bella vista 2009

heres some photos from our craft fair last weekend.
ya know, the lack of sleep i'm still trying to recover from?

hahthis first photo goes to show the time of early-ness that we arrived.
taken an hour after we got there, 6:30 am.
still dark. still cold. and setting up tarp
here enters our time of labor needing to finish some things before the fair started.
we were generally all set up by 7 or so
and since i didn't get a fair amount of my bag holes sewn
(well, i could have if i wanted to pull an all nighter... but i felt like i needed that hour and a half of sleep that i did get...) you can see our booth in its entirety of loveliness
and lisa, sewing herself a quilt of my bags
view one of our booth.
the pettiskirt zone.
those things pretty much ate the table alive.
view two.
the chaos known as bag land.
seriously people... you had so many options...
why couldn't you buy atleast ONE that you came through and got your grimy hands all over?
view three.
flowers and scripture cases.
i think of the ones she sold
only two of the flowers went to kids.
one went to an adult.
and the other to my tweenage sister.
and here we all, in our booth of loveliness.
sure its not fancy schmancy like the soup smelling booth next to us
or shiney like the jewlery to the opposing side.
but for our first booth at our first craft fair
its pretty darn good. and served its purpose
---
i finally decided to start gearing up for our next craft fair.
although, i still slack at filling out the application to send to lisa.
(i'll try to remember to do that tomorrow)
but i have begun the square cutting of the flannel fabrics for rag quiltage.
the difference that a new rotary blade makes... haa haa
time to get back to that.

bedtime... way too late

shoot me now.
second round of bags...
if i counted right...
about 18.
i need to go to bed earlier... haa haa.
here is to hoping i make it to the gym at least once this week...

progress... times 12

on my ironing board hangs 12 bags.
12 bags that only need the hole in the lining sewn
and then they are good to go.
which means tomorrow, monday after school, and tuesday brings more cutting.
more piecing. and more sewing.
some of my current bags i don't love as much as i did originally due to little slip ups.
but i already have my eye on which one is going into the raffle on saturday at the craft fair.
just because i don't want to look at it much longer. haa haa.
on that note, its bedtime.
because if i stayed up much longer, i would have pulled being awake for 24 hours.
i imagine this will happen next saturday though...
having to be AT bella vista at 5:30 am.

the album. hopefully in order

i'm hoping this thing plays in order... like it is supposed to.
they show up in my photo bucket account in the order of the book, but earlier the slideshow was having issues. all letters, that aren't written in sharpie, were created using my cricut dicut machine and one of six font cartridges. other items used were ribbon, stickers, xyron sticker maker, sticky square thingy (can't think of the name right now...), and scrapbook glue.
enjoy :) now i'm off to bed, so i can sleep and then wake up to go to school. yuck.

ETA: its not playing in order... to see the pages in order, you can go to: kasey's album
i'm frustrated... it skips straight to sophomore year spring term in the slide show, going past 7 pages. pleh. its too late for me to deal with this now.

its finally time

however many days, weeks, and months later...

its finished.kasey's album is to be delivered tomorrow.

i need to finish scanning the second half of the book, but that is it
oh, and figure out the binding thing so it doesn't have gaping holes
but other than that, it is complete.
down to the very last most recent photo of us.
she leaves tuesday.
wow. where has the time gone?
-mind you, i did get to go wedding dress shopping with her
she got to see me try on the bridesmaid dress (in the wrong color... lol)
and tomorrow we have movie night.
i hope for one last oreo sundae trip to dennys before her departure.
*sigh* i'll miss ya, mini me

baby shower bag

i've got about 35 minutes left to kill before my final class
i have my laptop on campus, so i may as well update this now.
haa haa.
this bag was such an up and down situation.
i was going to do it, set out, got the fabric.
and then life happened.
work, megan's wedding reception, cake baking, dance portraits, music circus and kasey's bbq all in one weekend. so that made me decide i was not going to do it.
i was not going to get it done. period. end of discussion.
fast forward to friday... i decided i was going to make the bag... at 2:00pm.
i had to leave for work by three. had to search for the pattern. luckily i generally got everything cut out before i left. came home, went to the gym, and then to denny's with kasey.
now its midnight... i started pinning and sewing. 4 1/2 hours later, i was done with the bag and all i needed to do in the morning was sew the lining shut.
morning comes... i decide to do the wipe case... thing is. i lacked ribbon. insert run to beverley's crafts... good thing its a short drive down the road to get the ribbon to made the edge pretty. 12:30ish i was done... baby shower was at 1pm and ariana was picking me up for it. yes, i even had time to photograph it before wrapping it. so here are the goodies

cake. yum

lets just say the cake was a hit.
kasey's dad came in saying how everyone was "bragging" on it outside.
:)
inside is layered swiss chocolate, red velvet, & classic yellow.
in between the layers is whipped chocolate frostingoutside is classic vanilla frosting dyed 3 colors.
plus red sprinkles to make the red stripe more red.kasey's niece keira (a little over 2 yrs) even finger tested the frosting to make sure it was okay... of course she did this while telling us all what each color was, and pointed at the yellow with a bit of force. yum. yum. yum.

stressed

are you kidding me?
our stove is broken?
i have a cake to make!

finally a reason to make a cake again.

i haven't had any reasons in a long time to make a cake.
last one i made was last minute, and fell apart because i didn't let it cool in enough time
so i dumped frosting on it and called it cake.
this one, is more exciting in my opinion.
reason - one of my bestest friends that i've known since i was 13 and a freshman in high school is heading off to germany for three years with her airforce husband. she decided she wanted a going away bbq party of all her friends and family as a last hoorah before she goes.
i asked her to let me make a cake for her, and she gave me the okay. the original plan was to make a cake, and then just decorate it like a german flag. but, as the thinking got further, it will look like a german flag both inside and out. inside will be layers of chocolate, classic yellow, and red velvet cakes (i think its the right order if you're talking bottom up), filled with chocolate frosting between the layers (husband's flavor preference) outside will be striped across like a german flag in vanilla icing (kasey's flavor preference). also, as a surprise to her, i ordered some red and gold m&ms (and have been buying black ones at michaels) that say "Kasey & Don Long" on some, as well as "Germany or Bust!" on the others. she knows about the cake, but is unaware of my m&m surprise. theres a few more things i'd like to do, and hope that i can get time to whip out.
so there you have my update of cake making... i still need to get some bags going. we got into the craft fair. and technically, i have 42 more bags to make in order to reach our individual goals. plus rag quilts if i can knock some of those out... in which i hope to. gah. summer is coming to an end, school is starting up, which means i will have less time than i do now.

yum. cake.

lisa -
i found your next cake challange.
check out this blog here.
it will amaze you some of the cakes.
well, it amazed me at least :P

photo bags - the finals

so here they are, the final productions of the photo bags. Suzanne's is to the right, and Megan's is to the left. I decided once i did Suzanne's bag, which the photo was already in black and white, that i wanted to do Megan's in black and white as well. i feel it makes the photo flow better, and doesn't detract with bright colors and such. Also, once Suzanne's was done, i decided for Megan's to sew a strip of fabric across the bottom so that the photo didn't go all the way to the bottom seam. it helped allow room for the seam allowance as well, since the photo was on the very edge of the top seam, so it was really pushing it. haa haa. overall, the bags both got their respective attention at both bridal showers. Megan's got more of a verbal response and questioning, while Suzanne's was a bit more reserved. All in all, i'm happy with the outcomes, and hope you are too. I'll prob list these as an ad on etsy for the next showcase that people can order a custom photo bag. of course, the price will be more than the $28 that we are charging for other bags off the same pattern, due to the personalization of the item.
so there you have it. emily's photo bags of august 2009. lol

a sneak peak of sorts of the bags

heres a photo of megan with her yellow and gray themed bag at her bridal shower this evening. the reaction of this bag was much stronger than that of suzanne's bag. i could tell suzanne liked hers, funny because i got that "what the?" response from suzanne when she saw the picture i stole and put on the front. (which is taken as a compliment from her, because thats just her personality... lol) megan's bag got oohs and ahhs from those of all ages at the shower. from both of us younger and unmarried folk, as well as the moms/sisters of the bride that have already had their wedding days come and go. one lady asked me how i do it, but i can tell its not because she wants to make a purchase from me. from what i've seen of this lady, she's rather crafty. she gave megan a scrapbook set (album, pages, stickers) at the shower, as well as previously seen, she sewed her own daughter's wedding dress for her wedding in 2008.
see the build a bear bag? yes, that's what i used as a gift bag for not just megans, but i had another identical bag for suzannes... all the other bags in our house were christmas or birthday themed... or too small. hah.
suzanne looked amazing at her reception tonight. her dress was gorgeous, and you can tell she was extremely happy. i look rather odd in half the photos, so here is one of her and her now hubby, erick. the reception was smaller, held in the cultural hall of the loomis building, with the typical LDS round tables set up all around, with the cake in the center of the room. so funny how she was stressing out on sunday when all the older women that came by were talking about all their kids having babies recently, and she, through clenched teeth asks her mom "WHY is everyone talking about BABIES?" haa haa. next up, megan's wedding on august 21. two friends married in one month... might as well get the ball rolling of people i went to high school with getting married :P

psst.

ariana suggested i make a photography related blog if i want to make sure i look serious about my photography. so if you so choose to make the voyage, you can visit and follow me over here.
my second photo bag is coming along.
slowly but surely.
i have to do a ton of portrait printing (pretty much until i run out of cyan ink)
so thats what will keep me occupied tonight

baggage claim

there is the "family" of 8 bags all done one after the other.
and they were so much stress... only 3 of them have the holes sewn shut (i don't remember why i only stopped there) but there you have it.
5 of them are listed on etsy and the remaining 3 will come soon.
i rephotographed all of them, since my photos last time were just so that i would have photos. so i shall swap out the photos later tonight, as well as upload the remaining 3, once we get home from grandmas and a potential joann's trip for a yellow 7" zipper.
still no sign of life from bella vista. :( i'd really like to hear already, you craft faire people you...
grrr.
oh. and i finished the first photo bag. i'm brilliant. love it.
and once i show you all, you shall be jealous. it not as sturdy as i'd like it to be, due to the interfacing i bought, but its pretty good looking if i do say so myself :) still waiting for megan's wedding announcement to show up so i can steal her engagement photo off there.
i need to get engaged so i can make one of these suckers for myself. haa haa
next week = 2 bridal showers and a wedding. plus working weds -> sat. yay money. no yay to commuting.

don't wanna close my eyes.. i don't want to fall asleep

(sorry. the aerosmith lyric just seemed a perfect title. hah)
front and backs are all pieced together
strap is done
lining has pocket sewn and pulled through
(no zipper yet)
i want to sew... but tomorrow is a crazy day.
observing 2 dance classes
driving to my cousin ben's house so he can escort me to the next community center
wait an hour, and observe 2 more dance classes
and then come home.
i'll prob take my laptop with me
and hope for internet at this second community center.
or... *shock* take a book and read.
blah.
i don't want to sleep.
i want to SEW
*grumble grumble*

photo bag update

i'm brilliant. what can i say?
well, after 95 8x10s complete, i was finally able to get the photo bag underway.
and after going with the input of those that gave it... aka my only two consistent reader/commentators, i now have the outsides all pieced together.
i went with the first photo option, the black and white one, as well as wrapped the pattern alternation around to the back side.
i'd love to show you all, but i'd rather you ooh and aah at the final product in its completion :)
i was having a hard time stopping, but figured i should let my brilliance take a rest, and go to bed.
and let me just tell you. doing one bag at a time is much more satisfying than 8. i still haven't completely finished those 8 bags... i was able to insert snaps into those that i had initially forgot - and also cannot find the snaps that i recently purchased. must mean that i need another joanns trip so that i can buy new ones, and then the original ones will show up. isn't that how it always works? lol.
once i finish this photo bag, the second one for megan should be a piece of cake... once i find a photo i like.. she needs to put some engagement photos on facebook like suzanne did. that made my life a whole heck of a lot easier :)

photo bag - a progression with needed input

so, as i'm printing out the photos for the donner mine music camp (95 8x10s total... i'm on the 5th set of 10. whee. what a fun night.) i was able to get the dimensions for the center chunk of the bag in order to figure out the size and such... well, that was all fine and dandy until i got to the point of picking a photo to use for suzanne's bag. the first photo is a sample of the colors so you can get an idea. the shades of black print will be used for the pocket, as well as the stripes to the sides of the photo, and as well around the back side stripes. the turquoise will be used for all other pieces. the band across the top, the strap, the lining, and all remaining triangles. i've narrowed it down to three photos, for three very different reasons. so here are the photos, with their detailing as to the issue of why i can't choose. (here starts the 6th set of 10 photos printing)here we have the bag fabric. the turquoise has a gold speckle to it, as well as a few varying shades of the color, and the black has a slight texture look to it so its not so "blah" mind you, i tried going to turquoise fq's as well, but once i found this fabric, there was no turning backphoto option number one - grayscale on the grass... (i just named it that) this was my original pick. i like how there is no color that would clash with the turquoise on the bag, as well as its more of a casual photo of suzanne and erick.option number two - hands and jeans in color. i like the simplicity of this photo, and the connection between the two of them, even though all you see is hands. i think this one would go nicely on a bag, without having any faces staring back at you :)photo option number 3 - smiling faces in sort of a "retro tone" as we use in picture people lingo - i like how this one isn't the complete full color, and has a deeper tone to it. you see both their faces, and a nice happy expression... and most of all, you also see the ring in this one :)

(oh goodness... is that a hair elastic i spot on suzanne's wrist? in her engagement photos? silly girl)
------
so there are the three choices...
i'm so bummed that my overall favorite picture of suzanne and her man will not fit, because that would be a hands down, no questions asked choice. :) for your viewing pleasure, here it is ---->
i could make it fit, but it would lose the overall cuteness of the photo. her shoe would get cut off, and i think that's a huge part of what makes this photo one of my favorites. suzanne has always had cute shoes. oh. i swiped all these photos from her facebook, so i know on the bag its going to probably have a slight grainy quality to them, but i think that won't detract from the bag at all.
thanks for looking, and please, any input on the three photos would be great. and more than just a "i like number _" i'd love more of a detail as to why i should go with your vote :)

update and such

all bags are done and intact
just lacking needing the hole in the lining sewn
i hate hand sewing...
can you tell i procrastinated on that?
haa haa.
i'll try and get a lovely photo of all of them sometime today for your viewing pleasure.
now i just need to figure out what to do next...
it will prob be a mix of rag quilts and bags
since i have the 2 bridal shower ones to do
as well as a large amount of flannel that needs to be pieced into blocks for rag quilts.
and scrapbook. gah. so much to do, so little time.
bags need to be done in about a week and a half
scrapbook is to be done before september.
and quilts, plus more bags, will be as we go, providing we get into the craft fair.
if we don't, i'll have all this flannel and nothing to do with it
haa haa.

sew... a needle pulling thread.

yes. its 3am.
such is my life.
but with that said, i have made progress.
the bags actually look like bags for the most part
well, the 5 i have near completion.
all that remains is top stitching the lining/outer piece
and sewing the hole in the lining i used to flip them through.
the remaining 3 bags all have their zipper intact.
need to get more interfacing to do the other half of the inside
the snaps are all ready to go once i get the pieces together
and then its just assembling the linings as a whole, and then attaching the outers to the innards for those.
and once those are finished, i can list all of them, and begin the rag quilts, and bridal shower gifts. i technically have 2 weeks from what is now today (thursday) to complete the first bag, and then the second one is two days later. oh snap. wow. just realized that. haa haa
taa taa.
its bedtime for me

goodbye, my face

i had to take off my banner for the time being.
its just not working right.
especially with my new awesome layout.
go me :)
--
on another note.
i got my seller's permit in the mail today.
erm, at this point, technically yesterday,
but i made a copy of it to mail.
success.
although, my permit it currently stuck in the copier.
and i hope it to be retrieved in the coming day.
so at least i can mail the one copy, while the original is being enjoyed as a snack

lies... to ariana that is

i told ariana i was going to bed...
well, that was the original plan.
and once i got to my room, and lugged the clothes bin that has been hovering in my room for over a week (i need to put laundry away like nobody's business) i decided i needed to show off my three m's of today's scrapbookage... since i got little top stitching done on my bags (even with that said, i have 2 outsides totally done, and the other 6 in progress through my sewing machine... literally they are still in the machine)

so here we have the M's

the mess
sticker maker, corner rounder, glue, sticker squares...
the sticky neccesities

the machine
best dicut machine i've purchased...

wait, its the only one.

and its sidekick, the juke box

the masterpiece(s)

these are the 6 pages i knocked out today when i shut myself in my room while everyone else watched disturbia in the living room. the original plan was to work chronologically through the book to catch up to now... yeah, that didn't work so well. the first 4 are in sequential order (2004) and then we jump forward 4 and a half years to october 31, 2008, skipping the pages for my birthday (november 08) and on to january 09... and yes, i HAD to use a vanilla ice lyric for the ice skating page... haa.
perhaps at some point, when these pages are all said and done, i'll scan each one of them, and make a photobucket album of all my lovely little scrapbook pages. i can just tell this is going to be one fat and happy little 8x8 album.

btw, the title, because the front of the album has one of those picture slots, is going to be "to germany, with love"

cute, i know :)

last night's inspiration

here is my doodle of three different bag ideas, featuring a photo, or two. i got the idea to do these for bridal shower gifts for the two girls i'll be going to showers for in the next month, as well as once i have them done, list them on our shop as samples of custom items that can be made. might also do one of kasey and don as a sample as well, and use their "first kiss" photo. let me know which of the three fronts you like best. the back would all be solid instead of the striped like usual. you may need to click on the picture to see it better

progress

straps interfaced - check
bag fronts pieced together - check
bag fronts interfaced - check
all aforementioned pieces basted to batting - check
all straps batting and interfacing trimmed - check
four pairs of eight bag fronts trimmed - check
bedtime - BIG check

pumping iron.

ironing seams...
bores the crud out of me.
4 bags down.
4 to go.
and then i get to cut them, and attach the top band.
how exciting.

you must have been a beautiful baby.

well, i'd consider photography a craft.
so here is your first sampling of today's photo shoot.
sure she's not happy giggly smiley in this one.
but i'm such a sucker for babies who look deep in thought, leaving you wondering as to what she's doing, thinking, etc.
madison wasn't in an overly smiley mood today, but between the outfits, there was a fair amount of smiles, or at least pleasant looks. my only disappointment, after the fact, was that there wasn't a "perfect" spot that was totally shady and nicely lit... i had forgotten my dad's flash at home. grumble grumble.
well, with enough editing, i should be able to make them look good :)
the second outfit didn't turn out well at all, in my opinion. but hopefully i can save something in the mix...
i'm off to work now. time for a lovely drive to natomas.

mosquito bites.

i don't have any fancy pictures.
just a quick update.
i have the fabric pieces to 6 bags all cut out
(still need to do interfacing and padding)
but other than that, i have some pieces for a different style bag (like my beatles one)
as well as three different divisions of military i need to cut out
-airforce, army & marines. i wasn't fond of the navy prints i found so eventually i need to look online for those, and possibly even the coast guard-
i'm able to cut out some more of all the bags except for buzz lightyear, and have some black and white color schemed cat bags to do (my mom bought the fabric for those, so i guess i gotta do a few of those...)
tomorrow i'll be photographing amber's baby madison for her to do some 8 month photos. a few more dollars in the pocket, but hey atleast she's a cutie. i'll prob head off to bed once this episode of malcom in the middle ends, since i have to wake up and be there by 10:30. haa haa yeah, early.
and i started teaching dance again last friday, and pretty much teach every day this week, whether its assisting the classes i'll sub next week, subbing classes this week (starting weds) or working with the class i'll eventually be taking over.
honestly, at this point, i'm doubting going back to picture people all together. i need that change to move forward now. i already had to take one step backwards to working at joanna's again. i don't need to take two and end up back at joanna's AND picture people again.

2nd update for the day - after the cutting

so you can go ahead and count them all... what you see is the beginnings of six bags! some lack pieces, which i don't have fabric for at the moment, but the awesome part is finding fabric in my box that not only coordinates one fabric, but adds another whole bag into the mix. i found fabric to coordinate the left angelina ballerina fabric, the orange and blue to go with the nemo prints, as well as the pieces of purple fabric that are ballet shoe & ballerina prints. i need brown to go with the pink/brown checks, two different shades of purple to go with the angelina ballerina fabric on the left, the black (which i have) to go with the buzz lightyear bag, and then something to coordinate with the angelina/alice fabric next to the nemo. nemo has all its pieces, which means i can begin to cut out interfacing and padding to get it going :) i might do another bag like my beatles one of the purple ballet fabric, depending on what coordinating print i find to do the top piece, strap and lining.
so theres the excitement for tonight. i'm off to the gym now, and may try to piece some more things together later tonight.

my floor...

is currently an ocean of fabric triangles.
i have one and a half sets of bag stripes done
*another buzz lightyear bag to sell
*pink&brown checks
- that would be my half... i couldn't find the right shade of brown at wal mart to alternate with it, so i need to go search possibly later today at joanns. or tomorrow.
in line to cut out:
*nemo fabric (somewhat like the buzz lightyear style of bag)
* angelina ballerina (two different prints)
*airforce <- that might not get done... still trying to figure out what i'm going to do with that one. i have two prints but don't know if i want to go total patriotic ness and throw some american flag fabric in there, or what i want to alternate with.
so there you have it. i had to resend my seller's permit, because my driver's licence fax was unable to be read. later today i need to finish my bella vista craft fair application and send that to lisa, so that she can send both ours in together. oh happy first day of not having a job...
i start subbing dance classes weds, but joanna is having me do three days with her... so here goes. :/

what a week

i don't have any "i remember when..." moments
but since this week has been quite a hard hit for the celebrity type.
heres a moment in memory of ed mcmahon, farrah fawcett, and michael jackson.
---
and as for today,
my inital plan was to get bags cut out
and perhaps even pieced together.
instead, i came home and scrapbooked...
and mastered running random things through my xyron sticker makers
today's object of interest...
haa haa. this silly little plastic snake [who after texting kasey, determined for some reason we named him rupert] that i don't even recall the orgin of, but he was a running theme of sophomore year of high school. i decided, that since i kept finding him on my floor each and every time i cleaned my room, i decided it was about time to find him a stable home... aka my high school scrap book page...
see the creativity? he makes the "s" in "sup?"
hah. brilliant i know.
yeah, it was one of those happy accidents... since i had the S cut out originally... just my piece to put it on wouldn't fit it.... darn P being so large. so theres my little crafty update... i'm off to the gym now, so that i can return home to watch so you think you can dance's result show commercial free...
man, i love dvr.

room cleaning :)

after coming home from grandmas house today
got a HUGE amount of my room cleaned up...
which means... *insert trumpet fanfare*
i can freely spread out and scrapbook.
heh, i even vacuumed up all my little photo corners strewn about
which means i'll have even more across the floor.
haven't taken the trash out, but its all confined in one area.
laundry is actually all put away, minus whats in the hamper
but that is saying something. haa haa.
oh, and it turns out my two rolls of batting i bought...
yeah, i already had 2 normal sized ones, three crib sized ones, and scraps...
so i have batting like nobody's business...
at gma's house today, lisa and i decided to go anti picture people on our photo update...
-shoot... 9 bucks a sheet versus .17 cents for two wallets via sams club-
so my dad took our pics in the back yard.
our shirts kinda theme to our personality/movie loves (and my constant wardrobe)
and so without further adieu, here is the updated photos :)here is your standard picture people pose...
although our original was taken at qimage or something like thatmy bangs look a bit whack, but what can you do?
this is our remake with a slight alteration...
the image this one is based off of, i'm not even 6 months old
as well, i'm sitting on lisa's lap in the original...
we decided grandma's swing, which has been through plenty of grandkids, and more to come, would suffice :)
so there you have it,
the photo, as well as the room update.
so hopefully this week, we'll have some crafty update.
i head down to modesto tomorrow night to talk crafty with lisa
and to overall hang out through tuesday evening :)
good times, good times

shopping overhaul

well, here is the fabric purchasing of this past week. lol. not including the scrapbook stuff, scissors, batting and bag supplies i also got. heh. thank goodness i got paid today... lol
i figured the angelina ballerina fabric would be good to combine together and market as children's dance shoe bags... i have patterns that would be a perfect size for those little ballet and tap shoes. the airforce fabric is to make some bags like my buzz lightyear one. i concidered getting more military division fabrics while i was there, but lacked money at the time being. minnie mouse is for lorelai, of course :) i hadn't seen any in quite some time, and so decided to pick some up and use my 50% off coupon on it :P buzz lightyear, well... need i say more? hah. kinda just picked up some because i had another coupon i prob wouldn't have for awhile. and the solid colors are just to have as back up bag pieces. in case i have some fabrics i need a slight solid color match for... it was on sale... so i couldn't resist... haa haa
well, didn't get any scrapping done today... hopefully sunday. tomorrow is dance recital for everyone in my fam. i'm on photo duty since i'm not teaching or dancing this year... perhaps i should find some more memory cards just incase... they're in a case in my room... somewhere

my header

not the picture i was going for...
but it shall do.
my original plan didn't work out
:/
on another note
all scrapbook pages in progress have a background
well, making them a page instead of just pictures in the sleeve
(not to forget to mention that i have ALL photos present and accounted for)
so perhaps tonight i can get some pages totally done.
since i got my lyrical letters font the other day :)

and now, i shall leave you.
and go to the gym.
i spent lots of money today... lol
yay.

getting my work cut out for me

boy do i love fabric stores :)
went to beverleys, michaels and joanns (not the one at our end of the freeway)
and got some things for ariana's christmas gift
as well as some minnie mouse fabric for the wee one
- i havent seen any in forever... and just had to :P -
at michaels got a refill for my sticker maker
and a box to put my paper stacks in...
gotta get my room organized somewhat.
so that maybe i can focus, and get more than a page and a half of scrapbook done in one sit down.
heh. perhaps tomorrow night, or next week i'll be able to clean some things up.
i have an idea of what to do to make a banner for this blog, and make it a bit more exciting :)
but that would require setting up a still life of sorts... lol
thank goodness tomorrow is pay day.
and coupons at joanns day.
haa haa
gotta give our joanns a shot, and then perhaps bust out some bags as well.
just gotta scope out what fabrics i have to combine.
since i really don't want to buy anymore at this moment...
haa haa.
i'm off to bed.
gotta be at work at 9:20.
blehhhhhh

bummer.
well, 24 hrs later, really no impact in the numbers
everything pretty much only went up by 3 views...
maybe if i didn't post at midnight.
haa haa.
i'll try again prob next week...
since the rest of this week i don't get off till late.
lame.
whatever.
i'm off to bed.

numbers. the before...

okay.
so i posted a photo (scissors bag) and a link to our etsy on
not just one...
or two...
or three.
but nine different live journal communities.
so HOPEFULLY *fingers crossed* our view amounts will jump up.
so as of now, before i go to before i go to bed, here are the numbers:
lady bug peasant blouse - 9
beatles tote bag - 16
pleated dino purse - 26
scissors tote - 16
she's wild - 21
bekah's skirt - 40
lorelai's top - 43
claire's top - 58
zebra tote - 22

and i have another reader!
well, two perhaps.
i see amy on my followers list
and kayleigh claims to have started stalking me.
haa haa
went to hancock fabric today
and boy was it heaven!
bought some cute angelina ballerina fabric i've never seen at any of our stores
aka joanns or beverleys
and some fabric to make a friend of mine a bag
i cannot mention because they potentially may read this. lol.
but its for her birthday, which is a ways away... haa haa
yes, i plan ahead.
i've already begun preperations for ariana's christmas gift :P
trying to make it so i'm not giving out christmas gifts mid january this year
haa haa
yeah, i'm a rebel when it comes to that sort of thing. haa haa.
gotta find the fabric i want to find to make jenny the ipod case i wanted to test out
-i LOVE having a good reason to try out a pattern... and it not being for me :D-
and yes, i enjoy using my friends as walking advertisements...
so far i've heard no complaints from that though haa haa
just now gotta get some business cards going.
well, i should head off to bed... i gotta work tomorrow. craptastic.
girls night tomorrow... aka four of us eating at fresh choice and having some smack talking time. lol
this next paycheck should be a mighty fine one.
i can see fabric stores in my future... :)

could be the next "bow lady"?

well, we all know lisa is very keen on her color coordinating of her child when it comes to accesories.

-she's told me stories (both good and dramatic) of the modesto hairbow circut, and how this lady makes these bows and sells them for roughly 8 dollars a bow

now, i usually don't frequent the beverleys in our area, even though its like 6 or so minutes from my house, for anything but scrapbook paper because the fabric is pricey, they don't carry cricut supplies, and there really isn't anything there that you can't get elsewhere...

on that note, i was actually in the mentioned beverleys - after a trip to joanns my mom couldn't find something she needed... and she still didn't find it there - i grabbed a pack of pixar cars stickers for the scrapbook i'm working on of high school stuff. (heh, for my colorguard carwash page :P i thought it was cute. haa haa)

as i'm wandering, waiting for my mom, i was looking at their signs up front for classes they offer, to see if any interest me in any ways... i always see the classes that are painting scenery and such... and as much as i would LOVE to learn how to paint anything, i have too high of a stress level for that. haa haa. then, on the floor was a sign, somewhat tucked away under the table for "hairbow 101" as they called it.

for $50 i can learn how to make 10 different hairbows, they supply the materials as well as i'll get different worksheets of how to make them, as well as should bring a camera so i can photograph the steps.

it doesn't start until september, which is when i'm attending sac state, which was almost a bummer because of figuring out my class scheduale...

BUT! lo and behold. the class is two thursdays in september, and my classes are all monday/wednesday/friday. its just MEANT to be! although the 9am start time is going to be killer, i'll just have to treat it like i'm going to a sierra college class... for two days :P

there wasn't a sign up sheet or anything, so one of these days i'll have to head back to that store to see if there is more info... i tried to convince lisa to do it with me, but she doesn't think brett will justify the drive... i'll have to teach her my wealth of accquired hairbow knowledge... although we were trying to figure out a way not to bring lisa into the hairbow drama of modesto that is already there...

perhaps when their little peterson clan moves into a place of their own, we'll start our bow making :) i'll just have to build up a clientel here in loomis. i'm sure i could get amber... that little madison of hers is to die for :)

psst. ariana... when are you going to have that baby bethany said you would so i can spoil it? and it better be a girl :P

well that is alot of words...

i wish i had a picture to go with it... :P

we all live in a yellow submarine

well... FINALLY the bags are done...

insert sigh of relief. although, the strap on my bag is crooked.

oh well. and that was even after taking it out and redoing it once.

annoying part of bag 1 - view a's rounded corners...
NOT fun to sew at all. but hey, it doesn't look bad... in my opinion.

my goal was to have both sides of the bag to look the same (heads on the right, "the beatles" on the left...) yeah. my mistake when cutting out the pieces. but it looks fab anyways :P

inside pocket has the beatles heads print inside, and the strap (attatched with D rings) had "the beatles" all over print. nice and roomy. also has magnetic snap.
i've concidered making another one of these bags,

but i'll have to figure out when i'll have patience to do another one. haa haa

those corners kill me!

i'm determined to figure out a way to maybe do an alteration on the bag.

perhaps squared corners... lol. idk.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26406275

now, on to my bag :)
each strip is a different buzz lighyear print...

well, more or less

6 different fabrics, 2 doubled up.

the outside two are from the same fabric - dark blue background

looks like individuals of buzz and zurg (left over from my window seat cushion fabric)

that took some creative cutting for sure :P

i wanted to try and get as much buzz in the triangle i could.

some fit better than others... lol and have the same "pose"

other than that, some creative arrangement of the strips

and whaa laa, amazing laptop sized carrying bag :)

simple black lining, pocket is one of the coordinating buzz prints.

now if only i had somewhere to take my laptop to and show off my bag. haa haa.

i may have to make another one of these to list on our etsy site. :P

i bought some other fabric to do some different variations on bags using buzz lightyear fabrics, as well as need to make a quilt of all my different lightyear prints. haa haa

so you can see the itty bit-ness of my laptop in comparison to this bag :P

on other notes

got my cricut cartridge alphalicious the other day,

as well as won lyrical letters font on ebay today.

lovely day off from work .

do i really have to go tomorrow?

heh.

really, i am making progress...

photograph: items i made for the disney swap round 9 on craftster. my partner recived so i can now show off all the items. 5 tshirts for her kids, 2 rag quilts for her younger girls, and a bag for her. not photographed is the california adventure pin as well as the magnet i purchased for her while in the parks on my vacation - she lives in florida :)

i swear, i really am working on bags... time has just gotten away from me

i probably could have gotten more done last night, but decided to have an intense message conversation with a certain friend of mine. won't mention names because this blog isn't about that sort of thing. its about crafty-ness. yeah, so anyways. that, plus moulin rouge on didn't help much.

today i got the outsides of both bags pieced together before i left the house this afternoon to go to beverlys - and once i got to the register i found that i had left my debit card at home, along with my license... good thing i have the bank of america card on me... needless to say i now owe my dad 17 dollars for my scrapbook paper purchasing. *sigh* heh. did the top stitching on the beatles bag, after drawing multiple chalk lines of where i needed to stitch

came home later tonight after the dance recital rehersal my mom convinced me to go with her to, and got the top stitching on my bag done - within inches of running out of invisible thread (my mom used some on a costume)

so as of this moment, both bags have the outsides done. need to do the pocket/zipper part tomorrow so i can assemble the linings, as well as do the strap and snap. *sigh* so much to do, so little time. tomorrow i work at 3, thursday i have sac state orientation.

oh life... can't it slow down for once?

today was not long enough.

oh, and i faxed in mine & lisa's sellers permit applications.

hopefully it was the correct place to fax it to.

so helpful

little kitty thinks he's helping...

when he bites the pins and pulls them out of the pin cushion..

attacks my pattern pieces...

attacks and bites the fabric...

and just completely gets in the way.

worst cat to have in the room while sewing...

EVER!

to infinity, and beyond!

well, here i am on the floor, updating while taking a fabric cutting break.
i decided to make myself a buzz lightyear bag for this itty bit of a laptop
and instead of doing buzz lightyear print alternating with a different color like the original plan
for my bag i opted to do all 8 strips as buzz lightyear print.
now i'm sure you're thinking "wouldnt that be a bit repetative?"
of course not! not when i have 6 different buzz lightyear prints!
haa haa. yes, i love my buzz lightyear fabric :D
as of tonight, i plan to just do some fabric cutting, and then start assembling tomorrow after i'm home from work - i also need to get more magnetic snaps for these bags.
i've got piles of fabric around me, so i should prob get back to cutting.
hopefully, if all goes well, i'll have a bag or two photographed and uploaded tomorrow night for your viewing pleasure

first listing!

well, i did it!
finally got my first etsy listing on our store :)the fabrics are ones i got randomly in a swap done on craftster [favorite crafting website ever]
should have done the smaller bag, since the back of the bag is a totally different fabric [it does coordinate, don't worry] but i think it turned out amazing, and the smaller bag wouldn't have done it justice.

to see the more views of the bag, as well as the full listing, visit our etsy at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26093677

i'm off to load up a previous bag i made for myself back when i did erika, ariana and jenny's christmas gifts this past year, but then fell in love with the bag i use now [its black with white stars... LOVE]

on a family side note, happy birthday dad/uncle phil

sewing update

so i'm updating quick while waiting for the iron to heat up.
currently in the process of a bag - my outsides are together, i'm putting in the pocket, and about to do the snap and strap. from that point, just gotta get all the pieces together, and wha laa, we will have the first "by emily" listing on etsy.
that, plus the dino bag i made way back when, that i personally no longer attatched to. hah.
got fabric today to make some buzz lightyear bags, since my fabric i ordered came in the mail today. gotta love ebay ;)
hm. my zipper has gone MIA, so perhaps i should go look for that.
taa taa for now, and expect my next update to have some photos, and maybe even a link :P

this is me updating on my little bitty of a laptop my dad brought home for me
came home with a box yesterday, said "if you don't like it, theres 100 people in line to buy it"
and so i took it...
well, after joshua set up the network for me so i can get internet :P
hah, thats the most he's allowed to touch it.
first thing i thought when i looked at it...
"what kind of cute carrying case can i make for that?"
lol. and thinking about it...
i'm pretty sure the bags lisa and i have begun making might fit it nicely.
i didn't get a change to try it in the one i finished before i boxed it up to mail.
so once i get the next one(s) done, i can see if it works :P
---
with that said, lisa and i have begun craft fair crafting
so we will have some form of inventory to photograph for our application.
alas, i had to cease my crafting in order to go to work today...
tomorrow is a day off, so hopefully things will get done.
even though i ran out of fabric. lol
and interfacing is nearing its end...
bum bum buuuum

craft fairs are in the works

well, last night a simple text turned into a large swarm of brainstorming.
me: hey, if i find a craft fair would you be interested in sharing a booth?
lisa: heck yes!
---
a few google searches later, i found the one i was looking for
and funny thing, its NOT the loomis eggplant festival.
october 3 is the bella vista high school craft fair
which has a fairly decent turn out as far as booths and shoppers go.
lisa searched a bit this morning, and found the site for the strawberry festival
which is in august, yet no info has really been posted.
we're taking serious thought into this bella vista one
applications are due this month, as well as photographs of our inventory.
[mind you lisa and i began cutting out pieces of bags pretty much at the same time... miles apart from each other... lol.]
hopefully we can pull something together in this next week or so.
well, enough to photograph and turn in with our application, as well get our sellers permits or whatever else we need. *sigh* time to get crafty :P
good thing i finished all my swap items last night
and they're boxed and ready to go for tomorrow.
alas, i'm now off to work, and hopefully will be able to get more things cut out tonight, and perhaps do some bags assembly line style
------
love - emily ann

check.. check.. one two.

i'm posting this as a test run.
checking to see how i like blogger.
compared to livejournal
-mind you i'll still be on lj for personal garbage-
but i think i may move my crafty stuff over here

so there you have it.
now i've gotta make this much more "me"