Gettin' my scrap on ...

Back in February, I got to spend a whole weekend (Thursday-Sunday) scrapbooking with some of my very favorite people!  We have been scrapbooking together since I was pregnant with Claire.  I think our very first weekend "retreat" was in Gatlinburg the week before I found out if Claire was a boy/girl (Nov. 2005).  We have made a lot of memories together ... literally.

 

Here are some pictures of everyone hard at work. 

 

 

Claire did all of her "scrapbooking" on the computer.  She had a lot easier time packing up than the rest of us!

 

 

I worked on 3 different projects while I was there.

 

#1: a scrapbook about Will's 2011 trip to Cape Town, South Africa. 

 

I finished the entire book on Thursday afternoon/night.  It still needs a few titles and some journaling from Will, but otherwise, IT IS DONE.  I haven't said that about a scrapbook in a long time!

 

I used a Creative Memories Picfolio album.  I highly recommend this if you want to finish an album quickly, but you are somewhat limited in the number of photos you can use.  (I think they are expandable now ... I bought mine back in 2007 ... it's vintage!)

 

 

#2: Claire's baby book.

 

This is a book about my pregnancy with Claire thru her first year of life.  Yes, I know she is ALMOST 7, but I've been busy since 2006!  Here are a few pages from her book that I just love!

 

I worked on Claire's book all day Friday and Saturday and I made it to 8 months (and Christmas).  So I only have 4 more months to go!

 

#3: David's baby book.

 

I know, he is 4.  But I have done a little bit in his book. 

 

Like the title page ... 

 

 

Ultrasound photos ...

 

And pictures of his nursery.

 

I worked on David's book on Sunday morning.  I was missing a few pictures I thought I had already ordered so I spent the majority of time organizing the pictures from his entire first year and separating them out by page and making a list of pictures I was missing that I needed to print.

 

Luke's baby book got no attention at all.  Sniff, sniff.  I have purchased supplies for his album and printed pictures so I am headed in the right direction!

 

Now I just need about 3-4 more of these weekends away to get these baby books finished up!  Ha!

Girls' Night Out: A Painting Party

The girls in our LifeGroup had a little painting party last Sunday night.  We had 19 girls there.  It was such a fun night and hopefully, everyone got to make some new friends.

 

Please pardon our terrible tees, which were our painting smocks.

 

We all painted crosses and the art "teacher" didn't give us much guidance.  I wanted some step-by-step instructions.  I am not very creative on a blank canvas.

 

All the girls are hard at work!

 

Lots of paint colors to choose from.

 

Here are the finished products!

 

Kimberley R., Laura, Kimberly C., Heather C. and Melinda

 

Ashley J., Amy, Ellie, Susan G., Ashley S., and Rebecca

 

Cheri, Kelli, Charlotte & Me

 

Cayce, Kerry, Heather P. and Jenny

 

Here is my finished product (the red) and my inspiration.  As I said, I needed a lot more instruction!  I can't just come up with this stuff on my own.

 

 

I had such a fun time with all these girls!  I can't wait for our next girls' night out!

I heart Valentine's Day

Claire is always super-sad that she doesn't get valentine's day card from her classmates each year.  You know, mainly since her classmates are me, myself and I.  Ha! 

 

This year, I actually got my act together early and put together 12 days of Valentine's Day treats for her.  So she gets a little treat each day.  I got the idea here.  (There is a link to a PDF document with all of the little sayings.)

 

"I love your BEAR HUGS!  They are so special"-Teddy Grahams

 

"Life is a circus with you around"-Animal crackers

 

"It's o-fish-al!  You're the best kid ever."-Goldfish crackers

 

"You color my world with happiness"-box of crayons

 

"Hope your day is Marvelous & Magnificent just like you"-bag of M&Ms

 

"I love you more than Chocolate ..." - any kind of chocolate candy

 

"You make my heart GLOW"-small flashlight, flashlight wand (party favor section @ Target), glow sticks/wand

 

"You make my life a little sweeter"-suckers or any kind of candy

 

"You're a great catch ..."-Swedish fish or Goldfish crackers

 

"You blow me away"-bubbles or balloons

 

"You're the apple of my eye"-apple juice, apple

 

"You're my treasure"-chocolate coins, change for piggy bank

 

{I think I spent about $12-$15 total for all of these little treats}

 

For David and Luke's classroom valentine's, I turned to Pinterest.

 

David's classmates will get these Star Wars cards with glow stick light-saber swords. 

 

Source: cinnaberry-suite.blogspot.com via Susan on Pinterest

 

 

Luke's classmates will get these cute jars of playdough.

Source: positivelysplendid.com via Susan on Pinterest

 

I also plan on making my favorite Valentine's Day cupcakes!

 

Source: iheart2stamp.com via Susan on Pinterest

 

Sewing Spree

 I went on a little sewing kick during Christmas.  I sure was nice to have Daddy home!!

 

I made these Christmas pajamas for the kids.  I accidentally purchased this aqua dot fabric online (for a real bargain) only to discover it was flannel instead of cotton.  So I saved it for PJ pants and had just enough to make 3 pairs.  (Well, not quite enough ... Luke got cuffs on his pants!)

 

I hand stitched the tree appliques on tees and ... voila: Pajamas.  (I am hoping to post a tutorial on the hand-stitched tees soon.  I have made several and they are really cute!)

 

I used this free pattern download for the pants.  It was a quick sew!

 

 

I also made 3 pairs of ruffle pants for Claire.  Two pairs were to match tops (formerly dresses) that she already had (see below). 

 

 

I love this cute Riley Blake snowman fabric!  She's had this pillowcase dress for 3 years now.

 

I also made 2 outfits for next fall/winter (and made my first knot/apron dress).

 

This outfit is for Christmas next year.  I need to shorten the straps a little.  They seemed too short when I was cutting them out so I made them a little longer.  Clearly, I should have just followed the pattern measurements!  I love these fun, non-traditional Christmas colors.

 

 

This is a knot top without the apron and the 3rd pair of ruffle pants I made.  Cute, cute!  I love this fabric so much!

 

 

The knot dress/top and ruffle pants came from Little Girls, Big Style book.  I highly recommend this book if you have little girls to sew for!  It has a ton of variations 4 basic patterns (2 tops, 2 bottoms).

 

I also made a pair of grey dot ruffles and matching tee for my niece for her birthday, but forgot to snap a picture before I gave it to her!

 

I have several other little projects in the works so I hope to be posting more finished projects soon!