Sewing Kit Update.

A big thank you to everyone who purchased a sewing kit in the past week. There are 12 kits left in the first edition. So far we have raised $125 to donate to Kiva. In the next coming weeks I will post more information on the lending process and some entrepreneurs I am considering lending to. I am beginning to work on a second edition that will come out in late September. Stay tuned!

PGHC at So About What I Said.

Today I'm guest blogging for Melissa of So About What I Said. Roll on over to her blog to see some of my favourite things of late!

TOMs Gold Glitter Shoes.

Cute Embroidery.

Love the effect of all this little pointed embroidery stitches by Merriweather Council on etsy.

Eva Juliet.

How cute is this button water colour print by divine artist Eva Juliet?

Matirose Art.

Love these feather-topped girl paintings by Mati McDonough. The colours speak to me.

Claire Coles.

Beautiful interior collage and ceramic work incorporating vintage wallpaper and embroidery by UK-based artist Claire Coles.

The Wheatfield.

Gorgeous colours and floral paintings by The Wheatfield.

Recession Greeting Cards.

Awesome. 9SPOTMONK.

Leather Bracelets.

I love leather. I bought a piece of leather to try and sew into a pouch but I'm waiting on a presser foot for my machine. I would love to be able to make leather accessories like these bracelets by MZ Wallace Leather.

Love Mae Store.

Love Mae Store offers some incredibly cute and creative fabric wall decals. How fun would these dress up dolls be for a child's room (or MY room)?

A whale of a box.

Love them! I want to buy an Areaware animal box for everyone I know. The whale is my favourite but I am also partial to the polar bear, walrus and rhino. We all need a safe place for little treasures.

A reveal and a good cause.

I've been toying with the idea of putting together some sewing kits since last December when I made my first few samples. Since then it has been brought to my attention that having some essential sewing tools at home are useful for everyone from the occasional mender to the avid seamstress (or seamster!).

This first run of 40 kits are limited edition. They are both screen printed and sewn by hand. I wanted to use some classic materials and chose canvas, gingham and an industrial metal zipper. They include, what I think, are some essential tools those sewing at any level.

In addition, I wanted to contribute part of the sales of these kits to Kiva. For those of you are who are not familiar with Kiva they are an organization that combines micro-financing with the internet, allowing people to lend money directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries. For more information on how Kiva works visit their site here. I hope to get your input through PGHC on who to lend to first. The nice thing about Kiva is that your money is repaid to you, allowing you to re-lend to new entrepreneurs. $5 from each kit will be pooled and lent via Kiva.

The sewing kits are available through my etsy store, sammade.

Mini Notebooks.

I, like many others, enjoy well-designed stationery. This is why the mini notebooks dedicated to specific lists by 9SpotMonk are right up my alley. My favourites are the Gift log (perfect for collecting gift ideas year-round), the Gossip and the Groceries!

via Poppytalk.

GOLD!

When I was a kid I was obsessed with GOLD! or at least anything that resembled gold. I had quite the collection. After bookmarking several online treasures I began to see a trend. 19 years later and I'm still obsessed.

Clutch/Pillow/Pumps/Camera/Polish

Hey I like you: Simply Breakfast.

As much as I like this blog, I do not recommend that you read it right after you've woken up to bare cupboards and an empty refrigerator. You have been warned. Simply Breakfast is an ongoing series of breakfasts made, photographed and, I am assuming, consumed by photographer Jennifer Causey.

Meg Urbani.

I am really drawn to these prints from Meg Urbani's 'Along the Country Road' series. I'm tempted to buy two on stretched canvas for above our fireplace.

Im:mortal Collection.

I love everything by Im:mortal Collection, particularly their plains bag in cedar and their light points quartz necklaces (also lusting over that model's braid - grow hair, grow).

A love for cats that goes way back.

Found this in one of my keepsake boxes in my parent's crawl space.

Hey I like you: Awful library books.

For all my fellow book lovers, this blog will be right up your alley. Awful library books displays some real gems of the publishing world! I am thinking of submitting my copy of 'Getting high in natural ways' that we found in the lobby of our old apartment building (some suggestions include: 'having a good cry' and 'dancing').

My weekend.

My weekend away was really lovely and just what I had been hoping for this summer. The house we stayed at was a brilliant old farm house with lovely stone architecture surrounded by rivers, hills and fields. The weekend included tractor rides, a river float (which resulted in a lost car key), boston milkshakes at the Tastie Treat, a small town street dance, a very steep but satisfying hill climb and lots of eating and laughing.