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.

Some good news to (almost) share.

 typical nightime crazies before bedtime

I don't talk very much about my husband on my blog.  It's pretty strange when I stop and think about it--because off of my blog I'm always prattling on about "Charlie this" and "Charlie that."  He's just always on my mind.

Charlie keeps to himself, is pretty private and reserved--not boastful, not show-y.  So if he had a blog, he would never post about some good news he recently received in his professional life.

But me?  Well, when it comes to these things, I'm pretty much the polar opposite to him.  And so I would like nothing more than to shout to the world all the details, including how proud I am of him. 

But I can also compromise.  So I'll just put a hint out there--and it'll make sense to all of my military friends who check in (hi guys!).  A wetting down will be in order soon.  Insert proud goofy wife grin here.

After asking everyone to settle down. And I really wish I could say that it is unusual for Max to use Will's head as a footrest.

Fun experimenting: iron-ons from plastic bags.

Did anyone else immediately move Filth Wizardry's recent tutorial to the tippity top of their 'must-try' list?  I was staying off of most craft blogs last week because I was trying to get things done for the boys' party.  But then my friend sent me a link and I just had to peek--because it was for DIY iron-ons!  I did manage to wait until the day after the party before I tried it.  And yes, such restraint was hard for me.  I'm just not a particularly patient person.

For my first go, I decided to embellish a kitchen towel.  I figured it would be a good test on how it holds up in the wash.  Go to Filth Wizardry's genius site for the full tute.  But here's my shorthand version:

First, I asked Leo what home meant to him.  He said "love."  That boy can melt me, my goodness.  We wrote it down, then I reverse-traced it with a red sharpie onto a scrap of plastic (a ziploc plastic bag).

I placed it on the kitchen towel, covered it with parchment paper, and ironed it with a hot, dry, iron.

It took a fair amount of pressure to make it adhere, especially around the edges.  But adhere it did.  And I really liked how it turned out.  We'll see if it holds up!

I then decided to try out some other plastic packaging...

Totally cheesy design, I know.  But I really don't have much plastic to pick from around here (these scraps were left over from water bottles bought for the boys' party).  Cannot wait to experiment more--stay tuned.

Birthdays 2010.

The boys' birthday party was yesterday and it was a lot of fun.  We've never before held it outside of the home--definitely a new experience.  It takes A LOT of planning to make sure you haul everything with you.  But the zero post-party clean up was awesome.  Really awesome, actually.  And so I'm on the fence as to what we'll do next year.  Luckily, the boys have a year to decide--a fact they are none too happy about ("a whole year momma?").

The mini-theme I alluded to was 'spring'.  Not much of a theme, I know.  But we are planting a garden this year (Charlie just finished the raised garden bed!  More on that later...) and the boys are pretty excited.  So I made dirt cupcakes with mini shovel toppers.  To make the shovels, I assembled two types of pretzel bits to fashion a handle and used a cinnamon toast cereal bit for the blade.  It sort of worked...

Many shovels broke en route to the party, grrr.  The dirt cupcakes also sported sprinkles for 'seeds' and lots of gummy worms...

And because I was not 100% sure that the cupcakes looked even remotely like what I was shooting for (little garden plots), I put out a sign to hopefully clue everyone in...

 

For the favors, the boys helped me put together planter buckets.  We found tins in the $1 section at Target and we punched drainage holes in the bottom.  We threw in some rocks, bags of potting soil, and rounds of seed blanket (a butterfly garden mix that we cut down to size.  Found it at Home Depot--really hope it works!).

To top off the instructions on how to plant the seed blanket, I put together a "photo strip" of the boys with a little message (idea from Young House Love).

Once everything was assembled, I realized that some kids might be let down that there was no candy.  Specifically, my kids.  So I caved and added some gummy worms.

 

At the party, which was held at The Little Gym, the boys enjoyed stretching their muscles and running around like crazy ("run inside, momma?  Reeeeallly?!").

    

I completely forgot to take pictures of the decorated party room, but the background in some of the shots reveals that  the bunting did indeed make it.  Bunting makes me happy. 

And every year, after the party, I am reminded of a certain quote.  Some of you quote wise, historic figures.  But my mind holds onto quotes like these:  from over a decade ago, when my law school roommate, Jenn, and I were watching a Letterman interview with Janeane Garofalo (remember her?).  And in discussing her recent and significant weight loss, Ms. Garofalo revealed that her weight was a constant battle because she often "disguises the sin of gluttony in the nobility of not being wasteful."  Amen, sister.  I have more than a dozen cupcakes left over from the party.  And being wasteful is a terrible thing...

p.s.  I'm linking up to DIY Day over at A Soft Place to Land. 

Reverse applique, birthday shirts.

I finished the boys' birthday shirts today.  I used some coordinating tees and went with reverse applique.  I've previously posted on how I sometimes use phonebook paper for more detailed appliques when I'm too lazy or rushed to cut out detailed shapes.  But with simple shapes and numbers, here's how I do it.

First, I head to my computer and use a word processing program to pick a font that has nice clean lines (so it won't be fussy to sew around).  I scale it to the size I want by playing with the font size and bold option.  I print it and cut out the number.

Next, I turn the t-shirt inside out and pin my contrast fabric to the area I plan to embellish.  I then just tape the number down to hold it in place.  

I sew a smidge outside the paper template...

 

...then trim and cut the t-shirt fabric away from the top to reveal the applique. 

I then repeat two more times because Charlie has not yet taken over dressing the boys to "man" things up a bit.  I think I have a few years before that happens.  Or roughly three more outfits where I use turqoise--whichever comes first. 

I think the boys will look nice in their special bday tees at their no-themed-party party*.  I'll try to get some action shots.  Because let's face it.  I do these primarily for the photo op.  Happy Friday!

 

*Incidentally, I just might be sneaking a wee bit of a theme into the no-themed-party party.  And I am well aware that this will shock exactly no one.   

Retail therapy.

I think you must know by now that Liberty of London launched at Target.  And if you do not know what I'm talking about, it's not a bad thing.  Not at all. Because it means you do not have to ban yourself from Target.  But me?  For me, it has required a self-imposed ban simply because I know I would not be able to resist picking up many, many things in one of Liberty's iconic floral prints.  I was doing pretty great, really.  My plan was to wait it out a bit, ponder what I really wanted, then just dash in for a few melamine plates or maybe a cute teapot.  The problem with my plan is that things are selling out left and right.

So when we headed to Cincinnati and I forgot to pack a swimsuit (a problem because we had planned a day at an indoor water park), I did not put up a fight when we headed to Target for an emergency suit.  "Get in, get the suit, get out," I said to myself.

And I'm happy to report that I did not spend our summer vaction fund on an entire line of Liberty dining and serving ware!  Okay, fine.  I can't actually claim that with any degree of smugness because truth be told, Charlie grimaced every time I held anything up and headed for the cart.  It just wasn't going to happen.  But I could not, would not, leave without the tunic  pictured below.  Charlie says it looks exactly like something his grandmother wore--to which I replied, "exactly!"

It's technically a swim cover up but I'm loving it as a belted tunic.  It even works tucked in because it is such a light fabric and doesn't get bulky when bunched up.  I just looked to see if it's available online and it's showing up as sold out--and it's going for almost twice retail on Ebay (which is where I snagged this photo...my tunic is in the wash because I may or may not have worn it four times in the past week).  Snatch one up if you see one.  It puts a spring in your step, I promise. 

p.s.  While on the swimsuit hunt in Cincy, we also stopped into Sears to check out Lands' End.  Ummmm, hello?  When did their Canvas line launch?  Holy moly.  I am now banned from there too.