1st Day of School

Lyla started her first day of school this morning and of course in true fashion I was snapping photos all morning. She looked so cute and all grown up!

Here is a sketch of the backpack I decided to make her.

I decided to make the pencil part out of felt to cut cut down of having to sew seam. Here are all the pieces cut out before they were sewn together.

I used an old dress I got from a thrift store and wore once for a costume party. I Used the straps for the backpack straps, some of the material for the backpack lining and the zipper.

I designed it so that the pencil is actually a front pouch. Here is Lyla sporting her smart backpack at her new school. Eeek - It is so quite here this morning without her, what am I going to do with all my free time? maybe....Get stuff DONE!!!

felt flower headband

I made this felt flower headband using this tutorial from the purl bee to make the flowers.

Then applying hot glue to the bottom side of the headband and wrapping yarn around it.

Then I left the excess thread attached to the flower and simply sewed it to the yarn that was glued on the headband. P.S. I love my new macro lens!

Pretty Little Lyla! I'd like to make these in a few colors - maybe using blues and greens. I really like girly stuff life flowered headbands but in more masculine colors, I guess it's my tom-boy roots that keep springing out.

shamrocks and such

So I have been in a nesting mood and unable to start putting the baby's space together due to our schedule being crazy until April. So I have taken up crocheting again at night to relieve stress. It has been so refreshing, I generally prefer knitting but certain projects require crocheting and these are two such projects I have been working on.

The first is a shamrock garland to hang under my mantel which I think came out really cute. Here is the tutorial if you want to try it out yourself.

And here is a sneak peek of the baby blanket I am working on for baby Sage. It is a granny square blanket and I am really loving how it is coming together. I am about halfway done with my granny squares, then I have to put it together - we'll see if I get it done before she arrives.

4th of July and other stuff

Well we had a great 4th of July weekend (if you want to hear all the details go to my husband's blog - aka "the writer") I have pretty pictures from Lyla's friends birthday party. It was so cute and all the kids had a blast.

Also I finally got around to hanging up this beautiful art by our very talented friend John Lee - doesn't it look great! The very cool retro bread box was a gift from my friend Karry for my birthday and I use it to keep letters and cards in - it's so cute and one of my favorite home items for sure. I eventually want to take pictures of more of my house - but that requires cleaning and well... who wants to clean in there "free time."

We also painted the office and dragged all the furniture back into place - I of course made my first project the chalk board on the back of the desk. I love how it came out! Chalkboard paint is THE BEST! I needed a place to store the chalk so I recycled a frosting container I was saving (I have gazillions of old containers I save for reuse projects) put paper on it and nailed it to the desk. Perfection!

starbucks wreath tutorial & reindeer dog!

I'm sure everyone who has been in Starbucks this season has seen the beautiful yarn wreaths and decor. I love how it looks and was of course inspired to make a look alike with a little Vanessa twist. So here is my first tutorial kind of going through how I did it.First I wound yarn around plastic dollar store ornaments (they were much cheaper then styrofoam balls).
Then I used floral wire to twist the back of the ornaments to a metal circular wreath (you can buy these items at any craft store). Keep doing this until you've achieved the desired effect. Then you can use a glue gun to attach more ornaments, glitter, or whatever. personally I wanted a more simplistic look so I attached a white bow and some feathers to the bottom of mine. Your beautiful wreath is complete! This Christmas we are not going "home" for the holidays, so we will be skyping with family a lot this year. The other night we shared holiday goodness (tamales and eggnog ice cream) with my brother in California! Yum Yum good! I said last time I was in the mood to scrap but I am in the middle of changing desks so my scrap area is a mess. Last night I could no longer fight the urge, so instead of cleaning my desk i made this on the computer! It was a tough choice to make, clean or digital scrap and I feel good about my choice!
Lastly I leave you with this video my mom sent me, to put you in the holly jolly spirit!