We Need A Little Christmas: Shopping!

For practical reasons, I do alot of my Christmas shopping on line, but in the spirit of the season, I make sure that I do go out and do a little old fashioned, brick and mortor shopping. Today's destination was nearby, charming, historic, downtown Ellicott City. Dressed up in it's holiday finery. Complete with beautifully decorated shop windows, strolling Christmas Carolers and lightly falling snow.

Where The Heart Is

I can't seem to remember where I first saw {q.a.}Design's artwork, but when I did, I knew I had to have it! They do very adorable prints of your favorite state, in many, many fun colors, and can include a heart over your favorite city or hometown! I naturally bought a print of Missouri with a heart over my hometown, Kansas City. I plan on displaying it lovingly in my bathroom where I can see it each morning. I bought the near perfect matching frame for next to nothing at Target. I love to having somewhat quirky and very personal things around the house. Really makes it feel like home.

Antiquing!!

I went "antiquing" today, in Ellicott City, MD. A very, very charming little historic city only about a 1/2 hour from Baltimore. Lots of stores had stuff sort of set on the sidewalk and as I was walking up the street, I came across a little cute and kitchy straw bag. Last summer, my straw purse, that I was completely in love with (and had been purchased for next to nothing at a sample sale), broke and was irreparable (I tried), so I've been on the hunt for a replacement this summer. The bag wasn't marked with a price, so I put it back down and went on my merry way. I happened back on it on the way back to my car and decided to go in the store and see how much it was. After haggling the store keeper down to $10 (an amazing deal, since it was in pristine condition and had a vinyl lining that I knew I could easily give a good cleaning to), turns out she only took cash. And I only had $3. So, I figured it wasn't meant to be and left to run some errands at the nearby Target. But while at Target, convinced myself that since I was going back home that way anyhow, to get some cash and see if it was still there. And what do you know, it was!! The store owner told me that two other people had been interested in it as well, but no one had cash on hand. I'm so happy I decided to go back and get it!! Life lesson #532: When antiquing, always bring cash.

Movie Treats! (and a visit to an area quilt shop)

I'm off this afternoon to see Sex and the City 2 with some friends! I am beyond excited!! My sister and I did not miss an episode back when SATC was on HBO, airing it's regular seasons. We watched EVERY Sunday night, religiously. That seems like a million years ago. So my devotion to Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte runs deep. But I digress. It is my friend Min's birthday today. So I couldn't just show up at the theater like it was any other day. So I decided to bring snacks. I made White Chocolate Popcorn; the recipe was found on Make and Takes. (Which was put together in literally 10 minutes yesterday afternoon. Other than letting it harden for a few hours, the stage that took the longest was microwaving the popcorn.) I also am including small packages of swedish fish and pretzels. (The pretzels are for me, I can only take so many sweets and maybe others feel this way too.) Packaged all individual snacks in cellophane bags tied with ribbon and everybody's collection of snacks in just plain paper bags. (Wished I would have thought ahead on the overall packaging, but even I can't think of everything.) I think my friends, who share my love of eating, will enjoy this surprise. Maybe they'll go to the movies with me more often... Now, off to the movies! (I hope I can convince them to have a cosmo with me.)

On a completely unrelated note, I ventured out to Annapolis yesterday, to visit Cottonseed Glory, a very good quilt shop! These are few and far between in the Baltimore/Washington Area, so just had to mention it. Definitely worth the trip.

No outdoor space

Now that I'm a true city dweller and don't have a yard or even a small patio, I've been a little sad that I don't have an opportunity to garden during the summer. Some of my fondest summer memories growing up, are those of spending early mornings and evenings in the garden with my father. He was a supreme gardener and would have turned the entire backyard into a vegetable garden, if he could have. I was so excited to come across Postcarden, via Design Sponge. It's a greeting card/gift combo, that starts out as a greeting card and turns into mini-living garden! It can be purchased in the US here. Aren't they so cute?? I can't wait to have one of these on my window sills!

A Really Good Bead Store, The Importance of Finding Good Supplies

I have my eye on a necklace tutorial and have two jewelry projects that I just need to add some finishing touches to, so I headed to a big box craft store after work yesterday. To say that I was disappointed by the jewelry findings selection is an understatement. I could not believe that they didn't have one thing that I was looking for. I actually left empty handed. I really didn't think that Baltimore had any good bead stores, but after some very quick research, came across Beadazzled, located at 501 N Charles St. It's a lovely store, good sized for a bead store, fully stocked and in a charming neighborhood (this is, after all, charm city). The staff was friendly and helpful and they had EVERYTHING I was looking for.

I'm sure that I'm not telling you something you don't know, but to truly be successful in craft making, I highly recommend that you don't just take what you can find in a big box store. If you find what you want there, then by all means, use your 40% off coupon and call it a day. But if you don't find what you want, don't settle. Chances are you'll feel like your final product is just ok, if you feel that the fabric (for example) that you purchased for it is just ok. I cannot encourage you enough to visit independent sellers of jewelry supplies, fabrics and any other things crafty. Both in person and on line. The people that own and run these stores are real experts in their field and are often incredibly helpful and usually very kind. Some of my favorite fabric websites are:

Quilt Home

Sew Mama Sew

Alewives Fabrics

Hope you are finding a little creative time this weekend!

A Renaissance

You know that sewing is making a come back when you can buy this at Urban Outfitters.