A Little Truck

I just whipped this up over the weekend. These little appliques are so easy if you've never done one before. I like them for my little boy. They allow me to be a little creative with his clothing.
If you'd like to try this yourself, all you need is preschool level drawing skills, some scrap fabric, a plain t-shirt (which might be the hardest thing in all this -I found mine at Old Navy), and some Wonder Under.
Anyway, all you do is draw your design onto the paper part of the fusible stuff, then iron it onto the fabric of your choice, cut it out, iron onto your fabric (sticky side down! don't iron it to your iron), then finish the edges any way you'd like.
I used the zig zag on my sewing machine but you could hand stitch a blanket stitch or even use fabric paint to outline your design. I used the zig zag because I'm anticipating washing this little shirt many times since my boy has discovered mud (see pictures below)!
If you've got any other great ideas, let me know!

Vintage Apron Pattern Results - finally.

I finally got it done - I mentioned this great vintage apron pattern that I bought a few weeks ago at an antique mall in Granbury, Texas. I gave it a go - and I think it turned out pretty cute! It's very flouncy and very feminine.
My little girl took the pictures for me - didn't she do a great job? She's 5! Such a good helper to me. It's been a bit of a struggle the last few days to get any sewing in. My boy is upset with me at the moment because I'm making him stay in his crib while I type this (he really should be taking a nap). Afterall, we've been outside all morning playing at the park, even had a picnic lunch outside. You'd think that would tucker him out. (Pause...................) Guess he's got other plans today. He's now out of his room, upset at his sister because she won't share her yogurt with him.
Now, if I can just carve out 5 minutes to get this listed on my etsy shop....won't be long, by the end of the day.

Well, here's to wishing you the time you desire to create!

Mud and Eggs

Fun in the mud..........................
Fun dying Easter eggs.................the bunny should be here in the morning - not sure if he'll be able to hide eggs in the yard outside or not, we're supposed to have a cold, rainy day.

New Apron

I wanted to share my newest creation - it's a half apron made from a vintage sheet, vintage buttons and vintage doilie. The zebra stripe obviously isn't old, but I thought it looked cute with the other trims. Hope you like it! You can also see it in my Etsy Shop.
I think it looks equally as cute on me as it does on my girl.

Did anyone watch Dancing with the Stars?? Who's your favorite? Who do you think needs to go? Did you vote? I thought Mario was the best man and really enjoyed watching all of them though. No one really stunk. The women were all really good too. Kristi I think was probably the best. I was really impressed with Marlee Matlin and Pricilla Presley. You can't deny the pure joy and enthusiasm from Marissa.
I love this show for several reasons, one of which is the fact that you can watch with your children. My kids love watching it - probably because their mom is dancing around the living room floor looking like a crazy woman.

While the Cat's Away.......

the mice will play. (Cat being my littlest munchkin, mice being myself and my #1). The little boy is sleeping peacefully, so my #2 and I have been very busy. We've been able to get in a little baking, sewing, and crafting. All things that little boy would love very much to get his grubby little hands in, but would create caos if that were allowed to happen

don't these cookies look yummy? well they are! Oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip. Thanks to the Better Homes and Garden cookbook on my counter

Here's a little sneak peek at an apron I'm working on. I think I'm going to love it. Those black and pink buttons are some of my favorite. This is how I'm trying to squeeze in what little time I have to sew.

People always ask me how I do it - well, it's always out - my dining room table is always full of fabric. And, I just have to work on projects sometimes 1 or 2 minutes at a time. But it's worth it - I do love sewing and creating - and now, blogging!

Then, the crafting. My girl LOVES to glue, paint, cut, and draw. So, she was very excited when her Gaga sent her this bunch of craft sticks and shapes to play with. She's working on making an Easter picture frame. So pretty.

We also were able to plug in a little shopping time this morning for new Easter shoes. I can't believe Easter is next weekend already. It's so early this year! We wound up getting these - I spent more money on them than I usually spend on shoes for myself - but, I guess that's what mom's do. Besides, I was really dismayed at the selection of shoes for little girls. I can't stand little girls' shoes that look like miniature women's shoes. They are LITTLE girls - not little girls trying to look like grown women. I think girls are forced to grow up too fast anyway - o well. We're both happy with these little Stride Rites.

Oh - Cra* - I forgot I still have cookies in the oven and the timer isn't on!..................

Dinner Success (My Kids Even Ate It!)

Well, since I love to read everyone else's blogs, as well as write in my own - I came across this blog post in Angry Chicken about 5 Minute Artisan Bread- so I decided to scout around and find a recipe online that I could try before purchasing the book. Well, I found a recipe that had been adapted from the book here. Gave it a try - and WOW! it's Good! And I have to say, I was not quite sure how this was going to turn out. The recipe calls for 3 cups of water - I ended up adding 4 cups because my dough looked way too stiff.
Basically, you mix yeast, salt, water, and flour together - sit it on your counter for a few hours, then bake for 20-30 minutes and voila!
My kids ate it up...and I still have a rather large amount of dough in the frig. The recipe says that it'll keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Cool, huh?
One of the best parts, is the time element. I have a hard time devoting a length of time greater than 2 minutes to anything....(think needy children crawling up my leg), so this was great. Each step just took a few minutes.


Then, I came across this recipe in The Apron Book for Put Your Feet Up Stew. I can't say I put my feet up while it was cooking, but I can say, I wasn't standing in the kitchen (just chasing around my munchkins). Oh - for the love of a crock pot!!
Anyway - I think the picture doesn't look that appetizing - but I have to tell you - once again....my 5 year old and my 19 mo. old both ate it!! Basically just sausage (I used smoked turkey sausage), green beans, onion, potatoes and cream of mushroom soup. All together fairly healthy.


Part of my feeling of success stems from the fact that my #2 has been extremely cranky lately - teething....not napping....wanting "MaMa"...all the time, my hubbie is out of town until Sunday, and my #1 is recovering from Strep Throat and Mono....so, I officially, give myself a Bozo Button for today's accomplishments! Oh! and I sold my sweet little pink and blue Apron - to Amber. Thanks Amber! Oooh - and I had both kids in bed by 7:45pm tonight!! It was a good day.

Salt an Peppa

Friday afternoon I packed a bag and headed out. No kids, no husband -
to a great little town south of here for a little SPA treatment (Spiritual Purpose Awakening) - a women's retreat through my church. What a great time - very insightful, relaxing, and a great time with friends.
On the way home Saturday, I had to stop in to an antique mall along my route.

These are some of my finds.....
A great retro set of salt and pepper shakers. You can see they sort of match my canisters in the background (which came from my husband's grandmother's kitchen).

I also picked up this cute apron - just loved the colors mostly - I thought it looks especially springy.

















And..I found this apron pattern. It seems to be unused and all intact. I'll let you all know when I make an apron from it.























This is a burp clothe and taggie set I made as a custom order - just wanted to share! You can see it in my Etsy shop soon.

Jackpot Thrifting and Snow in Texas!

I went to a garage sale this past weekend and think I scored some treasures. I managed to get this assortment of linens (love the Chick table scarf)....
This little cookbook..... (have to remind myself, that yes, "Food is Fun....."



















And this little book. It has the cutest pictures I wanted to share. Those of you who are into paper crafting - maybe you could give me some ideas as to what to do with it. I don't want to tear any of the pages out, but maybe doing some color copying, then displaying the pages somehow....any ideas???
This one with the little pony I love....you have to love a pony that puts up with little children (they are rare to find believe it or not!)




















This one I thought was funny - love how they show the dad in slacks and a button down shirt working in the garden!


Then, yes, we had snow in Texas yesterday - here is a picture of my back yard. This is very unusual for Texas, especially the part of the state that I live in. Being a "yankee" though - growing up in the midwest - I get a kick out of these southerners making such a huge deal out of a few inches of snow. I think all of the schools in the area closed early, and many started 2 hours late this morning. O well, it's still fun! My little munchkins had fun watching the big flakes come down all day.

Fresh Color and New Inspiration

The other night I clocked out a little early from my "mommy" job and my awesome husband took over for me while I went to go get a haircut and fresh color - let me tell you, those little grays popping up all over my head along with the fact that my 5 year old was bringing them to my attention, indicated that I really did need a little sprucing up! So - I took off from 5pm until about 10pm.....took care of my hair, then headed over to the bookstore to check out some of the newest crafting and sewing books I've been reading so much about on everyone's blogs.

I ended up purchasing these two:
Sew What! Skirts 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics

The Apron Book

I have to say, I am inspired! The skirt book is very simple - not anything that is really educational from my perspective, since I can sew pretty well (depending on the project - please don't ask me to make you curtains!). But, I like this book because it's all right there - all the simple instructions that I don't keep in my head, the ones that are scribbled on random sheets of paper and shoved into a drawer. I'm really inspired to make some cute wrap around skirts - for myself as well as my little girl. I'd really like to sew more for myself. Don't you just get sick of seeing all of the same clothes for sale in the stores?? Plus, I just LIKE the fact that I can MAKE that, instead of paying someone else.





Now, The Apron Book, is just darling! I love the fact that other women love aprons as much as I do. I love the history behind them and I love the creativity that they allow. This book has a little of everything - it's got instructions for making your own apron as well as a bit of history.

So, needless to say, I had a very enjoyable evening. thanks honey for feeding the kids, bathing the kids, and tucking them in.


Since we're on the topic of aprons - here is my latest. It's my first using my new serger - I think it turned out pretty cute. If you're interested - you can purchase it on my Etsy Site
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