Nature's Heirloom Guest Post!

I hope you're enjoying these guests bloggers as much as I am! It's nice to sit back for a little while and let someone else be creative! Although, I have to admit, I have done a little crafting in between feedings, diapers, and snack time. ;) It's in my blood! Can't help it.

My awesome bloggy friend Nikki, from Nature's Heirloom, put together this super adorable ruffled bed skirt tutorial for ya! So sweet! Thanks Nikki!

 


Click below for more!

cinderella dress

sooo....I've been wanting to make Sadie a Cinderella dress-up dress for the longest time, but my first attempt was pretty pathetic, so I scrapped that one and tried again! I got some bridal satin and blue fabric in the remnant bin at Joann's, so this dress cost about $5 to make. nice, right? :D

I ended up drafting my own pattern for this dress. I was surprised to find it wasn't that hard...and all the pieces actually went together! yesss! I had to add a little strip to the bottom of the bodice to make it a bit longer, but I think it looks fine.

It's not perfect, but is a play dress, so eh!

Cinderella leaving the ball on her trusty steed!

What do you think?

Noodlehead Guest Post!

This guest poster hardly needs introducing! Anna from Noodlehead is always an inspiration, and is super sweet to boot! I just adore this car pillow! Sadie may need a girly one! Here's Anna!


Hi Everyone! I'm excited to be visiting here at Craftiness is Not Optional while Jess is supposed to be getting some extra rest and special time with her family. Right, Jess?! So let's let Jess kick up her feet, sit back, and enjoy a few moments of relaxation.

Here's a special something you can make for that boy (or girl!) in your life. A car shaped pillow! It's huggable and squishable and adds the perfect touch to a nursery or bedroom.

Luckily there are no speed limits when it comes to pillows!

Thanks for having me Jess, enjoy your girls!

Find the full tutorial at Noodlehead.

some Charlotte yumminess

I just can't get enough of this face!

Happy Saturday!

Life With Little Ones guest post!

Hey folks! We have another amazing guest blogger for you! I met Corey a loong time ago (and by met, I mean, found her lovely blog), and ever since have been so impressed and inspired by her! Take it away, Corey! :D


First and foremost, I would like to say that I am beyond thrilled to be guest posting for Jessica this morning and secondly I would like to wish her and her entire family a huge

Congratulations on the arrival of their (second)sweet baby girl!

My name is Corey Villicana.

I write Life With Little Ones.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Yesterday afternoon while my youngest son was dreaming the afternoon away, I had the chance to whip up a little project that I have been thinking about for a few weeks now.

I call it the Yo-Yo Wreath.

Click below for more!

liberty dress

I spotted some Liberty of London scarves at Target on clearance for $3.74 the other day-er-week, now, and grabbed a couple. They're huge scarves, and look like they're about a yard of fabric each, sah-weet! This little dress only used up half of one scarf.
Just a quick peasant dress, with elastified (that's a word) waistband...love it!
also love this little model-in-the-making. What a cute lil poser!
I made a little clippy to match, but you can barely see it in the picture above. oh well! I also made this dress longer than normal, cause apparently Sadie's been having a growth spurt! She's grown out of about 6 of her dresses! So, of course, that's as good an excuse as any to make a new dress. ;D

Pickup Some Creativity Guest Post!

I've asked some awesome ladies to do some guest posts in the next few weeks, and here is the first! I'll let her introduce herself!


Hello there.

My name is Chris. I'm the crazy lady behind Pickup Some Creativity. I write about my adventures in parenthood, teaching creativity to my kids, and share a bit of my own creativity too. I love to teach. So, I've written several tutorials you might want to see sometime. My favorite baby/toddler themed projects have been:




I've been lucky enough to be asked to create a baby themed project in celebration of Jess and Rory's new bundle of joy. If you've ever been frustrated digging in the bottom of your diaper bag or purse for that all important binky, this project is for you. I'm lucky enough my baby still takes and loves her binky...maybe a little too much sometimes!

So, let's get started.

Click below for more!

i'm in love...

...with my serger.

yeah.....and my daughters, hubby, yada yada.

but seriously.

two skirts in 30 (ish) minutes flat? love love love it! I added the ish to the time frame because a few times I had to go re-swaddle Charlotte. that girl is a Houdini!


anyways, what do you think of my first serger project? of course, something matching for the girls! I've given up and am totally on board with the matching thing. it's just too cute. they'll have to deal wit it.

currently...

...enjoying my TWO (!) girls and having Rory at home. He's been such an enormous help...doing dishes, cleaning up, changing diapers, entertaining Sadie. What an awesome Dad/hubby he is. Just had to gush for a little bit.


...getting used to our new normal.

...feeling pretty good about our new normal. (right now at least!)

...loving on this cute face. (how could you not?)


...relieved that Charlotte's name fits her. Some of you may know the panic you have after naming a child... You think: Did I pick the right name? Should she have been a BLANK instead? lol. By the way, the R name we had in mind was Rachel. :D

...excited for my new serger! Rory set it up for me and I played with it a little bit today while Charlotte napped and Sadie was at church. SOO fun..I can't wait to make some more stuff on it!

...also excited for some guest posters I have lined up! Stick around to see some fun stuff from them.

...I have a few projects saved up to show ya too...a cute dress made from a scarf...a new felt food tutorial...also the car seat strap tutorial. That one's been hanging around for awhile...sorry. ;)

Also, thank you for all the well wishes! I appreciate them all! Thanks! :D

to Rory

Happy Father's Day!

To Daddy,

Thanks for everything you do for me. Thanks for the blubbas, tickle wars, candy and ice cream when Mommy's not looking, toys, working so hard so Mommy can stay home with me and sister, my tunnel, hugs, kisses, snuggles, reading me books, and watching Finding Nemo with me about a million times. I love you Daddy!

Love, Sadie



To Daddy,

Thanks for helping Mommy this week. She had a lot on her mind, giving birth to me and all! She also wanted me to tell you thanks for helping set up her serger...but I don't really know what that is. I'm hungry. Also, I need a diaper change. Love you dada!

Love, Charlotte


OH, and Happy Birthday to Rory! His birthday is June 18th, so Charlotte and he will have buddy birthdays! He is such a trooper for spending it in the hospital, with no clean clothes because I forgot them. What a guy! Love you hon!

father's day cards

Sorry to the Dads that will be receiving these cards, for spoiling the surprise of your Father's Day card by posting it on my blog. (although I don't know that they will even read this)

I know you spend the year in anticipation of getting an awesome card from me, so I hope I haven't let you down too much.

;)

I used this tutorial for the cards, it was easy and quick, just how I like my cards to be. Too involved and I give up!

Anyone who knows Rory's favorite color knows which card is for him. :) Also...I KNEW there was a reason I kept those teeny tiny buttons! lol.

made from scratch

Here's a little project I've been working on for the past nine months...


Charlotte Nora
June 17th, 2010
8 lbs 3 oz
20 inches

So, yeah. The baby is here! Early to boot too. ;) Here's the story...mostly so I can remember it. I woke up Wednesday morning...er...leaking. All day I wondered if it was my water that had broken. So I called the hospital and they said we should come in. After a quick last minute packing of the bags (I still forgot Rory's change of clothes, sorry hun!), and finding a family member to stay with Sadie (who knew something was going on but not what), we took off for the hospital. At this point I think we were in shock that this was happening, her being a week early and all. Sadie was 11 days late so we were kind of expecting that. Guess we should have known! We got to the hospital at 7:30 that night and they admitted me after confirming that it was my water that had broken. I was having some contractions, about 5 minutes apart. We spent the night trying to sleep, as my contractions petered off and then stopped. In the morning, they checked me and I was dilated to a 1. (whaa!?) So they decided to start me on Pitocin at around nine, to get the contractions going. It took about 2 hours, but they finally did start. And BOY did they start. They were right on top of one another for the next 5 1/2 hours. youch! Around two I got some IV drugs, which took the edge off a little bit. REALLY just a little bit. It went pretty quickly after that. I think I went from a five to ten in 2.5 hours, I was just happy to be dilating! Started pushing around 4:20, and she was born at 4:32. hooray! I was so relieved I started bawling. It was harder in some ways than Sadie's birth, but recovery so far has been much easier. thank goodness for that! Now for some pictures.

mama and baby

daddy and baby

just baby

(everybody has commented on her cheeks. they are huge, huh?! Sadie had big cheeks, but not this big!) Charlotte and Sadie were almost exactly the same size, too, just an ounce off, and 1/2 inch difference in their height. Yet Charlotte was a week early, and Sadie was 11 days late. Here's her birth story if you're interested.

Sadie, meet baby

she really does like her, just not in this picture apparently. lol. She had a blast hanging out with various family members over the past two days...probably was a bit of a buzz kill when we got back. She says baby Da dot (or something like that), and seems to like her so far. We'll see how the next few weeks go! Wish us luck at the transition from one kid to two!

another ruffly dress!

sheesh, Jess. Stop it with the elasticy ruffly dresses, you're saying. No way, I'm saying. They're too fun!

I did it a little differently than my previous ruffle dresses, following this tutorial for the straps and flower-poof-accessory-thingy, which I love! (that IS the official name, I believe)

So simple. Forgive the wrinkles, I photographed this after a wear, and it's a linen blend, so...wrinkles happen.

love the print!

AND! I made matching bloomers! or diaper covers.

BLOOMERS are more fun to say though.

I used Prudent Baby's tutorial, found here. so easy. Man, I love that site! I made another white pair so Sadie has some to match with her other dresses. Hooray!

here's a pic of Ms. Cranky Pants modeling. It's the best I got. She may look like she's happy, but really she was chewing me out for daring to take a picture of her. The audacity!

book o' patterns

You may remember the soft color book I made Sadie for Christmas last year? That was one of my favorite projects to do! Sadie is just now enjoying it though. Over the past few months she's gotten the hang of her colors, so she loves looking at it and shouting out the names. (and I mean SHOUTING. That girl loves her yellow.)

The other day I got an idea to make another one, but this time with patterns.

Problem: I could only think of stripes, polka dots, florals, and plaids. hmm...

so...florals, stripes...
polka dots....animals! (I know it's not really a pattern...but I was just happy that I found enough animal fabric scraps!)

and plaids...and fruit! It was going to be a "food" page, but I only had fruit fabric... Anyways, Sadie likes it and I had fun making it. Except for the contractions I was having while sewing it together. (they stopped right after, darn) I used the same tutorial for this one-so easy!

So what do you think? Does fruit/animals count as a fabric "pattern"? lol.

we have a winner...

So, without further ado......the winner of the giveaway is... Baby Talks! Yay! Her guesses for the girl names were Rachel and Carrie....I'm going to make you all wait to find out our picks though! muwahaha I'm so mean. I will say that many of you guessed right! Although no one guessed both options. It was either or. lol! Hopefully this little girl will show up soon! (well at least, not late) I'm anxious to meet her!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! It was so nice to hear from all of you, and holy cow...that's the most comments EVER that I've gotten! floored!


Anyways...so, you know how I mentioned that Sadie wasn't napping? Well...that lasted all of last week, which tired and stressed out both of us! Friday, I was trying to rock her to sleep (the only thing that worked), and she kept waking up and crying when I would try and lean over the crib to lay her down. (belly gets a leeetle bit in the way these days!) So, I laid her down in her toddler bed and shoved her bean bag chair along the side. (we don't have a bed thingy yet, since we weren't planning on her moving so soon!)

She slept.

Mommy wept with joy.

Well, nearly. So ever since then she's been napping in her toddler bed, and last night slept in it as well. No problems yet! I guess she just decided she'd had enough of the crib. lol. Hopefully she doesn't figure out how to open doors soon. She can close them though. (yikes!)

check out my new baby

haha. gotcha! Not THAT new baby. Rory finally made good on his Mother's Day promise to buy me a serger. Yahoo! (Although he did get his Father's Day present-a jigsaw-before I got my Mother's Day present....hmmm....)

So, I am now the proud new owner of a Brother serger. Well, it's not exactly HERE yet, but will be soon. Hopefully I have some time to figure it out and use it a bit before the real baby comes. ;) Does anyone have any serger advice? On this model in particular, perhaps? I've used them before, my mom has one, but I've never threaded one. I'll have to convince her to show me how to use it. Although Rory's pretty good with machines, so maybe I'll make him read/memorize the manual as well. You don't mind, right hun?

Thanks Rory, you're the best. :D

giveaway :)

So, like I promised, a little giveaway to celebrate 500 followers! You guys rock. I honestly never thought anyone besides family and friends would want to read my blog. Cool beans. (does anyone even say that? Why did I just say that...) Moving on.

I put together some fabric, ribbons, bias tape, some buttons, felt flowers, and a whole mess of appliques. (perfect for gifts...slap it on a tee, sew around the edge and you're golden) I also made a little "Artsy Clutch", from the Bend the Rules Sewing book by Amy Karol. (fun book, btw!) I made it with my prized piece of Amy Butler Wallflower fabric. wowsas. Don't act too impressed.

Just a little something to say thank you!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post.

Easy peasy!

Annnd....Just for fun, give me your best guess for the baby's name. A hint: either an R or a C name. oh, and she's a girl. ;)

(Open to US only please, sorry! and make sure there's a way to contact you if you win!)

I'll be closing comments Sunday night, and will pick a winner Monday morning! (June 14th)

post partum shirt refashion(s)

Here's to hoping I'll be wearing normal clothes within a month! (or monthS) My wishful thinking side took over as I passed these clearance shirts at Target. ($3.50 each!) All during this pregnancy I've seen the cutest shirt makeovers and longed for the day when I could make stuff for me again. I mean, there are maternity tutorials out there, but it's not the most flattering time of your life, so I guess I wimped out and didn't try any.

Anyways, here are some I did yesterday during Sadie's "nap". (cry session in her bed...she won't nap! what to do!? She's always been a GREAT napper so I'm stumped.)

For this top I used Disney's tutorial, found here. I'm deciding on whether or not to add buttons. Going to look at Joann's, cause, I'd like them to match. Neurotic.

And for this black top, I used Sutton Grace's tutorial, found here. I did make my ruffle only 2 inches wide though.

I'd love to model these for you, but I fear that I would burst out of them and ruin all my hard work. So you'll have to settle for these pics.

;]


P.S. I have a fun little giveaway planned for when I reach 500 followers! Some fabric and fun stuff...so tell your friends! Or follow me if you don't! Or, wait around for someone else to do it. Only five people needed, folks!

Post Edit: Yay! Giveaway tomorrow!

glimpse

here's a glimpse into our life lately...

Diaper bag and hospital bag packed and waiting...I think I'm ready physically. Mentally? maybe not.

Freshly painted toesies...there must be some kind of DNA girls have that tells you how to walk after a pedicure, you know, with your toes curled up? Cause Sadie was totally doing that. Hilarious!

Can't let over ripe bananas go to waste! Muffins are born. Sadie's favorite breakfast. I freeze them and heat them in the mornings for her.

Realized that all but three of these dresses hanging in her closet are handmade. It's getting a little out of control I think. ;D (there are 17 dresses there if I counted right)

cuffed shorts tutorial

Lightweight and perfect for summertime, these shorts are a cinch to make and cute to boot. I used the same pattern for Sadie's PJ shorts, so they're versatile as well. score!

Click below for more!

skirt week skirt

Have you heard about Crafterhours' skirt week? I knew I wanted to make something for it..there are some crazy cool prizes too, not that I have a chance against all those cute skirts!

Here's my entry...probably the only one I'll get entered, unless I find one I made previously that I like enough, cause you can enter skirts you've made anytime! sweet.

I made this one with a thrifted sheet I've used on a dress before, and twill tape that, fittingly, I won from a giveaway on the Crafterhours blog. ;) Some ruffly detail around the bottom and a simple elastic waist makes a cute combo, no?

hip hip hooray!

Look for the cuffed/PJ shorts tutorial tomorrow!