Spring Fever

 So I totally know we would be better friends if I actually posted more regularly.  But I had a fun week off learning new things and I actually sewed!  I lost my sewing scissors a couple of weeks ago which is a big deal if you are left handed.  Not just any scissors will work.  I finally gave in and used my rotary cutter to cut out a pattern. But only because it is the cutest dress ever.   LOVE IT. When I made it last week we had spring like weather.  Now, not so much.  Well, ok so we don't have the warm sunny spring like weather.  We have the blustery,rainy spring like weather.  Either way we definitely have spring fever around here.  How are you coping with your spring fever?

:: Spring Fever Pattern {Me Sew Crazy}

:: Nicey Jane Hello Roses Olive {Heather Bailey}

{Why you wish my parents were your parents}

My parents are very rad. Besides the fact that my Dad speaks Swedish, and brings us nasty candy from business trips to Finland, or that he's one of the best men anyone could know. Or that my mom is so pretty and young she gets asked if she's my sister more often than if she's my mom. And besides the fact they are some of Ivy's favorite people. They are kind of rad because...

They gave us an I Pad for Christmas.

{DISCLAIMER: This is not a normal Christmas present from them, they were very generous and kind and we love them dearly for it and not just because of it. And we promise not to expect gifts like this every year. Signed Darin, Jenn and Ivy}

I was going to show you the video of Darin jumping up and down yelling "OH MY GOSH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT AN I PAD" over and over but I wouldn't want to embarrass him. : P

Well we needed a case right away and here's where the tricky part comes in. They gave US an I pad. Which means that we have to share. And unfortunately that means no ruffles, or red and teal when it comes to our IPad case. Sad huh. We quickly snagged up this one at Target, to protect our new member of our family electronic device. I wanted to make a sleeve to protect the screen though. My first attempt at making a case started out gender neutral. And then I thought just maybe, Darin wouldn't mind having one with ruffles. Grr. I was wrong. So that one went to my sister.

I got around to making another one for us the other day. I used the basic idea from this case and enlarged it to fit our new toy. This would work for any kind of e- reader or device that you got for Christmas as well. My supplies were...

2 pieces of fabric 10x30

batting 10x30 {i used fusible, but its not necessary}

velcro, button or magnetic snap or whatever kind of closure you prefer { I went for velcro on this one}

basic sewing supplies: machine, scissors, thread...

I'm not gonna give you the rundown on how to make this, its pretty basic, I just wanted to give you a couple tips.

+I used minky for the inside of my case to be extra soft on the screen. Minky is REALLY slippery, so use a lot of pins.

+With all of those layers I needed to use a denim needle to topstitch at the end, so a little heads up on that one.

+When you are finished and show your husband, make sure and emphasize the fact that you made it a case you could both appreciate. I'm sure he will agree.

+ If after a couple of weeks, even though he agreed that yes it was manly enough, he keeps "accidentally" forgetting to use it. I give you permission to go back and add ruffles. ;)

And just in case your curious here are our favorite apps.

Jenn: Flipboard for sure. You check all your stuff like facebook, twitter and google reader, in a magazine type format. They also have cool pages like flipstyle, flipeats, and fliptech. Love it.

Ivy: Cake Doodle and Cookie Doodle. Hands down. She would play these forever if we let her. I think they might have these for iphone too but I'm not sure.

Darin: He just loves finding all of these crazy apps that do crazy things, like the Black Eyed Peas 3d music video. Which is pretty crazy.

What are your favorite apps?!

{P.S. Did you know I still don't even have a smartphone? Since iphone is coming to Verizon {yay!} I'm wondering, are you team android or team iphone? And which team should I be on?}

Happy Birthday Laney!

Did you know that we bought Greenies off of Craigs List?  Kind of a crazy way to buy a business, and it is all thanks to Darin's sister Ellayne.  She had been campaigning to get us to move to Tri Cities for years.  So when she finally found something that would work for us we took the opportunity and ran.  Ok so there is more to it than that but Ellayne set it all in motion.   She's awesome.  Ellayne's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and as soon as I saw this I knew it would be exactly the perfect for her gift.  She LOVES Christmas, couponing {crazy good at it too} and she has five kids- hence the planning ;).

What better way to spend a cozy evening curled up with your ads, writing your Christmas lists and planning your black friday attack than with a Christmas planner and some cute slippers?! Throw in some hot chocolate and Bing Crosby and its the perfect way to relax at the end of the day.  

Aren't these slippers so cute?  They are flannel lined and have some snowflake traction on the bottom. 

The rosettes just make me smile and almost made me keep them .

These Christmas planners are so fun.  The ribbon ties are key if you have little sneaks around.  Although you might need to padlock the ties if they are a little bit bigger sneaks.  

  

On the inside flaps there is one envelope for coupons and one for receipts.  

The planner has four tabs.  Starting with The List.  

1.  The List  2.  Calender  3.  Menus  4.  Notes

I found an awesome weekly calender and started it on November 1st and it goes all the way through January 1.   She won't miss a beat!  Happy Birthday Laney!

On another note, can you believe that we are already two weeks in to November?!  Does anyone have a good idea to slow down the next 2 months?  

Mission Accomplished!

 Why yes!  I do like that hat!

  Its a scrappy, sassy little hat and its not perfect, but it is perfect for her.   

 

This is the first thing I have ever made for Ivy that she actually was waiting by the sewing machine for it to be done, and then she wore it the rest of the day.  And then asked for it the next morning. Seriously. That is what I have been waiting for.

I've been thinking about that this week as I've been sewing her some clothes for the cooler weather.  Do I sew her what she will love?  Or is it what I love and she will like. {and if I'm really honest, what I think you will like}?

Yep, I do. Because its not that she doesn't like what I make her.  She loves to tell people that I made what she is wearing.   But  she is more of her own little person every day. Gulp.  Which means I am going to have to let go of that control a little bit.  Gulp.  

This shirt is the perfect example.   One day we were at Old Navy and she saw it.  

And LOVED it. 

Me not so much. 

As in I pretended like we were going to get it.  Then didn't.  And as I was trying to leave without it, she asked where her bestest shirt was.  I didn't want to get it.  Really a dog with *bling*?! 

But I gave in and got it because she was so excited about it.   And its still her bestest shirt.  And I love it too.  Because it is TOTALLY her. 

 

{getting ready to do "sneaky time"}

Just like her hat.

+++

{tutorial found HERE from a new fave, I am Momma-Hear Me Roar}

Boo-tiful

I've had about 10 projects started this week and haven't quite finished a single one!  Its been driving me crazy.  Some things I can't help, like the fact that Hobby Lobby isn't open yet and they have the wood shapes that I need. On others I just hit the wall and can't figure out quite the right way to finish it off.  Does that ever happen to any of you?  

 +++

I've also been adding touches of Halloween to Ivy's room with some of the fab scrapbook paper out this year! I love using paper because Its cheap, and you can change it every year if you want, without feeling too guilty!

  

This cute little witch comes by way of my mom's cricut.  I cut her out a couple of weeks ago, and the oval frame I cut probably six months ago.  I added a tiny black stone to her wand tip.  I love her cute little nose.  

Ivy is loving all the "BOO" everywhere. She reads the letters and tell me that it spells BOO.  Which is too crazy for me.  The other day we were at Costco.  As we were walking in she stops outside and points to the letters.  "Thats a C and an O and an S and a T and a C and a O.  That spells Costco!" 

Why yes Ivy it does.  Now stop growing.  

{In case you were thinking, WOW she is incredibly smart!  She is.  But she also kept telling me that she learned about the letter C at school.  When they most definitely learned about the letter E.}

The glitter candlesticks are a Martha Stewart thing from Michaels.  And I need to cut the tag off of that Bat pillow! I got the letters from Hobby Lobby a long time ago, but they now have them at Craft Warehouse!

 

This is the most perfect Halloween kids craft.  They get to paint somewhere besides paper, use glitter and its not too spooky.  One of the hardest parts about doing crafts with Ivy for me is letting her have the control.  I think I did pretty well this time.  Just take a look at that  not quite right cute mouth!  We added a sweet bow for good girly measure.

Thats just a couple of little things we've done,  but all the little touches make it BOO-tiful! We hope you have a BOO-tiful weekend!

"I should pay $5 for this!"

 {salted caramel cupcakes}

Next time you want to be the hit of the party you should make Julie's cupcakes.  Seriously, rave reviews.  The only change I would make is to not heat up the caramel before injecting the cupcakes with it.  Yep you read that right.  Chocolate cake injected with caramel.  And topped with frosting, crushed toffee and more caramel.  Its a good thing I don't like chocolate cake so I'm not tempted to eat them.  Maybe I'll be like Ivy and only eat the frosting ;)

{tea set is Ivy's birthday present.  Its from Target.  I wish I could find real plates like that.}

Photo Props

When I was in Portland a couple of weeks ago my sister and I hit up the thrift stores for some photo props for Darin.  I wish I had remembered my camera because these places were incredible.  We hit the jackpot at Rerun in NE Portland off of Fremont.  Everywhere else was a little spendy, but we scored a couple of chairs, a trunk, some suitcases and a couple of odds and ends.  

  Here is a stack of luggage that we thought was cute all together.  The white trunk is wood and is blue inside and has some chinese tag inside.  The yellow has an amazing green lining that is in super good shape.  And the black hat box was just too rad to pass up.  Wait until you see the lining!

Isn't it fabulous?!  Well as awesome as our finds were I wanted to spruce them up just a bit.  I used some vinyl and I guess I was too focused trying to get it done because I forgot to take pictures of the process.  But here is how they turned out...

I LOVE how the trunk turned out.  I had been waiting for just the right project to use Jen's Quatrafoil at Tatertots and Jello.  The best part about her download is it is a PNG and it is tile-able.  Which means it repeats when put together.  

{source}

Pretty cool huh.  And she was so nice to share!

 I added a swirl to the hat box using the letter "Z" from DB Fright Night.

Kind of fun huh?  I'm thinking I just need to use it for my luggage all the time.  Or stack them up for an end table with a lamp.  Of course all photos were courtesy of Darin. I'll show you the rest of the pictures from our photoshoot tomorrow.  I know you are just on pins and needles!

Heaven Help Me She's 3!

I've been away celebrating this sweet girls third birthday.  We've been playing in Portland for a week and it was a fabulous time! We had a little party with my family last Sunday with her fave-cupcakes.  When she woke up on Monday {her actual birthday} and I started singing Happy Birthday to her she promptly told me to be quiet.  But its your birthday I say.  And she corrects me- BUT MOM!  I already had my cupcake! 

 Is she the only kid that only eats the frosting?!

I made her dress using the Warhol Dress pattern from the ever talented Dana of Made fame.  Super easy and quick.  Just the way I like it at 10 pm the night before we are heading out of town.  What, you've never decided that was a perfect time to put everything else on hold, because your daughter needed a new dress?!  You should try this pattern next time that happens.  :)

 

I'm planning on posting some more details this week. Don't hold me to it though.  I've been playing Dr. to my crabby sweet baby girl who got her first black eye yesterday.  But really have you ever seen a cuter patient? 

{she turfed it at the pool and has a shiner and a big scrape.  Hence the princesses on her cheek.}

But I stocked up on popsicles and princess bandaids so hopefully we can make it.  Popsicles and bandaids make everything better!  Talk to you soon!

 

Christmas in July

I signed up for a Christmas in July swap last month.  I finally am getting my gift in the mail, hoping that it will make its way to Texas before July is over.  

 

I used Noodlehead's gathered clutch tutorial for my gift that I wanted to keep for myself. 

I love the dividers and card holders on the inside.

I am mostly excited that Joann's has stepped it up a little bit in the fabric department!

Although I'm still not very good at sewing with zippers, I love the zipper ends.  Sometimes it is the little details that make the biggest difference.

I'm glad I got around to crossing something off my to do/try list.  Hope you enjoy it Dee!

Things With Wings

Summer brings us things with wings...

Remember how much Ivy loves Cinderella?  She has been practicing her twirling and curtsey-ing for her dances with the prince in her new butterfly twirly skirt.  I've been wanting to make a skirt like this for days!  I used the basic market skirt pattern and added some extra layers.  The butterfly fabric is from Momo's Freebird line that goes swell with the Wonderland fabric I have been hoarding.  

I also embellished a tank from Old Navy with another butterfly.  I heart them. They are fun to make and so darling.  If you are looking for a good butterfly template, head over to Martha Stewart.  That's where I got mine and it is the perfect size!

I Pod Case (tutorial I tried)

I want to try something kind of new and do a Tutorial I Tried feature every week.  Sometimes I look at a tutorial and wonder if it really is easy or what someone else thinks so I thought I would kind of do a review type thing.  

First up?!

Easy cellphone/i pod/camera pouch from A Pretty Cool Life,

Here's how mine turned out.  The only thing I did different really was added a button and button hole to keep it closed.  I pieced together some scraps for the outside and used the polka dot for the lining.  

I think the best kind of easy tutorial is one that uses stuff that I already have.  If I have to go to the store to buy something than chances are it will take me a while or won't get done.  Because by the time I go and get the stuff, I've probably got something else I want to make!  

I like the case because it will protect that already scratched up screen on my i pod when I throw it in my bag.  I loved this, but will probably need to make some adjustments for our little camera( I think its too big).  The case took me about 15 minutes to make, after I picked out which fabric I wanted to use which always takes me FOREVER.  Super fast, and super easy.  And it is pretty cute if I do say so myself. ;)