i heart linen

Sniffles

Lots of tears falling around these parts lately.  Tears of joy, tears of frustration, tears from allergies, tears from baby Elijah, tears from big sister Bella, tears from Mommy.  (I'm also just getting over a little cold. *ah-choo!* )  So there's tissue everywhere! In tribute to all of the boo-hooing, I made some little tissue holders.  I promise I won't post anything with this fabric combination again.  Okay that's probably not true.  I won't post anything for the next month! ^_^ I just love it so much!  Anyhoo, these are most likely shopward bound.

I'm so happy many of you commented on my "Hello" post!  Thank you! I think I've managed to respond to everyone, if I haven't yet I will. ^_^ 

Many of you are surprised that I'm able to fit in crafting while taking care of my two children.  I have to be honest with you all.  It's a must for me.  I'm very exhausted indeed!  But I figure it's only temporary.....for the next 18 years or so! ^_^

On a more serious note, crafting also helps me battle postpartum depression.  It's something that's been very real for me since Bella was born last year. I'm very open when it comes to speaking about my experience as well.  I think it's important for other mommies dealing with it to know that they're not alone.

I failed to recognize the signs of it last year and it quickly spiraled out of control.  I think it was a mixture of denial and a lack of knowledge about the subject. It reared it's ugly head when Bella was 4 months old and I found out that I was pregnant with Elijah. 

Therapy helped me to get it under control. But crafting is also like therapy for me.  It helps me unwind at the end of the day, gives my mind a little break while the kids are napping.  It also gives me that oh so important "me" time that everyone needs. Staying busy helps me keep it under control.  I don't over do it, but just enough to keep The Mean Reds away. 

I'm doing much better this time around though.  I still get weepy every now and then, which I guess is a "normal" amount of boohooing for someone who's recently given birth.  I'm not sure where I'm going with this post.  I guess I posted about this because blogland can sometimes seem like life is perfect and it's not always so.  So I'll step out of the confessional for now.  I think I'll go sew something! ^_^ 

nuno.plus

Yay!  Miki and Eri of nuno.plus at Ebay e-mailed me today to let me know that they launched their new website! Congratulations on the new site guys!

I posted about them before because they're one of my sources for Japanese fabrics. They plan on adding a gallery so customers can post pictures of the kawaii creations they've made with their fabric.  I'm so there  when it's finally up.  They're also having a promotional sale, so run over and grab some fabric before I buy it all! ^_^

Hello

I was doing a little catching up on some of my favorite blogs yesterday.  Floated onto Decor8 and realized that my little blog was in one of her posts!! *faints*  (I love Decor8 and I'm so very flattered! Thank you!)
After reading said post it made me realize that not many people know much about me.  I show off my little crafts, I talk about my kids, and maybe I put some random thoughts down, but I really don't talk about ME.  Rashida.  The woman who posts on the blog named "i heart linen'.   

The next thought that popped into my head is the fact that I don't really know much about the readers of my blog either.  I personally am a chronic lurker.  I read so many blogs and never post anything.  Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just terribly, terribly, terribly shy and I guess that reflects on my blogging as well.  So I thought I would take this post to sort of re-introduce myself and maybe coax some of you fellow lurkers to say "Hello, my name is.....".  If you have a blog, I'd love to know about it. Have a question you've been wanting to ask? Go for it! Are you super shy as well?  Hey, why not be more outgoing for a couple minutes.  I'm super nice and i promise i won't bite.  I'm always up for making new friends!  So here goes.............some useless information about me:

• I'm 30 years old.
• I live in New York City with my three children (Elijah-5 weeks, Isabella-15 months, Mel-31 years old  haha!  love you hubby)  okay, okay 2 children and my husband. ^_^
• Attended elementary school in Tokyo.  I've gone to visit every summer since then except in the past 5 years.  i miss it. =(
• I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology right out of high school and dropped out in my third year. gasp!!  I just didn't want to do fashion anymore. *shrugs*  (I actually wanted to join the Air Force but the parental units weren't having it.)
• I have my diving license.  I'm a certified open water diver. 
• Taught myself Photoshop and Illustrator and began Graphic Designing. You can see some of my old work at Deviant Art.
• I've got a really goofy sense of humor.  This cracks me up every time! 
• Yup, I'm a dork.
• Now, I'm a mommy and along with all of my motherly and wifely duties I manage to squeeze in some crafting to help me keep my sanity.
• See.......

........some humpy lumpy little magnets I made today while the kiddles napped.

Some things I like:

• Turquoise, aqua, red, green.
• Sushi-I could eat it everyday for every meal and be perfectly content.
• Anything and everything Japanese.
• My Canon Rebel XT.
• Thunderstorms-but somehow they frighten me at the same time ...weird.
• Cartoons - I'm a 30-year old kid.
• The smell of my newborn's head.
• My husband's toes....they look like smurf toes.....lol cracks me up.
• Merlot *hiccup*

Some things I don't like:

• Changing diapers
• The week after it has snowed - It's gets so dirty here. Ick.
• The subway - I try to avoid it.
• Mean people.
• Frogs - I turn into a little girl and shriek like a banshee when I see one...yes even on TV.
• The tracking system on the United States Postal Service website.  Ugh.
• Microsoft Windows - I'm Mac and I'm proud
• The News - It's usually bad news
• Dark chocolate
• Basting- It gives me a rash....okay not really, but I don't like it but I do it anyway

And I guess that's about it for now.  You'll have to read future posts to learn more I suppose. I plan to be a little more "outgoing" in my future blogging adventures

So feel free to say, "hello".  It's always nice to make a new friend. ^_^

 

Busy Work

How was your weekend? ^_^
Mine was pretty quiet.  Did some sewing for the shop. Then I realized that I couldn't finish all of the lovely things I was making until the rest of my supplies arrived from Create For Less. I'm basically at a stand still until Thursday!  Everything I want to complete relies on the arrival of that package.  Ugh.  Don't you hate that?  I had all of these plans for the weekend and the first few days of this week.  Oh well.....*shrugs*....better find some busy work.  I'm sure the kiddles will keep me jumpin' though. 

Speaking of kiddles, it's 'Kids' Clothes Month' over at Sew, Mama, Sew. I love making little clothes. I made this little dress/top for my Bella with some Alexander Henry fabric I've been hoarding. 

As if she needs another article of clothing.  I swear she has more clothes than Mel and I combined!  But how can you resist dressing up your little one?  It's like having a life sized baby doll! ^_^ Love it!  I figure I might as well enjoy it now.  In no time she won't want me dressing her ever again.

Received this lovely stack of scrumdillyumptious fabric bundle from Sheree's Alchemy today. 

This color combination just makes my heart flutter.  I've been searching for the Flea Market Fancy in this colorway for a little while now and was so pleased when I found it at Sheree's Etsy shop! Yay! *dances the jig* It seems her shop just opened and she's editing her fabric stash by selling some of it on etsy.  She has some really nice bundles available. Go check her out!  There are so many things I want to make with this bundle, I hope I can make it last!

I've been digging through my stash, making little bundles for some items I'm making for the shop. 

Choosing fabrics for several projects at once is not as easy as one would think.  Especially when you have a toddler and a 5 week old both screaming for your attention at the same time.  But I think I managed pretty well. The colors are making me want to eat candy.  Jolly ranchers perhaps?  No! Candy buttons!

Stocking up

Made for my little shop.  (The opening day t.b.a.)

Haven't decided if I want to make more of these or not. 

^_^

Ebay find!

I just realized I failed to share the places on Ebay where I got some of my fabric from the previous post.

Shame one me! *smacks hand 

• The first place I posted about before.  It's Nuno Plus! 
• The second place is new to me.  It's design_cafe.

Very, very, very, very small selection of things at design_cafe.  So you have to be quick!  ^_^  No fighting now.

Some of the things that are listed there:

Happy shopping!

Stash-a-licious!

Was "playing" with and organizing my stash today.  It hurts my heart to have to cut up all of these yummy piles of textile delight.  But at the same time it's such a treat when you make something and you're happy with the result.    

I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way.  I just can't seem to stop buying them either!!  I'm addicted to fiber!!! I love when the mailman rings my doorbell.  It only means one thing.  New fabric in the house!  Yahoooo! Is it okay to kiss your neighborhood postal service employee when they come to your door?  Probably not. 

These cuties just came this week:

• 5 yards of linen
• Lot's of japanese fabric
• Some organic Japanese thread
• and 2 dozen adorable wooden buttons with flowers carved into them

Zakka makin' anyone?

And then this came as well. 2 yards of groovy vintage fabric. 

I'm loving the leaves, especially since I'm so ready for fall to arrive.  (Is it hot enough out there for ya?  Sheesh!) I won it off of Ebay, my nemesis.  I made a promise not to go onto that site for a little while.  But I'm sure I'll break that promise.....probably as soon as I log off of Typepad!  ^_^

Teaser!

Yay!  Sometime in the very near future. (Goodness knows how I'll find the time since mon petite prince has arrived.)  But I've put it out there, so now I have no choice. I've been procrastinating about this for quite some time.  I've been getting a lot of inquiries, encouragement, nagging(ahem...Hubby ^_^....he's tired of hearing me talk about it), about the shop. Thank you to everyone who's given me the little kick in the butt. So I've made the first step!  Hubby's working on the site for me and he's doing an awesome job!  If you're nice, maybe I'll post a few sneak peeks of the site and what I'll be selling. So stay tuned!

Mini suitcase, big journey

I'm doing a swap with my dear friend Charlene and couldn't resist posting some of the things I'm sending her! Teehee ^_^ She of course didn't object when I asked her if she minded. Our little swap doesn't have a particular theme, but it turns out that we like the same colors(Aqua and green) so I stuck with that. We like a lot of the same things, so I just pretended I was shopping for myself. ^_^

I  found these cutey pie mini suitcases at Papersource and thought they would be perfect for giving as gifts.  So I bought one of the larger ones to hold all of my swap goodies.  This little suitcase is going all the way to Singapore all alone!

And just what is going in this little suitcase?

Tada!

• I found these great cards by Elum Designs that I bought at Kate's Paperie.   
• Gem stickers also from Kate's Paperie. 
• Cute card with bubbles from pancake & franks. 
• Some vintage rick rack and bias tape.
• A tiny collection of vintage buttons and covered buttons.
• A little pouch that I managed to make last month filled with sweets and the matching pin cushion.
• A few copies of some of my favorite magazines.

There are a few other things that I'm adding to this Aqua-greeny package but I'd like to leave at least part of it a surprise, so I'm not going to post them! You'll just have to wait Charlene! ^_^

Gift of time

My dear sweet aunt Rosalinda is visiting from Los Angeles this week to see Elijah.  (No one cares about us grown ups anymore ^_^)  She always brings a thoughtful little gift for me whenever she comes to visit.  This time she brought me a cookbook and wrote on the inside, "Enjoy this gift of time, Rashida. xxoo Auntie Ros "

"Best Ever Three & Four Ingredient Cookbook"
by Jenny White & Joanna Farrow

This has to be one of the best cookbooks ever!  The title speaks for itself, but the recipes are incredible!  There are over 400 recipes ranging from breakfast and brunches to vegetarian dishes, desserts, breads, preserves, relishes, even drinks!  I don't even know where to begin describing all of the features in this book.  So here's what is printed on the inside cover and pics of a few random pages:

"This comprehensive book offers an innovative approach to food that is perfect for today's busy modern cook and shows how to achieve maximum flavour with minimum effort. Every recipe tastes sensational but requires just three or four ingredients, which saves time on the kind of planning, shopping and preparation that you would normally expect to spend on creating such memorable meals.

The book opens with an introduction to the minimalist kitchen, explaining the basics of making fabulous, fuss-free food with the fewest possible but freshest available ingredients.

Then in the main section recipes are divided into 20 easy-to-use chapters, and there is something suitable for all occasions, from fast breakfast bites, tasty appetizers and dips, snacks and sweet teatime cookies, to main meals that cater for fish and meat lovers, and vegetarians.

There is a color photograph of every finished dish, with easy-to-follow illustrated step-by-step instructions to ensure perfect results every time. A complete nutritional breakdown of every recipe is also included, which details calories, carbs, fat and salt so you can plan meals for any kind of diet.

Quick dishes include stuffed baby squash, or chicken escalopes with lemon and Serrano ham that can be assembled in minutes. For those with a sweet tooth, there are four chapters filled with indulgent delights such as passion fruit creams and chilled chocolate and espresso mousse. With special sections on baking wonderfully aromatic breads and making sweet and savory preserves and pickles, there is a recipe for all kinds of simple, but scrumptious, home cooking. Together with a superb selection of healthy juices and drinks there is a great recipe to either kick-start the day or wind down with at night.

Including recipes for every type of dining, from brunches, midday meals and simple suppers, to midweek family meals, buffets, relaxed al fresco dining and elegant entertaining, and beautifully photographed throughout, this is the one and only cookbook for anyone who loves good food, and demands superb results, but wants to spend less money in the market and less time in the kitchen."

It's a must have for beginners as well as those who know their way around the kitchen.  It's basically crammed with just about everything you would want to know about cooking and the recipes are the wonderful bonus. My aunt received a copy as a gift and immediately went out and bought 5 more copies to give to her friends.  She gave one to me thinking it would be perfect for me considering I have two little one's now and won't have time for elaborate meals.  And I have to agree with her.  This is perfect for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen but wants big flavor at the same time.  I'll keep you posted on what I make from this book.   

Thank you for giving me some time Auntie Ros! ^_^