Onesie, twosie.

I have a couple of friends welcoming babies this year--always an occasion to celebrate with homemade gifts.  But for these two babies, I was especially excited because their last names lend themselves to some creative play.

I'm still working on one, so I'll post that in a bit.  But for one sweet friend and her family, who welcomed a baby girl a couple of months ago, in addition to my go-to burpers and blankets, I had to make this...

Their last name is Dyson.  So how could I not? 

Happy Friday!  xoxo, Sandra

p.s.  in case I don't post over the weekend, send me some good joujou on Sunday morning, around 0900 EST, please.  I should be (fingers crossed) getting close to the end of the half marathon.  Gulp. 

Train love.

Another thing that added to our very full weekend was a birthday party for my dear friend's son, Elliot, who turned 3.  He had a train party, which is always a hit with my boys.  I think we did trains for one of Max's school parties and another may be in our future because of William--he is suddenly very into all things Thomas the Tank Engine.  He was in pure heaven at the party.

For the gift, I was tipped off as to which Thomas trains were missing from the birthday boy's collection.  And to make it more fun, I decided to make a coordinating bag.  I ended up slip covering a canvas tote with some Thomas fabric and added a patch to clue everyone in on what's inside. 

I hear it was a hit!

And speaking of hits, the boys loved the train ride at the party.

Though the older boys got a bit nervous riding in the seat by themselves--they held hands during the entire ride...

 

And William got a bit grumpy when I got up to shoot a few shots, but got over it as soon as I sat down and he heard the whistle...

Thanks for a fun morning Elliot (and family)!

xoxo, Sandra

p.s.  And thanks also to Elliot's folks who made it to the surprise party for my brother later that night at our home.  Kristin has known my brother as long as she's known me (good grief, is it 25 years??!!!) so naturally she and her husband were there.  And whenever we get together, we have fun!  A friend posted this shot of us on facebook so I downloaded and tweaked it vintage style.  I think I used just about every effect Picnik offers...

Whew.

Thanks to many who voted for my top in Rae's contest last week.  It was so (!) fun to be part of--I think I came in 4th or 3rd in that round, but you'd think I'd won the whole darn thing judging by my grin.  I told Charlie it's because it was something I did just for me, and nice people gave me nice feedback.  And I like nice--it makes me very happy, so thank you again.

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.  Mine was lovely.  It was the day after the party so I basically spent the day trying to recover.  And I'm still working on it.

The good news is that I have lots to write about because I spent most of last week puttering around the house, getting it party ready.  And as you might guess, it was DIY all the way.  The bad news is, I was a bad blogger and so rushed for time that I took very few "before" pictures.  But I'll try to post some "after" pictures this week of all the projects I tackled:  new couch pillows, deck redo, painted flower pots, refinished patio furniture, refinished dresser and table, guest room curtains, and so, so much more.  It was crazy.  But the party was a surprise birthday celebration for my brother, who turns the big 4. 0. this week.  And it was really fun to host.  But like I said, I am wiped.  Here he is is getting greeted by all the guests hiding in the dining room.  Isn't he a cutie?  Love him...

We had a great group of guests who fit right in with our family, in that they showed up with appetites and were more than happy to help out with the vat of sangria (I am trying to remember what we ended up throwing in there.  It was delish.)  After such a big night, I was very happy to take it easy for Mother's Day.  My aunt and uncle were visiting from California and stayed with us a couple of days after the party--they are amazing folks and we really enjoyed getting to spend some time with them.  The weather was quite nice so we went for a picnic at a garden park.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day...

I also received some yummy truffles and two sewing books.  And maybe a bit of a cold but hopefully not as the half marathon is this weekend--yikes.  All in all, a very good day indeed.  I will post more details when my right hand uncrumples from the dreaded perma-claw I have from hours of of spray painting.

xoxo, Sandra

Yay.

I am pretty shocked--but very tickled--that my little sewing adventure made it as one of the Top 60 spring tops in Made by Rae's sewing contest.  Actually, shocked is putting it lightly.  The reaction was more like:

Thud.              

Stand up. 

Brush, brush, brush.

If you haven't been voting during Spring Top week, here's the low down.  Each day this week, 12 tops go up for voting.  Voting lasts for 24 hours and the winner of each day moves on to the final vote over the weekend. 

My top is one of the 12 tops up for voting for Day 5 (which is today!)--so please head over to Made by Rae to check it out.  And if you are so inclined, please consider voting for my top.  But only if you like it (scroll down to find the button for 'ruffled tie-neck top by Sandra' on the right sidebar).  And yes, I now sort of regret bashing it on my previous post.  Sorry, spring top.  But I did make it up to you, right?  By wearing you beyond the bathroom photo shoot...I took you to the lake, remember?

And we sure did have fun that day, didn't we?  A dinner playdate with friends, complete with grilled pizza and build your own sundaes (thanks Kris!) and a gorgeous weather walk so the kidlets could feed fish... 

And I promise to make you a friend very soon...maybe that will be my Mother's Day present to myself.  I'm certainly inspired to try out some things from the flickr pool.  Happy Friday everyone!

xoxo, Sandra

Washer fun.

And no, not the kind of washer I usually spend my days with.  Have you noticed all the washer jewelry floating around Etsy and blogland?  I actually have a few pieces from Etsy that I received last year.  And as I was wearing a bracelet at a playdate, the hosting mom said, "oh, did you make that?"  To which I replied, "er, no, but it's on my list."

And before I could blink, she whipped out a stamp set and some washers and a sharpie, and suddenly I was working on a washer charm.  Now obviously, with a junk drawer stocked like that, she is my kind of friend.  I just met her through a new playgroup and she doesn't know it yet but I'm moving into her craft room.  I'm ordering a stamp set pronto and will share more then.

Spring top.

I told myself I would sew a top and enter the Spring Top Challenge hosted by the wonderful Made by Rae.  Well, at 10 o'clock last night, I figured it was now or never because entries were due by today.  I wish I hadn't waited until the last minute--when I don't have time to plan out a sewing project, it always ends up so slap-dash.  But in the interest of 'keeping it real', here's what I whipped up.  

I made all sorts of mistakes.  First, I only have cotton in my stash.  This particular cotton doesn't really drape so this top could hang tons better.  Or, you know, at all, instead of poofing out and adding a solid inch of circumference girth.  I didn't have a pattern so I just winged it and went with a simple circle neck--but to make it a little different, I added a few pleats to give it a slight ruffle.  I also wanted a tie-neck because my intent is to mostly wear this as a shell under cardis.

So am I entering it?  Yes.  Even though I'm a little sheepish about doing so--have you seen some of those tops??  Swoon.  But I'm doing it because a) it was a goal, and b) I believe part of the spirit of the challenge was to motivate some of us who semi-regularly sew to actually sew for ourselves (I think many crafters craft for others).  And you know what?  After this, I may indeed have a bit of the "selfish sewing" bug.  Also, I think I will wear this top--it's not so home-ec that I'm too embarrassed to, so that's good.  But I'm ordering Cal Patch's book asap.  And I think a dress form just got bumped to the top of my wish list.

Here it is under a cardigan...I like it styled this way best.

And because I think nothing screams high-fashion like a photo shoot in the bathroom without a stitch of makeup or your hair brushed--but hey, there's better light--I feel compelled to leave you with these.  I'm sorry.

Happy sewing and happy Friday!

Cake pops roar.

Have I ever mentioned how much Leo loves lions? Well, he does. I suppose if parents choose to name their child Leo, you’ve got to see it coming…  

And so I knew lion cake pops were in order for the birthday boy’s school party yesterday. They were very fun and easy to do. I dipped them in yellow candy coating (then tried to make them textured a bit to look like fur, which only sort of worked), used chocolate for the mane, cheerios for the ears, a red sprinkle for the mouth, and red jimmies for the nose (originally bought for the Rudolphs but they ended up being too small).  

It made Leo very happy.

More cake pop posts here and here.  And here--yes, I need an intervention.  Actually, I just found out that the grown up party we’re hosting in a few days may include some younger guests (babysitting woes, you know how it goes...), so more cake pops may be in my near future.  Everything is more fun when you stick it on a stick, don’t you think?

 

Running update, no. 2.

Did you catch what I said about running in my last post?  11 miles, folks.  And you could knock me over with a feather.  I have one more long training run (12 miles) this week.  And then the blessed "tapering" I've heard so much about kicks in.  I think I'll really enjoy the tapering.

I've devoted a few posts to running for a couple of reasons.  One, this may be a fleeting fancy, so I want to document it.  And second, just in case there is anyone else out there who is thinking of starting--but are not because they have a voice inside them telling them how much they hate it.  Just know that I have that voice inside my head, too.  But quite honestly, I stopped listening to it.  I still cannot say that I love running, but I am starting to sort of like it.  There, I said it.  I think in my case, I will fall in love gradually and I'm okay with that.  I mostly appreciate the sense of accomplishment it is giving me.  Exactly two months ago today, I went out for my first training run.  And even though I consider myself as fairly fit, I could not even run beyond the first mile without stopping!  And this week I go for 12.

Now I know why Nike's "just do it" ad slogan is so successful.  Seriously--if you've ever considered running, just get out there.  And run.  Give yourself a few weeks and push past the doubt and run.  Yes it takes time and you will probably think about the mountain of laundry you need to get to.  Or the countless errands that remain on your list.  But you'll also know you are doing something to make you stronger and healthier.  It's really a gift to give yourself as well as your loved ones--we, moms especially, often forget to take care of ourselves.  I speak from years of experience, but I'm trying to be better.  Okay, pep talk over. 

p.s.  this doesn't have to be about running--just get out there and move your body.  Yoga, walking, pilates, whatever.  As an added bonus, it means you can eat more cake.  Which is exactly what we did all morning long.

Happy birthday Leo! 

Like monkeys.

This is one of those random posts I put up to later remind myself of the funny detours our family conversations sometimes take.

Charlie told the boys that monkeys peel bananas differently than we've always done--pinching the bottom end rather than breaking off the stem-necky-thing (totally a word, btw).  It is supposedly easier, though I'm not sold--probably because I've never found it terribly hard to break the stem.  But who knows, maybe I did when I was younger?  I think it has something to do with wrist strength.  The boys certainly manage to mangle bananas at an alarming rate, so this nugget of info was well received.

Leo (who is affectionately known as "our eater") was all over it.  The picture below shows him attempting a one-handed pinch.  But we've since discovered that two hands work best.  And removal of the black thing at the tip is evidently crucial before any of the boys will take a bite.  I told them that monkeys aren't bothered by that little bit, but it didn't work.   

When I Googled Swagbuck'd 'open a banana like a monkey' I found a YouTube video if you want to see it in action.  

In unrelated news:  party prep is in full swing, though not the fun, crafty stuff yet.  I power washed our deck this weekend.  All I have to say about that is I am not cut out for manual labor.  To be fair, it probably would not have been as awful if I had not attempted it the day after my 11 mile training run.  But as I am not smart enough to think of such things, I did.  And now I hurt, plain and simple.  Oh, and my sewing machine broke!  Luckily, my sister-in-law loaned me hers so I could finish some projects.  I'd love to complain about my machine, but I'm terrible about having it serviced so I'm pretty sure I had it coming.  But--whatever--I'm still grumpy about it.  To end on a happy note, it's Leo's 5th birthday tomorrow.  And in our house, that means cupcakes for breakfast, hooray!  

  

What do grown ups eat?

So we're hosting a honest-to-goodness adult party at our house in a few weeks.  Er, when I say it like that, it sort of sounds X rated.  And I can assure you that that is not the case.  But!  There will be wine glasses and ladies in heels and fancy finger foods and nary a platter of chicken nuggets.  And there will be candles out!  Not just ones to top cakes and vex little lungs on demand (Max can never blow out all of his birthday candles) but actually out out--like on the coffee table.  And they'll be lit!  Just for ambiance!  But first I have to find them and dust them.  It's been a while.

I was pretty excited about this event until I started looking at our house with a critical eye.  Our house is outfitted for playdates, not grown up dates.  I will save the details until after the party in case a certain somebody reads my blog...but I don't think she does.  Besides, before I hit the cookbooks to plan the menu (my favorite part of party planning) I have roughly a hundred things to clean.  First up, the slipcovers from our couch and love seat.  Peanut butter comes out, right?  Even if it's set in for a few years? 

p.s.   I know a lot of you come here for craft stuff.  So you probably already know about Dana & Disney's Celebrating Mom series.  I am so excited--I have no doubt I'll try just about every craft they put up.