Who says guys aren't crafty?! Jim has been customizing figures for a few years now and has just finished a tutorial on how to sculpt your own realistic action figure heads. I really am quite amazed with him. You can compare the picture above of Mini Jim with the real Jim. Who wouldn't like a toy of themselves?!

Check out his PowerPoint presentation.
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I'm super happy to finally introduce Switch, a new podcast dedicated to bringing you the latest from indie designers! Looks like the next Switch podcast is either going to be "Wild World," "Sweet Tooth" or "Organic Living." Feel free to submit your products to any of these episodes.
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Decided to give PeerFlix a try. Listed four movies that we never watch (Shakespeare In Love, The Patriot, American Beauty, The Jazz Singer) and made a list of movies that we wanted. It's not that any of those movies are absolutely horrible or anything but I think we've watched them all once. We only buy quality movies that we're going to watch all the time...like Spaceballs or Three Amigos.

Yay, I'm finally getting out the Nano armbands I've had so many request for. Bands come in all the same fun fabrics that the covers do and are reversible because some days you're a Pink with Black Polka dots kinda gal and other days you're a Black with Pink Polka Dots lady.
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On a possibly related note, I've been having some sleeping issues lately. Maybe it's because I'm going to bed too early but I've been waking up around 2 AM, unable to go back to bed. Yesterday I just laid in bed for 3 hours, pondering the important things in life...like, wondering if Janice found a gangsta friend. You know, the really big things. Today I decided to just get out of bed and work on updating the site. So weird because I'm normally such a good sleeper. Hmm.
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Does it seem to anyone else that the internet is especially inspirational lately as far as being crafty goes? Maybe it's just the mood I'm in but there seems to be an endless amount of new crafty blogs and it's really getting me back to crafting for fun. Could also be that March has been somewhat slower as far as Gerbera sales go (a blessing in disguise). I've got a whole list of crafty tutorials I want to get up on the site and the big surprise is that I'm actually doing them. Maybe I function better with less sleep?
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Well, I'm off to run Zefram...or back to bed. I haven't decided.

Vintage Bobby from Lush Life
Day Lilies from Jim
Nose from Zefram
Dry Erase Guys from Ikea
Chubby Birdie from Mom (sorry, no link for my mom!)

I love taking my embroidery on the road but all too often it ends up a jumbled mess of needles and floss. This simple bag was my solution. The instructions assume you know the basics of bag making. If not, check out the Jordy Bag tutorial on Craftster. All seams are .5"

Materials Needed:
· Duck Cloth
· Lining
· Rick Rack
· Bias Tape
· Sewing Materials
· Embroidery Materials
· Plastic vinyl
· 2 Red Buttons
· Velcro

Preparation:
1. Cut an 10".5x11" square on the fold of your duck cloth and lining. We'll call these Duck 1 and Lining 1. This will be your bag.

2. Cut a 10.5"x11" square out of both fabrics as well (not on the fold). These will be called Duck 2 and Lining 2. These will make up the flap that protects your embroidery equipment.

3. Embroider your image to the front Duck 1 (see embroidery image). Remember, Duck 1 should measure 21"x11"

Back Flap (see back image):
4. Cut 3 2"x11" stripes of vinyl. When sewing with vinyl, it's a good idea to place a piece of tissue paper between your sewing machine head and the vinyl. This will prevent sticking.

5. Position the first strip 1.5". up from bottom of Lining 2. Sew across bottom of vinyl. The next vinyl strip will be .5" up from the last. Sew the bottom of all strips in place.

6. Next we have to mark and sew the vertical lines, creating the floss compartments. The first line will be 2.5" inward. Each line thereafter will be spaced 2" from the last.

7. Sew Duck 2 to Lining 2, wrong side out and leaving the bottom open. Turn and press panel.

Back Panel:
8. Cut a 1.25" strip from the loop side of the Velcro and a 2" strip from the hook side. Fold hook section over on one side and sew, creating a tab. Attach .25" of loop to end of hook and sew in place. Place entire Velcro strip 2.5" away from side of Duck 1and 1" down from top. Sew in place along Velcro seam.

9. To make the needle holder, cut 2 4.5"x3.5" from lining. Sew together, wrong side out. Flip and press. Fold one end of the panel over .5" and press in place. Cut a 3.25"x2.75" piece of red felt. Slide into lining panel fold and sew in place on Duck 1.

10. Make a panel from 2 3.5"x9" pieces of lining. Sew in place on Duck 1. To prevent items (scissors, pencils and such) from falling out, sew all the way around except for a small 3" opening. It'll be large enough to slip small scissors in but small enough that they won't easily fall out.

Assembly:
11.Use a French Seam to attach the panel .5" away from middle of Duck 1. The panel should be attached on the opposite side of your embroidery.

12. Sew buttons and button holes in place. As you can see in the this image, I only have one button and it doesn't stay closed as much as I would have liked. I would suggest you place one button in each corner instead.

13. Sew Rick Rack and handles (26" of bias tape sewn shut) to top of bag.

14. Sew sides of Duck 1 together, wrong sides out. Making sure not to catch your back panel. Turn right side out.

15. Sew sides of Lining 1 together, wrong sides out.

16. Place Duck 1 inside of Lining 1 (right sides facing) and sew along top edge. Open your Lining 1 seam at the bottom and pull Duck 1 out, eventually turning your lining right side out. Sew opening shut.

17. Throw on some shoes, arm your new bag with necessary tools and go show the world your embroidery genius!

Sometimes when I have a little downtime or when the shop's not that busy, I like to play around with ideas for different iPod covers. Here's one I made yesterday just for fun. I had seen the tutorial for those cute pin cushion flowers on Whip Up (a new favorite!) and figured I could mix the two. It's a silly little cover. There are more pictures in my Handmade set on Flickr.
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Depending on my productivity level, I'll be adding a new craft project to the website later today. It's the pattern for a little embroidery bag.

I am the proud new owner of a set of four beautiful Love Birds plates by Erika Buentello. I really didn't think I was going to win the eBay auction and was pleasantly surprised when I did. Thinking of hanging them above the couch in the living room. Does that sounds strange, to have plates hanging in a living room?

I can't decide which one's my favorite...they're all so fabulous!
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Yesterday was such a good mail day. First the Love Bird Plates and then a belated Happy Birthday gift from my sister and brother-in-law. They got me the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker and Mug. More tea stuff to add to the tea insanity over here! It was the perfect gift.
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I just heard on NPR that a woman turned on her sink and instead of water, beer came out. Turns out that some repair man switched the pipes between her sink and the beer taps in the bar below her apartment. Heaven, I tell you. Heaven.

I finally sat down and watched Love Story the other day. Jim and I are complete suckers for Robert Osborne. I'm actually not one for sad movies. Real life can be sad enough, I don't need to watch a movie to cry. But, you hear so much about how sad Love Story is...I was curious.

Yup. It's sad. I definitely was crying.
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We're looking to "retire" our wedding rings. It'll be something just as simple as the ones we have now but we're of the opinion that we aren't the same people who got married five years ago, why should our rings be? I'm thinking we'll go with these rings from Etsy. Now we just have to think what to engrave them with.

We're big fans of industrial signs. Who isn't, right?

A month ago, I came home one Saturday to this big beautiful "B" sitting on my kitchen table. Having no idea where it came from, I thought that perhaps the Modern Decor gods had smiled down on me!

Turns out, John (Jim's Dad) had it in his garage for at least 30 years. He always wanted to put it up in his house but Paulette (Jim's Mom) was having no part of that. He must have known that 20 some years later, he'd get an industrial sign-loving daughter in law!

Definitely one of my favorite corners in my house.
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So, a couple weeks ago I was having some skin issues on my face. Just a few little bumps here and there but since I've never really had skin problems before, it kinda freaked me out. I went out and bought some intense cleaners and although the bumps were gone within a few days, I was left looking like a fish. No really...my skin was so dry that it was almost like scales. Ugh.

Decided to throw everything I may have had an allergic reaction to and switch to bare minimum soaps and lotions. During the fish period, I also started putting A+D baby ointment on my face. I was looking for anything to help with the dryness and since it had worked on my feet tattoos, figured I'd give it a try on my face. Oh my goodness, that stuff is wonderful! It smells a bit geriatric (weird, considering it's for babies) but it's so worth it!

Jim started to complain about the smell until I rubbed my feet on him. Even he was amazed at how smooth they were. I wear flip flops practically year round so if my feet can be soft, anyone's can!

Oh, A+D how I love thee!