And the 14th Annual Pixar Craft Fair...

...was a huge success!  My apologies for not updating my blog after so long!  Life has been full!  Good, but FULL.  Not including my recent trip to Japan for 9 days and came back with a suitcase full of AMAZING japanese fabrics!  aaaaahhhh!!!!

My friend took this photo of my area while it was being set up....I had forgotten to take a picture of it with my SLR, so this is all I have...a bit messy, but you get the idea!  : p

After many months of sewing/designing/stressing and more trips to the fabric store than I'm willing to  count or admit to (was it every weekend for weeks on end?), I finally unveiled all the hard work at the Pixar craft fair the past 2 days.  Woohoo!

Boy, I am exhausted, but grateful!  Grateful for the opportunity to work towards something that I am so passionate about.  Grateful for the chance to showcase all the hard work I have put into this...with a full time job and a budding toddler, it has been difficult finding any kind of spare time to create.  And yet, without it, I am simply not complete...somehow the scale is tipped, and I am off-balance.  My happiness is dependent on my finding that "perfect" balance of life, work, and art.

Ok, getting all philosophical here.  Hee hee.  I'm simply giddy from all the interactions with such wonderful people that came by my booth the last 2 days!  All their support and even when they were simply admiring, all that meant so much to me.

My camera died this morning as I photographed the last couple of bags I had sewn in a week after getting back from Japan (those fabrics were so amazing that I had to kill myself to make them into the craft fair--and honestly, I think THEY made the show), so I'm going to post a portion of what I had at the fair these past few days...

JJ's FIRST-EVER super duper "Lil' Peeps" diaper bag!  (Front view) Features durable canvas body, 10 pockets inside and out.  Also a hanging strap for over the shoulder and stroller.  Zipper closure.  Comes with 4 options of Lil' Peeps lineups.  It'll be a surprise what you will get.  :)  $115. Custom order, please inquire soon before fabric runs out!

Semi-aerial view :)

Back view.  Look how adorable they are!  

"Lil' Peeps" pretty pleated purse. $80. 4 options of character designs possible.  

Owl Mini Tote--Reversible $25 (SOLD OUT)

Owl Pleated Shoulder Tote $40 (SOLD OUT)

Owie Canvas Shopper $30 (SOLD OUT)

Reversible Owl Tote $55 (sorry, SOLD OUT)

Look at the inside!

I'll be posting more when I can resurrect my camera, or find a camera to unload my photos with!  Stay tuned!!

Ok, a coworker let me borrow his battery power, so here's some more photos:

"Hip-hip" tiny tote in blue hippo print: $25. Custom order available.

"Don't Pet Me" in navy: $75. SOLD OUT!!!

"Don't Pet Me" in Ivory/Brown: $75. only a few available.

Reversible Lil Guys tote. $65. (SOLD OUT till I can get more fabric!)

Reverse side of Lil' Guys tote (see below)

Lil' Guys fabric purse! (2 available, $75)

Take a peek inside!  Japanese words say: "It is illegal to reproduce this fabric"

leaves + bunting = new bathroom art

Baby j's bathroom is one that when giving tours to our house guests, I seem to apologize for the most.  Why?  b/c I actually was disappointed with the paint color I chose, but really only because I don't love the bathroom vanity that came with the house, but am not handy enough to do anything about it...(I think in another life, I would be a carpenter. ha!)

Anyway, I woke up on a Saturday morning just last weekend (like 4 am) and had the idea for baby j's bathroom.  I wouldn't say it's brilliant, but I just love how simple the designs are and how easy it was to execute.  It took me a few hours, but they were fun hours!  I had found 2 nice frames from Marshall's for $9.99 apiece that already came pre-matted, and was eager to get started.  lovely!

Here are photos, w/o further ado...(kind of step-by-step showing how I put it together--hot glue gun is my friend!)
                                     
1. lay out the design: i just used some scrap pieces from the laundry hamper I had just made for the bathroom, to tie them all in

 2. hot glue gun magic--pull taut and press down, to the back of the masonite board that came with the picture frame.

3. Give it a nice press with the iron--wrinkles are unforgiving when it's a framed art!

 4. I remembered to take pictures for my second piece of art.  I started to play around with the fabrics and decided to make "Falling Leaves"

 5. I wanted it to be slightly organic but also follow a pattern...

 6. Remember that there's a mat that the artwork should fit into

 7. Put the frame on, and hang! (apologies still for the bathroom...I'm working on a shower curtain to hide the not-so-pretty shower doors!

hampering for apples

hm, not sure what the title really means...but in a rather uneventful day (is that even possible with a toddler girl needing attention every 5 minutes?!), I embarked on a project that started off as a tote, and then became a laundry hamper for baby j's bathroom.  I know, wha?  Don't know...I guess I really got too much time on my hands...I wasn't totally pleased with the project at first b/c I do better when I know what I'm making, so it actually was too big for the hamper frame.   I'll spare you of the evolution, but the end product is kind of fun.

So I had to make a few tucks and snips (yes, just like plastic surgery), and then take out the red handles that you see photographed.  It actually looks good in the bathroom now, and has inspired new artwork to be done (posting coming soon)!

je t'aime, baby j!

I've been making baby blankets amongst other things since baby j came along, and now, I'm proud to present the first of its kind--a baby j boutique original design jacket.  It is here!

Fabric purchased from Paris, expertly hand-crafted, I hope you like it!  : )

june's new giraffe cape!

I'm so glad I finally got to do this for my baby girl.  She has a giraffe blankie that she practically does everything with, so when my hubby suggested making her into the giraffe blankie, I got VERY excited.  A trip to the fabric store and a couple of hours later, I emerged from my sewing studio, proudly presenting Junebug's first mommy-made Halloween costume!  I wish I could've gotten a picture of her when she first saw the giraffe hood.  She knew right away who it looked like!

this is the giraffe cape laid out

The idea was that this would go beyond Halloween, and that she would be able to use the giraffe cape for play time.  I am so excited about this that I've decided to do custom-made giraffe capes for anyone interested.  Visit my etsy shop if you are in the market for it.  : )

My Art

It has been forever since I blogged--life (mainly baby J) has been keeping me busy!  I went through my past designs and dug these up...nice to remember my love for creating things.  I also finally started designing bags again for the Pixar craft fair this year!  Hope to get some things onto my etsy store soon too.  

My first wreath...

Inspired by a blogger mom's b-day party for her daughter, I wanted to make a wreath for baby j's 1 year b-day next month!  (maybe an indoor wreath)   Here's my version.  Her b-day party colors are yellow and aqua, inspired by my sister's photo taken of baby j wearing a yellow jacket I made her, against a aqua blue playground slide backdrop.
I couldn't find a branch wreath color that I liked with the limited supply at the local Michael's store, so decided I wanted to use some burlap fabric I had lying around to cover up the straw base.  I was surprised at how much I love the result.   I think there will be more wreaths in the future...: )

I love how easy it is to make rosettes from felt, and they look so good!  These were made with strips of felt in baby blue, peacock, and cerulean blue, twisted and turned to create the rose petals.   

Floor cushion reveal!

Finally completed this project that I started a couple months ago.  For some reason putting in piping held me back a little b/c I hadn't done it before.   But also, w/baby j around I haven't had time to sew.  Anyway, the whole project was so easy to do, I don't know what took me so long!  Here's my gray/yellow/cream version (seems like these days those are my colors of choice!) : )


Here's my version, based on the blogger living w/punks did.  Thank you for posting this!  super cool!
I put my own spin on it by adding an invisible zipper for easy washing later on.

hello yellow!

Just made this jacket for a friend's niece, who's just a little younger than baby j. My friend and I are trading artwork...she's an amazing artist at Pixar and I don't feel worthy of the trade, but I guess the nature of this is labor-intensive as well. :)  I still want to make her a dress though that could go with the jacket...but looks like I won't be able to do it till after baby j's b-day party, which is in a month!

Here's the jacket before sewing on the placket!

Here's baby J posing for mama!