I Haven't Forgotten...

...my promise to place items on my Boutique, "Poladora" at Etsy that are less expensive.

I'm currently trying to finish up the "Mocha Meringue" line of products and am now ready to create some fun things with left over fabric for the smaller budget. So if you love Mocha Meringue, stay tuned!

I'm also finalizing my really fun "Veggie Pizza Pizzazz" - a nine-patch wall hanging in the tradition of pizzazz, without following the rules (of course). I blogged about the piece earlier and promised some less expensive items from this line as well - "Garden Fresh" by Andover - and I've already started!


After that, look out for some really cool fabric I can't wait to get my hands on to begin creating! If you were a big fan of "Authentic" by Moda, you'll think my latest love is a kin to Authentic on steroids! Next time, I'll give you a sneak peek of the fabric...

Until then...

Announcing...

...my Boutique is finally open for business!

After some hair pulling trouble with the satellite uplink, I am finally able to place new items in the boutique at a one-at-a-time-as-it-lets-me-basis. But don't give up - I will remain at this until it all gets posted and the satellite issues are finally and totally resolved.

So please check it out at www.poladora.etsy.com and let me know what you think! While you're doing that, I'll be here pounding away at the keys and camera button while nursing that pounding headache I've had for days now...

Happy Birthday Treece!

YES! Different daughter - same month... We spent the day going to dinner, shopping for anything RED, and she opened her most treasured gift of all - RED shoes! (From her sister.)

Happy Birthday Tereena...

Well, I finally got together with my daughter Tereena. We met for his gifts and went out for pizza together with three of my grandchildren, and Dad and Grandpa as well. Soooo, now I can show you what I made for her from the fabric "Dolce", that I showed you earlier...

This is a "totse" (that's pronounced "TOTE-SEE" - part tote, part purse). I used three different fabrics from the designer line "Dolce". The bottom of the totse is all hand-embroidered and beaded with some machine quilting. (I like to hand-embroider whenever possible since it seems to be a dying art these days with the new embroidery machines that make it so easy. OK, I confess, I own one of those machines myself...)

The straps are double-quilted with Warm & Natural all cotton batting for ease on the hand when carrying something heavy. The totse is machine wash and dry and can be ironed.

The next picture illustrates the lining, complete with pockets for glasses, cell phone, and/or passport, and a machine wash and dry removable hard bottom.

This picture simply illustrates the square bottom of the totse.

And finally, the dress...just like the one my grandmother made for me when I was graduating from eighth grade - can you believe it? It's just a simple empire waist, all cotton dress with an invisible zipper. The bodice is lined with the coordinating Dolce fabric that you see on the bottom of the totse. I added side pockets just for fun...

This ensemble, you will not see on my Etsy site, Poladora. But, there will be other similar creations - and remember, no two items will ever be the same.

Vanilla Bean Mocha Meringue...

...becomes a "totse" (that's tote and purse combined):

Items like this will begin to slowly migrate into my new Etsy shop Poladora beginning on or before August 1st!


In the meantime, I've added a couple of items that are custom-order only to the shop.


Back to work!...

Vanilla Bean...

Here's just a quick peek at another Vanilla Bean Mocha Meringue project I'm working on for Poladora, my new Etsy boutique. Just think...just 10 more days before the shop opens! Geeze...I'd better get to work!

How's This for Texture?...

Introducing...

"Vanilla Bean

Mocha Meringue".

Vanilla Bean completes the family of color schemes I will be using with the Mocha Meringue coordinates of fabric that I have.

The other two are Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut.

This particular coordinate presented a great opportunity for puckering, as well as selective beading. This is a real closeup so the beads are smaller than they look. For those beaders out there, they are size 11/0. (The next smallest size is what I like to call bead "dust" - and yes, I am crazy enough to use beads that small as well.)

This is a wider view of above - another toss pillow for the Mocha Meringue family that I finished today. The back and one-half of the front is crocheted using one of the most deliciously soft yarns I've ever used. I just want to sit and pet the pillow. (Of course, I'd get the "look" from Teddy if I did that.) The beads on the fabric are itty bitty hexagons that are precision made (to be perfect), from glass and are coated with a mixture of metals including sterling silver and real gold. The pillow is hand-made, hand-embroidered, and hand-beaded (such patience...).

Here is just another "family photo" of Mocha Meringue...

Back to work!...