Adventures in Hannah's Room

About a month ago, I wrote about my dear friend, Emily's baby shower. - You can read it here. :)

There, I mentioned that I played a key role in transporting Em between Arkansas and North Carolina.  The problem with having a baby shower a thousand miles from your house is how terribly expensive it would be to check all of your luggage if you flew all the presents home. :)  So, she flew home one way, and we had a road trip back!  Can I remind you that she was 35-36 weeks pregnant at the time!  While most of you might be feeling sorry for me, I want you to know RIGHT NOW that this trip was very fun.  What better way to catch up with a long-distance friend than spending 15 hours in a car together?! 

1004 miles - 14:48 to go! :)

In all seriousness, we had an ALMOST flawless drive, and a lot of great talks and laughs.  We even drove a teensy bit out of the way to stop at The Cheesecake Factory before the last little leg of the drive.  

Another perk of my chauffeuring duties was getting to spend a week on the Carolina coast, helping one of my very best friends prepare her home for baby.  I took one day to drive to the coast and walk the beach while Em was at work.  The ocean was calling my name. :)

The BIGGEST project we needed to tackle while I was there, was putting the final paint on Hannah's walls.  Momma Emily's idea for colorful squares on the wall came to life throughout the week!  

First we taped off the squares.  I had to do anything about shoulder height or higher, since Emily was sooo pregnant. :) Though she is not pictured, she did A LOT of the lower wall work.  I don't want you thinking I did it all by myself.

Then came the paint!!! And before long............

We had it all finished and furniture in!

What a lucky girl with such a creative and lovely bedroom!  Her bedding is still in the works.  I should have pictures to show you in the coming weeks.

AND, one last thing to share.  I made Miss Hannah a very special present.  I have always wanted to make a quilt, of any kind.  I know they involve a lot of time and energy, but I came across an alternative to a fancy quilt *RAG QUILT!* and decided I would start there.  So, with some cute, girly fabric I had laying around the house, I decided to make Hannah Mae a rag quilt to give as a special present from Bear.  It turned out so much cuter than I ever imagined it!!  I will definitely be making more of these in the future.

Finally, look who showed up to snuggle into this quilt!!!  Hannah arrived QUICKLY the day after Thanksgiving!  A Black Friday Baby.  She is little, but very healthy and VERY loved.  Such a beauty.  

Congratulations, again, Tim and Emily.  I can't wait for you to have Tim home and holding his sweet little girl.  I have such admiration for military parents who start their parenting days in such a challenging way, and somehow, with such grace.  I love you.  

Snippets.

Snippet #1 - A sweet friend of mine approached me a few months ago with an idea for a christmas present-project.  Some time ago, her sister passed away, leaving a closet full of sweet dresses in all kinds of neat prints.  The idea was to take these dresses and make a throw pillow and a couple of aprons.
It was so much fun!  I enjoyed creating something new from something that had already served a purpose.  I regret to say that I don't have any pictures. :(  I'll have to see if she will take a few when the presents are opened and enjoyed.
Just wanted to share the idea with others.  After I finished everything, my sisters and aunts started tossing around the idea of doing some similar projects with some of my Meme's clothes.  I love the idea of taking a dress I remember her wearing and making it something that is a part of each of our homes.

Snippet #2 - In an earlier post, I mentioned that I am part of a book club.  Well, after several meetings with great company and great food, I have to tell you, it's the greatest book club EVER.  Better than Oprah's book club. :)  My friend Amber always takes pictures at our get togethers.  I wanted to share a few in hopes that it might inspire you to start a book club or supper club with neat people in your life.

In honor of Halloween, our October book was The Shining.  We discussed this creepy book over fire roasted hot dogs and, what else?  Smores!

Your's truly.  Stuffing my face. :)

You can also read about our book club on Amber's blog. - Bobo's Bites  She's always sharing awesome recipes, too.

Snippet #3 - Look how awesome these whoopie pies look!  They would be perfect for a holiday party. - Peppermint Whoopie Pies


Gotta love random snippets. :)

Hannah Mae is WELL on her way!

My very dear friend, Emily, and her husband are expecting the first extra addition to their family within the month.  Miss Hannah Mae has been growing away for about 36 weeks, and is blessed to be joining a pretty spectacular family.

*BEAUTIFUL Photos are copyright of KB-McElmurry Photography*

Now, this dear friend of mine married into the Marines and is currently stationed in North Carolina.  Of course, we had to devise a plan to get her home to Arkansas for a shower of love and PRESENTS. :)  Not only did I get to play a key role in the transportation part of the plan, *Which will be discussed in a post to come*, but I also had the pleasure of being in charge of sweet treats for the shower.  YAY!

I was extra excited to get baking, because Emily requested something I have never made - whoopie pies.  Ever heard of a whoopie pie??  I had not.  I have been told that they are a bit of a northern tradition.  Hannah's daddy is from Maine and LOVES them, so I hear.  Well, a quick google search gave me the general idea of what a whoopie pie is, which set me on a recipe search.

I chose two recipes and smashed them into one product.
First I chose a red velvet recipe for the cookie/cake part of the pies.  You can find it here at Better Homes and Gardens:
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Once I chose red velvet, what other kind of filling could I choose besides a sweet cream cheese filling?!?!  So, I pressed on in my search and settled on this yummy filling from Martha Stewart:
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Not only where these little guys just adorable, but they were also VERY YUMMY!  I was very happy with the texture and flavors of both parts.  These are a bit more work than simple cookies or cupcakes, but not horribly complicated.  Especially if you bake fairly often.  Em loved them and I'm sure Hannah was delighted, as well. :)

As with just about any baby shower, we were a bit unsure about how many people would show up for the festivities.  Well, if you've been around my family at Thanksgiving or Christmas, you will know that we firmly believe it is better to have leftovers for a week than to run out at the party.  Em and I decided that we should also have some cupcakes.  BUT, I didn't stop at cupcakes.  If you read my last post, you know that I'm on a decorated sugar cookie kick.  Sooo....we had some of those, too.

These cupcakes are some that I wanted to try for a while.  LOW FAT!  From skinnytaste.com:

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

AND I finally got up the nerve to concentrate and really try my hand at a 

houndstooth design with Royal Icing.  Not to brag, but I LOVED IT!!!

Yes, Miss Hannah's baby shower was quite a success!  Everything was beautiful and tasty, and this sweet little family received some much needed items....and a few FUN things, too!  

If all goes as planned, my next post will center around my road trip to North Carolina with Em to get all of these gifts home and work on Miss Hannah's nursery.  It was an adventure, for sure, and provided some really great time spent with a beautiful friend.  Congratulations, again, to Tim and Emily for the sweet little blessing who will be stealing their hearts and a lot of their sleep very soon. :)

Adventures in Cookies

*Please excuse the poor picture quality in this post*

A few months ago, I tried my hand at making iced sugar cookies for the first time.  *Cute, themed cookies...not just icing and sprinkles*  It all started with the request for Minnie Mouse cookies for Lily's 3rd Birthday Party.

They were far from perfect.  HOWEVER, I was fairly impressed with the results of my first adventure in this type of cookie decorating.  AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS. :)  Great party favors for Lily's friends.

The first step in this  endeavor was finding the perfect sugar cookie recipe.  Well, that part was pretty easy...and lead to my obsession with the blog I found the recipe on.  -  Recipe for the Best Sugar Cookies EVER
Please look around this talented lady's blog for a few minutes.  I'm willing to bet that you are impressed with her in no time.  It is cookie art.  I will only ever dream of being as good at decorated cookies as Sweet Sugarbelle.  Instead, I will simply continue to draw inspiration from her posts.

After making semi-pretty cookies once, somehow, word spread.   This past week, a very sweet friend asked if I could make some cookies for a baby shower she was hosting.  I must admit, I was very nervous about making something for somebody outside of the family. *My family HAS to continue loving me and thinking I'm awesome.  They are the guinea pigs.*  Despite my anxiety, I agreed to take on baby cookies.

I had a bit of a practice session while my sister was over one evening.  So, the next picture of cookies is not to be taken very seriously.  ESPECIALLY the one that I am so "proudly" holding up for display.  It was the only picture I took of the practice session, and as you can tell, it was meant to be sent to Jeff  *my wonderful boyfriend* as a bit of a joke.  The Jeff cookie is totally ugly, but look around at the cookies in the background.  It's so much fun to experiment and see what you can do with them!

I fell in love with the two patterns just behind the Jeff cookie.  I even tried my hand at a houndstooth print!!  It was cute, but I would need some serious practice before actually making them for anybody.

A few days later, it was time for the real deal.  *Again, these are not high quality pictures, but they are what I have*

I had so much fun making these!  My friend was so pleased with the finished product.

Hopefully, I will only get better with a bit more experience.  Practice makes perfect!!

Time for a BIG GIRL bed!

The thing about kids...they grow REALLY fast.  Every time I see my niece, Lily, I can't help but notice how tall she looks or how long her hair is!  This means, she is ready to move out of her first bed and into a BIG GIRL BED.  Her mom told me that she has asked for a pink bed. *Because pink is her FAVORITE color.  Just ask her.*

Lily's mom has been on the lookout for the perfect new bedding for the big girl bed.  We searched through IKEA...looked at quilts...talked about making quilts....you name it.  Finally, she found EXACTLY what she was looking for.

This tutorial for a twin size duvet cover is so great!  You can also alter it to standard measurements for a full, queen, or even king size cover.  I'm including the link for the tutorial, just in case you want to give it a try.
http://sew4home.com/projects/bed-linens/357-stylish-baby-nursery-twin-bed-duvet-cover

Lily's mom didn't want to go with such bold colors for the big girl room, so off to the fabric store she went.  You should also know that she took my Interior Designer sister along to help make choices.

I'm not gonna lie, when they showed me the fabric they picked, I got SO excited!

Do you love it as much as I do?  I think it is completely precious and oh so stylish.  I've been working on it over the past couple of days and think I will be finishing up very soon!
I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished product.


In a mostly unrelated note....Have you met Margo?!  My second, sweet little niece was born September 29!  She was 7 lbs and 2 oz. and such a healthy baby.  She is beautiful and I can't help but just stare at her when I hold her.

I could just eat her up!  Maybe someday I'll get to make her big girl bedding, too!

Giving etsy a try

Have you ever been to etsy.com???  If you love unique, vintage, or handmade items, I suggest you take a peak now.  I apologize in advance if I start any time-consuming or money-burning addictions.

I have wanted to attempt selling items through this type of website for quite some time now.
So, this is a bit of a test "go" for etsy.

Wish me luck???  Here's what I'm selling:

Just a fun little baby/child size blanket created from remnants I grabbed at Hobby Lobby.  It is fun and funky.  The Oh So Sweet pink Minky fabric backing makes this little blanket cozy and warm.

If you are curious...here is the listing :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82201635/cozy-baby-blanket-fun-bright-color?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_submit=&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=baby+blanket&ga_order=date_desc&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

Let's see how this goes!!!

Margo's Room

I made this blanket to incorporate more
of the elephant fabric into the bedding set.

My sister is about to POP!  Margo Elizabeth has been growing in the Belly for 37 weeks and Leanne is READY for her arrival.

This lovely sister of mine has a degree in Interior Design.  She has a wonderful eye for color combinations and organizational design.  Can you imagine how adorable Margo's nursery is???  Well, you don't have to imagine for long!  Most of this post will be showing off my sister's talents.  However, there are a few of my own pieces included as gifts for my sister and my sweet little niece.

The first fabric Margo's mommy chose was this precious elephant print.  One swatch was mostly pink, while another swatch was blue and brown.  I'll give you one chance to guess how she made the final decision on this pink. :)

Margo's elephant :)

I also told Leanne I would make her an elephant themed...well...something... to use as artwork but might also be able to be used elsewhere as Margo grows.  The end result was this soft, cushiony elephant that now hangs over Margo's changing table.  I have never cut a piece of thick foam into such a specific shape before this elephant came along.

To make this little elephant lady, I drew and elephant outline onto a piece of newspaper to use as a pattern.  It really worked out nicely, and I became proud of actually being able to draw an elephant just from look at the fabric.  *I will never claim to have a talent for drawing.  NEVER*

Then, I just sewed her together, adding a border to give her some depth.  I attached the ear using fusible web.  It is very cheap and very easy to use if you ever want to do an applique.  She may not be perfect, but I was very happy with how cute she turned out to be.  :)

Now, explore Margo's room.  I hope you all appreciate Leanne's wonderful talent, put to use with MUCH love for this little blessing of a girl who will be joining us very VERY soon.

I really love this shelf unit Leanne found at IKEA.  It's very cute and very functional.  As for the "MARGO" letters, she and I spent about 30 minutes in Hobby Lobby putting together multiple combinations of their selection of paintable letters.  The awesome pink and white clock was also a Hobby Lobby find.
The green pillow with the brown elephant is one of Leanne's custom creations.

Margo's elephant in her new home.
Leanne covered an old table we've had forever to use for the changing station area.

This is Margo's cozy little bed.
Leanne made the bumpers, the bag that ties onto the front of the bed, and the awesome elephant pillow.  

I think her bed corner is so adorable.  Leanne made the curtains AND the awesome mobile you see hanging from the ceiling.  She talked about the mobile idea so much.  I knew it would be cute, but goodness, the finished product is so beautiful.  I wish I had a closer picture of it.  She is definitely one talented little pregnant woman. :)

I hope you enjoyed your tour through Margo's room!  I just decided today that I am going to make a wreath for her birthing room.  We'll transfer it to her bedroom door when she comes home.  I'll put up pictures once I get it finished.  I just can't wait to meet her!!!  She most definitely has a wonderful place to come home to.

Start a book club. :) OR follow along with ours.

I have a little something extra to share with you today.  I am in a book club!  It's my first book club and I absolutely LOVE it.  I really started to love reading good books during my college years.  I'm not sure why I hadn't found a love for books until then, but I have gotten to where I want to be involved in a book at all times.  I will admit that there are times when I'm reading nothing....then when I start something new, all I can think is "Why haven't I been reading something DAILY?!?!  I would scratch so many more books off of my wish list!" *Which is honestly a list I mostly keep in my head...I should really write some down...*

One thing I love about our book club is the group of women it is made up of.  We are all young, intelligent women with common bonds, but also diverse interests.  Any time you become part of a group, it is so neat to figure out the strengths each individual brings.  Besides this, we have food with our book discussions!  Most of us are bonded together through a background in Family and Consumer Sciences or Nutrition, so of course food is an important part of our gatherings.  We draw inspiration from our books and each contribute something to the meal.  It is FABULOUS!  

We have read 2 books:

 Yes.  The Help.  Have you seen it everywhere yet?  You know why?  Because IT IS WONDERFUL.  This was our first book club read and I absolutely did not want to put it down.  It will make you laugh out loud and a few minutes later, your heart is broken and tears are rolling down your face.  

I have since seen the movie, which is also great.  So, read the book.  See the movie.  In whichever order you choose.  Just do it.  You will thank me.

The Paris Wife.  This was a suggestion from the lovely lady who started our dear book club, Amber Bobo.  I'm not sure I would have picked this up at the bookstore to read on my own, but it was also very good.  It takes you through the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  *Again, not something I would have picked*  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  You get wrapped up in their relationship from Haldey's point of view and then experience extreme frustration at times, when Ernest is the Hemingway people often think of.  I might just read some Hemingway after this one....maybe.

Our next book is Murder on the Orient Express.  I've always wanted to read this, but never quite got there.  So, I was excited when others in our group were keen on the suggestion.  

So, there's a small peak into our book club.  I'd like to encourage you to check out my friend Amber's blog -   http://amberbobo.com/ 

She is a wonderful cook and I always enjoy here blog posts and recipes.  She also has a section devoted to our book club, if you would like to see pictures of our yummy food and fun meetings.

This makes me want to post about my own favorite blogs to follow...maybe in the near future.  

Now, go grab a book and get to reading!

Project Brycen is coming along!

Remember that really great stack of fabrics I was so excited about a few weeks ago??  Well, some of those fabrics have morphed into precious things for Brycen's room!

My favorite end product in this set is the blanket.  It's somewhat of a re-creation of a blanket made from actual bandanas.  We chose to use our own custom material, and I must say, it turned out SO great.  It was truly one of those things that you KNOW is well thought out before you start working...then, as it comes to being it's even better than you imagined!

The other pieces I've completed for project Brycen are curtains (from the blue material), bedskirt (from the red material), and a hamper bag (from the yellow material).  I must say that I am very proud of the hamper bag.  Brycen's mommy brought me the original bag that fits into the hamper and I got to figure out how to "make it work" (I hope some of you are Project Runway fans).  All of these pieces will have to be photographed in the room when it is all set up, otherwise they don't make a lot of sense.  So, watch for them in the near future!  

For now, I HAVE to finish up the bumpers.  I have almost everything cut out and ready to piece together...now it's time to SEW!  

Project Griffin - check. Well...almost check.

Another baby room project is complete!  Griffin's mommy sent me a great picture of some bedding that showed to style she liked one day, the next thing I knew, she was sending me pictures of fabric.  Mommy's always seem to be on the ball. :)  Good thing.

I wanted to share a few pictures that this awesome mommy snapped of Griffin's bedding.

The color scheme and them of Griffin's room is centered around this really cute circus fabric.

There is also a great striped print that we used for the back of the blanket and the bedskirt.  

Sorry for the cutting grid in the background. :)  This was really meant to be a picture I sent to show off the blanket when it was finished.  

It does the best job of showing the stripes in the blanket.  

Then we have a great picture of the whole crib. *Below* Here you can see the bedskirt.  I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. Hopefully Baby Griffin will just love it.

Now, if you are wondering, there is a reason behind the "almost check" in the title of this post.  I thought I was done with Project Griffin, but his mommy just asked if I could whip up a valence for her window treatment.  Well, of course I said yes!  That will be a really quick little project.  I'm hoping to get a chance to go to Griffin's house and take some good pictures of the whole room put together. 

I do have some really great pictures waiting to be thrown into a post.  They are of Margo's room!!  My niece is growing fast in that belly and boy, does she have a precious room to live in when she gets here.

One last thing.  For fellow bloggers who may be reading: I've noticed that some bloggers add the prettiest signatures to the end of each post.  How do I do that???  I have a lot to learn and would love any help.  Thanks in advance!  

Congratulations to you all for making it through another Manic Monday. 

It's my Birthday (and a small vacation), and I'll slog if I want to.

I'm stealing the word "slog" from a friend's blog.  If you have not been able to figure it out...mash together "slacker" and "blog...what do you get???  That's right.  I've been a slogger for a few days.

HOWEVER, I have great excuses. 

1.  I've been on a short vacation to Dallas for the past few days.  If you do not already know, I LOVE Major League Baseball.  I aspire to attend games in each MLB team's stadium before I leave this earth.  2 down, 28 to go.  I had the pleasure of going to a game at Ranger's Ballpark in Arlington in a Red Sox T-shirt.  I also want you to know that I had enough pride to cheer for Boston in the midst of faithful Rangers fans.  

2.  TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!  I like to think that you can semi-celebrate your birthday for about a week.  I think this justifies a bit of slogging.  Right?  Thank you.

Now, I am not even close to turning any age that I should be afraid of.  However, I am definitely getting old enough to realize that I don't feel like I'm as "good" as I once was.  Or maybe I mean I'm not as in shape as I once was.  :)  

I did NOT run 10 miles this morning, but I did run 2 miles, without stopping to walk.  I'm somewhat ashamed to say it has been A WHILE since I've been able to do that.  However, I am completely proud of re-achieving my 2 miles at 5:00am on my birthday, in 94% humidity (as reported by my Weather Channel app  as soon as we finished).  Seriously??  94%?  Ugh.  I did it, though!  

Maybe I can run a marathon before my next birthday.................

I do have some new things to share with you, but like I said....it's my BIRTHDAY and I'll slog if I want to. :)  

Creamy Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey

There are moments that remind me how much I should cherish the people I love.  I just had one.

I'm sitting here on the couch, crying.  I check in on a cookie blog called The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle pretty frequently.  It is, after all, where I discovered the best sugar cookie recipe ever.  Well, I started reading today's post just like I start any other post - by scrolling down to look at the pictures.  It took me a few minutes to realize that today's cookies were a tribute for a friend.

I don't even know the woman who writes the blog that Sugarbelle was referring to, but my heart is broken for her.  She lost her husband, Mikey, unexpectedly sometime in the past week or so.  I would like to ask that you read her post, in place of reading anything about me.  One post is a request that you make Mikey's favorite pie.  The second is a video of Mikey dancing with their daughter.

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/for-mikey.html

http://www.injennieskitchen.com/2011/08/one-last-dance.html

My heart goes out to this young woman and her sweet girls.
If you are reading this and you are a person involved in my life somehow, please know that I love you.  I am far too blessed with loved ones, and I hope I never take you for granted for a single moment.

If you are feeling like making something sweet over the weekend, I'd like to invite you to make the Creamy Peanut Butter Pie that Jennie mentions in her post and pray that she finds peace and comfort.

Shower with L-O-V-E...and cake

Baby Margo is coming soon!

The women in my family invited friends and loved ones to shower my sister, and soon to be new mommy, Leanne.  AND shower her they did!  We had a wonderful time visiting with a group of beautiful, thoughtful ladies, all while pampering Momma Leanne with some new shiny, helpful, precious things.  Aren't friends such a blessing?

In the planning process of any family hosted event, I tend to jump at the dessert responsibilities.  "We need cupcakes, right?  I'm on it!"

Cupcakes are EVERYWHERE right now.  Little cupcake shops...reality TV shows about cupcakes...everywhere.  I'm personally very happy that they are getting the fame that they deserve.  It's just like making a cake, except you don't have to have anybody there to cut you a piece!  Just grab it and enjoy!  PLUS, they really are just so darn cute.  I have seen some really artsy cupcakes out there.  Some people may say that cupcakes are girly....well...while some guys may not care about how pretty they look, they sure do like the way they taste.  Just ask my brother-in-law, who had his wife sneak an early Minnie Mouse cupcake for him at my niece's birthday party a few days ago.  He just could not wait until it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles.  *Minnie Mouse cupcake pictures coming in the near future*

"M" for Margo!  It's a girl!

For these cupcakes, I focused on having yummy icing in a pretty swirl with just a bit of girly shimmer on top.  I found the cute little toppers at Hobby Lobby.

I also discovered these great baking cups that Wilton makes.  They are, of course, a bit more pricey than your run of the mill baking cups, but I picked my spending battles for this shower. :)  Wilton baking cups won and now I'm in love with them.  I also used  Wilton's basic Buttercream Icing recipe.  It's definitely an easy, sweet topping to go with.

As if cupcakes were not enough, I decided to try out another cake trend that seems to be on the rise lately.  CAKE POPS!








LOVE how they turned out!  Starbucks does not want you to know this, but cake pops are actually pretty easy to make.  I found lots of yummy looking recipes at www.cakepopsrecipe.com that you might like to try.  If you search the site, some recipes look to be a loftier effort than others, but some of them are pretty basic.  I will definitely be making these again for future special occasions!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!  If you are looking for something to do, and don't quite feel like tackling cake pops :), may I suggest going to see "The Help"???  I saw it this evening and I really loved it.  It will make you laugh and then make you cry.  Also, if you are a reader, the book is just as wonderful, if not more.  Just some food for thought!

Because I'm so excited about it

Materials for Brycen's room!

Here is a sneak peak at what I'm working on now.

I had a friend ask if I could make bedding for a boy nursery, because she was having a hard time finding things she REALLY liked for Griffin's room.  So, I dove in! *Pictures of that bedding to come*
Well, word travels quickly.  Another mommy who is expecting a boy called me just days after I started Project Griffin.  She is good friends with the first mommy I mentioned, and was also interested in making some custom bedding.  She had some really great ideas and chose some really great colors and fabrics.  I couldn't help taking a picture of it all "in the raw" as I'm starting Project Brycen.

I'll be posting progress pictures along the way.
On the checklist:

   Blanket
   Bumpers
   Bedskirt
   Curtains
   Hamper bag

Really excited to see it all together!!!

Aunt Bear

I should tell you now that I am an aunt.  I have a precious niece who just turned three - Lily Brae.

Amazing photo of Lily by Kayla Bradford Photography

AND I have a second niece, but she is still in the oven. :)  Margo Elizabeth is expected to arrive in early October.  Of course, I don't have any pictures of her, yet.  BUT stick around and you will see some in the future.

While Lily was on the way, we all discussed what she might call us as she was growing up.  Somebody threw out the idea of calling me Aunt Bear.  Dad calls me Bear all the time (short for Claire Bear...not because I resemble a bear in any way.  At least, I hope I don't).  Aunt Bear seemed to stick.  Every member of my family has always called me Aunt Bear while Lily is around.  So, she does, indeed, call me Bear.  My FAVORITE thing is that she often refers to me as HER Bear. - "Will you give this to my Bear?" - I just eat it up.

SO...while Sarah was pregnant, we all collaborated on how we could make Lily's room the best baby room ever.  Color schemes were chosen, fabric stores were searched, creative artwork was dreamed up.

One of my favorite projects for Lily's room was creating some wall art out of 

these old cabinet doors from a piece of furniture that was re-purposed.  I was 

told that we wanted something displaying Lily's name, and something with birds.

*Excuse the not-so-great picture quality*

Name art, from an old cabinet door.

Red and yellow, black and white...

I was pretty happy with how they turned out.  Another project I was involved in was making Lily's bedding.  It was the first baby bedding I had ever made, and I must say, it's a bit addictive.  Mommies are always wanting original stuff for their nurseries, and you will be seeing more "baby" work from me very soon.  This is where it all started.  My sister Leanne and I actually worked on this bedding together.  I loved having a partner.  It always makes the process SO much faster.  We were very proud of the finished product.  Again, this is not the best picture ever, but you get the idea.

Love the colors and patterns Sarah picked out.

We also made some curtains, but I don't seem to have any decent pictures of them.  However, now you can see the beginning of my obsession with making things for baby rooms.  I just finished a project that I have not had a chance to take pictures of yet, and am starting up a whole new set.  So, you have some things to look forward to!

My duties as an aunt never seem to end, and I love every second of it!  I can't wait to meet Margo and brag about her as much as I do about Lily.

What's in a name??

You might be thinking "What's with the name of the blog?"  Well, luckily, I have already been planning to tell you.

It's funny to me how some things can just come to you from the neatest places.  In my first post, I told you that I attribute my mother with sparking the flames.  Today, I would like to tell you that I wouldn't be as crafty as I am without picking up some of my father's traits.  He can build things, fix my car...you name it.  I tend to take on his mentality about fixing things.  Take it apart, figure it out.  End of story.  If it's awful, ask for help or buy a new one :).  My dad is a very neat guy.
Having said all of that, I will continue with my story.  I was eating dinner with my mom and dad not too long ago after spending the day working on making some baby bedding.  We started to talk about how many projects I have been taking on, and how I'm always wishing I was better at things.  I was telling them that I think I seem to be above average in many different areas.  I can do lots of things well, but I enjoy doing SO many things well that I don't concentrate on one and become REALLY exceptional at one thing.

*Secret time - I seem to be pretty good at everything I do, but this is a bit of an illusion.  The secret is, I refuse to do things I'm not good at.  Like, I was always good at sports, but very VERY few people have ever seen my play basketball.  That is not a coincidence.  Feel free to utilize this secret*

After admitting that I'm not exceptional at any one thing, I said "I guess I might not ever be considered an artist, but I'll settle for crafty."  My dad's response to this was so wonderful.  He shared THE PERFECT quote that he knew from St. Francis.  What I love more about this moment, is that I had the opportunity to sing in St. Francis' Basilica in Assisi, Italy a few years ago.  That experience is probably one of the most amazing things I will cherish in my lifetime, and it was there that I first learned about St. Francis, and how neat he was.  *You should Google St. Francis of Assisi after reading.*  The quote my dad shared was this:

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. 
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. 
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist." 
— St. Francis of Assisi

It was at this moment, sitting at the dinner table with my parents, that I first thought....maybe I AM an artist.

In the following days, I started to think more seriously about sewing and baking more often and attempting to sell some items and do more custom work.  Well, if I am going to dive into this, I want a good name for the project.  I even posted a status on Facebook asking for ideas.  While I saw some creative uses of my name (thank you to anybody who threw something out there), I wasn't finding the name I was looking for.
Then it hit me!  Our power went out during a storm last week, and while I wasn't quite ready to lay down and try to go to sleep, there was NOTHING else to do.  So, while I was in bed, WIDE AWAKE listening to a completely silent house with no buzz of electricity, it hit me.  So, here we are.
I'm going to try it out.

...with hands, head, and heart.

Thanks Daddy.

....and St. Francis...

You have to start somewhere

Hello!

That's how we should start, right?  With a nice, chipper, welcoming "Hello!"
Let's try this...

To begin: I have an amazing mother.
This may seem like a strange place to start, but it seems to be the first thought that occurs when I try to determine where my love of creating things may have come from.  My mother is at the very beginning.  *AND if you have ever seen The Sound of Music, you know that the very beginning is a very good place to start.  If you have never seen it, WATCH IT NOW*
My amazing mother wears many, many hats.  Most mothers do. :) As I was growing in our home, she taught me things that I cherish now more than I ever could have imagined during the learning process.  Of course, the MOST important things she taught me have nothing to do with being crafty.  However, while she passed on tons of life lessons, she also taught me to how to cook and how to sew.  Like anything else, learning such skills can be a very gradual process.  You have to start somewhere, right?One of the first things I remember learning how to make was potholders.  If you didn't go through the "potholder phase" I wish you could go back and have it now.  I have talked with SO many friends about the time they learned to make potholders on a square loom and attempted to sell them to ladies at church. We had BAGS full of those nylon strings.  If you have kids, I suggest teaching them to do this, because it really is fun!  Plus, they are really pretty cute.

What I am trying to say is that I think my love for making things goes back to my mother's lessons.  Eventually, I learned to use the sewing machine and she taught me to make bean bags.  By the time I was in high school, I decided I could make anything I thought up.  Pillows, purses, etc.  Then I studied Family and Consumer Sciences in college, which included sewing courses.  The fire has continuously been fueled, and now I LOVE taking on projects!  I typically stay away from clothing, but I LOVE to make home interiors pieces.  You will be seeing a lot of them in future posts, including examples of things that have been made in the past.
My mother also taught me to make mac-n-cheese.  :)  That's right.  I'm tracing my cooking skills to boxed macaroni.
It is the first thing I remember using the stove for.  I moved on, of course.  I learned to make mexican chicken, potato soup, biscuits and gravy, and beyond!  Of course, my college coursework also included nutrition and food science classes.  Another fire fueled.  I LOVE to cook.  What you are likely to see most of in future posts are cupcakes, cookies, and pies!  They seem to be the things I spend the most time on for special occasions.  If you have ever browsed through food blogs, you know that you can learn TONS of things from others.  I do it all the time in hopes for a better end result in any project.  

SO...my mother started this whole thing.  Throw in a tendency to believe I can make almost anything (with enough research and practice...)....and here I am.  Hoping to take something I love to do and share it with others.

I hope to use this space as a type of portfolio for things I have made and for new things to come.
The layout and design is obviously in the beginning stages.  I'll get the hang of it as time goes on.  Like I said...research and practice.

Coming soon - Awesome story about the title of this little adventure.