A Day in the Life...

Super-Size Slip-N-Slide

Mike is one fun daddy!  When we lived in Arizona, he was all about finding the coolest pool toys and we have the best memories of our summers hangin' in the pool.  It was a huge part of our lives.  Here in Virginia, we are pool-less, so Mike is always trying to find ways to make playing outside in the summer heat more exciting. 

Recently, he found this huge plastic sheet at work that was bound for the trash heap and brought it home for this.

 

I had to run up to a second story window to get a full shot. 

 

It was good for hours of fun.  Little did the girls know that they would wake up the next day bruised and sore from basically diving onto the ground.  Ouch!

Our New "Baby"

Stuff like this just doesn't happen to me.  I don't win raffles.  I never win contests.  But this made up for a lifetime of not winning anything. 

Have you ever heard of Free-cycle?  It's a Yahoo Group (most cities have their own) whose goal is to help people get rid of their unwanted items by listing them on an e-loop and then it pretty much becomes a first come, first serve kind of thing. 

Well, last week, I just happened to be sitting at my desk when a particular message came through.  It said, "OFFER: Baby Grand Piano." 

After rubbing my eyes in astonishment, I emailed the person as quickly as my typing skills deficient fingers could move.  I wrote, "I'll take it, I'll take it.  I can be there as soon as possible."  After many phone calls and emails back and forth with the owner, and a quick trip to their house to see what kind of shape it was in, he said I could have it, so I hired a piano mover and the rest is history.  It all happened very fast. 

When it arrived, I was astounded, shocked, amazed, overwhelmed...the adjectives could go on for a paragraph, but mostly I was feeling so incredibly blessed by this beautiful piece of artwork.  It had been quite dark at the other house and I didn't really see the detail and beauty of it.  I had just thought it was an old, grungy piano, which was fine with me.  I'm all about refinishing things. 

But when it got into the light of this room, it was anything but old and grungy.  It was breathtaking, stunning, and ornate...there I go with the adjectives again.

 

 

 

 

I still have to scrape my jaw off the floor every time I walk into this room.  And then I pinch myself.  Wow!  It's real.  Thank you, thank you, Lord.  What a blessing for our family, but especially the girls who love, love, love to play it! 

"The" Summer Project

This is the big one.  The main summer project that I really, really want to get done.  This buffet is sorely needin' a paint job.  It's beat up and just plain ugly.  (It actually looks much better in the picture than in person.)  I think I am probably one of the few people who does not like dark wood furniture.  I actually prefer painted furniture...usually white or cream.  This monstrosity has been in my dining room for more than a year and I've been waiting (rather impatiently) to paint the thing.  Here's an example of what I'm going for...(Jona, of course!)

The only problem is...I also hate the wall paper.  So here's my dilemma...do I paint the walls first, then figure out what color to paint the buffet or paint the buffet white and get all the furniture looking the way I want, then find a wall color to go with it? 

My husband is hoping that I will like the wallpaper after I paint the buffet as he thinks it's great.  (I reeeally don't think I will!)  Even my kids love this wallpaper.  I told them they could decoupage something with it after I tear it off the wall.  That almost won them over.

Yet Another Sewing Party

Yep, we had another one.  Well, it ends up being a party when the girls plan lunch/tea along with the sewing of the aprons. 

It is so much fun to watch the girls use the sewing machines all on their own...and complete an entire project beyond a basic pillow.  What an accomplishment for an 8 year old!  I also love that they pick out their own fabrics.  You never know what they'll end up with.  I love the stripe/polka dot combo that Bethany picked.  I would never have put those two together, but they look darling!  Wow!

Here is our latest batch.  Alli is here with her apron that she started a while back, but just finished today.  She had decided she wanted to gather the main part.  Wha???  I'm a pattern follower.  I'm not a "make-up-a-new-pattern" kind of person.  But Alli is a "make-up-a-new-pattern" kind of person, so I tried to guide her in the right direction.  Only problem...it took a little longer than she expected and she had given up...until today.  I'm so glad she finished it.  It looks great.  She's not too sure it was worth it as you can't really tell it's gathered while you are wearing it.  :)

My New Favorite Bag

I love this new tote bag pattern...it's pretty easy and the bags are a great size.  The girls and I each have plans to make one for our knitting stuff.  Alli's turned out great.  For mine, I chose Heather Bailey's Pop Garden...everything she does is so beautiful and original. 

But I really don't think I can use it for knitting after all.  It's too darn cute to be sitting in a corner somewhere stuffed with yarn.  I've claimed it as my new purse...until I make the next one, of course.

My only problem with this tote...the handles are way too wide!  I made them smaller (by mistake) for Alli's bag, but I was careful to follow the instructions more closely this time.  I think it must be another mistake, because they are awkwardly large.  I still love it though...wide handles or not.

Insta-Skirt

Well, my little creative one is at it again.  It seems every day she comes up with another idea...something cool to sew, knit, or draw.  Today, she came up with what I am calling the "skirt in an instant". 

She took an old t-shirt, cut off the bottom (starting right under the arms), and zig-zagged the raw edge.  She cut slits in the hem and laced a cord through for the tie.  Then she decorated the ends of the cord with beads. 

 

Viola...instant skirt!  I think it took all of 10 minutes!  I may give this a shot myself!

Summer Projects...Off to a Good Start

I am loving our summer break this year!  The last couple summers were hectic and we didn't have a lot of down time.  This summer is different.  It's all about relaxing, reorganizing, and crafting.  So far, we've barreled through quite a few things. 

I got a really cool pattern from my friend Heidi to make to new kind of tote bag.  She and her girlies keep their knitting supplies in them.  They're the perfect size and the open top gives easy access to the "stuff". 

Here's our first one.  Alli picked out the fabrics and even had the idea for bow on the pocket. 

 

Knitting has been a big hit around here.  So far, we've mostly just been practicing.  This poncho pattern looked pretty simple, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  I used the wrong size needles, so it's a miniature version.  (It was supposed to fit an adult.)  I think it might fit a 5 year old even better than Alli.  But it was great practice!

 

I made this adorable pillowcase to match a my comforter.  (Using Jona's tutorial, of course.)  Custom pillowcases...what a great idea!

But this, by far, is the most ambitious thing I've ever sewn.  I've been working on it for months. 

 

I thought I would save myself some money, but it ended up costing way more than a store bought curtain and it was way more challenging than I expected.  The Waverly fabric is pretty and goes with some of the darker colors in my house, but prefer a more cottagey/whimsical look, so I used Vintage Dot fabric by Sandi Henderson as the contrast fabric.  That way it's not too formal looking.  :) 

 

I'm so glad it's finished!

This summer, we'll be hosting a few more sewing parties for the girls' friends along with lots of other fun projects.  I even have a bunch of my all time favorite fabric, Fresh Cut by Heather Bailey, set aside for a quilt...my first one!  Hopefully, I'll be able to get to it. 

Aprons To Go...

We haven't made any aprons in a while.  I actually ripped up all the fabric for these a few months back, but haven't had the time to sew them until now. 

They are going to a friend of mine in Arizona and her two little girls.  They liked all the fun fabrics we've been using and commented on them...so we thought we send them some of their very own. 

I always love how they turn out.  Coming up with different fabrics combinations is so fun!

  

 

 

I shrunk Jona's "Apron in an Hour" down a bit for the bottom two, especially the last one...it (hopefully) will be able to fit a 2-3 year old.  It looks a bit odd on 13 year old!

Playing With Backlighting

The other day on Pioneer Woman's photography section, she mention backlighting.  I had always thought that putting your subject's back to the sun was a no-no, but the pictures were really pretty, so I decided to play around with it. 

As the sun was setting tonight, I took a few shots. 

First, I started with this flowering shrub.  I like how it turned out.  The sun behind the flowers brought out an even prettier purple color. 

 

Then I turned my attention to Erin...not the most patient of subjects, so I had to work fast.

 

 

I like what it does to her hair...kinda cool!  (Ignore the fact that it's a bit messy!)

  

OK, I'm losing her...let's hurry to see if I can get a couple more decent shots.

 

 

Nope...she's done.  Time to try Alli...

 

OK, much more willing subject, but I think the sun is causing sun spots or something and I'm not sure how to get rid of it.  Oh, well...I'll just keep going.

 

 

I like the glow around her hair, but I'm still not sure what to do about those spots.  I guess the easy answer would be, "Don't shoot facing the sun."  I think I'll just do a bit more research and a lot more practicing.  Note to self...have a brush handy next time.

She Didn't Get This From Me...

 

This is how Erin eats cake.  The rest of us had our hopes up that she might pawn off the frosting on one of us, but nope...she polished it off herself.  Go figure!