good thing

that my dining room is turquoise
{surfer by behr}
and I had some fabric to cute up the CREEPY high chair that has already survived two kids...

because in 17 years Janey will never know that I threw together a teeny tiny, family party at the last minute. The. Last. Minute.
Nothing like her sisters' crazy, giant, over the top birthday extravaganzas.

no invites.
no decorations.
no ballons.
no favors.

just a crockpot full of Santa Fe Soup and
the people who love her the most..


All she will know is that she got the biggest cake
(thank you grocery store bakery)
and has the cutest first birthday picture.
*a little known third kid bonus:
mom's photo skillz improve, as does the quality of the camera.

Can you keep a secret? It was by far my favorite.
Simple. Peaceful. Meaningful.
About her.
Not us.
Loving simplicity these days.
Simply loving it.

{in the spirit of full disclosure and the full honesty of my sewing skills/ ADD levels...
the high chair cover?
totally fake.
temporary.
In my mind I can make a new, cute permanent one.
But in my reality?
HILARIOUS!!!!
It is just 1 yd. of fabric thrown over the creepiness and
secured in the back with lots and lots of clothespins.
remember...
simple.

but, if you are a sewing rockstar and fairly ADD free...
While you are at it you can totally make me one too.
Just saying.}

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The ides of March.

Shakespeare was wrong.

March 15th is a wonderful day.

It is the day three years ago that Lucy was born.
Today we has a simple St. Patrick's Day party for her.

Our little leprechaun.

She loved playing with all her cousins and being the center of attention.

The kids took home little buckets with monster shirts for the boys and initials for the girls.

What would a party be without cupcakes?
Especially if they are topped with Meg's frosting.
Try it. You will never use store bought frosting again.

Lulu, we love you so much!
You make us laugh every day.

Can't believe you are three years old!

Happy Birthday!

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Sort of handmade.

I would love to make each gift I give, but sometimes that just isn't realistic.  Some people aren't so much into handmade gifts and would just like a gift card.  (Yawn.)  Then there are boys... I am generally clueless on what to make for them.
My niece asked for art and craft supplies for her 4th birthday and I was happy to oblige.  Halley, my resident expert in all things four was my shopping assistant.  We headed out and found this sort of girlie-ish tool box (lets be honest, if a handyman came to your door with it wouldn't you question his fix-abilty skills?) But to make it over the top girlie I ribboned up the handle and put her name on it.
Then we filled it up with glitter, glue, paints, scissors, jeweled stickers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, googly eyes and buttons.  It was a huge hit and now I am thinking this would also be a great gift for a boy, sans the ribbons.  Since all of the schools supplies are on sale in abundance the grand total was less than $20.  Not too bad.  Halley has already asked for her own.

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New project.

A while back C at Little Bit Funky posted about this book.  Since that post she has become a sewing mastermind.  It is unreal what this girl can accomplish in a day, much less how crazy her sewing skills are considering she has been sewing for only a matter of months.  I knew I couldn't go another day without the book and I was just hoping that it would make me 1% the crafty, speedy sewer she is.  It did not disappoint.  The first project I made was the bamboo bag.  Easy peasy.  Super cute!  I am a dork and have a weird little system.  I pick one present a year and then customize it for each of my friend's birthdays.  It keeps me organized, keeps Lucy from having to go shopping, makes everything fair and helps me by planning ahead.  My friends aren't surprised when their gift rolls around, but at least nobody gets left out.  Last year my present was this sign.  I just made my last one and now the bamboo bag becomes this year's project.  I am looking forward to picking out fabric for each friend's personality.

Here is my first try.  I found this fun & funky vintage fabric for my friend Amy who is 5th grade teacher.  Her class focuses on American History and she is super cute and patriotic.  I also made a tissue cozy with this easy tutorial, a little wallet and an oilcloth key fob.  I also had a sweet Etsy seller make a car litter bag to match. 

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God Bless the U.S.A.

It has been a I heart America weekend.  I used this tutorial to make the apple t-shirts I got at Teer-get and cozy chenille into dresses for "Patriotic Day".  I don't always make one for Lucy too, but these are so easy to make and easy to throw on and I figured they can wear them for 4th of July also.  The chenille isn't the most fun to work with though.  It sheds like crazy.  It looked like I stuck a poodle in my washing machine and I was sneezing constantly.  Then on the first stitch my serger decided to go on strike.  I had to rethread it all by myself for the first time.  Scary.  All and all they took two hours to finish instead of just one.  Not too bad.  My husband was watching the Lakers win while I was sewing.  I love the playoffs... lots and lots of extra craft time for me.  I have also been making some fun things for a birthday girl who reads my blog so I can't post them yet.  She is like an aunt to my girls and the most amazing teacher.  She will be teaching at the school Halley is going to next year and we are so excited to get to see her all of the time.  I found the most amazing fabric (think United States retro) and am loving what I am making her.  I will post them after her birthday party.  We are having a girls night out at the Melting Pot to celebrate her.  I can't wait for my fondue forks!

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