Origami Drawstring Bag

I made a new bag on Sunday. I was tempted to go out and buy stuff I didn't really need so I decided that I should make something to make that need-to-spend feeling go away. On Saturday night I came across this awesome little bag and knew I wanted to make my own. I was actually going to buy a pattern from Etsy, but I decided to search for a free pattern instead. I found this Origami Drawstring Bag pattern by Mai.

The front and the back looks the same. 

Inside the outside pockets. 

My tatting supplies are making themselves at home. 

Inside the bag. 

Drawstring action. Love it! 

I hope you enjoyed my pictures. Big thanks to Mai for sharing her easy pattern.

Patti 

What a Month!

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I last updated my craft blog. The past few weeks have been a blur. As some of you know, I had my Thai wedding last Saturday. A lot of preparations for the big day, but it all went really well. I can't wait to share my photos with everyone! I have some craft projects in the works, so I'll probably have something to show soon. So stay tuned!

Patti

Our Special Saturday

All my life, Saturdays were meaningful to me and it's my favorite day of the week. I was born on a Saturday. I took ballet lessons on Saturdays when I was little. My stepfather used to wake up the family on Saturday mornings by playing The Temptations' My Girl. I studied Thai traditional music and dance at the Wat (Thai word for temple) on Saturdays. My favorite color is purple, which also represents Saturday in Thai culture. Unfortunately my stepfather passed away on a Saturday when I was nine years old. With every death there's a new beginning...


I have another reason to love Saturdays. I got married today, the last Saturday and day in June! As I prepared for the small ceremony - just my sweetheart, our dogs, and me - I made sure to wear my pretty purple Sisco Berlutti bracelets that were given to Chris to give to me from Lisa Sisco and Carolyn Berluti themselves. (They are members of Chris's gym.) We stopped by the local florist's shop, Floral Scents, and designed a very pretty bouquet of purple roses with little white flowers. I really love the results and the beautiful bouquet!

Pretty bouquet of purple roses.

I love purple. The florist did a wonderful job.

If you're in the Canton/Norwood/Dedham/Sharon area, definitely stop by!

The ceremony was held in the Justice of the Peace's backyard. We chose Justice Linda Woodhouse. She's so nice and helpful. She said some beautiful words about love and marriage. Then we shared our vows to each other. I was a bawling mess. Chris is a great writer, just amazing.

Chris with our boys wearing their new neck ties.

Us with Linda, our Justice of the Peace.

Us and the boys. One family.

When we got home, we had a photo shoot on our balcony. I think they came out pretty good. Now it's time to make the final preparations for my Thai wedding and wedding reception next month on Long Island.

Husband and wife. :)

All smiles.

Purple roses, bracelets, and a new ring.

Love,

Patti

Sunday Shares - 6.24.12

What a busy weekend! Chris's childhood friend, Eric, and his wife, Debbie came over on Saturday. We were puppy sitting their Cockalier, JB, while they attend a wedding that night. We had lunch at the Feisty Greek and then parted ways. Chris and I went to Walmart to pick up a new toy for the boys and JB. I ended up with new fabric, of course.

Pretty flowers, fabric from Walmart.

I spent all Saturday afternoon and night making a bag for Debbie. Once I had something in mind, I'll work like a mad woman to finish it. I found a great list of tote bags at Tipnut - 45+ Free Tote Bag Patterns and Tutorials. I used Very Purple Person's Reversible Bag pattern. There was a good tutorial on how to make the bag. If only I was diligent at reading instead of watching Breaking Pointe, I would have saved myself the issues I encountered later that night. I also had enough time to make a matching purse. I'm so pleased on how it came out.

Tada! Reversible bag.

A matching purse. I used a 7" zipper for this one.

 On Sunday, we all went to Boston's Chinatown for dim sum at the Empire Garden Restaurant. Sooo good! Afterwards we went for a walk in the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden. It was a beautiful day with a lovely breeze.

A swan making her nest near the pond.

Swan boats.

Debbie, Chris, and Eric taking in the site of swans, ducks, and swan boats.

 Later that day after Chris and I got back from IKEA, I ended up at Joann Fabrics. It happens quite often. I picked up some linen fabric and cute flower patterned fabrics. I have a thing for flowers.

Our little Dragon Trees from IKEA.

New fabrics to add to the bin.

 That's all from today's Sunday Share.

Ashland's Relay for Life

Today was a beautiful day for the Relay for Life in Ashland, MA. The sun was out and very few clouds in sight. My company gathered many volunteers from a variety of departments - Engineering, Marketing, Customer Service, and HR - and everyone showed up to support the cause. Together we raised over $15,000 for this event in a span of one year. We held bake sales, casual Wednesdays, raffles, and a golf tournament throughout the year.

I managed to convince Chris to join me and I believe he had a great time once I put him to work selling lemonade, popcorn, and chili. See for yourself!

Chris advertising the popcorn and lemonade.

My company's tents - manicure and massage on the left, food on the right.

Together, we can!

All the pretty signs. I made the Chili and Chips sign.

Manning the popcorn machine.

Sunday Food and Fun

Chris and I went to Empire Garden Restaurant in Chinatown yesterday. That's where my family usually go when we're in Boston on Sunday during lunchtime.

Pot stickers (beef), Har Gow (shrimp), and Siu Mai (pork).

After dim sum we usually stop by the local C-Mart next door to pick up groceries. Today we just used the store as a detour to get to the other side of the block. Next, we pick up boba from Juice Bar. I used to love Thai Iced Tea with boba, now I go for the Taro with boba. At this store they call the boba "pearl".

Taro with pearl (boba).

Chris reading the Chinese newspaper in Juice Bar.

After our trip to Chinatown, we stopped by the HomeGoods store in Allston. We were looking for vases for the tables at our wedding reception, but no luck. I stumbled across my perfect armchair (if I had a house). It's so pretty and the colors are so fun! Alas, with a price tag of $299, it was not meant to be... right now.

I want this armchair! Totally loving it.

After a long day of gallavanting around Boston, I came home and played on my new phone for ages. Then I decided I wanted to crochet a cute dish cloth. I turned to Hulu Plus for my entertainment needs - I settled on a marathon of MTV's Real World San Diego. It was filmed over the summer of 2011. I was actually in San Diego last July. I didn't run into them, but it's fun to think they're running around in the same town as me. It's also sad to realize that they are all younger than me with the oldest cast member being 24 years old and the youngest is 19. I remember a time when they were all real old... remember Real World: LA, San Fran, or the older San Diego seasons? Crazy.

Just saw that I messed up on the dish cloth. Pattern by Lily.

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone had a great Sunday!

Sunday Shares - 6.3.12

I want to start sharing my craft projects summary on Sundays as "Sunday Shares." I've been diligent this past week. My sewing projects have progressed and I found some cute patterns that I wanted to share. Links are located after the photos. Enjoy!

Envelope Bag - I didn't sew the button on yet.
I don't like how the top of the envelope came out... might have to redo it.

Tissue Cozy

Tissue Pouch

Card Holder

Inside the holder - I love the cute patterns!

Weekend Update

This past weekend, Chris and I visited Jeff and Vivian's twice in the span of 24 hours. Saturday was Craft Day - Game Night. I brought along my sewing machine, but unfortunately, I didn't get to sew. I started two crafts and I'll probably finish it up later this week.

I sent Vivian, who in turn sent Rachel, an e-mail about crafts you can do with left over fabric scraps (or fat quarters). I found it via Pinterest - Scrap Happy: More Than 50 Fabric Scrap and Remnants Ideas. I'm working on the Envelope Bag and Tissue Cozy.

The makings of an envelope bag and a tissue cozy.

On Sunday we headed down to Hyannis with our pups. We stayed at a bed & breakfast called Simmons Homestead Inn. The B&B was an interesting place. Everywhere you went there were knick knacks on the walls. We stayed in the Giraffe Room. The picture on the website doesn't do it justice. There's MORE stuff in there now. When you walked in, there were giraffes everywhere. There was a cross-stitched giraffe pillow on our bed. There were giraffe puzzles, toys, and figurines. They were even in the bathroom!

On our way to the B&B.

Phidan likes to lean his whole body out the window.

Upper right: Kujo's oblivious to the danger above him.
Above: This is the outside of one of the buildings. The inside is packed with random knick knacks.

Enjoying the beautiful day with Chris and the boys.

Later in the evening we had dinner at Brazilian Grill. The food was great and I left there stuffed. I think I was about to explode as I was walking out.

I wish the picture wasn't so blurry.
The girl taking it had no clue how to work my phone's camera.

We came back home on Monday morning and it felt good to be back. Chris and I decided to sit out front on our porch and watched the traffic go by. Actually, he was reading one of his drawing books and I was working on my cross-stitch. The boys were tethered to a column and left to their own devices. All in all, it was a great weekend spent with family and friends.

This summed up how we felt on Monday.