i'm in love

I am in love with many things, but at the moment it is with my new pair of Born sandals I bought for the summer. I feel like I am walking on air. And, the best part is that I found them at Marshalls on clearance for $29. I used to be a shoe person and my husband will tell you that I still am, but if he only knew how much I have cut back the last few years then he would be as proud of me as I am. Now, I just want a few pair of great, quality, good feeling shoes.I have these Doc Marten black leather slip ons and anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I wore them almost every day in the fall and winter. I bought them by chance on ebay for $35. I even found a second pair at the Zappos Outlet identical to the first that I bought just so that I wouldn't wear out the first so fast. Pure love.

finish line

I can't believe I really posted (almost) every day in May. I did miss one day a week ago when I left the house at 6:45 am and didn't return until almost midnight. Sometimes it was easy to have something to write about and sometimes I was just plain out of writing material. It did help me get a ton done and for that I am very grateful. This is the package I sent to my apron swap partner. You were required to 1. Make a Summer themed apron with at least some trim. 2. a tea or kitchen towel that matches. 3. Provide a summer drink recipe to share. I threw the pincushion in just to make up for the semi professional sewn apron! The fun thing about doing these swaps is that you (or at least I do) get so in to the one that I am making that I almost forget that I am getting one in return. And, when all is said and done - meaning you have mailed it off like I did today - you can start thinking about the one that will come to you.

happy birthday dad

What do you give a dad who has everything he wants and needs (including an incredible daughter -ha)? You search the vault (my brain) and try to come up with something he doesn't need, but could use. This is what I came up with. He likes to keep his shirt and tie on when he comes home for lunch after church and is usually looking for something to wear (like one of my mom's aprons) to protect the whiteness of his shirt. I appliqued this awesome guitar and the lettering on to an apron I had bought since I didn't think I had it in my to make another apron for awhile. My dad does rock and I love him so much. Happy Birthday Dad!

apron complete

For some reason I had grand visions when it came to making such a simple apron for the Sassy Apron Swap. I wanted to make it unique, but not too difficult as I am still learning this sewing craft. I found a vintage apron at the flea market that I loved, so I copied it the best I could. I made it reversible since my partner loves vintage and Amy Butler, but it had to be a summer theme. So, one side is oranges (summer theme) and the other is in Amy Butler fabric. I will say adding the pockets at the end on a reversible apron gave me so much trouble when it came to matching them up. I had to steam out all those holes from unpicking, but I did it. I will have to figure out a better way next time. If I added them before I sewed the two layers together, it bunched up on the curved seams. So, if you have any suggestions, I am willing to take them on. I hope my partner likes it!

lunch bags completed

Three done and none to go. That's a good feeling. I really enjoyed making these lunch bags and the easiest one was my last. A suggestion from Beth at my eclectic mess to make the bag seamless and reversible had you following her directions and then pulling the entire bag through the top of one of the handles. This made it so much easier and nicer to look at, especially on the inside. Great tutorial. Now, after I finished these, it got me thinking...what to give our two kind lady bus drivers? This might involve attempting some of the chocolate chip cookie recipes I was given and see if I can get the perfect cookie for them and me as well. Yum.

practicing

I find that most everything I do takes a lot of practice in order to do it well - or at least up to my standards. My standards aren't high mind you, but I do want to be able to look at it (whatever it may be) or listen to it without cringing a little. So, as I try new things, I realize they may take a lot of practice on my part before I can look or listen to them straight on. I say listen because I used to take piano lessons and boy, did that take a lot of practice! Anyhow, I am practicing a few things at the moment. One is taking better photos with my SLR camera. Oh, how I wish I were better at it. A lot of it does have to do with lighting, but most of it has to do with just knowing how to take a good photo and understanding an editing program (mine is Photoshop Elements) so that you can refine those photos later. When I first got the Elements program I was determined to learn all about it. I even bought a recommended book "Photoshop Elements Classroom In A Book" and have it all loaded up ready to go (it comes with CD lessons), but haven't gotten past lesson 1. I took some photos my my little girl last week because I realized the day light was ideal outside and thought it would be the perfect time to practice. I like how some turned out and edited a couple in Elements to see what I could come up with. Here is the end result. Not bad, but I am looking forward to practicing some more because I heard practice makes perfect and I am not looking for perfect, but just something that I will enjoy looking at.

quite refreshed

I highly reccommend the all day with friends thing. Whether it's shopping or crafting, it does the trick. The best deal of the day - 2 matching duvet covers for my boys that share a room. I have been eyeing these red gingham ones from Pottery Barn for almost 4 year now and I FOUND them at the outlet for 1/4 of the price. Yippeee! I even found jeans and cropped pants for myself. That was a fantastic score as well. I got a few things at IKEA to help organize in my crafting area that I am excited to put up. But, now I am back to reality and that is okay because I did miss reality by the end of the day. The timing was perfect. The company was perfect. And, the day was perfect.

bowing out

It's only 9:30 and I am heading to bed. I have a big day tomorrow. I am leaving when the sun comes up and not coming home until the sun has been down for a very long time. It's my all day girl shopping trip. I make it sound like it's a common thing, perhaps something I do often. Don't be fooled. This is a first and I am excited. I am excited to have the whole day to shop and not have a child on my leg, hip, in the cart, or just crying holding my hand. My kids are good kids, but they aren't much for shopping and I don't blame them. So, why not leave the ones who do not want to be there at home? I wish that could be done all the time because they don't like to shop at the grocery store, Target (unless they have a leftover gift card to spend), or pretty much any where else either. But, they must come nonetheless. Until late Saturday night...farewell!

future projects

You know how it is, you happen upon an amazing craft or project on the internet and stick in your favorites folder only to never quite get to it. Well, I am trying hard not to let that happen with these and others even though the list is never ending. I just have to believe that I will get to them some day. Well, here are a few I want to put at the top of this list.

1.sock monkey tutorial from web-goddess blog and found here. 2.isn't this bunny too cute? i found it at the martha stewart website here. 3.a beautiful bag - the jenny bag - with a tutorial i found here at Lola...again. 4. okay, on those days when you don't want to start a fire or can't make it camping, but still think it would be fun (and yummy) to roast marshmellows then this would be perfect. i found it at ohdeedoh from apartment therapy. 5. these could go on bags, on barrettes, and just about anything else. artsy-craftsy babe makes them in to pins and i just love them.

lunch bags for teachers

Of course, I only have one complete, but at least the kids still have two weeks of school left so there is time to make one for each of their teachers. I talked to my sister and we decided that this tutorial allows to you make a cleaner, prettier bag, but the first one gave you a great starting point. With this one pictured here, I used the dimensions from my eclectic mess blog, but still followed the directions from supafine. I think I will attempt to follow the directions from my eclectic mess and make a truly reverseable bag for the next one. We'll see how well I can follow directions. I kind of got stuck on step 4 the first time and that's why I went back and just followed the old directions because it was easier and I got it. But, with a little coaxing and advice from my sis, I think I can figure it out for the next time. And, like I said, "there's still two weeks left of school!"

*side note* - I added a pocket on the inside for utensils (a water bottle pocket would be cool too) and a snap just for extra closure. Oh, and today my third grader told me his teacher brings her lunch in a Wal Mart bag everyday, so ha - this will be a great gift for her. I am so excited!

randoms

Tonight as I blog I don't have anything to share with you that I have created. I have a few projects in the works - teacher gifts and my apron for the Sassy Apron Swap, but I have do have a few random things to share.

First - this book was given to my boys by my neighbor. Her little boy has it and when playing there last week, she noticed how much they loved it. She wasn't kidding - Trevor came home determined to remember everything he read in it and to try to do the things (tricks, lessons, crafts, etc.) that it mentioned. Well, now, thanks to my friend, the boys can try them all. It teaches the boys how to tie a tie, make a boomer rang, and even wrestle an alligator. Some things very useful and some will just have to be acquired knowledge for special occasions (like when we are in the swamp land and see an alligator). It is just a really cool book.

My little girl (almost 16 months) just started walking this week. She just became a dare devil all of a sudden and pushes off the couch and walks to us even if we aren't ready for it. Of course, she is 16 months and most of the kids her age have already mastered this skill, but for us, this has been exciting to watch. Our little 3 year old didn't walk until he was 18 months, so we weren't worried, but it's always a thrill to have progress.

The last thing is that I have finally gotten the stink out of our towels. Do you have this or are we just the gross ones? My towels have smelled musty and like mildew for months and I have tried all new detergents and more fabric softener with no success. Finally, I Googled it and found this site that had tons of suggestions. These are the ones I followed that worked for me -
1. I ran a cycle without anything in the washing machine on hot and added bleach and then vinegar to the fabric softener slot.
2. I used less detergent and only washed about 3 towels to a load instead of stuffing them in until nothing else fit.
3. I didn't', but plan to switch to powder detergent. This site says that the liquid detergent doesn't get washed out all the way and can cause the towels to mildew over time.
4. If the rain quits long enough, I would like to hang them to dry outside and I think this will help a ton.

Okay, that's all I have for tonight, but hopefully some of these projects will get finished and I can share them soon!

in search of...

I need a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made some for the boys tonight since they have a friend spending the night (no school tomorrow) and the recipe said, "after trying millions of recipes this is the one my family loves the best." Well, how could I go wrong with that? It is not the one me or my family loves the best. It is too cakey. I too feel as though I have tried millions of recipes, but I just haven't been lucky enough to find one that I (we) LOVE. I have a fantastic one for oatmeal chocolate chip, one for malted chocolate chip, and even a great one for chocolate chip pudding cookies. Those are all great great recipes, but they don't satisfy when I am just craving a good old chocolate chip cookie. This little boy we have spending the night tonight just told me that his dad makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I think I am going to have to look in to that and hopefully, he is one who shares recipes. If anyone else out there has the perfect one, let me know. I like them chewy, but slightly crisp on the edges. You know...the perfect chocolate chip cookie!

yard sale

Yesterday was our neighborhood yard sale, so me and the kids walked around from house to house checking out the goods. Gage found two wooden puzzles that he bought for .50 cents each. He was so excited to hand over his dollar and get something back. Trevor never found anything that he was willing to give his precious dollars up for. He is a picky spender which can be a good thing. Boston didn't get to come because he had to go to his baseball game with dad. Mallory was along for the ride and just sat back enjoying the scenery in her stroller. I found some really cool old books - kids crafts, science projects, Disney - all for a quarter a piece. My best score was these two vintage sheets for .50 cents each. I have washed them and now I just need to decide which of my many projects I want to use them on.

for jellie - don't look unless you don't want to be surprised

My little sister, Jellie, is having a baby in Septmber. Her husband, Logan, restores classic cars and even turned a VW Bug in to a classic Woody. Awhile ago I told her I would attempt to put a VW Bug on a onesie for her little baby boy. So, here is my attempt Jellie - that's if you are still looking. Love ya!

a few good reads

Here are a few good reads that I have picked up and ordered over the last month. Some I had heard a lot about (Bend the Rules Sewing and In Stitches), but the other two I ordered or picked up and was pleasantly surprised. The baby GIFTS book I picked up for only $5.98 at our Half Price Books. Did I tell you I love that place? Now, I love to go in there and just sit in the craft section and look and look. I could spend hours in there, but reality usually sets in fast because I am never in there without a child and they just don't last as long as I would like them to. It's probably saving me money having them in there with me. Anyhow, I am anxious to get started on some of the projects in these books, especially the lounge pants in the In Stiches book by Amy Butler. You can't have too many of those!

great idea for a clock

I was watching HGTV a few weeks back and saw this great idea for a wall clock. Wouldn't that be so cool in a family room? I, of course, can't think of where to put it because we just mounted the TV over our fire place and the other free wall is full of pictures, but I am determined to make it work in this house somewhere.

running out of steam

It's been one of those weeks where I have just one too many things going on - be it basketball games, baseball games, babysitting, hosting playgroup, chaperoning a field trip, and carpooling galore! I am not complaining, but only recognizing the reason for my sleepiness as I drive around town in the late afternoon. So, at 9 pm, it is feeling like midnight to me. I like those weeks where there isn't much planned and I can even stay in my lounge pants (really p.j.s) doing stuff around the house until I have to meet the boys at the bus. Those are rare, but coveted. Today for playgroup we had a lessons on Mothers, so I helped the kids (all 3 year olds) make these little plaques with their hand prints for their moms. We decorated lunch sacks with crayons and stickers to put them in and I wrapped ribbon around the sacks to tie them off. It was a quick idea and I really like the idea here and here. I think I will get some bigger canvases and maybe do all their hand prints on one every year. It makes me wish that I could go back in time and start when my 9 year old was younger, but since I can't I will have to live with the fact that his first hand print is at 9 (unless you count the ones from the hospital - wait those were feet)!

Applique PDF's

This is the only way I could figure out how to link a PDF to my blog post and so, I hope it works. This is the first time that I have used Scribd, so I am crossing my fingers that anyone who wants to can download these PDF's from here so that they can save the applique patterns on their computer. Good luck and give me feedback if it does or doesn't work for you.

PDF Monkey - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: PDF Monkey

PDF Ducky - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: PDF Ducky

PDF Birdy - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: PDF Birdy

the lunch sack tale

I really tried hard this year to give my mother in law something she needed for Mother's Day. She is trying to down size her house and I know she likes the things we have given her in the past, but I didn't want to give her more stuff that she might not have room for in her next place. So, I tried sewing a lunch sack out of laminated fabric since she works and takes her lunch every day. Yeah, I know there is a trick to sewing with it (as well as oil cloth), but I didn't check in to that and I really messed up a simple bag. I was getting frustrated, so I decided to buy her one made out of oil cloth that I had seen for sale at our local craft/decorating store. We were getting ready to go Saturday night (yes, last minute), when I decided to look up their store hours just because. Yeah, it was 20 minutes away and it was going to close in 5! So, that idea was out the door. Finally, I thought, "hey a lunch bag, instead of a sack, would really be better because she brings Tupperware with leftovers and needs a bigger bag. And, thank goodness, I didn't just give her a tiny lunch sack." Now, I was thinking, so I looked up a tutorial and an hour later I had a bag - only it was a bit small. I didn't follow the tutorial to the tee and tried to wing it a bit. So, then I thought, "I'll make her another one that is even bigger so she can have two - one for when she brings just a sandwich and one for the big leftover day." Okay, it was late and I started another one. Well, needless to say, I didn't get it done until today - Monday - the day after Mother's Day. I did give her the small one with the promise of a bigger one. I like how the bigger one turned out especially and think that I am going to make them for the kid's teachers as an end of the year gift. Hopefully, I will start out making one big enough so it won't be the endless gift making again!

mother's day love

My husband and the boys went out shopping last night for some last minute surprises. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast in bed and for the grand finale - they planned a corn dog dinner complete with a new fryer. It may not be glamorous to some, but it has been fun trying a few corn dog recipes and now for our late night snack (treat), I will be searching for a donut recipe! My husband knew this would be fun for me because I love the corn dogs we get at the state fair. The boys think it is so much fun too.


I went out shopping last week for some fabric. I wanted to make some pajama shorts for the boys since it was starting to get hot and they just have flannel pajama bottoms. I went to the quilt shop here, but there wasn't anything that I think my boys (age 6 and 9) would have worn. The sock monkey fabric was quite cute, but I don't think that they would appreciate it. So, I actually just went to Wal Mart and found some great fabrics that would work - a camouflage and vintage baseball. They were a quick sew and I plan on making a few more pairs. This is my oldest wearing his pj bottoms and a Derby hat he made at school for the Kentucky Derby. I haven't taken a photo of the younger son in his yet.

I also found some fabric for the apron I am making for the Sassy Apron Swap. My partner likes vintage fabrics and styles. So, I am planning on copying the style of this vintage half apron I have and use this Moda fabric. It's a summer theme, so I thought the oranges would be perfect.


It's always good when you find fabric for future little girl dresses and that's what I will use these for. Love the Eiffel Towers. I have been looking for it for awhile, I found it in the clearance section at the quilt shop. Score!