a quilt for my bed....REALLY!

i have been planning to make a quilt for my monster

bed for about 4 years.  I got this fabric for it.  It will hav

squares in the center that have embroidery on them that

represent our family emblem...

NOW, TO GET TO WORK!

Finally! Apron

I mentioned that I wanted to make myself this apron back in February - I actually cut out the pattern then and I just finished sewing it today!  Wow - master of procrastination.  The pattern is from here.  It was really easy to follow and I'm loving the retro look, of course!

Dorothy

We did wizard of oz this year - This is the only costume I made, isn't she cute though? The campaign is almost over, then I can get back to crafting/sewing.  I have a million projects started that I need to finish!

First purchase

First Quilt Top

I finished my first quilt top! It's 36x36 using Bliss fabrics by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics.  This is the square - it took a second to get the directions but was super easy to sew once I could follow it.  Mom helped me figure it all out and showed me how to cut the fabric.  I'll be using this in RJs new room.

Oli's new furniture

Here are the pics of Oli's cute room!

if winter is coming...

we might as well look good keeping warm!

Carly's is a new pattern i found. ruffle scarf.

the grey one is the lacey pattern i made last year

with some new flowers.

Book Exchange Party + Freebie

I've been thinking about this party since last spring.  When my best friend Mac suggested we throw a party together with our other best friend Chelle, I knew this would be the perfect theme.  Chelle is a graphic designer (who I'm trying to convince to open an etsy site) and Mac has great taste in decorating and is the most awesome baker ever - as one guest said when "our powers combine parties happen" - ha ha ha.

The idea of the party is to bring a book to exchange with someone else.  We had the guests fill out this book plate (which we sent with the invite) and place it inside the book that they were giving away.

The book table decor.  Behind the table are garlands strung with book pages and circles of scrapbook paper.

We gave book bags with a book journal and book marks to each guest.  We played a little literature quiz that Chelle created, really cute and surprising how much you forget! For the actual book exchange we had each guest write their name on a piece of paper and then everyone drew another person's name to see whose book you would get.  We had all the guests wrap their books before coming and so we each took turns unwrapping them and seeing what book we received.  That created a lot of conversation and some of the guests left with a list of new books they "needed" to read.

Of course no party is complete with out delicious food:

 I created the food labels from this card catalog generator.

 We did a soup and grilled cheese sandwich buffet.  The grilled cheeses were to die for - parmesan sourdough bread from great harvest yum!  We cooked them on the George Foreman grill which made it super quick and easy!

 Mac made the deserts, pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - her own recipe! Chocolate cupcakes with gnash centers and cookie dough truffles - heaven.

Water bottles wrapped in paper from a book.

Great party - thanks ladies!

Because we've had a lot of requests Michelle decided to give us a free download of the invite!  Just open it in photoshop and add your text!

Book Check Out-Template

Homemade Planner

So my brain feels a little fried since school started again and my hubby finally went back to work (ha ha).  Trying to get back into a routine is a relief but I'm also struggling to get it all together again - chalk it up to having kids!  Well I love to write things down in a planner, I've been doing it since high school.  Since being a stay-at-home mom though I haven't found the right planner for me. To many "appointment" spaces and not enough "to do" spaces.  To solve my problem I made this planner page today:
Page 2

I printed a "cover page" with a calendar for the month of September. Then I printed the planner page (included in the download) on the back.  I then printed it on the front and back of 7 pieces of paper to give me enough days for the month (does that make sense?).  I took a cute piece of cardstock, cut it to size (8.5 x11),  folded it and all the pages in half.  Then I sewed right up the fold line with my sewing machine.  I folded it in half again to re-crease it.  Rounded the cover's corners with a punch and ta-da (as RJ would say) my custom planner for the month.  I'm going to make one of these next.  I'll probably have it printed and bound at my local copy center... I think they would make cute gifts too.

a new skirt for cecily...

made from the other vintage pillow case.

New dress

I've been thrifting a lot lately trying to find vintage sheets for our trailer.  I found these satin-ish pillow cases and had to make a dress for RJ.  Mom helped me, which was great cause this material frays super easily.  I love how it turned out.  I need to make matching bloomers tomorrow.

tis the season....

i've been craftin...

my fall tablescape and a new swag for

over the guest bed.

New Necklace

This was a birthday gift - our cousin Betsy made it...she has some cute necklaces so check her out!

Prima Ballerina

Anna and I threw a ballerina birthday party for her 3 year old CC. We took a lot of inspiration for the party from here.  We made the decor and ballet shoe cookies and Anna made the cupcakes.  We found a super nice guy and home depot to show me how to cut PVC pipe, which we used to make the ballet bar and backdrop for our "stage."  We had a "ballet lesson"  and then let the girls perform.  It was so fun and they all seemed to enjoy being prima ballerinas for the day!

mini purse

fun and easy purse to make. i don't think it

took 2 hours total.

Eli's quilt....

Kim wanted red, white, and blue. I've

always wanted to do an american quilt!

Note the nautical prints...

table runners

i made the halloween one for both of you.

the fall one is mine.

Vintage Ice Cream Parlor

RJ's first birthday party - I did a retro/vintage themed ice cream parlor.  We had a soft serve ice cream machine, and the cutest plastic bowls from the dollar store (they are in the fourth picture in the bottom right corner).  I have a coca-cola straw dispenser that belonged to my great-grandma (whom RJ is named after) that we used with the bottled soda.  The toppings were served with the little metal scoops.  I made the clothes-pin doll on the cake and the banner that matched her invites (third pic).

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