Newton!

I was having a crumby afternoon and instead of wallowing on the couch, I decided to finally sit down and sew a stuffie of my character Newton!

He turned out awesome!! I’m so happy with it. I had been wanting to sew him for a very long time (a year? more?) I definitely want to try and make more of him and maybe some different versions/friends.

And now I feel happy and content! Sewing = therapy.

Crafty Discovery

One of the last times I went to Arizona, I raided my parent’s garage looking for things I decorate our new house with. I found these old table linens that I my mom would never use again. Some were kind of cheesy old and dated, but I love that kind of stuff.

When my mom was here a few weeks ago, she saw one that I currently had on the dinning room table. “You have these? Your grandmother made them!”

Awesome!! Instantly I loved those linens even more and I was so excited! My grandmother was crafty! I always knew she made a lot her own things, she lived in a small farm village in Croatia, it was a way of life, but I didn’t know that my mom had some of the things she made.

I just love the detailing on this one! How did she embroider the gaps? It must’ve taken such a eye and time to wrap the green edge with the white thread.

Now I know where I get my craftyness from!

But I’m so happy that I now own something that she made and it means so much to me. Finding old and vintage things are exciting, but having them be from your family makes it even that more special. And I don’t have a lot of that. We moved a lot, all our relatives are across the ocean and holding on to old things wasn’t what my mom really cared for. Rob’s mom has even given me some glass bowls and a tea set that were her mother’s. I love putting them around the house. And then, I’ll one day give my own children these things and some that were my own and I hope that they’ continue the same: )

The Lisette Market Tunic

This past Friday I sewed this tunic to wear on Easter!

It’s from Simplicity’s new Lisette line. I LOVE this line! All of the patterns are so cute. I chose to try out the Market tunic first.

This was so quick and easy to sew. I was finished in one day! The fit is rather good, except for the armholes which are a little tight. I typically have that problem because of my body shape. I would definitely sew this again along with the different variations.

Of course, now I have the sewing bug, but I can’t figure out what to sew next!! Heh.

Paint a Picture

The inu-hariko (paper mache dog) is one of my new favorite symbols from Japan. It’s a good luck symbol for children, child birth and parenting. He’s also the mascot for the Toyko-Edo museum^_~

Now, before you get any crazy ideas, I’m not pregnant. But I’ve been wanting to do a painting of this little guy for a long while now. If it could bring good luck for anything kid related, maybe it’ll help with trying to get pregnant?

I made an animated gif of my process too: )

Hey! This is also something from my list!

Suzy’s 30 things while 30 list:

1. Complete a puzzle

2. Go camping

3. Make a fritatta

4. Design my own Blythe outfit

5. Sew a stuffed toy

6. Run a race

7. Make a blanket

8. Paint a picture

9. Have a picnic 

10. Make a time capsule

11. Do a wood burn art

12. Stay in PJs all day and watch movies/shows

13. Give Blood

14. Make something for house

15. Bake a black forest cake

16. Watch an old classic movie

17. Dye hair

18. Play a board game

19. Travel to a new city

20. Make a traditional Japanese breakfast

21. Paint a room in the house

22. Redecorate a room in the house

23. Buy a fern

24. Finish all Style School projects

25. Open my Etsy store

26. Go to Discovery Place

27. Go to a botanical garden

28. Go out just with girls

29. Swing on a swing

30. Throw a party

Make a Blanket

I finally finished the quilt I’ve been working on! (what since the fall??)

It’s my first quilt. I didn’t really follow any quilting rules or anything. I just did some math on how my pieces should measure, cut, then randomly sewed the pieces together. I used all scrap fabric, which was challenging since I wanted the color scheme to be somewhat consistent and I only had so much of each fabric.

And it may be on the small side…but it’s a blanket nonetheless and it makes me happy sitting there with it on my lap. I just imagine having this blanket around for a long time, having the kids sleep with it, use it for picnics and all that fun stuff.

And it’s something else that I completed off my list!

Suzy’s 30 things while 30 list:

1. Complete a puzzle

2. Go camping

3. Make a fritatta

4. Design my own Blythe outfit

5. Sew a stuffed toy

6. Run a race

7. Make a blanket

8. Paint a picture

9. Have a picnic 

10. Make a time capsule

11. Do a wood burn art

12. Stay in PJs all day and watch movies/shows

13. Give Blood

14. Make something for house

15. Bake a black forest cake

16. Watch an old classic movie

17. Dye hair

18. Play a board game

19. Travel to a new city

20. Make a traditional Japanese breakfast

21. Paint a room in the house

22. Redecorate a room in the house

23. Buy a fern

24. Finish all Style School projects

25. Open my Etsy store

26. Go to Discovery Place

27. Go to a botanical garden

28. Go out just with girls

29. Swing on a swing

30. Throw a party

A holly hair clip I made for Christmas.

I want to sew a dress for the holidays. I want to sew this dress (green one without pockets and rickrack) My bust might be too big for it, so I’m sewing a muslin/trail version of it on this flower fabric my mother-in-law gave me;)

This is a pouch I made to hold my Shuffle and headphones. 

I think it turned out super cute! I just love that apple fabric.

*I named my Shuffle Newt: )

My Week

Meet Mr. Fox! He’s pretty much all I’ve been doing this week: ) I made him from the book Sew Me, Love Me. He’s supposed to have pants, but the ones I made look goofy and I think I like him as is. I also added gave him a neck and a collar to hold up his neck. I love how he came out!

We also finally bought paint for the office. I’m so excited to give it some color. Once we get new carpets, I’ll be moving my stuff and sharing the room with Rob.

Other than that, it’s been pretty chill around here. We watched My Neighbor Totoro, it was Rob’s first time seeing it. I love this movie so much! I could watch it again tonight: )

I hope to start on some more crafts this week. I do need to work on my dad’s Father’s Day gift, which I think will be a neck pillow, like the ones I made before.

Well, kind of short this week. See ya!

Hello shrug!

I finally did it! I actually crocheted something that I can wear that’s not a hat or scarf!


I got this shrug pattern from Get Hooked Again. I figured using a pattern in a book meant for teens might be simple enough for me to do. And it was! This was rather easy to make and it looks great and fits right!



I’m very proud of myself and can’t wait to wear it out. I’m going to have to make more and in fun colors! It also gives me confidence to maybe try making other stuff to wear. There’s a cute sweater vest from the same book that I might try next.