Best Weekend/Worst Blogger.

Hey, guys!  So, who get's the "World's Worst Blogger" award for the month of May?  ME!!  I've done a pretty cruddy job of keeping up on things lately.  I've been feeling a bit "blah" lately and my poor blog and etsy has suffered for it. Thankfully, I've still being pretty productive with other things though.  New regiment in effect, hoping it'll make a difference around here.  Thanks for sticking with me guys!

Even though it's a bit overdue, I still need to tell you about the Stitching Party with the girls!  It was seriously the best weekend.  I got the opportunity to catch up with old friends and get together with others for the very first time, it was amazing.

To bed super late and up way too early, we headed out for adventures.  The guy to a boring symposium, me to a craft party- yay!  My gal pal, Josci, and I met up with Katy and Maureen of Sew Lovely Embroidery and Lisa of A Cuppa Tea with Me!  It was so great because we've been online stitchy pals forever now but this was the first time we got together.

Can I tell you, Katy and Maureen totally spoiled the heck out of us.  Check out the sweet decorations, it's it darling?!  (I stole this photo from Sew Lovely's flickr, it's chock full of gems like this.)  There was a ton of yummy food, tea, champagne...everything a girl could ask for!

They even gave us the cutest goody bags, I told you- spoiled.  Check out all the cute loot I got:

We stitched, we bitched.  Traded tips and quips.  All in all, we had a great time.  Here's all us girls together.  Yeah, I'm inadvertently giving you guys a glimpse of my bra...leopard nonetheless.  Classy, huh?  Someday I'll get it together.

It was a gorgeous day, the weather alone would have made the weekend fabulous.  Beautiful, isn't it?  I feel so lucky that I got to spend such a lovely day with great people.

Thanks again to Katy and Maureen for hosting a lovely afternoon, you ladies rock my sock's off.  From your patterns to your sweet words of encouragement, you are always amazing! xoxo

So, can you guys see why I had such a great time?  Thought so.  Tons of stitching lately, so lots to come.  Stay tuned.  See you soon :)

Cups and Saucers

You guys know Lisa, right?  Good!  For those you who don't, she's a fellow CA crafty lady who can stitch with the best of them.  When she's not stitching and scootin' around on her bright red Vespa, she's an expert on all things tea.  Talk about a Renaissance woman!

Anyhoo, I wanted to make her a little something, just because she's great.  I started something a long time ago, using the same materials, but Boris had other plans for that.  Grrrr, that cat!  I'd glare at him now, but it's been too long and he's much too cute.  Second time around, even with the same materials, I went in a whole new direction.  And I must say, his destruction was a blessing in disguise, because I think it screams, "LISA!!!"

It's not perfect, but I still loved the results.  Behold, "Cups and Saucers."

I also loved that everything came from my stash.  The vintage flannel I used to make the circles is one of my favorite finds ever.  I wrapped the whole thing with some vintage trim to finish it off, popped in the mail and off it went to Lisa Land!  It has made it to it's forever home and lives on the wall of her crafty room.  Yay!  I can't think of a better place for it.

Want to know a secret?  Each cup has a permanent smile built in!  The way I stitched the ridges on the bottom of the cup inadvertently made them perma-happy.  This is what they look like on the backside.

The piece is mounted on a painter's canvas though, so you can't see 'em.  That's why it's a secret!

Well, that's it for now, my computer time is just about up for the day.  Less computer equals a more productive Jackson.  Besides, all this talk of Lisa and happy cups has me thinking it's time for a spot of tea.  Have a craftastic day!

Tuesday Teaser

Today's Tuesday teaser is for the lovely Lisa.  She was kind enough to send me some goodies for paper crafting and sweet swag from the Renegade Craft Fair.  Awesome stamps from far away lands, an embroidered notebook to feed my paper addiction, blank ATCs, divine twine.... so many bits of wonderful.

Isn't the little strawberry she made so cute?  It hangs on my work bench where I keep special little things that make me happy.  (Here you can, kind of, also see Keni's paper crane and Sam's Guide to 2010.)

As I got together a little bundle of happy for her, it occurred to me- I can't send her something without including something stitchy.  After all, embroidery is what "introduced" us in the first place.  So, I set to work on a pattern that is sooooo her.  Can't show you guys yet, but here's a little preview.

I chose bright and happy colors, because that's what reminds me of Lisa!

 I'll be back soon with tons of things to share.  Now that some major projects have gotten done, I'll have more time for regular blogging.  Yay! 

Hope you guys are having a craftastic day!!

Pin-Up Party!! Part 2

When I said this swap was a huge success, I meant it.  I saw lots of lovely ladies being exchanged.  Want to see some more of them?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

First up, we have this beauty from Lisa of A Cuppa Tea with Me.

Then, there is this sassy lady from Carrie of The Croaking Crown.

Followed up by this sweet thang from another Carrie.  You can find more of her work here.

And last but not least, we have this sunny gal from Katy of Sew Lovely Embroidery.

Didn't all of the ladies do a fabulous job?!  One of the things I love most about swapping and sharing on-line, in general, is getting to see everyone's unique style.  The same theme but they all look do different.  Amazes me every time.

I love Pin-Ups!  So just for fun, I made a treasury on etsy. 

 Go here to check out all of the goodies!

Thanks for looking, I'm headed back to my little corner to play with needles and thread.