baby bear hat

In my experience, there is nothing sweeter than a baby with little animal ears on his hat.  I crocheted this baby bear hat for a little man who will be making his entrance into the world shortly.  Congratulations, Holly!  I can't wait to meet Hunter.

This was a no-pattern hat ... I like to crochet on the fly.  :)

ruffle tunic

Don't you love learning something new?  Last week I learned how to ruffle fabric using my Brother serger, and it sure beats pulling threads (thanks, Pinterest!).   Check out the tutorial at {lbg studio} if you want to learn, too.

I made this little top for one of my favorite baby friends using the Sweet Little Dress pattern by Leila & Ben.  I shortened the dress to a tunic, lengthened the sleeves to about 3/4 length, and added lots of playful ruffles.  It felt really good to pull the serger out again - I even changed the thread!

Hope you had a great weekend.  :)

art caddy

I sewed something!  One of Oscar's buddies had a birthday party this weekend, and making a gift was just the motivation I needed to dust off the sewing machine. I made a little take-along art caddy in hopes that it will be useful in keeping a 3-year-old busy and happy.

There are lots of variations of this project floating around the internet, and I used bits and pieces of many of them.  I've referenced my favorite versions at the bottom of this post.  I didn't follow a specific tutorial partially because I wanted to create something unique, but mostly because I am feeling too tired to try and follow written directions.  :)

Is it silly that I am proud of myself for including a zipper pocket?  I have known how to sew zippers for a long time now, but for some reason I tend to shy away from them.   Zippers are not scary!  I need to remember that.

When you open the caddy, you find crayons and markers on the left, and a paper pad and an extra pocket for goodies like stickers on the right.

The fabrics for this project came from Riley Blake's Wheels line.  For inspiration or instructions on a similar project, check out the following blogs:

Spledorfalls: composition caddy
Simply Modern Mom:  kaye's sketchbook caddy
Sutton Gract: art notebook
{lbg studio}:  art journal

And now, for a gratuitous cute baby photo:

Can you believe it has already been 7 weeks since Cora was born?  Time really flies.  While I can't say it has been super fun so far, I sure do love her.

butterflies

Happy new year!

I have not done any sewing or crafting since Christmas, but I wanted to stop by and say hi.  Want to see what Christmas Eve looks like in Santa Barbara?

I know.  Life is rough, right?   On Christmas Eve, we headed out to the local butterfly preserve to see the monarchs that migrate here every winter.  This year was the most impressive display I've seen yet.

Do you see the big brown clumps hanging from the trees below?  Those are butterfly clusters!

The pictures really don't do this place justice.  On cold days, the butterflies stay in their clusters for warmth, but on warm days (like the day we went), they break free.  Walking through the eucylyptus grove with thousands of butterflies flying above you is nothing short of spectacular.   This year they estimated about 40,000 monarchs in the preserve.

I took a little video, but you'll have to ignore the running commentary of the people around me.  :)

Oscar and Ruby loved the butterflies.  I don't think they really understood the clusters, but there were plenty of butterflies to watch fluttering by.

I hope you all had a merry Christmas, and that the new year is a very happy one!

his and hers wooden peg dolls

I assume you've all seen the adorable wooden doll projects at Lil Blue Boo?  (They are plastered all over pinterest.)

Back in November, Ashley posted her Box o' Princesses and Boyville projects, and they have been on my mind ever since.  Luckily my mom also wanted to make them, so we each painted a couple of sets while she visited.  I know I wouldn't have gotten around to making them without her motivation, so thanks, mom!

First up, the boys:

I expanded the boy's set a bit to include a few more characters.  If Ruby received eight dolls and Oscar only received four, he would not be pleased.   Even with equal sets, I am still anticipating a lot of stealing between them.

My favorite boy dolls are Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader (although Buzz and Woody are a very close second).   Oscar is borderline obsessed with Star Wars.  He's only seen Episode One (which pains Jared to watch), but he thinks anything Star Wars is just the greatest.

I sanded down toothpicks and painted them as light sabers.  They are super-glued to the dolls for safety, so hopefully Oscar isn't disappointed that they aren't functional.

On to the girls:

This set is the same group of princesses that Ashley made, but I tried to add my own flare to each of them.  My kids are young, so to avoid a choking hazard, I purchased bigger wood people (they are all 3 1/2 inches tall).  The larger sized dolls made it easier to add a few extra details.

My favorite ladies are Ariel, Tiana and Cinderella.  I used Martha Stewart glitter paint in silver to add sparkly scales to Ariel's fin.   Cinderella's dress was painted with Martha Stewart pearl finish paint in "aquarium" - it turned out so perfectly shimmery (I just love the MS line of craft paints!).  I didn't use any special paints for Tiana, but she sure has a fun dress.

I'm not going to lie, these dolls took a bit of time to paint.  It's not an easy project to churn out in one night!  But I sure am excited for Oscar and Ruby to open them on Christmas day.  Hopefully they will enjoy playing with them.  If so, it will give me an excuse to make more.  I'd love to add a doctor, fireman, ballerina ... peg people are fun!

Have you made any homemade gifts for Christmas this year?  I know it is only a week away, but I still have four projects on my list.  Yikes.

wood source:  I ordered my 3 1/2 inch peg people from Casey's Wood, and have always had a good experience with their products.  However, Ashley linked to a different shop, Woodworks Ltd., and they have slightly lower prices - I can't speak for the quality.

no-mess glittered ornaments

One of my personal Christmas traditions is that I like to make a few new ornaments for my tree each year.   They almost always involve glitter.  I was talking to my sister earlier today and she remarked that if she could find a way to work extra glitter into every season, it would make her life a little happier.  I agree completely - glitter makes me happy.

This year I still got the glitter I love without the accompanying mess.  These kid-friendly (i.e. non-breakable) ornaments are made with wood discs and glittered cardstock.  They are totally low-fuss, low-mess, high-sparkle.  You should be able to find all of the supplies at your basic craft store.

First I used a small amount of hot glue to adhere a ribbon loop to each wooden disc.  Then I glued my cut paper to on each side of the disc using Mod Podge.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the glittered circles and little shapes, but you could just as easily use a paper punch, or even cut them out by hand.

It wasn't long before I had a large set of glittery, festive new ornaments.

They really shine against the lights of the tree.

I also made a set of ornaments with my family's initials.  They found a home on our newly decorated mantel (which also features glittered trees, a holiday book wreath, and felt candy cane garland from crafts of Christmas past).

I hope you have had a very merry December so far!  We've been battling sickness at my house.  A week after Cora was born, my husband came down with shingles and then Oscar and Ruby both caught chicken pox (and yes, they were both vaccinated).  Talk about the worst transition period, ever.  I wouldn't have gotten through it without my mom being here, continually saving the day!   It looks like things are on the upswing now, though.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that this little sweetie remains chicken pox-free, would you?

happy thanksgiving!

Today I am thankful for my family, especially healthy babies, modern medicine, and my sister-in-law's delicious chocolate pie.

Speaking of babies ... remember how I just had one?  Without further ado, I'd like to introduce Cora Margaret:

Cora is such a peaceful, sweet baby.  We just love her!  I was so worried about Ruby (a.k.a. "the brute") using her muscles on the baby, but so far it is just hugs and kisses all around.   Oscar, of course, is smitten as well  (it probably helps that she looks just like him).

We had a few hiccups in the hospital, so it has taken me longer to get back to the computer.  Between needing to recover and the holidays coming up, posting is going to be really light around here for the foreseeable future.  But can you blame me?  We are all super busy snuggling Cora.

For Thanksgiving, I crocheted Cora a silly turkey drumstick hat:

Funny, right?  After seeing it on Pinterest, I just couldn't resist!   I made up the the pattern as I went along and didn't write it down, so I don't have instructions to share with you.   You might be able to find a crochet turkey leg pattern online, and just add it to a simple hat.  After the holiday, I think I might take the drumsticks off and add some teddy bear ears for a more useful everyday hat.

At first it seemed like Cora really liked it:

But then she started making sour faces at me:

One-week-olds are so fickle.  :)

In completely unrelated news ...

I have a Black Friday Deal to share with all you Silhouette fans.  Silhouette is having a great Black Friday sale where everything in the online store (except the CAMEO, subscriptions, download cards, and gift cards) is 30% off.  You can get an extra 10% off using the online code, JILL, for a total of 40% off!

Also, the CAMEO will not be found in the regular online store, but you can find it on the "secret" Black Friday Page.  The Cameo is not 30% off, and my extra code will not apply, but it will be nicely discounted. The Black Friday Cameos are expected to sell out fast.

All shapes will be 50% off.

The Black Friday sale starts at 12:01 a.m. (MST) on Friday, November 25th.  Codes will be valid through the 28th.

Happy shopping!

bringing home baby - she'll probably need something to wear

Unbelievably, the week has already arrived when we get to welcome our new baby - we'll meet her on Friday!  Some of my friends started asking about her "coming home" outfit, and I realized I didn't have anything planned.  Come to think of it, I have never planned a special coming home from the hospital outfit for my own kids.  I'm not super sentimental about that kind of stuff.  But this baby needed something, poor third child that she is.

First, I made her a really simple knot-top cap.  It is modeled after my favorite store-bought newborn cap that I bought for Oscar years ago.  I sketched out a simple template for you, which you can print out HERE.  You'll need to cut two pieces of stretchy knit fabric from the template, and then another rectangular piece for the border at the bottom.  I cut my border piece to 3 inches tall, and double the width of the bottom of the template piece.  I'm not going to go into detail how to piece it together, but Make It and Love It has a really great baby hat tutorial that should give you a pretty good idea.  Keep in mind that her hat brim folds up, but mine does not.

I also have basic instructions for a really easy baby hat from a t-shirt sleeve from my early sewing days - you can find it HERE.

Besides long sleepers, my favorite newborn clothes are the basic kimono-style snap shirts you can buy in packs.  I even did a tutorial a few years ago about how to dress one up with ric-rac and some pretty buttons (find it HERE). For this shirt, I simply added a lace trim around the shirt's opening - really easy, really fast.  This is actually the exact shirt that Oscar wore home from the hospital, and possibly Ruby, too (I don't actually remember what I put her in).

So there you have it, possibly the easiest coming home from the hospital outfit, ever.  Add a pair of leggings and some cute socks, and you're all set.

a very halloween birthday

I'm sure by now you are all sick of hearing about Halloween, but I had to share a few more photos of Oscar & Audrey's double birthday party.  My friend, Sonja, and I put so much work into it, but it was such a great time!  Both of the birthday kids were in Halloween heaven.

I wish I had taken more photos of the decorations!  Sonja's house looked awesome - she made several cute felt buntings, including the bats pictured above.  There were also decorated lanterns, lots of bat silhouettes, and a gigantic yarn spiderweb that covered an entire wall in her hallway.

I made a simple cake (vanilla with blackberry filling and chocolate frosting), and decorated the top with cardstock cutouts to look like a haunted house, or "house of spooks" as Oscar called it.  Sonja made yummy nutella mini cupcakes, decorated with the cupcake toppers.  Sonja's husband, Jake, cooked up a delicious dinner of pulled pork burritos with all the fixings, and we also had clementines dressed up as jack-o-lanterns, spooky mummy sugar cookies on a stick, cookie bones, and brownies with cute jack-o-lantern wrappers (there was no shortage of treats).

Since the kids were mostly 3-years an under, we kept the activities simple.  After handing out the treat bags Sonja and I made, we sent them on a mini trick-or-treat to the doors inside her house.  The kids received stickers, spider rings, a piece of candy, and a pumpkin-wrapped brownie.  Afterward, we sent them outside to break open a pinata to fill their bags with a few more treats.

We ended the evening with cake, of course.  After Audrey beat Oscar to the punch of blowing out the candles, we re-lit them at least five more times.  I hope they got all their wishes in.

You can find many of the ideas and tutorials from projects mentioned above linked on my Halloween Party Pinterest Board.

ruby's wonder woman costume

Hello! You'll find me over at Lil Blue Boo today, sharing a bit more about Ruby's Halloween costume.

If you aren't already keeping up on Ashley's story, you'll want to check out her posts on her recent battle with cancer.  I've always admired Ashley's work, but even more I admire her positive attitude and tenacity.  She is truly an inspiration, and it sounds like things are finally turning around for the better.  Hurray! 

Keep fighting, Ashley!  We love you.