Birthday Party

Thank you Auntie Jan for taking pictures!

My Belated Valentine

Eli made this in Primary. 

Then he told me it has his picture on it, so it's his. 

False. 

Thrifting

I hit a few thrift stores yesterday

Spent $12 and found at least three more projects for myself.

Don't you LOVE the baskets? They nest!

Off to pick some paint colors...

Hooray!

My Mother's Day Gift (or "A Man Craft")

Jeremy bought the stuff to build my clothesline for Mother's Day, and this week he built it!

He built the poles in the garage...

Stuck them in cement

Here they are waiting for their line

And here, with line and clothes! 

(And a little clothespin baggie I made)

Thank you, honey!

Iris' Blanket

All pretty girls need a pretty blanket.

The only downside to not knowing Iris' sex before she was born was that I didn't get any baby sewing done.

But now, (after 4 months) I have a pretty flannel blanket done for her. 

Just in time for summer!

A Blanket for Mason

I made a sweet little blanket for my sweet little nephew, Mason, who is due next month.

(Iris reluctantly models it...)

When I saw this fabric in the store, I screamed out loud. So cute!

You have to know my sister, Cheri. She is such a bookworm, an owl just fits her personality perfectly. And who doesn't LOVE argyle?

So Jeremy and I have 3 nephews, and 3 nieces, but they are all on his side of the family. This is my very first on my side! So exciting!

Can't wait to see you, little neffy-poo!

The Paisley Cupcake

So some crafty girlie friends and I have started a new blog,
The Paisley Cupcake.

We are crafts, homemaking, recipes, gardening, you name it, we'll probably do it!

I post every Monday, and so far, we're having lots of fun!

Super exciting news though, my Baby Activity Mat (featuring Iris) has been featured on One Pretty Thing! So excited!

So check out The Paisley Cupcake, and become a follower, cause we'll be having lots of cool crafts, and giveaways this summer!

(End Advertisement) ;D

Playroom Garage

Eli's playroom has been extremely chaotic.

But I had a plan.... :D

This horribly ugly but extremely sturdy piece of furniture was in our basement when we moved in.

It was in my craft room, and I used it to hold all the junk I was not currently using.... but honestly, I was afraid to touch it. Doesn't it just scream spiders and germs! Eeeeuuuw!

Fortunately for me, I have a big strong handsome husband who hauled it out to the garage for me, AND stripped, sanded, and primed it!

Using only paint we already had, (i.e. free) Jeremy and I painted it, and now it is adorable and spider and germ free.

Eli calls it his toy garage.

I shared this makeover on

Drumroll, please...

Eli got a drum for his birthday (from my dad, who clearly hates me)

It is was a little hard for him to carry and play, since it had no neck strap, and since he really, really wants to have a parade, I fixed one up for him.

I have had this strap floating around for a while in my craft room...

one of those things you can't throw away, because SOMEDAY it might be useful.

(I maintain that that adage is only true in crafting!

And even then, not always. Throw away the bread bags, Mom!)

I stitched a tube of fabric, slid the strap thru and secured it at both ends...

Voila!

Can we say headache?

A Home For Birdies

JoAnn's had little birdhouses for a buck when I was there last week.

Eli was so excited to pick one out.

After we got home, he decided he needed to paint it.

He's such a big boy!

My Little Soda Jerk

I inherited a large cut of super awesome vintage polyester from my Mother-in-law, and it has been sitting around waiting for something to do for quite awhile...

Wait no more!

What might not look great on his Momma, looks great on a four year old!

Pirate Birthday Party!

Last Friday was Mr. Eli's 4th birthday party!

We were all pirates. (Nice pirates, not mean ones!)

Iris was a baby pirate... she practiced her "Arggghs" all day,

but they came out more like "Waaas"

Daddy's present to Eli was a cool pirate ship fort (100% reclaimed materials!)

Grandpa with a mustache gave him the ship's wheel!

Mom made the pirate flag

We had cake

There were four candles on one side, (for Eli)

And 28 candles on the other side (for Jeremy)

Please learn from my mistake, and NEVER EVER light candles sideways.

Especially when there are paper sails on the cake!

In spite of (or maybe because of) the huge amounts

of frosting used to hold the cake together,

it was really really good.

(Eli is one of the Pirates Who Don't Eat Anything)

The pirates went on a shark hunt

(The weather was cruddy, so we had to have it in the garage.)

and a treasure hunt, which we didn't get any pictures of... oops!

And we all had a great time!

We even sang a round of sea chanteys!

Look at all those pirates!

And It Shall Come To Pass

Who thinks I need a craft room makeover?

Meeeee!

I am entirely too OCD to keep working in this this space. If I do, my head may explode. Although surprisingly, the room looks a LOT more tidy in the photo.

Oh honey....

(Pics coming soon) (I hope)

Top Secret

I am pleased to report that I am now a member of a Secret Society. It will not remain secret long, because I cannot keep a secret. (Keep that in mind before you tell me any of your secrets.)

It is the I-Have-A-Daughter-Named-After-A-Pretty-Flower Club. There is only one rule to join. You have decorate your daughter like her namesake flower. I was in the mood to embellish some onesies anyhow...

And the best part is, I have 2 more to do!

I have also decided to put ruffles on these bums.

Wheeee!

Update: I shared this on Crap I've Made's flickr group... under The Paisley Cupcake, cause I'm sharing it there also... and... I'm FEATURED! 

Hooray!!!

Hats

I decided to make Iris a little hat. There is a possibility that she will be fair-skinned like me, and I thought a hat would be a good idea. Plus, what fun is it to have a little girl if you can't sew for her? I measured the circumference of her head, and worked out a pattern. I had a piece of red linen gathering dust in my craft room, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Eli, in his very first display of jealousy since the beginning of the new baby saga, (and I mean VERY first, I'm so proud of him for that!) said he wanted the hat to be for him, not for Iris. I promised when I finished hers, I'd make one for him.

He wanted a red hat, and I had plenty of linen left over, and since Iris' hat turned out really girly, (as planned) I thought it would be fun to make a newsboy cap for Mr. E.

I found a pattern here and here's how it ended up.