Moms ROCK!!

Moms are a force of nature.  God has given mothers amazing capacities for patience, sleep deprivation, messes, whining, tantrums, and all the other things about children that fray our nerves.  The most staggering gift God blesses mothers with is the fierce, all-encompassing, mama bear LOVE that hits them like a ton of bricks when they hold their child for the first time.

I remember every detail of my three children's births.  I remember how they looked the first time I saw them...the first time I touched them.  The first time they looked into my eyes as if they knew immediately who I was...and I believe they did.  I am proud to be a mom, and though not every aspect is enjoyable, even the trials are worth it.  They are fun, loud, creative, crazy, smart, loving, and they definitely keep me on my toes!


Of course, celebrating anything always makes me want to make stuff, so in honor of Mother's Day, I decided it was time to try out a pattern I bought a few months ago but had been too chicken to try until now.  I bought the Sienna Dress pattern from Lil Blue Boo after following Ashley's amazing blog and seeing the super cool dresses she makes!  I love fun, funky, unique clothing for my kids, though due to the shortage of boy patterns, Miss Z gets most of the coolest stuff.

I started with a white 3T short-sleeved boys' tee from Wal-Mart.  I think it was five bucks.  We are big on guitars in our house, so I knew Z would dig it.  My computer and my printer are not on speaking terms, so I couldn't print out my pattern pieces...I had to just look at the pictures and wing it.  I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt!

I used some navy blue knit from one of my hubby's old work tees for the armholes, and the bottom 8 inches or so from another.  The great thing about using the bottom of the shirt for the skirt part is that the hem is already done!

Rock on!!!  Z loves her new dress and has already worn it twice in a row!  I can't wait to make some more!  What do you think?  :o)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!  YOU ROCK!!!!

Lil Blue Boo: Win A Custom Lil Blue Boo Dress!

If you have never checked out Ashley's blog, you better scoot on over there RIGHT NOW! She has amazing handmade dresses using upcycled shirts and her own silk-screened designs. Her blog is one of the reasons I am interested in sewing and refashioning! Check it out.....seriously..like RIGHT NOW!

Lil Blue Boo: Win A Custom Lil Blue Boo Dress!

Refashion-able

Allrighty then....it's about time for a crafty post on this crafty blog.  I have always been into reusing things.  I save ribbon and fabric scraps, just positive I'll use them in something one day...usually, I do use them....eventually.

There are so many awesome craft blogs out there in bloggyville...I LOVE reading them, being inspired by them, and learning new things from them!  In light of my husband's recent unemployment, I decided to try to refashion some of my kids' clothes in order to lengthen their shelf life.  The clothing, not the kids. :o)

Z  had this perfectly good 24-month black turtleneck onesie in her dresser.   It had become a bit short through the body, and Z (having just turned 3) has decided that "big girls don't wear shirts that snap."  I had seen a tutorial on Ruffles and Stuff and decided to try it out with this onesie.  I cut straight across just above the leg holes, then added two "skirts" made from some pink fabric I had left over from another project.  I love upcycling!  I ended up with this:

Cute, but it just needed a little somethin' somethin'.  So I added a fabric flower to one side at the waist.

Ta-daaaaa!  Z wore it the next day, but has now decided that it needs short sleeves...so I guess I'm not done with it yet.  Not bad for a beginning sew-er, huh?  ;)

Resurrection rolls

Ever heard of a Resurrection roll? Oh, oh, OH, they are YUMMY! We first tried these last year and I have made an executive decision that they are now part of our Easter traditions. All you need are some canned crescent rolls, about 1/2 cup butter or margarine (we use Country Crock light), large marshmallows, and some cinnamon.

Preheat your oven to 375.
Melt the butter over low heat, stirring in the cinnamon (as much as you want, I just threw some in.)
Unroll the crescents into triangles, press down to spread them out a little.
Cut 4 marshmallow in half so you have 8 smaller ones.

The marshmallow represents Jesus' body, which He gave for us.
Dip them into the melted butter mixture, which represents the oils and spices used to embalm him.
The crescent is the "tomb." Place the coated marshmallow near the flat end of the triangle and roll it up, pinching the edges. If you don't seal it well, the marshmallow will ooze out and go everywhere...no bueno.
Bake as directed.
Once baked, the "body" will be GONE, representing the empty tomb our precious Savior left behind! Cool, huh?
Drizzle any leftover butter mixture over the top and enjoy! If I were a spiffy cool blogger (instead of a newbie without foresight) I would have a delectable-looking picture for you to drool over...but, alas, we ate them all before it occurred to me to capture the moment.

If you make some of these, write a comment and let me know your kids' reactions to the tomb being "empty"!

A Girl Changes Everything

My first child is a boy. He is all boy, always has been. Legos, army men, light sabors, video games. He is not particularly sporty, which is fine with me, as that will hopefully result in fewer broken bones. He is artistic and LOVES to draw, writing and illustrating his own comic books. He is fun, imaginative, and easily distracted...I adore him. He'll be 11 this summer...sigh.

My second child is also a boy. He is a little sportier than his big bro, loves cars, helping his Daddy, and copying everything his older brother does. His birth story is pretty special, but that's a story for another time. He has the best laugh ever, and I couldn't imagine life without him.

I was perfectly comfortable with my boy-mom status. When we found out we were pregnant for the third time, I lived in a state of shock for about three months. S was in 2nd grade, and L had turned a year old a mere month or so prior to this discovery. Yikes! I had never wanted three of anything...THREE kids? How was I going to do that???

Of course, I got over all that mess....I started to think I could handle it..especially if it turned out to be another boy. I was never particularly girly growing up. I have an older brother, and I was perfectly content with running, jumping, climbing trees, playing with Hot Wheels, toy guns, legos, all of it. I had slid into the role of boy mom with ease.

UNTIL...

We went to our sonogram at 16 weeks with eagerness. I always enjoyed getting to see my babies, to know that they were healthy and safe. I fully expected to see a little somethin-somethin on the screen...but there was no somethin- somethin. A GIRL. What?? A girl? For me? What the heck was I going to do with a girl??? I already have all the boy stuff! I'm a BOY MOM, for crying out loud???

As you can see, I was quite unsure. My husband was ECSTATIC! We had already made the choice NOT to tell anyone what we were having..not even our parents. That was hilarious. Everyone kept trying to trick me into telling them. A few people were successful, I admit, but for the most part, nobody knew until the weekend before Z was born...10 days late.

She is amazing. She is all girl, always has been. She just turned 3 two weeks ago, and she gets more girly by the second. I did not cultivate that, it's just in her. I adore her, she fills my heart. She has also brought out the girly-ness in me that I didn't even know was there. I now like pink...I even wear it from time to time. Thanks to my little Z, I now have a small business making beautiful bows and clothing for children. She is my inspiration for so many of my projects. Thank you, Little Z, for helping me discover my inner girl.

Well, hello there, blogville!

Greetings! Welcome to my blog! I have recently begun expanding my little business to go beyond just hair accessories to include home decor and children's clothing. I must admit, it's intimidating. I want to grow this little business, yet I am terrified of getting in over my head and disappointing my customers. Balancing wifehood, motherhood, and teacherhood with profitable craftyhood is turning out to be tougher than I thought! Follow me on this journey and we'll see how it goes!