers

My mom made an awesome carrot cake in honor of Zero's Birthday!!

Random Things

Inari sushi that my mom and sister-in-law made on Sunday

Another on-sale quarter flat

Two Built by Wendy for Simplicity patterns! I can't wait to try the little capelet-ish coat, and the short sleeved blouse with waist belt.

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

ZERO!!!!

Happy Birthday my little Zeroni Boloney! She is 3 years old today and the best dog ever. She came to live with us when she was only 3 months old.

Zero is so smart, intuitive, funny, and just a plain old *jama jama. She can practically walk on her two hind legs if you're carrying the right food in your hands. We're taking her to Petsmart on Wednesday so that she can pick a toy. Yay!!

*Japanese word for trouble maker

On Sunset at sunset

On our way to my parents tonight for Sunday dinner. We took Sunset Blvd. and stopped at Meltdown Comics on the way. Traffic was pretty much bumper to bumper for some reason at 7pm, and it was about 86 degrees. The sun was on it's way down. Sunset Blvd. actually looked kinda nice for once. Weird.

Your Trapper Keeper's New Friend..

A new idea I kinda had in my dream this morning. I mean I was in and out of sleep and this was all I could think of - a stylish pencil pouch for your 3-ring binder! No more clear plastic and primary colors for me. I could'nt wait to wake up and make it. Anyways, it's up on Etsy :)

Chibi Kitty

Thanks to My Little Mochi for this great Chibi Kitty and Chibi Rabbit download. It's a great pattern and a very clearly written tutorial.

This is my kitty - I tried to camouflage the wonkiness of her ears by giving her a little flower. I think next time I'll use a little less slippery fabric for her body, linen tends to slide around a lot. But I do like her skirt. On my next kitty or bunny, I would like to try using more trims - perhaps some lace, ric rac, velvet ribbon etc. Or I'll try giving her an apron with pockets, a necklace, a belt, or put some dried lavender in her and turn her into a hanging sachet. I know my Bachan (grandma) would like one!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

The back of the handmade card

Back of the postcard

Gorgeous hand-made card!!

Nymms' Postcard

Wow, I've been low on blog entries lately. But there have been lots of exciting things swirling around. First off, I received the amazing card(s) from Friederike! The work on the handmade piece is so gorgeous - I'm keeping that forever as a piece of art. And an unexpected surprise in the package, an amazing deckle-edged postcard with Nymms printed on it (as if by magic) and his story/quote on the back! So unbelievably beautiful - thank you Friederike and Sandra!!

Secondly, I sold my Spirograph Pencil Pouch to someone in lovely Georgia - the soon to be home state of my dear friend Nate!

Thirdly, three of my Craftychamploo purses are now officially sold at The Kids Are Alright!

It has been so ridiculously hot here in L.A., it got up to 106 degrees in the valleys, where I work, and not live fortunately. That said, it looks like I'll be staying indoors this weekend and sewing during the day and going for our walks at night. Stay cool everyone!

Pencil Pouches

I was talking to my mom yesterday and told her to check my blog so she could see the new pencil pouches I was making - but I suddenly realized never posted them - I just thought I did. Man, I need a vacation.

I used that cool iron-on clear vinyl stuff so that the pouches are a little more durable. I was happy to find a use for the Spirograph fabric! I'm thinking about making some matching sketchbooks to go with and sell them as a set. But for now, these two are on Etsy.

Koge, Kitty, and Keroppi

Some sale items at the fabric store. I'm obsessed with Spirograph lately, so I was excited to find these quarter flats!

My mom always gets me the coolest things! All these Japanese cell phone bell charms - I gotta get a new phone so I can use them. I love them all but the Koge-Pan is my fave. He's the brown one with the giant head. His name means burned bread in Japanese, and he's always bummed cuz he's... a burned bread. Also the beautiful dish towel in the background - olive green with violets and fans - I love it! Thanks Mama!

Uzumaki!!!

My labels have found a home. This beautiful wood box with washi paper on the outside.

Phil and I walked to Curry House tonight - it was so warm and the city lights looked so lovely. He also brought home the first season of Naruto Special Edition DVD, which came with the headband (his) and wristband (hers). Gotta go watch it now!

Happy 4th!

(this is just a cute thing from decole that I want but don't need)

Well, it was a fun and relaxing long weekend. Here's what we did in a nutshell:

- Slept in till at least 10:30am everyday

-Ate poached eggs and cheesy toasts

-Hung out in J-Town

-Watched a lot of cool Samurai movies

-Watched 4 episodes of Entourage in a row

-Sewed a lot of purses (I did)

-Did some drawings for work (he did)

-Got Ramen at our favorite place

-Went on a couple of night walks

-Majorly cleaned and organized our place

-Sat in Starbucks and sketched for a while

-Re-energized ourselves for the (short) week ahead!

Yay! I can't wait til Friday! Pirates of the Caribbean comes out - awesome!

Bloggers Unite!

I purchased this amazing Pirate Girl print from Emily a while back, and it is now hanging in our lovely home. I'm posting it now in honor of her woeful tale and in the hopes that things will right themselves!

Yipee!

Oh my goodness! I just found out I won the "searching for a name contest" on Friederike! I can't believe it. Thank you Sandra :) I must give credit to my boyfriend Philip - he created a character on Warcraft named Nymms and he is an hunter who is an elf.

I love the name so much and it just seemed to suit this little guy. Anyways, Sandra has the most unique and amazing creations. They almost seem like they're alive! Thanks again ;)

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

Today is a BIG clean up day! A friend of Phils is coming to stay with us on Monday. I had yesterday off, so I went to Ikea to get some floating shelves that we desperately need. It was so nice to go on a weekeday when everyone else is working - no lines or crowds.

Then I went to my parents to play with Zero, give her a bath, and borrow their drill and ladder. When Phil and I tried putting up the shelves late last night, we discovered that we live in a stud-less loft. Every drill hole we made was like sticking a toothpick in the center of a cake. And I don't even want to try the concrete walls. So now I get to go back to Ikea to return 8 shelves on a holiday weekend! Yay!

Anyways, this is another purse I was working on amidst the madness. We're catching the 10pm showing of Superman tonight. Gotta go!