Holiday shopping: 5 local Etsy sellers

Cuore - Etsy shop - Blog

My Little Fisheye - Etsy shop - Blog

Caposhi - Etsy shop - Website/Blog

Misfit Menagerie - Etsy shop

Let's Die Friends - Etsy shop

Fun with camera phone - Thanksgiving weekend edition

Zoey learned about turkey. "Dat my turkey, mama! Dat my gobble! Mmmm turkey!" (She wouldn't eat any though)

Made these "sparkling cranberry brie bites" I saw on Pinterest, via yummymummykitchen. They were a big hit! I will make them again before the holiday season is over.

Fall leaves and tree, on a pre-Thanksgiving feast walk.

Brobee goes for a swim in some maple syrup. Then goes for a swim in the washing machine.

Zoey got to pick veggies from Rachael's garden. Carrot, yummy. Beet, not so much. But the beet drool that dribbled down her chin afterward made her look like a vampire.

Went to the eye doctor because I keep seeing a blurry spot when I stare at the computer. The good news is, the doctor said I have the closest to perfect vision he's seen in his office. The okay news is it appears to be just a floater. The dumb news is, sometimes people have floaters in their field of vision for the rest of their lives.

Went to a really cute birthday party for twin girls, and Zoey had a blast playing in their backyard and eating watermelon slices. She was exhausted at bed time.

Did some Christmas shopping at the Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Fair in Santa Ana. I was a vendor at the one in Long Beach, but didn't have much of a chance to shop. This is my favorite purchase by a group of ladies called Sewn Clever. When I looked at their website later, I found out they are all moms, which made me love it even more.

Cranberry sauce recipe

For some reason when I was growing up, my mom never made cranberry sauce. She always served it from the can. This is very strange because Thanksgiving is my mom's holiday – her time to shine. She makes everything from scratch. Her cornbread stuffing is a legend among my closest friends. But never cranberry sauce. She says it's because my (extremely stubborn) dad likes the canned stuff. So I spent my entire life thinking I hated cranberry sauce.

Last year, I decided to try making cranberry sauce just to see if I would like it. I had no cranberry sauce frame of reference because I'd avoided it for so many years, so I just searched "best cranberry sauce recipe" on the Google machine and hoped for the best. I came across this post on Chowhound. It seemed simple, so I decided that would be the recipe I tried.

Holy razzledazzle. Turns out I love cranberry sauce! Couldn't get enough of the stuff! I would like to share this recipe with you. Now, in a perfect world, I would make a batch of it and photograph it for this post, but I ain't be havin' time for those kinds of shenanigans. You know what cranberry sauce looks like. And there's no sense in waiting until I make it and posting it after Thanksgiving. I have to post it NOW, in case someone is like me last year, searching for that recipe.

1 12oz. bag of cranberries
1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. finely grated tangerine zest
3" cinnamon stick

Cook, stirring, and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the cinnamon stick. Serve warm or cool.

Do you have any tried and true totally epic Thanksgiving recipes?

Skinny Laminx... On my wishlist

This year, my side of the family will be doing a "Secret Santa" gift exchange. We decided to spend our money on the kids and then buy a gift for one other person. The great thing is we won't end up dropping $1000 on Christmas, and (with a $100 limit) you can buy someone one really great gift. 

Part of this exchange is making a list of some things your Secret Santa can give you. The first thing on my list was a small food processor (hate dragging out the big one for small jobs), and just when I was about to add new cookware, I stopped and thought, "What the heck am I doing?" I can totally justify buying myself those things. I need to ask for the things I always admire but can't bring myself to spend money on. Like fancy hand screened linens and $30 soy candles, right?

The first thing I thought of was the Skinny Laminx shop I am always browsing and pinning items from. I have admired Heather Moore's work for so long, it's about time some of it ended up in my home. So I scratched out the food processor, and now the first thing on my list is napkins or tea towels from Skinny Laminx!

Rosie Posie Baby in Anaheim

 

Rosie Posie Baby is another adorable store in the outdoor retail environment called Community (I posted about another Community shop called Nest here). Rosie Posie Baby is like a dream store for expecting mothers, and if I had visited while I was pregnant, I would have walked out of this place with more than one shopping bag! They not only have a lot of cute clothes and toys, but also a lot of the "necessities", with an environmentally friendly and design conscious twist. I loved their selection of cute baby carriers with cute prints. You can visit their online shop through Big Cartel.

Rosie Posie Baby at Community

423 Brookhurst St., Anaheim
(714) 817-0998

Our dining room on Design*Sponge!

I am so stoked! Our dining room is a “before and after” on design*sponge today. 

I am having so much fun redecorating lately. My next project is a creative space/play and learn area for Zoey and I can’t wait to share it when it’s finished! But... I have only just begun :)

Atlas Sound

Doodles

Fun with camera phone

  Spooky...

 New beanie - giant pom pom!

Fancy cheese plate Rachael made!

Claw machine.

 

Tortilla pizza is kind of a weeknight staple here. It takes less than 15 minutes to put together and bake, and some carbs are cut by swapping out pizza dough and using whole wheat tortillas. This one has goat cheese, and caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes that I made on Sunday and froze.

Purple & red for the holidays

1. Belina dress, Kate Spade, $375.  2. Purple glitter flats, Urban Outfitters, $29.  3. With All My Heart tote, ModCloth, $49.99.  4. ban.do hearts, $15 each.  5. Purple crystal flower studs, Betsey Johnson, $30.  6. Pom pom beanie, Forever 21, $7.80.

Bottom photo: Primark Autumn/Winter 2011 (via ejstyle)

Rad!

I am lucky enough to be included in the Random Nicole (of Random Nicole and Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Show) blog's weekly interview series called Maker Weekly! Check it out here!

Clean!

 

nailed it. 

See here for before photos.

FOR SHAME!

Xanadu has been a MESS for pretty much the last 2 months, in preparation for last week’s Patchwork. Particularly the dining area, where I had been working. My table was full of sewing supplies, fabric, sewing machine, iron, wood hearts, brooch backings, glue, and so on. For the past month at least, after Zoey went to bed I just worked until it was time for me to go to bed. 

So after last weekend was over, I let out a sigh of relief and did absolutely NOTHING all week long. I didn’t even cook dinner, y’all. I ate cheese and crackers every night and poor Kyle lived off of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I went to bed at 9pm and watched tv. It was delightful. But now the honeymoon’s over and it’s time to put things away and CLEAN. THIS. MESS. Step 1 was to buy a couple of storage bins – one to hold all the things I made and want to sell, and 1 to hold all things related to craft fairs (display things, cash box, etc).

Stay tuned for the “after” of my shweet cleaning and organizing job!

Clownin' Around

1. Jepetto necklace, Old Gold Boutique, $52.   2. Pom pom bag, Hansel From Basel, $32.  3. Girly chiffon bow, ban.do, $25.  4. Circus tent brooch, Candy Bandits etsy shop, $30.  5. Clown pin (vintage), Metals In Time etsy shop, $16.50.  Chiffon pom pom hair pin set, ban.do, $25.

On a side note, a gal named Kaitlyn who runs the isavirtue etsy shop and blog contacted me to be a part of her e-course called “Make Art (A Part of Your Life)”. I have a little project in there that shows you how to use markers like watercolors. If you are interested, she is offering 26% off this week in honor of her 26th birthday. Happy birthday!

We did it!!

We did it, we did it! We got through our first Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Fair. My sales were just okay, but Jsong who shared a tent with me? Her stuff blew out! I was proud of the way our tables looked, and even though it was our first time, I felt like it didn’t look like it. A lot of people looked at my stuff and took my business card!

It was pouring rain during set up so there was the challenge of getting the tent up, trying to put our table linens on without them getting wet (impossible), getting everything set up and unpacked, but also keeping our merchandise dry. I think it was one of the worst possible scenarios for a craft fair, however I also think that setting up for a craft fair will be so easy next time in comparison. Glass half full, baby. Luckily my friend Kristine and Jsong’s husband found the nearest Target and went and bought a bunch fo $2 shower curtains, so we had clear plastic all around or tent. When the rain stopped, we just opened and tied it back like curtains. It’s a good thing they give you 3 hours to set up or else we would not have had time to do that. 

I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot of things for next time. One thing we both agreed on is that a 10x10 tent was too small for both of us because we both had so much stuff. Next time we are going to do our own tents and hopefully we will end up near each other. Still, we are glad we got this first one out of the way together because it was way less intimidating knowing that we had a partner.  I also need to learn to sell myself a little more. I get so afraid of being overbearing and annoying that I maybe just don’t say enough at all. I will work on that for next time. 

I look forward to trying this again in May!

It's finally Patchwork weekend!

 It's Patchwork weekend! Here is a sampling of what I will be selling. Pictured above: zipper pouches, laser cut wood brooches, and hand painted wood heart brooches. The hearts are my favorite!

Hand-sewn plushies and pretties to hang on your wall! I have a few more plushies besides these. And more big ones.

Tote bags with custom prints designed by me! I only have 12 of these because they are kind of expensive to make, and since I'm not sure how they will sell (since it's my first time trying to sell anything), I didn't want to go overboard. I am hoping they do well because I have SO many ideas for prints floating around in my head, and so many ideas for little added touches I would like to do for them next time.

And in case you need a reminder:

I would also love to share what my friends are making! I will be sharing a booth with "Jsong" (Jennifer Song), who will be selling lots of cute creations with her My Buddles characters.

And below, a few things created by my friend Juanita, who sells under the name Mea Makamae. Juanita repurposes vintage fabric and makes bags, pillow cases, wall art, and more. She also collects vintage glassware and uses it to make candles. Her space is not shared with ours (you can only share 2 to a space), but it is near ours!

Weeeeeee! Wish us luck!

Feel Alright

Some things I like...

This tour of Lisa Congdon's studio, featured on sfgirlbybay (click through for more eye candy!)

Cute flats from ModCloth.

Hair accessories from ban.do's holiday collection. Makes me want to start putting giant things in my hair.

Prints by Marcus Walters.