A few favorite's for the baby boy!

After looking hard for a great diaper bag I tripped across this fun one! What do you think?


I can't wait to see these on his sweet little head! I wish they looked as small in the picture as they really are!

The Amazing Pete Containers

Finally, sorry it has taken me so long to post these pictures. I am amazed at how similar our containers look, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same thing! I like your idea of finding bigger containers for cereal and such. I am so proud of us for being organized and for having almost identical looking pantries. (Except for the bulk rice dream :) It is so funny that we really truly are always on the same page.

Pantry

 After cleaning out two Wal-Mart's here are the results.

Wish I would have taken a before picture so you could understand my gratitude for your idea! Thank you for helping me organize! I'd still like to see your pantry!

You inspired me...

Now I don't know if I could make a hat for a baby girl without the cute ruffles at the bottom! This little hat was for sweet baby Jane. Don't you just love that name Jane? So simple and elegant too.

The Mia top

I made this top for Abby, but honestly probably wouldn't do it again anytime soon just because of how much time it took! I didn't have many fabric options either for the bottom skirt, so not my favorite, but it worked! :)

Fabric Flowers

Heather Bailey has a tutorial on her blog for making these flowers. They are easy and lots of fun.

Cupcakes anyone?

While visiting my favorite specialty yarn shop in Scottsdale, Jessica Knits, I fell in love with these cute little cupcakes and I thought, "what a perfect Christmas gift for my little girl!" So, I bought this book named Itty-Bitty Nursery and have been fitting in time anywhere I can find it to get a few done. I have a lighter pink yarn that I am making a few more out of as well. I will be giving my two year-old princess cupcakes and a new apron for her play kitchen for Christmas. It doesn't get better than that, right?

Sheer Bliss

Yes, it really is!

Pure, natural goodness! A friend told me about this ice cream and I found it at my local Wal-Mart. This is one of those indulgences you break into once the kids are in bed :)

Thank you Heather!

I have been in need of some fun embellishment's for these hats! This flower is the perfect thing. I still need lots of practice, don't look too close. This was my second attempt and it is far from perfect. Thank you for sharing this darling pattern it is so much fun to learn something new.

Crocheted Flowers... too cute!

Thanks to my sweet friend Michelle who inspired me with this pattern, I now have the perfect way to use up all of my left over yarn! (It also is a great way to use up the time waiting in the ever-so-long parent pick-up line). These flowers are too cute on hats, on jackets and cardigans, and even as hair clips. I absolutely love them!

ALWAYS and NEVER

These Two words have been banned from our house. As it turns out these words are usually unfair. They are popular while complaining and when we catch our children using "the words", they end up smiling and try to come up with a different way of expressing their feelings. They realize that their new words make more sense and are much more fair.
Examples of ways they would commonly use these words would be, "you NEVER take us there", and "I ALWAYS have to do this job". I don't have to dispute these arguments anymore. All I do now is give a look and they know. They rephrase, rethink and then restate. I find myself using these words from time to time, my children love to remind me of our family rule!
Pay attention to the use of these words in your home and find out if they are honest in context. Because after all, I am ALWAYS right and would NEVER lead you astray. ;)

Beautiful bathroom with fun trough sink!

My Mom picked this out, she has great taste doesn't she!

Photography

Just beginning to try shooting into the sun as Sheye often does. Fun but tricky for sure. There is a short period of time for this just as the sun is setting. I added a hard light effect in Photoshop to bring some color back. The top part of her face and head are blown out more than I would have liked. Anyone have any good tips for this?
Here is another shot. The first picture is right out of the camera no editing.

This one I added Color Burn in Layers, 60% Opacity.

Yummy Homeade Kettle Corn!

I am a huge popcorn fan and my family's favorite kind is Kettle Corn, of course! So I was more than thrilled to learn where to find and buy the most important ingredient, POPCORN! Popcorn varies in quality so I recommend you try buying it here. Trust me, it is wonderful! I also like the idea of buying in bulk and canning the rest. The price for a 50 lb. bag is $39.99. Also, I like to store the popcorn I am currently using in the fridge or freezer to preserve freshness.

Kettle Corn

1/4 C popcorn
2 T corn oil
1/8 C sugar
sea salt

Directions: Pre-heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add oil and popcorn. Wait until the popcorn is hot and ready to pop before adding the sugar! Sprinkle the sugar over the shiny, yellow popcorn and then with the lid on, continuously shake the skillet over your burner. Do not let your pan just sit there, IT WILL BURN. After the popping slows down, carefully dump the popcorn into a bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Your pan is already hot and ready to go so take advantage of that and make a few more batches! Happy Popping!

The easy way to do a baby quilt...

When I was pregnant with my third baby girl I was hand quilting a baby quilt for her which was taking me forever! When I knew that I wouldn't be finished in time for her birth, I decided to throw together another quick quilt, which I have loved so much! So here it is. Pick out four different fabrics 1/4 yd each and cut off the selvage ends. Now be creative and cut each fabric into different sized strips, making sure to make them not the same size. Variation in strip size is what makes this quilt so cute! Lay out the strips and design them anyway you like and then sow them together for your quilt top. It's that easy! I picked out some soft minke fabric for the back and took it to the local quilting shop to have it machine quilted. It was a fun, quick and easy way to make a very special gift for my baby. Happy sewing!

Don't you just love baby quilts?

I just finished this baby quilt for my friend Tammy whose bright, happy personality inspired the colors I used. I love that quilts can be so personal.

More knitting...

I made this hat for my new little nephew. It's bigger than what I would normally do for a newborn but it's hot right now! He probably won't get much use out of it till fall and he grows some. It's easy to do a fun stripe. To change colors just cut the yarn your working with and tie on a new color. Tie it up close to the needles and it will be hidden at the underside of the hat. Continue knitting until you are ready to change again. Here I did one row of white, bordering three rows of blue. Happy knitting!

Knitting

This self striping yarn is reason enough to take up knitting!  It is home made and hand painted.  You can find it here at mybootee.com.  This exact color may not be available anymore but she has many fun options to choose from!

Making Headbands

Let's Get Started!

Step 1: Make Your Own Pattern. The long side should measure 16 inches and the ends are 2 1/2 inches. Make sure to curve your lines gradually. The widest part of the pattern is 4 1/2 inches. With these measurements and the picture I took as a guide, you should be able to make your own!

Step 2: Cut Your Fabric. From your fabric cut one headband pattern and one rectangular connecting strip measuring 7 1/2 inches by 2 1/4 inches.

Step 3: Sew Fabric Right Sides Together. Fold over 1/8 inch on both ends of headband piece and sew. Look at picture for example on doing this.

Step 4: Turn Fabric Inside Out. You can use a special tool for turning the fabric, but to tell you the truth, I just use a pencil eraser.

Step 5: Iron Front Side Down. Make sure to turn your inside seam the same direction before ironing. Carefully center back seam.

Step 6: Cut Elastic 4 1/2 inches long. I use 3/8 inch wide elastic. You can adjust the size of your headband by cutting the elastic smaller, or bigger.

Step 7: Sew Elastic Inside Connecting Strip. Line up the end of the elastic piece with the end of the connecting strip and sew 1/4 inch. Do this same thing on the other end scrunching the fabric up to reveal the elastic end.

Step 7: Insert Connecting Strip to Headband. Center connecting strip right sides together inside of the headband and sew 1/8 inch. Don't Forget to Backstitch! It's also important to use matching thread here so that your final stitching doesn't stand out.

Yeah Your Finished! Enjoy!