Thursday, April 14, 2011

An Ode to Daddy

 Well, we still have a couple months until Father's Day, but if you are like me....you may need some time to prepare.  Here are a couple ideas that I hope may inspire you if you don't have many ideas on what to do for "the old man" on his special day.  :)
 This outfit was made from my husband's old work shirt and work pants.  He really loves his job, and BY-GOLLY he is the best Electrician in the state....if I do say so myself.  There are actually many out there who would agree with me.  Love ya, honey!
 I definitely had to cut out the logo for her little shirt.  Why Beehive Technical Services, you ask?  Well, bees are the hardest workers!  So if your hubby has clothes that you have been meaning to donate, but there are just too many wonderful memories, then use them to make something for you little ones.  He will love to see them wearing his clothes!

 Next up is probably one of my favorite things that I have made my girls.  I saw these two shirts at Wal-Mart after Valentines Day last year.  They were clearanced out for $1.50 each.  I just loved the "I" and the "heart", but the last word on there is actually BEER.  Since we don't drink, it was pretty easy to just cut that word right out of there.
 So I turned it into I LOVE DADDY dresses! 
 The girl's wore them with black leggings to church and at home on several occasions, and I just loved them.  I'm really into making things for my kids that have something to do with their dad, if you can't tell.  Anyway, I kept the serged edge on the outside of the black and used white thread, because that was the look I wanted.  Of course there are so many other variations you can try.  And I gave the dresses a half sleeve too, because it was still a little chilly outside when I made these.
 No outfit would be complete in my house without pockets.  Whether for beads to stick up their nose (yes, that has happened) or huge rocks to swallow (again....this has happened), they need their pockets to stow away all their favorite things.
Finally, I have the first thing I ever made for my little man.  My husband had some church pants that didn't fit anymore, so I cut them up and made some pants for Blake!!  It was actually hubby's idea (I think I'm starting to rub off), and he was so proud to show off his boy that day.  :)
 Well, if you are like me, then all you need to do is see a few pictures in blogland to get the juices flowing toward a new project.  I hope these helped.  Happy Sewing!

Our new addition!!

Well, I never really posted about us expecting our first baby boy, but he is here now!


The day the girls first laid eyes on their little brother:
They even had a card for him.  :)


 Now he is almost 3 months!  He is my sweet little man. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

10 minute fix--tutorial

**If you want to enter the Splendid Jewelry GIVEAWAY....scroll down to the next post to see how!**



My sweet and innocent little ANGEL is getting so big! Wait a sec......
Ah, yes! Here is a more "angelic" pic of her. As I was saying, she is weeks away from moving into a new room with her big sister.
Here is the bed she will soon be sleeping in. Notice anything off about this bed? Well, it is currently the place where we store all of their stuffed animals. I have actually gotten rid of quite a few, but these are the more sentimental ones that we cant bear to part with....yet.
So hubby and I decided to search for one of those stuffed animal nets, and after spending a whole day asking everyone at all the stores we ventured to, we lost hope. Then I thought, why not make one? The major upside: it's free! So I got some jersey knit that I had from an old moby wrap I made and cut a big triangle (sorry, no pics of my misshapen triangle). Does the triangle have to be absolutely even, and measure the same length on all sides??? ABSOLUTELY....not. You can make it as big or small as you need and you can choose how far apart you want to hang it when your done. The best part about using jersey knit is...no hemming (since it wont fray) and it stretches (so you can fit quite a bit in a little space).
Anyway, after my triangle, I cut 3 strips of knit about 1 inch wide and 11 inches long. You can adjust the measurements if you prefer to have short straps. I then folded the strips in half and did a zigzag stitch down it. I mostly did this to make it look a little better and be a little more durable.
Next, I took the strips to each corner and folded the corner down like I was going to hem it.
Fold the corner once more....
and then move the strip back to the outside. Pin in place so you can stitch it together.
Sew two lines across the top and bottom of the hem. Folding it over and stitching it this way is also another way to make it look better and be a little more durable. :) Can't beat that with little monkeys running around.
This is what you will then have at all three corners:
Now it's time to hang it up! I used these handy little guys that came out of my tool pouch. Yes, my tool pouch...it's pink and purple :)
I then put all the animals in it and decided to tie some ribbon, that I had a ton of, to the ends to make it look a little more girly since my knit was blue.
This is literally a 10 minute project (provided your children are asleep or amused by something).
Or maybe you should just have them make their bed so they can jump on it the whole time.
Happy crafting!!

Jewelry from *Splendid Jewelry* and GIVEAWAY!

I just have to post about my friend Mae and her jewelry. It is so gorgeous, simple, trendy, and EXTREMELY well priced. She just opened up an etsy shop:

Splendid Jewelry

She also has a blog that she just started. I would follow and keep an eye out, because once she's gotten everything set up...you might find a coupon code or two there.

**Update: Mae is having a giveaway on facebook!! Go here, and like her jewelry. You can then look at pics of her amazing jewelry. All you have to do is post on her wall what kind of jewelry you would like for Valentines Day! Win it for you or someone else. The drawing will be on Feb. 5th!**

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

That's my Girl!

Today, my bedroom floor looked like this:
And it wasn't because of me! With my love of sewing, I thought it would be fun to introduce some of that love to my girls. Sadie has had a bag of her own fabric scraps that I let her use for various projects, but I wanted to do more with her today. I gave her a box and also put pieces of ribbon and some of my extra buttons in it. She was soooo EXCITED!
Then I made these little guys that look like gingerbread men (at least that is what she first called them). She got to choose whether they were girls or boys and dress them however she wanted.
I have given my girls many opportunities to be creative, but sometimes I find it hard to keep up with them. Sadie loves crafting and I love letting her do whatever she wants. I may take a lot of pictures, but I don't disturb her. Her creations are hers alone. Can you see my little corner of the universe back there? I am so proud of it that I hope to take pictures of it soon.
I must say....I was pretty impressed with the thought she put into everything for only being 3 (well, soon to be 4).
She used a lot of buttons, but trust me.....I have A LOT! I can definitely spare a few :)
I got out her markers so that she could give them hair and whatever else she wanted.
She gave them names, and decided that Sadie and Kelsey needed to have rings on their fingers...I love them. And yes, I cut out the skirt. This was the only thing I did, because I was trying to show her what the little dolls were for.
I wasn't quite sure what the notebook was for, so I asked her. She was using it to decide their names.
And here are the finished little people:
The boy named "Daddy" is a musician with long black hair. This looks and sounds nothing like her own Daddy, but she insisted that his name was Daddy. ....strange little girl. haha
And after she finished everything else, she noticed that Kelsey and Sadie were half naked and put a long skirt and a shirt on these two. I love my girls and I love all the amazing things they can do. I'm so blessed to be a mom.