we're home!

I'm calling this our "Family Tree". It's one of my favorite pictures (taken at Animal Kingdom).


We had a wonderful, magical, busy week in Disney World. I won't make this a travel blog, but will tell you that we felt like there was still so much more to see and do - we can't wait to go back! Some of our favorites shows and rides - Mickey's Philharmagic, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Kilimanjaro Safari, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Beauty & the Beast, Lion King, Turtle Talk with Crush, and Soarin'. We met characters, watched fireworks, rode every kind of transportation, and had a lot of fun together as a family.
I'm looking forward to getting back to some of the everyday things, like sewing! I have a lot of work to reveal soon - new embroidery designs and the Tinkerbell purse tutorial. I'll be back with that later this week!!!

Oh - one of the best parts of yesterday - coming home to NO SNOW! (yes it was colder than Orlando, yes we were MUCH later than planned due to a cancelled flight, yes it was raining, but at least there's no more snow!!!!!) Spring is here!!!

ladybug, lovebug

Have you ever read this book? It's the cutest story about a younger sister who always feels left out of things by her older brother. She is so creative, and so ready to take on the world. It was a must have for our library!
To celebrate our little ladybug girl turning 2, we're throwing a ladybug party!
I found a poem written by Maria Fleming and added my own special stanza.

Ladybugs all dressed in red

Strolling through the flowerbed.
If I were tiny just like you,
I'd creep among the flowers too!
Abby, lovebug, dressed in blue
Strolling through the morning dew
At 11 in the morning on April 10th
Let's party with family as you turn two!

natalie's dress

This is Natalie's Dress, from Olabelhe Designs. Dawn has done it again - a beautiful dress with timeless elegance & style. This special dress has a high neckline in front, and a lower back. This one was sewn with an extra special underskirt.Her signature sash in the back makes a beautiful bow tie (if you know how to tie, which I don't).
The best part... attack of the crinoline! The underskirt on this gorgeous dress has tulle along the bottom for a little extra poof.
This dress was made with a teal cotton fabric - but I can't wait to try it in something fancier like shantung! I have a perfect embroidered blue fabric that is going to be something special for Abby.

wreath for march

You may remember my Christmas and Valentine's wreath experiment. Well, now that it's finally March maybe I should move on to St. Patrick's Day, right?
So... I added a rainbow ribbon, green beads for a little sparkle (left over from Mardi Gras) - some sparkly shamrocks, and gold coins.
Here's a view of how they're attached to the wreath. Because I want to keep using the wreath, I had to figure out a way to make the coins and shamrocks easy to detach. I hot glued the coins together, and then cut short pieces of pipe cleaner and hot glued it onto the coins. Then I just bent the pipe cleaner around the wreath "branches" so it was out of sight.
Happy March everyone!

what do you do on an airplane?

You may remember me sharing some of my Christmas presents... and talking about my trip to Boston last July.
Well we're off on another amazing adventure! My in-laws put together an amazing vacation for the whole family - their three sons & their families! There will be 13 of us staying at Fort Wilderness & visiting as much of Disney World as we can in a week.
What to do on the plane? It's got to be easy to carry, quiet so as not to bug the other passengers, and quick for me to put together.

My solution - I cut a bunch of patterned & colored felt shapes and they are going in his bag with the Ed Emberley Picture Pie book. Ed Emberley's book is great because there are a lot of animals made out of simple shapes - basically a book of design templates.
Last summer I did a swap with Mary Anne of Mama Smiles fame. I sent her an outfit for her brand new baby girl, and she sent me a travel felt board, a couple templates, and a bunch of felt shapes. Conner LOVED playing with it on our very long Massachusetts trip. So I decided to up the ante a little bit for the plane ride. I didn't make any templates, but with the ones from Mary Anne and his imagination I think he'll be busy for a while! I also made another felt board for Abby to play with. She loves playing with pieces of felt laying around the craft room, so maybe this will keep her busy for at least 5 minutes on the plane? Right?!

I'm still here, honest.

I've been busy working, I just don't have much to show for it here. I've been trying to figure out special sizing for a sweet 8 year old, cranking out some new embroidery designs, and packing for a BIG trip! (Don't worry - I'll share pictures!)

I have a couple posts scheduled for next week when I'm on vacation, and then I have a couple more fun things planned when I get back. I'll be doing the Tinkerbell purse tutorial, introducing you to some of my favorite new chicks & bunnies, and hopefully welcoming spring to Illinois!

See you then!

twins!!

These items were made for a friend's little dumplings, born today!!! She has been on bedrest for months - and she has a 4-1/2 year old and a 2-1/2 year old. It's been a long road for the whole family, but Mom is always SO upbeat and positive, even through the frustrations of waiting. I was happy to do this special project for them!
The hats are just little store-bought knit hats - with a heart and a star on the hat to match the onesie bottoms.
Then each babe gets their name on their shirt.
An appliqued "J" in the Fairytale font - and the rest of their name machine embroidered next to the j.
I can't wait to meet them... I'm sure they will be adorable!!!!!