green onions

did you know that if you take the white ends (with the roots) of your green onions and put them in some water, they'll keep growing new greens for you? and they grow fast! grow little onions grow!

happy weekend ^_^

pretty books

i wanted to share a few recent additions to my book collection. they're super beautiful and full of inspiration.

illustration school: let's draw happy people by sachiko umoto

i'm terrible at drawing. really terrible. but sachiko's book breaks down her simple, sweet drawings into easy to learn steps. i love the little details that she includes. she covers every day, fairy tale and international people. there are also two other books in this series, let's draw cute animals and let's draw plants and small creatures.

 they draw and cook edited by nate padavick + salli swindell

this book started with a blog. artists and cooks from all over the world sent in their recipes accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. there's such a huge range of fantastic artwork in this book and tons of recipes that i can't wait to try.

 doodle stitching by aimee ray

i enjoyed my little dabble into embroidery and definitely want to get more into it. but i can't create my own original designs. this goes back to the "i can't draw" thing. doodle stitching covers the basics and includes so many pretty designs for you to follow.

so there you have it! i love books :)

ishtar olivera

it's been a very difficult month and to finish it up... i'm sick again! hopefully, february will be a better month. anyways, today i wanted to share something cheery and lovely. 

today i'm loving ishtar olivera. her designs are so joyful they feel like a clean breeze, a smile, and a warm cup of tea. whether it be a hand carved stamp, an illustration, or a sweet photo, a visit to her blog always leaves me feeling a bit more light hearted. stop by her etsy shop too! 

     

    

thank you ishtar for letting me share your photos! 

year of the dragon

i'm a day late but happy lunar new year! it's the year of the water dragon, my mommy's sign :) and it will be my niece's too!

here's my forecast as a piggie from proastro.com

"Well isn't this just sweet. You'd expect a letdown after an extremely favorable, Rabbit year. Not likely to happen. Here comes another, 11 favorable months. Things could get hectic. There's likely to be a lot of action. And, you might find the pace just a little too much. Not to worry. Go with it, and you can score some big successes. It's time to take some risk. You especially want to be bold when it comes to education, travel, networking and communications. These can flourish in a Water year. If you were smart, you did keep in step with the Rabbit's slower pace last year. If not, you might want to start the year off slowly. Then rev up those engines and fly with the Dragon."

and here is a bit of the year's forecast:

Hail mighty Dragon! Your arrival is most welcome. People and businesses around the world have had difficult times over the last few years, so the good luck you bring is timely and needed.

The Dragon is in fact the major symbol of good fortune in Chinese Astrology. The Dragon constellation, for example, is accorded the honor of being the guardian of the Eastern sky. According to tradition the Dragon brings in the Four Blessings of the East: wealth, virtue, harmony and longevity. Indeed, of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac the Dragon is the most special, as it is a mystical being rather than an earthly animal. It is sometimes called a karmic sign. In this context that means we can expect grand things this year. Bigger than life is very much a Dragon thing. There will be spectacular successes as well as crash and burn failures... Regardless of your sign, there will be significant upheavals in 2012. Soaring stock markets, natural disasters, and noteworthy, cultural and political developments will be more the norm than the exception. There will be celebrations of all kinds. And, good luck will be coming your way. Are you ready to fly with the Dragon?!

i hope the new year brings you good fortune and happiness!

shimtokk

today i'm loving shimtokk. shimtokk is the beautiful brain child of sally j shim of shim + sons and joke vande gaer of tokketok. they feature the prettiest packaging ideas and offer plenty of printable freebies. i love their clean, joyful designs!

1.

2.

3.

4.

1. hello gift tags; 2. merriest christmas patterned paper; 3. + 4. meant to be calligraphy goodies

burp cloths

my sister's shower was this past weekend! she and my brother in law were happy so i'm happy. and once i got home, i promptly got sick and was stuck in bed unable to eat anything for a day and a half. oof. i dragged myself to work yesterday and stumbled around until i could go home and crawl back into bed. but on to happier things!

as a part of my sister's shower gift, i made her some cute burp cloths. i had seen a few tutorials around the web and decided that it would be a simple and practical project to tackle. and i figured if my sister has a barfing baby over her shoulder, she should at least have something cute to catch the barf. apparently, burp cloths made from cloth diapers make awesome, super absorbent burp cloths. i used this tutorial by sew she sews. so easy and fast to make! just don't run out of thread like i did...

i found these diapers at target. nice and plush.

the joann fabrics that i went to didn't have the greatest selection of flannels so i went with regular quilting fabric.

tad dah! finished burp cloths!

little dose of love on a gloomy day

happy weekend :)