SEW.......HOLLY

2012-01-04 time for a change

2012-01-04T15:00:00.004-06:00

in a week or so i will be changing my blog up a bit. i will no longer be at sewholly.blogspot.com. to make things easier for myself since my life and hobbies are constangly changing, my new blog will be hollycarman.blogspot.com. it will not be active until i deactivate sewholly.blogspot.com. please take note. thank you and have a nice day =)

2011-02-21

2011-02-21T17:45:00.001-06:00

you know me. i love starting new projects. now finishing them.....that's another story. i like this one alot though! it's called project life and it's awesome. i intend to do a photo a day but i won't punish myself if i don't. what i did to catch up to today was to just do some random photos from january and some random from february. i also added in pages for valentine's day, a snow day, bossy's bday, and the daddy/daughter dance. now i'm up to date and will start adding a picture/mini-story everyday.

by the way, i know that some of the pics are sideways. sorry. i don't feel like fixin' them right now. too much trouble!!!

2011-01-19

2011-01-19T13:06:00.004-06:00

started this wreath last year and finished half of it. drug it out a couple of weekends ago and finally finished it today. i only wish it were bigger.

2011-01-18

2011-01-18T09:01:00.004-06:00

working on lots of stuff. making a shirt for spirit by holly. fixing a towel. making a quilt block and then making indyanna her daddy/daughter dance dress.

but for now, check this out! if you don't know about these two ladies and their crafty episodes....you need to!

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2010-10-28

2010-10-28T11:25:00.002-05:00

been making tons of spirit shirts. and alisha and i are gonna have a joint giveaway. so be sure to become a "fan" of spirit by holly or crandallation to have a chance to win.

but right now, i want to share these cute little pumpkin bags i made for bossy's class. after i took this picture i stuffed the bags with CANDY!!!

2010-10-10

2010-10-10T16:44:00.004-05:00

so i KNOW my son is gonna hate me for this in a few years but i don't care! too cute not to share!

indyanna was playing "seamstress" and bossy was her client. (you can tell how much he liked it in the second to last pic)

2010-09-27T00:08:00.003-05:00

i have opened an etsy shop for my spirit shirts. check it out. not much in there right now, but i'm working on that!

couple of more shirts i have made!

2010-09-15

2010-09-15T21:52:00.003-05:00

i wanted to share my jalapeno plant! i am so proud of it. it's the first thing i've ever grown from seed. as a matter of fact, it's the first thing i've ever grown. =) check out all the jalapenos! and according to bray, they ARE hot! yesssss

and i made this spirit shirt for a friend's daughter. i must give props to kellie, my sewing mentor, for all the help she gave me today. she is truly a blessing in my life from God.

2010-08-23

2010-08-23T10:20:00.003-05:00

after i saw this wreath on my sister's bff, cerise's blog, i just knew i had to make one! the original tutorial comes from the moda bake shop. (love that site, btw)

i always feel the need to be productive when watching tv, so as i was watching ~~a very educational documentary~~ Big Time Rush Movie, Jonas L.A., and Khloe and Kourtney Take Miami, i worked on the wreath. it took 2 1/2 jelly rolls and about 3 straight hours to do.

i just love how it accents my dirty door!

and of course today was the first day of school for my oldest two. a diva 1st grader and a very handsome 9th grader (that's HIGH SCHOOL people!).

2010-08-19

2010-08-19T20:46:00.004-05:00

my dear beautiful daughter decided that she wanted donate her hair to Locks of Love. so she did!

2010-08-08

2010-08-08T19:50:00.003-05:00

i made some play-dough for my babies. boston raided my cabinets and made a "dirty junk yard" (his words)

cute lil' number i made for nanny

this was SUPER easy. super fast. and FUN to make! the pattern is maya by modkids. i decided to upcycle a t-shirt for the top. if you can't tell it says, "future mrs. jonas"

2010-06-27

2010-06-27T09:20:00.002-05:00

i finished the claire cami last night about about 2am. i love it!

the only thing i would do different next time is make a dart in the bust line. that is, if i knew how to do a dart in the bust line.....

2010-06-25

2010-06-25T11:35:00.003-05:00

pillowcase dress for arella (our youth pastor's daughter)

this is a side-ish shot so you can see the cute bow...
this was such a simple pattern and it was fast. it turned out nice too. the only alteration i made was this: the pattern called for you to put the seam on the side and i chose to put it in the middle of the back.

2010-06-18

2010-06-18T09:59:00.003-05:00

well, this wasn't on my list but i got an urge last night to make this lil' number for indyanna.

blue material was a tank top. grey material was a shirt that bray outgrew. white and black is new knit material.

2010-06-15

2010-06-15T12:48:00.008-05:00

*adding to this list as needed*
summer to do list:

1. finish pillowcase dress for arella

2. make claire cami dress

3. make stella strip skirt

4. find a great pattern to make boy's button down shirts from and then make one for boston

5. make something absolutely adorable for indyanna out of some awesome tie-dye, batik looking fabric.

6. ~~make curtains for my bedroom~~

7. make shower curtain for master bath

8. recover the car seats. (cut out)

9. ~~ironing board cover~~

2010-04-26

2010-04-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

this past weekend, i headed on up to oklahoma with family members to have a sewing weekend of fun at cousin meagan's house! for lots more pictures of our weekend check out her blog. link in blue

i completed this dress for a dear friends' daughter. her birthday was earlier this month. better late than never?!

and then i made this one....

and here are a pair of wall hangings that my mom made using a tshirt from our girls' trip last year.

and, not to be out done by those sanger babes, here's grandma doing the YMCA......at babe's.......in sanger.

2010-04-09

2010-04-09T22:00:00.007-05:00

welp, daily, my bernina, had to go to the shop. she was making a weird noise and i didn't want to risk sewing on her and damaging her more. hopefully i will have her back in a week or two. for now, my serger will get lots of love.

sine i don't have anything sewing related to talk about, i'll just spit out some random things that have been going on around here. i'm sure if you live on facebook, as i do, you know most of this already.

boss and i made our second trip to after hours emergency care. this time with an allergic reaction! he has pretty bad allergies so we are thinking it was just from the pollen in the air....who really knows what it was though? it's happened a few times before but this time was the worst. his eye pretty much completely closed. this pic is 2 hours after claritin.

my girl brandy had her baby, aria, this past monday. and she is just PRECIOUS! we caught her in mid-yawn. being a baby is just soooo tiring, you know?

i went to a couple of yard sales and got a bunch of stuff. all this for only $12!

indyanna's birthday was this past saturday and we had a party for her at a gymnasium. bray had THE MOST fun out of all of the 6 year old kids in attendance!

and finally, indyanna lost her FIRST tooth tonight!

2010-04-04

2010-04-04T20:57:00.003-05:00

indyanna's easter dress! made using natalie's dress pattern from ycmt. super duper easy pattern! and love the end results!

and of course, this is boston's take on easter with a mohawk ;D

2010-03-28

2010-03-28T22:15:00.002-05:00

made this for my girl, brandy. she's expecting a precious gift from God any day now. this is really a pre-gift. i haven't finished the real gift, a diaper bag made from the red brocade on the burp cloth.

2010-03-21

2010-03-21T19:00:00.002-05:00

i saw this project on a super dee duper website, knock off wood.

i decided to have lowe's cut my wood in half, making them each 4 ft long. i also did not paint anything. just left it natural wood color.

love the end result!

2010-03-19

2010-03-19T08:48:00.003-05:00

wondering where i have been? well, i've been around. just focusing on a couple of other things right now.....

first of all, i am now a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and i couldn't be more happy!

secondly, i have been redoing furniture in our house. i got these ugly chairs from a yard sale last summer.

they have been hiding in our garage until this week when i decided to attack them with a fresh coat of paint and new material for the seat cushion.

i did all of it by myself! yay me!

now to finish the other 5...

and, i will be sewing this week cause i have to get something done by the 27th. nothing like waiting till the last minute.

2010-03-03

2010-03-03T06:56:00.003-06:00

this past weekend, i went to my first ever sewing retreat. it was great! unfortunately, i didn't get many pictures because my camera battery is acting up. and yes, i took the charger. it's just not holding a charge anymore.

the place was in the middle of nowhere. right in the middle of austin and san antonio. 50 miles from each (and the nearest wal-mart, i might add. not that i left the house to find out. i just asked the owner).

we headed down to austin friday morning and stopped at cousin cassie's house and then on to magnolia for lunch. it was really good. then off to the retreat.

we unloaded. sewed a bit. and then it was time for an amazing dinner. our hostess, ann, from the austin stitching studio cooked all of our meals. they were all so yummy!

most of us retired to bed that night kinda early, like by 9pm. the next morning we were all up by 6am ready to sew! and sew we did! unless you were like me, and spent all of your time cutting out patterns...........

mom and i stayed up till midnight. she decided to make a bag and was determined to get it on "the finished board". and she did! it's the cutest purse ever.

we are talking more retreats soon. we had a great time. i really think we would like to do this once a month. of course i can't, with the kiddos and whatnot. but i can pick and choose. and some retreat areas are pretty close! so maybe i could just go for the day? like the one in cedar hill. or there are a couple in granbury too....

anyways, here are a couple of not very good pics of the inside of the retreat.

2010-02-13

2010-02-13T19:51:00.002-06:00

i made a reversable table runner!!!!!!!!!

for valentine's day

and buh-bam! flip it for saint patty's day!!!

and this little gem here is modeling my yoga mat bag. made from a pair of slacks that no longer fit. my mat was a perfect fit into the leg. i just closed it up at the end and added a strap and drawstring.

2010-01-24

2010-01-24T11:31:00.003-06:00

yesterday was my baby boy boston's 4th birthday! he's getting so big! this is a shirt that i repurposed for him. it was originally a shirt that his older brother had outgrown. btw, the shirt says, "i tried to be good but i got bored." i think that says it perfectly for both of my boys!

here's another little dress that i made for indyanna. i have discovered that i love cutting things apart and then putting them back together in a different way. this was made from 2 adult shirts and one kiddie shirt.

2010-01-20 CRAFT-A-LONG Part 2

2010-01-20T09:35:00.003-06:00

ok! so here is my cut material and my wreath which, btw, i purchased at joann's last year.

STEP 3: Prepare to Poke the Material into the Wreath

get a square of your material, right side up. put the tip of a pencil into the middle of the right side of the material. dip the wrong side into some glue. (i used mod podge).

STEP 4: Poke the Material into the Wreath

stab that pencil--with material and glue on it--into the wreath. place them pretty close to each other so it looks really full and pretty!

here's how far along i am with my wreath. btw, this is half of a piece of material that measured 5/8 of a yard.

2010-01-18

2010-01-18T14:21:00.005-06:00

how are you doing on your craft-a-long? got all your supplies and fabric cut out? i'm working on cutting out fabric today and will post part 2 either tonight or tomorrow morning!

in other news, i made indyanna a dress today. it's way long so she said she's gonna use it as a nightgown. it was made using 3 shirts (thank you cuz cassie) and lil blue boo's pattern--the sienna dress.

2010-01-13

2010-01-13T10:12:00.007-06:00

the pattern for this purse is No. 108 The Abigail Bag. it was fairly easy to do. my non-professional, official rating of this pattern is: intermediate. (it has a lot of steps to keep track of) with that said, i think it's the cutest purse in world! i finally finished it last night and i must say that i super puffy heart L-O-V-E my new bag! i just love the material i chose (ikea).

look, close! that's a zipper back there.

love the details like the green rings

and the turn lock for the closure. OH OH OH! and the "H" i embroidered on the flap.

pockets for the inside. and what's that? yep! another zipper!

oh, and i still hate--WITH.EVERY.OUNCE.OF.MY.BEING--bias tape. i broke approximately 8 to 12 needles sewing that junk around the top of the bag.

2010-01-11 CRAFT-A-LONG Part 1

2010-01-11T09:45:00.003-06:00

For this craft-a-long we are going to do Little Birdie Secrets' Easy Valentine's Wreath.

I know you can just go to her site and follow the directions there but, I've decided to do this one because it is easy and everyone can get the "gist" of what a craft-a-long is all about. This craft-a-long is intended for family and friends of mine that are too busy/too far to get together on a regular basis. This way, we can still craft together via the internet.

so let's get going!

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Scraps of fabric (prolly needs to be valentine-y in color since this is a valentine's wreath....but you could do your own thing too.)

Elmers glue or Tacky Glue

Styrofoam Heart

Pencil

Ribbon

Step 2: Cut Your Fabric

You need to cut your scrap fabric into 2 inch squares. I am going to start with cutting one full yard of fabric. As the craft continues, if I need more fabric, I will cut more. You do the same. :)

Now, get to crafting! I will post the next step in a couple of days.

Post pics of your steps on your blog if you want. (I would really like that!)

2010-01-01

2010-01-01T09:53:00.004-06:00

so the story behind the video in my last post is this:

i gave indyanna a special present for christmas just from me. it was a little singer zig zag machine designed for ages 6+. she finally got to use it yesterday. she decided to make a bookmark. she got a piece of green felt material and then layered a piece of pink sparkly material on top. then she just sewed around the edges--wrong sides together. (i didn't tell her to do right sides together...i just let her be)

anyways, this machine is a piece of junk! the stitches come out no matter what you do. it was just poorly made. the presser food is plastic and jiggles around and the needle hits it. it's just bad. and again, the worst part is, that after she sews on it the stitches come out. they do not lock into place since there is no bobbin. i was so mad at this machine that i sent a strongly worded email to singer.com last night. for $20 more i could have gotten my child a "real" machine, albeit a bottom line walmart machine. unfortunately, i threw the box away and i can't return the stupid thing now.

so last night after she made her bookmark and then realized that the stitches where coming out i let her use my bernina. she did great! i am so proud of her!

in this pic the white stitches were made with her machine which, you can see sitting next to her. she went around the edges again with my machine but i did not take picture of the end results since she used a thread that matched and you couldn't see it anyways.

2009-12-31

2009-12-31T21:48:00.002-06:00

2009-12-29

2009-12-29T09:51:00.002-06:00

i finished up boston's robe last night. it was supposed to be for christmas but i forgot! oops. oh well. he loves his robe and hasn't taken it off since i gave it to him. oh ya. he's in that stage where smile = show teeth. little stinker

and this is my mom who has an obsession with scarves. in our family auction my mom bid on and won all the scarves that there were to be had! she got a crocheted scarf and a couple of fleece one's that my sister made. a WAY cool scarf that my cousin jennie made. it's the black and white one.

2009-12-27

2009-12-27T20:48:00.003-06:00

lots of things to share.

robes i made for demi, lexi, and indyanna.

cousin cassie made these scarves for the girls.

sissy alisha made these cute pants

alisha and i made these art caddies for the kids.

and check out my super cool scarf alisha crocheted for me! (look at how tj is looking at his auntie holly. he loves me so much)

i made this casserole carrier (needs dowel rods in the slots)

look at mommy's special christmas present to indyanna...!!

2009-12-18

2009-12-18T20:15:00.004-06:00

well, it's certainly been a while! i have been sewing like crazazy lately but i can't post anything just yet. wait till after christmas.....

for now, i thought i'd share these pictures of my daughter helping me sew. gosh i super duper puffy heart love this girl. she's got a crafter's heart and soul already and that just makes me beam with pride!

209-11-17

2009-11-17T21:26:00.002-06:00

i made indyanna a thanksgiving shirt. i used the kyoko pattern by modkids. in this picture she is wearing the obi a bit too low. oh well.

made this robe for tj's birthday present. i embroidered "T-Buddy" on the back of it!

and this is yet another name pillow i made for a birthday present.

2009-11-12

2009-11-12T17:41:00.004-06:00

the babies and i made a leaf wreath today. we got the idea from my sister, who did this project with her kiddos. i love the way it turned out. it looks GREAT!

gluing leaves to cardboard "wreath"

finished project!

2009-11-05

2009-11-05T20:35:00.003-06:00

i made this awesome dress, view c--the red version, earlier this week! i was so excited. it was made with material that my bff, brandy got me for my bday earlier this year. when i finished the dress i looked like i was way over-due with a set of triplets! it was horrible. but, i decided to move the ties from around the bust to around the waist and i L-O-V-E my new dress!!!!!

2009-10-31

2009-11-01T10:35:00.001-06:00

i made indyanna a poodle skirt for halloween. she was a 50's girl. she picked out the colors!

2009-10-25

2009-10-25T12:18:00.004-05:00

another pillow! they're just so cute and personal!

i made this one for a young lady that is 8th grade with brayden. she has a rare form of cancer called osteosarcoma. today, our city is having christmas in october for her! the whole city is decked out in christmas lights and decorations and we are having a HUGE christmas party for her at the new city park. if you'd like to learn more about laurren and her fight go here.

2009-10-13

2009-10-13T11:42:00.002-05:00

indyanna was invited to a bday party saturday. we made a name pillow. the little girl seemed to like it! indyanna picked out the fabric and stuffed the pillow.

2009-10-06T20:40:00.002-05:00

indyanna and i made this cool little craft tonight. we got it from meandmyinsanty's blog i can't figure out how to turn the flash off of my camera so i didn't get a very good picture of them where you can tell they are glowing from the little tea light candle inside. you'll just have to take my word on this one---they are CUTE! we plan to make many more!

2009-09-26

2009-09-26T17:01:00.002-05:00

projects for my sister. not pictured are two pillowcases that have "mrs. young" and "mr. young" on them.

2009-09-25--

2009-09-25T08:24:00.006-05:00

because i am the ultimate procrastinator, i have tons of projects that must be completed TODAY. so you will soon see at least one post of projects soon!

for now, i wanted to share a project my daughter, indyanna, has been working on. she had to turn it in to her teacher today. it was the family project for the month of september, called "all about me inside and out". she had to decorate a manilla folder in any way she wanted that told about her favorite things. she chose four themes, one for each page. i helped with the first two pages. she did the last two pages completely by herself. NO HELP AT ALL! please blow up the pictures to get the full effect!

page one, theme: family

page two, theme: camping

page three, theme: daisy, the dog

page four, theme: scrapbooking

2009-09-13

2009-09-13T17:14:00.004-05:00

last weekend i went to my cousin cassie's house in round rock. we had a nice relaxing-NO KIDS-weekend. it was great! one of the things we did was go to my all time favorite burger joint, hut's. i am not a burger person but i do crave hut's. oh man! those burgers are good. gotta get 'em with grilled onions. yuuuuuum.

cassie, grandma, and aunt jawana sitting outside while waiting for a table

inside of hut's (i told ya, i love this place!)

this is a picture of indyanna with all of the scrapbooking stuff cassie sent home for her! amazing! she loved it all and immediately dug right in.

and here's my newest purse! i love it.

2009-09-01

2009-09-01T11:29:00.008-05:00

boston's first day of building blocks this year! (and my cousin jennie's birthday today. happy birthday jennie!)

his class is called the sea crew. so i went with that them for his outfit.

i don't know what was up with the shades. he wouldn't take them off. guess they made his new haircut look good.

boss and bray. (bray got a haircut last night too. i think it looks great)

boston and mrs. tessa, his teacher this year.

2009-08-24

2009-08-24T21:03:00.004-05:00

meet the teacher night was tonight. since indyanna has to wear a uniform to school, i decided to make her a cute little meet the teacher outfit! complete with bows for hair and shoes!

and this is a family picture taken at meet the teacher.

2009-08-19

2009-08-19T18:35:00.004-05:00

school is approaching fast, hu? we've been school uniform & supply shopping, gotten bray a school physical so he can play football this year, *side note--please pray for him. he's never played before. but also please pray for me. i'm so nervous i feel like i'm gonna 'up' every time we talk about it* and we've taken care of the stinky-it's-not-fair-but-we-have-to-do-it-anyways school hair cut too!

coupla pics of bray before

here, his shoulders aren't squinched up so you can really see how long it was

and after the hair cut!

indyanna and boston are ready for school too. my little girl will be in full day kindergarten. ok, i seriously just choked up a little when i typed that. ugh. how am i gonna survive? better yet, how am i gonna survive all day with just boston? have you ever met boston? he's gonna keep me busy! i think there's gonna be some serious sadness when these two realize they won't be with each other all day long...

playing dress up last week together

and finally i finished my new purse. and i TOTALLY LOVE it. between this purse and grandma's wallet, i did learn a lesson. ready for my lesson learned? i hate bias tape. there you go. lesson learned. (btw, gma's wallet still isn't' complete. think aunt jawana will have to finish it for me)

2009-08-07 CARMAN FAMILY VACATION

2009-08-07T10:28:00.014-05:00

Thursday, we left for vaca to lake catherine state park in arkansas. It is approximately 25 mins from hot springs.

We planned to leave at noon. We left at 2:30.

it was very cloudy with dark thunderstorm clouds the entire ride to lake catherine. But we did not get into any rain during the drive.

We stopped twice for bathroom breaks on the 5 hour trip.

Literally, right before our exit, a police car pulled in behind us and put on his lights. We pulled over immediately. As did the police car. But he stopped way behind us. And NEVER got out of the car. Eventually he turned off his lights. I got out since I was on the passengers side and made a motion to the police office as if to say---hey, what's the deal? But he never got out of his car. So we just took off. He stayed where he was at. Weirdest thing ever.

It did start raining as we got closer and closer to lake catherine. It was a very light, yet steady rain. We got to our campsite and set up.

Everyone was really hungry. I tried to get steaks and corn on the cob ready but it got too dark too fast. So we wound up having left over cavitini and the babies had pb and j's, their favorite. (I am so glad I had bray make an extra batch of cavitini to take with us. I'm a genius!)

we discovered that the water spicket was on the other side of the campsite from the electric hook up. And our hose was way too short to reach it. We went without water last night and this morning. Thank goodness the restrooms are really close.

Friday

At 10 till 5 this morning the a/c stopped working. The microwave wasn't blinking anymore either. The electricity was out. I woke up as did everyone else. I looked outside and we discovered that the entire campground was without electricity. We opened the windows. It was really cool outside. And it actually felt great. We all slept until 9:45 this morning! It was great.

We got up and ate breakfast. I made scrambled eggs. They put the eggs in a tortilla with cheese and hot sauce. I had a slim fast.

Then we went to the bathrooms and we all brushed out teeth.

After that we came back cleaned up and decided to go for a hike to the waterfall. We were told we could take a shortcut and the hike would only be a half of a mile. We'll somehow we got mixed up and wound up taking a pretty strenuous/rough terrain 2 mile hike. Up and down the mountain. With indyanna and boston in tow!

After the hike we loaded up the truck and headed to the nearest walmart. Gotta check out the local walmart in every town, you know! We stocked up on some things we needed. We came back to the campsite and had some sammies for lunch. Now the two babies and myself are going to take a nap. Ryan and the two teenagers are playing in the fire. Good times!

Bray, kay and I went to the marina and campground store to get fuel for the fire and bread. They had neither. Well, they did have fire starter but it was the exact same thing from walmart—just $10 more!

The kids were up when we came back. I made dinner, steaks and a veggie burger for kaylee, cooked on the grill and corn on the cob, wrapped in foil. I had a salad.

After dinner I took the kids to the bath house and we had showers. Nice and warm. Not too shabby!

When we got back in was time for our favorite time of the day. CAMPFIRE DESSERTS! We had tortillas with peanut butter, choc chips and marshmallows wrapped in foil put on the coals. It was SOOOOO good.

We ended the night with a game of uno with the babies.

Saturday

woke up at 7am to the sound of booming thunder! It started raining and it rained and rained and rained some more. Heavy rain. Sprinkling. Moderate rain. Back to lots of heavy rain! The thunder was so loud and the lightening was close!

it finally let up around noon. We packed up everything because we had to change campsites today. Everything was so soggy and wet.

We moved campsites and discovered we had a flat on the trailer.

The new campsite is right on the lake. And there is a creek/runoff right behind us. It's really nice. There's a mountain right across the lake. Sweet stuff. Also there's a work plant of some sort. Water treatment or power? Kind not so sweet stuff. No big deal.

the kids spent the afternoon swimming in the lake. and ryan and i playing in the fire.

Sunday

yesterday was sunday. It was also ryan and my 6 year anniversary. That would be the iron anniversary for those that want to know. We got up and ryan decided that we would go to hot springs. Originally, it was planned for monday but hey, this is vacay and you don't have plans on vacay, do you?

We had breakfast and then it was off to hot springs. We parked at the visitors center and walked bath house row. We watched the film about the hot springs and the bath houses at the fordyce bathhouse. We crossed the street and looked at all the shops on the walk back to our truck. Just as we got to the vehicle it started to rain again! The rain was light and it only lasted 10 minutes. We filled up all the empty water bottles we could find with the free hot springs water.

we, then, headed up the mountain to the tower in hot springs. When ryan and I were here 6 years ago I went to the top of the tower with ryan. This time I opted to sit in the shop and wait while the rest of them went to the top. Indyanna was very excited about this tower. All afternoon she kept asking, “when are going to go to the top of the tower?” when they finally came down, I asked her if she liked it. She said no. It was way too scary for her! However, she did say that if I would go with her then she would go again.

After the tower we found a nice little italian resturaunt named angels to dine at for dinner. They had amazing homemade foccacia bread with a homemade black olive and garlic spread. I HATE olives of any kind but found that if I put butter on the bread first, then the olive spread was pretty good. The butter tended to drown out the nasty sour olive taste.

indyanna really liked the bread and butter!

Ryan ordered chicken fetticini alfredo. The teenagers split a peperoni pizza. The babies split a spaghetti and meatball. And yes, I said meatball, singular. It was one huge meatball! I had the chicken and mushroom raviolis in a mushroom sauce, although I never found any chicken in the dish. It was all pretty good. Not the best i've ever had and not the worst either. Overall a nice dinner with the family.

After dinner, we set out for our campsite again. Hot springs was a very short 20 minute drive away. On the way back, boston passed out for the night. We put him in bed when we got to the camper and the rest of us sat around the campfire eating roasted marshmellows.

We played a couple of games of uno. And taught ryan how to play farkle. Then it was night time for all.

Monday

this morning I got up at 9am. I grabbed a book and a drink and took my lawn chair to the edge of the water. I read for a while as the others slept. I finally woke them all up at 10:30. we had breakfast and then bray did the dishes. (the teens are rotating days dishes and helping me cook) btw, breakfast was over around noon! Kinda funny how you get on that very relaxed and late schedule during vacay! Heck the babies haven't gone to bed before 11:30 since we've been here!

After, breakfast and clean up, bray and kay got in their boats and floated in the lake for a while. Ryan and cleaned up the camper and campsite some. A storm started moving in so we put away everything that we didn't want to get wet. It started raining and I decided to take boss and nan to the nature center.

We spent an hour there looking at the different animals and talking to the park interpreter. Her name is julie. She told us all about her job and the animals. There were 2 snapping turtles, a soft shell turtle, and 2 red eared sliders inside, and 8 box turtles outside. Inside, there was also a toad, various fish, a tarantula, a copperhead, 2 speckled kingsnakes, pygmy rattlesnake and a little baby snake that i've forgotten the exact name of--it was some sort of milk snake, i think.

indyanna and boss in front of the box turtle habitat. if you look REALLY close, in the bottom left hand corner you can see a couple of turtles.

The kids were given a pair of binoculars to color as well.

At lunch time we all had sandwhiches in the sandwhich maker and then the kids laid down for nap. While ryan made the third trip to walmart!

Tuesday

tuesday morning, indyanna and i got up earlier than anyone else.

picture of the lake early in the morning. (you can see an animal got into our trash overnight!)

we decided to go fishing. i caught a small fish within 5 minutes! of course, it was really hooked and i couldn't get it off. i had to go wake up ryan and tell him i needed help getting the fish off.

after i caught the fish ryan spent most of his extra time trying to catch a fish too! LOL

(i was the only one who caught a fish this vacation and the last!)

after breakfast, we decided to go thrift shopping. There are tons of thrift stores in hot springs. Ryan stayed at the campsite with the babies and let them swim and then made them lunch and laid them down for a nap.

Kay, bray, and I headed into hot springs. We, of course, stopped at the local starbucks for some much needed internet time. Then off it was to the thrift stores. Most of the stores closed at 3 or 4pm so we only had time to hit a few. The first store was awesome. Kaylee got 8 ties for .50 cents each. Here in dallas, using thrift stores, we paid an average of $3 for each tie for her tie skirt. I bought an AWESOME magazine called craft 'n things, a purse, and dr. dobson's book dare to discipline, all for the grand total of $1.75. we stopped at 2 other stores. One was a children's thrift store. I wish I had had the babies with me. They would have scored! As it was though, I just bought indyanna a purse. It's really cute.

We went back to the campsite and had some burgers for dinner. Then of course some yummy toasted marshmallows for dessert.

Wednesday

i woke up very early wednesday morning (6:55am) to the sound of the awning clanking around. The wind was blowing pretty strong and a storm was moving in fast. So I got up and went outside to pick up all the towels and bathing suits that were hanging out on the line. Ryan joined me shortly after I went outsite and we continued to pick up the floats and blow up pool, firewood and a hatchet, and we just made sure that everything was secure for the incoming storm. When we were finished he and I hopped in the truck and listened to the radio. The kids were still asleep in the camper.

The big storm that we were waiting on never really happened. It sprinkled for about 15 minutes but not really any rain to speak of. However, the wind stayed strong and COLD for a couple of hours. Ryan and I decided at 8 am that it was time to wake all the kids up and make the most of the last day of camping.

We had a big breakfast then I made an apple crisp to snack on. We played a couple of rounds of uno and ryan and the babies built the fire and fed the squirrels. Around noon it was finally warm enough to go on a hike and swim. We hiked to the waterfall and had a blast swimming in the pool below.

The water was freezing but by the time we got there it was really hot and humid out so the water felt great. We played for a good time and then ryan spotted a snake. That was the end of the waterfall swim for the carman family. Others that were there didn't seem to care that a snake was nearby. They swam anyways.

we went to the nature center for family nature scavenger hunt. lots of fun!

after that, we headed back to camp because it was time for the babies to nap. kaylee and I decided we wanted to go to the local store that also just happens to have internet. LOL. We hung out there for an hour or so. When we got back to camp the teens and I hung out by the fire eating more roasted marshmallows and waiting for the babies and ryan to wake up. As we were sitting there a water plane landed on the lake right in front of our campsite! The person must have been practicing cause they took off and landed 3 or 4 times. It was really cool to watch.

For dinner we headed to the local store (the one with internet) for dinner. They had a small resturaunt inside of the store. We all had burgers and kaylee had a chilli dog. My burger was delicious! It started getting windy as we ate and the weather report was that there were more storms coming. On the way back to the site we discussed packing up and leaving that night but ultimatly decided to just pack as much as we could or until the rain got too bad and then we'd leave in the morning.

Thursday

we got up and cleaned up the camper and campsite. We had waffles for breakfast and then headed home!

We stopped in texarkana at tamolly's for lunch. The fajita's were great!

We stopped in mt. Pleasant for a potty break and some mcflurries.

We made it home at 6:15pm. It was a great trip but I was glad to see my own shower again!

2009-07-26

2009-07-26T20:08:00.003-05:00

bought this material while in padre this year. i think it turned into a cute little shirt for boston.

and i made this skirt for indyanna. both were made using simplicity 3856

2009-07-19

2009-07-19T21:37:00.003-05:00

yesterday, we had our monthly big d city stitchers ASG meeting (american sewing guild). we meet at the lakewood library every 3rd saturday of the month. it's my favorite day of the month! we made these cute "market bags". i think they turned out REALLY cute and they did not take long to make at all.

i asked a random person to snap a picture of us and this is the best i got. i'm thankful to get a picture though...

2009-07-18

2009-07-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

it's my dad's bday today! hope you have a great day dad. (like he reads this)

i stayed up very, very late making these adorable (if i do say so myself) wall hangings for some special friends of my nieces, lexi and demi.

2009-07-17

2009-07-17T11:21:00.003-05:00

here's what i made for indyanna's friend, nate. it's a wall hanging. i thought it was cute. hopefully he likes it.

2009-07-16

2009-07-16T07:00:00.003-05:00

this is my 100th post. it's incredible that i've not only stuck with something this long but that i've had that many crafty things to show. love that!

another bow...

my daughter has weird ideas about posing.

i do still do other things besides make bows. for instance, right now i am working on a skirt for indyanna. i should be finished with it tomorrow. i, also, have another project ready to post but i can't until the recipient receives it. don't want to spoil the surprise! i promise the next post will be sewing related!

2009-07-13

2009-07-13T17:09:00.002-05:00

ok. i'll admit it. we're bow obsessed.

2009-07-12

2009-07-12T13:38:00.001-05:00

my sweet little niece, lexi, had her bday party yesterday! we had a blast!!!

indyanna made her the bow she's wearing and i made her the pillow.

2009-07-08

2009-07-08T22:22:00.005-05:00

sew, indyanna and i have discovered the greatness that is the BOWDABRA! seriously, if you have a girl, don't walk, RUN to your nearest walmart and buy one. we made bow after bow after bow tonight. i've discovered that my daughter likes BIG bows.

proof of big bow love

she even made a bow for daddy.

you can also use the bowdabra to make bows for presents. SWEETNESS.

2009-07-06

2009-07-06T09:16:00.004-05:00

this past forth of july weekend was a awesome! we saw several fireworks shows. took the kids to the hannah montanna movie and for bike rides and playtime at the park. spent time at a christian concert with mom and dad and kaylee. then the next day spent time with ryan's family. and i got to spend alot of time sewing! talk about a great weekend!

i made indyanna a cute little dress from simplicity 3856.

and i made boston this shirt from simplicity 2627

now if you know boston, you should be laughing very hard at the picture above! every time i look at it i just laugh and laugh. check out those furrowing eyebrows!

and here's a cute little picture of the two of them together.

in other news, bray should be on his return trip from new york as i type! i can't wait to see him!

2009-06-27

2009-06-27T22:21:00.003-05:00

welp, bray is off to new york. mom and dad and kay are off to the grand canyon. tomorrow my sister, alisha, and her family are off to the beach. why didn't we get the memo that it was vacation week???

tonight we took the kids to watch some fireworks.

they seemed to enjoy it this year as opposed to last year when they would both scream every time one went off. we really had a nice family evening.

i wore this shirt tonight. i chopped off a tank and added some cool knit material i got when my girl, brandy, took me shopping at golden d'or on my birthday this year.

i really like the way it turned out. i'm hoping i don't look preggo in it. or like i'm wearing a maternity shirt. it's really comfy.

2009-06-23 bray's birthday!

2009-06-23T09:29:00.004-05:00

ahhh! bray is off at camp this week. i miss him so much. and i really miss the fact that we are not together on his birthday. 14, yes i said FOURTEEN, years ago i was a so young and had no clue what was in store for us. but i gave birth to you and it's been an adventure ever since. you are so kind and gentle and caring. or at least you were until the teen hormones overtook you. but i still see all those attributes in you. they just take a little fanagiling to get to now. (can't wait for the hormones to bother someone else for a while! why oh why don't they make midol for boys?) no matter what, crazy hormones or not, you're the start of my life as a mother. you're the reason i'm a stay at home mom. you've been nothing but good for my heart and soul. i see so much potential in your future. i am so excited to see what you choose to do with your life. i pray that you always chose to keep God first in your life. and your mommy close to you always.

2009-06-22 menu planning monday

2009-06-22T09:17:00.005-05:00

i'm a huge menu planner so i thought i would participate in menu planning monday over at i'm an organizing junkie's blog. it's a great way to see what others are eating for the week. also, it's an awesome way to share and try new recipes....one of my favorite things to do!!!

monday: kid pleasin' spaghetti (i can't believe my daughter doesn't like spaghetti. i'm on a mission to show her she's wrong!)

tuesday: chicken vermicelli

wednesday: out to eat!

thursday: cavatini (will post pictures and recipe after i make it)

friday: grilled chicken burgers

2009-06-21

2009-06-21T20:23:00.005-05:00

indyanna thought it would be a great idea to make breakfast for daddy this morning.

she scrambled the eggs (and added 4 heaping handfuls of cheese to the eggs)

she buttered the waffles (hopefully none of daddy's arteries got clogged)

she did such a great job. she sure was proud of herself. daddy thought it was delicious. (he was def still asleep when she brought in the breakfast)

in other news, our church sent over 80 kids to sr. camp this year! please be in prayer for traveling mercies and for the Lord to really move in the hearts of the kids this week. (my dad's driving this bus)

and i made this tie skirt for my little sister, kaylee. she really wanted to have it at camp. i finished it this morning. i'm so glad it fit! i think she and i, both, would have been crushed if it didn't fit properly. thank goodness it did. whew.

made these for (follow me here) my sister's mother-in-law to give to her nephew and soon to be wife at their wedding shower. they're pillowcases.

2009-06-20

2009-06-20T18:35:00.006-05:00

oh today was the BOMB baby! a sewer's delight. i went to martha's sewing market. it really was great! i did alot of looking and dreaming and idea-getting. did i mention it was awesome?

i bought this magazine because i am going to make the outfit on the cover for indyanana.

i bought this cutting line designs pattern. i'm going to make the duster. obviously, i'm short so i'll make it hip length--i think. i do know that i saw this pattern made up and it looks really nice. so, i thought for $5 i had to get it!

and the last thing i bought was the pattern for the sara satchel. unfortunately, i think i paid for the pattern and then forgot to pick it up and put it in my bag because i came home without it. i'm so sad. i called the shop and left a message with them explaining what i thought might have happened. hopefully they will find the extra pattern lying around and send it my way.

i loved the sewing expo and i cannot wait to go again next year. the highlight of my day though, was when i saw sue hausmann of american sews with sue hausmann. i SOOOOOOOOOOOO wanted to get a picture with her. but guess what i forgot. ya. my camera. see? now, i HAVE to go next year. have to get that picture.

2009-06-19

2009-06-19T19:17:00.004-05:00

beyonce ain't got nothin' on indyanna! (doesn't boston make a GREAT backup singer/dancer?)

2009-06-13

2009-06-13T19:11:00.005-05:00

sew, today i stopped by a yard sale and SCORE! there were crafty things there along with fabric!!!!

while there, i noticed a box full of fabric paint for $2. of course i had to get it.

now what am i gonna do with all that fabric paint? nothing. i'm definitely not a painter.

but my kids are!!!

as proof of their painting skills, and maybe to brag a little too, here are just a few of their masterpieces.

i can't wait to see what they come up with next!

2009-06-11

2009-06-11T04:03:00.003-05:00

i am not cut out for storms. i'm just not. i've been up half the night. i wish i were the type that could sleep right through the storms. but, i'm not. tonight, the thunder is loud and the lightening is blinding! and constant. i've decided tonight, that, my bedroom definitely needs curtains. mini-blinds are not enough.

i have to place my faith and trust in God that whatever happens is His will. and He will not give me more than i can handle. my heart and brain are on board with this. but for some reason my stomach is not......

2009-06-09

2009-06-09T19:57:00.004-05:00

sew, my little girl is a crafty one already. i dare say, i think she will totally pass me up in the crafting arena. last night she got out her supplies: plastic canvas shaped butterfly, plastic canvas shaped flowers, and some sparkle-y goop that came in a kit.

here she is working hard on her creations.

and her finished product. (the butterfly is not finished yet. lots of details, ya know...)

ahhh! summertime! i love it! and so does she. one of my favorite pictures from the splash pad today

2009-06-06

2009-06-06T20:00:00.008-05:00

my sister got into townview high school, specifically the school for the talented and gifted. it's the #2 school in the nation. not only did she get into this school, her two best friends, hannah and brittney, did as well! and bonus--another really good friend from church got in too! we're all really excited and proud of them all! we decided to throw them a surprise "NERD" party in their honor last night.

THE NERDS! my sister, kaylee, is the one in the front cheesin' it up with the braces. my other sister, alisha, made the shirts. they say, "i'm dorkier than a box of nerds"

my mom bought little canvas bags and i embroidered on them.

we had the party at hannah's house. i used to do photography and i've done photos of hannah's family several times. they just moved and i was super excited to see that they had a bunch of pictures i took of them hung up in their new house.

in other news. my cousin, brandon, graduated from high school and is off to college this fall. my aunt bought a set of red towels and a set of black towels and asked me to embroider his initials on them. i think they turned out decent. i will say that i learned lots of lessons with this project! 1.) don't ever brag that you've never embroidered your project to itself. cause, sure enough, as soon as you say that--it will happen. 2.) on important gift type projects that you are being supplied the materials, don't bump your machine! even accidentally it's just not a good idea. i did great on the red set and then when it came to the black set i messed up on all three towels and had to go buy a whole 'nother set. refer to lessons i learned above for reasons why.

my oldest, bray, turns 14 in a few days. he's full of teenage hormones and thinking about what he'll get for his first car. today, we found it!

ha! my sister's husband works for little caesars and this his company car. i think it's the coolest thing ever. so cute!

2009-05-30

2009-05-30T19:03:00.003-05:00

need a new to do list so i can get things done!

1. monogram brandon's towels. (1 down, 3 to go)

2. make kaylee a tie skirt.

3. make wallet grandma picked out for me to sew.

4. make bossy a bowling shirt from the cutest boy material EVER. another out of this material too! so cute.

5. get back to sewing stuff for me!!!!!!!

2009-05-27

2009-05-27T08:44:00.005-05:00

before i left on vacation, i made this really cool bag with the help of ms. kellie at the bernina store. this vacation was a girls trip with 12 other members of my family. i decided to have a drawing of sorts to give away the bag. some people did silly human tricks and others gave me recipes. still others got their name in the drawing by letting me use their flat iron, hair clip, and even by giving me a diet dr. pepper. (then threatening to take it back if i didn't put their name in the drawing!!!) it was lots of fun and linda, my mom's cousin (so my second cousin?), had her name pulled out of the drawing and won the bag. i'm pretty sure she really liked it. however, i forgot to snap a picture of her with the bag. guess that's what happens when you're having too much fun!

2009-05-22

2009-05-22T19:44:00.001-05:00

i'm in padre and you're not! be back on tuesday.

2009-05-17

2009-05-17T17:19:00.003-05:00

here's an update to the shirt i was having trouble with...

i decided to pleat the front all the way down. i like it. what do you think? (click on the picture to enlarge. you can really see the shirt that way.)

2009-05-15

2009-05-15T23:07:00.006-05:00

whipped out this cute little project for tomorrow's ASG meeting. it's a place mat holder thingy. you could put sewing notions in it when you go to sewing class. or use it for jewelry. or for little girl's hair clips and ponytail holders. or use it for whatever your heart desires! seriously super duper easy and fast.

*ya. the wording is crooked. and i could have used a flashier place mat. but it's 11pm the night before i need to teach this project. and today was one of those go go go days. except this time with the kids. (usually i save the go go go days for when the two babies are in preschool) anyways, walmart. joann's. home. lunch. laundry. put kids down for nap. pick biggest kid up from school. take two of his friends home from school. dinner. soccer game. back to walmart.......so there. i'm tired. cut a girl some slack

2009-05-12

2009-05-12T18:56:00.002-05:00

another embroidered towel for my friend, brandy. this design came from swak.

2009-05-11

2009-05-11T17:46:00.004-05:00

stitched out this cute towel today. an awesome friend of mine will be receiving this tomorrow. hope she likes it.

2009-05-10 mother's day!

2009-05-10T18:00:00.005-05:00

i love my new shirt! kellie at the bernina shop helped me with it. she's the bomb. it's the juliet tunic from serendipity studio. it really wasn't that hard to make. i'm actually gonna cut out another one tonight! i--no, make that kellie-- did make a few adjustments though. she added an inch to the bodice length and an inch to the bodice width. the next go 'round, i will be adding another inch to the length. as you can see in the following picture the ruffle under the bust sticks out. the ruffle is supposed to lie flat. it sticks out 'cause of where it hits. i still love this shirt and i def will still be wearing it--i just want to improve on it and get those dang ruffles flat!

on with the pics.....

guess what? there's a zipper back there. what? you can't see it? that's cause it's an invisible zipper. ya. that was also an invisible pat on the back to myself.

and a mother's day picture with my kiddos. aren't we a sight? i love this picture.

2009-04-29

2009-04-29T15:32:00.005-05:00

i've been working on this top. the tutorial is awesome and really easy. the problem is that as much as i want to wear this top and like this top on me--i don't. i look really big in it. or like i'm pregnant. or both. i know i'm not a skinny minny anymore but i do still have a waist. and this shirt does not show any waist on me at all! plus it makes me look at least 40 lbs heavier that i really am. i really don't want to wear anything that adds weight to me! the bottom isn't finished because i'm trying to figure out if i can somehow "fix" this top to flatter my body more. i've tried to add a belt with it. didn't really like that. i've thought about adding a line of shirring under the bust. maybe add a band to the bottom?.... i just don't know. i'm taking it to my sewing class tomorrow in hopes that i will come away with a plan to make this shirt more flattering on me.

(oh yes. as always i'm relying on a 5 yr old for the photos!)

2009-04-26

2009-04-26T19:41:00.006-05:00

mom asked me to make a child's size apron for the mother/daughter banquet....

i found this AWESOME tutorial and made the apron in no time flat! it's actually a size 8. it's way too big on indyanna. but i think she models it well anyways.

2009-04-23

2009-04-23T13:21:00.003-05:00

i made this apron for my mom. it's for the upcoming mother/daughter banquet at our church. it's from butterick 4945, view d. but i made it more like view c.

2009-04-08

2009-04-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

i made the babies each an easter basket.

added some ribbon to the handles....

2009-04-03 indyanna's birthday!

2009-04-03T10:03:00.005-05:00

today is my daughter's 5th birthday. she is just getting so big. i can't believe how times flies!!!!!!!!!!!

she loves make clothes for her dolls. she uses scrap material and ties it around her dolls to make the clothes. if the material is too little to tie, she will use string or ribbon to keep it in place. here is one of her creations. isn't it cool? done all by herself!

i also want to share a hair style i did on her this week. well, just the back of it. i thought it was cool.

and here's the birthday girl in her birthday dress! i worked really hard on this dress and i am happy with the way it turned out. i think i will make some crisp white capri's to go under the dress.

and here is a close up of the bodice. in case you can't tell, because the horrible picture, i embroidered "indyanna" and a flower on it.

(you can click on any of the pictures to blow them up)

2009-03-28 plan of atack

2009-03-28T12:06:00.005-05:00

i have things that desperately need to be done! and some things need to be done SOON.

1. DONE! indyanna's birthday dress. needs to be able to wear it to school on thursday. 04-01

2. DONE! boston and indyanna's easter baskets. 04-11

3. indyanna's easter dress. she has a dress ready to go, but it's a bit short! so i am going to try to make her another dress if time permits. 04-11

4. bella's birthday outfit. (no link to a picture since i want it to be a surprise!)04-25

5. DONE & DONE! aprons for my church's mother/daughter banquet 05-02

6. embroidered kitchen towels for mother/daughter banquet 05/02

things i can't wait to do!

1. fabric grocery bags

2. knitters delight did this shirt and it's AWESOME. i bought the pattern today. my friend, brandy, bought me the best fabric for it a few weekends ago. i just need time to sew it.

3. and this dress. wow. i love it.

2009-03-24 finally finished the quilt

2009-03-24T12:34:00.002-05:00

ycmt quilt a long

2009-03-17

2009-03-17T10:07:00.003-05:00

happy st. patrick's day.

i'm working to finish the quilt i am making for my cousin's baby. i'm on step 10 of the ycmt quilt. this was my attempt at quilting. not the best job. but it works.

2009-03-15

2009-03-15T18:46:00.003-05:00

here's the finished pillow i made for my mother-in-law for her birthday.

she and i went to blue mesa this morning for brunch. ugh. i'm still waddling 8 hours later. i ate way too much. the 30 day shred is gonna kill me tonight.

2009-03-13

2009-03-13T21:19:00.005-05:00

i finally finished something! i feel like i've been in a rut over this one shirt. the pattern was not written well and the pictures were even worse. although, now that i've made it once, it will be very easy to replicate using my own instructions.

wanna see some dancin'?

what about some serious booty shakin'?

2009-03-09

2009-03-09T10:53:00.003-05:00

yesterday my husband taught our daughter how to climb trees. she LOVES it and has been asking, no begging, me to let her go outside to climb trees this morning.

a wider view so you can tell just how high up she is. daddy had to help her up into the this tree.

this one she can get into on her own

and of course baby brother had to get in on the action. although, once up in the tree, he didn't like it too much and wanted to get down immediately.

2009-03-06

2009-03-06T22:05:00.004-06:00

made these for my sister's mother in law. she's a sweet lady. everyone calls her "Z" so that's what i embroidered on the towels. alisha is going to put bias tape around the edges then give them to her for her birthday next week.

(i haven't cut all the strings and gotten rid of the placement markings on these projects yet)

and then this is kind of a trial and error towel. i used the letter from the ycmt personalized pillow letter set.

2009-03-05T18:05:00.003-06:00

my cousin cassie sent me this awesome purse today. i love it so much. she's the best.

she also sent me a really cool card. you can see it on her blog. it's the first one--the bird card! it's adorable.

i haven't really been sewing lately. but i have been cutting out patterns. i've cut out about 6 or so. and now i'm officially ready to start sewing! yay me. very soon i will have lots of things to share.

my sister taught me how to make loopy bows this weekend. not a great picture, but here's one of them.

and here is what i'm working on for my mother in law. i am making it for her birthday. (she and i share the same birthday) we're not getting together until the 15th so it will be done by then! it's going to be a pillow and the flowery material in the picture is the back and edges of the pillow. anyways, i actually embroidered this using my machine! i love my machine!!!!

2009-02-20

2009-02-20T15:14:00.005-06:00

after consulting many expert's opinions at playdate today, i have decided to add only one border to the ycmt quilt.

now, i am anxiously awaiting the next step!

2009-02-17

2009-02-17T15:25:00.005-06:00

finished this dress today. i'm trying to make good on my new year's resolution to make more clothes for myself. anyways, i really like the dress and the pattern. i do have some issues with the bodice. it kinda puckers out in a couple of places. but, other than that, me likey. (please forgive the pictures. 4 year old taking them with assitance from 3 year old)

(forgot to hook the hook and eye)

next up, add borders to the ycmt quilt. after that another outfit for me. then an outfit for indyanna from a pattern i've been dying to try out.

2009-02-14

2009-02-14T20:04:00.005-06:00

bray and indyanna making a valentines cookie bouquet. (boss was running errand's with daddy)

didn't it turn out cute? as soon as boston came home he tore into them!

bray and i also made these big orea kisses. indyanna supervised and took pictures. whoa momma! were they good!!! ryan tore those up!

and for the last few days, i've been watching my daughter become more and more interested in crafts. the other day i caught her with my crochet hook and yarn. with some serious intensity, she was trying to figure out how to do it. i sat down and helped her do a few stitches. she loved it. today, i got out my scrapbooking things and she made some valentines. all. by. herself. scissor cutting and all. i was so impressed. i think she's def got the crafting bug. I AM SO EXCITED! i am already having visions of us sewing her prom dress together!!! (and by the way, she does already sit in my lap and sew)

i know, bad pictures. but here are her completed projects. the white heart on top, i mostly did. but the purple heart and the red heard she did completely by herself. the purple heart was for bray. and the red heart for daddy. the quote on it says, "the first man a girl falls in love with is her daddy"

i got a james avery ring from ryan! it was a total surprise. unfortunately, it's a bit too small. i will be exchanging it on tuesday. can't wait to wear it.

2009-02-12 boston's new shoes

2009-02-12T15:16:00.002-06:00

i just think they're so cool. how could i not share?

2009-02-10

2009-02-10T17:52:00.004-06:00

i have a new obsession of the moment. it's fixin' indyanna's hair! ever since my sister told me about she does hair, i just can't seem to let indyanna out of the house in a simple ponytail.

i'm pretty impressed with myself over today's hairdo. check out the back of it. pretty cool, hu?

i've been kinda scared of the embroidery machine. i've been sewing on my new machine. but to embroider all by myself? scary. but today i decided to try it.

here is my first attempt. i just cut a piece of material and went to town. maybe i'll turn this into a cute throw pillow or something.

and since that turned out pretty decent, i decided to try on one of indyanna's t-shirts. it's not perfectly centered and i'd like for the design to be higher up but i didn't feel like re-hooping it.

2009-02-09 ycmt quilt update

2009-02-09T20:41:00.003-06:00

today, i got caught up on the ycmt quilt. i did steps 7, 8, and 9. in the process, i've decided that this is gonna be a quilt for my cousin marc's daughter, addison leigh. she is due to arrive in may!

oh, and i think this project will be small enough for me to hoop and quilt on my new baby!

2009-02-08

2009-02-08T19:23:00.004-06:00

whew! this weekend was a long one! friday night was the daddy/daughter dance. here's a picture of the back of indyanna dancing the night away.

then, bright and early saturday morning was boston's birthday party. actually, it was boston and his cousin demi's party! they had a shared party and it was a blast! she turned 5 and he turned 3.

can you guess where the party was held?

boston

demi

and then, of course, today was church day. after church, we went to my aunt's house to visit with my cousin, cassie, and her hubby, wayne. and then off to my parent's house for lunch. mom's the best cook around.

while at mom's house, i finished the dish cloth i've been working on.

and i made a coaster. (actually, the coaster's gonna be a face cloth!)

and finally, i got a blog award from shelly. thank you very much.

2009-02-06 daddy/daughter dress!

2009-02-06T19:30:00.003-06:00

so off they went, the princess and her daddy. i am glad that i got her dress done in time! please, if you ever see it in person, do NOT ask to see it close up. there are parts of it that i am praying does not come apart while she is shakin' her grove thang tonight....

2009-02-04 taking a break from THE DRESS

2009-02-04T22:35:00.002-06:00

got this from sew, mama, sew! it's a tell-us-about-your-stash questionnaire. or as i like to call it. stash talk.

* What do you usually sew?

i usually sew little girls clothing. sometimes i sew an outfit for my baby boy as well. sometimes my oldest son will allow me to make him some pj bottoms or pillows. and on rare occasions i even sew a little something for myself. but for the most part, it's little girls clothing.

* When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

at least 3 yards. that would be the minimum

* Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

both!

* Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

depends. if i buy the fabric at a yard sale or the thrift store i wash it as soon as i get home. otherwise, i wash it when i need it. if i remember to before i cut it out, that is.

* Do you iron it?

if it needs it

* How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

ummm. at one point it was sorted by colors. not so much anymore. i do have cottons together. knits together. flannels together. fleece together. etc.

* Do you have any special folding techniques?

HA! no

* How do you store your fabric?

when we moved into this house one of the rooms had a built in bookcase type thingy along one wall. i store my fabric in there.

* When do you say enough is enough?

i'm not for sure that i would ever think that. let alone have those words actually come out of my mouth. i am however trying to use more, buy less. but that's because of the economy.

* What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

quilts. wallets. little girl outfits.

* Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!

i think i do. i will take a pic and post it tomorrow!

2009-02-03

2009-02-03T17:18:00.003-06:00

i have been working on indyanna's daddy/daughter dance dress. the dance is on friday. and i still have 30 buttons and buttonholes to sew down the back of this dress! i also have to hem it. and finish out the armholes and neckline. oh, and add a zipper. oh man! and i just realized i have to go out and buy her some shoes sometime this week to go with the dress.

anyways, here's a progress picture.

she had her school clothes on underneath. ignore the white long sleeve shirt.

2009-02-02

2009-02-02T09:50:00.007-06:00

yesterday, the babies and i did a project. we made stepping stones. for christmas, from their pre-school, they each received a kit to make the stepping stones. it was a quick project to do and the kids loved it. plus it kept them out from under daddy's feet while he installed our new flat screen!

bossy and i with a putty knife smoothing out the mixture

indyanna getting her mixture just right

final products! (you really can't tell, but at the bottom we wrote their names and the year)

and of course a pic of the new tv. and while you're looking, check out that mantle my uncle handcrafted! it's super nice.

my cousin, cassie, directed me to this website for crocheted kitchen scrubbies made from tulle. so awesome. last night i tried and tried to follow her pattern but failed. however, i did find a pattern in one of my books for a circular drink coaster and i was successful at following that pattern! i used scrap tulle that i had lying around--hence the color change in a random spot!

2009-01-30

2009-01-30T18:07:00.004-06:00

i cut my baby's hair off today.

before

and after

here's an update on the crochet baby blanket i've been working on. it will be completed tonight. i am so excited. it will be the first item i successfully finished! and i am able to say it was done correctly!

and here is another blanket i've started. it will have 5 more panels just like this one. it's made from chenille and is sooooo soft.

2009-01-28 MY NEW BABY!

2009-01-28T19:25:00.002-06:00

ISN'T SHE PRETTY?????????