New things!

I was pretty sure I'd never sew up another doll again, but my shop is almost empty and I had a friend request a ballerina-themed doll. I'm kind of excited to start working again with silly fabric and lace.

I'm also thinking of adding a couple shirts to the shop, so if you're a size 34 bust, keep an eye out for those. There are also some new small bags being made from the fabric I designed recently.

Annnnd, some photos I took while my family was in town.

It's been way too long...

So, I know...I've been really bad about posting. I haven't been sewing. I've been working way too much. I've also been trying to get out more and exercise more and turn my apartment into a workspace that inspires me to create more.

I also hated blogging because I had such a hard time getting good photos of my projects. But, I recently bought a great camera, so I'm back in business!

I don't have any new projects to show you but I would like to share some photos from a recent hike with my new camera. I hope to start posting more soon!!

Back by Popular Demand

The bearded boyfriend! Hooray! I got a message from a previous customer on Etsy who bought 3 bearded men last year and asked for another one. These guys are always fun to make and cause many giggles.

Also, I went with Jake and our dogs to the Oregon coast (Cannon Beach) for the day yesterday. I have honestly never seen anything quite like it. So much better than the beaches in California. It already has a special place in my heart.

(Note: my new phone takes kick-ass photos!)

Lacey

Inspired by Kendi Everyday's post with a lace top, I'm currently working on piecing together some old lace I got from my mom to make a sheer pull over top similar to Kendi's. We'll see what happens!

I'm back!!!

Here's my new sewing station! I ended up moving into an apartment sooner than I expected (last Friday) and finally got all my unpacking done. That means that the sewing begins NOW! My next project is going to be making reusable grocery bags out of a shower curtain I won't be needing (or using - I'm so over navy blue). We'll see how it goes...

So far, Portland has been great. Beautiful, even. Yesterday I played tennis in the most GORGEOUS park ever. I've already met some people I like and Jake and I have explored various neighborhoods. I think I'll be here a while :)

Let me mention though, that I (not thinking about it) put a picture of me with long hair on meetup.com on a tennis meetup group page and instantly got 3 men saying they would be more than happy to meet up and play tennis. And if you think I'm overreacting, I met up with one yesterday and he happened to be a lot older than me (his profile has no picture) and mentioned almost right away:

Oldster: You look different than your profile picture.


Me: Well, my hair is short.


Oldster: Yeah, I think that's the only thing.

You think?! UGH! I won't even go into how awkward the rest of the time was. So I came home and had some wine and changed my profile to "I'M NOT LOOKING FOR BOYFRIENDS AND NO I WON'T CHANGE MY MIND, TRUST ME. I JUST WANT TO PLAY TENNIS"

And immediately got a message from "heidi" who said "is all caps necessary? seems like you might be speaking directly to someone"

Only if that someone has a penis, heidi. Thanks for your input. I changed it to "Just looking for tennis partners - no dates :) Thanks!!" this morning anyway. I hope she sees that smiley face and knows that I'm being sarcastic in her direction.

Sorry about the rant. Had to do it.

On to sewing!

We've Arrived

Well we really got here a week ago, but it's been a busy week full of loading/unloading packing/unpacking things.

I have to say, I am in love with Portland already. We've visited downtown, ridden the train, driven over all of the bridges. It's been a great week.

I won't be sewing for another couple of weeks since I still need to find a space for all that. But here are some snapshots I took with my phone of our various activities.

That's the stove I've been using to cook my breakfast...so awesome.

And We're Off!

On Monday we'll be loading our things into some shipping containers and driving to Portland!

This week has included a lot of packing and visiting some of our favorite places for the last time. Jake also took to me to see the Great Salt Lake before we go.

We got up to the shoreline and also drove up into the surrounding mountains to get a better view. Such a great way to spend one of our last days here.

So, I won't be posting for a while or sewing for probably a bit longer. But I'll be back!

Good to be home...

Well, Texas was great fun. Lots of good food and good drink, and I finally got to meet my long-lost cousin (?) that I've been chatting with online for probably 10 years but never met. I also flew for the first (and second) time in my life and was thoroughly terrified for some parts.

I had a wild weekend with some very much-needed girl time and now it's back to the grind. I'm glad to be back home with my dogs and Jake but not so excited about the ton of work I have to catch up on...

Sewing might have to wait a couple days while I get back into the groove of things, but I promise you I'm gonna tear it up once I get to it!

Just a Note

Ok, so I won't be sewing this week or blogging much since I'll be spending all of my time cranking out work so I can have Friday off so I can go to Texas. I know. I'll tell you about it later, Mom.

See ya! and enjoy your weekends, I'll have lots of photos (hopefully) when I get back.

photo courtesy Texas Liberal

The "Grand" Finale

Get it? Because the end of our trip was an adventure at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I still can't fathom just how massive the Canyon is. And for someone with a fear of heights, it was definitely hard to walk out even on the ledges with railings. I think I ran away from the edge twice when the wind picked up. But, aside from being a weenie, I loved it.

Greatest anniversary present :) Thanks, Jake. Love you!

Vacation Update

We're halfway through our vacation and so far we've done tons of hiking, some canoeing and spelunking, and off-roading.

Elloh Handmade x The Heart Touch Project

I worked with The Heart Touch Project last year while I still lived in California. I worked with the founder Shawnee Smith as a freelance designer doing some pro-bono work. I really liked Shawnee and the other volunteers that I met and was moved by their motivation.

From their site:
The Heart Touch Project is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the training and delivery of compassionate and healing touch to homebound or hospitalized, men, women and children.


I was especially moved by this because I remember when both of my parents did hospice work - they worked on call and long hours all of the time giving their care to other people and I always thought it was very noble. I still do. So for me to work with Shawnee again and in this way - through my creations that I put a lot of love into to give to people who can then love my creations - is really exciting for me.


So, I'd like to introduce you to Healing Hearts plush toys.

I have so many scraps from sewing my plush toys that I can't use them right away. I also don't want to let them go because I feel like they can still serve a purpose. So I decided to use them to make dolls to sell in my Etsy store and then donate the profits to The Heart Touch Project since I've already worked with them and I feel more personally invested than with any other non-profit organization.


The dolls even have a special Elloh x Heart Touch tag.

I'm really glad to be giving back. So go ahead, take a look at Heart Touch and all of the good they do. And then if you want, donate. And not through me...feel free to do it on their site. 


Caring and healing touch is such an important thing - vital to human beings. I'd just like to support them in their work. 

Hooray!

Well guess what? I'm Burdastyle's Featured Member this week! It was pretty exciting to get to my computer and see myself on Burdastyle's blog. So go and read it and let me know what you think!

Lotso Triangles

Finally finished my table runner! Yes, it took a lot of time and yes, it was also sort of a pain in the butt. But (hah) I love it.

I also forgot to blog about the gem you see below. My dad has always been a carpenter but these past couple years he has been making small structures. He brought the cottage below for me a couple weeks ago. I have a deep, deep love for miniatures and dollhouses. Every time I peek into this little cottage I get an immediate feeling of curiosity and almost feel like I'm looking into another world. I love the rustic feel of his creations and I keep thinking I should fill it with stuff but I really like it the way it is.

My Dad doesn't do much promotion for himself online so I had to take the opportunity to show you all.

New Location

That's right! My plush goods are now on display and for sale at Lemea's Gift Gallery on Main Street in American Fork.  Now I just have to work on making my space a little prettier, but it's a good start.

Sending/Receiving

This week I sent my little nerdy rabbit friend all the way to Florida for a show at Eve-N-Odd Gallery. The show will be April 9th, it's dedicated to bunnies, and it'll last a month. I hope he enjoys his journey!

I also received a very welcome gift from my mom in the mail: a huge box of felt and assorted fabrics. And the little smiley face in the "O" was so simply stated that it made me giggle for a while. Thanks, Mom and Dad!