Buttercup Purse- Made by Rae

remember your first night out with the girls after having a baby and you've used your diaper bag so much you don't know where (or have) a normal grown woman purse? lol. yup, that's me right now. so off to googling i went for a free purse pattern tutorial. i came across the buttercup purse on the made by rae blog. it was such an easy pattern to follow! i was able to make 2 in 1 day. the pattern didn't call for piping, but i thought i'd give it try and i love how it turned out!

crafting overload!

currently working on this... pattern found here...

i think car seat canopys are great! i wish i would've thought of it when nathan was born. but of course not ;) i have a friend who's days away from having a baby and i knew she wanted one. random funny story... she bought the same exact fabric i did hours after i did at the same store and was going to ask me to make her one. but of course i was already planning on it, lol. but the one thing she did request was a slit in the front so her toddler could peak in on baby anytime. i really should stop crafting at night because the pictures turn out horrible in my dark dining room!

ANOTHER fleece blanket with crochet edges. here's the pattern i followed.

i had a hard time falling back to sleep the other morning, so i got up and thought i'd give smocking a try. LOL. *SHOUT OUT TO MY MOTHER IN-LAW* i wish you lived closer because i totally would've called you over for a 5am sewing session! martha stewart (of course) has an excellant video tutorial on how to do it. get this, it's normal thread on top, and elastic thread in your bobbin. its just genius if you ask me!

i helped my 11 year old niece sew last weekend for 10 hours. we were unstoppable! she has a hawaiian day coming up at school and also a special year end dance that is black/white theme. joanns fabric had pre-smocked fabric where you get the size you want and just sew it up the back. so we chose this print for her black/white dance. we shortened it to a length she liked and used the scraps to make the straps and also a matching headband. and woot woot, i had a 50% coupon, so we paid $7 for this dress!!!!!!

for the hawaiian theme top, i couldn't decide between a pillowcase style, or smocked, so we did both. there's 3 rows of shirring under the bust line. and of course being the sweet gal she is, she wanted to make tops for her little sisters to wear that day too. and of course they all had matching headbands as well.

here she is modeling her top ;)

the beanie i made the other day, here's the same pattern but with a floppy brim added. i'm seriously OBSESSED with buying this ladies crocheted hat patterns. i have *almost* all of them.

i made CTR (choose the right) necklaces.

i traced a 1/2 inch washer onto scrapbook paper and cut it out. then glued it to my washer. used my cricut and cut vinyl ctr's. then used diamond glaze to seal it. diamond glaze adds a clear, glass type, raised effect finish. then used sheer ribbon for the necklace, added a bead and clasp and that's it.

my sewing/craft to-do list was finally finished! but only for about 2 hours until i remembered i'm going out with ladies in my ward this weekend and don't have a purse! guess i'll get going on that tomorrow...

another crochet hat. this one you can clip flowers onto it and interchange them. sofie kufi hat pattern found here... VERY easy! completed in around 1 hr.

here's the quilt i've been working on. the fabric is from robert kaufmans urban blooms by mona luna collection.

i whipped this up the other day for a friend who's expecting. of course we all know how to make pillowcase dresses. but the baby bonnet is made from a old hankie i found on etsy. saw the idea over at somewhat simple when she was featuring this mama makes stuff. she even offers a tutorial found here...

i made cupcakes to give to my friends yesterday. i am friends with some AWESOME mothers who i aspire to be like one day :) truly, they are all amazing! i've seen these cupcakes on a few blogs, so i can't really give credit to just one ;) but all it is are marshmellows cut (to make the petal shape) then dipped in sprinkles. for the center, i've seen skittles, m&m's, gumdrops and even frosting. aren't they adorable?

and lastly i made my summer wreath :) it's just 3 pairs of sandals glued in the best circle i could make. then i added bright colorful flowers. i'm not in love with it, but i smile everytime i see it :)

Relay For Life

so the relay for life event i've been talking about a lot lately happened this past weekend. last year $1 million dollars was raised. this year... $1.7 MILLION ($1,773,711.89 to be exact)! the one here in bakersfield california is the LARGEST in the nation!

see these 2 people... they are amazing!

the one on the right was our team captain (and my friend/nathans favorite photographer) who worked her tail off, and is 8 months pregnant with her 4th, the assistant director for an upcoming play and STILL pulled together an amazing team and sponsors this year! the one on the left is her daughter brooke, who may be be young in age, but very wise in wisdom! here's the story... she put up the challenge to the bakersfield community to raise $2000 in 30 minutes. if that could be done, she was going to shave her head. you bet bakersfield did it! she raised $3618.57 for cancer research and shaved off all her hair and donated it to locks of love. but what's even more amazing... here's her response... "The Woman who shaved my head was a breast cancer survivor of nine years, with a mother who had cancer, and a sister who is currently undergoing chemotherapy. She was the first person I asked if it was possible to make that happen, and she found Robin immediately and made it happen for us. She was incredibly insightful, holding my hand and being truly passionate about the cause for which I wanted to shave my head. It wasn't about donating to locks of love, although I'm happy I am. And it wasn't ALL about the money, either, although I knew Bakersfield could do it no problem. It was to show women that bald is beautiful. And it's hair, it grows back. Best quote I heard after shaving, "Hair is just an extra addition to what makes a person beautiful on the outside, but the lack of hair shows an even more beautiful inside""--- Brooke, i think you are an amazing person for doing this! your story has touched and inspired many lives. i hope you never forget that! you rock girl!

Addicted to Crochet!

SERIOUSLY!

the weather has been so nice lately and we've been enjoying playing outside on most days for hours! i drag the computer chair out onto the back patio and just sit and crochet a lot! this past weekend was my sisters birthday and she asked for a few beanies and a scarf. so to work i went...

here's the free pattern for the next 3 beanies...

i just love this tulip hat! pattern here...

this ones hard to see, but the black one is the one i made. the bottom picture is what it looks like on someones head :) pattern here....

and lastly the scarf. i forgot where exactly i found the pattern but it was free and was online somewhere. i think i googled chain mail scarf or something like that? it's made only using a chain and slip stitch. VERY EASY!!!!! took forever though because i used a small hook and she wanted it very long.

GRRRR @ my CRICUT!!

would you be screaming and pulling your hair out or am i being dramatic? and cricut cust serv, TOTALLY NOT HELPFUL!!

funny happenings lately...

i asked nathan to bring me his shoes and he brought out snowboots. hehehe. southern california was cold with snow on the ground that day as you could tell ;)

headstand in the mud puddle? sure why not!

sometimes little boys are more obsessed with yarn balls than cats! so i gave in and gave him a skein i didn't need anymore and well, here ya go...


sorry the video is sideways. he sure was rocking out that day!