Apple stamping

From time to time I play the role of Good Mom and do crafts with Ella. Today was one of those lucky days.

yo yo

Last week Kimmy & I went to a Girls' Night Out sponsored by my church. They were making fabric flowers, and it seemed like it would be fun. It was crazy! There were more people than supplies, so Kim and I bagged it and had a "Sisters' Night In." We made fabric yo-yos. They were as easy as pie, and turned out darling--better than my lame photo skills can show.

You can find the tutorial on how to make them here {a fun blog to check out, too}


A quick pic of Ella. We've been working on not walking in the street, not walking "in the black" without holding Mom's hand. She knows to stay on "the white." So whenever she walks in the gutter and I chastise her she says, "White! White!"

Ruffle Corsage Shirt

My friend Danielle is über talented and great about sharing her creative ideas. She posted this on her blog, showing you how to make her version of the $35 J. Crew tee for a lot less. Love it.

Darling

My friend Danielle is giving this away.




Or you can make your own with the pattern here. We tried it on Ella last week, and it as cute as it can be.

Busy Bee

The Quilting Bee was a success. Good food, good friends, good fun. Each square has a unique personality, given by the quilter. I love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You're invited

Left Unattended

Ryan went to St. George this weekend for a little biking fun, so I took the chance to release my inner seamstress. Danielle bought a pattern on Etsy for this shirt and on Thursday we cranked it out. This was no easy feat given two curious babies underfoot. By the end of the day we sequestered the girls in Ella's room and took turns playing with them while the other worked away. I still have to muster up the courage to add the buttons, but all in all I am happy with the finished result.




And for my next trick...

...trying to use my neighbor's Cricut to cut out fabric pieces for onsies. It is still a work in progress, but with a little tweaking there is hope.

Getting crafty

For some time now I've wanted a sewing machine. Sewing is in my blood. Grandma Tweet can make anything out of everything. The smocked dress Grandma Lota made for me ended up in a "How to Smock" book. Some of my favorite memories are hanging out in the sewing room pressing seams while my mom whipped out one of her creations. Now that I have Ella the sewing bug got worse. I wanted to make her cute clothes and playthings. So I went to Shingelton's and bought myself a sewing machine. My first project was a burp cloth. I had a few hiccups along the way, but all in all it went fairly well.

Filled with confidence I started on my next project: a quilt for Ella. Not a real quilt, the kind with a named pattern (like "Log Cabin" or "Jacob's Ladder), just some fun fabrics pieced together in squares. Easy peasy.

I started by picking and arranging the fabrics, with a little help from the design-savvy Kimmy.
Then I sewed the connecting strips between the blocks.

At this point, I'm feeling fairly good about my self. The quilt is coming together nicely. I sew the long connecting strip down the sides, and start pinning things together.

This is when I notice that the blue connecting strips aren't quite matching up.
You can't see it well in this picture, but trust me, some of the blue pieces are bigger than others.

And now I remember why it has taken me so long to buy my sewing machine. Tweet, Lota and Sue may have passed down their love of sewing to me, but they forgot to give me their skills. And then I remember my C from my sewing class at BYU. And I remember that there was a reason I was the one pressing seams in the sewing room with mom.

Oh well. Ella will never have a mom who can make her brilliant Halloween costumes and Prom dresses. Lucky for her she has two grandmas who both can sew. And her mom will keep practicing and unpicking until those seams line up!

Bubbling Over

I've had a few random things on my mind recently. Here's are my ramblings for any who care to listen:

• Zofran. For all my pregnant friends out there, remember this blessed pill. It made my pregnancy a thousand times better. I would pop a pill when I started feeling nauseated, and then I could carry on with my day. It has gone generic recently but many pharmacies still charge an arm and a leg. Not Costco. The big box giant sells it for dirt cheap. And many other pharmacies will match their price.
• "The Economy." Lately we talk about it like it is a person. A living, viable being. I suppose it (I say "it," but I want to say "he" or "she") is impacting our lives enough lately that it warrants this personification
• Crafting with fabrics. I have a new love. I don't have much intrinsic talent, but it sure is fun. I may buy this just to see what I can make out of them. Onsies, burp clothes, wall hangings...the possibilities are endless.
  
• Growing. It is on the iTunes application store. You can see it here. It is an iPhone application that lets you plug in your child's information such as height, weight, head size, etc and it chugs the numbers and gives you their percentiles. You can track them over time. I came up with the idea, Ryan made it happen. We are both very proud.
• Good Morning Utah. I may be on an upcoming episode plugging Growing and FeverMeds. I am petrified. Shaking in my boots.
  
• Working. I still love it, but I am missing Ella more and more while I'm away. They really do grow so fast.
• Symbiosis. Ella likes to bite on fingers. Avery likes to stick hers in open mouths. It's a beautiful thing.

Best Intentions

You were all going to get one. "Happy Valentine's Day. Love, Ella." But the project was a little more time intensive than I had planned. So the digital version will have to suffice. Hope your Saturday is filled with lots of love.

The crooked lines add character and let you know it is handmade. Jason told me so.