Just Five Minutes More!

Ventures to Vashon

2012-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Oh, how our little family loves Vashon Island! A spare Saturday not overtaken by plans becomes magical when we venture there. Just a few blocks down from our house is the Fauntleroy ferry-- we drive on, take a 15 minute ferry ride, and then we are exploring beaches and walking in the town and driving down new-to-us roads. No matter where we decide to go on the island, we always make a stop at the lighthouse. The kids adore that beach, where they never fail to find beautiful shells and forts made of driftwood. I love living in the city, but sometimes as we drive up and down the hills of countryside, I envy the cozy homes in the mist-- the yards full of green grass and chickens, and the peaceful quiet interrupted only by the sounds of waves and seagulls.

Be My Valentine

2012-02-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

This year I was inspired to help the kids create homemade valentines for their classmates. The ideas on Pinterest were too cute to resist, and at least they stood out in the sea of icarly and pokemon valentines. Mason was not allowed to bring candy in his class (they made valentine smoothies to emphasize health and wellness :) ) so we just made a simple card for him to give out.

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love and coziness and goodies and fun!!

Valentine Garland

2012-01-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well, after several weeks of withdrawals, I caved to the cravings of the drug known as Pinterest and now I'm totally hooked again. Since Christmas is over, it is time to peruse Pinterest and glean ideas for the next holiday.... Valentine's Day! Since most of the winter days in Seattle are rather dreary, I like to have lights up after Christmas is over, so I hang up red and pink lights and some valentine garland, and voila! Valentine's Day decorations! I saw an idea on Pinterest for a very cute heart garland that I thought I'd try using just felt, embellishments, and thread. I had to try it.

First, cut two rectangles of felt-- I chose red for my hearts.

I cut mine with pinking shears since I think it adds a little pizazz. :)

Then, sew the two rectangles together down one of the long sides.

That seam will be the top indentation of your heart. Fold the unsewn sides back over the seam and sew.

Can you tell that we have a chihuahua? Besides the hair on the heart, the chewed up pencil might be a clue also! ;)

Now you will have a heart tube that looks like this:

Cut your heart tube into strips. Again, I used pinking shears for the zig zag edge.

And the last step... use a needle and thread to string your hearts. Feel free to add embellishments like pom-poms and bows.

Ta-da! A heart garland to hang for Valentine's Day.

Happy New Year...Only A Few Weeks Late!

2012-01-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! No good excuses for not blogging, especially since we just had nearly a week off because of snow. Usually I would quickly become stir crazy and ready to leave the house, but this break was welcomed. It was so cozy and happy-- the kids and I snuggled and watched movies and sewed! Harper and I made pajamas for her American Girl, Rebecca-- I did it without a pattern, though-- just cut and sewed. So they are far from perfect! Harper doesn't seem to notice, though. :)

A few weeks back, I embroidered this for the girls' room...

I love little, simple embroidery patterns that I can leave in the hoop to hang and display. This is now hanging above the light switch in their room.

I wanted to make something for Mason, too, but its hard to find patterns that aren't "girly." So I decided to stitch one of our favorite sayings for him... everytime I tell him that I love him, he says that he loves me more. Then I say that it's not possible, and he says he's the first kid ever who has loved his mom more than she loves her child. He's so sweet. When I stitched this for him, I told him that since it's forever embroidered, it's final-- I really do love him more. :) Now this will go in his room above his light switch.

A Vintage Thrify Christmas

2011-12-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

New Christmas decorations are nice, I guess, but I much prefer old ones. Especially from the 1950's, and the 1960's too. Atomic decorations, kitchy decorations... I just love them. And so Goodwill and Value Village fueled my need to add to my decoration collection this year. Here is a sampling of what I found:

pretty little angel ornament

homemade snowflakes

love this old santa

did your grandma have one of these?

my kids call this "creepy santa"

angel in my kitchen

pretty christmas mug...

and it has my name on it!!

my grandma had this set and used it at christmas

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the emergence of Pinterest in this past year, I have become a bit obsessed with crafts. Especially Christmas crafts. I think it was sometime in July that I started a board for holidays, and it is filled with crafts for Christmas. I used to think of crafts as things like those wooden bead necklaces that your elementary school teachers wore, but I've come to realize that crafts can be modern, bright, and much more inexpensive than buying something at the designer stores.

I have always liked ornament wreaths-- so bright and shiny and pretty. I saw one a few weeks back at Target for about $25, but I knew that I could make one for less than that. I had a foam wreath form from a rummage sale waiting to be used, so I gathered all of my unused ornaments and my glue gun. I also found a little wooden sign at the dollar store that I added to the top. I began by gluing on the largest ornaments and I just kept adding the smaller ones around and on top of the bigger ones until it looked complete.

There are still some areas of foam wreath peeking through, but I'll just head back to the dollar store and pick up a few extra ornaments.

I also had foam trees from the same rummage sale, so I decided to make ribbon trees. Michaels had lots of wired ribbon on sale on Black Friday, so each tree cost about $2.50 to make-- 50 cents for each tree form and about $2 of ribbon on each tree. I simply cut pieces of ribbon in approximately 5 inch lengths, and then I folded them in half and glued them around the tree from bottom to top.

These crafts were lots of fun and took the span of a Christmas movie to complete. Plus, the kids (well, Harper anyway) loved helping. Harper cut the ribbon for the trees while I glued it on.

Now, back to Pinterest for more craft inspiration!

Christmas Tree Quest 2011

2011-12-06T12:02:00.000-08:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went on our annual Christmas tree quest. We go to Tiger Mountain in Issaquah to a particular farm, but when we arrived, they had a big sign on the barn that said....
"NOBLE FIRS--SOLD OUT"
Not sure how you can be sold out 2 days after Thanksgiving, but oh well... there were plenty of other farms that we could check out in the area.
We happened upon a farm way off the beaten path-- while attempting to follow the signs to it we thought we were lost, but nope-- it was just way out in the boonies. The farm was called "Crystal Creek", and wow, was it pretty! They had Christmas music playing over loud speakers and fields of beautiful Noble Firs.

We started looking in one field, then went to the middle field, then to the right field, and then all the way back to where we started again.

There were little trees, huge trees, and trees with a peek-a-boo space in the middle...

In some areas, the trees were so close together, you could barely walk between them...

Finally, we found the one--

Everyone had to take a turn sawing it down!

While Daddy put the tree on the van roof, we played with the nice farm dogs and rode on an old train car thingy that the owner of the farm had restored.

The owner of the farm, the nice gentleman pictured above in the engineer's cap, gave the kids rides. He said that if we come back next year, he will have his trolley up and running, and will give us a ride on that too.

Turkey Shirt

2011-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

I made the girls these adorable appliqued turkey shirts that I saw on The Cottage Mama's blog.... Georgia is pictured in hers below, sans sissy, because Harper's wasn't quite done yet! I added ric rac legs and embroidered her name at the top. The girls can't wait to wear them on Thanksgiving!

Thankful

2011-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. I will admit that it's easy to get caught up in the upcoming Christmas season and look past Thanksgiving, but oh how important it is not to! I love turkey and football and family and Black Friday, but more than all of those things, I love a whole day to say thank you. I try to thank God for my life every day throughout the year, but a whole day to thank Him is just cool. This year, I saw a craft on Pinterest that I knew I had to make with the kids... a thankful turkey! His body and head are made from balls of yarn, and his feathers state what we are grateful for.

I also made these leaf coasters out of felt and hand stitched them with embroidery floss-- quick, easy, fun!

I am so thankful for sweet friends from church-- one sweet friend named Beth Rice made these adorable skirts for the girls and surprised us with them Saturday when she stopped by our house. They flare out so perfectly when the girls twirl, and I just love the tulle underskirt!

Our elf on the shelf came out a bit early this year, and guess what that naughty little elf did? He ate all of the kids' leftover Halloween candy! This is how we found him when we came downstairs one morning...

He was sitting in the midst of a bunch of candy wrappers with that smug little grin on his face. I can't say that I minded him eating what was left-- I was getting tired of the kids asking for it and decaying their teeth more and more! And the kids didn't mind in the least-- they thought it was hilarious, and they all thought that naughty elf must have an awfully big tummy ache.

I have one more Pinterest Thanksgiving craft that I am working on... stay tuned!

A Wee Bit Late

2011-11-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

How did October get away from me? How is it that Thanksgiving is just over a week away? I guess when you keep busy, time does fly. October was quite the celebration month for the Kenee family. I turned the big 3-5, which is a little weird to me. I remember my grandma telling me when she was in her 70's that though her body kept aging, in her mind, she still felt like a young girl. I know what she means now. 35 always sounded so old to me, and in my head, it doesn't feel like I'm getting old yet! Mid-October our church celebrated 100 years, and we had a very fun celebration weekend-- bowling and a banquet, and all 3 kids sang in the celebration choir. Toward the end of the month, we celebrated Mason's 9th birthday at the park, and by some miracle, we had a rain-free Saturday in the month of October in Seattle! Of course, the kids had a blast on the last night of the month, trick or treating around the neighborhood as 2 little witches and an angry bird. A very fun fall month was had by all, and now we are getting into the holiday spirit with Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts, which should be good reason to do a better job keeping up on this blog!

3 kids ready to sing at the celebration banquet

Proud of her banquet outfit

Kind of a date night, I guess!

9 years went by so quickly!

Witch #1

Witch #2

Who is that angry bird?

It's Mason, of course!

Mushroom Magic

2011-10-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I found this adorable vintage mushroom-print fabric, and I so badly wanted to make it into a dress for Georgia. I finally found the perfect vintage pattern, cut out the pieces, and began to sew. Something happened-- something terrible. I'm not even sure what it was. All I know is that the dress looked awful-- wonky, crooked, and ragged. Maybe the pattern was too hard, maybe I sewed it after drinking a couple of glasses of wine... I don't know. I did figure out a way to salvage some of that adorable print, though-- I appliqued it on to a red shirt, and now Georgia has a mushroom shirt that she loves to wear. Who knows, maybe it will get more use than a dress would anyway.

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

What a lovely, cool, fun, fabulous fall Saturday we had!

After breakfast, we headed to a pumpkin farm in Carnation, which is just past Redmond, Washington. It would have only taken us about 40 minutes to get there, but due to conversation and sight seeing and a stop at Starbucks after we missed the turn, it took us about an hour and a half. :) Gareth and I decided on this particular farm because we are tired of the commericalizing and overpriced activities of the majority of the pumpkin patches around here. Corn mazes: 8 bucks a person; hayrides: 3 bucks a person; kids' fall-themed play area and petting zoo: 3 bucks a kid-- it gets to be a bit ridiculous, and a family of 5 could easily spend 100 bucks for a day at the patch. Jubilee Farm was so delightfully different from that type of farm... the only time the farm is open to the public is in October. Otherwise it is a co-op farm that grows all kinds of organic fruits and veggies. The owners, a husband and wife, gave FREE horse-drawn hayrides to the pumpkin area, and they had a FREE hay maze set up in a barn for the kids. They had pigs and chickens and horses to look at, and all kinds of old farm equipment. In fact, the only things we spent money on were the pumpkins we purchased! The patch didn't just have your run-of-the-mill sugar pumpkins, but gorgeous deep red Cinderella pumpkins, and all kind of squash and gourds too. We will be heading back next year for sure!!

Arriving at the farm...

Such pretty colors!

On the tractor-pulled hayride

A bit windy and cool!

Mommy and Georgia

Gareth gazing at the fields of pumpkins

Love this color!

Our favorite was somewhere over there, Dad...

Pretty Harper

Pretty Georgia

Lonely

Actually, I think our favorite was this way...

The horse-drawn hayride brought us back from the fields

In the hay maze

Whoops! Bonked heads in the hay maze!

Handsome Mason

Sweet!

Fall Fair... Fun!

2011-09-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Gareth and I skipped out on work, and as Harper said, the kids got to "ditch school", and we went to the Puyallup Fair! I love the fair-- it's huge, there are so many fun rides, and it makes me feel like a kid again. Lots of people complain about it being too expensive, but if you put some effort into planning, it's really pretty affordable. The kids got free admission tickets from school and Gareth and I used a groupon for our admission. We also got dizzy passes, which allow you to ride as many rides as many times as you want. We brought in our own snacks and drinks and purchased one snack during the day, and the snack we chose was delish-- a hot buttered scone with rasberry jam, and it was only a buck twenty five. A fabulous time was had by all-- well, except for when the bees stung Mason on his neck, and Georgia's reaction after the tilt a whirl: "I felt like I was about to fwow (throw) up, and my bwain (brain) was jiggling around in my head."

Fall Hair Bows

2011-09-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

Any excuse is a good excuse for making hair bows. Harper, at the age of 7, is already picky about what goes in her hair, so I figure I might as well take advantage of Georgia not yet caring and make as many cute hairbows as possible! I found some very cute fall themed ribbon in the dollar section of Target, so I went to town adding pom-poms, sequins, and buttons. See the cute results below!

Fall Fever

2011-09-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Despite the record highs of 90 degrees that will hit this weekend, I have fall fever. The kids have started school and the calendar reads September 9th, which are triggers for my brain to "think fall." Yesterday I figured that perhaps if I put out fall decorations, the weather will cooperate. For all of you non-Seattleites, you may think a couple of days of 90 degrees out of a whole summer is nothing to complain about, but let me remind you that no one in Seattle has air conditioning! OK, the grocery stores and Target do, but my home and place of employment do not! And so, I am willing to try anything to encourage fall to come.

Like hanging a fall wreath on the door...

Wrapping orange lights and pumpkins around my curtain rods...

Hanging sparkly leaves all over my bathroom...

Sticking pumpkin window clings in my kitchen...

Setting mums and scarecrows on the porch...

And making fun decor out of candy corn and pillar candles...

Come, Fall! Come this way! Come bright colored leaves and jack o' lanterns and honeycrisp apples and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" I am so ready for you. :)

I'm Back!

2011-09-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm just going to be honest. I haven't felt like crafting or sewing or making things the last few weeks. Why? Because summer finally arrived in Seattle. We've been patiently awaiting it's arrival, and now that a new school year is starting, it's here. :) It is finally above 80 degrees and the sun is shining. So for the last few weeks, the last thing I've wanted to do (besides clean and cook) is sit in my dining room and sew. Not that I haven't had ideas of things I want to sew, but I've been at the beach, at the park, walking in the neighborhood... even just hanging out in the backyard. When I attempt to go inside to start a load of laundry or load up the dishwasher, this is what seems to happen....

Little Georgia fell off the retaining wall and had to get 5 stitches.

Mason got stung on the foot by a bee.

So really, I just needed to stay outside with my kids and enjoy the sunshine! :)

And now, despite our high of 80 degrees today, September is here, and fall is coming! Gareth and I celebrated 11 years of marriage...

and the kids started school today.

Mason started 3rd grade.

Harper started 2nd grade.

Georgia started Pre-K.

Soon, the 80 degree heat wave of Seattle will pass and 60 degrees and rain will return, but I can't say that I mind. I'm ready for hot apple cider and pumpkins on the porch and snuggling on the couch and knitting scarves. I'm ready to stay indoors and knit and sew and craft without feeling guilty for not soaking up every second of sunshine with my kids while I can. I'm ready to be blogging my far from perfect creations again... so blogger, here I come!

Fun Weekend Projects

2011-08-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a busy one, but I had time to squeeze in a few fun projects. A relative shared the first idea with me... cutting open glow sticks and splattering them into glass vases to make a fun patio table light.

The kids thought it was super cool. May have overdone the amount of glowstick goo a bit, but oh well!

I wanted to complete a little project for Mason as he seems to frequently get the short end of the stick project-wise. He loves Harry Potter, and I have seen several artists on Etsy and other places making these little wooden peg dolls. Of course, I would never sell mine since I borrowed the idea (that's the reason I like to tell myself, never mind the squiggly lines and such!)

The creepy looking one is Voldemort, if you can't tell. :) They may not be perfect, but Mason loves them!

I finally finished up a project for me that I've been working on for a while. I found this retro Levi's fabric purse/hobo bag at the Goodwill outlet. I thought it would be perfect to do a bit of embroidery on. The book I used for the patterns is "Embroidery for Little Miss Crafty" by Helen Dardik.

Now, its time for my favorite part of completing weekend projects.... deciding which projects to work on next weekend! :)

For the Birds

2011-08-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

I love birds. I envy their ability to fly away upon a whim. I love how fluffy they look and how fragile they are. I love waking up to their songs in the morning.

I love birds so much that last week I got bird tattoos on my wrists to symbolize my happy little family. <3

Last Friday-- a cheerful, sunny Friday--I happened upon a "vintage linen" sale at an old house here in West Seattle. 4 older ladies gathered their things together to sell, and while eager scavengers scoured their goods, they sat on the covered porch of the home and drank raspberry lemonade. I found little bird trinkets that I made into jewelry.

To top off my bird week, I spotted a bird embroidery project in Jenny Hart's AWESOME book, "Embroidered Effects." I had the perfect jeans for this project-- old, soft, and faded. It was fun to stitch them and it is fun to wear them.

A Georgia Shirt for My Georgia Girl

2011-08-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I'm totally obsessed with Pinterest, a website where people "pin" their favorite things.... quotes, outfits, projects, recipes.... on to their own personal "bulletin boards." It's very addicting and very interesting to look at. Anyway, I've noticed lots of map projects like framed maps of where people met and fell in love and map puzzles and placemats. That gave me the idea, since my youngest daughter is named after a state, to make her a state of Georgia shirt. How cute for her to have a shirt displaying where her family is from as well as her name! I just printed out a Georgia state map from Google images and traced it on to a piece of white felt. After cutting out the outline of the state, I embroidered "Georgia" onto the felt followed by a cut out heart. Then, for the last step, I hand sewed the state to a black t-shirt. Georgia is so proud of her new name/state shirt!

Hello Kitty Halter Top

2011-07-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

Harper is OB-SESSED with Hello Kitty. Maybe because they have the same initials? Who knows. When we saw this fabric on sale at Joann's, we picked up a yard and knew that something cute had to come of it. What it became: an easy-peasy halter top. Here is how I made it:

Cut out a basic rectangle with shaping for arms.

Cut out a smaller rectangle for the back.

Sew bias tape along top edge of front rectangle, and up sides of arms to tie around neck.

Make casing for elastic for the back of top, feed elastic through, and sew to anchor elastic.

Sew back to front at sides, right sides together.

Sew cute jumbo ric-rac along bottom hem. Then put on and model! :)

Simple Sunday and a Simple Skirt

2011-07-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hooray for lovely, simple weekends around the neighborhood...

We had blue skies, finally, and 80 degrees. Aaaaaah, perfect! Saturday was great fun as it was my dad's birthday. We celebrated by having them over and heading down the road to the West Seattle Grand Parade. I heart neighborhood parades.

The pirates are a favorite with the kids. They blast a very loud cannon, however, that makes us jump out of our skins!

Sunday was a lovely, simple day too-- we went to church, and we went to a beach not far from our home. We first attempted to go to Alki Beach in West Seattle, but couldn't find parking. After searching far and wide on all of the surrounding streets for almost a half hour, we gave up and headed back towards home. That's when we remembered Jack Block Park-- an amazing, little-known park just down from Alki. So that was our new destination.

The city view from Jack Block Park.

Such clear water!

Notice the shoes... really? On a rocky beach, Harper?

Chill-axing.

Some friendly visitors.

After heading home, I felt like sewing something in my sunny, breezy ~~dining room~~ make-shift sewing room. I found a tutorial on Simple Simon & Co, and it seemed to fit the theme our simple and sunny weekend: Starboard Skirt Tutorial. It is meant for little girls, I quickly discovered, but I decided to make it for myself. I had some heavier vintage home decor fabric that I used, and I did not alter the formula given in the tutorial. I highly recommend this tutorial for beginners-- it was such a pleasure to make something in an hour and enjoy myself the entire time! No frustration here! The one thing I need to do-- that I realized after looking at these photos-- is that I need to press the inverted pleats so that they travel all the way down to the bottom hem of the skirt. Other than that, I love how it turned out, and I can't wait to make more-- perhaps I will make one for the girls next time. :)

Thrifty Thursday

2011-07-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

This day of the week in particular seems conducive to displaying my recent thrift-store (or plain old thrifty) purchases, since it's Thursday and my alliteration-loving self can call this post "Thrifty Thursday!"

I really scored this week at the Goodwill Outlet. My ABSOLUTE favorite purchase for all of 99 cents were these..... Vintage, leather, perfectly worn, ACME western boots!!

I haven't been able to find this type of boot on ebay for less than 30 bucks. Score!

I also found this adorable vintage recipe box...

And this Little Golden book entitled "Daddies." So cute!

I also found a great deal this week at Target... all of their summer stuff is on super-duper clearance. You know, because its already July and the weather here in Seattle has been so hot for so long... :0!

I got these neat-o water bottles for the kids-- nice to have a lid and straw for mom (mess-wise) and kids (fun-wise). They were 50 cents each.

I also found this summer-themed Glad Press and Seal for $1.00, because really, do our leftovers care if they have summer-themed saran wrap on them as fall approaches? I think not.

Be sure to check out your local Target for other awesome deals to liven up these remaining weeks of summer-- beach towels, slip n slides, flip flops-- basically, tons of stuff, was half price.

Mug Rugs and a Bearded Dragon

2011-07-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

Harper has had a blast at Magic Treehouse Camp this week. For those of you with kids, I'm sure you've heard of the fabulous "Magic Treehouse" series, where a brother and sister travel to different countries and time periods via a magic treehouse in their backyard. Both Mason and Harper love the series. Harper's first grade teacher from this past year, Ms. Schwendeman, and her talented daughter, Rachel, decided to do a few week-long camps this summer, one of which was this Magic Treehouse camp. Harper was a thrilled participant and has learned about Italy, the Phillipines, and other locales. As a small token of our appreciation of Ms. Schwendeman and Ms. Rachel, I decided to attempt to make these mug rugs that I found over at Wild Olive. I know for a fact that Ms. Schwendeman loves tea, and I'm hoping that Ms. Rachel does, too!

Please visit the Wild Olive blog for the tutorial... here are a few photos of what I came up with.

All cut out and ready to assemble.

Ms. Schwendeman's mug rug

Ms. Rachel's mug rug

Back of the mug rug

In other news, Mason-- my sweet, handsome little Mason whom you rarely see because little girl patterns and ideas are so much more plentiful-- saved up his allowance and gift money to purchase his very own pet. He is the new owner of a cute little bearded dragon named Sylvia.

Sylvia is 7 months old and very friendly. Her previous owner was a little boy Mason's age, so she already seems quite comfortable with Mason. Mason decided to read her a book last night (How To Train Your Dragon, naturally!) and I could swear that the little thing was really into the story. She paid rapt attention the entire time.

Pillowcase Dress

2011-07-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

When Joann's had their 99 cent sale on fat quarters, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to make a pillowcase dress for the girls. I've been wanting to make one ever since I started sewing 6 months ago. I think they look adorable, and I like the fact that due to their billowy nature, both of my different-sized girls can share them.

For the color scheme, I decided to use black, white, and red. The girls have tons of girly pastel clothes, so I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit. For the pattern, I was inspired by The Cottage Mama's pillowcase dress.

It only took this novice sewer about an hour and a half to make this dress-- and that includes cutting time. Not bad! Harper couldn't wait to model it for me. I can't wait to find more fat quarters to make another one... maybe its time for a trip to the West Seattle Fabric Company!

Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer....

2011-07-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

I sure hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July holiday! We had a H-O-T holiday visiting family just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. The weather on the day of our arrival? Sunny with a high of 101 degrees, and 90 percent humidity. Wow! Quite a change from our Seattle summer weather of partly cloudy and 70.

This trip was the first time that all 3 of our kids hung out with all 3 of their cousins. They hit it off and had a great time playing together. Our days were filled with summer fun.

Water balloon fights.

(Well, maybe this activity wasn't Georgia's favorite.)

Picking wildflowers.

Arm-wrestling.

Chats with Pa.

Swimming in the pool.

Getting stuck in a frog floatie.

Cooling off and watching a movie.

Making funny faces.

A visit to the American Girl store in Kansas City.

Sharing favorite toys.

A visit to a lovely farm.

Sparklers on the 4th of July.

Most of all, becoming good friends.

After a few days, it was time to say goodbye and head home. We will miss our family members (and new friends), but I have to say, while looking out the window of my airplane seat while approaching Seattle and having this as my view....

It's good to be home!

Red, White, and Cute All Over

2011-06-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, can the 4th of July holiday really be less than 2 weeks away? Crazy! Between Easter happening so late this year and my kids only getting out of school a week ago, my second favorite holiday (only after Christmas) has snuck up on me. Mason has his Old Navy flag shirt ready to go, but I just had to do something "cutesy" for the girls. ~Just to clarify, I'd love to do something cutesy for Mason too, but his 8-year-old little self would much rather wear the t-shirt.~ Anyway, these tops were super-easy to whip up on Sunday from some fabric I found in the remant bin at Joann's. I did a more mature style for Harper-- one shouldered, with a crocheted star applique. The applique started out as a flower, and was in a pre-purchased pack from Ikea (see yesterday's post for how I used the rest). Because I wanted a patriotic theme, though, I cut it into a star shape and used fray check around the sides after cutting.

My Georgia will only be 4 for so long, so why not take advantage of it? She loves the ric rac, the ruffle down the front, the eyelit trim as shoulder straps... all of the things that little girls outgrow too quickly.

They make quite the pair... my little patriotic princesses!

Pillows from Placemats

2011-06-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

I love throw pillows-- they instantly change the look of your decor for a minimal cost. While $15--$20 to change the look of your living room isn't bad, why not do it for less? I found these bright, summery placemats at Target on clearance.

After 4 bucks, supplies I already had, and just a bit of effort, I now have 2 cute throw pillows to brighten up my leopard couches. Here is how I did it:

--I grabbed my seam ripper and split the seam about 4 inches at the top left hand corner.
--I stuffed the placemats with fiber fill.
--I re-sewed the seams.

That's when I remembered that I had purchased some crocheted applique-type thingies from our local Ikea in their fabric section. (Did you know Ikea had a fabric section? It's awesome-- and cheap!) I hand-sewed each applique to the pillows, which I think adds a real "zing" to them!

Flower Power! Retro High-Waisted Skirt

2011-06-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

A while back, I found the brightest, cutest vintage fabric at a yard sale. It is a little more stiff than the cotton I usually work with, so I thought it would be perfect for making the high-waisted, retro style skirt I've seen various patterns for. I didn't have a patterm, though, so I winged it. I took a pencil skirt that fits me pretty well and traced it onto my fabric. I made a separate wide waistband and sewed it to the skirt while adding matching lime green piping in between. I'm glad to finally be able to wear this cute print rather than just admire it as part of my fabric stash!

Naughty Little Monkey

2011-06-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Georgia is cute. She is also mischevious, has tons of energy, chatters the ear off anyone who will listen, and loves to climb. In many ways, she has always reminded us of a little monkey.
So what better fabric to choose for a cute summer outfit than a monkey print? I found this fabric at Joann's on clearance for $1.50 a yard:

And decided to make this romper from this pattern:

Rompers, of course, are better for climbing and jumping and running and all of those things that little monkey girls love to do.

The finished product really doesn't resemble the pattern much, but that's ok. I like the 70's jumpsuit vibe that mine has going on.

I liked the improvisations I made, and Georgia loved wearing it... there was only one problem. I forgot how long she is in the torso, and the romper was undoubtedly tight length-wise in that area. She actually ripped a little hole in the waist section after playing on the playground for an hour.

So, I did what most novice sewers have to get used to doing, I suppose... I pulled out my handy-dandy seam ripper and separated the top portion from the pant portion. I then made what resembled a hot pink cumberbund and sewed it in between the 2 portions. And you know what? I-- and my little monkey--actually like how the modified romper/jumpsuit looks even better!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my dad... who is still as great a dad to adult me as he was to kid me, and who is fabulous, proud Opa...

And Happy Father's Day to my husband, a swing-pushing...

Rock-skipping...

All-around awesome daddy to our 3 crazy kids!

I had a beautiful day with family-- sharing funny stories, eating a great meal, looking at pretty plants and flowers, and hiking to the beach with Oma, Opa, and Uncle Ryan.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2011-06-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm at work on my sewing machine, or cutting out a pattern, or finishing a cross-stitch or embroidery project, Harper is right by my side. And by "right by my side", I mean so close that my arm movements are severely restricted and I can feel her breath in my ear. But really, I don't mind-- I like that she has taken such an interest in sewing.
When I saw a "Learn To Cross Stitch" project new in the box at Value Village for $1.99, I knew it was destined to be hers. I presented it to her after school today and she squealed with delight. It's usually a chore to get her to take a shower, but tonight she actually volunteered since I said that she could try it out when she was ready for bed.
Here are a few photos of Harper trying her hand at cross stitch...

We had been working hard for a while, so I ran to take a potty break. When I returned, this is what I found- Harper observing her DADDY cross stitch. Hee-hee! Too funny.

My New Obsession: Pick Your Plum

2011-06-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of a website called Pick Your Plum?

It's my new obsession, and a must for crafters, decorators, and sewers. They have one deal a day and it seems to sell out pretty quickly, so I always check their site first thing in the morning. Today's deal? 15 yards of double-fold bias tape for $4.50! That's 30 cents a yard, people! Shipping is $3.50 which is pretty reasonable. Check it out for yourself... you are sure to find an irresistable deal.

My name is Shannon, and I'm a flip flop fanatic...

2011-06-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

I looooovvve flip flops! One of the reasons I look forward to summer is getting to wear flip flops. No searching for matching socks, no teetering around in my high-heeled boots... and flip flops match cut-off shorts as well as pretty sundresses. I probably have too many pairs of flip flops, so when I saw this flip flop tutorial for re-doing flip flops, I knew I must try it! I used a bright vintage fabric that I found at a yard sale, and I love how they turned out. Can't wait to wear them!

Nifty Necklace Holder

2011-06-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

I was finally fed up. Fed up with digging through my jewelry box, attempting to pull out a necklace to spruce up my outfit, and finding it was totally tangled in earring posts, bracelets, and other necklaces. While I'd love to have a cute jewelry tree thingy on my bathroom counter, let's be honest-- I have 3 kids, and 3 kids worth of toothbrushes, toothpaste, cups, and other toiletries cluttering up my counter. I don't need another thing added to it. So while I was browsing Marshalls, I spotted this coat hanger and thought what a perfect jewerly/accessory holder it would make.

The theme seemed to match jewelry, and it was easy enough to hang right on my bathroom wall.

Best of all, it was on clearance for $5. I'm all for making crafts, but to be honest, when the finished product costs less than buying all the supplies to create something like this, I go for the finished product.

But if you are feeling especially crafty, or can't find a cute finished one at your local stores, I've seen these unfinished at Joann's for a couple of bucks. Some stencils and a can of spray paint later, and you too can have one of these hanging on your wall, holding all of your sparkly treasures.

A twirly skirt for the birthday girl!

2011-06-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Harper turns 7 this Thursday. 7! Such a little lady now rather than a girl. I made her (and little sister) a twirly skirt for her disco dancing birthday party, which we held in our church basement.

I know its such a cliche, but where does the time go? She went from diapers and chubby hands and bottles to pierced ears and miniskirts and lip gloss in what seems like no time at all. Do you know that song by Harry Belafonte, "Turn Around?" It makes me tear up everytime I hear it...

"Where are you going, my little one, little one? Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around, and you're two...

Turn around, and you're 4...

Turn around, and you're a young girl, going out of my door."

Happy birthday to my sweet, beautiful, confident, big-eyed, freckle-faced Harper Elizabeth... I love you more than I can say.

Garage Sale Goodies

2011-06-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, West Seattle held its annual Community Garage Sale Day. One of my favorite days of the year, after Christmas and Thanksgiving, of course! ;) Harper has gone with me for the last couple of years, and she has totally gotten into the art of wheeling and dealing. She scored a Barbie pool, 3 newer Barbies, and a Barbie jeep in a package deal for 5 bucks. All because a dad sitting in his driveway felt sorry for my big-blue-eyed daughter who only had one five-dollar-bill left in her wallet but loved all of his daughter's Barbie stuff.

I happened to score some sweet stuff as well... I am in love with this vintage suede hot pink handbag, which cost me all of 2 dollars.

These hardback sewing books were a steal at 4 dollars for both. Because I'm new to sewing, I hadn't heard of Lotta Jansdotter, but I love her clean Scandinavian aesthetic. Can't wait to try my hand at the projects in her books!

And finally, these spiffy Lacoste tennis shoes to wear with polo shirts and walking shorts. And they cost me a buck!

Happy garage sale adventures, everyone!!

Happy Bursts of Color

2011-05-27T18:42:00.001-07:00

Isn't it fun when kids bring artwork home from school? Suddenly an empty space on the wall or refrigerator has a happy burst of color on it.

I've decided to revert back to my childhood and post my own "artwork" around the house. It makes me happy to see my embroidery fill an awkward hole between photographs...

Or liven up my little kitchen!

Both projects were done on premade canvas frames found in the dollar section at Michaels. I just stitched my design right on to them, and then I had my very own happy bursts of color around my house.

ORANGE you jealous of my retro mod dress??

2011-05-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

I missed sewing on my day off last week... kind of. I missed sewing, but to be honest, I was content with where I was and what I was doing. I was at Alki Beach, 5 minutes from our house (I still can't believe how blessed I am to live in the area that I do) watching Georgia play while thinking of what I'd sew on the next cloudy day.

I've been in the mood for the color ORANGE lately. Such a vibrant, happy, summery color. I ventured to West Seattle Fabric Company a couple of weeks ago and found this retro-looking, mod fabric that I had to have:

I knew that it would be perfect for the vintage 1960's dress pattern I've been wanting to use. And since Saturday turned cool and cloudy, I spent the day making a new dress! Here is how it turned out...

Teacup Pincushion

2011-05-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

I love the daintiness and sweetness of a teacup. Unfortunately, I don't drink much hot tea-- I do drink massive amounts of coffee out of behemoth coffee mugs, but nope-- no tea. I once saw on a craft blog how you could make a pincushion out of a teacup, so I thought I'd try it. So easy, and so cute!

Step one-- find a pretty little teacup. I found mine at Value Village for 99 cents.

Step two-- trace a circle a bit bigger than the rim of the cup out of a scrap of fabric. I found this scrap of vintage fabric with a tea-themed print-- how perfect!

Step three-- sew a running stitch around the perimeter of the circle of fabric. Pull the thread to cinch the material, and then stuff with polyfill or whatever type of filling you'd like. Hot glue the stuffed fabric to the inside of the teacup and there you have it-- an adorable, unique pincushion!

Potholder Project

2011-05-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

I love my sunglasses.

They are very cute Betsy Johnson cat-eye sunglasses that I bought on clearance from Marshalls. The problem is, because they were from Marshalls, they did not come with a case. And as my fellow Seattleites know, sunglasses are especially hard to keep track of since we go, like, 8 months without needing them. But when we do need them, boy do we ever!

Typically, my sunglasses are loose in my purse, which is really bad for my sunglasses. They always end up with lip gloss, pen marks, or animal cracker crumbs on them.

Other times, I hunt and hunt through my purse for my sunglasses, and they are nowhere to be found. :)

So I came up with a fun solution for where to store my sunglasses! They will still be in my purse (hopefully), but at least now they will be in a cute, vintage-looking case. A case made from a potholder!

I found this bright striped potholder at Target for $1.99. I cut off the little loop and embroidered it with cute looking styles of glasses that I found on the internet.

After I was done with the embroidery, I simply folded the potholder in half and stitched it around 2 sides using my denim needle on my machine. Voila! A cute sunglasses case that will hopefully keep my lovely glasses safe for a long time to come.

Goodwill has an OUTLET??

2011-05-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

My best discovery of the ~~week~~ ~~month~~ year is this: Goodwill has an outlet store! Did you know that? Am I the only thrift shopper left in Seattle who didn't know that? My kids and I have a favorite word that pretty much sums up this store: WOWZA! And that can be said in a high-pitched, excited, I-just-spotted-a-designer-print-in-that-bin kind of way, or it can be said in an overwhelmed, slightly creeped out, Georgia-don't-touch-anything-but-Mommy kind of way.

Georgia and I ventured to this store on Monday after finding out that it was just down the way from the Pacific Fabric Outlet. Here is what we saw as we entered the parking lot...

It was as if the sun shone through the clouds down upon the building, and I heard heavenly voices singing...Wowza, I thought!!

And then I walked through the door.... oh, wowza, I thought....

There were lots of people digging, digging, digging-- like, up to their elbows and can't even bother to look around kind of digging. Classical music was blaring over the loud speakers; I'm guessing this was an attempt to keep everyone calm, because according to the Yelp reviews that I read before I ventured here, people can get a bit crazy and out of control when new bins are rolled out. Most people kept their treasured finds in these huge laundry hamper looking things that wheeled around, but they were all taken when I arrived, so I used an empty Lego bin that I spotted under a table. I took hold of Georgia's hand, threatened that she would get icky cooties if she sat on the ground or reached into a bin, and then I delved in. It was a bit scary at first-- after all, I'm used to Value Village, the department store of thrift stores, where things are actually sorted according to size, and are even on hangers. But somehow, digging through enormous bins of who-knows-what made the search a bit more exciting. When I wrangled a pair of Chip and Pepper jeans out of the depths of dingy blankets and discolored towels, I actually let out a little yelp of excitement and startled the man next to me, who was wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses and putting used women's underwear into his hamper thingy. (No joke).

And here, my thrifty friends, is the very best part of the Goodwill Outlet: they charge you buy the POUND! That is why you can see hanging scales in the above photograph! For a pound of clothing, you will pay $1.39.

So for the following haul:

an Old Navy shirt and H&M skirt--

A Nike golf shirt and Gap dress shirt for Gareth--

A pair of It Jeans and a cute red rain jacket--

Gap flannel pajama pants and a Victoria's Secret nightgown--

Gymboree jeans and a red gingham shirt--

The prettiest GapKids skirt--


A unique silk scarf that will be embroidered onto a shirt--

PLUS the aforementioned Chip & Pepper jeans, as well as a fancy church dress for Georgia--

I paid a total of $18.82!

It was totally worth it-- I just made sure to douse mine and Georgia's hands with sanitizer in the car, and wash them thoroughly at home. :)

I highly recommend that you google "Goodwill Outlet" to see if you have one in your city... it was a fun adventure, and I can hardly wait to go back and see what I can find next. Hey, maybe this weekend! I'm sure Gareth would LOVE to go there with me!! ;)

I Heart Nautical

2011-05-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because Gareth was in the Navy... or maybe it's because we live on Puget Sound... for whatever reason, I love things with a nautical theme. So when I saw this fabric at the Pacific Fabric outlet, I knew I needed to make a garment from it.

I had been saving this vintage pattern for Spring, and it seemed to be a perfect match for the nautical material. I especially like "View B", or the "pirate girl", as my kids said. "Do the pirate girl one!" was the consensus from all 3, and so I did.

It figures that right after I bashed patterns in my last post, I used a pattern that I totally loved, was very simple, and can't wait to use again. The top took no time at all, and who knew that shorts were so easy to make? Especially with an elastic waistband. I'm not usually a fan of an elastic waistband, but with a longer shirt that covers it up, I guess it is acceptable! :)

And coming soon to Just Five Minutes More...
Potholder projects!

She's Off to See the Wizard

2011-04-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months of worrying if I would mess it up, I got the courage to make Harper's Dorothy costume for her class play. So far, I haven't worried that much about messing up my sewing projects-- the only consequence would be that the items wouldn't be worn out of the house...and at least I will have gotten more sewing practice! But this-- if I messed this up, the entire audience would wonder where I found such a pitiful costume. Plus I want Harper to look just perfect, of course! I started out with a pattern, but after an hour or so, I tossed it. I'm coming to realize that patterns overwhelm me. They stress me out. They make me confused. So I buried it in the bottom drawer of my sewing table and just winged it by getting lots of dresses out of her closet and taking a stab at how I wanted it to turn out. And I must say that I didn't do too badly-- at least the mistakes are in areas that can be hidden!

She's off to see the wizard!

Click your heels together 3 times and
repeat after me...

Maisy the chihuahua as Toto

Toto, I mean Maisy, trying to escape!

Never a more beautiful Dorothy!

Bunnies for my Honeys

2011-04-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

Spring sunshine has finally found its way to Seattle, and just in time for Easter! Gareth, the kids (aka my "honeys") and I have been enjoying some outdoor time together. Last weekend we visited Jack Block Park here in West Seattle, and we attempted to fly a kite at Alki Beach. "Attempted" is the key word!

This year for Easter, I really wanted to make my girls' Easter dresses, but then I realized that their dresses from last year still fit... so I decided to make all of the kids Easter bunnies instead! I had loads of minky scraps from my mom, and I loved this vintage-inspired Easter bunny tutorial from sew4home, which you can find here: Bunny Tutorial. I think the kids will love how they turned out. I can't wait to see their faces on Easter morning when they see their baskets... however, the Easter Bunny will not be getting credit for these little creations. Mommy spent hours making them, so the kids will definitely know that Mommy is the one who put them in their Easter baskets!

Georgia's bunny

Harper's bunny

Mason's bunny

Love the soft bunny feet!

HAPPY EASTER!

Redwork Revival

2011-04-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Some nights I am torn: my mind and my hands want to create something, but my body is just too tired to cut fabric and sit hunched over my sewing machine. Some nights I just want to hang out on the couch with my husband and watch our favorite tv shows... but make something at the same time! The perfect solution to my quandary came as I was wandering around Stitches, a little fabric shop in Capitol Hill. I saw the cutest, most retro, most kitschy-fabulous embroidery patterns ever by a company called Sublime Stitching. As their website says, "this ain't your grandma's embroidery!" (Not that a grandma's embroidery would be a bad thing, in my opinion.) I bought a pattern to embroider on a kitchen towel, but before I delved into different colored floss and intricate patterns, I thought I would try something more simple first. Hence this pattern, found at the Pacific Fabric Outlet Store just over the bridge:

For one thing, I totally agree with the statement. :) And for another, I was curious about what "redwork" was. I found this explantion on the website redwork.info:

"Redwork became popular in the late 1800's because of a colorfast thread made in Turkey, from a secret recipe. Up until then, colored threads did not hold their color in the wash and therefore, could not be used successfully to adorn everyday items like bedspreads or dish towels. The simplicity of redwork designs, and the fact that they were embroidered with very simple stitches on inexpensive muslins, meant that nearly everyone could have decorated linens. Children often learned how to embroider on 'Penny Squares', little designs printed on muslin and sold at the general stores for a penny. Redwork quilts were mostly 'summer weight' linens, meaning they had no batting. The Redwork squares were usually stitched together without sashing, and either quilted to a backing with a feather stitch or simply tied with string or yarn."

Very cool! Plus, I love how the whole pattern is supposed to be done in red floss. No switching out colors or deciding what color would look best where. I could handle this! I gathered my supplies... an embroidery hoop to hold the fabric taut; a needle with an eye that was big enough to easily thread the floss so I wouldn't get totally frustrated; a pair of little scissors for trimming loose ends, and that was it! It came with all the floss I needed. And it only took me a weekend to complete it--it's nice to work on an "instant satisfaction" piece once in a while!

The pattern was stamped on the fabric in a blue ink that was to be stitched over, and it completely came out when I was done by soaking the fabric in cold water for about 5 minutes. Next step: hand sew the completed project onto a throw pillow that will sit on my lovely leopard-print couch!

The Hills Are Alive!

2011-04-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite movie of all time is "The Sound of Music."

You don't even want to know how many times I've seen that movie. I still love it as much now as I did as a little kid-- I still think Julie Andrews is the best singer in the world, the song "Edelweiss" still makes me cry, and Captain Von Trapp is still the most handsome movie character ever. So when I see fabric that reminds me of something Maria would wear, how can I pass it up? This floral voile is SO "Sound of Music":

Surely Maria Von Trapp would have worn a skirt or dress made from this material!

I decided to make a bubble skirt for myself. I love the poofy, gathered look of a bubble skirt, and it is something different than the plethera of straight or a-line skirts hanging in my closet. For me, comfort is key, so I cut the bottom band off a pilled t-shirt and used it for a fold over waistband.

Since the fabric is pretty thin and I'd prefer to not have a Princess-Diana-see-through-skirt moment, I used two layers of fabric for the skirt and gathered the top of both layers. I then attached them to the band. To make the bubbled bottom, I simply trimmed the underskirt shorter than the top layer, gathered the bottom hem of the top layer, and folded the top layer under and sewed it to the underskirt. And voila-- a Sound of Music bubble skirt! Bet there has never been one of those in existence before!

Gifts From My Grandmothers

2011-04-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

My grandmothers were both born in the month of April. And they both died in the month of April. They both lived to be 79 years old. So naturally, April is a month in which I remember my grandmas-- how much I miss them, how much I love them (notice the present tense-- people die, but our love for them doesn't), and how much they've given me.

My mom's mom was named Ernestine. She was an only child, and full of spunk. I called her Grandma Basting.

My dad's mom was named Melanie. She was full of spunk too. She is on the left, and her sister, Leonore, is on the right. Their mom, Sophie, is in the middle. I called her Grandma Becker.

They were both such strong women. Both opinionated, both determined, both confident. They were my friends and my cheerleaders as well as my grandmas. I know now, because of who I attempt to be, that I want to be like them.

I want to sew like Grandma Basting. I want my kids to feel the love from what I sew for them like I still feel the love from my Grandma in the quilts she made for me. I want my house to smell like big breakfasts on Saturday mornings, and like apple pie on Saturday evenings. I want to take care of my parents one day as well as she took care of hers. I want to be a hard worker and have a beautiful garden and laugh as often and as heartily as she laughed.

I want to hug like Grandma Becker. Oh, to feel one of her long, strong hugs again! I want to wear fuschia lipstick and her big fur coat (sorry, PETA) and tell funny stories as well as she told stories about her city life and her farm life. I want to represent my German heritage as well as she did, through her words and her cooking. I want to watch beauty pageants and have the guts to say what I really think and to laugh as often and as heartily as she laughed.

I want Gareth to know that I love him as much as my grandmas loved their husbands.

Grandma and Grandpa Becker, 1941

I want my kids to know that I love them as much as my grandmas loved their kids.

And I hope to one day experience the blessing of grandchildren, and to love them and teach them, and to give them as much as my grandmas gave me.

Thrifty Easter Finds

2011-03-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

I LOVE decorating for Easter. Perhaps not as much as Christmas, but it's a close second. The cheerful colors and bunnies and chicks brighten the dreary Seattle spring days. And if you haven't noticed yet, sometimes (ok, a lot of times) I like what others may consider tacky. "Tacky" makes me smile and makes me proud that not many others--who may have better taste-- have it! Since my youngest, Georgia, was born around Easter, it's even more reason to love the season and DECORATE!

I thought I'd share my Easter decoration finds with you... all come from Value Village or Goodwill, of course.

Any my favorite tacky Easter decoration.... wait for it.... a glowing fiberoptic Easter bunny head wreath!

I love these vases from my Grandma...

And even though they are unrelated to Easter, my new (to me) leopard couches from the Salvation Army!

And finally, here is a birthday banner I made for Georgia using Barbie fabric scraps, felt, and bias tape:

Happy Easter Season... here's to fun decorating!!

Mad for Mermaids!

2011-03-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Georgia, my 4-year old, has gone mad for mermaids! She loves Ariel and "The Little Mermaid", of course, but she loves stories and songs and poems and pictures of all kinds of mermaids.

And she spends lots of time trying to convince her 6 and 8 year old siblings that mermaids are real.

When I found the "Sea Beauties" fabric by Michael Miller, I knew it was a must have for Georgia. I bought it months ago, but because it looks summery, I thought it would be best to save it for a sundress. However, I just couldn't wait any longer-- as Seattleites know, we are sometimes wearing puffy coats and pom pom hats in June, for goodness sake--so I came up with an alternate plan.

I had some sweaters I found at Value Village for about $1 each and they happened to match the colors in the fabric perfectly. I especially liked how the orange one looked with the fabric. And while I was matching the fabric and sweaters, Harper went to her closet and found an old aqua t-shirt with anchors on it that matched as well:

I messed around with the scissors and fabric and here is what I came up with:

And after an hour and a half of gathering and sewing and hemming, here is what we have-- a bright, cheerful, perfect-for-the-chilly-springs-in-Seattle dress!

And hooray-- Georgia felt like modeling and having her picture taken today!

Here Comes the Sun!

2011-03-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we had our first spring-like day here in Seattle. It wasn't all that warm-- the high was probably in the upper 50's-- but the SUN was out! It was quite entertaining to drive around and watch Seattleites venture outside. I saw one couple walk out of their front door, squinting their eyes, holding their hands and faces up to the sun, as if to say, "Welcome back! It's been a long time, and we've missed you!" The sun definitely inspired me to sew something spring-y, and I was feeling very spur-of-the-moment today, so I decided to just make something up rather than use a pattern. A bit scary for a new sewer to attempt such a feat, but I had a vision in my head and wanted to attempt to make it come to fruition.

It seems to me that high waistlines are back in style, whether it's the waistline of a pair of pants or a skirt. I had some cheerful Spring fabric
I've been wanting to use, so I decided to make Harper a high-waisted wrap
skirt. I know that it seems like I make quite a bit for Harper... I promise that I'm not neglecting my other 2 children. She just happens to be the
most cooperative lately about trying garments on and modeling them for my blog! Georgia has a recent aversion to cameras and Mason is usually busy inventing something in his bedroom. So, ta-da--a Spring skirt for my Harper!

Here is the fabric:

I made a waistband first out of the flowery material. I then gathered both the striped material and the bicycle material while they were layered on top of each other. It may appear in the photos like the materials of the skirt are bands sewn together, but the bicycle material is actually an overskirt for the striped material. I love the prints of quilting cotton, but it can be pretty thin, especially for a light-colored skirt--hence my reason for double skirting! I love how it looks with her white shirt tucked in-- and my favorite part, which I failed to take a close-up of, is the 4 vintage lemon yellow buttons that hold the skirt together at the side. Harper wants to wear this to school tomorrow, but I better check the forecast... it might have to wait for a warm and sunny day!

Ruffle Re-do

2011-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

All 3 of my kids are super skinny, but they continue to grow taller and taller! They have lots of jeans in great condition, that fit perfectly in the waist, but when they put them on it looks like a flood is coming! So what to do about this pesky problem?

1--Gather any cute fabric scraps you may have laying around the house.

2--Cut them into wide strips. Hem one side and gather the other.

3--Sew the cute ruffle strips along the bottom hem of each pant leg. Ta-da! Pants that fit again-- for a little while, anyway!

Black Monday

2011-03-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

After a busy week and weekend, I finally found a chance to create a couple of things in between loads of laundry. First up... a black dress based on this vintage pattern I found at Goodwill. It was a size 14, and in today's sizes I wear a 4 or 6, but based on the measurements of this vintage pattern it should have fit. Should have. Despite trying to take it in a bit its still kind of baggy. Oh well, I just started sewing 2 months ago, so I guess I'll give myself a break and hope that I will get better at sizing, among other things.

The pattern:

And the dress:

I love the pattern on the black fabric. I found the vintage fabric at Value Village-- about 2 yards for $2. Another great vintage find from last week: these emerald green and black shoes that will be perfect to wear with the dress! I found them at a fun vintage shop near the University of Washington called Valley of Roses. The owner was very sweet and gave us a little tour-- evidently the building used to be Bruce Lee's studio.

I also found this cute vintage purse for 3 bucks there-- maybe not to accessorize the black dress, but it will look cute this summer with a sundress! Cutie-pie Harper wanted to model it for me...

And finally, this evening I put together this choker with supplies purchased long ago. I put them away to "work on later" and totally forgot to do it.

Coming soon... a "Wizard of Oz" Dorothy dress-- Harper was chosen to be Dorothy in her class play, and I get to make her costume!

Sew Surprised

2011-02-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Gareth and Mason got a haircut while we were out and about. What better excuse to go into my FAVORITE fabric store, which happens to be right down the road! West Seattle Fabric Company is such a quaint, cheerful little shop with the most beautiful fabrics everywhere you look. The owner, Monica, always makes me feel so welcome, like I'm visiting an old friend. Its nearly impossible to go in there without leaving with a little something... this time I got a yard and a half of a fabric to make a top for myself for Spring. And that was it-- aren't you proud of the restraint that I exercised, Gareth? Here is the top I made last night with my new fabric and some scraps I had at home. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did! (This learning to sew thing is totally trial and error.)

This morning we ventured to early church, and the sweetest lady named Beth gave the girls a surprise. She knows I've been learning to sew, and a few weeks ago, she told me all about how she used to make wrap dresses for her daughter's consignment store. So when we walked in this morning, guess what she gave us: a bag with the 2 most adorable wrap dresses inside! Here they are on the girls:

And finally, Georgia got a fun surprise in the mail this week: Gigi made her an animal-themed dress! Georgia is already asking when we can go to the zoo so that she can wear it there.

Love these fun surprises that came our way this week... Now, to shut down the computer and check out the Oscar fashions!

It's So Much Fun to Accessorize

2011-02-25T16:21:00.000-08:00

A few fun crafts I finally completed...

Why didn't I think of this a long time ago? I saw this project while exploring bunches of craft and sewing blogs-- what a great, inexpensive idea-- especially when JoAnn has buttons on sale for buy one get one free!

1--Find a few cute button pairs.

2--Clip the shank off the back of the buttons and add earring posts.

3--Voila! Super-cute new earrings!

I also made this necklace with some chain and findings I had on hand-- the charms are from one of my favorite online stores-- Antica Treasures. "Oiseaux" means "birds" in French.

Easy. Inexpensive. Fun. Three necessary components for a fun crafting experience!

Lemonade Out of Lemons

2011-02-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

I was so hoping that by now I'd have posted a recently completed craft or sewing project, but I got this horrible cold over the weekend that just won't seem to go away. I feel totally yucky and have been lucky to be able to stay home the past few days. I won't say that I have gotten much rest because the kids are out on Winter Break this week. I love having them home with me, but I feel so guilty laying on the couch instead of playing with them. Nevertheless, I had such bright, happy moments while blowing my nose and shivering under a blanket, namely:
-Watching "Apollo 13" with Mason, followed by watching the University of Illinois basketball game. They lost and were down most of the game, but I loved hearing Mason say repeatedly throughout the WHOLE game: "They're right on their tails, Mama! Don't worry, Mama! There is still time to catch up!" My dad and brother would be so proud.
-Having Mason smile sweetly, rub my head, and tell me that because I had on a white bathrobe I looked like an angel. Never mind my pale face and chapped lips and red nose and crazy bed head hair! I will never, ever get rid of that robe...
-Seeing the snow begin to fall, and yelling hysterically upstairs to the girls to come down. Harper came running down the stairs, asking what was wrong, and when I told her that nothing was wrong and that I was just excited about the snow, she said, "Oh, Mama, I was scared you had set the kitchen on fire again!" For the record, I never set an entire kitchen on fire, just a burner on the stove a couple of times.

It looks like I will be home again tomorrow, and I can't say that I'm disappointed. Despite being as sick as a dog, I feel so happy and cozy and content being surrounded by my children.

And so it begins...

2011-02-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Let's hope the third time is a charm! I've attempted the blogging thing a couple of times before and it didn't work out so well...and now I'm mad about it, because my kids are funny, and I've missed documenting so many of the cute and charming things they say. Oh well, better late than never!
A little about me:
I love all things vintage. Clothing. Shoes. Jewelry. Purses. Movies. TV shows. The tv show "American Pickers" about finding dusty, discarded treasures in people's barns. Vintage speaks to me.
I live in Seattle, where it rains a lot. (Like you didn't know that). I have come to really love the rain. And if it is sunny too many days in a row I start to get grouchy. Kind of backwards, huh?
I can't sit still for very long. I feel like I'm wasting the day away, and I must occupy myself immediately... hence, my love for crafting and sewing. I'm certainly not very good at it yet, but I have hope that I will be someday.
I love so many things, and I truly believe in the happiness brought to one's life by focusing on love. Who/what do I love?
God. My husband, who also happens to be my best friend. My children, who are my absolute treaures in life. ("Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -Matthew 6:21). My mom and dad, and my brother, and my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents-- some are in other states, and some are in heaven-- no matter, I love them all deeply and miss them all tremendously. I love walking by the ocean and walking through the city. I love watching trashy reality television shows and reading beautiful poetry. And US magazine. I love to shop at Value Village and Goodwill and Target. Nowhere more expensive than that, because it bugs me to spend money on something if I think there's a possibility of finding it cheaper. I love singing and babies and cherry pie and black-eyed peas (the food, not the group) and all kinds of music and Disneyland and hot baths and tattoos and laughing. I love a lot. And I think I'm generally happy a lot.
I hope to share my love, and my happiness, and funny stories and crafts, on my blog.