It's been a crazy month!!!

I know I always start my blog saying that it's been a long time since my last post. Well, I'm not going to do that today :-) And, I'm not going to bombard you with all the great and not so great things that happened to me since my last post. I'll never finish LOL

Instead, I'll leave you with something fun to watch. Here is a little Zumba demonstration that we did on WBTV about three weeks ago. We were trying to promote our zumbathon. If you don't know which one I am, it's easy to find me. I'm the one that seems to be a little lost and always doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing :-) It was so much fun though!!!

I wonder why I'm always seem to be doing something different! Check out this photo!
If you are in the Charlotte area, try to go to a zumba class at the Siskey Y on Monday nights. It's a party! I think is the only exercise room in town that turns into a real club party at night. We have five disco lights in that room!!!! It's awesome!!! We even have theme night where people come dressed for the occasion. Last night was disco night. Those who wanted to join the fun were dressed in shimmery outfits!!! It's so much fun. You don't even know you are exercising:-)

Ok, my dog is calling me. I'll continue at another time. Have a great day!

The Holiday Boot Camp Pledge

I, Larissa (BeyondStitches), pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Dolls, Dolls, Dolls! I just love them!

It's been almost a week again since the last time I posted. I know a few more weeks will probably pass before I post again :-) I wanted to post these before we go on vacation.

Remember the cute outfits I was making for my nieces American Girls? Well, I made a few more. I really hope they fit the AG dolls. I don't have an AG doll to try them on. I used one of the first crocheted dolls I made like 15 years ago to model some of the outfits.


Here on the left, she is wearing a very cute dress for a tea party in the afternoon :-) You can tell the dress is a little small for her. My doll has a longer torso than normal :-)

Here, she is wearing a black and hot pink tutu with a black and silver leotard. The leotard is in crochet.

I have no idea why these next two photos turned out like this. I tried uploading them a few times but every time they would come out like this. I gave up! This is one of the reasons I don't blog as often. It takes me hours to post a little thing. I don't find blogger very user friendly. Or, maybe my skills are lacking on that department :-)

Shoes to go with her tutu outfit and knit high pants to go with the orange sweater. The flower on the side is a double layer rose crocheted with variegated blue and orange.

The sweater was made with orange and hot pink Caron Simply soft. I made the fabric buttons to match.


Last, but not least, I wanted to share my batch of dolls that will be going to Freethekids.org to support Sarah's DollyDonations.

I love the way they turned out! I've been practicing my drawing skills so I can come up with my own pattern :-) Also, I've been practicing my sewing skills :-) I want to be really good (fast) at it so I can make tons of dolls and make kids happy all over the world. I'm thinking about sending my next batch back home, Dominican Republic. We share the island with Haiti. It's a dream that I always had! I think is about time to take action and do it :-)

This Past Week

I forgot to mention about our trip to Columbia, SC last weekend to meet with my friend Wendy from Wendilerias. She is very talented! You should check her blog! Wendy and I have been online friends for over a year. We blog, FB, talk on the phone and we have supported each other through our ups and downs, but this is the first time that we actually see each other in person. We had a great time together with our families. We met at the Three Green River Greenway for a picnic. I wish I knew there was access to the river before we got there so we could be better prepared. We were just going to have a picnic and go to the zoo.

The river was inviting us, especially the kids, to go in. We gave in and decided to stay a little longer. The water was freezing, but the kids didn't care. Honestly, I didn't go in. The water was too cold for me :-) I just sat down on a rock and took some photos. There were people Kayaking and tubing.











I love this picture of my son on the left. He loves nature! He was trying to slide down the rocks. He was having so much fun until he got a thorn in his foot, ouch! That was the end of it :-( Did I mention how unprepared we were? We ended up going to the pharmacy to buy tweezers and peroxide. We still couldn't get it out until night time when he was sleeping.

I also love the picture of Wendy and her daughter! Carolina was having so much fun that she didn't want to leave. Since we couldn't go to the zoo anymore, we ended up going to Wendy's house for a little bit. Here is a picture of us:

Another really cool place that we went to this past week is Amelie's French Bakery. They have the yummiest pastries and is such a cool and cozy place! We heard so much about it, but didn't get a chance to go until now. It's in the North side of town, NoDa. We liked it so much that we went twice this week. We went Tuesday afternoon and Friday night. OMG! that place was packed on Friday. My son was having a blast. After we ate our pastries, we went for a walk around NoDA. They had live music at Salvador's Deli. There was also a Drum Circle outside a coffee shop.

This is a really cool lamp at the entrance made out of small pots and spoons.
This is the chimney and piano area.

After finishing our yummy pastries, we sat down in one of the big couches. Gaby was browsing a book and I was knitting(finally took my needles out after a whole year). did I tell you that I also found a yarn store around NoDa. It was closed. I need to plan another trip there early during the day so I can check the yarn at The Yarn House.

This post is becoming too long. I will have to continue to sum up the week on another post. I hope you are not too tired from reading :-)

American Girl Outfits Part Two

I didn't know there was going to be a part two, but I just got carried away :-)
No sabía que iba a ver una segunda parte, pero me dejé llevar :-)




I made her a bikini in crochet.
Le hice unos trajes de baño tejidos a gancho.

I also made her a hat and a pair of shoes in crochet as well.
Tambien le hice un gorro y unos zapatos tejidos a gancho.




I decided to recycle part of my tutu and make one for the AG doll. My niece is going to flip over this tutu! The headband is for my niece to wear.

Decidi reciclar parte de mi tutu y hacerle uno a la muñeca AG. Sé que mi sobrina se va a volver loca con este tutu. El diadema es para mi sobrina usarlo.

I told you I got carried away LOL
I also made a crochet dress and, of course, she needed a headband too to go with it.

Te dije que me dejé llevar, :-)
Le hice un vestido tejido a gancho y, por supuesto, tambien necesitaba una diadema para combinarlo.

My niece's birthday already passed, but I keep adding things to her gift package. Hopefully, I'll mail it by Tuesday at the latest. The family is going on vacation the following week and I want to make sure the package gets there before then.

El cumpleaños de mi sobrina ya pasó, pero sigo agregando cosas a su paquete de regalo. Espero poder enviarlo a mas tardar el Martes. La familia se va de vacaciones la siguiente semana y quiero asegurarme que le llegue antes de que se vayan.

American Girl Doll skirt and Top

Yesterday was one of my niece's birthday and I thought I'd make her a dress for her American Girl doll. I didn't have a pattern, a doll or any measurements so the dress turned out more for like a Barbie doll :-) After my first attempt, I decided to look for some ideas online.


So today, I made her this set of skirt and top. Not my favorite fabric to work with (chiffon/silk), but it turned out really cute. I think she will like it! I'm thinking about making a tutu for her doll as well.


I also cut out the pattern for 5 dolls that I have pending for the Haiti dolly drive. I'm hoping to be able to finish those by this weekend. I really want to focus on my dolly drive. I might send my next batch to Ethiopia in September. I'm waiting on someone to get back to me. If not, I might take them to an Orphanage back home (Dominican Republic or Colombia). I also met this wonderful lady that just got back from a Mission trip in Liberia and she is going back next summer on another mission. I told her I wanted to send dolls with her so she is thrilled about the idea. She adopted two kids from there four years ago and they went back this summer to visit the kids family and friends. I love hearing stories like that!!!

My New Headband Display

I spent most of my time yesterday creating this headband display. It's really easy to make but, for some reason, yesterday was one of those days when nothing seemed to come out right :-) At least is done now and is being displayed very nice at a local store.

In case you are interested in making one, this is what I did:

1) Get a pole. I got this one from a friend and it seems to be one of those used at Valet parking. She actually gave it to me already wrapped with the type of foam that is used to install carpets.














Since I wanted mine to be a little wider, I bought another half a yard of foam from Hancock Fabrics ($7.99 a yard). I also bought 5/8 of a yard of the cheapest Suede fabric I found ($6.99 a yard). You will also need a scissor, tape, hot glue, needle and thread.

I wrapped the pole with the foam like this.
















Then, I wrapped it with the fabric. This is where it got all messed up :-) I miscalculated my measurements, and cut the fabric about two inches short :-( Good thing I bought enough and had the little extra to cover it. Although, it was double work for me. Hot glue was just not doing it for me so I ended up sewing the whole thing from top to bottom :-( At the top, I gathered the fabric and glued a piece of black felt to cover the small circle. I also added a daisy flower to cover that up.

Here is the finished product and how it looks with the headbands displayed.















I took it to the store today and it looks even better there :-)

So, what do you think? Not bad at all, right?

You can also make it with a PVC pipe and a piece of wood. It will require a little bit more of work though.

Smart and Trendy Moms Giveaway

Hi guys! This is going to be a quick post. I just wanted to tell you that Smart and Trendy Moms is having a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate for my shop. Go and check it out! Ah! and don't forget to check all the other awesome giveaways that she is having! Pass the word!! Tweet and blog about it. Share it on facebook!!!

My summer So Far

Where should I start? Oh, remember the window my dog broke like 6 weeks ago? It hasn't been fixed yet. First, Lowes forgot to place the order and that put us like two weeks behind. They finally placed the order and got the window. When the guys came to install the window, we found out the Lowes was supposed to deliver the window and they never did. So, the guys couldn't install it that day. We had to wait for another week for them to come to install it because they didn't have any other time available. A few days after, Lowes finally delivered the window. When the guys came to install it, they realized that Lowes ordered the wrong size. Urrrgh!!! We were so mad!!!! And, to top it all off, our AC unit couldn't take it anymore. No AC for us for the last three days. So, it's been really hard to focus on anything. We finally got the AC fixed today. It was only $300 :-( It could have been worse.

Anyway, I can't believe how fast this summer is going. We haven't even gone anywhere yet. This whole window ordeal is messing up with our summer vacation. At least Gaby has been going to the pool a lot and he is really enjoying it. I told him that he needed to learn how to swim this summer or that he was going to be taking swimming lessons in the Fall. He's been doing great on his own. It's amazing how fast kids can learn things once they are comfortable with their environment. I am amazed at how much he has learned in just a few days!!!! I tell him that he is my Michael Phelps. You can tell how proud he is of his accomplishment.

I hope you are enjoying your summer!!

Girl Model search for my Hair Accessories

I'm having a "Model Search" contest on my Facebook fan page. Click on the picture to read all about it. Or, you can click on my facebook box at the top right corner of my blog. If you have a blog or any other social network, please pass the word. Even if you don't have girls of your own, I am sure you might have a niece, cousin, sister, neighbor, or friend that might be interested in participating. Thank you so much for the support!!!

Working on my Facebook Storefront

A little overwhelming, but I'm getting there. It's definitely easier than Etsy. Plus, it's totally free!!! Love it!

I'm taking this whole week to finish it so I can launch it prior to 4th of July weekend. I'll have a Grand Opening Sale!! So, stay tuned!

In the meantime, you can look at some of the items that you'll be able to find there. Right now, most of the items are for little girls. I'm trying to expand to teens and adults as well.
This is a tripple layer Irish rose crocheted by me with 100% cotton thread size 10 and embellished with a Swarovski crystal.

This is a hot pink flower embellished with a pearl antique look button in the center. It's attached to a metal headband wrapped with a hot pink velvet ribbon. Recommended for teens and adults.





I love to make the ribbon sculptured flowers! They are so cute!





Now that you had a little preview, don't forget to stay tuned and to tell your friends about it.

Have a great weekend!!!

Meals for Haiti, Real Women Have Curves, Zumba and more!!!

Yesterday was a hectic, but productive day! The morning was for Dr.s appointment and for running errands. Part of the afternoon was dedicated Free My Starving Children to pack meals for Haiti. My husband and son came too. We, along with other volunteers, packed 178 boxed with 36 meals each in less than two hours. It was a great and very touching experience. Knowing that there are so many kids without a meal kills my heart. I'm so glad that we were able to be part of this project and I would love to keep doing it. If you would like to help too, check their website for more information about volunteering. If you are able to donate $, please do so. $17 provide meals for 100 children. That's .17 cents per meal!!!

After that event, I went to a zumba fundraising event to raise money to put up the play, "Real Women Have Curves" directed by Adyana de la Torre. It was a great event! The zumba instructors were awesome! The food was delicious! The crowd was super nice and humble. And, we got to see a sneak peak of the play. I can't wait to see the whole show! The show will start in July and is going to run for three weeks. You don't want to miss it!!!

BTW, I've been passing the word about my doll drive for the orphanages to everyone I run into. I still haven't put the whole thing together, but I will post more information here later on.

Have a wonderful day!!! I'm getting ready to go to another event today!

Crochet Flower Card and more...

I wanted to share this "Get Well Soon" card that I made today for someone very especial. I would've love to send her real flowers as she deserves the best of the best, but it was not in my budget :-( So instead, I made small crochet flowers with a smiley face button in the center. I think it turned out really cute and it will definitely brighten her day. What do you think?


Here is a little close up of the flowers. I made them "smiling faces" because she has the most beautiful and contagious smile.


Here is the inside of the card.


On another note, I found about Global Knit today and thought I would pass the word in case you, or someone you know, might be interested in participating. I wish I have the time to participate in every single charity project I find. My two hands can only do as much. I keep telling myself that by sharing the info with others, I'm already helping :-) That makes me feel better. Because I know that along the lines, at least one more person would get involved with a project because I shared the information :-)

Tonight, I'm cutting the patterns of the Haiti dolls to have them ready and start sewing them as soon as I get a chance. I want to be able to make a few dolls before the end of the month.

Tomorrow morning there is a zumbathon to raise money for school supplies for one of our local schools. I'm planning to be there even though my back and neck are in pain at the moment. I think I've been a little stressed out lately. Always too much to do and not enough time :-)

It's the end of the school year!

Yeah!!! for summer vacation!!! I might have to take my son out for ice cream today to celebrate the end of a great school year. He brought all "A"s and did an excellent job in his EOGs. Now, we are looking forward to a wonderful summer fill of activities. I checked out some books from the library to look for places to explore in our beautiful State. He's been looking for science books as well to try new experiments. He is reading about MadScience. That should be interesting :-) Why can't we just do art or music? Hopefully he won't drive me too crazy this summer :-)

Changing the subject a little bit here, am I the only one getting overwhelmed with Facebook lately? I mean, FB is a great tool! Don't get me wrong. I just can't seem to catch up with this whole virtual world. So many groups, events, invitations, friends request,etc...It's getting out of control :-)

Ok, I need to go back to work. I've been spending way too much time in the computer rather than creating :-( It's time to be productive!!! Talk to you soon.

Hello again!!!

What a gorgeous day we have today and I can't believe we've been staying home instead of enjoying the beautiful weather. I guess is because my boy has not been feeling to well. He's been reading all weekend and has not been in the mood for anything.

Yesterday was my husband and my son's birthday. All my son wanted was my so famous Italian Ricotta Cheesecake so I did that for them. I also made them a nice breakfast and took them to Chipotle for dinner. Gaby couldn't really enjoy his meal as his runny nose was bothering him. We got him a book that he really wanted, The elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe Oh, the kind of things that my boy is into. All he does is talk about atoms, neutrons, nitrogen, etc.


This past Friday, I participated in a Think Pink Party Vendor Showcase to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. The event went pretty well. It was so well organized and people were just ready to support the cause! I sold a lot of headbands and I got a few orders that I need to fulfill this week.

I better go now and work on my custom orders. I'll be back soon to talk more about "sponsor a doll" project that I'm trying to work on. Perhaps you guys would like to help as well.

Long Time, No See!!!

I just noticed that It's been exactly one month since the last time I wrote. That seems to be my pattern LOL I tried writing about a week ago but, I got upset with blogger. It kept messing up my story and photos so I gave up :-)

It's been quite a busy month. Not a lot of zumba for me :-( I've been creating a lot and figuring out what kind of hair accessories I want to concentrate on. There are too many things to keep in mind when selling stuff for kids. I think I want to incorporate more things for teens an adults. That way I can model my own products. You should see me wearing hair clips and tutu's LOL

I was trying to launch my own website but, before I do that, I want to try the facebook storefront. It's free! So, it doesn't hurt to try.

Right now, I'm just getting ready for a "Think-Pink Vendor Showcase" that I have this Friday. A friend of mine and two of her friends are doing the Avon breast cancer walk in October. They each need to raise $1,800 so they decided to have this showcase in order to get some help raising the money. All participants will give them 10%-15% of their sales that day.

I have to go now but, I will come back soon to show you photos of all my latest creations!!! I love, love, love creating! I wish I have more time during the day :-)

Project Art Aid

Today, I went to the Project Art Aid that took place at The Actors Theater here in Charlotte. A group of local Latino Artists teamed up to help the earthquake victims from Chile and Haiti.

I met so many amazing artists! Their pieces of work are just beyond words. You can check the Project Art Aid blog to learn more about them.

As I was walking around the exhibit, I run into a couple of friends that I've met through my Zumba classes. What a small world!!!

Wordless Wednesday!!!

Community Outreach - I need sponsors

Every day, the YMCA touches the life of so many people by providing so many wonderful programs and services like child care, literacy programs, discounted membership, sports and camp scholarships and Camp Boomerang (a summer camp for children with autism). None of these programs would be possible without the support of people like YOU. I'm looking for SPONSORS for the Siskey YMCA Community Outreach Zumbathon. Please consider making a donation. A $1, $5, $10, $50...whatever you can, will be greatly appreciated. And if you work for a matching gift company, that's even better :-) Make your checks payable to the Siskey YMCA. If you are in another State or Country and still would like to contribute, you can send the money through my paypal. The event is on March 13th. I would need the donations by then. Thank you so much for donating!

I'm back!!!

I can't believe how long I've been away from the blogsphere!!! It's been a super hectic 2010 so far. I love it! I just wish my days were longer so I can do even more. It's so good to be back. First thing I found today was an amazing project for an orphanage in Haiti: Dolly Donations: Sending love, 1 dolly at a time! What else do I need to get my inspiration back and keep blogging? I can't wait to start making one of these dolls!!! I've already printed the pattern and I'm getting ready to select my fabric. I'm so excited! I'm already picturing the kids happy faces when they get their dolls. What a great satisfaction knowing that you can make a difference and give those kids hope and let them know that they are loved.

Last week, we had a little zumba gathering to raise money for Haiti. We raise $1,000. Here is a video of me and one of my favorite instructors leading the song "Pegate" by Ricky Martin. You'll notice that the video is edited because we were having technical problems. We ended up doing 3 times. That explains why I'm a little lost and without energy, lol It was so fun anyways!!! If you have time, look at the other videos posted by the same person. Those are all the videos from the zumbafest for Haiti. Here is a picture. I love it because it loos like if we are about to fly, :)

I also participated in the Charlotte Bobcats Halftime. Here is a link of a video I found on youtube. You can see me running to the court at 0:06 time. I'm the one with the sparkly headband. Yeah!!! I made my headband. That's how my family was able to recognize me from a mile away :) Oh, I think you can also see me around minute 2:14 next to the really tall guy.

Here is a picture!

All right guys, I better get going now. I promise to be a better blogger :)

Hearts for Haiti

Hundreds of Etsy artists united to help Haiti from the devastating earthquake. 100% of the proceeds will be going directly to Doctors Without Borders for Haiti Relief. Pass the word and donate an item if you can (Hearts for Haiti).((

Keep the people of Haiti in your prayers.