Happy New Year!

I hope everyone out there had a great holiday! We spent a week in South Dakota, feasting, giving, and receiving. I think the camera is still out in the car (I hope anyway!), so I don't have any pictures presently, but I will soon.

My gifts were well received, which was exciting for me as almost all of them were handmade by me. Grandma liked her tea mug pouch so much that she practically bought out my store! I went from 12 items for sale to 6 (I should have made her open an account and buy them from my store, but it was easier to just delete them.). I used that as a good excuse to buy some new fabric and get to work!

Unfortunately I haven't gotten on top of the work part yet, but I will as soon as I find the motivation to clean the table off.

Anywho, if I don't catch you before midnight, HAPPY NEW YEAR! We'll be hanging out at home like a coupla boring kids. I'll catch you on the flip side with pictures and upcoming projects.

Love!

Oops, I lied. Here are a few remarkably crappy shots of some things Grandma took off my hands. I didn't have a chance to get any good pictures as it was dark and we were packing up to head out to the hills.



Appliqued flying V! It turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself!



Wristlet made from an old hand made wool dress. I loved the dress, but it fit me horribly and had some holes in it.

Wrap up

I spent all morning running around the greater Boulder area in search of those last few Christmas gifts. We were at the Celestial Seasonings tea factory, the liquor store (grandma needs her acky-juice, or wine, if you're over 3), the mall to pick up my newly soldered rings, the thrift store, and the library. I have a feeling that nap time will go smoothly today after doing all that this morning!

So today's to do:

1. Sip a mug or two of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride herbal tea.

2. Take the draft snake that I accidentally made too small, rip stitches, make longer.

3. Put together Christmas gifts. There are many pouches that need filled with goodies.

4. Start wrapping- if I have time!

Oh, I forgot to mention the slight altercation I had at the thrift store today. I found a pair of shoes that I liked. They did not look "new" in any way, scuffed up a bit, inside wear, but in good condition. Shoes cost 99 cents, "new" shoes cost $2. The lady charges me $2. I asked her why she charged me for new shoes, and she tried to convince me that they were brand new. I showed her the scuffs. She told me that someone could have done that trying them on in the store.

It ended with me saying "Whatever." I know it's only $1 and the thrift store supports the food bank, but still. They charge way too much for most things, like sheets ($5 per sheet, fo reals?) and used towels for $6? I don't like it when the thrift store puts me in a bad mood. I guess I did get a "new" pair of shoes for $2, and Felix loaded up on books. At least they got the price right on those. I can handle 25 cents per board book, no problem.

Kitty time!

We have a new addition to our family. Please meet Jezebel Lincoln:





So the mini craft fair at the office yesterday was, for the most part, a bust! I didn't actually sell anything. I did get a couple requests, including one actual order if I can make a crayon roll for fat crayons. I think I can handle that.

I did do some tradesies with my homie Dani from Dani Girl Boutique. I got a few super cute books she made and 2 record bowls. My step mom already called dibs on one of those, even though "it will probably make your dad cry." Do people really cry over records melted into bowls? I cry with glee at their majesty, but not in sadness as my dad is presumed to do.

I also bought some nice smelling bath bombs and hand made soap from my table neighbor. I'm excited to try some for myself. Maybe this afternoon if the toddler meat decides to make my day and take a nap?

Here is a purple clutch I made a while ago:



I bought a snap setter last weekend, and I am in love. My old snap setter was just that- OLD. I bought it off of ebay a while ago, and the few times I tried to use it, it decided that we weren't friends. I now have the kind you bang with a hammer, which is actually super fun! Sometimes I really need to beat at something I'm making with a hammer towards the end of its creation.

I reopened the shop after vacationing it yesterday so I could take everything to the craft fair. I decided to slightly reduce my prices. It's hard deciding how much my time is worth to me, and I decided that I could go a little lower without feeling like I'm robbing myself.

Busy bee!

I have been super busy lately, sewing as much as I can for Christmas gifts and an upcoming event at Chainsaw's office. Apparently a lot of people who work there/their significant others are creative, crafty people. So they invited us crafty people to come in on Monday and peddle our wares for a couple hours. Unfortunately, I've been too lazy to take pictures, but I will do it tomorrow. I don't want my creations to walk out the door without getting their pictures taken first!

I do have a picture of the tea cup pouch I made Grandma for Christmas. I don't think she reads this, but if you do, shield your eyes Grandma!



I used fabric crayons to write and doodle on it, which was super fun. I dare you to look into them for yourself! I'd like to try some more ambitious doodles one of these days.

Tomorrow is the last day of my 15% off sale in the shop. Take advantage!

The lip balm I bought from Least Likely to Breed is delicious and awesome. She included a bonus tube of a vanilla butter cream frosting lip balm, and I think I could almost eat the tube. It is that delicious.

Are these your undies?

I might be the only person to find this absolutely hilarious. Apparently the Boulder police busted a voyeur who becomes obsessed with a woman, tapes her doing stuff, and steals her undies. That isn't very funny, right? What is funny to me, is that there's a link in the news article that takes you to the Boulder police website with pictures of stolen bras/panties/Hooters girl costumes. So you know, if that Hooters girl costume is yours, call them.

In other news, I did not touch my sewing machine one time last weekend. I was drowning in book crack. I read the first three books in two days. Oops! My shoulders are sore from book holding. My knees hurt from sitting crossed legged on the couch. I promised Josh I wouldn't go buy the last one until I got some sewing done, but I already feel like a junky, wishing there was some way I could get to Walmart* to buy it today.

*I'm not going to lie and say that I hate Walmart and never shop there. It's a 3 minute drive, and Borders was sold out of Twilight books. They also had them for significantly cheaper than any other store. Hard backs were $13 something, versus $20 SRP. See, I'm a smart junky who looks for a good deal!

Oh, and sewing update later, I promise. Apple lappy is back from the doctor and feeling mighty fine!

The winner!

The random number generator has spoken! It says the bag should go to comment number 89, which is Adventures of the Reluctant Housewife. I'll be emailing you to get your address! Congratulations!

I made this cute new tote to match the love bullets pouch.



I wish I could keep it for myself, but alas, I wonked up a cool tote a while ago (gathers and wrinkles in the topstitching of the lining) that I decided to keep for myself. What can I say, I'm too lazy to fix it.

I'm making many friends and family members pouches for Christmas. I'm going to load them up with hand made items. I just bought some lip balm from Least Likely to Breed. She has some cool flavors and great prices. Check her out! I'll let you know how awesome it is when they get here.

I'll be drawing for the give away at 11 Mountain time. Thank you so much to everyone who commented. Personally, I had time to sign up for maybe half of the give aways. It was crazy!

We are having a bright, sunny day with everything under a blanket of snow. I'll be back soon for the drawing and to show you what I've been up to.

Giveaway Day!

GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! I'm drawing now and will post the winner in a bit. Thanks again for all the great comments!

That's right, it's time for my first giveaway. Thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew for making today a giveaway day (and creating in me an ambition to make something to give away!).

The grand prize:


This is a gathered top tote I made from vintage home dec weight fabric. It is unlined, but I'm proud to say that I tried my hand at french seams. No rough, unfinished seams for any winner of my giveaway!

If you want this bag to show up in your mail box, all you have to do is leave a comment. I'll pick a winner on Friday, so make sure you check back to see if you won!

The (only) slightly less grand prize is that I'm having a sale at my etsy shop. From now until December 14th, everything is 15% off. The prices have already been changed.

Hot Butter Etsy Shop

Although we usually go to South Dakota for holidays, this Thanksgiving was spent at our home. My mom, stepdad, and littlest sister brought a turkey and cheese ball makings, and we had a glorious time! My sister convinced me to take her to see Twilight on Thanksgiving night. I haven't read the books, but I definitely want to now. I want to know what happens next!


Felix and Alyssa the morning they were leaving. I was too busy to think of taking pictures all weekend! Oops!

I did not get any sewing done while they were here. Our dining room table is my sewing table, so I packed my sweet sewing lady down to the basement to make room for feasting. Sunday I realized that I had signed up for a stocking stuffer swap that was due. I had to make 10 presents quick, so I tried something I always wanted to do- tissue holders! I think they turned out pretty cute. I wouldn't be surprised if Santa brings some to my friends and family.



I made 9 others in various fabrics, but I didn't have time for photos before they needed to be sent. I am the world's biggest forgeter (I made that up)/procrastinator.

Then I realized that it was almost Christmas. Seriously? It's coming soon? I made a Christmas sewing list, and yesterday I started tackling it. I'll sneak in some pictures here and there if I feel like risking the recipients seeing them before Christmas.

Here are the pouches I made a while ago that I promised pictures of "tomorrow." Apparently tomorrow can mean anything to me, real tomorrow, next week, 10 days, whatever I feel like.



I love this guitar pouch. I would learn to play it if I had a real guitar that looked like this!



It was impossible to get a good picture of this rain pouch. It is super cute in person. I even gave it some adorable rain detail on the back:



And my love bullets pouch:



Ugh. I found something like six yards of this blue/denim-looking fabric at a thrift store for cheap. CHEAP I tell you, and it photographs horribly. It's a very pretty, soft fabric, and I'm making tons of stuff out of it. I wish I could figure out a magic trick for good pictures of it.

These will be available in my shop tomorrow I think. REAL tomorrow. I am also participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day tomorrow (once again, REAL tomorrow). So check back. I'm also going to figure out how to do a sale in my shop.

Happy Birthday Chainsaw!

My main man Chainsaw turns 32 today!



So happy birthday to the guy with the big arms, my crazy mountain climbing show off.

In other news, I finished the birthday present. Here is Felix modeling, wishing he had a more manly version for himself:



I made it from a part wool sweater that I dried accidentally on purpose. You know how sometimes you're in a hurry, so you throw everything in the dryer thinking it will be ok just this once? Well it wasn't okay. It is ok now though, in hat form. The cables made it look extra cool!



I made it a cute flower out of felt, fuchsia woven ribbon(I can't think of what that stuff is called, some kind of tape maybe?), and a sweet vintage button. I'm a little in love. I think I want to make one for myself. If only I had another one of those sweaters!

I have also been trying my hand at some applique. I made some adorable zippered pouches yesterday. I don't have pictures yet (I have to have something to post tomorrow, right?), but here's a sneak peek of one that I scanned for fun.



Stay tuned for more!

Also check out this sweet giveaway.

I have been lost...

in a glorious prehistoric world. You might know it as the Children of the Earth series of books by Jean M. Auel, including Clan of the Cave Bear. It's true, I just read five books (big books, like 600 pages average) in 8 days. I finished the last one yesterday and have emerged back into the real world.

I finished up a pair of Wide Leg Lounge Pants from this book. I made them from a crazy floral vintage sheet, and they kind of look like huge clown pants. I'll get a picture soon.

I'm heading down stairs to the sewing machine to make a birthday present for my adorable neighbor who is turning one big year old next week. I shall document it with photos and be back here to share soon.

I did it!

Hot Butter Shop

Check it out. Tell your friends. Tell your mom. Tell your mom's friends.

Check this out

Katie is having an amazing give away for her two year blog anniversary!

I've been working on the shop and will be announcing the grand opening soon!

Getting closer every day

I spent all yesterday afternoon taking and editing pictures for my etsy store. I am honestly a bit surprised at the time/effort that took, and there are several items that need reshot. However, I do have some good looking pictures of what I've been up to.

I made a few cute zippered envelope pouches. They were very fun to make and decorate. I needed a project that could justify me spending large chunks of time sifting through my button collection.

Closed:



Open:



I love these bugs:



My Mendocino in this color way is now down to the teeniest of scraps (might be time to start chopping the purple stuff!):



Felix is sick today. He magically fell asleep on my lap on the couch, and I was able to sneak him into bed, granting myself these few minutes to type. I can't complain though. As much as it stinks to have a sick toddler, I've learned to treasure the time spent snuggling on the couch, sipping tea, and watching cartoons. It's not every day that he actually wants to spend much time that close to me! Of course I'll probably be sick by the end of the week, just in time for Halloween. Oh well.

I'll do my best to get measurements taken and descriptions written. I'm hoping to get the store up and running soon, and I'm almost there!

I'm possibly the worst blogger of all time, but the not being able to use my laptop is to blame, I swear.

I've been a busy sewing up a storm and starting a new babysitting job, which means I actually have to keep my house clean. Yikes! Expect an update soon with pictures. I think I'm going to get my etsy store up and going this weekend! Weee!

I'm back!

The wedding was good. Not so good is the fact that my trusty apple lappy has decided that I don't need to use its keyboard or mouse functions. I disagree. I'll try to post something worthwhile as soon as I run out of dvr'd programs to watch from the time I was away. Then I might have to make something. Gasp!

Busy days

I got an interesting phone call from my dad's girlfriend yesterday wanting to know if I could be in South Dakota on Thursday. When I asked why my presence was needed, she told me I needed to come if I wanted to be there for their wedding. So I'm going to South Dakota on Thursday. They were supposed to get married last year on October 9th but didn't because of my dad's accident. Apparently my dad re-proposed on Saturday, and they're keeping the same date.

Long preface to the fact that I finished his birthday present. His birthday was absolutely not in July (ok, it was). It's a lap blanket made from his old jeans. In my defense, I wasn't in much of a rush to finish a blanket in the middle of July. I had to get it finished before Thursday. Anyway, here it is:



It's a disappearing 9 patch with some sashing added here and there to get it to the specified dimensions. I'm kind of a fly by the seat of my pants patch worker.

I also finished this bag last week after starting it a week before. I had little to no motivation last week.



It might be my new favorite.

We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday to check out the glorious fall colors and had a great time. The drive home was a bit scary. Scary as in curvy roads, falling snow, slushy slippery mess. Yikes!

This is us yesterday.


This is us two years ago in the same spot (background is different because we weren't in the same exact spot exactly):

I have been busy sometimes and tired at other times. I'll try to get some fun stories/pictures up here in a bit!

Day out with Thomas

We had a very fun day yesterday hanging out with Thomas the train.







I highly recommend it to anyone with kids. It was really fun for everyone!

Oh, zippers

I'd like you to meet my nemesis:
(Please pardon my crappy pictures. The light was gone outside when I took these.)



I've spent the last couple days cranking these out. I decided they could either be wristlets or cosmetics bags. Anywho, I busted a needle on this one, and it broke oh so gloriously. Luckily for me, I happened to be blinking at the exact moment that it broke. A piece of the needle hit me in the eyelid. That's right, the eyelid. I think I need to find some cool safety goggles for sewing. It's dangerous work.

I use recycled zippers, and I apparently didn't test this one enough. When I was taking pictures I opened it, and it has decided to never close again. I actually broke some of its teeth trying to close it. It stinks that I subjected myself to such danger to finish it, and now it doesn't even work.

These do work though:







Felix and I had a great trip to the park yesterday also. He kicked my butt at imaginary basketball.

At last, I have finished something this week!

I got a great package in the mail filled with all the goodies I ordered from Over Rainbow. Can't beat Laura's prices!

Anyway, I've been feeling the need to go a little more simple. I love patchwork, but I just didn't have it in my heart last week.

I tried my hand at some pleating, and I think these bags turned out adorable.



I love this fabric, but I love the next on even more!



Joshua loves it too. He even said he'd really like curtains in that fabric. I think I would too, but I might be too much of a cheapskate to buy as many yards as I'd need to make curtains with it. Curtains are on my to do list, but I was thinking about buying some cute tapestries from Urban Outfitters for that project.

Anywho, these bags will be available in my shop when I feel like I have enough stuff to get it started. I need to jump back into my zipper drawer for some smaller things. I've been a bit scared of them. Last time I was using them I tried to shorten a zipper the legit way and shoved a tiny screwdriver under my thumbnail. Owwww!

We're having a busy day. Birthday party for a one year old at 1 (also Felix's nap time, ugh), and then a house warming party at 5. One more week until we're going to go ride Thomas the train. Felix is so excited!

Back to work

and it's so hard!

I finally busted the ol' machine out again the other day. Of course I had to make something new and skip the tried and true patterns that would have gotten me back into it effortlessly. I also decided to use bulky corduroy, which I have limited experience with. My first bag was horribly messed up, and I had to rip it apart and put it back together. On the second bag, I broke a needle and then kept having my thread bunch underneath with a shiny new needle. I decided to put that away and finish it later when I'm less mad at it. No bag likes to be finished by hands connected to an unhappy heart.

Started a third, and kept poking myself with pins. Then I let my finger get in the way of a fast moving part on the machine. I had to put the third bag away and watch reruns of the Gilmore Girls from the couch for a bit.

Ugh. I feel unaccomplished and tired. I'd like to finish just one thing today, but I'm afraid I might be better off going to bed early instead! I guess there's always tomorrow.

Wish I was here:

We did it!

(photos by Melissa)

It was perfect, and the honeymoon was amazing! I still need to upload honeymoon pictures, but feel free to check out my flickr for more wedding pictures.

In which I express my need for a time machine

I keep meaning to post about the glorious bag I won from LeeAnn at MintBasil. However, I have been so busy using it while getting ready for my WEDDING this weekend that I haven't had much time. I will say that it is more gorgeous in person and huge enough that I can take it bra shopping with my wedding dress in it so I can try it on over bras! Aww! Bag perfection! Apparently I'm not totally addicted to teeny tiny bags.

Felix has also been a big handful. He is currently using a measuring cup to ladle water out of the dog's bowl to drink it. I am usually able to get him to stop, but that doesn't mean he won't be doing it again in a few minutes.

I'm part way finished with making four creatures for four little friends. I'm not sure what they are. I was thinking bears, Josh thought monkeys, but I do know that they're cute. I got a bunch of felted wool sweaters off of freecycle a while ago and only recently rediscovered them while cleaning up the basement. They are snuggly soft and warm, but not put together all the way yet. I hand sewed one yesterday, but I'm not sure that I'll have time to do them all by hand. I am a little scared of shoving all the felt into my sewing machine, but I guess it's worth a try for the sake of getting them done by tonight!

There are still a bunch of pieces of the felted sweaters precut into squares (not the same size, unfortunately), and I'm thinking I might need to try one of those felted sweater blankets. That sounds like a good cozy project for this fall.

So the point of this rambly, picture free post is that I'm leaving tomorrow and might not be posting until I get back from my fabulous honeymoon. I'll try to take a few pictures today and get them posted. I'm not sure how all the great crafty mama bloggers get everything done that they do. If there's a secret time machine that they use, I'd like to know where I can get one!

Also, special thanks to my main man Chainsaw for sprucing up my page so that my pictures don't get cut off on one side. He also made me a sweet banner. There are definitely some perks to having a geeky boyfriend!

Attack of the wristlets

I taught myself how to install a zipper last week. It's still a bit tricky for me, but I am loving it. I made this little fella out of new Heather Ross Mendocino fabric:





It was the perfect size for everything I needed to go out. I'm a big bag kind of girl, but I have been wanting something smaller for this very reason. A lady doesn't always need a purse big enough for a few diapers, wipes, leaky sippy cups, and a baggy full of Annie's bunny crackers.

I am somewhat addicted to making wristlets now. I polished off this beauty this morning:





I freezer paper stenciled the lightning bolt. I thought it needed a little majesty, and in my mind lightning bolt=instant majesty.

I also finished a tote bag yesterday made with more Mendocino. That fabric was one of my sole reasons for buying fabric when I did. It was love at first sight! I wish I would've gotten more, but I think I'll just be keeping the things I've made with it so far. Then I can look at it whenever I want!





I probably should have given it another quick iron before I took its picture, but oh well.

Also, please behold one of my labels doing its job:





I think they turned out super cute.

Today I was super mom!

Today I accomplished these amazing feats with TWO children:
1. I changed 4 poopy diapers (2 belonging to a child that is not my own)
2. I somehow convinced Felix to spend only 1 hour playing in his room before taking his nap. He took a beautiful nap from 2-4:30. I can't remember the last time that happened.
3. I observed, clapped, and offered special treats after Felix peed in his potty. It has been many moons since this has happened.

I also finished up a tote bag, pieced parts for a wristlet (and freezer paper stenciled it!), made a strap to finish a bag that has been laying next to my machine unfinished for a while now, and managed to break a needle on a giant button. Have you ever broken a sewing machine needle? It is scary. S-C-A-R-Y! One time a piece of one actually flew up and hit me in the face right under my eye. It stung. I was thankful that it was my cheekbone taking the hurt instead of my cornea. Luckily today's accident involved no shooting sharp things, but created a half finished top stitching nightmare. I really don't like it when that happens.

I successfully finished my first creation from Japanese sewing book on Saturday with good and bad end results. I'll see if I can get Josh to take a picture later.

After all this potty business and danger talk, I better leave this with something awesome.
Behold Ross!





Ross belongs to my dad and stepmom and could look either very cute or very creepy in this picture.

Rainy days

I was just complaining to Josh that I can't remember our last good rainy day. For weeks it has threatened to rain- a big black cloud, a few growls of thunder, maybe even a 5 minute sprinkle, but never a good rain. Today (or last night I suppose) the clouds decided to stay put and drizzle on us all day so far. I have embraced the cool temperature by dressing Felix in his Wranglers, cowboy boots, and bull rider belt that it has been to hot to wear. I took a hot shower. I can't even remember the last time I had a hot shower. With no air conditioning, it's been lukewarm to cold showers only.

My to do list today:
1. Wash the fabric I bought months ago to make shirts/summer dresses.
2. Decipher the Japanese sewing book I bought last winter. I've been reading and rereading label-free's Japanese Crafting How-To all morning and think I'm ready to tackle such a challenge!
3. Clean something. My kitchen table/center of my sewing universe was slightly cleaned yesterday. Slightly cleaned as in I put all the fabric away I no longer needed for upcoming projects. Unfortunately I only transferred other stuff like important documents to the counter. I have clutter issues. By issues I mean I have it. All over.

I'll leave with a picture from last week. Today's light is no good for new pictures. I love the light in this picture of Felix.

Working hard or hardly working?

Things seem to be going at an unreasonably fast pace around here lately. Felix won't take naps, and I am spending half of my day walking up the stairs to settle him back into his new race car bed. It's not working very well.





When I'm not busy wrestling 30 pounds of overtired two year old, I've been doing my best to get as much sewing done as possible. Joshua has been encouraging me to get going so I can open my own shop. He helped me make my own labels (I'll take a picture later) and get my etsy store set up. I think he volunteered to do it because he knows I'm the biggest procrastinator in the world! I think this is my current favorite:




Looks like it's going to be another busy day. I have bathrooms to clean, mountains of laundry to fold, and bags to finish.

Welcome!

Hello!

I'm Ashley, stay at home mom to 2 year old Felix, soon to be legit wife of Joshua (I say legit as we're technically common law married in Colorado), lover of creatures great and small (except spiders, although I can appreciate a pretty one if it's outside), sewer, reader, messy house keeper, pug and kitty lover, and appreciator of all things majestic.

Welcome to my blog! I hope to keep it update with what's going on in my home, especially the area around my sewing machine.