Sunday, May 24, 2009

A Little Blast From the Past

Here's a little something I wrote a while ago. Hope you enjoy!

MY FIRST TIME

I had never done anything like this in my life. I admit I felt uncomfortable and skittish. Sensing my anxiety, his hand grazed my arm, leading me over to where he wanted me. When I saw the tub of soapy water, I must have hesitated because he took hold of my shoulders and coaxed me some more.

"Come on. The water is nice and warm. I promise you'll enjoy it."

Biting my bottom lip, I caught my breath as the soothing liquid covered my bare skin. I felt so vulnerable.

"Oh, this is nice." I giggled. "It's just what I needed, so relaxing."

"Yes. Settle back and let me take care of you."

I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth and sweet scent of the water. This being my first time, I began to wonder what else he intended to do to me. So far, I had no complaints.

He awakened me from my daydream when he wrapped my damp, pink skin in a fluffy, white towel. Taking great pains to dry every part of my nakedness, he gazed into my eyes.

"You're going to love what comes next," he said, reaching for a dark container. He poured some creamy, yellow liquid into his hands and rubbed them together. "I'm warming it for you," he explained in his husky voice.

Rubbing the lotion into my skin, he spoke again. "Isn't this nice?"

I rolled my head back, still not believing I had summoned the courage to come here. "Oh yes. It's lovely." I meant it. How could I ever go back to my normal life after this? I wished my husband would do this for me, but I didn't hold out much hope.

Leaning back, I felt completely relaxed and at his mercy. I'd decided to trust him to do what he must. With eyes closed, my mind wandered as he performed all sorts of rituals I had never encountered before. His fingers caressed and stroked my skin, and I thought that I might ask him to never stop.

After awhile he showed me a list of titles and asked me to choose. Blushing, I read the names. "Sin in the Afternoon, She Devil, Purple Passion." My face reddened as I blurted out, "Oh my gosh!" Feeling timid and embarrassed, and with no idea which to choose, I panicked and looked to him for guidance.

“What do you think?” I whispered.

He smiled a knowing smile. "Why don't we try She Devil. It's sexy, but not as risque as the others. I think you'll be comfortable with it."

With nervous anticipation, I looked on as his expert fingers grasped the shiny container. Watching him, butterflies frolicked in my stomach. Before I knew it, he finished the job. I examined his performance and laughed at myself for taking so long to give it a try.

Satisfied, I slid my feet back into my sandals and admired my soft, beautiful, sexy feet. My toenails looked so feminine and pretty with the glossy red polish.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Making of a Girly-Girl Clutch Purse

Ooh La La!

A couple of months ago, I was shopping in From My Hands To Yours' fabulous Etsy shop. (If you haven't checked out her shop yet, you should. Very cool and unusual offerings.) I spotted these gorgeous pin-up girl buttons and bought them right away.

Of course, at the time I had no idea what I would do with them. But when I opened the package and saw the little beauties, I knew I had to use at least one in some type of purse. As the idea percolated in my mind, I began seeing lacy flowers and a bow-shaped evening clutch--something really girly. At first, I thought I might use a lace overlay of some kind for the purse body, but then decided I'd like to find a cotton with a lace print to make a sturdier clutch for my first try.

On a trip to my local fabric shop where they specialize in miles and miles of quilting cottons, I found what I was looking for: a black cotton with an all-over white, lacy print. I took it home and played with my idea a bit. Then I went to work.

Behind the seams:

I cut out matching rectangles of the black cotton, a thin fleece interfacing to add some body, a sizzling, scarlet red cotton twill for the inside, and a stiff interfacing for the lining. First I applied the fleece interfacing to the back of the black cotton, then ironed on the stiffer interfacing to the red cotton twill lining.

Next, I cut out two red twill rectangles and one piece of interfacing approximately 8" by 4" and sewed them together leaving an opening for turning right side out. After I finished with this, I had a pocket for the inside! I pressed the pocket nice and flat, then positioned and sewed it to the red twill rectangle.

Then, after I sewed the purse and the lining into matching clutch-shapes, I lined them up and sewed them together. Of course, I left another opening at the top that I used for pulling that beautiful right side out where it belongs.

To make the subtle bow shape, I cut a 4 1/2" wide by about 18" long strip of the black cotton and some more stiff interfacing. Assembled and sewed this together, then sewed the first 2/3 to the top of the purse on the front, scrunched the body a bit, then attached the band to the back at the middle. This left a flap of about 5 1/2" that lays across the top of the purse and down the front to where I sewed on snaps for the closure.

Now for the sexy, pin-up button!

I decided to use one of the Bettie Page buttons--the gorgeous brunette showing some major cleavage! At only 1/2", the button sort of got lost on the front of the purse flap. So I took some black lace fabric and cut out a looong rectangle that I tapered at the ends, sewed it together, zigzagged over some dental floss and pulled/gathered it into a flower shape. The button still didn't pop enough, so I got some white lace trim and gathered that, too. After sewing them together, I sewed the button and the lace flower to a pin back.

Voila!

The result is this great-looking, pretty and feminine, Girly-Girl clutch purse with a removable 3" Flower Brooch. The purse measures 8" wide at bottom, 9 1/4" across top, 1 1/2" deep, and 5 1/2" high.



Wouldn't this be great for a prom, or wedding, or just for fun?? Let me know what you think. Oh, and don't forget to tell your friends, they can purchase this fabu clutch in my Etsy shop. The link is to the right. Over there >>>>

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Whoops!

After reading my post yesterday, my daughter sent me an email. It seems we scraped wallpaper off five rooms, and pulled up four rooms of carpet.

I'm so tired! Told you I was probably forgetting something!!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Drive By

I haven't had much time for posting here in the past couple of weeks because I've been busy working at my daughter's new house. She closed on it April 17th and we've been renovating ever since.

The house sat empty for about a year before she bought it, and prior to that an eighteen-year-old lived in it alone for several months because his parents divorced. So, you can imagine the state the house is/was in. It's got good bones, though, and it's going to be beautiful when she's finished with repairs and updates. Here are some before pics:

The living room ceiling being scraped:

The dining room wall being knocked out and prepared for a French Door:





The staircase is pretty and it's in really good shape. Not much to do here, but polish and paint the walls.

Here's a view of the hallway, and one of the family room:


So far we have scraped popcorn ceiling off two rooms--the dining room and living room; removed wallpaper from four rooms; pulled up two rooms of carpeting (Tthe carpet guys pulled up the other room.); sanded, scrubbed, and fixed holes in walls; primed and painted the bedrooms; scrubbed the downstairs bathroom and made it usable; and I'm sure I've forgotten other chores.

She's moving in on Sunday! Wish us luck. We still have most of the downstairs to do. The kitchen needs a full remodel, but that will happen well after she's moved in.

I'll try to take some pics of upstairs and outside, and then give you the Grand Reveal!