Denim Bling!

I have decided that plain denim is just so boring and predictable. Everyone is wearing uber-expensive jeans feeling they are unique by buying an elite pair of jeans. Well, I have had enough with it and have started embellishing my denim to reflect my personal style. Now, I will truly have a pair of unique jeans - taste and style are things that money cannot buy.

Sew Outdoors!

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I decided to sew outdoors on our new deck. I had to sew ten flannel playclothes for Malena's Waldorf nursery school. Today, I washed, ironed and rolled them. They look so soft and inviting for play! Lucky kids!



Doesn't the deck look awesome? Diego designed and built the deck all by himself! It took him one weekend and a few weeknights after work to complete it. I applied the water sealant on it. This weekend, Diego started building the back deck - by himself! We also have a new wooden hot tub to install that we ordered from, Sea Otter Wooden Tubs in Alaska. We didn't want to be soaking in a big tupperware container filled with hot water, so we opted for the safer wood option. The people at Sea Otter were extremely helpful with choosing our tub and explaining the benefits of a cedar tub. The tub smells wonderful! I can't wait to get in it once it is built. Ohhh... it has jets too! (for a good, informative article on endocrine disruptors, such as the chemicals used in plastics or cholrine, read this article published by a colleague of the renowed Dr. Christine Northrup. Check out her site for information on women's health and wisdom.)

Malena's Third Birthday

Well, Malena is officially three years old! I can't believe that my little baby was born three years ago. And to top it off, she begins nursery school on her own this Thursday! When did she become so grown up?

We threw a birthday party for her at our house this weekend. We mainly invited family with a few friends from our local Waldorf school.

Of course, I made the cake. I love working with fondant. It is so simple to create such an impressive cake.

Felting... Finally!

I was introduced to felting (using raw wool to create fabric) through my daughter's Waldorf school in Jamestown, CA. We used needle felting and wet felting techniques to create play balls and storytime scenes. I loved this hands-on the technique, how involved I can become in making a textile piece of art and yet how flexible the artist must be to the whim of the medium. There are so many variables in creating felt- water temperature, use of needles, pressure applied during rolling process, length of rolling process, type of wool fiber. The possibilities and variations are endless.

This past Saturday I took an Embellished felting class at the "Dixon Lambtown USA Festival". As luck would have it, my brother and his new wife live in Dixon within walking distance to the festival. What a sign!! I met several wonderful women during my class. We had an enlightening discussion about allowing yourself to make a mistake when creating art. It was very freeing for me and I could not wait to get home and get to work. Ideas brewing...

Projects...

I always have a list of ongoing projects, and many that never get accomplished. But I do not get discouraged, as I always hope that I will have time to finish this project. One example is my daughter's baby album. She is 2.5 years old, I have yet to start it!!