Lovely finds - Etsy Angels edition

There are 3 days left in March! Oh my! Why is time going by soooo fast?

As many of you may already know, I am a member of the Etsy Angels team on Etsy. We support worthy causes 5-6 times a year. This month all of us Etsy Angels are working together to raise money to support the Jefferson County Victim Assistance and Annual Courage Walk. We do so by donating a portion of our sales proceeds.

I know times are tough, but if you are shopping for a gift or looking for something special, would you please check out one of our shops before you make a decision?

I spent some time visiting my friends' shops and I wanted to share my favorite finds with you.

Baby finds

My mini mocs soft sole shoes  by My Mini Mocs

Baby quilt by Arriving Angels

For the home

Nautical placemats by the Sewing Granny

Spring inspired, doily coasters by Crochet by MSA

For the lovely lady

 Kitty face sterling silver earrings by The Beaded Tail

Plum crazy sugilite pearl necklace by Wildlifer78

As always, thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely day!

Lovely tutorial: cute packaging idea

Just dropping in to let you know that you can find one of Ooh Leela's super cool and unique tutorials on Mollie's blog, Wild Olive.

Check it out :)

And a warm welcome to those of you who are visiting the blog for the first time. I hope you come back often.

Have a lovely weekend!!!

What I have been up to

It has been super crazy around here lately! I have been working on so many projects!!! As you may already know, my brother is moving away in April, so I have been busy organizing a farewell party for him and my sister-in-law. I can't share the details just yet, because I am pretty sure they stop by from time to time.... But I will, after the 2nd of April.

In the meantime, I have been looking for ideas and inspiration. The food is all taken care of, but I am still looking for dessert ideas.... Would a cake be all right? I saw this recipe last night and I am dying to try it....

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What about decor and party favors? I would really really REALLY appreciate your help :) 

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Apart from that, I am super excited to say that I am participating in a scrap swap that Tara, from Sew Tara is hosting. I am swapping fabric scraps with 2 lovely ladies and I can't wait to see what I get ship their packages.

Oh, and I must take a moment to express my gratitude to all my Facebook fans and blog followers. You guys ROCK!!! Consider yourself kissed, and hugged, and squeezed. Feel the love?!?

What about you? What have you been up to lately? I really love when you post comments. It makes me all giddy!

Have a lovely Thursday and thank you so much for stopping by!

St. Patrick's Day project ideas

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!!!

Did you know that "Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland"?

Don't forget to wear some green today! Oh, and if you have some time, be sure to take a look at some of these fun projects!

Here are some really cool projects. Enjoy!

Printable St. Patrick's Day cards from Make it Do.

Pillow boxes from cardboard tubes from the Frugal Family Fun Blog

Rice krispie treats shamrock from Little Birdie Secrets:

Have a very **LUCKY** day! Thanks for stopping by!

Remember I mentioned a local coffee shop had agreed to carry my coffee sleeves? I am proud to say that you can find Ooh Leela's leather sleeves at Sportivo Coffee Bar in Redwood City, CA.

Here is a sneak peek at what you can get:

Because of the philosophy behind these sleeves, instead of buying new materials, I decided to upcycle leather scraps and use eco-friendly felt.

This one is my favorite: red leather with a tan circle...

I like these too :)

I also designed some labels.....

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have you been working on any interesting projects lately?

PS: I know this is not what this blog is about, but the accountant in me can't help it... Tomorrow is March 15th, the deadline to submit your tax returns if you own a corporation, or s-corp. Remember, you can always file an extension (leave a comment in case you need the form numbers). An extension allows you to file your corp/s-corp returns by Sept 15th instead. But please remember, that you must make a payment by tomorrow, even if you file an extension.

More inspiration

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I love how passionate this 91-year-old lady is. She reminds me of my grandma. Grandma was well-known for her crocheting skills. Everyone in town knew her; she was the go-to person every time someone needed something made. My grandpa was an excellent carpenter who ended up making all the pews for our local church. My aunt is an excellent knitter. My mom is a super creative teacher.

I am so lucky to have so many talented women (and men) I can look up to and who never cease to amaze (and inspire) me.

What about you? Is there a woman or person who inspires you?

Thanks for stopping by.

Be playful

Lovely Alycia from The Curious Pug is celebrating her birthday this month.

I stopped by her blog this morning and saw this amazing video by Roxy Rodriguez and it really hit home because of the date today...

Happy International Women's Day!!! 

We all tend to work so hard, and we always put everyone else's needs before our own. So why not take 30 minutes out of our busy schedules today and do something that really makes us happy?

playground :) from roxy rodriguez on Vimeo.

Shop 'till you drop!!!

Hello friends!

I have decided that it is time for a much needed shop "renovation." This means new designs and new products.

This weekend only: get 50% off everything in the shop!!! That's right!!! 50% off. Isn't that awesome?!? Simply enter coupon code halfoff at checkout.

I hope you can stop by: Ooh Leela!

Oh, and to make this even cooler, not only can you save money when you shop at Ooh Leela! this weekend, you will also be helping "Jefferson County Victim Assistance and Annual Courage Walk"!

10% of all sales proceeds this month will be donated to the above-mentioned charity.

A little bit about Jefferson County Victim Assistance and Annual Courage Walk:

The Courage Garden is dedicated to crime victims. Designated for commemorative plantings, it is also a place of respite for those involved in court cases. Proceeds from this event will be used for maintenance of the garden, training victim advocate volunteers, and to help victims of crime or other traumatic events in our community.

The Annual Courage Walk is a time to honor the strength and courage of survivors. It is also a time to speak out in unison for crime victims' rights and services today and in the future. Proceeds will be used for costs associated with training of volunteers, printing educational materials for crime victims and for maintenance of the The Courage Garden. The Courage Garden is located behind the Jefferson County Courts and Administration Building at 100 Jefferson County Parkway in Golden, Colorado.

The 18th Annual Courage Walk will take place on April 16, 201.

As always, thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

It is a birthday celebration!!!

Hubby celebrated his 28th birthday last week.

And being that we are of Italian descent, the way to our hearts is through (you guessed it!) our tummies!!! It was a day full of fun, love, family and FOOD!

Being that breakfast is his favorite meal, we started our day eating here. I love how simple their menu is and how fresh and light everything tastes! I truly believe they get their produce delivered everyday. Our favorite thing on the menu is the eggs benedict. Their hollandaise sauce is to die for.

We went from this:

To this is less than 5 minutes :)

And here is the **bashful** birthday boy:

Birthday boy got his gift right around lunch time. These will come in handy when we go on our 5-week trip (did I mention we are going on vacation next month?!? Yep, more about that later).

And to make this a puuuuurrrrfect day, we had dinner with the fambam at the Fish Market. We had garlic cheese bread topped with crab, lobster (we named him Steve), a smoked fish sampler and drinks!

We also had cake (tres leches - his fave)! 

And... we embarrassed him with lots and lots of balloons!!!

So glad you stopped by! Thanks for letting me share hubby's special day with you!!!

I hope you have a great week!!!

A quick hello!

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to stop by and say **hello!** before I head out to go to the gym.

As promised, I will be posting pictures of hubby's special day this weekend.

I am working on some sleeves (did I mention a local coffee shop has agreed to carry my coffee sleeves?!? Yep, I am so very excited about that!), more details to come.

We also have a couple of friends coming over for dinner and canasta. It looks like a promising weekend so far!

What about you? What are you up to?

Hope you have a **lovely** Saturday!

Lovely treasuries I am featured in. Thank you ladies!

I know it is hard to find my potholders in the middle of so many gorgeous finds! Thank you so much Three Sister's Harvest!



Mona, from the Sewing Granny, included me in her treasury as well! Mona is a fellow Angel, from the Etsy Angels team.

Thank you so much ladies!

Today is hubby's birthday! We are on our way to breakfast. Eggs benedict; sounds yummy, yes?!?

I will post pics later. Have a lovely day!

Sharing....

There is usually a barrier between me and the world.... The only person I currently allow inside this barrier is hubby. I love how I can be myself around him and still be ok with it. I am often scared that if I let people in, they will either hurt me or be disappointed with what they see.

Because I want to change that, and let my hair down more often, I have decided to share some things about me, positive and areas that need improvement.

The good (thanks hubby for participating in this survey <3):
loving
funny
kind hearted
loyal & devoted
hard working

The bad:
insecure
the occasional pessimism
lack of motivation (this is just a nice way to say I am lazy sometimes)
jealous
afraid of trying new things, or being uncomfortable

What makes me happy:
Leela
Spending time with hubby
Watching House
Sewing & being creative
Helping a client who knows nothing about accounting. I love when it is all said and done
Helping those who are less fortunate
Good food

What makes me sad:
People who are selfish and petty
When I have tons of ideas in my head, but I am too scared to fail. It is good to dream, but you must act on it as well.
My brother & sister in law are moving away
That no matter how hard I work, I never seem to have enough money to do the things I want to: travel, volunteer, dedicate more time to my Etsy shop, help the needy, get my teeth whitened and a decent camera

It would be nice if I could know more about you too! I love when my readers post comments, and I promise to get back to each and every one of you. If you prefer, email me at oohleela{at}gmail{dot}com.

Business tip: Picnik

Selling online and on Etsy is fairly new to me. It feels so good (and it makes me feel so alive) to be able to learn something totally new everyday. But excitement aside, I am not going to lie: it has been quite a challenge, so I thought it would be helpful if I shared some of my struggles and tips from time to time.

Taking quality, professional looking pictures has been a big stumbling block to me. I took a photography course in college, but back then all I was interested in was taking pictures of my puppies while having fun. Never did I think that I would actually be using such a skill in my life.

I don't currently own a fancy camera. In fact my point and shoot camera is about 8 years old. I am just making do until I can put some money aside to buy a more appropriate (and expensive - yikes) DSLR camera. Which means I have had to rely on photo imaging software to come up with (somewhat) decent looking photos. BUT, photo imaging software is a foreign concept to me.

Yesterday however I came across picnik.com. Picnik enables you to edit your photos online, at the click of a button (or 2). It is super user friendly and intuitive, unlike Adobe Photoshop. And best of all it is free (and I always say if it is free is is for me).

Here is what my picture looked liked before I used picnik.com:

 And here is the after:

Better, yes? If you have any tips you would like to share, I would love to hear from you! Have a great week!

Free Valentine's Day printable cards

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Visit the Etsy Angels blog for a great Valentine's Day cards tutorial! Check it out. 

I have a new computer!!!

Hello everyone!

I am beyond ecstatic today. I have been using the same laptop for the past 4 years. 4 years is a long time, especially for a relatively cheap laptop. But truth be told, I have always loved Mac's. In fact, a year or so ago, hubby took the Apple sticker that came with our iPod and stuck it on top of the VAIO logo on my laptop. It was there to remind me to work hard and save money so that I could actually afford to get a MacBook. I am proud to say that that day has finally arrived!!!

And to celebrate, I am going to make a nice laptop sleeve. I am trying to decide which tutorial to go with. Help a sister out, would you?

This one is from Sew, Mama, Sew!

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And this one is from The Cottage Home:

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Fabric-wise, I am thinking about using a pink and teal floral pattern on the outside and pink/white polka dot fabric on the inside. This is my first time making a laptop sleeve. Any helpful tips?

Have a LOVELY day!!!

Love week!

Something to think about this Valentine's Day...

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Corinthians, 13:1-8

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I have so much to celebrate this Valentine's Day: I have been blessed with a wonderful family, loving parents, an amazing and caring husband and a sweet, one of a kind puppy. I have also been blessed with friends, not many, but definitely people I can always count on. 

That being said, I need to make plans to take my honey out on Valentine's Day. We are on a budget, and I would love to do something more creative than the usual dinner. My husband loves old cars, museums, bulldogs, to travel, the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants. Any ideas?

Have a wonderful week, full of love and lots of inspiration!

A sneak peek at my Valentine's Day project

Here is one of the things I have been working on over the past few days. I love pink and felt so when I came across this, making a pink garland, using felt letters and hearts made so much sense!!!

I hope I can get it done in time for Valentine's Day!

I used MS Word to get the pattern for the letters; the font is called Cooper Black and it comes with the software (I have MS Office 2007). I used 500 as the font size and chose to print the outline of the letters in order to save some money in ink cartridges (if you have MS Office 2007, highlight the letters, right click, font, effects - outline, enter).

What about you? What kind of cool projects are you currently working on?

Free $10 gift certificate!!!

Hi everyone! How have you been?

Mollie, from Wild Olive, is giving away a $10 gift certificate to my Etsy shop, Ooh Leela! Visit her blog and check it out!!!

All you have to do is like Ooh Leela's Facebook page, go back to Mollie's blog and leave a comment saying you have done so.

We will pick a winner at 12pm CST tomorrow, 01/31/11. Good luck everyone!!!

Gift certificates!!!

You can now find gift certificates in my Etsy shop!!! Buy a $10 gift certificate until 01/31/11 and receive a $15 gift certificate. What a DEAL!!!

Luggage tags

Hello everyone! How have you been?

This week was absolutely crazy. So many new clients. It seems everyone's New Year's resolution this year is to file taxes on time.

I am however glad that I got to spend some time sewing and making new jars today.I feel so refreshed!

Remember when I blogged about luggage tags? I made these and gave them to my brother and his wife for Christmas. They will be traveling in a little less than 2 months, so I am sure they will come in handy. These tags look better than using a bandana or a ribbon to identify your luggage, don't you think? And they are super easy to make, even a beginner can finish each tag in about 30 minutes tops.

http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/projectdetail.jsp?projectFlag=true&CATID=cat13851&fullPath=sewing+%26+embroidery&PRODID=xprd1057038&subCatName=sewing+%26+embroidery

I found the tutorial at Joann's website, but ended up modifying it a bit. I used fabric instead of ribbon. Looking back, I think I should have used a layer of batting between the layers of fabric, to make it a bit sturdier. But oh well, live and learn right?

You can download the step by step instructions, in .PDF format here.

And here is how mine turned out:

I had to block their address...