Wednesday, June 16, 2010

PS

Just to prove how my brain is already on vacation
I completely forgot about the goodbye post I had pre-posted
{my story of neglect-which wasn't riveting enough for the author to even remember!}
and made an entirely new one
{with pics!}
So you got goodbye twice.
Because I think of y'all twice as much as you think I do.

Neglect: A Story {with a happy ending}

This is a story of neglect.

The neglect of a 
{very small, but sort of sweet}
blog 
and a dog

You see,
the blog's blogger Em was going on vacation
a very long, overdue vacation in which much fun would be had by all
and wives would see their husbands for wonderfully long periods of time.

But the blog would be neglected.
No posts pre-posted.
No excitement.
For three weeks.

And the dog
well he would be left in very capable and sweet hands
But his people were leaving him
and to him, that constitutes neglect.




The happy ending?
In August there will be an empty house
with all children being in school
and one very antsy blogger
excited to craft and create and share again
with a very loyal dog at her feet.






Wish us well!
I'll be thinking of you!










PS
in case you were considering raiding our house while we were gone
a warning:
our lovely dog sitter
{who is my husband's cousins' wife's mother-follow that!}
will be taking herself a vacation 
and staying at our house
{and spoiling our first furry baby}
and if the dog doesn't eat you first
{because though he loves us, he's not very nice}
she knows how to get into our gun safe.
Don't say I didn't warn you.

See ya laters aligators

We'll be going here:


And then Visiting these guys:






and doing lots of fun things with
some of our wonderful family.


Don't tell my kids but
after all that fun
we'll be going here:



See you in 3 weeks!

Monday, June 14, 2010

And the winner is....




I used Random.org
who told me the magic number was 23


Traci said...

I'm a new follower! :)


Horray!
Let us know what fun stuff you get!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Lighting and a Giveaway

So...
when we moved into our house
I was not the super star sewer I pretend to be now.
I carved out a little niche for myself
to put my sewing things and crafts and fabrics.

Well, I am maxed out.
Floor to ceiling, wall to wall.
{Did I really just post my sewing chaos for the world to see?!}

One of my problems is that I've begun covering up the lighting.

 I'm thinking of putting some task lighting nearer to the workspace
because hey, who doesn't like to see what they're doing?

I found a very cool 
(and possibly addictive website)

Check out what I found:

Quoizel - UC1224W - Bright Under Cabinet Three Light Lamp in White

Murray Feiss - WB1137BS - Swing Shift Large Double Armed Wall Sconce Lamp in Brushed Steel

I think this one's my favorite.


What do you think?

CSN stores has tons of other stuff, too.

look at the goodies I found!

A great starter
Singer Touch & Sew Basic Sewing Machine - 7462.CS

This is my baby:)
Brother Compact Sewing & Embroidery Combination Machine - SE350

I would LOVE one of these...
Singer Dress Form Mannequin - DF150.CS/DF151.CS


And wouldn't these be great activities for summer


Sew a Petal Purse
Patch Products Petal Purse - 2542

A first sewing machine
Singer Pixie Sewing Machine - PIXIE.CS

And this weekend they're giving away $60 
{to be used however your heart desires}
to one of you!


Leave a comment for Each Entry
Visit CSNstores and tell me what you'd do with $60 (one entry)
Follow That Crafty Mrs.V (one entry)
Blog about this giveaway and link back to me (one entry)


Giveaway ends Sunday


Thursday, June 10, 2010

Kids' Travel Neck Pillows

I finally won the battle against the stuffed animals.
There is now a sweet little basket in the girls' room with their prized stuffies.

I kept two little Minnie Mouse dolls with this project in mind.
And TaDa!  Here it is:


Aren't they sweet?  
I enlarged the pattern about an inch bigger than
the template showed and I like the fullness.
I had the minky left over from covering the girls' car seats
{oh boy I forgot how much of a horrible MESS that stuff makes!}

I hope they get lots and lots of hours of use on the airplane!!!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Hair Bows

I love hair bows.
They are one of those girly things I swore off in my younger years
which I succumbed to after having two little girls.


So I've been busy making bows to go with the girls' outfits on vacation.


These are to match these dresses



I used the fabric from the luggage tags 
and put them on those cover-your-own buttons.
{so great, you only need a scrap of fabric!}


There are some great hair bow instructions at the ribbon retreat.
For the korcker bows I found pre-cut dowels in my wood section of our craft store
and I usually bake them in our toaster over.

I still have to make pink ones and I was thinking rainbow colors would be fun, too.

I was inspired by Grace at Little Pumpkin Grace
Jessica always puts the cutest bows in her hair!

So my goal is to have a set for each outfit.
We'll see if they actually stay in their hair...



Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Play Checkbook

One of the things I love to do when we go on vacation is
to bring fun, new things for my kids to play with.

When we went on our 3000 mile road trip a couple years ago
Chloe was 8 months old 
{were we insane?!?!}
And I brought a entire suitcase of surprises for the girls.

This trip won't have nearly as many miles in the car
but 5 hours in an airplane keeps getting longer and longer
every time we go.

Today I put together some checkbooks for the girls.





I found a download for the checks over at Just Something I Made
{I didn't sew the perforations, 
I have a perforating blade for my paper cutter}
Then I made a super simple cover using some matching material
from the girls' backpacks.
I hope this keeps them busy for a little while!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Mei Tai Tutorial



I love Mei Tais.
I made one for Chloe when she was a baby
and we used it all the time.
She loved to climb in and take a nap on my back.

Mei Tais are great to take on vacations.
They fold up small and take up very little packing room
and can be easily toted around while you're exploring.

So a few months ago when I put Chloe
in her Mei Tai and found she had grown too long for it
I thought I'd make her a longer version to take with us on our trip.

This tutorial is for either the smaller baby length
or the larger preschooler length.
If you use a heavy weight canvas and
heavy duty thread it will easily hold up to 35 lbs.

Click here to download

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Luggage Tags

{We've got a trip coming up
and for the next couple weeks
I'll be doing projects related to traveling}


Lovely Little Luggage Tags
This is a really easy sew
and it's so cute to have matching ID tags
for the little ones' bags.
{or bright, noticeable ones for the grown ups}



Start with printing out the template here.
{There's three sizes to choose from}

You'll need:
Printer Fabric (I found mine at my craft store)
Fabric for backing
Eyelets or grommets, depending on how big your tags will be
The kit to put the eyelets/grommets on to the fabric
(sometimes they come together, sometimes they don't.)

Eyelets and the tools to put them together


So first of all print out your information onto your fabric.
{I put my daughter's names and two cell numbers}
Be sure that you leave plenty of room to sew-
at least 1/2 inch around the wording.
I like to test one out on a plain paper first to check the size is right.

Cut out your pieces,
one with the info
and one for the back



With the right sides together, sew 1/4" from edge.
Then go back and sew again closer to the edge.
{I sewed mine 3 time because the fabric was unraveling easily}
Clip the corners.

Carefully turn it inside out.
Push the corners out with a boning knife  or an eraser.

Tuck the edges in as little as possible
{I use the tip of a straight pin to manipulate the fabric where I want it}


Iron it flat
Top stitch close to the edge
{but not over your words}



Lay your eyelet or grommet on the fabric where you want it.
Mark the spot.


Make a LITTLE hole where you marked.
You can always make the hole bigger.
I make a small snip with my scissors
then push them through to widen the hole.


Push the eyelet through the tag
and place it on the holder



Put the flattening piece on top and hammer down.
{You should do this on a work surface
or you could do it on your sewing desk and hold your breath like I did}


TaDa!


I used a ribbon and sewed it on to the girls' backpacks


For the girls' suitcases I made
a double-layer tag.
I wanted the information covered for security
and so I made two tags
and connected them with one grommet.

Let's hope our luggage doesn't get lost (:



Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Get Out of Town (the longest post ever)

Topic: Camping
Memory Verse:
"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10
"Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God goes with you" Deuteronomy 31:6

Activities:

Glow in the dark T shirts


The kiddos drew their own shirts using "stamps"
we had cut out of sponges
of stars, rocketships, and planets.
We used regular tshirt paints
and then painted over it with glow in the dark tshirt paint 
(found at our local craft store)
These can take a couple days to dry so plan ahead!


Pinecone Bird feeders
We found pinecones around our campsite and covered them with
peanut butter and birdseed
then hung them outside on a tree near the cabin.


Treasure Containers
We took the plastic containers 
that you get out of a toy vending machine
and drilled holes in the caps.
Then I threaded two ends of the ribbon into the container
and tied a big knot.
I saw these somewhere in cyberspace-if you did it let me know (:
These are great because the kids can only bring home what fits in the container.

Play Cards
Our girls love the 
but just a plain old deck works just as well.


Take a Hike

Explore what's around
and look for signs of living nature.
While in the woods we had a quiet moment
and talked about our scripture verses.

'Smore, Please!
I am pretty strict about what my girls eat
but I am sure that the memories made and the nostalgia it will
create later in their lives
is worth the sugar in their diet.
(But that's just me)


Let them Be





Most of all, be flexible.
Think of it all as an adventure.


Last year we went up to Polipoli cabins.
It was unusually cold that time of year (about 35 degrees inside)
and we were all freezing in our little single-wall construction cabin.
None of the kids were sleeping and it was late.
So we all dragged our beds out to the main room where the 
fireplace (and our collective body heat)
kept us warm.




If you don't want to camp in a tent, then don't.
The term "camping" has taken on a much looser meaning 
since we started to bring little ones with us.
(Check out the extension cord running from the generator
to the cabin)
We may not be really "roughing it" but we are having fun.


Don't let the little ones stop you,
they'll have fun, too.




Don't know where to go?

This is when I tell you it is your duty as a citizen of the United States
(if you are a citizen of the United States)
and your great privilege to participate in the National Park System.
I could do a whole series of posts on our National Parks.
But they're not very crafty, are they?


Still not sold?
Just spend the night in your backyard.

Happy Camping!