giraffe love

if i had to choose a favorite wild animal, the giraffe would be on the top of my list.  i've been wanting to make a stuffie from this tutorial by kristina karkov (woman's day) for a while now...  i knew that it would be perfect for my friend's baby boy!

i guess this would make it my 3rd sew september project! so check out what i made with my trusty needles and threads...

hello!

embroidered (raised satin stitch) - eye detail

felt heart applique

i used a 4-strand round braid for the tail

i decided to use two different fabrics to create the stuffie, and added some details to make it extra special!

xoxo,
carla

so nuts about french knots

i wanted to share my 2nd sew september project.  i really love embroidery, and my usual favorites are the back, split/chain, & stem stitches to draw lines.  i wanted to try something different and add more dimension to the lines.  so,  i decided to use, the french knot!  i guess you can say that i am nuts about french knots (now say that 3 times, as fast as you can - quite the tongue twister)!  

i've been getting a lot of my inspiration from pinterest lately (and i'm pretty addicted to it).  i've been eyeing this post from the mother lode, and decided to create my version of an embroidered family hands portrait!

i received some fabric scraps from one of my friends, and i used part of this cute ikea fabric and appliqued it to my base fabric. 

the house that i used is within the blue heart (source)

to lighten the black outline within the hand prints, i applied a thin wash of white acrylic paint.  i didn't want to completely lose the outline of the house.

then, i traced our hands and used different colored threads to represent each of us: 
bry - navy blue
me - turquoise
dom - purple
solana - yellow

so, here's how it turned out:

i hope you are all having a wonderful week!
xo, carla

pre-school cool

guess who's going to pre-school?

dominic!!!  we are so proud of our lil' man.  i can't believe that he's in school already!

 i asked him, "how excited are you?"  and he gave me this smile in the car:

action shot!

hung his back pack and greeted one of his teachers, ms. lorna.

all settled in class with a couple of his classmates, and his other teacher, ms. lenka.

after dropping him off, solana and i make our way to nonna's home...

so far, he's enjoyed every minute of it.  he gets really excited going to school.  often, he waits for us at the bottom of the steps in our home (it's really cute, and it makes me smile every single time)...  i hope this enthusiasm lasts through college.

xoxo, carla

no heat curling method

the no heat curl post by chelsey of the paper mama blog piqued my interest!  the curls looked really pretty and easy enough to do.  so, i wanted to give it a try!  let the hair adventures begin...

chelsey also featured this video by the lipstick diaries:

 i set my hair (with no product and dry), on the headband (took me less than 10 minutes)...

this is how it looked on the side and back:

i slept on it...  and here's how it looked in the morning:

after i got ready, took the headband off, and finger combed my hair...  voila, curls!

i really love the softness of the curls, i prefer it over the curling iron!  gifted with super straight hair, humidity definitely won, and caused my curls to dissipate within a few hours.  i think i would get better results with some flexible hold mousse on damp hair, then set it for the whole evening...

most of all, i love this method because it's great for anyone who does not have time to fuss with curling irons, heat curlers, etc... 

i hope you get inspired making your hair extra special, everyday!  next on my list:  the no heat sock bun curling method.  post to follow...

xoxo, carla

s'more smores please!

we didn't get a chance to go camping this summer, but it doesn't mean that we miss out on having delectable treats like smores!  with fall in the horizon (and wanting summer to stay sooo badly), we decided to have our very own smores, at home!

here's how we made it:

we used digestive cookies (because it isn't as sweet as the graham crackers), dark chocolate, and good old marshmallows.

stack your cookie, chocolate, and marshmallow in the microwave.  cook for 20-30 seconds.

as soon as you open the microwave, squish another cookie right on top of the puffed up marshmallow.

i was going to go another level and torch the marshmallow with a brulee torch (that i left at work), but i'll settle on this ooey gooey goodness, for now:

btw, they are best while they are warm.  so, make it one at a time...  have a great day!
xoxo,
carla

the "a-z" of mama and dom

i found this great post from katie of katie's pencil box and i could not resist doing one of dom and i! some of the questions i had to explain to him in a slightly different manner, he answered all the questions except for "h" & "o"...

here it goes:

A. Age:
(mama) 34.
(dom) gives me four fingers, 4.
B. Bed size:
(mama) queen, wishing for a king when dom decides to join us in the middle of the night.  btw, he loves to kick and twist.
(dom) a bunk bed.
C. Chore that you dislike:
(mama) cleaning after arts and crafting - i enjoy my organized mess!
(dom) i like cleaning my toys (LOL, totally opposite what i asked him).
D. Dogs:
(mama) still wishing for a chocolate brown dachshund named, "stretch".
(dom) i like a big dog, he's 20 lbs. (what he wants one day...)
E. Essential start to your day:
(mama) saying good morning to my smiling babies, this includes my hubby.
(dom) i play with my toys.
F. Favorite color:
(mama) turquoise, aqua, blue-green...
(dom) purple, red is not my favorite color anymore, just purple!
G. Gold or Silver:
(mama) silver.
(dom) i like purple, i like purple-silver!
H. Height:
(mama) 5'6" .
(dom) 3'7"
I. Instruments you play:
(mama) i dabbled with piano in grade 1, did the clarinet in grade 7, my voice / choir in high school.
(dom) drums (my parents bought him a set, that stays at their home - though it's been a while since he played with it).
J. Job title:
(mama) dental lab technician; arts and crafter.
(dom) hugging and caring for my baby.
K. Kids:
(mama) 2, dom and solana.
(dom) my baby (solana).
L. Live:
(mama) in beautiful british columbia, canada!
(dom) in my house.
M. Mother’s name:
(mama) agnes
(dom) mommy carla
N. Nicknames:
(mama) kaka (yes, like caca poo poo), cacatoo, ninang cahlah - by my god daughter asia), naning - by my nephews, isaiah and reece), carla la la la la - by anna v.
(dom) dom, domy, dom dom, d-man, dr. d, dominic poot poot, dom da bomb
O. Overnight hospital stays:
(mama) twice, both c-sections for dom and solana
(dom) when he was 2 mos old
P. Pet peeves:
(mama) homophobia, uppity people, unfriendliness...
(dom) bad boy kids!
Q. Quote from a movie:
(mama)"the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return" - moulin rouge  
(dom) "cheese and sprinkles!" - rio; "flint lockwood, i got my eye on you!" - cloudy with a chance of meatballs
R. Right or left handed:
(mama) left for highly detailed applications, right for less detailed applications and sports (volleyball, basketball)
(dom) raises the right hand.
S. Siblings:
(mama) i have 2 younger brothers whom i love unconditionally.
(dom) a younger sister, solana leighton!
U. Underwear:
(mama) i would like to say victoria's secret, but in reality the more comfy the better, no granny panties for me though - that's where i draw the line (TMI).
(dom) when i was little i wear baby underwear.  now i wear big boy undies, i mean big, big, BIG boy undies!
V. Vegetable you hate:
(mama) raw celery, cooked carrots, okra (though i'm starting to like them a little).
(dom) carrots, i still like brocolli.
W. What makes you run late:
(mama) my need to sleep in, diaper accidents, forgetting things...
(dom) when it's dark and i get scared.
X. X-Rays you’ve had:
(mama) at the dentist.
(dom) yaaa-no!
Y. Yummy food that you make:
(mama) i get compliments on my thai chicken curry, rack of lamb, and lemon grass chicken.
(dom) marshmallow cookies (he means smores).
Z. Zoo animal:
(mama) giraffes, jelly fish, elephants, pandas.
(max) alligators, fishies, turtles, sharks, yup, that's all!

i hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little bit more.  it was a fun (ny) interview!  i might consider doing something similar to this every year with both kids, well, as soon as solana starts to talk.

have a great week!
xo, carla (and dom)

sew september - i heart dad headband

welcome to my sew september challenge project # 1!  i was hoping to get this project done in time for the morning of september 1st!  i guess i will settle for 3 minutes to midnight :)

without further delay, here's my "i heart dad" (aka. dad tattoo) headband:

 

my model was asleep, so i made "octtie " wear it...

i made a "mom tattoo" headband  prior to this one, if you'd like to see it click here.

i would also like to thank city bird's nest for starting this sew september challenge.  check out cb's wonderful diy project & the sew september flickr group!  i heart crafty chic bikers!!!

have a great september!
xo, carla