kidding around

Last night, we had our official “spring thunderstorm”. Complete with a scary sky, thunder, lightning, high winds and a rainbow popping up in the eastern sky!

Our house is also seeing some cute rainbow shorts I made Ellie. Here’s the low down: I spent about $1.50 for the fabric… they are not too short…they are cute…and they didn’t cost $20…I love it!

Our house has also discovered a graffiti artist. Penny came forward to confess such offenses. She is well aware that houses are not paper and that writing “No Ellie or Simon” in her language is not cool for family relations.

You can be sure I have more shorts cut out for this girl! I’m so happy that she accepts my homemade endeavors!

By the way, school will be out very soon. Any book recommendations for kid crafts, projects, gardening? I’m getting ready to plan my summer activities and knew I could ask a few of you for some help!

don’t you just love giving a gift that you wished was your very own?

that’s how I feel about this year’s mother’s day gift for my mom. i selfishly want it all for ME because i know i won’t take the time to make it myself. it’s completely practical, but totally fun and summery…her own set of napkins with a cultlery caddy and reusable flatware…

i’m pretty sure she will be thrilled, if not, i can always steal it!

happy mother’s day! i’m not sure why, but this year my mind has been focused on how much i am not a great mother. i hope that this year some of my faults will soon be battles i have won and i will truly feel pride next mother’s day.

My sister asked me a few weeks ago to make a “table dot” for a birthday gift. So last week I decided to get my act together and start making at least one for her…The shop update needs to happen, I know. But let’s enjoy the flowers, shall we?

I used a swiss dot fabric as my base. I love it, but it made me fearful of it getting dirty that I’m not sure I will use it again. Especially since “the dots” aren’t exactly machine washable. I did do a bit of a spot treatment and thankfully the white is looking fresh.

I was totally inspired by one of my favorite flowers- the geranium. To me, this flower is summer and flower boxes and planters…and a totally distinct earthy fragrance.

What’s next on the sewing table? A Mother’s Day gift and shorts for my 9 year old…what’s up with the ultra-short shorts? Yuck.

Here is the latest skirt for Miss Peppy’s wardrobe. We are all about the skirt. Yesterday, Peppy stared at me and declared, “Mama, you look so fancy today!”. To say I was surprised by this is an understatement. You see, I had my muddy Crocs on (just came in from the yard) and a skirt that is definitely the “working in the yard and threw it on kind”! Anyway, I came up with this skirt for my fancy girl.

The “twirlability” is obvious and so much fun.

When asked if she liked her new skirt she was enthusiastic, but quickly added, “Where are the pockets?”. Come on now!!

I think I will give my skirt/shirt making a rest and begin work on some more table dots and picnic blankets. Look for a shop update soon!

My life has been basically consumed with yard work and sewing. I like it.

The whole family was out today trimming bushes, raking, making fairy soup, and lots of teasing done by dear Simon.

I had to show this cute skirt I made out of a vintage tablecloth. (Hillary, do you recognize it?) No pattern needed, just used a basic shape of one of Pep’s dresses and added elastic. I think I may need to make more! Oh, and yes perhaps she is due for some new t-shirts. Looks like little Miss has grown!

Thanks for all of your supportive comments on my last post. I knew I am in company with those that have been through it or are dealing with it now. It’s nice to have a place to speak your mind. Thanks for listening. My biggest lesson I am trying to teach Ellie is to confront those that are being mean. To get enough courage and plainly ask “Why are you ________?” I think this combats bullying and knocks their socks off! And of course just loving her.

Dear Mothers and Fathers of Girls,

Please don’t assume that your daughter is always nice at school. Please don’t deny that she could exclude, gossip, and completely ignore others. It doesn’t take much to have open conversations and ask if they are being kind and respectful. It also doesn’t take much to model that same behavior.

Because when girls are mean to other girls, it crushes a mother…a father…a sister…a brother…another friend. Yeah, kids will be kids, but why do people say this when they are behaving negatively. I don’t get it. How about, kids need to be accountable for their actions?

You see, when kids are not held accountable there is a child having their joy sucked out of them. They can’t sleep. They dread school. They lose their confidence. No matter how much they try to be positive, the peacemaker, the happy one…it can get to a kid.

Sincerely,

a mother, who is tired of it

PS. My kids aren’t perfect, that is for sure.

PPS. Look here for details of my cute model’s shirt here.

The tradition of a few Spring shirts all began in 2006 with this wildly popular pattern…I continued the sewing in 2007 with this shirt that I liked, but admittedly did not wear a lot…maybe it was the fabric, not sure. And then of course was all the sewing for the girls that I love, but once summer hits, my sewing of clothing pretty much ceases.

Anyway, here is my Spring 2008 shirt. It’s not for me…I think this girl has slid into my permanent shirt model position.

She’s fine with her new job, in her world she is happy as long as she has a good book to read and some quiet…

…just leave it to me to supply her with new shirts.

By the way, the pattern is Simplicity 2986. I loved it and had no problems. I would like to say my sewing is improving. I even had to trouble shoot and piece a few sections together because I didn’t have enough fabric (I was thrilled that this did not turn into a headache). Of course no buttons or zippers was a plus, but the tucks were a new element that left me pretty happy.

I have more sewing to share from this weekend. We had less than stellar weather (winter revisited, sort of) and so I decided to use my time wisely and cut out a bunch of shirts, skirts, and pants. Stay tuned.

I often find that my most enjoyable and creative projects are for my kids. It’s a natural intention to want to make something appealing AND be actually used. Sure, there are toys out there that will bring lots of fun, but I have found that they are really grateful for the things I make for them. That in itself is inspiring and makes me want to create more for them.

But I don’t always feel very creative. Fortunately, the kitties below brought much creative juices this week. I get to thank my pal and creative genius, Hillary for this…I bought this pattern way back and I am so glad I made it. Not only did I sew one, but 3 cats seemed to be the perfect number for my soon-to-be birthday girl.

Then, I couldn’t stop and decided there had to be a perfect picnic scenario. I created this little picnic blanket for Penny and her many tea parties she hosts, but I am also thinking that an adult version may be on the horizon (maybe in my etsy?). It’s so simple and I can imagine many good times will be made this summer.

The girls are so anxious to introduce themselves to Penny, they almost hopped off the table and ruined the surprise!

I’m gonna shake things up here on the blog. Starting next Monday, I will be sharing my favorite gifts I have made for the kids. I’ll probably just re-post from my archives. This should be fun, I have almost 3 years of posts to look through…A walk down memory lane is always nice.

I’m not much of a “gala” event goer (who is?), but I did want to support my kids’ school. So when a note came home a few weeks ago asking for basket donations, I started thinking what I could contribute.

Since I have been in the world of “table dots” lately, I decided making an extra would be perfect. I also included a handmade banner and was pleased to raid my wool felt and scraps of some of my favorite fabric.

Of course, a birthday is not complete without a cake. So a “Barefoot Contessa” country cake mix (they are good!) was included along with plates, napkins, streamers, mixing bowl, wooden spoons, and balloons. Man, donating something like this was fun…

The not so fun part was ripping out the edging last night at 9:30. The perfectionist in me (I do have a bit!) could not stand how the fabric was getting all “wavy” once I sewed the 2 circle pieces together. I knew that I had not paid much attention to how taut the fabric was…to my dismay I ripped 2 lines of stitches (I thought the double stitch looked cute, heh.). I was so angry I couldn’t even watch TV or talk to my husband.

Whew. I was glad that after I fixed my problem, the “dot” was to my satisfaction.

Unfortunately, this was a huge set back and my etsy shop will not open until next mid-week some time. This is supposed to be fun, right? So I am keeping with the fun and not stressing out…I mean it’s not like people will be banging down my doors…literally!

Thanks for all of the really nice comments lately! I really appreciate every one that is made…I love it and am not so good at responding…please know it makes my day!

Here’s a peek at what I have been working on. My goal is to have a store opening next Monday, March 17th.

Look for table dots, 4 in total…all made by me and all adored by me too.