I made this purse a while ago, and it's taken me a ridiculously long time to post it. I was doing my regular free fabric collecting when I came across these samples that were just too good to pass up! I was just shocked at how close the colors were, and how well the different textures go together. So, I made a tote from it! I was wanting to do something a little different from the pleated purse pattern which I made not too long ago. So, I made it a little smaller, and added a different kind of pleat in the design. It was surprisingly easy to make it, I think I'll be doing it again in leather. I've got some good leather that I think would look nice. I scanned the pattern in, and made a printer friendly pattern that you can download here or click the button below.

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I've been teaching a watercolor and a bookbinding class this semester, and I absolutely love it. It's great because I get paid to teach people about something I love, and take time in my schedule to create stuff. In the watercolor class I've been working on and off, mostly on representational imagery. It's been a long time since I've done that. Since high school almost.

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I'm teaching a bookbinding class as well and it has motivated me to work on a few projects. I just finished a Coptic bind that turned out nicely, I used some wallpaper that I got from the free fabric distribution a couple of months ago. It works really well with bookbinding!! I also really love that there's velvet on the paper, I just want to crawl into bed and cuddle with this book. I also got around to making a "planner" of sorts for my brother. Over Christmas break, I noticed that he uses small spiral notebooks for his planner, so I thought I would make a notebook case for the demonstration in my class. It turned out really well, I think it looks kinda manly. Rugged maybe?

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Valentine's day wasn't that special for us, since we spent pretty much the whole day apart. Chris had to work during the day, and I had my bookbinding class for 3 hours that evening. I did manage to make a few special treats for my sweetheart, and I'm very happy to report that they worked out really well!! During Christmas time there were a lot of tutorials on how to make your own marshmallows. Since I'm a huge marshmallow/peep fan, I've had this on my mind since then. I finally got the supplies and found the recipe. It was surprisingly easy! They taste so much better than store-bought marshmallows, and I like that the homemade marshmallows take on a square shape. It's just different. I couldn't find my food coloring to make the marshmallows a pink-ish red, so I guess I'll have to make them again. I also made a family favorite; molasses cookies. I don't think Chris has ever had molasses cookies before I made them, and I was very happy that he's just as big of a fan as I am. The marshmallow recipe can be found here. In the recipe it doesn't say to dip them in chocolate, but it added a lot to the marshmallows. I think they'll be very rich in a cup of hot cocoa. Below is the Molasses cookie recipe:  

Molasses Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

• 3/4 c. shortening (I like to do 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup greek yogurt)
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. cloves
• 1 t. cinnamon, ginger

Cream shortening & sugar, add egg. Beat well, add molasses. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to above. Roll into balls, then into granulated sugar. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

I found a fabulous tutorial to make your own bitty kimonos. I'm pretty sure with the tutorial instructions you could make an adult sized one. I'm tempted to try it, I just haven't found the right fabric for it. The fabric I used for the kimono was a 100% silk houndstooth that I found for free (oh yeah, fabulous find!). The tutorial (found here) didn't have instructions for a lining (which I needed for this particular fabric), but it wasn't hard. All you have to do is repeat everything in your liner fabric and sew right sides of the collar together, reverse, and top stitch around the sleeves and hem.