It's been a copycat kind of weekend!

Kade has a fever again (I hope he'll be well enough to go to at least one of his last 3 days of school!), so I've had some down time these past few days. I'm sure lots of you have heard of Pinterest already. I've recently become somewhat addicted to it, and decided to make use of some of the ideas I've saved!

This first one is something I've seen all over the web,
but here is the Pin:
Crayon Monogram

And here is my version:


I found these really great shadowbox frames at Ben Franklin for only $5. I decided to add some little froggies, because Kade said his teacher loves them. I hope she likes it! She really is one very special teacher, and Kade will miss being in her class!

The second one is a series of week-by-week pregnancy photos:
Belly Pics

When I was pregnant with Kade, 8 years ago, I didn't do anything like this, and wish I had! I do have a few pregnancy photos from then, but I just love how you can really see the change happening in this series, using the same background and outfit each week. Here is my take on it, using Kade's little chalkboard to keep track of the weeks:


If only I were as cute as the other girl! Also, my picture shocked me- I think I look way bigger than 12 weeks already! Oh well, no matter how I look, I'm just SO happy that I have this little baby growing in me, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! :)

The internet can be a great source of inspiration! What have you been inspired by lately?

Custom Star Wars Laptop Bag

My sister just got a new laptop, and requested a special custom bag to tote it around in! She, like many others in my family, loves Star Wars, and wanted her new laptop bag to reflect that. On the front flap is the Rebel symbol in red:


And on the inside of the flap when you lift it up is a while Imperial symbol:


I got to try out my sewing machines applique feature, which I hadn't used much yet. It was surprisingly easy! I used HeatnBond on the back of my fabric, traced the image (which I printed and cut out), cut it out again, removed the backing, and ironed it onto the black canvas. The stitching didn't take very long, but there were a lot of corners to turn on the white symbol! I really like how it turned out, and how professional the appliques look! It's the HeatnBond, I love that stuff!


The flap closes with two small velcro tabs. The bag is padded with batting, and lined with black fleece. The strap is adjustable. There is a quilted pocket on the inside for all the cords.


Next up on the bag list- a purse that looks like an owl, for my niece! I am in the middle of designing it now, trying to figure out the best and cutest way to make it. I may want one for myself, too! :)

Finally finished, only 3 years late!

Three years ago, Kade asked me for a sock lion for his birthday. That was his favorite animal at the time, and his favorite color was yellow. I bought some cute yellow socks, cut and sewed them up, and set them in my bin full of projects I needed to finish. And there they stayed, getting covered up with more and more unfinished projects.

Kade asked me about his sock lion the other day, and I immediately felt so guilty! I've made close to a hundred sock creatures in the last three years, plus countless other stuffed animals and other things. But I forgot about his little sock lion. I can't believe Kade didn't forget about it too, since it's been so long!

In a way, I'm glad I made this lion now instead of three years ago. I don't think it would have turned out looking anything like a lion back then, when I was just getting the hang of sock monkeys! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It took hours to hand tie each hair of his mane to his head, but it was worth it!

Now, three years later, Kade's favorite animals are turtles. His favorite color is "all the colors but pink!". But I think he will still love his finished sock lion that I will give him as part of his Easter basket. Better late than never, right?

Still to do in my huge pile of halfway done projects-
~King size jean quilt
~Three sock monkeys
~Owl purse
~Two fabric first name puzzles
~A few pairs of baby booties
~A summer shirt for me
~A wallet for Jer

....plus more! Am I the only one who has this problem? It's a personal goal of mine to start finishing all the things I've started, to make way for new things. I *love* getting something done and checking it off my mental list. I'm not going to procrastinate any more. This yellow lion is the first of many, and I'm so excited to move on to the next!!

***Just thought I would add the link to the tutorial I used, years ago, to learn how to make sock monkeys! They are easy, and with just the basic sock monkey form you can also make lions like mine, cats, dogs, bunnies, monsters, and lots of other things! There are also lots of other sock creature tutorials out there if you just search for them. I highly recommend it, they are so fun to make!***