You are currently browsing the monthly archive for November 2008.
the newest member of the lil sprinkles family…sorta…
Lila was born last Wednesday at 3:48 pm. Lil sis was induced around 12 ish and as soon as her dr broke her water, she went from 6 cm to 10 and unfortunately, did not feel the wonders of the epidural. Well, she got one but she progressed so quickly that she was still able to feel the pain. According to my sis, she thought she was going to die! 
Lila weighed in at 8 pounds exactly! Yes, lil sis had a large baby but she was a 10 pounder herself so what do you expect?
Both are doing well and resting at home. I was able to visit them at the hospital but it only took me 3 HOURS! At one point on my drive, I came to a standstill. Do you know what it’s like to sit on your butt for 3 hours straight and go nuts counting down the visiting hours at the hospital?! I wanted to pull over and cry!!! Fortunately, my navigation system saved me and kept me going. I admit…I am HORRIBLE with directions and sometimes refuse to drive my husband’s car out of fear that I will get lost (no navi in his car).
Needless to say, this Thanksgiving has truly been a blessed one for our family. We have been quite busy with visiting Lila to putting up Christmas decorations and “trying” to get ready for the next fair. How can I keep focused with so much going on? And get this…I even went shopping on black Friday! Yes, I am a girl who needs minimal sleep but the bags under my eyes paint a different picture. Can you believe the nerve of some people? I was at the make-up counter one day last year and this lady started trying to sell me this and that and then blatantly asked “you want some cover up for the dark circles under your eyes”? THE NERVE! At the time, my twins were probably around 1.5 years old so yes, I was tired but STILL!
Anyhow, I hope to have some new pictures up next week…dolls, of course. Just wanted to write this post as I know it is overdue and I kinda left you all hangin’.
big sis
So my sis went in for her routine check up and b/c the dr is going on vaca and neurosis runs in our family, she will be induced tomorrow morning!!! I’ve been trying to figure out what I could do with my kids to make the 2 hour drive to the hospital. I’m exaggerating a bit but I’m sure it will take at least 1.5 hours to get there. Guess it’s a waiting game for us all.
I finished up a custom order today.
I am in LOVE with this cutesy Japanese fabric! It is adorable and so so cute on buttons.
I will be super busy the next 2 weeks working on custom orders for Christmas. YES, you read that correctly! I’ve received several orders for Christmas. These people are organized! I LOVE IT! I’m also planning on making more of those darn USC paperweights for our next fair! I’m just a lil bitter that no one wanted the UCLA ones. What gives? Where are all those die hard Bruins??? Have you no loyalty? no pride?
I’ll keep you posted on my lil sis.
big sis
Sis and I kept this on the DL (down low until all was confirmed and we actually received the column. And here it is in all its glory.
Small, local newspaper but we were ecstatic to be featured!
This was part of the promotion for Sunday’s fair. So let’s do a quick recap for those all wondering how the fair was. There were people waiting in line at 5:30 am just so they could get a lottery ticket and get in 30 minutes early. Who wakes up that early to shop? (besides me during black Friday!) We did OK. Our USC paperweights were snatched within the first 5 minutes! CANNOT understand those die hard alumni! They’re a cult! You make anything with USC written on it, they’ll buy it Overall, we felt that the consumers, who by the way are regular attendees of the fair, knew what they wanted to buy from the “regular” vendors. It was still a great experience! It was so great to hear from visitors that they had either read about us somewhere or saw us on Etsy. Who knew? And we even got a few custom orders. By the way, yes, the newspaper column is showcased on our table but ONLY b/c we were requested to do so by the organizer.
I was able to convince my sis, who is due any day now, to make the drive from the Valley to come play with me. We got to do some X-mas shopping. Here was our fav item…think we each bought several:
They are the CUTEST dish towels imaginable! And I even bought a piece of jewelry, which I RARELY do. When you have kids, the last thing you want to do is accidentally cut them up! But I bought it anyways b/c I loved the simplicity of it. I would let you see what it looks like but my daughter decided that she needed to hold on to it all day long and sleep with it! Oh, and that’s another reason why I don’t accessorize! She’s such a girl! But you can check out 2bambu and her shop here.
So on to our next fair! We are debating on whether or not we should start listing some in our shop now. As you can see, we made ALOT, and in the end, I feel our table was a bit distracting b/c of the doll overload! So, if you are interested and want to see what we have available NOW instead of waiting until the 6th, please contact us.
big sis
I did EVERYTHING on my checklist, and most importantly slept for almost 6.5 hours! Hooray! Although with all this excitement going on, my body seems to be kinda shutting down on me (knock on wood). Just one more day, body…stay with me.
So without further ado…wait, I must tell you the driving force behind this project. My sis and I wanted to implement something Christmasy at the fair. Afterall, it is considered a “X-mas boutique”. And we absolutely LOVE fabric covered buttons. AND we HATE wasting such cute fabric. AND we try our best not to dress our girls in the same outfits. Oh…don’t get me started on that! When is it OK to start repeating outfits, I wondered when I was young. Now, don’t care so much. You can catch me wearing the same outfit for days! My husband makes fun of me by asking about my “uniform”! Anyways, this is what lil sis and I came up with…
It does take away the look of the Christmas tree but the presentation in person is adorable. I think…and really isn’t that all that matters? Here are some close-ups. Thanks lil sis for designing the cards.
Brooches
Ponytail holders
I know, this “BIG” project is all over ETSY. But it is such a great way to use up your fabric and not waste. and really wouldn’t it be so exciting to find one of these in your stockings this year! Maybe not…but whatever! My daughter loves her snap clips. Unfortunately, they take me FOREVER to make so I will not be including them in this round but rest assured, they will be on that darn Christmas tree by Dec 6!
Wish me luck!
big sis
It’s 8:30 pm and kids are in bed. Plans for tonight…
1. Mock table set up. Don’t laugh. This is an important step. You see, I will be alone this time around. We have twice as many dolls compared to the last time. AND I ONLY have 1.5 hours to move everything from my car to the booth (I have almost 5 boxes of dolls in the office/craft room!!!), set up, make sure everything is just right, and then jot down in my head what I want to buy before they open the doors! Did we really need to make that many dolls? YES! My sis is due any day now and I was not going to try and make another “batch” before our next fair on Dec. 6.
2. Finish up the last touches on our “BIG” project. I know, are you soooo sick of me talking about it and not telling you exactly what it is?! I would so be too! But you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.
3. Iron sign, make price tags, and start a custom order. I can be so ridiculous sometimes. It’s not like I don’t have enough on my plate, right?
4. Squeeze in some sleep…I’m shooting for at least 6 hours!
Despite my to-do list and “complaints”, I am so happy with how everything has turned out and CANNOT wait! Getting butterflies again…
The big girls…
The decal bunch…
And the others…
Good night!
big sis
Now that my dolls are completed, I found some time to make some projects for me and Baby Lila. Next project is a gingham covered ribbon corkboard!
A beginner sewer can definitely tackle on this project! This entire cover cost me $11 (Alexander Henry Fabric purchased from Etsy). I am planning to make another cover with fabric I got on sale, and that cover should cost me about $7.
The materials:
1 yard of any fabric (The base color of my fabric is white, and I was worried it would be see through. It works out just fine! I couldn’t resist the jungle animals.)
2 D Rings – I purchased 3/4, but I would prob go bigger next time
1/2 yard of Boning - 1/4″ Wide
Thread
Step 1: Cut Fabric 26 x 38 – the longer side is so you can cover underneath your arms
Step 2: Cut straps. Long strap is 28″ long by 3″ wide. The shorter strap is 10″ long by 3″ wide. I used my fabric chalk to make my measurements but a water soluble pen or even a pencil will do.
Step 3: Fold and press both straps right sides together.
Step 4: Sew short strap from raw wedge. Flip right side out. I like to use my chopstick to help with the flipping.
Step 5: Sew long strap from raw wedge. About 2″ before you get to the end, start sewing inward at a curve. The pointy end will be what loops through the D rings. Flip right side out.
Step 6: Press both straps so the seam goes down the middle.
Step 7: Fold the short strap in half and loop both of the D rings. Sew down the strap as closely to the D rings as possible so they stay in place.
Step 8: Set straps aside…on to the main part of the fabric. Press 1/2″ and fold over another 1/2″ and press again for three sides and sew a hem. Leave the top or the longer side unsewn.
Step 9: For the long side that is unsewn, use pins to hold the fabric in place and tuck in the raw edge of the long strap about 9″ from the side. Insert boning under the hem after the long strap and pin. Make sure to place the boning so the curve faces the right away. Tuck the raw edge of the short strap after the boning and pin in place. Sew the last hem.
Step 10: Flip the straps up and stitch across the top to keep in place.
Step 11: You’re done! Loop the long strap through the D rings and adjust as needed.
-lil sis
I am not an animal lover by any means. I blame it on my mom. When we were young, we were only allowed to have fish. We’re not talking about those small fish bowls that you win at carnivals…the fish that you name…the fish that you bury in your backyard when it passes away and have a little ceremony! At that age, what’s so great about having some fish in a huge aquarium??? We’re talking about a huge aquarium that if you did not clean regularly, it would get all muggy and gross! And I was not about to fish out the dead ones and flush them down the toilet. So needless to say, the fish tank was eventually emptied and used as a “terranium” in our backyard!
My sis and I would ask for a dog occasionally but according to my mom, she was VERY allergic to animals. It wasn’t until I was in college (my sis in high school) that my mom finally succumbed and brought home a puppy. Unfortunately, we were beyond the “let’s get a dog” stage and returned the puppy.
So getting to the point…what is it about cats??? One more story…Whenever we go to the mall, the kids always want to visit the pet store. One morning, an employee asked if we wanted to go in a room with a kitten? I was so excited b/c I thought my kids would love it but where to start…how do I pick one up? Will it scratch me? are there germs on the kitten that will make us sick? You should have seen us! We were all trying to “run” away from the kitten and that is a hard task if you’ve ever seen one of these rooms! It wasn’t that bad but it was sad to realize that I am SO not an animal person. Oh well…hopefully my kids won’t ask for a dog or a cat or fish for that matter. I’ll have to use that allergy excuse!
So, what is it about cats? Why am I drawn to making them into softies? Who the heck knows! but here they are.
Check out their furry mittens and boots! The lil sis has braids in her hair! How cute is this sis duo?
I’m wrapping things up and still working on the BIG project. It’s really not that big and once revealed, I’m sure you’ll be thinking “what was the big deal?” I just NEED TO GET IT DONE! Guess I should get back to work. I am so excited and as each days passes, I get butterflies (not that different from the norm because I get them frequently I don’t know why b/c it’s definitely a possibility that I (my sis will be there in spirit) won’t sell a single doll. But whatever…it’s going to be fun! all by my lonesome self
Until tomorrow…
big sis
Like big sis mentioned, I will be moving back to the OC. It’s bittersweet. I made some great friends here in the valley, and I’m sad to leave because of that. On the otherhand, my family/friends will be SUPER close.
I’ve been going crazy trying to finish up the dolls so I can drop them off tomorrow. The fair is only 4 days away! My place is a mess, so I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I’ve completed everything. I feel like the “nesting” period just bypassed me. 
I’m so excited for these dolls to make their debut! I’m also happy with the way our price tags turned out.
I’ll leave you with this pic…
Couldn’t resist making some Obama paperweights!
Was I really gone though?
First, no changes with my sis. She is still cooking her lil bun in the oven. Btw, there must be something about these fairs…she is moving yet again! AND the best part is, she will be 10 minutes away from me (vs. an hour and a half!) So, needless to say she is busy completing her dolls, packing up her place (she won’t be moving until 2 weeks after Lila is born), and getting ready for Lila’s arrival.
Second, I’m almost there…with completing all of my dollies! Sis and I decided no on the penguins. I am running desperately out of time and I have one last big project that I MUST complete. Here are some of my completed girls.
Aloha~
And my snow bunnies! My sis LOVES the cream colored felt so I decided to get some myself and they turned out so winter looking! Perfect for this 80 degree weather, huh? But if we did live in an area with typical seasons, they would be dressed to impress!
More pictures to come…
big sis
I know I was suppose to be off the computer but thought I’d write a quick note to let you know that my lil sis is already 2cm dilated! She hasn’t had any contractions but it could be any day now (her due date is Dec 2)…although I keep reminding her that I was 1cm from 31 weeks to 36 weeks (when I delivered) with my twins. Poor sis, I keep pressuring her to hurry up and finish those dolls!!!
big sis
