shop update and a giveaway!

I finally got around to sewing up some more Buttercup Bags for my etsy shop.  These new bags are all the smaller size and in great colors for spring and summer!  I still have a few of the larger size left in the shop too.  I will also be adding and updating a few other things in the shop, as soon as I get another sunny day to take photos!

Now for the fun part, I am giving away this small Buttercup Bag to one lucky reader. 

 I realized as I was cutting out the pieces for this bag that the lining fabric has a small ink stain on it so I am unable to put it in my shop. Instead I decided to do a giveaway. 

Here is a shot of the inside pockets...

and here you can see the small stain on the lining.

All you have to do to win is leave a comment.  I will draw a winner Monday night at 8pm.
*I will ship anywhere in the United States, sorry to anyone overseas!*

Comments closed- winner will be announced 8am, Tuesday, March 6.

we did it...

After much deliberation we finally decided to paint the living room and hallways all white. 

I had thought about doing a pale turquoise (maybe something like Megan's living room) on the top half of the walls, but it turns out the husband isn't really a fan of turquoise or any blue-green shade.   Who knew?  I've been painting things different shades of turquoise all over the house for years and my sweet husband never said a word!

Anyway, the other option was some sort of neutral-taupe, maybe a shade lighter and a bit grayer than in the kitchen, but that seemed so drab and un- "me."  Don't get me wrong, I love how our kitchen turned out, but I don't want my whole house to be taupe.

In the end I decided to just try it,  I mean, it's only paint right? So we started last weekend with the hallways.  I am still not totally sure what I think...

I definitely think I need to get some more color up on those walls.  Possibly some bunting over the chalk board or some bright fabric in embroidery hoops beside it?

The other hall has no chair rail and is generally pretty dark.  It looks a bit brighter and much cleaner (after 6 1/2 years of little hands touching and drawing all over the walls it was in serious need of a paint job!  Of course painting it white probably isn't the wisest choice if we want it to remain looking clean, oh well!)  Hopefully we will be able to get a couple walls in the living room done this weekend.

celebrating

Yesterday was our anniversary.  We've been married 12 years and I am still crazy about my hubby!    

We had a pretty crazy week last week with sick kids (a sinus infection, pneumonia and a possible case of strep throat), multiple trips to the Dr., and many different antibiotics (finally, on the 3rd antibiotic, fever is gone and pneumonia is improving, praise the Lord!).  All that to say, going out on the town just was not an option last night, so instead we locked ourselves in our room and had a candle light picnic of Taco Bell and chocolate pie, played Skip Bo, and listened to Delilah After Dark on the radio. 

Honestly, I love the fact that we don't have to go out to have a good time, sometimes it is just as fun to stay home and eat fast food- as long as we are getting time together, just the two of us.  

Happy Anniversary, Babe!  

in the mail!

Look what was waiting on the porch for me yesterday afternoon!

My new snap press and more snaps than I could ever know what to do with. :)  I was so excited I forgot all about the milk I had just bought, unpacked the box, got it all set up and put it to work on the bib I made the other day.  Definitely better than the old Dritz pliers.  Now I am trying to find other things in need of snaps around here!

reversible apron

This is the little something I have been working on this week, a reversible apron!  I had an idea in my head of what I wanted, something similar to this apron.  But' I've already spent all my birthday money, so no Emmeline pattern for me :)  I went looking online and found this free pattern, which was not exactly what I wanted, but was a perfect starting point.  I dug through my stash and found the perfect fabric combo just waiting for the right idea and got to work.  I am definitely a "fly sew by the seat of your pants" type of girl, so I pretty much just figured things out as I went along.  There are a few things I would do differently if I were to make another, but all in all I think it turned out pretty cute for my first try!

today i am...

enjoying the warm sunshine pouring through my windows

stitching up some flowery goodness :)

looking forward to sitting down with my new books once the kids are in bed tonight

loving my daughter's creative juices at work in this small desk she made!

What are you up to this fine Wednesday?

birthday shopping

My birthday was last week.  I got a mix of birthday cash and gift cards, and after much deliberation decided to splurge in some crafting goodies I've been eying for awhile.  This 12" square, rotating cutting mat was my first purchase...

And I've already put it to good use cutting at least 100- 2" squares (sorted by Tallulah).

Today I stitched up this bitty patchwork bib (Sorry, the color is a bit funky in this picture, mostly due to my attempts to rescue a too dark pic.)  I backed it with terry cloth and am anxiously awaiting my next birthday purchase to finish it off with a pretty snap!

I also ordered a few craft books from Amazon- two of which are on their way right now and the other two I'll have to wait until their release date in April. 

All in all not a bad birthday for this sewing mama :)

fort kits

I finished up the fort kits over the weekend.  The first one was given on Saturday and was a hit (yay!) The next is for a party on Friday.  So here is the final product...

Supplies:
Two sheets with ties sew on the corners and in the middle of the long sides of the sheets.
clothes pins
clamps
rope

I made a small drawstring bag to store the rope, clamps and clothes pins...

and a larger bag to hold everything. 

This bag is also a drawstring bag, but I added straps to make it easier to carry.  I also make the bags plenty big so that the kids will have no problem just shoving the sheets and supplies back in the bag, because lets face it, you know they are not going to take the time to fold them all nicely like I did when its time to clean up :)

Next up?  Making one for my kids :)

handmade gifts for boys

The boys both have birthday parties to attend this week.  I have been putting off shopping for presents because I just hate going to the toy store and wandering the isles hoping that something will jump out at us that does not cost a fortune and that the child will like and that they do not already have.  My favorite gifts are handmade, but handmade birthday gifts for 9 year old boys are not the easiest to come up with.  Then I remembered my handmade gifts for kids board on Pinterest.  I knew there wasn't much in their and I was not too hopeful that there was anything "boy" in there and then I saw the pins for fort kits.  That was it!  I showed Micah the links and he liked the idea so we headed out to the thrift store and Dollar tree for the supplies.

I dug through my stash for some boy fabric to make the bags to store it all in and this afternoon I will get to work sewing on ties to the sheets and stitching up bags!

I'll post pictures when they are both done.

update!

STOP WHAT EVER YOU ARE DOING AND GO MAKE THESE N.O.W.!!! They are that good.
*I used semi sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

another random post

(A fun little stack of fabric that came in the mail last week.)

Seems we've finally made a turn for the better over hear.  Mo more aching ears, soar throats or wheezy coughs.  So in celebration we are heading to the store after P.E. to get the ingredients to make these and this.  Yum!  I love the guiltless pleasure of pregnant indulgence :)  Don't worry, I do plan to at least share the cheese cake with our friends on Friday night.

We got through school pretty quickly this morning and the kids are now sitting in the kitchen reading Matilda aloud to each other.  It is the first book of their newly formed book club :)

I laughed aloud last night when I read my hubby's Facebook post. Something about how at the dinner table Max (our 7 year old) started talking about William Seward as he mimicked stabbing himself in the face (with his hand, no weapons).  Only a homeschooler.

You know the game you play with a two year old where you point to an object and say "what's this?" encouraging their correct reply?  Well, Addie played that game with me this morning.  She held up a (clean) diaper to me, showing me the picture, and said "Mom, what dis?  I replied "Monkey" to which  she replied "wight, m m m monkey!" She says a lot of her words repeating the beginning sound, not like a stutter, but like she's already working on her phonics. :)

I can't wait to start stitching something fun with all that fabric up their!  But I still have that painting to work on (I ended up finishing the Gregor book and then watching NCIS LA and Parenthood instead of painting last night) and my March embroidery pattern to begin.  Plus I still have a few Christmas PJ's to finish up (hopefully before the kids grow out of them!)... I am sure I am forgetting another pressing project :)

Guess I should get off the computer and get busy!

is it tuesday already?

Seems like I go in spurts of too much to blog and then nothing... Not much to share today, but thought I would pop in anyway and share a bit of our uneventful Tuesday.

I have seen this painting around on the web and love it, but have no idea where it came from, so the other day I decided I would just have to paint my own version of it!  I sketched it out on a canvas the other day, but have not had time to start painting yet.  Maybe tonight once the kids are in bed.

Earlier Regan and I tried a new way to curl her hair, not sure about today's results, but it definitely has potential.

Right now I am trying to fix this hat that Regan was making, somehow she misunderstood my instructions on how to use the loom.  That pile of yarn on the floor is what I frogged earlier while Tallulah read to me.

The kids are watching Strawberry Shortcake and think I am going to sneak off to my room to read a bit more of this.  Micah and I are both reading the series right now.  It's the first time we have done this.  It's fun to be able to talk about what we've read, kinda like a book club.  I am definitely planning to pick a book or series to read with Regan next!

thursday breakfast

Thursday is our CC day, so we are up early and going all day long.  I am constantly looking for  breakfast options that will stick with the kids through the morning, but that don't take a lot of effort and time to make.  Well, a couple of weeks ago Meg blogged about finding this at Walmart and I knew I had to try it out.  So next time we were at The Mart we picked one up, and all the fixing for sausage and egg bagels, and guess what?  The kids loved it! This will definitely be our go to Thursday morning breakfast for the rest of CC.

i could stand in no longer

My little sewing corner had gotten out of control.  I did not take a before picture, but you can see it back there in the right corner (piled high with craft supplies and sewing projects) of this photo I took last week while I was moving my book shelf.

Last night I pulled everything off the desk and sorted and cleaned.  I put all my projects in bags and then into my new Project Box...

They are labeled and ready to by pulled out and worked on when ever I have a few moments to spare.

This was my fun thrift store find last week. 

I am quickly filling up all those drawers with notions and such.

And here is my little corner, all nice and clean- ready and waiting for me to come and sew something :)

Only problem?  I still have 3 boxes of goodies with no place to go!