I'll admit it-I'm cranky today. Sure it's Friday and yes it's 60 degrees in the middle of winter, but I'm still cranky. I'm hoping to fix that with a little bit of Feel Good Friday.
This sweet little girl was stitched up by revoluzzza. She is too adorable. You should check out her other creations.
The weather may be heating up here but in most places it's still chilly. I love gsakowskidesigns scarf. They won't set you back a pretty penny to look fabulous in the cold weather. It's so hard to pick a favorite.
I came across Attic24 through another blog and fell in love. The pictures are brilliant and Lucy's style of writing makes you think you are reading a letter from a long lost friend or sister. Her words sooth as her pictures make you smile.
FUZZY JACK RUSSELL!
Okay, that last picture pulled me out of the grumpy mood I was in. How can you not be happy when you have cute puppies?
I hope everyone's weekend is as fab and you enjoy resting, hanging with friends and being good to yourself.
Hey all you talented peeps out there! It's time to strut your stuff and design a banner for your favorite blog (yes, that's this one!). I will be setting up a flickr group for you to upload your banner ideas to and then all the readers get to vote on the best one. What's in it for you? You mean beside the prestige that you get to design a kick ass banner and get my undying love? You get prizes! A 20.00 gift card to a store or etsy shop of your choice and this cool book
Now here's the details!
What: Design me a banner contest
Dimisions: Must be 692 pixels wide
When: Feb 17-March 3rd
Voting: March 4th-11th
How: Design a banner and upload it to this flickr group
Prizes: 20.00 gift card of your choice and a super cool book
Yahoo! Mardi Gras is here! Before we prepare for Lent, it's time to dawn plastic beads (please don't tell what you did to get them-WINK),pull out that accordion and strike up a snappy Zydeco tune. How do you get the party started? By mixing a few cocktails of course!
The drink that made New Orleans famous, and the one you must have when you go there, is the Hurricane. Think of a spiked fruit punch. A really, really extreme, burn your eyebrows off, spiked fruit punch.
The Hurricane
2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tbsp simple syrup
1 tbsp grenadine
Garnish: orange slice and cherry
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.
And what better way to celebrate Bourbon street than with a Bourbon Slush.
Bourbon Slush
2 tea bags
1 c. boiling water
1 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. water
1 (6 oz.) can frozen orange juice (thawed)
3/4 c. bourbon
1/2 can frozen lemonade (thawed)
Steep tea bags in 1 cup boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove bags and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Place in container in freezer until slush. Spoon into glasses and mix with 7-UP.
The last cocktail on our party route is the Ramos Gin Fizz also known as the New Orleans Fizz. Harold Ramos invented this drink in 1888 and it was kept under lock and key until the 1920's during prohibition.
Ramos Gin Fizz 2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2 oz cream (or half and half)
2 drops orange flower water
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a Collins glass.
Now that you've had your fill of yummy "gras" grog (or at least planned what you're going to get sloshed on), it is time to give thought to what you're going to give up for Lent. One thing I know, it sure isn't going to be a tasty beverage. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Pat yourself on the back! We did it! We made it through another week with style, sass, and giggles.This Feel Good Friday is devoted to Love. Awww yeah....I know you're feeling it. You're picking up what I'm throwing down. Let's see what kind of trouble we can get into-shall we?
So, you're thinking what to get that sweetie of yours. You don't want to go out to the local 7-11 and pickup some hack roses, do you? How about going old school and making a mix tape. This time honored tradition will not fail you. Ladies love the mix tape-just saying guys. It's like 80's dance parties to us-we can not resist.
Nothing says loving like a stealth ninja coming at you. These cute little guys definitely won me over. Soraia_bejinhos rocks.
The Rikrak Studio is such an awesome blog! It is so inspiring, uplifting and just pretty! Dont' forget to check out the handmade olympics!
Say you need a little good luck charm to get your mojo going again. This necklace from JMankin Design will defintiely help!
Are you feeling the love? Well, if this doesn't push you over the edge, nothing will! A little note to my sweetie
Mark-
I promise to be your wife, your best buddy, and the Bonnie to your Clyde, the Abbott to your Costello and the Elsa Lanchester to your Boris Karloff, for as long as I'm trapped on this physical plane. You are my life, my soul. The English Language has not yet come up with the words that describe how happy you make me happy. I love you.
Alright, alright...I know-I'm a big softy!-but if you're not crying over that, then something is wrong with you! Now go on you little strips of bacon, get out there and get your sizzle on!
Now before you guys get all excited thinking I'm gonna start smooching, settle down! I found these cute little kitten patterns and couldn't resist sharing them with you for Valentine's Day.
I love that she is wagging her tail at him. Naughty! Aren't those the cutest little valentines? Now if you are really lucky, you still might get a little kiss from yours truly-just cause you're so cute!
I'm not sure if you know it-but there are some new ladies in town and man are they saucy! Maureen and Katie of Sew Lovely Embroidery make fabulous patterns with amazing detail. Did I mention that they are the sweetest? Check them out!
Tell me about Sew Lovely Embroidery?
Sew Lovely Embroidery began on a whim one summer day in 2009. After embroidering for months with other iron on patterns, we wanted to embroider something more detailed! After one crazy night of brainstorming and epiphanies, Sew Lovely began. We wrote down hundreds of ideas for patterns and possible business names and began the next day researching and sketching designs. Once we saw our first pattern in print (Pin-ups) we knew that this was what we wanted to do! We currently juggle our day jobs and Sew Lovely during the day and into the wee hours of the night. Maureen spends hours sketching and inking the designs and I spend my time researching and brainstorming new ideas and of course embroidering! Someday we hope to do this full time, and create a few patterns a month. We are so happy to be doing what we love, and hope you love what we are doing!
What inspires you?
Over the summer we went camping almost every weekend, being out in nature and away from everything inspired us to make this all happen. The ideas just kept pouring out of us! Sitting by the pool and river, stitching up all afternoon without a care in the world are the fondest memories of the beginning of sew lovely. We get inspiration from all things vintage! We get so much motivation from the flickr embroidery pool and the craft community in general. Seeing so many great projects and tutorials every day, makes us want to create more and more! It’s so exciting to see everyone in the craft community constantly creating new and different things, and the best part is everyone is SO nice and supportive (especially you and Jacquie from Mafiosagrrl, we love ya) ! Everyday we wake up and think, what’s next?
What does the future hold?
More patterns! Hopefully a stitching book! We are figuring out the best way to do custom patterns, we want people to be able to stitch anything that their heart desires!We dream of opening up a stitching store someday in our favorite neighborhood in San Francisco, filled with walls and walls of thread and hoops and stitching everywhere! Here are a few custom examples that we did, this was for granny, she loves Frank and Ella and so do we!
Any words of wisdom for the fans out there?
Don’t ever think a project is too hard for you! Just go for it! The possibilities are endless with thread. Stitching is so fun and you can learn how to do anything. Also, if you find something you love to do, never give it up! If you keep trying you can make it happen.
Bonus Question? Favorite pin up?
Maureen~I love Candy! Who doesn’t!!!
Katy~ Daphne! The lines are so simple yet elegant. She looks so dreamy!
EEEP! Pin ups! Are they not the cutest ever? Maureen and Katy are so inspiring! I wish them the best of luck and next time I'm in San Francisco-we are so going out for cocktails!
