Guess What

 I made Maria another dress. I know big surprise.

I will get the basics of the dress out of the way and then I hope you are ready for a long post of Maria pictures. I got a little carried away and ended up doing an entire photo shoot.

I used a tutorial by Vanessa at V and Co. Another great blog to get lost in.

I purchased this skirt for $1.50 at my local consignment store. I am very lucky to have a clean and well managed second hand store near by. They are very selective about what they will sell, this saves me from having to watch for stains and holes when shopping. They also keep their stock rotated by having some great sales. Once a month, they open their loft for one week and all the old stock get sold for 99 cents. I mark my calendar and go every month.

Using a skirt with a zipper, made this dress easy to size.

I used the extra fabric from the lining to make this flower. I used my sewing machine to attach it and added the button by hand.

Our yard is full of what we call helicopters. They are seeds from a tree and when you throw them in the air, they spin as they fall, like a helicopter.

Watching my kids collect as many as they could in their hands before they launched them into the air, brought back memories of doing the same as a child. It was always  fun to stand under the falling "helicopters"as they all spiraled to the ground around me. It is funny how a memory like this seems insignificant until you experience it again with your  own children.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of the bunch. It gives me a warm, fuzzy, summer is coming feeling.

I warned you, I took a lot of pictures.

Marcus was sick from school. Doesn't he look terrible? Funny how fresh air cures an upset stomach.

Thanks for putting up with all my pics.

Happy Photographing!

Rhiannon

Say Hello

To my little friends!

These are a couple of  fused plastic zipper bags I made recently.

I love how they turned out, I think I will be making a lot more.

 I need to come up with some cute names-any ideas?

This is another tutorial I hope to finish soon.

I love making this stuff, I just forget to take pictures of the process.

Happy Recycling

Rhiannon

Makin' Stuff!!

O.K. for the next couple of weeks, I am going to be addicted to Dana and Disney's blogs. They are Celebrating all Moms, with tutorials, giveaways and stories. If you are looking for some great Mother's Day ideas check out their blogs. I, of course will be trying most of their tutorials and posting my results.

I made this flower pen and matching notebook for Maria's friend Jessica.

Jessica is our Baby sitter's sister and just turned 15. I wanted to make her something fun and age appropriate. I used Dana's no sew flower tutorial and V and Co's composition book cover tutorial.

I liked this project so much, I bought 2 more composition books. I think Maria and I might need our own. I thought about covering a sketch pad for Marcus (using different fabric-of course)

Happy Friday

Rhiannon

Yippie!!

I WON!!!

Amy over at Buggy and Jellybean gave away her person copy of Amy Butler's Sew It Kit, and I won.

Holy Crap- I never win anything. and this will be my first Amy Butler book. I have drooled over copies of her books at the fabric store and cannot wait to have one of my own.

Thanks Again Amy, you made my day.

Happy Earth Day!

Rhiannon

Inspired Bracelet

I was totally inspired by Disney's bracelet tutorial here. Hers turned out so cute, I decided to make my own. I did a couple of things different, but I love how it turned out.

Here is what I did. I cut 1 piece of felt and 2 pieces of fabric, all the same size. For the length I made sure the fabric wold fit around my wrist comfortably and the width about 2".

I cut fabric for 3 flowers. I used 4 pieces for each, 2 large and 2 small. The size will depend on how big you want your flowers. Mine were about as wide as my bracelet.

I found these yellow beads for the flower centers. You could use anything you like. If it doesn't have a hole, you can hot glue it to the flower. Disney used pearls for hers. I liked the yellow against my turquoise flowers.

I stacked my fabric right sides together and put the felt on top.

I then sewed the three pieced together trying to stay as close to the edge as possible. Don't forget to leave an opening so you can turn it right side out.

Once it is right side out, top stich all the way around the entire bracelet, closing up the hole.

I sewed my bead to my flower before attaching it to the bracelet. While attaching it, I went through the hole on the bead a few more times. This made the bead more secure.

I added the other two flowers and some velcro. From start to finish, this bracelet took me about 45 min. to make. I will definitely be making more. Maybe not only for moms, aunts and grandma's, but for some teachers as well.

Quick, Easy and Adorable.

Exactly how I like it.

Happy Sewing

Rhiannon

Mama's got a new bag

and here she is!!

You guessed it, I used an old t-shirt. I loved this shirt, but unfortunately it did not fit right anymore. I thought about turning it into a dress for Maria, but was so inspired by Dana and Disney's Celebrating Mom post, that I decided to be a little selfish and make a new bag for me-the MOM.

This bag is a great size for

-Groceries

-Library books

-Flea Market Finds

I am working on a tutorial and hope to have it posted later this week. I didn't take pictures as I made this one, so I need to make another. Go figure.

Happy Selfishness
Rhiannon

A (very long) day in the life

*WARNING: This is a non-craft related and picture heavy post.*


This past Thursday this lab rat was let out of the lab! I've worked at marine science institutions for about 6 years now and this week was the first time I went out on a research vessel. That's odd considering most of the work I do relies on collecting samples from the ocean and rivers nearby.

Well, I'm so glad I took the opportunity because I had a great time and I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to go again. I'm not sure how many more 14 hour days I can handle, either!

Since it was my first cruise I was volunteered to demonstrate how to get into the life suit, or what the crew calls the 'Gumby suit'.

photo by Mike Sullivanphoto by Mike Sullivan

My tasks for the day were to:

1) stay out of everyone's way

2) collect samples

photo by Mike Sullivan

and

3) not puke.

I think I excelled on all fronts. Yay! Not too bad for my first cruise.

Thanks to the crew of the R/V Savannah for a fun and interesting day on the water!

~Megan