Babies, babies, babies!

It seems like everyone I know right now is having babies.  Seriously!!!  That's ok, though... actually, it's great, b/c it gives me lots of excuses to create sweet gifts for all these new mommas.   

Here's a few things I made for a friend yesterday.  She's having a girl, and I tried to stick w/ her color theme using pink, green, and chocolate brown.  You'll notice that these are not personalized, and that's b/c mommy and daddy haven't agreed... I mean "decided" on a name yet.  ;)  I will personalize them for her later if she'd like. 

I've been looking for an excuse to use these cute Maryjane Shoes.  A burpcloth seemed like a sweet place for them.    

 And these bibs are amazing, tie behind the back rather than around the neck.  LOVE them!

 Closer look at this cute little birdie design.

 Another sweet birdie

 And the set.  I love the pink and green fabric used on this bib!

 Hope you enjoy!  I had so much fun making these. 

Welcome Back to Bloggyland

So, here I am again, apologizing for lack of posts/updates.  

       I am creating, but life is just... let's say "full".  

Sooo many exciting things going on.  I will try to keep posting amongst the midst or the craziness!! 

We had a great time in SC, clearing out the old house for closing, and vacationing.  We had a blast w/ friends and family.  Here are some of the highlights:

The kids enjoyed quite a few movies, while Tim and I finished packing up the house.  

Aren't they sweet??  ;)

 The neighborhood pool will definitely be missed.  

I'm sure we'll find a new one to call home, here in VA.

 No trip would be complete w/o some shopping!!  We spent the better part of a day playing at the Tanger Outlets.

 Enjoyed the beautiful beaches!

More snuggles

 Whenever we're in town, I call up Chrisey for haircuts.  

She is amazing, and if you're in the North Charleston area, you have to look her up! She's at Panache Salon.

Ashlyn has been telling me that she wanted her haircut short for several weeks now.  I didn't really believe her.  

But hair is hair and it grows...SO we let her go for it.  

Here's Ash pre-cut

 Garrett hanging out waiting his turn.

 And Ashlyn, quite pleased w/ herself and her new do!! 

 We got to spend some time w/ our best friends 

and even had a tea party!!

 Vacation wouldn't be complete w/o 

chocolate frosted doughnuts!!

A Few New Creations!

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of posts lately.  Life is very full right now.  

We are in the process of closing on our house back in SC and searching for a new one up here.  

Also trying to squeeze out the last bit of summer and start school at the same time!  And it's not leaving much time for sewing, much less blogging about it!  

And I am kicking myself for not showing you the apron I made for a friend last week.  

Secondly, SPOILER ALERT!  If your name is Stephanie and your mom is coming to see you this weekend, you might not want to read any further.  ;)

So, here we go...this is a gift I made for one of Emma Cate's ballet buddies birthday.  This is the first I've made of one of these.  My kids have a couple of them and love them... 
so, I took a hand towel to make the hood.  Attached a simple polka-dot ribbon and attached the hood to the towel.  Pretty easy... and pretty cute.

Added some ballet slippers...

And her name... really liking this font!

 

And these are a gift for a friend's grandchildren.  I am quite pleased with how they turned out.  

First, for the princess!

 This is the full size towel.

 the full set, bath, hand, and wash.

 

A closer look at the crown

 A closer look at the Castle

  

And for the boy...

 The full set!

 A closer look:

And I am officially closed for business until Sept!  

We will not have internet access for a while, so if you have a request go ahead and send it, but don't be surprised if you don't hear back from me quickly.  

Thanks for stopping by, 

Em

Somebody's Getting Married!

Wow... it's been a busy weekend!  We had a birthday/graduation party Friday night, and I co-hosted a bridal shower Sat night, which ate up a lot of the day Saturday, preparing food. 

I actually got quite a few projects completed last week, and I am hoping to find time this week to actually share them with you.  

For now... you get to see shower fun!

I love to cook, and I especially love to make beautiful food.  This shower was a great excuse to try out a few fun recipes.  The theme was "color", so I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

The first is a Pampered Chef cake recipe that I have had for about 8 yrs and always wanted to try... but just never had the occasion, or wasn't brave enough to attempt it.  

Here it is:  The Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Torte

 I love the simple beauty!  Now it did take a little bit of time to assemble, but that was fun anyway!  This cake used a pound cake box mix...shhh, don't tell! ;)

The next dessert I did was a modified Tuxedo Brownie, also a Pampered Chef recipe.  I love PC, great when you don't have a ton of time, but still want the "wow factor"  

I wanted to use raspberries instead of strawberries, and I added a mint leaf for extra color.  

What do you think?

I made an apron for her shower gift.  My sister-in-law likes to tease me about being so "domestic".  (her words)  I can't wait to throw that one back at her!  ;)  Sooo, I made her an apron... as girly and cutesie as she is!  I hope she prepares many wonderful meals for her family in it. 

 I wish you could see more detail in this pic... but I am not a photographer.  I added a string of pearls around the neck, my personal favorite touch!  And the white ribbon across the middle is actually ruffle-y on top and bottom.  I think she liked it!

And just a sneak peak into the fun.  My very creative co-host, Jen (sister of the bride) came up w/ a game where we split into 3 groups.  Each group had to design either a bridal gown, mother of the bride gown, or a flower girl dress.  So here are the creations!

 Not too many people could be a beaming beautiful bride 

in tissue paper!!  Katheryn definitely pulled it off :)

 Mother of the Bride!

 And Emma Cate loved... 

I mean LOVED being dressed up.  ;)  

I think she's as close as one can get to being a "Professional Flowergirl"  This will be her 5th wedding.

Quick shot of the food table... note the easy and colorful decorations hanging in the window, made by my sister that have now been used and reused for a baby shower, birthday party, and now a wedding shower!  You rock, Bekah!

Thanks for visiting!

no news is good news ;)

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days... I have been busy working on new projects... "me" projects.  The problem is I don't want to be the model in the photos.  haha ;)  will get posts up soon... so be watching!  They are super cute and very affordable!

-Em

Girly Dresses

As I said, since learning to use my embroidery machine, I've been getting back into sewing.  I tend to pick up random patterns when they are on sale for $.99 each and fabric that I like, when it's on sale or I have a 50% off coupon.  Then I get home, see what I have, and figure out a plan.  Here are a couple of dresses I made recently for the girls.  They're not my favorite.  But they are functional, the girls LOVE them, and I was able to make them big since they tie in the back... so plenty of room to grow in them. 

 Sweet Emma Cate.  I loved this fabric.  Very summery.  

The trim is pink w/ white polka dots but you can't really tell in the photo. 

 Silly Ashlyn. And please notice the stack of bracelets she put on 

when I told her I needed her to model for me. She's my fashionista.  ;)  

I really didn't like this fabric when I first saw it on the clearance rack.  I actually thought it was quite awful.  But it was $3/ yd and the more I looked at it, the more I knew my Ash would love it.  

Paired w/ the dark purple swirly trim, it turned out quite nicely. 

Also, note the hairbow.  I'll post more about them later.  

You can get one for $3, or with a single letter monogram for $4

 Sweet

 and sassy!

the boy was feeling left out...

and that's just cute!

Bookshelf makeover

Most of you know that we've been living with my parents since we moved to VA... Praying, hoping, and waiting for our house in SC to sell.  

Well, we FINALLY have a contract!  Praise the Lord!!!  We accepted a full price offer and are set to close Sept 1st.  Woohoo!

Ok, so back to living with my parents.  Since we've been here I have organized and reorganized again and again trying to create more functional space and room for our kids to play.  And when I saw these simple white bookshelves on sale for $15, I knew I could find a use for them.  

I bought 2, and 2 pieces of fabric that I loved for about $4 each.  

I attached the fabric (with scotch tape) to the backing before assembling.

Here's Emma Cate's

 We put it on top of her dresser where she can keep her special little knick-knacks and her books, 

and her 2 yr old little brother can't quite get to them.  

and here's mine

Right now, I'm planning to use it for some homeschooling stuff, although once we move and have our own shelves back, I'm thinking it'll be a great place to store some of my sewing things!  ;)

So there you go.  

Simple, functional, inexpensive, and pretty cute. 

Pricing

These are fun for me, but I'd love to make some for you too!

  Think birthdays, weddings, baby showers, Christmas! 

My goal here is to be affordable.  And to support my "habit" by generating a little extra income so that I can create more fun things for myself and my kids.   I've been told that these prices are too low, but I believe that they will cover my costs and my time and that the stores jack the prices up just b/c they can. These prices are for the embroidering only, assuming you bring me the item you want monogrammed.  

I have over a hundred fonts available.  So I can do any style lettering you like!

Single letter monogram  $3

This is a large 3 inch letter

3-letter monogram  $5

like the ones shown on these towels

First name  $6-7 (depending on the number of letters)

Image applique $4

Name and image $8

  I will work out a discount if you order multiple items in one order.  Let me know if I can help you with anything!

From placemats... to handbags

Alright, so I mentioned in the last post that I made pool/beach towels for Easter baskets.  

I've also mentioned that I like practical and affordable... hence the towels in the baskets.  

A "get ready for summer" theme.  

So, my kids got $3 sunglasses from Children's place, $2.50 flip-flops from Old Navy, goldfish, fruit snacks, and a few pieces of candy.  We're not crazy about lots of sweets over here.  My kids are plenty active w/o them.  ;) 

I came across these super sweet, girly-girl pink placemats at Marshalls for $1.50 each and just had to turn them into super sweet, girly-girl purses.  With a little ribbon and a little sewing, and a magnet clasp... they got these for Easter too.  

I was really pleased with these fonts paired together.  

Here's a closer look.

We love these bags.  The girls use them for church mostly, with a small case of crayons and a small snack.  
And they feel like big girls with their purses.  :)