{Rubber-Sol: Why, hello there!}

Busy Bee

We're planning a retirement party for my mother this weekend, and I've been über busy creating the favors for this grand affair. I decided to make the ever-so-famous marble magnets so popular these days; and the instructions on Megan's site helped out tremendously (as did her reader's posted comments). So over the past few weeks, I've been punching out photos and cute pictures for the marbles, and then I've spent quite a time glueing them to the magnets, getting a mighty high all the while! Hank and I found an old photo (circa 1972) of my mom (complete with cat-eye glasses), and we scanned it, shrunk it down, and we're using them for some of the magnets too. She will certainly be surprised!

I was fortunate to find great tin containers at SKS Bottles (Gnomeg, you might like this site as it has fun lip balm containers!); I opted for the round containers instead of the Altoid-style boxes. Conveniently My Own Labels has an exquisite, enticing line of labels in lovely, luscious colours. I couldn't resist and bought several sheets of the round, mint green stickers. I've made about 40 little sets so far....only 60 more to go! Oh my! I had better get crackin'!

In the meantime, our house is getting a facelift. I've longed for crown moulding on the outer windows and doors, so we have a handyman (er....I mean craftsman, as he prefers to be called) who is busy crafting those for us right now. When he's done with all of that, he's going to paint our home. Colours: Monterey Gray, Suisse Coffee, and BLACK (for the doors). I can't wait for this whole process to be done. I've taken plenty of "before" photos, and as soon as the "after" has occurred, I will be sure to post all the photos here.

Feelin' Crafty

There's something in the water these days. It seems that every few weeks a new baby is born into our circle of friends. It's amazing, really. I've been a busy bee sewing up diaper bags for newly minted mothers and experienced mothers alike. I just whipped up a batch of three and filled them with all the essentials: onesies, bibs, diaper ducks, wipes etc.

Hank just sent the packages off and away they'll travel to San Diego, San Francisco, and Chicago! In a matter of days Mary will receive her bag for her little Isabel (her fourth!), Stephanie will receive hers for Vicent (her first!), and finally Audrey will receive her waste management package for David (her first). Such an exciting time.

The destressed denim fabric was a steal, and the vintage reproduction fabrics were fun little accents too. I saved tons of time by cutting the fabric all at once (thank goodness for sharp scissors!), and then I sewed them all in assembly-line fashion. Since I had leftover denim, I stitched together a little sundress and hat ensemble for Alison (to be posted later).