she's back...and she's got the pictures to prove it!

happy new year's eve! i had such a fun time with my family and friends over the christmas break in tejas!

christmas eve was spent doing our annual gift card exchange amongst my family, followed by an early christmas gift to my precious little cousins!

meet wilbur...

on christmas morning, my mom, aunt and cousins were tickled to receive their sanibel tote bags i stitched!

 i hope everyone has a great time welcoming 2013 tonight, and i can't wait for all that the year has in store for me!

mail time!

this week i received the third installment in the princess and me nativity club by what's the point? and he is precious! i think i'm going to pack a few of these guys for the car ride over the holidays...just in case i overdose on belt basketweave. they're a great travel size and everything is already laid out in the stitch guide!

magi #1

i hate to beat a dead horse...but join this club! it's so much fun!

petei santas!

remember when i obsessively stalked ebay for 32 hours won these adorable petei santas? i even went a step further and ordered one more, the whirling dervish santa. 

i gave the french knot a ring to order diana bosworth's precious stitch guides for them, and got the best package in the mail this week!

no stitch guide for celestial santa, but i have some ideas for him! my whirling dervish canvas just came last night, so these are both kitted up and ready to go! now the hard part will be, which to start first? 

more finishing!

i apologize for not including this little guy with the tote bags, but i didn't want him to have to compete for the spotlight. 

meet sir saint, back from the finishers!

this was a custom order that our local painter annie did for me, and he is just too cute!

i used mostly stash threads, with the addition of the beads. 

i just love him!

FAB finishing!

i received the fateful call from my lns this weekend telling me that my stitched holiday gifts were back from the finishers! 

cut to me...waiting promptly outside the shop at exactly 9:59 am to see my beauties!

i love LOVE (did i mention love?) these! special shout out to my homegirl vicky de angelis for introducing me to brenda hart's ribbon technique for the strap handles. girlfriend recently got some tote bag finishes back, found here and here. 

i might have gone a little overboard with the photo sesh...but tis the season right? here's round 2!

i'm so glad i stitched 2 of these for myself, there's no way i could part with all of them! i'm also glad that i forced myself to use different background stitches for each...it gives them their own personality and that extra special touch 

(especially those beaded crustaceans!)

if you haven't already stitched a million one of these for yourself or a loved one, do so immediately! 

you can see my journey with these cuties from start to finish here. 

diy inspiration

in my spare time when i'm not needlepointing, i like to search for creative and chic home decor ideas. one such project i've been gathering ideas on is a plate wall. 

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i love all things vintage and antique, and dream of having an assortment of dishes splashed across a wall. i'm always on the lookout for little treasures, and found this beauty at an estate sale last weekend for $2. i love the delicate roses around the border, and that it has a story behind it. 

what do you do in your spare time (when you're not stitching)?