{Handmade} Luke Skywalker Costume

When we decided that Brooklyn would be Princess Leia, it only made sense to have Travis be Luke Skywalker since they are siblings. Plus he doesn't have his own opinions yet,

so I'm taking advantage while I can. Ha!

 He made a super cute Jedi.

For the Cloak I used Simplicity Costumes 5927

The pattern called for felt, but the costume needed linen so I had to add some length and hem.

To get the wrapped fabric look of the boots, I wrapped his rain boots with an Ace bandage.

 For the Tunic I used Simplicity Costumes 4797 and altered the front to a v-neck faux wrap.

For the pants I used Simplicity Costumes 3650.

Super easy sew.

The light saber was purchased in the toy section. The ones in the costume section were not as good quality and cost nearly the same, so it was sort of a no-brainer.

 Sometimes Luke Skywalker chases a Rooster with his light saber.

He loved his costume.

When I was making it he was so amazing about letting me try things on him and every time I pulled out the measuring tape he would stand super still with a big grin on his face.

He loves when Mama makes him things and I love when he wears them.

Winning!

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Handmade} Princess Leia Costume

My daughter Brooklyn as Princess Leia.

Perfect character for her: girly and strong and super sassy.

 My little Leia was asked a couple times if her freckles were real.

Yep. Straight from Jesus, super real.

Her hair got so much attention at the Halloween Carnivals we went to.

People kept wondering how we got them so perfect.

Sock Buns!!!

For the belt I used Jess from Craftiness is not Optional's tutorial.

I just added a couple inches to make it fit my daughter and it came out perfectly!

Thanks Jess!

The "hood" is not a normal hood, but is actually a rectangle of fabric with the short sides sewn into the collar. I made hers a little long, but I'm not stressing over it. She loved it.

The collar I had to free style and I am not thrilled with how it came out, but it was the best of the 4 that I tried. Yeah...4 collars that I sewed on and ripped off (gently with a seam ripper...not all Hulk-y).

I decided that I love it.

For the dress part I used the same pattern that I used last Christmas to make

Brooklyn's Mary costume: Simplicity 4797.

Brooklyn was treated like a celebrity all night and was even bowed to by a few people running booths.

I am not going to get away with store bought costumes for this girl anymore...

she loved how authentic she looked.

Poor cat.

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

Two new things

It's been awhile since I last blogged and too much has happened for me to catch you up, so I will just share two things with you.

1. I am now a runner.

Yep. I always thought that I would be a runner when I grew up. Since this year I turned 33 I decided that I should probably start. I got a couple of girlfriends together and we did the Couch 2 5K program. It is awesome! If you are not (yet) a runner, and you want to be, you should check it out. It's a 9 week program that takes you from not ever running, to running 3.1 miles.

Tomorrow is my first race and I am getting so nervous! I am running a 5.3 mile leg of the Whiskeytown Relay with 3 girlfriends.

2. I have gone Paleo.

I have (mostly) given up dairy, grains, sugar and legumes. I say mostly because I will sometimes have those things as a treat but they are no longer a part of my daily diet. If you are wondering what's left to eat, I eat meat, eggs, fruits, veggies and healthy fats. ;) If you want more information on the Paleo diet, go here: What is the Paleo Diet?

I have lost 18 pounds and feel better than I have in years!

So, that's what's new around here;)

With the start of Fall and the promise of cooler weather (hopefully soon) I am planning to get back to blogging more regularly.

Hello!

Hey, just thought I would pop in for a minute to let you know that I have not forgotten about you! I think about my bloggy friends all the time, but I have just been enjoying time with my kids.

We have been busy with soccer, a 9th birthday, potty training a 2 1/2 year old and just trying to keep up with laundry!

I am hoping to be back to projects and blogging again really soon, but now I am off to watch my kiddos swim as it is 90+ degrees outside.

{Recipe} Vanilla Coffee Creamer

I love me some Vanilla creamer for my coffee, but when I read the ingredients I was a little freaked out.

It's filled with things I cannot pronounce. No bueno!

I played around and came up with a recipe that I love and that doesn't gross me out.

Ingredients:

2 cups Milk

1 1/2 TBS Vanilla

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Yep. 3 ingredients. 

I removed the label from an empty creamer container and washed it really well.

Poor all 3 ingredients into bottle and shake shake shake!!!

I love the pour spout and the easy close lid.

This is my new favorite mug.

L.O.V.E. Owls!!!

Enjoy!

Note:

This does not last as long as store bought creamer because it is made with real ingredients and has no preservatives, so use it up within a few weeks. I go by the expiration date on the milk that I use.

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs: Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

Declan Everett

Hello! I have been away from the blog for too long, but I am back(I hope). I had my baby a little over 5 weeks ago and my days are spent snuggling with him and playing with my older kids. I have missed blogging and am going to try to get back into the swing of things.



37 weeks and 1 day.

Last preggo photo!

My water broke while picking my daughter up from AWANA and we took a goofy "We're gonna have a baby!" photo when we got home. Dork status fo sho!

Declan Everett

Born 2-2-12 at 11:11am

6lbs, 14.6ozs

18.25in

 Our first picture as a family of 5!

Declan

Pronounced Deck-len

 I am so in love.

My three children.

Brooklyn and Travis pretty much adore their new baby brother:)

This is my life and I love it.

{WORD} Wednesday

Patience.

It is one of the Fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22, 23)

God is currently working to grow this fruit in me.

If you read my post from yesterday you will see what I mean.

He is showing me that patience is needed to see fruit form on a tree...it doesn't happen overnight.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint."

So now I am learning to wait upon the Lord.

Waiting for His perfect timing in life and in the birth of my child.

{Bump} 36 Weeks

Warning: as this is a post about pregnancy there may or may not be some "lady business" talk.

My face in this picture pretty much sums up how I feel right now:

I am so tired! This past week I have had two false alarms. Such a TEASE!

Thursday evening my contractions were 5-7 minutes apart for an hour, then 3-5 minutes apart for 45 minutes and then they went to 2-3 minutes apart for 30 minutes before I decided to head to the hospital.

They had me on the monitors for 4 hours with contractions 2-3 minutes apart and had to send me home because there was NO progression.

Friday evening I lost my "plug". (Can't believe I just wrote that...Eeew)

Saturday evening the baby dropped.

Monday(yesterday) I had contractions all day and then in the evening they picked up to 2-3 minutes for 2 hours and were much lower than on Thursday night. I headed back to the hospital 

and after an hour was sent home...AGAIN.

Blarg.

Apparently I am having a crap ton of useless, but perfectly timed, contractions that have done NOTHING!

Nothing, that is, except turn me into a freaking basket case who has had to do

the Labor & Delivery ward "Walk of Shame" twice now in one week:

Get dressed, look around to make sure you have all your belongings.

Was I wearing a bra?

Walk down the long, brightly lit hallway hoping nobody sees you with

yesterdays mascara smeared under your puffy eyes.

Wait for the elevator just outside reception, which takes FOREVER considering its 2AM.

Walk out the door, past the same people who buzzed you in after hours, avoiding their looks of pity.

Climb into your cold car and drive home to cry yourself to sleep.

I know that I am early, but with all these signs of labor, I am just tired of the guessing game.

Just FYI:

My daughter was born at 35 1/2 weeks and was 6lbs 10ozs.

My son was born at 37 1/2 weeks and was nearly 8 lbs.

So for me, having the baby now would be perfectly normal.

Oh, and with each of those pregnancies I did not feel a single contraction until I was in the hospital in active labor...so this whole contraction thing is new for me.

 

{WORD} Wednesday

Instead of "Wordless Wednesday" I will be doing "WORD" Wednesday.

What is {Word} Wednesday?

Well, at the end of 2011 I chose a "word" that I will focus on for the new year.

My post about my word and how it chose me is here:

My One Little Word for 2012

On Wednesdays I will be sharing:

*How my "word" has worked in my life that week.

*An inspirational quote relating to my word

*A verse from THE WORD that relates to MY WORD.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)

7 "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit."

I love this passage! 

One thing I got from this is that the tree "sends out its roots."

The tree seeks out the nutrients needed in order to grow and bear fruit...just as we need to spend time cultivating a relationship with God through prayer and time in the WORD in order to "bear fruit" in our lives.

Okay, that's it for my first {Word} Wednesday.

Have a fruitful week my friends!

Dude, how many times can a girl use the word WORD in one short post?

Ever say a word so many times that it loses all meaning and sense of reality?

Um, yeah....

{Made} Infant Peasant Dress

One of my best friends just had a beautiful baby girl the day after Christmas. Because this is her second girl and she already has all the basic necessities, she decided to wait until the baby was born to have a shower. That is in a couple weeks, but I was wanting to make a little something to give to her now. 

Abby from Sew Much Ado shared this FREE Infant Peasant Dress Pattern and Tutorial and I just HAD to make it! The fabric I used is Riley Blake Sugar & Spice by The Quilted Fish.

 The pattern is awesome and the tutorial is so easy to follow and has great step by step photos. The pattern is the same for the front and back, so I added a little ribbon tag to what I decided was the "back".

I did this because there is one side that has more of the red flowers and I wanted that to be the front.

 Here is the dress on that sweet baby girl! I added a pair of newborn pants to keep her little legs warm.

In the summer this dress would be perfect with some bloomers.

*Sigh*I am so in love with her:)

Sewing for girls is so much fun!

It's probably a good thing that I am having another boy;)

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

{Tutorial} Simple Burp Cloths

I have SO MANY pregnant friends right now and I love giving handmade gifts.

Burp cloths are something that every mother needs and really you can never have too many!

If they are cute...even better!

I love the look of the ones with the strip of fabric down the center of a cloth diaper,

but I have heard from friends that they don't absorb as well.

The spit up runs down the fabric center and doesn't do what it is meant to do.

Flannel is very absorbent and gets more so with each wash, so that's what I made these with.

You could also do a flannel print on the front with minky, terry cloth, or chenille on the back.

Cut 2 pieces of flannel or whatever fabric you are using.

Mine were about 9" X 17".

Finished product is about 8"x16".

This gives good shoulder coverage without being too big and rolls up nicely in the diaper bag.

Pin the pieces right side to right side.

Sew with a 3/8 seam allowance ALMOST all the way around.

Leave about a 3" section open for turning.

Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end.

Snip off the corners.

This removes some bulk in the corners when you turn.

Turn right side out, poke out the corners so they are nice a sharp and press with an iron.

Make sure that the fabric at the opening is turned in(sometimes I pin this)

Then topstitch all the way around.

Backstitch at the beginning and end.

And you're done!

Make them in multiples and tie them up with a ribbon!

I gave these to a friend along with a set of bottles that she had registered for.

Bottles and Burp Cloths...Get it?

I love me a theme gift!

Here's a simple modification:

Round the corners!

 Using a cup, bowl or anything circular really, trace a rounded corner.

I do this after my fabric is pinned together so that I am not fighting to line up the rounded corners.

 With rounded corners you will need to cut out little notches. This keeps your corners from being too bulky.

 Turn, press, and topstitch!

Ask any mom and she will tell you that you can NEVER have too many burp cloths.

Why not give them something that is not only practical, but OH SO CUTE!

Oh, and did I mention that they are super inexpensive to make?

Especially if you get your fabrics on sale or with a coupon like I do!

Happy Sewing!

Linking up with some of these blogs:

Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating