Sew Much Fun

I don’t have to tell y’all how hot it’s been lately.  Scorching!

In heat like this it’s hard to kick the monkeys outside to play in the afternoons, so I’ve been trying to supply them with a few activities to keep them busy (and cool) inside the house.  And by activities, I mean something besides TV and video games.

Ty is usually content to play independently with his Legos, Zoobs, Gears or other building sets.  He has no problems entertaining himself, building all kinds of wacky contraptions from fishing poles to mini amusement parks.

Lucy on the other hand, is a high-maintenance, hands-on kind of girl.  She wants my full, complete, undivided attention at all times, so keeping her occupied is a challenge.

Recently Lucy has expressed quite a bit of interest in learning to sew.  {Insert my happy face here.}

I jumped at the opportunity to introduce Lucy to the world of sewing!  Last week we began our “lessons,” and Lucy is loving every minute of it.  I think I may have created a sewing monster.  She begs to work on projects every day.

The first skill we started with was sewing with a needle.  I found a neat sewing kit at Michaels for a DIY doll.  The kit included precut felt pieces with needle holes already punched in them –perfect for a beginner! 

Lucy worked with embroidery floss and a yarn needle which were easier for her little fingers to grasp than a typical needle and sewing thread.  Of course I had to help Lucy with threading the needle and knotting the string, but she quickly caught on to the rhythmic, in-and-out motion of using a needle. 

The doll project is taking a little longer than either one of us anticipated, but that hasn’t dimmed Lucy’s enthusiasm for sewing.  I’m proud of her for being patient with the process.  She hasn’t complained one time about being tired or bored, which indicates to me that she truly loves the craft.

Even though we are still working on the doll, I decided to go ahead and let Lucy begin working with the sewing machine.

She.  Loves.  It.

I‘m teaching her on the machine that I learned on about 12 years ago.  It’s a simple, no-bells-and-whistles machine with only straight and zigzag stiches.  Nothing fancy to confuse her.

The first thing we did was discuss some safety tips.  (Wouldn’t want anyone sewing her fingers together now, would we?)  Next I pointed out the main parts of the machine:  the presser foot, hand wheel, needle, bobbin, needle position switch, reverse lever, and foot pedal.  I decided not to teach her how to thread the machine yet. Instead I focused on teaching her to “drive” the machine.  A tip I read online was to let her begin by sewing on paper without using thread.  This worked great.  I drew lines on the paper (straight, curved, and zigzag) and let her practice following the lines.  The needle poked neat holes in the paper, so Lucy could easily see where she was going.

Lucy worked nearly an hour with the paper, practicing how to guide material, sew on curves, turn corners, regulate pedal speed, and reinforce stitches.  I really was surprised at how diligently she worked.  Once again I expected her to get bored with the project, but this little girl stuck with it.

It’s so much fun to be able to share my sewing hobby with Lucy.  This week I took her to the fabric store with me where she pranced all over the store, squealing with excitement at how cute every single bolt was.  I’m afraid I see a fabric addiction in her future. 

I hope to post some pictures of Lucy’s first completed projects soon.  She and I have both been busy sewing this week (which explains the reason why my house is such a wreck.)  I’ve been feeling the pressure to sew and embroider as much as possible before we start back to school.  I’ve finally had the foresight to work on fall outfits for the girls in advance, so that when the seasons do change I will already have some cute, new duds hanging in the closet for them.  Maybe I’ll share a fall fashion show with y’all in the near future.

Lindsey

A Frock for the Fourth

This is the blog post that almost wasn’t.

I’m finally getting to sit down to the computer after spilling 100% of my lunch in the middle of my living room rug, including a full glass of ice water, which shattered upon impact.  Grrrr.  And wouldn’t you know that after cleaning up the enormous mess and preparing myself a new lunch, I had to stop eating to change a stinky diaper.  So much for my “lunch break.”  Now you know why I was beginning to think I might never get around to blogging today.

OK.  Pity party over.  Time to move on to the topic of the day.

l Fun Fourth Frocks  l

I got the idea for this top from, you guessed it, Pinterest.  I knew Lucy would have a blast making this personalized patriotic shirt.  It was super easy to create and cost me less than $4.  Best of all, it’s truly one of a kind.

After washing and drying the shirt, I created a stencil for Lucy to paint the stripes.  I love using the freezer paper method for painting on fabric.  I won’t go into the details here, but if you are curious about the process just search online for a tutorial.

Lucy did a terrific job stenciling the stripes.  The only thing she had to remember was to tap straight up and down, no brushing side to side.

After she was done with all the stripes, we peeled the freezer paper off the shirt, and I brushed some dark blue paint onto the palm of Lucy’s hand.

Then I helped Lucy carefully stamp her handprint in the top corner of the flag.  This was the trickiest part of the project, since there was no “take two” for the handprint.  If you don’t get it right the first time, you don’t get it right.

Luckily, we got it right!

There you have it!  A fun, personalized, flag T-shirt.  After waiting a few minutes for the paint to dry, Lucy was more than happy to model her new frock.  Isn’t she a cute Lady Liberty?   Now to make another shirt for Tacy Mae.

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”   2 Chronicles 7:14

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Lindsey

Party for a Pretty Princess

Today I wanted to share a few pictures from Lucy’s third birthday party.  I admit, it’s getting increasingly difficult for me to carve out the time and muster up the energy to plan and prepare for birthday parties.  But I enjoy the whole creative process far too much to settle for cake and ice cream at everyone’s favorite pizza joint.

After a little deliberation this year, Lucy decided that she wanted a princess party.  And being the girly girl that she is, Lucy requested all things pink!  I was tickled (pink) with her choice, because I knew just how I wanted to decorate – lacey, ruffly, and a little bit shabby.  And not a Disney princess in sight! (Not that I have anything against Cinderella and her cohorts, I just don’t prefer to have their likenesses on my plates and napkins.)

Most of the decorations were items that I already owned.  I just went through the house one day “shopping” for feminine looking items.

One of my all-time favorite party decoration is tissue paper flowers.  You can make such a big impact with these things for practically pennies.  After the party, I plan to use these in Lucy’s room.

I spruced up these simple glass candle holders with a strip of burlap, a scrap of lace trim, and an old button.  Easy, peasy.

For some reason, Lucy decided that she had to hand Uncle Jude each gift as soon as she opened it.

Every. Single. Gift.

Straight to Uncle Jude.

Thanks, Uncle Jude.  You did a great job!

Daddy had to help Lucy try out her dance-with-me doll…

Time for cake!  Of course, Lucy loved it because it was pink.

As soon as we set the cake down in front of her, Lucy went straight for the crown.  Yep, that’s my hand reaching in to rescue the crown.  We still had pictures to take!

Crazy brother!  That Ty is such a little joker, just like his dad.

Make a wish, sweet girl.

Last year I bought Lucy these great Do-a-Dot paints for birthday.  This year I gave her some Do-a-Dot paint books.  She had a blast painting in the princess book. It’s amazing to see how much Lucy’s fine motor skills have progressed over the past year.  She’s growing and learning so fast.  In only a couple of weeks, Lucy will be starting PreK at our church.  She’s a little apprehensive of it now, but I know she will enjoy it once she gets used to it.

Obviously, daddy’s don’t know much about wearing tutus.

Thanks for stopping by our party!

Lindsey

Spring Things

I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t have been happier with our winter this year.  Or maybe I should say our lack of winter.  I mean, did we even have a frost this year?

Maybe one or two.  Maybe.

As a girl who does not like the cold, bleak winter months, I sure have enjoyed the early arrival of spring.  It seems like the trees and shrubs put on leaves overnight.  Everything is looking so green.  I love it!!

The weather was so sunny and warm this Sunday (almost hot even) that I was inspired to take some pics of the new plant life around our yard.

What self-respecting southerner would be caught dead without at least one azalea in their yard?  Even though they are not all open yet, our azaleas are loaded with blooms.

The crepe myrtles, another southern favorite, are just beginning to put on tiny little bright green leaves.

In the shady areas, I’ve got some white hydrangeas budding out. I just love the paper white blooms these plants will produce later in the season.

Now, I have to admit that I don’t remember the name of this plant, but I still think it’s pretty.  So tropical!

Of course I’d be lying if I let you believe that all my plants were lush and green and gorgeous.  Here’s the sad truth about my camelia bushes…

Ain’t it awful?  And to make matters worse, there is a matching pair.  I fully intend to dig these suckers up and replace them with something else soon.

Let’s move on to the back yard, shall we?

This year, the Tool Man and I made the decision not to do a garden.  I know, I know.  Sad face.

But after seriously considering our schedule, we knew that we just didn’t have time to devote to gardening.

Here’s all that’s left of our garden, a rosemary bush, some irises, and a salvaged steeple.

Nevertheless…

The Tool Man and I really, really wanted to grow some tomatoes.

And we are absolutely the best jalapeno farmers, ever!  So we decided that we would do a little container gardening on the back porch.

This weekend we took a trip to Lowe’s and purchased a couple of tomato and jalapeno plants.  I can’t wait until harvest time!  I double dog dare a squirrel to try to steal my tomatoes this year.  I’ll pop a cap in him faster than you can say “scat” with your mouth open!  Grrrrrrr.

Looking off of our back porch, we have the best view.  You can’t tell it at all from this picture, but our land slopes down a couple of times right into the creek.  And look at that!  I even had the good fortune of capturing a picture of a big buck passing through our yard. Ha ha.

Ty had some fun playing in his pop-up blind after church this afternoon.

He finally convinced his daddy to get in the blind with him.  If you look closely, you can see the Tool Man’s foot sticking up in the blind.

Two other people who are excited about the early arrival of spring this year are Ty and Lucy.  I couldn’t be happier for them.  Nothing gives me more pleasure than to kick these two monkeys outside. Ha ha!

I don’t understand their reasoning, but the monkeys are firm believers that shoes and clothes cannot be worn out of doors.

Here’s a little craft I whipped up for my back door this spring. 

Bunnies and chicks are cute and all, but I really wanted to make something that reflected the true meaning of Easter.  When I saw this burlap cross hanger on Pinterest, I knew I had to make one.  Best of all, I already had all the materials I needed to make it, so it was absolutely free.  As my grandmother used to say, you can’t beat that with a stick!

Lindsey

How I Spend My “Free” Time

Hello.  Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  We sure did.  There’s no doubt that Christmas is my favorite day of the year, but when it comes down to it, Thanksgiving yields that same special time with family minus all of the stress.  I’m beginning to appreciate this fact more and more every year.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we’ve been working on getting the house ready for Christmas.  This weekend I managed to set up the tree, and it’s about 90% decorated (there are still a few more ornaments left to unpack and hang.) Ty also got a full-sized tree in his room this year.  Here’s how he reached the top branches.  Very resourceful!

School is also back in session this week, much to Ty’s disappointment.  But I tried to make him (and me) feel better about this by pointing out that we’ve only got three weeks until we’re out again for Christmas. Whoop whoop!

Ok.  Now time to get to why I’m here today…

Sharing about my favorite pastime.

Pinterest.

Oh, the hours I could spend “fetching more pins.”  If you’re on Pinterest, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  My creative side absolutely loves browsing through photos gathering inspiration for my next crafting, decorating, or cooking adventure.  Pinterest is the main reason why my blog has been feeling a bit neglected lately.  If I’m not actually on the site, I’m making something I’ve seen on the site.  Which brings me to the point of this post…

Sharing a few of the things that I’ve made with inspiration gathered from Pinterest.

Waffle Iron Hash Browns.  I made these for the Tool Man one morning last week.  They turned out really good!  So crunchy, which is exactly what I like but can never seem to achieve.  Next time I want hash browns, I’ll definitely cook them like this.

Turkey Tube.  This was Ty’s inspiration.  He woke up early one morning and crafted his own version of a turkey while I was still asleep.

What do you think?  Ty couldn’t find an empty cardboard tube, so he made his own with construction paper. Also, as you can see, he is a firm believer in scotch tape!

Black Bean Soup.  This was a delicious and super easy recipe.  I tweaked my version a little bit, adding a few extra ingredients like fresh onions and peppers and some seasonings. Also, I served my soup over a bed of hot, steamy rice.  We enjoyed this soup so much so that I made a big pot of it to sell at the restaurant this week.

Window Frame Display.  (I pinned this photo myself, and I have no idea where I first found it.)  I’ve been saving a old window for the past 7 or 8 years, just waiting for the right project to present itself.  This week I finally decided it was time to do something with it.  Here’s my version.

I made this for Lucy’s, using some family heirlooms and things I picked up at flea markets.  I love how it turned out!  The blue card was given to my parents when I was born.  The bib is Lucy’s, and the baby bootie was given to a great aunt of mine about 70 years ago.  I think this project is a perfect shabby chic element for Lucy’s room.

Crispy Chicken Wraps.  Yummy much!!!  I made these this weekend, and the Tool Man and I gobbled them up during the LSU-Ark game.  (Maybe that’s why they tasted so good!)  Shredded chicken, rice, beans, and cheese all rolled up in a tortilla and grilled in a pan.  The secret to making them crispy is to spray the outside of the tortillas with Pam before cooking.  So good!  My stomach is growling just thinking about these.  The recipe calls for black beans, but I didn’t have any on hand.  I did have a can of refried beans, so I used that instead.  Also, you were supposed to use chopped red bell pepper.  Didn’t have that either.  Instead, I just added a couple of spoons of picante sauce.  Mmm mmm good!!!  I can’t tell you how much the Tool Man loved these.  Definitely a recipe to remember.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this seemingly random post today.  If you are not following me on Pinterest I invite you to check out the link on my sidebar.  And if you are not a member of Pinterest, I would certainly recommend starting an account of your own. The inspiration is endless.