Baby Shower

Opening gifts

Playing silly games

So much yummy foooood!!

These girls made it happen! Thanks Danielle and Tessa!!!!

I had such a good time at my baby shower, so many friends and family came to celebrate with me. We had the best organic foods thanks to Dan the Man who along with Tessa prepared almost all of it. There were some yummy cookies made by Danielle. Not to mention all the planning Danielle and Tessa did while 500 miles apart! You two are the bomb! I couldn't have planned anything better myself. And another huge thanks to my aunt and uncle who hosted the entire event at there house, it was such a beautiful day to be outside! All the cute little gifts are going to come in handy when Elliott arrives, I can't wait to see her all dressed up in her little outfits and see her play with her new little toys. I will share some of my most favorite gifts in a future post. xoxo

Two Years and Counting

As of yesterday, I have been making bags for two whole years, can you believe it? I wasn't really sure what was going to come of this and over 200 bags later I am still loving every stitch. Thank you to everyone who has supported this little hobby that has morphed into a full on fabric obsession. I hope to spread the word of handmade love this holiday season so here it goes... (click the pic to be taken to the corresponding etsy shop)

my favorite dresses by sohomode

cute cup holders by stichella

my friend erika makes cute clothes over at spicy toast

sweet little plushes by beeperbebe

have you seen these aweome peahoodies by abigail adams

some of my favorite pillows can be found at enhabiten

i wish i was small enough to fit in these by yikestwins

the most beautiful vintage plate clocks by faire houre

Holiday Waste

*
Click
here
to read
how you
can reduce
your holiday
wrapping waste
!

gift bags

My danikai gift bags are now $5.00 through the New Year! These bags are perfect for the holidays as I am sure you will be doing lots of visiting with friends and family. Simply insert a favorite bottle of wine or seasonal microbrew and you are good to go. Maybe you know a homebrewer who loves sharing their tasty grog with others. These gift bags are made from unused upholstery samples and can be used again and again.

danikai on sale and model wanted

I just posted new photos of my bags. I am always experimenting with light and I think I found the perfect spot in the house for taking my photos. Natural light pours in my south facing bedroom window all day long. This allows for the most perfect bright photos. Good thing Todd has taught me so much about photography or I wouldn't know what I was doing. Just in time for the holidays and in an effort to make room for new stock, all my bags at the shop have been discounted up to 30% through the new year (1/1/10), enjoy!

Although I have become fairly comfortable behind the camera, I am still thinking that my photos are missing something so now I am looking for a model. If you or anyone you know is comfortable in front of the camera and is willing to trade a days worth of modeling for a bag of their choice and lunch or dinner let me know. We will most likely take photos here at my house and the park across the street. I am hoping this will give potential customers a better idea of proportions rather than just having the measurements listed.

Your Favorite Bags.

So for the last year I have been making these beautiful custom bags with this most wonderful fabric and these are the last two I will be making....Although there may be one more at Mog & Rue. Enjoy!

And the winner is....

Congratulations to Shelly
at Joyful Girl Natural
She won a bag of her choice from my shoppe!

Thank you to all who entered, I am looking forward
to another drawing at the beginning of Fall.

Some of my favorite things on Etsy.

Have you peeked into my favorites lately? I am hoping to win the lottery soon so I can buy one of everything for everyone I know.

Etsy Buy Handmade OceanGrrl

Gift Idea for Fathers Day

The new wine gift bags are in my shoppe! They make the perfect gift and can be used again and again. I made these using some great fabric samples, thanks Mary! I will be making more so check back again soon! You can gift wine, beer, and your homebrew in these awesome bags. Fill one with a fine microbrew and take it to you dad on father's day, trust me he will love it!

love,
~*michelle*~

Yes, we are this cute in real life.

Chicken eggs from the chicken coop.

Life on the farm can be tough but we enjoy it very much.

I made ten new bags this weekend!!! I put to use some interior design fabric samples I got from a family friend who passed them on to me. These bags turned out super cute and I will hopefully be able to share them with you in the next couple of days after a little photo session. Here is a sneak peak of just a couple of the bags to be posted at Danikai soon...

EARTH DAY SPECIAL!!!

All tote bags and grocery totes are HALF OFF through Earth Day and beyond! I will be outta town so any orders purchased between April 19th and April 27th will be shipped as soon as I get back. If you mention my blog in the message to seller I will also send you a t-shirt bag. It's a bag made from a shirt! I need to make some room for fresh spring items; out with the old, in with the new. Plus, I know there are people out there still who use those yucky plastic or paper bags, that's a big NO NO on the earth friendly scale. Also, Momma's Day is coming up and momma's love cute things, just something to think about.

Help me help you help the earth.

love,
~*michelle*~

p.s. don't forget to check out my favorites from other etsy sellers

Team Eco Etsy March Madness

Hi all! I hope you are ready for this month's promotion, I sure am! Follow the link here March Madness to see all the amazing Etsy shops (including my own) who are giving away free nifty gifts of green goodness with each order!

I am giving away either a t-shirt grocery tote or a draw string accessories bag. After you place your order with any one of the shops you type the promo code "Free and Green" in the message to seller box. The message to seller can be found when completing your Etsy transaction. Also, make note of which freebie you would prefer in the message to seller box.

Other participating shops sell all sorts of goods that are considered earth-friendly and are all handmade. What more could you want!!! Spread the word!

All of the shops that are part of EcoEtsy can be found by searching from Etsy's home page using the keyword "teamecoetsy", although not all of these shops are participating in March Madness, they are still part of a team that promotes REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.

love,
~*michelle*~
team eco etsy

Another Year

Are you ready for even more new bags? Well, they are on their way!

I have been trying to stay on top of the sewing pile (new years resolution # 271) and have been doing fairly well considering all the other things that keep me preoccupied (todd, hops, museum, 30 rock, the interweb, oh ya and that whole wedding thing).

I have even finished projects that were lying around for six months or worse christmas presents that were never completed (sorry Danielle, #1 sister extraordanaire)! I am well stocked (labels, cards, fabric, needles, thread) so I should be getting lots of work done. I am excited and I think this next year will be better than the last which was great!

I bought some cards that will be sent with each danikai order (thanks tommymama.etsy.com ), just as a final touch for all my wonderful customers. Did you hear? Danikai just went INTERNATIONAL! I sold two bags to Japan and one to Canada. I really need to fine tune the int'l shipping however so it doesn't end up costing anyone an arm and a leg. Maybe you have some tips from your own experience....?

Thanks for reading and shopping and doing what you do ;)

love,
~*michelle*~

I never knew...

...that there were so many different types of sewing needles! This whole time I thought my sewing machine was giving me a hard time and all I had to do was buy a variety of needles for a variety of fabrics and projects. I was getting so frustrated and beginning to doubt my machine but turns out I just needed to make it happy. Now I am sewing with the pros!

You might have noticed my shop is on "vacation mode" that just means I will be back in action on December 15th. I am almost ready for this weekend and a bit nervous because I am not quite sure if I have enough bags. Wish me luck!

Also, pictures of the booth to come!

Craft Fair Booth

This is just a small sample of new bags I have that are not posted on my shop. I have lots of new totes and shopping bags that I think everyone will enjoy! If they don't sell at the fair they will be posted on the 15th for your viewing pleasure :)

Theresa and I staged our booth for the craft fair this past Saturday. I think it is going to be quite lovely. For those of you who won't be able to make it :( I will be sure to get some pictures. We were not sure what to do and then it just all came together thanks to a shiny piece of gold fabric, trust me it looks awesome! I am so excited to show off all my creations.

My shop will be closed (i.e. "on vacation" mode) 12/10-12/14 in preparation for the craft fair. I have lots of organizing and inspecting to do so I think this will make things easier for me. Things will be up and running soon after, don't fret!

Did everyone have a family fun filled turkey day?!?! Todd and I went to see Role Models it was hilarious well at least the first half was then it just got silly. I am so excited to see my family in a few short weeks at Christmas. Oh and my little brother is turning 21! What kind of shenanigans could we possibly get into....

love,
~*michelle*~

p.s. I think I might throw my bobbin winder out the window for Hops to chew on, this thing is driving me insane!

Amp Cover for Todd

Um ya, I made Todd an amp cover for his vintage '65 Ampeg Jet and it is pretty awesome. The color in the photo came out bad unfortunately. Imagine Padres colors in the 80s: gold stitching on a nutmeg color canvas. I am hoping others may be interested although I don't need to add to my list of things to do.

love,
~*michelle*~

Kids and Babies

Here are some kids and babies gift I picked out for this round of handmade goodness holiday gift giving guide ;)

Too cute

I will be adding to this list so check back!

love,
~*michelle*~