Handmade + Local

Do you even want to get me going about buying handmade & local? I feel super strongly about both. For all of you in Vegas, there is a great opportunity coming up for both. I will be participating in the Behind the Picket Fence craft boutique with many other talented crafters. Come shop for holiday gifts & support your local economy & some hardworking artists rather than big corporations.

Mark your calendars. The show runs from Nov. 19th - Nov. 21st.

You can find more information about why buying handmade is so totally awesome right here.

And here's some info on why shopping locally is so cool right here.

One other note. You may have noticed that the prices for our posters have gone up recently. There's a reason for this. We've upgraded the paper that we're printing posters on. It's a bit thicker & a little textured & super nice.

Rock On

Sadie didn't have to go to school on Monday because of a staff development day so we decided to go take a little hike out at Red Rock. Actually Dylan decided that we should & I must say it was an excellent idea. The girls had a blast on our rocky little hike. Claire did not want to be carried at all. She wanted to navigate the rocks all on her own. Sadie was filthy by the end of it...sufficiently covered in dust.


I'm learning that it is important that we take advantage of this time with Dylan at home to make special outings as a family. It really was quite a simple day but hopefully our kids will remember it fondly.

And I am totally thrown off season wise by the weather here. Mid 80's all week makes my internal clock think it's summer time & I am not feeling any pressure to get holiday work done. Which makes me freak out whenever I look at the calendar & remember that it's actually November & the days are moving by quite quickly. Christmas will be here before we know it. We'll see if I'll be ready for it this year. For now I'll continue to wear a t-shirt & flip flops & try not to stress.

The Story of My Serger

Oh yes. I own a serger now & yes there is a good story behind it. Last month, just after we'd decided to move quickly to Las Vegas but before news had really spread that we were moving or why, my super dear friend Maria came for a visit. She said that she had an early birthday gift for me & wanted to bring it by. So when she & another friend Terri showed up with a rather large box, I was a bit confused. I opened the attached card & learned that this gift was from 13 awesome ladies & friends that I know from church. They had all pitched in to give me this serger! When I opened the box & saw it, I cried.

Whenever a holiday or birthday comes up, Dylan will ask me what I want. I always say "nothing". Then he asks me what I would want if money was no factor & I always say "a serger".

I cannot believe that these sweet ladies would do this for me. Little ol' me! I love this machine & I've already used it lots. I was so happy to have it to finish off the satin capes for my girls' Halloween costumes. What a mess they would have been without my serger! I am so grateful to Maria for the time she put into hunting this machine down & then for arranging for the group effort in purchasing it. And I am so thankful for all the dear friends that pitched in. They seriously made a little dream of mine come true.

Which reminds me...I have about a hundred thank you cards that I need to write. Which also reminds me...we have some new printable fabric stash note cards in the shop. Pay for the download once & then print them as many times as you need them!

Razzle Dazzle

I'm guest posting over at the super cool Smile and Wave blog today. Go check it out! There's a giveaway involved. :)

Witchy Ladies

They were little witches for Halloween. I made everything except the hats. I think that they looked adorable, but I'm wondering if it's worth it to make the costumes rather than buying them. I'm not sure if I could find a store bought costume at a reasonable price that I liked enough. The hunt for one would probably take just as much time as it does to make them. Any thoughts on the subject?

I hope you all had a spooky fun Halloween. We did!

Vintage Nightgown Patterns

Sadie has been asking me to make her a nightgown for quite some time now. Her request once again before bed a few nights ago sent me on an etsy search for vintage nightgown patterns & I think I'm obsessed now. I may try a vintage pattern for Christmas pajamas for the girls this year. Here are a few of my favorites:

MyraMelinda

finickyfinds

historicallypatterns

midvalecottage

janmarie

Quilted List Taker

I finally had a go at Jennifer's Quilted List Taker. I must say these are so fun to make. Her pattern is very easy to follow. I'm happy with the finished product. I bought a pack of little note pads, so it looks like I'll be making 12 of these list takers for an upcoming craft show. Any leftovers may go into my etsy shop. Or I may just give them as gifts. They would be the perfect little handmade gift for teachers, neighbors, friends, sisters & mothers.


Anyway, Jennifer's lovely patterns are available here.

Thanks for all the nice comments yesterday. At the time I wasn't sure why I was sharing these details almost one year post miscarriage...but now I can see that I am not the only person with these feelings & actually there are a lot of women out there who suffer with the same sadness. And I can't help but think that there are others suffering quietly with sadness over other things. "In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see."

I did not write that post with a negative tone towards those that mentioned the miscarriage once Dylan lost his job. I know where each of those people's heart was & I appreciate it. I have done the very same thing. I guess it's good to have a little insight (obviously I needed it too) so that we can be more understanding.

So, with that said, I must tell you all that I love my life & I feel happy most of the time. Even during these kinda crazy times, we are making the best of it & smiling & laughing a lot. I enjoy sharing parts of my life with my online buddies. Thanks so much for even coming around & thanks for taking the time to comment & be so kind. You guys are awesome. :)

Getting All Personal Here

Photo taken by my talented sister Heather

I love my family with all my heart. I think you all know that. But truth be told, I've been struggling lately with a sadness. It was about a year ago that we found out that I was pregnant. We were excited. We hoped for a little boy, but would have been thrilled with another awesome girl. And then everything changed. That baby was gone. It was hard to deal with. The hardest thing ever to deal with? Quite possibly. Friends were wonderful. They brought dinner & offered to watch the girls. Some anonymous person left a Christmas wreath on our front door. No doubt, I will always remember that time in our life whenever I pull out that wreath at Christmas time.

I felt confident that I would be pregnant again before that baby's due date. It was a sad day when the due date rolled around & I wasn't. Then Dylan was laid off & we quickly packed up to move from Cleveland to Las Vegas to live at my parents house until Dylan finds another job. Lots of people told me, "It's a good thing you had that miscarriage. Life would be so much harder for you right now if you had a baby." That's not exactly how they said it, but that's how I heard it. I tried to respond by telling them that the baby would have been 4 months old & it wouldn't have been such a big deal to bring the baby along with us on our move. I decided that I would never again tell somebody...."Ah ha!!! This is why you had a miscarriage! It all makes sense now!"

I am really happy for others in my life that are pregnant. I truly am. But news of a new pregnancy or the gender of a baby hits me like a ton of bricks & I'm suddenly brought back to my loss. And I realize that I am still mourning. Still! It seems like it's been so long & I should just be over this. Will this sadness & longing & wanting that (it feels like) I go through on my own ever end? And now, with an unemployed husband, it seems like it will be forever until we add another child to our family. I mean who really tries to get pregnant with a husband out of work?

With all of that said, I know that the Lord has a plan for our family. I know that I am not the only person that feels or has ever felt this way. I don't talk about this with anybody really & I'm not even sure why I'm sharing all this here, but it has been nagging me for days. We all have adversity & trials in this life & we become stronger because of them. I am continuing to learn & grow from this trial that I thought would have been over a long time ago. The Lord has promised, “I will not leave you comfortless. … Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:18, 27

We must taste the bitter so that we can recognize the sweet. Right?

Print Your Own Calendar

Guess what! Printable versions of the calendars are now available in the shop. For only $5 a piece or $12 for all three styles, you can purchase the pdf files of our cute little calendars. Then you can print them off as many times as you'd like & give them to everybody on your Christmas list this year. Easy & affordable & super cool. Am I right?

We Have Calendars

2010 desktop calendars have been added to the shop today. Dylan designed three really great versions. Check them out!

First we have the Month-to-Month calendar. Very colorful. Very cool:


Then we have the Colorblock calendar. Very colorful & vibrant. Appealing to guys as well as girls:


And then, my favorite, the Fabric Stash calendar. Scans of actual vintage fabrics were used. Oh my! It's pretty. I love it:


Each of these calendars come in a case that folds out into a stand. Perfect gift for an office coworker. Seriously.

Let us know what you think!