Cocoa Dreams - Making Mommywood Glamorous

Struggling with Pictures

2009-11-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

The title says it all. I always struggle with taking really great pictures of my products. It's not like I have any problems with my camera. I love my Digital DSLR Nikon D70. It's the greatest camera out there well maybe not as good as the newest models but I LOVE this camera. I know nothing about photography but with this camera all you need to worry about is hitting the button, it does everything else for you. So what the problem is that I haven't found a really good place to take pictures in my house. I could take the pictures outside but for some reason taking a photo of an apron outside just seems a little weird. It's like it needs to be taken in the kitchen, which is a whole other problem in itself because my kitchen is usually in a constant state of dishevel. So I usually end up taking pictures of my aprons in front of the doors that lead to my sewing studio, which works but not as well as I want it too. The lighting is always good in my kitchen and I can take a picture at 10pm and the colors still come out. Another place I take pictures is in my front entry way, where I can hang products on my wall. I've tried other places in my house but I always end up with shadows or weird lighting. One of these days I'm going to take a photography class or find someone that knows what they are doing to take pictures of my products because everyone knows how important a product picture is.

Well today I was asked for my very best photos of my aprons and I couldn't really come up with anything since I've never been happy with my photos. So today we had a bit of photo shoot outside using natures scenery. Hopefully these photos are a bit better than the ones I was using.

Realization

2009-11-12T11:58:00.001-08:00

I realized earlier today that I have had my blog since 2006. Who knew that I had it that long? It feels like such a shame that I let it go and haven't kept up with it. I'm going to have to get better and start posting on a regular basis, I can't go out like this.

I did a craft fair and a Art Festival last weekend. I had really high hopes and was a bit dissappointed that I didn't reach my goal. I got really down on Sunday when I ended up not having one sale. Kind of stupid that I got down when I did pretty good, even if I didn't meet my goal. Anyhow, I ended up in a funk all week long. I'm trying to dig myself out of it but it's not so easy. I have a bunch of custom orders to work on and I just can't get motivated to do them. Which means next week I'm really going to have to work hard and get caught up. Speaking of I better get back to ironing some apron straps, I will leave you with some pictures of my setup at the craft fair.

Hawthorne Threads Giveaway

2009-11-11T04:46:00.000-08:00

Great Giveaway at http://www.hawthornethreads.com/giveaway You got to check out this great looking website and they even have Tiered pricing, so if your a fabricwhore like me you can get discounts for buying lots of fabric.

Cocoa Dreams - Making Mommywood Glamorous

2009-08-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wow!! I've been gone forever but I'm back Making Mommywood Glamorous!! I'm sorry I have been gone so long but now I'm back and I'm working on all kinds of things and updating my Etsy and Website with brand new Glamorous items. I've even opened up another shop at 1000 Markets just to get a little added exposure. Oh and how can I forget I have a Facebook Fan Page where you can see my newest items, win contests and post reviews of my products. Please check them all out and send me some Mommywood Love!! Oh and I've attached a photo of a new apron design which is flattering to all body types and soon I will be debuting some new items for Halloween and Christmas. Wait till you see the cutest Polka Dot Personalized Christmas Stocking that I'm making. It's out of this world!!!

Quilts

2009-02-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

I got a quilting frame and quilting machine for Christmas and I'm absolutely in love with it. It makes quilting the tops of quilt allot more enjoyable than trying to do it on a regular sewing machine. I wish I could afford the $10K setup with a real long arm and automated quilting but I can't and this setup works just fine. I can always make it automated but for now I think I will pass. I really love to make quilt tops but even with this setup, quilting the tops is still my least favorite. I'm trying to finish some of the quilt tops that I have done and not make more till I finish one. So far I've finished 3 quilt tops that I had done before I got my frame and 1 quilt top that I just made. I also have one new quilt top on the frame ready to be quilted. I plan on turning on the music and having a couple margaritas while quilting tonight so I can add another one to my stack of finished quilts, that way I can make some quilt tops:) The first quilt pictured is done with Sandi Henderson prints from her Ginger Blossom and Farmers Market line. I used Hip to Be Square pattern by Busy Bee Designs. The second quilt was one of the first quilts I made using a baby quilt book by Alex Anderson. I used some old Amy Butler prints to make this one. The third quilt was made using scraps from Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom and Farmers Market print, I didn't use a pattern just did a crazy quilt. The last one was made with Patty Young's Andalucia fabric using Miss Molly from Abbey Lane Quilts.

I am ME

2009-01-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

I believe in God

But I don't go to church

I live by the 10 commandments

But I don't understand some of God's choices

I do believe that even though I don't go to Church I will definately go to HeAVen

I measure myself against what I want to BE

I'm not the perfect size

Or the perfect mom

I'm not as successful as I think I should be

I'm not as motivated as I should be

However,

I try to motivate myself to become closer to the perfect size

I work on being a better mom

I think about the things I can to do to be successful

I try to think of ways to be more motivated

Some days,

I can't help but think about how disgustingly fat I am

I can't help but think of all the ways I'm a bad mom

I can't help but think about all the things I should be doing to be more successful

I can't help but think about why I can't be as motivated as other moms

And some times,

I can look at myself in the mirror and appreciate that I have nice legs

I can look at how happy my kids are and pat myself on the back

I can count the successes of my life

I can look at all my accomplishments and realize that motivation played a part

But most of the time,

On bad days I can find quite a few things to smile about

And quite a few things to laugh about

I can make myself laugh and smile when I am at my last straw

I can feel a little sexy

And I can forget about everything by just hearing a giggle come from one of my boys

I will never be perfect

Or the perfect size

I will never be as successful as the one I envy

Or the perfect mom

but I am Me

More PJ Pants (Thrifty under Fifty Challenge)

2008-12-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

Some more PJ pants I made for the Thrifty under Fifty Challenge. These are an altered Amy Butler pattern found in her In Stitches book. I've cut down the waist and added some cuffs on the bottom. I have one last picture left from the Thrifty under Fifty Challenge but I will share that in the next day or so. Don't want to bore you all in one day:)

Beauty and the Geek (part of the Thrifty under 50 challenge)

2008-12-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

Some finished softies I made, well I say finished but really they don't have shoes yet. I've found these take allot of time and for one that has a very short attention span they aren't something I will be making lots of in the future. The geek is for my 2 year old for Christmas but I'm betting the dogs will get it and destroy as soon as it's out of the wrapping......

These were part of the Thrifty under Fifty challenge but I just now took pictures of them. They cost me $13 to make, $10 for the pattern and $3 for the buttons. The monkey pattern was free though. The patterns are from MMMCrafts , which I love to visit because she has allot of cute ideas.

Thrifty Under Fifty Car Mat to Go

2008-12-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I stole this idea from Jamie. She is a very talented seamstress and has allot of great ideas. She was kind enough to post pictures of these car mats on my group. I used Michael Miller Merryville line to make these and I ended up getting 4 out of the scrap I had which was just under a yard. I still have 3 more to make but I'm not sure I will have them done by today which is the end of the Thrifty Under Fifty challenge. I think I will make a couple of small changes on the other 3 too. The zipper needs some work and I'm thinking I might be better off to go with a flap and velcro, so it will be easier for little kids to get to.

Thrifty Under Fifty PJ Pants

2008-12-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Even though my boys like to run around with the least amount of clothes on as possible, I thought I would make them some PJ pants. Hopefully they will wear them but if not they were easy to make. I made a pair for my youngest, 2 for my 4 year old and 2 for my 9 year old. I need to make my 11 year old some too but I'm waiting to get some different material for him. It's so hard to find good quality boy fabric that isn't geared toward toddlers.

Thrifty under Fifty Completed Project cost $0

2008-12-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

Pot holders made with fabric scraps, heat resistant fabric and batting from fabric stash. I didn't use a pattern so total cost was nothing $0:)

PJ pants and a Rag Quilt. Used patterns and material from my stash so it didn't cost me a dime. Rag Quilt needs to be washed and cut still.

Thrifty Under Fifty Completed Projects

2008-12-05T12:15:00.001-08:00

Andalucia Katy Kitty
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams

Katy Kitty done in Andalucia by Patty Young. The pattern was purchased from MMCrafts for $10. I had the fabric but had to buy some buttons for $3. So total cost of Katy Kitty was $13. I still have a coat, skirt and shoes I need to make for her.

I've been Picked

2008-11-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

I've been picked for the You Can Make This $50 and Under Challenge!! Woo hoo!! I feel like I just won something! So you all will have to keep coming back and see what I've made and guess who I'm making them for because I can't tell you who it is till after Christmas. I've been to YMCT a couple times but never really spent much time looking on the site so I'm guessing by the end of this challenge I'm going to be a YMCT junkie. I have quite a few presents I would like to make and really need to get my creative juices flowing so I can come up with cool ideas for all the men in my life:)

See Katie Sew: A giveaway for two

2008-11-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

See Katie Sew: A giveaway for two

Give Away

2008-11-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

Give away at See Katie Sew This blog has been around for 2 years but I just happened to find it today from going to some other blogs I frequent. Anyways I really don't need anymore material but I can't help but enter because a girl can never have to much fabric right?

Why Mom Drinks Margaritas Part 11

2008-10-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

to stop me from killing my kid
to stop me from ever wanting to get pregnant again
to get my hubby drunk if I decide I want more kids
to get through the fits that my 4 year old throws
to forget about all the looks I got while carrying my 4 year old out the toy department in Target with 3 other boys following me
to forget that I'm a total loser with no real accomplishments other than being a great mom to 4 kids
to get to sleep without worrying about everything I need to get done tomorrow
to get to sleep without worrying about everything I didn't get done that day
to get through the fact that I had to get off my ass yet again to let the dogs out, even though I have already let them out 10 other million times.
to stop me from killing my puppies who have just chewed a hole in my new outdoor cushions, tracked red dirt on my white carpet and peed on the floor
to get through the fact that my son has just taken off his dirty diaper and I suddenly notice that's not dirt on his face
to stop me from killing my kid once I realize that he has kicked holes into his bedroom wall because he was mad that I wouldn't let him have his 5th pepsi for the day
........heck I could go on forever but I won't bore you any longer

So what's your choice of drink????? and why????

Why Mom Drinks Margaritas

2008-10-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I'm raising my boys alone because my hubby is always gone. Ever since we moved here to Georgia my hubby has been gone. First he was in Savannah, GA and now he is back in Tacoma, WA. He will be home for a couple days in December. He won't be home for Thanksgiving but will be home for Christmas, which is nice because he missed last Christmas. He tends to miss every other Christmas. Im sure you can image (maybe you can't if your lucky) that it's hard being somewhere new, not knowing anyone, not having a hubby around and not having any family around but throwing myself a pity party isn't going to help anyone, not even myself so I just deal with it.

Yesterday it really hit me when we were carving pumpkins and my oldest says "Where's Grandma?" My heart dropped and I almost started crying because every year mom comes over and carves pumpkins with us. It will probably hit me again tonight when we are out trick or treating because my mom also use to come with us trick or treating.

Well I've been stuck to the internet and blogging world the last couple of days looking at all the Quilt Market pictures and reading about all the fabric designers and pattern designers. I love seeing all the new products and fabric lines coming out but on the other hand I'm so envious because I couldn't be there. I went to the Spring Quilt Market in Portland and its so FUN. Well anyway I come upon a blog talking about how Anna Maria Horner is now pregnant with her 6th child and I'm wondering to myself how in the HECK does she raise 5 kids and design fabric, design patterns and write books and now she is having another baby????!!!!!????? What the HECK!!!!! Someone tell me she has a super helpful husband and maybe a nanny or something????? Because I can't imagine getting everything she does done and still raise a family of 5 with another on the way. I just can't!! She really makes me sick and at the same time I feel like a loser that I can't get that all done myself. I wonder why the heck I can't even get my son's Halloween costume done without wanting to drink. I was so irratated that I was ready to rename my blog Why Mom Drinks Margaritas last night. Holly's drink of choice is Rum but mine would be Margarita!! I LOVE Margarita's and it's one of the founding reasons why I never want to get pregnant again, well other than the fact that I can just barely take care of the 4 that I have and still be a loser who can't design fabrics or patterns or write a book......LOL!!

*******Please note - yes, my son is holding my best friend and yes it's really Jose but he hasn't had any Jose's or Rita's. It's a prop and for photographic purpose only. And no, I look totally wasted and so does my son but really we are just completely unphotogentic and that's what makes this photo so dang funny.

Back On Schedule

2008-10-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm back on schedule but in a bad way because this means that I just got a speeding ticket. Yep, I use to be on a schedule of 1 ticket per year and then I went on this hiatus and didn't get a ticket for 10 years. Well last year on my way back home from California to Washington I got my first ticket in 10 years for speeding and then today was my second ticket for speeding. Just what you need before the holidays. One good thing I figured out was that you can go 1-10 miles over the speed limit and only get a $37 ticket, now thats more like what I can afford. Unfortunately I was going 17 miles over the speed limit and scored myself a big fat $179 ticket:) Oh, well what can you do!

I'm still working on the Halloween costumes, but I got them almost done. The blanket in the photo is one I designed but I worry that it might be not so practical but it's super warm and soft.......and cute to boot!! I just need to list it on Etsy

I have a couple more new designs to show off but I need to clean up the photos or take different ones. The presentation didn't turn out as cut as I thought it would. I also have a couple of designs in my head to work on but that will have to wait till next week after the Halloween Crazies. Speaking of crazies I guess I should mention that my 2 year old now wake up and the first thing out of his mouth is Guitar Hero. He wants to play this all day long but he doesn't really play he just watches everyone else play.

Not getting stuff done that I should be doing

2008-10-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Well I'm rushing around trying to get Halloween costumes done, products ready to be shipped off, cutting in stock orders and working on a wholesale order. Some of these task could have been done last week or the week before when I was sewing for fun and making my sister some PJ pants and a camisole. The pattern is originally from Amy Butler's In Stitches book but I've modified it a bit by putting on cuffs and shortening the waist bands so they fit lower on the waist. Unfortunately I forgot to cut these a big bigger than the printed pattern to account for a bigger size so they ended up being a little snug. The camisole is from Favorite Things and it comes in Adult and little girl sizes. The camisole can actually be worn as a tank top with shorts or a skirt and is pretty easy to make. I modify it a bit by lining the top portion of it so it just looks better finished.

Addictions and craziness

2008-10-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Quite the title for a blog post but right now that would describe our house in 2 words. Addictions - well personally I'm addicted to fresh salsa and I WANT IT EVERYDAY. Most would think that's not such a bad addiction but since I like to put salsa over cream cheese and eat it, it's really not such a good thing. I can't say much about the mexican restaurants around here but I can say they have killer Salsa!! I want to stop at them and just get salsa for take out but I'm always scared they might think I'm a little crazy if I do. Another thing I'm addicted to is cherry cokes from Sonic but actually my whole family is addicted to the cherry cokes at Sonic. Were always finding a reason to stop by Sonic and pick up one. Lastly my boys and I are addicted to Guitar Hero and Rockband and this is what qualifies us as crazy because we went to Walmart very late Saturday night so we could be the first to get the new Guitar Hero World Tour that came out Sunday morning at 12am. Luckily we were the only crazy people to do this and even had to ask the sales clerk to go dig in the back to find it. I know I had to look crazy going to Walmart at midnight with 4 boys, one of them sound asleep in stroller and then their is my 4 year old being loud and obnoxious in a very quiet and deserted Walmart. Like I tell my kids you see all kinds of crazies at Walmart and that night we were one of them:) Another thing that qualifies me as crazy is the fact that we stayed up till 5 am playing Guitar Hero World Tour . Lucikly my youngest slept in till 10:30 so I did manage to get 5 1/2 hours of sleep. My 2 year old is also addicted to Guitar Hero as you can see in the pictures.

Halloween

2008-10-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

It's almost time for my favorite holiday. I didn't do too much decorating inside or outside this year because I would rather be sewing. Not sure what we will do for Halloween. Cade wants to be a knight so I need to make him a costume and find a book that has a knight in it. Not sure what we are all going to dress up as. We probably won't decide till last minute. Well, I'm going to keep this short because I'm ready to go to bed. I will leave you with some pics of my Halloween creations.

I'm Back!!!!

2008-10-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true I'm back to blogging and hopefully on a regular basis from now on. So I guess an update is in order since the last post.

Day 14 - No showing and we were ready to lower our asking price by $5000 but was going to wait till the weekend was over.
Day 17 - We got a showing!! We got a showing!! About an hour after the showing we heard they were going to make an offer on the house. They loved our house, gave us full asking price and wanted our Refrigerator, brand new cherry red washer and dryer. Well we really didn't want to give up our new washer and dryer but we knew we were pretty lucky to get this offer. In the end we kept the washer and dryer and they got $1500 to go and buy their own washer and dryer. Pretty sweet deal for them, wish we had hired an realtor that would actually work for us. It was a major ordeal to get her to help us keep our washer and dryer.
Day 25 - Hubby leaves for a 4 day drive to GA. They started packing up our house. After getting a quote of $2500 to move our Toyota Sequoia to GA we are starting to rethink the whole idea of the boys and I flying to GA.
Day 26 - My mom and I decide that we will go on a roadtrip with 4 kids and 3 dogs (2 of which are puppies).
Day 28 - Were declared crazy and start our 2500 mile journey, 2 adults, 2 boys and 3 dogs.

Day 34 - We arrive in GA, dropped my mom off at my grandpa's house and head to Columbus.
Day 35 - We close on our house in WA and Sign on our house in GA

So now we are in GA and hubby is gone in Savannah, which leaves me to unpacking and moving into the house with help from my mom. Man, what the heck would I do without my mom??? She was a lifesaver and it was so hard to say goodbye to her.

2 months later - We are settled and adapting to the South. I love my house and having the time of my life decorating it and just loving it:) The boys have all met friends and are adapting to the new rules of school. Yeah, I about passed out when they told my 6th grader rocker son that he has to tuck his concert t-shirt in. Are you FREAKIN kiddin me?????? Who the hell tucks a t-shirt in and why the hell are you making my son tuck his shirt in??? Please don't tell me that you are going to start making him say "Yes, mam" and "No, mam". Sure enough one day his teacher said to him, "I know you don't say this in Washington but could you answer me with, Yes, mam or no mam?" What I thought was the end of world ..... 2 months later it's no big deal and we even find out southern boys hate tucking their shirt in as much as we do.

So I've been dying to tell you'all about the difference between the West coast and the South:

1. The only time you see inmates on the west coast or even in the middle of the US is when you are actually in Prison. In Georgia you see inmates everyday because they are working on the road, in the state offices and collecting your garbage. Imagine my surprise when I see they even put Prison's next to the High School, thank golly it's 30 miles from us.

2. Everyone drinks Sweet Tea, eats chicken, wings and barbeque. Who thought that their would be so many fast food joints that serve Chicken? At my son's school you don't even have to ask what is for lunch because it's always going to be some form of chicken. I just wonder when my son is going to start flapping his wings and start clucking?

3. Real men where pink.....well lets just say I've seen more men and boys wear pink shirts here in 2 months than I have seen in my whole life living on the west coast. Even living 40 minutes from San Fran I can still say this.

4. People are just more friendlier here in the South. Sometimes almost too friendly. One night we went out to dinner and the damn waiter wouldn't leave us alone, I thought he was going to come home with us. The waiter was from the restaurant that my son declared was dirty when he walked in and saw peanut shells all over the floor.

5. People in the South actually eat and have an appetite after walking into a mustard yellow decorated restaurant. I mean how does a person not lose their appetite walking into a mustard yellow restaurant or even walking into a restaurant with a big pig on it? We won't even talk about buffets here.

6. Kids here in the South still get whipped with a belt from their dad. Shoot we would get arrested if we wooped our kids with a belt on the West coast.

I know there are some more differences but it's getting late and I need to head to bed. Really even with the minor differences I'm enjoying living in the south and my oldest that says he hates the south has given up his Dr. Pepper and replaced it with Sweet Tea.

Day 2

2008-06-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's day 2 of our house on the market and I'm already dissapointed for a number of reasons:

1. My realtor is unreliable.
2. I expected at least one showing already.
3. Keeping the house clean with 4+ boys is driving me to drink.

I was already drinking by 3pm on the second day. I don't know if I can do this for days, weeks or months for that matter. I felt if I made a mess in my house then maybe someone would call for a showing so I got the material out and cut. Well it's all cut and still no call. It's 7pm and I think we can write day 2 off. I hope day 3 is better.

I'm not sure how you can end up paying a realtor $6000 and she still can't manage to show up on time or even call you to tell you that she is going to be late. It took her till day 2 to get the lock box and flyer box up. I don't think she gets it. I mean we have to sell this house ASAP so we can buy our DREAM HOUSE. Every minute I feel like it's slipping through our fingers and we are going to lose out on it. I've checked out all the other houses on the market and not 1 freakin house compares to our DREAM house. (In my most spoiled child voice...)I WANT THAT HOUSE!!! I WANT IT!! I WANT IT! I WANT IT NOW!!!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!!

2008-01-11T17:33:00.001-08:00

Yep, I'm so Excited hubby will be here tomorrow morning and I just can't wait!! My day has went wonderfully! I found a small business to analyze for one of my classes, I got back to 152 pounds (I had gained 5 pounds over Christmas) and Cadester was good at Costco (thank you Costco for getting rid of all the toys)!

And you thought I was just excited because I finished this quilt top! I did finish it but I really didn't spend the time to match up the seams which leaves allot to be desired but luckily it's harldy noticeable to the discerning eye. The quilt is done in Amy Butler Belle material and the pattern was from The Quilter Magazine January 2007 edition. The pattern was pretty easy but it was time consuming to cut out because you had to fussy cut 60+ pieces. I actually enjoy the cutting out part though. I really wish though I had spent the time to match up the seams better. I guess that is what you get when you rush. Oh well you live and learn. Now I must get off and get back to hand sewing the binding on.

A Screw Up.....Maybe Not?

2008-01-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Why is it whenever you are in a hurry, things always screw up? That is what happened to me. I've been trying to get everything in order before my hubby comes home and I wanted to have all my orders done tonight so I could play Thursday and Friday before my hubby came home. Well I might be working tomorrow to fix my mistake. A customer ordered the paris poodle burp cloth and a pillow. Well on my website it doesn't give the customer a choice of what pillow they want. When I get my orders I read the order form and I usually go back and double check it again before I do anything. Which I did this time but I didn't read over the paypal receipt and of course that is where the customer stated which pillow she wanted. Darn! Darn! Darnit! I'm praying the customer will be happy with the Eiffel Tower pillow, since it matches the Paris Poodle Burp Cloth. Now we have to wait and see!

****Guess what she loved the pillow!!!

Cooking In Style

2008-01-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share with you all an apron I made my sister this Christmas. Well actually I made it after Christmas. I didn't use a pattern but really it wasn't hard to come up with your own apron pattern. The eiffle tower print is from Michael Miller and the dots are from various other companies. I also used some velvet ric rac and ribbon from May Arts to embellish it.

I just finished a quilt top but I will share that in a couple of days. I probably won't be sewing for the next couple of weeks though because my hubby is coming home on Saturday for 2 weeks, I can't wait!! So I better get off and start working on a couple store orders so I can spend all my time with my hubby!

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

It's not even New Years here and I already got one goal done, I quilted my hubby's quilt and now all I have to do handsew the binding on and I'm done. Which I plan on doing while I'm watching Chuck and Larry, that is if I can stop laughing!!

In order to get myself motivated to quilt my hubby's quilt I had to do some fun sewing. So I sewed my sister some PJ pants. I used a pattern out of the Amy Butler In Stitches book and also Amy Butler material to make them. I trimmed the bottom with some ribbon from May Arts. I also made her an apron but I will save that for another day!

So I guess better get off the computer and start sewing so I can get it done before my hubby gets home on the 12th!

Looks Like I Suck

2007-12-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

At blog posting, that is!! Hopefully I will get better at this blog posting after the Holidays. I really do have good intentions but just not enough time in the day to devote to blog posting.

Anyways I've been working on making a quilt for my hubby for awhile now and I finally got the top done. I would get started on it and then have to put it aside so I could do store orders or sew for the craft fairs. Now I just need to find time to do the quilting part of it. Actually I've had time to quilt it but I just haven't felt like sewing the last week or so. I had hoped to have it to him before Christmas but that just isn't going to happen, I might just have to hand it to him in person when he comes home in January for 2 weeks.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Remind me to never do a Craft fair so close to Halloween because I have been so freakin busy sewing that I never really got to enjoy my favorite holiday, Halloween. I didn't have time to sew any costumes this year either so its a good thing I have a supply of Halloween costumes from past years. I did however end up buying costumes for the oldest two; The Grim Reaper and Clone Trooper. My mom made the other two, I think Chastin was the first one to wear the frog and Buzz Lightyear. Buzz Lightyear was made by my very talented mom 7 years ago and it's been worn by 4 different kids on at least 5 different times. The frog has been worn at least 3 times.

Is Halloween a hectic day for anyone else? Today I had an appt with my dermatologist, remind me never to see Dr. Troy Davis again, what an ass. Then I took my 1 year old to the doctor for a rash, that was a waste of time because he was fine. Then to Preschool to drop my 3 year old off and I met my friend for lunch. Came home, went to pick my 3 year old up. Came home and decided that we didn't have enough Trick or Treat bags so I cut out 2 bags, while cooking dinner. I managed to get one bag done before it was time to eat and get the costumes on. It's always fun getting costumes on 4 kids by yourself, then you got the neighborhood kid calling probably wanting to go trick or treating with us. Like I dont have my hands already full!! Mind you I did all this feeling like I'm coming down with a cold and with a fussy 1 year old. So I'm ready to head to bed and do nothing for an hour, something that is unheard of for me in this house.

15 Years Ago

2007-10-30T21:53:00.001-07:00

I met my husband at a club in Seattle. He approached me with the famous pick up line, "Do you come here often?". How original huh? I was standing, leaning on the rail watching everyone dance and was pretty surprised to figure out he was actually talking to me. I thought he was H...O...T!! I ended up spending the rest of the night talking to him and meeting a couple of his friends. When I went to give him my number we couldn't find anything to write on or to write with. All we had was some lipstick and a business card but it worked because the next day he called and we went back to that club. 15 years later my hubby still has that business card with my number on it.

Today he called me from Iraq to see if I remembered what today is. Of course I did...well..after he left me a message saying, "Do you know what today is?". To be honest my husband is way more sentimental than I am. It took me along time to get my anniversary date right. I've been known to get my anniversary mixed up in the past but after 13 years of marriage I think I finally have it down. Kendall has been gone since April and I find myself being reminded of him several times a day. Some days I barely miss him because I'm so busy and overwhelmed but some days I can't help but thinking about him constantly and missing him tons. Today was one of those days. Love ya Baby!!

Halloween Skirts

2007-10-03T23:51:00.001-07:00

It's October and it's time for a month long celebration of my favorite holiday Halloween!! What better way to start it off than make my friends daughters some Halloween skirts. The skirts are made with Alexander Henry and Marcus Brothers Halloween prints. They all loved their skirts and boy is it fun to sew for girls!!

Where does time go? Tomorrow my little baby turns 1 and I might actually cry about it because he's my last and he's so damn cute. If I didn't already have 4 I would definately have another one but I think that it's best to stop at 4. If I hit the lottery though I might change my mind. Anyways it's late and I can't think of thing to say so I'm heading to bed but check back soon because I have another completed project to show.

My Favorite Holiday Is Coming

2007-09-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm still in love with Halloween. Even more so than my own kids. I love candy corn, pumpkin carving, dressing up, costumes and the fact that the whole holiday involves my favorite food; CANDY!! Now, I just wish my boys liked it as much as I do. Every year I think how exciting it's going to be to make there costumes or even have my mom make there costumes and every year I'm disappointed. No matter how early I start or how many times I ask them what they are going to be for Halloween, I get the same ole answer. I don't know!!! Why can't they love the holiday as much as I do and why can't they get excited about dressing up and going trick or treating??? Why oh Why!!

Yesterday after my daily bike ride I spent some time with the neighbor girls browsing my Halloween costume catalog and the stupid American Girl catalog that I get for the sole purpose of torturing myself. I want one of those damn American Girl dolls and I have absolutely no excuse to get one. My boys would rather die that even get within 15 feet of a doll. I thought that if I grew my son's hair out that I might actually get to pretend he's my doll long enough to play with is hair but boy was I mistaken. If I get anywhere near him with a comb he jerks his head about like I have a knife instead of a comb. I just can't win let me tell you.

Anyways (I think this is one of my favorite words) I have no idea where I was going with this. I would love to make costumes for all the little girls in my life but who am I kidding I have no time to sew for them. I can't even find time to finish there Halloween skirts that I started. I did however manage to make some Halloween blankets, now I just have to add them to my website.

Schools in Session

2007-09-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school for my boys. Chastin started 5th grade and Cole started 3rd grade. They went off to school in style and with there custom made book bags from there mommy. I made them both out of black canvas and lined them with Alexander Henry Skulls and Bones using Amy Butler's High Street Messenger bag and using an Anita Goodesign embroidery design. Now I just hope they hold up through the school year. The bags were pretty easy to make but they took me over a week because I was having problems with my sewing machine. Thankfully I turned the machine in to be serviced before I threw it out the window. It would had been hard to explain to my husband why I threw a $5000 machine out the window. Well this just going to be short and sweet, I'm beat and heading to bed.

Neglected Blog

2007-08-06T22:23:00.001-07:00

I know I have neglected my blog lately but I really plan to change that very soon. Very soon there will be new changes around my blog and on my website. I'm having my website redesigned and I plan on launching some new products with my debut of my new website. Crazy thing is that I'm not quite sure what I'm going to come up for my new products. I have lots of ideas but some of them are way to involved to be making them one after another. Like my friend Mandi does, I ask myself would I want to make 50 of these? Allot of the times, it's no way!! Then I have to take into consideration how much it would cost me to make each item. I'm also always searching around trying to find new ideas or inspiration or thinking how I can improve on the product I already have. So with that said stay tuned.......

Tag! Your it!

2007-05-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Nicole!
Here are the Rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random Things about Me!

1. I'm a Gemini and get easily bored so that leads me to #2.
2. I a total Martha Stewart. I love to cook, garden, decorate, sew, crochet and knit. You name a craft or hobby and I've probably tried it at least once.
3. I have more compassion for animals than I do humans.
4. I'm a total food addict. I love most all foods and I often dream about food!
5. I love to laugh and hate to be in a bad mood.
6. I can be totally girly one minute and the next I could be wrestling with my boys.
7. I often think I can do anything to find out that I'm not quite as talented as I thought I was.
8. I'm mechanically and writing challenged!!

Who am I going to tag???? I have no freakin idea, Nicole tagged most of my online bloggers already. I will have to revisit this one.

Baseball and Old Projects

2007-05-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't got much sewing done the last couple of days. I have a dress in progress but the good weather and baseball season has kept me from working on it. So here's a picture of an outfit I made my girlfriend's daughter a couple weeks ago. I made it using Amy Butler's Lotus line and I didn't use a pattern for the skirt but really it's not like it's hard to make a skirt without a pattern for a little girl. What makes it hard is not having the girl to measure. So in the end it fit her sister better. I just appliqued embroidered on a plain white t-shirt to go with the skirt, using a embroidery design from Farbenmix.

Boys

2007-05-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Well I usually post pictures of my projects but these boys of mine are my proudest work!! They are the joy of my life and at times the biggest headache of my life!! I've been a lazy mom and just started giving Callin solids at 7 months and even though he acts like he is so interested in what we are eating he's not too keen on actually eating it himself. He does dig fries and bread at restaurants though!! It's crazy, Callin is my 4th child and you would think I would know everything about raising kids. But I find myself wondering (or should I say reasurring myself) if it's perfectly fine for a baby to live off of breastmilk for the first year. I have problems remembering exactly what I did for Cade but I do remember making all of Cades baby food. I also remember giving Cade table foods and not being very careful about introducing foods one at a time. Even though none of us have any food allergies I worry about doing that with Callin because he seems to always have some sort of rash going on. I guess for now I will just keep on giving him foods hoping that one day he will actually try it:)

Getting Back in the Groove

2007-05-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

My blog has been neglected the last month or so. So today is a new day and I'm getting back in the groove of posting or least I'm hoping too!! So from now I hope to post at least once a week. Now that goal isn't going to be easy with summer coming and the fact that I will be going back to school part time on Monday. Which I'm dreading by the way but with only 6 more classes to go I have to get it done!

I've made a couple things the last month besides my store orders. I made this bag last night with some of the new Michael Miller prints and May Arts ribbon. The next bag I want to make wider and put the eyelets a little farther over. I also plan on adding a small embellishment to the front of the bag to hide the seam of the ribbon. Of course I couldn't just finish off the bag but I had to set aside so I could start making a dress. So the bag goes in the unfinished pile along with a couple dozen other things ... well that's a slight exageration. Now, if I only had enough time to do all the projects that float in my brain. It was a week of thoughts and anticipation before I was actually able to work on the bag. Now, I have all these creative ideas for girl outfits and not enough time to make them reality. Well I do have the dress started and hopefully tomorrow I can make some more progress on them.

Medieval Torture Treatment

2007-04-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Callin is teething really bad lately and because his gums are so sore he has turned into my personal medieval torturer. He loves to take his head while he is firmly clamped on to me and move back and forth and pull as far as he can. I can't wait for those teeth to break through but then I will have to worry about him biting me. Least I know what to do when they start biting and hopefully I will be able to nip that right in the butt. Nursing is suppose to be the greatest thing on earth for your baby and so you just expect it to be the best thing for mommie too. Well I like nursing, I don't think I can say I love it though. It means no wreckless drinking, the first month is full of teeth crenching pain, it makes the big O harder to attain than usual and then their is the biting. I at least walk away knowing that all my sacrifices were for a great cause and a sense of achievement to make it through all the ups and downs.

Another Good Bye

2007-04-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's almost time again to say good bye to my hubby as he goes off to Iraq for another year. I dread the good bye as always but I'm going to try and stay strong this time and not be a crying mess in front of my kids. I'm also focusing on the fact that he did apply for a job within the company he works for and just maybe he will get that and be able to come back home. But enough of the sadness...

Here's a picture (not a very good one) of a couple embroideries I've done a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to come up with a new design to replace my pacifier blankets. I have a winner I think but I need to work on it first. Though right now I'm taking a small hiatus from my business and just enjoying sewing for myself, friends and family. I made my sister a skirt and then ended up making myself and my friend one too. They are just plain linen skirts that come just past the knee and have a drawstring waist. I'm hoping to work on some aprons tomorrow if I can bare to cut my Amy Butler material that I just got on Friday. So stay tuned and hopefully I will get better with posting on my blog....right now I have to go and wrestle with the boys.

The Dog Doesn't Use it But Somebody Does

2007-03-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

And that would be Cade. This is where I found him this afternoon sound asleep. We have a dog bed upstairs and downstairs but do you think any of the dogs use them? No, they would rather sleep on Callin's blankets, couch cushions or pillows. The last places I want them to sleep on. Oh well, what can you do.

The last couple of days have been incredibly busy with trying to do store orders. It seems that I can't get one order every day I have to get a bunch of orders in all at the same time. I've spent the last couple of days making 8 pacifier blankets and I still have 3 bibs and a pillow to make. To make matters worse I broke my sewing machine and had to go buy a new one. Well I didn't have to buy a new one, but shoot it's a great excuse to get the sewing machine of my dreams. Although right now I don't know if you would call it the sewing machine of my dreams. Learning a new machine wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. This machine is so damn fancy that it's almost too fancy. Like everything it's got a mind of it's own and so far I haven't quite figured out it's mind but it's coming along. It's going to save me lots of time with my business once I figure out all the bells and whistles though.

Finally.....A diper Clutch

2007-02-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make myself a diaper clutch for a couple weeks now. I got started on the zippered wipe pouch a week or so ago but never got past that point. I got a few free minutes tonight and decided to finish it up. I'm going to a NorthWest Fabric Show tomorrow at the Seattle Center and figured it might be nice to have one. I can't wait till tomorrow and I hope the show is as good as I think it might be. It's like being a kid in a candy store. I hope I get inspired big time and I'm also hoping I will finally get to see the Amy Butler Lotus line in person and I hope it's as cute as the pictures I've seen.

I feel so much better getting some sewing done for myself too. I'm not totally happy with the way the diaper clutch came out. I like the design and all but I'm not happy with the way the bias tape came out at the ends. I want to do a ribbon treatment or maybe some ric rac but I need to get something because I can't find the right thing in my stash. I wanted to incorporate a diaper changing mat too but I haven't figured out the best design for that yet. Oh well, that is going to have to wait for a couple of days. I have a store order and a disaster of a house that needs serious attention as I need to get it looking clean before my Parents come over for dinner on Sunday night to celebrate my mom's birthday. Then I need to figure out what the heck I'm going to do for Chastin's birthday which just occurred to me is a little over a week away. Oh, I can't wait for some costco cake!! Yummy!!

Apron from HELL!!

2007-02-21T21:06:00.002-08:00

This has to be the apron from hell. I started working on it almost a month ago and now I know why it's taken me so long to finish because I dread sewing on it. I finally got most of the sewing done, I just have to put on the pockets and handsew the facings. I just hate it when you work on something and it's a struggle on every step. I don't know why I'm having so many problems with it because I checked out Pattern Reviews and no one seemed to have any problem with the pattern. There are several things I dislike about this pattern. The first is that the tie straps aren't double sided which would have been easy to fix but I didn't have enough material to make them double sided. Second this pattern calls for allot of handsewing which makes more work. And third I hate the way the faces show the wrong side at the neck.

Sleeping Beauty

2007-02-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I posted and mainly it's because I really haven't made anything new in the last couple of weeks. I've been busy filling orders and running some coops. I'm hoping that later this week I will be able to get some projects done. I have an apron that is half way finished and a bunch of ideas for new projects. I want to make a diaper clutch, where I can put diapers and wipes in. I also have a couple different ideas for blankets, now I just need to find time to do it all.

The kids are home tomorrow and we need to run to WalMart and pick up some stuff to pack in my hubby's container that will be shipped to Iraq. On Tuesday I have to take Cade in to get a speech evaluation and hearing test done, that should be fun. It's a good thing I'm taking my mom with me to help me out. My house desperately needs a major cleaning too and my mom has graceously offered to help but the last thing I want to do is clean, I would much rather be sewing. I did manage to get my garage cleaned up. I only did that so I could make room for a beach cruiser bike that I want. Usually I get allot of sewing done on the weekend but this weekend we went shopping and played outside, we had a beautiful day on Saturday and now were back to the dreary rain were going to have forever. So my post really has nothing to do with sleeping beauty but I think posts are so much more interesting if their is a picture to go with it. I took this of Callin a week or so ago, after it occured to me that a cute baby does wonders for merchandising my baby products!!

A bunch of different things.......

2007-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

First off I want to thank Lacy for fixing my blog for me! Thank you Lacy!

I need some help coming up with a tagline for my business, something to go with Cocoa Dreams. Anyone have any good ideas for one? It doesn't necessarily have to relate to just babies though because I might want to carry something besides baby stuff.

Today I spent the day up in Seattle shopping with my girlfriend. I brought Callin with us and I used a Moby Wrap and boy is that thing comfortable, way more comfortable than my pouch. Definately worth the money! I wore Callin from 10am to 3 pm and my back never ached, now my feet did but not my back. We went to the Seattle Gift Show and looked at all the cool products, ate at Gordon Birsch and then shopped at Nordstroms and Macys. It was allot of fun!

Well I guess it's bedtime because I can't type, spell right or write coherantly!

Having Problems

2007-01-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

As you can tell I'm having problems with getting my new header to show completely. I've been messing with this thing off and on for the last week and it's starting to drive me crazy but least I'm making progress. Tune in next week I might actually have the whole thing showing!!

You have also probably noticed that I haven't posted allot lately and thats because I have been busy making Pacifier Blankets or some know as tag blankets. They are selling well but I don't know how much longer I will be able to make them because this lady has a pretty extensive patent on it. How you can put a patent on a blanket I don't know but it must involve lots of money! I've contacted a patent lawyer to find out if I'm violating her patent, I hope he gives me some good news.

When I'm not working on Cocoa Dreams I'm spending time with my boys and taking pictures of them. Well, I don't always take pictures of them but today we had a little photo shoot.

Callin enjoying his taggie!

2007-01-11T22:19:00.001-08:00

Callin enjoying his taggie!
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

Awww I can't get enough of this little man! Isn't he the cutest? Everytime I look at him I just want him to stay a baby forever because I know he's my last one. I just love his little hand, legs and feet. Have I told you how long his feet and hands are? I figured this picture is a great advertisement for my newest addition to Cocoa Dreams. I made him a Tag Blankey out of Michael Miller Snuggle up and Satin dumb dots. I even attached a tag to the blanket that you can attach a pacifier too. Now we don't have to worry about losing his pacifier. On my next tag blanket I think I will make the ribbon a little shorter though.

Boy are these tag blankets popular right now, right along with the Bumbo Seat. I think almost everyone on my September Mom's group has a bumbo seat for their baby. I don't think I will get Callin one though, I'm not sure that it's such a great idea to prop you child up in a seat before they are developmentally ready but mainly I just don't want to spend $40 on one. Plus the fact I don't want him growing up any soon than he is already.

2007-01-02T22:10:00.001-08:00

Amy Butler Belle Collection Quilt
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

It doesn’t take me long at all to make the tops of these quilts but what takes my time is machine quilting and hand sewing the binding on. It took me at least a month to handsew the binding on this quilt, mainly because I was just too busy doing other projects. The actual time it takes to handsew the binding on isn’t that long. Anyhow this quilt was made using a fat quarter bundle of Amy Butler Belle collection bought from Fat Quarter Shop. I made up my own quilt pattern but it’s very simple. I took all the big prints and cut them into 5 inch squares and took the smaller prints and made either a 4 patch block or took 2 squares and a rectangle to make a block.

I have 2 other quilt tops sitting in my fabric stash to be finished but they may have to wait a little longer. I'm busy right now making baby bibs. I have a stack of 15 that I'm working on. I plan on adding them to my website so I made a bunch up out of different material. Hopefully I will have them up on Cocoa Dreams by the end of the week.

A Chaotic Christmas Eve

2006-12-27T18:48:00.001-08:00

December 2006 006
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

Earlier this month I posted a picture of WIP and I finally finished that WIP around 2pm on Christmas Eve. What a chaotic day and what a relief that the stress of Christmas is over. Anyhow I made this quilt for the neighbor girl down the street. I also made her sister a quilt with the same Dragon Princess material from Alexander Henry but in pink. The pink quilt didn't turn out as cute because I couldn't find any cute Asian inspired material that matched and I just didn't have allot of time to make it. I did however make up for the lack of design by putting a super soft flurr on the back.

I decided to try free motion quilting and quilt the top of this red quilt and I really made a disaster of the quilt but in the end I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm a little ashamed to give it away but a person has to start somewhere and it's the thought that counts right? Anyways the girls loved their quilt, now I just need to make there brother one.

Getting my girl fix

2006-12-11T20:18:00.001-08:00

Melany Modeling her first sewing project
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

I've always dreamed of sewing stuff for my daughter and showing her how to sew but being a mother to 4 boys, I will never get that chance. I do however get to show my neighbor daughters how to sew, which is a great alternative and thats exactly what I did last Thursday.

I had my neighbor and her girls come over for pizza (there dad is in Iraq) and I had the pillows all cut out and had embroidered their names on the pillow fronts. So all they had to do was sew the border around the name panel and sew up the back. The youngest had more fun pushing the pedal than feeding the material in the machine but the oldest enjoyed doing both parts. They both did a great job on their pillow. I was a little scared to do this project with them because the youngest is very hyperactive but she was calm that night and didn't stress me out at all until she picked my 2 month old up. They also found my fabric stash and fell in love with the material I plan on using to make them quilts. I just need to figure out a quilt pattern and buy the material for the cordinates.

I have to say that even though I don't have girls I do still get to sew my boys how to sew. My 7 year old made himself a pillow last weekend and he really likes to sew. My 2 year old likes to run the foot pedal while I'm sewing too, unfortunely he's either goes at snail pace or has a lead foot. It makes for an interesting sewing experience.

2006-12-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Don't you hate it when you are snapping away pictures with your digital and your getting some great shots, then you look in the screen and see that it's showing up black because the damn flash didn't come on?? Well that probably doesn't happen to many people, just stupid people like me who assume the camera is still in auto mode. Anyways this is what happened to me on Friday, I was trying to get some good shots of Callin for Christmas but I think I'm going to have to try another day when I can get someone to help me out and make sure the camera is on the right setting....well not really but it would be nice if someone could help me pose him. It would even be nicer if the sun was shining so I didn't have to depend on the flash and the red eye fixer! Can you imagine the fun I would have taking pictures of all boys....can I just say YIKES!!

I did get a cute picture of Cade acting funny, to bad his face was dirty and snotty....

2006-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

WIP

These are the current works in progress. I started cutting out the Alexander Henry Dragon Princess material Tuesday and got the quilt top done today. Now I just have to find a back and start machine quilting it. I've been eyeing this material for awhile and had no idea what to do with it and I finally decided on Tuesday that I would make it into a quilt for a neighbor girl down the street and I would make her sister a quilt with the same material in Pink. They are always asking me what I'm sewing and the oldest was in love with my first Michael Miller quilt that was done in the cocoa brown and pinks so I thought it would be a great Christmas present for them. They are also half Japanese so it's fitting for them.

The other is a start to a quilt I'm making with scraps of Amy Butler material. I've already made a quilt with the material but it's on my couch waiting for the binding to be hand sewn on. Once it's done I will post pictures of it. This quilt is a copy of a quilt that I saw on flickr that was also made with Amy Butler material, it's very simple but I really love it.

These days I just can't get enough of sewing, all I want to do is sew, sew and sew! I don't know what's wrong with me but I love sewing!! I was almost mad when my neighbor showed up because she totally interupted my sewing time and I had both of my boys down for naps, the perfect time to sew! Oh well, least I got the quilt top done in the end. To bad they are coming over for pizza tomorrow, another night of missed sewing. But her hubby is gone in Iraq and my hubby is gone too so it's the perfect time to get together and visit. I swear I am pathetic right now.....LOL!!

Sew tomorrow I plan on working on a diaper bag. I keep rethinking this diaper bag over and over and I think I'm just making it way to complicated and I just need to stop. The other night I had the weirdest dream where I was sewing the cutest diaper bag. It was wierd because it was something that I have never seen before and it was made with black canvas and black velour as an accent. So I'm going to finish the one bag I have started and then start working on the diaper bag that I dreamt about, hopefully it will look as cute as I dreamt it as.

2006-12-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

More Aprons....

This is what I did this weekend. Plus I finished the 10 stockings I made, 8 for my family and then I made my sister and her roommate one.

Now I really have to go............

2006-12-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

So this is what I did a couple of weekends ago, I made my girlfriends daughters Christmas Dresses. Not a good picture of the girls but you can see the dresses. The oldest is Payton, the second oldest is Sierra and the youngest is Madison. I made Payton's dress and Sierra's shirt and skirt. I had 2 days to make them so I they were a rush job but heck I had fund making them.

Gotta keep this short, Callin is ready for bed:)

2006-12-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

Nicole, you asked for it. Here are some pictures of my messy fabric stash. I have a small little pile in my kitchen too but that's all of it. I did take out a couple yards last night making some more aprons. I will post pictures of my aprons later though. I think it will take me quite some time to sew all this up. I do have a stash of yarn too but it's in the "Black Hole" and I'm not digging it out. But I have a container or two of yarn. I go in spurts with my hobbies and my yarn seems to be pretty lonely this winter and will stay that way for awhile. So does it look like I have a problem??? Because it looks like it to me........

2006-11-28T21:18:00.001-08:00

Personalized Baby Boy Pillow
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

This is my newest creation for my store, it's a personalized baby pillow. I had a customer ask about baby pillows and bibs so I decided to add them to my product selection. I'm really happy with the way the pillow turned out. I have to be in order for me to feel good about putting it in my store. I made a bib too but I'm just not feeling it. Usually I get really excited when I make something that I love and pat myself on the back but the bib just did nothing for me. Maybe because I hate bibs? Who knows?

I'm also making a diaper bag and so far I'm loving it but I'm at a point where I don't know what to do next to it. I'm actually not a diaper bag person and rarely ever bring one with me so I'm having a little trouble getting inspired to make a diaper bag. Plus, I don't have a clear vision of how I want it to look so that's holding me back too. I do know I want something that won't fall off of my shoulders though. All the diaper bags that I see on the internet that are made by people are all the same design so I want to stay away from that and come up with something original. It seems that when a person comes to your website they want all the baby essentials so I think it's a good business decision to come up with a diaper bag, I'm just not sure if it's going to be something I'm going to enjoy making.

Funky Christmas Stockings

2006-11-20T16:30:00.001-08:00

Funky Christmas Stockings
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

My newest project is making these Christmas stockings for everyone in my family. They are made with upholstery velvet and silk dupioni, expensive material but so worth it!! So far I have 4 made only 4 more to go if I include the dogs. Well make that 5 more to go because my sister has requested a red polka dotted one too. I just love how these turned out. The green one in the picture still needs to be lined with canvas but you get the general idea. I made Kendall and Cade one out of green paisley but the polka dot ones are my favorite. They take a little work sewing a satin stitch around the polka dots. To bad you can't just find the material with the polka dots on it. I tried making stocking a couple years ago and got the material but never finished so I'm so stoked that I actually found a design I love and I'm getting them done. I actually saw some stockings like these in a catalog that my mom got http://www.ballarddesigns.com/ She knew that I would love the polka dot ones and she was right. I had Kendall draw me out the pattern, actually had him draw it out a couple of times because he didn't draw them out as big as I wanted them. He was even good enough to mark where to cut, like I couldn't figure that one out!! LOL!!

I decided to put these in my etsy shop too http://cocoadreams.etsy.com Hopefully they will sell well, but if they don't that is ok too because they are allot of work. I have so many things I want to make but not enough time to get it all done. So it wouldn't break my heart if I didn't sell any of these on etsy.

2006-11-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

I've become a Babywearer...

So I have officially become a babywearer and I love it!! I know Jeny will be excited to read this! I even made myself a pouch sling out of black fleece and a cotton one, but I'm in love with the black fleece one. Yeah, the picture is not good of me but I can't keep my eyes open for some reason.

Callin just loves the sling, everytime I put him in there he will fall asleep. I was able to sew all weekend and make a quilt top carrying him around in it. I've been carrying him in the pouch since he was born but mainly only when I'm shopping. I notice when I carry him around in the pouch half the time people don't even realize I'm carrying a baby around. It's funny because Callin is such a grunter when he is in the sling, I wonder how people don't realize that I am carrying a baby.

When I first started putting him in the sling, he looked so uncomfortable. I kept asking my friend, "do you think he's uncomfortable?" and she would reply "he would let you know if he was uncomfortable." She was right but so far I haven't heard a complaint!

Aprons

2006-11-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

Aprons
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

Thanks to the sun finally coming out after days of torrential rainfall I was able to get my camera out and take some pictures of these aprons I made a month or so ago. I also took some pictures of the blankets that I finished last night. Other than that I didn't get much done. My next project is making a pouch sling out of some cool Michael Miller fabric. I made my first sling this weekend using some black fleece and it worked out great, I even made an online friend one with the leftover material. I'm thinking about making a diaper bag out of the Michael Miller material and have a pattern in my head but I'm a little worried the material might be to busy for a bag.

I might have figured out the trick of getting Callin to take a long nap in the afternoon. Yesterday his long nap came right after dinner but then he woke up more frequently during the night. So today I laid down with my 2 year old and Callin. Luckily Cade my 2 year old was tired so he was "for once" pretty easy to get down and while he was stroking my hair (a habit and routine he aquired from birth that puts him to sleep) I nursed Callin till he fell asleep. Then while wedged in between the 2 I watched the rest of my soap opera and when that was over I snuck out of the bed and got some stuff done. Hopefully it works tomorrow.......stay tuned....

Black and White Handbag

2006-11-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Black and White Handbag
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

Well I take it back, I did get something accomplished today. I finshed my purse. I had the purse almost done but I wanted to add a fabric flower on it, just to give it more personality. I love how the purse turned out but if I was to make another one I would use use stiff interfacing on top of the canvas that I lined it in. I think it would give it the extra body that it's lacking. I didn't use the stiff interfacing in the purse originally because the last purse I used it on it showed on the outside and I didn't like that look but I think if I ironed it on the canvas it wouldn't show on the outside or better yet maybe I will be able to find some sew in super stiff interfacing. I looked for some before I started this purse at Joann's but of course they didn't have any.

Precious Sleeping Baby

2006-11-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

Callin Bleu 058
Originally uploaded by Cocoa Dreams.

Doesn't he look so cute sleeping??? To bad he didn't want to sleep at all today. I thought I could get some stuff done but instead I held Callin most of the day. Do I mind?? No, not really when it comes down to it. He's my last baby so I want to treasure every moment I have with him. Sure I would like to be able to do some sewing too but when it comes down to it the sewing will always be there. Honestly I wasn't feeling all that good today anyways. I did however manage to serge a couple blankets, so now all I have to do is hand sew the edge up.

I also perused www.etsy.com for some inspiration while holding Callin. I was looking for ideas on what to do with this Michael Miller Christmas fabric, but didn't really come up with any hits. I thought about making some Christmas baby blankets but I'm scared if I make some and they don't sell then what will I do with them? I definately don't want to store them till next Christmas but if all else fails I might just make them and hope for the best. I sit in bed at night and try to figure out what I want to get done the next day and I think I might just fulfill my prophecy today, that is if I do manage to finish hand sewing the 2 blankets and a burp cloth and Callin allows me to do it.

2006-11-05T15:57:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of a blog......

I'm not a big fan of writing but I'm in love with reading crafty blogs and looking at them for inspiration so you might not get much from my writings but hopefully you will walk away inspired.

I also hear it's a good way to market your business and since I just started www.CocoaDreams.com I thought it would be worth a shot. Plus I can hold my newborn on my lap and feel like I'm actually doing something to promote my business.