ARTFULIFE

Dear Old Man Winter

2012-01-17T23:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Old Man Winter,
Please send more snow. We really need the moisture & my kids like to play in it. Oh & cause I really like wearing these boots.
Thanks so much, Love-Summer

P.S. Yes I know this is silly but we really do need the moisture or our summer is going to be pure torture.

Christmas Table Runners

2012-01-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

I started these three table runners before Christmas for the girls teachers at school & also Sloan's Nurse at school. I worked really hard to finish them in time for the last day of school before holiday break & got everything but the binding on them. I took the almost finished runner to school & let them all know their gift would be a little late. Ugh! How embarrassing! I promised them all I would start working on their gift for next Christmas, now, lol!

So I worked over the Christmas break & finished binding them last night. Last night people. What is my deal!?! It felt so good to finish them. I loved seeing how happy the teachers were when they got them this morning. It made all the work totally worth it. These teachers are amazing & love my girls & the kids they teach. It would be hard to thank them enough.

I still have some of the fabric left over from this project & hope to make a few more to give as gifts......next year ;)

Last Photo Shoot of 2011

2012-01-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

I just adore the Heiner family & I had so much fun with this photo shoot. It was a quick shoot due to crazy holiday schedules but I love how these shots turned out. I hope they are happy with them & enjoy them for years to come.

If you are interested in a photo shoot I'm offering sessions starting now.

1 hour sessions + disk of photos for $75

Contact me at summietummer@yahoo.com to set up your photo shoot today!

Tooth Fairy Pillow Tutorial

2012-01-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

I received this cute little pillow on my 4th or 5th birthday. A mom of one of my friends made it for me. I am pretty sure I put every tooth I lost as a kid in that pillow. I used it as a pillow for my dolls & have kept it all these years. My two oldest have used it when they lost teeth. It's one of my treasures. I love it & keep it tucked in a special corner of my top dresser drawer, right next to my favorite jewelry.

Shouldn't every kid have a Tooth Fairy pillow? I think so. One of my goals is to make gifts that we give to friends. I thought it would be fun to have a tutorial so you can make one for your little one too!

What you'll need for this project::

3-4 different fabrics (this is a great project to use up some of your scraps, the pillows aren't very big)

thread

polly fill stuffing

knitting needle

scissors

For this project I wanted to try my hand at Fussy Cutting. You don't have to use this technique but I think it makes for a really cute look. I first learned about the technique while at the Sewing Summit this past fall. I purchased several fabrics from Sarah Jane's fabric line Children at Play, & Meadow while in Utah. I decided to use this fabric for my fussy cut.

Choose what part of the fabric you want to spotlight.

Once you've chosen the part of the fabric you plan on spotlighting, measure it out & then cut.

It should look something like this.

Once you have your fussy cut block, you are ready to move on to your next step.

With the 2nd fabric cut a 2 inch wide strip.

For this pillow you will be doing a simple log cabin block. Take the 2 inch strip of fabric & place it on the main block on the right. It should look like this. Now sew them together.

Once you've sewn them together go ahead & cut the excess off.

Now press your seam

Take the 2 inch fabric strip & sew it to the right side (all strips will be attached in a clockwise pattern) Once it's attached cut off the excess trim & press your seam.

Your block should now look like this.

Repeat the previous step to add your 3rd strip of fabric. Trim & press.

Now your square should look like this.

Time to attach the last strip of fabric as you did in the previous step. Trim & press.

Once you've added the last strip the front of your block should look like this.

& the back should look like this. All neat & tidy like :)

It's time to make the tooth pocket. Take your 3rd fabric & cut a strip 2.5 inches wide.

Now cut your strip 4 inches long.

Fold your strip over & press so that you have a fabric box that measures 2"x 2.5"

Sew the open sides together as shown above.

Now you will take the top and fold it down just enough to sew a nice straight line.

Make sure the pressed side of your square is on the left side when pinning down.

It's time to attach your square with one simple stitch. It should look like the above photo. No need to attach the other sides as you will do this when sewing the back of the pillow to the front.

Take your 4th fabric (or 3rd if you only want to use 3 fabric choices) & cut a back for your pillow.

Use your straightedge to cut the fabric around your front pillow block. This is a great time to square up your front block.

You should now have two blocks.

Place your two blocks together with the front of the fabrics facing in. I know it sounds silly to add this step but I'm pretty sure we've all at one time or another sewn the wrong sides together ;) You can pin if needed but I found it easy to sew together without doing so.

Make sure you leave an opening at least 1"-1.5" wide.

Time to flip your pillow inside out. I do this by reaching my fingers inside, taking a top corner & pulling it through the opening.

Like this

Pull until it's completely pulled through the opening.

Once you've turned it, give it a nice pressing.

You are ready to stuff your pillow. Grab a good sized hand full of filling.

Find your opening & start stuffing :) You should add just enough filling to make your pillow full yet soft to the touch. Too much stuffing & your pillow won't look right.

I found that a larger knitting needle came in very handy for poking the filling into the corners. I used a ladder stitch & this tutorial to close the opening.

The front

You're finished! You have made a cute little tooth fairy pillow!

The back

This is an easy project to make assembly line style. I made 7 of these pillows in a little under 2 hours. My girls have already given them as gift's at two different birthday parties. I plan on making some for the boys too. Just have to get some more fabric.

This is my very first sewing tutorial so go easy on me, lol. Please feel free to let me know if something is confusing or incorrect & I will be sure to change it. If you decide to make these & sell them in your shop or blog about them, please link back to my tutorial. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to follow my blog so you can see all my future tutorials as well.

Linked up to Canoe Ridge's Sew Modern Monday

Go check it out!

Happy New Years!

2011-12-31T17:35:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love this little Dozers of ours! She makes us smile with her witty sense of humor, her fierce loyalty & her tender & kind heart. She's fearless. A little tomboy who would much rather be playing Princess Pirates than Princess dress up. We're encouraging her to be herself with the added "Girls can be anything boys can be". The hope that she'll grow up to be a strong & fearless girl. Yes, Zoe it's okay to be a little different. How boring the world would be if all us girls just wanted to wear pink.

I'm thinking this year is going to be a good one. I'll make it one no matter what. My New Years goals are simple.

To laugh more

love more

listen a little better

smile a little more

pray with more sincerity

take care of myself & the ones I love

& to keep following my dreams.

Don't see how I can go wrong or fail with any of these goals. They are all attainable for every single one of us. Hope you all have a Happy New Year's Eve. Here's to 2012!!!!

Christmas Aftermath

2011-12-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

Table runners in progress

I'm getting ready to tackle a huge pile of laundry. I'm pretty sure half of the clothes in our house are in it. How does that even happen? Later today I'll continue organizing the girls rooms. I bought a dozen clear colored bins to store their toys in. Needless to say I'll have to buy a few dozen more before the whole process is through. It's crazy how many wonderful toys these kids have. They added a pirate ship & a few princess & mermaid sets to their ever growing Playmobil village. Not to mention their new obsession with Little Woodsies. My mom bought them every single family for Christmas & I bought the last of the furniture sets so now they have a whole little village. Little Woodsies look a lot like the Calico Critters from when I was a little girl but they are a fraction of the price. My girls love them & play with them for hours. Santa brought Aris some more sets of furniture for her Fisher-Price dollhouse. She almost has everything for it. I'm kind of obsessed with sets. I hate having random toys. I have found that when you have sets of toys for the kids to play with they do just that, play with them more. I know I'm a little weird but it works. Zoe got an awesome trick bike & Sloan's favorite gift (other than the 19" flat screen Santa brought her) was her gently used but new to her Barbie dream house. I couldn't find a new one & looked on Craigslist in desperation. I found one! It came with a bunch of really great Barbies, 2 cars, furniture & some clothes for $40. Sloan was so happy. I wasn't going to get her one, she's almost 12 & I know she probably won't want to play with it for much longer. Then it hit me......she won't want to play with dolls for much longer...........insert sad face here. Kids grow up so quickly these days. Might as well let her play with them as long as she wants. Especially since she wants me to teach her how to shave her legs. Did I mention the stocking full of makeup Santa brought per her request? I Also realized this is the last Christmas we'll have a baby in the house........insert sniff sniff here.

I loved this Christmas. Even though we didn't get to celebrate with our families we had a fun time with our little family. Dean came to church with us, we had the missionaries over for dinner on Christmas day, and Grandmas & Grandpas spoiled us from afar. The only thing I'd do differently next year is to make gifts for family and friends. I should probably start now. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'll be back in the new year with a ton of new tutorials & hopefully a new look to this blog. Oh I have big things in store for my little Artfulife!!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T15:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! See you in the new year!!!!

Owl Mini Quilt

2011-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

I started this little mini quilt while I was at the Sewing Summit. I love birds & have done quite a few illustrations of owls so I thought it would be fun to make a fabric illustration of sorts & this is what I came up with. It was inspired by the class I took from the talented Miss McPork Chop. She is amazingly talented & it was so much fun to meet her & listen to her creative process. Amanda's class was very informative too. I left it looking at sewing in a whole new way. With 4 kids and a busy day to day schedule, making mini quilts just made sense to me. It is far easier for me to put together a smaller project than a large one. I don't know why I felt that only bigger quilts were acceptable as finished projects. Since then I have totally changed the way I look at quilting in general. Basically anything that's smallish & quilted can be considered a mini quilt. How wonderful is that!?! I feel it really makes quilting more accessible to anyone. Even if you don't feel you could do quilting on a large scale, starting with a mini may just tickle your fancy & open up the door for bigger & more complex quilting projects later down the road. Take a look at my Pinterest board for some serious quilting inspiration.

Since I'm new at this whole quilting thing I find myself making a ton of mistakes. With each mistake I learn so much. Take the mistake in the above photo. I didn't baste before I started quilting. Now I know why basting is so important. Silly me, I thought I could quilt without it! Like I knew better than all ya'll seasoned quilters......Ha! Now I know better.

I didn't want to scrap it so I cam up with a plan. I decided to cut out the puckered part of the owl & then add a square to cover the now bare part that I cut away.

Even though you can still see my boo boo I feel it looks a whole lot better than before.

It even gives the back of this quilt a little bit of a modern feel. I love how the pink looks against the grey fabric. I used Dana's tutorial for the binding. Her tutorial is a perfect reminder to look at (I've bookmarked it by the way) since I have only bound one other thing. Hopefully I'll get to the point where I'm making so many quilts I can bind with my eyes closed ;)

There were several fabrics I used while making this. The darling green flower, pink flower & hopscotch fabric are all from the talented Sarah Jane's new fabric line Kid's at Play. The solid fabrics are from the Kona sample pack we received in our goody bags while at the Sewing Summit. I used my Babylock's decorative stitches to attach the solid fabrics together & I love the result. The plaids & gingham's are from an older Moda line but I honestly don't remember the name I've had them for so long. I'm really glad I finally had a project to use them on.

I love my new Babylock that I purchased while at the Summit. It runs smoother than butter & she & I are becoming fast friends. I find it super easy to use & super quiet. Dean & I can actually watch movies now while I sew. Couldn't do that when using my other machine. If you are in the market for a new machine I highly recommend considering a Babylock.

Here she is totally finished!

I had so much fun making this little mini, & I can't wait to get started on another "tiny" project very soon. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this project. I'm in the process of making a pattern & I'm wondering if it's something anyone would be interested in. Thanks for stopping by & I hope you are having a happy holiday!

It's Not Easy Being Green

2011-12-07T15:13:00.001-08:00

Is there anything cuter than a boy & his frog?

I didn't think so ;)

Family Wedding

2011-12-05T12:19:00.001-08:00

Well folks it only took me 6 months to edit all the photos from this totally AWESOME wedding! I should be hiding my head in shame. If it weren't for the fact that the lovely bride was none other than my beautiful cousin Brooke, I very well could have been run out of town! lol. All joking aside it was a deplorable thing for me to do. They were my wedding gift to her & I hope she will enjoy them for years to come. Maybe, just maybe if I'm lucky she'll let me take pictures of her little family as it grows (no hints here, just sayin ;) I love you Brookie! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your special day. This was one of the happiest weddings I've been to. Everything was beautiful & perfect right down to the homemade treats. I'm so happy for you & Colby!

My Life Lost & Found

2011-12-01T00:19:00.001-08:00

Storm blowing into Reno tonight

One must lose one's life in order to find it.

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The winds have been blowing like crazy today. I'm so grateful to have a very cozy home to live in. I've had a lot on my mind. My life has kinda been like a storm lately. So much going on around me. And I can't help feeling like a little part of me has died. That parts of my life have been lost. They have blown away. The sadness & emptiness that fills my heart at times has been so overwhelming. How funny that life can go along fine for so many years & then WHAM! It hits you full force in the face. I'm grateful for my husband & sweet little ones that keep me so grounded. Because of all this craziness so many things have had to take a back seat. My art, sewing, photography, creativity & fitness goals are just a few. I've been mostly focusing on the important things like trying to be a better wife & a good mother to my children. When the storms of life threaten to blow you away that's when you hold tight to the things that matter most. Although my art & creative goals are so important to me my little family is even more important. Like every storm, things are finally settling down & my hope is that life can resume some sort of normalcy around here.

I've thought a lot about all the things I've been missing while this other stuff has been going on. I miss my photography & I miss my sketching. I miss sitting down & sewing on a regular basis. Everything is just taking so much longer. I feel so far from you creativity! I want you back in my life! I've even gotten away from what this blog started out to be in the first place. Artfulife. A place where I can share my creative life & the things that matter most to me. My family, art, sewing & all the other things that make this life so sweet sometimes it hurts.

I realize my creativity isn't the only thing that has suffered. Parts of my confidence have always been missing. It's so easy for me to sell myself short. To self doubt. That I'm not good enough for the dreams I've written for myself. Since when did I give the okay for so much negativity to invade my body & mind? How could I let it in & then allow it free room & board? Shame on me! My creative self is in revolt. Throw it out! It's shouting that right now! This may seem silly to read but I'm shaking as I type this. Too long I've let my dreams sit in dusty corners of my mind. Too long I've let my voice of self doubt dictate how I've lived my life. Too long I've allowed myself to believe that I don't deserve true happiness like everyone else. I now know it's okay to listen to my heart! It's time to make a change! If not now.......when?

I love the quote above. I've lost so much lately. I have felt so much pain in my heart, yet with that pain has come so much healing. So many things that have haunted me for so long are no longer welcome in my life. Do you hear me? You can't stay here anymore! Today is the day I take what I've learned over the last few months & move forward in a more positive manner. Today is the day I start letting my heart heal. Today is the day I give myself the go ahead to believe in myself again. Today I'm giving myself permission to create. To have a voice! TO BE HAPPY! Today is the day I found my life! I'll be damned if it doesn't feel good!

I Looked Out the Window......

2011-11-29T23:55:00.001-08:00

Every once in a while I catch little glimpses of the kids that make my heart melt.

Even though they fight from time to time, they are the fiercest of friends.

We are soaking up the last few days of warmth & sunshine. It's getting a little colder every day. I love fall & winter months the most. There is something so magical about snugly blankets, warm sweaters, snow, twinkly lights, & the anticipation of Christmas. My girls are so excited to decorate the tree tomorrow night. Tonight we picked the perfect Christmas tree. Zoe found it & we all voted to bring it home. Omri kept patting it. This will be the last year we have a Christmas tree that has ornaments missing from the bottom half of the tree. Kinda makes me sad. Not sad enough to do anything about it though ;) I'm looking forward to bringing all of our Christmas books out of storage & decorating the house. I might even make a wreath if I can get those quilts done this weekend. Hard to believe it's already December. It will be our first Christmas here at home & I'm looking forward to starting a new holiday tradition of some sort. What are some of your holiday traditions?

On the Table

2011-11-28T23:56:00.001-08:00

The quilting is coming along slowly but surely. Who would have thought straight lines could take so darn long? But they are looking awesome if I do say so myself. Now I just need to finish these quilts.

So I can move on to the other three quilts for my sweet friend. Oh, and work on all the other gazillion projects on my list to do.

Speaking of quilts, have you entered for your chance to win this beautiful quilt?

Moving Right Along

2011-11-13T09:27:00.001-08:00

Let the quilting begin!

I've spent a better part of the weekend wrestling these quilts. It's been a humbling process. I wanted to give these quilts a diamond quilted pattern but will now settle for squares. I think it's going to look okay when all is said & done. I needed a quilting guide but haven't been able to find one locally. I'm putting this on my list of things to order when I get a little money next week. I couldn't however put these off any longer.

After trying to "eye" my lines (go ahead & laugh) I threw my hands up in pure frustration. It just wasn't happening. Then I saw my hubby's T-square sitting against the wall & knew that was the rout I needed to take. I tried to use my fading tracing pen & it would only allow me to make dots.

I had to head to Hancock Fabrics & buy this handy little nugget of WHY HAVEN'T I BOUGHT THIS YET!!!!! The best $1.89 I've spent in years. Whoever invented chalk was a genius! It has saved me from a nervous breakdown & is by far cheaper than the $40 I will have to pay for that darn quilting foot. Sure it's a little more time consuming but I'm pretending to kick it old skool. Who doesn't like to draw a gazillion chalk lines? Put your hand down!

So I'll be getting back to quilting again as soon as this sick little bug takes a nap today. I can't work on it while he's awake. He likes to sit right in the middle of the quilt. Then he likes to take his little footy feet and scuffle all over the crisp lines I just drew. Did I mention he giggles while doing this? Like he knows it's driving me bonkers! Very counter productive, lol :)

Gotta get caught up on some laundry & start a mini quilt for a trade I'm doing with this awesome gal. It's small & something I can work on while little Oblio is up. I can't wait to share it with you very soon.

Little Sloan is still feeling sick from her surgery. I thought she'd be feeling better by now but no such luck. I have heard it can take longer to heal the older you get. She's really having a rough time. I didn't get to make my homemade chicken noodle soup the other day like I wanted. Today I'm making it no matter what (per Sloan's request). I've got the chicken in the pot right now. The house smells so yummy. Okay back to cleaning & (my house looks like a bomb went off) cooking & hopefully sewing. Happy weekend!

The Sweetest of the Sweet

2011-11-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

Zoe' first breakfast she ever made

Life has been more than a little crazy lately. I dare not even whisper the words "seriously, what else could happen" for fear of something really crazy taking place. Life is like that though. I think it's Gods way of toughening us up for the hard road ahead. And by that I mean it's just a feeling I have in my gut. That pang in my heart that tells me life is only going to be harder as the years go by. With that being said I believe when life sends tough things your way the good times are that much sweeter. I'm so grateful for so many sweeter than sweet moments that have taken place during the last month of craziness. Here are just a few things that have put a smile on my face. Sure there are more times than pictures allow but I'm sharing what I was able to catch on camera. The rest will have to settle for being kept close to my mind & my heart.

Dean & I woke up to this loverly breakfast Zoe made us one Saturday. Who wouldn't want peanut butter & jelly on sourdough, salad & strawberries for breakfast? & look how cute Oblio's breakfast is! A banana & crackers. She thought of everything right down to the "treat" a candy for each of us. Love it!

We just switched Sloan from the back bedroom to the new room. I am so excited that we now officially own a home with 4 bedrooms. In some places that would be considered a mansion. Add to that the fact that we have beds for every family member, heat, running water, indoor plumbing & food in our fridge........we are rich! Truly we are in so many ways.

Since we added on the extra room Omri took Sloan's old room.

Can you tell he's loving it?

I think the smile says it all.

I love watching him play. I have been working on actually sitting down with my children lately. I know that may sound silly. I've found when I do that they almost always make a bee line for my lap. Especially this little guy. He's the best snuggler of all my kids. He's really sick today. All the kids are. I'm so grateful that I am able to stay home with them. Not every mom is so lucky to have a husband that works so hard so I can be here with our littles.

Here she is! The bravest girl I know. She had her tonsils & adenoids removed on Monday. Why is this a "sweet" thing? The Dr. said her tonsils were huge & very infected. Because of this she has been suffering from an almost constant sore throat for who knows how long. Add that to her joint pain & headaches, I am guessing this is part of the reason she's often so grumpy. I think she has felt crappy for quite a while. The Dr. felt this would improve how she felt 100%. That's worth all the pain she has to go through over the next 2 weeks. Although I'm sure she doesn't feel the same, she's been a trooper.

My dear friend Christy came over the other night & helped me baste the two quilts I've been working on. These quilts are huge! It really was a 2 person activity. I couldn't have done it without her & I am forever grateful for her coming to my rescue. With all the goings on I haven't had a chance to start quilting them. My hope is that tomorrow everyone will be feeling better so I can get started on them. I'd love to have them finished up by this Friday so I can do all the hand sewing this weekend.

So there it is folks. The sweetest things that have been filling my heart with happiness lately.

Backs

2011-11-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

2 backs down

Now on to the quilting

My dear friend Christy came over last night & helped me baste the two quilts. I feel like I'm almost on the last stretch of this project. Can't wait to get them finished up so I can send them to my sweet friend Elizabeth. What are your plans for the weekend?

Monster Mash!

2011-11-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash

He did the monster mash

The monster mash

It was a graveyard smash

He did the mash

It caught on in a flash

He did the mash

He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash

They did the monster mash

The monster mash

It was a graveyard smash

They did the mash

It caught on in a flash

They did the mash

They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun

The party had just begun

The guests included Wolf Man

Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds

Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds

The coffin-bangers were about to arrive

With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash

They played the monster mash

The monster mash

It was a graveyard smash

They played the mash

It caught on in a flash

They played the mash

They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring

Seems he was troubled by just one thing

He opened the lid and shook his fist

And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band

And my monster mash is the hit of the land

For you, the living, this mash was meant too

When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash

Hope you all had a Monster Mash of a Halloween!

She's Sassy

2011-10-27T23:54:00.000-07:00

Bet you couldn't guess that this is my little one who likes to dress up.

Or that she has a penchant for over accessorizing.

I can't help but hum Madonna tunes when I look at these photos. I don't know how she does it but she really has her own little style already. Even if she didn't, anything would look good with those smiley eyes. It's going to be interesting to see what the teenage years bring with my sassy little one. Heaven help us!

Almost There

2011-10-22T02:10:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start this post off with a lovely "before" pic of my ironing board. I bought this when I first moved to Nevada & got my own place. It's almost 8 years old. I've had it longer than 3 of my children. It's been with me longer than my husband. Sweet little Bessie has been a real help all these years (I just made her name up, cause I don't usually name inanimate objects) Let's face it she's pretty worn down & needed a makeover. When I would iron I could feel the metal beneath her thin little cover. It was getting harder & harder to iron. I have so many projects to finish that it was time to get a new cover.

So guess what I found the other night in the discount section at Ross?

Isn't it awesome! I love my new cover! LOVE it! It makes me want to iron everything. It almost makes want to iron my clothes.......nah.

I got it just in time too because I've been doing an awful lot of ironing the quilt I've been working on. this is my first attempt at improv quilting. I took the most amazing class on improve quilting at the Sewing Summit from Jessica Berret of the blog Urban Patchwork. I had a chance to sit with her in the free motion quilting class by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew & she was just as sweet & friendly as can be. I learned so much from her class & really feel more confident to loosen up when it comes to quilting. Jessica's quilts were amazing! It makes me want to think outside the box when it comes to upcoming quilts that I work on.

I have had so much fun making this section for the back of the scotty dog quilts in the previous post. It is taking soooooo much longer than I thought it would making these quilts. I thought for sure I would have mailed them off already. I hope my sweet friend hasn't given up on me. I am working in every spare moment to finish them up & send them off this week. I need to get these done this week because I have 3 other quilts to make for her. The three other quilting projects are going to be just as fun! (but hopefully won't take me quite so long....sorry about that Elizabeth!)

My thought with these quilts was to give them a very vintage feel on the front & a more modern feel on the back. That way she has two different quilts to choose from when using them in her cabin. The quilts are huge too. They could almost be used on a queen sized bed. She will be using them on two twin sized mattresses. I made them bigger on purpose. Remember the old time bed sets that went all the way to the floor & you could tuck the pillow up underneath the quilt? My great grandmother had quilts like that on her bed. I wanted these to have the same effect.

I'll be sewing up a storm tomorrow & promise to share a few more work in progress photos on Sunday. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

Scotty Dog Quilt Tops

2011-10-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

Quilt 1

Quilt 2

Say what!?!? Has it really almost been a month since my last post? For shame! I have been keeping busy though. Mostly on these two quilts. Right now I'm working on the backs & should have them finished up by tomorrow night. Then I'll be quilting them with my new Grace Baby Lock! My sweet awesome amazing husband bought me my new machine on the last day of The Sewing Summit. I had planned on putting it on layaway & Dean said go ahead & get it when I asked him. I'm so grateful I have a husband that believes in me & my dreams. He's always so very supportive. I plan on using my Singer for all my basic sewing & my new Grace for the specialty sewing. It can do both but my hope is to extend the life of the machine by alternating between the two. We got a really amazing deal on the Grace. The Baby Lock reps were offering a discount to all Sewing Summit attendants & the price was to good to pass up. I feel like this machine will be perfect for my quilting needs until the time I need a larger quilting machine. Seriously though, that will be years down the road, lol. It's a beauty & every time I look at it since I've returned home I get the giggles!

The Sewing Summit was AMAZING! So amazing that I'll be posting about it in full tomorrow. Right now I'm heading to bed. I need to go snuggle up my sweet amazing awesome & sexy husband (you know the one who bought me that amazing new sewing machine) & get some sleep so I have the energy to get this project wrapped up tomorrow. Hope you all have had a happy weekend!

Ahhhhhh Freak Out!!!!

2011-09-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

Quilt in progress

2 weeks from today I'll be driving to Utah to pick up one of my dearest friends from the airport. Then we will be attending The Sewing Summit! Woohoo!!!!!! Zana are you as excited as I am? What is the Sewing Summit you may be asking yourself? I'll tell you it's only going to be one of the funnest most awesomest sewing get togethers of the year that's what! You can find out all about it ::here:: I'm really excited to meet fellow creative bloggers that I have looked up to for the past few years. It's going to be fun to get away and just have some me time. Does that sound selfish? In all reality I haven't been anywhere all by myself since before I was a mom. That's like 12 years ago. I'm not gonna lie, I do feel a little guilty. It does help to know my sweet mother in law is flying out to stay with the kids while I'm gone. I know they will be in good hands. Having her here at home=Dean won't have to take off work=happy husband.

I'm sewing my little biscuits off right now. I have two quilts to finish by next week. I would have been a little farther along but I had such a tough time with the above block. Silly right? I spent the better part of a week freaking out about it. Once I sat down & made a dummy block it just fit together like a puzzle. Quilting humbles me. I have so much to learn. I'm really hoping to learn some wonderful sewing skills while I'm at the Sewing Summit. So now the countdown begins! So freaking out! So freaking excited!!!!!! Come on people jump up & down with me!!!! Okay, now back to sewing.

2011-09-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Thought it was about time Oblio got his first pair of shoes.

Pretty cute if you ask me, oh & the shoes are cool too :)

Good Morning Sunshine!

2011-09-16T02:06:00.000-07:00

What a happy way

to start the day

Good morning Sunshine!!!

This really was a happy accident. The girls always ask me to start their oranges for them (it makes them a little easier to peel) Zoe was so excited to find that I had given her a heart shaped start :) I think she thought I did it on purpose. I love that little Mozers!

Skate Park Afternoon

2011-09-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Like Father, like son. How funny is that? They both are making the same scrunchy eye face. I couldn't have planned that if I'd wanted to.

About a week ago we headed to the biggest skate park for a little afternoon fun. I'm sure in bigger cities this park would have been overrun with kids. It was surprisingly empty.

It allowed the girls free reign to scoot around to their hearts content.

Oblio had some fun on his little scooter as well.

Isn't is crazy just how much they look alike?

We've been trying out different skate parks in Sparks & Reno. So far this is the third one we've gone to & it's Deans favorite. I'm pretty sure it's the largest skate park we have. The girls loved it. Zoe loves to try & follow the big boys around & if she could she'd do all the tricks they do. Dean helped Omri with his scooter. There was a storm moving through & we had a view of the most amazing skies. I love stormy weather. It reminds me of Florida weather when I was growing up. These family outings are always so much fun. Sometimes I really don't feel like going. I know there are so many things I could clean or get caught up on if Dean just took the girls. In the end I never regret taking time out of my day for moments like these.

Play Me A Song....

2011-09-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

Mr. Piano Man

Oblio is at that I'm way too busy for my own good phase. You know the phase where you go to put something away, when you left the room your kid was playing nicely on the floor......but when you come back they are standing up on the table stage. Yup that's the stage we are at. He's busy. Keeping me on my toes all.........day.........long. Sigh. It makes tired just writing about it. We normally don't have the piano pushed up to the wall but we had to for a couple of days while Dean buttoned up the new hallway on our addition. It is starting to come together & I can't wait to share the process pictures very soon. All that's left is laying down the carpet & putting in the baseboards & the room will be finished. It's super cute!
Anyway, today I found Oblio in our 50 pound bag of carrots taking a bite off of a carrot & throwing it to the ground. He made it through several carrots before I found out his shenanigans. He's started taking steps too, but refuses to walk. He prefers to use a lobster like crawl instead. I think he's just taking his time. I'm okay with that little man. You just take your time.

Sleepless Nights

2011-09-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

There are several reasons I don't sleep well. Sometimes I stress about unfinished projects. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the long list of things I need to finish. Tonight it's because Sloan woke up with a sugar of 30. That's a scary number to have with a diabetic child. It's a number that would make you & I feel probably a little like death warmed over. I'm just guessing.

Sloan jumped up on Zoe' bed & was searching for "something that didn't make sense". Those were her exact words. At first I kinda freaked out & told her to knock it off, get off the bed, what the heck are you trying to do wake everyone up? Then I asked her to test her sugar. The low numbers are the worst. Highs stink too but the lows are hardest on her body. They do the most damage. I poured her some juice & she ate a cookie. She had a wild look in her eyes. That look scares me more than her uncontrolled temper during a high. It's in those moments she no longer knows whats going on.

She didn't know how she got into the kitchen or what she was doing. She was trying to drink from 3 different cups & I noticed she had blood all over her nose. I guess when she had tested her sugar her finger gushed & squirted all over her nose. It sorta looked like a crime scene. I heard the toaster pop. She had unknowingly toasted a piece of bread & taken the peanut butter out of the cupboard. I'm grateful she somehow remembered that she needed a protein along with the carbs. She tested her sugar again about 20 minutes later & was only 60. After the 2nd cookie I helped her wash the blood off her face. The wild look in her eyes had faded. I apologized for being grumpy with her. She thanked me & I told her how much I loved her. Then she went to sleep.

I'm getting ready to check her again when I'm done with this post but I can't help wondering.......does Sloan really know how much I love her? Do all of my children know just how much I adore them? Do I show it enough in my actions & with my words? Do they all know the joy that they bring to my life? Maybe they do, maybe there are days I show it & say it a little better than others. I still keep trying everyday to do things better than I did the day before.

There are many things that keep me up at night. Silly things. Worries that will not matter later on down the road. But these big questions are the ones I don't mind keeping me up. These are the things I should be thinking about. Because these people, my family, they are the most important things in my life. They are worth the worry & yes even a few sleepless nights.

Quilt In Progress

2011-08-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this project in all my spare time. I'm having a blast with it too! When it came to starting this project I wanted to make sure I had a definite plan in mind. Sometimes when I create with art, sewing, or quilting I just go with the flow. I didn't feel comfortable doing that with this project. The main reason being the vintage quilt squares. If I mess up I can't just go to the store & buy more. I decided to do a ton of sketching, 3 pages to be exact, & to make some mini mock fabric squares to move around.

The first pattern

Here's what I came up with. These are the four main fabrics. I pretty much knew from the beginning how I wanted them to stack (order of color). Then I just played around with pattern & placement. My goal is to stay true to the vintage feel of the quilt with fabric choices & pattern, but give it some modern flair with the quilting process (more on that later).

The second pattern

I really liked the idea of an argyle pattern but this felt to busy to me.

The third pattern

I love the chevron look but this wasn't working for me either.

I went ahead & got started on the quilt anyway. I knew there were some things I could start without knowing where I wanted to take the quilt. So I worked on getting the first layer of fabric on.

The next morning I was taking a shower & looked down to see pure inspiration! No not my out of shape figure, I said inspiration not depressing! I looked at the drain & knew that was the pattern I wanted to use. Okay, so I did a little more searching on the web & found lots of quilts with a similar pattern but I had to mention this. It really was an idea inspired in the shower, lol!

Eureka! The final sketch & pattern for the quilt.

My friend Melanie came over & I showed her my ideas & told her how I felt none of them really worked but loved parts of them. She offered the idea of combining them & that's what I did! So nice to surround yourself with creative people.

So I finished the first layer on 19 squares.

Then cut all the edging for the next layer of fabric. I sewed my little heart out last night adding the brown polka dot fabric & I'm almost finished with this too. Yahoo! I'll share the pics with you tomorrow. I love how everything is turning out. I feel like the extra energy spent on planning out this quilt will really pay off in the end.

Vintage Scotty Dog Quilt Project

2011-08-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Elizabeth sent me a very special box of fabric back in May. I feel terrible that it's taken me so long to get started. Time management has never been one of my strong suites ;) Elizabeth is so dear to me. She was a friend for me when I felt I had none. When I lived in Oregon for a very brief 6 months through a very horrible marriage she was my shoulder to cry on, confidant & friend. Her husband was my lawyer & helped me with my divorce & bankruptcy. She helped me pack up my moving van & made sure I was safe during that move. In a time when things seemed so unbearable, she was there to lift me up & dust me off. A true friend. Thanks to Facebook we have been able to keep in touch. I really feel like the Lord placed her in my life & I'm so grateful for all her kindness through the years.

These amazing Scottie dogs were made by Elizabeth's Grandmother.

Could you just die over all the vintage fabrics?

This one is unfinished & I get to do a little hand stitching so it will match the other dogs.

I don't even think I could pick a favorite if I tried.

I find them all so charming.

I really want to keep with a vintage feel but add a modern touch to this quilt. I have been given creative liberty with all the projects she sent my way (3 in all). So I decided to make this quilt more girlie. The Scottie dogs have a cute & girlie feel to me. This is the fabric I chose to make the quilt with. My mom found the cute flower one when we were at the store. (Mom you saved my biscuits!!!) I chose the muslin & the polka dots as accent fabric. All in all I think these will work with the vintage fabrics rather well. It would be hard to pull color from every single dog, so I went with fabrics I thought looked the best. The last two Scotties may stand out a little more but I still feel like it can work. Don't you wish you could still find feed sack fabrics? I know you can in some specialty fabric shops but it would be fun if stores carried them all the time.

I've been sketching some ideas for this quilt & will post them soon. I'm really excited about this project & look forward to sharing the process with you over the next few weeks.

30 Day Juice Fast

2011-08-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Recently Dean & I watched the documentary Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead. It was awesome. I will admit when we sat down that night to watch it I didn't expect much from the film. In fact we were both so tired we couldn't decide on what we wanted to watch and settled on that film. I'm forever grateful we did. It was just the film we needed to watch. As a family we have been slowly but surely moving in the right direction of living a healthier lifestyle. I'm not going to say it's been easy. There are times where we take great strides forward & then other times we have to reevaluate where we are at & more forward in a more positive light. This film just made sense to us. It came at the perfect time. I've been so tired lately. Having 4 kids will do that to you :) However it was more than that. I just didn't feel good most days. I suffered from headaches & sometimes I just felt rotten for no reason at all. I desperately wanted to change things but whatever I did never really seemed to help.

This is our new staple. 25 pounds of carrots every two weeks.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead opened a whole new world to me. For those of you who haven't seen the film yet, it's a documentary about a really nice Aussie man who comes to the United States to detox by going on a juice fast. All fruits & veggies juiced for 60 days straight. When he starts his fast he's overweight, & has some health issues he's taking steroids for. Along the way he meets & inspires another man with the same health problems, to change his life for the better through a juice fast. The documentary is so easy to watch & filled with a ton of great information. When Dean & I finished watching the film I told him I wanted to do a juice fast. We kinda joked about it but the next night I went to the store & bout a days worth of Bolthouse juice. Once Dean saw that I was serious about doing the fast we headed to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy our Breville Ikon juicer.

I decided that I would start with a 30 day juice fast. So for 30 days I only drank freshly made juice. I went to the Reboot website and wrote down some of the recipes. The Mean Green & the V28 were 2 of my favorite. I pretty much drank those more than any of the others. Most mornings I would start my day with a fruit juice but I was careful to do veggies for the other two drinks. The first 4 days were the hardest. My body was getting rid of so much yuck. I felt so much better by day five. I'm not going to lie. Dinnertime with my family never was easy the whole time I fasted. I realize that food is such an emotional thing for me. The act of eating dinner is important. Even though I was never hungry, not once during my whole fast, at dinnertime I felt the need to eat. Once the meal was over the feeling went away. It opened my eyes to some horrible eating habits I have developed over the years. I realized that sometimes I eat even when I'm not hungry. It's a real eye opener.

Different peppers from our garden. I used them in my V28 juices to add a little kick!

This is a typical breakfast drink for Dean & I.

The most common question I got was, "What about protein?" It answers this question at length on the Reboot website. Another statement I got quite frequently was, "Well be careful on that juice fast." I always had a giggle about that one. I didn't knew veggies & fruits could be so dangerous! I never had someone come up to me when I was putting processed foods in my grocery cart telling me to be careful of the Oreo cookies! It woke me up to just how warped our views on food are as a society.

There is a lot of pulp that is left behind when making juices. We put it to good use in our compost pile. It will turn into perfect compost by the time spring planting comes along.

Picking beans with daddy for one of our meals.

Speaking of grocery carts full of food, our trips to the store became a good laugh for Dean & I. It never failed when it was time to check out we would be the only people in line with almost all produce in our carts. One time the lady behind us was rolling her eyes & sighing while the cashier checked us out. I wonder what was going through her mind? I watched as she unloaded her cart full of soda & processed foods. No wonder she was so cranky, lol! I told her about the juice fast I was on & passed on the name of the movie. It was fun to use our cart full of produce as a conversation starter. I feel like it's my duty to pass this information on. Wouldn't it be great if we could all feel healthy?

Our first head of cauliflower.

Because of this 30 day juice fast I do feel so amazing! I don't have constant headaches anymore. My last cycle wasn't painful & the bumps on the back of my arms (I think they are called Chicken Skin Bumps) have almost completely cleared up. I also have more energy. I used to get so tired & napped almost everyday. Now I don't nap as much. Our youngest is a year so he still has rough nights from time to time. I also don't hit the wall, as I like to call it. I used to hit the wall around the same time every evening. Usually around 5-6pm. I would feel exhausted & overwhelmed, than about 30 minutes later I'd get a second wind. I don't have those moments anymore. It's wonderful because that's the time of day my family needs me most.

Our first time growing onions.

Starting the seeds for our fall planting.

Last but not least I lost some weight. 25 pounds of weight. Please excuse my lovely pictures. Seriously why did I take bathing suit pictures? If I had it to do over I would have worn my workout pants and a tank top. Sigh. So here I am below. It's hard for me to look at these. The before pics are tough to look at because I think to myself, how did I let me get to this point? Even the after pics are tough, because I realize I still have so much farther to go.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

The fact is I didn't get here overnight & I don't expect to get healthy overnight either. What this juice fast did for me was gave my body a chance to move forward in the right direction. It helped me to get rid of the yuck & have a better foundation to move forward with. It helped me to realize I can be healthy & I will feel so much better if I am. I am still juicing & will continue to. I just feel too good not to. In fact since my fast has ended I find the days I juice twice a day I just function better than the days I have only juiced once or like today, not at all (we need to go to the grocery store :).

I hope if anyone reading this is feeling stressed, or sick, or just not healthy watch the documentary. Consider a juice fast. I'm so glad we have decided to make this a part of our lifestyle. Feel free to ask any questions. I may add more to this post if I feel I have forgotten something. Thanks for stopping by! & for all of you dropping by from the Reboot page, keep juicing! Don't give up. It's worth all the sacrifice!

P.S. Thanks to Joe for opening our eyes to a better way of living! I'll be forever grateful!!!

20th Finish

2011-08-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I started this project almost 2 months ago. I haven't been lazy, just busy fitting other projects into the mix. I've been working on the bibs as time has allowed.

I made these for my sweet friend Maryanne who just had her little Owen just a few days ago. She's the sweet friend that bought me my new sewing machine in exchange for some sewing. These were the last of her projects.

This set I made for a friend I used to go to art school with. Thanks Dora for supporting my little Artfulife business :)

Some of the ties I made from fabric & others I made from vintage Bias tape. I won a huge lot of vintage sewing items last fall & I'm trying to actually use the things that I have in the garage. While cleaning out my closet I found not 1, not 2, but 3 bags of stuffing/filling for sewing projects. Add that to the 5 other bags that I have in the garage & well......you get the picture. There have been so many times I bought some sort of sewing/art supply only to realize I already have more than one of said item.

So I decided it's time to use what I have. All of these bibs I sewed are scraps from other projects I've made over the past few years.

All my girls have taken an interest in sewing. Each of them want their own sewing machine & that just may be what they get for Christmas this year. Zoe really gets the whole process & I think she's old enough & patient enough to start learning the basics.

I made this bib pattern by taking two of my most favorite bibs I was given when Sloan was born & combined them together to make this bib.

Aris had fun taking scraps of fabric and placing them on top of each other. In her mind she was making a pattern. That's what she told me.

I am amazed at how long she will sit & play with scraps. Who wouldn't be excited for a feisty 4 year old to sit quietly for an hour. I got so much done & it was fun to have her right by my side.

These little button bibs were fun to make. I used one of my favorite bibs to make this pattern too. However I modified it too be wider & longer.

35 bibs in all. All made from fabric scraps. Not too shabby. It feels so good to have this project finished. I'm super excited to start my next project. It's actually 3 projects all for a dear friend of mine & I will be posting about it in the next day or so.

20 down, 32 to go

Hot August Nights

2011-08-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

To say we had fun tonight would be an understatement. We usually walk around the Grand Sierra Resort to look at all the classic cars. This year we decided to go to Victorian Square to watch the cars go down the "Strip". I'm so glad we did. The kids had so much fun & there was an awesome energy in the air. Everyone giving high fives as they drove by & some people even throwing candy & beads to the kids. The girls couldn't get enough. So glad we decided to try this. I am not normally that enamored with cars but I have a real soft spot for classic cars. I wish cars still looked as amazing as they once did. Can't wait to do this again next year. I'm sure it will become a new family tradition.

If You Take Down A Wall..........

2011-08-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Remodels are a lot like that children's book, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie".

Once you remove the walls, you'll have to raise the floor.

If you're going to raise the floor, you'll have to take the flooring off.

& if you're raising the floor & taking the flooring off it only makes sense to raise the door also.

& once you remove the flooring you have to clean it up so......

You can frame the floor in.

Once you frame the floor & start laying the sub floor down........

You realize it's time to raise the slider.

Since you have to raise the slider you figure you might as well add the nicer upcycled Anderson slider you rescued from a remodel job up at the lake. That means cutting a bigger hole in the wall & framing it in.

After you've cut the bigger hole it's time to add the slider.

Now that you've raised the floor it's time to...........

Pull the flooring up.

So you can put it all....

Back.....

Down again.

And that's what happens when you take down some walls.

There is so much more that will be happening with this room but for now we are focusing on the room addition. I love having a more open space & the kids do too. It's nice to have the floor all at one level. No more tripping down an awkward step! More updates of the remodel to follow :)

Gold Lake

2011-08-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy lately. Sometimes it's hard to take the time I need to enjoy my family. Don't get me wrong, I spend a ton of time with the kids on a daily basis. It's just I find myself preoccupied with the day to day tasks that I sometimes wonder, how much of my time am I really giving to the people that matter most?

So when Dean suggested we head to California & spend an afternoon at Gold Lake I was excited. We'd like to do more activities like this with the kids. So we packed up a lunch, I juiced (more on my 30 day juice fast in an upcoming post) a Mean Green for later, then we packed up the car & headed out on our family adventure.

Nothing says lazy afternoon at the lake like a picnic lunch.

The water was surprisingly warm. When I say warm I'm being kind of sarcastic. The kids could handle it but I couldn't hang, lol!

What a view! Oh wait, that's my cute husband, haahaa!

Dean brought the fishing gear & Aris had a heyday with all the little plastic worms.

If she'd had her way I would have photographed her with that worm all afternoon. She's such a little goofball.

Dean getting a little fishing in.

What's this? I honestly have no idea other than the fact that Aris, Zoe & I were attacked by the nastiest bugs on this planet. Nope these weren't mosquitoes. They were these black gnat looking bugs. The only reason I even knew we had been bitten is the drops of blood. You couldn't feel them bite. They didn't even itch until the day after. Let me tell you, they were crawling in the girls hair & all over their necks. I had to dunk poor Zoe under the water to get them all off. She got the worst out of all of us. If anyone knows what these bugs are I'd love to know. I'm still creeped out by the whole thing & pretty much convinced that they are alien bugs from another universe. I have knots on my neck from where I was bitten. Hopefully I don't have bugs nesting in my neck that will pop out one night during dinner, you know, like in the movie Alien? Anywho....they were rally gross.

::Update::
I just had a friend inform me these are black flies that bit us. Horrible little things. Next time we'll bring the off.

After the bug incident we packed up the kids & drove up the road to Fraizer Falls. We didn't know what to expect because neither of us had ever been there before. It was 14 miles up the road but totally worth the detour. Once you reach the small parking lot it's a 1/2 mile hike to the falls. Perfect for little legs.

I find it fascinating that we can drive an hour & a half away & see totally different scenery. I love living out west. The path to the falls was full of so much beauty.

The back of the falls from a little bridge.

The other side of the bridge.

We hit the top right before the sun was starting to set. It was so hard to capture with my camera lens how truly high up we were or how beautiful the falls were.

There were so many different kinds of rock formations mixed in with the trees.

Do you see Dean? He hiked to the edge of the top of the fall with Zoe. Next time I'll be doing the same. Maybe then I can get a better shot of it.

The girls came home with pockets full of rocks from the trail.

We let the girls do a little rock climbing.

We made it back to our car just as the sun was setting. It was such a perfect ending to a perfect family adventure.

19th Finish

2011-07-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd let you have a little peek at my sketch process. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to get a sketch just right the first time. Other times I can sketch for a couple hours or over the course of a few days before I get things just right. This was such a fun little project to work on. My sweet friend Susan asked if I would illustrate a coloring book page for her sister Karens' wedding reception. They first saw the idea ::here:: Adorable no? They wanted to keep it simple & have space at the bottom so guests could write them wishes or hopes for their new life together. They will be putting them all together into a folder so the couple can look back on them throughout the years. Such a fun idea!

Here is the final product!

I thought this would be the last of the wedding commissions for me but it isn't. The other day a friend saw the birdcage tags I made for my cousins wedding & she wants me to make some tags for her sisters wedding!!! So excited. I might even be adding these new items into my poor forgotten Etsy shop, lol! Maybe I'll even get around to photographing all the stacks of things I need to put into my vintage Etsy store. Sigh, so much to do!!!!

I am almost done with my 20th finish & hope to share it with you tomorrow or the next day. I'm also very excited to share the upcoming 3 finishes that I'll be working on for a dear friend of mine. It involves tons of cute vintage goodness.

19 Down, 33 To go!

1 Year Young

2011-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I picked up this cute little cake at Walmart. It was the last "destroy" cake they had. At least it wasn't all pink and girlie. Besides, I like Thomas.

We had another small family party with our dear friends the Mooney family joining us for dinner & cake. They adore little Omri & are always so sweet with my girls. It only seemed fitting to have them over for the special event. It was a beautiful evening with a nice cool breeze. You couldn't have asked for a nicer more perfect night to have a picnic out on the back porch.

Omri wasn't too sure about the cake at first. I don't blame him! We spend the whole first year as parents working so hard to feed our little ones healthy things. Then on their first birthday we're like, here, have this giant mass of sugar! Haahaa!

I think he approves :)

That's right little man, dig in.

Now what do I do?

Oh that's right, I throw it to the ground! It brought up images of the Saturday Night Live video, you know, Throw it to the Ground? Happy Birthday to the ground, lol! You'll have to watch it. It's one of our favorite things to quote around here.

Dylan rescues the cake.

Okay ma! The birthday boy is totally done. Time to clean me up so I don't look like a blue Muppet.

Happy Birthday My Man Moblio! I just adore you! It's so fun to have another guy in the house. I love your tender little snuggles & adore your rough & tumbleness. I think it's so fun to watch you scoot toys across the floor (everything is scooted just like a car, lol) & listen to all your many sound effects. You are still a watcher of things. I marvel when your eyes light up watching kids play at the skate park or the girls riding their bikes. I know very soon you'll be joining in on those activities. For now you are still my little guy. I adore you & can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Happy Birthday Oblio!

On Turning 4

2011-07-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

So I'm kinda playing catchup with pictures & posts. This summer has been so full & I just haven't taken the time to get on the computer like I do during the colder months.

Aris turned 4 on June 29th. We had a small family party. I can't even tell you what a goofball this girl is while opening presents. We probably could have given her bags with toys she already had & she would have been happy. The pictures pretty much sum up her constant excitement the whole time.

A helmet from daddy

Art supplies from Sloan

Playmobile from mommy

Her very own scooter from daddy! Dean always picks the best birthday presents for the girls. I buy them toys & Dean buys them fun outdoor stuff, lol! It makes for a perfect birthday mix :) We had yummy chocolate cake & chocolate cupcakes to celebrate.

Aris words can't even express how full my heart is that you are a part of our family. You are the spice in our lives, lol! Spunky doesn't even capture just how much of a stinker you can be. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't hear the stomp, stomp, stomp of your feet or that tiny little high pitched voice of yours singing me your made up songs. You are my drama queen. My princess dresser upper. My makeup & fingernail polish girl. I love your imagination & your strong will. I'm sure both will serve you well as you grow older. I love you my little Popeye Mipie Pearmear! Hope 4 is the best year yet!

18th Finish

2011-07-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

One of the things I've tried to do this year is make more of the gifts I give to people. So far I've been pretty good at it. I still end up buying birthday presents for kids but maybe next year I'll have it a little more together, I make no promises. So when my cousin Brooke got married this past weekend I opted to make a sign they could hang at the wedding & then later in their home. I still have a ton of canvases left to paint on so I decided to use one instead of spending money on something else to paint. I thought it would be fun to paint them as a little bird couple since the wedding theme was lovebirds. I asked Brooke what her colors were going to be for her home & she said earth tones.

Here's what I came up with. I tried to keep it as neutral as possible but added the pop of red. Brooke's wedding colors were red, black, & white. I figured if she liked them enough to use at her wedding she will most likely use them in her home also. I know there is a lot of blank space around the sign. That's because I plan on painting little birdie children as they come along. Had to leave room for those little ones ;)

I used acrylic paints for the sign. Then I glued scrapbook paper to the sides. I had a heck of a time with the back. Nothing I had was big enough to cover it. I ended up ripping up some brown paper grocery sacks and glued those to the back. It ended up woking out perfectly.

18 down, 34 to go

17th Finish

2011-07-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

My sweet cousin Brooke got married this weekend. It was a beautiful & perfect day. I even had the honor of being their photographer for the day. I'll be posting photos very soon. Brooke's theme for her reception was lovebirds. Here colors were black& white & red. She had seen pictures of a beautiful reception where there were small cards with birdcages & facts about lovebirds. She asked me if I would be willing to make some for her.

My aunt Colleen (Brook's mom) sent me the 10 facts she wanted on cards & this is what I came up with. Here you can see what the front & the back of the cards looked like. My hope is that she can also use them on her Christmas tree for years to come. I used a thick stock watercolor paper for the front & glued a pretty scrapbook paper to the back. I started by doing a light acrylic wash to give them a vintage look. Then I sketched out all of the birdcages & lettering. Next I painted all the birdcages & hand painted the lettering also. I added red hearts to all the i's :) The perfect touch of red. I finished them off by adding a champaign colored ribbon so they could be tied to the tree.

Here they are hanging on the lovebird tree. I hope she enjoys them. They were so very fun to make. I even had someone request to make some paper ornaments for the upcoming holiday. If I can get my act together I might even add some of them to the shop.

17 down, 35 to go

Destruction Part Deux

2011-07-15T17:04:00.001-07:00

Time for the last wall to come down.

This time Dean did all the work himself. Construction is what he does for a living. He was sweet enough to let us all help the other night but it took twice as long & was 10 times as messy. He's such a sweetie to let us have a go at it though ;)

This wall came down in a little less than 30 minutes.

Dean was saying, "See how it's done babe" :)

He sawzalled the other side of the wall.

The girls peeking through before the wall came totally down.

Here it is completely open! Dean hammered the nails so they wouldn't be hanging down. This whole remodel process will happen in a few steps.

The wall where my art stuff is will have a built in book shelf that will go all the way to the wall. It will close off the other useless entrance to the kitchen & allow more wall space in the kitchen. I'm so excited to have a giant bookshelf in our home. I have most of my books in storage & the girls shelves are overflowing. It will be so lovely to have them easy to access & enjoy.

The first step is to pull up the Pergo flooring & raise the dining room floor up to the rest of the house. This is the same said floor I fell & broke my hand on last year. I can't even count how many people have tripped or fallen when walking into our sunken dining room or up to the kitchen. It's so dangerous & I know it will be nice to have it gone. Then we will be adding a nice archway to add a small amount of separation to the rest of the living space. The entry to the spare bedroom will go on the other side of the piano. Yep, we are adding another room on :) No we are not expecting another baby, lol!

Eventually the whole kitchen ceiling will be raised to match the rest of the house & slate floors will be put in the kitchen & dining room.

All the ceilings will be scraped & can lights added. Someday down the road we will replace that corner fireplace with a wood burning stove. Eventually we will get new lighting fixtures for the dining room & kitchen but those are later on down the road. The biggest thing is getting that new room built. It already feels so open & lighter in our home. I'm really looking forward to all of these changes. I'll share photos as we go.

& The Walls Came Tumbling, Tumbling

2011-07-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's time to open up the house.

Sloan's turn

Worker girl Zoe

Zoe's turn

Aris' turn

Brennan's turn

Dean's turn

We made it a family affair.

Even Omri joined in the fun with the hammer Bumma gave him.

Daddy showing Zoe how to pull down the wall with a hammer like he does at work.

Taking down the other side.

Already looking more open & today it was so much brighter in the dining room.

This wall is coming down next. Pictures coming soon.

14th-16th Finishes

2011-07-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

14th

Another batch of burp cloths. Almost 30 to be exact. So I think it's only fair to count as a finish even though it's not my first time making them.

::Before::

::After::

15th

I saw this tutorial a while back. Thank goodness because I just adore those cute footed Carter character jammies. These were Zoe's & I knew if I fixed them Aris would be able to wear them eventually (if she ever grows;). It was such an easy fix & I kicked myself for not mending them sooner. Aris wanted to wear them now but I told her she will have to wait a year or two. I had a whole pile of mending to do. It had seriously been haunting me for months. Actually there were a few items that had been in that pile for over 3 years. How sad is that?!? So I sat down one night & fixed all but the things that needed buttons. I'll be heading to the store next week to match up & fix the last few items. It felt so good to accomplish this. I fixed over 20 items of clothing!

::Before::

::After::

16th

This rocker recover project was so much fun to do. This is for a dear friend of mine whom is expecting her 4th baby boy. the funnest part was going to the discount designer fabric store. All of their upholstery fabric is $12 or less! We spent a good hour looking around until we found something she loved that would not only work in the baby's room but also her living room afterward. She was super happy with the outcome & I enjoyed the challenge. The bottom cushion had to be taken apart to make sure the new cover fit properly. The pleats were a little tricky too. I had to rip it out once to make sure I matched it up properly. I'm so excited to have two chair recovers under my belt. It has given me the confidence to work on other furniture recover projects.

I should show you my list of things to do over the next few days, it kinda makes me week in the knees but I'm so excited to be making some really cute art for my cousins wedding. I'll also be taking pictures of the big day & her reception. So excited! Promise to share them all early next week.

Skate Night

2011-06-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

If Zoe had her way we would go to the skate park every day. She often talks about waking up early so daddy can take her before he goes to work. Dean & I giggle at the cuteness of it all. With that being said she really would if she could. She's fearless too. I've never seen a 5 year old fall & get back up so effortlessly. All of our kids have strengths. This is Zoe'. Determined, unafraid, adventurous.

Aris & her sweet ride.

Oblio watching all the "Cool, cool, tricks!" as Zoe called them.

It looks like she's falling but she crawls down on her tummy......

all the way to the bottom. My little goofball.

Dean watching for a few minutes. He's so awesome about helping the girls when needed. I'm more than willing but the girls want Dean to help. Maybe I should just stick to taking the pictures, lol :)

Sloan giving her scooter a spin around the park.

Even my mom got in on the action. Go mom!

Looking forward to more of these skate park evenings. This particular evening we had it to ourselves for most of the time we were there. We couldn't have asked for a nicer evening. The sun was setting. Casting it's golden glow. Everything felt magical & nostalgic all at once. If there had been music playing you would have heard some Crosby Stills & Nash with a little Joni thrown in for good measure. I love evenings like these. The sun seems to set a little later every evening. Making it hard for the girls to go to bed when they actually need to. I'm soaking up these summer days. I know that in just a few short weeks not one but two of my little ones are going back to school. Zoe will start kindergarten & she can hardly wait. Sloan will be in 6th grade. How did that even happen? It will just be me, Aris, & Oblio at home. Times are a changing. Sometimes I get that twinge in my heart, like, is this really it? Is this how it's going to be? Omri is the last? In 4 years I will have all my kids in school? What will I do with myself!?!?!?!? Then a calmness comes over me & I know that it is what it is. Life has been so good. The Lord has blessed us with so much. I am sure when the time comes I will fill my days just as much as I do now, just different. I know there will be new challenges & exciting stages to experience as my children grow. As Dean & I grow. It is an odd feeling when you realize that you are getting older. It puts so many things into perspective. I only hope I fill my days with many more like this one. Because life is so short & I really probably could never get enough.

Who????

2011-06-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

The Bumma

pronounced like Boo-ma

aka my mom

otherwise known as the hardest worker ever

& the Nennan

pronounced like Nin-nin

aka my little sister

as in 17 years younger than me

That's who!

So happy to have them here.

Thank goodness for Famdamily!

First Salad

2011-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

We are just starting to harvest some of the fruits of our labor. It was such a long cold spring but this week has hit us with upper 90* weather. We are soaking it up. Nevada weather can change so quickly. One day you could be wearing shorts & the next day it could snow. No joke.

I'm crossing my fingers that we will be blessed with an Indian Summer. It's only fair considering.

All our different lettuce & spinach are coming in so perfectly. It is such a treat to walk out into your backyard & pick what is needed to make a salad. The other night Dean made an amazing quiche with spinach from our garden. I think it tasted just a little yummier than if we had run to the store & bought it ;)

We've had to move everything out of the greenhouse because of the heat, but we plan on continuing to grow our salads all through the fall & winter in the greenhouse.

Summer's Salad

-Spring mix (any lettuce mix will do)

-fresh dill finely chopped

-fresh cilantro chopped

-cucumber cut up

-tomato diced

-dried cranberries (Craisins)

Mix all together & top with your favorite goat cheese or blue cheese. I added a light olive oil & vinaigrette dressing but my mom used poppy seed dressing & thought it tasted delicious. I almost always add fresh cilantro to my salads but never thought to add fresh dill. It adds such a lovely hint of flavor & I will be adding it on a regular basis. Let me know if you try this salad. I'd love to know what your thoughts are on the fresh dill in the salad.

Eleven

2011-06-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Birthday Swim

Eleven years young Sloan. Although you are already talking about growing up faster than I want you to. Hammy burgers for dinner with Bumma, Nennan, & the rest of the famdamily. The waiters sang a cheesy happy birthday song to you while you blushed & the rest of us whooped & hollered. You got a karaoke game for your wii, a set of tiny furniture for your little Barbie babies & some tiny little LalaLoopsy sets (you like tiny things :). I am almost positive this will be the last year to buy you toys. I know this due to the embarrassed cry of "Mom!!!!!!!" when I mention toys in front of your friends. I guess it just isn't "cool" to play with toys anymore at your age. I am glad you still do when no one else is around. I hope this eleventh year of your life proves to be a happy one. I hope that it's filled with less pain & wonderful friendship & learning experiences. Most of all I just want you to know how pleased I am with what a strong beautiful young woman you are turning into. I adore you sweet bologna. Happy Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Our Lives Have Been Filled..............

2011-06-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Life is so full. Sometimes it's hard to put into words all that I want to say. So I will let the pictures do the talking. Happy weekend to you all.

11 Months

2011-06-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

11 Months

Well little man Oblio 11 months have been good to you. Now that you have teeth you have moved from baby food to the same meals we have. You can eat everything we do & this is the best thing ever! It's so nice to just feed you a small portion of whatever we have on our plates. Your tummy aches & yucky diapers have stopped also. Even when I feed you a little bit of dairy in your meals you do fine. Thank goodness. I thought for sure you were going to have a sensitive tummy like Aris.

You are into everything. Everything! If you can't get into a certain cupboard or we take something away you sometimes throw the craziest temper tantrums. Full on throw yourself on the ground, flailing legs smacking arms throw your head side to side tantrums. They are a little hilarious to watch. If I don't pick you up these tantrums can go on for a good 15 minutes. You are very headstrong. You are also the best little snuggler. If you had your own way you would nurse all night long nuzzled up in the crook of my arm. If it didn't hurt my arm so much I'd let you.

The other day you started to dance when a song came on. When I sing to you your face lights up & you sing back. Now that you can reach the piano you love to "play" the keys. Then you pound away on your piano. I can't wait for you to be able to play the small drum set we have for you kids. I can just see you & daddy having a jam session out in the garage.

Oh & those meaty little hands of yours! I could nibble them all day! Yes I have been known to steel all that sugar on those kissable cheeks of yours. I have to get it while I can for I know sooner than later you won't allow it. Until that time prepare for tons of sugar steeling. I love you my sweet little boy!

New Glasses

2011-05-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

Look who got new glasses!

Mozy Dozers

2011-05-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

I love all of my children the same & I don't play favorites. However with that being said there are certain qualities that each of them possess that make me so grateful to call these sweet little ones mine. It makes them unique & helps to liven things up in my already full to the brim life. A constant reminder to slow down just a little to watch, listen, & learn from these innocent but wise beyond their years children that I have been entrusted to bring up in this crazy world. It is a daunting task but one I'm willing to tackle.

This Zoe girl of mine. She is my easiest child by far. It started at birth. She came into this world peacefully & calmly with only Dean, the Dr. & a nurse to witness this sacred event. The room was dim. The Dr. was calm. It was beautiful & perfect. She's quick to please but stubborn when she feels a strong sense of right or wrong. If someone is sad she will give them her favorite toy or blanket so they feel happy again. Her kisses are hopelessly slobbery & wet & her hugs are awkward but oh so genuine. It's hard not to fall instantly in love with all her quirks.

Lately she has really started drawing the most amazing faces. She wants to know how to draw "real eyes" I guess those are different from the fake ones, haahaa! Her favorite thing is to have Sloan or I draw something & then she looks at it & draws the exact same thing. An artist in the making. Along with mad drawing skills she has developed the sharpest little wit. She understands comic timing & once she starts it's hard to stop her. She really is funny. Yesterday she was on one of her comic rolls. As we were driving in the car the following conversation happened::

Zoe::Mom, do you still have my immunization records up there?

Me::Yes, why?

Zoe::Cause if you didn't we'd be doomed!

Me::Haahaaa, Zoe where did you hear that?

Zoe::I really have no idea.

Then at dinner::

Zoe::Mom, can we please watch a movie after dinner?

Me::No Zoe, it will be time for bed.

Zoe::Damnity Damn!!!!

Me::Zoe!!!! We don't say those words in our house!!! Where did you hear that?

Zoe::I really have no idea! (& then she giggled)

This morning she ran inside with brown splatters all over the front of her dress. She swore that a bird pooped on her (I'm pretty sure it was mud.)

Seriously!?! Where does she come up with these things. Today she stepped on a nail in the back yard. It was so sad. As I was cleaning her foot she cried while telling me her story of how it all happened. She confessed she was going to go make mud pies when the accident happened (Bird poop my foot ;). With tears streaming down her cheeks, I listened & almost started crying myself. Her sweet tender little heart melts mine on a daily basis. Her foot is sore but she'll be fine. I'm taking her to get a shot just in case, but the nail wasn't rusty & that is a good thing.

So why am I sharing these silly moments? Because if I don't I will forget them. I find myself so tired at the end of the day I fall asleep saying my prayers. I want to make sure I don't forget these moments. Typing them out is a way for me to remember. How do you remember your child's little quirks & funny sayings. Do you write them down? I'd love to know. Hope you all are having a great week!

Michael & Asher Wedding

2011-05-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I have known Moa & her family for quite a few years now. They are some of my favorite people. So when Moa asked if I would be willing to shoot her brother Michael's wedding, I said yes. I nervously asked if they knew this was my first time shooting a wedding & she told me that shouldn't be a problem. She did have one request, that I borrow a camera for the big day. A friend of mine was kind enough to let me borrow her Canon & I got a crash coarse in camera mechanics via text & through a few phone calls from a dear old high school friend (Wayne you saved my bacon!) It was such a humbling experience. I now have a totally new found respect for wedding photographers. I also learned why photographers have assistants. I sure could have used one that day. I am so grateful that Michael & Asher allowed me to be a part of their special day. You guys are amazing!

13th Finish

2011-05-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

So this is my second attempt at writing this post. The first one I wrote somehow got deleted. Urgggghhhh! If I were superstitious I'd almost think it had to do with the fact that this is my 13th finish. However I'm not superstitious, watch out for that black cat! Just kidding. Okay. Moving on. When my sweet neighbor asked if I could recover her rocker cushions I said sure! I've never done such a thing before but how hard can it be? Then she asked if I could recover the footstool at the same time. I've never reupholstered anything before either but I've been wanting to learn for quite a few years now & felt this was the perfect opportunity.

I found this tutorial & went to making my template for the seat & back cushion out of a roll of packing paper I had. I took a little extra time with this step. My hope was that it would make the sewing part a little less stressful.

Then I cut the fabric to the pattern & pinned the pieces together. I added some Velcro to some thicker tabs. Then attached them to the fabric. Those tabs are what keep the cushions attached once back on the rocker. Once I sewed the covers together I put the old cushion in the new cover. This was tricky because the back of the upholstery fabric had an almost grip like feel to it. I kind of felt like I was wrestling a pig getting those cushions to go in. Not that I have ever wrestled a pig in real life, but I'm guessing it's a little like what I was doing. Not to mention the fact that the back cushion had to be adjusted 5 different times. That means I had to take the cushion in & out a total of 10 times. Sigh. I wanted to be right so it was worth it to me. My sewing machine wasn't working properly either. The tension on the bobbin was all crazy. I called a sweet friend of mine & she came over to see if she could help me fix it. I was so excited to learn how to take my machine apart, clean it, & put it back together. In all my years of sewing I've never done this before for total fear of ruining my sewing machine. I feel so empowered! I can try to fix things my self before calling someone else to come to my rescue. It's a great feeling.

Next I reupholstered the the footstool. Dean gave me that awesome staple gun last month. Some girls like nice jewelry, purses, or shoes. Not me. Give me tools baby! Yes he really knows the way to a girls heart. Sigh. I love that guy!

Now that I've done this little project I feel the need to do more! I'm keeping my eyes open for furniture to buy and reupholster. I'm starting small now but my hope is to get good enough at it to redo bigger items as well.

Here it is all finished in my friends home. Not bad for a first try, lol!

It got Zach's nod of approval & that's all that matters anyhow. Hope you all have a happy weekend!

13 down, 39 to go

Almost Friday

2011-05-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Aris & Maddie

Today is one of those days where there are a million things to do in a small amount of time. I like days like this. They push me to plan & map, & get things done quickly. Sometimes I find myself going to bed wondering what I have to show for my day. Not on days like today. I will earn my sleep & enjoy the peace that comes when my head hits the pillow tonight.

First up on my list, to take back my new camera & exchange it for another one. The sensory is bad on it. I'm super bummed. It's only 2 weeks old so I can still exchange it (thank goodness). Then we are heading to story time & the park. After that it's time to come home & scrub the house down, fix lunch, naps for kids, pick up Sloan from school & take her to piano lessons, fix dinner, bathe kids, & then have a Mary Kay party. After that I may just sit down & cut some fabric for the back of my quilt why Dean & I watch a show before bed. See, I told you I'd earn my sleep. How about you, do you ever have days like this? Hope you all have a happy Thursday. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. So very glad!

2nd Quilt Top

2011-05-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

Remember this quilt top I started a while back?

Well I finally finished everything but the edges & then I got busy with life. With sick kids, other projects that people commissioned me to do. I was a little stumped on how to finish the edges. Sometimes that's just one more excuse to add to the list of reasons why something sits unfinished.

I already had purchased the fabrics to possibly use but every idea I had just didn't feel right. I thought & thought about it & finally figured when all else fails go with plain & simple. Sometimes the plainest of fabrics can add the biggest impact. I have seen some beautiful quilts lately made of solid colors & they look so beautiful. Once I decided what color (or the lack there of) that I wanted to use all that was left is the pattern. Once again I was stumped! Everything I thought of didn't feel quite right. Then I thought, why not just continue the log cabin? Eureka! Funny how once you figure out what will work everything just flows from there.

I plan on using the rest of the fabrics I purchased for the backing of the quilt. I will probably include at least one if not more of the above panels on the back also.

Looking forward to finishing this up this weekend.

What projects will you be working on?

12th Finish

2011-05-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Someone commissioned me to make some burp cloths & this is what I came up with.

Front of burp cloth made in Amy Butler.

Soft chenille on the back

Bib made with vintage fabric

This set I made for a fellow blogger that has a little daughter. She goes to occupational therapy & is learning how to eat because she has been tube fed since birth. I'm hoping she will be able to use these when she goes. They are bright & cheerful & instead of using the cloth as a "burp cloth" I thought she could use it to snuggle or wipe her face when needed.

This is my 12th finish. I am so excited to be sewing again. I have a whole list of quilt tops to finish & others to start. I've also been blessed with a steady stream of sewing commissions. All that money has gone into a fund to buy Sloan new glasses. I'll be back tomorrow to share the next finish I'm working on at the moment. Before I go, run on over to An Art Nest & enter to win her lovely bundle of scraps. Or don't, cause I'm kinda hoping that I'm the lucky gal ;)

12 down, 40 to go

Bologna

2011-05-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Oh little Sloan, where do I begin? There are so many new & exciting things going on in your life right now. You have had your first crush (but you guys are just great friends). You just got your pump. I watch on a daily basis as you try so very hard to be the best you can be despite all the pain you are in. I can tell when things are getting too hard to bare. When that happens you are very hard to be around, but I love you anyway. We've had a lot of great talks lately. You've talked to me about everything from sex, friends, songs, dreams, goals, & the one that weighs on me the most your health. Just this morning you asked why you have so many health problems. You explained how you felt you are the only kid that suffers. I had to calmly explain that there are actually kids that have it far worse than you. In doing so I hope you know that I am in no way disregarding your special circumstances. But you are strong & all these trials will only make you a better person. What you choose to do with this lot you have been given will shape the adult you will one day become.

I love listening to you play the piano. The songs you compose are better than that of some adults. Your talent with music astounds me! I get chills sometimes listening to you sing when you think I'm not. Your voice is that beautiful. You have told me that someday you plan to go to Juilliard. I hope you follow this dream. I'm so grateful you are my daughter & that I get the privilege of watching you grow into the beautiful young lady that you are becoming. I love you sweet girl!

Mozers

2011-05-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

I think the last photos is my favorite. It shows your sweet little hands covered in dirt. You are always covered in dirt. Last night at dinner you told me that you wanted to drag dirt from your shoes through the house just like dad did. I reminded you that I had just mopped & then you proceeded to tell me that is why it would be so funny. I then told you how hilarious it would be when I made you mop all of that dirt up by hand. Aris piped in on how Cinderella had to mop the floors by hand. Then you said how Cinderella had a mean stepmother that made her do those things. I guess I was reminding you of her last night. You have become so interested in learning lately. You are desperate to read just like your friend Toad. You also remind us everyday that you will soon be in Kindergarten. We met your teacher last Friday & you were so shy! We took a look around the class. Out of all the things that you saw in that classroom you talk about the books the most. You are so excited to learn to read & "do your numbers" as you like to call it. This house will feel lonely without you here. Aris will be lost without her "best sissy". One thing that I have noticed lately is how good you are getting at brushing your own hair. It took a few weeks but when you comb your hair now you don't look quite so homeless. You have also become quite the little artist! I can't wait to see where your creativity & imagination take you. As much as I'd love to have you want to tag along while I do things around the house you'd much rather be outside with your dad. He still is after all your "favorite dad". You are still my peacemaker. If someone is sad you try to fix it right away. Your tender little heart melts mine with your awkward hugs (you pat people really hard on the back when hugging. It's quite adorable actually) & sloppy kisses. I love you my litter Mozers.

A Sister is......

2011-05-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

a forever friend.

~author unknown

One Mans Trash.....

2011-05-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

Is another kids treasure.

I've been wanting one of these riding horses for the girls for as long as I can remember. I'm grew up with one. I didn't want a new one & I think that is why I haven't been able to find one yet. I am guessing people hang on to them & pass them down generation to generation. That or they use them until they fall apart. It's been very hard to find one of the vintage variety. You can imagine my surprise & delight when I saw this little guy in a garbage pile while taking Sloan to school one morning. She begged me not to stop until after I'd dropped her off at school. Someday she won't care about finding treasures in other peoples trash but for now I obliged. On our way home I did the slow drive by aka::the I'm checking out your junk to see if I want it before I get out of my car & make a fool of myself drive by. Then the owner of the garbage pile came out of his house. Maybe he thought I was a robber. Who knows. I probably did look a little suspicious. I was so excited when he said yes. He got a twinkle in his eye talking about how all his grand kids had used it. Sadly none of them wanted it for their kids. He was so happy that I had two little ones that would get some more use out of the little horse. I love that it has a history. I love that it was free. If we lived in the Toy Story Movie this little horse was saved from an untimely demise at the landfill. I plan on writing the girls names on his hoof. Now he will enjoy all his cowboy & princess adventures with my kids for years to come. I'm sure he is full of wisdom & bestows it on the other outdoor toys. That's a good thing because they are a rowdy bunch (especially the sandbox toys). Keep em in line Rough Rider, keep em in line.

10 Months

2011-05-08T22:37:00.001-07:00

Ten months

Dear Mom,

I tried to call you this morning. I don't know if you got the message but I want you to know you were the first person I thought of when I woke up. I thought you might want to see what a little man Oblio is turning into. He's no longer an infant. I watch him change a little bit every day. I swear he wakes up some mornings and it's as if he grew while the house was quiet & everyone was fast asleep. I've heard it said over & over again that as a mother you wake up one day & your babies are having babies of their own. I now feel I have a small understanding of this concept.

Little Omri is so smart mom. He's a watcher. I think he's trying to figure it all out. Last night I was getting him out of his booster seat after dinner & he watched me un-click the buckle. Then he grabbed the buckle & tried with all his might to snap it back together. It was fun to watch. I see such determination in his countenance. I'm sure it's something that will come in handy in the years to come.

He has also started finger foods. Finally! I would have started sooner but he has only recently grown enough teeth to accomplish this newest task of self feeding. Let me tell you, he loves it! He makes the funniest noises as he stuffs green beans & bananas into his mouth. The girls think it hilarious to watch. The only downside to this is the two baths a day & the clean up. It almost looks like there has been a food fight in the dining room when he's done eating.

I thought a lot today about you. I thought about all the wonderful things you taught me as I was growing up. Things that I now try to teach to my own children. I hope that you know how very much I love you. We can't wait to see you in just a few short weeks. Then you can hold your little grandson & snuggle him up and kiss his cheeks like I do all day long. His cheeks are so very kissable! Four more weeks mom! Four more weeks! Happy Mothers Day. Talk to you soon.

Love-Summie

Popeye

2011-05-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Popeye Pea Pie Pear Mere

I thought I'd share a few of the fun things that are going on in your life right now. Sometimes I just have to write it down in fear that I might forget these sweet little years. I looked at you today & I swear you grew an inch last night in your sleep. Maybe you actually did because you were super grumpy this morning. I have to admit, you are my whiniest kid by far. You whine about everything. We are working on asking things with a normal voice. You don't really enjoy the fact that I won't let you get away with it & that's okay. That's why I'm the mommy & you are the Merris. You try to carry Omri around. It's pretty funny because he's almost as big as you. Your little voice melts my heart. Unless it's whining. I love how you dance & skip & jump everywhere. I've decided that you have happy feet. They don't stop from the moment you hit the floor until you fall asleep at night. We can always tell you are up by the stomp, stomp, stomp of your little feet. And your sweet little voice! You make up the funniest & sweetest songs & sing them all day long. When it is time to for bed, you won't go to sleep unless you have a drink of water and at least 5-7 blankets on you. I tuck you in by saying, "Princess & the pea!" as I put each blanket on you. These are just a few of my favorite things about you right now. I love you my sweet little bugga bugga baby!

10th & 11th

2011-05-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

These are so similar to my 8th & 9th finishes but they have subtle differences. I normally wouldn't make two of the same illustrations but these were donated to a very special cause. They were auctioned off at our annual Reno JDRF Gala. All the money raised is put toward funding research to find a cure for diabetes. They are so close to finding one. Every dollar helps to make this vision a reality. I'm praying that it happens in my Sloan's lifetime.

I have been working on a project for one of my neighbors friend from work. It's almost finished. I'm so excited because that means I'll be pulling out my sewing machine for the next few finishes. How about you, what have you been working on?

10 & 11 down 41 to go

Dear Jeff & Susannah

2011-05-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give you a few reasons why you should consider making Nevada your future home.

Aside from all the awesome b-b-q dinners, free babysitting, art nights, hikes, snowboarding, river rafting, skiing, punk shows, snow, & beautiful scenery..........we also live super close to some major cities.

Places like San Francisco, Lake Powell, San Diego, Lake Tahoe & oh so many other fun places to visit.

I know you'd be leaving relatives behind but we'd be your family out here. Plus who knows, they may even follow.

Would you blame them? I mean seriously, who wouldn't love a sunset like this?

I know it's a long shot but it would be so much fun to live closer together. Seeing each other every other year is the pits. Think about it k? Pretty please? Love you both-Summie

Happy Times

2011-04-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Aris April 2011 taken with the camera I borrowed to shoot this weekends wedding. Makes me wish I had a Cannon :(

There are a couple of fun things happening this weekend. I will be shooting my first wedding! I'm so nervous & extremely excited! Only nervous because it's such a special day, what if none of the pictures turn out, eeeeeeaaaaakkkkkkk! I'm sure I will do fine but please send some positive photo vibes my way, lol!

I'm really excited that Dean & I get to go to the annual JDRF Gala. It's an event that is near & dear to my heart. All the money that is raised goes to funding research to find a cure for diabetes. They are so close to finding a cure. I'm so positive that it will happen in Sloan's lifetime. I pray that they will. This has become a tradition for us. It's our one chance to get all fancied up for a night of wonderful food, schmoozing with the Joneses, & basically getting out for a night without the kids. I could care less about rubbing shoulders with fancy folk but I'm super excited to spend an evening with my sexy husband. Dinner seats start at $250 a plate so you can imagine what a treat this is for us. We get to go for free because I donate artwork for it every year. I'd do it no matter but it is a fun little treat.

Last but not least is I'm super happy about being able to sew this weekend. By Monday I should have quite a few finishes to share with you. Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Spring Is Here

2011-04-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Moments

2011-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

There is no such thing as a "normal" smile from this girl anymore. Anytime she sees the camera she makes a silly face & promptly asks to see the photo. Then she wants me to take another photo, where she makes another silly face & quickly asks to see the photo. You get the picture. If not see the above picture for proof.

Is this a photo from Headbangers Ball? Nope! Just my homeless little Moe. Yes she did such a wonderful job fixing her hair. I must admit this photo reminds me of the creepy girl that crawled out of the well in the movie The Ring. Chills. I don't understand how she can handle her hair being in her face. She loves wearing it down! It's driving me nuts! I'm being a good mommy though & letting her do these things for herself. I know it gives her such a sense of self confidence & that she's a big girl just like her sister.

Much better! Oh how I love these two little faces! It pains my heart a little when I look at this photo. Only because they look so big! No one tells you when you become a mom that this happens. That kids grow so fast. That sometimes you'll want weeks to fly by because you feel as if you are being overrun by your offspring. That other times you'll wish you could freeze moments so they never pass. The beauty & chaos of it all leaves me at times breathless. I know one day I will look back on this moment & wish it was one of those that hadn't passed so quickly.

Stinker Pot

2011-04-16T00:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight at dinner you cried out of pure frustration. Why? Because you couldn't understand why I had made yellow rice for dinner. It wasn't what you wanted. You wanted breakfast for dinner. I tried not to laugh at the whole scene. It was rather adorable & you were so devastated. I had to hide my face for a second so you wouldn't see me smile. Even your dad was trying not to laugh. I explained that I make meals for my family. I don't cater to the individual food whims of each & every child or dinner would most likely be candy. I then explained how I try to make healthy meals, weather you decide to eat them or not is your choice. I won't force you to eat, but if you go to bed hungry it's your choice. You then slunked your head down & started munching on some lettuce. Lettuce! The thing most kids don't want to eat. A few minutes into the meal you told me how you would much rather your dad fix the meals because he's a better cook (I won't argue that one). Dad & I tried once again not to laugh. Mean I know but you were just being so over the top dramatic. You are not my drama girl so it was all quite entertaining. You are usually my little peacemaker so after dinner when you pushed your sister over in an effort to "help" her take off her overalls, I'd had enough. It was so hard to put you to bed without a story. I did give you snuggles & tucked you in. I don't think you will remember that. I'm pretty sure you will remember how I tortured you with yellow rice. The horror of it all! Even though you were being such a stinker pot tonight, I still love you more than all the stars in the sky.