what to do today: nov. 7

it’s okay to be odd. in fact, it’s great!

check out all the cool and sometimes adorably strange locally handmade goods at local arts and crafts bazaar oddmall today in hudson, ohio. the show runs today only, 10:30 am-6:00 pm.

pick up something great for yourself and do some early christmas shopping for someone special. and support local artists and businesses while doing it. it’s something you can feel good about!

a note to the ladies: don’t hesitate to take your man to this. oddmall is a show that even guys can appreciate. ask my husband. he went with me to the spring edition.

all things japanese.

i wanted to share a link to one of my favorite etsy shops: this and that from japan. i just placed an order yesterday and can hardly wait for my little hedgehog print linen to arrive so i can make more wonder woobies!

the shop owner is great too. she ships on time and even includes a cute little thank you note with the order.

gogo squeez got me.

i had just read a blurb in brand packaging magazine about the great new packaging of a great new product called gogo squeez. and then today,  i spotted it at nature’s bin! i knew that i had to take it home with me.

the outer packaging is a chipboard material decorated with the endearing illustrations of the apple and cinnamon contents. who knew what the feet of those two items looked like? heck, who knew apples and cinnamon even had feet? well, they do and i’m glad!

the peek-a-boo cut-out window that wraps from the top panel to the front reveals the four individual packs of applesauce on the go that are nestled inside. the individual packs are of the squeeze variety making for some fun interaction with one’s food. the twist-on cap keeps the experience neat and tidy (compared to a tear squeeze pouch), and allows one to enjoy applesauce now and save some for later.

there are so many occasions for which this product is ideal. let’s see: school lunches, work lunches, camping, backpacking, picnicking. and just because! one should never underestimate that final application. why not surround yourself with cute, smart, quality products? gogo squeez is improving the quality of my life and i’m loving it!

cutest neighbor award.

and the award goes to…

my little neighbor, of course! do they make them more perfect than this?

i am posting this to not only show off just how lucky i am to have such an adorable little neighbor friend but to also show proof of a baby’s love for satin trimmings.

i had read about this love affair between baby and ribbon but never quite appreciated it until i witnessed it. simply put, babies go crazy for satin ribbon! which is why these little blankets with satin ribbons–that i’ve dubbed “wonder woobies”–make the perfect baby toy.

i followed a pattern found in lotta jansdotter’s book simple sewing for baby. i produced mine out of japanese linen and the common ribbon that you might find at a jo-ann fabrics. little fish are the pattern on the ones pictured. i also made a few with a too-cute nesting doll pattern.

get one for a cute baby you know!

packaging gets me every time.

i’m a sucker for it. i am known to buy things i don’t need strictly due to the cute, fancy or special packaging it comes in.

for instance, i have a brand new jar of peanut butter in my cupboard. i didn’t need these individual serving packets. but, look at them! so small and just so darn cute. the little peanut illustration describing the variety. ooh, i could not resist. and the interactive aspect of the packet. just tear, squeeze and enjoy. and i do have to say that the peanut butter really is yummy. (you can pick some up at nature’s bin in lakewood.)

and then there is my fancy dish soap that i found at target. the fresh, yet vintage look of the bottle shape, label design and font choices. why am i so easy? i bought this when i didn’t even need soap. and the best part is that i end up dumping it into my four-year old, pump-equipped sun light bottle anyway. (the j.r. watkins stuff is upside down so i can get every last drop.)

so does the packaging make the stuff inside better? i think so. sure–there are times when even the best packaging in the world can’t save a sub-par product. but good packaging most certainly always helps enhance a product. and regardless, it got me to make the purchase, and isn’t that the point?

national sewing month is here.

i gotta admit that i didn’t know there was a national sewing month or that it was september. but there is and it is! and it arrives in just a few days.

if you’re new to it or it’s just been awhile, bust out that thread and needle and make something or remake something. (maybe mend something. i’ve got a pile that needs attention!)

your local jo-ann has classes and all the supplies you’ll need!

shamelessly hocking my wares.

the salty not sweet indie craft show is right around the corner. there are a million and one reasons why you should go to this show. here are just a few:

1. if you love cleveland and/or your country, you will support its crafters. (why buy mass-produced products from china when you can get unique, handmade goods down the street?)

2. crafting is totally cool. did you not get the memo?

3. this isn’t your mama’s craft show. just like “salty not sweet” implies, this show has an edge.

4. you can meet the person who created what you are buying, maybe learn the story behind it.

5. meet like-minded people. maybe find the love of your life at salty not sweet! (disclaimer: i can’t make any promises on this one but it’s a nice thought.)

and…

all of these cool crafters and more will be there:

candra squire

sara hoover (small screen designs)

psycho reindeer t-shirt company

andy hopp

b. radley

event details:

when: september 5th from 11-7

where: quirk cultural center in cuyahoga falls

photos:

sneak peek at my dog shirts, baby bloomers, burp-on-it burp cloths and wonder woobies with the satin ribbons that babies can’t get enough of.

weekend (non-)plans.

i refuse to say T.G.I.F. but thank goodness the weekend is here! it has been quite the week!

and to remedy it, i will sleep in on saturday and then lay around in my p.j.’s and watch a few of my guilty pleasure tv shows. i would say “tori & dean: home sweet hollywood” but i don’t feel guilty at all about loving that show.

i may browse the stands at the west side market this weekend. pick up a loaf of fresh bread and maybe some fresh ohio city pasta.

i will take every opportunity to stop and smell the flowers, to smile at a stranger.

i will stroll with my husband and sip my favorite coffee, slowly.

here’s to the weekend. i hope yours is a good one.

before (sort of) & after: kitchen furniture.

i got so excited to work on this project that i almost, and sort of did, miss the “before” shot. i did manage to snag a pic of the drawers before the new paint hit them. and i have a shot of the main part of the piece with only a partical initial coat.

this was a vintage piece that my mother-in-law handed down to me. (if you read my blog regularly,

you’ll know that this isn’t the first piece she’s given to me. thank you, miss kathi!) this was something that she had had in her kitchen before she got a floor-to-ceiling kitchen makeover. (she now has an island covered in a beautiful piece of granite that is so big we jokingly call it the operating table.) when she had this little dresser, it served as her kitchen island. she had added a larger top to it that extended out toward the backside of the dresser and worked as an extra eating area with bar stools. she even hand-tiled a one-of-a-kind counter surface for it.

my kitchen, being smaller, required that this dresser be taken back to its original scale. my thought was to paint it to match the existing cabinetry in my kitchen (a creamy white) to help it blend in. it just happens to be the perfect fit for an area in my kitchen that is void of base cabinets because an electric baseboard heater won’t allow for them. because this new piece is on legs it was the perfect candidate for the job of filling the void, not to mention, adding a huge dose of much-needed function to my kitchen life.

i’ve already filled the drawers with kitchen must-haves: lots of kitchen towels, pens, paper, address book, cake pans, frosting colors, icing bags, and the bottom drawer holds vases and candles. i love that it blends in but stands out giving my kitchen a bit of a cottage or farmhouse feel.

my husband always trusts my intuition and supports me in all of my furniture makeovers and home-improvement endeavors (thanks, hon!). he expected a good outcome on this one but it wasn’t until we put this dresser in its new home that we both realized that it was just meant to be and better than we could have ever expected. don’t you love when that happens!?

(a note on the existing cabinetry: when we bought the house, the cabinets were awful and very dark. they were a fiberboard of some kind covered in a wood-look paper. i painted them the exact creamy white that they still are and have freshened them up over the years. thanks to quality and longevity of martha stewart paint (manufactured by sherwin williams) that i bought at k-mart nine years ago, I am still–yes, still–using that very paint to keep them looking great. it is also what I used to paint my vintage addition.)

my four-year-old friend.

i have a four-year old friend. she’s the daughter of a neighbor couple that my husband and i have gotten to know over the last six months or so. last night, i volunteered to take her to the neighborhood park just a stone’s throw away.

at the park, i did a lot of pushing her on the swing. (it was sad that my arms started to hurt at some point. note to self: need to work out more.) my little friend held onto her stuffed animal, catty, and talked about how she was as high as the birds and commented on how much both she and catty loved to swing very high.

we also climbed around on the jungle gym playground equipment at the park. i was the student as she taught me how to navigate the different obstacles and then we took turns on the slide. occasionally, we had to take a break so we could refresh ourselves at the drinking fountain, catty included.

during my time at the park with my little friend, all my thoughts about laundry and “to do” lists and monday coming soon quickly faded away. i started to see the world from her perspective–a big, amazing place full of opportunities for fun and laughter. it was a great reminder to stop thinking ahead quite so much and sink into the moment so you don’t miss the  ladybug next to you on the park bench.

photo: chalk art on my patio by my little friend