Crafting Snaffus and Triumphs

I think that everyone, from the most experienced sewer (sp?) to the beginner, there are bound to be snaffus (this word's for you Vanessa) along the way. I have had many.

Most have involved sewing the wrong sides facing, sewing half of the bottom of a dress into an armhole, cutting a pattern wrong, etc...(and its only been two weeks, haha!)

The other day really took the cake though. I had accomplished a pillowcase dress so I thought I'd move on to the Snappy Toddler Dress on Prudent Baby.

The project was doomed right from the get-go. The pattern is basically the top portion and you just make it as long as you want, well I got cutting and cut cut around the whole thing essentially cutting off the entire bottom of the dress. Determined to use the fabric I turned to my genius (apparently not that genius) and thought, "hey, if I use the contrasting fabric to make a band around the waist, I can use the band to attach the top and bottom together!" I was so stoked that I had made my snaffu a creative opportunity...or so I thought.

My recent obsession with covering buttons with fabric was about to get the best of me. I decided to use the dress material to cover the buttons...I had a small pile of the fabric and what did I grab....the DRESS. I didn't even figure it out until AFTER I had spent 20 minutes making the strap parts...I go to sew up the dress and HORROR!

Yep...I cut it out of the TOP of the dress...oh no, not the bottom which could have easily been remedied by making a micro mini dress for my one yr old...nope...the top.

Defeated I went to Walmart to pick up some double bias tape for another project and while I was there I happened across some not horrid fabric and was like hey, I can make another go at this, it won't be so bad if I ruin $5 worth of fabric. So today I made another one and it turned out quite nicely, even though the front bib is completely pitiful, I can't sew straight to save my life apparent, but the hem came out quite nice!

Look at those teeth!!!

Slightly dazed and confused...but ya gotta get the full effect...kinda long...but she'll grow...right :)

Yep, that's a chocolate handprint on my door...don't judge!

Crafty Blogs and a Day at the Park

My friend Eva Scott is celebrating the one year anniversary of her blog by having guest crafters featured all day! I will be at 9:30 am and there will be great projects posted all day long by some really talented people. Make sure you check it out.

We are so fortunate to live near a great park. My kids love going to see the ducks and this weekend Leonard REALLY wanted to go so my awesome hubby took them while I got some housecleaning done :) He always gets such great pics of the kids so I had to share, there is even a duck or two!

Sick Babies and Craftiness

Both Leonard and Isabela have been under the weather, but Isabela took the cake yesterday with a super high fever and boy was she CRANKY. Our visit to the pediatrician today revealed an ear infection and Hand, Foot, Mouth grossness. She has little sores in her throat, poor baby! She was so crabby I didn't get anything done yesterday so when hubby got home I went into craft mode determined to finish my pillowcase dress.

I had to start over because my other one was so terrible...so I made a pattern and this one turned out much better! I even made a fun matching flower bow. Tutorials for both are at Prudentbaby.com, my new fave site!

Didn't get many good pics of the bow, but its SUPER cute!

The dress :) My first (well technically second) attempt at something a real person wears :) Its really long, but it will fit for a long time :)

And just cause he is so cute...Leonard :)

First Sewing Projects

My sewing machine came in a day earlier than expected so I was really excited to get started. It was really easy to get the bobbin going and threading is a breeze so this is a really great machine for beginner peeps like me! I got started on a pillowcase dress...that isn't quite finished and is really not turning out well....so we'll see about that!

I did do Prudent Baby's Quick and Pretty Makeup bag. Mine didnt turn out as big because I had a smaller zipper and I cut one side a little short, but it actually turned out pretty cute. I used some fabric I got for cheap at Hobby Lobby and I think Im confident enough to try it with some of my more pricey fabric. Here's the link to make your own! http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/03/quick-pretty-makeup-bag.html


I also made some cloth wipes. I cloth diaper and using cloth wipes is so much easier since I can throw it all in my diaper pail. This way no sposie wipes end up in the wash. I have a bunch that I bought but I found some cute monkey flannel and made these super soft wipes. They also work really nice for after-breakfast cleanups with a little hiney-wash:)
And just because she is so cute...Isabela wearing her new jeans :) Babies are so cute in jeans when they can walk :)

So much to share!

Ive been a bad blogger and no excuse AT ALL. Except maybe being a mom, full time class load, doing field experience hours, blah blah blah...

Wow, my kids are growing up soooo fast. My Isabela just turned ONE (yes ONE!) and Leonard is turning into a little boy, it's official, he is no longer a baby :(
We've been busy bees in the Russell house, finishing up (finally) painting and smoothing out the walls in our living and dining room. Lots of trim work left, but hey, its all one color. Pictures to follow when my living and dining room is clean...oh wait, that will be never so "sorta clean".

Me and the kids really enjoy spending time at the park near our house and our stroller was totally on the fritz. Those wheels were so whobbly I am surprised none of the kids are suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome. So after debating for over a month we got a new stroller and wow I love any excuse to take this bad boy for a spin (am I the only one who gets stoked over new baby gear?) Definitely recommend to any moms with two in a stroller. Folds super easy and rides nice and smooth :) Anyways here are my phat new wheels (hehe)

So since sewing is all the rage right now, I went ahead and bought a sewing machine which will be here in just a few days. I took my mommy time today to get some fabric. Apparently everyone had my genius idea to go to Joann today. All the world was there buying fabric...I had two bolts and went to grab my number...number 85 and they were on 58...uh yeah right considering someone before me had an entire cart FULL of bolts...so using my handy iphone I sent the word out on Facebook for fabric store ideas and was sent to Paula's Fine Fabrics which OMG they have some great stuff I could seriously spend the G's there...got some fab stuff to do my first few projects.

These are a couple fat quarters from Paula's, the four on the right are a few cute ones I was able to salvage in Joann's 99 cent fat quarter sale. Probably gonna use for flower clips or something.

Wow this picture kinda blows but you can tell its cute. Mostly Michael Miller but the stuff on the far right is new Anthology that they just got in...im in LOVE, I think I am going to have to go back and get the rest!

So just in time for my newfound love of prints, my fave diaper company, Bumgenius just came out with their new prints. They have never done prints before and WOW they are cute, but apparently I'm the only person on my cloth diapering board who thinks so, no one else likes them so let me know what you think....

http://www.kellyscloset.com/PRE-ORDER--bumGenius-40-One-Size-Stay-Dry-Cloth-diaper--Artist-Series_p_4128.html

Cloth Diapering :)

My newest venture lately has been cloth diapering. Its something I tried with Lenny for all of about an HOUR before giving up. I spent a good little chunk on a prefold and cover kit and obviously I should have done more research as thats really not the best way to start out, haha!

Since having Isabela I had been thinking on cloth diapering again and since about 80% of my due date club on the message board I frequent made the switch, I decided to do some more research and found some great resources and even a lady in town who does a cloth diapering class. I now have a small stash started and its been AWESOME not using disposables. Contrary to what you may think, it doesnt stink bad like a pail full of sposies and the washing isnt really that bad even though Im having to do it just about everyday now.

I just finished up a wash so here are some pics of what I got. I have a diaper sprayer (which you attach to your toilet to help spray off poos) and a nice pail liner :) on the way as well as two wool covers (which make excellent nighttime covers as they repel pee very well!).

Fluffy laundry!
All stuffed and ready to go!

My diapers' home for now. Im on the hunt for a new storage option...

Demolition Weekend

Well sort of. We have bookcases on either side of the living and dining that separate the two rooms. When we bought the house I loved them, but they totally limit how we can arrange the furniture and make our living areas seem really small so we decided to remove them. We did the first one this weekend (I could only get out of the house for a couple hours with the kids). Im really happy with how it turned out and we finally have the TV where we want it. It went pretty easily so doing the other side should be simple enough. The area where the bookcases used to be will be refinished whenever we get around to refinishing this side of the house...haha! So soon we will be repainting those areas and replacing all the trim and baseboards....

Jeremiah did put some crown up in the kitchen. Its just simple 1x3. We saw it done in a friend's house and loved the simplicity of it and it really goes with the craftsman style. I'll post pics of that when we get it painted.

HOPEFULLY we will be re-doing our bathroom in July. It so HAS to happen! Its nice to finally be making some headway on this house...I swear it seems like its taking forever (oh wait...thats because it is!). Here are some pics...

Yay! The couch now covers the ugly fireplace (a project that is sooooo low on the list) You can also see the bookcase that is still there that will be gone in a couple weeks too :)

And this is where the bookcase died...