Happy Birthentines Day!

Birthentines? Yep. Today is Valentines Day but it's also my hubby's birthday!
For breakfast I got up early and made some chocolate chip, heart shaped pancakes with raspberry syrup. Yum. The boys got strawberry-banana smoothies too. And sitting next to their plates were these cute owls!

(crappy cell phone pic- I'll add better pics later)

I got the pattern at Just Another Hang Up and whipped them up late last night. The pattern was super fun and easy. I had a few minor issues(of my own making) though. Like the fact that I can't find the box I packed my interfacing in. So I sewed them without it. They're a bit floppy. I ended up topstitching around them in hopes that it would give them a bit more standy-uppy-ness. And my machine was having issues. So I stopped in the middle and my amazing hubby cleaned and oiled it for me. It's still having issues. Sigh. Someday I'll have one of those cool, fancy-schmancy machines. Until then, I'll keep plugging on. :)

Now I'm off to make lasagna for DH's birthday dinner!
Thanks for stopping by!

Hedgie Quilt

Thought I'd pop in real quick and show you some of what I've been working on. Owen, as you may know, is totally obsessed with hedgehogs. I decided I wanted to make both boys quilts this year but couldn't find any hedgehog fabric that I liked. So, here's my first attempt at doing an applique.




This is just the top of the quilt. I still need to finish it. I see a couple late nights in my immediate future. :)

Speaking of sewing, my friend Deb posted a link to HomeSpunThreads. Tons of super cute patterns, go check them out! Just spreading the love. :)

knock off pillow

I made something! Woot!

Earlier this week, I went to a little place called Tai Pan Trading. They always have the coolest home decor stuff and their holiday displays are amazing. Anyway, while I was browsing, I found this super cute felt pillow.

Adorable! But I wasn't about to spend money on something so simple. What can I say? I'm cheap. So I cut out some felt pieces and made myself a pillow. Turns out my pillow looks nothing like the one at Tai Pan. But, I like it all the same. :)

I ended up making mine with the cheap-o felt sheets you find in the kids craft section. 4 pieces of felt and some batting was all it took. I'm thinking this probably cost me all of $2.00. It's small, probably about 6x10 inches, but it will look great on my couch with some bigger pillows.

Throw Pillow

So, my living room is pretty boring. Tan carpet, white walls, green couches, brown chair, black accents. Boring. Really the only color in the room is the Kool-Aid stain on the carpet that just peeks out from the bottom of the couch. I guess there is also some wall art courtesy of Crayola but you can only see that when you're on the floor wiping something up. :)

So in an effort to liven up my living room (ha. I think I'm funny.) I made a throw pillow. Yes, just one. Baby steps here people. Baby steps.


Do you see all that color? Orange, red, purple, green, cream and a solid brown back! When I saw this fabric at Joann's, I knew it had to come home to live with me. I only bought a half yard because it wasn't on sale and I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it. I have enough fabric left over to make another the same size. Which is what I'll be doing so that the boys can quit fighting over who's turn it is to use it. :) I'm not sure I'm loving the button in the middle but it needed something.

And finally, thank you to those who commented on the post about my life. I felt kind of weird putting all that out there but I'm glad I did. And hopefully you were able to gain something from it. Even if it's only knowing that I have issues. :)

Sewing Coasters

Sorry for the late post, today was the first day of school for Adam. Had to get him out the door. And then I had to lay down for a bit since I was up all night with a migraine.

But here's my sewing project! Coasters!
You're probably wondering why I would sew coasters. We have this awesome kitchen table. However when you set anything hot or moist on it, it gets these white spots from the moisture. They go away but I figure they can't be great for the table, ya know? We've tried regular coasters made of cork or tile but the condensation from drinks just rolls off and on to the table. So I set out to see if I could make some that would absorb better. That's when I found this tutorial on Made By Nichole. Perfect!

Here they are in all their imperfect glory-

I kind of like that they aren't perfect. Makes them more "mine" if you know what I mean.
Next on the list- placemats! I know, I know, I lead a very exciting life. :)

But now I must go feed a little boy who is sad that he doesn't start kindergarten for another week.

Sew cute!

I made this blanket for a friend who recently had a baby girl. I don't get to make much girlie stuff, so this was lots of fun!

Things are sort-of back to normal here(I won't bore you with the details) but hopefully I'll be able to post on a more regular basis. Hopefully. :)
Thanks for stopping by!


Ingredients!
Paper:
Stamps:
Ink:
Etc:

Owie Bag

I made this little Owie Bag for my friends little boy. I was talking to her on the phone and she tells me he was hit by a car! WHAT?! He's fine. He's got a few scrapes and some bruises but otherwise is perfectly fine. I guess he was riding his bike and a car backed up out of their driveway and hit him. Luckily the driver was going really slow and it more just kind of tipped him over. Anyway, I had to do something for the poor little guy, so I sewed up this little bag full of rice that he can keep in the freezer for an ice pack or warm it in the microwave for heat therapy. Stamped a quick tag for it, tied some ribbon on and it was ready to go!

Needless to say, we've had a bike safety lesson at our house. Sheesh! Scary stuff! Thankfully it was just a minor accident and everyone is fine. Today might be an excellent day to have a safety lesson at your house too! :)

Gotta run, thanks for stopping by!

A Word and some Super Frogs!

I'm sure by now everyone has heard of the One Little Word movement started by Ali Edwards. I thought I'd share my word for 2009- STRENGTH. Here is something I made to represent my choice(click on it to make it larger)-

Look kind of familiar? That is also my new blog header with a few minor adjustments.
So, do you have a word? Would you like to share?


Now for the Super Frogs!
Ok, not really super frogs.
A Super Cape made with super cute frog material.
I made this cape for my nephew for Christmas-

Forgive the photo. I couldn't find anywhere to hang it so I could get a good picture of it. So it ended up on my giant magnet board. :)

It's made of this super cute flannel with these frogs-

Stinkin' cute, right?!

Now we have 3 Super Boys on our street. Watch out bad guys! :)

Mini Indy

My boys are recently obsessed with Indiana Jones. They haven't see the new movie or anything, but thanks to the wonderful world of advertising- they are hooked.

Owen has been carrying around a lunch cooler calling it his Indiana bag and while it's pretty cute, we do still need the cooler on occasion. So I figured I'd make some bags for the boys to play with. I bought a couple yards of brown felt at Walmart and used some seam binding to make 2 of these-


And here's my Mini Indy playing in the snow.


Adam wouldn't pose for me. Little stinker.
Plus, Grandma and Grandpa found real leather ones to give the boys for Christmas. I wasn't going to make the felt ones for the boys since they are getting some, but they have been begging everyday. So I caved. It only took a minute and it keeps them entertained. :)

Super Boys To The Rescue!

Owen has been wearing his blanket around his neck lately. Calls it his "super blanket". I thought maybe I would make him an actual cape so his favorite blankie doesn't get ruined. Of course as soon as I finished Owen's, Adam decided he needed one too!

Here's both of them showing off their "super poses"-

Here is Super Adam-

Super Owen-

And yes, Adam has a mohawk. He has been asking for one since October. So I figured since was school was out, why not! He's kind of a cute punk. Owen wanted one too. He has kind of a pseudo-hawk. I didn't want to shave the sides all the way down(he has fairer skin than Adam and would burn, plus he has a birthmark on his head that looks kind of weird.) so his hair is cut closer than normal on the sides and the top is just a little longer. It was enough to make him happy though!

Catch-Up Post

So, Christmas is over. Can I get a "Hooray!" Not that I don't love Christmas. Well I guess I don't. I like the idea of Christmas. I love spending time with my family. I love the wonder and amazement of small children. I however do not love the greediness, mad rushing, no parking, snippy people and general holiday craziness. Do I sound like Scrooge? Sorry.


This year we went with a handmade theme, which I love. I made 4 different card sets, an apron, a message board, a cool altered CD with a gift card to a music store, family name plaques for the parents and married siblings, cocoa cones for the neighbors and friends- and did I take a picture of any of it? Nope. Totally forgot. But I did also make some ugly dolls for 3 of the nephews, and I did take pictures of those-

Here is Weird Bird which was renamed Peep by his new owner:

Here is Splat which was renamed B:

And here is Injured Eye, renamed Army:
The boys came up with much better names than I did!

So that about wraps up my crazy craftiness for the year. Today I am going to finish Thank You cards for the boys to send. This is what they look like-
I seriously love that hippo. Love it.
Thanks for listening to me rant.
Hope your Holiday festivities were happy and fun!

BotBot and Foam Dots

Owen got this super cool BotBot from his Aunt Jenn for his birthday this year...

Isn't it cute? Owen loves him. Sleeps with him every night.




And check out these uber-cool (had to come up with another word, not super) foam dots by American Crafts. They are only 1 mm thick! I love them! They are just right for boosting a layer that has eyelets, brads or ribbon without being too thick.

And, that's pretty much it for today. I am going to try and make something using my new Basic Grey stamps. But first I need to try and un-stuff my nose. Yep. Sick again. Anyone know of a good immune system strengthener? Cuz I need it.

Rag Blanket

So here is the rag blanket I made for a friend who is having baby #6 next month. I wasn't sure about the orange polka dots at first but now that its all done, I like it.

Now can you see where I sewed the panel wrong? Let me point it out- I thought about fixing it and then decided I didn't really want to rip it apart. So it will stay like this.

Adam Gets Crafty

He made Daisy a shirt all on his own. Isn't he talented? He cut out the fabric, cut the arm holes and did all of the sewing by himself. I only helped him when the sewing machine got caught up. Sometimes it doesn't like fleece(maybe because it's pink? It doesn't work on pink?).

Ugly is the new Cute

These are my uglies.
They are kind of cute though.
But my "cuties" sounds kind of stupid.

For Kara

Here is your girly rags and tags burp cloth/blanket thing! It's pink!