Outlook and Happiness

(pattern & fabric)
I like the dress with a belt! Have you noticed all of the dresses with belts lately? I went into Anthro the other day and I was surrounded with cotton dresses with belts (temptation). Also, did you know that cotton/linen, medium weight fabrics shirr up quite beautifully? They do! All this shirring makes me feel like Bubba from the movie Forest Gump. Remember when he talked about all of the things you could make with shrimp? That's me with shirring. "You can shirr cotton, light weight, medium weight, heavy weight, double gauuuuze, linen, cotton blends, you can shirr just about anything Forest." Ahhh sillyness =)

On a different note, I will be away for a bit. My etsy shop will be closed from June 29th (this afternoon) to July 7th. My fabric shop will remain open, but all orders placed between 6/30 to 7/7 will ship on 7/8.

We will be on a family vacation and this will be the kids first plane ride =0 They are super excited about it. My daughter is amazed they have bathrooms on planes. When we told her about the bathrooms she gasped and said in complete joy "I'm going to go pee on a plane!" And to think I stress about what to buy my kids for Christmas.

Before I take a little blogging break I wanted to share an article I read on Yahoo the other day. It's rather appropriate for my nerves as well (plane ride). The article Happiness: 3 amazing tips from the world's oldest case study is a 72 year old study on 268 Harvard students measuring "love, work, and adaption for a good life." The article basically summarizes 3 constants for happiness. The first being have a healthy outlet such as a sport, craft, or hobby. One that is enjoyable and makes you laugh. I love the quote from the article which is "A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs, jolted by every pebble in the road."

The second constant is to not take yourself to seriously. Basically let the big ego go and laugh at yourself.

Lastly, happiness must be shared. Engage in relationships, laugh together, cry together, and cherish friends and family. My little summary is very brief. I recommend reading the article to get the full dose of it. Here's the link.

After reading the article, I kept thinking about my previous neighbors who recently moved away. The household consisted of a Grandma, Mother, and her kids. They were.... different. Actually, I should say the grandma was different. To give you an idea, every summer she (grandma) would shave her head and bleach out the 1/4" buzz. She would pace the neighborhood with converse on her feet and a skimpy tank top (no bra). Our first encounter with Grandma was when she came to our door, knocked, and asked my husband to take her to the store to buy a pack of cigarettes. I can remember once being in my backyard and hearing Grandma yelling at her daughter. She was telling her daughter to "get a man" and was complaining about being to old to watch the granddaughter. As I was going inside my house, all of a sudden Grandma, with a thick accent, yells "I need to pucking relaaaax." "Oh my" I thought. (My husband and I still haven't pinpointed where the accent is from, but we do know the f's sound like p's) Anyways, on occasion I would see Grandma at a Senior facility where my daughter took ballet classes. As I engaged Grandma by saying hi, sometimes she would say hi back... sometimes not =) One day when I was talking to my neighbor I asked her how her mom was doing, because I hadn't seen her at the Senior Center. Here daughter told me Grandma had been kicked out for having some sort of altercation =0 My neighbor then went on to say how much she loved her mom and thought she was one of the funniest people she's known. What a great outlook. Rather than being burdened by her "different" mom, she instead choose to look at the humorous side of it all and didn't really take what her mom said or did too seriously. She recognized the fact that her mom should not be alone and needed her. Fortunately, I don't have a mom like that, but watching my neighbors relationship with her mom taught me a lot about outlook. So after reading the yahoo article and thinking about my neighbors I've concluded that crafting and exercise are my outlet, I should continue to invest in friendships and family, and lastly... well... please pardon my french, but...

I need to pucking relaaaax.

See you soon,

Jamie

Chocolate Covered Blueberries.

No, no, no this is not another gross food post. This pic doesn't come with a "viewer discretion is advised" warning.
Those are chocolate covered blueberries and they are delicious. Not only are they tasty, I figure they are somewhat healthy. The antioxidants that are found in blueberries totally offsets the evil nutrients found in milk chocolate. Actually they just cancel each other out so it's all good ;)

How to make Chocolate Covered Blueberries

I made these by melting milk chocolate in the microwave. I know I'm supposed to melt the chocolate in a pan over the stove and that I'm supposed to temper the chocolate, but being as I have no idea how to temper something other than my kids foreheads... in the microwave they go. Once the chocolate is melted, add some butter or shortening. I added about 1 tablespoon of butter. Most of the recipes on allrecipes.com recommend shortening. I didn't have any shortening on hand, so I went with butter. Love the butter flavor.
After the shortening or butter is mixed into the chocolate, you then add the blueberries. Warning! Before you add the blueberries be sure they have had time to dry off from their washing. Another mistake I made was not drying the blueberries before I added them to the chocolate mixture. This made the chocolate mixture a little watery (go figure) and the chocolate didn't stick to the blueberries as nicely as it should have. However, it still tasted like chocolate and that's all that mattered to me.
Next, spoon the chocolate blueberry mixture on wax paper and refrigerate for about a 1/2 hour. Lastly, take them out of fridge and eat them all by yourself =) They were so good, and I bet they're even better had I followed proper directions.

Have a great weekend!

Jamie

Nani Iro and Chelsea fabric

I have been counting down the days for this shipment to arrive. For me, Nani Iro textiles are the equivalent of what Dove chocolates are to chocolate. Pure self indulgence to the textile appetite. And yes... they too shirr up quite nicely =) Here's the link to the new Nani Iro fabrics in the shop.

Also new at Phat Fabric, and wonderfully unique in their own right, are two new Chelsea fabrics. Cobweb in black...

and Cobweb in yellow...

Unlike the other Chelsea fabrics, these two fabrics are not double gauze, however they are 100% cotton. Very cute in a cobwebby way ;)

Cheers,
Jamie

New Honey Girl Tops

Two new tops in the shop...

Honey Girl Top in Lion fabric

and...

Honey Girl Top in Leaf fabric.

Both tops were made with Echino Chelsea fabric and the pattern.... well I think we all know where the pattern came from, but just in case here's the link Honey Girl pattern ;)
I think the Chelsea fabric is my favorite line of fabric from Etsuko Furuya as of yet. The weight is perfect for my shirring addiction and light enough to handle the heat, which will soon roll into my neck of the woods. Ugh!!!

Cheers,
Jamie

New Phat Fabric International shipping catagory

Oh happy day!
I'm very excited to announce a new shipping category recently added to the Phat Fabric shipping options. We are now able to offer 1st class International shipping. This will allow all International fabric friends to buy 1 yard of fabric and not have to pay for the International flat rate priority envelope (10.50 Canada and 12.50 International).

The option of choosing First Class shipping can dramatically reduce the shipping charges. For instance, shipping rates for 1 yard of quilting weight fabric would cost $4.00 (usd) to Canada and only $7.50 (usd) for all other international locations. Or, you can still choose the speediness of Priority mail. The upside to Priority mail is the shorter shipment time, but the savings that First Class mail offers can certainly make it worth the wait.

The new shipping charges are also applied to all sewing patterns...like mine! First Class shipping charges for one Pretty Ditty apron pattern to Canada is $3.05 and $5.00 to all other International locations. First Class shipping rates are applicable for up to 12 ounces in shipment weight. Shipments above 12 ounces will continue to be shipped Priority mail.

I'm seriously a little dizzy (in a good way) about the new shipping option, because it's always bugged me to only offer to ship Priority to my International friendlies. Now, if I could figure out a way to get myself in one those envelopes heading off to Greece I'd be really happy =)

Cheers,

Jamie

The patterns have arrived!

Hip, hip, hooray! The sewing patterns (Pretty Ditty Apron and Honey Girl) are finally here and have already shipped to all of the pre-sale orders. Phew!

The patterns are now available in my etsy shop Pretty Ditty.

Also available in my etsy shop are 3 new aprons.

Pods...

Eiffel Tower...

And a reversible apron I call Sweet Rose...

Wholesale orders

Yes, the sewing patterns are available for wholesale purchase. As a matter of fact, I specifically omitted any reference to Phat Fabric (my fabric shop) and my etsy shop Pretty Ditty in the sewing patterns. I did this with other shops in mind. All wholesale inquiries may visit my wholesale information page at JamieChristina.com (link). The wholesale page has a downloadable pdf wholesale order page. Let me know if you have any problems downloading the form. You may also communicate any wholesale inquiries to customerservice@jamiechristina.com.

On Monday I hope to list at least 2 tops made with the Honey Girl pattern. Being as it's summertime and the kids are officially out of school, my days have become quite busy. I now wear the hat of Event Planner for my kids =) As they get older, they get bored quicker =o

Cheers,
Jamie

A sale and a birthday tradition

While I'm in a holding pattern for the sewing patterns (no pun intended), I think it would be great to have a sale! Tomorrow is my 35th birthday and the day after that is my 15th wedding anniversary, so lets meet in the middle with a 25% off select Alexander Henry fabric (link).

My Birthday memory
In the name of tradition, I have to mention...again... the memory of my 20th birthday, which happened to be my wedding rehearsal day and how on that momentous day, everyone left the rehearsal dinner area for the bar to watch a white bronco being chased by the police. I'll never forget it. There I was. All made up. Celebrating my birthday. About to marry a hottie and..... "hey!" "Where is everyone?" "Is that OJ in the car?" "Let me see. Let me seeee!"
I had to mention it. It's a birthday tradition.

Don't forget the sale, which ends June 28th. Also, as soon as the patterns arrive (Pretty Ditty apron and Honey Girl Sundress & Top) I will announce it here, and ship them off to all of the pre-sale buyers. I'm told they are being printed as I type. Yippee!

Cheers
Jamie

Guess what?

I finished my apron pattern!!

Oh, it's been a long time coming. I don't think the both of us could take another post mentioning the "big project" I've been working on.

About the pattern....

I am a visual learner, so I wanted a lot of visuals in the instructions other than just inserting pics. I wanted legit illustrations! After trying many different illustration software tools and never seeming to find the perfect fit, I finally broke down and bought Adobe Illustrator. I wuv it! Learning Illustrator added a great deal to the production curve and after acquainting myself with the software, I discovered that my love for creating found another channel in the illustration process. Creating illustrations became my most favorite thing to do in the pattern production.

The pattern features different size options. There are 3 adult sizes (small, medium, large) AND 3 child sizes (small, medium, large). Super excited about the child sizes!

Also high on my excitement meter is the option of making it reversible or non-reversible. Yes! There are instructions for both. Criz-naizy man!

I should receive the patterns within the next few days, but in the mean time the Pretty Ditty apron pattern is available for pre-sale purchase. Here is the link.

Wait! There's more.....

The Honey Girl Sun Dress and Top pattern. I was inspired to make a pattern out of my red dress after much discussion and emails regarding how exactly to construct the dress. Now you don't have to guess how wide to cut the fabric, or how the skirt portion is cut. The dress is not a rectangle that is shirred at the top.  The skirt piece is made to fit hips, which makes the dress flattering. The pattern includes directions, illustrations, and pattern pieces for both a dress and top. Honey Girl is available for pre-sale purchase in my shop Phat Fabric (link).

Have I mentioned how much I love shirring with the new echino double gauze fabric? Thought so =)

So there it is... what I've been working on for some time now. I couldn't be happier with the outcome, and I'm so excited to finally share it with you =)

Jamie

Ewwwwww!

Warning! This post could make you loose your appetite.

In a conscious effort to get in bikini shape this summer, I have been trying to eat healthy. By eating well, I've incorporated a lot of organic natural foods so that way, later in life, I won't grow unwanted facial hair or a third eye. One of my favorite lunch time meals to make is an organic spinach chicken salad with poppy seed dressing. Tastes pretty good and looks pretty good. Or does it?...Wait! What's that on my fork?

Is that a chopped up piece of spinach? No, no, I don't think so. Hey.... are those legs?

Oh my! Imagine that! A piece of spinach with legs.
So this is what organic means - leaves AND bugs. Lovely. Had I known bugs were included I wouldn't have cooked up the chicken for the protein part of the meal =)

Seriously, I was so repulsed by the dead critter, that I had to eat half a bag of Dove dark chocolate just to get any spinach taste out of my mouth!

Unfortunately, my food discovery adventures don't end there. Two days later, I was eating another healthy recipe of eggs, brown rice, and salsa. As I was eating, I noticed a different shaped chopped tomato in what I thought was salsa.

Yeah! It's a HUGE piece of CARDBOARD! This is taking reduse-reuse-recycle way too far. And yet again, another half bag of Dove dark chocolate to help in recovery. All I have to say is that if ever something is found in one of my Dove dark chocolate bags I'll be forced to start a hunger strike in the lobby of the Dove Chocolate home office.

At this point, a microwavable meal isn't sounding too bad.
Clearly I have spent too much time thinking about this.

Jamie

New Michael Miller fabric in the shop!

Laura Gunn did not disappoint with her debut fabric line Lantern Bloom. I am loving the burnt orange and turquoise combo! The distressed background in the prints add to the uniqueness of her creativity.

Next up, and never too early for Christmas, is Michael Miller's Funky Christmas fabric collection.

Joy, Yule Critters, & Joyful Damask.
Look at the little doe eyed cuties. Such sweetness!

The lovely trio below of Aqua, Red, & White fabrics are also by Michael Miller fabrics.

Quarter Dots, Eiffel Tower, and Dumb Dots.

And last but not least...

Pet Deer. Little Bambi's grazing and trotting.... such happiness =)

New fabric always puts me in a good mood.

Happy Creating!
Jamie