Tomorrow is Moving Day!

Saturday is moving day (and I am SO excited) so I don't have much time but I did want to mention a few things that I realized that I hadn't blogged about.

First, Jamie at the Dress up Drawer is giving away a pair of my sweetheart ruffle bums (the light pink ones I showed you on my diaper cover give away which ahem is still open). Apparently she asked her readers who they'd like to see a giveaway from and I was one of their top choices, pretty cool eh? So head over, she's got a bunch of other really cute giveaways open too. You'll have to scroll down to see mine.

Also I can't believe this slipped my mind but I've been writing articles for Modern Handmade Child a online children's magazine. I'm a contributor for the "wear" section which is about kiddo fashion. They don't have my pic/blub up yet but I've sent it over so hopefully it'll be up soon. It's really a pretty cool magazine with cool handmade finds, craft ideas, recipes and interesting topics for families. A new issue is coming out soon but in the meantime you can take a look at the Winter issue. Let me know if you have ideas for fashion articles for the Summer issue. Have a great weekend, hopefully I'll be full of happy new home reports for you on Monday (or Tuesday if our internet isn't up by then)

RaeGun Finds: Address Stamps

If you can't already tell I'm a planner. And I've been trying to plan everything about my new home for months now (it's kind of driving my husband crazy). But it's finally moving week! Woohoo. So I wanted to share some of the address stamps that I found while I was obsessing. We go in to sign all the closing papers today so as soon as we get home I'm (probably) ordering this one pictured above from notetrunk on etsy.

 Here are some others I found in my address stamp searching.
1. Return to Sender by terbearco (who's stamps are my favorite stamps I've ever used and my mom was totally into stamping in the 90's :) )
2. Brackets is my absolute favorite one but hubby didn't like it. It's from myrubberstamp on etsy and I may very well order a raegun one after I set up a post office box because I adore this one. I'm totally bugged the hubby rejected this.
3. Chandelier also from terbearco
4. Bird from lovetocreatestamps
5. Backslash from foryoo
6. Gnome from sweetpaperie who I've purchased this stamp for the love Heidi and Hubby when they bought their home.
7. Daniels from rubberstamppress
8. Flowers also from rubberstamppress
9. Robot from modernartstamps

Customer Appreciation Pic: RibbonTutu

I absolutely adore custom orders because it's so wonderful to have a fresh perspective. Some of my favorite creations have been the result of a mama with a great idea and me bouncing back what's practical. This tutu and onesie is one of those things.

I adore how it came out and it's always a huge compliment when I get to play a part in a little one's first birthday outfit. How stinking cute is this little one. Ah I love it.

Tutorial: Coupon Holder

A gal in my sewing group asked why I was doing this, what isn't beautification reason enough to do anything. Haha. Anyways it's obviously unnecessary to cover a coupon folder but I wanted to and I like using it now which is the point right?

(click on the image to see a larger view)

What you'll need:
small accordion file (I found a bunch in the 1$ section at target recently)
bias tape (I made my own out of fabric but you can buy plan bias tape in packages)
fabric (use a scrap or if you're buying some a fat quarter is plenty)
a heavy needle (I used a 100, something for denim would be good)
fray check
paper clips

Steps
1. Get your supplies together. Remove the elastic from the folder.
2. Trim the width of your fabric to be the same as the width of your folder.
3. Wrap it around so you can figure out the length of the fabric and then trim.
4. Trim and pin the bias tape to one of the short edges of the fabric. For the part that goes on the inside of the folder I just sandwiched the main fabric in between the bias tape. If you want a strip across the back (on the outside trim two).
5. With the bias tape pin posittion the bias tape with the right side of the fabric facing you and wrap it over the flap of the folder. Use paper clips to hold the fabric in place. If you want a strip across the back just align it so that it is on the other side of the fabric but pretty much in the same place as the bias tape that's on the inside. Now it's really awkward but sew (with a heavy duty needle) across the bias tape. If you use a zig zag stitch you don't have to be that perfect. Also I was really never so in the beginning I used the hand wheel to stitch the first couple of stitches and then I went really slow. So now the flap should be covered. (note I was dumb and pin all around the folder first but that's unnecessary and makes your life harder, so it may look a tad different in the picture)
6. Wrap the fabric around so it's flush find where the round thing is that the elastic hooks on and mark the length.
7. Sew a button hole. Cut it and pop the round thing through it.
8. Now paper clip bias tap all around the folder sandwiching the edges of the folder between the bias tape. You might want to fold it in some places to get it to lay better. (Even though I wasted time and had mine in multiple pieces you can just use one piece and it should turn out better than mine, I realized this after I had already cut pieces)
9. Stitch all around. Go slow you may have to use your left hand to move the other parts of the folder so they don't get caught on the edge of your machine.
10. Poke a hole where the elastic hole was. if you want you could put an eyelet but I thought it was too bulky and my eyelet thing is packed.
11. Fray check the hole. Replace the elastic
12. Fill with coupons and start saving.

I hope all of that made sense. Feel free to ask questions or if you can explain a step better put it in the comments. I think it needs a flower or something on the outside to make it great but in my purse with my lifestyle that would just get caught on things and rip.

Here are a few coupon sites I like:
http://www.grocerycouponnetwork.com/freebies/
http://coupons.com
http://smartsource.com
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.freebies2deals.com/


Anyways if you do try it out I'd love to see it post it (and anything else inspired my by blog) in my flickr group it's super new please join and add some creations. Also the ruffle diaper cover giveaway is still open if you want to enter.

I love seeing everyone else's projects, if you've got something new to share please post a link to it in the comments.

What's for Dinner: Week 19

It's moving week, finally! I've got the kitchen mostly packed so we'll be using our restaurant gift certificates and eating totally low maintenance meals.

For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.
 

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Red Iguana	I'm not really worrying about these this week. I'll try and eat a few salads for lunch hows that and WW toast for breakfast. Veggies in Ramen.
Monday	Rotissorie Chicken, Tortillas and Corn
Tuesday	Use Moochies GC
Wednesday	Curry Veggie Chicken Ramen
Thursday	Late night post-sewing Pie Pizza
Friday	Loaded Baked Potatoes
Saturday	Moving Day: I have no idea what it'll be like

Making It Ours, A Home that Is: Small Couch Take I

I think I found a sofa. The Chloe which is currently on sale and a lot less than most of the mordern-ish ones we've been drawn to. We need a small one, something like a love seat or not too long of a sofa. Ideally it'll have enough room for a couple of people though. But the bigger issue is that our current couch that I love is a little ummm bright, it's a deep rust and I love it but it's not like a neutral you know? And then there's the rug. First off I haven't purchased the rug yet. But I still do like the Jala Medallion that I wrote about before.
That said I am also considering a more plain ivory (or another color) rug (or I guess keep looking for a different print) and maybe getting the couch in grey because I really do like the grey and it doesn't seem as bright. Would the grey go with the Jala Medallion rug? I'm kinda assuming it wouldn't but maybe it does. I kind of like modern, elegant, anthropologie and I'm worried the rust and celadon may come off too crafty, kitchy, funky, too cheery, too Rachel Ray). Okay that probably sounds weird but I'm not sure how to say it.  Besides the style/feel of the different combos I'm nervous about committing to another color. The grey would be like adding a neutral instead of another color that I'll always have to consider. (UPDATED: okay I just added the grey and medallion to see hmmm, maybe it does work?)

What do you guys think? The couches will  face each other with the skinny side of new one being visible from the entry/front room of the house. So that color will tie into most of the main floor.  I'm not really sure what I think so please tell me what you think.

p.s. we close next Wednesday and are scheduled to move in next Saturday evening.

Wasatch Roller Derby Girls

The music maker has been making theme songs for people who don't really need theme songs. First it was the Dungeons and Dragons kids (see the video on the right), next it was Frosty Darling Boutique's Cupcake Social, and now he's created a theme song for the Wasatch Roller Derby Girls.



(press the play button to hear it)

While researching we went to a bout and it was so much stinking fun. These girls seem super nice but totally serious about the sport. I love it!

They are doing a charity event for Utah Parent's Center a neat organization that helps parents with children with disabilities. One of my hubby's groups Rotten Musicians will be playing a short halftime set. We're still deciding if I'll be apart of this show (I usually do back ups and dance, yup you read that right, dance). If you're in the area (SLC) come to the game on February 6th. Also if you've ever had an inkling to do the roller derby thing check them out they seem like a really neat group of ladies.

Listen to more of my hubby's music at his website danielmakesmusic.com.

Naughty Time: Hogle Zoo

My mother-in-law was sweet enough to give my sister and the babies a pass to the zoo (and since I'm the chauffeur for anything that happens during work hours I'm on the pass too score!). It was cold but we took the naughties along with much bundling and it was really fun. Lanna loved the animals, and I think Tira had fun but she wasn't oohing and awwing like the little one although she did show particular interest in a storage shed.

This is the little guy that they were looking at, too cute. There were lots of indoor areas and the snow leopards were out and about happy in the cold.

What's for Dinner: Week 18

(Asian Cabbage Slaw from last week's lunches)

Hopefully only two more weeks until we move. The more we eat the less to move right? I can't wait to get all my cooking stuff out of storage, make some bread and freely buy groceries.

For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.
 

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Pasticcio	green veggies: Ramen, Broccoli in lunches, broccoli and yogurt snack fish and shrimp: fish wrap lunches nuts and grains: Brown rice, WW pasta
Monday	Fancy Ramen
Tuesday	Chicken Panang Curry with Brown rice
Wednesday	Dinner w/hubby's work clients and bingo :)
Thursday	BBQ Chicken and Roasted Potatoes w/green beans
Friday	Jalepeno Mac and Cheese w/apple sausage
Saturday	Corn Chowder and grilled cheese

I think I'll do a Rotisserie Chicken Multimeal like I did for the costume craziness of October so let me know if you've got any good uses for a rotisserie chicken.

Show and Tell: Ruffle Shirt (for me)

This past week I made two things for myself, shocking I know. Between things for the shop, things for the naughties and just other things I rarely get to the things for myself. And what's better is that I LOVE both things. Today I'll share one of things, this shirt. I love it. It was super easy. And seriously I need to practice smiling or posing, hi crocked smile, this was the best out of the handful of pictures we took.

I used McCall's pattern 5977. And even though I sew a lot I think this is a really manageable pattern for most sewing folk. I must warn you though that I don't really follow most patterns. For this one I did not even bother to read the directions because it made sense to me how it would go together from the pieces, so I can't say if they are particularly clear. I did need to add some width to the bottom hem for my big butt hips and silly me skipped the stay stitching step so the neck stretched out a bit when I added the binding. But I'm super happy with it. I've already got another shirt out of the same base cut out.

Anyways, I just wanted to share, and if you sew and like it you might want to give it a try. I'll share my second goodie for myself later this week (I want to make a tutorial for that one).

Share your own DIY project
Have you made anything fun lately? A crafty thing, a yummy thing, home stuff, etc.? I'd love to see it. Enter a brief description of your creation and the direct link to it (please use the direct url to the post not the main blog address). This can be something new, old or that you're still in the process of finishing. Next week I'll share a few of my favorites.




p.s. don't forget I've got a giveaway open, see the link to the right. Also feel free to grab my new blog button on the right if you want to spread the word.
 
linked at skip to my lou

GIVEAWAY: Valentine Ruffle Diaper Covers (UPDATED no linking required to enter, just comment)

First giveaway of 2010. Woohoo! So even though I've got LOADS of ideas spinning around in my head for my shop, we're probably moving in two weeks (woohoo again!) so I'm resisting my urge to do a major store update. But I convinced myself that I could just do a couple Valentines day bottoms, that would be okay right? It's my new little style, the much loved ruffle diaper covers but with tulle, clever eh? Well I can't take full credit for the tulle idea, but you'll hear more about that later.

Anyways, today I'm giving away this pair of My Little Valentine Bottoms that perfectly coordinate with the My Little Valentine Dress. I know it's still cold in most places but I think these would be cute over tights or even with baby legs with just a onesie or top. Easy but still festive :). You'll have a choice of the red or black size 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-24 months, 2T or 3T. I also made another Valentine's Day pair, I'm calling the Sweetheart bottoms. Both styles are now available in the shop for a mere 12.50$ if you're not a gambling gal.


I'm changing the rules so more people can participate in the giveaways so please read them. (Those who entered before 1/16 will not have to reenter).

To Enter:
Be a follower of this blog and/or a facebook fan. If you're not already a follow/fan see the widgets on the left. (first time followers or fans get additional entries see below)

Then comment here telling me what your favorite candy is.

Make sure I have A WAY TO CONTACT YOU (in past giveaways I've drawn person over person but since their blogs and/or profiles are private I couldn't tell them they won so they didn't. So please make sure you leave your email in the comment OR that your profile/blog is PUBLIC ).

If it's your first time following the blog or being a facebook fan post an additional comment telling me that and you'll get an extra (or two) entries.

Ways You Can Get More Entries:
 Step 1: Posting a link to this post to your blog, facebook, twitter and/or some other internet thingy (ex. forums). Feel free to use the picture too if you want. See the buttons below "if you liked it" at the bottom of the post to easily create a links. Or create a link how you normally would.

Step 2. Comment here and tell me where you posted this (give me a link if it's not connected to your comment id). Please leave a separate comment for every entry.

Last Day to Enter: 1/30/10 (probably moving weekend for me :) ) If it's your first time entering one of my giveaways or for more info on these giveaways and to see a list of past winners see this post. I use a random number generator to pick the winner so enter away.



winner: lisa from mowermom (still awaiting response)

Making It Ours, A Home That Is: Rugs Part I

After hours and hours of trudging through design blogs I'm convinced that area rugs really make a huge difference. Almost ever single before and after room design I've seen has included adding a rug. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting this one from World Market which is on sale until the end of the month for the couch area. I'm thinking of a solid rug from one of the yellow, blues or greens in this rug for under the table and I'm still figuring out what I want to do for under the bar stools, which have been yet to be found. But yeah I love feeling like one more little thing is checked off.

Any one have any tips or resources for buying rugs? I'm going to want at least 3 more and I haven't seen anything I like yet. Also let me know if you have any warnings about this rug (is it too trendy, did you get it and have it fall apart, etc.)

Naugty Time: Train Day

Tira LOVES trains. Every time we go to the Children's Museum she talks about the choo choo train. She hadn't even been on the train, just watched it go by from the car or sidewalk. She looks for it the second we get off the freeway and waves goodbye as we drive away. So,  we decided to make a point to go on the train. What is extra cool is that Trax (the train) has a free fair zone in SLC which includes the area where the museum is so we could just hop on and ride up and down for a while as she grinned ear to ear.

She liked it so much we went again week. We made up a whole choo choo train dance. Seriously, besides having to put up with the rif raf (it is the free ride zone after all) it's one of the best activities I've done with those babies. I even think Lanna likes staring out the window during the ride. If you're in SLC with kiddos I highly recommend it, if you're not I encourage you to check out your public transit options I bet it would give the same thrill, I know I was really excited about my first bus ride when I was little.

What's for Dinner: Week 17

(Stir Fry from last week)

 For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Ravioli and Meat Sauce	Veggies: Asian cabbage slaw (lunches), Broccoli with dip (snacks), green beans, broccoli, tacos Fish: tacos Grains and Nuts: Oatmeal and asian slaw
Monday	Broccoli Soup and Grilled Cheese
Tuesday	Eating Out w/ Friends
Wednesday	Chicken and Green Bean Casserole
Thursday	Campanelli
Friday	Dinner at In Laws
Saturday	Fish Tacos

Have you guys tried any good recipes lately? I need some ideas. Right now I've got Pioneer Woman's refried beans cooking on the stove for a late night snack but I found it a lot harder to plan this weeks menu, nothing really sounded yummy to me.

Free Physical Training With My Awesome Trainers

Remember how I recently ran my first 5K after being a hater of running for my entire life? Well it's all due to my trainer. He opened his own facility recently and is doing a really cool promotion. Every day this month he is giving away free training. You can always get a free trial and assessment but if you become a fan of the Multisport Workman Institute they are doing daily discussions and at the end of the day draw a winner, some days it's for a free class, yesterday it was for a whole week of free training, I know they're doing free months and one of of the days it's going to be a free year.

Not only is it free training but I think this place is totally worth paying for. I do both individual training and the classes and it's just awesome. They've really made it feel like a team. It's so encouraging and you really get the support that is so important with this kind of thing. I absolutely love it. Any ways if you're in the area (and some of the people drive an hour to get there (Sugarhouse) because we love it that much you should join the facebook group and try to win some free training or just get more info.

This past week was testing week and it was so cool to see all the improvement. We all just kept on blowing away our numbers from last time (like 6 weeks ago) even with the holidays. We all jumped higher, lifted more, did more sit ups and ran better. It really feels great to know I'm healthier and improving and having a group of people encouraging you along the way. Anyways if you have the smallest inkling to get fit, or if you're fit if you're interested in races check it out.

Naughty Time: Time Out Stance

This weekend while my family was over, Lanna did something time out worthy. It may have been the time she picked up my diet coke and trying to drink it and poured it down the front of MY BABY DRESS that she was wearing, not like a baby dress I made, but a baby dress that I wore when I was a baby. Any ways after something my sister said "time out" and turned to me and said "watch this". She told Lanna to go to time out and walked her over to a corner and Lanna put her hands up on the wall. Hahaha she looks like a little criminal. Her timeouts are short like 30 seconds max but she does this fake cry thing the whole time. So funny. I guess my mom put her in that pose one time last week and then ever since she thinks that's what's she's supposed to do for time out.


Here's a clip of it in action if you want the full experience. Oh I guess from a review of the footage the crime was touching the musicmaker's keyboard, yeah I don't think she got a time out for the soda incident. (and yes Tira wears her Snow White dress almost every day).

Making It Ours, A Home that Is: Moving Forward

We've got good news. We have a closing date for our condo. So the sale of our current residence will not get in the way of buying our future place like I was worried about my my last house post.

Saturday was my birthday and all I really have been wanting to do is look at furniture so after a lovely dim sum lunch with my family the musicmaker and I headed to a bunch of furniture places. We saw a bunch of things I really hated. A few things that I loved but are probably too much. But the best thing is that I think I found a table I think will work. I just wanted a plain long table that wouldn't draw it's own attention. I want the attention to be on the chairs (that I haven't found yet) and what's on the table. It's from Ikea which surprised me that that's the one I liked, since this was one piece I was willing to spend more on. But that makes me happy since it's definitely much cheaper than other furniture places and since Ikea stuff needs to be assembled it should fit in my car (or at least a friends) yeah for no delivery fee.

Anyways hopefully we'll be in a new place next month and I'll go buy this table.

Anthropologie Inspired Rose headband and Tutorial

On New Years Eve, with no real plans in mind, I was over come with a need to make a fancy headband. Earlier in the week I had tried on this headband in black at Anthropologie, which while I adored, I didn't want to spend 32$ on it. Yeah. So I did my best with no real time to make something similar. This is what I came up with. It's different which means I can now try and figure out how to make the more perfect rose like in the Anthro band, but I'm quite happy with it and it was easy peasy. So here are the steps.

 (click on the image to enlarge, more shots on my flickr)

You'll Need

-felt scraps

-2 inch satin ribbon (I had a spool but I think you should be safe with 2 yards)

-head band

-glue gun

1. fold ribbon in half lengthwise
2. fold ribbon in a loop
3. fold and loop ribbon on top of itself while twisting a couple times (this took me some experimenting to figure out how I liked it) take a stitch to secure it in place.
4. fold and loop and twist and stitch more until it's as full as you like then cut the ribbon and secure the thread with some knots
5. repeat until you have three rose-ish things
6. cut some felt circles a little smaller than the roses, you just don't want them sticking out
7. figure out where you want the top rose to go, I put the head band on looked in the mirror and noted where I thought it would look nice
8. glue the first felt base onto the underside of the headband, then glue the first rose to the headband and felt base, repeat with the other two roses
9. look at your creation, wear it and feel all fancy.

  

So there you go, now you can make your own rose headband. Or if you're my sister, you can look at mine while it's on my head, ON MY BIRTHDAY, and ask to borrow it for later that day.

UPDATE: I forgot to remind everyone about the flickr group. Join it (it's just brand new we need members) and for sure if you make one of these post your pictures there.

What's for Dinner: Week 16

(hamburger soup)

First week of the new year, woohoo. For those of you are new I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Big lunch out for my birthday observed	veggies: broccoli with yogurt ranch (snacks), cabbage and nut salad (lunches), pasta and broccoli salad (lunches), green beans soup fish and shrimp: Sunday and Thursday nuts and grains: cabbage and nut salad, oatmeal breakfast, brown rice, WW pasta
Monday	Stir Fry
Tuesday	Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday	Taco Mac and Cheese with Avocado
Thursday	Jambalaya
Friday	Hamburger Soup
Saturday	Tomato Wine Basil Pasta

2010 Goals, Resolutions, Whatever You Call Them

There are a few habits that I'd like to introduce to my life this new year. And what better accountability than sharing with all of you.

1. Make and Keep Things Beautiful: Whether it's from organizing my home in a way that keeps the clutter under control or only wearing/keeping/buying clothes I feel great in, etc. I want to go for quality. I want to get into the habit of only introducing new stuff into my world that I love.

2. Eat Healthier: I want to eat (and feed the music maker) something green every day (this one is going to be hard for me). I want to eat and learn how to prepare more fish and shrimp. I want to incorporate more whole grains and nuts into our diet.

3. Keep In Touch Better: I want to have more get-togethers, send birthday cards, convince more people to come visit, that kind of thing.

4. Save Money: I want to master the coupon thing, learn how to make ugly furniture great and workable, and actually put more away.

I think I've got a solid but doable list, so, any tips? Also do you have any goals for the new year?