Perspective

I spent Monday and Tuesday night glued to the computer monitor, watching the red and green streaks on the radar as severe thunderstorms brought tornadoes across the state.  Once upon a time, I wouldn't have given it a moment's attention, but since having kids, I am much more aware of things like that.  For the first time ever, I had to actually corral the kids in the bathroom as a precaution.  Nothing came all that close to us, personally, but I spent quite a while obsessively watching facebook updates and calling family because the names of their towns were repeatedly called out by the meteorologists.  I didn't lose anyone and none of them lost anything. 

Last night, I was very relieved that it wasn't going to be a repeat and was glad to be able to go to bed and not worry about trying to rouse the kids to throw them in the bathroom.  In a way, I feel a little bit of guilt about my relief since other states saw far worse weather than what we had here earlier in the week.  Hundreds of lives lost and unfathomable destruction. 

One of the hardest hit areas in my state from Monday night was a town called Vilonia.  My cousin lives there.  First thing on Tuesday morning, she was offering her home to others to shower or get a cup of coffee or just charge their phone because she was fortunate enough to have her home in one piece and all her utilities still in service.  I've seen her posts the past two days, trying to organize people to volunteer and donate some of the most basic of supplies for people who have nothing now.  It's heartbreaking, some of the stories that I've heard... but at the same time heart-warming to see people devote themselves and their own resources to help others.

I felt quite whiny earlier in the week.  Feeling frustrated that my house is a mess and I don't want to go to work.  Feeling like I live in a bubble with no friends.  Feeling like my kids were going to drive me to the nut house.  But today I just feel fortunate and lucky.  I have a house and job, I had all sorts of people checking on me and the girls when it was storming.  And today I just sat in the swing outside and watched my kids play.

A bandaid... just in case it bleeds 

My child knows how to do The Robot...

Mismatched flip flops and a too-big hat

What I would give to get inside that head.

I don't deserve the charmed life I lead, especially since I take it all for granted so often, but I am truly grateful.

 

Sneak Peeks (and too many parentheses)

My brain is pretty burnt out on things I have to do, so I've let myself indulge in some creativity just for variety's sake.  I do need to get back on track tomorrow and work on things other people have asked me to make for them, but I'm excited about the two things I've begun so I thought I'd give a little sneak peek.

The first thing was an idea I had for a Mother's Day gift.  Chances are that if they are Mother's Day gifts, they will be late gifts.  Mother's Day has totally sneaked up on me this year, probably because Easter was so late this year.  I am afraid Mother's Day gifts will most likely be photos of the girls because I just don't have time to make anything unless I come up with something really quick and simple.  My mother-in-law and Bill's grandmother live out of state and I'd have to get them in the mail early next week.  But here's the beginning of something for them, since they unfortunately miss out on a lot of hugs from their grandkids...

That thumb is entirely too fat.

I'm not 100% satisfied with the hand (I hope you can tell it's a hand), but it was my first attempt.  Part of me wants to go more in an amigurumi direction with it instead of flat like this, but I just am not sure.  I really love the idea, so I'm just going to plan on working on it as a birthday present for my mother-in-law.  

The second project makes me a little giddy.  

I know it's looks like a bomb, but it's not.  It's one of my favorite things - I even have one tattooed on my body.  I can't wait to finish it.  

Speaking of tattoos... I have an idea for one that I want.  I have a tattoo on my back that faded really badly (I think it was just bad ink because my best friend got the same thing at the same time and hers faded also) so I want to cover it up.  It's a sun and moon, pretty circular in shape, so I want to cover it up with a ball of yarn and have a sock monkey leaning on it.  That would be pretty awesome, don't you think?

One more thing, simply because I am so out-of-my-mind excited by this:

I get to go on a cruise in January!!!!!!

Up until the past year when Bill's schedule made it impossible, I used to go play Pokeno (think of playing poker and bingo at the same time and that's what Pokeno is) with a group of ladies.  A few years ago, they started having a weekend retreat in January, and I was informed that one of them had announced that for this next January, she was paying for everyone to go on a cruise for the retreat.  I know... crazy!  I figured at first that I wouldn't be included because I don't get to play anymore, but they told me they wanted me to go too.  If I could convince my husband to let me run away for a week.  And let me tell you, it's been a long, drawn-out process of begging and bargaining.  I think I've been working on him for two months now.  This week was the deadline to let her know if I could go, so I brought out the big guns.  He's had his eye on getting a camper for years, so I told him if he'd let me go on this cruise that we could put our tax refund towards a down payment next year for a small camper.  He told me that he always intended to let me go, he just was going to surprise me at the last moment.  I have to line up a lot of help for him, but I've had offers from a few people to keep the girls for him when he needs it, even from my brother-in-law (who is also  going to be left all alone then because my sister is going, too!).  I've never been on a cruise, so I'm just dying over here.  A 7 day cruise and I don't even have to pay for it.  Cozumel... Grand Cayman... Jamaica...  all those gorgeous blue-green places.  A week away from work, a week of being Jennifer and not "MOMMA!!"  (which I'll miss within 24 hours, I know this, but it sounds good after a night where my kids emptied all the toothpaste into their bathwater), a week of hanging out with my sister and one of my good friends (among the other ladies, of course...).  

Somebody pinch me.

They say it's your birthday... na na na na na

Not you, silly.  Well, I guess it could be you.  So, Happy Birthday to you if it is.  But I'm talking about this little person here:

Want to know how old she is?

Despite the cake fiasco over the weekend, I managed to overcome my baking disability and crank out some of these to send to Mother's Day Out with her today...

Strawberry cupcakes, cream cheese icing and sprinkles!  Yummy.

And, by giving up precious hours of sleep, I managed to complete what she had asked me to make her for her birthday.  Seriously, I went to bed at 1am this morning and I get up at 4:30am for work.  I'm just a teeny, tiny bit exhausted today.

Why Wonder Woman?  I have no idea.

As you can tell, the stripes on her boots gave me trouble and by that time, I just didn't care anymore.  I had spent half an hour trying to embroider stars on her hot pants and was ready to stage a tragic accident of the Invisible Plane by that point.  Notice no stars on the pants.  Isabelle does not care.  Isabelle really has no clue who Wonder Woman even is.  She just thought that it looked cool.  

There will be more birthday goodness later on... she has a birthday party at the frozen yogurt place on Saturday.  Kids are actually coming this year.  I'm seriously unprepared. 

Adventures in Cake

Somehow or another, I ended up with the task of making my mother's birthday cake this year.  She requested a strawberry cake and I got all excited because I have a ton of fresh strawberries.  And instead of buying a strawberry cake mix and a tub of frosting.... I went in search of a recipe so I could use those fresh strawberries.

Had anyone else known this, I would like to think they would have stopped me there.  I am not very gifted in the kitchen.  There are only a handful of things that I can make without a recipe.  It's probably a miracle my kids get fed at all.  In fact, just the other day, as they were packing their little backpacks to run away from home, they told me my food was disgusting (my husband assures me it's not).  That's OK - I can't expect to be talented in all areas of life.  But I'm especially a menace when it comes to making cakes, especially if I decide to do more than just bake a mix and top it with a tub of frosting.  Let me show you....

This is my nephew's birthday cake from a few years ago.  The recipe was called "Marbled Love Cake" and had cream cheese marbled through it.  As you can tell, it didn't marble so much as it oozed.  Tasted like heaven though.  Caramelized cream cheese is the stuff, let me tell you.

This is Olivia's birthday cake from her last birthday.  It probably would have been OK had it not been about 100 degrees outside.  In October.  The icing melted, sending mini-cupcake balloons floating away off of the cake.  Everyone said it tasted fine, but I didn't eat it.  I'm not a big cake fan and have to be in the mood for it.  This did nothing to put me in the mood.

So, as you can see, I should not be allowed to get creative with cakes.

But I am.

I found a recipe that looked really yummy and baked the cakes, which turned out fine.  I mixed up the icing recipe... following it to the letter.... and after the cakes were cooled, I began icing the cake.  It was kind of runny, but at first it looked OK and I kind of liked the drippy effect that was going on at first.

But it didn't stop.

Not so pretty anymore

Oh, wait.... it gets worse...

It's like a cake sitting in a pool of Pepto

I kinda panicked at this point.  Not only did it look like puke, it was not going to hold up to being transported to my parents' house.  I posted a picture on facebook, and after being congratulated by a friend for having the ugliest cake ever, another friend suggested making cake balls out of it.  I happened to have two bags of chocolate chips in the pantry, so I thought... I can do this.

So I did.

Still not very pretty, but a vast improvement

I just smooshed up the cake and some of the icing, made 24 balls (which looked like raw meatballs) and after chilling them for a few hours, I dipped them in melted chocolate chips (which is not as easy to work with as chocolate bark, trust me).  They tasted like chocolate covered strawberries.  Yummy.

Happy Birthday, Momma!  

Oh... and on a side note semi-related...

I had to make one of these chicken egg cozies that were featured on tangled happy. 

My kids saw it this morning for the first time.  The first words I heard were "Look!  It's Gramma's birthday hat!"  I really wish I had taken it to get a picture of it on her head.  I think if I don't find the time to make Izzy a birthday hat that I should put a chin strap on the chicken and make her wear it to her party Saturday.  And she'd wear it too. 

This is what my kids were thinking of...  Pattern here

Easter dresses

Hooray for sunshine!  Or at least lack of rain... it was kind of overcast, but I got pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses.  Good thing I did it today, because they are so hyper right now that they'll probably have bruises all over from bouncing off of the walls.  Heaven help me.

The fabric was from my excursion with my sister to Marshall Dry Goods a while back.  They are tie-dyed quilting cotton and I'll be honest... I had several moments where I just wasn't sure it was the right choice.  But now that the dresses are complete and after seeing the girls in them, I am loving it.  The green sashes were actually once a fitted sheet.  I was afraid it would be too much, but I really think it makes the outfits.

I used the pattern that I drafted for Zoe's Birdcage dress.  I forgot that I had already included seam allowances and added them, but they aren't too big. 

I had considered making them reversible, figuring they'd fight over the pink dresses, but I changed my mind. 

I let the girls pick out who got which color. 

I think they picked the right ones for each of them.

And it was purely by chance that the pack of headbands I bought happened to have three that went perfectly with each dress.

And, just in case you thought I exaggerate my kids' antics...

Now I must go try to salvage my mother's birthday cake.  I can sew, I can crochet, but I am dangerous in the kitchen. 

Finishing touches

I remembered today that the girls don't really have any shoes for their Easter dresses.  I didn't want to go out and spend a lot of money on some fancy shoes and I wanted something fun that they could wear later on.  I had started making daisies for headbands, so I just kept on making daisies until I had enough to make this for each girl:



I'm just chomping at the bit to get the girls dressed up for pictures.  Maybe tomorrow if the sun is shining. Please, let the sun be shining...

I was very excited to use the nice glue gun that actually shoots glue out of the tip instead of backing up like the evil glue gun.  That is, until I was reminded why they are called HOT glue guns.  I wasn't sure if I was peeling glue or skin off the tip of my pointer finger.  Owie.  It's definitely going to blister.  Oh well, it's a miracle I even have fingerprints at this point in the game.  ;)

We're still awaiting the main Easter gift for the girls.  I found a great deal on Pillow Pets on Zulilly a few weeks back and ordered them.  The girls have been begging for one since before Christmas, but I kept thinking they need neither a pillow nor a stuffed animal.  Isabelle has gotten better lately, but the child used to drag her pillow around the house like a security blanket.  I remember a raccoon pillowcase I had as a kid, though, and I know they'll love these things like I loved my raccoon pillow, so I gave in.  Thing is, Zulilly is sloooooooooow.  I don't quite understand why they would have the companies ship to them and then they ship to me instead of just having the company ship to me, but that's how they do it and it can take weeks.  I knew this because I had ordered from them before, but I had my fingers crossed that it would make it in time.  They're supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  Talk about close...

Hopefully I'll have dress pictures tomorrow, but if not, have a blessed and Happy Easter!

"Momma, I want THAT for my birthday"

I hear this practically every day, even when no one has a birthday coming up.  It's why I have Olivia trained to fast forward through commercials.  Of course, a few toy commercials slip in and the girls think they have  to have whatever it is, but usually it's forgotten before SpongeBob is over.

Yesterday I was looking at some photos on Crafty is Cool's facebook to find something I wanted to show my husband, when Isabelle spied her Wonder Woman amigurumi.  She declared her need for me to make it for her birthday right away.  And since I've been wanting to find the time/good reason to make this exact thing, I'm all over it.  To be honest, I'm not even sure she cares that it's Wonder Woman... she did ask for a pink skirt on it, after all... I think she just wants a crocheted doll.  But I love Wonder Woman and I'm pretty stoked.

I'm hoping for an hour or two of sunshine soon so I can get some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses.  I am trying to get some flowers made up for headbands... like the ones on the finished Easter baskets.  I just have so many projects going on at once that I can't seem to focus. 

And so that this post isn't without a picture, I'll just leave you with the inspiration of it in her really ugly day-glo Jughead-esque crown...

Seriously, what was I thinking with those colors?

I hate glue guns

The Easter baskets are officially finished.  I don't know how to adequately express how much I love these things. 



Originally I was going to make some felt roses to put on them, but a friend of mine suggested a daisy from the center of a poncho she was making for her daughters.  I loved the idea (daisies are my favorite flower after all), but that flower was a bit too big and I didn't want to tax my brain to figure out how to shrink it.  I think the basic technique of the flower came from something I've done before, but I can't really remember where.  The curls for leaves were from here.



I thought trying to sew the flowers and leaves onto the super bulky yarn would be a pain, so I dug the glue gun out of the closet.  I needed a new stick, but... of course... all I could find were mini sticks that go to my evil glue gun that hates me.  It took me about 3 times as long as it should have to glue those puppies on because of that stupid gun.  I don't know why I haven't thrown that thing away yet.  I'm sure I'll stumble across the regular glue sticks tomorrow now that I don't need them anymore and forget to put them with the good glue gun and go through this all over again at a later date. 



Now that I have that finished, I have two projects to make for friends... one of which is long overdue.  Not that she really gave me any kind of time limit, I just feel bad that it has taken me months to do it.  I finally looked to see when Mother's Day is and realized that I need to get that in the works soon also.  And, on top of that, another friend wants me to make her a corset top with her brother-in-law's band's logo on it to wear to their shows.  And let me just tell you that no matter how I go about it, this logo will be the death of me.  Seriously... I don't know how to do it simpler than stenciling it and that's going to be some seriously tedious time with the Xacto.  It'll be a while before I get to it and maybe I'll be crazy enough by then to think I can do it.  =)

The Last Minute Basket

Last year, I made fabric Easter baskets for the girls.  The intention was to have something special they'd use forever.  But they turned out much, much, MUCH too big to be really practical.  And I kinda have fallen out of love with the color scheme.  And somehow some fabric scraps and my in-progress Babette blanket seem to have taken up residence in them.  I could have just taken the stuff out of them for a few days to use them, but I just really wanted to make them something else.  I had seen a few things that I had considered making that would work or could be adapted to work, but nothing that I really was happy with.

So I just sat down and made it up using bits and pieces I've learned in all my adventures crocheting.



It only took me about 2 hours from start to finish, so I thought it would be something fun to share for anyone who was thinking about crocheting an Easter basket, but had procrastinated.  I made all three baskets for my girls in under 24 hours.  I used super bulky weight yarn (on the label of most brands is a picture of a skein of yarn with a number on it... you're looking for a 6), which worked great for two reasons:  It worked up super fast and it makes the basket a little bit stiffer than if I had used worsted weight or even bulky.  And nobody wants a floppy basket.


Yes, those are preschool scissors.  Shush.

Supplies:

• 1 skein super bulky weight yarn (approx. 81 yards) *
• N hook **
• Yarn needle

*  I only needed one skein per basket, but depending on your personal tension as a crocheter, you might need more.  Plus, the yardage on a skein of yarn tends to be approximate.  I used Lion Brand Hometown USA and used almost every inch of it. 
**  If you generally crochet pretty loose, you may want to go down a size.  You need your stitches to be tight to avoid having a really floppy basket.

Row 1)  6 sc in a magic ring and join with sl st in first sc OR ch 4 and join in the 4th ch from hook and 6 sc in the loop and join with sl st in first sc  (6sc)

Row 2)  ch 1, 2 sc in each sc around, join in first sc with sl st (12 sc)

Row 3) ch 1, *sc, 2 sc in next sc*  repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (18 sc)

Row 4) ch 1, *sc x 2, 2 sc in next*  repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (24 sc)

Row 5)  ch 1, *sc x 3, 2 sc in next*  repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (30 sc)

Row 6)  ch 1, *sc x 4, 2 sc in next* repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (36 sc)

Row 7)  ch 1, *sc x 5, 2 sc in next* repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (42 sc)

Row 8)  ch 1, *sc x 6, 2 sc in next* repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (48 sc)



Row 9)  ch 1, sl st in BACK LOOPS ONLY around, join in first sl st with sl st (48 sl st) (this puts a more definite break between the base and the sides)



Now we will begin the sides of the basket.

Row 10)  ch 3, 2 dc in same stitch, skip 2, *3 dc in same stitch, skip 2* repeat around, join in the top of the ch 3 with sl st (16 dc clusters)



Row 11) sl st to the space between the first and second dc cluster in previous row, ch 3, 2 dc in the sp, *3 dc in next dc cluster space* repeat around, join in the top of the ch 3 with sl st (16 dc clusters)



Row 12 -13)  Repeat row 11

Row 14)  ch 1, * sc 2, sc in space between dc clusters*  repeat around, join in first sc with sl st (48 sc)

Handle)  ch 1, sc 2, ch1 and turn - repeat until you reach your desired length or are close to running out of yarn.  Attach handle to the other side by either finishing off and sewing it on or you can slip stitch into the stitches where you want it attached.  I don't know how to really explain this, so if you know what I'm talking about, great, if not... it's just as easy to sew it on.



Weave in your tails, stuff with Easter grass (or green tissue paper... I prefer that myself) and candy and eggs!

I have plans to embellish these a little with probably some felt roses and I need to put name tags on them because Iz and Zo need to take theirs to school Wednesday for their school egg hunt.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

I needed a break from things I had to do, so I did something that I've been wanting to do for a while.  You may or may not remember me mentioning my awe at the Mega Doily.  I seriously want to do that one day.  But I've never made a doily at all.  I figured they would be really tedious and time consuming.  However, I decided if I was going to keep dreaming about making a gargantuan doily, I should probably attempt to make a doily.  I had some white bulky boucle yarn and decided to make a Big Doily.  A far cry from a Mega Doily, but the original pattern was supposed to turn out 8 1/2 inches wide and mine is about 24 inches (and that's only 14 of the 15 rounds... I ran out of yarn)

So here it is... my Big Doily:



I am not sure what to do with it now.  Maybe some wall art?  Or figure out how to turn it into the center of a blanket?  It's really soft and would make a nice blanket if it were bigger.

And you know what?  It wasn't tedious or all that time-consuming.  I actually really enjoyed it.  It took me 3 days... a little bit here and there as the girls allowed.  I didn't work on it at night at all.

I guess that's enough amusement for now.  I need to get back to work.  Birthday party invitations must be done before Monday, two of the Easter dresses need to be finished, and I haven't finished Izzy's birthday present. 

One of those nights...

When I first had Olivia, my boss and I had this conversation where she told me I was like her - not the stay at home kind of mom.  That we do our best when we just have those few hours a day to take advantage of time spent with the kids.  Some days I think she's right and then I have thought many times that she put that idea in my head simply because she didn't want me to entertain the idea of quitting my job.  =)  There is a big part of me that would love to stay home with the kids.  My husband and I work crazy shifts in order to maximize the time I have with the kids.  Unfortunately, we have yet to figure out a way to actually let go of my paycheck and still be able to pay bills and feed ourselves.  For some reason, my husband refuses to work two jobs so I can work none.  ;)

I realize that I have a very idyllic image in my head of how it would be if I were home.  We'd get up and have a nice breakfast, go to story time at the library, spend time playing at the park, I would have time to keep the house clean and make a wonderful dinner and end the evening curled up with a book.  I'd have time to craft my little heart out.  Play dates and all kinds of fun, fantastic things.  I know it wouldn't actually be that perfect... I know too many stay at home moms to really think that. 

But I really think it has to be better.  I think I get this concentrated blast of insanity for 4 hours a day that leave me too exhausted and mentally drained to do much more than is necessary to maintain a home that won't get condemned.  I have good kids, I know I do.  They rarely get in trouble at school and everyone loves them to pieces.  They just can't keep it all in 24 hours a day though and when I pick them up it's like they unravel into a whirlwind of whining, screaming, and chaos. I fix at least 2 different meals a night, eat mine cold and throw away 90% of what the girls were supposed to eat.  We argue over homework and how little girls can't go outside without shirts and who left the half eaten strawberry in the floor and how many times do you really have to change clothes in a 2 hour time frame.  And if my vocal cords aren't too worn out from yelling to be heard above the girls' wrestling matches, I will find the shortest book I can to speed read.  Then I try to squeeze in some dishes and laundry and make sure a path is cleared to the exits in case of fire.  And since I watch very little TV and can't sit still for very long without something to do, I stay up entirely too late considering that I have to get up at 4:30am, making things for these insane little demons that I really and truly adore and think are the most amazing little people on earth and wish I could be with day in and day out... even after a night like this.

What to do... what to do...

Over the weekend, I managed to sew up all three of the girls' Easter dresses (minus the hems... although I did a good job estimating the length anyway).  I had already cut out the fabric earlier in the week, and it was a good thing, too.  A friend of  mine remembered an outfit I made a year ago for Isabelle's 4th birthday and asked if I could make something like it for her niece's birthday.  I came up with a really exciting idea, and wanted to scrap my Easter dress plans (again), BUT the fabric was already cut!  I actually think this new idea was why I was motivated to get the Easter dresses put together so quickly over the weekend - I want to make this new dress, but I won't allow myself until all my other projects are out of the way.  Self-discipline is such a nuisance.

Today, I was having the girls try the dresses on so I could sew the buttons on the straps and see where to hem them (I made them all the same length - the older two are fine to just get hemmed as is, but poor Zoe's losing about 5 inches off her dress.  Short little bug).  I looked at each girl and just felt disappointed.  I told myself to go simple but the dresses are so PLAIN.  Ugh.  Then I had a brain storm.  Bill, for some strange reason, bought me a sun hat over the weekend and it has a long green giraffe printed tie on it.  I told Izzy to pull it out of the hat and I tied it around her waist.  Voila!  We just need a simple little sash and the dress will be perfect.  Not a green giraffe printed sash (why green giraffe print?  I'm assuming he had no other option...).  I racked my brain a little more.  The dresses are three different colors - purple, hot pink, and a lighter pink.  I looked in my room, and on the top of my pile of things I won't throw away because I think I might possibly upcycle it, is the king sized green fitted sheet that I used before the bunk beds came to live with us.  I liked it, but I thought maybe it was too much.  So I sent this to my sister:



She says to go for it.

So I'm gonna.

I have a thing lately for spring green and bright flower colors.  You'll see when I make this other dress that I'm dying to make.

I also made my Momma some crocheted Mary Jane slippers for her birthday.  I don't have a picture because they look weird not on a foot and my feet are bigger than my mom's so I don't want to stretch them out.  I started out using wool yarn, because it was the nicest yarn I have and I had to frog Zoe's stocking for it (I don't feel bad about it - I had lost all interest in it.... I don't think I'm much of a knitter).  But I was afraid of her washing them and felting them.  So (hiding my face in shame) I bought yarn.  I got some cotton yarn instead.  I just wanted something nicer for my Mom than acrylic yarn.  =(  I really did need it... it couldn't wait until after Easter either, since her birthday is the day before Easter. 

I'm such a loser.  ;)  LOL

Should have cleaned instead...

I'm not having the best of crafty days over here.  After the girls went to bed, I grabbed my sewing stuff and set out to put button holes on the pinafore I made over the weekend.  They're 3/4 inch buttons (according to the package - heaven forbid I should measure something)... yet I had to force them into my 1 inch button holes, and those puppies are not going to come back out.  Good thing the buttons don't have to really be functional.  I let Isabelle pick out the buttons and she picked some pink daisy-looking flowers that were a pain in the backside to sew on... my thread kept getting caught on the petals.  I swore.  A lot.  But at least that's done.

The dress I've been working on is another story.  My friend wants a bandana-style dress.  Basically just two rectangles of fabric sewn together with a tie at the neck.  How hard can that be?  Well, when I'm involved, it apparently becomes rocket science.  I'm afraid it will look a little mu-mu-ish, and don't want it to look really childish, so I keep trying different things to make it look grown up and chic and so far all I have a wad of fabric that I threw across the room in frustration.  I need to just back it up and go back to square one, go simple and leave it at that.  I mean, she asked for a bandana dress, not a prom dress.  It's like the girls' Easter dresses.... I've had no less than 6 different incarnations of them in my head and even though I'm determined to go simple, I just keep having all these ideas pop into my head to embellish on them.  No, Jennifer... I don't care if your friend will let you go play with her embroidery machine, you ARE NOT putting bunnies on the dress, even if Isabelle has insisted on them. 

And, you know, my plate is full of things I need to get done in the next two weeks.  Like, really full.  Easter dresses and presents for my mom and Isabelle, this hell-dress, birthday party stuff...  I only have so much time to devote to it between work and the kids and cleaning (which was sorely neglected today, all for two buttons...)  But I just agreed to make a dress for another friend.  Because I'm insane.

I honestly don't remember the last time I was bored.

Want to see what I've done with some of the paint chips?



I'm loving it.  Just have to make about 14 more. 

Yes, definitely insane.

I'm a thief!

Not really, but that's kind of how I felt walking out of Lowes with a big stack of paint chips.  I'm not planning on painting any time soon.  I'm planning a party!

Isabelle's turning 5 later in the month and she wants a rainbow party.  I have been brainstorming invitation ideas and I kept thinking about paint chips.  And where is there a rainbow of colors just for the picking?  The paint aisle. 



Some of these are almost postcard size and one solid color... the perfect background.  It's just crazy.  My brain is still storming, but I'm seeing rainbows and clouds and possibly suns. 

Like I really need to hand-make invitations.  I just can't help myself.

I love mohawk hats but...

... I think I'm getting a little burnt out on them.  Of course, it's getting warm here, so hats are just not even on my mind.  I'm tired of sock monkey hats, also.  I like to do new things, so it's hard for me to make the same thing over and over.  Luckily, each of the mohawk hats are a little different.  Once I get past making the beanie part of it, I'm fine.  It's just taking me forever to make a basic beanie.

Bill's cousin is expecting her first child later this month (on Miss Iz's birthday, in fact) and I had asked her mother for a suggestion for a baby gift to make.  She suggested father & son mohawk hats in their favorite sports team's colors and maybe something else for mom - but her mom didn't think she'd wear a mohawk hat.  Understandable.  I love them, but I'm not sure I'd actually wear one.  It's taken me the better part of the past month to finish up the gifts.  I finally added the finishing touches last night. 



The Daddy-to-be is a huge Philly Fliers fan.  I cut the logo out of felt and added it to one side of the hat.  I didn't frizz out the yarn like I normally do, just separated the different strands for a kinky, curly look.  For the Mommy-to-be, I went super simple - partly because I felt like I really needed to get this stuff in the mail soon.  The baby might be due late April, but that doesn't really mean much.  She could have it tomorrow.  I just made a black and orange flower and put it on a headband.  She can rock the colors in a more reserved manor.  She's always struck me as a more reserved person.  I could be wrong - I've only met her a couple of times.  Here's a closer look...



They're all boxed up now for me to send out tomorrow.  I have one more project hanging over my head that I need to accomplish before I get started on a mad rush of Easter and birthday sewing.  My mom's birthday, Easter, and Iz's birthday are all in a 4 day window and I haven't done anything but wash the Easter dress fabric.  I have no clue what to make my mother (probably something crocheted so I can work on it before the girls go to bed - unlike my sewing) and I'm really not sure what to make Izzy for her birthday (can't work on that during the day for obvious reasons).  But first I need to get my friend's "hankie dress" made.  I have it all worked out in my head now and just need to make it happen.  I can do this.  =)