the creative family

"living a creative life is made all the more fulfilling and rewarding when we are creating with, for, or because of others." -amanda soule

i read this book over the weekend. loved every page of it. it's not about making your house craft-central. it's about encouraging your kids to discover everything they can and be creative in any way they know how. it's about building strong relationships with your children by doing meaningful activities together because we all know that watching tv is not 'quality family time.' i just loved it. that's all.

mr. perkins

this is mr. perkins. he looks all nice and quiet, but really he is a very challenging giraffe to try to become friends with. i saw this pattern at our local quilt shop and thought he would be a cute addition to the nursery. he looked easy enough to recreate. so i read the pattern through a couple times and got started. it's still a mystery to me how i do this, but i seemed to have failed to read some important parts of the pattern and ended up cutting, sewing, and stuffing this little beast twice. all my fault. while he was probably just laughing inside. needless to say, i won my own battle and now have a little giraffe for a shelf that doesn't yet exist in the nursery. macy is now constantly asking when we are going to make her an elephant. i don't know where she got the idea, but these patterns are addicting even with my lack of reading instructions effectively. so we might have to get another... maybe an elephant, or a flamingo, or just another giraffe. in the meantime, i am in love with the pattern designers' blog and etsy shop and all the cute things they come up with.

rhubarb and a crisp

i guess it's no secret i like rhubarb. so i was sooo excited when i found this rhubarb at the farmers market! most rhubarb i have ever seen is equivalent to a large stalk of celery. this stuff was huge! each stalk weighed almost a pound and each was at least 3 inches wide! i asked the grower how he did it and he shrugged and said it just rained at all the right times this year. wow! someday i want to grow rhubarb like that. in the meantime i need to come up with more recipes to use it in. so i made this one over the weekend and richie (who still won't taste rhubarb marmalade because he hates all cooked fruit!) loved it! he had seconds and ate leftovers as well. definitely a keeper! my favorite way was fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream. seriously better than any other flavor of fruit crisp.

random sewing notes... and cards

ok, so we didn't actually picnic over the weekend. but i did have a chance to do some experimenting for new little pretties to put in the shop... what do you think?
i'm wondering if my own little pretty is getting to the age where skirts are more her thing than dresses. she squealed and exclaimed, "oh thank you so much, mom, you're wonderful!" when i finished this skirt... (where she learned that phrase is beyond me) so i'm really just trying to keep up with my little fashionista.
this other style is my new favorite for dresses. it just hangs so cute and the ties on the shoulders are just charming. the fabric is a vintage sheet i thrifted so it has a nostalgic feel to it. and the quilt in my last post was a christmas gift from richie a couple years ago. actually i decided he was going to give me a quilt kit every year for christmas... it's been fun because i usually pick the quilts out and wrap them and and my only goal is to finish the quilt by the next year. i have to say this was one of my easiest quilts ever and even though it doesn't match anything in my house or even my style, i love it! i love every single piece of fabric in it and even more now because they are all discontinued and hard to find. it's all fabric from denyse schmidt, one of my most favorite designers.
ever since i've actually had a space to sew, it's all i want to do when i have time- you know, late at night or early in the morning... although tonight we have plans to play cards. richie is determined to beat me and has yet to do so at gin rummy. ha! (p.s. richie beats me at literally everything else in life- scrabble, tennis, IQ tests, etc. etc. so i have to gloat.....)

i heart ai

the season has come and gone. it's funny how there is a sense of loss at the end, knowing that we won't get to hang out with ryan, randy, paula, and simon anymore until january..... and even though my pick for american idol didn't win, i am reminded that second place is still pretty good- just look at the reaction clay got when he returned to the stage... oh, and i watched this clip like 6 times already. i don't know why i can't stop laughing!

a few faves (from etsy of course)

loving this

how fun

so handy

adorable
so wanting this for my baby boy(in july)

procrasti-blogging

isn't blogging great? what better way to procrastinate a deadline like making 3 more of these dresses by thursday? you can post on your blog, read other blogs, surf for new blogs, or just sit and stare at the computer...
otherwise, isn't this a darling dress? not that i can take credit- it's a flower girl dress for the wedding of a very stylish bride. i'm so excited because she has such cute and different things picked out for her wedding! more on that later... now what else can i do to procrastinate?

the sun is shining!

i'm so happy to finally see some sun! it makes me want to set my table like this. still waiting for flowers to bloom though. but i guess that would also require that i plant some first?

one more dress

thank you for all the comments on macy's easter dress! i really should mention that i got the idea from here... actually, i had the fabric and was planning to make a little wrap dress with it until my sister in-law showed me this cute line and i thought- hey, i can make that!

speaking of making something i see... sometimes i think i can totally relate to the couple on Napoleon Dynamite when Uncle Rico whips out the free sailboat during his tupperware presentation. you know, how the wife whispers to her husband, "i want that," so seriously-- that's how I felt when i saw this dress but how can i justify spending $78 on a dress for a two-year old? so i set out to make one like it. it's not exact, but i love how it turned out. this dress was the first time i have made a 'muslin' since college. so in reality i made this dress three times before i got the one you see. but it was definitely worth saving the money! oh, and the shoes are from the Gap and don't actually have any of the same plaid, but you couldn't tell until I told you, right? that's what i love about sewing and creating. really, it's all ideas we see and then recreate the way our brain remembers. i guess. anyway, i am loving this dress for macy and i have plenty of extra fabric that i can use for something in my shop... (just not the exact same dress obviously) any suggestions?

budding seamstress

be still my heart...
she's making a dress for her monkey

on vacation

so excited to go on a much needed vacation!

excited for the sun(?), the food, the family, the fun!
(ok- the accomodations are a little better than this, but wouldn't that be so cute?)

in memory

"In all of living,
have much fun and laughter.
Life is to be enjoyed,
not just endured."
-a favorite quote in our home from
President Gordon B. Hinckley
1910-2008