Stay Out Nasty Cold

We don't like you & we don't want you in here anymore. Also, we really hate what you do to our heating bill.


I am on a serious mission to get all the windows in this house covered. It is consuming me & it's pretty much all I talk about. Right, Dylan? Anyway, I can check off the dining room windows & tonight it's on to the front bay windows. That is the coldest spot in our house. It's also right where our sofa sits. Makes for a not so cozy living room.


I'm confident that these window coverings will help a great deal with keeping our house nice & warm & keeping our heating bill down. Maria & I hit up the sale at Joann's & found some nice heavyweight home decor fabric in the clearance section marked down an additional 50% off. Can't beat it.

New Vintage Goodies

I just completed a vintage shop update of some really great finds from a shopping trip earlier this week. Looks like the color for the day was green. :) There are some super cool pieces. I hope you'll check it out.

And a little frugal tip: Be sure to visit Suave today & get a coupon for a free bottle of Suave shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, styling aid, body wash, or body lotion (good up to $3.00). Yippee!

Just In Time For Valentine's Day

We are happy to now be offering the La La Love You design in a 8.5 by 11 inch print! We've added a few new fun colors as well. Check them all out in the shop.

I have a really great vintage update planned for the shop tomorrow. So be sure to come back for that. :)

2009 Focus

(Sewing machine cover. Available in the shop.)

Specific goals have not been set this year. I have been doing some reflecting just like everybody else...but I've decided that my focus for 2009 will just be being better. I want to be a better person, better in all my roles...

I want to be a better wife & mother, a better sister & sister-in-law, daughter & daughter-in-law. I want to be a better friend, Christian, crafter, seamstress, etsian, blogger & member of society. I'm remembering also that being better for everyone else means I need to be better to myself and so thoughts of physical improvements & overall wellness have entered my mind as well.

I have high hopes for 2009. :)

New Stuff In The Shop

It's a new year & I'm full of new year energy! I've got big dreams for the shop & with school starting back up again tomorrow, I should be able to find even more time to work. Dylan has designed a new poster called Dream Big. It's available in 4 different colors.


I tried out a new garland idea. You can see it pictured in the photos above & below. These are double sided leaf shapes cut free form & sewn together with a strong, invisible, nylon thread. I hung the finished garland up in the girl's room & just loved it.


With the organizing mindset that comes with the new year, I decided to make a batch of grocery bag dispensers as well. These will be added to the shop over the next few days.


It's good to feel this surge of energy & excitement. What are you focusing on now that the holidays are over?

365

My oldest sister Heather and I have started a new photo a day project for 2009. Each of us, living in different parts of the country, will take a photo a day & post them together. Our goal is to do this every day of 2009. Heather's photos are on the left & mine on the right. Because we don't talk at all about the photos we'll take, everyday is a nice surprise. You can follow along with us here.

Handmade Holidays Received

Not only do I love giving handmade, but I love receiving handmade. Take a look at the handmade gifts that we received this year from family.

My Dad got me this scrabble pendant necklace set from my sister. I love it & how cute is the painted game piece holder! Amber & Jen sell their creations at Just Be Jewelry.


My sister-in-law Lilia really spoiled our girls this year. She made Sadie some adorable clothes for her barbies.


She even made a Princess Leia dress & buns! Perfect gift for the Leia obsessed girl.


Lilia also made Claire two sweet little dresses & She made Sadie a polka dot one to match the Barbie outfit she made. I just can't seem to find it. I assume it's in the laundry because Sadie has been wearing that dress all the time! Lilia also keeps a really fun etsy shop.


My mother-in-law made these great hooded towels for the girls. The kids love having their own distinguishable towel. I love how nicely they hang behind their bedroom door. Sadie even wants to play dress up with hers sometimes. :)


We are so lucky. Thanks all for the wonderful gifts. Handmade means so much to me because I know the time that was put into these gifts. Your busy little hands have made us feel loved.

2008 Sewing

2008 was a really great year of sewing for me. I tried a lot of new things like making clothing for Sadie & myself, machine quilting & double fold bindings. I learned just how much I could produce if I set my mind to it thanks to my involvement in the summer market. I reached over 400 sales in my etsy shop. Not all sales being items that I've sewn (posters, vintage), but acceptance by the etsy community this year has been such a confidence booster for me. I'm ready to keep going in 2009!

I want to wish you all a happy new year! Thanks so much for stopping by & leaving your sweet comments. I'm hoping for the best for all of us in the year to come.

Don't Eat Pete, Free Download

We played Don't Eat Pete for the first time with the girls tonight. The game is quite popular with my niece & nephews in Las Vegas. For some reason I have failed to introduce it to my kids until tonight.


It was a hoot! Really the most simple of games, but thoroughly enjoyable for everybody involved. Sadie's eyebrows shot up with interest when she found out she'd get to eat candy & little Claire caught on to the excitement of yelling "Don't eat Pete!!" & kept yelling out her mumbled version of it at the wrong times.


I put Dylan on the task of creating the game board while I cooked dinner. The artist in him couldn't just make it simple. I was really pleased with his illustrations in the end. He rocked it! So we decided to make it a free download for other families to enjoy. We plan on laminating our game board so that it can hold up for future uses. You can download it here, print your own game board & enjoy some good times with your family today!



How to play:

Send the first player away from the game board or into another room, then have the remaining players choose which one of the twelve people on the game board will be "Pete" for the round. Place one M&M in each square of the game board. Have the first player come back and begin picking and eating M&M's from the game board. As soon as the player tries to pick "Pete" everyone yells "Don't Eat Pete!" The player keeps all the M&M's picked up before trying to get Pete. Refill the game board and play again with the next player.

You can use cereal or other small snack foods as well as any type of small candy for this game.

Doily Pot Holders

These pot holders are my absolute favorite things right now. I love the pot holders that I made for myself a while back & thought I'd try some out with my favorite girly, vintage embellishment...a doily. I love how they turned out. I've added these to the shop, of course. we'll see how they are received. :)

Mom's Quilt

I decided to make my Mom a lap quilt this Christmas. A lot of the fabrics used on this one are the same as used on the baby quilt that I have listed in my shop right now. I thought the colors would work well with her sofa & living room. It was nice to work on a quilt in the winter. Hand stitching the binding on with the warm quilt over me was so cozy & relaxing. One thing is for sure...once finished, I really wanted to keep this quilt for myself. I know that's a good gift if I don't really want to part with it myself. But I've decided that I need to have a stack of about 5 or 6 six handmade quilts like this in my house. Better get to work then, right?

Sorry for the poor lighting in these photos. I was rushing to get it finished & off in the mail. I couldn't wait until morning for better light. Heather was so sweet to get a photo of mom with the quilt in the gorgeous Las Vegas light. Take a look here.

Christmas 2008

* the year of the baby strollers
* barbie clothes & star wars
* making my mom's cinnamon rolls for the first time (they turned out great!)
* looking at lights of Christmas Eve
* reading the story of Christ's birth from the Bible
* sprinkling magic reindeer food outside (thanks Chanel!)
* forgetting Santa's cookies & having to make them a half hour before bedtime
* our first year at home w/ the kids

Christmas really is the best. I hope everybody had a super great day! We have immediately turned towards cleaning & organizing. Every room, every drawer, every closet will get hit by the organizing duo (Dyl & I) by the end of this week. It feels great to get rid of some stuff & put everything in it's place. I want to start off 2009 in an tidy house. :)

In the middle of all the holiday busyness, my mind has actually been brewing with ideas for the shop. Watch for some updates soon. Especially if you want some items to brighten up your house now that all the Christmas decor will be put away.

Hello Winter

We're staying in today. Luckily there are no errands that need to be done! The goal for today is to do all my weekly chores so that we can enjoy the holiday.

I finished up the last of my sewing last night. I didn't even finish half of the handmade gifts I originally set out to make. I'm giving myself a break because of all I've been through this last little while. Next year I will try again to be better & start in the summer time. For now I am just too exhausted. Dylan put his foot down & told me I couldn't start any more gift projects at this point. Although, I did have a few softies in mind for the girls....I know he's right. I need to get some rest & focus on other things, like wrapping & baking & remembering where I hid all those gifts.

We are supposed to warm up a little in the next few days. All I have left to do is shop for food. It's our first Christmas on our own as a family. I'm planning to make my mom's cinnamon rolls. I've never made them before, but Chanel has. She says they're easy & so I'm not too worried. It's fun to choose traditions from each side of our family to use & to make some up on our own as well. It feels great to be doing Christmas in our own place this year. I will miss our family tons, but we're excited. No need to sit around & be sad, right? We are so blessed. So very blessed & I can't stop thinking about that this week.

What are you doing today? What are your holiday traditions?

Everyone Needs a Pom Pom Skirt

This gingerbread girl is by far the best craft to come home from preschool this year. I love the pom pom skirt in all it's overdone glory. We've even lost a few pom poms in the backpack & throughout the house. I think we all need a pom pom skirt. How fun would that be!


We also got a card from Sadie yesterday with a hand print reindeer on the front.


Her teacher helped her with the inside.


Now please note that we really are not big fans of McDonalds in this family. Actually, I think I counted about a 3 or 4 year stretch where we did not give McDonalds any of our business. But, Sadie got a little older & we'd end up there on road trips every now & then...but still we try to avoid it. While I was sick over the past couple of months, we did however stop there quite often. Sometimes just for a vanilla cone. Anyway, just thought you should know that we are not McDonalds junkies & don't like to support them with our money. :)

But...back to this adorable card. My very favorite part is "Thank you for hugging me and giving me apples." It's the sweetest thing!

I'm Around

Getting my laundry on. Oh, who am I kidding? That laundry has been in those baskets for days now. Don't you just hate when you need a white piece of clothing & have to dig through the whites basket. It's impossible & totally annoying.

Anyway, I am getting things done. Trying my best to keep up productivity around here. It feels good to have energy. I feel like my old self again.

But there are a lot of things to get done. Anybody else feeling the stress? I know I'll get it all pulled off in the end, but boy am I looking forward to resting after Christmas. Unfortunately I can't share any of my recent sewing with you, because surprises will be ruined.

On a side note, I joined facebook finally. I'm kinda in a race w/ Dylan to have more friends than him. Any of my buddies out there that I haven't tracked down on facebook yet? Let me know. We'll hook it up.

Crazy Mullets

Yes, I did go get my haircut at a place called Crazy Mullets last week. No, they did not give me a mullet. Yes, I am happy with my cut. Yes, I am happy with the amount I paid on my way out ($20 women's cut, $18 men's cut). No. I'm not sure that I can give up this awesome postcard next time I go in even though it's good for $3 off any cut.

Crayon Rolls

I've added a few crayon rolls to the shop. I love to give these as gifts along with a coloring book. They are a good little stocking stuffer as well.

Visit With Santa 2008

Santa was in town last night so we took the girls for a visit. Sadie was SO excited. The store that Santa comes to is right across the street from our grocery store, and whenever we're by it Sadie brings up her visit with Santa last year.

I was curious to see how Claire would react to him this year. I truly thought that she would be scared. Not at all. She walked right up the stairs and sat on his lap just like her big sister. Sadie let Santa know that she wanted a Belle dress for Christmas & that Claire wanted a baby stroller. When Santa asked her if there was anything else she wanted she said "No." I just love these little kids who are satisfied with one toy.

Being a kid at Christmas is the best. I am loving watching my kids experience the fun & magic of it all. Luckily, I gave Santa some advance warning on the kids wants this year. I think he's pretty well prepared & I'm glad there weren't any surprise requests last night. :)

The Cake That Maria Made

My friend Maria called me on Sunday to tell me that she wanted to bring over a "dessert" that she made for us. I was thinking brownies or cookies, but then she shows up with this beautiful cake! It is totally professional like & delicious as can be. And how fun is that color? Now if a cake like this doesn't cheer a person up, I just don't know what will. Thanks, Maria!

Sale!

All tote bags, headbands & travel tissue holders have been marked down today over in the Sparkle Power etsy shop. Happy holidays!

Little Gifties

Bean bag sets for the littles in our lives, or Sadie's friends.

Ahhhh, Yes

Things are getting better around here. A little better each day, in fact. We still have moments of sadness here & there, but we are trying to move on & enjoy this holiday season. Thank you for all of your kind words on the last post. They really helped me a lot. I considered leaving the comments off on that one, but knew that your words & thoughts would be so kind & helpful. Thank you.

I cannot believe how amazing our friends out here have been. They have been right here with food & phone calls & hugs & it has been so uplifting & wonderful. Thanks to all who have offered help. The world is full of amazing, wonderful, good people. I really am overwhelmed by your support. Thank you.

We finally finished up our Christmas decorating. The tree was waiting for me to add some berry branches & now that it's complete I remember how much I love, love, love my Christmas tree. I thought that this would be the year that I'd be ready for all new stuff...not so. And last night I did some sewing. It felt wonderful. I am excited to get in the groove of making holiday gifts. I love sewing at night with the house decked out for Christmas & cold snow outside. I'll share what I can along the way!!

Merry Christmas!

Heartbreak

I hate to have to do this, but I must inform you that our family will not be expecting another baby early next summer. At my 14 week checkup earlier this week, the doctor was unable to find the baby's heartbeat. I knew right then what was happening, but she did a few ultrasounds & without sharing all the details...we've lost the baby.

This has been really hard to deal with. We are all very sad. Dyl & I especially & that poor little 4 year old too. I wish it would have happened earlier. I wish that my family hadn't had to go through the hardest part....those 2 months of constant sickness where I am unable to take care of them fully. We thought we were in the clear. We were proud of what we had conquered & that little bean we'd seen earlier on the ultrasound screen with a beating heart had already become a part of us.

We are sad. Our hearts are broken. Time will pass & life will go on & we will be okay. We are okay. We have a lot of love in this little house of ours. We will be okay.

For now I am allowing myself to be sad. Thank you for your calls, but if I don't answer my phone, please understand that I don't want to talk about it right now.

Digging Out

Things are starting to brighten around here. I'm in the middle of my 12th week of pregnancy & I feel great! Still a bit tired all the time, but no more morning throw up session & no more feeling nauseous all day long. I completely lost all order in our home over the last two months that I spent in zombie mode. So now it begins, time to dig out of this mess!

First order of business last night was to take care of some long neglected grooming. I used this $7 highlighting kit to color my own hair for the very first time. It came out great. I feel much better now that my 2 inch roots are gone & the amount of money I saved on a salon trip makes me even happier. I still need a haircut, but that will get taken care of soon enough.


So while I am feeling happy & blessed & recognizing that even though my house is a disaster, I have so many things to feel grateful for, I am going to share with you some things that are making me happy right now.

My new slippers. My feet have been living here for the past month & will continue to throughout winter. I finally, finally invested in a nice pair or warm slippers for myself. And my flannel pajama pants....sexy, I know. My husband is such a lucky guy.


Hot chocolate with a good amount of whipped cream on top.

The snow that continues to fall outside. Not enough to have shovel, but enough to feel magical & dust everything with pretty white.

Thoughts of Christmas and all I want to do this year to make it great for my family.

This little girl & her "cheese" face.


Sadie and the maturity that she is starting to show. Her loving nature is really coming out lately. She's made some huge progress on a little behavioral problem we've been dealing with for F-O-R-E-V-E-R. She makes us so very proud every day to be her parents.

And Dylan, who deserves something great for all the work he's done to hold this house together while I was sick. I know he loves me. I think he knows I love him too.

So Flattered

Imitation Is, photographic print by wrenandchickadee

I was so flattered to be contacted by the super stylish Ez of Creature Comforts for a interview. Check it out here! I've added a photo of my favorite item from her super cool shop above.

I am offering a shop discount through Nov. 25th, so be sure to check out the details mentioned in Ez's post. And, a big welcome to all who have made their way here through the incredible Creature Comforts blog! Thanks again Ez. :)

Just Because

They are cute.

(yes. that bathroom is funky & gross.)

So, Here's The Deal...

I'm pregnant.

This pregnancy was a bit of a surprise, but we are so happy about it. I'm 10 weeks along. I've been feeling very crummy as I usually do early in my pregnancies. Hoping each day that the light at the end of the tunnel is coming soon.

With this information, you can probably understand why I've taken some time away from blogging. I can't say for sure when I will get back to posting regularly, but for now I am excited to share this news with you. Now go on & congratulate me!

Halloween 2008

Sadie decided a few months ago that she wanted to be Princess Leia for Halloween. We decided to have Claire's costume follow the theme. I made the costumes myself & it really made me feel like a good mom. We have the cutest kids ever.

I Feel Like Sharing a Little Bit Today

This photo is for Heather & all the rest of you who live in places where trees like this don't exist. This is what we see these days when we look out our front windows. We are on the second floor so we get a beautiful view of the tops of the trees.


My best snuggler this morning: a blond haired, scraped nose, 1-1/2 year old wearing just a diaper. See those teeth? I just LOVE baby teeth. Working on that one item on my list. Pulling out my camera more often to snap photos of the girls.

And I Am Now 29 Years Old

Amy nudged me to join in on her list exercise & I honestly wasn't gonna do it. I'm no good at making lists to begin with & I'm certainly no good at completing things especially when I am given such a long time frame. but darn it, as I was vacuuming that day, I couldn't stop thinking about what would be on my list. So here I am, on my birthday, making such a list. Heaven help me to actually do all these things. As Miss Doobleh-vay says: "These lists are meant to be realistic and in the spirit of being good to yrself." I feel that this is a good thing. It can help me to be happier & a better person.

29 things to do before I turn 30:

1. Make cinnamon rolls
2. Take a family hike
3. Visit Amish country
4. Make a dress for Sadie
5. Make a dress for Claire
6. Write 4 love letters to my husband
7. Take photos of my children daily
8. Be a better friend
9. Be a better sister
10. Spend more time doing...less time on the computer
11. Organize the craft room/office
12. Buy myself a new pair of slippers
13. Find a local charity & do some service
14. Eat less meat
15. Host a party
16. Make a piece of clothing for myself
17. Bake bread
18. Learn to sew a zipper in
19. Play with my kids more
20. Grow some tomatoes
21. Get to 500 sales in my etsy shop
22. Go camping
23. Catch a lightning bug
24. Organize & donate some of the kids' toys
25. Make a mix cd
26. Go to a baseball or basketball game
27. Pay off one credit card bill
28. Send more 'happy mail' to friends & family
29. Love more

Taking Some Time Off

It's been 5 days since my last post & 5 days since I last took a photo with my camera. I've been going through some emotional stuff lately. I'm worn out & tired. So instead of leaving you hanging, I'm going to officially take a break.

I may pop in to show you my kids' Halloween costumes, if I ever get them made.

Take care!

Thinking of Giving

So, I'm feeling a little more grounded, a little less overwhelmed & a little excited about the upcoming giving season. I've received the names of family members that we are exchanging gifts with this Christmas & I've pretty much nailed down what I will be giving them. Of course I want to make all the gifts & I will try my darndest to do just that.

(vintage linen scarf & vintage patchwork coaster set will be added to the shop later today)

I am sticking with my handmade pledge from last year. This year more than ever with the economy going to crap, I think it's more important to support the crafters & artists out there that are working their tails off. The items that I am unable to produce myself, I will be purchasing from other etsy sellers.

I have, have, have to plug my super cool sister's shop. Just Be Jewelry is absolutely perfect for gift giving because you are able to customize items. Remember my super cool necklace? It doesn't get more perfect than that. If you have something special in mind, just send Amber & Jen a convo & they can make it happen!

Dylan also has a really, really good new mix up for this month. It has a great energy & is just perfect for listening to in the background while you are easing into these colder, busy months ahead. Go download & enjoy. If you like it, be sure to give him some props by leaving a comment on his blog.