miscellany monday

i've never done this before b/c i rarely post on mondays. but i've got a few things that aren't worthy of a full post, so this is perfect.

~ 1 ~

today is my best friends 30th birthday!!! happy birthday babe. i love you a whole lot and i'm so gald you were born 30 years ago today!!

~ 2 ~

have you heard of the hipstamatic app for iphones? you probably have, but i'm just getting on board. it's pretty fun. i've just messed with it a few times, but i like it. one of the few apps i'll probably keep using.

~ 3 ~

i've been amazed by the fact that libby's blog is EVERYWHERE! well, honestly, i'm not that amazed b/c it is an amazing story and i'm so glad that people get to hear about it and how God worked through their whole journey. i guess i'm mostly just excited. some friends are running a marathon for her and raising money. i don't know much about it, only what i've read. but more info can be found here.

~ 4 ~

i made these pillows last week. just excited about them and wanted to share.

~ 5 ~

this is my baby. how did this happen? when did she get old enough to stand up at the sink and brush her teeth? when did she get teeth??

~ 6 ~

i'm on a baby blanket craze! CRAZE i tell you! i kind of can't stop. it might be an addiction.

~ 7 ~

i'm leaving for FL to go on spring break with my little fam and my best friends little fam in 30 days. hallelujah! i need it. who doesn't need it??

~ 8 ~

tonight the hubs and i are going to start P90X. can i do it? i'll admit, i'm nervous. mostly that i won't be able to commit. but, i feel pretty excited, so...here we go!

still practicing

well - i decided i wanted to try a couple of new things for a baby blanket. satin binding and a really soft minky dot fleece fabric. i don't know why, but the fleece fabric intimidated me. it's really stretchy and that worried me. it kind of caught me up in a couple of places, but for the most part it was pretty normal.

the satin binding also worried me. i was afraid i wouldn't be able to keep it straight, or that the satin would slip around on me. well, it was WAY easier than i thought, and it covered up the small problem areas i had with the fleece.



i LOVE the way it turned out. in my stash, this pink and white viney fabric was my favorite. and i loved pairing it with this olive green. i had intentions of giving it away, but i decided to give it to C for a few reasons. 1- the stretchiness of the fleece gave me some cutting issues. the blanket turned out smaller than i intended. 2- now that i know exactly how to work the binding, the next one will be better suited for a gift. 3- i LOVE the color combo. i'll admit, i'm being a little selfish and keeping it...=)

i also saw this fun decorative stitch on my machine that matched perfectly with the pink and white fabric. i couldn't pass up putting the detail in green around the binding. i think it really adds the perfect finishing touch.


so, there you go. as shaun would say, "another blanket for C." but she actually doesn't have a single blanket with binding. when i showed shaun the finished product, he agreed that every baby needed a blanket with the satin trim. so, i have a couple mommas/babies on my list that will be getting one of these very soon! just not this one...;)

a good attempt

i was recently putting pictures from my camera onto the computer and was reminded of our latest attempt at trying to get a quick family picture when i saw these:






someone asked me once how i always got pictures of caroline smiling. let me tell you - it's near impossible to get that girl to look at the camera and smile. especially when i'm not on the other side of the camera trying to do things to make her laugh. i only share the cute ones. those are the ones that make the blog.

but, i thought these were pretty funny. shaun's face is cracking me up in the 2nd one and my giant finger in the last whole is pretty hilarious. and you can tell that C is getting a kick out of this too. oh well, it was a good attempt. better luck next time!

it was a success

in my last post, i nonchalantly mentioned that i had a feeling that the coming weekend would be super duper. well it was, IT WAS!!

about 4 months ago, i figured out what i was going to get shaun for his 30th birthday. an iPad. he has been mentioning that he wanted one before they came out! he is really into new apple gadgets. well, i figured out that if i started saving early enough i might be able to pull it off.

this past weekend his mom, step-dad, sister, niece and nephew came to visit. they all pitched in on the iPad purchase, so i wanted to let shaun open it when they were here. his birthday is still 9 days away, but this was something i knew they wouldn't want to miss.

he had no clue. NONE. that was the best part for me. the fact that the secret had been kept for so long, and that i was able to get him something he wanted so badly. it was a really fun weekend!

i was able to take a great video of him opening his present. please watch it. and have your volume up. the beginning is the best! he was so excited. it made me happy to make him so happy.

here's the video

and here are some cute pictures. kendall (the niece) wanted to have a "party" for uncle shaun. we made a cake from scratch and she did a great job decorating it. the cake, streamers and balloons were a surprise too!

happy early birthday shauny! i hope you're enjoying your iPad!! =)

i'm ready

i'm ready for a lot of things right now!

i'm ready for...

the weekend. PLEASE!?! i don't know what my problem has been this week, but i need the weekend.

for shaun's family to come. his mom, step-dad, sister, niece and nephew! and yep - they're all staying with us. i love that we have a basement that can accommodate family to stay with us.

baking. our oven went out a couple of weeks ago. we are planning to gut and rearrange our kitchen this summer and the oven will go in a new place once that happens. so, instead of putting the new oven where the old oven was (impossible b/c we had a wall oven and separate cook-top from 1962 and now have a range), shaun had to run all new wiring. i was very impressed. he did it all by himself and my new range is working seamlessly. the niece and nephew are going to help me bake uncle shaun a cake this weekend.

warm weather. it's slowly but surely feeling nicer and nicer here in these parts. i'm praying with everyone else in lexington that the snow is OVER! we got to take a little family walk yesterday after work. it was so nice to be outside!

a new sewing project. i've got some fabric waiting to be made into something. some i'm not sure about yet, some i haven't found the time. but i've also been cruising my favorite website and have found some new fabric that i want for projects i've never tried. we need a curtain for our newly renovated bathroom (pictures once a few last final touches are put in place). i'm thinking this fabric
using this tutorial. i also want to make an apron. i'm thinking this and this fabric

using this tutorial. (yes - i'm obsessed with darby)

hope you have a fun weekend full of things you're ready for. i have a feeling this weekend is going to be super duper fun!

my little valentine

well, i decided for my next sewing project, i would make my little valentine a little blanket.

now, again, my sewing is very beginner. i realized through this project there are more supplies and tools that i need. and i need to learn how to sew in a straight line! i just have a bad problem of getting going and then loosing focus and then trying to get back on track but making my foot go faster and then the damage is done! (did you follow that?)

but again, this is for C, and she won't notice.

i decided to put a little C on one side. my applique definitely needs work, but i thought it looked pretty decent.

i also decided to add a decorative stitch all around the edge. i LOVE my machine, and i'm finding out that she is very talented. bernice. yes - i named her. we had an instant connection.


i went ahead and gave her the present early. she hasn't felt well and has spent most of the weekend wrapped up in her new blankey on my lap. i hate when she's sick, but i love the snuggles.

she's feeling better now and wishes you all a very Happy Love Day!!

happy valentine's day to me!

we have never been big on celebrating valentine's day. now that C is here, it's fun to make her wear pink and hearts, but shaun and i just don't get that into it.

but, when i saw this i knew i wanted it for our room. and since it's sweet and lovey, and valentine's day is right around the corner, this is our gift to each other.

isn't it precious? our room is red and gray, so i got the red one. and i asked for a little s+j in between the hands.

i just love it. i love the innocence of first being in love and holding hands all the time. we don't get to hold hands enough any more. most likely someone has the baby and the other is fiddling with the diaper bag or putting a hood on our baby's head. but i still remember where we were and what we were doing the first time shaun held my hand. i think this is a great v-day gift. even if i did pick it out for myself. ;)

*check out le papier studio's website. they have some super sweet stuff!

applique

i am very, very new with my sewing machine, but i decided to try a little applique. there are so many cute things created with a sewing machine. i always knew that once i got one, i would go crazy! i want to make caroline a blanket with a C on it. so, i decided that before i ruined a piece of fabric, i should probably give applique a try on something that i didn't mind messing up.

so - i made my baby a valentine's day onsie! it's a 12 month onsie (notice it's a little tight), so i thought that if i screwed it up it wouldn't really matter.

i'm pretty proud of it. i mean, the model is what makes it so cute, but the little heart isn't too bad.

i'm waiting for some fabric to finish C's blanket. thanks to my friend kari for passing on this great website. when i told shaun about it, he said "fabric.com is the amazing secret fabric website?" it's not a secret shaun! i'm just new at this! =)

the first of many

well, as i mentioned a couple posts back, i had a little sewing machine class so i could learn how to use my christmas present. it was overwhelming! but it was great. my teacher was so nice and the fact that i got to have a one-on-one class was awesome. i learned how to thread my machine. how to thread a bobbin. ( what a bobbin even is!) i learned some fun stitches and how to change a foot. i learned so much. i got excited quickly and was ready to do something!

so - yesterday C and i headed to hobby lobby. the place i took my class has some wonderful and beautiful fabric. but i got nervous. i didn't want to buy super nice stuff and mess it up on my first attempts. so, hobby lobby was my place. still nice stuff, but prices i felt more comfortable with. i found some fabric that was on sale and bought my essentials. i went home and watched a little youtube tutorial on how to make an envelope slip cover. once C went to bed, i got to work.

ahhhh! here she is!

i couldn't believe it! i made a pillowcase. me. me!

it kind of took me awhile b/c i had some trouble with my bobbin. of course, the only part of the pillow seam that shows is the part i had to sew first and the part that looks a little wonky. but, it's my first attempt and it's the back and it's for C's room. she'll never notice.


here's a picture of the "envelope" style. i already had the pillow. i just measured accordingly to cover it's size.

i went and showed shaun and he kind of freaked out. he was so proud of me, so that made me even more proud of my creation. he insisted on a picture, so i thought i would add it too. =)

(kona is proud too i guess. and yes, i'm in the bathroom. shaun was installing the light.)

so, like i said, this is the first of many. i went to bed last night with my mind racing with ideas. there are so many possibilities and i can't wait to get better and create more!

thanks for being so encouraging shauny, and for finding me a great machine. do you want me to make you a pillow? ;)