Scarves in a Row

So I guess I can't technically count this as part of my completed projects for the kids clothes week challenge (I finished the teal and pink scarf before this week and also started the grey one beforehand), but I did finally finish up the grey one this week.

So the set is complete, or at least until Amelia is big enough for her own!

It is nowhere near cold enough to even think of needing scarves yet, but the kids were eager to get their hands on them so we hand an impromptu photo shoot the other night before bed time. 

Eleanor in pink. 

Liam in grey. 

And Skyler in teal. (I know this isn't the most "masculine" of blues but he's still a boy and hasn't learned to mind like a certain hubby.)

Next up, hats to match! (And I'm sure my kids will kill me for how cheesy they'll look in those photos!)

A Warm, Well-Lighted Nook

Sometimes there's nothing better than a stack of (free) library books in a cozy corner at the end of a long day. Although a brownie in hand while reading those books would be even better.

Friday Favorites

1.  dollhouse drawers   2.  tin can cover  3.  chalkboard tablecloth  4. baby jean skirt tutorial

There are just too many great ideas in the blog world! At least I know I'll never be without a project--let's just hope I'll never be unable to make them!

Here are my favorites of the week: the dollhouse made out of drawers--there are so many things you could do with this--make a firehouse, a bookshelf dollhouse, cut out doors, add stairs--the possibilities are endless!

I'm loving the tin can cover tutorial over at Elsie Marley, particularly the cute embroidery to go with it; I may be adapting this for the clutter of pens/pencils, etc on our desk!

And I can't get over the chalkboard table cloth, also blogged over on Elsie Marley. She got hers over on Etsy and I might just have to get one for our table (or put it on our Christmas wish list *hint*hint*). It would be perfect as an activity table cloth for the kids, or just to make dinner time more fun, not that we need to add any more chaos to the dinner hour, but it's a cute idea!

And lastly, I'm loving the tutorial for this easy baby skirt by Homemade by Jill. Amelia really needs something cute and easy to add to her onesie-wardrobe!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Under the Weather

Please forgive me for the poor photo, but this is about the only making I accomplished yesterday. I was sick in bed most of the day but did manage to get up for a bit in the evening and made myself some chamomile tea. I was disappointed that I didn't get any sewing done for the kids clothes week challenge but sometimes life just happens! And sometimes we really do just need some rest. What's your favorite way to rest and relax (sick or not)? I'm feeling much better today and hope to get in at least a little sewing this evening--and probably another cup of tea, too!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ready to Jump

Yesterday I managed to finish the pockets...

and sew on the buttons and buttonholes...

and today it's all hemmed up...

and ready for play!

Okay, so it's really not all as easy as that--I did most of my sewing during naps and while my husband was off yesterday, and I hardly got anything done last night because Amelia would not let me lay her down (even in the swing!). This is only my second time sewing pockets, and I'd never sewn a buttonhole in my life! The dress is a little bit on the short side (I forgot to add the hem allowance) but it'll be great with some leggings when it gets cool out.

And I'm not a hundred percent sure about the pocket ruffles, but I wanted to add something so the jumper wouldn't be too plain. Over all, I really like it and Eleanor really loves it, too--and that's what matters most. 

Now, to just finish up those two other jumpers...

Let the Sewing Frenzy Begin!

The Kid's Clothes Week Challenge has officially begun! Here's a sneak peak at what I started last night:

I'm working on some girls jumpers following Ikat Bag's winter jumper pattern and tutorial. I found this cute corduroy print at JoAnn's that's just perfect for fall--the hardest part was picking out buttons to match (I never knew picking buttons could be so time consuming!).  So the pieces for my first jumper are cut and I'm getting ready to sew them today. Hopefully I'll have another update for you tomorrow!

Friday Favorites Is Back!

1.  storybook-inspired kid's clothes   2.  portable tea party  3.  little guy ties  4. 45-minute bread

Or at least for now it is. I love my Google Reader, and I've still been bookmarking projects like crazy--and I love being able to share some of my favorite finds with you! 

Dana from Made has an adorable post on some clothes she made for her kids inspired by the Robert Lopshire's Put Me in the Zoo. It's not a tutorial on sewing or anything, but she has some adorable pictures to go with it--I'm definitely inspired to take a closer look at my favorite children's books!

And of course I had to include another project from Prudent Baby. For all of you with little girls who love tea parties, check out this tutorial on sewing up a bag to store it all in--what makes it so great is that it turns into a tablecloth and it shows you how to make napkins and placemats, too!

My poor boys are often neglected when it comes to my sewing projects. Skyler, my oldest, loves wearing ties and I can't wait to try my hand at this tutorial from Living with Punks and sew him up a bunch for Christmas--now are there any tutorials on how to tie a tie??

Lastly, I am a huge fan of homemade bread, but have been too daunted by the task. I'm excited to try out the recipe/tutorial over at Snickerdoodle (my favorite cookie!)--she gives us the low-down on prepping dough for 8 loaves ahead of time and simple tips on baking a loaf a day. I'll let you know how it turns out (when I eventually getting around to baking some!).

Hope you all had a great week and I'll be posting more quilt pictures soon!

Kid's Clothes Week Challenge

 I may be crazy for saying this, but I'm going to give Elsie Marley's Kid's Clothes Week Challenge a go.  The challenge is to work one hour each day on making clothes for your kiddos during the week of September 20-26. I'm usually able to find at least an hour a day to work on sewing/crafting projects, so I think that part will be doable. Whether or not I will succeed in finishing anything is another story. 

I don't have a ton of experience sewing clothes, but I have a couple simple girls dresses in mind that I think will be manageable enough. I even went to pick out the fabric today--so now I have to make them anyway! I'll keep you updated on my progress next week--wish me luck!

The Offending Frayer

After trying out a handful of infant carriers over the course of the first three kiddos, I've finally found one that I like (for the most part). I debated between the Ergo carrier and the Zolowear sling for a while before deciding on the sling. Amelia goes right to sleep when I put her in it and makes taking her out and about a breeze. And I love the zippered pocket, big enough to carry my keys, phone, and wallet when I'm picking Skyler up from school. 

The only thing is that my fidgety fingers decided to play with the serging the first time I wore it and the little stinker rebelled and began to fray:

It started off about half an inch long, but has slowly expanded and I finally decided it was time to bring it to a stop. 

I'm sure there were a number of ways I could have fixed it up, but I decided the quickest thing to do was to tuck the stray serging under and create a little hem. It's not the prettiest repair job, but it's mended and it took me all of five minutes.  Hopefully this will not turn into a repeat offender!

Today in the Making: Scout Shirt Before and After

Can you spot the difference?

Sometimes the things we're able to accomplish in a day (especially as a stay-at-home mom) are barely noticeable, but no matter how small they may be I can rest assured that I finished something today!

Today in the Making: Shirt Squares

Today I turned this:

Into this:

In the hopes of finishing this

in the not-too-far future.

In the Making

Today I crocheted a row or two of the ribbed scarf I'm making for Liam. I've already finished one each for Eleanor and Skyler and hope to make them all matching hats. But for today, this is the little bit I made. And a handful of littles makes a lot.

How much is that kitty in the window?

We picked Skyler up a bit early from school today and we spotted this kitty in a storefront window on the way back to the car. Sweet Skyler was worried that someone had accidently locked him inside. We don't have any pets of our own, but they absolutely love animals--I was glad to capture all three of them watching the cat so intently!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Birthday Girl and Keeping Life Simple

Our little girl turned two last weekend and we celebrated with a party! Eleanor was very specific in requesting a pinata for the festivities (and cake and presents). I spotted this adorable number two at the grocery store (thanks for picking it up for us Gran and Papa!) and just had to get a picture of her with it. She's wearing a larger size of the dress I made for Amelia (which I had to bribe her with a piece of candy to wear) and her brother's crocs which she has commandeered--she's definitely a tomboy, through and through!

After spending an entire morning icing Skyler's cake last month, I decided to keep it simple with this strawberry cream cake from Martha Stewart. (I also love her recipe for key-lime pie!) I baked the cake the night before and got to try my hand at homemade whipped cream--it was yummy!

Despite her anticipation of her big day,  Eleanor was a bit of a reluctant participant at the party. It took her a while before she decided she wanted to hit the pinata, and she didn't want to start opening her presents until her three-year-old brother made a show of opening them for her. I think she may be like her daddy, not quite comfortable with so much attention directed at her. 

Gift-opening is always a frenzy, but I was happy to see her take a minute to look more closely at the gift I made her. I found a tutorial for a fabric photo memory game in Alicia Paulson's Stitched in Time, and I was very happy with the results!  It took me forever to pick out and edit all the photos, but printing them and sewing them together was really easy. I used some of the scraps from my henny penny for the backing, and made a little drawstring bag to keep them in.

She hasn't played with my gift too much yet, but she's loving her new baby doll from Grandma and Grandpa. She's been such a little mommy since Amelia arrived, we thought it was due time for her to have her own baby to take care of. I really hope to make it a tradition to give our children handmade gifts though; if anything, it's something I hope they'll appreciate more later.

My "making" time has greatly decreased lately, however. It can be frustrating having to drop things in the middle of a project (or eating or sleeping) more often, but I just keep reminding myself that this won't last forever and that I really should soak up each and every moment (except when the kids are all screaming of course!). 

I've been a mother of four for a month already and I'm feeling pretty comfortable with it. Of course there's still the wacky hormones (and hence moods) to deal with, but I can recognize them for what they are much more readily this go around. And although I may be jumping the gun in saying this, adding a fourth baby into the mix hasn't been much crazier than three. 

So, while this mama is a little more needed for the time being, I'm learning to be content with letting go and simplifying things a little. Which means focusing a little less on me and more on the baby and spending what time I can with the other little ones and my wonderful hubby. There are times in each of our lives that we have to just let go and be instead of trying to cram too much into our days. I hope that I can remember my own words and enjoy this stage during my journey in mamahood.

So, after simplifying things as much as a mother can with a party to throw, we had a wonderful time celebrating Eleanor's birthday and visiting with family and friends over the long weekend--I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day weekend, and are keeping life simple, too!

Birthday Boy and Back-to-School

Skyler's 7th birthday was just two weeks after Amelia's, and although we weren't planning on throwing a party, we ended up having one anyway (our plans to take a friend to Sea World didn't pan out). Once the decision was made, my goal was to stress as little as possible and I think it turned out pretty well. 

We made homemade decorations including newspaper chains and birthday card bunting (pictured above). I've always saved the kids' birthday cards and I was glad to finally find a use for them! I just strung up some yarn and clipped them on with clothes pins. 

Instead of a pinata this time, I opted for some simple party games. The kids are playing Animal Twister above; I found it tucked inside a vintage Twister game that I paid a dollar for while garage sale-ing with my friend Jessica over the summer. The animal version is definitely cute and probably easier for younger kids.

We also played a memory game, another simple game that I didn't have to go out and get anything extra for. I found 20 items I was pretty sure the kids would recognize and they got to look at the tray and ask questions for a minute before I covered it back up. Most of the kids had a little trouble remembering (plus we had to write for those who couldn't), so I think that one may be better for kids 8 and up or so.

Chris put together a balloon-target game outside for our third party game. We had the kids draw a target with chalk and then see who could let their balloon go and get the closest to the bull's-eye. Yeah, I'm not sure if there was a winner on that one. 

And we did have little dollar-aisle prizes for the games, which was probably a mistake (a certain birthday boy's feelings were hurt) even though everyone got to pick one out in the end. I also had some simple goody bags that included some recycled party candy (shhh!).

Chris grilled hot dogs and sausages (the Polish wedding sausage was really good) since the party fell over dinner time, and I was adventurous enough to make the cake myself (only the icing was from scratch though and I baked it the night before). Skyler wanted a Sea World-themed cake with half chocolate half vanilla, so I had my work cut out for me. I'm no pro cake-maker, so I covered up my not-so-pretty icing job with gummy sharks, worms, and some goldfish crackers. I think my grandparents weren't keen on the toppings, but it was a hit with the kids! Here's Skyler blowing out his candles:

Even if it wasn't the prettiest, it was definitely the yummiest!

And lastly, there were presents (the best part about birthdays, right?). My favorite, of course, was the R2D2 messenger bag I sewed and freezer stenciled for him. I found a great tutorial for making the bag here, with adjustments to make it a bit bigger found here. There's also a great, simple freezer stencil tutorial here. The bag was of course upstaged by the boxed set of original Star Wars movies tucked inside, but I know he really loves his new bag (apparently his best friend has a bag that "goes over your head" and it's really cool). It's good to know that my kids appreciate the gifts I make them, and sometimes even look cool :) 

Here's the birthday boy with his new bag (and his new Goodbyn lunch box which is super-awesome!) on the first day back to school.