A picture is worth a thousand words!

Halloween, and some sewing

First up, some Halloween outfits! Ashlee and McKenna were Butterfly fairies; I made a simple knit playdress (like the pink dress w/ the elephant posted below!), and then did a ribbon skirt that just tied on. Wings came from the dollar store, and completed the look! For Kenna's dress I modified KS 3607-using the top portion of the shirt, and the bottom portion of the jumper! Ashlee's I used the same method using a Butterick pattern (and I'm too lazy to look up the pattern!).
Braydon was a firefighter. I bought a button up black shirt, and black sweats from Wal-mart, and then used yellow duct-tape to dress them up. I also did a couple patches using my embroidery machine; a firefighter crest, and an american flag. Then we picked up the hat and tool set from the dollar store! It looked very cool, and Braydon loved it!!




Here's the pink dress I was talking about above. It's the modified KS, and embroidery is from www.embilibrary.com


Next up, an itty bitty baby outfit! Size preemie/NB New Conceptions Baby Essentials! Shirt is knit w/ velour accents, pants are matching velour! Oh so cute and teeny!


Another baby outfit I finished today. Romper from Kwik sew 3090. I got to use my new metal dies for my snap press, and I am quite impressed!! Embroidery is from Embilibrary again.



And lastly, earlier this week Ashlee got her first real haircut! She looks like such a big girl now!!! And it's sooo much easier to take care of this way! No more tangles!!!

Salsa!

Hubby and I attempted canning some salsa this weekend, and it was a success!! It was the first time either of us had canned, but between the two of us we figured it out; and I was glad to have his help peeling and chopping everything! I can't wait to taste it in a few months (of course I tasted enough yesterday to last me a lifetime!). I'm excited about the prospect of canning more things! And my plans for next years garden just doubled! LOL!!

Homemade Playdough

School is officially underway here; Braydon started Half-Day Kindergarten this year, and while he loves school, it's been hard on Ashlee. She cries daily; she misses her big brother that much! Each day we walk B to school, she brings along her backpack, hoping she's going to sneak in with him, and each day it's tears the whole way home.

Today, I decided to do something fun with Ashlee while B was school--we made playdough! It's such an easy activity, but one that kids can help make, and enjoy the results!

Here's the recipe I follow:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 T. Cream of Tartar
1T. oil

Mix all ingredients in saucepan, over medium heat. Keep stirring until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat to parchment paper, and knead in food coloring.

We doubled the recipe, and divided into four balls, and Ashlee picked the colors, so we have electric blue, yellow, pink/purple, and just purple.

Rar!

Some new clothes for my lil' monster, Kenna!

This first set I used a woman's tee I found at the thrift store for a buck; it's the stripey material. I managed to get a medium pair of Little Comet Tails Crescent Moon Yoga Pants, and the sleeves for the t-shirt. The embroidery came from Embroidery Library, and was not supposed to look like Kirby gone mad! I tried to make it more girly, by using the pink, but wasn't quite the result I wanted...oh well, Kenna still likes it!!

The other set is another pair of CMYP, in black velour, and a ready to wear onesie that I embroidered another monster on--this is my favorite set so far, even if the embroidery is a little low!

What a crazy summer!

I've been extremely lax in posting this summer, and I apologize for that. It's just been such a whirlwind so far, I'm surprised I'm still standing! We've made it through 4 birthdays, backyard BBQ's, swimming pool adventures, zoo adventures, and more, and finally we are winding down. School starts for Braydon in less than three weeks! I can hardly believe it. This year he will be doing half-day Kindergarden--every day, so this will be new and exciting.

We put our house up for sale, in hopes that it will sell for what we need and we can start thinking about moving out of South Dakota!! I thought this day would never come, but I'm glad Dustin is finally on board w/ getting out of here. I'm so ready for change, and SO ready to live somewhere that has a fabric store closer than 90 miles! LOL!

I've been sewing up a storm lately--tons of custom orders, and I made the leap w/ a friend and opened a Hyena Cart! It's www.hyenacart.com/whimsicalprairie if you want to check it out!! We just had our first stocking last Friday, and I'd say it went pretty well for being newcomers to a huge site!

That's the big news right now--I've got lots of garden pictures and sewing project pics to upload--hopefully later tonight I'll get my act in gear!!

First day at the lake....

Some pics of Kenna from today...I took 311 pictures today...this is just the tip of them!!

Lots to share today!

I got lots of sewing done today, so lots of pics!!

Last week, I cleaned my ENTIRE house, top to bottom--including decluttering. We hauled out a pickup load of garbage, plus I got rid of numerous bags of items on Freecycle. Since the house was so pretty today, I decided to reward myself w/ some sewing! I focused on diapers today, since Kenna's stash is getting low; plus, I've recently decided that I prefer fitteds to PUL pockets, so I needed to make more. Lot's of firsts for me today too!!

Here we go!

First ruffled Fattycakes!! Knit outer, hidden knit, cotton velour inner. Pocket fitted.


First fleece cover! Followed THIS pattern. Size Large--works great!!!!!



First PUL Little Comet Tails Little Starter. PUL pocket, PUL outer, cotton velour inner, w/ snap in soaker of velour, and an unknown fabric. Size small--for my friends new baby!



Hippy Hippy Snap PUL pocket. Print PUL outer, velour inner.






Hippy Hippy Snap pocket fitted. Knit outer and hidden, print cotton velour inner.



Also today, I made another fitted fattycakes (already been used and dirtied!!)

Yesterday, I got a couple hours to myself too, and tried out the Hippy Hippy Snap pattern for the first time--these were my first attempts--made from one of McKenna's old recieving blankets, and cotton velour. A medium for Kenna, and an itty bitty newborn, just because! Sewing this diaper REALLY sent me into baby lust!! I really hope Dustin will consider having just one more lil' one!! Look how cute that little diaper is--w/ an umbilical snap down and everything!!


And, to keep going w/ the pics--I snapped some pics of my garden last night. Everything seems to be doing good so far--although I think I lost a pepper plant--but I have 6 more!



Right side:



Left side:

I have a garden!!

This year I'm trying out my green thumb. :) I'm using a method called "Square foot gardening", and I'm really excited about it! Dustin built me two 4'X4' beds, and then we sectioned them off into 1'x1' squares. I got my plants this weekend, and planted everything on Sunday. I have one plot left that I intend to put cilantro in soon. I'm calling in my salsa garden--as it's mostly full of tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, and onions! I'm so excited about the prospect of making my own salsa in just a few months!!
Growing up, my mom always had a huge garden, and I never appreciated it. Since I've been on my own, I've missed having fresh produce (the grocery store is just not the same!), and I've been itching to have a garden for a couple years--the amount of work it took to maintain one scared me away though. Then I read about square foot gardening, and decided I must try it! So far, I'm loving it--but I've only just started. The real test will be in July--and we'll see if I've managed to produce any vegetables!
Here are a couple pics. The first is just one box, sectioned off. The second pic is the same box, w/ plants in it.

Playing w/ Photoshop actions...

How cool is this?

Another Ottobre dress....

Another dress for Kenna! Same issue as before, Ottobre 03/2007--LOVE this dress!!! I made it while watching Oprah today--so start to finish, less than an hour!! I used Mad Sky Pansies knit, and pink ribbed knit for the binding on the arms and neck. I traced the pattern in Ashlee's size, so I'll be rummaging through my knits tonight!

Look what came!!!

I ordered woven labels from Fancy Weaver and they are so awesome!!! I just love them, and can't wait to use them!!!

Oh, and a quick sew and show! I finished my first Ottobre last week, and am super pleased w/ how it came out! This dress is for McKenna, and it fits perfectly!! I did the binding different than how the pattern instructed, b/c I couldn't' get it to look right the "ottobre way." But it's all good!! I have a couple more of these cut out and ready to sew up!! It's a great summer dress, and I love that it has sizes for both Ashlee and McKenna!

Apron re-do

I wasn't totally happy with how yesterday's apron turned out, so I decided to redo it--and am much happier today!!!

Enter to win an Ergo!

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Win a Free Ergo Baby Carrier from Along for the Ride

Gifts

A few things I've made over the last couple of days:

A gift for my friends baby (he's not here yet--but very soon!!)

(Hopefully she likes cowboys! LOL!)

Two bibs, cotton woven on one side, and backed w/ terry. Love this print!!!


And a picture frame I "made." This was so easy! I got the frame and the cowboy wooden parts at Hobby Lobby--the cowboy pieces were already painted, so all I did was stain the frame, paint on "Lil' cowpoke" and glue on the cowboy pieces! Easy peasy, but it looks so cute!


Next project was an apron for a swap I'm in right now. I had originally wanted to do this pattern, but once I got it, it looked harder than I imagined, and I was running short on time, so instead I opted for this tutorial. I left of the pocket, b/c I didn't like it--I actually ripped off the pocket--I had sewn in on, and it was too much...and I'm not 100% satisfied with the results, but it's still cute, and wearable! If I did it again, there are a few things I would change..but that's another post! Anyways, some pics: (it's reversible too! oooo!)
And some snappy towels to match!

Another one!

I'm loving making T-shirts!!! I think I've found a new addiction! Friday we got PUMMELED with snow--at least 18 inches, with drifts up to 2-3 feet. Crazy snow, like nothing I've ever seen before! But Saturday, I begged hubby to take me to Sioux Falls to go fabric shopping. The interstate opened back up (it shut down the night before b/c of the snow!) around 12:00 noon--and we were on our way!!!! That's how much I NEEDED some solid colored knits!! We made is safe and sound, and I did quite the damage on the old checkbook. Not having any fabric stores local, I have to stock up when I get the chance! I got some great stuff though--some of the new Amy Butler line, a few new things from Moda, some knits, a few other various wovens, thread, and even a couple patterns! All in all a great day for me!!! LOL! I know have lots of new knit combos to make some more summer Tee's for the kids! Yea!!!