Fabric Balls

I decided to make some fabric balls just because I thought it’d be fun. I looked all over the web and was finally able to find a pattern for these balls. I’m guessing most people think they’re easy enough that a pattern isn’t necessary.

The one in the back I made for my friend David. His b-day’s coming up and he’s turning 31 but I figured he’d enjoy a ball to appeal to the child in him. =) I made the one on the right for my sister just because I like giving her random things. The one on the left I made for my friend Don’s daughter. I’ve never met her but I’ve heard all about her, she’s 1 and seems adorable so I think she’d enjoy a ball. Here is a video of her unwrapping it. Soooooo cute!

 

Big Girl Make-up set

When I had made the ballerina play set for our friends’ kid, I made an additional one, thinking I’d give it to our niece. I just found out she’s turning nine and doesn’t play dress up anymore. Instead, she’s into make up and big girl stuff now. Imagine how much of an ass I would’ve looked walking in with a tutu. Anyway, I decided to make her a make up bag full of make up. I just ended up going to Target and picking up a bunch of different items: lip gloss, nail polish, blush, eye shadow and a brush set.

I finished off the bag with a vintage button a hot pink yo-yo that’s made with the same fabric as the lining.

I just wrapped it up in some blue tissue paper and pink ribbon to match the bag. She was super excited about her own make up bag.

 

Ballerina Play Set

I saw this tutu tutorial a few months ago and really wanted to make one. I don’t have a kid and sadly enough, I think I would be a bit of a freak if I made one for myself to wear around the house. Anyway, so I decided I would make one for our friend’s kid because we bought her some princess shoes for Christmas and Princess outfits for her birthday. I figured I would make her the tutu & then buy a leotard and some ballet shoes for a play set. I was going to wait for an occasion but I don’t really like giving gifts on actual occasions. I like giving IOUs or getting credits for future occasions.

I told some sewing friends that I was making a tutu and they warned me the tulle was going to be a bitch to sew. And indeed it was!

I used six different colors of tulle- gray, pink, peach, blue, purple, and pale yellow with little sprinkles of sparkles. I thought it looked nice and a little girl would really appreciate it. You can kinda see it in the picture below

Unfortunately, my tutu did not come out as well as the one on the Distressed blog. My first one was waaay too big as I used my own waist as a guide, minus a few inches. I don’t know how small a kid’s waist is supposed to be but apparently, it’s much smaller, like half the size. So now I have a tutu that’s almost my size. I did try it on and twirled around in it. Since it was smaller than my waist it was more like a tutu apron. Hmmm… I may have to keep it for myself after all.

I used the same pink grosgrain ribbon for the bow. The box is part of a set I bought from Costco and I think it matches perfectly with the play set.

 

All wrapped up!

The Argyle baby quilt is all wrapped up and ready for gifting. I chose the box and ribbon to match the quilt. I bought both the box and the ribbon from Costco. I love Costco! The box came in a stack of nesting boxes in different colors. Really great deal! The ribbon I bought later to match the gift.

(I’m putting the pictures in backwards order of when they were taken so it feels like you’re opening the gift =) I know, I’m cheezy.)

The “tissue” on the inside is a very light Japanese fabric. It’s so light and soft.

Anyway, the quilt’s all washed and finished and now I’m a bit sad to give it away. I almost don’t want to. =X

It took took a lot of time and creative folding to get the quilt inside that box and to present nicely. But now it fits perfectly so it was totally worth it. =) It looks like an obi.

 

Party!

My friend invited me to her girlfriend’s and sister’s 30th birthday party. Wow that’s confusing, right? So they’re having it at their new house and it’s going to be casino-themed. How cool! They’ve hired professional dealers to come with their professional sized tables and we get to play the games for tickets. At the end of the night you enter a raffle and the grand prize is a trip to Vegas.

So I’m super excited. I hope I win the raffle. I went to a party a few years ago where they had a casino theme. It was a corporate party though and I didn’t know normal people could hire dealers. But then again, I guess you can hire people to do just about anything.

So I’m really not that close to my friend’s girlfriend and sister and have no idea what they like. So what does a person who’s zippy-crazy get people for their birthdays. uh… ZIPPIES!

So this is for my friend’s girlfriend

And this is for my friend’s sister. I bought so much of these 2 fabrics because I was planning on using them as backing for a quilt but ended up going with something else. But then again, I really think the pink flowered one is too busy for a backing anyway. I like the backs of my quilts to look like a whole other quilt. Anyway, so lots of the fabric and now I have to find things to do with them. I’m afraid I’m going to get sick of it.

Here they are all wrapped up and ready for the party.

I just found two pairs of old pants I had at my parent’s house. One pair’s linen and another one is gray with white pinstripes. I’m planning on taking them apart and doing something with them but I’m not sure what yet. I’d like to do something different because a person can only do so many zippies. Suggestions?

On a completely different subject, about my first love actually… FOOD! I LOVE FOOD! Food, food paranphanelia, food porn (not actual porn involving food but like food mags & stuff… get it? food porn… stuff you enjoy). Anyway, I LOVE FOOD! So is it me or are there fewer good restaurants than there used to be? Or maybe my tastes are just changing. I used to go out to eat several times a week and now we rarely go out because there’s rarely a restaurant that we’re much impressed with anymore.

Our favorite restaurant in LA is definitely Urasawa. This could quite possibly be one of our favorite restaurants of all time. Hmm… perhaps I shouldn’t have put that on the web as it’s already getting a little harder to get reservations. But then again, not that many people read my blog so there isn’t really a chance of too much overexposure. Anyway, every meal I’ve had there is so perfectly executed. Basically, the chef is your personal chef for the evening. He prepares EVERYTHING you eat. It’s just absolutely amazing! It’s rare that you see someone so in love with their craft.

On a different scale, I went to a restaurant in Huntington Beach last week called Izakaya Zero. Well, I guess it’s not completely different because they’re both Japanese but Urasawa is super fancy traditional Japanese and Izakaya Zero is bar food/tapas/casual Japanese. Anyway, so the decor was really modern and I was initially pretty pessimistic as all the workers were white. That makes me think, trendy bad japanese fusion. And while it wasn’t traditional, it was really good. We had a popcorn shrimp that was similar to a tempura shrimp but much crispier. I think I could even venture to say that I prefer it over tempura shrimp =X. We also had a miso eggplant, softshell crab, edamame, and a salad. The best part of it was that it was really cheap. Most of the dishes were around $5-6 and the most expensive one, the crab I think, was $9. The beers were really reasonable; only $3 each. Oh and the workers were really cute! Drool… Anyway, great restaurant, cheap food. I wish there were more like it.

Another favorite restaurant I have in LA is Piccolo Paradiso in Beverly Hills. Super good chef’s menu. You really can’t beat the price at 5-6 courses at $55. I wanted to take my sister there for lunch tomorrow but I dont think they’re open for lunch =( I’ll have to blog in detail about that at a later date.