Worlds Easiest Project

If you are an instant gratification kind of gal... this is your project. I went to visit my mom a few weeks back & she wanted to make a fall wreath that she had seen in a magazine. I asked her if she had a tutorial & she said, "No, just a picture. We can do it." Well, she was right! It was super easy & super cute! It is a wreath made out of tulle. We took an embroidery hoop & since it will come apart, we both got a wreath out of one hoop! I think we used a 14 or 16 inch form. Then we cut strips of stiff tulle and tied them all around the form. I think i used 2.5 yards total of tulle. Then i added some orange polka dot ribbon & some black & white tulle i found in the remnant bin & voila! A super cute, and super easy Halloween wreath. I made another one for my sister that was fall colors but forgot to take a picture. Oops!

Did I Mention??

Did I mention that i have a new niece? I do. And she is P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S! Did you expect any less?

Little Sara Beth was born on 9/11/10 and is such a pretty little thing! We are all enthralled with her.... The kids are excited to have a new cousin....

And let me take this opportunity to say, there is just something your insides do that you can't explain when you see your man holding a newborn baby. It doesn't have to be YOUR newborn. It just happens... (And it helps that he is just a natural with babies....)

Here she is at 6 days old....

And here she is at 2.5 weeks old... I could eat her right up!And here, she had come over for a little visit. And we chatted (well.. i chatted... she listened....)

Cool Laptop Sleeve

Maybe i should have titled this post: Mount Everest. Because this project was most definitely my Mount Everest. I wanted to make it for awhile, & have had it bookmarked HERE since the middle of the summer. But I was super intimidated. It was a very long zipper & i had only placed one zipper before (which didn't turn out too pretty, i might add). But the measuring of the laptop, and making sure i had done my math right, etc etc just had me nervous. And i will also say that the old saying "measure twice, cut once" rang true for me this time. Good thing i had a little extra fabric... but barely! I actually made this in one afternoon though & even though i think it could be prettier & a LOT neater in terms of the actual stitching & so forth, it turned out decent enough & will most definitely get the job done for hauling my laptop around.

Lessons i learned from this tutorial?
1- Again, measure twice, cut once.
2- zippers are tricky. Practice must make perfect, so i have ordered 10 zippers off etsy!
3-gathering stitches are easy... but the gathering part is for the birds.
4- almost throwing the machine through the window won't make the gathering any easier.
5- your bobbin thread is what you have to pull to make a gather, not the top thread. Even so, if you pull too hard, it WILL break. many. times....
6- fusible fleece is quirky & only fuses if you hold your tongue a certain way!
7- the project doesn't have to be perfect to make me PROUD of myself!

Silly Bandz

Oh, Silly Bandz, how i love to hate you. What should be a cool little way to trade with friends has turned into a full blown phenomenon at our house. And by the way, why couldn't i come up with something like this? (Because if i had, it would have NEVER been a craze, it wouldn't have even sold the first package!)

Anyway, Jackson has become obsessed. So obsessed that he will sneak into Eli's room & take his. If he finds one laying around the house, it's automatically his. Do you think that is fun when Eli decides he wants to wear his? He can't find any & THAT begins a whole meltdown. He doesn't understand the whole trading concept just yet, so he wears one while, then lays it down, & then big brother scarfs it up.

I have had to put some limits on the silly bands & even had the opportunity to take them away as punishment (which worked rather well, i might add). But the one day i realized i had to take a picture of the craziness was the day that my child categorized them. Seriously, maybe he does get a little more than just me temper. Maybe he does have a little of my sense of order?!

He put them together by color which looked rather cool, if do say so......

These are the things that he will look back on in 20 years & say, "Do you remember those crazy bracelets i used to wear?" in the same manner that i remember garbage pail kids & converse sneakers. (however, i hope that the Silly Bandz don't come back in style like the converse have!)

whoa! Twice in the same week!

With all the fighting, bickering, whining, punching, kicking, mouthing off, etc (you get the picture) between my two boys, i sometimes wonder if they will EVER grow up to be as close as brothers should be. I always tell them, "You two need to be nice to each other. God gave you each other as brothers for a reason. You are the only brothers each other has. And one day you two will be as close as Daddy & Uncle Jeremy." Well this past week, i was in the garage working on a project (surprised?) and Jackson was sitting on the top step just outside the doorway. Eli came out, sat next to him, wrapped his arm through Jackson's, leaned his head over & said, "You my best buddy, Jackson."

Jaw. Hit. The. Floor.

I almost cried. I held back the tears & said, "Now THAT is how brothers are supposed to act. That was very sweet!"

A few days later, I was in the kitchen preparing dinner & i heard Jackson say to Eli behind me, "I love you, Eli." It was just as out of the blue & sincere as ever. I could hardly believe my ears.

Maybe there is hope.... one day the fighting will cease, right?! Oh, the joys of brothers!