Aloha

We are heading to Hawaii tomorrow for a little vacation. See you all in a couple of weeks.

Welcome Home Poster

We are excited about the homecoming of Jane and Clark's Uncle who has been out of the country for the past two years. Tonight we did a little family art project and created a colorful welcome home poster to hold up when we head to the airport Thursday.


And this is what happens when you take markers away from a two year old.

Simple Prints from Cosas Mínimas

My new infatuation is with these beautiful, simple prints from Etsy seller, Cosas Mínimas. Most prints are 8 x 11.5" and sell for $30.

Home Tours from Favorite Bloggers

I just discovered that Cafe Mom has a section which features home tours from a lot of my favorite bloggers. I love looking at real homes where people live and work with their families. I love that they are not perfectly clear of clutter, but that they have some sort of organization and lots of personality and character.

1) Sharilyn of Lovely Design


2) Amanda Blake Soule of Soule Mama


3) Rubyellen Bratcher of Cakies


4) Andrea Jenkins of Hula Seventy.

Cookie Cutter Bird Feeders

This morning we were inspired by Jane's book, "Fancy Nancy, Explorer Extraordinaire" to make our own cookie cutter bird feeders using stale bread. I just happened to have an old loaf of bread I was saving to feed some ducks with. So Jane and Clark used cookie cutters to cut out shapes in the bread, I poked a hole through them with a pencil and tied on a piece of yarn, then we hung them on our tree outside. We'll see if the birds notice.

Quilt Block Tutorials from The Sometimes Crafter

I love these quilt blocks from The Sometimes Crafter (via Craftzine). Isn't this Paper Pieced block amazing? I really like this Trapazoid block and Improvisational block as well. It looks like a lot of work but totally worth it. I'd love try it. I started a zig-zag quilt for Clark six months ago which has been sitting on my shelf untouched. One thing at a time, right?

Favorite Projects from The Purl Bee

Here are a couple of recent projects posted at The Purl Bee that caught my eye. I love these sweet little Tooth Fairy Bags.


And these beautiful Nesting Blocks as well.

Super Jane

I finished up the cape for Jane's friend (a birthday gift) and Jane was excited and wanted to test out the outfit. Here are some of her best "Super Jane" poses. To make the cape, I loosely followed the tutorial from The Long Thread (which I've used before to make this and this) and opted to do a really simple star applique on the back.

I am anxious to get working on Jane's "Wonder Woman" costume I have planned. She's been on a superhero kick since I bought her this tee awhile ago and I've been planning to make a more modest version of Wonder Woman's get-up. The goal is to make this in time for Halloween this year.

Dollhouse Pillow at Cakies

Isn't this the most amazing pillow you've ever seen? The amazing Ruby from Cakies (a favorite blog of mine) made it for her daughter's birthday and I can't get over how wonderful it is. A little doll fits in the front pocket and the back fabric can be rolled up to reveal the inside of the little house. I want one.

2008 Pet Parade

Today was the Pet Parade. Here is my little Nurse Nancy riding along on her trike. Clark played Dr. Dan and attended to the stuffed animals (who were bandaged up) in their little wagon ambulance. Jane wore her little nurse costume proudly and did a great job keeping up with everyone on her bike.

Today's Craft of the Day from Martha Stewart

I receive the daily emails from Martha Stewart with her daily craft ideas. Lately, teh Craft of the Day projects have been pretty blah. So I was excited to see that this little girl's sundress is today's project idea. Heather Ross does the how-to on the Martha Show and you can watch the video clip for more details.

Fall Pattern Preview: Oliver + S

Oooh... I love the new fall dress patterns from Oliver + S; plus the versatile fall/rain/winter jacket as well. I have always admired their patterns and wanted to try my hand at some of the simpler ones. I really love that dress though. I might have to challenge myself to make one for Jane. I can't wait to see their other new designs for fall.

10 Minute Project: Simple Super-Hero Mask

I am getting a head start on a birthday gift for Jane's friend. I whipped up this little Super-Hero mask this morning with some felt I had on hand. This little girl is a bit of a tom-boy and her favorite color is red. She dressed as "Super-Morgan" for Halloween last year, so we are making her a proper Super-Hero cape and mask for her birthday next week.

To make your own mask, make a template out of piece of paper. Then trace your template onto two pieces of felt and cut out. Measure a piece of elastic to fit around the back. Sew the two layers of felt together, sandwiching the elastic in between. I used a small zig-zag stitch. Ta-da!

WIP: Nurse Nancy Apron

Today I sewed a simple apron for Jane's Nurse Nancy costume. Once again I had absolutely no cooperation when it came time to pose for photos. These were the best I could get. I am happy with the outcome though. Jane is pretty true to Nurse Nancy's ensemble thus far (minus the apron pocket). She is planning to dress as Nurse Nancy for the Pet Parade on Saturday and Clark with be Doctor Dan. We are going to bandage up some "pets" (stuffed puppies and kitties) and turn the wagon into Nurse Nancy & Doctor Dan's Animal Ambulance taking animals off to the Animal Hospital.

Portrait of a Doll

Jane drew the best picture last week. She decided to draw a portrait of her favorite doll, Alice Cinderella. She traced around Alice's body on a piece of paper and did her best to copy her face and the patterns on her clothes. I especially like her pink cheeks and the polka-dots on her tights. I love my little artist.

Meg's DIY Home Decor

I've been helping my sister with some home decorating projects lately. We picked out some decorator fabrics; I sewed a circular tablecloth for her dining room table and she re-upholstered two of her chairs and yesterday we sewed six throw pillows for living room. Here's a sneak peak.

WIP: Nurse Nancy Cap

I finally started working on Jane's Nurse Nancy costume. I figured I would work on the little white nurse cap first to see if I could figure that piece out. I remembered the basic template I used to make paper pilgrims hats for Jane and her cousins on Thanksgiving last year. I used this same basic idea with a couple of modifications to create Jane's nurse cap. I didn't take any photos of the steps since I was figuring it out as I went along; but if anyone is interested in a how-to I can put together a diagram.

P.S. Jane was not interested in posing for me and her mouth was full of apples; so the pictures of her are rather unflattering!

Bean Bag Rainbow

I made some little rainbow bean bags for my nephew's birthday. Need to send them in the mail tomorrow. I didn't have a lot of "boy" colors in my fabric stash so I ended up creating a rainbow of beanbags.

Olympia Pet Parade, August 15, 2009

We are gearing up for Olympia's annual Pet Parade, scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2009. We have made it a tradition to participate in the parade with our children over the last few years. The kids dress up in costumes, dress up their pets and decorate bikes and wagons for the event. This year marks the 80th anniversary for the parade, so the theme is "Back to the Beginning" which is referring to 1929 when the parade began. I love the nostalgic theme but I'm not sure how to translate this into the kid's costumes. My goal is to use items on hand to create costumes and decorate our wagon without spending money. I've got some planning to do.

Burger and Fries to Go

I'm working on a few simple birthday gifts for little boys. Here is some fast food for a soon-to-be two year old friend who likes to pretend to cook. I made the burger and fries the simplest way I could figure out and included some spaghetti and meatballs with the gift as well.

Back from the Beach

I am back from a few days spent in California; attending a wedding, visiting with extended family and hanging out at our favorite spots: Huntington Beach and Disneyland. I had a wonderful birthday dinner (eating Hula Pie at Duke's) and now I am home and getting back to my daily routine. Thanks for the wonderful birthday gifts from my family. I love my new swimsuit, my cabochon earrings and the Sock and Glove and Happy Gloves books I am anxious to try out.