Evovle with me?

"Here's to the ghosts of Christmas pasts, when love and family are all they had.
No Iphones or Ipods, just hugs and laughs, shopping is fun but cannot last.
Stressing for the dollar tends to control us all, but I have a proposal to share with you all.
Lets take back control of our life's passion, and celebrate these holidays in an uncorporate fashion.
I hope this idea will gain much traction, because our love is not in these gifts, but it is in our actions.

I wish you all not just Happy Hollidays but a sense of peace through everyday to come." -
Sofarsogud

The Winner is......

The winner of my first give away is # 3 Shelly, if you would email me your address I will send it out right away! Congrats

The BOSS LADY Calendar and give away!

The 2010 Boss Lady Pinup Calendar featuring female business owners of Richmond, VA. On Sale NOW! $10 online pre-sale until December 15th or $12 in the stores!

Featuring the owners of Gallery 5, Ecologic, Vamps & Vixens Makeup Studio, Ninny’s Nappies (formerly Fleur Fabrics), Sprout (formerly AllStar Market & Deli), Cafe Gutenberg, Sweetest Thing Bakery, Halcyon, Rumors, Nicola Flora, House of Lukaya, and Scoot!

Guess which legs are mine and win a free start up cloth menstrual pack or one ALL in One organic cloth diaper!! Leave your guess plus you choice in the comment section ( if choosing the diaper specify boy/girl or unisex!)

Thank you Universe!

Just when I was having those feelings of why/what am I doing this all for? The Universe sends me a message. Its really nice to know that your community values you and has taken note of what you are trying to accomplice!

A Promise to Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Bizarre Market
is here again this year! From Nov 27th -Dec 24th you can shop upstairs at Chop Suey, for Richmond's finest handmade gifts! Get all your shopping done at one place, browse the book store for great used book finds, head across the street for coffee and a treat at Capitol Coffee then pop into the Byrd Theater for a matinee! Sounds like a great way to spend BLACK FRIDAY!


Thank YOU

Crystal Caves

Our Earth is quite amazing, I am completely awed and humbled by this

Our love/ hate with Martha

AHHH Martha sometimes I love ya some times I hate ya, today you get my gold star.

Times they are a chang'n.

Oh my pretty thing!

Great new blogOne Pretty Thing. I could spend hours on it...I dare saw its better then Facebook! YUP I said it, and far more productive

Art 180 preview

Several weeks ago I organized my fabric stash and realized I have bags and bags of fabric scraps. So one late late night I started sewing them together in long strips... I had no idea what I was doing but it felt so good. So for the last few weeks when ever I would get stressed, stuck, or needed a creative release I would sew these strips together, cut them in squares and re sew them in to a patch work of colors... yes I was making a quilt. I finally under stood what the draw was, why so many people are so into quilting. It was liberating, freeing, relaxing and fun. I still did not know what I was going to become of this patchwork. Then I cat sat for Karen and she left me the application for ART Karma! BINGO. I just finished tonite. Introducing my 1st quilted baby blanket, trimmed with suede cloth and backed with organic bamboo fleece.

I used shades of pink embroidery thread to "hold" the layers together, Im not sure if I like it, what do you think?

New Oil Cloth Ideas

OH! how my head is spinning with ideas I see diaper bags,wetbags,changing pads...awhh. I hope that these are not the vinyl PVC oilcloth but the enviro- friendly cotton laminated kind! Thank You Anna

Mac Laptop Stickers

I want one please!

Franklin Goose

Ninny's Nappies products are now available at a great new website Franklin Goose, they specialize in natural and organic baby products! More Ninny's products being added each week!

whats inside??

1st bento
Originally uploaded by fleurfabrics

black beans and peas, pita & sunflower butter sammy, cinnimon ceral squares, pears and grapes!

panda bento

panda bento
Originally uploaded by fleurfabrics

I just made my 1st bento box lunch for Brixton. He is the only kid in his class who brings his lunch, 1. because he is the only vegetarian, 2. because we eat 80 to 90 % organic, so I feel that it is my responsibility to provide a lunch that is up to my standards. I never want him to fell different, weird or the odd man out because of this, so I try to make his lunches fun, exciting and something to be envied! probably because way back in 1983/84 when I was 7 or 8 ish and I declared my vegetarianism I was completely ridiculed by my fellow peer for years.

Any way I have always been aware of the world of bento boxes but it wasnt until I found this that I really got excited about doing my own! so here is my 1st. You can find tons of info on where to by them, recipes, and other blogs devoted to bento. I bought mine at J-Box, I really tried to buy one locally, I searched everywhere, Tan A market, World Of Mirth,Mongrels, no luck. The only place I found them was at Tokyo Market, but the ones that the wonderful owner had where very grown up or too big, she did share with me a few stores of the bento boxes she had while growing, and if I ever buy one for my self I will surely get there! I did buy some child size chopsticks with lions on them! Enjoy! and hope my little guy enjoys his surprise tomorrow

Vegan Lightning McQueen Cake

I made a vegan strawberry Lightning McQueen Cake for Brix for his 3rd birthday!
I used 100% organic ingredients and organic vegetable dyes here is how I did it!



I used a vegan icing recipe from La Dolce Vegan it is really easy

Earth Balance vegan butter
Powdered Sugar
Soy milk
Vanilla extract

I don't usually follow measurements so i just mixed in all together until I got a glaze like consistency, the cake recipe I got here. I left out the liqueur part and added extra jam I also added small pieces of strawberries.2 days before I made the cake I made the dye, it was pretty simple except the red, here goes

Yellow= turmeric about 1/2 a teaspoon

blue= blueberries( must be fresh or the dye will come out more purple) I brought them to boil with water and corn starch then simmered until they thicked up, then pureed it in my Magic Bullet which is may favorite kitchen gadget! cooled it off then added a table spoon to the glaze

brown=coco I melted 1 table spoon vegan chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons coco, cooled and mixed it into the glaze

red= beets, chop 3 large beets and cook in water to a boil, then cook for 45 mins on med heat then simmer for an hour. Then puree beet "sauce" return to pot and cook for another 30 mins. The trick here is to cook out most of the liquid so you get a paste, cool it off and mix 1 tablespoon it into glaze. You will never get a red red with beets its always going to be a little on the raspberry side unless you cook a dozen beets down for 2 days! For cake pan my mother in law bought me one from Michael's!
Also I feel its important todo everything in stages, make the dye 3 days in advance, then the cake the second day, then ice it the day of. That way you don't spend 10hrs in the kitchen and everything gets 24hrs to set up in the fridge

Where the Wild Things Are...

there at my kitchen table!!!




It is only half complete in this picture. I will post more after we go see the movie on the Wild Things birthday this saturday.

Its all things Halloween here, Day of the Dead alters, sugar skull making, pumpkin pancakes, such a good idea I made walnut, blueberry, banana, pumpkin and chocolate batchs on Sunday morning and we have been enjoying them allweek haunted hay rides!


every year our mantel gets transferred in to an alter to honor Jonny, and now Kevin Kat

An IKEA nursery

I just finished another nursery! 4 sets of IKEA crib sheets, a pillow and cushion for a rocking/nursing chair! This is the second rocking chair I have done for moms that are re purposing there grandmothers or moms chairs for them selves, instead of buy new expensive gliders!! Great reuse ladies!!



Here are a few of my favorite things from IKEA

Burda Style sewing contest

So on a whim I entered a sewing contest at Burda Style, some thing I'm thinking I might be doing more often these days....cause it was really fun! Thanks Burda

Great New Blog

Hazel Nut Girl offers great projects,PUL ideas, and she is an archaeologist! What more do I need to be interested.

enjoy Cheers Jenny

BTW today was a really great day

"energy flows were attention goes" -M. Beckwith

Tots on the GO

Ninny's Nappies and an assortment of Ninny's baby accessories are now available at Tots on the Go! A great on line store for everything moms, dads and babies need to get out and about! Ellie the owner also has a really great show room here in Richmond, its always so much nicer to see and feel products before you buy them!


this is pure genius! perfect for farmers market and shopping trips!

Ellie is hosting a family fun day to benefit ASK with an incredible gifts to be auctioned, a moon bounce and a certified car seat inspector, how cool!!!

oH martha!

I just picked this up at the Library... oh Im am having a summer love affair with the library!

My 1st ( sort of) quilting project

this is the only pic I took I really need to document my work more!!

I did some custom nursery work for a soon to be mom. I made a cushion,pillow and soft ottoman all out from great fabric from Quilting Adventures. She also wanted me to make a "foe quit" that could be used as a back cushion and a play mat. My 1st reactions was QUILT? Ive never done real deal quilting but then she showed me the fabric, and that she just wanted the blocks stitched to "look" like it was quilted with out all those squares and shapes that frankly make my head spin, add some piping and it really turn out nice, I enjoyed it so much that I have since bought some more " cheater prints" fabric and have been designing some play mats with it.

Coincidentally I am now making another rocking chair cover and sheet set out of IKEA fabric for another soon to be mom. And some play mats that are backed with PUL for a certain little niece of mine that likes to roll around on the floor nakie!

Reading Lists

Here is a list of what I have been reading lately, probably a good insights as to why I have not posted in a while. I am a total history geek, especially religious history I watch the History Channel like most people what American Idol, or some Vampires I keep hearing about.


I stumbled upon a reference to this book while I was watching a story about the pyramid of Cheops. I finished the book in two days and needed more info on the subject so we all headed downtown to the library and with only 20 mins until they closed (poor planning on my part, but those Mimosas at 821 were just too good!) I found a book about this, and this.

The family is taking a week long vacation in Sept something that has not happened since before Brix was born, we will heading to Sand bridge in Va Beach home of the Edgar Cayce Inst. where I will be attending these

I once read a few years ago that Cayce was 99% actuate and that 1% that he was "wrong" is a matter of opinion. I never paid much attention to who he was or want he did, but when I dug a little deeper it kinda made my head spin.

Yeah this has nothing to do with fabric or crafts but life's not all about studio time!!

Retail Therapy & Vietri

It was a rough week around here so I needed some retail therapy, my kind of therapy is thrift store scores!! Brix I only went to two place and we discovered some great finds.

Brown and cream sugar and creamer set ( Anthropologie eat your heart out!)


The plate in the middle matches 2 plates and 2 bowls that I have been collecting for a few years, the lettuce plates are vietri and are for my mom, she has been collecting veggie plates and dishes since I can remember.So when I saw the acorn and apple dishes I thought maybe I'll start my own veggie themed dish collection, prints above are Jim Callahan.


This her collection,the avocados and squash pitchers are my favorite

She and my dad have a pretty intense vietri obsession. The company is Italian and located in N.C. just like them.


I have few pieces to this one is my favorite

Oh don't worry Brix sourced some treats too, a dinosaur excavating kit, and frog galoshes ( not pictured because he slept with them on for 3 days!) Total cost for our finds=$21.49( the vietri pieces were only 1$ each!) spending time together and forgetting our woes for a few hour= priceless!

Great New Blog

Not much to time for new posts but here are some new blogs I have been stalking!

Cheers Jenny

kismet
veggies in DC
green kids
reuse

ENJOY!

Volcanos & Tigers

Free summer activities, make a paper mache volcano, paint it, then watch it explode.

Materials need=
1/2 cup flour+ 3 cups water= homemade paste
ripped up newspaper
some sort of frame, we used left over wire bunny keep out fencing
plastic cup
card board box
tin foil
baking soda and vinegar


line a card board box with tin foil


make a frame from wire, and place a plastic cup at the top


make paste from flour and water


rip strips of newspaper dip in paste and shape a volcano


pretend to be a tiger while the paste dries


add baking soda, vinegar and some food coloring and sit back and watch it explode!!


"Do it again MOMMY!" buy lots of baking soda you will be asked to repeat!!!

In the Bag

I just finished up these 5 clutch bags for bride to be Cate to give to her bridesmaids as gifts ( and one for her self too)! All the fabrics are Amy Butler, have a small pocket inside and where embroidered with he recipients initials inside ( I did not do the embroidery)



We got FIOs today so Im back on the interweb!! I was only able to check my email twice in 4 days...ugh does anyone ever catch up on their emails?? I swear i have read it,it just might take me a few days to get back to you!!

New services

No Internet for a few days, bummer, but we will be getting a better, faster service with more channels, Martha, DIY Channel, but what I'm most excited about it is the Military History Channel and... National Geographic Channel!! Im a total history geek. So in the mean time you can find me twice a day at Crossroads on the the South Side!! Brix also has tonsillitis, so work has been pushed aside til he is feeling better, plus Im workin on something really amazing that I will give you sneak peak at when the time is ready.......ahhhhh

Its nice to be home alone....

After dropping Brix at school, stopping at the Vita course to walk 2 laps and listen to some Michael Jackson. I came home to a quiet house and made some zucchini muffins half with walnuts and half without ( so Brix can take them to school)

I used this great pumpkin tin that I got for Brix 1st birthday party, it was a halloween costume party! The recipe is vegan of course! from my favorite cook book! Here's a great tip when your baking, I always have a great big bowl of cut up fruit out that I can munch on instead of eating the raw dough! But the good/bad/good thing about baking vegan is that there is never any raw egg so its totally safe to eat the raw dough!

Home Studio Stage 2

The store is emptied and cleaned, despite my landlord not showing up for the walk though , several people not returning to pick up large pieces or furniture they had bought, and several customers project that didn't get picked up either= me having to move all of this to my house. the move went smoothly and very fast.

done and done!

Setting up the studio seems to be alot easier then i had projected, there is a lot to be said for organizing everything while you pack. I believe I learned this from watching my mom pack, as an army wife I think she has packed and moved her family a total of 18 times!!! I'm still in awe of how she does it when all 10 of us plus the 8 grand babies head to Corolla every summer.

This move did open a few can of worms, moving the desk from the studio room out into the dining room= cleaning out the entire desk, which Dru did while I took a 3 hour nap. What to do with the furniture that wasn't picked up or didn't sell that I cant bear to just donate to Diversity= sitting on my front porch until I post it all on craigslist

my front porch

Another dilemma, I have so many custom orders to fill i have to start sewing now, even though the room is only half set up. Shelves need to be hung, fabric needs to be put away, and the books have been a wee bit neglected. It will all get done maybe not today or this weekend, but eventually.


I think she looks good with the pink!

...and the bride wore organic silk

Congratulations to Sarah and Doug who were married last weekend! I'm so glad to that I was able to make your dream dress a reality!