salesgirl

The head of sales...

something new...

UPHOLSTRY FABRIC! It's fun to be working on a new project with a new texture fabric. I am making 'i spy bags'! It was just time to add something for boys at our Farmers Market stand! Of course, I can't help but make lots of girl ones as well. Bug is great at helping me sort through our treasures to fill the bags, and I am glad to have another project she can help me with as well.

{just for fun}

Moo and I raced a 5k together this last Saturday! I have been running a couple days a week, just a few miles pushing both girls. So, more of a 'fun run' than a race for me since my training was light. It was a community fund raiser, and dogs were invited, so I left Bug (with dog allergies) home with daddy. Pushing one kid was much easier than two! My friend Audrey finished with me (31:42) and it was great to have company running. It was nice to have one-on-one time with just one kid, and there were lots of activities after the race to do. Her favorite was the duck pond, where she insisted on taking the duck as a prize. Not sure that was how the game worked, but she was, so she got it. They gave out onesies for the little kids, and I chopped the bottom off and added another cotton jersey to the bottom to give it length... gotta cover that belly!

{save the whales}

I mentioned before that bug loves recycling, but she also seems to be interested in the earth overall. She picks up garbage at the park before we play, makes us save our soda cans for recycling, etc. So when I saw a 'save the whales' shirt, I knew it would be perfect for her. I was right! She was so excited about wearing it, I actually got a couple good shots. Finally, right?{a leaf for daddy}{great for high kicking!}{we love it!}

'cycling' project

Bug is always attracted to the 'reuse, reduce, recycle' symbol, and asks almost daily about what we can 'cycle' (recycle) in our house. When I came across this idea again, I realized it was perfect for her. She helped break the crayons, sort by colors, and fill the muffin tin. We got this really great IKEA ice cube tray at our local thrift store, so it is reused too! This seemed to be an all-day project, which was a little bit of a bummer. I only have the one mold, and it had to cool completely between batches or the crayons would break coming out. So in one day we made a total of 6 batches, but Bug is pleased to have something to sell and I am happy to have her involved which makes it worth it.

Please forgive the poor pictures, but this is the packaging we decided to go with...complete with the recycle symbol on the back! She sold a couple sets and has put her 'earned money' in with her saving jar at our house. I am so proud of her!

Patriotic Dresses

I made these dresses a month ago for the 4th of July weekend celebration, and ended up working the craft fair booth in the morning and hospital in the evenings, so I didn't get a chance to take the girls out in them. I did a simple smocked top and bias tape straps and added a stripe along the bottom. The pictures aren't great, but my kids were (again) not interested in a photo shoot. Should have started the shoot with the bubbles, not used them as a last resort. One day I will learn from my mistakes...

tutu for frannie

Bug has just recently discovered naming her dolls/animals, and she has found a favorite bear and named her "Frannie". When I made her the dress the other day, she found the leftover tulle and insisted that her favorite baby Frannie have a tutu to match. I didn't bother with elastic, just used ribbon as a casing and sewed it up. Both Frannie and Bug seem to be pleased with it!

new dress

My sister in law and I have been throwing around the idea of me making dresses for all the grand kids on my hubby's side for family pictures. I finally feel like I will have enough time in the next couple weeks to make six, so I put an example together today to show her. Since we live out in the boonies (an hour and a half away from a craft store that sells clothing fabric) I used what I had in my stash, so the colors aren't perfect, but it gives me an idea of what to change for next time, and Bug is pleased with it just as it is (even if she absolutely did not want to pose for pictures).I will make a couple changes I think-

• black and white damask print for the top,
• have four layers of the tulle instead of two,
• match the under 'slip' color better with the tulle.
• I also think I will make the slip layer a little looser, it is pretty straight now and I want a little more volume.
• make the length just below the knee instead of mid-calf

craft fair fun

I had a booth at the local craft fair in Victor, Id over the weekend with a couple friends, and it was a lot of fun! This also meant that my hubby had the kids all day for three days, as I worked the booth in the morning and at the Hospital at night. Luckily, he is great with them! Thanks, hubby! This was the setup of our booth the first day: We made some changes the following day, and added Audrey's hair bow stand later in the day, but it was similar overall.
{so for my inventory - one month of sewing while working 24 hours a week I managed to make 28 tanks and 24 dresses, 16 taggies, and 6 sets of 2 burp cloths. I already had the quilts done, thank goodness! They are all hidden behind the tutus.}

The highlight for me was when a mom held this dress up to her little girl, and she insisted on leaving with it. She was quite upset I had to snag the tag out of it for the price, but it totally made the weekend for me. I also sold two quilts, so hubby is happy they are out of the back room taking up space. Apparently he thinks there should be a limit on the amount of baby quilts I can hoard while we have no baby... don't tell him, but he does have a good point. I am glad they went to good homes!

This week will be some 'fun' sewing projects I have been dying to get to, and possibly a trip to Utah. We'll see.