Mother and Child

Toteally Red White & Blue

It was Michelle's last day at the office.  We all had little farewell gifts for her and this tote bag was my gift to her!  Michelle is an all-Amercian girl.  Everything about her is red-white-blue!  I had this idea of making her a tote bag the day she submitted her resignation.  I went to several fabric stalls looking for the right fabric.  Bought the denim, red-checks and a plain white (not shown here because I did not use it!) fabrics from Hobby Lobby.  Stared at these fabrics for a couple of days looking for some inspiration.  Nothing came :(  and somehow I felt that I was missing something.  Finally, on Saturday morning, I knew I had to go to the craft stall again.  It was raining heavily but to Joannes & Hobby Lobby I went again.  @ Hobby Lobby, there was this roll of fabric, white with red and blue stripes, waiting for me! (and it was on sale!!)  I did not see it during my previous visit here.

I used the red-checks fabric as the lining with a denim pocket on the inside.  Included a magnetic snap for closure.  The idea of adding fabric buttons came upon just before I stitched everything together.  TA-DA!  A red-white-blue tote bag for Michelle!  She loves it.  Several other ladies at the office also loved it.  I'm becoming the office bag lady!

 

Cottage Charm Give-Away Winner!

Sincere apologies!  This post is VERY! late.  In fact I am posting from work, I am having computer issues :(   

I'm dying to tell the world ... drum roll please ... guess who I picked as winner to my give-away!!??

Kim from One Woman's Cottage Life

Will Kim please communicate with me so I can send you my give-away items?

I received an overwhelming 73 comments on my Cottage Charm Give-Away post.  I appreciate every one of your comments and hope you continue to visit my blog.

I have completed a couple more crafts but will post it with pictures when the computer is back up again.

From the Bag Lady!

I am so hooked on making tote bags.  I see a tote bag in every piece of fabric I lay my eyes on.  Someone please help me ... tell me that I'm normal !

My girl friend is a single mother of a 2 year old girl.  My girl friend has been using this tote bag she once bought during a trip to Disneyland.  That bag is all princess and pink.  She loves that bag for practical reasons.  It was big enough to carry all her stuffs (& her little girl's) ~ water bottle, snacks, small toy, tissue paper, wallet, coin purse, makeup pouch, handphone, carkeys, etc, etc.  Also, that pink princess bag has handles long enough she could carry over her shoulders.  But princess and pink just don't go with most of her work clothes and sometimes make her look somewhat weird (like she is refusing to grow up!) when she is alone after she dropped her daughter off at the childcare.   

Solution ... I made her this tote bag (using measurements from her pink princess bag).  I also used her favorite colors, orange and black! 

Surprise! ... I also made an identical one for her daughter :)

 

Maybe it is ok to be hooked on making tote bags because I am feeling happy :)

My New Toy

I have been busying snapping away.  The Nikon D40X digital camera is amazing.  My Sony Cybershot camera could never capture good pictures of Bailey.  I think she is camera shy and often dodges.  With the new Nikon camera, I was able to get good shots before Bailey realises it !

I was so excited and kept snapping away until Bailey showed her displeasure :(

I bought this camera from Ritz Camera.  I will be able to attend classes conducted by the "Ritz University".  These lessons should help me understand the basics of operational concepts and creative possibilities of my new camera.  A total of 18 modues (18 hours) covering the basics through more advanced understanding of photography.

I hope to be able to share the things I am going to learn with you all out there.  This will be so much fun!

Last Saturday, I helped my Heather organised a 'welcome home after honeymoon' party for her daughter.  No caterers were called.  We prepared most of the food and drinks ourselves, table dressings too! 

Chocolate dipped strawberries and the freshly cut fruits arrangement were the top favorites.

 

 

It was a beautiful afternoon.  I helped Heather, but she taught me so much that afternoon.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to ALL the mothers of the world!  (those of you who do not have children but love children anyway are also included.)  Mike sent me this "Singing Baby Quartet" ecard from Yahoo! Greetings.  It is too cute!

I love being a mother.  There were occasions when I thought it was the most difficult mission on earth, but I still love being a mother.  I don't do it right all the time, but I still love being a mother.  My heart  would miss a beat each time I look at Pei's pictures and realised I have been a mother for more than 19 years now. 

Look what my baby girl made for me ...

... a collage of her pictures.  I LOVE! it, I LOVE! it, I LOVE! it :)

And Mike got me this ...

... a D40X Nikon digital camera!!  This camera comes with Digital Photography classes.  I promised myself I will attend the lessons and learn how to put this camera to good use.

Being a mother is soooooooooooo rewarding !

   

Garden of Eve

I bought this paper flower kit from Paper Source.  Their business logo is "Do something creative every day" and they certainly sell stuffs to help you achieve that!  They carry a very impressive range of paper products, labels, etc, etc.  What really attracted me was their kits.  They carry at least 20 flower kits and all of them were gorgeous.  It was a tough choice but I only bought one.  The kit comes with assorted paper, floral wire & floral tape sufficient to make 10 flowers.  Of course pattern and instructions were included.  @ $14 per kit, that wasn't too pricey especially since now that I know how to make them, I can make as many flowers as I want to using paper and supplies from my massive scrapbooking/craft inventory.  If any one of you folks out there are interested in the pattern and instructions, do drop me a line and I will share them with you.

 

These paper flowers make a great Mother's Day gift.  Don't you think so?

I also bought their Baby Booties Kit.  I am planning a baby shower for a friend and thought I could make some baby booties to go with my invitations.  Baby shower ... that is my next project.  I would appreciate any ideas and suggestions from you creative people out there.

Today is a new day of a new week.  Let's make the most of it ... I mean the entire week!

No More Pain

Mike's dad passed away after more than 1-1/2 years of being immobilized from a stroke.  He was 83.  I believe his passing was a relieve for him.  It was hard seeing him dwindle away.  During his last days, he was calling out for his sister who was gone before him.  I believe the brother and sister are now reunited.  There is no more pain.