Big Block Singsong Day!

First off, Hello!  I know I haven't posted in a long time and for that I am sorry. My kids keep me on my toes and working on my etsy shop has taken up a lot of time.  Also, I started homeschooling my daughter this year, so we have been super busy.  I do plan on sharing some great home school ideas through here so keep checking back.

My post today is about Big Block Singsong.  My son LOVES it!  I don't mind it either.  It's one of the few discs I can listen to in the car with the kids and not want to rip my hair out. The other two are the Tinker Bell soundtrack and the Rainbow Rocks soundtrack.  They have some pretty good songs. :)

Back to it, my son loves Big Block and his birthday was at the end of March.  I decided to to a Big Block party knowing that I would have to do majority of it on my own as they do not have any merchandise.  **Note to the makers of Big Block, if you did have merchandise I'm sure you make many children very happy!** 

I started with my idea for gifts.  I decided to make him a Super Stan doll, a Eats guy pillow, and a toy bag featuring counting bags with the clown block on them.  These are his favorite characters. I think they came out pretty good and he was super happy when he saw them.  I don't have a photo of that moment because I was so engrossed on whether or not his eyes would light up.  They did and he gave me a hint of a smile.  My little guy isn't one for the theatrics.  His sister is though and she was super excited about the Big Block toys.  

My next task was a cake.  I thought I would do a regular cake in primary colors so that it would be easier to get decorations.  I'm a Dollar Tree fan and I buy majority of my party decorations there.  No need to spend a ton of money on something that ends up in the trash in less than 6 hours. I had a friend who is a wonderful cake artist make me a fondant Big Block guy.  We chose the clown because that's one of his favorites and fits the birthday theme.  

Simple, but super cute and everyone really liked it.

I also decided to take an old box and paper it red to look like a Big Block guy.  He's so cute and such a big hit that now he is sitting in my daughter's room because she just loved it.

Because of the colors I chose it was super easy to pull this party off.  I only needed a few Big Block items to pull it together and show that it was themed with Big Block in mind. 

Last but not least, I ran to the store and grabbed a white tank and some transfer paper and made him a Big Block shirt.  He really liked this! Made one for sister too because she wanted to match.  

All in all it was a great party!  My son had a blast and everything ran like a dream.  Now, my next challenge, a Power Puff Girls party for my daughter in July.  Wish me luck :)

j

November!

Well folks, it's November.  We are well on our way to the Holiday Season.  I love this time of year :)

 

Last night was Halloween and thankfully it was a warm one.  I am fighting an awful cold but I still gathered up my kiddos and braved the crowds of trick-or-treaters.   I'm glad we decided to go. Miss M had such a great time and Mr. A slept the whole time. 

 

Miss M was so awesome last night.  She remembered her manners and skipped all the way up and down the street.  I love that kid :)

 

I have held true to my word and worked on some items for my upcoming craft show. I decided to crochet some infinity scarves. I think they came out pretty great and am debating on whether or not to keep the green one.

 

I used some yarn that I have had hanging around for awhile.  It's so soft and those are vintage buttons.  I love them and I think they might be a hit at the Holiday craft show in December.

 

I would also like to take this moment and say that my family's thoughts and prayers are with all our fellow Americans who are dealing with the awful effects of hurricane Sandy.  If you are able please donate blood and/or money to the American Red Cross to help. Here is their website:

http://www.redcross.org/

 

 

Well, I am going to get off here.  I have to go get my goose from school here in a few and then I wanted to go vote before Parent/Teacher conferences tonight.  Hope you all have a nice afternoon.

 

 

Love Is All Around

This weekend I have been working on three sweet skirts for three sweet girls. My own bug and bug's cousins Miss R and Miss C.

I wanted to do something nice for my girls for their upcoming Valentine's Day parties at school so I decided to make them all skirts. I love Valentine's Day because of all the pink and red, a few of my favorite colors.

My bug is in love with Olivia the pig and her Valentines for school are Olivia themed. I wanted to make her a skirt to wear to her party out of this amazing Olivia fabric that I found on etsy. I used the last of my black polka dot fabric for the ruffles and I think it was a nice touch. I love the way it turned out and later I am going to make her some hair bows to go with it.

For Miss R. I found this great Littlest Pet Shop fabric on clearance at Wal-Mart. Miss R. loves the pet shop pets and I love this fabric because it is pink with yellow hearts all over. I added a little green ruffle on it to give it some twirl power.

Last but not least I worked on this cupcake skirt for Miss C. I have had this fabric laying around for a year waiting for the right time to use it. I love how it came out and the polka dot ruffle completes it perfectly.

I love how they all came out and the girls loved them too. I like making original skirts like this because in a small town with limited options you always run into someone else who has what you have but these are one of a kind.

Also, I wanted to share with you all my mom's Valentine's Day tree. She picked up this little pink tree on clearance last Christmas and every holiday it is decorated to the nines to celebrate the holiday. Here is her Valentine's one and I adore it. Mom has such a talent for decorating trees and wreaths. I love that lady!

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week and stop by later this week. I should have some new items to share with you. :)

Boutique Hair Bows

For the last few days I have been working on some hair bows that will be available at my upcoming craft show.

I was able to get these great Grinch bottlecaps to use on one set of hairbows. I added some lime green maraboo feathers to give a hint of the Grinch's fur. I think they came out really cute and I will be a little sad if they go because I love them so much.


I also made these snowflake hairbows that would be great all winter long. The center snowflake is glittered up and shines so neat in the light. I have never used such an array of colors in a hairbow but I think it worked out great.

Anyway, I better get off here because I have so much more to do. Remember that the craft show is December 5th and we will be giving away a door prize so stop by. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Primitive Snowman Ornie

This is a handmade snowman ornie I have been working on for my upcoming craft show. He is made with stained fleece fabric, gingham scarf, and twig arms. He is completely hand stitched by me using my own pattern.

I hope everyone has a good week!

Mitten Ornies

Today I made some handmade mitten ornies. They are made with stained star fabric, terry cloth, jute, and a handmade tag.


This is just one of the many items that will be available at the craft show I am participating in on December 5th at the Bill Heddles Rec Center. I hope to see you there.

Christmas Tree Ornies

Today I decided to try my hand at making some Christmas inspired ornies for my upcoming craft show. Ornies are something that you hang as an ornament or use in a bowl as a filler. I have made some hearts and chickies before but this was my first try at making a tree.

I started my project with some stained gingham green fabric, cinnamon sticks, stained cheese cloth, and some rusted hardware. I used my own pattern. The fabric used to make the tree is stained with my own recipe of coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon. I took some cinnamon sticks my mom had and cut them in half and used them as the tree trunk. I made some stamped tags and added some holly and a rusted bell and heart.



I think they came out really cute. They will be available at my craft show at the first of December.

I hope everyone is having a great afternoon.

Angel Christmas Ornaments

I tried my hand at vintage inspired angel ornaments tonight and I think they came out pretty nice. I really like them and the vintage angel clip art printed out great. I used glass ornamentes, Mod Podge, angel clipart, pink glitter, faux snow, and ribbon.

I am going to sell them at the craft show this December. I am pricing them at 2 for $5.00.




I hope everyone has had a good start to their week.

Changing of the Seasons

I have been working on this prim all week and I think she turned out great. I just love her and she smells so sweet.

Her name is Opal and she arrived just in time for the season change. She is made with stained,(coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon) muslin fabric and harvest fabric. Her hair is in kooky pigtails and made with chenille yarn. Her face is completely hand stitched.

Miss Madi's Emporium

Miss Madi's Emporium is open for business. Please feel free to stop by and see what we have in store. Just remember to keep coming back because we will keep adding more and more great treasures.

"Miss Madi's Emporium"

Rooster Mailbox

A couple of weeks ago my older sister commented that she hated her drab mailbox. It was beaten up, faded, and just blah. So, my mom and I decided to make her a new one.

We started our project at Walmart to get a basic mailbox. The color didn't matter because we were going to paint it anyway. We decided on a pretty pastel green paint and got some rooster rub on transfers.

First we painted the mailbox which was quite the task considering the wind we get out here. Then we put on our transfers and numbers. Finally we applied a sealant to make sure none of our decal came off and Ta-da! A new custom mailbox.

Tara really likes it and had her husband put it out right away. They used a cedar post to hold it and it looks great.

I hope everyone is having a great afternoon.

Ta-Da! I'm On Facebook

I just wanted to let you all know I am now on Facebook. I didn't want to do it, I resisted...but Myspace is pretty much dunzo. Anyway, check me out there because I will seriously be promoting my new shop and new creations. Don't worry I will still be talking about my projects, sales, and promotions here.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Handmade Surgical Hat

As some of you may know my mom works at the Surgical Center in Montrose. She is the person who sterilizes all the surgical equipment and makes sure the trays are together for the surg techs. Anyway, she has to be in total sterile gear and she also has to have her head covered. She and the other employees there get these handmade hats to wear that way they don't have to wear those ugly disposable green ones all the time.

Last night she asked me to make her a few of them. I had an idea of how they were made but not having ever made one I thought it would be a great project. So, I picked out some fabric out of my container and got to work this morning. It took about an hour to complete and I think it looks pretty awesome. When my mom gets home tonight I will have her try it on and see if there needs to be any adjustments.



FYI: Just so you know these hats are sterilized before they are allowed into the clean room.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great week. Only two more days until our store is open for business, (cross your fingers).

Vintage Inspired Handbag

Yesterday was craft day at my mom's so we all gathered at her house to work on some new items. I picked up this awesome western style toile fabric at the local craft store and thought it would make a great handbag for my older sister.

It only took a few hours to complete and I have to say I love the finished result. I used a basic handbag style and lined the inside. I used these great wooden handles that I picked up at Joann's and I finished it off with a vintage broach that my mom had that is a horseshoe with a rose in it.

Tara really liked it and my mom tried to steal it from her so I think it's a hit over here. I also started work on a vintage inspired clutch but I lost momentum and gave it a rest for the day. I hope to get it finished and crank out another one before the weekend is out.

Well, I have to get my rear moving so I can help my little sister get ready for my niece's birthday party. I hope everyone is having a great afternoon!

Easter Dress

Today I finally finished Madi's Easter dress. It is so cute and I love it. I purchased my fabric at Hobby Lobby. I got a yard and half of it and I'm glad I did because I used all of it.

We went out this afternoon to get some pics of her in it. The weather finally perked up and it is a lovely 70 degrees out. Madi enjoyed going out and running off some of her never ending energy and I got my money shot.




You know at $5 a yard making Madi clothes has really saved me money. Plus,her dress is one of a kind and made just for her so it fits perfectly. When you have a child who is almost 3 and wearing a size 4 already that comes in handy. Madi is really tall so it's hard to find dresses and pants that are long enough.

I started sewing almost 2 years ago and I have come a long way. At first I had no idea how to gather, sew a button hole, attach a zipper, or put on an applique. Thanks to You Tube and a few magazines I think I do pretty good work. Plus, it's fun and relaxing.

Well, I'm going to get off here and figure out what to make for dinner. I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

Littlest Pet Shop Dress

All day today I have been working on a birthday present for my niece, Reese. She is such an insightful little girl who is going to be five tomorrow. When I realized she was going to be five it kind of hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't believe how big all my little babies are getting. One minute they are spitting up on you and the next they want to wear makeup. Where does the time go?

Ok, back to Reese. She is very hard to shop for because she only likes Hello Kitty and the Littlest Pet Shop toys.

I purchased my fabric at Wal-Mart because they were the only ones who had it if you can believe it. I decided to do a twirl skirt and attach that to a t-shirt. Ta-da...a t-shirt dress. I did the kitty cat applique on the front of the dress myself. It is made with a character that I cut out from the fabric.

Overall I think it came out really cute. My mom loved it and assured me that it will be a hit at the party tomorrow.



(Please excuse my pics, the lighting was awful)

Primitive Easter Bunny

Here is my newest prim. Her name is Jilly Bean and she is making her debut just in time for Easter.

I have been working on her since last Friday and I am glad it's done. Her face took me five tries before I got it just right, kind of a pain in the rump. She is completely coffee stained and smells to sweet. Jilly comes complete with a chick-a-dee ornie that I think is so adorable.

She is my Easter gift to my mom. I really hope she likes her.

Tweet Tweet Tote

Here's my newest tote. I'm not sure if I'm going to sell it yet because I just love it. Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, it is made with a chocolate brown corduroy and vintage bird fabric. I hand stitched the bird and added a pocket to the inside.

Vintage Inspired Toile Tote

My project for today was to make a tote handbag. I had no idea what I was doing so I did a google search to see "how to make a tote?"

There were a million instruction but I opted to look around on eBay and see what other people had done. I do that. I just look at something I like and attempt to imitate it. I never use patterns, unless they are ones that I have made myself, and just go to work. Sometimes it works and others it doesn't. I'm told that my Grandma S. used to do that. Isn't it crazy what gets passed on through genetics?

OK, so I started my project at Joann's. I love it there, they were having so many sales. Anyway, I went to get my fabric. I picked 2 coordinating ones that I thought would work and I got them in 100% cotton canvas so that it would be a little heavier and I wouldn't have to do a lining.

When I got home, I got to work. While the Steelers whooped the Chargers(YAY!), I worked on my tote. The whole project took about 2 hours total. I'm pretty happy with the overall finished product.



I think it's cute. Also, I don't plan on selling it. Tomorrow I'm going to ship it off to my mom. She adores toile fabric and I know that she would love this bag to take to work. So, here you go mom!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and GO STEELERS!

Busy Bee

I have been working like crazy again today. I just finished some shabby chic, heart, bowl fillers for Valentine's Day. I really like them and the front of them was completely hand stitched by me. It took some time and my hands are killing me but I love them.

I want to get a few more things done to put on eBay. I have a couple of Valentine's Day outfits from Gap that Madi wore last year that I can sell and some other stuff and I feel like I will have a good haul before the week is out.

Anyway, I better get dinner started and call ZK to see when he will be on his way. I hope everyone is being safe because the snow is really coming down out there.