How about a bunch of stuff....

7.20.2008

I hope you all checked out the link for the Train Stop Dress giveaway by Kathleen of Grosgrain. Not that I want you all to get in on the action I would really love that dress. Can you believe she makes them and then just gives them away. Wow. I have this theory that there are people that have more hours in their day than others...She is definitly one of those.
So onto the other randomness for the day...
A few nights ago I got in the car after work and started to pull out, for some reason I looked at the odometer and what did I see...



Super exciting.



This is Annie modeling another handmade gift. It's basically the same dress as this one but a bit more refined. I shaped the top piece of the bodice and gave the front a bit more fullness, which I love. I used some clearence fabric from Joannes and the ribbon was a piece I picked up in New York here. The fitting was easy on this one, it was for my 7 year old niece, Ally and she is the same size as Annie. I went with criss-cross straps for the back because well I just love them. A few more shots.





I've been really trying to clean-up my act while sewing, paying attention to loose threads and wonky seams. My new found love for this is the french seam, easy to do and no raw edges. I really am planning to do a little tutorial for this dress. The more times I sew it the more I learn. Next one is going to be in linen with maybe some freezer paper stencils or some free motion sewing....hmmmm I do need a darning foot for my machine.

Have a great weekend.

Train Stop Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

7.19.2008

Train Stop Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

FYI

7.10.2008

I was just sitting here pouting a bit about feeling like our days are getting away from us and there has been very little to post about when I came across this little swap. Something I definitly have time for.

It's a mini book swap hosted by molly coddle. It's simple send one book to another family, get one book from another family. Go check it out.

4th of July Fun...

7.07.2008

I totally dig the 4th of July. It's all about fun and family and friends and yeah, food. We had all of the above and more. Hope you all enjoyed yours.

The new kidmade challenge is up, a few days late. Oh well, go on check it out. And I added a button for a new flickr goup, all about free or almost free fun for kids.

kidmade and a homemade gift.

7.02.2008

The gallery is up for the Take Only Pictures, Make Only Art kidmade challenge. Please go and check it out. All of the submissions are amazing and inspiring. I really can't put into words how beautiful the work is. The July challenge should be up later today.

Just to add a bit of randomness, this is a little top I made for my niece for her birthday. I had bought myself a little dress at Target and loved the style. I decided I could reconstruct it. Other than coming out a bit smaller than I intended it worked out great. I was even able to do some shirring for the back. I have tried this in the past without any luck. The top was only 3 pieces and the straps. I think there will many more of these to come this summer. It's the perfect wear as a dress or top or with a long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans kinda dress. I have come to the conclusion that I really enjoy sewing more when I don't use a pattern, I seem to always mess up the pattern and then become frustrated. Making it up as I go along seems to keep the flow going.

Anyone want a tutorial for this? I will try to pull one together when I make the next one.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. Lots of food, friends, family and fireworks.

Butter, blueberry muffins and haiku.

6.29.2008

Annie and I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie series. I've been meaning to do a few projects related to the books but haven't gotten around to it. One day while at the grocery store I picked up some whipping cream with the intention on making butter. Friday the girls were a bit squirelly and needing to be occupied,
"hey, do you want to make butter?, you know like Laura and Mary."
"okay mommy."



So a bit of cream, a ball jar and some good old-fashioned shaking and butter. Okay, It wasn't quite so easy, I accidentally dumped the first batch down the drain and the girls were pretty much done with the shaking by then so I got a good workout.





Well, if your gonna make homemade butter you better have some yummy homemade baked goods to spread it on. We made the best batch of Blueberry Struesel Muffins thanks to the Cooks Country Magazine. I love making muffins but they never feel like bakery muffins, these were better.

While we waited for the muffins to bake and cool we read a bit of Haiku-Dogku to be exact. They both loved the story and Annie loved figuring out the pattern of the syllabels-that girl and her patterns. As we daintly ate our muffins and butter, er, devoured our muffins we wrote some of our own blueberry muffin and butter inspired haiku:

Blueberry Muffins.

Hot from the oven. Cooling.

Homemade butter. Yum.

It's always the simplest parts of the day that provide the most satisfaction and anything that requires us to wear our vintage aprons is doublely good.

the -ing words

6.22.2008

"The present participle form of English verbs ends in -ing. Its most basic use is
to describe an action in progress, whether as part of a compound verb, an
adjective, or in a participal phrase." -from Ultimate Style the Rules of Writing

Isn't that what summer is all about? There hasn't been much blogging around here but our summer has been full all sorts of other -ing words. I'm feeling a bit tired from all of it. Maybe I need to do a bit of lazing and reading. Enjoy a bit of our -ing words in pictures.




::tagging and laughing



::performing



::driving

While camping...



::climbing



::running



::splashing



::playing



I'm off for a bit of cleaning, a little sewing and then some barbecuing....

kidmade news....

6.11.2008

A "green fish" submitted by the Dancing Robot family.

The Blowin' in the Wind Gallery is up. Such amazing work. Don't forget to check out the June kidmade challenge-Take Only Pictures, Make Only Art. There is a ton of inspiring links and this one is perfect for a lazy day at the beach or stroll through the park.

We're off to the zoo. I love summer.

Just a little post....

6.06.2008

Summer is officially here. School was out on Wednesday, the thermometer is registering in the high 80's and it's muggy. Summer in Chicago. This year we bought pool passes so I am hoping to put them to good use. The plan is to get all our "work" done before noon and then head out for some water fun. We don't have much else planned, maybe a vacation bible school and swim lessons at the end of the summer. I may be regretting this with the girls already driving each other crazy and Maddie more often than not in tears.
I have extended the deadline until next monday for this months kidmade challenge so if your looking for a little something to do with the kids you can check it out.
I haven't been doing a ton of sewing lately but a few projects have made it off the machine. The pillow in the picture was a gift for Annie's teacher. I had her draw a picture and then printed it on to fabric using this product and then added the strips. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. It only took about 3 hours from start to finish, I think it takes me longer to pick the fabric. I know I saw a pillow like this last year around this time and filed it away for future use. Sorry I can't remember where. It was such an easy and satifsying project I think I may need to make a few more for our house. The family room could use a bit of color. I also love this one made by Jen.
So what do you all have planned for the long summer ahead?

Six, Six, Six years for Annie

5.31.2008

It's all happened so fast. The crawling, the eating, the walking and even the riding. I stood by you through each of your milestones, cheering, encouraging, supporting and yes shedding a bit of tears. Now you are six. Six years with you in our lives, six years of watching you grow and change and yet you are still my little baby. I wish I could stop the clock so that you will always need me as you do now but more milestones and growing awaits you and really, I love watching you grow. Happy Birthday my little slice of heaven. I love you.

Seriously, she was one darn beautiful little baby. I'm just sayin'.

A weekend of dirty hands.

5.27.2008

I am a gardener. Maybe it's having the name Mary and all the "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does you garden grow?" I heard as a kid. I remember the first set of seeds I planted as an adult. It was a mixed flower envelope and the back said to "scratch the top of the soil and mix in seeds". Well, the spot I had chosen was so hard packed that scratching the top of the soil was like scraping a piece of pine wood. I dutifully added the seeds, watered and waited, nothing grew in that patch but my hands had touched the soil, planted the seeds and waited in anticipation and the only thing that bloomed was my need to feel the dirt on my hands. My gardening skills have grown since then but I always think back to that first planting as the time when I became a gardener.



Since that time I have always had some type of garden. Pots of houseplants, small beds of annuals and herb gardens have been planted and tended to. This year the bird and butterfly garden was added to and veggie beds prepared. I often find myself standing staring at my plants. My husband may think that I am admiring their blooms or looking for bugs but, really I'm dreaming. With each handful of dirt and seed or seedling there is a bit of a dream.
I stand gazing at the small leaves of coneflowers poking through the mulch but what I see is a clump of purple flowers calling to butterflies and later their seeds a snack for the goldfinches. Green bean seeds are carefully sown, their tender shoots wound up the bamboo pole. With each new leaf I wait and dream of Annie and Maddie heading out to the garden to search for beans, pull them off and eat them raw right there in the garden. As I stand there, small tomato plants grow to towers dripping with the sweet red fruit destined for salads, salsas and sauces. To be a gardener one must have faith, patience and vision.



When I was pregnant with Annie the doctor told me my due date. May 29Th, one of my first thoughts was Oh, that's planting season. The digging of the dirt, the planning and planting is my favorite part of gardening. Each spring there is a fresh start filled with hope, grand plans and anticipation. I am a gardener and the soil calls to me. This weekend I brought the whole family along and we all dug our hands in the dirt, planted a few seeds and dreamed of the summer to come.

Another handmade gift.

5.13.2008

This is from a bit back, Maddie's birthday to be exact. After reading The Creative Family I decided that it would be nice to make some handmade gifts for each other. I had asked Maddie what she would like me to make and she said a little blankie for one of her bears. Nice and easy. I explained to Annie what Maddie had asked for and then mentioned that I thought it would be nice if she made a gift. Her original plan was a whistle, I am quite happy she changed her mind because I had no idea how to make a whistle and a google search of how left me a bit scared that she would really want to make a working whistle, ummm, no easy task. I think a little mommy prodding led her to decide to make a little sleep set to go along with the blanket. She sat for hours working on all her little gifts. There was a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. A sink and a pillow and a basket full of little books. She had to have made 15 little books no bigger than a stamp. Each with pictures and bits of writing. I picked up a little box from Michaels and painted it then bought a bunch of stick on jewels that Maddie could use to decorate, the girl loves jewels. Every thing was tucked neatly inside and wrapped. I stole the idea of the little box from Mama Urchin. This was perfect for Maddie, she is a collector kinda kid with little boxes full of treasures that she hides away- "oh mommy, this will be perfect for my ballection" and off she goes.



The bear with blankie and toothpaste.



Some of the little books.



You can never have too many jewels.



Opening up.

Maddie loved the gift and plays with it all the time. Annie was so darned excited to share her gift with Maddie, I thought the girl would burst. There was nothing crazy or expensive in her gifts, just the few things she asked for (a fairy barbie included) and lots love. Do ya think it will be this easy when she turns 14?

3x's the Love

5.07.2008

One



Two



Three



the love....the Locks of Love that is.

Yesterday Annie, Maddie and I cut off a total of 28 inches of hair. Annie's and my hair were donated to Locks of Love and Maddie's will go to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths (they take 8 inches and you need 10 for Locks if Love.)



We had been talking about doing this for a few months. I've donated in the past and brought the idea up with the girls. At first they weren't so sure and then Annie was fully onboard. She decided that she would look like Snow White with short hair. Maddie never fully committed but the kid only had one haircut in 4 years-(yeah, I know, what sorta mom am I-the kind that couldn't stand to part with the hair that had been on her head since birth. Um, yep, I'm that sentimental.) Once we went to the salon she was game and 4 pigtails were made and measured. The girls were so excited and I almost cried. I was so amazingly proud of them. Annie said "I'll have Snow White hair and some other little girl will have a wig of Snow White hair." Such a simple way to teach kids about giving and so very personal. And well, they look so darn cute to boot. "New short summer hair" - Annie





I had been planning to cut my hair but was going to make an appointment for another day but I got caught up in all the cutting and joined in the fun. I'll post a picture of my new do when I get Dan to take a shot. I'm going to miss their cute little pigtails but I had Annie's hair brushed in 2 seconds this morning with not a single whine. Bliss.

Self-Portraits and a new challenge

5.03.2008

The kidmade self-portrait gallery is up and I have posted the May challenge. I was so excited to recieve all the submissions for the first challenge. As it got closer and closer to the end of the month I had that same feeling you get 5 minutes after a party starts and no one has shown up yet. You know that, oh, maybe no one is going to come feeling. Thank you all for playing along it was really very inspiring. I loved seeing the different ways all the kids expressed themselves.
I have to admit that our little self-portrait session did not go over so well. I waited until the last minute, bought canvases and asked the girls if they wanted to paint a self-portrait. Maddie just wanted to paint and Annie was much too overwhelmed and went into perfectionist mode. In the end they both were happy with their work and that's all that matters. I think we will start much earlier on this months challenge.

I also wanted to share a book I picked up recently at the library. Doing Art Together by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. Well worth checking out. Lots of great info on how children develop through process based art and how to talk to your children about their art.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. And the picture is just a bit of fun from the zoo a few weeks ago.

Just a midnight post.

4.28.2008

I tend to get swept up when I log on here. I'll google one thing and then go somewhere else and on and on, you know how it goes. Each time I do this that old faberge shampoo commercial....and so on and so on plays over and over in my head. Every once in awhile my wanderings stray from the usual crafty, mommy type blogs to others and I have turn away. Really a girl can only have so many intrests and spend so much time on the computer. So great gardening blogs, nope not even going there and food blogs nope not gonna do it. But today I stumbled upon this little blog and thought maybe I could do this. Weekly baking challenges using the same recipe...hmm sounds familiar...and the first post I see is all these yummy homemade marshmallows.YUM. and then she goes on to say there are more blogs like this out there. Really more people all baking and cooking away with the same recipe and sharing it. But no, I am not going to follow those links, not going to get lost in the whole food blog world,(I don't even have time to cook dinner). But maybe one of you all will and then you can tell me about it and maybe send some homemade marshmallows my way.

Also, kidmade challenge #1-Self-Portrait are due on the 30th so start painting, or drawing or sculpting or whatever just send them in details here. The second challenge should be up on May 1st and I'll have the gallery up by Friday.

A few more handmade gifts....

4.25.2008

This one is from a bit back. I am always a bit stumped by the boy gifts and this time I was a bit short on time so it was more hand decorated.



The girls each drew a picture for the 3 year old boy and then I scanned and printed them onto transfer paper. We ironed them onto t-shirts from Target. Pretty quick and the girls were very proud.



The next weekend was a birthday for my 2 year old cutie of a nephew Mikey. I had no gift on Sunday morning but had seen this post via the Crafty Crow. I had about an hour so a felt board seemed perfect. I used a plain black frame, only a couple dollars and self-adhesive felt. It really did take less than an hour. I think I need to make one for the girls.

Sketching in Nature

4.24.2008

We've been following along with the art classes over at Camp Creek Press. Yesterday we packed up a little picnic and our pencils and sketch books and headed to our favorite park. We had a yummy lunch by the river and then headed off to play at the park. I figured we would get some of our energy out and then take a walk and wind down with some observational drawing.
The girls dug around in the sand for a bit and then Maddie found a little butterfly that decided to hang out with them for a while. They built a sand house with lots of sticks for the butterfly to sit on and made a nice little cave.



When it is was set I asked Annie if she would maybe like to draw the butterfly. She asked for her sketch book and a pencil and started. I was surprised she wanted to take time away from the building but she was enthusiastic.







Not a lot of detail but she was happy with it and it was a good introduction to drawing outdoors. As she drew one of the little girls she had met at the park seemed very interested. We shared a piece of paper and pencils and she joined in. Our own impromtu art class at the park.