It's Okay Not To Let Go

The obvious solution was to sell it.  ALL of it.  Every last piece. 

Every basket full of stamps, scissors, and ink hiding in the closets, every folder bursting at the seams with stickers and do-dads in my desk, and every beautiful sheet of hand selected 12x12 paper stacked up in the garage.

Every reminder of the free time I once had, every glimpse of the passion and love of paper that still resides inside me, but is no longer fed and nourished by quiet evenings with my craft.

There is no time these days.  My priorities have changed.  There are so many digital options that are quicker, easier, and cleaner.  I need the space for the growing collections of clothes, toys, art projects and other child related items that are taking over our house. 

But first... One Last Hurrah.  I had to finish Nathan's baby book.

I couldn't be one of those mothers who goes all out on her first child with handmade quilts, clothes, and scrapbooks, but leaves the second one with nothing other than hand me downs and a box full of unorganized photos. 

My cute little number two...

So, this week I picked up 9 months worth of photos from Target.  I got out my supplies.  I pulled out the book that I had purchased when I was pregnant with Nathan.  I started piecing it together.  And I re-lit the spark between me and my paper, the love affair that I pushed away so long ago. 

Lesson learned, Mama, even though you don't have the time you used to for "extras" like scrapbooking, don't give it up all together!  This week, with every page I put together, I grew more and more excited.  Looking at the photographs, telling Nathan's story, imagining him turning the pages of this book with his own children some day.  I knew I couldn't do it.  It all had to stay, happily stuffed in closets and drawers.  I may not have all the time in the world, but if I was able find time to do it today, then I can find time again tomorrow, or next week, or next year.  It doesn't have to be all or nothing.  When Nathan's album is done, I am going to stash my supplies back in the garage, closet, and desk drawers.  And they will be there, waiting for me again, whenever I am ready.  And it may be awhile, because I'm busy hanging with the three most awesome boys in the world... 

My Boys, on Father's Day. 

For the next week, we are on "Vacation".  Hubby's home for 10 days, and we have lots of family fun adventures planned, starting with Disneyland!  I'm going to try and take a break from my computer, and log off facebook mobile as well...  we'll see how long it lasts!  Thank you to my new followers, I will be visiting all of you when I get back!  


Love, 
Suzanne

Sew... Sew.... SEW!

Two weeks of no blogging, and what do I have to show for it? 

A funky attitude, a little bit of spring cleaning, some shopping, a lot of family time, a potty trained two year old, but no sewing!  So, I'm going to do the unthinkable.  I'm going to sew.  And blog.  At the same time.  For a week! 

It may be wishful thinking on my part, but I'm going to go for it.  Here's my project list...  wish me luck!

1. Cloth baby wipes and kitchen towels made from old receiving blankets and bath towels

2. Baby Teething Rings

3. More 90 Minute Shirts.. I have three thrift store shirts that I'm planning to use for these, as well as for some pj pants for the boys

4. Some sort of backpack or tote for Lucas, for his treasure hunting adventures. 

5. Finishing the babylegs project I started with Cindy last week!

Starting monday, I don't care about laundry, dishes, or a messy house.  I'm gonna sew sew sew.  And I'm gonna make some progress. 

Fabric Dyeing = Accidental Hippie Onsie

 
I got the crafty bug awhile ago and have been itching to do some projects.  Step one was my first attempt at fabric dyeing.  I have to say the results weren't quite what I was hoping for, but I had fun in the process! 

I started with some old shirts and some plain white onsies...

Mixed up the dye (I used the powdered RIT dye) in two separate containers.  I chose blue and brown.  Then I submerged the fabric. 

The instructions said to soak for a half hour, but who am I to listen, plus I wanted a very dark color... so I soaked them for FIVE hours, outside.... because the smell was giving me a headache.  It didn't help that it started to rain. 

When I finally pulled them out I realized my first mistake - too small of a container.  They looked tie-dyed!  But, that was actually kind of cool.  Hippie shirts, right?  The blue looked great, a light/dark combo.  The brown on the other hand, was a little bit purple.  Not going to work on my stylish little boy.  So...  my soon to be second cousin (Baby Girl Danger) is probably going to get a cute brown and purple hand dyed onsie.

Trashy Family Seeks Forgiveness, UP-cycling anyone?

Lately I've fallen by the wayside as far as my carbon footprint goes.

Going green has gotten so trendy, marketing campaigns everywhere are trying to hook people with their more environmentally friendly this or that. It's all kind of hokey to me. I care about the planet, and I want to keep it clean and safe for my kids and their kids, but I don't' want to buy saran wrap that's twice as expensive just because it's "eco-friendly". I'd rather just not buy any in the first place.

I am wasteful. We are a trashy family (or maybe I should say garbage-y, huh?). We use paper plates, paper napkins, paper towels, Styrofoam cups, and plastic utensils like crazy. My kitchen drawers have four sizes of plastic baggies, parchment paper, wax paper, aluminum foil, glad press 'n seal, and more. Baby wipes, antibacterial wipes, glass cleaning wipes, disposable "swiffer" cloths for dusting and mopping. I even have special pacifier wipes for Nathan, and "Boogie Wipes" for the boys when they are sick. As I'm writing this I am getting really disgusted. That is a lot of trash.
I need to do something about it. But, more on that later.

Right now, I'm excited about a few Eco-Friendly projects of my own.
I just learned the term Up-Cycling, and I love it! Instead of recycling, it is a way of reusing something old, and turning it into something better. For example, turning an t00 small t-shirt of yours into a shirt or pants for you kid. And that is exactly what I am going to do!

First, I am on a hunt through the house for old clothes, blankets, towels, and anything I might be able to upcycle.

Hmmnn...
old maternity corduroys = cute new pants for lucas and a hat for nathan
too small striped long sleeve shirt = fun shirt for nathan
thermal baby blanket = pj shirts for lucas and nathan.

I've got more and more ideas to come, I hope I have time to make them all!

Ryan's Very Own Father's Day Shirt

For father's day this year Lucas and I got together with friends and made special t-shirts for the dads... Here he is after the masterpiece was created, he is posing with his painted blue toes. (Thanks Olivia for the picture!)

And here is proud Daddy, who wore the shirt ALL day! What a good dad!

Mother's Day Painted Picture Cards

For Mother's Day this year we decided to hand make some cards for everyone. The paper was designed and created by Lucas. Here are some photos of his first attempt at finger painting.

We started at the kitchen table, but ended up with paint on the chair, the wall, and all over him...

So we moved it outside where we had a little more space and room for messiness.

Ruffy and Gizmo were very curious as to what we were doing as well.

Lucas loved squishing the paint between his fingers and toes.

I had to hold on to him to direct his hands to the paper, otherwise we would have had a rainbow colored back yard.

We smeared color after color, made hand and foot prints, and had so much fun!

When it was time to clean up, Lucas wanted to head in the house....

We attempted a quick cleanup, but that didn't work.

This kid really needed a bath!

Sorry, no pictures in the tub, but I'm sure you can imagine what color the water ended up when he was all cleaned off!

Here are some photos of our masterpieces!

No Sew Tie Blanket

I am so proud of the blankets I made today! One for Lucas for his birthday, and one for soon to be baby Alek, Luke's cousin... These were so easy and fun! The only annoying thing was that Joan Fabrics sale signs were misleading, so I ended up spending a lot more than I planned.... lesson learned.

Here are the instructions for anyone interested...

You will need 2 yards of fleece material each for the front and back of the blanket.
You can choose two solids, or mix it up with one solid and one print.
Lay your material on top of each other making sure it is lined up perfectly, you may even use pins to secure it but pin the material away from the edges at least 4 inches.
Once your material is lined up cut out a 4x4 inch square from all four corners of the fleece material.
Now you will begin cutting around the edge of the material. Use your thumb as a guide and cut lines the width of your thumb and then up 3 inches-4 inches. Make sure the cuts are even around the entire edge.
Once this is done begin Knotting the material. On the corners do not, knot the material too tightly. You will be tying the material from the front to the piece in the back. This will create a neat, knotted fray around the entire blanket. If you use a buddy it will take you about 30 minutes to do one blanket .
If you used pins to secure the material together, remove them. When you are done you can roll this up and it looks really neat with the different colors. You can even wrap with a bow or leftover material.