A Fair Isle Winter!

My husband LOVES fair isle sweaters.  We try to get one every winter, sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't.  I think some of them are ridiculous.  Others are adorable.  So,  while finishing up the last orders of the season, I decided to make a few door hangers of my own.  (Finally!!)  I took inspiration from my husbands favorite winter sweater style and made these.

Not too shabby for a quick days' work.

Long Time, No Write

It has been an extremely long time since I last blogged about our little family and our projects.  A lot has been happening.  After a bout with the flu, the stomach bug, and severe colds I think we are all on the mend, except for mom, who is just now catching everyone's little colds! (Yay me! - NOT)

Still, in that time I have managed to complete a few projects, and of course, start a few more.  I promised back at the first post to show you how I make a burlap door hanger.  Today I will post those pictures and simple instructions.

First, Supplies:  1 yard of Burlap
                          a pile of grocery store sacks
                          acrylic paints in your preferred colors
                          a sewing machine threaded with a coordinating thread

In this project I was making a two sided wreath and "snow globe"

First I took a large round serving platter and used it for my template.  With my burlap folded in half (like it comes on the bolt) I cut about two inches around the plate, or however large I could get it to fit.

Second, I sewed a large stich around the perimeter, being sure to leave a hole big enough to get my fist through.  This is where you'll stuff your bags.

After stuffing, go back to the machine and sew the hole closed, being sure to start and end where you left off.

Now comes the sloppy part!! I usually put on an old apron for this, because I tend to make a ginormous mess in whatever project I'm doing.  Take your base color of paint and swirl in in the approximate shape of your wreath.  You can use your paint brush to push the design out further.  And, don't worry about messing up, you can paint over it.

After painting the first set, continue to paint until your desired area is covered.  Let this dry and then you can apply your accent colors.  (I chose to stick with the basic red and green, however, I do like to "prime" where the red is going to go with white first, it keeps me from having to go over the red three or four times.)

Once that's done, flip to the other side and paint your other picture.  This can be a "snow globe" like picture, an easter egg, a basketball, and many other things.  The possibilities are endless!

To make the "hanger", I use 12 to 14 gage wire.  I poke a hole through the top left side, twist it with pliers and do the same on the opposite side, that way each side has a swirly piece.

Now, on to the next project:  Ruffle pants

I take a pair of pants that fit my little girl very well.  Fold my chosen fabric in half and then half again, so there are four layers.  Lay them over the fabric I want to use for the pants.  Make sure the outside hem of the "pattern pants" is on the fold, then I cut about 1 1/2 inches above the waist, and about 1/2 to one inch along the inside seam.  This leaves me enough wiggle room, incase I mess up.

It will look like this.

For the ruffle, I cut a strip twice as wide as one pants leg (on this example I didn't have quite enough, because I was using scraps and had already gotten started).  Then I pressed the hem, and sewed it.  Next I ran a basting stitch along the top and gathered my ruffle.  I pinned the ruffle to the outsides of the fabric first, making sure to match the cut edges.  Then I adjusted my ruffle accordingly.   Repeat for the other pant leg.

I pinned that, and sewed each ruffle to the bottom of the pant leg.  Then simply turn the pants legs right sides together and start from the bottom of the ruffle and sew up to the crotch of the pants.  Do this on each leg, then place the right sides together on top half of the pants and sew those seams.

Next iron down about an inch or so, depending on the size of your elastic, and sew that edge down, forming a pocket for your elastic.  ***Make sure you leave a hole big enough to thread your elastic through the pocket.

Thread the elastic, sew it together, sew the little hole up in the "pocket" and turn your pants inside out.  Voila!!

I made the swirly ribbon shirt too.  It's requires a little more patience, but it's pretty easy.  The next one I do, I'll take pics and post a tutorial for it.

You should know that Christmas is my favorite holiday!!  And, "Elf" is one of my most favorite movies.  I've made a cute little printable just to get a jump on the holiday season.  I'm going to frame it in a funky frame and put it up on the wall in my living room, but feel free to mod podge it onto something, or use it as a little thank you card.  If you do use it, I'd love to see what you did with it!

Ok, I think that's enough sewing and painting for one day.  I'm going to rest and drink some hot tea.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Back to school, back to crafting, back to... farming?

Being a mom of four keeps me pretty busy.  So I Pinterest, Google, and craft in between cooking, nursing, showering, eating, and sometimes sleeping.  This makes for great ideas, and a sleepy mom, but I don't care. I love it!  

Since Riley just started kindergarten, I am new to being a "school-mom" (just my term, y'all may have a different name for it.  Like I said I'm new to this! LOL), and having several teacher friends of my own, I know how important a little happy and some volunteer time are.  I wanted to make something sweet for her, and something I could possibly sell on the side as well.  

I have seen these cute burlap door hangers around town and on Pinterest.  I wanted to make one for my house and then I thought one for Riley's teacher would be nice.  Now I've been so busy making these for others that I haven't thought about what I want on my front door!

This is the one I made for Riley's teacher.  Everyone at his school loves it and I've actually gotten a few orders for more!

I made this one two sided, so she could use it longer

A little side note: the cheap $1 plastic, party table cloths really help protect your table and make for an easy and cheap clean up.  Plus, if you're really savvy you can use half of it at a time and make it last longer.

We have been really busy crafting for a conference coming up at church, and I haven't had much time for crafting at home. (Pics of those little projects will come after the conference has started.  I don't want to spoil the surprise!)  So while I was making these footballs late one night, I forgot to take pics of the "how to" part of these door hangers.  I PROMISE, the next one I make I will take step by step pics and post them.  

I did not paint the brown on the football, I just bought brown burlap and painted it.  However, I painted another one, that I forgot to take pics of, and I had to paint it brown because I made it two sided and my paint bled through, and I think I like that better.

I have tons of ideas of other things to make and am working on designing more two sided ones.  If you have any ideas or suggestions on these please feel free to post them!

(I am also working on a set of volunteer coupons for moms to give to teachers, but I haven't perfected them yet.  I promise those will be up on the freebies page in a few weeks.)

Now on the the farming part.....

In all this hullabaloo of back to school, and crafting, my dad called and said has decided he wants to raise cows again.  Just a few little calves to start off with.  This reminds me of my days in grammar school because we did this when I was a little girl.  We'd have to get up early in the morning and fix a bucket of milk for the baby calves, walk it down to the barn, and feed them before we ate breakfast and got dressed for school.  This was not always a pleasant experience (I got kicked in the chest once), but still, they are fond memories.  (at least I didn't have to muck out the stalls!!)  There's just something about the fondness of petting a baby calf, even letting it suck on your fingers, and watching that little thing grow into a big ole cow!

So, when Daddy said that he had a two week old calf that he was having to bottle feed I loaded the kids up and we rode over to my parents' house to let the kids see a baby cow up close, and "help out" a little.  (and I do mean, a little-they didn't hold on to the bottle too much because the calf kept bucking it, but it was fun!)

Meet Chick-fil-A!!

(A friend called her that, in hope that mom and dad would "eat more chicken" and it's stuck. lol!!)

even baby Jude got to meet the calf!

Riley and Cecily talking to her.

Finn wasn't too impressed.  I think the idea of petting something bigger than our dog had him a little spooked.

So, that's all from here, for now.  I know it's all over the place today, next time I'll try to have it a little more "together".  Check back next week and hopefully I will have some of these projects marked off my list.  (Yeah right, I'll have added more, and you know it!)

Hello!  Let's get cracking shall we?

I am a fairly crafty person, and thanks to Pinterest, MarthaStewart.com, multiple Google searches, and many, many others, it's pretty easy.  I do not pretend that all of these ideas are my own, but I usually do tweak them.  I will post free printables and patterns of things that I make from time to time.  I am not a super inventive person, and I am no graphic designer by any means, but I do try to make cute things that I can use for cards, dresses, etc.  So, please check back on my Freebies page for cute things you can use too!

Speaking of crafting, back to school season inspires me to create and craft like crazy!  The sales on the school supplies make for endless ideas!  Usually I just sit there watching the adorably funny Target commercials and think about all the neat little things I could make.  This year I have a kindergartener (my oldest, -sigh) and now I get to make crafty things for his teacher (and hopefully others who like what I make).

The first of the crafty ideas is back to school pictures.  Since Riley is our first kindergartener, and we wanted to make the day as special and fun for him as possible, we chose to have a little fun with our back to school pictures.  

My goal as a mom of a school aged child is to make breakfast every morning.  That may not always work out, and sometimes it might just be cereal, but it's a fun time for us to talk and get the morning off to a good start.  I chose to make him pancakes for his first day of school.  I have friends who can make Mickey Mouse pancakes like a breeze, I've tried and they always end up looking a bit odd.  But I tried making this K pancake to celebrate his first day, and he got a kick out of having a K for his breakfast.  (Note to all who try this, a ketchup squirt bottle would probably be easiest.  I tried just pouring it from the mixing bowl, and it took several burned pancakes and odd looking letters before I got this one right. Hind sight is 20/20!!)

Inspired by a couple of pictures on Pinterest we chose to take several pics, just to have a little fun with it. (My kids have not yet learned that their mom is the paparazzi and they still enjoy taking lots of pictures for me.)

We decided to take a pic of him holding a sign, that I made and put the date on it, for his first posing pic.

To make this sign I took 12x12 card stock, cut out a "k" from scrapbook paper and glued it on, then neatly wrote the rest of what you see.  I am going to save this page for his school book, that I will be making, hopefully soon.  (That is something that will be added to my "to craft" or "to buy list as soon as I'm done typing. I am not sure if I want to purchase a pre-made book or make one myself.)

As you can see my little R-man was very happy to be posing, as he usually is.

The next pic we used a book that he got from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  (This is a wonderful program for kids in Tennessee.  You just go to www.imaginationlibrary.com and register your newborn child and they get a free book every month for the first five years of their life.  If you live in Tennessee, you HAVE to do this!  My kids look forward to it every month.  Now that R-man is 5 he is a little sad that brothers and sister get books and he doesn't.  I am going to attempt to keep this up for him using the book fairs, and Barnes and Noble cheap book stacks.  We'll see how that goes.  Ha ha!)

The rest of the pics are just fun poses we thought we'd do, and since R-man is a camera hog, it was pretty fun!

(I got my foot in the pic, but I cropped it out for my Facebook posts.)

I saw our shadows walking in to school that first day, and I just couldn't resist taking a pic!

A little pic of us together before he ran off to play with puzzles and wave good-bye.  It kinda broke my heart that he wasn't a little sad when I left.  But, he's a big boy now, and he is very brave.

Last but not least, little brother was a little sad that Riley was gone that first day, and he was very happy to have his big brother back home that afternoon.  So, while taking Jude's two month pics my sister had the cute idea of putting him in Riley's backpack.  Thankfully Riley was a good sport and held up his chunky little brother long enough to get this great pic!

That's all for now, I'll be back soon with more back to school and other crafty ideas!