My first GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment to win a FIREWORKS mandala!

When the scrap yarn vase runneth over, time to make mandalas!!! And that's what I did. My pattern of choice being the "Fireworks" mandala by ZootyOwlcards!

I was on a roll, have made about 6-7 of them so far, and decided to have one of them be the prize for a giveaway! 

 Each mandala is fairly large, roughly 19" diameter, made with all acrylic yarns, ends securely weaved in :) I will be listing them on Ebay pretty soon. In case you don't win the giveaway, and still want one, swing by my store to snag one!

 This is the one you will win, leave a comment and I will contact the winner by email to get your mailing address. Rafflecopter will pick a winner randomly for me :) Giveaway is limited to USA residents only, since I do not wish to ship internationally! Good luck, and keep on crafting, World!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finishing up my first year as an empty nester!!

I made it through my first year as an empty nester, and I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as it’s sometimes made out to be :) I sure had my fair share of trepidation before my younger one was about to leave, but I’m pleasantly surprised that I did not have too many days of melting into tears or feeling sadness. Here are some things I made an active effort to incorporate/ change during this past year…

1.     Grew my hair! After 15+ years of having “chicken feathers” 2” hair, I decided to let it grow because now I can actually have time to wash it, tie it, style it (??)….going great so far, but maybe one day, I will just get fed up and go back to chicken feathers. My older one was like “Mom, do you realize that this is the first time in our lives that you actually have longer hair than either of us!!”

2.     Started wearing dresses! I realized that I never took time to try on dresses, and just ended up wearing tops over capris all through the summer for so many years. That needed to change, and I’m glad that I’m trying out new things. My goal of sewing more for myself also helped contribute to this cause.

3.     Did more sewing for myself, and my daughters! Made 2 velvet dresses for myself this winter, and a fit-and-flare dress for my younger daughter, shared here. My new goal is to use up all the fabric I purchased at the LA Fashion District in April 2016 by December (which is when I go back to LA). You can see my haul video here!

4.     Attended more events at the Teachers Union, and participated in Teacher Forums. Got an article published!

5.     Went to my school’s Prom. I used to chaperone Prom all the time when it was part of the teacher contract, but 7 years ago, the Union negotiated to make it optional (and paid), and since then I never found time to go do it. So it was an empty nester goal, and now I feel that it might become an annual event!

6.     Became part of a knitting group, and attended a weekly session almost every week. I don’t knit, I normally crochet, and they’re OK with that. I might actually attend my first ever knitting/ crochet retreat with them Jan 2017!! Yay for that, since I might have to wait till I retire to attend one of the Crochet cruises, hosted by The Crochet Crowd (they are all scheduled during the school year).

7.     Went back to my Saturday yoga group.

8.     Cleaned out my kitchen pantry, and also my linen closet. Cleaning/ organizing is not my forte. /my kitchen pantry probs got claned out after 11 years (which when we moved into the house)….nuff said!

9.     Blogged fairly regularly (???)…questionable much?

And finishing up today's post with my latest completed project, a blanket with nice flower appliques sewn on :)

The pattern is a variation of this, and my blanket is listed for sale here!
Looking forward to summer vacation now!
Keep on crafting, world :)

My first product endorsement (or two)!!!

I have not written about any products on my blog so far, but I used these two new things, and they were incredible!! So, of course, I have to share with the Incredible Internets. The first is Wet n’ Wild Gel nail color.  I received this as a free sample from Pinchme.com, and I was very skeptical!! Why? You ask….well, I have been using only Revlon ColorStay nail polishes for the past 10-12 years. I tried Essie, I tried Opi, but they did not match up to the long lasting-ness of Revlon. Revlon would last for a full 2 weeks for me, despite the fact that I wash dishes by hand almost every day.

So yes, I was not sure about Wet n’ Wild Gel at all, because in my mind, it was a “cheap” brand. 

Well, was I surprised after 2 weeks…..Not only did it chip minimally, it outlasted Revlon by 2-3 days for sure, gave a really nice salon-like finish, and I loved the color they sent me!!! So, yes, I may have to change my nail paint brand, go buy some more colors :)

I became a HUGE fan of another product- LANCOME Sleep perfector cream. Again, I got a sample in the mail. Have not used any Lancome products ever! No, I am more of a CVS-brand, Pond's cream kind of person. Yup, ashamed to admit it.....well, maybe not really, that's what us Mommy-type Asians do:)

 So I put this on at nght, just maybe 2 drops of it, and my face felt like butter the next morning- my pores looked like they had been evened out, there was a nice glow to my face, my fine lines (I refuse to term them wrinkles- I have noneJ) appeared “plumped out “/ less visible. Suffice it to say, I really could not believe it….the sample had about 3 uses worth, and my skin felt really good for about a week. I, of course, had to go online right away and check prices on Ebay, Macy’s etc etc…..Ebay had a lot of options, but I decided to go the legit way, did not want to risk getting a fake product, so went to Macy’s, splurged $94 (!!!!!) on Lancome Sleep perfector. I justified it to myself by calling it my Mother’s day gift, plus felt better because I was able to get a lot of other products from Lancome as free gifts- I think I got close to 10 smaller size products (including a tote bag and a cosmetics pouch). Now, now, I might just get hooked to all the other Lancome products, so I guess their marketing strategy is super successful :( 

On the crafting front, I have been crazy busy, but will have to wait till next time to share more finished products with you!! I can share one though....it is the VIRUS BLANKET by Jonna Martinez, she has an awesome video tutorial. I have also done the shawl version of this, no pictures yet though, it still needs tassels. The blanket will make it to my Ebay store soon, in case you would like to call it your own :)

Till next time, Keep on Crafting, world :)

Another sea theme blanket, and a refashion!

 Here are my new (and almost new) finishes. The sea theme blanket is made off of a picture I found on Pinterest- no pattern for the appliques, I just made them along by looking at the photo, plus I used a basic ripple blanket base. The blanket is listed here in my Ebay store RetirementFunned.

 My next project is a refashion, because!!! Refashioning is the thing to do!! So I had this sheer skirt from Christopher & Banks that I wore maybe once...Inspired by so much refashion on the Internets, I decided to use this brand new tank top (I would've never worn it), and join the two together to make a cute shift dress. Awesome!! Now, I have a wearable piece of clothing that I love! I wish I had taken the time to show you a picture of me wearing it, but you just have to take my word for it I guess. It looks great! And all it took was about 20 minutes!

Here's another cute thing to look at...Pinterest-inspired of course! My crochet goldfish!

I just winged the goldfish. Realized it was getting too big for my tiny jar, had to make the fins quickly, so yeah, the fins are not anatomically correct, but shh shhh, we won't tell the biology teachers that :D
Take care, world! Enjoy the warmer weather, if you are in a cold place like Minnesota (like me!), and keep on crafting!