sewing

This is the buddy's quilt I'm hoping to finish in time for his birthday in a couple weeks. I started it way back here, and am finally buckling down. Deadlines help with the whole finishing something business.

I actually don't really like sewing. I liked it at 4 when I had my own mini sewing machine and would sit and sew scraps together to make barbie quilts sitting by mom who was sewing on her real machine. And it even came in nifty in home ec when I already knew how to sew. Easy A. And I still really love the products that are produced from sewing. But I just don't like the actual sewing part. The running the fabric underneath the whirling needle part, oh, and the ironing part. So monotonous, so tedious, yet so much attention to detail required. It's hard for my ADD brain to stay focused (no, I haven't actually been diagnosed with ADD, but since both my parents have it, it's a safe bet).  But, I keep at it. I keep coming up with projects. I keep seeing things and saying "oh, that would be so much easier/cheaper/cuter if I did it like this . . . " And then I find myself back at the sewing machine trying to keep myself from losing interest before it's done. I guess it's a love/hate relationship. I love the freedom of knowing how to sew and being able to do something, and so I guess I love creating the ideas in my mind and seeing the finished product. Those are the fun parts. The coming up with a creation, and the finished piece. Maybe that's true with life too though. Some times the daily grind is really monotonous, but the plans and goals, and the accomplishment of those is so very exhilarating and fulfilling. 

Kids

May is my favorite month, and least favorite in some ways too. But we have a lot going on in May, including my birthday :) So in honor of that I'm going to try and post a little something more about myself each day.

But first, can I just tell you how much I LOVE the target dollar bins? They must know how much I love yellow . . . and stripes . . . and grey with yellow. Yes, I bought the only two I could find.

Now, back to sharing more about myself. That's hard for me. I'm a pretty private person, I think a lot of it is due to insecurity. I wait until I know someone pretty well before I open up-and that doesn't help with the making lots of friends bit. But I want to be more open and I really admire people who are so open not just online but in real life too. So . . . I've been thinking a lot about my kids lately. I really love my kids. Like, really love them. Last night when I was putting the little sweetie to bed she was looking up at me and I was looking down at her in my lap and she just smiled her big happy smile and put her forehead against mine and started laughing and laughing. It was such pure happiness and sweetness I was soon laughing right along with her. She is so full of love and life. I can't get enough of her. I haven't always felt such a connection to my kids. In fact, when I was first pregnant with the buddy I wasn't really sure I wanted kids. It seemed like I was going to be giving up a lot more than I was getting. But I'm so glad I took that leap of faith and carried on. Those first months were rough, really rough after he was born. But I look back now and I realize I was so wrong. I did give up things, but I gained so much more. Being a mom and having a family has brought more real joy and fulfillment than any hobby or other job ever could. I just wish more people knew how great being a mom is!



Have a great day! And don't forget we've got another week for the giveaway--see below!

Animal Alphabet Giveaway

I've put some new ABC cards up in the shop--look familiar? I originally made them as posters, but I'm kind of loving the smaller size of the 4 inch by 5 inch cards. I made a fun little book for my kiddos by putting the Animal shaped Alphabet Cards into a simple photo album. My animal loving sweetie has been enthralled with it. 

They've been a bit of a hit, and we really haven't had a giveaway for a long time . . . so we're having a giveaway! 

To enter for the printable Animal Alphabet leave a comment telling me what you'd do with the Animal cards. 

Giveaway ends Monday, May 7th. One winner will be posted May 8th. 

enjoy!

FF- 5 a day

One of my good friends asked me months ago if I would come up with a way to keep track of eating 5 a day-you know 5 servings of fruits and veggies (although is it total or is it 5 veggies?). Anyway, I guess it's up to you. I finally did it. A simple monthly calendar that has five little circles around a number (the day of the month) so you can fill in on each day how many healthy plant things your eating :) It's actually been really good for me to start thinking about adding that extra fruit or veggie at meals. But I may just need a separate calendar for each family member (those picky eaters!)

You can find the calendar here. 

Enjoy!

Baptism Toppers

My oldest nephew on my husband's side turned eight in March, which means a very exciting event occurred. He got baptized! In our church children are baptized at eight rather than as an infant. We believe children aren't held accountable for their choices before this and therefore can't "sin." (Yeah they still make wrong choices but they're mistakes are covered through the Savior's atonement before eight--without needing repentance). Anyway, at eight we believe they are old enough to decide if they want to be baptized and also to start choosing right from wrong and start repenting for mistakes. (the CTR stands for "Choose the Right").

Anyway, so I volunteered to make cupcakes for the big event and of course they needed toppers! So this is what I came up with--simple but fun. I feel bad that I didn't get any pictures at the luncheon with the toppers in the cupcakes. . . I just did white frosting with a few blue sugar sprinkles. They went fast!

They were such a hit that I thought I'd offer them to you. I know they don't apply to all, but some times those religious printables are hard to find when you're looking for them! You can now find my baptism toppers in my etsy shop personalized with the name and color of your choice. Find them here.

enjoy!

Missed you guys

Well, let me tell you. Don't listen to nurses :) Just kidding. My sister in law is a great nurse. But as it happens one particular nurse told me 4 weeks ago not to take an psuedophed for my head cold. . . which a week later was a sinus infection. . . which also became an ear infection . . . so I called the nurse back and she told me to take psuedophed! It's been a fun 3 weeks of sickness around here and another week of frantically putting the house back together and getting ready for Easter. But I'm back! This is what I was working on all last week:

A little Easter dress for the sweetie. (Who was being very uncooperative for pictures outside . . . I couldn't get her out of that play house!) One of the weeks I was so sick I couldn't get out of my bed (thanks to the lovely vertigo assaulting me) I laid in bed and planned it all out in my mind. It turned out just how I imagined (which doesn't always happen) and that is always happy. And just so you know, if you ever are going to do ruffles on  a dress figure around a 3:1 ratio (3 feet of fabric equals 1 foot of gathered fabric) and a lot of yardage to hem :)

Hope you all had a very happy Easter!

Freebie Friday: Spring Has Sprung Poster

So, today I just felt like making something. Hooray. We've  had head colds at our house for two weeks and mine is currently residing in my forehead. So this afternoon fighting the little buddy to clean up all the toys in the basement just seemed overwhelming. Instead I made him put away his pj's and let him watch netflix while I checked my email. I had some graphic design work waiting for me, and one thing led to another. But I've been thinking about spring all day noticing little green leaves on the trees! Hooray. It really is coming!

Download the printable poster here. Print on letter size cardstock and cut on the lines to 8x10.

 Enjoy!