Sidetracked Looking for the Lucia Candle Crown

Because I had promised the use of my St. Lucia crown of candles, I had to deliver with that promise. Years ago, this crown was purchased in Sweden and tucked away in my sewing supplies/quilt closet. The truth of the matter was that it was buried in that closet. And that closet had taken on a life of its own with fabrics, zippers, buttons, old quilt squares, batting, stuffing and unfinished projects. Not a pretty picture, to be sure!

The first shelf I approached with burrowing hands revealed no crown, as did the second. I knew this meant only one thing: I had to empty all the shelves and this was going to be a big undertaking. No time to grab the camera for a before picture! However, hours and hours later, I decided this experience warranted an after picture. The closet is a bi-fold mirrored one in the sewing room and hard to capture in its closed-door state. Might I point out that the flower artwork in the background was painted by John when he was in elementary school?

Here is the opened door view of the reorganized contents.

And a closer-up view of the buttons in happy company with other notions.

The first burning question is now, "Deb, did you ever find the Lucia crown?" and the resounding answer is, "Yes!!" The seconding smoldering question is, "Deb, what on earth do you need a Lucia crown for in the middle of April?" The answer: because one of the district principals will help out our library Summer Reading Club promotion of the One World, Many Stories theme by wearing it on her/his head as a representative of the Swedish culture experience at our library this summer. Mission accomplished - with a clean closet as a result!

What to Do Instead of Cleaning the Basement

Sometimes I admit to getting distracted from doing a dreaded chore such as cleaning the basement. All of a sudden, I can think of all sorts of other things to do instead such as: 1. Changing the blog header. 2. Drinking almond milk sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg...it's actually quite delicious!

3. Reading a book. This one was a good murder mystery as told through Flavia, a precocious 11 year old British girl.

4. Making a book bag for our new Great Niece, Linnea. Congrats to Kurt, Denee, Ava and Ingrid! 5. Competing against myself with the Facebook word game, Lexulous. It is like Scrabble.

6. Sewing projects from the book Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang. Above are two "Pixies" (unfortunately one has an issue with cellulite in her legs thanks to lumpy stuffing) and below is "Panda Buns" with her hair buns looking like panda bear faces.

There you have it - my guilty pleasures. And now I really must head down the stairs to clean.

Bella's Bags (Copycat Challenge #36, #37, #38)

Just like any girl, Bella Phant needs her bags. Again, more is more! Bag #1 (the Winter Tote Bag on pages 20-21 in the book Blanket Statement by Vicki Haninger)

holds all the outfits as shown in the recent blitz post "Meet Bella Phant" as well as her shoes. One might note that the bag applique of the striped elephant is a recycled/felted sweater remnant. Bag #2 is Bella's purse perfect for holding the smallest of treasures. It is embroidered with words to melt your heart...

Vicki called this project on pages 58-59 the Rose Petal Potpourri. I tweaked it by leaving an opening in the top to turn it into a pocket instead of a mini pillow and added side handles.

Bella likes to wear it this way across the front of her body.

Bag #3 was the Techtronics Bag on pages 64-65 in Vicki's book. Seeing as I know Bella will be an avid reader, I tweaked this to be a mini book bag. A "B" was pieced with foundation paper and an appliqued flower on the side. Tiny books fit inside.

Add three more projects to the "fireworks" Blitz going on as the green blanket is dwindling in its size, but going out with a bang! Coming: the shoes.

Another One to Love!

A is for about time! We all watched and waited for news of the birth of our newest family member. We knew her parents and brother were anxiously awaiting the birth of this newest baby...would it be a boy or a girl? When? How long? How much? What name? Finally, when I called my sister to check in for the morning, she announced: "She's here!" And her name is Nora Claire. All are doing well. Another child is welcomed to the world - and the family welcomes her with much love and affection. Now we have three Great Nieces and two Great Nephews...and it's simply - well - great!

A close up of the sweet little newborn. I love how her eyes are tightly closed in slumber and her little lips have those little peaks of perfection. And the fuzzy hair that I could kiss on top of her lovely head, the rosy apples of her cheeks, and her little ears...it's L-O-V-E!

Here is little Nora Claire with her dad, Eric and her "Georgia Deb" Great Aunt.

And, yes, I did make a bag for her, too! This was the fastest creation ever as I knew we were passing through on our way North and I could hand it off in person. Besides, I had to see this little sweetie myself as she was only one day old...I love newborns! Congrats to this special family of four! We love you Eric, Cherith, Cal and Nora!

Monkey Business

You may recall that I dressed up as a Thrift Shop Bag Lady for Halloween this past year, but in real life I am a Bag Lady...one who makes bags for babies when they are born in hopes that books and other necessities can be tucked inside. I personalize the bags with the recipient's name. The bag shown here was made recently for my Great Nephew, William. Knowing his parents have decorated his nursery in greens and browns with a jungle animal theme, this is how I chose the theme for baby Will's bag. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to snap a photograph of the bag (as I always do) before sending it off to Colorado in the mail. So, I emailed asking for a picture of the bag and soon these pictures arrived. Thank you, Timi!

And, here's the part I enjoyed most about receiving pictures of the bag...his Mom, Timi, put the sweet little guy inside the bag! An unexpected, humorous side of his Mom surfaced and I just loved this about her! I can just tell they are going to have fun times together, can't you?

It's All in the Bag!

Still on the girlie girl theme, I thought I'd write about a fun visit I made to a local museum recently called "Pocketbook Anthology." Purses (handbags, bags, totes, pocketbooks...whatever) were the featured exhibit until January 20th and I had to get there somehow before it closed, and I just made it on the last day. It was informative to learn more about what we share as females...that of carrying a bag with survival items when we leave the comforts of home. For example, I learned that the average woman has between 44 and 67 items in her purse. Do you? I Do! There were about 80 purses on display. Many were designer purses with those famous name brands: Hermes, Chanel, Lulu to name but a few. The purses dated from the 1880's to 2006. Below, in the bottom right is a real alligator purse -complete with the feet of the gator still attached! But, my favorite purses were the whimsical, one-of-a-kind sorts such as these below:

Aha! A clever purse constructed of men's ties...

Left: Start saving those botttles caps! This purse was really really adorable!

Below: A purse made from a rolled metal license plate. Right: made from cigarette packages (kind of like what we did with gum wrappers).

Looking at this wall of purses was so much fun! Here's a close up of one of my favorites in the middle of this display.

Curious about what was going on inside my OWN purse, I dumped out its contents and discovered I had 55 items inside, and the total weight of purse and items was a smidge less than 4 pounds. Embarassingly, I had far too many disgusting (used) kleenexes and crumpled receipts. Pens, but no paper to write on with them. A Chapstick tube that should be tossed, a broken lipstick. Photos of my kids as babies and now one is 25 and one is 21. A wallet with credit cards I haven't used in years...expired gift cards, as well as ones I'd forgotten I had! I think I need to do some serious reorganizing here. And how about you...what's in your wallet or purse? Did you ever think you held it more often than your sweetie?

Just for fun, you can click on the website below to see if what you have in your purse is about typical for what others carry in their purses. I know my contents have changed throughout the years, especially now that it is the cell phone/digital camera age...HOW did I ever live without a cell phone?? Though I no longer carry items to amuse the little ones in my purse (like board books, Happy Meal toys, wipes or candies), my purse is still waaaaay too heavy. But, I sure couldn't cope well without it.

The Items Every Woman Needs in Her Purse - Associated Content