Plaid and Lace Drawstring Skirt Tutorial

Love this plaid skirt and lace tutorial from Kojo Designs. Think my little ones would look quite cute in these tartans.

I Love This Video

It's J-Krafty, the original crafty gangsta yo! I love this!

I Really Want To Make These

This is from the girls at Crop Suey. They always have great tutorials so please give them a look-see!

Cupcake Ornament

You know that I will be making these A.S.A.P. Just gotta find the fake snow!

Here is the link!

Snow Globe Tutorial

Hey,
Long time no blog! Here is a fantastic tutorial by a crafty friend of mine Amy from Peptogirl Industries over at Handmade and Homebaked. This girl is the super crafter of all crafters! Please check out her amazing goodies and blog. Click on the word "tutorial" above to learn how to make her cute holiday snow globes!

My Favorite Things

I don't get very much time anymore to do any blog reading. I used to have just five or six craft blogs and a few mommy blogs that I would read, but my problem is, that I have so many great blogs in my favorites area, that I get overwhelmed and really don't get to many of them. So I pick out a few of my favorites once a week and try to catch up. These ladies are everyday bloggers unlike myself, and really keep them running like a fine tuned machine. So here are a few that I found inspiring today. I always love the full color pictures. I am visual you see, so these make me happy....................................

First off is Bitter Betty's Blog. She has a great rick rack tutorial for her cafe curtains. I am done with blinds. It's all about the cute cafe curtains. So easy to make, you can change them up as often as you like. Look at her beautiful kitchen. Nice. And then, there is this beautiful jacket that she made. Love it. Wished I owned it. IKEA fabric. Next, we have Posie Gets Cozy. This picture here is off an old post, but I love the color and design of the scrapbooking paper that has been framed.

Thirdly, I love reading Naughty Secretary Club. Jennifer Perkin's mom made this fabulous little piece of kitsch for her yard. This definitely made me want to learn to mosaic. One craft I really really want to try. So that was my inspiration for today. I have been busy filling a few

orders for people before I head out on vacation. Hope to be in full blogging order when I get back.

I Think That I Need This

How cute is this guy. I was hunting on etsy tonight for some cute softies and came across this darling robot. A retro "Wall-e-esq" robot with a scarf. I love it. I think that I need it. This seller had so many cute softies to choose from. Here is the link so that you can check it out too. They also have a pretty awesome blog.

It's Been A While

I'm back. It's been a few weeks. We are still fighting illness. Scout is much better, I came through my bug, but now the Peanut has a virus with croup. Tis the season for illness. So, I have been busy with sick kids, and distributing Girl Scout Cookies. I have already polished off a box of Thin Mints. They are my favorite.

I did make some time for crafts last week. I made about eight little tissue holders for Valentines Day. The first one I made was Betty Boop on a Harley for my good friend Michele. She and her husband Johnny love their motorcycle and are totally into their customized bikes. Check out their blog to see Johnny's creations. The tissue holder came out really cute!

I bought a yard of Valentines Day fabric to use for various projects and thought that these tissue holders were the thing to make. The girls loved them! I don't give the girls candy on Valentines Day. I know, what a boring Mom. This year, they got tissue holders and Valentines Day books. They thought they were cool! If you would like this super simple pattern for these tissue holders, check out one of my favorite blogs : Skip To My Lou

I also busted out several batches of Valentines brownies for different friends! I used Martha Stewarts idea about cutting them out with heart cookie cutters and also used another tip that she had on her show to get the brownies out of the pan without greasing it. I used parchment paper to line my pan, and lifted them right out. Go Martha! You are the best!!! It worked great. Most of you probably already know that trick, but I am just a little behind the times.

The Peanut wanted to make goody bags for her class party. I usually try to be really crafty and creative, but this year, it was all about the dollar store. I spent way less money and I think they turned out really cute.

So that was the week that I didn't blog about. Next project.......salt dough ornaments!

Photocraft Emboridery

I have been embroidering since I was about seven years old. My Grandma Margie (the seamstress extraordinaire) taught me when I went to stay at her house for a week in the summer. It was love at first stitch! My first piece was a dishtowel that I made for my Mom with two little bees on it. If I find it, I will post a picture. I was so excited to give it to her, that I couldn't wait for her birthday and handed it to her as soon as she stepped out of the car to pick me up. I was so proud. I love the gratification that you get when you finish an embroidery piece. I haven't embroidered in a while and recently got back into this fantastic craft. I found this video on YouTube and thought that this was such a cool idea for some gifts for friends and family.

Black Apple Dolls

A couple of weeks ago the Scout came down with the creeping crud and my husband and the Peanut decided they would make our scheduled trip to the family cabin without us. We didn't want to risk the ear infection. Guess what, she got the ear infection anyway! So while the Scout and I sat at home a wee bit bored in front of the TV, I thought we might get the sewing machine out and whip out a couple of Black Apple Dolls. I had been watching Martha Stewart a few weeks before and saw my favorite crafty girl, Emily Martin of The Black Apple being interviewed. She showed the audience how to make these cute dollies and then put a free pattern on Martha's website. How sweet is that? So I ran in and hit the print button in a jiffy and was waiting till I had a bit of time to whip up these little darlings. I really wanted to do them in a Halloween print with some goth black hair. I have tons of Halloween scraps laying around since it happens to be one of my favorite holidays.

I think the dolls came out really cute and my girls were so excited to get a little gift for Halloween. I did fudge a bit on the faces. I didn't have any canvas but I did have some old muslin curtains that my mom was getting rid of that worked fantastic. I also want to suggest to NOT use a Sharpee marker for the faces as I did. Invest in a nice fabric marker like I should have.

Here is a link to Emily Martin's tutorial: Black Apple Dolls. I hope you enjoy it!

Be sure to stop by my other blog at Cowgirls and Cupcakes and leave us a comment or send us a recipe via email to get you qualified for our 2nd big giveaway!

Two Really Cool Blogs

I love to read other peoples blogs especially when I can find something that I have in common with the blog writer. The first one is: According to Kelly and is a must read if you are a mommy, wife, crafter extraordinaire. She has great postings and a really cool SWAP once a year that I just participated in. Please check out her blog if you get a chance as well as her etsy shop with her awesome jewelry.

The other blog I would love for you to check out if you haven't already is:
No Time For Flash Cards. This site has some amazing projects for kids. This site is so fantastic. I really wish that I could have found it earlier in the summer!

Thank You Heather!

This is a little late due to a big family vacation, but wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to my wonderful SWAP partner for the "My Favorite Things SWAP" - Mrs. Heather Larson. The first time I read Heather's two blogs I knew that I was going to have the coolest partner - EVER! Her package arrived and I couldn't wait to bust right into it. Check out all of the cool color coordinated goods that she hooked me up with. Her theme was how to survive a summer pregnant. Although I am not prego, she is expecting her first little one in September and also lives in Arizona. I can't imagine dealing with 110 degree heat while having a swingbelly. I used to complain in the middle of June when it reached 95 and I had gained 70lbs (gulp) of a swingbelly. I can't imagine 110!!!!! Heather had it going on with all of her cool things to survive a pregnant summer. I am a handbag junkie so the cute little seahorse handbag was immediately put to use as well as those hot yellow sunglasses! I love all of the fun things in the package and have already used every single thing that was in there. Thank you Heather! One of my favorites was a mood magnet that she included. The hub checks it every day to see what my mood is and if he needs to proceed with caution. LOL. Thank you so much Heather for the fun package and I hope that you like what I sent! Check out Heather's digi blog. I wished that she lived closer so that she could teach me all about digital scrapbooking! It fascinates me!

My Cute Yard Bird

Have you seen my cute yard bird. I just wanted to share a picture of him! I think he has such personality. He is made out of all recycled parts and stands tall and proud while protecting our garden from its unwanted predators. I think you need one of these birds too! The price was fantastic! If you would like to order one of these fabulous guys for your yard and live in the Sacramento or surrounding areas, or don't mind driving to pick it up, please contact: sactowatt@aol.com.

Please type "Garden Bird" in the subject line! Sorry the cute kiddos are not included, but it does give you a good idea of how tall they stand. I am really thinking about getting another one so he has a buddy. Who needs gargoyles when you have yard birds?

A couple of things...

I have missed so much blogging and the only excuse I have for it is the Peanut catching a really bad virus that turned into croup. Lovely stuff. The humidifier, 7-up and SpongeBob have been running pretty much 24 hours a day around here. Now, I have the creeping crud too. What a bummer! Anyway, I will have to play a bit of catch-up now, so there will be quite a bit of info in this post.

First and foremost, I have to catch up by posting about the Jazz Festival. It was weeks ago now, but wanted to post about how much of a good time we had. We have family friends Matt and Sherri Colby-Bottel that play in the Blue Street Jazz Band at the Festival. I have seen Matt and Sherri perform on many occasions but have always wanted to see them play at the Jazz Festival. We didn't purchase tickets because we were unsure how long we would actually be able to stay at the festival with two small kids. We checked out the schedule the night before and knew they were playing at the Downtown Plaza Piazza, so we went to check it out. They have the Sacramento Brew Pub and Grill convenient placed across the way from the stage so we decided to break for a little lunch and see if we could snag a patio seat to watch the show. We were able to score a table outside and had a nice lunch. The band showed up and played. Sherri wasn't singing until the next venue, so we definitely wanted to stick around till the next show. All of the band members were fantastic, and as you can see by the pic above, there was a whole lot of dancing going on. The band is situated all over the United States. Matt and Sherri currently reside in Louisiana where Sherri is finishing up her doctorate program and Matt works out of their home as a computer program designer. Their music is described as "New Orleans jazz with a mix of swing, Mardi Gras, folk song, marches, waltzes, Latin music, and hymns." Truly an eclectic mix. I would highly recommend checking out their website for a look see and a listen too. I just noticed that they also have a myspace with one of my new favorite songs, "Creole Song," which is truly amazing to listen to. We made our way over to the Pizza Pavilion for their next show. We didn't buy tickets, but there were places on the street that you could see into the show. To our surprise, Sherri worked her magic and got us in to see their show. It was great, and the kids enjoyed dancing it up. I always enjoy watching people perform when you know they love what they do. Matt has been playing the banjo for as long as I can remember. His mom and my mom have been best friends since kindergarten so I have known him for many years. Sherri does all the vocals and has been singing with the band since she was thirteen. Here is a pic that the hub took after the show. The band will be celebrating their 25th year together this year! Congratulations to the band and a big Thanks to Matt and Sherri for a great time at the Jazz Festival!

That same weekend we took our first trip ever to our local farmers market. It was fun. A little more pricey than what I had expected, but it was still cool seeing all the fresh produce and flowers. I did have to break down and buy some fresh flowers for my kitchen. I couldn't resist. They also had a man there that had bottled his own olive oil. He was Italian of course, and greeted my daughter with a "Ciao Bella," he was probably in his sixties but I was in love. The accent gets me every time. If I went to Italy or Ireland I may never return. Ha Ha. Sorry cute husband of mine, you know that I am just kidding! So I am definitely going to return to buy some olive oil from him when I run out of the 50 gallons that I just recently purchased from Costco.

We were on a mission when we went to the Farmer's Market, we were on a strawberry mission! We planned to go home and bust out some yummy strawberry jam that afternoon. The prices were pretty high for strawberries, so we jumped in the car and ran down the street to the local strawberry stand where we scored a flat for only $18.00. A true bargain especially when they were just picked that morning. The car smelled like a giant strawberry shake by the time we got home. My husband has made jam on one other occasion and I, myself, have never made jam. My Grandma makes jelly and jam by the droves every year. She is truly and incredible woman, one that I will have to dedicate a whole post to. Like I said before, I have never made jam so the hub took over the jam making process with the girls and I shot the pics. Here are couple of the yummy ones:

The jam came out great. We ended up having eight large jars. My contribution was the pictures and the artsy labels. We have already given away seven of the eight jars so we will be bustin out some more pretty soon here.

Another thing that I have been meaning to blog about was a great new blog and website that is from the creative minds of a few of my Craft Mafia sisters. Its called Pimp Stitch. If you love embroidery as much as I do, you will definitely want to check out this site. They are offering a free pattern a week until their opening of their site late this month. So head on over and check out the creative brains of Amy Cluck of Peptogirl, Missy Balance of Mohair Circus, Tamie Snow of Roxycraft and Lauren Brandy of Goody Goody. Please go and "Pimp Your Stitch!"

And speaking of Mrs. Missy Balance. I received a fun package in the mail the other day that had such cool things inside. I had ordered one of her spool doll cell phone charms off of her etsy shop. It is so cute and looks quite good with her dark bobbed hair and my pink razor. She also included some super cute tags that say "Hey Cupcake" made with one of her Amuse stamps that she designed. This girl is multi-talented! I love the cupcake tags and am now going to have to purchase this cute stamp because we are having a cupcake party for the girls birthday and this stamp is just what I need. So thanks Missy!

A Gift In The Mail

I love getting mail. I wish everyone would just stop emailing and go back to writing letters, it would make me so happy. I have always had an affinity for stationery and pens, stamps and sealing wax; so you can imagine my delight when I opened up the mail the other day and found the best present waiting for me. It was personalized stationery made for me by the very talented Melissa Haworth of Haworth Handmade. She is also a fellow Craft Mafia sister of mine. I didn't realize till I opened them, that there were many different designs that she had included. How awesome is that! I was a winner of her pay-it-forward contest on her blog and this was my prize! It is so fabulous, I can't wait to write a note and send it on. Thank you Melissa for my nice present and for spelling my name correctly!! I love them!

Thank You Bouton Blue!

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Stacey at Bouton Blue. I won her pay-it-forward contest. Yeah! I get to pick out something on her etsy shop and I am so excited. I have known Stacey since high school. Stacey and I have had many fun adventures together and I am so excited that she is also a Craft Mafia sister of mine. Stacey has the best vintage button rings around and she is an incredible knitter to boot. Please check out her etsy store and shop till you drop. Her button rings and knitted hats make great gifts or just a nice treat for yourself as well. You also might want to check out her great blog called Pill's Place. Thanks Stace!

Earth Day Festival

I just sold some of my wares at the Earth Day Festival at Southside Park here in Sac-a-tomato and I have to say it went really well! Me and a few of my Craft Mafia sisters set up shop under the trees. It was a beautiful location but so super cold. Our noses were running and my teeth were chattering as I was talking to passerbys. I shared a table with Craft Mafia sister Sophia of Simply Strands. Sophia was the best selling partner ever. She has the coolest personality and is a super talented jewelry designer. She was the coolest too over not eating her peanut butter granola bar. I totally appreciate it Sophia. You saved me from a day of hives and asthma. She has the best fused glass necklaces, so be sure to check her out! Some of the other Mafia sisters that were there included Lorrain of Rain's Embellishments, Antoinette of Creatress Designs, Amy of Peptogirl Industries and Monica and Ruby of Puppybird. All of them very talented girls.

I wish I could say that I have great pictures from the event, but alas my camera died and my spare battery decided to have a malfunction so I only got a couple of pics of our table and they are both not very good. But Amy on the other had took some fabulous pics that you can check out on her flickr. Our table looks much nicer in her pictures.

A big thanks to my friends Kirsten and Bill for coming out to visit me at the Earth Day Festival! It was nice to see familiar faces and I got to meet their cute little boys.

I made it back home not totally frozen to the core and happy over the days successes. I am going to be busting out some more paintings over the next month or so. I did get some good suggestions from customers so I will make a note and try to implement them into my paintings. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Check Out My New Card

My best buddy Kim is a really great graphic artist and super talented in her Adobe Photoshop skills. I have a business card that I had printed when I started Pink Petunia Designs, but unfortunately when I ordered them, it was about 2 o'clock in the morning, and I was sleepily unaware of the fact that I had included my address on them. I know, not to smart, right. So my buddy Kim designed me some new cards with my little Pink Petunia pig on them and added some fun paper and "voila," my new cards were born. Here they are! I love them! Thanks Kim.

You Make My Day!

Look at what I got awarded! This was so cool. Thank you Amy from Handmade and Homebaked for awarding me the "You Make My Day" award. I really appreciate it! She actually awarded me this last month and I embarrassingly have not payed-it-forward yet. Here are the rules for the "You Make My Day" award. You award this to blogs that inspire you and always bring a smile to your face. Once you award it. The awardee simply passes it on to five of their faves. This one is going to be hard. Have you seen how long my blog role is? They are really all my favorites, but I do have a few that make me grin when they have posted something new. Here they are in no particular order of greatness:
Sweet Jessie - I love reading this one and I am totally coveting the beautiful quilt that she made for her mom.

Bitter Betty - She always has cool WIP's and the cutest kitty that looks like my old Mrs. Cat.

Candice Carpenter- Because she has the best kits and scrapbooking savvy and I am hoping to one day be honored enough to take a class from her.

Kristen Beason Designs - Her designs include two of my favorite items - Halloween and Folk Art a great combo and an incredible artist to check out!

Nimmers Thoughts - Because she is my best buddy in the whole world and the coolest Mom on the block with her new blog!

Thank you all for having such wonderful blogs to read and for inspiring me in so many ways!

Thank You Haworth Handmade

I have been a little behind in my blog reading due to Easter break and the bunny and eggs and all, and finally got a few moments to catch up on the blogosphere. I was a few weeks past due so you can imagine my surprise when I opened one of my favorite blogs to read called

Under Construction and found out that I was one of the winners of her Pay-It-Forward Contest. It is written by the ever-so-talented seamstress and woodworking extraordinaire, Melissa Haworth. Also a Craft Mafia sister of mine. I was so behind in my reading that she had posted it before Easter and I had not yet seen it. So I am so excited to get a little package in the mail from her. I love reading Melissa's blog because: 1) I can totally relate to her when she tells of her toddler tales with Biscuit 2) She sells such cool stuff and is a totally talented woodworker, seamstress and crafter (as mentioned above.) 3) Her tutorials rock! - She has done two just recently on using a rotary cutter properly (which I haven't been) and one on how to make a log cabin quilt square. Both were super informative for those of us who have never made a quilt but long to be a fabulous quilter. So thanks Melissa.

So the Pay-It-Forward contest is now going to be paid forward. Please leave a comment on this post about how you would pay it forward if you were given $1,000.00, and I will draw three commenter's names out of hat on April 6 for a special surprise from Pink Petunia Designs. The only request is that you pay-it-forward to three more individuals. It can be big or small. Whatever you can do. So comment away!