Creatively Mom

Getting Started - Organization Day 1

2012-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

First, let me say I don't know how many days my organization needs will last but I will do my best as long as possible to post about them.

I got the neat bug shortly after new year. EVERYONE in blog land seems to be posting tips tricks and DIYs to get home and life organized. I was inspired.

So I started in the kitchen. This was my first step. We were having a get together and realized we did not have enough glasses for all our guests. So we bought new ones. Unfortunately that meant our already crowded cupboards were even more cramped. I picked up a three piece set of wire racks at Wal-mart for $8.

The before (minus a few glasses in the dishwasher):

And the after, with more glasses:

This was when I decided to get all white dishes. I know it will look more put together then.

Back in the Habit

2012-01-13T04:20:00.000-08:00

You know, life is insane. Things happen, kids happen. Work. Home. Friends. Sometimes there isn't much you can do about it but let go of the extras.

My extra was this blog. With everything else I had going on in my life, it was one thing tgat I didn't *need* to do.

But here I am. Back again. New year, new goals and all that.

Mostly I just want to make this a place to share again. In family and crafts. I cannot commit to eveeyday. But I can shoot for often and hope that is enough. We shall see.

I am not making resolutions or a list of goals this year. There are things I would like to do but if they don't happen, that is perfectly okay with me.

~ I would like to switch out all our dishes to solid white. While that sounds easy enough, it would be great if I could do this thriftily at the Salvation Army, Savers or Goodwill.

~ I want to list new types of items in my shop. This past year I added key fob wristlets. This year I plan to add soft dolls and stuffies. I have made a few already (post to come) for my girls and they were a big hit.

~ Get organized. I started this already in the bathroom and kitchen (that's what spurned the white dishes thought). My next steps are the kids clothes and The Hubby's *stuff*.

That's it so far.

Hope you have been well. Stay tuned...

Do you have Beiber Fever?!

2011-05-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

My girls do. Admittedly, it makes me reminisce back to my Teen Beat/BOP days. Days when my walls were littered with posters of Devon Sawa, Josh Hartnett, JTT, Jonathon Jackson, etc etc etc I could go on and on. *drools*

But yes, my girls are in love with Justin Beiber. They have a cd, a poster, and a calendar. I also got them each a Beib t-shirt - on clearance for a buck apiece. They make cute nightgowns.

Imagine their delight last night when we saw this life size cutout of the Beibster at Wal-mart. They were beyond thrilled. Apparently WM is doing a promo where the kids can have their picture taken with said cardboard heart throb, and WM will give them a free 5x7 print of it plus a JB frame. Only...it was too late in the night and the photo tech didn't have the camera anymore. Big sighs, lots of tears. Aha! Mama always carries her camera. So we snapped a quick one:

Can you see the joy in their faces?

Shirt Painting

2011-04-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is becoming a yearly tradition. Every year I think we'll make new shirts, and one of these days the girls will do more than squeeze blobs on their tops. This year we decided to use paint brushes to spread around said blobs.

These aren't great pictures, thanks to a rainy day, and the kids made a mess in the background. Just pretend that's not there ;)

There ended up being so much paint on them, they're still hanging to dry. Hopefully they'll be able to wear them soon. And FYI, it's hard to get fabric paint off floor tiles. bang head

Thrift Store Scores!

2011-04-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to the local Salvation Army. I was mostly on the hunt for dresses for my older two girls for this summer. They prefer not to wear pants at any point in the year and we're running out of dresses that fit them. ANYWAY...we did not manage to meet that mission, dresses are hard to come by!

But!! We did find some things I was in "need" of. This is my room:

I had bought a new comforter set but the Hubby decided he liked the golden tan/brown set better, so the new one was returned. Alas, I did want to spruce it up. Mostly I'd been on the search for a bedskirt that coordinated, but wasn't a fortune. I don't understand why one skirt costs as much as a set of sheets?!

Also, the brown curtains are the same ones I had bought at Target last winter. We moved and ended up getting different ones for the living room. The brown ones matched our bedding better than the ugly blue ones we had before, but I still wanted something different.

So we took a walk around SA and in the home section, I saw a pile of bedskirts. On the very bottom was a faux-silk tan one that matched my comforter almost perfectly. The price? $3.49! Score!! It was also a pink tag which was half-off that day, so I got it for $1.75! Then we turned the corner and I saw something shiny and aqua blue, two of my favorite things. A closer look revealed a pair of Better Homes & Gardens faux silk panels. The extra long kind that I love. I knew they'd be perfect in my room. The price? $9.99, but ALSO with a sale tag! $5.00 for the pair!!

I rushed home and got them situated. The results:

Much better, much brighter! And now you can't see my craft bins under the bed.

Adventures in Yarn Dying

2011-04-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can dye yarn with Kool-Aid? Well, you can dye animal fiber yarns, not acrylic, with it. You can also dye human hair, since it's technically an animal fiber. Learn something new everyday!

I got some undyed Purewool yarn (www.100purewool.com - they're also on etsy as 100purewool) and a pile of Kool-Aid packets.

Here's the yarn ready to go:

I loosely used the instructions from NobleKnits and went to town with the help of my middle. Here she is mixing the Kool-Aid in the cups.

The yarn, after we squirted it. I know they used a misting sprayer, we used a turkey baster haha!

All done! We also did one in various shades of pink - black cherry, cherry, strawberry, and strawberry lemonade.

I can't wait to ~~learn how to~~ knit it up!

Squishy Baby Face

2011-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing creative to share with you today. I've been working quite a bit out of home and when I am home, I've been helping my sister out with her kiddos. They were here today and I'm {LOVING} it. There's not much I adore more than sweet smelling little babies. Especially this one.

This is my niece, Kenzie Lee. Isn't she gorgeous? *Insert big pink sparkly heart here* She usually has a stranger danger issue but she's been warming up to me. Probably because all I say to her is "Hey pretty baby!" or "Who's the prettiest baby ever?" Flattery works on the sweetest of babies. She really loves Caylee, my middle one. Cay is an awesome big cousin.

You know you want to come squish her cheeks. Or kiss them. Or pinch them. Or just rub your own cheeks to them. Did I mention she smells good? I even love her when she's like this

Hope you're having a lovely day!

Hooray for Party Day!

2011-04-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today was Lillian's big day! Well, yesterday was the *big* day but today was PARTY DAY! She was beyond excited for her "little friends" to come over to play with her. Mostly she talked about cake. And showed everyone the decorations.

I managed to get a few pics uploaded tonight.

The birthday girl

Her banner

You can sort of see the poms in this picture. They're hanging {still} all over my living room ceiling and on the ceiling fan.

Checking out one of her presents with her cousin Braedyn

*she got a kajillion dresses - and loves them all! It was her asked-for birthday gift*

T-Ball indoors? Sure thing Daddy! *ps this is a very rare picture of the Hubby smiling*

With all of her cousins

And finally, a quick video of the cake and birthday song {she was just too excited!}

Thanks for stopping by! We had a great time!

More Party Planning - Mouse Head Clippies

2011-03-30T06:08:00.001-07:00

These were so inexpensive and easy to make, perfect for favor bags for little girls. I found these Mouse Heads on etsy. It took about an hour, but I whipped up 20 clippies with red ribbon and then glued the heads on. Voila!

Super easy and too cute. I'm considering making a red and white dot, and a black and white dot to go along with them so each little girl will get three clippies in their goodie bags.

I'm linking up at Tea Rose Home's Link Party today

Quick Party Art

2011-03-29T15:22:00.000-07:00

The party countdown is on! Little one's birthday is in 3 days, the party is in 4 and I'm really excited for everything to come together. The banner for her party arrived (I'll post that with party pics later on) and I wanted something fun for the wall in the kitchen. We're going to arrange the food and goodie bags on our table and let everyone eat in the living room where there's more room. To spice up the area I decided to take the "art" off the walls and switch it out with something more "Minnie-esque".

This is what was hanging there before. It's just scrapbook paper that coordinates with my kitchen cut to fit the frames. We're not 100% unpacked, so this whole thing is missing some cute sconces on the sides...but that's another post...

Here's the new "art" - more scrapbook paper purchased at Jo-ann's. The middle one is kind of hard to see but it's solid black and outlined Mickey Mouse heads on a red background. The best part? I can take it out and use it when I scrapbook her birthday pictures! Double duty!

It's all coming together!

Party planning!

2011-03-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last few months but for now I'm excited to talk about "the next big deal". My littlest, Lillian, is turning THREE on April 1st!! Can you believe it? I remember when she was >this tiny<. And now she's a big girl who tells me what to do, how to do it, and demands for it NOW. She's a diva for sure.

Well the little miss has decided she wants a Minnie Mouse birthday. The classic colors - red, white, black. Which is fine by me, I prefer it, but there's not much out there that's Minnie mouse and not pink or purple.

I ordered this Minnie Mouse skirt from Marahbelle on Riot Cart. Brittany made up the shirt as a special treat for Lilly too! Big sparkly hearts for Brittany @ Marahbelle!

*bow courtesy of my Creatively Mom shop

I'll update with more about the party in the next couple days. For now I leave you with this diva picture - she's calling me now to play Little People.

Another couple chefs sets

2011-01-11T06:05:00.001-08:00

These are fun to make, and I love how these two sets turned out.

Sew happy

2010-11-18T12:06:00.000-08:00

I've been super busy the last few weeks, my sewing machine and I are best buds now.

A pair of chef's hats and aprons for my lovely friend Amanda:

And a duo of carolers made for an ornament swap:

I'm in the mood to make a whole mess of those carolers and string them together as a garland for the holidays...maybe this weekend I'll work on that

I'm dreaming

2010-11-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Fabrics, patterns, more...I love to "window" shop online. Sometimes numerous windows. One of my favorite places is Above All Fabric. Melanie, the owner, sends out some sweet newsletters each month, and always has the best fabrics and deals.

Right now she's doing a giveaway - create a wishlist, blog about it, then post the blog link on her blog.

Here's some thing on my wishlist:
Carnival Bloom knit

Cocoa Ta Dot knit

Scandi Chirp knit

Raspberry knit

Pink Paisley cuddle minky

Lindy Leaf in Pink

Dogwood Bloom in Berry

A few patterns..

Mini-Nina

Mini Frida

Nina

I can already picture that Dogwood Bloom as a great little bag, the Scandi Chirp and Raspberry knits as a fun little dress set, and that pink paisley cuddle as one side of a cute baby blanket... Now I just need to show The Hubby my wishlist...

Yarn Wreath with Felt Roses

2010-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this blog Take Heart this weekend and fell in love with the yarn wreaths in this post.

My middle and I were in need of something fun to do while the rice krispie treats we made were cooling and hardening. So we whipped up a wreath too. We used a standard wreath form, green yarn, and red, gold, and white felt. My middle helped make the flowers, she's a very good rose maker.

We love how it turned out

Chef's Hat and Apron Set

2010-10-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Holiday season is upon us and one thing I love about being part of an online community is the ability to trade wares with other mom's. A very sweet mama on Cloth Diaper Nation contacted me about trading her crochet skills for my sewing skills. She made me a super cute crochet dinosaur and I made her this chef's hat and apron set.

For the hat, I used this tutorial by Skip to my Lou. I modified it a little, using snaps instead of velcro as the closure. It has two settings for size adjustment and should grow with her little one at least two years.

The apron is made with the same cute fabrics. It was a very easy piece to make, taking less than 30 minutes total.

Thanks for looking!!

Carnival Bloom Diaper Bag & Carseat Blanket

2010-10-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

My sister ~~begged~~ asked very nicely for me to make her a diaper bag. Her requirements were that it be big enough to hold 2 little one's worth of stuff, and have interior pockets suitable for bottles and other baby necessities.

I stumbled across this tutorial on Sew Much Ado and figured I'd give it ago.

The outside of the bag is made with Michael Miller's "Carnival Bloom" in corduroy. I bought this fabric from Above All Fabric. Melanie, the shop's owner, is incredibly sweet, ships quickly, and sells quality fabrics at great prices.

The inner is just a plain pink cotton woven fabric. For the pockets I used the Carnival Bloom print as well, but cotton woven instead of corduroy. I made some bias tape out of the pink fabric to go along the tops of the pockets.

I also whipped up this carseat blanket for her baby girl using the woven print and some cuddly, silky, furry fabric.

Thanks for looking!!

Pumpkin Seed Trees

2010-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

When the hubby carved our pumpkin, I managed to remember to save the seeds before he tossed the string inners. Let me just say that is not the funnest thing in the world. It feels like brains, not that I know what brains feel like...

Anyway, we rinsed the seeds off in a colander in the sink then dried out them in the oven. I let them sit out to dry overnight as well.

I had read on a blog that an easy way to paint pumpkin seeds is to lay out long "donuts" of tape and stick the seeds to the tape. This way they won't roll around. However, I cannot find that blog anymore, so if it's yours, please let me know so I can give credit where it's due.

Here's the middle laying them out for us, and then painting them.

She painted 1/3 of them brown, and then split the remainder into four groups which she painted red, orange, yellow, and green.

I had drawn some simple basic trees on white cardstock and written their names and the year at the bottom. Using regular school glue, we drew squiggles on the tree and the girls stuck the brown seeds to the tree trunk and branches. Then we put little dots of glue all over the tree tops and the girls glued the other colored seeds as leaves.

We still have a big pile of seeds leftover that we plan to paint for a Thanksgiving craft. Maybe turkeys?

Pumpkin decorating!

2010-10-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

We went pumpkin picking at the beginning of the month and the girls each picked a pumpkin.

The hubby carved "our" pumpkin (I just let him have his way with it) and we had put some of those battery operated tea lights (not shown in the picture):

The girls wanted to "decorate" theirs rather than carve them. So we pulled out our giant box of felt and went to town. I wish I had remembered to pull my camera out while we were making these.

This is Brianna's "witch":

She drew the face and filled in the nose and eyebrows with paint. For the hat, we did a donut shape out of black felt, then glued a felt cone on top of it over the stem of the pumpkin. The ears are green felt with black centers, and of course her witch would not be complete without the green "rosy" cheeks!

Caylee wanted a less scary pumpkin, so she made a butterfly:

Cay painted the "body" and face. I helped her cut out and glue on the shapes for the wings. For the finishing touch, we cut skinny strips of red felt and rolled and glued them periodically for the antennae.

Later that week Lilly decorated hers. She is a bit too young to play with scissors and hot glue, so she painted hers. She's really good at making faces:

The back of the pumpkin has blue hair too :)

She had a bit much fun with the paint, she tried to paint her eyes!

Mini Chalk Mats

2010-09-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

These are sooo easy and make great party favors.

I cut the chalkboard fabric & flannel in 6" squares. Using a craft glue stick, I lightly adhered the flannel to the chalkboard fabric. I knew that pins would leave marks and this was the easiest method to keeping things from shifting. Then I just did a straight stitch all around, with a loop of 3/8" elastic cut into 1.5" strips on one edge (this will hold the chalk). To finish off the edges, I used pinking shears.

It took less than 2 hours to complete 10 mini chalk mats from start to finish.

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

2010-09-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today, this sweet bitty baby

Turned into this fun loving toddler

And has grown into this gorgeous little lady

My how the years have flown. Happy Birthday, Princess!

Fairy Garden Princess Wands

2010-09-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

My daughter's 6th birthday is rapidly approaching. You should read that as "HER BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW, PARTY IS SATURDAY! FULL PANIC MODE!!" I'm trying to finish up all the little details in hopes it'll all come together for us Saturday afternoon.

She wanted a Princess Tea Party and a requisite is magic wands. Not just any store bought wands, but special wands. Fairy wands.

I did a bit of searching to find the perfect item, however I stumbled upon this tutorial and thought "Ah ha!" You know you love those "Ah ha!" moments too.

So. I grabbed 10 dowels. These are 3/8" round by 12" long. I painted them with two coats of pink paint and let them dry. While they were drying I made the pom poms. These were a pain in the backside! Literally. I had to sit on the floor near the outlet to use the glue gun since we recently moved and the only available outlet is not near a work surface.

Anyway! The next step was to add ribbons. I used 1/4" satin ribbons. I did a thin line of glue around the diameter at the top of the dowel then wrapped the ribbon around that to keep it on. I did a double knot and dabbed glue on it again. Then I secured the pom poms to the top with more hot glue and VOILA! They're done!

I just hope she loves them as much as I do. Stay tuned for more birthday prep!

My 100th Post!!

2010-08-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? I know I don't post often but I'm already to 100 posts!! I feel like dancing or something. Well, maybe no dancing. I broke my toe and it hurts to even step lightly, dancing is probably not a good idea.

We've been enjoying our summer here. Lots of time spent outdoors, in the back yard and at the beach. And I've been busy working on bows for my new shop at Cloth Underground. The shop is all done in CSS and as someone who mostly knows HTML, it was a bit of an adjustment.

I have been doing some sewing, I made these cute pencil rolls for a lady on Cloth Diaper Nation. Well, for her daughters, for school. I need to make some more for my own girls.

Would you like a tutorial for them? They were pretty easy to make.

I also made this chef's hat for another mama on CDN. It's adjustable with two different snap size settings so it can grow with her little one's head.

Crafty People!

2010-07-10T10:34:00.001-07:00

I don't post enough. I'm just really busy. But I do browse just about everyone's blogs. I love seeing what the crafty world has to offer. So I thought I would link you to some of my recent favorites.

25 Minute Upcycled Shorts & Caris (or Pants) Tutorial

My kids LOVE leggings and anything that even remotely resembles them. We have lots and lots but they're getting worn out. I think I'll be making a trip to Salvation Army this week for some shirts to convert.

(photo from Helping Little Hands)

Ballerina Slippers Pattern & Tutorial

I am in love with these. They would make great gifts for my sisters and sisters in law this Christmas. And I wouldn't mind a few pairs myself. ;)

(photo from The Creative Maven)

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom File Folder Game

How stinkin' awesome is this?! The middle is obsessed with the book, her class read it several times in the last year and I know it's a favorite. This game is right up her alley, and so perfect for all the girls to play. Of course, I'd have to make three sets...that's just how my ladies roll.

(photo from Oopsey Daisy)

Distressed Mail Holder

I love this idea. The hubby has tons of pallets at his work that just get tossed. I wonder if he'll toss one in the back of the car when he comes home. Not that I'd actually put mail in it, but it'd be neat to make one for magazines, maybe add a couple hooks at the bottom for keys? THAT would be something I could use for sure!

(photo from The Scrap Shoppe)

I hope you found some crafty inspiration! I know I did :)

These Small Wonders

2010-07-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

My three little loves...

Happy Fourth of July!

The dust has settled

2010-06-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Notice anything different? I sure hope so! I've been working hard on a new blog design and am finally thrilled with how it turned out.

The wonderful Tracie Stroud of Tracie Stroud Designs allowed me to use her digiscrap kits to create a new header and background for Creativelymom. I wanted something fun and fresh. I loved my old layout but it felt much more "cozy" - more suitable for fall or winter.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hippo Apron!

2010-06-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

I made this for a friend of mine's little one. I love this hippo fabric - barnslig from Ikea ;). I used a McCall's pattern for the main body of the apron, then I modified the ties (they're slightly longer and just rectangular rather than angled), pockets (square, double sided, and flipped down to accent), and neck strap (adjustable with snaps!). I wanted it to grow with her kids, it'll fit at least an 18 month old all the way to 6 or 7 years old!

I also whipped up a little "kitchen towel" to match with an aqua terry type fabric and the hippo accent.

Now I need to make 3 more for my girls.

Graduation Day

2010-06-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

My oldest graduated kindergarten today. I only got choked up once, after all was said and done and we were leaving the school. She was so proud of herself, so excited to be a first grader now. She's the youngest in her class and the idea of being older than someone else in her school is pretty thrilling for a 5.5 year old.

Congratulations, pretty girl! I'm proud of you!

More purple paint

2010-06-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

When we bought the paint for the toddler bed, my hubby told the paint mixer person we wanted a half gallon. The paint guy said they only sold it in quarts and full gallons. Silly hubby was going to go ahead and buy a full gallon, thankfully the paint guy asked again what size bed we were painting and suggested the quart instead.

It's a good thing! We had nearly 3/4 of the quart left after painting the bed. And I decided to put another small portion of it to use.

My parents bought this table for the girls this past Christmas, since their old table only had two chairs and well, that doesn't work for three kids.

See table here in the center of this picture:

We had an accident a few months ago where the littlest got ahold of some day-glo orange nailpolish. Not only was she covered in it, but she got it on the table and chairs. I don't have a picture of that but you can see it through the first coat of imperial plum paint here:

Another three coats later (yes THREE more, it took a lot to cover that orange!!) and here we are! I'm pretty pleased with it.

And we still have nearly the 3/4 of a quart of paint left. What would you do next?

Fabulous Freecycle

2010-06-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

If you're not a member of freecycle, you're really missing out. Not only is it a great way to pass on unwanted items from your home and keep them out of landfills, but you can always get some great stuff - FREE! I try to post "Offers" of items we're no longer using at least twice a month. And every once in a while I'll post a "Wanted". This month, we were in search of a toddler bed for the littlest one. My ad was simple "Wanted - Toddler bed - *my town*" and the description - "Looking for a toddler bed for our daughter, wooden or girly, she loves Dora, princesses, etc. Can travel to pickup!" We certainly would have purchased a bed, but we didn't want to spend a fortune and even the used toddler beds on Craigslist these days are really high priced.

Thankfully, a sweet woman named Carrie answered our ad and we coordinated a pickup time with her. The husband went out this past Thursday and came home with this gem!

Look at the lines, the structure! The beadboard headboard! *swoon*

I just knew this bed was going to be fantastic, it just needed some sprucing up. My initial plan was to paint it white, but after talking with the hubby, we decided to let our two year old pick a color herself. Her choice was Imperial Plum from Olympic (available at Lowe's).

We went with a flat finish by advice from the paint mixer man, since the yellow was a flat finish, he said it'd cover it easily, and we wouldn't need a primer. Last night we washed it down with hot soapy water, let it dry, then put on the first two coats. The yellow was still poking through and we were tired so we left if for the night and went to bed.

Then this morning I touched it up,

and the hubby put the spring part back on. All set up in their bedroom... Voila!

Doesn't it look great? Perfect for this little girl!

Now I just need to make a coordinating bedding set...or should we just buy one? More decisions!

I'm linking up to

and

Happy Father's Day!!

2010-06-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have a pretty good relationship with my dad. He's the kind of father who is there for you, but lets you find your own way. Tells you what he would do in any situation but leaves the decision up to you, knowing you'll probably listen to him anyway.

My father and I when I was just a tiny baby...look he had hair!

When we were younger, my parents separated and later divorced. We'd see our dad on weekends and it was almost a ritual to listen to the college radio station Saturday and Sunday mornings. They played EVERY kind of music imaginable. Hip hop, rock, classical, POLKA! Yes polka. We looked forward to it, even if we grumbled out loud about how dorky it was. I sometimes scan the station when I'm out with my girls, hoping to expose them to variety the way my dad did.

My dad and my oldest, Brianna, when she was born in 2004.

My dad has this way of drawing people to him, everyone is welcome. He had this rule, if you were eating dinner with us, you must have seconds. Even if it's just a little bit, he liked to know the people around him were well fed. And that we were, he makes the yummiest meals, ravioli soup, chicken sandwiches, stuffed mushrooms, shepherds pie with cream of mushroom soup. There was that one time he made stuffing that had apples in it. We all tried it, and were completely disgusted, but ate our portion because we were supposed to. Afterward he asked how we liked it and we all told him it was gross! It's easy to be frank with my dad because he's frank with you.

My father, stepmother, husband and I at our wedding in 2007

My dad moved to Florida a couple years ago. I miss him every day. My sister soon followed as did my brother, leaving just me and our baby sister back home in New Hampshire. In February 2009 I went to FL to visit him and my sister, she was pregnant and I was driving home with her for her baby shower here. It felt so good to be with my dad again, just laughing and talking. Eating (haha). He's been home a couple times as well but it's just not the same.

My father and my stepmother, with my middle, Caylee, in 2006

Anyway, Happy Father's day too all you father's out there. Happy Father's day to my amazing husband, Ian, the best daddy my girls could ever want. And Happy Father's day number 27, Dad, I love you!

Gearing up for Summer!

2010-06-14T12:15:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe this school year is just about over. My oldest finishes kindergarten next Tuesday...that's just 8 days! The middle finished this year of preschool on the 4th as well.

With the end of the year pretty much here, I've been trying to figure out how to keep my bright, active divas busy this summer. Mixed in with lots of free play indoors and out, visits to Grammy's pool, and trips to the beach as a family, I need to offer them some fun and educational activities. Need. Definitely need.

First on our list is the Free Family Film Festival at our local Regal Theater. Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am they offer a family friendly movie for free. We went a few times last summer. All the girls loved it, the theater keeps the lights up a bit so that it's not scary dark. Since it's all families, including babies, no one fusses if your child gets a bit noisy (although I try to keep my girls quiet).

Family Film Festival

Also on our agenda, the Free Fun Fridays, offered by the Highland Street Foundation. The program offers free admission to all sorts of great Massachusetts attractions including the Science Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and Franklin Park Zoo. It's open to anyone, not just Mass residents, which is fantastic for us.

Free Fun Fridays

We've also got plans for a trip to Rhode Island to visit friends and the zoo, a visit to York's Wild Kingdom in York, Maine, as well as a day trip up to North Conway, NH, to enjoy the nature and a little outlet shopping.

That's where my list stands right now. If anyone knows of other economical attractions and events in the New England area, please do share!

Spray & I

2010-06-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Spray paint that is. I've been trying to love it. I sprayed a couple frames a while back to make wall decor, and then I *tried* to spray paint some shutters. It didn't happen so well, probably because I did it in a windy day, so I gave up on that task (for now).

But today I got a bee in my bonnet to spray some frames for some more decorative wall pieces.

The frames before were this weird tannish gold color. Hubby's best friend got me a box to lay them on (before I was using plastic bags...not a good idea!).

I sprayed them (duh) with that pretty oil rubbed bronze that I love and let them dry in the sun.

While they were drying, the littles and I ran to the craft store and picked out some some scrapbook papers to use inside the frames. To be honest I was looking for something with creams, deep browns, reds, and blues, but I couldn't find what I loved. These will have to do though, for now, they remind me of summer holidays.

All framed up and hung on the wall.

And my favorite wedding picture in it's newly painted frame

TYFL! Have an awesome afternoon!!

Do you have an internet "home"?

2010-06-07T10:32:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about this the last few days. When I sign online, I open a bunch of tabs and click on my faves. One of the first places I go to is a mommy/parenting forum I joined YEARS ago, in 2004. It's called Baby And Me. I've seen it morph from just a small part of Pregnancy Lounge through a couple different forum boards/servers, etc.

It's a great group of ladies, and I really consider it my home base when I come online. Sure I check my email, play around on Facebook, check out other forums, but mostly I keep coming back.

If you're a mom, or a dad even, maybe you're TTC or waiting to try, or just want to talk with a great group of women, BAM is definitely a wonderful "home". They support you through your ups and downs, congratulate you on your successes and offer *hugs* when you're dealing with all the worst life can hit you. The ladies there are truly my friends, my family, my BAMily!

I invite you to visit my comfort zone, and I'd love to hear what your home is too!

M & M Teacher Appreciation gifts

2010-06-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

I got the idea for these sweet (haha) treats for my girls' teachers from the fantabulous blog Domestically Speaking. Maryann is so stinking creative, she kills me. I love her blog and now you must as well!

The girls each have two teachers. My middle finished her first year of preschool yesterday so I had to have these done for her to give to her teachers at the certificate ceremony.

We bought the mason jars for $.98 apiece at a kitchen supply store. I think next time we'll do smaller jars - these held 3 cups of M&Ms each, which proved to be VERY pricey.

For the notes, we printed out the poem from Domestically Speaking in a pretty curvy font, it ended up being 4"x4" when done. Then the girls wrote "To *teacher* Love *their names*" on one side of a piece of 5"x6" construction paper. We glued the poem to the reverse side and they wrote their names again and the year on the bottom underneath. I wrapped a small piece of packing tape over the top of the construction paper so it was on both sides, about 1/2 inch down, then punched a whole through the tape. I figured the tape would prevent the tag from tearing off easily. We threaded some simple ribbon through the whole and tied it onto the jar.

Voila!! Super easy gifts - took less than 30 minutes for the entire craft.

A little of this, a lot of that

2010-05-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

It has been a world of insanity and chaos here lately. I came down with some sort of head cold and subsequently got everyone else sick. My two littles have had the hardest time, their colds turned into ear infections and let's just say no one is happy in our house right now.

In the midst of feeling yucky, I've been trying to keep busy. Last week I got some quiet time and cut out a whole mess of pieces for 8 mama cloth pads. I plan to get them sewed up tomorrow if my middle one goes back to school. I think when these are done my stash will be complete.

I also had some orders for bows over the last week.

These were for my friend Nichole's daughter Julia.

And a couple custom orders from my etsy shop

And lastly, a whole mess of clippies for my girls. They helped me use up some scraps of ribbon. I think my oldest is tired of wearing bows, but she does like clippies.

I don't know how they do it

2010-05-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Those bloggers who take amazing pictures of themselves, modeling different pieces of clothing they might have made. I can't figure it out.

I made this skirt for myself. Trying to take pictures of it actually on me, all by myself. First, I didn't want my face in them. I'm having a bad hair day and haven't felt well the last few days on top of that.

Should I sit down?

Stand and let the sun wash it all out?

Act timid and stand away?

Whatever way works, but I'm actually not happy with it. It's so bunchy at the waist and not full enough in the skirt. It's like a bubble around my legs. I think I need to work on my pattern idea.

I also made myself some mama cloth. These are my first ones. I was trying out a pattern I drew. I made the one on the right slightly larger than the left, and left off the channel stitching as well. I think I like this one best and will be making more soon.

Ah well. So I crafted for myself. I should do so more often.

Baby crafting

2010-05-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

My little sister is having a baby girl in August. I wanted to give her some things made just for the little one (who currently is nameless still! It's driving me nuts. Pick a name!).

The first thing I made was this little reversible dress. I had the idea for it in my head and had to wing the pattern on my own. However I goofed and didn't make the straps long enough when I drew the pattern. I wanted them to be long enough that they could overlap and snap. Instead they have a bit of elastic covered by coordinating fabric. Ah well. Trial and error.

And the other side:

Next, I whipped up this yummy carseat size lovey blanket. One side is organic bamboo velour (although I think that's supposed to be called rayon from bamboo now? I'm not sure...) The other side is bubblegum giraffes. I lurve this fabric. It's a favorite of mine.

Close up (the little loop now has a link-doo attached to it so she can hook it to the carseat or add a toy.)

And lastly, some little bibs. I followed the tutorial and used the pattern from here. These are really easy. Aside from the cutting, they take no time to make.

These are backed with fleece and have plastic snaps for closures. My hubby had to help me the first time using the snap pliers I got from KAM snaps. They're pretty easy to use although I did break a few snaps in practicing.

Sooo that's the start of her handmade gifts! I made up a few other things that aren't finished. Will post as soon as they're done. I've run out of thread!! Who does that? All I have is some yellow variegated thread that just doesn't look right at all. I want to make some more bibs, some matching burp cloths, and a couple more dresses.

Birthday party pics

2010-04-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

Finally. I'm so behind but I recently got the pictures from my sister in law.

First, I hung up some of the poms in the kitchen. Then we left them there....they're still up today. I should probably take them down...

Pouting in her lovely dress...she was so tired and had missed naptime.

With her friend, Hope. Lilly calls her "Popey"

Cupcakes! She was VERY excited for these

Opening presents with Daddy and Hope

She had a great party. I wish I had had my own camera, but these will have to do.

I had a bad day.

2010-04-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days you wake up and wish it could be tomorrow already.

It was dreary rainy out. The chilled damp air really gets to my body and I felt terrible all over. My muscles and joints ached like I had arthritis! Of course, everyone else said they were just fine, I must be crazy. But really, this happens every time it rains.

Later on in the day I tried to use my digital camera to take pictures of some things I made yesterday. I had whipped up a pretty summer skirt for myself and a couple headbands and wanted to show you all on the blog here. I went to turn the camera on and it wouldn't. At all. This camera has been sent out via Geek Squad twice already, had the entire lens unit replaced, as well as a new power board. However it just hates me and DH had to bring it in with him today in hopes that it'll get fixed. :( So sad, baby's party is tomorrow and I can't use my own camera.

THEN yesterday afternoon, my big girls were in their basement playroom goofing around. The middle comes upstairs and says "Mama do you like my hair?" And being a busy mama I say "Sure" then glance up and notice she's hacked her hair off. Mullet-style. I was in shock. I cried. I called my mum who said "come on over and I'll try to fix it". Now she has a pixie cut, which looks okay on her tiny little elf-like head, but it makes me so sad. Her hair was finally growing longer. It had gorgeous curly waves and hung past her shoulders. *crying!!* I'm heartbroken. I know it's just hair, but it's my little girls hair!

And of course I can't show you any pictures because of the nonfunctioning camera, but let's just say it wasn't pretty, it's okay now, but hopefully it'll grow in faster.

Today has been a better, sunnier day. Let's hope mother nature gives me a long break from a day like that again

It's good that I don't parent the way I blog

2010-04-05T12:01:00.001-07:00

It's been nearly a month!! Isn't that crazy!?! Things have been wild and psychotic this past month. I've been prepping for the little ones birthday party, and Easter too! Not to mention it's been the wettest March in FOREVER here.

I made a bajillion of these paper poms for the birthday party. I used the tutorial from Martha's website. These were really easy! I believe we'll be making these for EVERY family function from now on.

I've been working on knitting some shorties for the little one as well. However that's not going so well. My numb kittens keep finding the work in progress and chewing the yarn so that it breaks! Imagine my heartbreak everytime I got to pick it up to work on it some more and find that the hours of stitches I put into it are useless.

I made some of these eggs for the girls for Easter. I need to wrestle them away so I can get a picture.

So I've been busy, but hopefully things will slow down this coming month. The birthday party is this coming Sunday and then not much else going on except Mother's Day then the middle's birthday is June 1st.

I'll be around more for a bit. :)

2nd Birthday Dress

2010-03-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

It's finished! *passes out from stress and exhaustion!*

This was such a hard piece for me to do. I didn't want to mess it up, I did not want to ruin the fabrics. I ended up using Sandi Henderson's Claire pattern instead of the Pink Fig one and I'm glad I did. I think it perfectly fits the little ones personality.

This pattern requires shirring. Which means sewing with elastic thread - something I've never done before. I fretted the whole time and actually avoided touching the dress for two days even though that was all that was left to do on it. I was worried I'd stretched the elastic accidentally when threading the bobbin. And I was nervous that I'd have the tension too tight and just plain screw everything up.

She's pretty pleased, don't you think?

She said "I a prinpress!" (princess, in case you don't speak toddler). She even wanted to sleep in it. There was lots of twirling and "I so pretty!" going on when she put it on.

Now I just need to make her bunting banner with the scraps and a few more things and her party, which is less than a month away, will be complete :)

My new table!

2010-03-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

We bought a new table as a Valentine's gift to ourselves, it was something we needed and wanted, so we just went out and got it. Not something we typically do, mind you.

Here she is! Isn't she beautiful? I love the color and the lines and the curves of the sides.

It has a leaf in it at the moment but we can remove it to make it a smaller rectangular table. It's pub height too, which I love!

Another great giveaway on Heather's blog

2010-03-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know how she does it. Heather of Mommy of 1 and Counting is just so lucky to get to try out all these great products, and she's so awesome in that she gets to give away some really cool stuff.

Today she's teamed up with Wee Little Changes to giveaway a FuzziBuns diaper to the winner.

Go check out the giveaway and definitely checkout the Wee Little Changes site, Heather says they have free shipping to the continental US and International APO/FPO addresses - How fabulous!!

Strategizing Check In

2010-03-02T08:00:00.001-08:00

Remember this post where I planned out what I wanted to do craft-wise over the first 5 months of 2010? Well I thought I'd check in with where we're at.

January
- Begin and complete brainstorming for Lilly's 2nd birthday Polka Dot party (in April)Done! I brainstormed with some great friends in real life and on BAM and came up with some great ideas
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space Well I slacked off on this one. I only came up with that cute topiary/charger/candles thing. I need something more fun
- Really start working on quilt for DH and I (goal - complete top by April) DH and I ran into some issues with what we want our bedroom to look like. We keep wavering back and forth between brown and blues and brown and reds. :( I need to figure this out already!
- Follow two tutorials Well I'm happy to say I got somewhere with this one. I made these pillows and this skirt.

February
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space Ah yeah, or not?
- Begin and complete favors and decor for Lilly's 2nd birthday party I ordered somethings for Lilly's party, and picked up some other things for the decor, but it's still in the process of being put together and we're still waiting on things to arrive
- Continue work on our quilt Right.
- Follow two tutorials Woohoo! Well I did this one just fine too. Bebe the doll and the burlap wreath

So there's the first two months of the year. Let's hope I can make some headway with March. A little reminder of what we have in store for this roaring month...

March
- Sew Lilly's birthday dress using this great pattern by Pink Fig - the Cuppy Cake dress
- Continue work on our quilt, hopefully near completiong
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Research local professional quilters in hopes of finding one to quilt my quilt for me (I'm afraid I'll ruin it!)
- Start brainstorming ideas for Caylee's 4th birthday in June

Ah yes, we need some changes. How about this

March
- Sew Lilly's birthday dress using this great pattern by Pink Fig - the Cuppy Cake dress
- Finish the decor and favors for Lilly's party
- Figure out colors for quilt
- Complete ONE craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Start brainstorming ideas for Caylee's 4th birthday in June (she would like a pony princess party)
- Follow two tutorials

Wish me luck!

Decorating Daydreaming

2010-03-01T06:01:00.001-08:00

While I'm enjoying trying to add all these fun little touches (wall decor, pillows) to make our living room homey, I still hate our furniture. Literally, I despise our big ugly couch. I can't stand DH's tv stand from his bachelor days. So I've been fantasizing about my perfect living room furniture.

There's these couches that I adore. They're the perfect color, IMO for having kids, but still looking clean and grownup. I love the lines in it and the contrasting trim.

I think this tv cabinet is perfect too. From Target...

And I love the style of this cocktail table and matching end tables from Target, too.

I think that's it for the living room we have now. If I had a bigger livingroom, my dream living room, we'd need bookcases as well. But we don't. Here's hoping that next year we can do the living room up, I just have to talk the Hubby into getting rid of the ugly white couch.

Let's bring on spring - with a SALE!!

2010-02-26T22:22:00.001-08:00

This New England weather is killing me.

It seems like one minute we have snow, the next sunshine, the next rain.

I can't take much more of it, especially after this last storm knocked out our power for a bit.

I know we're fortunate that our power came back on and we're all safe and sound. Some of our family and friends are still without power.

But we are New Englanders. We persevere. We stand our ground. And we urge Spring to come our way.

So please, sweet Spring, could you join us for a while? And invite your sister Summer to visit in a few months as well.

If you're looking for a little springtime cheer, head over to the shop where I'm holding an end of February, beginning of March, "Bring on Spring" sale. All hairbow holders are on sale 15% off, all hairbows are 10% off, and if you spend $25 or more in the shop, I'll refund your shipping!

Stay safe, stay warm, take care

Thrifty Finds

2010-02-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

My girls and I went on a little bargain hunting adventure today. They had never been to Goodwill, and I hadn't been myself in quite a while. So I loaded them in the car and off we went. I wasn't in search of anything in particular, but I knew I wanted to focus on household items and decor.

I found this great apple shaped wire fruit basket (at least, I think that's what it is!) for $2.99. How fun is this? I now must go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock up on more fruit to fill it.

An then I found this lovely little dish. So pretty and creamy. She (yes, I've determined the bowl has a gender) was just $2.99 as well.

And at the beginning of last week I picked up these beauties on Craigslist. For $7.50 each. They're sturdy and beautiful. I've had DH hang one in our stairway and the other in the kitchen. He's going to paint them a dark black/brown. I think that little dish above will look fabulous on them when they're done.

We also swung by Target this afternoon to browse the clearance endcaps. I found that a lot of the linens, like table cloths, napkins, and curtains, were on clearance. I picked up to dark brown curtain panels for $1.98 each and some creamy sheers for $1.98 a pair. I didn't get a picture of them in the package because I already hung them up.

I think I want to go to the other Goodwill in our area tomorrow, and maybe the Target near the Hubby's work to see what other things I can find :)

Happy Sunday!

Crafting for a good cause

2010-02-19T06:00:00.001-08:00

Hello world, I think it's time we had a little talk. I've posted before how I love to read through my blog roll on the right there, see what the crafty ladies of the blogosphere are up to each morning/afternoon/night. I get excited seeing what fun things they've created, learning about their lives, reading their recipes.

This morning, however, I had tugs on my heart and tears in my eyes when I found the post from Sachiko of Tea Rose Home. She linked to a post on I Make Stuff, Alida's blog. Alida revealed on her blog that she is an Iraq War widow. The picture of her handsome husband sent chills down my spine and made me want to call the Hubby and just say "I love you".

Alida has sent out a call for help to the crafty ladies of the world. She'd like us to create some handmade journals, the kind with covers that go over those black and white composition books you got in school. She read somewhere that journaling helps people who are grieving, and they are less likely to need depression medication. She posted a tutorial, that's very simple to follow and shouldn't take hardly any time at all. I just saw the comp books at Wally world for 75 cents.

Please ladies, check out her request and help out. I'm going to grab some journals tonight and get sewing. Will you?

More burlap :)

2010-02-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by this wreath here on Tatertots and Jello. I had a small foam wreath I picked up at the Dollar Tree.

I wrapped it in strips of burlap, securing it at the back with straight pins, I wanted to be able to take it apart if I didn't like it. Then I cut a different size circles of burlap and fabric and attach them using pearly headed straight pins.

Maybe I'll add more circle stacks, not sure just yet. I kind of like the simplicity of it. I created the tie by cutting a long strip of fabric, folding it in half right sides together and stitching down the long side. I flipped it right side out, closed up the ends by tucking them inside and stitching down, then wrapping around the top and tying it up.

I have it hung here for now, I may move it, depending on how much the kiddos try to play with it. And surprisingly, the Hubby likes it. Who knew?

Oh! And I hung up the wall decor from yesterdays post. I think I like them this way, but I want to kiddy corner my couch underneath them now. Hmmmm (excuse the mess, the little one is sleeping on the couch and I don't want to wake her by cleaning, at least, that's my excuse!)

Linked up to

Burlap wall decor

2010-02-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

I'm sort of in the process of making our house a home. This is involving lots of wall decorating, because we have plain white walls - just boring to me.

My amazing Hubby stopped at the fabric store for me last night and picked up a yard of burlap for me. He's fantastic, yes?

I painted these frames the other day. They were an ugly orange-y stain before (sorry no picture of said ugly stain), and I used an oil rubbed bronze spray paint, which is probably my new favorite craft item.

I debated for a long time what to put in the frames. I searched the internet for different fabrics but had the hardest time. You see, I recently purchased these little wall decorations, and I wanted something that looked good with them (red, black, cream) but not too match-y.

I also wanted to try to tie in the pillows I made with Amy Butler fabric.

Finally I decided I'd give burlap a try. It's all over blogland and why not? It's fun stuff. So I used some Steam-a-Seam and attached some of the flowers from the AB fabric to the burlap. Then with the help of my trusty staple gun, I stretched the burlap across the back of the frame.

I think I like it. It's growing on me. I think I'll like them more when I hang them up. I just need to decide where to put 'em! (Obviously I won't leave them sitting on the back of the couch!)

I'm linking today to:

Whatever Goes Wednesday on Someday Crafts

Show and Tell with Blue Cricket Design

and

Dick & Jane Wall Art

2010-02-16T04:51:00.000-08:00

I've been planning to put this together for about a week, and only just this morning got around to it. I'm feeling lazy.

Anyhoo. I love this Dick & Jane fabric. It's so fun and sweet, classic but new, at the same time. Someone dear to me is having a baby and I wanted to get started on making her some things. The gender isn't known yet so I figured this was neutral enough.

I started with these things - frame, fabric, staple gun, scissors, ribbon, and hot glue. I had already painted the frame and sanded it a little.

Stretch the fabric across the back, stapling the top, then the bottom, and finally the sides. I found this is the easiest way to get it from puckering.

When it was all stapled, it looked like this.

Then trim the excess fabric.

And Voila! Pretty yes? I was going to attach ribbon but decided I liked it without.

There you go :) Easy, pretty wall art. I'm going to put together a few more of these so it's not just one piece of the fabric.

I'm linking up to

and

Lucky Star Lane - Lucky Linky Tuesday

Meet BeBe

2010-02-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

Everyday, I pop in my blog, even if I haven't been posting on it, and I read through the blog roll on the right side there. I love seeing what all the talented people are doing in blog land. I LOVE seeing all the fun crafty things and especially adore cute tutorials.

And Tuesday, when I found this Ballerina Doll tutorial on Tiffany's blog, Making the World Cuter, I thought "self, you could totally do that!" and do that I did. Only not nearly as cute as Tiffany's but still I tried!

I decided to use some organic bamboo velour for the legs, arms, and head and flannel for the dress. I wanted the doll to be soft and cuddly. I followed the advice given in the tutorial to attach the head pieces to the dress pieces first. I have to admit now, I sort of had to do the whole thing from memory. My laptop was upstairs and I hadn't gone into my craft space with the intention of sewing. I just spur of the moment decided to go for it. So I topstitched it shut instead of doing right sides together.

I think it makes her look more homely haha but that's okay. I might go around and surge the edges or something, or I might leave them raw and let them get all frayed and soft. We'll see.

The little one loved her immediately. She said "I like it!" (woohoo a new sentence!) And then cuddled her up. She is learning body parts and made sure to show me the eyes, "mouf", head, arms, and "piggies" (feet). Pretty clever, my little one. She loved her so much, they fell asleep for a sweet little nap.

Of course, now I must make two more. The joys of having three little girls!!

Handmade school Valentines

2010-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

My oldest gets to have her first school party for Valentine's day. This is a big deal. As mentioned before, her preschool is non-denominational, and as such they don't have ANY holiday parties. The kindergarten is VERY into holidays.

We got the letter home saying she needed a decorated box to "receive" her valentine's in as well as 18 valentine's for her classmates. Using an old tissue box, some paint, glue, glitter, and foam stickers she created this:

Cute huh? I love that the inside is a shiny silver, almost like it knew it was going to be fancied up later in life.

And her invites:

We printed out heart shapes, cut them with pinking shears, and she wrote her name on them. In an effort to keep the party less chaotic, the teachers asked the little notes not be addressed to any person in particular, this way the kids can just put the valentine's in the others boxes and it'd go much smoother. Once she "decorated" the white parts we glued them onto construction paper squares. She stuck foam stickers on the backside and we glued tiny flower sequins to the fronts. I love them, don't you?

Her party is Monday so these are just waiting to go. I am excited for her, almost as excited as she is to have her first real school party.

Focus

2010-02-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

Family life has been a bit hectic lately. The kids are gearing up for Valentine's and "Cube" parties, the hubby had his birthday, etc etc. (By the way a cube party is my middle's preschool's way of being non-denominational. So many kids, so many cultures. They'd rather celebrate other things - like bubbles and camping so that no one is left out, including kids who don't have holidays. So as the kids behave, they get cubes and at a certain point they "earn" a party. This is something we're incorporating at home now too.)

SO I haven't been around here. I haven't been too crafty lately either. What am I focusing on?

Lots of things.

1. The baby's birthday party. I made up the invitation a few weeks ago:

I used:
"Unforgettable" by Spinky Dink Scraps
"Mod boy" and "Mod Girl" by Tracie Stroud
Fonts - Prissy Frat Boy and Ribbon Happy

2. The baby's birthday dress. I've got a bunch of fabrics on the way including the following:

I'm not using all of these, just the top three and bottom one.
photo courtesy sewdeerlyloved on etsy

I'm going to use the "Claire" pattern hopefully, by Sandi Henderson.

3. I've been trying to make our house more of a "home", putting things on the walls, moving stuff around. Mostly in the kitchen and living room. My kitchen wall above the table now looks like this

Before it was just the two Partylite sconces, one slightly to the right and above the other. I think this is nice. Just maybe need to make something to hang on the hooks? Any ideas?

I'll post pics of the living room soon. I just need to find my camera cord.

4. Spending lots of quality time with the hubby and the girls. I took the middle and little one out to lunch yesterday. They picked Burger King, of all places. You should have seen how excited they were to go indoors and eat. I think we use the drive thru a bit too much...

Anyway, I've been busy crafting with the girls today. I'll have another post soon!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

2010-02-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Hubby turned a whopping 25! We celebrated with friends over the weekend. His favorite show is Top Gear, from the BBC. He's a car junkie and can't get enough of those guys. Our good friend Chris was pretty creative and had a photo of the Top Gear hosts turned into a birthday cake for Hubby.

He was absolutely impressed by it and didn't want to cut into the awesomeness. (Of course we did!)

Yesterday I took him cross country skiing. He loves the sport and has taken the time to teach me. I only fell twice this time. After that we went out for lunch and came home.

Needless to say I have not been crafting since the last post as we've been busy with birthday plans and events.

Happy Birthday Hubby! I love you!

Followers favorites giveaway at Dress-up Drawer

2010-01-28T11:07:00.001-08:00

I was very excited to see this fun giveaway. I was looking at Jessica's blog Happy Together today and she had posted that one of her headbands is up for a giveaway on The Dress-up Drawer!! There are also some other funtabulous items available for giveaway - click this button and check them all out!!

Jeans to ruffle skirt

2010-01-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

I'm positive I've seen this done somewhere else in blogland, but I couldn't find the post when I went to work on this project, so I sort of winged it. My middle one had a pair of jeans with a roughed up knee, it was pretty much non-existent. They were otherwise in good shape, and also one of my favorite brands of jeans for kids - Oshkosh. I couldn't just toss them!

So I grabbed some pretty pink fabric I had bought at a 50% off clearance sale at Jo-Ann's and went to town.

I wish I had thought to take pictures of the process, so this isn't really a tutorial, but the kids were actually being quiet and playing ALL TOGETHER!! which is a very rare occurrence, I knew I didn't have long to get it done.

First I cut the jeans off about an inch below the zipper. Then I cut 2 pieces of the fabric 3"x44" and sewed the ends together to make one continuous loop. I hemmed it real quick about a half inch then went ahead and gathered the top, using the ruffling step in this skirt tutorial here. I cut 2 more pieces, this time 6"x44" and did the same things - hem, gather, ruffle.

I placed the 3" ruffle right side against the right side of the skirt, matching up raw edges, then placed the 6" ruffle right side against the wrong side of the first ruffle. Sewed it all in place, backstitching a few times over places I knew would need it (like the front, below the zipper). And then I top stitched to help it lay flatter than it was. That's it! Easy peasy! Took about a half hour, including all the gathering and cutting.

Pictures? Okay, here's some pictures. She's calling it her Lovey Day Skirt. How cute!?

Don't you just love those pockets??

And on (with grey leggings...I don't know about this one haha)

Oh and a sneaky peaky of something I've been working on for DAYS and hope to finish tomorrow...or Friday we'll see!

Lovin' on Etsy #5 - Shopping Local

2010-01-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

1. Embroidered wallet in Reaching Leaves by LBaccessories

2. Cream Bloom Headband by littlehoneypies

3. Tri-fold Credit Card / Business Card Holder/ Wallet/ Keyfob by cassylaintotes

4. Pair of Russian Matryoshka Doll Organic Lavender Sachets by geschichtenvonkat

Supporting local crafters is important to me. I frequently type my home and nearby states into the Etsy Shop Local The above sellers are from New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Pillows!! and some Thrifty Finds

2010-01-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

I saw these great pillows the other day on Ashley's blog Make It and Love It. I immediately fell in love. Not only with pillows but also because I just got all that same fabric, remember? I have been so nervous about cutting into it, because I really do adore the prints, and because it's not cheap stuff to come by.

I do like that tie pillow tutorial a lot, but like I said, nervous about messing up such gorgeous fabric. So I decided to do something a little simpler. I used Candace at Sparkle Power's Super Easy Removable Pillow Cover tutorial. She doesn't lie. It's super easy. Each pillow took me 15 minutes, including all the ironing.

I picked up two 16"x16" pillow forms at Jo-Ann's yesterday. They were on sale 50% off so I got the pair for less than $8.

I'm trying to decide which couch they should rest on for now.

The brown upholstered one:

or the light colored microfiber:

I don't love either couch. If I had my way I'd get a new set that was a medium grey color but for now I'm stuck with these. Maybe I'll get some slipcovers. Except the light colored one is 92" long. Do they make slipcovers that big??

And now that I made these two covers without freaking out or messing them up, I'm totally going to try the tie pillows, tomorrow. During naptime.

Onto other things, my mom and I went shopping on Friday with the little girls. It was nice to have some time with my mom. I love her, even if we do butt heads like crazy. We're too much alike and yet very different at the same time.

We found this great little hooded jacket at Target for the little one. $6!! It's part wool, very cozy warm. When we put it on her, she said "I so pretty!" *wub*

We also stopped at a thrift store. They were doing a "stuff a bag" sale - whatever fit in the bag for $10. They had these satiny striped curtains hanging up in the back of the store, I think they were just decoration/hiding the ugly walls but I shouted to the guy running the register "Are the curtains stuffable?!" hehe I was totally (mostly) kidding and he said "Well, uh, we sell everything!" A few minutes later, after shopping some more, my mom hollered to me (we're yellers apparently) that I should find a way to get them down. The guy overheard her and said if I want them I can have them.

They look great in the girls room between their white/circle/dot curtains, don't you think? And I love how when the sun is on that side of the house the light makes the curtains shine on the walls and turns their room pink and orange.

Oh and a few days ago, the little girls and I went to Michaels to check out their clearance sale. I found this for $1. One dollar!!! I wanted to stick it somewhere so I pulled out another one of my chargers and it's on the kitchen table. It need a different candle inside, or something else. Maybe more of those marble things. Any ideas? I have to be careful though, the little one is still in the stick-everything-in-her-mouth stage.

*****

Heather of Mommy of 1 and Counting is doing yet another great giveaway! This time for Downeast Basics! Head over and enter!!

More new bows

2010-01-23T07:28:00.001-08:00

I've been busy with a few orders on Etsy and wanted to post the results of my toiling.

I just love the aqua/pink/purple/white ones and the navy/light blue one. I love making bows for other people, especially when they come up with their own color ideas, because it makes me want to make more for my own girls. Of course, these ladies don't really need more bows at the moment. We have so many!

And while I was baking/curling/playing with ribbon, I decided to play around.

Love it.

I'm still working on a few things, will post them soon!

Mod Podge!!

2010-01-19T10:25:00.001-08:00

Except the Hubby thinks it's really stinky!! I bought myself a jug of the stuff because it's all over blogland and I figured it's time to branch out some.

I didn't want to start with anything that I owned that I would be worried about ruining. This is my first mod podging, of course. I remembered reading somewhere about turning a priority mailbox into storage for 12x12 scrapbook paper. I do get a lot of packages in the mail and had one of these boxes available. It's 12.5" x 15.5" x 3" in size - perfect for the paper.

I want to note here that priority mailboxes are free for use in shipping mail via the USPS priority mail. Please don't take a fresh box from the PO to make a holder like this. The only way they can offer these for free is if they're used the proper way - for mailing. If you RECEIVE a box in the mail, the way I did, then by all means go ahead and mod podge it up. Let's try to keep the postal rates down (no matter that they keep raising 'em on us).

Okay off my soapbox, this is what I made. I wish I had taken pictures of the process but I will when I make the second one. I made this one as the patterned paper container, and I'll be making one for solid papers.

I also made this set of lower-case rag quilt letters using this tutorial by Jessica at Happy Together.

I love how they came out, although I have to make more of certain letters, namely "i", "e", "l", "a", and "n" (letters in the girls' names).

The little one and I were playing with them today, and I "wrote"

Which gave me a fun idea for a project - I'll post them tomorrow!!

Vintage Mini-Quilt Giveaway on Bright and Blithe

2010-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

I have been spending the last few days being more mama than creative and in doing so, I've not had much to post here.

However, I stumbled across this lovely blog today. After perusing the past posts and drooling over her new shop, I decided Yes, I will enter that contest and wanted to post here to show you all and encourage you to enter too!

Look at this loveliness! Isn't it fantastic? I want it. But maybe we should fight for it, yes? Go enter! *click the image to find her contest*

And check out her lovely market. I think I adore those pillow covers

I made a top - without a pattern

2010-01-16T07:41:00.002-08:00

I got an idea in my head and just had to try it out. I want to note here that I don't have a ballpoint needle on my machine, which I'm told would have made things easier. Also it would have been nice to use a serger, but I don't have access to one for another week or so, so I had to make do with my sewing machine.

I wanted to make a shirt that would look good alone in the summer, or layered over a tee when it's cooller, for my daughter. I had this knit fabric I picked up super cheap at JoAnn's when I worked there and figured I should put it to use.

First I cut two trapezoid shapes out. I used another one of her shirts to get the basic shape I wanted, and cut it a little longer. I also needed some pieces to make the straps. Ignore the 4 pieces here, I ended up cutting two pieces that were 3 inches by 7 inches.

Next I lettuce edged the hem. I accidentally figure out how to do this by zigzagging the edge and pulling from the front and back. I knew how to do it with a serger, but am thrilled I can basically do it with my sewing machine.

Once the edges were done, I cut curves out near the top to make room for underarms. Then I folded the sides in and stitched down.

To make the straps, I fold them in half lengthwise and stitched down the side. I tried to use 1/4" seams. I then turned them inside out.

I attached the straps to the right side of one of the sides of the shirt.

Then I flipped the piece over and folded down the top, then stitched across. After that, I flipped it over and stitched across the straps one more time to make sure they were nice and secure.

I did the same thing to the other side and it looked like this...

Next I pinned the to shirt pieces right sides together matching up the arm holes and hem. I stitched down the sides and flipped it right side out.

And the completed top! (with a matching tee underneath)

After I finished I decided I really want to make these with regular cotton fabric. I think that's what is on my agenda this weekend :) We'll see!

Super Easy Baked Ziti!!

2010-01-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Remember my goal to be a better cook? Well I'm getting there!! I can proudly say I've made dinner almost every night the last week (minus 1 night the Hubby took care of it, bless him). AND every time I made dinner the girls ate it all and asked for SECONDS!! Doesn't that warm a mama's heart?

So in keeping with my plans, I decided to make baked ziti last night. It's beyond easy. Besides the boiling water/pasta part, it takes minutes to prep.

Here's what you need:
1 package ziti pasta (I used rigatoni last night because I grabbed the wrong box at the store but usually we do ziti)
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
Grated Parmesan cheese

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain, pour pasta into baking dish.

Step 2. Pour sauce over pasta, as much as you need to coat it (we use about a half a jar, but you might like it more or less saucy. I go slow when I pour). Stir the pasta and sauce up.

Step 3. Add beaten egg to the pasta and sauce. Stir until it's pretty evenly spread out.

Step 4. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. If you like a lot of cheese like I do, use a lot. If not just a thin layer will do. **I want to note here that my lovely Hubby used almost a whole bag of cheese on pizzas the other night, SO I had to substitute with cheddar. It was still good, just not the same as full on mozzarella.** Sprinkly Parmesan cheese over top just a bit.

Step 5. BAKE! 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browning.

It should look like this:

All served up for the girls.

Note the green bowls. We have a problem here where I bought all these funky colored bowls. They fought over the green one. Green is my middle's favorite color. Apparently it's now everyone's. SO I saw these at Target for like $1.99 and knew I had to have them. So far no more fights.

So yummy and super easy!!

I'm posting this to Blue Cricket Design's Show and Tell

Swing on over there and check out all the amazing craftiness going on in the blog world :)

Lovin' on Etsy #4 and some other things of not so much consequence

2010-01-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

1. Spectacle Dangle Earrings by AntiquatedPearl

2. STERLING SILVER NECKLACE WITH FRESHWATER PEARL by heartdesignjewelry

3. fairytale . silver . necklace by 87photography

4. Pearl Swarovski Crystal Mauve Bangle Bracelet by beadedjewelryforyou

Now that we're all done spoiling the kiddos with holiday gifts and cheer, I'm of the mind to spoil myself. Except I can't. The Hubby would prefer I wait until after Valentine's Day to do so (and yes, we're totally commercial when it comes to this holiday, no apologies here!). So instead, I'm posting some of my favorite etsy finds in hopes that maybe he'll swing by my blog and get some ideas. Of course, should V-day fly by without a trinket like these, I might have to get something for myself anyway. I hardly ever shop for me, really. I just pretend I do.

Anyway -

Remember the changing table I got? The one that was going to be my new fabric storage? Sadly, it has suffered a major catastrophe at the hands of yours truly. I tripped in the basement while carrying something very heavy and crashed into it, heavy object first, which really wrecked the table. It was very unfortunate. But I have found a new hope! Meet my next new addition!

I actually think I like this one better and I think I'm going to leave it as is for now. What do you think? Should I modge podge the top? I do think I'm going to change out the knobs but haven't decided what I'll change them too. Lots to think about.

Can you follow a pattern?

2010-01-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

Because I learned that I can! Wow I'm impressing myself with my sudden increase in skills! (just kidding, I'm just glad I didn't hurt myself haha!)

I started this dress for my oldest daughter AGES ago, before her 5th birthday in September. Unfortunately I didn't give myself enough time to make the dress, the party favors, or anything else for that matter. So the pattern pieces were pushed to the wayside.

Until two days ago. I had found it all when cleaning out my craft space and the other day decided that it was time to finish it. I was a little worried that it wouldn't fit her anymore and would be a bit too big for the middle one.

Here's a couple pics. One from last night in the in between stages (do you like the way I changed up the charger display? I got a suggestion from Amanda to add some vintage beads. However I don't have any *sadly* so I used some of the girls' costume jewelry)

And today, all done, minus the zipper and a little embellishing on the front. Last night I still needed bias tape and then I realized "I can make some!" I talked to myself out loud a lot last night about bias tape, like "Whoever created this idea is a GENIUS!" and "Oh my gosh it really does stretch!" haha I was special last night that's for sure.

I'm thinking I might make one of those fun fabric flowers for the front, in hot pink to match the colors in the dress, with a spakly button center.

And I wanted to say we're all done with kojodesign's "I heart New Year's Challenge"!!

Yesterday I did the downstairs deep cleaning. My living room never looked so good. However, I forgot to take pictures and the Hubby was home today and claimed it as his domain. TODAY was the "overflow" or "rest" day and I decided to do both. The girls' room really needed some cleaning up and rearranging. The littlest one discovered how to get to the top bunk and we decided this just wasn't safe...so we took the bunk beds apart.

A quick before (there's a few things different in here now than before, this from when we moved in this summer, so there were boxes everywhere still).

And after hours of labor, and Hubby's strong moving skills:

I'm ALMOST happy with it. We cleared out some stuff but there's still SO MUCH! These guys are spoiled and they know it. I do have plans for some fun funky frames and decorations in there. Maybe some paper lanterns? We'll see :)

I joined the party here today:

I can cook!

2010-01-06T17:40:00.000-08:00

Haha! Well mostly I can follow directions without burning anything.

Part of my new year's goals was to be a better cook. I've had a lot of problems in the past of things not going well for me when I try to make a meal (like dinner!) and I really wanted to improve on that. The Hubby has been complaining that he does all the dinner cooking, I don't need that, now do I?

So the first thing I did was set up a meal plan for two weeks:

Mon 1/4 - Hamburger Helper, mashed potatoes, peas (easy night lol)
Tues 1/5 - Ultimate Chicken Fingers, garlic pasta, corn
Wed 1/6 - Sandwiches, macaroni salad
Thur 1/7 - Spaghetti and slow cooker meatballs, salad, garlic bread
Fri 1/8 - Leftover sauce with elbow pasta, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
Sat 1/9 - Taco Bake
Sun 1/10 - Breakfast for Dinner - pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast

Mon 1/11 - Hot Dogs, Mac'n'cheese, corn on the cob (steamfresh)
Tues 1/12 - Tortellini with sauce, salad
Wed 1/13 - Brocolli Chicken Casserole, garlic bread
Thur 1/14 - Pizzas - BBQ for DH, sliced tomato and cheese for me, pepperoni for the girls
Fri 1/15 - Baked Ziti, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
Sat 1/16 - Tuna sandwiches, baked mac'n'cheese
Sun 1/17 - Roast chicken, squash, potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing

Then I made a grocery list, organized by my grocery store's layout:

lunchmeat
cheese
rolls
lettuce
apples
bananas
cucumbers
squash
mayo
pickles
bbq sauce
bisquick
emeril's garlic parm seasoning
cereal
poptarts (for DH for work)
syrup
boneless chicken tenders
family size ground beef
roaster chicken
taco seasoning
bowtie pasta
elbows
spaghetti
sauce (2)
parm cheese
boyardees
pizza crust
juice
corn
peas
pepperoni
bologna
bacon
hot dogs
shredded pizza cheese
shredded mozzarella cheese
shredded taco/nacho cheese
large ricotta
eggs
oj
milk
sour cream
bread
eng muffins
butter
greek yogurt

I tried not to put too many "easy" cop-out type foods, so that I would be forced to follow the meal plan. I did include some simpler meals like the sandwiches and hotdogs, buts made sure to add sides that take time to prepare like the mac'n'cheese and the macaroni salad (we have a thing for elbows here).

Yesterday I had a bad day and couldn't handle the idea of a lot of prep work so I swapped the sandwiches for the chicken fingers. I did make the chicken fingers tonight and they were so good, my girls at it all and asked for seconds! So good, I'd like to share the recipe with you, which I found on the side of the Bisquick box!

Ultimate Chicken Fingers
Ingredients

* 8 boneless skinless chicken tenders
* 2/3 cup Bisquick baking mix
* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. In 1 gal plastic resealable food-storage bag, mix Bisquick mix, cheese, salt and paprika.

2. Dip half the chicken strips into egg; place in bag of Bisquick mixture.

3. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat using remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

4. Bake 12-14, turning halfway through bake time with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center.

5. To freeze: Coat chicken in mixture. Lay flat on a baking sheet and freeze until firm.

6. To serve: from frozen, bake at 350 15-20 minutes per side.

These are seriously the easiest chicken fingers ever. And they taste so good! I add a bit more paprika than the recipe calls for, as well as a dash of garlic powder (just a bit!). When I drizzle the butter on top, I also sprinkle a little more cheese and voila! Super yummy dinner even the kids will love!

I have leftovers, which I'll be adding to a fresh garden salad tomorrow for lunch!

Two posts - one day!

2010-01-05T16:48:00.000-08:00

Okay so I announced the winner of my giveaway and now I want to tell you about some other giveaways going on at some of my favorite blogs.

First, Is the amazing $75 Giveaway from Lisa Leonard Designs hosted by Traci of Beneath My Heart. The pieces are perfect for Mother's Day gifts, sweetheart presents, or to simply treat yourself!

I'm in love with this one, her newest style called "Heart Strings"

(photo courtesy Lisa Leonard Designs)

Heather of Mommy of 1 and Counting always has terrific giveaways going on at her blog. I recently won one!! I won the Thirsties Duo Diaper giveaway. It actually arrived in the mail yesterday and I was so happy for fluffy mail and even happier because I actually won something!

Of the giveaways going on now, Heather has The Cream Perfume Company giveaway. They've offered an item of choice to three of her readers. I think the Coconut Body Moisturizer sounds fabulous and summery - perfect if you need a sensory escape from the winter doldrums.

Over at Kojodesigns, Kristin and Jordan are giving away a set of 10 "iloveyou" mini cards by kojodesigns. These are perfect for Valentine's day, or little love notes for you to leave for your significant other, just to say "Hey, I love you."

So there you have it. Three more giveaways in the blog world. There are so many more too! Check out the sidebars on all the different blogs, so many list their favorite blogs in a blogroll, like I do here >>>>>>>
You never know what you'll stumble upon!

Giveaway Winner!!

2010-01-05T09:00:00.001-08:00

Are you eager to find out who won the hairbows? I sure was too! I used a random number generator and the winner is:

KELLY!! Who said:

Oh these are adorable Kristan! I'd love these for my God-daughter!

Love the blog and the title!

I'm sending you a message Kelly! Congratulations :)

I'll be having another giveaway really soon! So keep popping in and checking out what we're doing here!

I heart New Years Challenge #5 - Strategize!

2010-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Number 5 on kojodesigns' I heart New Years Challenge is "Strategize". They essentially say to avoid failure you should break down your goals into realistic bits and pieces, create a strategy, a detailed plan of what you want to accomnplish.

And here I sit before you, strategizing. I'm strategizing my craftiness and my organization. I set bigger goals for my life in general a few posts back, but now it's time to get down to the knitty gritty and really think on what I want to get done. So here's my list:

January
- Begin and complete brainstorming for Lilly's 2nd birthday Polka Dot party (in April)
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Really start working on quilt for DH and I (goal - complete top by April)
- Follow two tutorials

February
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Begin and complete favors and decor for Lilly's 2nd birthday party
- Continue work on our quilt
- Follow two tutorials

March
- Sew Lilly's birthday dress using this great pattern by Pink Fig - the Cuppy Cake dress
- Continue work on our quilt, hopefully near completiong
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Research local professional quilters in hopes of finding one to quilt my quilt for me (I'm afraid I'll ruin it!)
- Start brainstorming ideas for Caylee's 4th birthday in June

April
- Lilly's birthday party!!
- Finish work on our quilt, set up with local quilter *hopefully* to have quilt "quilted" in May
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Begin and complete Caylee's decor and favors
- Follow two tutorials

May
- Have quilt "quilted"
- Complete two craft-space projects to make it a more inviting and inspiring space
- Sew Caylee's birthday outfit... haven't decided on it yet
- Follow two tutorials

I think I'll stop there. June will be crazy for me as will July. I'll update later on ;)

Just about ONE HOUR LEFT!! for the Korker Giveaway!! Enter now!!

Ahhh!

2010-01-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

A sigh of relief, that's what that was. Tonight is the last night of school vacation. I am so looking forward to my one-on-one time with the littlest, as well as her nap time ;) so that I can get things done. Of course looking at my craft space, I was NOT feeling motivated to craft at all.

But then...I saw on KojoDesigns the "I heart New Years Challenge" and decided I might as well get cracking.

This is the before of my craft space. The holidays and change in seasons really messes me up. Things get put all willy-nilly, the kids invade the space, and it just gets yucky! *bleh*

And the afters. I sew, make hairbows, scrapbook, and paint, among other things down here. I wish it weren't a basement but it'll do for now.

Here is where I do my fabric cutting (someday, maybe soon, I'll have a nice big cutting mat, or a cutting table!!), my scrapbooking, painting, and bow making.

This plastic storage my parents gave me for Christmas. I labeled the drawers with spare cardstock and filled it right up. Notions, ribbon, patterns etc go here.

On the right here, you can see my mountain of scrapbooks and baskets/bins filled with felt, pictures, miscellanous scrapbooking things. The brown cabinet houses the girls' baby books, yearbooks, photo albums, shipping supplies, books, and candles (I adore partylite!) The white shelving is my current fabric storage..

These shelves will soon be replaced by this changing table redo

Here is where I sew. I have big dreams of an old restored farm table but for now I have these heavy duty folding tables thanks to my dad :)

And some inspiration from my oldest, she wants to be a fashion designer/interior decorator/teacher/doctor. Big dreams, little girl! Keep 'em alive!

The silver charger I got in a set of 4 for $1.25 at Walmart during their 75% off Christmas sale. I also picked up the tree for $1.75, the Wish sign for $1.25 and I already owned the partylite candles and holders. I want to get some bright funky pillars for springtime but we'll see. I also need ideas for where and how to use the other three chargers haha

So that's my craft space in a nutshell. I've done #1, 2, and 3 on their list for the Challenge. (Number 3 was done before now but I've been working on staying on top of paper for a while).

I just finished up #4 this evening. It's an apron for my middle daughter. She's not into ruffles and fluff so I made her a simple, bright colored apron. Instead of ties I did a velcro waistband. I saw it on someone's blog and now I cannot find it! If you came up with this idea PLEASE let me know! :)

It was really hard to photograph it without my models. They're asleep so for now these pre-action photos will have to do.

I really want to put some embellishments, maybe a green pocket or something fun on the front but I have yet to decide. We'll see.

Lastly but certainly not the least important, Disney of Ruffles and Stuff is holding an amazing giveaway! She makes such pretty jewelry, it looks so romantic. I'd really like some of my own *hint hint Hubby!* Run on over and check out her blog, and while you're at it, check out her etsy shop as well, Antiquated Pearl

Don't forget! Tomorrow is the last day to enter MY korker hairbow giveaway! Enter by leaving your comments on this post here!

Goodnight!

Lovin' on Etsy #3, Etsy for me, and another GIVEAWAY!!

2010-01-02T11:10:00.001-08:00

1. Fabric Wall Art Aqua and Chocolate Brown by created4walls

2. La Toilette - French Paris Bathroom Sign by parischicboutique

3. Alphabet Letter Photography Home Decor Art - Love by alfabetfotos

4. Custom, personalized WELCOME sign by defineyourspacevinyl

All our holiday decorations are down and put away. Sadly, I'm noticing that we really need to get decorating here. I'm on the search for fun and funky pieces that both the Hubby and I would love. Right now I'm loving wall decor and sweet repurposed frames. I am on the hunt for some ugly ornate frames of my own to paint and remake myself. For now I'll just drool over etsy.

And speaking of Etsy - I've listed some new items in my shop! Five new pairs of korker hairbows!! Maybe swing by and check it out, let me know what you think please! :)

AND FINALLY!! In celebration of the New Year and getting around to listing items, I thought I would do another GIVEAWAY!

One lucky winner will receive this pair of korker hairbows! They are grosgrain and satin ribbon in a variety of shades of purple and cream on alligator clips.

To enter, simply leave a comment below. If you follow my blog, leave another comment and let me know for another entry! If your email is not listed in your blogger profile, please write it in each of your comments in the following format {email at website dot com}. Deadline for entries is Monday, January 4, 2010 at 11:59pm. A random winner will be selected on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Good luck!!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T20:54:00.001-08:00

Bring on 2010! Let me tell you, without too much gory detail, 2009 was a really rough year for us. The Hubby was laid off, not once, but TWICE. We had to move, sadly. We've spent several months battling colds, the flu, pneumonia even. Things just weren't going our way no matter how hard we worked to make things happen.

But now, it's a new year, a new decade. Things are looking brighter. We're not dwelling on the past, instead looking at what lies ahead and keeping faith that WE will make this a better year.

I don't typically do the resolutions thing. I really try not to set long term resolutions either, because that always seemed like setting yourself up for failure. But I really feel like I can do it this year. And so without further ado, here are some goals I've set for myself.

1. Regular date nights with hubby - being parents of three active little ones, we never seem to have enough time together. We've been aiming for monthly date nights in hopes that we'll actually do more but at least one night would be wonderful.

2. Regular "dates" with each girl one-on-one every month - whether it's going somewhere for lunch, a few hours of mama-and-me playtime uninterrupted, or whatever else they (reasonably) choose to do, I want to make sure my minis get plenty of mama time.

3. Finish some of my craft projects - and maybe start some of the ones I've been thinking about forever. I have fabric cut waiting to be sewn, patterns strewn about, ideas jotted down and pinned up. I want to hone my sewing skills and really get back into my scrapbooking.

4. Spend more time outdoors - I live in an amazing state. Even when it's bitter cold like it has been, even when nature dumps piles and piles of snow on us, like it will this weekend, it's still a beautiful place to live. I want to spend more time every day outside.

5. Drop soda - I have a serious addiction to soda. It's so bad. And actually I've done really well the last two months. I used to truly be addicted to Mountain Dew. I couldn't go a day without at least a bottle of it and sometimes that wasn't enough. I slowly worked on that and now can manage without it but I still love my soda. This one is going to be a hard goal to accomplish but I need to do it. I feel so unhealthy because of it.

6. Cook more - I'm a self-proclaimed not-so-good cook. I can make breakfast like nobody's business, bake pretty well, but when it comes to meals, such as, oh..dinner! I fumble, I slip up. I boil pots of water till there's no water left *Yes, I have done this, I'm ashamed to say* I'm learning though. The Hubby works a lot of hours and we eat too late if I wait for him to arrive home. Maybe I'll post my weekly menu, links to recipes, that might keep me going? We'll think on that...

7. Project 365 - Have you heard of this? You take at least one picture everyday, then post it. On a photosharing account, on a website, a blog. My P365 blog is located at http://kristansproject365.blogspot.com (I know - original, right?) Feel free to check it out anytime! And join us! There's a lot of people (millions? maybe?) getting in on the p365 action!

Well that's it, for now. I don't know that I could handle more than that but we'll see! Take care and Happy New Year to you and yours!

A new project!!

2009-12-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

I found this on Craigslist for $20. The drawers are off track a little and it needs knobs but it's sturdy otherwise.

I'm going to have the Hubby fix the drawers and tracks (he says it's easy to do). And then we're going to sand it and repaint it. Then I want to decoupage (modge podge) the top with fun scrapbook papers and get funky knobs.

It's going to be fabric storage!

So here's the BEFORE: (excuse the stuff around and inside it, this is the original owner's picture)

And I'll update with progress pics and "AFTER" when it's all done. I can't wait!!

Woohoo! I won!

2009-12-28T07:43:00.001-08:00

A while back I entered a contest on Heather's blog for a Thirsties Duo Diaper. Well I won! I'm pretty thrilled.

We've been cloth diapering for almost a year now. I love it. I will admit we do use disposable diapers sometimes, mostly at DH's choice not mine, but I prefer the cloth. We started out using pocket diapers - diapers that have a "pocket" for you to stuff an absorbent insert inside. Then we switched to fitted diapers with covers. And then we switched to prefolds, pins, and covers. Yeah I do it the old fashioned way now. But I'm excited to try out the Duo Diaper. We selected a Size 2 in Storm Cloud. If we like it, I may just get a few more.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T13:47:00.001-08:00

I made our holiday card a while ago but hadn't thought to post it until just now.

I used Val's Holly Jolly kit. You can find it in her shops at GDS and Elemental Scraps. It's currently on sale, along with a lot of other things in her shop, so if you're in need of cute digi scrap stuff, definitely check there!

Please forgive me, I forgot what fonts I used! It's been so long since I really scrapped anything.

Our stockings

2009-12-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd post a closer picture of the girls' stockings. As I said before, these are handmade. My mother in law and I had made two in 2007, one for Brianna and one for Caylee. We picked out the fabrics and sewed them together and cut out the stocking shape for the front. Then I picked out what pieces I wanted for the appliques, traced, cut, steam-a-seamed, ironed forever and ever (at least it felt like it). Then I handed it off to my mother in law who put it all together. I wish I had a picture of the inside (I'll try to get one today). It's this nice soft cream colored flannel with little stars on it. The backs are green wool felt.

When Lillian was born, my mother in law helped me make another for her. Luckily she still had some of the fabrics we used so they pretty much coordinate. I love them.

Although next year I might make some using this fabric:

photo courtesy sewlovechristmas on etsy

If only the Hubby would let me do a pink, aqua, lime, red, and white Christmas! How fun would that be!

Holiday Decorating

2009-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love decorating for Christmas. Pulling out all the things we've been collecting over the last 5 years, seeing things we've made or the kids have made, it makes me happy.

We don't have much in the way of decorations just now. Mostly we have inherited things from the inlaws, received gifts from friends, or made and purchased them on our own.

This is pretty much the gist of what we have.

Our (fake) tree. We can't have a real one in our townhouse, so we make do with this. The balls are blue and silver and they're SUPPOSED to be shatterproof (my 20 month old has proved they are not, as we're now down to 10 or so balls). There's my hubby's Hallmark Crayola ornaments on there too. These were his growing up. He got a new one every year. We have a few other ornaments, the girls' first ornaments (Lilly doesn't have one, hers broke :( so sad!), a family one, a military one from when Hubby was in the Army. Some paper ones the girls have made, along with playdough ornaments we made in 2008.

The stockings are handmade. My mother in law made Hubby's when he was younger and then she made one for me that "sort of" matches. The girls each have those large quilted stockings. I helped with this one, cutting and ironing and steam-a-seaming the different appliques. I love them.

The santa was a handmedown from my mother in law, as was that little basket thing. The gold tree I found somewhere, the candle holder was on the table at my stepsisters wedding, and the frame was a gift last year from Hubby's grandmother.

That's pretty much it. We did get a cute snowman figurine, a candle, some holiday kitchen towels, and a snowman on a metal star from my secret santa on BAM but they weren't here when I took these pics.

I can't wait for the post-holiday sales. I'm hoping to scoop up some cute decor for next year at a good price (and maybe replace some of those broken ornaments too).

Bags, rolls, and more

2009-12-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Finally I have pictures to post! I've been busy sewing along and crafting.

In November, my big girls went to Florida with my mom and stepfather to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. The girls also got to see my brother, dad, and stepmother too. Since they were driving the entire way from New Hampshire to the panhandle, we were worried about keeping the girls entertained. I whipped up a few things for them to take along.

First I made these tote bags for them to carry their supplies in. I used this tutorial from Skip to My Lou. They came together so easily and so quickly using this tutorial, I highly recommend it.

I thought they might like some crayon rolls to go along with the notepads and coloring books they'd be bringing along. I followed this tute, another from Skip to My Lou. Sewing felt can be a bit difficult, as it gets bulky but these turned out okay for my first time. I don't own pinking shears, but I'd like to get some, I think I like the decorative edge much nicer than my straight one.

The girls really wanted chalkmats too. I wasn't truly up for making them, but my stepfather said he'd pickup some chalk for the girls if I put them together. So here's one of the ones I made (I can't seem to find Cay's monkey one). I rushed, this is sloppy, I'm hoping my next ones come out much better but the girls love it no matter how messy it looks. I didn't really use a tutorial for this one. I just sort of looked at other chalkmats online and guessed.

I made a few other things, but I have to wait to share them till after the holidays because they're gifts for people who checkout my blog.

We have, however, done quite a bit of baking. I dug out the "New Betty Crocker Cookbook", which once belonged to my mother in law and is not so new anymore. We got the recipes for gingerbread and sugar cookies, so we could make them all from scratch. Let me just say molasses smells really gross but in the end the gingerbread cookies came out really yummy. They smell like Christmas!

We didn't have any regular cookie cutters (I thought we did but they disappeared). So we used play-doh cutters! Haha! Not very festive, but we have more of a zoo in cookies than holiday cheer. Check out the alligator, dolphin, and giraffe!

And when we made the sugar cookies, we thought to try using our food coloring. It's the gel kind and it didn't work out so good. Next time we'll have to figure something else out. Of course Caylee wanted green cookies (which look a little weird) and the red ones came out more like marbled than anything else. But they're yummy!

That's about it! I hope you're having fun getting ready for the holidays and enjoying your family too!

Lovin' on Etsy #2

2009-12-13T16:06:00.001-08:00

*I think I like doing this lovin' on etsy thing. So we're keeping up with it this Sunday too*

1. Snow White Scarf by KitFig

2. Adult Size Cloche Hat with Removable Flower- Avocado Green and Black by MelsBellsClocheHats

3. Berry Stripes Cabled Wristwarmers by funkisockmunki

4. Headwrap - Salt and Pepper by scarfcity

I have the hardest time buying things for me. I think that's something that comes with being a mama. But it is nice to look. We've had some pretty chilly weather here lately and so I've been browsing, looking for cute and warm knitted things. Those wristwarmers would be perfect for when I'm on my laptop. And I'm in love with the idea of a white cable knit scarf. How cute would that one be with that headwarmer? And I have to say that I love the avocado green in that hat. I'm not typically a green fan but that color I love.

A new layout!

2009-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

How lovely is this?! My wonderful friend, Val, created this beautiful layout for me. I had been so sad looking at the bland background, and completely disappointed at my pictures getting chopped in half. Look at it now! She used "Hoo Girl", a digiscrap kit created by herself and Kimi of Kimi's Kreations.

Be sure to check out Val's shops at GDS and Elemental Scraps

Thank you, thank you VAL for brightening my blog (and my day)!

Lovin' on Etsy

2009-12-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

1. Lacing Tree with Apple and Pear Wooden Toy by linenkids

2. Soft Cloth Ball by willowbaus

3. Custom cloth baby girl or boy doll by justplainbeckyw

4. Nadia's Sweet Shop Collection by NadiasPlace

I adore looking at all the fun little things the creative people on etsy make. I especially love handmade children's toys and games. I'd love to fill my girls' room with toys just like these.

Hooray for FABRIC!!

2009-12-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

I love getting pretty mail. It brightens my day. I ordered some fabric from a co-op and it arrived today. I thought it'd be here Monday so it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

I got yardage of a couple from this line

Amy Butler Lotus - 14 - Linen/Morning Glory

Amy Butler Lotus - 17 - Sky

And some from this line

Amy Butler Lotus - 17 - Cherry WallFlower

Amy Butler Lotus - 13 - Cherry Full Moon Polka Dot

Now I just need to figure out what I want to make with them....

I'm terrible

2009-12-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

I know. I'm a terrible, terrible blogger. I just, get busy. And I'm addicted to facebook. Everyone I know (nearly) is on FB. So I keep updating on there and then I feel redundant when I come along to here. Not to mention between myself and my girls, someone has constantly been sick. Mostly me. Including today. So please, please excuse me, if you happen to follow my blog, for the delay.

Anyway! So I've been busy with different craftiness over the past couple months.
I have:

Made some bowholders and bows for some wonderful ladies:

And a few iSpy bags:

The iSpy bags are so fun. You push the pellets around until you find the items inside by bringing them up to the vinyl window. These are double stitched and reinforced as much as possible. I tossed these around my house with the hubby to make sure they wouldn't bust open.

I also made a gift for my sister (which I cannot post until after the holidays), a couple tote bags for my girls, chalk mats, and about a half dozen crayon rolls. I need to get pictures of the girls things up here. I keep losing either my camera or my camera cord, which really puts a damper on posting pictures doesn't it?

And so I'm going to leave you, I will be back, I don't know when but it'll be soon!

For now, here's a picture of my ladies, all dressed up in an attempt to get a good holiday picture.

It's been a while but!!!!

2009-10-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have some news! I opened an etsy shop!! You can find it here. It's still a bit rough around the edges, and I'm learning the site and how it all works so bear with me while I perform opening maintenance. :)

I'm running a sale right now - 10% off all bow holders, orders over $25 ship free, and a free set of clippies with every order. I'm working on some items to have "in stock" along with the custom listings. Hopefully everything should be looking a bit better by this time next week.

Among other news, I'm still waiting on my camera. It arrived and then we found it was still broken so off it went to Geek Squad who shipped it off again to Canon. I'm so sad without my camera. I've had to use the cellphone and it just not do anything justice with the lack of flash and proper camera functions.

I did manage to get the pictures of my beautiful oldest daughter's birthday party off of the memory card before we sent the camera itself back out for repairs.

The birthday girl, waiting for the party to start:

My middle child, reluctantly posing. Recognize the skirt? And the crown?

See this guy? My handsome nephew Braedyn. I love him and I miss him and cannot wait to see him this Christmas. He makes a handsome prince, no?

The castle pinata that would never break. Hubby worked so hard on this and only ONE kiddo (a 4 year old) was able to make a puncture in it. Eventually it fell down and the (40 pounds of) candy was dumped out for the kids to attack and devour.

Lastly, the 48 cupcakes I slaved over the morning of to complete. They had pink and purple centers and magenta frosting that I colored with food coloring. The 9ish year old boys were really excited to see who got what color cupcakes. Seriously. They were having a competition.

So that's about it. I'll have pictures of things I've been working on soon. I'm going to really work on staying focused on the blog and updating as I get things done. I'll try. Really, I will.

Being kind and generous - giveaways, raffles, and auctions

2009-10-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've been really busy lately. I have big news and lots of pictures to post, but my camera is broken and we're waiting on the repairs to be finished. Until then I can't upload anything. And I'm not ready to share my big news...just yet.

So I figured I'd link you all to some exciting and sweet things going on in the virtual world.

First - there's a great raffle and auction going on to benefit a WAHM, Katie of Ewe Need It. On Fairytale Boutique, many mamas have donated their items and services for raffle as well as some auctions. All proceeds are going directly to Katie and her family. To quote from the listings,
"Katie's husband has cancer again and will be undergoing both testing and treatment in the coming weeks/months. Her family is struggling right now and we are all rallying together to help them! Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated tons by Katie and she thanks everyone for the generosity, love, and support."
Please go check out the shop. Maybe you'll find something fun for yourself or your little ones! I won the Oct 1st listing of a custom set of 3 mama pads from Happy Booty Boutique. I can't wait to work with that mama on those!

Next - head on over to Zakka Life. She's giving away tons of craft supplies courtesy of Elmer's. Paintpens, glue and more! Check it out, contest ends Oct 9.

Now why don't you head on over to Mommy of 1 and Counting and enter in the giveway for Girl Gotch. They're really cute, comfy little undies for little girls that are made more like boyish underwear, designed not to ride up or twist and bunch like typical girly undies do.

And after you've done that, sneak on by Stacey's blog And... So it Goes. She has a giveaway running through the weekend for a copy of chicks-n-chickens' Lullaby Exercises dvd.

That's probably enough stimulation there for you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend (ours is looking dreary and rainy indefinitely).

It's a brand new (evening)

2009-09-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

I'm so overwhelmed. I have so much to get done for my oldest's birthday party. She turns 5 tomorrow (!!!!) and her party is Saturday. We're sort of running with a homemade fairytale theme.

I stumbled across this great tutorial for making crowns at Balancing Everything. I thought to myself "Self, you can totally make those!" And ran out to buy 5 yards of felt in bright fun colors.
Here's the littlest modeling one of the first ones:

I got a whopping 6 done in one night and since then have lost my motivation. I needed to make about 20 more (well a few less but it never hurts to have extras). So today I whined (yes, I'm such a baby) to hubby that things weren't even close to being finished and he sent me downstairs to make more while he tended to our flock, I mean, children. The crowns are all slightly different, and they're all reversible, which will be fun for the kids. I'm glad we went with these instead of cheesy party hats but MAN! The work! The hours! Okay...I'm being dramatic.

Beyond the birthday stuff I've been sewing for others. I made 20 girly washcloths for a sweet lady that's thrilled to be having a baby girl after a couple boys.

and to go along with them, some korkers and clippies. I hope she loves all the girly goodness after being surrounded in a sea of blue and green!

And finally,

Frugal Family Fun Blog is hosting a fun giveaway sponsored by AllChildrensFurniture.com, who features more than just furniture (with items from kids chairs to toys and games). Giveaway ends Saturday, September 26th!

Now I need to stop stalling and get back to work. We've got to finish these crowns and put together a castle pinata which is proving to be just as big a task as the crowns!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hippos, blankies, and bugs - oh my!

2009-09-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

My middle daughter had her orientation for preschool yesterday. This weekend I worked hard to put together a cute skirt from some yummy Ikea barnslig fabric. Cay loves hippos. We read books about hippos every day and she talks about them often. I think the word "hippopotamus" just sounds fun to a three year old. And of course her favorite color is green so what better way to combine the two than in this fun skirt? When I was all finished I realized I had tons of scraps and a bunch of fabric left over so I whipped up this headband using the ten minute tutorial that I used for the doll headband. She looked adorable, don't you think?

My silly little preschooler, can't help but be a supermodel somedays!

Last night I was feeling a little down. I had everything ready to put together Brianna's birthday dress and realized I needed interfacing. Not wanting to go out yet again, I decided to work on something else and save the dress for today (or this weekend, hopefully no later than this weekend). In the end I put together this simple comforter for the baby. It's made with Bubble Gum Giraffe knit interlock, batting, and on the reverse - I repurposed a white and polka dot sheet I found at the thrift store for just a couple dollars. It was full size and the polka dots match the ones on the giraffe fabric perfectly. I'm still new to the whole sewing on stretchy fabrics process so the knit bunched and puckered when I was stitching across at the end to hold the batting in place, but for a 17.5 month old little girl, I think it came out okay, yeah?

Any other mom's out there have little girls that love bugs? My big girls are fascinated by caterpillars at the moment. Brianna is learning about butterflies and everything that comes with them or is connected to them and she's passing that knowledge down to Caylee. Last night they found a fuzzy caterpillar on our back steps and had to set him (or her?) free in the yard.

Thank you for looking!! Please come back by soon!

Creativity without a home...

2009-09-08T13:08:00.001-07:00

Our water heater busted on Sunday. We woke up to a flooded basement. Sadly a few of the girls larger wooden toys were water logged, as was a cabinet of mine among other things. Luckily it's all cleaned up, drained, and the heater was replaced today so we now have hot water again (you have no idea how sad I was when I learned I could not give nor take a bath).

You might recall my crafting area was in the basement. Thankfully nothing major was lost to the water, I did lose some scrapbooking supplies but nothing that can't be replaced.

Right now our basement looks like a basement. Things are stacked and moved and I don't have a craft space set up at the moment. I have to say it's really annoying. I keep thinking "Oh I can go make...oh no I can't". Not to mention we stored my fabric and ribbon in our bedroom. I keep finding long lengths of ribbon strung from my room to the girls' room. Ah the adventures of being a toddler mommy!

Since I can't sew, I'm "window shopping" online. Some things I'm in love with:

This and That From Japan at Etsy

How yummy is this shop? I especially love this Riding Hood print, and this toadstool print.

And Kasie happened to link me to Fat Quarter Shop And of course now I'm drooling over just about everything they have.

Namely...

Girl Animal Party I mean seriously, how fun is this? It would be perfect for some tiered twirly skirts for the little girls!

Along with this...

Be Merry
I would love to make some fun stockings, some twirly skirties, some stuffies. The possibilities are endless!

Not to mention I'd love to get these ones to make these Rag Quilt Letters.
Love U
On The Go
Sweets

I love the tutorial that Jessica of Happy Together posted on her blog. I think I want to make these for my girls for Christmas instead of the felt ones.

Ah! I probably should stop browsing before I accidentally click "Buy" haha. Hubby would not be thrilled with me at all.

I think I've got it!

2009-09-07T16:56:00.000-07:00

My sister and I accomplished something big this weekend. We made a comforter for her to use in her dorm room. She fell in love with some rainbow hearts sweatshirt material I had lying around (begging to be used in my stash). She practically assaulted me asking for me to make her a blanket. We went to Joann's this Friday and got a ton of flannel (ie, 8 yards total) which was great because it was buy one yard, get one free on their cozy flannel solids (hooray for labor day sales!) and some batting and went to town.

We spent 30 minutes developing a "pattern" or as I've now dubbed it "plan of action". Hearts in the middle, red on the the sides for the front - blue in the middle, orange on the sides for the underside. We used both the sewing machine and the serger to ensure it was nice and secure. I'm pretty darn proud. It needs some more quilting to keep the batting from moving around but she'll be home again before it's time to wash it I'm sure and I'll get that taken care of in a jiffy.

Pictures

She's so thrilled (orange is her favorite color, FYI)

And to see both sides...

This monster is pretty heavy. My mom was concerned she wouldn't be warm enough but I'm not worried at all. I also whipped up a pillowcase to match (it's reversible - one side red, the other orange). I'm hoping she'll email me a pic of it all set up in her room so I can post it here.

In other news, I found this great doll on Craigslist for $15. It's an American Girl doll. I'm pretty sure she's Samantha, who was retired and is worth a lot of money (!!!) but we're giving her to C.J. who has wanted one because Brie has one for quite some time.

Isn't she gorgeous? The ad showed a naked doll but she came in this great little dress, with bloomers and an underdress too.

And with her new best friend, Brie's doll "Sara". We're having a hard time coming up with a name for the newbie. I keep suggesting Sam or Samantha. It's a no-go.

School days and an outfit to boot!

2009-09-04T07:31:00.001-07:00

My oldest has started Kindergarten! Her first day was Wednesday and it was bittersweet. I cannot believe she's growing up that fast! It feels like I just had her yesterday, not nearly 5 years ago. So far she's doing well. A little shy but enjoying it. She loves recess, of course, and really likes when they read books. I wish I had taken a picture of her face when she told me they went to the LIBRARY! You'd have thought she said they went to the biggest toy store in the world! Haha! That's my girl, loves books!

Here she is on her first day of school:

I had wanted to make her this skirt and shirt for the first day of school, but I wasn't feeling well and didn't finish it till last night. It's my first real sewing, the first things I made that I'm proud of. The tiered skirt was hard. I used this tutorial for the skirt. The applique was just something simple to dress up an older shirt we had that matched the pink in the skirt. I used steam a seam stuff and then stitched over the edges. What do you think? Not bad right?

The top

The skirt

Action shot this morning

Thanks for checking it out :) I hope you have a great weekend!

I'm still learning

2009-08-31T06:13:00.001-07:00

I've been working hard getting used to my new sewing machine. It's been a love hate relationship because I get too excited and tend to forget that when I switch the stitch type I need to adjust stitch length and tension. But I'm getting better. Just....my pieces are coming out funny. I'm not very good at reading patterns. I get irritated with them. I wish someone would come stand by me and help me figure them out.

I decided to forgo a pattern for a minute and throw together a pillowcase dress for "Sara", my oldest's American Girl doll. It's not great, but my daughter doesn't seem to care.

And here's where I started to use a pattern. The top got all bunched up in the back. I couldn't figure out the yoke and straps (because it did not make sense to me in the pattern), so I'm not pleased with that. Then the bottoms....oh the bottoms. The pattern has you stitch the center seams on the front and back on the OUTSIDE of the fabric. It looks weird, but it doesn't seem like it would work right with the stitch on the inside either, so no choice but to go with it. I got them just about done, went to hem the bottoms and stitched the legs shut! Haha - lovely! I don't have a seam ripper nor did I feel like picking those tiny stitches out. So I just cut them and cropped them. Made the hem and was like "Well these actually came out okay"

Then I decided to add a ruffly thing to the hem and screwed them all up. *banghead* Hubby says they look okay and that our daughter won't care. We'll see. I whipped up a mini headband for her using this tutorial.

I think I'm actually going to make a bunch of these headbands for myself and my girls. They are SO easy!!

And because I always have some to show you, more bows:

I'm sick today :( But hopefully I'll get some stuff done. Hope you're having a great day!!

A fortune cookie

2009-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last night my hubby's friend treated us to Chinese food for dinner. He spends so many evenings visiting with us and joining us for dinner, it was nice of him to provide the meal this once. After we finished eating, he passed out our fortune cookies. Their's were silly, I can't even remember what they said. But mine...mine was perfect.

"Consume less. Share more. Enjoy life."

How sweet is that? I want to print that up and frame it to hang up in my craft space.

Speaking of my craft space, I haven't been spending much time there. I made a promise to myself today to get back down there tomorrow and get some sewing done.

But I have finished up some crafts. For your viewing pleaseure, pictures of the things I've made lately.

The korker bows from the giveaway (I have to get pictures of the clippies, my battery died after I got these all taken). I sure hope Amanda's nieces love them!

Some more korkers I made for sales and trades:

The pj pants I was talking about in my last post. I'm so sad about these. I really need more practice with waistbands if I ever want to make the yummy ooga booga ones for the girls before Christmas.

In this picture - the yummy bamboo velour pillowcase and some washcloths (flannel/flannel apples, OBV/flannel birds)

Some things for the girls - the dolly blanket, 2 skirts for my oldest's American Girl doll, and a tutu for the doll as well (We call her "Sara"). There's also a felt egg and a little stuffie I made for my middle child. The egg is a bit plump, I think I need to try laying quilter's batting inside instead of stuffing it next time.

And just for fun, a picture of my littlest one. We had to switch her to a big girl bed two nights ago because she keeps attempting to climb out of her crib and thus getting her chunky little thighs stuck. It's hard to believe she's almost 17 months, I'm having trouble dealing with her growing up. I just wish she'd stay this little and fun forever

And a little updating on my Christmas list. I decided I want to make my nephew some cloth blocks. My brother in law is in the air force, so I'm in search of some cute airplane fabric. Something bubbly and cute, but not cheesy, you know what I mean? It'd be nice to use different texture fabrics, maybe some ribbon for fun/teething/baby delight.

I also thought it'd be nice to make a little lap quilt for my Gram, maybe one for my Nana too. It depends on how much I get done, and how comfortable I feel with my sewing. I'd probably machine quilt them because I don't have the patience for hand quilting. Many props to you hand quilters!

And that's about it :) Thank you for stopping by (Kasie!!) I hope you liked what you saw!

And the winners are...

2009-08-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

For some reason several people were unable to enter a comment on the blog :( I feel so sad about that but they were able to post on my facebook page. I think the problem was in a mixup at the "Post a Comment" and the "Post Comments (Atom)" links. I'm going to copy and paste them here, assigning them each a number, based on the order of their post:

(4) Lise Z. - Happy Happy Birthday to US. Hoping you have a great day and enjoy being 26 today and all year long. I'll enjoy 49 cause next birthday it's half a century a real milestone.

(5) Jessica K - happy birthday!

(6) Rhonda - Happy Birthday Kristan. I hope you have a marvelous day!

(7) Katie H - Hope you are having a wonderful day!!!! Maybe the kiddo's and Daddy will make you a special cake for desert tonight :)

Here are our winners for the korker bows and clippies giveaways, using a random number generator found here

The winner of the korker hairbows is

Amandaxo who said
"Happy Birthday hot mama!!!And guess what?! Now, I can enter since I have 2 little girls in my house ;-) hehe"

And the winner of the clippies sets is

Andrea who said, among other things,
"I would love to be entered to win your bows! I saw your post on ds and the ones you showed on there are adorable!!"

Congratulations ladies! I'll be contacting you both to get your mailing information.

I'm sure this won't be my only giveaway. It was fun making these without knowing who they would go to. Just in time for back to school too!

And onto other things, I've finally got use of my mother-in-law's serger machine. I'm so excited to play with it. In getting used to it, I've made one dolly blanket for my oldest along with two matching wash cloths (though she's deemed these to be mini-blankets for her barbies and polly pockets). I also made a scrumptiously soft pillowcase out of organic bamboo velour. I'm going to make at least three of these and possibly dye and applique them, one for each of my girls. Not too sure on the dying part as the natural color just looks so clean, but their room is white and the natural sort of clashes with that.

The last item I made is a pair of flannel pajama pants. They came out very nice considering the only other item of clothing I have ever made is this pillowcase dress, which really ended up as a pillowcase shirt for my middle daughter (my youngest has since acquired it and it's definitely a dress on her)

Anyway, about the flannel pants. Well I made the waistband too small to let the elastic actually stretch so they're too small for my oldest in that respect. They fit Caylee, but they're much too long. The lesson I learned? Make the waistband at least a few inches bigger than the waist should be in order to allow for stretchiness.

I do have to take pictures, I'll add them to the post later on tonight.

Thank you for looking!!

Happy birthday to...you?

2009-08-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday! 26 years ago today, at 1:41am, my parents delivered their first born (me) and thus began, well, my life. Now I'm on the downward end of my twenties, headed steadily toward 30 and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm sure as the big 3-0 nears I'll feel a bit more anxious, but for now, things are well. I think I've done okay for myself. I've done a bit of traveling (granted just the eastern half of the United States, and most of that by plane). I have a college education, of which I am really proud. I worked HARD for that degree! I have the love of my life as my husband and the best little girls in the world get to call me mama. How amazing is that?

So to celebrate my happiness and my birthday, I'm doing a little giveaway.
Presents? For you? Why yes! Of course! I'm going to pick two winners and all you have to do is post a comment including a way to contact you.

Now you're wondering, what exactly are you entering to win? Well, bows and clippies of course!! One winner will receive a set of 6 korker style hairbows - one each of red, yellow, green, blues, purples, and pinks. The second winner will receive 6 pairs of clippies in a the above colors as well. I will choose winners via a random number generator and contact you to get your mailing information.

I hope you enjoy your lovely August 17th, I sure will! Good luck!

Picture this:

2009-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

My youngest at about 13 mos. Proof that even baldies can wear bows :)

Oh so busy, always!

2009-08-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

It seems I never have a minute to myself these days. We had family up from Florida which was great! I got to see my dad, whom I have missed dearly since his move to FL in Dec 2007. I also got to spend some time with my handsome nephew, who was born May 25th. He's adorable and I was thrilled to babysit him for a while last night while my sister spent time with my parents. Adorable yes? I just love him!

I also had the pleasure of attending my step-sisters wedding. She made such a beautiful bride, of course she's gorgeous anyway, but that dress was perfect for her.

And in between, I've been working like crazy on an assortment of bows, a bow holder, and just other craftiness.

I'm trying to make the girls some framed wall art but struggling to find just the perfect elements to center on this background I've made up

If anyone has any ideas on where to find some sweet felt or other "touchable" digiscrap elements in the shape of say, a tree, a little house, a bird, those sorts of things, I'd appreciate it!

Some bows for some sweet ladies:

And a bow holder and korker pair for a really nice mama:
The bow holder is more of a light green, not so limey, but the lighting in my kitchen on a thunderstormy day is not so great!

I'm also very excited because my mother in law has offered me the use of her serger! I am going to pick it up on Saturday at a cookout at her house and will hopefully get a lot of stuff done with it! And hopefully I will be getting my new sewing machine the following Monday (my birthday!).

Speaking of my birthday, be sure to stop by, I will hopefully have something fun cooked up for you!

TGIF!

2009-07-31T15:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to give felt play food a go even though I am still without a sewing machine. I though "Hey, it can't be that hard! By golly, I've sewn a zipper!" Except it was hard haha as my stitches were too loose and the sad little piece of bread I was making was fairly worthless in the end. It was a little pathetic and a lot disappointing as play food is on my list for Christmas gifts for the girls. So I've put my felt and stuffing aside and hopefully in 18 days will have a nice machine of my own to sew sew sew!

Oh and before I go, some clippies I made for a trade.

Made to Match Bows

2009-07-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

A mama on diaper swappers asked me to make her some bows to match her daughters Gymboree outfits. I came up with these (to match Wild One - 2 pairs, Daisy Days - 1 bow, Happy Rainbow - 1 bow, and Flitter Flutter - 1 bow, plus a solid white bow)

And now I have to make her a bow holder :D I can't wait to ship these out!