29 days til Christmas!

Ahhhh! So it is 29 days (I believe?...) til Christmas and I am just now FINALLY starting my homemade Christmas gifts. Yikes. Being Prego with a 15 month old kind of slows a girl down. I don't believe I have EVER started gifts this late. Oh well.
Looks like my sewing and crafting attentions will be diverted to Christmasing for the next few weeks instead of sewing fun purses. (except for the ones for you Megan). I'll post Pictures of my latest craftings in a bit. :)
HAPPY CHRISTMAS CRAFTING!

I am back!

Well after a terribly long time away from my blog, I am back. This past SaturdAy I was honored to be part of a fund raiser for The Gathering Inn. I sold my new jewelry and a few clutches. What fun.
While there I was also invited to two craft fairs! Woohoo! Love craft fairs.... Guess that means it is time to get sewing.... Again. :)

Blogging and Baking...yummm

Today I am taking a "sewing break" and doing some baking. This Saturday I will be providing 160 cookies, 3 sheet cakes and a three tiered wedding cake (only the top is real) for a friend's wedding...OH, and I am doing their flowers. SO FUN. But so much work. And this Saturday is also David's 1st Birthday!

Yesterday found me making 5 batches of cookie dough to refrigerate and chill overnight. Then this morning at 8 I started baking. I have already finished the peanut butter cookies and am now working on the giant chocolate chippers. ...and did I mention that I chose this week, when the temperature has been over 100 every day, to do all my baking?!!! AHHHH... Thankfully my wonderful husband JUST fixed our air conditioning. It had been non op for almost 2 years. I am so so so so so grateful that he choose this week to fix it. :) Happy baking wife.
While cookies bake I am hopping around from blog to blog finding all sorts of new and wonderful sites. WOW.  There are so many amazing blogs out there. Today I only visited 5 or 6 but they were fantastic. Sighhhhhh.... Someday I will get mine up to speed. If only I were computer crafty as well as "normal" crafty. I mean some of these ladies have super cute "buttons" on the side of their blogs and fun links etc... Humm. Well, one step at a time. For now I will be content with having an operating blog. Later I will crack open my brain and figure out how to have an "Artsy" blog. (oww timer just went off again. Gotta go pull out another batch).

Big success & BIG drama

Thank you to everyone who came out to see me at the Auburn Art Walk. The evening was a HUGE success even with the 911 Drama.... Yes I said 9-1-1!
While I was busy showing my bags to Art Walkers my wonderful mother took David (my 11 month old) for a stroll so I could focus. Half way through the evening our french exchange student came running into Gimmie Cake Too and yelled "David's choking!" It took a few seconds for my mind to realize that she ment really choking. I took off running out of the building and down the street to the next art gallery. As I was running I saw Nonni (my mother) holding David almost upside down and patting his back. By the time I reached them he was breathing, very labored and still restricted, but breathing. There was an off duty medic there with Nonni and David who was on the phone with 911. And as I held David and continued to pat his back, and his breathing continued to improve, an ambulance and fire truck pulled up. I knew he was better when he suddenly giggled and pointed at the fire truck.  Even though he seamed to be all better the EMT's still did a full check up. David go to have his lungs listened to, his blood pressure taken, and his blood oxygen levels tested. We got the all clear and the ambulance and fire truck left. Sigh. WHAT A NIGHT.... (oh btw, it turns out he was choking on a SMALL piece of watermellon flesh, which Nonnie managed to sweep out of his throat)

So YES, the evening was a HUGE success. Thank you everyone for coming out and for hanging around during and even after all the drama.

Join me at the Art Walk!

Come join me this Thursday from 5-9pm at Gimmie Cake Too in Auburn! I will be showcasing my newest available bags (many of which are not posted on this site) and will be launching my new repurposed jewelry line. My new jewelry is made from Starbucks cards, pub coasters, Sprouts gift cards, scrabble tiles and much more. Come! Stop by and see it all for yourself.

Newest Availible Bags

Blue and white-
Large unlined shopping tote - $20

Purple and yellow-
Large unlined shopping tote - $20

Green and white small purse- $20
ruffled purse-$15
Long zipper clutches -$10
Bifold wallets-$5
Brown Pete's coffee bag purse-$30
Brown Starbucks Purse-$30

Ruffles

As the Starbucks bags change designs so must my purses. So here is the first of my new ruffle bags.

New direction

My zipper bags have had a make over and are now longer and leaner. They also face a new direction, giving your bag the look and shape of an actual coffee bag. At only $10 a bag these little purses are the ideal way to pamper yourself.

He can reach!

Life as I know it just got a bit more exciting and sewing just got a whole lot harder. I was standing in my kitchen cleaning a bunch of coffee bags that will soon be zipper bags. And as I was finishing I heard a noise coming from our back door. David was standing on his tip toes trying to open the door so he could go outside and play with the dog. He's only 10 months old and I already have to watch the doors!
Guess this means keeping a much, much closer eye on him while I am sewing. Or it means going back to the old way of sewing when I am only half way up (6 in the morning while D is still asleep and I am half asleep). Either way, haha things are changing around here.

A new look

After surfing around on my sister's amazing blog I was compelled to give mine a fresh look....aaaahhhhh! I am so not a computer person. Give me a sewing machine over a computer!

Coffee and biscotti

After an amazing weekend of sewing, showing and selling my bags a cup of coffee and biscotti are just what the doctor ordered. Yum. These biscotti are wonderfully low carb (1.5 each). I got the recipe from my mom a few weeks ago and want to pass it on.

BEST ALMOND BISCOTTI
4oz cream cheese, soft
4Tbs butter, soft
4 egg yokes
16 Splenda packets
3 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose wheat flour
1/4 cup Vital wheat gluten flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups while almond meal or unblanched almond flour

Combine and beat cream cheese, butter and 2 egg yokes in the bowl of an electric mixer til thick and smooth and creamy. Add the other 2 yokes and beat for another minute. Add all remaining ingredients at low speed.
Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300 or 325.
Shape the dough in three rolls about 1 3/4 inches thick in diameter and about 12 inches long. Set the rolls on a nonstick, heavy gauge metal cookie sheet and flatten them into bars about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool before slicing.
Set oven to 225. Cut logs into 15 slices. Place pieces back on cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until sufficiently hard.

This enchanting new bag can be viewed and purchased at the Red Poppy Decor and Gifts in Auburn. Red Poppy is located in the Gild Rush Plaza at 111 Sacramento st. Suite F, Auburn, ca 95603.

Zipper bags

NEW small clutch sized zipper bags are available. These bags are perfect for holding makeup, your camera, or phone. With their sturdy handles they can even act as your whole purse(for those ultra minimalists out there).

International travelers

 As of 1pm yesterday these two bags set off on an international adventure. Their destination, Japan. As I finished them I had a very strong desire to keep them both. I just LOVED how they turned out. But I can not keep every bag I make. No girl needs THAT many purses. So instead they are headed to their new home.

YES, I take international orders.

&

YES, I ship internationally.

"Muffin & Starbucks"

What better way to kick off a morning of sewing than with a "muffin" and Starbucks coffee. A few days ago my mom shared this trick for making a low carb, gluten free microwave "muffin". So I would like to pass the trick along.
-mix
1/4 ground flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Splenda packet
(this will make one muffin. I like to make up a bunch of baggies of this mixture so that I can just grab one in the morning)
-Mix in
1 egg
1 tsp oil
Put mixture in a small ramekin and microwave for one minute. Take out, slather in butter or cream cheese and enjoy.

Coffee & flowers

Mother's Day has passed so it is now safe to plant my garden. With the sun shining my coffee cup and I went out to buy flowers and vegetables.

Wallets

Men's bifold wallets now available. $10 each

*NEW*

Sip your coffee in style with these new cup sleeves. No need to be ordinary, now your coffee cup can be as unique as you. These Coffee Cup Sleeves available for $5 a piece. 

Blue Blend

This fun blue purse is available for $30. The bag is made of 4 reclaimed coffee bags and is lined with re purposed fabric. The strap is an old belt , black on one side and checkered on the other. to view more items for sale click the "Available" tab.

This is my newest design. It features the fronts of 6 different coffee bags, is fully lined and has two starbucks card "snap closures".

My Coffee Bag Purses come in a variety of styles and sizes.

Starbucks purses

This patchwork messanger bag is one of my favorites. Perfect for carrying your book and pad into your favorite coffee shop.

This bag is one of my most popular sellers. This was one of the original designs. Current versions of this bag are a bit different.