behind

Feels like I've been behind for a while now... could have something to do with a*new* (well, he's been here for 5 weeks now, but we're slow to adjust with the kids out of school and all), two-month old. Anyway, it's all worth it, and we hope he stays for a very LONG time! So here's some catch-up:

So, for teacher gifts this year, we went REALLY simple. Zipper pouches with candy. I asked the kids what colors their teachers liked, and we went from there. Here's what we ended up with...

At this point I don't remember what went to who... but they turned pretty fun. And really, who doesn't LOVE chocolate, plus a little zippered bag for whatever later - can't go wrong.

These next photos/gift are from last year. They were a gift for a baby girl...

Diaper/wipes envelope. One of my very favorite things... carries diapers and wipes, then when you need to change a diaper, you grab the pouch, instead of having to take the whole diaper bag with you. Especially handy if you have more than one child needing that diaper bag.

To go along with the diaper/wipes envelope, I made some cute baby shoes. They are really fun to make, lots of steps, but really not too bad... and they turn out so cute, that's it worth all the time.

Well, obviously Easter was a while ago, but here's the various fabrics I used for my girls' Easter skirts. Seersucker is such fun!

So, I had a *great* idea for the green/white plaid, to make a tie for Silas. I found a free pattern online and gave it a whirl. The pattern said it was for a little boy, guess it meant a little smaller little boy, because it was too small, by far. So, since that was left until last, Silas didn't have a new tie for Easter, he'll live. I want to try it again, but haven't yet... sometime. Course, the longer I wait, the bigger/longer the tie will need to be. Lovely.

Here's some of the fabric cut, ironed and ready to be used as bias tape on the skirt. What fun.

Of course, I don't have a finished picture... I'm sure we took one, I just can't find it right now... later.

About a month ago, Silas had a little friend that had a birthday party. She was turning 5, and after thinking what he could give her, here's what we came up with...

She got a Market Skirt. Here's the free tutorial, and here for the pockets. Really easy and fast. Always turns out cute. Can't go wrong. If you're in the mood for a cute skirt, go give it a try.

Close-up of the pockets. So fun. We actually hid some little stuffed animals in the pockets just for fun. She loved it!

I'm working on a gift for a birthday coming-up on Sunday - can't believe he'll be 4! Crazy. When I finish that, I'll post pictures, along with a large project I've been slowly working on.

Here's to a GREAT Monday!

labyrinth

First time seeing it. Shocking, I know. I'm now asking myself, why didn't David Bowie do more? And, was that a wig? He must have been tight with Tina Turner. Wow. Not really sure what more to say. I'm glad Sara got Toby back. Hopefully there weren't too many puppets injured while filming. I'm pretty sure that when Sara first met Hoggle (a puppet that helped her through the labyrinth), she called him Hogwarts... was this inspiration for J.K. Rowling? Just saying. Seems like most everyone saw this when they were a kid, so I'm pleased to be in good company, now.

half...

Just a quickie to document that I'll be running my first 1/2 marathon on Saturday, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. At the beginning of the year as I was setting goals, I decided it was time to give it a try. So, we'll see how it goes. Here's to 13.1 miles (or something like that).

rumplestiltskin report

I'm REALLY late this time... and I'm not really expecting to get much better. Is that setting myself up for failure?

I've lost track of what I've done when, so this will be a random summary of the last two weeks.

This little pink doll (Ruby Lou Doll Pattern, found here), I actually made a long time ago. She's just been patiently waiting for a "sister". I don't think I ever posted a picture of her though, so here she is:



And here's the "sister", in purple. I was curious to see how she would turn out. It's actually the same pink dot, sheer fabric on top, but the pink one is backed with a plain pink, and the purple is backed with purple, obviously. I wasn't sure that it would turn out LOOKING purple, but it's fun that it did. Two little sisters are going to love these "sisters", I hope. I just have a few little somethings to add, and then they'll be off in the mail.



This has been a project long in the works. Like, forever. I originally made this skirt years ago. It's linen, basic A-line, elastic waist. It was my favorite go-to pattern for a quick, cute skirt, for a long time. Anyway, the pattern is for a just-below-the knee skirt, but I made this one long... probably close to ankle length. I wore it and really liked it for a long time, but the linen was such a light color that I almost felt like it was white. I already have a white linen skirt. Lame. So I decided to dye it.



The first time I dyed it, (no picture, sorry), it was too light. Guess I didn't leave it in long enough. So I dyed it again a couple of months ago. I cut the bottom off, and was deciding what to do, when I had an idea of putting a pleated ruffle on the bottom.

So, using the bottom of the skirt that I had cut off, (I actually cut it off twice, so I had two pieces), I sewed them together, and began pleating. It took a while... but looked kind-of cool, I thought.



And then sewed it onto the bottom of the skirt. I think I like the outcome, but now the problem is that the skirt is dyed unevenly... and I'm not sure that it looks intentional enough. So, it has yet to be worn in it's new form, until I buy some more dye and re-dye it, yet again. I'm just hoping that it will turn out uniform, that you won't be able to tell the previous lighter/darker areas. Guess we'll see.



And lastly, I spent time cutting up a bunch of rectangles of various types of fabric for more Cozy Car Caddy projects. Sometimes I have really GREAT ideas.

cupcake... or not

The other night at a church meeting for the women, we did this fun thing. One of the ladies had recently been on a cruise. As one of the crafts that they offered, they learned how to make different things out of an ordinary cupcake. So, she taught us how.



The original, inspiration. Pretty fun.

Most of it is frosting with the lettuce and the cheese being fondant. Pretty smart. Who comes up with this stuff? Anyway, there were some left over cupcakes and frosting, so I brought some home to make with the kids. Here's how they turned out...



Silas'



Sadie's hamburger



Phebe's hamburger



Isaac's hamburger/cupcake.

Mmmmm. Afterwards I told them that they could eat it, well half of it anyway. I thought it might be a bit much to let them eat the whole thing, you know... sugar shock.

The next time you're looking for something different to make with your kids, or with your friends, give it a whirl.