Bulletin Boards Gallore

Last week when I was in Seattle I was telling my niece Alexis about the bulletin board I made for my kitchen and she said she wanted one for her room. Well, then Noah and Cameron wanted one too. So we made 3 for the kids!

They turned out really nice. I finished the corner edges with grossgrain ribbon. Alexis was shocked at how easy it was to do.

This one was for Alexis:


Hers is the biggest… 24″ x 36″ since she had the most wall space.

 This one was for Noah:

And this one was for Cameron:
His room is sports-themed if you can’t guess!

They were all super cute but I decided that I wanted to make some cute embellishment for Alexis’s board. My sister Christie’s friend Carrie told her about a melted ribbon flower project, so I experimented with one of those.

Came out pretty nice!

Then I made some smaller ones too and added them all to the board.
I didn’t notice the pic was blurry when I took it, sorry! My pics are usually not this shoddy!
You can see the big one at the top and the little ones at the bottom.

A (still blurry) close up:

Alexis was so excited about the flowers and her board…they really looked awesome. Next time I go, I will take a better picture! I will try to post a tutorial soon on how to make the flowers.
Until later, happy crafting!

Ava’s Birth Announcement

I thought this was pretty neat for a birth announcement…custom candy wrappers. My sister ordered them online.

I would have to make something like this of course…I couldn’t pay someone to do it. :)

Ava is a whole 2 months old now and so cute!

Berry Pickin’ Saturday

My first day in Seattle with the family was super fun but busy! We decided to go berry picking since they just opened the U-pick fields because the weather was nice and they berries were finally ripe.
I found this beautiful butterfly in the backyard before we left. What a pretty day!

Raspberry picking…

What a pretty and lush field!
My nephew Noah being choosy
My honerary nephew Cameron showing off his loot with his toothless grin :)
My adorable niece Hannah wanted to carry her own basket
Hmm…maybe this way is better.
Hannah sampling berries with her dad
Intrigued by this stick

Isn’t that outfit she is wearing adorable? I made the skirt and I found that pink sweater on clearance for $1.50!

A pretty creek behind the raspberry fields
Other side of the creek

Now on to the blueberry field…

Making sure we pick the blue ones not the green ones!
Look how big some of these blueberries are!
Yum!
The boys loading up on berries
View of the Tolt river on the way home

Lunch time at Costco! I love the Costco in Issaquah where they live because the food court is outside rather than inside. It is always packed too!

Mmmm…Costco pizza is delicious!

Later back at the house the kids decide to jump on the trampoline and play with water balloons. Gotta love the action setting on the camera!

Notice Hannah’s feet off the ground :)
My niece Alexis chasing her brother
Trampoline + Waterballoons = fun

My new baby niece Ava just chilled inside…not sure what that face was about! But I am sure she was enjoying the burp bloth I made her.

More adventures to come!

WEEKEND WEDDING

I meant to post something sooner but last week I went back to my hometown (New Orleans) for my cousin Ryan’s wedding. I had a great time and everything was beautiful! While I was there, I came across a few cool things that I wanted to share.
 
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Kiki’s Birthday Dress

So I am not a clothes sewer…I find most clothing directions tedious and I am especially not a big fan of sewing curves. It also has something to do with the fact that I don’t really follow patterns (or directions for that matter) so I have a hard time winging it, like I do for other more crafty projects.

The Simple Skirt that I made my little sister Kiki the other day was really the only true piece of clothing I have done but it was super easy and I totally don’t mind making one of those again. I have had some projects in mind for a few days now and I was eager to start one up but last night Kiki was looking through my fabric and then looking at me with puppy dog eyes asking me to sew her a dress…an actual dress. So I gave in…I figured that I would not get any peace until I did plus today is her birthday so I knew I was going to feel bad if I told her no.

So I looked on the internet and decided on something similar to the Jumper Dress with Spagetti Straps at To Sew With Love. I took Kiki’s measurements, constructed the pattern in my head, and then just whipped it up in about an hour and a half. And I made plenty of goofs…such as not adding seam allowances on the bodice part…duh! Luckily I was able to fudge it and hid my mistake a bit. But all in all, I think my first dress came out pretty well.

Kiki modeling her dress last night.

Family outing for Kiki’s 9th birthday.

Other than the mess up with the seam allowance, I don’t think I will make many changes to it for next time. This project was actually enjoyable because it didn’t take me too long and it was pretty simple. In the sewing world, simple is good!

Now she wants me to make another dress, but this time it is more complex…one with a halter top and a skirt that starts at her waist. I have toiled on it for about 3 hours now but I don’t think I am going to get an acceptable final product out of it. The top is a little tight, I am still figuring out how I want to attach the straps, and I sewed the skirt on inside out…UGH. The problem probably stems from the fact I have just been winging it by looking off her current halter top shirt and not acutally using a pattern as most (and smarter) people do. I’m giving up tonight and we’ll see what happens tomorrow…we may just stop by the mall instead and pick up something cute! :)

Until then, happy sewing!