Artsy Father's Day Cards- by Elora

While I was growing up, my dad always said he wanted me to make something for his gifts. I was always crafty growing up so I usually drew him a picture or made a card and he always loved it. Now that I am much older and not that great of an artist any more (as I got older my drawing and painting skills sort of petered out), my dad probably wouldn't appreciate a drawing of the mail man (one of his favorites when I was about 6) or a painting of a rainbow, so, I'm passing on this task to Elora. It is now her job to make the cards for holidays and special occasions.

Since Father's Day is in just a few days, we whipped up some cards today.

First, I used masking tape to put the cards on the fridge (currently the fridge acts as Elora's easel). The masking tape also made sure we'd have a nice clean, white frame around the paintings.

We used one of Elora's plates as a palette. The paint we used is Crayola Kid's Paint, it's non-toxic and super easy to clean up. And it comes right out of clothes without any extra effort. Love it (I wasn't paid by Crayola to say that...I wish I was though).

And then she went to work creating her masterpieces.

Once she finished up, we left them to dry on the fridge while we did a little damage control. I love how easily these paints wash up.

Once they were all dry, I took them off of the fridge and very carefully removed the masking tape. I think they turned out fun and I know that Elora's grandpas and her daddy will all love them.

Amazing Giveaway on Oh Happy Day

There is a crazy awesome giveaway going on right now at Oh Happy Day where you can...

Totally crazy, right? I'm thinking this would be perfect for Corey's and my 5th anniversary in October.

So, go check out the giveaway but don't enter because that will decrease my chances of winning! Haha, just kidding, go ahead and enter and let me know if you win so that I can rejoice with you :)

Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop- Week #1

A friend of mine started an organization that helps women in Africa support themselves. It's called The Nakate Project. The women make beads from magazines and use them to make these beautiful necklaces.

I've been wanting to buy one of these necklaces so I've been looking at the website a lot, and when I saw the inspiration workshop prompt from Gussy Sews was "Handmade", I immediately thought of these beautiful creations.

I love the work of this organization and I can't wait to get my hands on one of these handmade beauties. The only jewelry I ever wear is my wedding ring, but I'd really like to step up my look this summer and I think one of these necklaces would be a perfect place to start. Not too fancy, totally fun, and it's for a great cause.

Now I just have to choose one....

I'm leaning toward this one:

Or maybe this one...

Crafty Sewing Mamas Blog Challenge 12

Life has a way of getting crazy sometimes. I'm in one of those times right now but still managing to get some sewing done because it's my way of relaxing :)

For the Crafty Sewing Mamas sew along/blog challenge thing, I made both projects, which were slippers and a cushion. I decided to make Elora a fun floor cushion that she could tote around and she loved it more than I thought she would.

As soon as I finished it and brought it out to her, she grabbed it and started bouncing on it. Then she'd pick it up, drag it somewhere else, and begin bouncing. It was cute and I'm so glad she liked it. She (and a few friends who came to visit the other day) loved it so much, a seam burst and it's back in the sewing room for a little mending. I think it taught me a lesson about using home decor fabric from Joann's, next time leave a big seam allowance, fray block the raw edges, serge the raw edges, and double up the stitching all around. That stuff frays like crazy!

I used this tutorial from Living with Punks: Land of Nod inspired floor cushion

But I didn't have piping so I just top stitched the seams which seemed to create a similar effect. I also added a zipper because Elora is a pretty messy kid and I couldn't imagine never throwing this thing in the washer!

So, for project number two, I made myself some slippers. I used this slipper pattern and tutorial from Prudent Baby. It was super quick and easy and I used some pretty Amy Butler fabric that I got on sale a little while back. The slippers are lined with minky which feels pretty nice on my toes. They are perfect for the chilly days we've been having for so long, not too warm since it's not technically winter, but warm enough since even though it's JUNE it still feels like we're barely out of winter.

Turns out it's kind of difficult to photograph your own feet without your ankles looking like they are retaining many gallons of water.

Anyways, hopefully we get some good entries to our sewing/blog challenge this time around. Check out what everyone else is making here:

Vote for My Top at Made by Rae

You may have heard about this little contest going on over at Made by Rae. It's a spring top competition and I entered two tops at the very last second last week and one of them got chosen for the reader vote! Amazing!

So, if you love me, vote for me :)

Here's the top that's in the running

It's a floral print, Swiss dot cotton fabric. The pattern was made from a top that I have already that I really like. I didn't do the best job replicating the original shirt, but I really like how it turned out and it's nice and light, perfect for spring and summer. I'm wearing it on my errands today in honor of the contest :)

This is the other shirt that I entered

It's an embroidered white cotton fabric, again the pattern was made from another top I have that I like. The collar on this one gave me trouble, but I like how it turned out.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you'll take a moment to

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check out the SILHOUETTE MACHINE GIVEAWAY over at Grosgrain today. I want this machine SO SO BADLY!

You get an extra entry for blogging about it and since I feel like I need this machine, I have to do everything I can to win one (since I don't have an extra $220 sitting around).

So, if you want me to be happy, you won't go enter this giveaway. But if you want to be happy yourself, you might want to go check it out and throw your name in the hat for a change to win this thing. It's amazing.

See all the amazing stuff you can do? So fabulous. I want this and now you probably do too...alright, fine, go enter right here: SILHOUETTE MACHINE GIVEAWAY

Thank you. 10-4 over and out.

Crafty Sewing Mamas' Blog Challenge #11 part 2

Whipped up this little zippy wallet as project number two in the CSM Blog Challenge 11.

I intended to make it as a giveaway prize but it ended up so small, I feel like it's hardly worth it!

It's cute and little and holds a few necessities but I can't quite fit a card in the main body of it.

Fortunately, I can fit all the cards I need in the front pocket. I'm thinking this would be great to toss in to my gathered clutch which I usually have in my diaper bag. But this little wallet isn't quite enough on it's own for a trip to the store...maybe for one of those "drop me off at the entrance, I'll grab the milk and bread, you keep driving around the parking lot to keep the baby asleep and I'll meet you back here in 5 minutes" type of trips.

So, while this little wallet is cute and does serves a purpose, I like something that can hold my keys, phone, and money stuff (such as the aforementioned gathered clutch).