We made yummy yummy cupcakes yesterday. Luci helped. She's my little foodie. I loved how she would intermittently sniff the batter and say Mmmmmmm. And of course there was a costume change halfway through.

I have these pretty little stacks of fabric lying around that give me inspiration. This is my newest stack that's begging to be played with. I think I'm going to mix and match these all together and see what happens. Now the fun part. Choosing the pattern and cutting it all out, or maybe I'll just freestyle. It just kills me, cutting into discontinued prints (especially the hard to find ones). In case you want to know, I get most of my fabric from Jona over at Fabritopia. And she's running a major sale on all Michael Miller right now. 5.50/yd!! I think I need some Meadowsweet!

Well, I just realized Luci's birthday is a little more than two weeks away so, I'd better get on it. Here are some pics from her party last year. She was turning two. And with her birthday falling on the same day as mother's day, we decided to do a Tea party theme to celebrate both.

For the decor we covered the oversize table with pink wrapping paper and tucked it under the table and secured with tape. (a great costsaver-and any pattern to fit your theme) We made paper globes out of scrapbooking paper (by cutting 12x12 paper into strips, fanning out and securing with a brad at both ends). I made a floral topiary for the centerpiece with butterflies. For the cake, I did grass on the tops and butterflies to look like they were flying. We used pink luncheon tableware and of course lot's of teacups.

For the menu, we did two types of tea sandwiches (egg salad, and cucumber). Karl came up with these great grilled chicken foccacia sandwiches which were a hit. We also had salad, two types of hot tea, lemondade and iced tea.

If anyone is planning a birthday or what to do for mother's day this would be really fun. You could even have your guest dress up or where big hats. For little girls, you could have lot's of faux jewelery for them to choose from and feather boa's. You could serve tea cakes and petit fours. The options are endless. Well, I'm needing to plan the next party and I'm told it should be pink and have princesses. I love this age!

Happy Monday!!!!!!!!

Am I the only one who does this on Sunday mornings? I know I have x amount of time to get ready. Sure.... two hours seems like ample amount of time to get ready for church. So I lay in bed a little longer. Pretend not to hear the baby waking up. Turn off the monitor once the quiet babbling turns to demanding screams. Breath a sigh of relief once I hear Karl getting baby. Fast forward to 10 minutes before we're supposed to leave the house and I'm still in the shower. The excuse I always use when running late...."well, I can just do my makeup in the car". As if doing my makeup in the car is going to buy me the 20 additional minutes I need to get ready today (my hair is already done, otherwise that would be 30 more). So Karl had to snap this all to familiar shot of me getting ready in the car. Until I deleted his shot in favor of a better angle.

Well, it's such a beautiful Sunday afternoon here and I've been contemplating what to do next. Raid the pantry for chocolate or craft. Either somebody ends up with a cool outfit or I end up with a few extra lbs. We'll see!

I am so excited to be the creative guest today on U Create. Go check out my tutorial for blinged converse here, then go sparkle some kicks!

Happy Friday everyone!!!!!!!

I made these skirts a few months back but since we've had such a cold and rainy spring, they have not seen the light of day (the skirts that is). So, since we had a warm spot in there last week, we decided to go do a mini photo shoot. We took advantage of the warm sunshine and the boys being in school and took a little drive. We found this cool abandoned gated up property (with a no trespassing sign, of course) that we snuck on to and grabbed a few shots. Wild style. Here's some of my faves. And my biggest fear? No, it was not getting caught (I'm sure the authorities wouldn't mind us taking a few pics right?), but running into a snake.

My girls hair accessories were getting out of control. So I made this organizer today to keep it all organized. It is super simple and the pockets are great for keeping headbands and rubberbands.

To make the hair pretty organizer you will need the following supplies:

1-large photo frame (shown here 20x24 frame)

1-piece of fabric (mine is 24x44)

1-foam core board

1 pkg. extra wide double fold bias tape

1 piece of lightweight batting (the same size as your frame + 2 in. on either side)

1 pkg. 3/8 in. lightweight clear elastic (you may substitute ribbon or ric-rac

Step 1: Spread your ironed fabric under the frame. Cut, making sure to leave 2 inches on either side of the fabric for tucking in.

Step 2: Measure your poster board so it fits snugly inside your frame. Cut with exacto knife or scissors. Be Careful!!!

Step 3- Make a pocket template. On a separate piece of fabric, trace around and cut two. Make sure you have added 1/4 in. seam allowance to the sides and bottom. (If you do not want to include pockets, skip this step.)

Step 4- Turn to wrong side of fabric. Iron the sides, then bottom under 1/4 inch. Then open up and add your bias tape to the top. Make sure the shorter side is on the right side of fabric. Iron the sides again.

Step 5- Place your fabric (right side up) on the foam core board. Get the placement how you would like, then mark the corners.

Step 6- Place the pockets where you would like them, then pin. Now sew the pockets on.

Step 7- Take your piece of batting and tape it to the foam core board. I used packing tape.

Step 8- Get your clear elastic and place it onto your fabric how you would like it. (I used three strands to make sure I had enough room for large bows.)

Step 9- Mark the ends and sew according to the package directions. Make sure you are doing this far enough out of the framing area so it doesn't show. (I found the elastic to be hard to sew but I like the clear look of it not competing with my pattern. If you use elastic, make sure to stretch it a bit.)

Step 10- Once you have it sewn, grab your fabric and arrange it to line up against the foam board with the markings you made previously. Pull taught and staple to the back. (I also hot-glued to reinforce.) Q32SJQFVEY9W

Step 11- Secure the board into the frame. Turn it over. Add hair flair. Hang. Admire!

Have a great weekend!

I love ruffles; especially pink ones. So when I saw that Disney over at Ruffles and Stuff was hosting a ruffles contest, I knew I had to enter. I entered the pettiskirt I had made for Lola's birthday. Because I had to hand gather all the ruffles, this was a very time consuming project. Simple, just tedious. The tutorial I used was the Pettiskirt Tutorial featured on Martha Stewart by Kandi Lightner of Kaiya Eve. I love how fluffy it turned out. Should you attempt it, just make sure to buy more fabric than what is recommended! And while I did not win the contest, I am happy that my picture made it on her blog!

I love the fabric so much; it reminds me of vintage linens. I used the Nicey Jane collection by Heather Bailey. For the dresses, I came up with my own patterns. The boy's tie pattern is from the purl bee and can be found here. Very easy to follow, just time consuming. The whole tie is almost entirely stitched by hand.

This week I am working on more projects including my first tutorial, so stay tuned.