MKissa Creations

Life, Crafts and Kids in Vacation Land


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New Year – No Waste

D8Sa5iNdR6+DRcMwh%JBww  I’m introducing some new products to my craft fair show line this season that center around a less wasteful lifestyle. We recently made a cross country move and the amount of decluttering and trashing that we did before we left is something that I am actually ashamed of.

We have always been someone eco minded and have cloth diapered both of our children, tried to you cloth napkins, and recycled what we could. On moving day our house was still filled with so much stuff that we didn’t need, and when it came down to deciding whether or not to move it across the country, turns out we didn’t really want it either.

The experienced changed us. We had a new outlook. We had to stop buying things we throw out!

We have moved into a small beach cottage and are trying to scrimp and save everywhere we can so that we can buy a place here in the next year or so. First step… no more single use paper/plastic products in the kitchen. This means saying goodbye to paper towels, saran wrap, and plastic bags. No waste/Reusable and easily accessible towels has been the first venture. They are in the same place the paper towels used to be which makes the transition a little easier. I’ve started with one side soft flannel and one side terry cloth, which makes them great to use as napkins as well as they are soft on your face and hands.

Once the craft shows are finished for the holiday season, these should be up in my etsy shop, but for now, here is a preview of them and  a little insight on to why this is my current sewing project.

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Wow. I cannot believe how productive of a month I am having. I mean, I really set out to have one, but I am actually doing it, lists are getting crossed off, projects are being completed, rooms are being cleaned, and life is improving.

On Satruday I went to a birthday party for my friend Jenny’s daughter’s 3rd birthday. What a trip that my friend has a 3-year-old, but, of course I did not plan ahead of time and had no gift as of Friday night at 5. Sooo… I got my shift covered at the pizza place and headed to Joann’s. Oh my gosh, it has been almost 3 whole months since I purchased any fabric. It was hard to go in there and get back out only buying what I needed… oh the pretties…

Six and a half hours later I came out of my sewing room with these two items. The dress is a McCalls pattern. I made it in a size 5 because Miss Mackenzie is tall and is already wearing a 4T. The purse is just a freehand project, both the princess fabric and the purple lining are sparkley.
Princess and the Frog Dress

Little girls love things to put their things in…
Princess Bag

Theeeeeen… I finished the MAN’s LA Kings scarf… BEFORE HOCKEY PLAYOFFS… WOOT!!!
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As always… you can click the phots to see them larger.


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Holiday gifts

This was finished before the holidays but it was the last gift I gave out. I can finally post the pictures. I made three of these sets, with different colors and themes, but all of the others were made last minute… so there are no pictures.

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The pattern is the Flirty Skirty from The Apron Lady Sewing Designs http://www.weekendkits.com/apron-lady-flirty-skirty-pattern.html They worked up super quick and I made matching oven mits for each apron and everyone seemed to love them. Now I just need to make myself one… haha… perhaps after I clean my sewing room. It is once again a mess.


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Just a Few Snapshots…

of what I have been up to. For some holiday gifts this year I made some pot holders/hot plates for a few family and friends. I used some of Jennifer Ofenstein’s patterns. I really like the way that they turned out. They were quick, easy, fun, and well received. I also managed a few aprons and matching oven mits. I only took a picture of one of the sets and that gift has still yet to be given… but I will post pictures of them as soon as I give the gift.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Sweets Hot Plate/Pot Holder

Wonky Tree Hot Pad/Pot Holder

Patterns for both designs can be found at sewhooked.org


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Post Halloween Post

WOW! Halloween was a blast this year. A little busy, but, all in all, good fun. The last few days I felt a cold coming on, but refused to accept it. Well… today I was forced to deal with it and am at home from work drinking fluids and watching bad TV.

I figure I will get my Halloween pictures posted before everyone switches into Christmakkah mode. I worked hard on our costumes this year, and am really happy with the results. I made the shirt for my dirndl and I made the vest and pants for the MAN’s Sam Adams costume. They were the perfect costumes for bar hoping as all of the drunks recognized the pair of us. 🙂 Our friends were the Leg Lamp and Ralphie from a Christmas story and an Oompa Loompa.

We had a fantastic time. There are 4 bars in Old Town Orange, in the Circle/Plaza so we did a mini crawl with our little group. The bartender at Haven Gastropub gave us free shots (under the condition that our Oompa Loompa friend danced for 20 seconds while the rest of us sang a song for her. FUN! The Oompa Loompa was super popular and everyone wanted to take pictures with her. The leg lamp rocked in the costume contest at Paul’s Cocktails and won third place. At O’Hara’s Pub a little person came up to the Oompa Loompa and accused her of stealing her costume. It was definitely a good laugh for all. Nothing too exciting happened at the District Lounge, but there was definitely some good music to be had.

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My HP pumpkin. I used Jennifer Ofenstein’s HP block pattern (can be found at http://www.sewhooked.org) with a few modifications so that the pumpkin pieces would stay in the right spots.
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Reusable Shopping Bags

At our house we are committed to reducing our impact and have switched from paper napkins to cloth, we no longer buy paper towels, we compost and we use reusable shopping bags. I made two new reusable shopping bags for a swap.

The first one I affectionately named the watermelon bag for obvious reasons, was made from some scrap fabrics, the green I got at the Crate and Barrell outlet for about $0.05 and the pink came from Jo-Ann’s for about $0.25. Score! I really didn’t want to give it away. The second bag was a stash buster, just some cool fabrics I had laying around.

The watermelon bag…

The apple bag…


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More holiday gifts…

Cork Wreath. BF and I made three of these this year for various family members and friends. Upcycled corks are boiled and dried before glued on to the wreath. I made personalized bags for all three of them too.
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Over Thanksgiving I taught my BF’s niece how to crochet and then her x-mas wish list, to my delight, included crochet items. So I made this case for her hooks and a new hook. She is 12. This is my first ever quilted project. I just dove in. Didn’t really use a tutorial, I just kinda winged it. Turned out pretty much the way I wanted it to.
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