Everyday Beauty

Simple Stitched Tote

 
You might remember from previous posts that my son Mario loves balloons. When he was 4, balloons were the only thing he would draw. (Thankfully, he's moved on to other subjects!) I had saved some of the drawings and decided to preserve his innocent little artwork on fabric. Here is his original drawing on paper:    
                                          

This project is very simple, and I wanted to share the steps with you in case your kids are growing up too fast, right before your eyes like mine are. First, I layed a piece of white linen on top of the artwork, taped both layers to a sunny window and traced the drawing onto the fabric with a washable fabric transfer pen. Then I took the drawing to the craft store and matched up the colors with embroidery floss.

Using a simple backstitch I transformed his sweet artwork into a stitched keepsake for him. I folded in the edges of the fabric about a 1/2", pressed them down and sewed the linen onto a canvas tote bag that he now uses for his piano lesson books. He's 7 now and loves his new bag, but he did tell me I should have made his balloons look rounder. Of course, the wobbly shapes drawn by his 4-year old hands are exactly the reason I saved the picture in the first place.

Flashback to "The Feast"

Thanks so much for the warm welcome back! It is really wonderful to be blogging again. I thought I would go back in time a bit and recap what's been happening around here since I last blogged in June. It was a crazy but wonderful summer, filled with family outings, celebrations and memories in the making for the kids, which is exactly why we moved to Ohio.

One big bonus to living here (for us) is that there are so many Italians......and therefore lots of Italian festivals and great restaurants and delis. My husband is in his glory. As most people probably know, food and family are the backbone of Italian-American culture, and the NE Ohio area welcomed thousands of immigrants during the big wave of immigration at the beginning of the last century. Many of the families have stayed for generations, and I think half the kids in Mario's school are Italian. There is even another Mario in his class, which we never thought would happen!

In August, we headed to the Murray Hill section of Cleveland for the annual "Feast of the Assumption", more commonly known as "The Feast". Most Italian festivals coincide with holy days in the Catholic church. You celebrate by eating good food, visiting the catherdral, peeking inside the bakeries (and buying a pound of cookies and some cannolis), and shopping the antique shops and boutiques. Just hanging out together and enjoying the energy of the gathered people. Good stuff.

Of course no festival is complete without rides for the littles. Sam rode this truck ride no less than 10 times. And he seriously thought he was driving.



Sofia's first cannoli!

And filling her belly with homemade cavatelli. Heaven!

I know it's just a festival, but it's really important for us to stay connected to our heritage. Although so much has changed since my grandparents' generation, family traditions, special recipes and stories can be passed on forever.

Blessings and Beauty

A warm friendly HELLO and HOW ARE YOU? is the very first order of business, don't you think? So, hello! How have you been? I've missed you, and I've missed this place and all the sharing of friendships and ideas and beauty that used to happen around here. Gosh, it's been moons since I've typed a post, and naturally there is much to catch up on. In the past 7 months, we have moved twice, and been really up and kinda down and high and low and everywhere in between. But, {gigantic exhale} life is good, and my family of 5 is well adjusted here and happy as can be! We're surrounded by extended family and don't take a minute of it for granted. It has enriched our lives beyond words. We love our new Ohio home, and I'm happy to report that about 90% of the boxes are unpacked, which was quite the adventure, let me tell ya.

But, anyway. I have been waiting to begin again with my blog. Waiting until the time felt right, and it finally does. It feels like this is exactly what I should be doing at this moment. My craft room is all {pretty much} set up and I'm eager to start creating ANYTHING. I have been missing this part of myself, this creative part, and haven't felt complete without it. Each new day holds so many possibilities and opportunities if only we are open to them. I have not quite been myself for several months now. But something has changed, and I can feel the shift. A fresh new year will sometimes do that.

As I sit here typing, I am thankful for so many people, experiences, lessons, blessings. I have promised myself to stay nearer to those who are dear to me, and make sure they know how loved they are. Family and friends are everything. So, to all of you reading this, thank you for sharing a bit of your day with me here. Thank you for checking in on me from time to time. Thank you reaching out even when I wasn't. It feels so good to be back, and this would mean nothing without you!

Much love and happiness to you in 2012!

Ear Drops

  
Hello! Thank you so much for all of your well wishes, kind comments and emails about our upcoming move. It's always fun to share happy news with you gals. We have not found a house in Ohio as of yet, so we'll be temporarily renting until we find the right place.
I'll keep you posted!

I have one last Shopette update before I pack up my jewelry supplies for a few months. There are new Ear Drops and also a few necklaces.

I was reading a novel set in the Civil War era, and the author wrote, "inside her jewel box were Ruby ear drops." I loved that name for earrings, and jotted it down in my inspiration journal. So, here they are, my first collection of Ear Drops, made with Rubies, Citrine, Iolite, Peruvian Opals, vintage French rhinestone rondelles, old pearls, crystals and love.

 

And the new necklaces.....

 
Thanks for taking a peek! Wishing you all a great summer weekend! 

Going Home

It's been quite a month around here. I will give you the short version of the story.

The opportunity presented itself so George and I decided to do something we've been hoping to do for years: move to Ohio to be near family. So, in May we put our house on the market, expecting it would take months to sell in light of the current housing slump. I cleaned, organized, donated and sold. The man at the Goodwill knows me well now. I'll tell you, the house was never so clean! It almost made me want to stay.

Well, much to our surprise, our home sold in just 48 hours! We were, of course, thrilled and shocked at the same time. It was definitely meant to be. Then reality set in.....we have to pack everything in this house into boxes, and fast! So, that's what I've been doing in my "spare" time. I have a long way to go, but it's coming along.

It's funny, I spent my younger years planning how to get out of Ohio and see other places, other cultures, meet new kinds of people. And I did some of that. And I loved every minute of it, and wouldn't trade those years for anything. But now, all I want to do is pack up our little lives and go back to Ohio. Life is funny, isn't it? We are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives, and we feel incredibly fortunate and grateful beyond words that it has fallen into place.

We move in only a few short weeks, and I'll be wrapped in packing tape, surrounded by cardboard boxes until then. Not sure when I'll be all set up and blogging again, but I'll try and pop in soon to say hello. Enjoy the beautiful summer, my friends!

Hello Peonies

 
My favorite flower of all time is in full bloom here. I cut an armful on Sunday and filled vases and urns with lovely fluffy peonies. Glad I did, too, since the heavy rains have destroyed the remainder of the blossoms outside.

 
I do a blog post on peonies every year, and I never ever tire of them, their fragrance or the way they photograph so beautifully.

Just a little bit of beauty I wanted to share with you today!

I Guess She Likes Hummus

 
Sofia is the pickiest little eater. But we did recently discover that she likes hummus, when I left the container on the edge of the kitchen table, a little too close to her high chair.

 
My initial reaction was to grab the container and start cleaning her up, but then we started laughing and realized she was having a good old time digging in. So, I let her have a bit more fun.

 
 
 
And we discovered a food that she will actually eat!

 

Fabric Dolls

 
I found these adorable fabric dolls last year and had to get them for Sofia, though it will be a few years before she plays with them. I finally finished cutting them out and wanted to share with you the details and how-to's.

It's a paper doll concept, but with fabric. The fabric (with the dolls and clothing printed on it, as shown below) is sold by the yard, like any other fabric.

 

I cut out each doll, and then ironed a double-sided stiff fusible interfacing to the back, and then I ironed a plain cotton fabric to the back of that, to finish them off. This makes the dolls stiff and easier to play with.

Don't you love their vintage undergarments?

 
Then -this is the fun part- I cut out the clothing and ironed each piece to double-sided Wonder Under, then ironed felt to the back side of the Wonder Under. The felt grabs on to the dolls better so the clothes cling a bit, like a felt board. Here are all my pieces cut and finished.

 
You can also buy yardage of just additional clothing (shown below). One yard of fabric gives you lots of clothing and accessories. 

 
I cut off the tabs because you can't really fold them over the dolls anyway. But wouldn't the clothes be cute framed and hanging on the wall in a little girl's room?

Now it's time to play dress up!

 
 
How darling are these?

Mother's Day Love

 
Mario colored this precious picture for me, and was so excited when he gave it to me. Aren't these the best kind of presents? I have a box full of his handmade treasures I will never part with. It's sweet to think about what goes through his little mind as he's drawing a picture. His favorite shirt at the moment is a red one, that he would wear all week long, and sleep in if I let him. The fact that he put me in a pink dress cracks me up, and my crazy hairdo is not too far off from reality! I love the happy clouds and sun (wearing sunglasses of course) and trees. Observing the innocence, wonder and happiness of childhood is one of
the greatest gifts of motherhood.

I hope all of the mamas out there have a Happy Mother's Day!!!

May Flowers

 
April showers surely brought the May flowers around here. I tucked some Lily of the Valley from the garden into my boot as I did some gardening the other day, and could smell the sweet fragrance with every step.

 
It feels so good to be digging in the dirt again, with Spring so full of promise and sun, sun, sunshine!