I know that Spring is coming.

I know that spring is around the corner when my dad starts tapping trees to make maple syrup and the seeds my parents planted for the garden start to sprout.  There might still be snow on the ground, but winter is almost over!

I Want: This Dress

 UPDATE: I BOUGHT IT. Shame on me.


How adorable is this dress at Forever21?  I've been lusting after it since it showed up in their lookbook over a month ago, I even scoured the giant F21 in Madison to find it with no avail.  It hasn't even appeared for purchase on their website until today.

But my beef with it is: why is it so SHORT?  Is showing your bum the cool thing now-a-days? For $20 I would definitely buy it (my philosophy is that buying something is SOOO much easier than making it, so if the cost of a finished garment is only slightly more than the materials to make it, it's worth purchasing) BUT I'm afraid my butt would stick out.  After all this waiting and wishing and wanting I guess I won't buy it afterall. I'll just save the picture and hope to get up the ambition to make a longer-length look-a-like!

(p.s. If anyone feels the urge to buy it FOR me, I'm not refusing! ;-) I could make it work!)

Does anyone else "window shop" at various online stores and save pictures of all the stuff that you think/wish you could make?  I do it so much I think that I'm starting my own database!

Arg!

I cut out a new dress last night and had enough fabric leftover that I decided to do a self-lining. Well, ...I FORGOT TO CUT OUT A PIECE! No wonder I had so much leftover!

That's me, I got turned into a Red Panda recently.

Sigh, I'm thinking I'm going to have to piece together some scraps tonight! :-P

Mr. Monster Needs a FACE

Check out his whimsical horns, his threatening claws, his BLANK expression.

Mr. Monster needs a FACE!  Now taking suggestions!  Use the image below to draw your own face in paint, just right click and "save-as," design in paint, and send me a link! :)

Tip: Staying Organized

Here's a tip I'm passing on that originally came from my lovely mother. 

You know those silly bags you get sheets and curtains in?  Yeah, I don't know WHO thinks that a set of sheets is EVER going to fit in there again!  You can reuse them to hold your various crafting/sewing projects!  This keeps the pieces from getting separated so that everything is right where you need it the next time you dig it out of your works in progress pile.  The clear ones are especially nice so you can see what's inside!

New Plush: Sassy Mouse + GIVEAWAY *CLOSED*

Okay, so some of you might recognize Grumpy mouse, he was my first prototype of the Bouncing Belly Button pattern, because he has secretly appeared in this blog before.  Well, to make a long story short, he has been bugging me to make him a girlfriend for ages and since I had quite a few scraps left over from sewing Blueberry I decided to oblige.  Meet Sassy!

Aren't they the cutest couple?

I hope he doesn't think that the bow on her head is cheese...

I had enough scraps in fact that I made another girly-mouse for you readers!  Yes, YOU!  I wanted to do a small giveaway for a while and I just can't wait any longer.  As I get more followers I'm hoping to do bigger giveaways in the future, so PLEASE, tell your friends about me!  You'll get sweet stuff out of the deal! :)

See the details of the contest under the break!

New Plush: Blueberry

Check out my new prototype plush design for a red blue panda.  The body is based off of a Simplicity pattern but I altered it to be cuter.  I also need to come up with a better solution for the tail for the next one.  Something less skinny and lemur-y. Maybe a tad shorter too.

I didn't have the appropriate red panda colors when I started Blueberry so he's kinda funky looking, but still super cute! :D

I'm really happy with how this little guy turned out, I just wish that he was a little easier to make, there is a lot of piecing and hand-stitching going on with this one! With the bad weather going on today I might have to cancel my evening plans, but that will also give me a start on the next one (with the right colors)!

What do you think about Blueberry?  Would you want one? Do you think he looks too much like a raccoon?

p.s. Check out live webcam of Red Pandas here! They're being really cute right now and snuggling together...awwwww. ^__^

Project: Duct Tape Dressform

I finally did it!  I've been wanting to try out this project for a long time since I don't have a dressform and don't foresee forking out the dough to buy a new one any time soon.

Many of you will recognize this project, it's been floating around the internet for quite some time.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the technique, the dressform is essentially a duct-tape paper-maiché copy of your body which you then stuff and mount on a stand.

Project: Blog Button

Hey guys!  Ever notice how your eyes are drawn to those animated ads, even the really annoying ones?  Ever wish that you could make one to advertise your blog or Etsy store?  Using this tutorial that was featured over at The Intermission, YOU CAN!

If you notice, I did a little blog cleaning. Got rid of a few ads and general clutter and made up one of these for myself.  What do you think?

New Stuff on Etsy!

Finally! Internet is working again so I could post my new stuff on etsy!  Check it out! :D

The SUPER MOON approacheth!

Mark your calendars for Saturday my friends!  The moon will be the closest it has been in 18 years and is dubbed the "Super Moon" because of its large appearance!

If you want to know when the moon will rise in your area, use this calendar!

Pray for a clear night everyone!

Also, beware the Ides of March! ;)

I'm Super Stylish!

I got a blogger award from Jenna at jennasaurus.  You should really check out her cute handmade, crocheted goods.  She is also the best haiku writing craft blogger around!

The rules are:

1. thank the person who tagged you and link back to their blog
2. share 7 random facts
3. share the blog love!

1. I’m afraid of aliens. I always have been ever since I was a kid. And weird thing is that I’m not even sure if I believe they exist.
2. I don’t like wearing socks if I don’t have shoes on. My feet need to be liberated from their sockky oppression every once in a while.
3. I like the smell of cigarettes, wood smoke, old books, and dank basement. Sometimes I agree with people when they say it smells bad but I secretly really like it.
4. I LOVE COOKIES. If I had no self control I would eat 100 a day.
5. I taught myself how to write backwards. Even in cursive. I have no idea what purpose this may serve in real life.
6. I want to recreate the day from Ferris Bueller’s Day off. I don’t know if it’s humanly possible but I’d give it a shot.
7. I'm obsessed with cute things.  My current fixation is red pandas, in case you didn't notice. And you can probably expect a couple of red panda related plush coming at you in the coming weeks! :D

Check out these great blogs:

Simply Step Back

The Mad Crafter

Vivat Veritas

Ruby Murray

Quite Frankly

For other awesome blogs check out the list of blogs I follow over on your left there!

Happy Pi Day Everyone!

It's time for everyone's favorite math-related holiday!

New stuff coming to the shop in the next few days so stay tuned!

Baby Red Pandas being Adorable

Link: Another Flower Pin

This one looks super neato.

Holidash

p.s. Check out Ruby Murray's Musings for a finished one!

I'm Loving: Red Pandas

If you haven't checked out Firefox's live web cam of Red Pandas you're missing out on some serious cuteness.  I'm OBSESSED with these guys, could they get any cuter?  I don't think so.

Art: Ovals

A Drawing and painting from last year.

Recipe: Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

Blueberries + Yogurt = YUM.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray muffin pan with non stick spray.
2. Blend dry ingredients.  Add eggs, yogurt, and butter.  Mix only until just combined.  Fold in vanilla and blueberries. 
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
4. Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the muffins.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are springy.  Cool slightly in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to avoid squishiness.
6. Eat!

Project: Zippered Pouch

It's my great-grandma's birthday next week and instead of just sending a card in the mail I thought it would be fun to send her a present.  I used Skip To my Lou's tutorial and some scrap fabric to put this together.

It was super simple, fast, and it only cost about 80¢ to send in a regular first class envelope!

It would be a fun gift to send to a pen pal too.  I hope all my grandma's bingo winnings fit in here!

I'm Loving: Yarn-Craft Poufs

Look at how cute these knit and crocheted pouf are!  I think I'm going to need to add these to the to-do list!

lacasadecotó

lacasadecotó

Pickles - Puff Granny's Baby

Pickles - Puff Daddy's Baby

CB2

 Pickles - Puff Daddy

P.S. click the links on the Pickles ones for patterns! Score!

Recipe: Almost Guilt Free Brownies

Ever want to eat half a pan of brownies?  All the time?  Yeah, me too.  It's an easy little switch-a-roo to make them much lower in fat and just about as tasty.

I made some brownies based on this recipe at Food.com. I didn't have low-fat yogurt on hand, I had homemade whole milk yogurt, so mine weren't quite as guilt free as they could have been, but after eating a quarter of the pan I didn't feel bad at all.