Bustle Backpack

I finally scratched one more thing off of my "Really Want To Make" list!

The Bustle Backpack

This was simple to make and came out beautifully!

I made this for our little cousin who just celebrated her first birthday this past weekend.

I have been saving the little bird fabric for a special occasion, and this was the perfect project for it.



I used bias tape for the straps instead of making my own straps from fabric,
(I hate trying to turn small tubes of fabric)

and I used about 65 circles instead of 50 -60.

Other than that, I followed the pattern as created, added my own tag and was very pleased with how it turned out.



This pattern is so pretty, I may have to make a few more.

Two! Two! All Aboard!! Xander is two!!

My BABY turned two at the end of August. *tears* I still can't believe it!

He is a HUGE fan of Thomas The Train, so what's better than a Thomas party!!


Here is the Birthday Invite. I took a picture of one of the many Thomas the Trains we own, and used Picnik.com to help edit. I printed them at my local drug store and the total cost was about $7 for 30 invites.

Hurricane Irene came through on the original party date, so we had to bump it to the next weekend. We still ate cupcakes though...no point in skipping on a reason for cupcakes....

Aunt Rachel came by the day after the hurricane and brought, what else, Thomas! (kids playing on coffee tables is safe....right?)

The new party day arrived and we celebrated the best we could. The weather was wonderful and perfect for an outdoor party!

I made the bunting for the party from felt pieces and double fold bias tape. It now hangs above his Thomas the Train bed, and looks great there.

Here is the cake I made. I used white cake mix and added food coloring for 4 layers of blue, red, yellow, blue on the inside - to match the colors of the party. I made a mini bunting out of felt and lollipop sticks to help decorate.

I have to admit...I was SUPER proud of the cake! ;)

We opened more Thomas presents, which he loved opening, and thanked everyone with a homemade Thank You cards of him holding his birthday balloons.

All in all, bittersweet and wonderful day.

Happy Birthday Xander!

9.11.01

Never Forget.



(photo)

Weekends

This weekend we spent in the house.

The weather was rainy one minute and sunny the next.

I made some pillows for a friend's daughter to take with her to college in a couple weeks.

Embroidery is something that always calms me.

When the rain would stop, we would go outside and count the cicadas we found on the side of our house. I have never seen them this close up before. They're huge.

When the rain would pour, we would watch from the big window in our family room.

Just a nice, quiet weekend.

Real, Good Love

Make You Feel My Love
Bob Dylan

When the rain is blowin' in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong.

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawlin' down the avenue
No, there's nothin' that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love.

Though storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regrets
Though winds of change are throwing wild and free
You ain't seen nothin' like me yet.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the Earth for you
To make you feel my love.



Audio by Adele

Handmade Gift

TOMS

I love them. I discovered them about 3 years ago and now have my sister hooked.


My sister, as I have shared before, is a Russian Doll nut.
Her birthday was on the 17th (her 25th birthday) and I knew I wanted to give her a special gift.

I just so happen to think of this particular idea while in the shower (where all good ideas are created)





My mother provided the shoes, Natural Canvas TOMS, and I got busy with the rest.


I used cotton fabric scraps for the pattern pieces and
embroidery floss for the facial features and hair.





Chose the perfect placement and Modge Podged my heart out.





(I even stitched her initials in the back)




(the "Stephanie Rose Edition") ;o)

Finished Result:
TOMS+Russian Doll Idea=Super Cool Shoes





TOMS encourages you to design your own, be creative and give back to the community.



For every pair of TOMS you buy a child in need gets a pair.
How awesome is that!




Happy Birthday Little Sister!

Not what I originally planned

Hi! Remember me? Yes, I'm actually blogging something today!
(woo-hoo, been long enough!)

This is NOT what I was originally going to blog about first but,
it is easier to take pictures of others, than to have others take pictures of you.


On to the "super" craft





This is a reversible super hero (is that one word or two?) cape I made for a friend's son!

My big-little one is modeling it for us today.








Both the cape and mask are reversible.

I just went for it with everything, no pattern - no clue what I was doing - but it worked!

Ethan is the little boy's name.





For the "E" I pulled up an image of the superman logo and traced it,
then replaced the "S" with an "E".

I did the same thing with the Batman logo.





I cut stencils from paper, then cut pieces from felt, and sewed them on.

It was super easy, and only took about 3 hours to make (hehehe...if I didn't have to stop for lunch, diaper changes, random "He's taking my toys" it probably would have only taken 1 hour.)




Very pleased. I hope Ethan is too!