This is How I Roll

Recently our friends’ twins turned 3 years old and we needed some birthday presents. Obviously there are two of them so in my mind, the presents need to be somewhat equal in cost and as far as the “coolness factor” goes. In other words, you don’t get one twin a fabulous toy and the other socks and undies. You don’t want to cause unnecessary drama for someone who is already dealing with the inevitable crazy that raising two children of the same age can bring. I also hate to spend too much on something that they may not even like a few months down the road. Knowing my own child’s frequent change in interest, I’d rather get something they can use in the short-term without breaking the bank. This is where Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy comes in to save the day.
Lindsey has an online shop full of adorable items that she makes herself. One of the cutest things she makes are her Crayon Rolls. And just last week, she very conveniently posted a tutorial, just in time for the twins’ birthday party. This could not have been an easier project and turned out really well despite my tendency to be impatient and skip through insignificant details like measuring. The twins are a boy and a girl so I chose cute fabric for each and I was happy with the result.



I packed these up with some coloring books, stickers and a little t-shirt for each one. It wasn’t too expensive and turned out to be a great birthday package.

Transformation of a Rooster

Today I’m headed to a shower and I wanted to come up with a handmade gift for the bride that fit her interests and coordinated with the wedding gifts we chose from their registry.

Remember this from yesterday…

Well this is just part of a whole so here’s the full picture…

In my opinion that’s a Cockadoodledon’t! I especially love the matching mini-roosters on each of the pockets. Roosters, yes, we get it. I found this hideous beast at the Dollar Store and envisioned a greater purpose. So with a little tweaking, I used it as a pattern for this…

For my first apron it came out pretty close to how I imagined without using any real sort of pattern. I think it will be a fun gift for the bride and truthfully it was really easy.

Both the bride and groom love to cook so I went with a whole kitchen theme in the gifts. Try not to be too amazed by my brilliance. I like the black & white because it works with whatever colors they plan for their kitchen. I’m thinking I’ll wrap it up with a coordinating potholder or maybe a wooden spoon set.

Cockadoodledoo

I’m so excited to post a new before and after project because it was such a transformation. The end result came out great and it’s a good thing because it’s a gift. I bet you’ll never guess what this is going to be… 

The finished project will be posted tomorrow!!

My Funny Valentine

One of the projects I've been working on recently is a Valentine's dress for Baby. I found this tutorial at Made and I had a couple extra shirts lying around that would work well. In particular I had this red shirt that never quite fit right but had been hanging in the closet for a couple years with the tags still on. The big question is why did I even buy this shirt in the first place? Sigh.

I know the picture is awful but try to ignore that and you get the general idea. The sleeves were 3/4 length which made it a little more challenging but it worked out okay. Here is the end result minus the little sash that tied around the waist.

So cute! It looked adorable when I tried it on Baby and I had grand visions of her being so darling when we went out for our family Valentine's dinner at Islands (my favorite). Unfortunately, being a toddler and having very strong opinions these days, Baby absolutely refused to wear the dress to dinner and threw an all-out fit in protest. It was either put her in another outfit or cancel dinner and obviously Islands always wins. Sadly the Valentine's dress didn't actually get worn on V-day, but it was free and pretty easy so no great loss. Maybe another time. Happy belated Valentines Day!

Catching Up

I finally got the camera working so that I can transfer pictures onto the computer. Yay! I wanted to post images of some of the projects that I've been working on over the past couple months. I posted here about the wall above our couch, which I referred to as "my nemesis" because it is huge and high and nothing seemed to fit right. After the Fiance put up shelves two months ago (sigh) I finally got the framed pictures up. Although it's still a work in progress, it's a big improvement over the empty wall.


It's hard to capture how much better it actually is without before and after pix, but I can now walk by the living room without glancing at the wall and uttering a long sigh. The other portion of the living area that somewhat coordinates is the fireplace. I'm still working on the rest. I do love how in this picture you can see the baby monitor, a fabulous decorative addition to our mantel.


I've also been feeling very crafty as I posted here. The result is a new spring bag that I created from Sandi Henderson's Market Bag pattern. You can find the link to the pattern shop on her blog, Portobellopixie, and it was pretty easy, even after not having sewn much of anything in many moons.
The fabric that I picked up at Joanne's is wonderful and bright and summery. It's not necessarily a universal bag that goes with anything, but it is big enough to hold a book or magazine, as well as the normal stuff. I'm currently in the process of making another in a different fabric for a friend. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Below I added pictures to the post about our new vegetable garden. We've lost one lettuce plant but otherwise the plants are doing well. Our roses are about to have the first big bloom of the year, but I added some pictures of how pathetic the garden looked after we chopped the roses down a couple months ago. It was hideous but amazing how quickly they grow back. I'm so stoked on adding pictures. I feel much better about my blog now!