Baby boy outfit

 I think this turned out really good.  The shirt it white with Noah Ark print.  I still need to hand sew the collar in the inside.  The jeans and hat are out of a slightly stretch denim.  This took longer to make than I thought but it was fun.

 I love my new sewing machine.  My buttonholes look flawless and it even sews on the buttons and saves me so much time.  There is a small pocket on the left side. 

On the jeans I foregoed the snap buttons since I always find it easier to pull them up and down and I hate putting in snap tape.  I think I made this whole outfit for $10 or less.  I haveplenty of fabric to mae a few other pieces, at least out of the denim.

Baby blankets

I have finished two baby blankets for our baby due in October.

 This one is two pieces of flannel sewn together.  I also quilted around the blocks to keep the flannel from shifting in washes. 

This one is crocheted.  The varigated is called ocean and then the solid is aqua.  It is mostly shells and puffs.  It was fairly easy and has a little cape and bootie that goes with it that I am still working on.

Mini Hamburgers

We had our Ward Fish Fry on July 8th.  Everyone was asked to bring a dessert.  A few days earlier I bought a magazine from my favorite cooking magazine "Taste of Home" called "Fun Food."  I found this really cute idea.  I don't like standing for long periods so this was something I could do sitting down.  You need vanilla wafers, mini chocolate cookies (I used mint like it suggested,) coconut, red and green food coloring and white frosting.  You tint 1/4 cup frosting red and put that on half of the vanilla wafers.  Tint coconut green and then sprinkle on red frosting.  Place chocolate cookie on top.  Frost remaining vanilla wafers with white frosting and place on top.  The recipe said it would make 40, I got 36 since I ran out of red frosting.  They turned out cute, were really good, and were all ate up at the party.

Painting

Another thing the kids enjoy doing is painting.  I got Timmy a little wooden airplane and Sheila a picture frame and they went to town.

Notebooks

I bought a bunch of craft ideas for the kids to do over the summer.  I got these foam notebooks and foam stickers and the kids made their own notebooks.  I made Kimberly's for her and since her full name wouldn't fit I used Kim but we do not call her that usually.

Dolphin Quilt Phase 1

I bought some material when Ray and I first got married to make us a quilt for our bed.  Well, I finished some of the piecing but then when other projects came up I put it away and nearly forgot about it.  Last winter I was going through all my material and purging some of it when I came across it.  I needed more material for the border, especially since I decided to make it a king incase we ever got a king size bed.  Luckily, Walmart still carried some of the material I needed.  Just a few weeks ago I finished the quilt top.

I have now finished sandwiching the layers and trimming  them to size.  Unfortunately I was trying to machine quilt the bulky thing on my machine and the backing and batting slid and it was so uneven.  I now have to unpick all I have machine stitched.  I decided I will finish the binding and then do the hand stitching and then the machine stitching last.  I have put it away again because I am making Timmy, my son, a quilt and need to get it tied before I am too big to get on the floor and do it.  (I have that one about half of the quilt top done currently and work on it daily.)    Once I finish that one I will take this one out again and if I don't have it ready for the fair this year it should be for next year although I would like to have this one done so we can start using it.  My other quilt I made for us when we got married is wearing out and we need a new one.

Cruise Scrapbook

I worked on this cruise scrapbook for awhile.  But once I sat down and did it I was able to finish most of it in about 5-6 days of working about 1-2 hours a day on it.

 I actually bought the album on the cruise ship.  The picture in the front is a post card of the ship, Holiday.  Holiday is no longer owned by Carnival Cruise Line. They sold it and replaced it with a larger ship.

 This is from the formal night.  No special techniques on this page.  Very simple layout.

 I used some of my cricut die cuts on this pge with the cruise ship and wave.  Then the lettering is acrylic lettering glued on to circle cardstock cut outs.

 I actually had a different layout planned for this pool page but because I changed my mind due to the fact that I am trying to do as many pages as fast as possible to catch up a little I ended up using stickers instead of my die cuts I had planned. 

 I had got these golf embellishments in a grab bag I bought one Christmas and since we don't really golf I thought about giving them away or something but then I ended up using them on our miniature golf page.  The cruise ship had a small course on top.  The one day we played it was so windy our balls were blowing everywhere.

 For the dining page I just made flowers with silk flowers and buttons to match the paper.  I also glue some mini beads onto the larger white flower centers on the actual page.

 Another simple layout.  I used coordinating cardstock with the paper and then some Mexico stickers I got at the craft store.

 This one was a little harder to plan out.  I finally made coordinating flowers on the left page and the right page I have chipboard lettering.

 This was one of my favorite inspirations.  I saw lettering made out of pipecleaners in one of my scrapbook magazines so that is what I did here with the orange pipe cleaner.  I then used beads to enhance the look. 

 I actually did sewing on a scrapbook page.  I made these leaves with felt and ribbon, sewing the stems on the back, and then glueing them on the paper.

 The lettering is both chipboard and made out of ribbon.  I also sewed the ribbon on the left page to sort of look like waves to resemble the waves crashing on the beach below.

 Since we went in October we had a Halloween night.  Ray and I wore our pirate costumes I had made the year before.  I used a little of the left over lace as the embellishment on the bottom of the big picture.

The last page was just another simple page.  I used a lot of simple layouts and techniques so I could get it done quickly.  But overall I am happy with how most of the pages turned out.  I am not one to do a lot to a scrapbook page.

New Roast Recipe

I have a delicious roast recipe that I have made for years.  Ray and I both love it and it is hard to beat.  But sometimes I like to change it up a bit.  I subscribe to three food recipe magazines currently.  Tonight I tried a new roast recipe.  I am not going to say that it beats my other recipe, but this one is fast, simple, and easy to make and was delicious.  I am going to add it to my rotation of recipes.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Family-Favorite-Beef-Roast

Stick puppets

The first craft the kids and I made together were these cute stick puppets.  The kit was $5 at Walmart.  It makes I think 24, 8 of 3 different kinds.  I made a set for Kimberly and the kids made their own.  They are all foam stickers so easy to assemble.  The sticks are also foam but need to be glued on with craft glue.

Girl Clothes

 My oldest daughters favorite color is red.  She doesn't like dresses too much but I thought if I made her red dresses she might like them.  These are size 7 so may fit her next year.  Anyway the one on the left is made of brocade and has an asian inspired collar.  Brocade likes to shed and so I had a hard time sewing it.  But it is beautiful.  Maybe with more experience I will get better with it.  The one on the right is gingham with a white ribbon fencing machine sewn on.  The red roses are hand sewn on and the stems are hand embroidered.  Unfortunately, my daughter said she doesn't like either dress.  I will see how she feels when it gets closer to her wearing them.  If not they will be saved for my younger daughter who will have many beautiful hardly worn dresses to enjoy.

My oldest daughter loves skirts and simple tee shirts to wear for church.  I made both these skirts.  The one on the left has three tiers of different colors of butterfly material.  It comes down to her knees and will fit her immediately.  I am putting it in the fair though in October so she will have to wait until then.  The first tier and top is purple, middle is black, and bottom is pink.  I love this material because she can wear it with almost any color of top.  The other skirt is black with purple and pink hearts.  It has one ruffle near the bottom.  Both of these skirts were simple to make.  The one with all the tiers took the longest since I made three separate ruffles. Each I finished in one day (with 1-2 hours of sewing.)

Poncho set

I made these poncho sets for my older daughter.  The child poncho is one size fit all and the doll poncho fits 16-20 inch dolls.  Each has a head scarf as well.  It took 1 skein of 4 colors and 2 skeins of the main color.  I had some of this yarn already but if I was to buy the yarn for full price it would cost around $18 to make these.  It took awhile to finish these since putting the squares together always take me the longest.  I think the child set took me around 10 hours and the doll one about half that.

Girl PJ pants and shorts

I made these for my older daughter.  They are size 7-8 so should fit her around next year.  The frosty ones match the pjs I made my younger daughter.  The other is a Tinkerbell shorts.  PJ pants are one of the easiest things to make.  Depending on the pattern and size it takes 1-2 yards of fabric and about a yard of elastic and thread.  These each took me about half an hour to sew.  I think the shorts cost around $4 and the pants about $2 (again I got the fabric on clearance.)

Teddy bear pjs

I actually made these last year and they are now fitting Kimberly.  She looked so cute in them I had to get her picture. 

Pink Outfit

I made this outfit for Kimberly.  It is 2T and so should fit her next spring/summer.  I made her a dress from the same pattern last year.  The shorts were a cinch to make.  The top took a little more work since it has a flounce around the bottom. I think it took about 2 yards of fabric and I got the fabric on sale so it was maybe $6-8 to make. I think it took me about 2 hours to make.

Red Rose Skirt

I was given this beautiful material after my brother-in-laws wedding in 2004.  My in-laws purchased it for the red carpet in the aisle.  The wedding was held outside but the material washed up great.  There was around 10 yards of it.  A year after their wedding we both had girls and so I made them matching dresses out of some of it and a doll outfit.  Well, I really liked this skirt pattern but it called for a lot of material and I didn't want to purchase that amount so as I was digging through my leftovers I found this piece.  There was enough (since I had to cut the material with a nap it took up more) to make this skirt (I have leftovers to make a few more doll outfits.)  The skirt turned out to be quiet heavy and so I tightened the elastic quite a bit.  Since it is for after I have the baby I couldn't model it quite yet.  It is floor length so I will have to wear it with heels.  Again because it was made of leftovers it essentially cost me nothing to make.

Dolphin pillow

I have been working on a quilt for Ray's and my bed for a very long time.  I bought most of the material years ago but it has only been this year that I finally pulled it out and started piecing it together.  Luckily Wal-Mart still carried some of the stuff so I could buy more for the material.  I have the quilt top done now but I need to download the pictures.  However I got enough of the border material that I was able to make this large throw pillow.  I have enough to make two smaller throw pillows which I should hopefully do next month.  I am waiting until pillow forms go on sale.  Since I used all extra material this pillow really cost me nothing to make and took no time at all.  I stuffed it with left over fiberfil from stuff animals I made the kids (still need to finish and get photoed.)

Daisy Afghan

I actually started this afghan with my oldest daughter in mind without realizing it was a baby afghan.  So after I realized that I found another pattern to make for my older daughter.  (I am making that one now.)  I finished the crocheting a few months ago but just recently finished hiding all the ends.  The flowers are pink, light coral, and blue with green leaves and cornstalk yellow borders. The colors are more vibrant than it shows in this picture.  If we have a girl this will be for the new baby.  I think it was about $20 in supplies. It took me several hours to make.

Star Baby Quilt

I wasn't planning on making a baby boy quilt since I already have one made and saved in my cedar chest.  But while cleaning out my material I came across this material I bought for another quilt I have decided not to make (it is pieced and I can't remember where I was on it since I had only started cutting the material and I started it years ago.)  Anyway, one piece was blue with white stars and the other was white with white stars.  It was just shy of a crib size (45x60)  It is more like 45x55.  I tied it with soft white yarn and binded it with white blanket binding.  It didn't take long at all.  And since I already had most of the material I spent only about $15 on finishing it.  If we don't have a boy (and I will know in about a week hopefully) then I most likely will give it as a gift sometime.

Baby Quilt

I try to make each baby two quilts.  I have a boy one already finished that I made when I didn't know if Kimberly was going to be a girl or boy.  I make a neutral one and then one for the gender of the baby.  I just finished the neutral quilt for this new baby.

I tied the front with orange yarn and binded it withe green blanket binding.  The back is yellow cotton.  I love my new machine.  First time I tried blanket binding on it and it turned out well.

I even finished the corners with a zigzag stitch.  Material cost about $30-35 to make it.  The front material was a little more expensive but I loved the colors so I got it.  It took about 2 hours to make since the tying was really quick.  The longest thing was pinning the binding on. I never pay full price for material.  I get it when it is either on sale or I have coupons for 40 or 50% off.

Frosty pajamas

These are size 2 and will be Kimberly's Christmas pjs.  However, they turned out huge.  I am unsure if they will fit her then.  The top opens at the shoulders with velcro so you can pull them over her head.  The top and the leg bottoms have a ruffle.  I got this material super cheap, after Christmas clearance.  I got enough to make Sheila some pj pants and me some pj shorts.  Timmy and Daddy will have matching Charlie Brown Christmas pjs bottoms. These only took about 3 hours to make and then cost I think $3-4 with the discount since I got the material for clearance at about $1.50 a yard and these took about 2 yards.

Santa Poncho set

I made this cute doll and child set for my youngest dayghter who was asleep when I took the picture so she couldn't model it.  It is a size 2 and the doll will fit any doll from about 16-20 inches in size. 

It called for cunky yarn but I made it with super chunky yarn (red) and so I had to double the amount of yarn I needed.  It was a simple double crochet for the body and single crochet for the next ribbing.  Then the white fun fur was double crocheted around the edges.  The hood is crocheted around the bootom of the ribbing so it can hang down the back when not being worn.  It only took about 3 hours to make the child one and a between 1-2 for the doll one.  I think I spent $15 on supplies for the whole set.