elliemoon

COPYCAT CLUTCH

here's the last charm clutch. it was supposed to be finished for christmas. i was a few steps away when my machine broke down. the repair was minor, the tune up was overdue and my machine is working better than ever, so all's well that end's well on that front! this clutch (aside from the handles) is an exact copy of one willie made. she has hers hanging up in the shop down at tumbleweeds and it's what sold me on the pattern::

the only fabric not still available was the yellow polka dot for the yolk. thank you willie, for bringing me your leftover yardage! you are the best. i owe you a stop at seven g's :)

 

DIPPED STRAWBERRIES

indy had been talking these up since having them at a friend's house recently. i tried to hold off on the idea, but then i walked by the strawberries in produce::

so much for waiting until valentines day! 

 

BAD KITTY-MAMA

somehow i missed luma and mako's first birthday. i'm a terrible cat owner. i missed it by a lot. it was in august. luma was born in the wild and mako came with a recorded date of birth, so i decided to make them twins. and still it escaped me. we did finally celebrate though, by eating cupcakes in their likeness while they were upstairs sleeping in my closet:

which brings us to the inevitable question: what's worse? silence on the blog, or posts about cat birthday parties? you tell me.

 

BRIOCHE!

this has been on many of my lists for many years, but now i can check it off. i finally did it, i made brioche::

overall, the making wasn't too bad. i think i had been putting it off because i had convinced myself the process was too involved. not so. however, the cooking time in the recipe i used (from this book) was way off. even though i pulled them out 15 minutes early, they were overcooked! very sad, i know. but i wasn't too brokenhearted. the overcooked factor made me feel much better about using them for french toast. the thick-slice, custardy kind. with powdered sugar on top. i love brioche! 

 

APPLE, BY BIG B

those charm clutches that i made for the girls have a little cell phone pocket sewn into them. i found a toy phone on amazon that looked like a smart phone, didn't take batteries or make noise and was made of wood. when it came in the mail, it was literally just a painted piece of wood. you know, kind of like the online description. uh, yeah. why hadn't i thought of that? i showed it to big b and then returned it. the results::

they came out perfect! and the girls loved the fact that their pocketbooks from mom had a surprise handmade treat from dad inside. indy spent christmas morning padding around the house, trying out her lip balm and "texting" grandma. her pocketbook slung over her shoulder all the while. suddenly my cute idea for christmas had turned into a disconcerting glimpse into the future. oh man! since when is first grade the new junior high? are there any all-girls schools left in this world? let's hope so. luckily i had ellie at the other end of the house putting her lip balm on maisy; her pocketbook balled up in a pile of dog hair under the couch and her wooden iphone on the floor smeared with modeling clay. i've got time on my side with that one! phew. 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!!

we have been feasting and baking and feasting. and then came the storm::

 

no one seemed to mind the extended school vacation. and maisy is loving all of this beautiful snow. the same goes for the boys, as you can probably tell. hope your 2014 is off to a great start as well!