Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Haute Handbags Feature! Yay!

Hi Friends! I have the best news ever...I'm published in a lovely magazine - Haute Handbags Spring 2014 issue. Ahhh!

Haute Handbags is a lovely magazine from Stampington & Company. It showcases creative and lovely artists who specifically make bags, purses, totes, and more.  I just stopped into Barnes in Nobles today (a weekly routine of mine), and long behold in the magazine craft section, it was staring back at me! So if you want to check it out, it's available where books are sold or you can order a copy directly from Stampington here!

I can't believe how the pictures turned out, pretty, cute and fabulous!! I had so much fun contributing to Haute Handbags and it's such an honor to be featured along with amazing artists. The entire Spring issue is just lovely. So go out and pick up an issue if you can! I can't wait for you to scroll on and take a peek!



Haute Handbags Spring 2014 Cover -It's me, "Karen Pratt"!



Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Table of  Contents


Haute Handbags Spring 2014  - Dainty Floral Bag

 
Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Creamy Floral Tote and Cute Little Bagette


Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Cute Dainty Purse and Cute Lace and Linen Tote




Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Pages 14-15



Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Pages 16-17



Haute Handbags Spring 2014 - Pages 18-19


If you are interested in any of the bags published, they are available in my etsy store here

Thanks for stopping by dear friends!


Yours truely,


Creamcraft

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Springtime Vintage Marketplace Recap!

Hi Dear Friends! Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. I just cleaned up the last of my craft room from The Vintage Marketplace event. It looks like a pinata full of craft supplies exploded in my room. I have a lot of new things going on (which of course I will share with you dear friends), but first, here is a recap from the show a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

Me and my sister's (Kathleen) booth - Cream Cottage Chic


Cute displays in our booth. I made the pink fence (yes I am handy with a hammer).


Cute products - my sister's lovely painted mason jars, tins, and clothes pins, herb markers, bags, and fresh flowers in our booth.


Cute products - Tissue Pouches, Lavender Pouches, Pin Cushions





Our infamous "Water Station". Apparently, we were known for our free water.



Cute display of fresh flowers



Kathleen's lovely painted tin cans and my vintage honey cup plants.


Me and my sister Kathleen worked really hard on designing our booth this time around. It took us six hours to set up, but it was well worth the time and effort. We really felt it was cute, pretty, and girly. I sewed the banner with vintage and Japanese fabrics. All of the display pieces (desk, bookcase, wire rack, etc.) are from my craft and guest room, so you can understand why it took me a week and half to put it all back! Overall, we had soooo much fun and met a lot of wonderful people. 

I can't get over how nice all of the vendors were and the gals who run the show - Christy and Rita. They're support and camaraderie definitely makes the event lovely and fun!  Here are some of the lovely vendors at the show:

Entrance to The Vintage Marketplace


My dear friend Earth Cookie featuring Jessica


My lovely neighbor Liz @ My Little French Boutique
 
The Shabby Chateau, Le Petit Boudoir, Moras, Junque Yard Dolls






Pretty springtime displays






The next show is June 6th-8th at "The Oaks" in Fallbrook, CA. You can find more information here or you can follow on the gals Facebook page here. Hope to see you there!!


Creamcraft

Monday, February 24, 2014

Springtime At The Vintage Marketplace!

Hi Friends! The Vintage Marketplace is back for the Springtime! Me and my sister will be there along with lovely vendors showcasing their wares! The theme of the show is "Through the Garden Gate" and we have been working on lovely springtime themed items. The show is March 7th - March 9th rain or shine!




Here is a sneak peak of what me and my sis have been up to:


Handmade French Lavender Pouches

Handmade Tissue Pouches


Re-purposed coffee tins and jars (made by my sis!)




Re-purposed Jewelry Box and Lovely Glass bottles
Handmade Herb Markers

Lovely Vintage Vignettes (made by my sis!)




If any of you dear friends are in the area March 7,8, or 9th, please stop by The Vintage Marketplace in Fallbrook, CA. I believe it's going to be a lovely spring day. Oh yes, we skipped winter and went straight into Spring out here in California. How do I know, I saw butterflies flying around the other day!

See you real soon!!

CreamCraft


Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Heart Day!

Hi Friends! Happy Valentines Day to you!


Image from Free Pretty Things for You


Me and the hubs celebrated valentines the weekend before (to avoid the craziness and high priced dinners!), but he still got me roses today and I baked him the best Chocolate Chip Cookie ever. I got this recipe from the browneyedbaker, which is sourced from The New York Times. I've scoured books, online, everywhere for the best chocolate chip cookie and I swear, this is the holy grail of them. Try it for your sweetheart or heck eat it for yourself (I've been...oops). 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever!


The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever (via The Brown Eyed Baker/New York Times)

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8½ ounces) cake flour
1 & 2/3 cups (8½ ounces) bread flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 & 1/3 cups (20 ounces) dark chocolate chips, or semisweet (I used these) or milk chocolate chips
Sea salt, for sprinkling - optional


DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Place the dough in a large plastic zipper bag and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours. I actually didnt follow this step because I couldn't wait that long! I did however refrigerated for about an hour and they turned out fine and yummy.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
4. Scoop gold sized balls of dough and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have six mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 12 minutes ( recipe says 18 minutes, but I found 12 minutes is the perfect chewy texture I prefer). Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Browneyed Baker noted she used all-purpose flour instead of the cake flour and hers turned out great. I bake a lot, so luckily, I had cake flour. I probably wouldn't replace the bread flour though, as I think this may be why the cookie is magical (probably to do with the higher gluten content than in regular flour).
 
Enjoy with a nice cold glass of milk!

Next up, I'm working on a lovely quilt for one of my friends soon to be bundle of joy. I'll post the preview soon!

Hearts,
CreamCraft




Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Crafty Excursion and my New Scissors!

Hi Friends! A couple of weeks ago, I had a fun filled day with my sister out in her neck of the woods. We hit up crafty locations, book shopping (my favorite), and had a pretty cute lunch. 

I've always wanted to check out The French General out in Los Angeles, so that we did! It has been a dream of mine to see her store, and it did not disappoint!

The French General Store

The French General is a wonderful company that sells antique french goods, ephemera, beads, jewelry findings, fabric, she also has published books out there as well.

An hour and a half later my sister and I emerged with wonderful pieces to make jewelry, french badges, and paper crafting items. I can't wait to get started on the earrings from one of the kits I purchased!

My Goodies from French General

We had lunch at a wonderful farm-to-table cafe in old town San Gabriel near the Mission called Alexandras Table. She makes delicious fresh seasonal sandwiches, salads, and soups, french press coffee, and delicious cookies and such.


Alexandra's Table

Did I mention how cute this place is too? It's decorated with cheery colors, and she also sells gourmet foods there as well.

 
Gourmet Foods and Goods for Sale


Pretty Tabletop Decor

I loved this soup - Zuchinni and Potato Soup. Yummo!

Zucchini and Potato Soup
 
Book shopping finds - antique and new. I'm currently reading Susan Branch's new book - A Fine Romance and I'm in love with this book!  It's basically her diary of her trip to England. I highly recommend this one. A New England Nun and Other Stories is a funny one. Basically about women who sew and drink tea all day (hmmm.. sounds familiar). 

Antique and new books

When I got home, I received my Japanese scalloped pinking shears!!! I've searched high and low for these darn scissors. Unfortunately, these are not available in your average craft or sewing shop. Sure there are scrapbooking scalloped scissors out there, but not ones for fabric. I found them on Etsy, and sadly, this was the only pair the seller had. You can find more made from Germany and such just by searching on Etsy for Scalloped Scissors.


Scalloped Scissors


What am I gonna do with these you ask - everything and anything! These will add a cute girly touch to some of my projects. Wait and see!!


See you real soon!

CreamCraft

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

A Little Friend for a Friend and a Sneakpeek

Hello Friends! During the holidays, I handmade dolls for my little friends as gifts. I have twin nieces, so of course, I made them twin dolls. In this case, this doll is for my childhood friends cute daughter Ayla. Here she is...

Little Friend Doll

Little Friend Doll

I love making dolls, so I decided to make limited edition "Mori Girl Dolls". What the heck is a Mori Girl you ask? Well if you look it up on Google, it's the "Japanese Girl of the Forest Style". Huh? Yes, I'm kinda obsessed with anything and everything Japanese (all the fabric used in my bags, yep Japanese).It's pretty much a cute, girly, sometimes grandma chic style. This is a style I follow and frankly, my husband says I'm weird, but hey I like it and I'm gonna stick with it. I'm still toying with the design, but I want them to have a cute outfit, leather boots, and a satchel of some sort. 


Mori Girl Dolls and Mini Pincushions

I'm also designing new bagettes, cross-body bags with a tablet insert, and cute mini pincushions.

Ideas for New Bags

Don't forget to stop by Earth Cookie Creations for my little bagette give away. I think it ends today.




See you real soon!

CreamCraft

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Happy New Year and a Friendly Giveaway from Earth Cookie Creations!

Hello dear friends! It's been awhile since my last post. I hope you had a wonderful holiday. The holidays were crazy, but fun fun fun! I had to sew a bunch of gifts, cook and bake, wrap presents,family parties..whoosh! I'm sad it's over but excited for what the New Year 2014 will bring! I have some new ideas for my shop and I'm gearing for the Spring Vintage Marketplace in March (fill you in on the details later).

My Handmade Christmas Tree


Dolls I made as present for my little friends

On another note, my dear friend Jessica, over at Earth Cookie Creations is having a sweet posting about me and my store with a give away from me! I met Jessica from The Vintage Marketplace about a year or two ago. It was friends at first sight! She always seems to have the exact thing I'm looking for at her booth.  She is an awesome person, and gave me and my sister the boost to participate in TVM. Go check her out:

Earth Cookie Creations 

I hope to post a vignette of ideas for my upcoming spring product line in about a week. See you real soon! 

Best wishes,
CreamCraft