Break!

Just letting you all know that I've been feeling a little worn out lately so I'll be taking a bit of a break.  I may still post here and there over the next week or two, but I'm planning on spending the last sneaks of summer we may get with my kiddos outside!

Blog Feature!

Andrea at The Train to Crazy is currently doing an awesome series called Make It Wear It and today she featured my booties!  Her blog is fantastic so you should definately go check it out.

I actually just made up a similar pair of these booties for Ara and just as soon as I had finished them, I had someone request a pair in the same size, same style for her little girl!  I guess I'd better get on making some new ones for Ara this fall now.

Upcycled Tote

I made this tote bag a while ago already but I don't think I've shared it with you yet.  My sister and I were thrift shopping a couple months ago and I found a brand new pack of placemats at one shop.  I snatched them up because the fabric was just great and I used two of them to make this tote bag.  It's currently for sale in my shop but it's one of those bags where I often wonder if I might "buy" it myself if it doesn't sell quickly.  It would be so great for library trips or farmers markets or even the grocery store.

Some New Pouches

It had been a while since I had made any zipper pouches and I had this amazing stack of Moda fabrics cut to fairly small sizes so this past weekend I cut, stitched, and zipped some up.  I had a lot of fun making these ones and added a bit of vintage lace or doily to each one.  I love all three of them and would really like to keep them for myself but you can only have so many zipper pouches...

You can find all three of them for sale in my shop

Car Roll Up

We celebrated Brayers birthday last month and I wanted to make him something he would actually like.  Something he would actually use, but I also wanted to give him some hot wheels types of cars because he is a little obsessed with those things.  I found some at a garage sale in perfect condition for .10 each so I bought him a bunch and then thought about making something to go with them.  I figured if I made him something to carry his cars in, he'd be happy.  This kid of mine likes to take along every single one of his cars with him, EVERYWHERE he goes so I wanted something that made it a little easier on him to carry.

I came up with a little car roll up/wallet type thing.  He can fit 8 cars in it and there are a few roads on it when he rolls it open to drive on!  I absolutely love how this turned out and Brayer loves it too.  It was really quite simple to make once I had it all figured out so I can see this being a great gift project for future little boys' birthdays.

All rolled up and ready to cart around!

There are 4 little slots on each side of the roll up to "park" the cars in.

I used a thick gray ribbon for the road and then used bright orange thread to stitch on the center line.

Opened up

I'm thinking these would make a great shop addition.  What do you think?

Espresso Banana Muffins - More Baking, Finally!

Some of you know I'm a big fan of Heidi Swanson and her cookbook Super Natural Cooking.  She has a great website too with new recipes all the time, so be sure to check it out.  I've made quite a few things from her cookbook now and last week I finally got around to trying her Espresso Banana Muffins.  I followed the recipe exactly, except for one spot.  I substituted the sugar for agave nectar, which I think turned out just fine.

These muffins were great.  I didn't add chocolate chunks this time but I definitely would next time.  I knew if there were chocolate in them the kids would want to eat them too and I wasn't really keen on the idea of them consuming something with espresso powder in them.  (or just not too keen on dealing with them AFTER consuming something with espresso powder in it haha)  Next time, however, I'll just eat them in secret and pack them full of chocolate chunks because I really do think that will up the yum factor big time.

I doubled the recipe and threw them all in the freezer and I just take one out and microwave it quick whenever I need something to get me going again.  I love having muffins this way because they last way longer!  Muffins sitting on my counter get consumed within minutes.

Sobasically I give this recipe 2 thumbs up.  They aren't the most amazing banana muffin I've ever had but for a healthy alternative to something usually very processed and sweet, I love them.  I looked on 101 Cookbooks to see if this recipe is posted and I don't see it anywhere so you might just have to go out and buy the book to get it.  The book is well worth it though, it has a huge section dedicated to just telling you ways of eating healthier and using more whole foods.  This is one cookbook I definitely go back to time and time again.

Abigail Bag

I finished it!  My latest bag design.  I'm really enjoying the whole process of seeing something in my mind and actually making it come out the way I want.  I never thought I'd like to do the actual designing when it comes to sewing but it turns out I do!
I named this bag design after my brand new niece.  It's small and cute just like she is!  So here it is, the Abigail Bag.  I hope to have more in new fabrics in shop soon!  (also go check out shops on Etsy, there's a new format and I happen to love it... of course not everyone feels this way...)

What do you think?  I'm loving the little buttons on the sides, just gives it a bit something extra.  I also hope to make a few with metal hardware where the straps attach to the bag, I just get some hardware first!
I have a recipe review coming up soon here, just in case you think I've completely left cooking and baking on the back burner.

Pics

I've been testing things out with my camera some more lately, attempting to stop using my "auto" function all together.  It's a lot of fun and I'm slowly getting the hang of it.  Here's some of the nature pics I've taken the past couple of weeks.  They are all from either camping trips or our recent trip to Saskatchewan.  None of them are amazing, but I'm pretty happy with them.

Harvest Time!

It really feels like we just planted our garden and today I started harvesting some of its goodness!  I got a huge bowl full of green beans and there are so many more coming.  I love green beans so we'll be having some for dinner tonight and some to the freezer.  I'm pretty sure some will be made into baby food eventually too as Ara is getting awfully close to the time of "solid" food.

My zucchini crop is going to huge this year too, they've taken over the garden.  I can't wait for all the awesome stirfrys and zucchini muffins to come!

She's Here!!

Well it's official, I finally have a neice!!  EEEE!  I'm so excited.  She's so beautiful!  I haven't met her yet, just seen pictures but hopefully I'll get to meet her tomorrow and when I do, I'll take some pics to share!

For now I'll just share some pics of a bag I listed and promptly sold yesterday.

Not So Mellow Yellow

My latest treasury curation... a little something to brighten your day!

go Here to see more

Also... this is post number THREE HUNDRED!! What exactly have I all managed to say the past couple of years?

Oh My!

She's 4 months old already... oh my!

Booties, Booties, and More Booties!!

I've been seriously pumping out the baby booties in an attempt to get my shop all stocked up for fall.  I'm having a ton of fun picking new fabric combinations and of course finding ways to change them up a bit.
Here are a bunch I've made recently, most of them are listed in my shop already, or will be shortly.

custom order booties

custom order booties

Aqua Booties

adjustable pink dots booties

my favorite ones so far!

another pair of adjustable booties

another custom order booties

Saskatchewan Trip

Okay I feel a little bad.  I totally went on a short holiday and haven't blogged in about a week!  I guess that just means I should have lots to share now right?
It's been beautiful weather lately and it's so hard to be in the house.  Now that it's already August I keep thinking about how soon that snow is going to fly again so I'm staying outside.  Kiddie pools and sprinklers, gardening and playing with kiddos, that's what I'm doing!

We had a great time on our weekend away in Saskatchewan.  We spent some time at the beach and at the cabin, just soaking up the sun.  I absolutely love swimming in rivers and lakes so that was a huge highlight for me.

Here are some snapshots of the trip