Reusable Holiday Gift Bags

It's that time of the year - the Holidays are here!!

We are all busy shopping for and wrapping the perfect gifts for everyone on our holiday lists.

Who says being green has to be boring? These bags are functional and they look great!

Enjoy the holidays and help look after the environment. Avoid sending all that gift wrap, tape and ribbon to the landfill.

These reusable bags make gift wrapping a breeze - just open the bag, pop in your gift, pull the ribbons closed and you are done.

• Use for wrapping holiday gifts or storing decorations


• Smart alternative to gift wrap or plastic gift bags


• The perfect way to beautifully wrap all the gifts you get for everyone on your list


• Compact & lightweight


• Double satin ribbon drawstring closure - bags are made of 100% cotton fabric


• 100% Canadian Made

These bags are a great way to avoid using mountains of gift wrap and tape for all your holiday gifts.

Use one of these handy Reusable Fabric Gift Bags in place of expensive paper gift wrap
OR
Wrap your gifts and use one of these bags to keep multiple gifts for one person all together.

After the holidays these bags can be used year round to store toys, books, DVD's, CD's, beauty products and anything else you need!

The bags come in 3 standard sizes: Medium, Large & X-Large.

These bags are also available in custom sizes to accommodate any sized gifts. Let me know the size bag that you need and I will be happy to create it for you.

Machine wash, tumble dry – these bags are handy and easy to use.

All seams are serged / overlocked for extra durability. These bags are not lined.

Fabulous Etsy Find!

I just received the most stunning pair of Swarovski Emerald and Pearl Crystal Earrings in the mail yesterday!

They were sent from Patch at PatchFirstShop, a wonderful jewellery shop on Etsy. You can check out her other stunning pieces in her shop at www.patchfirstshop.etsy.com

I had stumbled across her blog last month and won a contest that she was running. Here is a link to the gorgeous pair of earrings that she sent me
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=477663

Mine are done all in silver and I love them. They arrive beautifully packaged in a pink velvet, embroidered bag tied with a beautiful pink ribbon.

I was so excited to receive them and look forward to wearing them and showing them off often.

Thank you so much Patch for the lovely surprise.

Warm Sunny Days

Ah - there is almost nothing like it. I love warm summer days.

To feel the warm sunshine on your skin and see your children running and playing -

- laughing with wild abandon.

For a minute you can almost feel like a kid again - caught up in the fun.

We made a trip to Salmon Arm, British Columbia this week to see a friend of ours. It was great to visit with him and to enjoy the wonderful weather as we checked out the local attractions.

He owns the MOST FABULOUS coffee, sandwich and dessert shop I have ever set foot in. Check it out online here http://mypinkcherry.com/Home.html or jump in the car and go for a holiday of your own. The scenery on the way is fabulous and everything on the menu is worth the drive.

I am working on lots of new and exciting things for my shop as well as trying to finish one of my last courses towards my Bachelor of Management degree. It will be a busy couple months here but I am looking forward to having some fun as well.

New fabric selections are available on our Facebook page. Check them out here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Deer-AB/Nana-Browns/91515596235

You can choose a custom made option and pick your favorite fabric for nearly every item in our shop.

Anti-Skid Socks & new PJ's

I spent some time last week working on new things for my daughter.

First she needed some new Pj's for summer and I could not find any I liked. So I made them myself. 3 new pairs of Pj's which she loves :)

Next - she has had a growth spurt and outgrown most of her "little girl" socks. I looked all over to find bigger anti-skid socks for her but could only find them in small sizes.
I decided to try making my own "grippy socks". I read somewhere that it was possible to do it with fabric paint. I tried it and am sharing the results. I hope that many of you can make good use of the very easy instructions.
Materials needed:
Fabric paint (I used the clear dimensional kind that kinda sticks up)
(I got a tube on sale for $1 - I have made 35 pairs of socks so far and have not used the whole tube up - this is WAY less expensive than buying pre-made "grippy socks")
Socks (pre washed)
Directions:
Fold the socks so that the entire bottom is facing up.
Paint or Dab little dots of paint over the bottom of the socks. I tried several different patterns (squiggles, dots, straight lines) and the dots seemed to work the best. I made my dots in lines but you could use any design or pattern you like. You can make the dots bigger or flatter depending on your preference as well.
FYI the dots did not "lift off" after washing several times but the straight lines & squiggles did.
Allow paint to dry according to package directions.

Enjoy!!
They are not quite the same as store bought ones but they have definitely kept my daughter from sliding all over the tile & lino.
She thinks that they are fabulous because now she can wear some of her favourite socks during the day to run around, instead of only wearing them to bed at night.
I made 25 pairs of her non-"grippy socks" into "grippy socks" this weekend. I ran out of room on the table so there are only 20 pairs shown in the picture.
Leave me a comment and let me know how it works out for you.

Polly-wolly Polliwogs!!!

Ok - I have had lots of requests to see the bucket full of polliwogs so I took some pics this morning after they had warmed up in the sunshine!

The cloudy part in the middle is the egg bunch that they came out of - not all of them have hatched so I am leaving it in the bucket.

I really do not know what we are going to do if they ALL turn into frogs!!! It will be A LOT of little froggies.

Sunny Afternoons ..... & tadpoles

It is a beautiful, warm sunny afternoon here in Red Deer and we are loving it.

Been for a little drive around town this morning and checked out some parks in other neighborhoods - my daughter had LOTS of fun trying them all out.

Last weekend we acquired am ice cream bucket of tadpoles from the farm and have been watching them grow all week. My daughter thinks that they are her pets and greets them every morning, talks with them and then says goodnight before bed time every night. They are sunning themselves on the front step now. I am hoping that they do not get too big yet ....... I do not think that I want a bunch of baby frogs all over my step. We will have to take them back out to the farm and let them back into the pond.

Here are some pics of the project that I just finished for some very nice people (some family members). They are a gag type gift for some messy sisters :) Personalized, adult sized bibs with a fun embroidered saying. I hope that they like them and get a giggle!!

Next project is to photograph the new diaper bag that I made last week. It is fabulous!!!

Sunshine and Rainbows

The sun is out and my daughter danced around the house today singing "Sunshine & Rainbows Mommy!". It was pretty cute and I think that it made my day.

We looked and looked but could not find a rainbow - lots of sunshine though. We are all dreaming of Spring :)

Just listed a new hat in my shop this morning. I love the fabric - it is so bright and reminds me of a starry sky at night! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23772821

I have also been checking out Etsy Teams today and became a member of the Custom Boutique Design & Creations Team and applied to be a member of some others.

Check it out: the link to the teamCBDC site is http://cbdconetsy.ning.com/

New Blog

It's a good day to spend inside.

Snowing, blowing and cold outside - inside we are peeking out the windows at the snow and hoping that Spring returns soon. We already miss the sunshine that we were enjoying last week.

This is the first post on my newly minted blog.

Follow me as I have fun creating new things with my sewing machine and as I learn how to do some new things with this blog.

Nicole