red anthurium blossom
It is spring in and outside our house, finally
We are soooo happy1
The anthurium plant even celebrated with us by blooming (which it hasn't done in years)
What a celebration....
=-)
tulips in can
We have tulips galore outside..
It is such a festive thing to behold!!!!
The earth is smiling....
adorable headband with flower
Even flowers in our hair.
Isn't this an adorable flower headband.....???
I love spring!!!!!
Crystelle Handbags
CrystelleBoutique was formerly known as
Crystelle Handbags
"Home of the Famous Potato Purse"
This was our logo tag back then
Crystelle Boutique
We have a new logo tag: Crystelle Boutique
"My Man Cookies"
Thought I'd share this family favorite recipe....
These cookies are my hubbies' very favorites…. Always have been… Always will.... His Mom used to make for him, and now we do…..
At one point the kids referred to them as “Mad Man’s Cookies” but they deny this today…. =)
· 1 cup shortening
· 2 eggs
· 2 tsp vanilla
· 1 cup sugar
· 1 cup brown sugar
Cream together first five ingredients.
· 1 cup sifted flour
· 1 tsp soda
· 1 tsp salt
· 2 cup oatmeal
· 1 cup coconut
· 1 cup nuts (optional)
Add other ingredients. Blend. Drop by tablespoons (or larger) onto cookie sheet and flatten a little
Bake 12 minutes ~ 350° F
Do not over-cook.
Soooo yummy.....
Bree and Casey at work in front of THE cutest house ever
We had a photo shoot with the photographers last week...
And the weather was soooo cooperative....
It was incredible..... Not too hot, not too cold.
Not too sunny, not too drab-by.
Just right...
Couldn't have wished for nicer weather...
We were so fortunate....
Taking turns taking pictures
Our photographers are soooo nice!
It is just a pleasure to hang out with them...It's like hanging out with good friends...We just laughed and talked the whole time...Their names are Bree and Casey from the Frame Photography.If you ever need a photographer in South East Idaho, give them a call.....They will do a GREAT job for you....You will be super happy with the results.....
Selvage Edge Hair Clip!!!!
What's nice is that they are both photographers, and so they take turns shooting, and arranging and doing all the other stuff that needs to be done to get some fabulous photo's.....
They work as a team and they help each other out to get the best results...
I am soooo lucky they wanted to do this book with me....
And.....
................check out Bree's hair clip....
She made it out of selvage edges, inspired by the whole idea...
Isn't it adorable.....?????
And she mentions the burlap rose I give away to lots of customers......
I hadn't even gotten around to blogging about that...and I've been doing that for months...
The flower is a rose made out of a burlap strip.
Super cute if worn on your jacket, in your hair, or on your purse.....
You can learn how to make your own burlap rose by visiting short my tutorial-video right here.....
The next ump-teen customers will get a burlap rose with their
potato sack order....Well,
KimboThanks so much for drawing attention to it...You're the best.....!!!!
To make your own burlap rose, just watch the short how-to-video above.
Hi there! Nice Easter egg!!!
Ok, so the weather isn't always very predictable around here.
Easter turned out quite nice, which was a BIG pleasant surprise,
but before and after that it has been quite blustery....
a blustery day
The wind blows a lot around here, and I am grateful for my nice warm house.....
wow!!!! snow is soooo pretty
We also had snow, just last week. Very pretty snow.
But for some reason the kids were NOT excited to see it...
Explain that to me!
(the date was April 29)
Hmmm......
Go figure...
water-tower in Idaho Falls
But we love it here!!!! The sun shines a LOT...!!!
Even in the winter...
Except of course, when it's overcast....
our backyard on April 29....
But we love it here anyway...
That's my story...
And I'm sticking to it....!!!!!!
=) Crystelle
It took me about a year of extensive sewing and experimenting before I discovered some ways to sew with a potato sack and MAKE IT LAST......!!!
I started out trying to sew true vintage potato sacks into modern-day purses.....
Wow! That was a great disappointment, because the "old" jute fivers were just not strong enough to withstand the attention..... I was sooo sad! I thought I had to give up my idea of making potato sack purse. Then it hit me: I should use "new" or gently used potato sacks...!!!!
That made a big difference! The handbags I made were just CUTE and FUN and so different!:)
Melissa Handbag - free sewing pattern
Unfortunately, after some use, they started showing wear.... {Well, it isn't like carrying around a LEATHER purse, or something like that.... But still, I wanted to make improvements....} The individual fibers of the the burlap would get snagged easily, and the purse would loose some of its appeal after just a few months of use. Again, I was so very sad....!
After extensive experimenting and much trial and error, I came up with some methods that make these fibers stand up quite well to normal everyday wear and tear. The tips are all included in a PDF e-book that I now give away free. I strongly encourage you to follow these instructions as I wouldn't want you to be disappointed with your final product not holding up after you have put so much time and effort into making it cute and creative....
| potato_sack_preparation_tricks____2009_crystelle_boutique.pdf |
| File Size: | 566 kb |
| File Type: | pdf |
Download File
Rachel Handbag - Free Sewing Pattern
Downloadable potato sack prep tips file is above....
Just click on it, and download it to your computer.....
AND....
Please keep me posted on what you are making and have made....
Looking forward to hearing from you!
(and seeing pictures....!!!!)
Have a great potato sack sewing day!
=) Crystelle
Haute Handbags, Autumn 2010
I am such a lucky girl....
The editor of Haute Handbags Magazine is a darling.
Her name is Beth Livesay,
and she is a sweet as can be.
Now I must make this disclaimer: I thought she was sweet BEFORE the team decided to put one of my bags on the cover of the autumn 2010 issue of Haute Handbags!
It was quite a treat, though, and I consider myself a very lucky girl....
I guess I said that before....
Haute Handbags Pages 6 - 7
Anyway:
I you would like a FREE copy of the pattern used for this bag, just drop me a note at
this link......See ya! Looking forward to hearing from you!
And thanks for stopping by!
Crystelle
