October 31, 2010

Cinderella Costume

"A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep. In dreams you will lose your heartaches. Whatever you wish for, you keep. Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." - Cinderella

I'm not sure what it is about her but above all the other Disney princesses, Cinderella is a favorite with every little girl I know. Even before they saw the movie, our girls were enchanted. And her dress isn't even pink, ya know?


Wanting to get a head start on costumes this year, I thrifted a table cloth that was the perfect shade of baby blue with silver threads running through and of course didn't get started until last week! Eek! I didn't have a pattern, so just used a tank top to make one for the bodice. The skirt is all one piece, gathered in the front with several pleats. The skirt was made extra full with about 6 yards of tulle netting - it was hand-gathered and stretched across the entire living room and into the kitchen! So the weight is probably similar to how heavy a dress would weighed back in the times when there were princes and princesses.


With the weight of the tulle and the fabric, I had to hand crank the needle to sew together the bodice and skirt so rather than add more weight with the hip pads, I hot glued a pearl bead strand to give the illusion without the added bulk. Then we found a bunch of flowers in the craft stash and decided to add those too!


To ensure the dress can easily transform from Halloween costume to everyday dress-up play without falling apart (we've bought the Disney costumes and they are so cheaply made!), I used french seams on the bodice and Hong Seams where the arms connect to the shoulders. In retrospect, adding a lining would have eliminated the need for the Hong Kong seams and made the dress even fancier.


Of course, she loves it and I expect will be wearing the dress on a daily basis. Don't forget to check back tomorrow, I'll have a DIY up to turn some plain mary janes into a pair fit for a princess.



October 28, 2010

Halloween 2009



Am just heading out the door but wanted to share a quick layout with you from last Halloween. Just two more days - I can't wait!!

October 27, 2010

Leah, age 3










My 3 year old step-daughter is such a little doll! I have been meaning to take the kids' photos even since getting the new camera and the perfect moment occurred last week when she woke up cheerful after a nap. Since the other two were still asleep, we snuck out back and snapped about 100 photos or so. These are my favorites!

October 26, 2010

Princess Parade



We attended the local Disney Parade in Winterset this summer. The girls were really excited, but as you can tell from the photos, seeing the Princesses was only a good idea from about 10 feet back. The girls were more than a little uncomfortable and perhaps even a little suspicious. I laugh every time I look at these.


This layout was created from Kirsty Wiseman's weekly crop sketch. The journaling is tucked behind the photos.

October 25, 2010

Flower Pins

Hello friends! I am back in my hometown visiting family this week but have brought along a few projects to share with you. These hair pins were made using the tutorial I put together for Ruffles and Roses. Make the flowers but rather than attaching them to the headband, slip a bobby pin through the threads in the back to secure. Stick one in your hair to create an instantly pulled together look on even the most rushed days.

These are so easy to create, especially when you make a batch - don't be surprised, family and friends, if a set of these show up in your stocking this Christmas!

October 21, 2010

July 4th


Independence Day is long over but I just finally got around to this layout! Grids make it so simple! We host a fish fry every year and this year had more guests over than ever. It was exhausting, but a lot of fun! My husband and his friends put together a fireworks display with a awesome grand finale.


I created my own grand explosion with a little stitching magic and a pair of scissors.

That's all for tonight! xo

October 20, 2010

Working 9 to 5


Just wanted to share some pictures from last weekend. We saw 9 to 5 the musical, ate gyros served up by a handsome Greek waiter and shot several rounds of pool. I love going out with this girl, she makes me feel young and carefree again, like the days when we used to roadtrip across the country or just hang out in local bars. Funniest person I know, hands down. And way better pool player too.

I ended up wearing the same thing she was planning on (black dress, brown braided belt) which I felt bad about. In my defense, I had planned my entire outfit around these awesome feather earrings I made out of a pheasant tail but my husband said they are "disgusting" and forbid me to wear them in public.


Of course the comment crushed my confidence about their awesomeness, and I changed my whole outfit. Today I am wearing them though and really, I don't know what he was thinking or why I let him persaude me. These earrings rock.

October 19, 2010

Play, play we play all day

 There are 29 photos on this one page! Oh my goodness! This page was created using a SC Sunday Sketch from Susan Weinroth that was 2 pages and used many, many more tiny photos. What a great way to document a year, as she did or just a lot of similar photos from one event.



Play, play we play all day. The title is from the Dr. Seuss book, Hop on Pop and came to me when I was editing photos - my Rora looks just like a Whoville character with her hair hanging upside down in this photo! How funny! No journaling added, all the pics did a good job telling the afternoons story.

Phew, long day today. Talk to you soon!

October 18, 2010

Fall Decor


It was a busy weekend around here, but I did get the chance to put up a bit of seasonal decor. The pumpkins came from the garden and everything in the crock came out of the ditch. The willow branches in the back were spray painted black and I strung that spider-web material to give the porch a spooky feel. I don't really like a lot of theme-y decorations and like to store it all even less, so its nice that everything can be thrown in the burn pile out back when the season is over.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - I saw 9 to 5 the musical and had the chance to catch up with an old friend. I love this time of year. xo

October 15, 2010

One Year


September 2nd, the old man and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It was a pretty low key night - appetizers, bowling and a few drink stops at the local taverns - but very fun none the less. Our conflicting schedules and the general lack of ever having a babysitter keeps us from going out alone together so it was nice to spend some time together and reconnect.

This layout was put together for the XOXO blog, challenge #12. I scraplifted Lipstick Chick Ilaria Gianquinto (for the second time, her style is fab!) with the paper strips and floating hearts. Love how this layout turned out - thanks for the inspiration Ilaria! 


This page may have been a record in the length of time it took for me to put it together - just 30 minutes! The design is fairly simple but all the colors really make it stand out for me.


Tucked behind the page is a notecard with some details of the night. Thanks hunny, for a very memorable (both good and bad) first year. Love you, xo.

October 14, 2010

Ruffles and Roses guest post today!


Check out the Ruffles and Roses blog today for a guest DIY post of the pretty headband above. I was so flattered when Amber emailed to see if I would make a little something for her site and of course I said yes!!
Click here to see the full DIY and then stay awhile - she has an amazing site full of tutorials and gorgeous clothing all made by her. There is tons of inspiration whether your medium is fabric or paper. xo

October 13, 2010

Swap!

Received these goodies in the mail yesterday from my embellishment swap partner, Heather (hgorhan)!! Aren't they beautiful?


 Love this journaling card and the handmade stick pins are just lovely. I never buy these for myself but always admire them so am soo glad she included some!


I love what she did with the tissue paper around the edges of the flower and on the card with the crocheted flower. But my very favorite thing is all the layers of the rose circle on the right. Six layers and one of them is tulle. Swoon!

Her style is so sophisticated, I was nervous to send her the things I made but popped them in the mail anyhow. Am so glad she liked them. See below:




She had asked for not too girly, but they still ended up a little girly! I can't help it, am just no good at creating boy stuff. There is no pink, so hopefully it is useable :)

Thanks Heather for a great swap!

October 12, 2010

Good junk.


Just wanted to share some good junk I've picked up garage and flea market shopping the last couple weekends. This past weekend was the Covered Bridge Festival in Winterset and there is always guaranteed to be some pretty, old stuff to dig through. The quilt in the background was my first find on Friday and really got me geared up to do some heavy thrifting ;)

Here is a close-up of the quilt and other things. There are so many pretty colors and fabrics in here but what really sold me was the pink and black geometric print on the back. I will use it as a curtain to hang between the kid's room and our living room with the pink side facing the kid's room. (Apparently our house is so old, doors weren't invented yet. Kidding! There used to be French doors, but a past renter took them down and now they are long gone.) Love those shorty motorcyle boots - the soles are nearly in perfect condition. Two leather bags, perfect for fall and a little silver cream and sugar set. I'm not sure what to do them yet but can't wait to find them a home.



The real score was these two embroidered lovelies that were mixed in with some scrap satin and fabric for 25 cents!! The top one says "I slept and dreamt that life was beauty" and the second says "I awoke and found that life was dirty." Embroidery humor? Hilarious! After a good bleaching and ironing, these two will find themselves framed and hung maybe in the kitchen.

What treasures have you found lately?

October 11, 2010

Just For Giggles


I thought I'd start off this Monday morning with a funny picture of my three year old step-daughter sporting a chocolate mustache. She is such a silly little girl!

This layout is based on the 10/3 Sunday Sketch at Studio Calico by Lisa Truesdell. I love Lisa's work and think she is especially cool because she also lives in the Midwest. There is more than just farming going on 'round these parts!


This grid frame was attached to the memory game cards she received for her birthday and I have been saving it for just the right layout ever since. (Actually I had no idea what to use it for, but when I saw the grid on this sketch it finally clicked :) ). The little bits of scrap paper and miscellaneous embellishments were already laying out on the desk. It's amazing how fast a page comes together when you don't have to dig through everything to find just the right coordinating color. That part takes more time than actually gluing everything down.

We have some fall decorating to do today, so I better cut this short, but thanks for stopping by and a big Welcome!! to new followers. I'm so flattered you decided to hang around!!

October 8, 2010

The Case of the Missing Numbers...

Somehow, somewhere along the learning process, my daughter missed out on the numbers 4 and 5. I'm not sure whether she zoned out during these two or if she's just too excited to get to ten. Either way, it makes me giggle every time and I know I will look back and laugh at this page (and silly grin) again one day.

I put this page together for the Makeup to Breakup challenge put together by the talented Lollipop Girls over at Candy Shoppe Designs. The inspiration was a photo of a pretty redhead made up in metallic hued makeup and also to use a broken element in the design.

To meet the bright metallic spec, I used some colorful numbers that are accented with glitter and bling. (Can you tell from the title I've overindulged in Sherlock Holmes stories recently?)


The break in the number sequence satisfies the broken requirement as well as this broken plywood frame, accented with a few rub-on dots.

Thanks for the inspiration, girls!!

P.S. I never usually print my photos in black and white but I recently read a quote on Sweet Memories that has stuck with me the last several days: “When you photograph people in color you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls.” –Ted Grant. It really makes sense and felt appropriate for this layout since there is already so much color going on (that and it's really hard to coordinate with our 70's yellow shag carpet). I will have to print more photos in B&W in the future.

October 7, 2010

'K' Birthday Pillow


My little niece turned 5 this week and will be celebrating her birthday this coming weekend. She since has enough clothes and toys for 3 or 4 kids, I decided to be the un-fun aunt and get her something educational - a big book of classic fairytales. To go along with it and to make reading a little more fun, I also made her a decorative pillow to go on her bed and to snuggle with.


First I pinned on the letter K and used an applique stitch to attach it. In hindsight, it would have worked better to use fusible interfacing. Then added the patchwork squares and hand quilted around the letter K and the outside of the pillow with embroidery thread. (The blue thread was machine stitched).


It was so fun to make and turned out so cute, I may just make one for every kid I know!

October 6, 2010

Stay True

This Basic Grey paper is so pretty, I was tempted to hoard it but resisted the urge and used it up at the first strike of inspiration. This photo is from a little nature walk my daughter and I took down our gravel road and is the first really awesome picture (at least I think its awesome) I've taken with my new SLR camera, an Olympus E-420. It's really a junior amateur model but that's the stage I'm at in this new photo taking hobby. It's been a lot of fun messing with all the different settings but I still have no idea how to really use it. Maybe in the spring I'll take a class but for now will settle with checking out the manual and testing, testing, testing.



Back to the paper, there really is so much going on with it that I chose to leave it mostly intact and embellish with a little embroidery to emphasize the design. Also cut around the embroidered section with a craft knife to give an extra bit of dimension. On the right hand side of the page, I used an applique stitch around the edge of the frame and stitched around the left side. Also misted a bit in the corners with Pink Lemonade and Blue Cornflower.
 

The journaling says "Dear Rora, I hope you'll try new looks, meet different people and even follow some trends. You will make mistakes but know it's okay as long as you stay true to you." This was inspired by Elizabeth Kartchner's "Be You" layout. I still need to try out that butterfly swarm technique.