I'm so excited about my sewing class!

I'm so excited about my sewing class that I went today to buy the fabric for my first project. I can't wait until my next class on Tuesday.

My first project will be a tote bag. This are the three colors I picked for my project. It was so hard to make a decision. Too many great choices :)

This one will be for the inside.














The green one is for the straps.













This one is for the outside.









I also bought the fusible interfacing to make it a little sturdy.

It's going to look so lovely! I can picture it already :)

I Think I'm Back on Track.

We had a great time with all our guests this summer! Our cousins were really in shock with the fact that we don't have a TV. They couldn't understand how we can live without it. I thought that was really funny. I know people think we are crazy, but Gaby doesn't like to watch TV and we are always busy doing other things that we just don't have the time to watch TV. We are a member of NetFlix and, most of the times, we get a movie and we don't get to see it until a month or two later. Anyway, enough of that.

My mom spent a month with us. She left on Friday. It was great having her, but I ate so much and did not hit the gym once. She cooked every day and, of course, it's really hard to say "no" to my mom's food. She makes the best beans. I was able to freeze some for the rest of the month. There was only one little problem with my mom. She said she's not coming back unless we sign a contract saying that we'll have a TV for her, LOL. She did a lot of embroidering and cross stitch to keep her sanity for a month. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. She is funny!

We had a great time at the school's open house yesterday. I used to work at the school so I know a lot of people there. I kept running into staffs, parents and students that I've known from previous years. I kept talking and talking. I barely made it to Gaby's class. That was a great feeling! Gaby is so excited to start the new school year. He really likes his teacher. Apparently, every third grader wanted to be in that class. Not only he got the teacher he wanted, but also a great number of kids that he has known from previous classes. He is very happy and he already knows that this is going to be a great school year. He is really looking forward to learn about science and do some cool experiments.

Now, with the beginning of the school year I get back to my routine again. It's been a great week already. I went back to zumba after a month. WOW, do I feel great or what? I almost forgot how zumba makes me feel. I love the energy!

Today, I started taking sewing lessons too. I'm so excited! I learned a lot and I'm so looking forward to start my tote bag. I'll keep you posted of my progress.

Last, but not least, I want to share this little doll with you. I made it for one of the teachers I worked with last year. She just had a baby girl. I'm not too happy with it so I'm still undecided about giving it to her or not. What do you think?

Meet Ella...

The pictures were taken in the little macro studio that Gaby and I made a week or two ago. BTW, this was one of my sixty something unfinished objects. One down...I'm making progress, lol.

My Macro Photo Studio Experiment

A few days ago, my dear friend Aura send me two articles about taking better photos without spending a fortune. You can find the articles here and here. I just couldn't wait to try it and share my experience.

I went to BJ's and got one of those empty boxes they have by the register for you to put the groceries in. The box already had three windows so I didn't have to cut it. I looked through my gift wrap supplies and found white tissue paper. With the help of my assistant (my 8 yrs old boy), I taped the tissue paper to the open sides. Then, I went to Michaels and got the black and the white poster boards for .49 and .59 cents. I used to desk lamps that I got recently for $10 at BJ's. Here is the set up:



Unfortunately, I didn't really follow the step by step directions on this. I did not control the tungsten or white light balance. I tried using two lamps and placing them at the different sides and the top. Sometimes, it worked better with only one lamp on the side. Other times, it helped having one on top; depending on how much light was coming through the window in the room. My son was an excellent helper, holding one of the lamps for me. He also had a great time taking photos of his own things. I learned that using the flashlight is not always a good idea. It'll make the picture look yellowish.

Here are some of the pictures we took:

This one of the pink hat was taken outside with the sun on the side. I did controlled the white balance on this one (+1).

Here are some of the ones my son took:





He's been drawing a lot lately and he wanted to take a picture of one of his drawings.

I will definitely try to do this again.

I Have Major OCD!

Seriously, I must have major OCD because this could not be normal :). I counted about 60 unfinished projects. I promised I was going to look for them and I did. Here are some pictures.

A couple of heads and bodies. A red eye tree frog that is looking more like an alien, lol. Parts for three different giraffes. I was designing the one on the lower left, but I ran out of yarn. I'm actually working on the one in the middle right now. You can see a hat, slippers, baby shoes and a butterfly.


Here is a swan or goose (I don't even know) that I made like ten years ago. I think is just missing the hat and a ribbon. The blue baby sweater is just missing buttons or velcro. That little green guy is supposed to be Master Yoda, lol. Next to the sweater, you can see all the pieces for a hamburger, except for the bun. Next to eat is a baby bib. I need to make the straps a little longer. On top of the bib, there is an amigurumi bear. It's just missing the face. My husband says it looks like a mouse :) On the lower left corner, you can see a halter top and a top that I was making for one of my nieces when my sister was pregnant. I never finished it. Next to the tops, is a blue ball. The orange pieces you see there if for a fawn (Gourmet Amigurumi's pattern.) I love the head, but I don't like the body. I need to work on that again. Right next to it, you can see a bunch of flowers and leaves. But, that's not all. There's still more.



Here you can find a bunch of heads for pencil toppers. Eventually, I will turn them into animals just like the frog on my banner.

You are probably tired by now, but there is still more. Two scarves, two pair of shoes, a small pet sweater, a baby sweater, a shawl and a chinchilla. Here is a closer look at the baby shoes.


And more projects.



A big baby, an elephant, a bear, a body for a doll, a pig, a tiny white baby shoe, a pink face, a blue body and a doll.
Here you can see the big baby a little closer. That thing is ugly, lol. I'm sure once I add the facial features and some clothes it will look better.

Remember that ugly doll that I mentioned to you before? Well, here she is. I already got rid off her facial features. I think that's her major problem. Maybe I should make her different clothes.


Here is a close up of the face.


From the side.
Back

Ok, I think that's all for now. I hope I didn't scare you away with this long post :).

Do you tweet?

I never thought I was going to find myself tweeting. I remember telling my husband a few days ago, "I don't see the point of twitter. Why should I care about what people are doing every second of their life, especially if you don't even know them? Well, I think I found my niche. For the last two nights, I've been tweeting a lot. Mostly, finding friends from Ravelry, KH and Etsy there. It's been a lot of fun! I like the fact that I can have a quick preview of what everyone is doing on my homepage rather than going to so many different forums.

All right, back to work now. Have a great day everyone!

Crochet bookmark giveaway!

You don't want to miss your chance to enter this Crochet bookmark giveaway by Joyous Treasures. Go check it out!

Too busy to blog...

When I decided to start a blog, I knew it was going to be hard to keep it up. Still, I wanted to give it try and I'm not giving up. Not yet. There is just so much to do and not enough time. I promise I'll do better once school starts.

My mom is visiting for a few weeks. I'm trying to keep her entertained so she won't get bored. She loves going to Goodwill stores. We made a couple of trips there this weekend. She's really good at finding treasures there. I've never had any luck. Maybe, I'm blind :). Well, believe it or not, I don't really like to go shopping. The only stores where you can find me is either at a yarn shop or a craft store. Since I can't afford to buy anything right now, I try to stay away from them.

I'm really excited because I might go back home (Dominican Republic) in a month. My niece, nephew and brother in-law are participating in The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, The Musical at "El Teatro National." This theatre is like our "Broadway" back home. Since they started rehearsing for the play, I told them that I was going to go and see them perform. I didn't know back then that I was going to be unemployed now. I was a little disappointed because the whole family is planning to go. And, as much as I love them, I know I can't afford to get into another debt. We just had some unexpected expenses this summer. So, I prepared myself mentally to stay here and conform myself with looking at pictures and watching a video later. Of course, it's not the same. Anyway, to make the long story short, my sister called me and said she was going to get me a ticket with her miles. I would only need to pay for the tax ($102). Ah! I forgot... I just found out that my passport expired last month. Bummer :( That's another $90. $75 for the passport and the rest for the pictures and shipping. I sent the application today. Hopefully, I'll get it on time. If not, too bad. I'm not going to sweat it. It'll be nice to go though. It will be a chance to see my grandmothers as well and the bunch of family and friends that I have there.

Another reason why I've been so busy is because I'm trying to open an Etsy shop. The more I read about it, the more I need to learn. Whenever I think I'm ready to launch the shop, something else comes up. I told my my husband I was going to start even if it's with one item and I'll learn the ropes as I go. Otherwise, it's never going to happen. Worst part so far: taking the pictures. No matter how and when I take them, they don't seem to capture the essence of the item. I'll keep trying...that's all I can do.

I discovered One Red Robin

I just found out that Jhoanna Monte Aranez from One Red Robin was featured in the Creative Uncovered session of Living Creatively. Jhoanna makes the cutest softies. If you like to know more about her, go and check out the article. I just discovered her a few days ago and fell in love with her creations! She also has a shop on Etsy (jmararez).