Easy “Handmade” Valentines
One of the best parts about having young kids is getting to help them make Valentines for their friends.
One of the not-so-best parts about having young kids is getting to help them make Valentines for their friends.
Thank goodness I had a mid-game brainstorm this week.
Our oldest, Eleanor, is four and a half. Her dream is to be “an artist and a mommy” when she grows up and she set out to draw a picture for all 16 members of her preschool class. Including writing ‘Happy Valentine’s Day From Eleanor’ on them. You can see where this is going.
I let her go about her work for a while and when she was getting tired of the idea, I made a suggestion. And I fully plan on this being my default for all Valentines in the future!
This is what her Valentines looked like today at school.
And now for a little truth in advertising….
For anyone who would want to do something similar, here’s what I did:
Take the artwork and scan it into the computer.
Use a program (I used Photoshop) to do any scaling necessary to fit the elements on one page. I did have to use the magic wand on the outer portions of the images to get rid of a gray rectangle ‘edge’ they had from the scanner.
Print. Enjoy. And pat yourself on the back, because now you have time for making this:
A Valentine box that says, “Take that, Pinterest!”
So, ‘frum’ Eleanor (and me)….’Hapy Valentins’ Day, friends.
Introducing…. Rhett!
If I knew that writing my “Nesting” blog post would induce labor, I’d have written it earlier. The day after my last post, our baby arrived!
It’s a BOY! (much to the surprise of our preschoolers, who were predicting they’d get a baby sister)
We brought him home on Christmas Day, which (after a short stay in the NICU) was the best gift we could ever ask for. We are thrilled to have Rhett with us now and loving how he just seems to fit right in like he’s always been here. Going from zero kids to one was a huge change. Graham’s arrival gave us the added element of multi-tasking. Rhett? I’m probably jinxing myself, but he’s the easiest to adjust to thus far!
And I think he looks extra cute on his quilt that I made him.
Both of these photos were taken by my friend Taylor Tholen, a KC area photographer/ high school teacher extraordinaire.
A bit of pattern business housekeeping… we’re just about back into the swing of things and are finding a good routine. Orders are going out on time, but e-mails might take a bit longer than usual to receive a reply. I can do a lot with a baby in one arm, but emailing is not one of them! Ha!
Someday soon I’ll get back to my sewing machine. For now, I’m enjoying lots of newborn snuggles.
Nesting
Oh, the nesting.
We are days away from greeting this new baby. By Christmas? Or after? Boy? Girl? Your guess is as good as ours!
What I do know, however, is that some women ‘nest’ before a new baby by organizing. Me? Apparently, I sew.
I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just been busy focusing on family, prepping for a new person to join us and doing a ton of sewing for the people I love.
In the last few weeks, I’ve made:
- eight ruffled wristlet key fobs from Alex’s awesome tutorial (these were our preschool teacher gifts!)
- two patchwork Christmas pillows (created ultra fast, using the method Elizabeth outlines here)
- six pairs of Quick Change Trousers (from the All Set pattern) for Christmas PJs for our kids and nieces and nephew. They are SO adorable on the kids!
- one Fairy Tale dress for my daughter’s Christmas dress. I’ll do a full post about this soon. I LOVE how it came together.
- two baby quilts, including one that uses my four blocks from the October Denyse Schmidt workshop here in Kansas City,
And this bright and cheery one for the baby’s room. I am crazy for the quilt and love how it turned out! It’s from Allison’s popular raw edge circle quilt tutorial. I cannot wait to take a million photos of the new baby on it!
And that doesn’t even include the sewing I did in October. Two flower girl dresses for my nieces:
(Just in case someone should ask… I modified the neckline of style D on Simplicity 3943 to fit the style that the bride wanted. There are four layers of tulle on top of the satin skirt. The black sashes/bows came from David’s Bridal and the black flowers were clip-ons that my sister-in-law found at JoAnn.)
And a Jump Rope Dress for Eleanor to wear at Thanksgiving:
After all that, I’d planned to make myself a Weekender Bag. It’s a pattern I’ve been staring at for years now. I got most of the outside panels finished, and then…. my machine gave in and totally froze up. It’s in for repair. Sewing blitz over. Oh, well!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go organize a closet or drawer or something until this baby gets here!
Fall for Solids: Pink Castle Guest Post
When Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics asked me to be a guest judge in the Fall for Solids contest and write a little about my love for using solids in my own projects, I knew it was an easy “you bet!” Head on over to the Pink Castle blog today where I am guest posting with my thoughts on solids. Be sure to enter the contest, too! The projects are such a great size… pillows and mini quilts.
(That image above? Part of a Seeing Squares quilt I made for the Brewer booth at a recent Quilt Market. It’s made from dupioni silk…. yet another way to use solids!)
