Hello

Is anyone still reading this little ol’ blog???
May was so busy with activity {worse than December if you ask me} and I really just wasn’t feelin’ it so I took a little unplanned bloggy break.

But HEY, I’m BACK!!! {and now you are stuck with me}
So there ya have it! I’m here and you are stuck.  I win!

Thanks to those of you who have left comments and emailed me to make sure I was ok. Y’all are what make this blog thang so much fun and I appreciate your concern. I have the BEST readers!

So……what have I been up to you ask.

Josiah had his school program and did such a great job singing and smiling.
I spent 6 years taking kids to preschool here and I will miss the wonderful teachers.

We are nearing the end of baseball season. Corban’s team is doing really well this year {haven’t really been able to say that before}. He managed to end up on a team where the coaches see their work with the kids as a ministry and said as much at the first practice. Wow. love that! It has made for a very enjoyable season so far. 

Little man gets a .25 tootsie pop every. single. game.
Keeps him still for a little while.

Josiah started t-ball last week. He was so excited~ crazy excited. Like drive you nuts, can you please stop talking about it kind of excited.  

I have also been sewing like a mad woman. Mostly Etsy shop orders, but I did manage to make myself a new little bag last weekend. I love it! The pattern is from I think Sew. 

It’s the retro bag. I {heart} the pleats on the front and that it’s a crossover bag and that my hands are free when I carry it.  No more hurting shoulders from a heavy purse. 



Speaking of the shop, I put in on vacation yesterday!! As much as I love making things for other people, I decided I needed a little break. Sales have really picked up lately and I am forever grateful to those of you who have shown your confidence in me and bought one of my cases. However, I need a little rest and relaxation for a few weeks so the shop is closed until June 25th. You can still place an order, but it won’t ship until after the 25th. If you placed an order before. June 5th, I will finish your order and have it shipped by tomorrow.

Speaking of relaxation, I can’t wait to be sitting on this beach this summer. dreamy.

How about you? any relaxation in your future?

A new case for your sunnies

A little more sunshine each day means you are probably using your sunglasses a bit more. If you are anything like me, they often get lost and scratched in the bottom of my purse.

That really bugs me.

So I decided a while ago to make myself a little sunglass pouch.
I added a little ruffle because everything is sweeter with a ruffle, right?
I figured I couldn’t be the only one that disliked having my glasses all scratched up so I picked some super cute fabrics and made some for my Etsy shop.

I love the little ruffle.
It is just enough.
Enough to be girly without being over the top. 


Wouldn’t your sunnies be so happy in one of these sweet little cases?
I think so too.

Blessings~

Need a little case for your gadget??

well then, it’s a match made in bloggy heaven! I just so happen to have a giveaway going on over at Shabby Lane Boutique.

You could win your choice of any gadget case from my Etsy shop.

So go check it out, enter to win and then take a look around Tracy’s blog. Lots of yummy eye candy!

oooh…..and she has a coupon code available for 20% off any purchase in my shop – good through Valentines day :)

Last day for FREE HOLIDAY SHIPPING

TODAY  is the very last day to get

free holiday shipping

on all your purchases in my Etsy shop 

                                       THE SWEET LIFE by design



I am shipping daily if you still need any little gifts. 

Busy in my workshop

Happy Monday!!

This little elf has been busy working on more little gift items for my Etsy shop.

I have a whole new line of gadget cases.

Perfect for your iPod, iPhone, Evo, MP3 player or tiny digital camera.

Each case is fully padded for protection and the opening measures 5” x 3” so it should fit most gadgets quite nicely. 


You can check them out here.

Blessings~

New in the shop….. 15% off and free shipping!!!

The Sweet Life by design 

This week only ~ 15% off all orders for my readers!

+ free shipping on all orders {US residents only}

Enter the coupon code: thesweetlife

offer good thru Saturday, Dec 4th 2010.

here are a few new things I’ve put in the shop over the weekend

Set of 3 damask pocket tissue holders *SOLD*……make excellent teacher gifts!

Holiday hostess aprons…just right for everyday or hosting a party.

Set of 3 wristlet key fob keychains *SOLD* in pink and brown….great for kids and adults alike.

Holiday kitchen or bath towels   *SOLD*

Happy Monday!!

A little window shopping

I ♥ all of these sweet items I found on Etsy.

1. acorn ornaments 2. Copper and silver hoops 3. Temple garden wristlet   
4. Pear canvas bag 5. Be Unique print 6. Infinity scarf 
7. Weeds and Wishes print 8. Crochet brooch 9. Selvage coin purse 

I would love to shop completely handmade for the holidays, unfortunately they don’t sell legos or nerf guns on Etsy.

How about you, will you shop handmade for the Christmas? 

New Makeup bags complete

I finally got all the kinks worked out on my triangle makeup bags.


I ♥ them! 

They have so much room inside and they open nice and wide so you can see everything easily. I hate fishing around for stuff so that’s important to me. 

They are about 9.5” x 4” and 2.75” wide at the base. The sides are straight which makes for a cute little triangle shape.

and of course, the bags just wouldn’t be complete without a little pleated ruffle. The perfect feminine touch.

They are up in the shop if anyone is interested.

What have you all been working on this week?

this post is linked to: Weekend wrap-up

Triangle make-up bag

For a while now I’ve been wanting to make a new make-up bag for my self so when my friend Shannon asked if I could make her a box style one I said “sure”. {Sometimes I just need a little motivation to get started.} So I made her a box bag and I thought it was cute as can be, but I wasn’t in love with the functionality of it. She likes it though so I guess it’s all good.


 
After I made her bag I immediately went to work on coming up with a new design and I think I really dig it. 

It’s a straight sided triangle bag.

I started out making a small one, which is perfect for my purse, or it would be great for make-up brushes. Then I decided to make one that was a bit bigger. It is about 10” long  3.5” tall and  3” wide at the base. I still want to make a bigger one that’s just a bit taller and maybe a little shorter.


My favorite thing about them, besides the cute shape, is how wide they open up when you unzip them. Plenty of room to see what you want and the wide base {and good interfacing} helps it to stand up while you dig around in there.

I’m pretty happy with them. Once I get the size perfected I’ll be adding some to my Etsy shop.

this post is linked up to Sew much Ado, Sugar and Spice, Creative Itch, Night owl crafting, Tea Rose Home , Weekend Wrap-up 

Party Buntings

I really like decorating for parties.

Sometimes I don’t have as much time as I would like to get it all together and make it look nice, but when I have the time {or actually plan ahead} I really enjoy it. I had a ton of fun putting together the decorations for my sister’s baby shower not too long ago.

Everyone likes a party that’s all festively decorated, right? 


Last year I made several party buntings and put them up in my Etsy shop. They have been gone for some time now so I decided to make up a few more. They are pretty easy to make and they last for years so you can use them over and over again to decorate with.  

They would even look cute hung in a playroom or a bedroom.

This one is my personal favorite, mostly because it’s all polka doty and it has orange in it {♥}.

There are lots of tutorials around blog land on how to make your own. You could try the no sew version here or one that has lettering on it here or this one with raw pinked edges. There are so many different ways to make them. I Love them all.

Do you gals like to decorate for parties or are you a less is more kinda gal?


this post is linked up to Show and share day, Weekend wrap up, Marketplace Monday

A little impromptu giveaway

It looks like I hit 200 followers overnight. I really hate dislike the term “followers”.  I prefer the term “enablers”, but I guess followers works too.

I really do appreciate all of you lovely ladies {and a couple guys} who read my nonsense. I {big puffy heart} reading all of your comments and support. It makes my day more than you will ever know. Unless of course you like comments that much too and then you know how I feel.

So in celebration I thought we should have a little impromptu giveaway. How about a journal to jot down your thoughts and dreams or maybe just your grocery list?

Just leave me a comment and you will be entered to win one of these two journals from my Etsy Shop.

  1 entry per person. I will choose a winner Monday {6/21/10} morning using Random.org so enter now.

PLEASE make sure you leave an email address in your comment or make sure that your blogger account links to your email so I can contact you if you win.

***************This Giveaway is now closed*******************

My week {and new ruffled fabric covered journals}

Spring has arrived and by Friday it should feel like summer...really! Remember the 8" of snow we got last weekend? Well, it finally all melted and now it should be in the mid 80's by Friday....crazy! I'm certainly not complaining because I can't wait to open up the windows and air out the house. 

I ♥ having the windows open and breathing the spring air!

Last week I got my vanity and new doors and drawer fronts painted in my bathroom. I'm excited to share the finished product, but I want to get the tiling on the counter top done first. I planned to do it the end of last week, but my mother in law came in town for the weekend and I decided it best not to make our main bathroom unusable for the weekend. Pretty thoughtful of me, huh? 

Well, the sink is out and I am ready to tile the counter top in the morning! Hopefully by Thursday I'll have something to show you. 

Maybe good....maybe bad.... only time will tell. 

I've never tiled anything before, but I've read lots and it doesn't seem too hard. What's the worst that could happen? really? We would have to tear it out and buy a new counter top....I'll take the risk.  

Maybe by the end of the week the yard will no longer be a swamp and I can get out there and clean up some of the flower beds.....they look sad. 

I did manage to finally get some of these little ruffled fabric covered journals posted in my shop. I really love them. It makes jotting down a grocery list a little more pleasurable.

Since we will hit the 80's by the end of the week, I decided it would be a good idea to switch over the boys clothes today. This was about 15 minutes into the project. Piles, piles, piles!

I got up in the attic and got a wild idea to bring down the 1529 tubs of boys clothes we currently have and organize them. {I saved you the agony of a picture of that disaster} It took a few hours, but they are now nicely organized by size and season. 

I got rid of a bunch of stuff and packed up the rest and labeled them all. I did come to the realization that Corban must have worn size 7/8 for a L O N G time because there is a ton of that size. When Josiah gets there...he will be set for quite a while {he'll probably skip that size altogether :)}

That's pretty much my week in a nutshell....how about you?

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy reading all of your lovely comments? I do....it brightens my day!


This post is linked up to:

Just a girls show and share day

Everything etsy's I made it

Me and my bucket

Hodgepodge Friday

V & Co

Sumo's sweet stuff

New Towels

Everyone needs some new kitchen towels for spring, don't they?  

I just put some in my shop.

I'm still working on those journals too.....I'll have them soon.

This post is linked to 
I made it! at Everything Etsy

A few things I'm lovin'

*****If you are viewing this in Mozilla, sorry things look all wonky. Apparently Blogger and Mozilla are not playing nice this morning. Chrome and Explorer are doing just fine.*****

♥First off, this post about envy by Rachel over at No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane has had me thinking...a lot. It's like she spoke directly to me and you might just feel the same way. You won't regret reading it.

♥I've been having fun making up these journal covers. 

The first one I made was totally "fly by the seat of my pants" {the brown one...it's mine}. The pink one I love even more because I thought to put a little hidden elastic loop in the ruffle to put a pen or pencil in.  I don't know about you, but writing utensils seem to disappear around here, so it's nice to know you have one when you sit down to write.

I'm gonna make a few more of these over the next week and put them in my etsy shop. I'll let you know when they actually get there.

♥Let's face it, there is a ton of cute ideas for little girls out there in blog land. ummmm....not so much for boys. 

Well Made and Made by Rae are taking care of that this month with a Celebrate the Boy series. The entire month of February is dedicated to boys. Love it!  There have been lots of neat ideas so far, but here is one of my favorites.

I know my boys would LOVE these bags. Especially with the clone trooper stencil on them. I just need to get the fabric and the other parts and I am so making these. You can find the tutorial at Ambrosia Girl

♥I'm totally behind on my reading the Bible in 90 days, but I have only missed a couple days. I am finding it VERY difficult to read for an hour a day. I do have more of a desire to read the bible than I ever have before and that is a good thing. I'm consistent in my reading so I KNOW that I will finish, but it won't be in 90 days. Bummer, I know, but ok at the same time.  I'm reading...consistently....and enjoying it so I consider it a victory even though I'm going to come up a little short on my original goal. Better late than never....right?

♥This vanity. 

My dad is currently making me some new doors and drawer fronts for my bathroom vanity and it will look very similar {sans baskets}...can't wait.  

 Have a wonderful weekend!