Life Lately

I'm so excited to report that my little business has been doing really well lately! God has blessed me so abundantly with encouragement and support during these last few weeks. To be perfectly honest, I don't always have a lot of follow-through. I'm easily distracted, highly critical of myself, and have a tendency to give up before I ever really get started. This venture has been no different. There have been numerous times when my first thought was to just do something else, to move on, to quit. And it was in those times of self-doubt that God provided a phone call from a friend, a note from a family member, or an email from a happy customer...and it's made all the difference in the world! Right now I'm working on 3 custom orders (only one of which is related to me! Gotta love that family support!), and I'm having a blast! I've recently added reversible, chenille backed bibs to my inventory. The pic above shows a few of my favorites :)

In case I haven't told you lately, my little girl is turning 1 in less than a month!! CAN NOT get over it! In my attempt to save a little money, I've been trying to make my own paper pom-pom's. The pic above is of my first 2 attempts...not too bad, but I'm a perfectionist at heart and I have a feeling that our house will be covered with these little guys before I'm satisfied with the 4 that I'm planning on using. Way to save money, huh?! Here is the tutorial I'm using, feel free to try your hand at your own pom-poms. Gotta be honest, they're not quite as easy as they look!

I'm also going to attempt to make this little cutie! Go HERE for the tutorial on how to make a Ribbon Topiary like the one above. I LOVE that it matches the colors for Elli's birthday, so mine should look pretty similar.

As I stated in my last post, my daughter is finally not completely shoe-less anymore! I bought these adorable sandals on sale the other day for $10! They're perfect for church (which is really the only place that she wears them), and she actually doesn't seem to mind having them on her feet. The soles do bend all the way back (I was sure to test them out after some good blog advice!), and the heel strap is really loose. I kinda wish I could find some in my size :)

And it's that time again....time to move furniture b/c I'm getting antsy! We've been in this house for a little over a year now, and I'm starting to feel the need to move. Weird, I know. So, I've been "shopping the house" (Thanks Nester!), and have been redecorating without spending any money. Chris is so proud! I'll post pics when I'm satisfied with the results...right now, I'm still letting the changes sink in!

And that's it; our life lately. What's been going on in yours?

I Can Actually Sew!

After quite the hiatus from my trusty Singer, Gayle gave me the confidence to try it out once again. I think the reason that I stopped 5 months ago was because the dress I was trying to make was taking forever! Well, that and the fact that I have a baby who takes up roughly 98% of my day :) I just needed a little refresher, some encouragement, and an inspiring project.

I've always loved pillowcase dresses, but every time I go to buy one I can never justify spending $30 for one. I always tell myself "you can MAKE that, why buy it?"...but, we all know how quickly I was on that one! So anyway, I thought a pillowcase dress would be fitting for my first "clothes project" for Elli. Plus, they're SUPER easy to make, especially if you have a cute pillowcase...which I did not. Ha!

So, here is my newest creation. It's not perfect by any means, but I think it turned out really well for my first try. I love the fabric, it's so girly and cute...and I think that Elli looks just precious in it. I can see her wearing it a lot this summer!

I didn't even pin it!! I hate pinning!

Not the most accurate of measurements, but oh well!

The finished product!

And I had to make a matching bow, of course!!

I wanted to get a good pic of Elli standing up in it to show how long it is. The great thing about these dresses is that little girls can wear them forever!! When they grow a little taller, they can put leggings under it, and when it gets super short they could even wear it as a cute summer shirt!

Great Weekend!

Chris had his first cross-country trip this past weekend, and his mom & Mike came out to keep me company while he was gone. Well, that's what I tell myself anyway. In reality, I think their trip had a lot more to do with a sweet little girl named Elli than anything else! But whatever their reasons, I always love it when they come...and this time was no different!

Elli had a great time showing them all of her "tricks", and she didn't mind all the kisses and snuggles she got too much either! GG got to see how she flaps when she eats, how much she loves to read, and how great she is at playing with her paci & figuring out how to put it back in her mouth. There was a lot of rocking going on as well...that's Grandaddy's specialty :) Elli just soaked up all the attention, and I sure did appreciate the company.

Gayle (aka GG), also gave me yet another tutorial on my sewing machine. I figured I should probably dust it off since it hasn't really been used since the first time she was out here...when Elli was born!! So I finished a tab blanket that I've been working on for the past 5 months or so. Woohoo for me!! And then, after they left, I decided to try my hand at making a pillowcase dress for Elli all by myself...but that's a different post! Anyway, I had such a great time with them and I'm so glad that they were able to spend some time w/ Chris before they had to leave on Monday, even if it was only for a few hours. Oh, and for those of you reading who live in Columbus, we tried a new steak place and it was FABULOUS!! Best steaks I've ever had!! It's called Jack's and it's on Tuscaloosa Rd. Just thought I'd pass that little gem on :)

Here are some pics of the weekend...

GG & Elli...so cute! And guess what?! GG made that sweet little sweater that L's wearing. It has the most precious little bunny buttons on it. It is PERFECT for Easter, and I know that Elli will just treasure it forever.
Elli checking out the g-parents :)
Playing...Elli's favorite thing!

Eating...hmmm, maybe this is Elli's favorite thing :)

The tab blanket that I made...minky on one side, fabric on the other. I think it turned out pretty well!

Valentine's Day Wreath

I absolutely LOVE the blog, "Living with Lindsey". She does this thing called "Teach Me Tuesday" where she browses the blog-o-sphere and finds fun crafts to teach her readers. Awhile back I found this super cute Valentines Day Wreath, and I thought I'd give it a try. I spent about $7 on it, all said and done, and I think it was worth it!! The original wreath creator has much better pictures than I do, but I thought I'd show you how I did it so that you can see how truly easy it was :) Who knows...maybe you'll try it out too!!

You will need:

Scrap Fabric (cut into 2x2 in squares)

Elmers Glue

1 Foam Heart (you can find it online or at JoAnns)

A pencil

A ribbon to hang your wreath with

Start w/ some fabric scraps...

Place the fabric on the pointy end of the pencil, and dip lightly in Elmer's Glue

**Make sure it's the pointy end...I'm speaking from experience here!! Heehee!**

Press the pencil & fabric into the foam heart and hold for about 2 seconds. Repeat about a million times, making sure that you get the fabric pretty close together.

I stapled my ribbon to the back of my wreath, and then tacked it to the top of my front door. I think it looks pretty good for $7, & it only took about 2 hours to complete!!

Happy Crafting!!