Going Sew Crazy

It feels sooo good....

to be crafty again. A week isn't really a long time to go without crafting, but it sure felt that way. My first project was the Wee Wonderfuls Make A Long Doll. I have had this pattern for awhile, but decided to try it out after mediating the 247th fight over Paige's new American Girl doll. Kelsey needed a doll. So I found the fabric, started assembling, and then I ran out of polyfil. It was 2 days before I got to the store again, and I forgot to get some. So, after my 3rd trip to the store, I was able to present Kelsey with this:

Meet Katie. (yes, she named her) She seems thrilled so hopefully we will see more of this now:

I really enjoyed making her, and I most definitely would reccomend the pattern.

I also got to crochet a little this week. Inspired by this site, I decided to make a baby sized ripple. For who or what, nobody knows. But I figured it would be good practice because I do want to make a big one soon.

Oh, and if the above mentioned site isn't enough, check here out. Particularly this, just yummy. 

Catching up...

Wow, that was a prolonged abscence I wasn't expecting. Last week might have been the most truly hectic of the summer so far. We were in a rush to finish our living room, had VBS every morning, and getting ready for a birthday party. I have been trying to catch up on sleep and housework since Sunday, and am just know seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, the rest of the summer is pretty planless. I can't wait to do nothing at all for just one day.

I also wanted to say that I have received so many nice comments these past few weeks and I regret not having the time to respond to all of them personally. But, THANK YOU! I appreciate comments more than I can say, and some are just so sweet, they really brighten my day.

I have received 2 swaps this past week that I am just now getting to post pics of. The very sweet Rosie and Melly of Melly & Me were kind enough to let me in on the tail end of their Scrappy Cabin Scrap Swap. I was partnered with the talented Leanne and received this beautiful package all the way from Australia.

I apologize for the quality of the pics. It's very cloudy today. But, I love the pincushion! So perfect, as is the little matching bowl. The fabrics are also equally as lovely! Thank you so much Leanne!

Then yesterday, I got a huge box in the mail. Wondering if I had ordered some fabric and didn't remember, I opened it to find my 3 Favorite Things swap that was hosted by Kelly. My partner, Lyndsay, sent me some fantaboulous things that I can't wait to try.

There was also a bag of tootsie rolls that I told my husband to take away from me.  I love tootsie rolls, but I had to get them out of the house. :) Shamefully, I am late on getting her swap out. It will go out tomorrow! I promise!

Last week while Brice was laying the hardwood floor, I actually did make a little time to organize my stash.

Still a little messy, but so much better.

And the last thing today is to say Happy Birthday to Paige! She's 5 today, and Mommy is having a hard time with how crazy fast it's all going! Happy Birthday Baby!

Now that I have caught up on sleep, crafty things will hopefully follow this week. :)

Happy Father's Day!!! (and some other stuff)

To the bestest Daddy two girls could ever have. :)

This week has blown by! It seems like we have been outside all week long. We bought the girls one of those little swimming pools and we have definitely gotten our money's worth already. Nothing makes them happier than splashing around in the pool on hot summer days
while Mommy melts on the deck! I know I used the towel way more than they did.

But, all was not lost. The amazing thing about the pool is that it allows me to do some handwork, like crocheting. I finished my second fat bottom bag from SnB. I really like this pattern. It's fast. It's easy. What more could a girl ask for? This is the first time I lined it though, which turned out a bit trickier than I expected, but definitely not impossible. I used the cutest Japanese treats fabric. Soo cute! Now I am in search of the perfect dark brown round handles. If you know where I can find some, PLEASE let me know. For some reason I can't find them anywhere.

Oh, and my doggie is doing much better now too. Just look at how happy he looks here:

Scrummy Mail

I don't know where to start. I was intending to blog and craft more last week, but so many things were going on and happening. My dog was very sick, and we had to take him to the pet ER, T-ball ended, CPA trips, and then *snap* the week was gone! I just caught up all the "fun" housework, and I think this is the first moment I have sat down and had nothing to do since last week. It's kinda nice to do nothing sometimes :).

During the last week, to relieve stress, I did my once-every-three-months-binge-shopping thing I do when I am awake late, and have the PayPal to do so. I bought some great stuff and wanted to share my haul, or at least what's came in of my haul.

From top left around, Pima cotton yarn, stationary, knit fairies fabric, stationary, knit flower power fabric, more stationary, fabric from the June FQ swap, and some beautiful vintage buttons, Heather Ross' new Russian doll fabric, more stationary, and (my FAV!) Wizard of Oz fabric. Paige recognized it right way, and asked me what I was making her. I didn't have the heart to tell her it's MINE! I'll have to make her some small little something now...I guess :). And I just now realized I forgot to take a pic of the new Japanese book that I got too. I'll have to put it in "the haul pic no. 2". See individual pics here for where I got all this from.

Sunday turned out to be super relaxing. After church, we ran by Brice's aunt's house only expecting to stay for a little while. A little while turned into all day, and while we watched the kids swim, Brice's cousin and I got to sit around, chat, and eat popsicles all day. It was so nice that we all decided to start doing it once a month, and that is truly something to look forward to. Today's last pic is of Paige, after the pool, eating her absolute favorite Summer food:

Need some attitude?

Yep, that's my 2 yr old Kelsey, acting pretty much like normal. Can you imagine the trouble I'm gonna have with this one? She's sporting a tank top I made and embroidered for her for Paige's upcoming 5th birthday. (I'm having an extremely hard time believing she is about to turn 5) I got the embroideries from Farbenmix and the pattern is from the latest Ottobre. Here's a sweeter looking pic of her. (Notice her rockin' pink cowgirl boots, we had to buy these after she kept running off with Paige's)

Paige, the birthday girl, wanted a cowgirl party and a "cowgirl princess" dress. By this, she explained, she meant long, like a gown. I used the same tank pattern and a different embroidery from Farbenmix and came up with this:

Oh, and if you sew kid's clothes, you must get Ottobre. I'm telling ya, you won't regret it. I'll leave ya'll today with perhaps the sweetest pic of all.
Sisters.

Short but Sweet

Not really much to blog about but my 2 bookstore purchases over the weekend. We had a wedding to attend Sturday afternoon, so the girls went to spend the night with "Nonnie" (my mom). After the wedding we went to eat and to the bookstore. Our absolute favoritest thing to do! Brice reads magazines while I browse the whole store. It's total NO pressure shopping. I love it! I had went over the entire craft area (or so I thought) when the title Sock and Glove caught my eye. Thinking it was a knitting book, I picked it up to look. Imagine my surprise when it was the English version of a Japanese Craft Book I have wanted for awhile! I had heard that some Japanese Craft books were being printed in English, but never in a million years would I have expected to find one at the bookstore in my little "podunk" town. I also picked up the new Craft magazine, which is excellent. This is the first time I have bought it, and I found it thoroughly engrossing.

Patchy Pears and Silhouettes

Aaah. Summer is definitely here in the south. Today is especially that kinda sticky hot that just begs to be driven away with a summer rain. I like this part of the year before it gets too unbearable to step outside or before third degree burn is a threat when touching your steering wheel.

I finally finished up my mama part of the swap for Sewing Mamas. These lovely scrap and wool felt pears are made thanks to a tutorial I found on Craftster. Really easy and fun. My hubby had the great idea of making some up and putting them in a basket in the living room when we get to the decorating stage. (We are still in the no floor and painting stage.) I think I may do just that. Please notice that in my laziness I only made 5 more items instead of 10. This is because I am itching to sew some clothes. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to do so before the itch goes away.

I did these silhouettes of the girls yesterday, and I had a blast doing them. They were sooo fun and quick. The instuctions were in the spring Adorn Magazine. I think I want to get these framed to put in their room. Whadddya think?