Here she is, my Sugar Snap!

Yeah, I know, enough selvedge already!

Of course  I can't reveal everything, but I can give you a good shot of these since you've already seen the print version:

And here, let me wrangle up a couple of peeks: 

(Note to Self: don't wait till the last day to take pictures, because the last day may be gray and your pictures might not look the way you like them to. hmmph)

ahhhhh........

Sugar Snap will be available in August. That's just a few months away, so start brainstorming! I can't wait to see what you will make with these prints! Can. Not. Wait!

Oh, and remember that other project I mentioned  I was working on with Free Spirit?
Well, I am pleased to announce that Free Spirit Fabric now has a blog! (Banner and buttons designed by yours truly!)
We are still working a few things out, but you could head on over and subscribe and say hi, if you like! You know, after you say hi to me.

Thanks for all the love yesterday.

xo, mba 

 Well, hello!

Hey, do you guys read sfgirlbybay?
Well I do, and what a neat surprise it was to see a photo of my bathroom shelf  in yesterday's post !

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A good friend of mine got engaged recently (congratulations, a!)
It reminded me that I have yet to share this vintage wedding cake topper I got at an estate sale last month:

Isn't it awesome?

I've never seen anything like it, have you?  

The base: 

Have you noticed that some of my photos lately have this pink background instead of my usual white?
I am trying to diversify. I still prefer the white, but it's good to experiment. 

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You know how I am expecting my first strikeoffs of Sugar Snap in a few weeks?

Well, I was just thinking about it the other day, and kinda just letting my mind meander around. I was thinking about what it will be like to hold my fabric, what it will be like at Market ... And suddenly I got this rush of excitement  and disbelief: I have a line of fabric coming out with Free Spirit! I still kinda feel like it hasn't really hit me yet.  Maybe I will really believe it  once I am holding those softy soft fabrics in my hands.
Soon, soon.

Oh yeah, stay tuned for an announcement from Free Spirit about that other  project I was working on with them! Should be any day now. 

Additionally, FS and I are joining forces on flickr  and now my  group Free Spirit Fabrics (and Rowan) is the Official group for all Free Spirit Fabrics! If you aren't already a member, I encourage you to join the pool and add your photos - Free Spirit wants to see what you are making with their fabrics!
I haven't made the announcement yet in the pool, so you get a little heads up, isn't that nice? 

xo, m 

Here it is! I am so excited to finally be able to share this with you!

A sneak peek of  my debut line  (available in August 2008) for Free Spirit Fabrics:

Sugar Snap! 

I made it for you.
I can't wait to see what you will do with it!

Yep, more textures. 

This is a cement urn that I got at a yard sale a while back.
I have shown this one before, too, but not so close up.

More textures from yummyland:

This  old  tank  lives behind the garage . I'm told it used to hold well water  for the garden. 

I love it.

More wandering with the camera...

I rescued this from the free shop at the dump:

Rusty garden fencing. Perfect. 

I am going to take a length of it,  clip little things to it and use it as a bulletin board.

Oooh, just thought of this: I'll form some of it into a chandelier shape and weave white christmas lights through it! Yes!! ( Honey, maybe  that's the unique lighting for the kitchen we've been looking for?)

Some of my favorite things all together in this one, above: old paint, lichen, and viney tendrils.

Hmmm, tendril. That's a great word, isn't it? It's the name of one of the prints in my line! (sneak peak coming soon, for real.)

One thing that I just love about plants is this: they want to live. Look at the survival technique of this vine! The tendrils, the little pads that attach to surfaces. It never fails to impress me.

The garage doors.

Walking around the yard with the camera just makes me so happy. These textures, the colors, the history and the decay.

Pitter-pat. 

Here you can see why I wanted to be outside that day:

February sun. Silhouettes laying over the blue sky. Loose fiber-fill wisp of cloud.

Just look at the smouldering colors on this old thermometer. I practically want to eat it.

This is the other door to the garage.

Eventually, this freestanding building will become my very own shop!
Our property is zoned for commercial use as well as residential, which is one of the reasons we bought it.
When I was trying to choose my blog name, I decided that I wanted it to also be the name that we would use for the shop. After a few rounds of brainstorming, I finally dreamed up Yummy Goods. In time, we will remodel the garage and create our little magical world, and this website will function as our online store in addition to my personal website and blog.

Maybe someday you'll come to Cape Cod and stop in for a Yummy visit!

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!

I am still soaking it all in.
The whole time that I worked on the line, it was hard to believe it was really going to come to fruition.
Thank you, truly, for being a part of this. Your comments and emails make my day. Your enthusiasm warms my heart and inspires me!  

I hope you will stick around and let me get to know you!

Special thanks to fellow Free Spirit designer Tanya Whelan for mentioning me on her gorgeous blog!

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and now back to our regularly scheduled program:

I had a killer day thrifting with my honey last Friday.

I don't know if you can read that little white sticker, but it says TWO BUCKS!

They just need a little cleaning up and some new laces.

They fit perfectly!

I can't wait to wear these with a cute dress and tights!

Listening to Antje Duvekot , Kris Delmhorst, Emilia Dahlin.

I have my own fabric line coming out in August.

With Free Spirit!

So, guess who got the official go ahead?

See you tonight!

xo, m 

My honey surprised me a couple of weeks ago with these:

Beautiful, luscious peachy-orange roses.

Now, I have to tell you: my honey is awesome, but he rarely gives me flowers.
It was a special occasion.

More on that soon. Actually, tomorrow I am expecting the final approval to share my news! Stay with me! I truly am sorry for dragging this all out for so long. I hope you're not gonna be like >yawn< when I finally spill it!

Some of the stems had fresh new baby leaves:

Here, you can see it better in this one:

I've read that you can  grow a new rose bush from stems from a store-bought bouquet. It's just propagating from a stem cutting! You have to use a cutting that is at least as thick around as a pencil. I think you cut it into 2-3 inch lengths, wet and dip in rooting hormone, then put in a growing medium. These are by no  means comprehensive instructions, just wanted to let you know since I always think of it when I am lucky enough to be given roses! I usually do cut some and throw them in some water, just in case they'll root the lazy way. They haven't yet, but that didn't stop me from trying again this time! Maybe someday I will do it the proper way.

And since Thor cannot resist...

I love this one:

This is what they look like now:

So, a little bit more on 2007.

I was down down down late last winter after all those rejections I told you about. I have a history of depression, so getting the blues is scary to me because I know where it can lead. Especially compounded by the cold and dark of winter!
I was feeling pretty beaten down. I had to stop reading my favorite blogs because I just felt too jealous and defeated when I would see the success that they had. ( I still struggle with this!)

Some of the things I was being rejected for  weren't even the things I necessarily really wanted to be doing! After a bunch of design rejections, I  approached a regional publication about doing some illustration. We had some good back and forth emails and submissions, but when it came down to it...they ended up choosing clipart instead of my work! Well, that was demoralizing, to say the least.

After much sulking, I finally rallied a bit and thought I would just do some handmade stuff for a while instead of focusing on illustration and design licensing. I have always painted and made jewelry. Really, since middle school. Every now and then I would get the bug to try and sell my work, but I never really followed it up.  It has always been something I do for the pure pleasure of it, the expression and release I get (from painting) and the love of giving friends my handmade jewelry. Oh yeah, and wearing it myself!

I started this blog and soon after signed up to sell  on etsy.  I made some jewelry and did some paintings, but pretty quickly I realized  it just wasn't the time for me to be trying to sell that stuff. I like to do those things for fun.  Trying to sell them and learn etsy and navigate the blues was, frankly,  just more than I really felt up for. It took the fun out of it.

I started to ask myself What do I really want to do? Enough of this messing around... just go for the thing you really want...Quit wasting your energy on all of these little back-up plans and just go for it!

So I did. 

And after months and months of fretting, waiting, working, revising...I am almost done!

Wow! One hundred posts!

That many?
And,
That's all?
Funny how it seems like so many and so few at the same time. 

I have finally met the milestone of Ye Olde 1ooth Poste Giveaway!

I am going to put the important parts in bold, for the skimmers.

I was just up in my workroom trying to figure out what I could put together for you. I was overwhelmed! I have so much stuff- I didn't know where to begin. I know I want to give you supplies rather than something I have made. Half of the fun of all of this is getting to see what you will make! I was going through my fabric, paper and jewelry supplies and just sat literally sat and stared for a while. I just can't make up my mind!
So, how about this: you decide!

You all know how this works, right? Go ahead and leave me a comment on this post and I will randomly choose one person to receive a yummy bundle of goodness.

*In your comment, please specify whether you would like a sampling from my sewing stash, paper piles or jewelry junk!

*Also, would it be too much to ask for you to leave me a little tidbit about why you visit yummygoods?

*Or let me know something you would like to see more of. Pretty please?

*I encourage you to  to leave your link so we can all get to know each other!

(The cutoff for the giveaway  will be Sunday, December 30th  at midnight.)

I have to admit that doing this giveaway makes me feel a bit awkward,  like I am inviting a bunch of people to a party, not sure if anyone is going to show up!

I know I promised you a little background on what I've been hinting at all these months, but that will be happening in the next few days.
I wanted to get the 100th post hoopla taken care of, ( as if there will be hoopla! ha!) then I can really relax and look back at the year and tell you all about it.
Ok?
The big reveal is imminent, please bear with me!

I don't usually use bold (I am usually much more of an italics kind of girl)  but it's kind of fun.  I won't make it a habit though, it could probably get pretty annoying, drawing attention to all these words just to make you pronounce them in your head with more emphasis. Oh dear. Must cease.

****And now, please enjoy some randomness in the color blue****

Journal page from 2000 .Blocks stamped with an eraser, acrylic paint:

Journal page. Some funny little papercutting I do from time to time:

Journal page. Pen drawing with watercolor background:

Listening to:
Ingrid Michaelson
Amy Winehouse
April Barrows 

Nighty night.