coming soon...

bryan and i had a poster making competition. bryan's poster won...

i think he chose this particular design, because he got to wear those shorts...

 

UPDATE: bry wanted me to share the other 2 posters that he did. he is just too good, isn't he? 

in any case, we are having a baby. we are thrilled about it. the baby is due on May 8th, which makes me 13 weeks along. we had a bit of a bumpy start, but things have been going great the last month. we've seen the baby 2 times and heard the seen/heard the heartbeat 3 times, all of which were wonderful experiences.

sometimes she poses

penelope generally doesn't like to be photographed. but every now and then she cooperates. here are some i took of her in a skirt i made her. i think i might make a few more, because it's easy and super cute. i think the reason she was nice to me this time is because i let her climb on something...which is pretty much penelope's favorite.

p.s. look how long her hair is getting. so pretty.

fabric cover for book or notebook

this is a little tutorial on how to make fabric covers for books or notebooks. i made some for my scriptures and they are super cute. enjoy.

step 1

measure height of book this is measurement “A”

measure width of book this is measurement “B”

 using a fabric measuring tape measure around the whole book this will be measurement “C”

step 2

cut fabric

height= A + 1 3/4”
width = C+B+1 3/4”

step 3

fold top and bottom of fabric under 1/4” and again 1/2”. topstitch.

 fold right and left sides under 1/4” and again 1/2”. topstitch.

step 4

fold  both the right and left sides under 1/2 of measurement B and pin into place. this is making the side flaps that your book covers will slip into. stitch 1/16” from the edge on the top and bottom of each side flap.

all done

some halloween festivities

i can't believe it's almost halloween, time is FLYING! i was ambitious and got miss p's costume done a couple of weeks ago, so i am glad that isn't hanging over my head. last week penelope and i did a few fun halloween activities. bryan was out of town all week, so we tried to keep busy. it rained a lot, so we did a lot of indoor activities at the beginning of the week. bryan is back and i think we will try to get in a couple family halloween activities before the big 31.

here's what we did last week.

 1. we practiced cutting skills and did a little decorating.

 

 yes...we both do need to brush our hair.

 

penelope got really into doing the faces...which was a line for each eye and a line for the mouth. too cute.

 

scared? me too.

2. we went to a oma's pumpkin patch out in lakeside. they had a lot of fun things to do there. there were a lot of bigger kids there and i think some of the activities were a bit intimidating to her (an me) with all the older kids. we went on a hayride, played on their playground, tried to pet some animals and picked out a pumpkin. it was fun.

penelope really wanted to go in the petting corral, but once she got in there the excitement waned.

 

3. we went to sea world and saw the "count down to halloween" show and went trick or treating. penelope REALLY liked both of these activities and i thought she was adorable in her costume...pictures of the costume are being held for sunday or monday.

last year

last year at this time we had some family pictures taken by jefra. she did a great job. i was looking through them and got a little nastagic. penelope is growing up so fast. look at her here at 18 months. ouch. it hurts a little to think of how fast time flies by.  the 2 1/2 years or so has been filled with so much learning and growth for me, for penelope, for all of us as a family. i look forward to the future learning and growth i get to experience...1st and 2nd hand. I hope i am able to stay present and remember the journey.


also, i probably should get some pictures done for our christmas card... adding that to my to do list.

decorate some hand towels

i have been making up some new hand towels for our kitchen. it is SO easy. i think i may make some for chistmas gifts...if i keep going at this rate. i am planning on making some a little more elaborate, but i am starting out super simple. i here's a little picture tutorial for you if you are interested in trying them out.

what you need:

hand towels (i got mine at target for $1 each.)
fabric
extra wide double bias tape...you can make your own.
 

 1. cut fabric (1" wider than your hand towel) X about 5 1/2"

2. pin fabric to hand towel with right sides together 4 1/2" from the bottom of the hand towel. stitch with a 1/2" inseam. remember to leave 1/2" on each side of the hand towel open.

 3. fold fabric down and iron.

4. fold fabric under on the sides so that it lines up with edges of the hand towel, press.

 5. top stitch along the sides of the towel 1/4".

 6. pin the bias tape into place around the bottom of the towel folding under the ends on each side.

7. stitch tape into place

the LA science center

we went up to LA for a day last week. bryan had to do some work up there and penelope and i decided to tag along. it was a good day. we hit up the LA science center. penelope LOVED that and so did her dad.


we hit up sprinkles (did you know that one is opening up in La Jolla in mid Nov.?!?!) bryan and i both really liked it. we'd heard mixed reviews, but it is much better than any cupcakes i've had in SD.



we went to a little thai place called ruen pair thai. it was DELISH. we love thai curry, and they didn't have many curry options, but the one curry we got was simply amazing. i would recommend this place to any thai lover in the LA area. it was great to have a little family adventure before bryan's depart for china.

bow belt tutorial

remember my rose belt tutorial? well here is pretty much the same tutorial, but doing a bow instead of a rose. i made one for me and one for p. i think they turned out super cute, so i thought i would share them with you!

what you need:

thread

fabric
bow-1 piece 2.5" x 4"
bow-1 piece 8" x 8"
belt-1 piece 4" x (your waist measurement + 7" ish)

interfacing
bow-1 piece 4" x (your waist measurement + 7" ish)
you can use interfacing on the bow pieces if you want, but i
didn't

hardware
2- 1 1/2" D-rings

we will start by making the belt part.


1. iron interfacing onto belt fabric

2. fold belt in half lengthwise and cut a 45 degree angle at one end. 3. fold with right sides together and sew with 1/4" inseem around the 45 degree angle and down the long side of the belt. LEAVE OPEN THE BOTTOM OF THE BELT.


4. turn belt right side out and press

5. fold the open end of the belt under 1/4" and then fold it over your 2 d-rings about 3/4" and then top stitch the flap down. now for the bow parts!

6. take your 2.5" x 4" bow piece and fold lengthwise with right sides together. stitch a 1/4" inseam up the long side.

7. flip your piece right side out

8. iron with the seam in the center of the backside.

9. now take your 8" x 8" bow piece and fold it in half with right sides together and stitch up the long side with a 1/4" inseam.

10. open your seem and iron it in the center back of the piece. 11. now stitch up the 2 short sides with a 1/4" inseam

11. use a seam ripper to open a few stitches in the middle of your center back seam.


12. flip your piece right sides out through the hole you just made.

13. press. this is your bow body.

14. now attach your bow to the end of the belt, where your d-rings are. use your first bow piece to wrap around the bow body and the belt too. pin in place.


15. make sure your bow is centered, that it hides the d-rings and that it looks pretty.

16. now hand stitch the middle piece of your bow closed and tack your bow in place.

all done!

my bow looked funny, but i think it was just the angle...ooops!

if you make this and want to send pictures my way, i would LOVE that. enjoy.