Tunic Dress for My Mom

I sewed this tunic dress for my mom in Japan. I was supposed to go visit my family in Japan in April, but COVID happened... My trip had to be canceled and who knows when the next time will be when I get to go visit her. In the last so many months, something terrible and devastating happened to my family and I know it will take a long time to resolve the issues. There isn't much I can do right now to help the situation, but I am thinking about them often; especially my mother.

I remembered that I bought this fabric to sew something for my mom a few months back. While I was going though my fabrics and sewing books, I found a perfect thing to sew for her! She prefers clothing that is baggy and comfy, I thought this one would be a winner.

I don't think this book has been translated to English yet, but if you know basic sewing and your way around in Japanese sewing books, you could easily utilize the patterns.

I could totally picture her wearing this by itself as a dress, or wearing it with leggings. I thought adding a simple wooden beaded necklace would be fun.

I know so well that a piece of handmade clothing won't better their situation, but I hope she will feel that I have been thinking of her when she receives the tunic. Sewing has been truly therapeutic for my soul... it's always been and it always will be. Instead of worrying so much, being upset, and wallowing around aimlessly, I sew. What are some of the ways that help you feel peace? Whatever they are, I think those of us who have found that treasure are truly blessed in life.

Wooden Spool Necklace

A while ago I shared a Christmas ornament made out of wooden spools. Because I love them so much I decided to make necklaces for some of my friends (I kept one for myself too!). I was talking to someone about the necklace today and realized that I totally forgot to share the pictures of the necklace on my blog. So, there they are...

I didn't paint the spools this time and kept the natural wood style. I threaded some pastel pearls to the twine and added scissors as a charm. I ran out of the scissors but I want to go get some more, because there are a few more friends that I want to make this for. Wouldn't this be a fun gift for someone who loves to sew and quilt?

I have been working on lots of projects right now, and some exciting things are coming up. I can not spill the beans yet, but I can't wait to share with you when the time comes! Have a wonderful weekend my friends, thank you for stopping by. ;)

New Jewelries for my Shop and One for Me

It was bitter sweet waving the kids good-by when they were off to school this last Monday. We made a lots of fun memories together during the summer but I could tell they were ready to go back to school. I have been spending lots of time with them more than sitting in my sewing room, and I am glad I did. In the last couple weeks when I had downtime I made some jewelries for my etsy shop and one for my self.

Do you remember this post? I posted some cute findings at a local gift shop a while ago.

I used the vintage buttons and things I already had to create this green themed necklace. I don't know why, but I have been drawn to green lately.

I love how it turned out and I know it will be a great addition to my wardrobe.

and Yes! I am already wearing it!

Here are some jewelries that I created for my shop...

Flower patch bracelet; this is one of my favorite pieces. I love looking at all the different flowers on the bracelet, So cute and different.

Vanilla Rose necklace; I love the simplicity of this necklace. I told you that I have been drawn to green. :)

Bee Keeper necklace. I am actually creating another one with different colors too. The combination of black and gold gives this necklace a more sophisticated look.

Flower Bouquet Ring: It is a fun statement ring you can wear daily.

Date Night bracelet; I LOVE THIS bracelet. Simple theme with a grown-up look. This bracelet can go with casual outfits as well as more dressed up outfits.

Was there anything that caught your eye? I will be adding them to my etsy shop soon!

Summer is Near Necklace

I have been wanting to create a necklace that looks delicate, versatile, and has a little more detailed design than just stringing beads. I drew up some designs and came up with this...

I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and had to take this for a test run. The beads and pearls I used are light beige, and as I predicted, it is pretty versatile with many different outfits. It has enough presence but it doesn't scream out "Look, I am here!"... this is exactly what I wanted. :)


I am going to make this with white or ivory beads & pearls in the near future. I think it will be a great addition to my summer wardrobe.

Tutorial ~ Mini Spool Necklace

I found this bag of wooden mini spools at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 (comes with 16pcs). They had several different sizes, but I chose the 1/2" x 5/8" one. As I was looking at them, several design ideas started to pop into my head...

Here are the things you will need...

4 mini wooden spools
DMC floss of your choice (I used 322, 597, 598, 775)
Leather string
5 beads (3 big, 2 small)
Multi Media Glue

*How to

1. Put glue on the spool. I spread the glue over the entire mid-section with the tip of the glue gun. Start wrapping the spool with DMC floss and do 2 layers. Put a dub of glue close to the edge of the spool, and glue the end of the floss.

2. Start threading the beads and spool to the leather string. You can use the finished picture as a guide as well, but basically, big beads go between the spools, and 2 small ones will go on both ends.

3. Make sure that spool and beads are in the center of the string. Then tie both ends of the beads, so they don't move around.

4. I left the ends of the string as is instead of adding parts. That way I can change the length of the necklace by where I tie.

This is such an easy (not to mention inexpensive!) project that it will be fun to do it with young girls too. I love how it turned out; I am going to make more in a different color scheme. Since I am always around sewing materials and notions, I feel like this necklace suits me well. :)

Crochet Beads Necklace

My network is having an issue that started last night and I can't add new pictures to my computer... I thought OH NO! I can't write a post tonight!

Then, I realized I had more pictures I haven’t shared with you all and they were already transferred in to my computer. Whew... Thank goodness!

By the way, my sewing machine is safely (and in much better condition) home! I moped about not having my machine in my posts, but I have been busy with other things last weekend, and didn't have a chance to sew.

While my sewing machine was away, I made several jewelries and this post is about one of the necklaces I made.

I don't exactly know what to call these beads, but there is plastic part inside, and crochet around it. I really like the look of it and wanted to make a necklace for a while. Here is what I came up with:




I think the necklace has a whimsical charm to it because of the crochet beads. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tie the lace or not, so I am going to give it a try with lace for a while. What do you think? With? Without?

Anthro Inspired Necklace

This has been my most favorite necklace for the last several months. Surprisingly, this necklace goes with many different outfits, and when I bought it, I didn't know I would love it this much.



There is one thing...when I bought it, there were two kinds. This gold one AND they had a silver one. I stood there for a while, trying to decide which color I should go for. Seriously, it took forever for me to decide!
Then, a few weeks later, when I went back to the store, the silver necklaces were gone. I searched online too...gone...ugh!

I have been thinking about the one that got away, I mean, didn’t buy.
About a week ago, I found these pair of earrings at a discount store for $5.99. Then, I had Light bulb moment.


I decided to take them a part, and use them as a base of the necklace. The metal parts on the original necklace are either soldered or brazed to join them together. I don't have tools to do that, so I just used jump ring to connect the parts. Here is the necklace I came up with...


I love it! It is not same as Anthro's but I think it's not bad for 5.99 (well, technically, I only used one, so more like $3.00 to be exact) plus whatever the parts I had on hand.

I am feeling that I will be using this a lot in Spring and Summer. :)

Alert; I am making lots of jewelries (remember I don't have my sewing machine!) watch out for more jewelry posts to come!

New Necklace

I found this at a thrift store for $1.99. There is not one scratch, and I love the roses in the pendant. The only thing I didn't care for was the cheap looking gold metal parts...


So, I took that off, and made it into a one of a kind necklace for me!



Love it!!! (In my best soprano voice)

Talk about thrift store finds, lately, I have found several great finds at the local thrift stores. I am going to have some posts about them in the near future.

Tiered Skirt & Matching Necklace

Last week I mentioned a couple of projects I have been working on...
Well, I am really happy to announce that, one of them is done and I am ready to share it with you all!

Ta da!


I found this really pretty pink corduroy at Joann's and bought some before fall. I have decided to make a tiered skirt for a little girl. I used the left over fabric and made a matching necklace too. Originally, I was only going to make a few yo-yo's and sew them together, but the process was so fun I made more than I had planned and then I did some beads work as well.


I think I need something like this for myself.

It is so tempting to keep them for my little girl, but I think I am going to add them to my etsy store. Who knows...

This week is already looking very busy and crazy. On top of the reguler schedule, I have two activities that I need to attend for my church calling, two doctor's appointments (one of them takes pretty much all day, MRI, CT scan etc...and the hospital is located about one and half hours away). Also, I have a baby shower and a bridal shower that I would love to go to this weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am happy that I am busy, actually I feel blessed that I can do something for other people. I just get a little overwhelmed and frustrated because of my inability to organize everything. Do you ever feel that way? I hope as I get older, I will be more graceful and wiser. It might take me another 30, 40 years, but I hope it will happen.

I would love to stay and chat with you all, but I have somethings to take care of for tomorrow. I hope your Monday started out great and continues that way through out the week. Thank you for stopping by!