blame it on the salsa sewing

last week i ran into a couple of my friends in our grocery store who were getting the final ingredients to make salsa with the tomatoes that they had grown.
"we have a LOT!" i mentioned they better share their wealth.
then i was on the phone with another friend another day and i asked her "what's the plan for the day?" she answered "I'M MAKING SALSA!"
that's when i got a little mad at myself for not planting salsa making ingredients. i guess there's always next year.
as i walked past my super unorganized fabric shelf (on the list to be organized...sometime this week if i'm motivated if i have time) i noticed my reds, greens, and yellows. mmmmm...those look like salsa.
huh...THOSE LOOK LIKE SALSA!
and hence my own homemade tomato was born.
and then....
i saw my oranges....

well what do you know? tomatoes made a little bigger look really cute as pumpkins.

talk about a slippery slope of events.

yes, before you ask. tutorial in the works, so you all can make your own home made garden fresh harvest.

what i made with that $2 skirt

a dress for her.

i love to repurpose sheets and table cloths, you know that. so when i found that $2 skirt i had sort of an idea that i could do something with it.

a.) i could take it in and make it fit me.
b.) i could make something else out of it.

okay so i already have a black and white skirt so the first option wouldn't be the best choice.
but then i remembered that i had just stumbled across this awesome blog

that repurposed a man's shirt into a little girl's dress.


so i contacted dana asked her if i could use a picture and to link back to her. we got to emailing back and forth and swapping pictures of projects to come, we chatted quite a bit and what i came back from our emails is this:

not only is she INSANELY TALENTED.
her photography is AWESOME.
her tutorials are AWESOME.
her shop is AWESOME.
her kids are SUPER CUTE...
AND...not only is she amazing...she's super nice!
:)
so Dana, thanks for being such an inspiration to me (and to so many others!!) thank you for helping me think outside the box so that i could make this dress out of a $2 skirt.

i'm finishing the final instructions on how to make this dress. i should have it up in the next couple of days.

oh martha and a mini make over

i have in my possession the book:
and i have come to two conclusions:
a) martha is in hoots with the devil himself or
b) she has an awesome eye for things and has a huge team that she single handed picked out to work out her ideas and have them come up with ideas of their own that are "martha worthy"...

ooooh this book is so good that i can't refrain much longer, i must go and buy one for myself. i could just sit and stare at this book for hours. which i did yesterday. the day was so pretty we (the pasty things i call my children and my pasty self) spent a few good hours outside enjoying the sun. i also got to leaf through this lovely....sigh....

i also did little makeover. i took this fake bush i bought with every intention of doing something with (like last year)...and brain stormed and came up with:prune the heck out of it.

and ended up with a little more spring come into summer decor.

i'm off to walmart for my weekly get everything i need for the week because it takes 45 minutes of driving through the mountains to get here trip...wish me luck.

vintage pattern

i got this pattern yesterday. thought about making it into a dress but seriously look how short those things are...i mean can we say HU-SSY? anywho, i decided to make it into a shirt. and i really like it a lot so i think i'll make the hussy dress a little longer but not as long as the one on the far right.

i used the fabric i had left over from the little one's quilt i made last summer...

i think it turned out so light and spring-y. i love it.

and i think she does too. now if the dang weather would just cooperate so we could wear it outside...

oh and have you seen this?

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts: An A-to-Z Guide with Detailed Instructions and Endless Inspiration i nearly peed my pants when i saw it.
i just bought a few books so i can't just go out and buy this one. BUT my friend who everyone thinks we're related because we kind of look alike bought it...so i've already got first dibs on borrowing her book while i muscle up a little more money to get my own!

what i'm crushing on right now

i'm so in love with cath kidston. it all started when i ordered Cath Kidston's In Print: Brilliant Ideas for Using Vintage Fabrics in Your Home from amazon
so of course i had to get the catalog for her stuff. and the pictures are so inspiring even in her catalog.

i just adore the cute ironing board and those huge bags...wouldn't they be so sweet for a weekend bag or a beach bag? sigh to live near the ocean again... i love floral prints as much as i love polka dots, so you can only imagine that cath and i would have much to talk about if she were to ever come out to the middle of nowhere and have lunch at the local cafe with me.

most of you know when i say i love something...that means i'm knee deep in "already working on" something ...yes i am loveing all the ideas in my head (does yours run at full speed as well?) and have already started on a few of them. can't wait to show you. perhaps next week.

have a sweet weekend.

man formerly known as GI Joe husband and i will be celebrating our 11 year anniversary this saturday.

i can't believe he's made it that long.

what a good man.

see you monday.

i'm obsessed

yeah you would think this picture is from a magazine. it's not. it's my good friend's house who just happens to be an AWESOME decorator, but even better, she's pretty rockin' with man tools. she made this hutch by HERSELF. she's the one who helped me with my little one's wood kitchen. the woman is pretty much the shiz in my book and she inspires me every time we talk.(btw totally want to steal that bench...but that's totally against my religion. if it weren't, that bench would be sitting pretty in my house as of a long time ago and i would totally hide it when she were to come over). her whole house is amazing but i wanted to highlight the "white's" in her house. i'm obsessed with white. i love it in magazines and i love it in person. of course i always throw in some color to mess up the whole white scheme but that's just my spicy hispanic side coming through. i'm in the process of adding more "light" and "white" into our home. so naturally i turned to my fabulous friend for inspiration. after taking pictures i came home and started working. i'm still in the middle of it but get ready to see what i've done with my inspiration!

things i want to try from blogland...

one thing that blogging has brought into my life (besides some great blogging friends) is some great inspiration, here are a few that i really can't stop thinking about: camille's chair makes me want to go out and just do the re-upholstering thing...this was her FIRST attempt. can you believe that?

my wonderful friend larissa made this apron and i think the colors are just fabulous and makes me so excited for spring.

my wonderful friend mel's family tree has got to be the cutest family tree i've ever laid eyes on. she has a tutorial on how to make one.

this super yummy chocolate butter cake from the farm chicks looks to die for...tell me that wouldn't take away the monthly crankies.

this awesome quilt that moda lissa is making is so fresh and lovely...oh i really can't wait to try it.

there are so many (and not just the one's i've mentioned) wonderfully talented women out there that just keep amazing me, and keep making me want to try new things!

inspirational tutorials

you know i'm all about tutorials and when i find them i bookmark them so that i can attempt to recreate or make something of my own using bits and pieces of information...here are a few that i think are note worthy:

*so in love with this skirt tutorial ...by whip up

*this simple yet lovely bookmark tutorial ...by craftzine

*this adorable birthday shirt i can't wait to make for my little katie...by house on hill road (it's not a tutorial but it looks easy enough!)

*this adorable baby quilt instructions ...by my wonderfully talented friend kelly

*this tutorial on how to make your own scrabble piece pendant (i just found some scrabble games at the second hand store for $2 can't wait to try it!)...by make and takes

*and i've already started making my own silhouettes of my kids using this tutorial ...by more ways to waste your time.

go check them out. there is so much inspiration all around it's astounding...

ah yes and i got a few awards, i'm horrible about posting them! sorry!... but thank you to the ladies that have given me awards these past months i know there's a few...i just can't remember what they are but the most recent ones are from:

junk sophisticated she's got such a great eye for junk that i knew from the first time i saw her blog that we could be great buddies, well unless you put us in the same garage sale or second hand store, then we would probably harbor some ill feelings when the one of us got to the perfect find before the other one! ;) seriously this woman finds the GREATEST STUFF...she awarded me the KREATIV BLOGGER award THANK YOU!

and bonnie from one designing woman is a stager in the bay area, but she also happens to be my good friend's mom so i've been able to use her talent when ever she would visit the area. i would corner her and asked her to take a look at my decorating to give me pointers...she also has re kindled the idea that when i grow up i want to be a decorator or a stager... she awarded me the blue ribbon award THANK YOU!

even if i'm horrible at posting them and let too much time go by without mentioning them or *gasp* not mentioning them at all just know that i appreciate them!


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on a painting fix

i made these yesturday for my bedroom...did i mention i'm slowly working on transforming my room? well i am, and i'm loving nature inspired things. i know that's probably soo 3 years ago, but i've had the same look going throughout my house for 10 and a half years. i think it's time for a little change here and there. not major just minor things...

i'm thinking, that there might be a slight possiblity that i might try to paint my boys' room. but that's a big fat maybe seeing that i have 4 of them usually running around my ankles and if there's paint involved...watch out! but if i get my act together and plan a little i might be able to do it while they are in school or when they sleep in the living room in sleeping bags on friday night (it's turned into a tradition now) so yeah...a big fat maybe.

i'm not quite sure what look i'm going for yet, i just know the paint color on the walls. after the paint goes up i think i'll be able to see things better. mainly i want a place for them to sleep, read, play with some toys, but most importantly, i want it to be clutter free. 1. Kids room theme:, 2. Army Men Kids Room Theme, 3. Domino Design Project Kid's Room, 4. Boy's bedroom, 5. bunk beds, 6. Pottery Barn Rugs, 7. pottery_barn_kids_rooms2, 8. sport theme, 9. Carson's Big Boy Bed, 10. hookey1, 11. Boys room, 12. wyatt's new big boy bed