Little Bit Crunchy...Little Bit Rock -n- Roll ~

Naptime was a very productive time for me yesterday. :o) Before naptime i got in the kids closets and attic and pulled out the fall and winter clothes that they have outgrown and divided it into Consignment and Pass Down boxes. Yep, it's that time of year again. So when the kids went down i sorted and hung on hangers and pinned and tagged. So glad that is done. Now i just have to drop off and wait for the sale.

After that i darted down to the bonus room to do a load of laundry. Kids were still asleep so i decided i would sew. :) I was wanting to try a new quick sew pattern i had seen online for a peasant top or dress. Ladies this is the BEST and EASIEST pattern evah! By now i can eyeball how long i want something for my daughter. And i wanted to make a peasant top. So i measured out the length and cut it out. It took no time to sew and in what seemed like just minutes i was a happy camper. I want to pair this top with a pair of you guessed it.....ruffle pants. Still trying to decide on how many ruffles though...hehe. So here it is....my daughters...."It's just toooo easy for words peasant top". Would any of my readers like to see a tutorial on how i made this?

Next up i wanted to make a pair of pants to go with a top i have in mind for another day. I didn't have time to do both this day but i will be making it soon. The pants took me about 20 minutes. And by then....i heard little girls feet hit the floor. So that was the end of my sewing time. But i was pleased with what i got done.

Now on to something i can't wait to get my hands on! A sweet lady at church was kind enough to let me borrow her smocking machine. I have wanted to smock for some time now and i'm just itching to make something....and i will very soon.

Here is the bishop pattern she also let me borrow.

Oh yeah, i almost forgot. While going threw closets i found an old sweater of mine. I loved this sweater back in the day. And i have never let myself get rid of it. Do you have items like that? It is out of style and the size is all wonky and it wasn't in the best condition. But i just couldn't throw it out. Anywhozers, my daughter has been asking for leg warmers to dress up in and so when i saw my sweater i thought that the sleeves would make good leg warmers. So i cut the sleeves off and she loved her new leg warmers. I didn't want to waste the rest so i decided to make some funky little boggins. I think they turned out supper cute. For play anyway. Crunchy...yes! But the kids like them and i recycled something i loved.

Ok....one last thing before i wrap up this post. I have been thinking about changing up a few things on the ol'blog. First up i was thinking about how random my posts are. I think i want to try to be alittle "Less" random. For instance on Friday have that day set to be "Etsy Favs Friday". or " Foodie Friday". Or "Tip me Tuesday" or "Tutorial Thursday" or "Get your life Organized Wednesday". What do you think? Maybe i will try it for a few weeks and you let me know if you like it.

Happy Last Day OF August!!!!

Birthday Bash & Movie Monday ~

Whew! What a weekend. The hubs took off Friday so that we could get some things done before my little boys birthday party Saturday. We painted and painted and painted, did some yard work, painted, cleaned house and painted some more. Not to mention we had a church function going on Friday night. Once we got back home we painted some more. BUT the trim in the kitchen looks great and i'm glad it is done.

HubbyKins hard at work. Let me tell you....the paint sprayer has been a blessing!!
I have wanted trim like this under the chair rail for a long time. :o) So very excited that this is done and i get to enjoy it. I have a big grin every time i walk into the dinning room now. LOVE!


My little man's birthday party was great. We had some friends from out of town get to come and i was soooo very happy to see them. I don't know if she knew but she helped me tremendously by just being here. I was so nervous hosting this party. I don't know why actually....maybe cause there are so many undone things in my house? Maybe cause i haven't had a birthday party at my house? Not sure but i was glad to see her and her sweet family.


We had the party at 2:00 so i decided to just do snacky things. No one would want a meal at that time so sweets it was. Cupcakes, ice cream, S'mores pops {recipe to follow} and because it was a airplane themed ...pretzels and peanuts with mini cokes/drinks.

The hubby and i moved the newly painted buffet into the living room and i started arranging everything.




I ordered his cupcakes this year. Walmart does a great job and they are pretty tasty. I got them in red, yellow and blue icing. The same colors of his airplanes. I put the pretzels in an apothecary jar i found at ROSS.

Marshmellow pops are all over the place in bloggyland. I decided on S'mores pops. Easy Peezy! Here is what you will need: Marshmellows {large}, bakers chocolate {i used milk chocolate}, Graham crackers {smooshed} and i got the sticks at Hobby Lobby in the baking section. Simply put the marshmellow on the stick. Then dip it in the the melted chocolate. Then roll it around in the graham cracker crumbs. And there you have it......S'mores POPS! Everyone seemed to like them so i will be making these again. :o)

That's it. The party was fun....Little man had a blast and now my house is clean for me to enjoy today while the kids play with all the new toys. :o)

Saturday night the hubs and i finally got to watch our Netflix movie we got in the mail. True Grit. Have you seen it? It was nothing like i had thought it would be. I really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it.....you might want to check it out.

Happy Monday!!!

2 ~ Two ~ Zwei ~Deux ~ Due ~ Dois

I have a super special little boy in my life that is 2 today! 2 years ago today my wish of having a son came true. Such a sweet little boy he is. I'm so blessed to have him in my life.

• He knows he has his momma wrapped around his finger.


• He has to be within seeing distance of momma at all times. If for what ever reason i cannot be right by his side he is so glad to see me and lets me know by running up to me and says momma, momma, momma till i pick him up and then he throws his arms around me for a big hug. Then he takes my face in his hands and smiles at me with the sweetest little smile that just melts my heart!!


• He is finally wearing the corresponding size for his age. Size 2 and a size 6 for a shoe.


• I do believe he is gearing up for the potty. He has started telling me that he has to go pee pee.


• He loves to shout WAWA {water} when we go over a bridge.


• He loves to have story time.


• He loves to say all the animals with his flash cards.


• Favorite foods are Pasta and mac n cheese.


• Favorite toys right now are his airplane and blocks.


• He repeats anything his sister says or does.


• He talks up a storm....and says just about anything he wants. Of course i'm the only one who can understand him sometimes.

I had/have so much to say about this little fella....i guess it called for bullets...HA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BOY!

Now i'm off to celebrate his special day with the family today. :o)

TWO Cute ~

As mentioned before i plan on making the majority of my kids fall and winter clothing this year. I keep seeing all these cute outfits on Etsy and well.....i know i can make them myself. AND for a 3rd the price. I have such beautiful material waiting for me just to take the plunge and cut and sew. I don't always have a pattern for what i want to sew so i look long and hard at what i see that i like and decide if i can "tweak" a pattern that i already have OR....make a pattern on my own. I have to admit that making my own pattern makes me nervous. But when i finally do it and sew it all together and it turns out just like i imagined.....OH what a great feeling. :o)
Why don't i just buy the pattern i need? Ummm...well patterns are expensive! If i can get them on sale for .99 cents at Hobby Lobby then great. But i'm not paying $10 or $17 for one. I'M CHEAP! HA! Anywho...i keep seeing these pillowcase rompers that are just too cute. I love pillowcase dresses and they are pretty easy to make. So i talked myself into making a pillowcase romper. I took my favorite ruffle pants pattern and "tweaked" it. I added extra length to the top to turn it into a romper. I still have some adjustments to make the next time i make one but for now....i like it.
I looks better on her. Looking at it hanging on the hanger it looks clownish. HA! Maybe it's the colors. Brown and Orange.
Instead of the normal pillowcase ribbons on each side i went with "knot" straps.
Here are the sweet ruffles. And a sneaky little fella trying to get in the picture. :o)


Next up is a sweet peasant dress in some of my favorite colors for the upcoming season. Black, white and yellow. I wish i had one in my size. Hehe! And well yes...i had to add a ruffle on it somewhere.... :o)
I was trying to take these pictures super quick cause my kids were yanking it off and trying to put the dress on. Soooooo....everything looks wonky in this picture. So let me be clear. The ruffle in the middle IS STRAIGHT....just not in the picture....HA!

Now i have to go make a special something for my son to wear for his birthday.

Happy Weekending!!!

Photo Canvas Tutorial ~

I got a little tutorial for ya today! Super easy....super fun & instant gratification. :o) Now those are the projects i love. I have clients ask me ALLLLL the time if i can have their photographs printed on a canvas. And well yes i can. But i also can make my own. So today i thought i would share how i do that.

Now if you know me you know that i'm not a scrapbooker. Total wannabe but never have started. I have minimal scrapbooking items. MINIMAL! But i have tons of paint and canvases and photographs. And i always keep Modge Podge on hand. So for all you scrapbooking ladies out there .....here is a project you might enjoy. This is what you will need:

8x10 Canvas {you can get 2 for $3.99 at Hobby Lobby}

Modge Podge {MATTE}
Paint Brush
Stamp Ink {color of choice}
Ink Sweeper
Photograph


First Coat your canvas with modge podge. Then take your photograph and lay in on your canvas. Apply a coat of modge podge on top of your photo. The modge podge will look milky at first but it will dry clear. I can not stress to you how important it is to use Matte Modge Podge. Trust me it looks awesome! I printed these photos at Target at the instant copier and they worked great. They didn't go all wonky on me or anything. I then let the first coat dry and brushed on another 2 coats. Make sure to let dry in between coats.


Next up i took the ink and started dabbing it on the sides and around the corners. I used a charcoal color and then added some brown to tone it down some. I wanted these to look vintage so i made sure to round out the corners good. Keep applying it to your liking. Let dry.....

And there you have it folks. Your very own photo canvas. :o) I'm totally in love with these.

Miss M ~

Hello There!

I have been out of pocket for several days and i'm just now taking a small break to do a little post. Ya know.....laundry....blah, blah, blah. It is so hard for me to get back in the groove of things after a trip. It feels like it takes me a week to get everything and everyone back on track. While i was gone i was lucky and flattered to be able to take some Senior Portraits of a sweet young lady. And let me tell you...this heat does not make my job easy. We were melting and it was closing in on 7:00pm. Yowza!

Check out the gun that country girl sports!

Gotta love those boots and curls......



We had a field to shoot in and i took full advantage.

Natural beauty i would say. I can't pick a favorite but this one is a front runner.

Here is her "Sneak Peek". I hope you enjoy. Can't wait till this fall....she is having me take a few more pics here where i live. I CAN'T WAIT! Hopefully less sweating!! :o)

Happy Tuesday!!

Ruffles for my Sister ~

For my sisters Birthday i decided i would make her something for her new home. Not being sure what exactly that would be i looked around in my fabrics and found a cute little jelly roll that i have been saving to make something {possibly a quilt} out of.

But this time when i looked at the roll i didn't see quilt...i saw RUFFLES! This little roll had several sweet patterns that were shades of black, grey, white and yellow. I decided to make her some monogrammed kitchen towels.

I think they turned out sooooo cute!!

I also decided i need to make a few for myself......HA!

These are perfect for gifts. Simple, sweet and from the heart!