Happy New Years!

Well Christmas has come and gone, and it was a success. It was a bit stressful for me since my husband and I ended up getting Strep. No idea how I got it, but I ended up giving it to my husband, so we weren't in the best frame of mind this Christmas. I just wanted to share some pictures of little man opening his Christmas gifts that I made him. I made him a crayon/coloring book portfolio and a super hero cape. Now I already posted where I got the tutorial on making it, but I wanted to show off how it turned out with the Transformers autobot symbol. I love how cute it turned out and judging from how he ran all over after opening it, I think he likes it. The portfolio I designed after taking a look at all the crayon roll tutorials and wanting something that would also hold a coloring book. If anyone is interested I can post instructions on how to make it. I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve and a fabulous New Year!

Merry Christmas!

So if anyone is wondering why I haven't been posting, here's the answer. I've been sick. I'm still sick and I have company coming tomorrow. They're only staying one night so that helps. I just hope that I can feel well enough to get the house clean. I promise to post pictures of some of my projects that I made for Christmas- at least one of them- I designed it and I'm hoping that I'll be able to make some more this next year to put in my shop. Since I doubt I'll post again before Christmas, let me just say Merry Christmas! May you enjoy the wonder and joy that is Christmas!

Happy first Birthday Miss Ellie!

Here is Miss Ellie just a few days ago!
Here she is at the hospital.
Today is Miss Ellie's first birthday. I can't believe that it has been a full year since I went to the hospital and delivered our sweet bundle of joy. Last night my husband I and were reminiscing over the fact that it feels like we've had her in our lives forever and of course how we can't imagine life without her sweet spirit. Miss Ellie WE LOVE YOU! I love our little sweetheart and the joy she is to our family. I can't believe how much I love this sweet little girl and how lucky I've been to have her in my life. Happy Birthday Miss Ellie! Now on to the day to day routine and also making cupcakes, a tiny personal cake with Marshmallow fondant and all the other things that I am up to!

Today I finished one of Little Man's Christmas gifts. I wanted to make him a super hero cape and one that he would like. So I went HERE and used the super hero cape tutorial. I then wanted to do something different for the super hero icon so instead of Batman, I found the Transformers Autobots icon and traced it out on my computer. I then cut out the fabric- I didn't want to use felt, and went about making Little Man the coolest super hero cape ever! I know that he'll love it since "Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are my best friends" is his current choice phrase. Now to get the rest of all of my projects started and finished. I'm trying to get all of the kids gifts finished before next week. Plus I need to finish making something for Miss Ellies birthday next week. Busy, busy, busy!

Wish List Meme

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? Well if I allow myself to dream- dream big that is, it would look like this A super clean and organized house Books, books and more books- by my favorite authors of course. A cricut expression- the 24x12 model and vinyl so I no longer have a bare wall in the dining room A bike with a trailer so that I could take my kids to the park more often. A way to go home to my parents house to see my mom and dad, sisters, Grandparents and all my friends back home that I miss terribly. 2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? I think my favorite gift was the card my husband made using my craft supplies. It was actually pretty good. 3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? There are so many- clothing for my kids, most of the projects at shanty2chic, and more that I don't have enough space to mention. 4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? Believe it or not, my favorite Christmas gift is always books. When I was a kid I got some of the American girl books- and I still have them to give to Miss Ellie when she can read! 5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? An Optimus Prime transformer 6. What is your favorite holiday food? It's a tie between my mom's crab Puffs and my Grandma's French Chocolate Balls. 7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? An ornament wreath, a crayon and coloring book holder, a superhero cape and clothes for my kids 8. What is your favorite holiday movie? Holiday Inn 9. Favorite holiday song? That's tough. I love Happy Holidays sung by Bing Crosby, but I love all the classics! 10. Favorite holiday pastime? My favorite tradition is that my family has Hot Wassail, Crab Puffs, French Chocolate Balls and other yummy food on Christmas Eve. We've tried to give to a family in need on Christmas Eve- ding dong ditch and then come home eat the yummy treats and read the story of Christ's birth out of Luke. Then we all get to open 1 present- our Christmas jammies. I love getting new jammies on Christmas!

December Already?

Wow, I can't believe that it is December already. It feels like such a short time since last December. I'm reminiscing over last years events and can't believe how much my life has changed in such a short time. We moved into our home right after Thanksgiving last year while I was on bed rest and a few short weeks later our sweet little Baby B was born. I can't believe that she'll be one in 15 days. The only thing that is getting me through this is the fact that Miss Ellie is so little, so it doesn't feel like she's growing up too fast. I'm grateful that I can enjoy her littleness just a bit longer. I'm also amazed that I was able to start up Baby B Boutique. I actually tried to start selling burp clothes, blankets and beaded baby socks when Little Man was born, but it never took off. I am amazed at all the new tools that constantly come out to help small businesses succeed and all the different places I find that provide me with my inspiration. I also love that I've found a way to express my creative side. I LOVE to craft and thoroughly love creating all the projects that I do. It's the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes. I hope that I can continue to create new projects that will inspire me and others over the years. Have a wonderful December!

Boutique

Check out U Create this week. This week they are having a boutique with fun shops- Baby B is one of the shops. This week only I am offering buy any two items, get one item half off of any item of equal or lesser value. Just use the code UCREATE and the amount will be refunded to you. Have fun shopping!

What a good night!

So I'm a bit behind with the pictures, sorry. But can you blame me, I mean come on I was so excited yesterday that I spent all afternoon getting ready for New Moon. It was awesome. I got a very cool ticket, the new moon sweetheart candy and got to see the movie at 7 pm. What more could I have asked for? How about no previews, just the movie. I loved every bit of my night last night. My night was wonderful, not just due to the movie, but because it was a girls night. The last girls night I had was over a year and a half ago, so it was well deserved. So anyways, I'll post the pictures. I got the instructions from Made- it's the market skirt. The jammies I made after seeing someone else's instructions on how to make pants. Unfortunately I don't remember where I found the tutorial. I just took a pair of my hubbies ripped jammies and made a basic pair for my little man, who is getting tall way too fast. The picture of Miss Ellie was taken on the 6th, she's modeling a prototype of shoes. Unfortunately the shoes didn't make it long. She's pretty rough on shoes, so for now they're a no go.

Can you say CRAZY?!!!!

I'm in the middle of a bunch of projects right now. I'm trying to get started on birthday presents- Miss Ellie turns 1 in December, Christmas presents, a boutique and just everything else that life sees fit to deal me. I'll post pictures of what I'm doing tomorrow.

While I was crafting

This is what happens when you are crafting and not paying close enough attention to your 3 year old. This happened a few weeks ago, but I'm finally at a point where I can laugh about it.

Projects and New Moon

This week has been nice. I had my hubby home Monday through Wednesday due to bereavement time from work. It was awesome. I love having my sweetheart around to talk to and do fun family activities. We also got some things done around the house that seriously needed to be done. Since he went back to work I've been trying to get some of the Birthday and Christmas projects that I'm trying to do accomplished. First off of my list?- A skirt for Miss Ellie's birthday. I plan on making more, but I do have one accomplished. I found the pattern at Made. I did the market skirt tutorial and it came out so cute. I'll post pictures next time I get a chance. Did I mention that I get to see New Moon next week? I'm so stinkin excited. If you didn't know I'm a total Twilight junkie and I'm going to see New Moon early- like Thursday at 7p.m. early. I know it's only a few hours difference, but I get to see it at a decent hour and I have the guarantee that I get to see it. I'm also excited because I didn't get to see Twilight until the end of December last year because I got put on bed rest a few days before it came out and then ended up having Miss Ellie before I got the chance to see it. So I'm getting excited to say the least and just had to share my thoughts! Have a good weekend.

U Create Boutique

I'm excited to say that I will be one of the vendors at an online Holiday Boutique at the end of the month. The boutique is being held by U create. I'm so excited because the site gets approximately 9-10K hits a day, with approximately 5-6 thousand views. I'm really looking forward to this boutique. It will be for one week, which is nice since it means that more people will be able to see my products. Check out U Create for fun ideas and projects.

Family Ties

Today was my Husband's Grandpa J's funeral. It was a great service. I was lucky enough to enjoy the special number that my husband, his siblings and parents did- at his Grandpa's request. It was beautiful. The kids were decent, but wiggly. Afterwards we had a great lunch with all 100 or so of Grandpa's posterity. It was nice meeting cousins that I haven't met before. After lunch we took family pictures- hopefully they'll turn out all right. I went to Hobby Lobby and got some fabric to make some clothes for Miss Ellie for Christmas.

Grandpa

This post is to say goodbye to a wonderful husband, father, grandpa and grandpa "great." I just wanted to post this so that those who know me understand why our family is a bit crazier than normal.

Break Time

just wanted to write that I am taking a break from creating any new products this month. I currently dealing with a death in the family. My husband's grandfather had a stoke late last week and he probably won't make it through the night. It's sad to see him go, but we were able to say goodbye, so we're at peace. I'm also trying to get over the stomach flu and get ready for Christmas by making the kids gifts, so I'll be busy this month with that. I'll still take custom orders, but I'm not going to drive myself crazy with too much stuff.

Happy Halloween!

Here are pictures from Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is almost here! I love Halloween, but due to the boutique I haven't been able to do any of the fun projects I've been wanting to do until this week. I have had tons of fun doing these cool projects I've found this week. I found this cute bag at sistersstuff. I loved them so much and have been antsy just waiting to do them. I think they turned out pretty cute.

I love this dress and it was way cheaper than buying one of the store bought outfits. It's actually made from kitchen towels from Target- I found them in the dollar deals section of the store. I got mine for $2.50 for 2. The tutorial for it is found at trey and lucy. It's an easy tutorial for those of you just learning to sew. Of course, Miss Ellie is playing with measuring cups that her brother gave her and wouldn't let me take away for a good picture- what a stinker!

I found a cute tutorial for this hanging sign at Steph and the boys. Of course, hers is way cuter, but I just used things I had on hand.

And last, but not least Little man and I made "Bone Pretzel's" while Miss Ellie napped today. We had fun together. I love being able to do fun baking projects with him and he loves it too! The picture is of the last three pretzels we had. I used my mom's yummy pretzel recipe and just pinched the ends to stick out. I've seen them online and thought it would be such a fun thing for Little man and I to do together.

Success!

My boutique was a success! I was able to go and get my products seen by many people, I also was able to meet some very cool vendors and just have fun. I sold some items too, which in my book makes everything great. Currently the site is down due to my sweet hubby trying to change our current web host or server, unfortunately- he made a mistake and the website will be down for a few days. That was bad time on his part, but I appreciate all that he does to make my business successful. Since the website is down I will be putting my ties and diaper wipe cases on etsy first, that way my products are seen.

Minor Issues/Setbacks

I've had a few minor setbacks this week. I have been getting prepared to do a boutique at the end of this month, but was told a few days ago that I am limited in the products I can sell. I'm a little disappointed as I don't make the same exact type of products, but I do understand the reasoning used by the boutique to make their decisions. I'll be able to sell my new line of ties and diaper wipe cases. I'm very excited. I'll also be taking custom orders for Hair Bow Organizers, of which I will have several different types. So what set backs have I had other than the limitation of product sales? On Friday, I was in the process of sewing a tie when my sewing machine stopped working. I tried seeing if I just needed to oil the machine, but no such luck. It still didn't work, I tried asking my mom when the machine had been serviced last, but she couldn't remember. I called a friend to ask where to take my machine and after talking to her I decided to take it to the repair shop to find the problem. The only thing is, after talking to my friend and hearing a similar experience she had told me, I decided to see if my problem could be fixed like hers. I opened a plate up only to find that there were tons of fibers stuck in the machine. After getting it all cleaned out, I was able to get the machine to work again. I'm very grateful and excited as I was able to finish yet another tie and will hopefully be able to get several more finished in the next few days. I hope to list them soon, as well as the other products I've been working on this week.

Been Crazy Busy

I've been crazy busy this past week and since I don't have much time and I don't think anyone reads this right now I decided to blog only once a week. It will be nice to spend less time on the computer and more time with the kids. Right now we're going through a round of teething. My baby girl is now on tooth number 4. You can barely tell that she's in pain, and that is only occasionally. It's been relatively easy compared to her big brother. Now to get back to my sweet little kids. I'll post a few pictures of yesterdays trip to the zoo.

Some Accomplishments

I've finished yet another tie, several new tutus, some halloween bows, flower clips and some headbands. I'm excited about them and I can't wait to get them up for sale. They are darling, if I do say so myself. Now to get some more ties done and my registration completed so that I can do the boutique. I'm tired and yet so busy I can't seem to relax. I guess that's good.

Crunch Time

I've decided to do a Boutique event on the 24th of October. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I'm nervous because I'm putting myself in a situation where there is a chance for failure, but I have high hopes that I will succeed and that I will be able to make some money for our struggling family. I'm trying hard to figure out what people are looking for and to put my unique flair into all that I do. I have much to do in order to get ready. I have tutus, bows, ties, beanies, onesies and display cards to make. Not to mention the countless hours of taking care of the kids and the house. I decided to take the day off tomorrow and to go to the zoo since it's free this month on Wednesdays to Fry's customers. Now off to bed so that I can wake up early and take my hubby to work so that I can have the car. I hate early mornings,but I need to start being a morning person and not a night owl.

One Day at a time

I've spent the day trying to find new ways to take pictures of my products and also to try and find some inspiration. Luckily I was able too. I also found out that I'm not the most original person. I thought I was last night. I designed what I thought was genius, a soft fabric block toy for babies with "taggies" for teething. I designed my idea and then I find this amazing blog, modabakeshop.com and of course she has a tutorial for what I did. It would have been nice to see how she did it instead of taking hours to make it just how I wanted, oh well. I did come up with a new project that I will try and get to soon. Right now though, I need to focus on fixing my photos. I am NOT a good photographer, so I'm trying hard to take better photos of my products and try to mainstream the look. Hopefully it will pay off. I've been reading some great advice and I hope to use it to my advantage. I just really, really want to see my crafts go to some loving homes, where they will be worn and used to the greatest potential. I know that I make some cute stuff,so now I need to focus on making others see my products in the same light that I do.

New Look

So today I decided that I needed to revamp my look a little bit. Believe it or not, I haven't made any sales lately. I was hoping that the sale I ran last week would get some buyers interested, but no one bought anything. I decided that I need to make my pictures more uniform and also that I need to make them look more professional. So now I'm in the process of designing, with my husband's help a display card that will be sent will all products that I sell. I think I've figured out what I want, but putting it together is easier said than done. Now I just need to try and get some sleep so that I can get some more work done tomorrow and take care of my babies. P.S. I decided that I would let the sale run a little longer, so if you thought you had missed the sale, you didn't.

Happy Birthday to my hot hubby!

Today is my husband's birthday. I made him some great homemade gifts that were easy and mean more to him than something from the store. I hope that he had a great day today. I'll try and post pictures of what I made him and the kids soon. I've been very busy....

Crazy Days

Yesterday was a crazy day. They happen way too often lately. It was crazy mostly because miss ellie wouldn't take a nap. I would lay her down like I normally do, but she'd cry for over a half hour without falling asleep, so life was crazy yesterday. To add to that, Little man wouldn't eat hardly anything, so I was one frustrated mama. Thankfully, daddy took over making Little man take a few bites of dinner to try and save my sanity. I was able to do a few new flower headbands and a clip, so I'll put those up on the website today. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish some ties I cut out and put those up on the website, but who knows. I need to finish my hubby's birthday present so it depends on if the kids work with me today or not and how much I'm able to accomplish.

Fun Filled Weekend

I had an excellent weekend with my family. Yesterday we got some much needed yard work done in the front yard and the back yard was started. We were able to go into town and have a date at my favorite mexican food place, Cafe Rio. Yum. My husband took me to Hobby Lobby for the first time and I loved it. He was such a good sport, he has craft store "claustrophobia," where he freaks out usually after 5 or so minutes. Not so at Hobby Lobby. We spent over an hour there and had fun. I've decided that Hobby Lobby is my new favorite find. I can't wait to go back. I've decided that I want to get material and a pattern there for a simple yet elegant dress for miss ellie to wear for Christmas. I think I'll even make a matching tie for little man. I'm so excited. What a fun weekend.

I'm back!

I had a great weekend with most of the girls from my family. We went shopping, ate out and had tons of fun in general. I took a break yesterday to try and get some much needed rest. I was able to post new pictures of some beenies my little sister made and fix the onesie picture.

Onesies

Last night I went shopping for some fabric and items to make applique onesies. I had finally learned how to make them this week and since I had been asked if I had anything for boys I decided to start doing some onesies. I made some patterns up and voila they're up on the website now for purchase. I'm very excited about them. I was even able to make one for miss ellie with one of her white onesies. She got a mickey mouse shape in red polka dots. I'll eventually roll that design out too, but I want to perfect it first. Also yesterday I was able to finish one of the ties I want to roll out, so keep an eye out for more products. Now to get onto cleaning before my company comes.

Keeping Busy

So today to keep busy and not dwell on missing little man i decided to craft again. I made a tie for boys and will start selling them as soon as I get some more cute boy fabric. I also made some templates for some applique shirts for boys and girls. So I should have some new products rolling out soon. If anyone has any ideas about designs for shirts let me know.

Missing my Little Man

So my little man left early this morning for CA. I'm excited and nervous for him. Hopefully it will go well. In his absence I have gotten several projects done. This weekend I was able to fix a bracelet for a co-worker of my husband and it turned out well. Then this morning I was able to make 10 new flower clips to sell. So now all I need to do is post them on the site which I'll be able to do later today during Miss Ellies nap time. Now if I could just figure out why she's fussy.

Company

So this week I will be posting only occasionally due to my dad coming into town this week. I need to clean up the craft room and clean the kids bedrooms and their bathroom before he comes, so I won't have much time for crafting. I'm excited and nervous though since my dad will be taking little man back to CA for a few days and I'm still not sure if I'm ready to be away from him for that long. I'm also excited about this trip because it means that my mom will be bringing little man back home with her so I'll get to see both of my parents. Now that I've taken some time away from cleaning up, I should get back to work. Hopefully this will be a good week for us, since it's been kind of crazy already, so send some prayers our way.

Pants Project

So today I sewed up some pants for Baby B from the leftover remnants of the shirt I made into a dress. I still need to finish the detail work that I want to do, but for now they're pants. I'm really proud of myself, since I'm less than confident in my skills. I hope to finish them this weekend after the baby shower. I just realized that I need to go get to work making something that says Baby B to put the bows on. Better get to work before Hottie hubbie gets home from work, since he's off early tonight. Have a good weekend everyone.

New Projects

So for the past few days I've been preparing for a cousins baby shower on my husbands side. I'm excited to say that it's finally done. I've made several very cute bows, burp cloths and a diaper wipe case cover. I love her gift. I'm also proud to say that I upcycled one of my shirts. I really loved the shirt, but within a few days of buying it the shirt ripped. I had tried to patch the shirt, but it didn't work so I put the shirt up until I could figure it out. Well, the other day I came across some wonderful blogs from other crafty mamas. They even had tutorials on how to make their wonderful ideas. So I took the tutorial and instead of using a tank top I used my shirt and since it was a low v-neck shirt I added black fabric and lace to "cover up." I love what I did. I'm just learning to sew, so it feels really good to see a project that I made completed and ready to use.