Not on the walls...

That's the mantra around here these days!


I know you can't compare one child to the next. It isn't fair and it won't work. But in this case, I just can't help but do it. It's just so telling about life in this house. Belle has never colored on the walls...not once! And she has had pretty much unlimited access to crayons, markers, oil pastels, etc. since she could hold them. Bee...well it took about 30 seconds. She picked up that first crayon and before I could blink there were huge orange scribbles all over our kitchen wall.



So for now, we color only while strapped into the booster seat. But she does love this toy! It is made by Crayola and plays music at the same tempo as your coloring. Color faster and the music speeds up...pretty fun:) If you have little ones who like music and like to color, it's definitely great for rainy days.

Welcoming a New Baby

Welcoming a new baby is always fun! Those tiny toes, that sweet smell, the feathery hair....mmmmmm!

And every baby deserves a little something special, made just for them!

And a cute little cupcake on the bum can't hurt either:)

Meet Millie and Her Very Special Friends

Millie is a very special little lady with a smile that will make you flip. Not to mention her wispy wings and shining eyes. Be still my heart!

Whether playing outside, dancing to music, or reading a book, Millie can always be found with her best pals at her side. Elise is the shy, peaceful member of the bunch. She soothes her friends when they are hurt or sad, and holds their hands when they are scared. Piper, on the other hand, is the rowdy one. She's always looking for the next tree to climb, wall to scale, or refrigerator to paint:)


Like the angel and devil on Millie's shoulders, Piper and Elise push Millie to new heights. Whether it's challenging her to climb a new tree or encouraging her to slow down and smell the flowers, they bring out the best in Millie in every situation. What a lucky girl to have friends like these!

And on the rare occasions when her buddies aren't around, Millie pals around with her best human friend who even sports a coordinating dress. I hope the human Millie will love her new doll for many years to come!

Bottled Rainbows Quilt Along

I've been prepping to start my Bottled Rainbows ticker tape quilt for the quilt along. If you haven't heard about it, click on the button to the right to find out more...there's still time to join in!

I don't maintain much of a stash of solid fabrics (something I'd love to change in the near future), so I ordered a fat quarter set from Whipstitch just for this quilt. The set includes the 16 Kona shades recommended for this quilt....BEAUTIFUL!

So once it arrived, I started digging through my scraps. I laid each of the solids out on the table and starting pile my scraps where they matched. It was really a lot of fun playing with all those tiny pieces that I had been hanging on to for who knows how long.

I then dug into my regular fabric stash to suplement. I cut small scraps off of larger cuts and added them to the piles.

After pressing each scrap this was what I ended up with. Isn't it lovely???


Except that I have some MAJOR holes in my scrap stash:( So if you have scraps in any of the shades below that you are willing to share, PLEASE send them my way!!! PLEASE!!!! Scraps can be as small as 1"x2" or as large as about 5" square. Many, many thanks in advance!

plum
eggplant
indigo
ocean
cerise
raspberry
pumpkin
moss

ROAR!

I am lucky to have a group of very lovely and very loyal, local customers. I've done everything from birthday party t-shirts, to holiday skirts for these super sweet ladies. And even though I don't know their children, I feel like I am watching them grow up through their clothes, toys, and bedroom accessories.

I "met" Davis through his birthday party t-shirt quite a while ago. You may remember that one with the giant 2 on the front. I even had to privilege of helping him announce his new "Big Brother" status when his mom found out she was expecting. And now that his little brother is about to arrive, Davis is getting a big boy bedroom. His super-creative mom has designed quite a room complete with dinosaur wall decals and a hand-painted growth chart. And I got to add these adorable pillows to the mix.

The dinosaur pillow has a corduroy applique design on the front. The Charlie Brown pillow was made with this tutorial. It is really simple, but really tedious! All the measuring, clipping, and pressing of those tiny points just about drove me bonkers. But it is so cute now that it's finished, that I think it was totally worth it!

I hope Davis likes them...and his new brother:)

Once Upon a Thread

Have you heard about Once Upon a Thread??? If not, look over there to the right and click on that button. You aren't going to want to miss this! Katy over at No Big Dill is hosting a MONTH of projects based on children's books. Clothes, toys, and who knows what else! I'm just a tiny bit excited!

A little background for those of you who don't know me personally...I used to be a teacher, an elementary teacher, an elementary LITERACY teacher. To say that we have a lot of children's books in our house would be like saying there are a few stars in the night sky. Maybe one day I'll share some pics of all the books you can find in all the various places in our house, but for now, let's just say that I didn't need to head to our local library to prep for this challenge.

The problem was narrowing the selection! I spent nap time today thumbing through the books in our playroom. After pulling a stack of possibilities as tall as Bee, I curled up in the rocking chair to read and brainstorm. And a couple of hours later, I think I've made my final choices.

It's a mix of award winners, old favorites, new classics, and some just for fun stories (and not a princess story in the whole mix!). I have projects planned for each of the books, but I make no promises that I will actually get around to all of them this month. But, I'll do my best and hopefully we'll have some fun along the way.

Now being a former literacy teacher and all, I can't pass up the opportunity to share some of that knowledge stored in the dark recesses of my brain. So along with the projects, I'll include a little about each of the books, as well as ideas for engaging your child in the stories, words, pictures, and letters found in each title. You may even find some "do with your child" projects for a few of the books.

I hope you have as much fun as I do!

What's your favorite children's book?

February Style Stitches Bag Challenge

Want to see my Everyday Shopper for the month of February Style Stitches Bag Challenge???

Well, here it is!

Ugh! It's only February (well, now March), and already I've fallen behind. And I had such high hopes for this one. I even cut out the pieces in mid-January. But then I started hearing how easy it was, how quickly it came together, how simple the construction, and well...if it's that easy and that quick, I can wait until tomorrow. And tomorrow. And tomorrow. And here we are on March 1 and there my bag still lies, sadly abandoned, pushed to the side, neglected. Maybe tomorrow...