Entertaining Kids.....

So, it's been one of those days that I'm trying SO hard to come up with things for my kids to do besides watch the Disney Channel...

My son keeps asking if he can paint, but I don't like to let him use my real paints and paint on my good wood....so I have a dilemma...
But, I came up with THIS.....It was stinkin' awesome. My kids were able to paint all over the sidewalks without fear of getting them ruined....the kids or the sidewalk...
It is so super easy, i super highly would most definitely recommend that any one with little kids try it at least once! You just mix water, cornstarch and food coloring....that's IT!!!!! Just remember to add enough food coloring so that when it dries it doesn't dry white. I actually put 10 drops in each little circle...
And, the bonus is that if they paint themselves, it dries quickly, and will wash off in the bath..

Bread

All 3 of my children are taking their naps/rests at the same time today! That doesn't happen very often...

But, for the first time in a LONG time, I decided to make some of this instead of doing some sewing...... My tummy thinks it's a good choice :)

Christmas Countdown!!!

Do you realize that it's LESS than 6 months til Christmas?!?!?!

I do!!
I can't wait - let's be honest! It was always a huge to-do when I was growing up, and I hope to continue that with my kids...


I have already started my sewing for the holidays, and just hope I can finish it all in time... I always get so many great ideas that I have a hard time deciding what to do, then I start too much and don't get it done... That's why I start early :) :) :)
I created a list of ideas that I had, and wanted to write them down so I have them somewhere... mostly so I won't forget all my plans and goals...

• Nieces Chirstmas Gifts
• Nephews Christmas Gifts
• In-Laws Christmas
• Kids Gifts
• New Tree Skirt
• Stockings
• New Snowman Something

I realized that all my photos didn't link back to where they should!!! I apologize for that, so for now I have only left up the one quilt that i KNOW where it came from!! Ya'll should definitely go check out here where I got this SUPER adorable snowman quilt!!

Funny Skirt

For as long as I can remember, my sister and I have wanted to have a skirt made out of ties! For some reason, we can never seem to get the pattern that we want in our heads to work on paper or with the ties...
So, my little sister (not really little, she's almost 21) is my inspiration for this skirt. It's just a practice one for now...I'm sure that I'll made another one, or two!
I made my daughter a basic straight skirt with elastic just at the sides, and then sewed a bunch of "ties" to the top and let them hang down! She thinks it's awesome, and loves playing with the pieces...but I would make some DEFINITE changes next time. I was talking on the phone when cutting, measuring and sewing the strips...BAD idea! I meant for the strips to be 2" wide so that they could over-lap a TON...they're only 1" wide, so I BARELY had enough and there's no overlap-age..... Also, I would like to put something at the top of them to tie the ties together. Right now, the ends are just cut off and frayed... It's cute, but not what I was going for...
Guess I'll just have to try again.....

Placemats...

I have been working hard on getting some place-mats for my fam. My kids are super messy when they eat, so I figured that it would be a GREAT project for me to do! I made some personalized ones, some fun ones, and some I just cut out of fabric... I like variety... I am trying to decide which ones are my favorite...and I just can't decide right now! I have sewn them all together and am going to take them over to the quilting machine sometime this week, and that makes me excited.....

Brave...or something like that :)

I have seen a number of people do scrappy sewing with their scraps, but I never really have done "scrappy" sewing with my scraps, just real stuff (planned out and everything)... I decided that it was time to be brave and try it.

I am making place-mats for my fam, and realized that I needed one more. But, I didn't want to have to design something to only make one of it...so I decided to do something scrappy!!!

So, I got out my scrap bucket and my scrap bag...I have 2, one for BIGGER pieces and one for SMALLER pieces...really I should just combine them :) Then the hardest part for me...truly, honestly picking pieces without looking! I always try to match (I know, not ok). But this time, I would close my eyes, pick a piece and sew it to the next piece without looking. There would be spots where I would CRINGE at what I picked out, but I still sewed it to the last piece...and this is what I got!
I am proud of myself...still not sure if i LOVE it, but it's not bad for my first try. I had a few pukas and a few 'gathers', but again...first try :) :) :) :)

Measuring Tape - FINISHED!!!!!

So, I finally decided to just start over and re-do my Measuring Tape. I was just so frustrated that I knew if I tried to fix it, I might say some bad words in front of the kiddos :) :) :)
So, with a little help from this handsome guy, I flipped it over and tried again!!
It is now finished and hanging on my wall...and the kids love it. They spent all day yesterday trying to touch it!

Riley Blake

Have you seen this new line from Riley Blake?!?!?!?!It's called "Boo To You" and it's DARLING!!! If you would like to see ALL the fabrics in this line, go to THIS link...
I recently got some of this line in the mail and am cooking up a SUPER cute project for them....and it's been the highlight of my week for SURE!!!! I can't wait to share it when I'm done....which will be soon.....

Give-Away Winners!!

Because I have 2 kids that like to do everything that I do, I decided to let them help with my give-away! I typed up all the names and put them in a bowl, then let them each pick one out :) but first they decided to fight over who got to go first......My darling daughter picked out her name and immediately put it in her mouth!! Luckily I was able to salvage the name... My son was very excited to show me the name that he picked out!
The winners are.....

Trish (you got eaten!)

esquiltingpassion

Thanks for everyone who stopped by...made my week :) :) :)

Measuring Tape - ruined?!?!?!?!

After letting my measuring tape dry outside...it rained that night. And I'm not talking about a little drizzle....it freakin' POURED!!! So, after the rain stopped, I figured that I needed to let my measuring tape dry outside...BAD idea. My vinyl lettering started to "droop"...I was so bummed. So, I picked off the ones that were turning side-ways and put them back on by hand. I got smart and immediately Mod-Podged them all to stay on...and set it in the BASEMENT to dry (see, getting smarter). Then I took it outside to stain...give it that old look...and it RAINED AGAIN!! But, I was bathing my children and didn't realize it was raining...so there are now water droplets all over my stain on my measuring tape.
I'm considering just starting over..........

Measuring Tape...Step 2

The next step for making my super cool project from my mom was to get the vinyl onto this 6 FOOT piece of wood... Sounds easy, right?!?!?! Maybe if I had followed my mom's advice and used 2 people, but NO...I had to do it myself!!!

I struggled, and fought with it, but finally got all my vinyl numbers and lines on the wood. Then I set it outside to dry...not to just wait some more for the next step...

More Summer Dresses

Because I had some AMAZING fabric sitting around and waiting to be used, I decided it was perfect fabric to use to make my daughter a dress! This is fabric from Joel Dewberry, and I have just been sitting on it waiting to make something of it - and this was perfect!! This was such a super easy dress to make (no pattern), and my daughter just loves it.

As always, my son had to get in on the picture-taking...

Measuring Tape...Step 1

So, when my mom was here a few weeks ago, she brought me PART of this super cool project to finish! I was super excited and couldn't wait to get started. My plan was to do it by myself after the kids had gone to bed... but then my children saw that I had bought paint!! After that, doing it by myself was a dream...
So, I got some old T-shirts, some old paint brushes and laid down some paper bags on the kitchen floor. I was going to do it outside, but I prefer the side-walk to stay UN-painted... Come to think of it, I should have risked the side-walk, not my kitchen floor :)
Anyway, they got started. I would pour the pain on the board, and they would paint like crazy! I think they went through an entire bottle on just one side....cause they always needed "more paint!" I had to go back through when they were finished and fill in un-painted holes and even everything out, but they actually did a fairly decent job...
It's great...just drying outside before we do the next step....

Give-Away

I was realizing the other day that I missed out on the "Sew, Mama, Sew" give-away day, and I also missed my 100th post for a give-away....so I decided that it was time to host a little give-away on my blog! :) :)
I am going to make the entry process interesting :) :) and probably very difficult for me...

First ... the prize!
I will be giving away 2 sets of 4 fat quarters from this gorgeous line by Joel Dewberry!
And now, how to get entries...

Leave a comment and get 1 entry.

Blog about my give-away and get an additional entry (please leave a comment with your blog address).

If you were directed here from someone else's blog, mention their name, and you'll BOTH get an additional entry...so if lots of people come from your blog, you'll get lots of extra entries :) (This is in addition to your 'comment' entry!)

You can enter until the 15th of June, and i will announce the winner on June 16th!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!

AMAZING!!!

As I mentioned before, I was a pattern tester! It was for Joel Dewberry, and the amazing things that they have there!! In fact, if you go to this link here, you can compare what I made to what it was SUPPOSED to look like...how'd I do?!?!?! I'm actually really excited to make another one! Now that I had time to try it out, I can make the next one even better! My favorite part is the pleated bottom...I would love to make a dress for my daughter out of just pleats :) :) :)

It was an absolute blast to make, and they are such amazing people to work with! I'm not sure when the pattern's coming out for purchase, but it's a great one to have for any collection!

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

'Nother Summer Dress

I just finished another summer dress for my girl! I often feel bad for my son, because he doesn't get as much fun things when I sew as my daughter does! She just loves dresses so much, and I can sew them so much cheaper than purchasing them that we figure, why not! Guess I need to make some shorts for my sons...

Summer Dress

This is another of the summer dresses that I have made for my baby girl! It's a 3T....she's only 23 months old :)
She already loves it and won't take it off.....except to go swim!
It makes me happy that she loves when i sew for her so much...hope she never grows out of it.

Pattern Tester

So, I got an amazing e-mail the other day asking me to test a pattern! I agreed quickly and without hesitation!! I got my pattern and this GORGEOUS fabric in the mail yesterday... Is this not going to make the most gorgeous skirt you have ever seen?!?! I can't wait to get sewing...

In Progress...

Sometimes I think that this one'll NEVER get finished...but then i pull it out and start working on it. Every time I finish a flower, I seem to get more and more excited to get it done. I know I have a TON of work still, but it's just so fun...
I currently have a ton of flowers waiting to be sewn on....it's my "TV-watching, kids-bathing, avoiding-folding-laundry" quilt!!