I've lost my buttons

Today was a nice day.

Most days are fairly nice, but I noticed that today seemed especially nice. I've been noticing lately that when I don't give my kids the attention they need throughout the day, we all end up grouchy. So, I've been trying to change.

Today we went to play group at the park, where my girls played for a few minutes, but spent most of the time sitting on our picnic blanket watching other kids play & begging me for snacks. We left when my knee pits started to get sweaty. I'm positive you really wanted that little piece of information.

After lunch, the girls took naps & I watched an episode of Inspector Lewis (my current Amazon Instant Video fix).

When they woke up, I blew up our play pool in the back yard with my husband's air compressor, which really makes quick work of it, and prevents me from hyperventilating. We filled the pool with about 6 inches of water & put our swimsuits on. The girls had a great time spraying me with squirt bottles, dumping water on my head, & making huge splashes by jumping up and down. And you know what, I enjoyed it, too. Even though I really wanted to tell them to stop pouring water onto my face, & my contacts were totally screwed up in my eyeballs, I let them play & giggle! We had fun!

While I made dinner, my husband cleaned up the living room and the girls "helped." We had biscuits and gravy, and both of the girls devoured it.

In getting the girls ready for bed, I noticed that Sharon's pajamas were missing a button. I already had the sewing machine out, so I asked if she wanted me to sew a new button on her shirt. Alas, I can't find my box of buttons, which is filled to the brim with every color of button. So, she's going to bed with her belly hanging out, and hopefully I'll be able to find the box tomorrow.

So, my advice to you tonight: play with your kids, let them dump water on you, read them that one book that they ask you to read a million times a day, or give them a piggy back ride to bed. They'll love it, and you probably will, too.

Oh, and if you've seen my box of buttons, will you please pick out a purple one & send it to me?

Savannah is 18 months

Plus a bonus page from the past

New in my shop

 I've been working on some new items for my Etsy shop! The latest additions include this 4 pack of Harry Potter buntings.

Also new in the shop are these Happy Birthday buntings. They have 8 colors of the rainbow & "Happy Birthday" painted in black. They are so cheerful! I might just have to leave one hanging in my dining room this week, since my birthday is coming up!

The Bubble Run

Spring Dance Recital

Stopping to eat the flowers

Camping Trip

Vanilla Extract

I'm happy to announce that my homemade Vanilla Extract is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop! I currently just have the 2 ounce bottles, but hope to have other sizes available soon! Check it out {here}.

What I'm Up To

Here's a little peek at what I've been spending my free time on lately. Here's a screen shot from my computer. Just doing some family history research. Want to know more about why I feel this is such an important task? Check it out {here}.

I'm a Cowgirl

Lace Ruffle Skirt

Lately, I've seen a few ruffly skirts floating around on Pinterest & I've wanted to make one for myself for quite awhile. I bought some beautiful eyelet lace awhile back & was planning on using it to make an extender slip to wear under dresses & skirts that are just slightly too short. Because I've been working on other projects, I just never got around to using it. Then, a woman from church gave me a large tote filled with vintage lace, ribbon & other trim. I pulled out all the lace & knew that it would go perfectly with the eyelet lace I already had to make my own ruffly, lacy skirt. I had some leftover fabric from a white sheet that I used to make a ruffle shower curtain, & it was just the right size. First, here are some pictures of the finished product, and then I'll get into the details.

I love the antique lace! The eyelet lace that I bought is at the bottom, in the middle, and at the very top. Instead of gathering each of the strips of lace and fabric, I just created a few pleats as I pinned them to the base fabric. I didn't want it to be too poofy.

My husband was the photographer.

I love that it fits me perfectly!

My husband actually said, "Give me some sass!"

It makes me smile to see all that beautiful lace!

I also paired it up with a skirt over the top, to show how it can also be a pettiskirt. Now, if I have a dress or skirt that is just a little too short, I can wear it with my ruffle skirt & have some extra, lacy length!

Just admiring my calves!

You won't be seeing anything you aren't supposed to when I bend over!

Yup, I was falling over.

Ok, now on to some details. Using a white sheet, I cut out a rectangle that was 22 inches tall by 52 inches wide. I was very exact in my measurements. You know, I held the fabric around my waist, pulled it a ways to account for the gathering that would happen, and then cut it off. I actually measured it afterward. I used the existing hem for the bottom, which just made less work for me.

This shows the existing hem from the sheet. The first row of lace is sewn just above the hem.

I laid the rectangle on my cutting mat, & starting with the bottom ruffle, I started pinning the lace & fabric onto it. I didn't want each layer completely gathered, so I just created some pleats as I pinned.

One of the pleats. They were fairly small & spaced about 5 or 6 inches apart. I varied them on each layer, kind of like when you lay bricks.

For some of the lace layers, I paired them up with matching fabric, just so you wouldn't see the white base fabric beneath, and to give it a little more texture. I had some off-white muslin that I just tore into strips to put under the off-white lace. I used strips of the white sheet under the white lace. I didn't serge the edges, because I kind of liked the torn look. If you don't, you could certainly hem or serge the edge.

If the piece of lace wasn't quite long enough to go all the way across the skirt, I just overlapped it with another length of lace or fabric & kept going. It looks fine & gives the skirt a little more personality. Plus, I had some lace that I really wanted to use but didn't quite have enough to cover an entire row.

View of the back

After sewing on the last row of lace, I sewed the skirt into a tube by sewing the short edges together. I tried to match up each layer of lace as I was sewing. This will be the back of the skirt.

View of the waistband.

I used some 2 inch white elastic for the waistband. I tried it on around my waist, making sure it would fit snugly, then cut it & sewed it together with the edges overlapping. I just zigzag stitched over each raw edge.

I then sewed it to the top of the skirt, stretching the elastic to fit the width of the skirt. 

And there you have it! A beautiful, ruffly, lacy skirt that fits perfectly! I love it & have already received so many wonderful comments on it.

Bean Bag

I created the font that I used to write the Beanbag title on the scrapbook page. You can download it for free {here}.

Our snowy day

Lucky

I've been making shamrock themed items to sell in my shop in preparation for St. Patrick's Day! Here's a sample of what I have so far. More items to come in the near future!

Shamrock paper garland

Luck digital print

Ready for Valentine's Day

I've been getting my shop ready for Valentine's Day by making lots of different heart garlands! I love how simple these are, but they add just the perfect touch of whimsy to any space! I also love that the heart garlands can be used for other events, like baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, or just to brighten your home. I recently made some heart garland with the colors of the rainbow, paired with dictionary hearts, to decorate my girls' room. It looks fabulous & is so cheery hanging on the wall!

Love notes garland

Love on location garland

Pink hearts garland

Our family walk (scrapbook page)

Sharon's Dance Recital

Just working on some scrapbooking catch-up pages.

A Family Walk (& pictures of the girls)

Yesterday was the first warm not completely freezing day we've had in about a week. So, when Sharon asked to go on "a little walk" yesterday evening, we said ok. We put Savannah in the stroller & walked down to the end of our road, where there is a large vacant lot & some mountains small hills that are fun to climb. With the sun shining, it was just warm enough to be out with just a warm coat.

Me, Sharon & Savannah

 Sharon is our little adventurer, and loved running up the little bike jumps that kids have created out of the dirt. When she got the top of each one she would jump up as high as she could. She also ran every which way, going as fast as her feet could carry her. When we got to a little saddle in the hills, she immediately set off on her own up the large hill. She fell a few times, but was perfectly fine. We brought our cameras along & were able to capture a couple of good pictures of the girls in the fabulous lighting!

Sharon

 Savannah rode in the stroller up the hill & then I let her get out and walk around. While she is pretty much fearless at home, she was a little less certain on the rocky ground, and kept stumbling. She was a bit grouchy after falling down a few times, and was only too happy to get back in the stroller. She sure is growing quickly! She has 4 teeth, loves to try to jump, climbs on everything at home, loves to dance & sing & direct music by waving her arms. She is starting to throw food on the floor, mostly because she likes to watch Jack eat it, rather than because she doesn't like it.

Savannah

It sure was nice to get outside & spend some good family time. We're definitely going to be going on more walks in the near future!

My new gun

Comic Book Bunting

A friend from church recently asked if I could do a custom order for a birthday party she has coming up. She wanted 5 yards of comic book bunting. She supplied the comic books & even had them cut into the triangles, and I made the bias tape & sewed them all together. Mingled with the pages from comic books were coordinating triangles of solid colored card stock. I think they turned out fabulously! Here are a couple of pictures! What do you think?

Comic book bunting

Perfect for a super hero birthday party, or even just to decorate a boy's room!