PS....

I still haven't thought of something free to give away, but I can offer free shipping thru the end of the week on any purchase in my EBAY store. Mention the code MONKEY1 at checkout (in message to seller box) and I'll deduct the shipping cost from your invoice (US shipping only). I just received another full box of fabric that I'll hopefully list tonight! ~ Kris

One of those weeks...

Last week was "one of those weeks".... luckily it had a happy ending though! After getting through a flooded basement and other asundry *fun* things, I was greatly looking forward to a weekend get-away with my hubby and Sydney (we didn't go too far - just about an hour away; Frank does some weekend work at local hospitals and Syd and I try to join him whenever we can). On the way out of town on Fri I made my daily trip to the Post Office and received the sweetest surprise! Anja, a customer/online buddy from Germany, sent me 2 Japanese Crafting books! She has an online store that offers a large variety of these books, in addition to other info. about quilting. She ordered some Amy Butler fabric from me a bit ago and somehow we get into a conversation about the Japanese books. I can't wait to tackle some of these projects! The Christmas project book is actually a magazine called HANDMADE and there isn't an ISBN#. The other book's ISBN # is 4-529-04206-5. Check out some of the goodies!









While away this weekend I finally had the chance to read the recent edition of CRAFT magazine. I've read glowing reviews of this magazine so of course I had to try it out! If you haven't had a chance to read it, I highly recommend it - borrow it from a friend, or use your 40% off coupon at Joanne's. There are a ton of completely different projects, and some great articles about crafting and the new generation of "hip" crafters. They also have a section of funky handmade goodies, like this gem:


Are you stumped? It's a knitted human brain!!!! I *love* this! It's part of the Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art ("an online museum that exhibits textile artwork inspired by neuroscience research, dissection, and neuro-economics").

Another great find is an article on Lisa Howdin of Fitz Patterns. She makes her own patterns and offers them online in PDF format for quick and easy download. There are even free patterns! I think you'll like this site Stacy! I'm a huge lover of skirts in the spring and summer - might have to try this A-line wrap skirt pattern (free!):



As for personal sewing projects, I've been working diligently on a curtain project for a friend, and have some wholesale orders that I'm working on. Last week I finished up this custom bag for an EBAY customer - I love making these bags b/c (1) the fabrics are gorgeous, and (2) they are fun!





Ah, one more thing! I haven't mentioned the redo of our upstairs bedroom in a while. Progress is slow, but my husband is doing an awesome job! Check out the BEFORE and NOW pics:

BEFORE: (we had already removed the window molding and wall shelf)




NOW: (needs some window and floor trim)



Have a great week everyone! I posted 17 new Amy Butler LOTUS prints last week in my EBAY store - they are absolutely gorgeous!

I'm so giddy!

As you all know, I love the mailman :) Most days he brings me lots of fun goodies, other days he brings me bills. It's not his fault that those slip in, so I forgive him and still anticipate his arrival most days. This week has been a fun one - Sydney's First Valentine's Day (she actually got some of those cute little Valentine's Day cards like we used to get when we were kids!), her almost 1 year birthday (next Thursday!! Friends and family have been sending her cards and gifts early), and then my favorite: a little goodie package that I won on Portobellapixie's blog a few weeks back. I was intrigued to see what these little button magnets would look like - they are soooooo cute! I think I just might have to make some of my own! In addition to the magnets, Sandi threw in 4 barrettes for Sydney. Check out the elephant one - makes me smile from ear-to-ear. Thank you Sandi!!!!!










I'm thinking as well of having a little give-away, but I need to think of something fun to give away! Stay tuned!

One *big* problem that I have is that I love to make girly accessories. My friends with boys always get the short end, but heck, I can't make them flower belts and headbands! I recently received some adorable ~1" wide ribbon and couldn't resist making this for my friend Michelle's daughter, Anna: (I have the matching 1 7/8" ribbon too for a matching mommy/big sister belt!)



I'm thinking that I need to look into making some cute belts of some sort for boys. Maybe with some whales and lobsters and the such. Until I do that, I've always got the tote :) Just finished this one up yesterday for Gina's son, Jack. He LOOOOOOOOVES Spidey, so when I saw this fabric I hopped on it. I actually have a fondness for Spidey myself, so working on this bag was especially fun. Black bags are always hard to photograph, but the jist of the bag is that is is made of black canvas with nylon webbing for straps. There are 2 outside pockets, one with Spidey machine stitched on, and the other with Spidey doing his Spidey thing. The inside has 4 large pockets and a magnetic snap closure. Gina, Jack, my husband and I all agree that this is our favorite toddler tote yet. GO SPIDEY!







Have a great weekend everyone! ~ Kris

A foot in the door...

My hard work last week has paid off! I *did* successfully manage to send an email to the folks at Hobbyra Hobbyre and we have begun a dialog re: carrying some of their pattern books and materials. I was also pleasantly surprised yesterday by a package from another Japanese fabric company - they sent huge swatches of some ADORABLE fabrics (cotton/linen). Check these out! (the elephants, sheep and ladybugs are my favorites:)

















And in case you didn't notice, there are 2 more places now that you can buy/see Monkey Foot Goodies! I met Tish from OFF THE HANGER on Monday (it's a local shop that sells some cool accessories and great used clothes!) and dropped off 19 belts to consign. I'm also working with Erin from the DIAPER DAISY to start carrying some cloth diaper accessories in her store. This is all so fun!!

In the process of making all of those belts I decided to try and come up with a better belt layout for my pictures. I'm working with Lisa of Bella Fiore Couture to revamp my website so I'd like some snazzier pictures to put up when the new site launches. Which style do you prefer (I love feedback!)?

STYLE A:



Style B:



I'm off to shovel some snow (we are getting TWO FEET of snow today..... YIKES!), and package up a bag for a lovely EBAY customer, Samantha. I love making these bags - they take a long time, but are worth it!

HELLO! and THANK YOU!

Just a quick note to say HELLO and THANK YOU to you all for your great messages lately - unfortunately Blogger doesn't show me your email addresses when you leave comments, so I can't respond back directly. If anyone knows how I can get this feature enabled, please do let me know.

I received a fantastic link from ANDREKABU this morning re: an adorable wrap dress pattern for Sydney. I have heard mention of ONION patterns, and I think I"ll be trying them! This one looks like it's for ages 2-8, so I think I may have to wait a bit...






This one (from www.shoponion.com - THANKS Stacy!) is a cute option though for now (ages 6-18 months):


I love this swirl skirt too :) Might just have to make one for Jordan, my niece - Sydney can't even walk yet... Wouldn't this be gorgeous with Heather Bailey's Freshcut?! My stock of Freshcut should be here in a few weeks! Yippee!

Found it! Kind of....

I've been spending a small chunk of the morning trying to navigate a lovely Japanese crafting co. website: Hobbyra Hobbyre and I'm feeling quite ignorant re: my poor Japanese language skills. True, I have no reason to need to know Japanese... except now, when I am trying to figure out how to send these people an email and buy some of their products. I found that Google has a pretty good translation website (gotta love the internet), and I think I managed to send an email written in Japanese. I'm still open to any help that anyone out there has to offer!

In my extensive search of their site I came across lots of fun project books, and, the wrap/kimono dress pattern that I have been looking for for Syd! The best part is that it looks like there is a long sleeve and a short sleeve version. Love it :) And it looks like *maybe* the instructions are in English. Hmmm...



I did finally place an order for some of the fun Japanese prints that I've been hinting on. They should arrive within 2 months - just in time for spring! Here's a sneak peak at a few:
















Here's one last thing (from my sis-in-law Sue) that I wanted to share:

If you have extra yarn from things, you can make it into
7" x 9" squares and send it to this address and they
will make them into afghans for homeless people,
nursing homes,veterans' centers, even victims of
Hurricane Katrina or other disasters.

Warm Up America!
Craft Yarn Council of America
2500 Lowell Rd
Gastonia, NC 28054

I HEART the Mailman

I really do :) Some days he just really seems to know when I need some goodies to lift my mood. Last week was a little rough - things breaking, things not getting done by the time I wanted to... you know how it goes... Then Friday came and hubby came in with the loot from the mailbox!

1) Books from Amazon.com (mind you, I ordered these FOREVER ago, but didn't realize that they were scheduled to be sent with the two fantastic books that I preordered - one by Amy Karol of ANGRY CHICKEN , and the other by fab designer Lotta Jansdotter). I figured out the glitch and they were in the mail to me within 2 days. These were worth the wait though: Denyse Schmidt Quilts and DIY: Design it Yourself. I am always in awe of the creativity of fellow crafters and want to know "how'd they do that" re: blog set-ups, etc. The DIY book helps figure it all out - I still need to do an in-depth read, but so far it looks great! The Denise Schmidt book I've been wanting to get for a while, as I have seen it mentioned in numerous blogs - there are definitely some fantastic projects in there, like this apron - love it!






2) Next came the most adorable cards I've ever laid eyes on! They are from Paper Stories, and I found them through www.designspongeshop.com. I love that all of the $ that I paid goes directly to support a scholarship for designers.


3) My last little goodie is a quirky one - a new hose for my beloved Dyson. This one of the things that broke recently (a day before my sewing machine) and I've felt a tad lost without it :( We have 2 dogs and a cat at home, so fur management seems like a part time job sometimes. I know that some people don't believe in the hype around these things, but as an animal owner I SWEAR that this is the best vacuum that I have *ever* used. We found a good deal on ours in Costco a couple of years ago and snatched it right up!

The mailman should be good to me this week as well :) My sewing machine should be returning from it's vacation in MD today, and any day I should be receiving the fantastically cheery set of magnets that I won through Portabellopixie's site last week. Her work is amazing! I can't wait until Sydney stops growing for just a bit so I can splurge on an outfit for her. Check it out!

As for projects, I finished up my niece's Valentine's Day pouch last night and actually kind of like it! I tried my hand at a crocheted flower as a little adornment... definitely need to practice some more. I finally had the opportunity to use this adorable cherry willow fabric that I bought from fabric.com months ago - it's perfect as the lining and now I'm inspired to make a cute spring outfit for Sydney with the rest of it :) Have a great week everyone!