Flower Power

I'm always a little late in the game, but "better late than never", right?  You've probably seen all the super cute handmade organza and satin flower brooches, pins, etc.  Well, I thought I would have a little fun making some and give them as teacher gifts.  One word - success.  Teachers liked them a lot, I am now addicted, and I have purchased lots more organza, satin, and coolio beads to make more!  (Insert evil laugh)

These are great little projects to make while watching a movie at home or on long road trips.  Note, just cut fabric or sew on the road trips.  I don't think having a lit candle in the car, precariously balanced on your lap in order to burn the petal edges is probably a wise thing.  Maybe.  Probably not.

I did wrap them up in a cute little bag with ribbon.  I like to give little post-it notes, to-do lists (blank of course - not my own!), and note cards to the teachers throughout the year also.  They can always use those!  So, the organza went well and I moved on to satin.  Not the good kind.  The synthetic, poly kind.  It burns nicely, but not in the blink of an eye!  That is key.

 

As with any craft, there are a trillion variations.  I think I'll play with combining the organza and satin, change the shapes and sizes, etc.  I would like to make some smaller ones to put on hair barettes for my youngest.  Ha - that's funny.  Can I even get her to wear it in her hair?  Silly me!

It is hard to tell in the photos, but the brown flowers were made using two different fabrics.  One was a plain brown satin and the other has a teal blue or brown cast depending on the angle.  So pretty!  Below is a flower that I made from just circles (no cut petals) and a bright fuschia satin.

 

If I am not indeed the very last person to try making these and you have not tried yet, you can go here for a great tutorial.  There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube, so browse around a little.

I cannot remember if I posted these beauties or not.  So forgive me if I have!  These felt dahlias are also addicting!  I originally saw these over at Coco Rose Diaries and just drooled.  Her dahlias are beautiful and her photography is stunning.

 

 

Right about now I should be working on dinner.  I'll be back in a few days with a teaser of my exciting news!  Thanks for coming by!

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Catching up...

* Disclaimer - this post is long and most likely boring.  Read on anyway...

The days are just zooming by!  I'm sure many of you are feeling that way as well.  This time of year is always hectic, especially with school-aged kids.  Programs, sports, holidays, meetings, prom, graduation - to name a few.  I often wonder how we scale down from so much of this.  The answer?  Not participate in so much, maybe.  But, with four kids, it doesn't take much to get this busy.  My kids aren't even involved in much separately, but add them all up... my calendar is full.  I try to say "no" when I need to and remember that it won't be long before they are all on their way to other phases of their lives.  So for now, I just keep my calendar handy.

I hope you all enjoyed Easter and Mother's Day.  Yes, I think it has been that long!  Anyway, it is raining here today and very dark.  I've just come down from a very busy week and finished up some major PTA meetings (my last year as the high school PTA prez).  So the past two days have been a whole lot of "nothin'".  Time to re-focus, re-organize, etc. for the next several weeks.  And, time to blog!  Just a few snippets of what's been going on around here:

I made this little dress from Simplicity 2432 at the last sewing retreat.  It was supposed to have a little shrug, but I didn't think she would wear it.  I added a little bling to the top and a pretty ribbon.  The bodice ended up being a little too wide for her.  I should know better than to go straight from the pattern.  But, she loved it anyway.

A good hunt!  Thanks Easter Bunny!

 

I bought a pretty fan for my studio.  The lights I have can get very warm and I cannot part with my sweet little chandelier to put in a ceiling fan.  So, best of both worlds!  Isn't the popcorn ceiling purty?

I've tried using my crock pot more, at least once a week to help quicken meals but still have something better than fast food.  The only drawback - its getting warm outside and you can't make cold crock pot meals!  A friend of mine gave me a super-crazy-good recipe for chicken tortilla soup!  Oh man, she wasn't lying to me when she said I would love it!  So much so that I took pictures of it!  There are so many recipes for this, but if you would like this one, I would be happy to share it with you.

 

I bought the "Fix It and Forget It" cookbook and decided that I MUST purchase yet another crock pot.  They obviously come in different sizes.  Who knew?

It's so cute!  And, Mother's Day rolled around and I was surprised with three bouquets of flowers!  All different and unique like my kiddos.  I love fresh flowers!  

 

 

 

 

I loved the sweet message on my kitchen chalk board.  It usually says something profound or simply "It's good to be the Queen", but this made me smile!

Next post I'll fill you in on a few of the crafts I was able to squeeze in.  I also have some very exciting news to share soon.  I hope you'll stop back by!

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Really? (insert major sarcasm)

Let's go back two years.... On a trip to Round Top and Marburger Farms with BFF Harriet, I purchased two really cool, vintage ice cream parlor chairs (or whatever they are).  Forward one year... I purchased from a local antique shop a really sweet table with two chairs.  They patiently waited in the garage to be used.

Fast forward to last weekend... I finally got around to covering the seats of the chairs I purchased a year ago with some fabric I also bought a while back.  Spring is here, the weather was beautiful, and the yard is looking lovely.  Perfect timing, right?

So on Sunday, I put all four chairs and the table on my back patio.  I was very pleased with them and couldn't wait to add some red geraniums to the table to pretty it up.  So cute, so quaint.

Monday morning, 1:30 a.m., I woke from the sound of a storm.  High, high winds that were so strong the rain was almost sideways.  I peeked through the window at the front yard, then the back.  At that moment, I contemplated going outside to move the four chairs and table.  "Nah, its just rain."  I went back to bed.  

About five minutes later I heard a smashing sound.  It even woke my husband.  He went to check the front yard and I went to check the back.

"Nooooooooo!"  (Hands in head)  A HUGE limb from our huge cottonwood tree had come down right on top of my cute little table.  It totally flattened one of the heavy steel chairs and shattered the glass in a gazillion pieces!  And don't be fooled.  It may not look heavy, but I couldn't lift it.  It will take two of us to move the limb.

Really?

Sigh.

Last winter, we lost our beautiful patio gazebo to snow.  Cratered.  Gone.

Why do the Patio gods hate me?  I don't want anything elaborate.  Just cute.  Just quaint.

On the bright side - I'm glad I decided not to go out to move the table and chairs... I might not be writing this post.

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Here I am!

Adoring fans have been emailing for days... "Mona, where are you?  What have you been up to?  We miss you!!!"  Okay, not really.  Just my cousin "Mimi" - Hey Cuz!

The days are a big blur.  Somewhere in between PTA meetings, baseball and soccer practices and games, and preparations for senior year (prom, prom dresses, graduation...), I did manage to sneak in a weekend with my favorite sewing buddies (Brenda, Janice, Mary Lynn, Nancy, and Sherrie), at our favorite retreat Southern Comfort.  We decided to call ourselves the "Southern Sewing Sisters"!

We sewed... and ate... and laughed... and sewed... and walked... and ate.  You get the idea.  And, we all went to the local Wal-Mart on a field trip!  Yes, the closest thing to a fabric shop in Mineola is Wal-Mart.  But, we did manage to find some cute fabric (well, duh!) and went back happy campers to sew some more.

Of course our hostess, Linda fed us well.  During Spring Break I came down with a nasty stomach bug early in the week and was determined to kick it before the retreat.  I didn't want to miss any of her cooking so I ate crackers for three days prior to going.  So when I finally got to eat, I felt like I had eaten twice as much!  But, I suffered through it!  

 

 

And, I did manage to get a few projects taken care of.  I know - you're thinking, "How in the world did you manage to sew if you were eating so much?"  I managed.  

I sewed an Easter dress for my youngest daughter - with a zipper!  Thanks Nancy!  It turned out really cute although in the photo it looks a little plain.  I was going to make a bolero jacket but didn't like the fabric I brought.  I did add some sparkly little jewels (thanks Mary Lynn!) to the bodice when I got home.  I plan to add a wide satin ribbon to it as well.

 

The next two projects were matching dresses (more "Fridas") for my daughter's best friend who turns five next month.  She is getting an American doll for her birthday.  Ssssshhhh, don't tell - its a secret!  I think she will be happy with them.

 

And, I sewed a little skirt to finish up the weekend.  I found all of the fabric on our field trip and made the skirt from scratch - my first pattern!  I was inspired by a cute little top that Mary Lynn made.  Ruffles, ruffles, ruffles.  I used my new ruffler to tackle that project.  So much faster than the other methods!

Scarves are all the rage so I brought a t-shirt and whipped up this cute scarf that I saw on DIY Dish.  Super fast, easy, and inexpensive.  Miss Janice was my lovely model, so she got to keep the scarf!  

Finally, we went to Kindergarten Round-Up tonight.  My daughter was so excited to go.  Of course, it is sad for me as she is the last to go to school.  And, very strange because I bought a prom dress for one daughter and signed the other up for kindergarten in one week.  Such opposite ends of the emotional spectrum!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

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Sew Darn Crafty - Linky and Giveaway!

If you don't already know Karen at Sew Many Ways - you need to head over to her blog and check out her new Linking Party- Sew Darn Crafty that she's been hosting!  This time, she's having a giveaway as well!  

I love this linking party because you get to see so many different types of crafts and projects at a glance and are introduced to some fun new blogs.  What a great way to share and promote the crafting community.

Karen has hosted Tool Time Tuesday for quite a while and she still amazes me with what she comes up with.  She can take a metal washer, a rope, and some plastic from the hardware store and turn it in to a new and useful household item.  Like me, she loves to label everything.  She's a true organizing queen.  And, she is an awesome quilter! 

I've just linked up and I hope you will, too!  Happy Sunday everyone!

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Our last big 5th

Sniffle, sniffle.. weep.

Okay, I'm done.  For a moment.

Now its time to celebrate - my baby girl turns five today!  Happy Birthday beautiful baby!  "You're my girl."

Its so bitter-sweet. This is a tough year.  I have one daughter who will graduate high school and begin a whole new chapter in her life; and another who will begin her kindergarten year.  Such a contrast.  And, two other kiddos in between.  So while the oldest was  shopping for a prom dress, the other was giggling and jumping up and down with her buddies at Build-A-Bear workshop on Saturday for her fifth birthday party!  Five sweet, tiny girls ready to bring their bunnies, cats, and doggies to life with some stuffing and little red hearts!  Fun, fun, and fun.

My daughter asked for an American Girl doll for her birthday and what better way to present the new doll than with a matching dress!  I was a little nervous about making doll clothes, but the Mini-Frida by modkid was very easy.  I am so excited about making more doll clothes and have already planned to make matching dresses in April for my daughter's best friend!

 

I plan to purchase some of the Simplicity patterns as well.  We decided that "Jessica" needs a few more clothes.  I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the clothes you have made.  Do you have favorite patterns, tricks, or tips?

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Party Duds

I do believe that all of my youngest daughter's friends were born within a month of each other!  So, with all the parties, I made a few dresses and skirts for her to wear.  I bought the cutest fabric at IKEA a few years ago and finally put it to good use (post here). I added some bunting from the fabric to a t-shirt and yippee - party duds!  So festive!

Thanks to the great advice and tutorial at Ta-Da Creations, I altered my Simplicity pattern #2377 to make this little a-line dress.  I love the fun colors!

 

My for my daughter's 5th birthday, I used Frida by modkid to make this sweet dress. I made this several months ago but in a shorter length and with pants.  It goes together quickly and easily.  Patty Young's patterns and instructions are very well thought-out and designed.

 

I am looking forward to some spring weather... and a green yard again!  I'm going to share another fun project in my next post!

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