Archive for June, 2011

Celebrating all things PINK

Posted in Food, Kid crafts, Leah, Molly, Playdates on June 28th, 2011 by jen – 1 Comment

We have a lover of all things pink in our house, so when National Pink Day came around on June 23rd, I knew we had to celebrate! I hosted a Pinkalicious Party in honor of the day.

I decided to make our reading of Pinkalicious a bit more fun. I had the girls stand-up or sit-down every time I said the word pink or cupcake. Do you know how many times those are said in this book?! Oh.my.goodness. A lot! They eventually gave up and just sat and listened.

We had some pinktastic treats: strawberry cupcakes and strawberry pink lemonade. I used these free printables for the cupcake toppers.

Happy PINK Day

And of course there was a pinkerific craft! The girls painted with glue to create Pinkalicious magnets.

Pinkerella magnets

The girls came dressed for the occasion and had a fun time celebrating all things pink!

Girls in pink

And Leah enjoyed getting in on the cupcake action too.

Mmmm, cupcakes!

A dress just makes a girl happy

Posted in Molly, Sewing on June 27th, 2011 by jen – 5 Comments

I made Molly a new A-line dress. I love the little ruffle sleeves and the contrasting border! Molly wore it on Father's Day, because as you might recall, "Yellow is Daddy's favorite color."

New A-line dress

I was not pleased with the back construction of her dress, so I bought a new A-line dress pattern from Lily Bird Studio. I recreated the contrasting ruffle sleeve and border and made another one for Molly's friend, Allison. This pattern sewed together beautifully, so I went back and corrected the first one. Everyone ended up with pretty little dresses!

A-line dress, take 2

During our photo shoot, Molly was having such fun, so here's a few more happy girl photos.

Happy girl photos

Smiling at Mommy

What a cutie

Such a funny girl

Ok, we'll stop now

Ok, I'll stop now.

Mom, Wife, Craftaholic

Posted in Crafts, Food, Sewing on June 26th, 2011 by jen – 1 Comment

That should be my title! Here are some of my latest projects.

The theme for my MOMS Club End of the Year Banquet was "If you give a Mom an M..." based of these books by Laura Numeroff. We had door prizes of movie tickets and a manicure gift certificate. I made these marshmallow pops as the party favor. They were a big hit!

Marshmallow pops

Molly saw me dipping the marshmallows in chocolate and asked if she could dip her pretzels in it too. Good idea, Molly (and a great way to use up the rest of the chocolate)!

Chocolate pretzels

My dad always has a book with him, so I made him these scrap fabric bookmarks for Father's Day.

Bookmarks for Grampa

And I sent a few more pillowcases to ConKerr Cancer. I had received the wrong fabric in an order, so they let me keep it and suggested donating it. So, that's what I did.

ConKerr Cancer pillowcases

Leah’s bedtime stories

Posted in Leah, Video on June 26th, 2011 by c-had – Be the first to comment

Download: Normal Quality | HD Quality

Leah is now old enough to participate in bedtime story reading. She's got a few favorites that Jen often reads to her (yes, when we're both home Jen reads to Leah and I still read to Molly). So, just as we did with Molly a couple years ago, we decided to record Leah participating in a few of her favorite books.

Fair warning, the video is five and half minutes long and may take a bit to load on slower Internet connections.

Liquid sidewalk chalk

Posted in Kid crafts, Leah, Molly on June 22nd, 2011 by jen – Be the first to comment

I made liquid sidewalk chalk for the girls to paint the driveway. It paints like water colors, but dries bright like chalk. And it's a simple recipe - equal parts water and cornstarch, plus a few drops of food coloring.

Liquid sidewalk chalk

Molly liked painting with all the different colors.

Lots of colors

Leah had a lot of fun painting the cement, but eventually moved on to her hands, and the front door! It's a good thing the paint was washable.

Painting is fun

My little strawberry

Posted in Leah, Molly, Playdates on June 21st, 2011 by jen – 2 Comments

Last week, I took the girls to pick the last of the strawberries at Larriland Farm. Leah had the perfect outfit for the occasion! (I won the overalls in a giveaway from Overall Baby!)

Strawberries all over

Molly had her own box to fill. Here she is counting her pickings.

Counting her pickings

Eventually, she moved on and decided to help Jake and Mrs. Josie add to their box.

Helping Jake and Josie

Matilda was a big help to her mom too!

Matilda and Stacie

Leah just couldn't resist the sweet, juicy strawberries. She might have had just a few - stem, leaves and all!

Eating strawberries

The kids had a great time (as did the mommies!). It was a beautiful day to be in the field, and had it not been for my friends leaving, I might have stayed out there all morning!

Strawberry pickers

A girl and her hats

Posted in Leah on June 9th, 2011 by jen – 2 Comments

Playing with the water table...

Cutie in a cute hat

Modeling Mommy's new Peruvian hat from Aunt Caroline's trip...

A new hat

Swaddling tiny survivors

Posted in Sewing on June 8th, 2011 by jen – 1 Comment

As many of you know, I'm from the South. I went to school at Auburn and several of my family members live in the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa area. We had only returned home from our Easter visit to Birmingham the day before the tornado hit.

So, when Craft Hope announced their newest project, security blankets for tornado survivors, I knew I was in. They are asking for handmade/machine washable blankets to "wrap people up in love."

I had seen this tutorial for making a swaddling blanket out of two receiving blankets. I loved the idea and decided to upcycle a few of Leah's receiving blankets for the project.

Swaddling tiny survivors

If you'd like to send love through your blankets, sign up here. You have until the 15th.

Show and Tell Green

Summer surprises

Posted in Sewing on June 6th, 2011 by jen – 2 Comments

I have sewn for my girls and their friends recently, but I hadn't made anything for my niece. So, I whipped up a Market Skirt and a few bows and sent them off in the mail. I didn't tell my sister it was coming, and included a note saying, "Just a little summer surprise!" She was so excited to get it!

A skirt for Emmie

I also went to a surprise baby shower this weekend. My friend, Heather, is due in two weeks with a little boy. So, I made another whale jon jon, but in a 12 month size this time.

Another whale jon jon

Flowers, fountains, and photos

Posted in Leah, Molly on June 5th, 2011 by jen – 2 Comments

We took a trip to Brookside Gardens to see some flowers, fountains, and butterflies and take some pictures. The girls had a lot of fun in the Children's Garden.

Photo shoot at Brookside Gardens

Happy girl

Out the window

We soon found gardens with fountains (and they have a lot of fountains), and the girls loved them. When it was time to move on, it was like pulling teeth.

Fountain fun

Or gazing upward

Leah loved using this garden wall as a balance beam. She walked up and down it for a long time.

Still balancing

Molly loved all the benches and insisted on lying down on most of them.

Lying on a bench

We tried to get a picture of Leah sitting on a bench, but she wouldn't have it. As soon as we sat her down, she was immediately escaping the confines of the seat.

Escape

Molly and Leah started playing hide and seek in the roses. Here's Molly hiding behind a rose bush. She has trouble keeping quiet while hiding though, as it's just so much fun.

Hiding in the roses