HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!!!

Hello everybody. Just a quick hello as I am swamped. I am almost done with my Christmas tree (yes I am very very late this year!) and my Christmas shopping is finally over.

If you need a last minute gift the deadline for orders for guaranteed Christmas delivery is on Wednesday the 18th. I am also offering a 10%discount on all purchases just use code babycakes upon checkout.

Okay the fun part. I am giving away this cell phone/gadget pouch called petits fours. Just check out my site here and tell me which one is your favorite or any comment on my stuff (yes just humor me!). I will announce the winner on December 19.

Please claim your prize within 5 days or another drawing will be done. Good luck!

New Hobby?

Well, not really. Sometimes you never know what will trigger your interest on something. I was cleaning my daughter's room a month or so ago when I stepped on one of her trinkets. It was a key chain with a pink butterfly and some plastic beads strung together. I thought it was really cute and would make a nice zipper pull. That was my main idea--start adding zipper pulls to my silk wristlets (I still have to add some to my site!!). I wanted some glass beads and maybe some Swarovski crystlals. Before I knew it I had accumulated so much stuff I decided I'll make a couple of earrings and charm bracelets for my daughter and I. The thing with beads is you just can't buy a couple of stones but you have to get a whole strand. To cut the story short one thing led to another and I decided I had spent so much on supplies I might as well start selling them.

Photographing them wasn't that easy. The purses are lot easier. I just go in the back and shoot. So I had to buy a small photo tent and some photography lights (an added expense, mind you). Removing the backgrounds was a pain ( I did a couple) but I have been looking online and I have seen that most have backgrounds that had been artistically blurred. I think it is really pretty and requires less time for me to prepare the pics for my site.

Small acorn earrings with unakite stones.

Love these frosted lucite flowers I call "wedding bells".

Amethyst Czech fire polished glass beads. I love the blurred purple background--I didn't even know my camera can do it.

Pink and purple glass beads with Picasso luster which I have named "romance"

Striking cobalt blue glass beads.

Antiqued silver tulips that tinkle when you wear them!

Blue glass beads with azuro coating (darker than Aurora borealis finish).

Sweet sixteen pink lucite flowers. Very sweet.

Check out my jewelry collection here. Hopefully I can add more within the next few days.

Okay I am done with my show and tell. Until next time. I have a giveaway coming up to stay tuned!

Finally--an embroidery machine!

Hello there. It's been awhile! Well I have finally bought an embroidery machine a, Janome 9500 ( about 2 months ago). I have always wanted one way before I started making purses. Since the closest Janome dealer is 2 hours away I decided to buy it online. I paid it off right away and I am so happy with that. I have been very good with not using my credit cards. My new motto--if you can't afford it, don't buy it!

I was sitting by the kitchen waiting for the UPS guy. I was so excited.

I finally found time to make a purse for me for a change. I haven't had a chance to put this on the site yet.

A gift for one of daughter's friend.

My first online order.

Another gift for a friend of my daughter's.

This one is for one of my retailers.

Another purse for me

These are the fonts available. It took me forever to do this. I have to test drive all of them make sure they stitch out really well. Then I took pictures of most of them and took the backgrounds off. I am quite proud of myself it does look really nice, don't you think so? I am slowly updating my site for monogramming but it such a hassle.

It is so much fun and when I can find time I will embroider some pillows for my daughter and I. Holiday shopping has started on the site so I have to be prepared. I am somewhat nervous and excited at the same time. Have a fabulous day!

Fay--The Aftermath

Well--one down! You might have heard about the widespread flood all over Florida. This is the worst that I remember. Not even past hurricanes caused such massive flooding. The storm actually came late since it was predicted to arrive at midnight but actually the relentless rain actually started at about 6:00 am.

This was about lunchtime. That bird is probably Sam. He's a permanent fixture in our backyard. He was so cool-- oblivious to the pouring rain and 60 mph wind! At this point I was getting worried as the water level kept getting higher.

By mid afternoon the strip of grass had all been covered with water and the lake and the small creek had merged. I was thinking we were certainly going to get flooded. We have a strip of grass before the backroom (where our three bunnies stay)but it didn't take long to get the water this high.

The day after. What a mess! At least we didn't get flooded.

Outside around the neighborhood. I was thinking well it wasn't so bad the water will receed soon. Well I spoke too soon because when I tried to get out to the main street the water was knee high!

Hurricane 2008

Here we go again! Living in gorgeous Florida is synonymous with tropical storms and hurricanes. We are not in the direct path of Fay but we will experience wind gusts of about 50 mph arriving midnight. I went through Andrew in 1992 and two back to back hurricanes (within 20 days each other) Frances and Jeanne in 2004. I am proud to say I am as prepared as I can ever be. Unfortunately for some they do it when a storm is approaching. I should have known better than to go to the grocery last night. On top of back to school shopping people were doing hurricane shopping and I was in line for half an hour at the check out counter!

I have been doing laundry because power failure is expected. In between loads I was trying to finish orders so hopefully they can go out on Wednesday.

My daughter is supposed to start school tomorrow. She had everything ready--uniforms pressed, new backpack filled with tons of pens and fancy binders--oh well she got an extra day of summer vacation!

Website Disaster!!!

It is 11:00 Pm EST and I just made a big mess of my website! I just want to shrivel and die. I had a new template installed and everything was fine and dandy a few minutes ago and I was trying to put in the Paypal logo and my biggest nightmare just came true. When I do some changes or additions (I haven't for a long time) I usually leave two similar windows open. If I made a mistake I would just go to the first window, update it and it would revert back to the original. This time though my brain wasn't functioning properly and I got confused. I have been working with my web designer most of the day and I guess it got to a point that my brain got fried. I just emailed her and hopefully will get back with me soon. I feel so embarrassed as she had been so helpful and patient with me today. I surely will have a restless night!

Tadpoles!! Day 1

I was pulling out weeds yesterday morning when I noticed some black wiggly things in our water fountain. Upon closer inspection I realized they were tadpoles and lots of them! I didn't notice any eggs in there (they look like tapioca suspended in sticky white froth). My daughter freaked out though--can you imagine how many frogs will there be? It is a treat to me though. We used to have a couple of doves lay eggs in the Spring. They loved one of our orchids pots hanging up front. One time they never came back but the eggs hatched. We had to call animal control so they can remove the poor chicks in there.

Anyway back to the tadpoles. In 4th grade we had a large aquarium where we had to observe how the eggs evolve into tadpoles and then to frogs. It was so much fun watching them hatch, see the tadpoles slowly lose their tails to be replaced by legs. We had so much fun. My question is do I leave them alone or put something to feed them? Any feedback would be wonderful. I will keep you posted.

New Fabrics in the House!

Hello everyone it's been a long long time! I have been so caught up with a couple of large wholesale orders.Finally I can start using the new fabrics I got a couple of weeks ago.It was hard not to touch them but I had some stuff to finish.

Retro floral prints. I love the two large scale prints on the right.

Bold colors and amazing prints some with chandeliers on it.

Yummy florals and paisley!

My creative juices are just spinning nonstop. From my favorite designer, Amy Butler.

Until next time. Have fun!

We have a winner.....

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day. The winner is----Kaye Stone. Congratulations!

Mother and Daughter Handbag Set Featured in Mag!

It is finally here! Our Imelda and Reaganne Handbag Set was featured in Woman's World May 12 issue. I was contacted last March about either the Mother and Daughter Sets or the Michelle Fabric Headbands being featured on their magazine. I didn't know it would be on their Mother's Day Issue.

Since I am on Cloud 9 right now and Mother's Day is coming up I am giving away a matching Michelle headbands, a Deanna wristlet,Yvette Phone/gadget keeper , Maddy cosmetic bag or a Beth fabric belt of your choice. Just leave a comment here and I will draw a winner on Sunday, May 11. I will announce the winner here. Please claim your prize within 3 days.

Have a fabulous Mother's Day everyone! Debbie.

Price not Claimed--Another Itsy Bitsy Pouch Winner Announced!

Well Colleen it's your lucky day, you won an itsy bitsy pouch as our winner hasn't responded within the time allotted. Please claim your price within four days. I can't stay long ladies I just wanted to say hello. Have a productive week.

Itsy Bitsy Pouch Winner

Sorry about the delay ladies. It is such a beautiful day. We have an unexpected cold front at this time of year. Mid 50s. Yeah! So I went for a walk at about 9:00 and it felt so invigorating. I really have to make time as I am lucky enough to live where walking or biking is very conducive. I know I should do this everyday but sometimes I have to finish some orders before mail pickup. It is so convenient nowadays--just print your postage at home and schedule a pick up. No need to wait and save money and gas! My lady carrier, Carol is so sweet and I love chatting with her once in a while.

The lucky winner is---elliemae! Contact me within 4 days and tell me which one you want. Thank you to all . There will be another giveaway soon. Have a great day.

Meet Yvette--Cell Phone/Gadget Case

My 12-year old daughter had been asking for a pouch to put in her most precious possessions--camera,cell phone and iPod. Even during my craft shows last year people were asking. After numerous drafts and 5-6 sample pouches it is finally ready (well almost as I still have to put them on the site). I love pockets and this is a great add on as well as a decorative element. It can be hooked to a purse strap or through a belt loop.

One of the sample pouches. It was too small for the other gadgets. This one is sized for a Razr.

It was such a beautiful day I had time to catch up on my reading and took pictures.
Presenting----Yvette, named after my sister-in-laws's sister. I am still preparing the images and hopefully be ready on the site by this weekend.

Our Spring freebie is still on. You have till the 15th to leave a comment before the drawing. Check it out here.

Spring Freebie!! Design your own Itsy Bitsy Pouch

I might have signed off a few times last week. I thought the start of Spring is this week and I planned to give one cute as a button itsy bitsy pouch. Anyway we have a cold front today, in the low 50s and in South Florida that is COLD. Most often than not when there's a considerable drop in temperature I get the sniffles. I can't complain, it is beautiful outside and it makes me feel happy to be alive-- until Summer when only the brave would go out in the sun and get fried.

Okay ladies leave a comment until April 15th and I will draw one lucky winner to get one Design Your Own itsy bitsy pouch (Rachel).

You can choose from my fabric collection (I will be adding more) or any fabric you see in my website.

I am off to do more sewing. Have a fabulous day.

My New Bed!

I finally got my bed done. It looks so nice I can't stop staring at it!

After buying my new bed and sheets this rocking chair was sticking out like a sore thumb. It just didn't go with anything so I decided to paint it brown. It is a vintage Ethan Allen that I got from an estate sale a few years ago. Very comfortable and it is where I sit when I find time to read. During the day a lot of natural light comes through and I have a view of a small garden patch directly by the window and further back, the water fountain from the lagoon.

At long last I can show you my new bed. I bought the headboard and bed frame (eliminating the need for a dust ruffle) about a month ago from West Elm. I haven't treated myself lately and I have been sewing like there was no tomorrow. A week after this post I went ahead and bought it. A birthday present for myself, so to speak. I have put it at an angle because the room's configuration (is that the right word?) changed since the old closet was removed and a new walk in closet was put in right across the bed. The Chinese cabinet had to be moved to accommodate the closet door. I made all the pillows except the ones that came with the duvet including the one in the rocking chair. The vintage Oriental glass topped bedside table was from the antique store across the street. The inspiration for the capiz shell strands was from an old West Elm catalog. I decided to use the small window as another decorative element instead of hiding it behind a curtain as I originally planned. I made the silk dupioni curtains too.

I am loving the white and espresso color combo so much that I bought another duvet set.

And the winner is.......

After all the nail biting from everybody, the winner was announced today. Check it out here. So many talented ladies and all entries are winners in my book. I consoled myself by saying---well I a really need an embroidery machine not a quilting machine and I have all those books (for the runners up) anyway!

Amy Butler Sew Inspiring Contest Entry

This is my entry to the Amy Butler inspired bag. The winner will be chosen the week of March 10. Grand price is a 2,000.00 sewing machine! I was able to finish it (took be about 1 1/2-2 hours) just in time for the February 29th deadline.

For the little princess who likes all the frills the Riyanna Cutie Pie Handbag is a perfect fit! This is one of my favorite prints--perfect for a flower girl! I used sunburst roses for the main print paired with coordinating stripes. Accented with the sweetest double ruffle in pink dotty beans and scalloped edged Swiss embroidery that echo the main print.

Preppy white ribbon closure.

Twirly girly girl ruffles. The double ruffles remind of the fancy smocked/heirloom dresses I used to make for my darling daughter.

I used pink dotty beans for the lining and blue exotic birds fabric for the pocket. This Cutie Pie Handbag has two pockets for her treasures and a pencil slot.

It's my birthday--it's my birthday!!! Itsy Bitsy Pouch Giveaway

Actually it WAS my birthday on the 24th but I haven't had a chance to post something here. I just turned -tyfive (I am not telling) but my friends say I look younger. As a young kid I used to be teased about missing some screws up there because I was born close to the 29th ( February being an incomplete month). As usual I'm running into myself these days trying to finish up orders and being a single mom. That said, I am giving away one itsy bitsy coin pouch. If you happen to drop by just leave a comment by 12:00am EST March 2. I will announce the winner 2:00 pm that same day.

Center top-- First Love is not available it was ambushed yesterday. Take your pick. Top left--Abbey road, strawberries and cream. Top right--apples and pears oh my!, not a wink. Lower center--mocha temptation.

Starting from top left--candy blossoms, purple dreams (not available), green moca and ladybug vine. From top right--feathered friends, cocoa mint, Asian blooms (sorry not available) and strawberries and cream.

Have a fabulous day!