New School Year

Camille headed off to first grade today! It's kind of funny how all of a sudden your child can seem so much older, more mature. Like it just happened over night, right!

Her day went really well ~ she got to see friends she missed all Summer, ride the bus for the first time, and get her very own locker. The locker was the bestest surprise (according to her!).

And yes, I've earned the right to be that "dorky mom" that takes the school bus picture. I know I'll only be able to get away with it for so long.

Here's to a new year!

A Blog I Love

I recently came across this blog here and instantly became inspired. This woman designs furniture based on stuff you'd find at Pottery Barn and other retailers. She then builds each piece herself and encourages you to do the same by providing you with detailed instructions and a list of supplies to purchase.

She makes it sound so easy that I'm convinced I might be able to make this storage bed (with a little help from my husband, of course). :-)

You can browse her designs by piece, room, estimated cost, and skill level. And she shares her expertise and know-how for free. You can't beat that!

Oh, and there's also pictures from people everywhere that have built her items. So you can see the finished products and get even more inspired.

It's so great to see someone that has found her passion and loves to share it with others.

Hope you enjoy it!

Learning Experience

My kids have been learning a lot about money this Summer so I thought it would be fun to collect the different quarters from each state. Not only would it be like a great treasure hunt, it would help them become familiar with the name of each state and its spelling.

Only I didn't want to do it with a traditional folder that holds the quarters in specific slots (of course I've got to make things difficult!). I wanted the kids to actually see the United States map and where each state is compared to us, each state's size and match up its spelling. Visuals just seem so much easier, especially to a young child.

So I had been on the search for a great technique to teach all of this and thought a placemat or piece of fabric that actually displayed our map with each state spelled out would work out great. Now where to find this!

One of my great friends finally found this United States placemat for us at Walmart. And it's worked out great!
Now the kids get so excited whenever we get quarters and try to figure out which state it is and then try to locate it on the placemat. We just put some double-sided tape on the quarter and that's it.

It's been a great learning tool and I can't wait to see it all finished. Just thought I'd share something that's been working for us!


Have a wonderful weekend~

New Fabric

School seems to be just around the corner. Camille starts first grade in two weeks. Only two weeks!!!! Can you sense my sudden panic? This also means Autumn is close by.

What a great way to bring in the new season - new fabrics!

I've ordered several black-based fabrics that I'm really excited about. They should be in my hands in 4-6 days. You have to wait to see them, but trust me, they are fantastic!

I love Echino prints and here's a new one that I'll be making a bag with this week. Isn't it fun and fresh?

I've also received two new Joel Dewberry fabrics. The one below is already for sale in my shop.

Fun with Tie Dye

Camille turned six this month, and she had a couple of friends over to celebrate. It was very laid back and casual. The girls mostly played but we also made tie dye pillow cases. It was our first experience with tie dye and I was surprised at how easy it was. It probably helped that it was a beautiful day and we were able to do the project outside.




We used this kit here but bought it at Joann's. They always have 40 or 50% off coupons so it's very inexpensive.

We let the dye set in overnight so the colors would absorb as much as possible, then just stuck the pillow cases in the washer & dryer the next morning.

The kids were so excited about their new pillow cases! And I even made one for myself!

Free Amy Butler Patterns

This is for all you sewers and crafters out there. Click here to download tons of free patterns from Amy Butler.

I especially love the hourglass pillow and duvet cover. And how about this love and peace wall art???? This would be so cute in a girl's room using her name.

Hope this gets your creative wheel turning!

New Bags

I just posted two new bags in my Etsy shop.

I love this blue bird fabric ~ the design, the layout, the colors. I guess I'm a blue and brown nature kind of girl!

And the bag below used up the last of my Lacework fabric from Amy Butler. I had made a baby blanket and burp cloths for a friend and had just enough left to make this bag. It's one-of-a-kind so grab it now if you want it!

Hope you're having a great weekend!