late night craft prep

In order to make the fabric choosing process easier for Craft Night I am pre-cutting the the fabric into 2 inch squares.  So far I have made it through 3, gallon sized ziploc bags full of scraps- only 4 to go.  In the end I hope to have some where around 300-400 squares cut out... guess you know what I'll be doing for the next couple of days!

a random post with a room update and crafty business

My mom came to visit last week and brought a set of Ikea bunk beds for Regan and Tallulah- their room feels so much bigger now- you can actually see (some of) the floor!

After we got the beds together we realized that the under-the-bed drawers Regan had been using for her clothes were not going to fit under the bottom bunk (bummer). So, we stopped in the local Good Will to see if they had any dressers, and look what they had just put out on the floor!  $25 for this solid wood dresser that has lots of awesome details.  It needs to be stripped and repainted, but for now it will do as is.

On to the craftiness...I have been busy preparing for another craft night this weekend (we are making fabric covered button bracelets and I've 15-20 people coming!) and I am getting ready for 2 kids craft camps in August.  Here are the details on the craft camps for any locals who's kids might be interested:

Kids Craft Camp

Who and When:
There will be two camps from 9 a.m. to noon on the following days:

Camp 1—girls and boys ages 5­–9; Tuesdays, August 6, 13, 20, and 27

Camp 2—girls ages 10 and up; Thursdays, August 8, 15, 22, and 29*

What the kids will be making:
The younger kids (Camp 1) will do a variety of activities, including freeze paper stenciled T-shirts, softies, utility aprons, balloon bracelets, art canvases, and even some baking.

The older kids’ (Camp 2) activities will be more themed: On weeks 1 and 4, we will be making jewelry, accessories, and freeze paper stenciled T-shirts, and on weeks 2 and 3, we will be making décor items like a wood pennant bunting and felt flower mobile.

Cost: $100 for all 4 days ($25 for an individual class). All supplies and snacks are included, with the exception of week 4 when the kids will need to bring a blank T-shirt for decorating.

*For the younger group (Camp 1), I have an assortment of crafts that will be fun for both boys and girls, but for the older group (Camp 2), the activities will be mostly geared toward girls (sorry to any 10 and up boys out there who want to craft; if there is enough interest, I will consider doing some boy craft/sewing classes in the future!).

donuts!

We got a donut pan for Christmas and have tried out a handful of different baked donut recipes.  The other day I stumbled upon this recipe and had to try it.  Yum! Everyone loved them.  We will definitely be making these again- they were delicious!
(photo and recipe found here)

sister pile up

"take a picture of me, mom!"

This girl cracks me up :)

wednesday

My youngest girls are finishing up their hand embroidered T shirts this week in sewing class...

Midway through class I spotted this little turtle in the driveway- we of course had to take a break to go see him.

After class the girls built a Lego tower that touched the ceiling... I am almost skinny enough to hide behind it ;)

And while I made some business calls this afternoon Emmaline fell asleep in the highchair- so sweet!

more aprons

I finally listed those aprons in the shop!

look who's riding a bike now!

After dinner the other night Regan said "Come on Tallulah, lets go learn how to ride a bike!"  and when I came out of the house 30 minutes later this is what I saw!

Love that determined look on her face.

Congratulations, Lulu!  I'm so proud of you!

Adelaide is getting around pretty well on her tricycle these days too :)

saying goodbye... and hello

A few months ago I noticed my faithful sewing machine of 12 year beginning to struggle and last month, after months of procrastinating the much needed cleaning/maintenance, I finally took her to the sew and vac shop for a tune up.  Two days later she was ready for me to pick up and there was no mention of extra work- so I brought her home hoping she would work like new again... things didn't go as well as hoped and a few weeks late she was back in the shop and the prognosis wasn't good.  Turns out it was going to cost $200 (which, if I recall correctly, isn't too much less than I paid for her to begin with!) to repair the old girl.  So this week, I said goodbye to my very first sewing machine...

and hello to this pretty lady!  I've barely had time to get her out of the box yet, but I am so looking forward to sewing her.  She is much fancier than any machine I've used before and the whole family (well, me and the kids) have been oohing and aahing over all her many features and skills.

I think she needs a name.  I like "Lucy." Tallulah thinks we should name her "Zoe", because it rhymes with "sewy".  What do you think?