Watermelon Wreath

Apparently I have recently decided that I really like wreaths.  I saw a really cute heart wreath on a blog somewhere made with burlap and got the idea to tweak it and create a watermelon for my front door.   

As I was buying the burlap Trudi gave me a hard time because it’s almost fall.  I would like to point out that it’s only August, and as much as I like fall, winter follows it and I HATE winter.  Winter means snow and cold, which I could live without.  So I’ll drag out summer as much as I possibly can, even if it's only in my head.  To help me drag out summer, here is my watermelon wreath.

Embellished Shirts

I haven’t had much time to craft since my little guy was born but this past weekend me and my kids made the trip to my parents house and my mom and I played with her sillouette and some shirts we found on clearance.  I am wanting a sillouette more now then before and love the things you can do with it!  My daughter loves her new shirts we made and I am sure my son will look adorable in his when it fits him!  The white on the butterfly and the body of the sheep are flocked and gives it just a little extra texture that makes it that much more fun! 

Star Wreath

My sister came across this really cute star wreath that we decided to make while I was visiting her.  The stars were made out of paper and so we headed out looking for some fun cardstock in patriotic colors and prints.  We never thought it would be so hard to find printed cardstock and didn’t want plain stars, so we bought fabric instead and worked on the star pillow that she posted earlier.  Yeah, mine isn't done yet, but it will be for next year.

I still wanted a star wreath and really liked the idea of the fun patterns that you can find on paper, so I decided to reinvent my own.  This was complete in time for July, I had it finished and hanging on my door with a couple of hours left on the first.  It was pretty dark by then, so I took a picture of it in the house.  I was pretty pleased with myself, usually they will get started and I end up finishing and using them the next year, or the next.

Happy 4th of July!

I did it, I got my second pillow done.  It was at 8pm last night, but it was in time.  Now they can both sit on my couch for the month of July while I come up with something to replace them with.

I found a tutorial on pinwheels that looked easy and wanted to try, so I designed this pillow around those.  It evolved a little as things went (mostly cause I realized my measurements were off and things weren't lining up) but I like the way it turned out.  I opted for red binding to contrast the blue on the other pillow.

I reused pebbles to coordinate with the star, then accented the pinwheels.  This was kind of dual purpose, as it's a similar design to one I plan to use on my daughters quilt (I'll share the completed top to that soon).  I really like pillows as they go together quick and easy and give you a chance to try out new techniques and quilting designs without lots of commitment.  I see many many more pillow adventures in my future.

Both of them sitting on my couch all ready for fireworks and fun.

We hope you are having a great weekend.  Happy 4th of July!

Linked to

It must be a pillow week…

I came across a “Create with me challenge” on Ucreate, and just had to play along.  Recently we bought a new couch and it is screaming for throw pillows.  After a quick trip to IKEA for pillow forms (down 20” pillow forms are only $7.00, what a steal!) I had to then figure out what I really wanted to do.  I didn’t want to spend a lot of money either, so I just went through my fabric “stash” and found a couple of things I really liked.  Left over canvas from one project, and some light blue jersey knit that was given to me.  PERFECT! 

I followed the tutorial found here and went to work… It ended up taking a bit more time than I had planned, but the lack of sleep last night was worth it.  My 4 year old came to me this morning and said “Mom, I sat on the couch this morning to watch cartoons and saw a new pillow, it is SO CUTE!”  What a compliment :)

Happy Crafting!!!

4th of July Pillow

I came across an army star pattern at Lily's quilts and instantly fell in love.  I knew I had to make it, and in time for the 4th of July.  Luckily Missy was coming to visit for a crafting/girly fun weekend, and it was the perfect time.

French Mint Pies

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I'm going to start out this post with a disclaimer.  This recipe involves raw eggs.  If you don't care, or can get your hands on fresh eggs (which is what prompted me making these delicious morsels) read on.  If you can't get over the raw egg thing, I understand, BUT you are missing out ;).

These have always been a family favorite and we had them a fair bunch growing up, but since there have been more and more problems with eggs, and we didn't have access to chickens, we get them less and less.  When I ended up with 18 fresh eggs at swim lessons last week, I immediately knew I was going to go home and whip some up.

So, for a super easy, perfect summer treat (and it's def summer here, we made it to 110 today and it felt like it), I give you French Mint Pies.

Our newest model

Introducing our newest model….

My little man was born June 1st and doing great!  Weighed in a 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 inches long, a full 2 pounds 10 ounces bigger then my daughter.  It is awesome having a full size baby!  I can’t wait to find boy projects to create and share with everyone.  My daughter is a very big help so I am sure she’ll help with some projects for him. 

I did finish his quilt and love how it turned out.  I haven’t got a picture of him with the quilt but here is a picture of the finished product! I almost want to just hang it on the wall to look at because I know how much time and energy went into it but would be sad if he didn’t use it and love it. 

Two Big Projects!

I know I have been MIA for a while, but I have been very busy working on two big projects.  The one project just hit the half way mark!  I am now officially 20 weeks pregnant.  If you are like me, you will understand why I haven't gotten any projects done.  The first trimester really kills my motivation.  I am so sick and so tired that I literally do nothing, and now that I have a toddler, I learned how hard it is to be pregnant with your second child.  Way harder then the first :)  Oh, well.  I hit the second trimester and now I am working diligently to finish unfinished projects and start new ones that will be necessary to bring home my new baby Girl!

But on to the second project I have been spending all my time on...

My little boy just turned 2 years old and I wanted to do something awesome for his birthday present.  I have noticed that every time we visit one of my sisters houses, he goes directly to their little girls play kitchens and never leaves.  It is time for him to have his own kitchen!

Apple Pie Waffles

My kids have been obsessed with waffles lately, asking for nothing else each morning.  I have been trying to get creative, making different flavors, and adding things to our waffles each day to mix it up a bit.  Some days prove to be successfull, others, not so much.  Today, was lucky for me, a success!  Here’s our take on Apple Pie Waffles. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Flower Pillow Part 2

It has definitely been a crazy couple of months.  Work hasn’t been good and I have been tirelessly looking for something new, but to no avail.  My dream is to move to never ending summer in Phoenix, but the job market doesn’t seem to be cooperating.  

During my breaks of looking for a new job, I have been trying to finish up my half started projects and I think I’ve done a pretty good job.  My two nephews finally got their Monster Albums (I have now made six of these quiet books, I found the pattern on youcanmakethis.com and love it after I made a few alterations of course), my youngest niece got an adorable lady bug pillow for her birthday and I finished a really cute portfolio for my oldest niece’s birthday (I’ll be posting that one soon).  I have also finally finished my flower pillow, you were probably starting to wonder if I ever would, don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

Here are the final steps and the final product.  I LOVE it!

My First Quilt

I have become COMPLETELY obsessed with quilting lately.  I can't get enough of it.  I want to learn everything, do everything, make everything.  It's probably sad and I shouldn't admit to it, but there it is.  So, I figured, why not participate in the Blogger's quilt festival.  I have a few quilts in progress right now, but nothing that's ready for this, so I had to go back to one that was already done, and why not make my inaugural addition to the quilt festival my very first quilt.  The quilt that started it all.

When I'm learning a new skill, I'm not smart enough to start easy with solid instructions, I just kind of go at it, with things that are probably WAY over my head (my mom can attest to this), and quilting was no exception.  I got an idea in my head, kind of had some instruction on appliquéing from Jenni, and went for it.  I found a picture I liked online and duplicated it.  I have no idea where that picture came from or where it is now, so I can't reference it.

This quilt was started about 4 months prior to my daughter (my oldest, now 7) being born, and promtply finished shortly after her 2nd birthday.  I really had no idea was I was getting myself into.  Everything is hand appliqued, with 3D wings, and then hand quilting in place.  It is so imperfect, and her poor face isn't done yet (still haven't decided exactly how to finish that), but I love every aspect of the quilt.  Every ounce of my creative energy went into it and figuring out how to piece it together and get it to work.  I would never do a quilt in this same way, but I learned to much from this first quilt.  Also, my daughter loves it, and really, that's all that matters.

How to pick a Watermelon

As summertime is upon us (we'll some of us, it might be snowing in Utah again this week), it seems the question on every ones mind is "How do I pick the perfect watermelon?".

Well, I might not have all the answers, but Jenni was told a tip a couple years ago that seems to work better than any others I've heard.  You want to find the watermelon with the smallest circle on the side opposite the stem.

This part.

When I cut into the watermelon, it was the perfect red inside and sweet and delicious.

One of my children ate 1/4 the watermelon all by himself.  I do not recommend allowing 4 year olds to do this for dinner however, it was way too close to bedtime (resulting in 4 bathroom trips later before 10pm).  But really, I can't blame him for eating so much.

If you try out this method, I'd love to hear if you have the same success with it I have.

Infant Carseat Canopy

With the approaching arrival of a new little one, my brain has been focused on baby.  I love the carseat canopies that have been so popular lately and wanted to make sure to have one with this baby.  My husband plays softball all summer so I needed something to help keep the sun, wind and dirt off my newborn and knew this would do the trick.  You can use cotton or flannel depending on what type of weather you are going to experience when you need it.  I used cotton since it is for a summer baby. 

Brag Moment

I have been MIA for awhile and I really do have a reason.  Every spare minute I have had has been used getting a quilt ready for this little one…

I am now done with the quilt top and can focus on other projects and getting ready for the arrival of our little boy in June!  Once he arrives, I will post a picture of the finished quilt (after being quilted and bound) and our little bundle modeling it!  I LOVE how the quilt top turned out and had to share!  I found this pattern at a Quilt Shop Hop a few years back and fell in love!  When I found out I was pregnant, I knew that if it was a boy I had to do this quilt.  It was intimidating at first but not too bad once I finally got started.  It was worth every second of work I put into it.  If you would like the pattern or to see what other fun quilts the designer has done, it is done by Chitter Chatter Designs.  And now for my bragging moment….my super cute quilt top!!!!!!

 

Marshmallow Eggs

Making marshmallow eggs for Easter has been a family tradition since I was a child and that was years ago. I remember making them with my mom and now I am making them with my grandkids. While in AZ last week we made them with Carrie and Kimie’s kids. It was lots of fun and the kids loved it.

WIP - Quilt

I'm currently turning this

into this

so I can resew it together into this.

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This fabric is so yummy. It's even better in person (if you can believe it).

I'm now entertained for the remainder of the week.

My take on the Cupcake Stand

We ended up with all my kids getting sick over the course of the last couple weeks, so I was stuck at home going nowhere for 10 days.  To prevent myself from going in sane, I had to come up with lots of little projects to work on.  This is one that's been on the list for a while, and it seemed to perfect time to get it done.

Japanese Cranes

 

Jenni posted a few days ago Osh Kosh is collecting origami cranes and will match each one made with an article of clothing for Japan kids. Their goal is 50000. I got mine made and want to challenge everyone to make a few. The info was posted by Jenni on Mar 30th. Go to that post for more info.

While you are on their website check out all the pictures others have sent in on the cranes they have made. It is very inspiring.

Silhouette Projects

 

I’ve been spending the cold wintery spring days playing with my Silhouette. It is so much fun. These are a couple of the things I’ve done. Others are still in process and I will show them later.

My downstairs family room is decorated in a woodsy look so my hubby’s deer fits along with my collection of bears. When I saw these pine trees I knew I had to come up with somewhere to use them. I love them.

This on is headed for AZ but I think I may remake one similar for my entry where it will be at home.

Beef and Broccoli and CSN Winner!

In my house, my husband likes steak (I know, most do) and my kids LOVE broccoli.  It's the one vegetable I can always get all 3 of them to eat, so the combination of both is usually a big hit for dinner.  I adapted (meaning changed out the broccoli for peppers) this recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook.  It's incredibly easy and made from normal ingredients, and if you don't want to make anything else, it works as a full well rounded meal.

CSN Stores Giveaway!

I'm sure most of you have heard about CSN stores.  They are all over blogland right now and it's easy to see why.  They have a great selection of anything you can think of. CSN Stores offers everything from pendant lighting to great cutlery and cute cookware!


Right now, I'm working on replacing a bunch of the lighting for my house, I want new fixtures for my dining and kitchen really bad and they have lots of great choices, the problem is narrowing it down to only one.  I'm also making a list of new cookware to replace all the hand me downs we've been using since we got married 8 years ago (I told you, I'm NOT the chef of the family).  They really have something for everyone.


CSN Stores is offering a $20 off code to one of our readers to be used towards any purchase!  If you'd like to win, simply make sure you're a follower and comment on this post.  We'll pick a random winner on Monday Apr 4th, and send you your code!

OshKosh Cranes for Kids

I received an email from OshKosh with a way that they are helping the children affected by the Tsunami in Japan and wanted to share this opportunity with everyone that may want to help.  This is a great idea that OshKosh has come up with and I love that you don’t have to live near an OshKosh store to help out.  View this website for all of the information http://www.carters.com/Cranes-For-Kids/cranes-for-kids,default,pg.html?id=oshkosh&cm_mmc=ETOshKosh-_-campaign-_-Crane+Japan+Reactive+2011+03+29-_-Shop+Learn+More&cm_em=jennishields05@gmail.com