Designer Baby

I randomly decided to do this earlier tonight and realized all my needles were too small.  I haven't been feeling great and refused to go back out, so Chandler decided we could use a nail and hammer it through the eye to make it larger - it was still tight, but I mananged to get the thread going after a little while...  Definitely not perfect, but I love the way it turned out!  I had a really sweet cream/light blue/beige cashmere romper for OP to wear home, but I'm thinking that this paired with blue pants and his blue/white striped hat might be perfect.  I should post the entire outfit, but I think it would be cuter with him in it so I may wait! ;)  Until then, I see a few more of these being made around here... (with a bigger needle!)

Baby Treats!

Due to a change in plans, the weekend was spent getting things ready for BABY TIME.  We picked up several travel items from Target and there was a considerable amount of chocolate in the mix.  Mmmm....

 Chocolate boxes for nurses and other hospital staff...

The only thing left to do is print the stickers.  The tags will have a note that says something to the effect of 'Thanks for taking care of me and my mom, xo'  

Project Life

Have you heard of Project Life?  It's the neatest way to scrapbook!  I waited too long to order in 2010 and the kits sold out, so I jumped on it this year and my kit arrived today.  Soooo exciting!  I know with a new baby I'll have loads of pictures and new experiences so it was especially important to have this for 2011.  The greatest thing about this kit is that you can use it for virtually anything.  I debated waiting and starting it when baby was here and do an album for each year of his life, but I'm too excited to start so I'm just going to go traditional and use it for the entire year.  Did you watch the video?  AMAZING!

There were two kit options this year - I really liked the other one better, it was girlier, but with a baby boy joining the house and knowing that he would likely be the subject of the album, I decided it was best to stick to a more neutral color scheme and turquoise is great too.

It has even MORE that isn't pictured here - too difficult to get it all in the frame... if you're looking for a unique and easy way to scrapbook and capture memories - this is definitely the way to go.  And yes, I say that before even using it.  My faith in it is that strong.  ;)  WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR - order it already!  The idea of it is simple yet genius and you could totally mimic it but just buying similar materials to get the same concept going, but for the money I found this to be the best option for us.

VA has a sweat shop...

...and it's at my house.

BUSY weekend of sewing... I ended up with EIGHT stroller blankets (a small sampling below)

and had some fabric and minky left over, so I decided to try a burp cloth: 

I like!  If I can remember, I'm going to pick up some cloth diapers at Babies to make some more with all the extra fabric pieces I have laying around... 

It's been a while since Belle made an appearance, she's enjoyed the cool weather and walks to the dog park we have tucked at the back of the neighborhood.  

 This picture is just for Clarky... my Pampered Chef guru.  Wonder if she remembers this recipe??

(Hint: that's chicken in between the red pepper and broccoli)

The best part, is that I laughed when I was making this because it was a PC recipe and I just happened to be using ALL PC utensils - Clarky could only be more proud if I was a consultant! :)

Weekend Projects - Complete!

Ever had a weekend so busy that you were SO ready for Monday?  That's about what we felt like Sunday night.  Between Halloween festivities and projects, we were exhausted.  My feet were on fire and I was ready for bed by 6pm.  The fruits of our labor?  Voila.

I had been trying to find something to keep necklaces in, but nothing seemed to do the trick - so I took matters into my own hands.  I'm LOVING it!  When we moved we had a ton of extra frames that we weren't using, so I took removed the glass and replaced it with some garden wire.  Thanks to my trusty staple gun and some 's' hooks, we finished this in about oh 10 minutes.  Easiest project I've ever done - and it's so functional.  I didn't have enough hooks for everything so I've added that to my list for later, but until then my favorite pieces fit and that's good for now.

The looooongest project was  repainting the living room.  I loved the Ben Moore gray we originally painted it, but it was most definitely not working with the light in this room, which made it seem cold and sterile.  We warmed it up with some Valspar from our best friends at Lowes and couldn't be happier with the new color.

Before:

After:

Next up - the nursery wall - it is going to be SO fun, I can't wait to share what we have in mind!!!

Bino's Blankets

While Chandler cleaned the bathrooms I finally finished some blankets I'd been working on for Pax.  So glad to be done!  I still have a few scraps left from the first one I made so I might make something small with those, but otherwise, I'm done with blankets!  Hmm, just realized I never posted the finished first blanket.  I just used a cream colored minky on the back - it's my favorite one by far and  the one we'll likely use in his room.  The ones I made today will most likely be stroller/car seat blankets with the exception of the blue one that is shaped more rectangular for swaddling.

Sneak Peak!

Laurie Wisburn discontinued one of her original lines and I jumped at the chance to order during her last-chance a few weeks ago. Was I even pregnant then?! I don't even remember... but I ordered just in case we had a baby boy. I'd originally thought the fabric would make a great nursery but it's waaay too thin and it was really expensive for just five fat quarters, so that idea was out and I decided that a boy blanket was a MUST, so... here's a sneak at what I've put together this weekend. I think it might be my most favorite blanket yet - even moreso than some of the pink ones (gasp!) :)



Here's a few things Bino has accumulated - some were gifts, some were things I'd bought years ago (2003, yes - really! Thank goodness I picked up a couple boy things in my all-girl collection of baby things!) - the stroller will have its own post shortly, and the books have been collected for quite a while.

We went to a new mall today that had a lot of great children's shops, Gymboree, Baby Gap, Crazy8, Old Navy, etc... we actually only bought things at Gymboree because they had a TON of really cute stuff on sale with an additional 20%. I'll have to take a picture of the new items later this week. And it's GymBucks time in case anyone hasn't been in a while!

Today's fruit... er, necklace!

I have a little obsession with Lisa Leonard. I have three of her necklaces and love (LOVE) them all. This is my favorite, probably because I chose the wording and it's very special to me. A reminder of sorts. :) She came out with a gorgeous stone necklace recently and I fell in love with it. I loved that she layered it with her other pieces and I had to have it. Only, with all of the changes that are coming our way, some that I'm not even able to post about yet, I just couldn't justify spending money on something like that. Enter - Michaels! There is nothing fancy about the necklace I wanted - it's pretty simple. So... instead of $44 + $8.55 shipping, I spent $16.34 and made my own! Less than half of the price... and I LOVE how it turned out. I plan to wear it to work tomorow and the best thing about it is that while it's colored, it's also pretty neutral so it will go with SO many things!

Place...pillow?

I couldn't find pillows that I liked for the couch. Nor could I find a slipcover. We finally found a slipcover at Target, it's a creamy white and I don't love it that much. I never did find pillows. I did however, find the perfect color place mats at Pier1. So... I decided to get creative.

I ripped the seam, stuffed them full, and voila - perfect new pillows!

(Disregard what appears to be fluff on the couch, someone (not naming names) sniffed the camera and the lens has a smudge.)

What's the verdict? I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. $8 for place mats, $4 for stuffing = $12 total spent. Not too bad, and I think they look great - I tried to get a picture of the rug to show the colors but I was using my old camera. Oh yes, I said old... can't wait to share more news! ;)

Treasure at the dump

Before our curb side garbage can was delivered, we still took our trash to the dumpster at the apartment complex where Chandler used to live. While dropping it off a couple weeks ago, I found two little end tables stacked beside the dumpster and couldn't resist bringing them home.


We didn't necessarily need more furniture but these little tables had so much potential that I knew a coat of paint would make them really cute pieces to play with for a while.

Meet my $9 tables!
I decided to go with haystack yellow so we could use one upstairs in the guest room and one downstairs in the living room. I love that I only spent $9 in paint and if I decide I don't care for them anymore, I'll just pass them along to the local thrift store and let someone else enjoy them for a while. Until then, I'm enjoying the spunky color! Anyone else found fun things at the dumpster?

Just like new

With the upcoming move, we have been trying to figure out what furniture is going into which room. Our bedroom has a bazillion windows and we didn't think about wall space when we had the chance to move some windows around - lesson learned - so... we have some extra furniture that we really can't use...

Or so we thought... the office is actually twice the size of both of our current offices so since we will have some space in there, I decided that my dresser would be the perfect computer dock. After finding the perfect color peacock blue that's actually a nice shade of turquoise, the dresser became new - again - and I love the way it looks with the rug that will be near the front door!

Saturday, my favorite sister and Nola's favorite puppy came to visit.
They picked up one of our couches that is obviously well loved! Nola had SO much fun playing with Titan. We're sad that they won't be as close...

OH! Just found out we have GRASS at the house - yay! ...and I have an interview on Thursday - your prayers would be a blessing to me!

Holla!

Do you recognize his hottness? Rob Thomas. Sigh. I like him a lot. Do you too? Beauty at it's finest. Ok, ok... but he really is hot!

Why am I randomly writing about him??? My friend Jennifer bolted into my office a couple days ago with news that she'd won tickets to see him - HERE - today! Typically we have to drive at least an hour to go to concerts, but this was a promo and only ~100 people could go - she was one! AHHH!!! No fair! I can say that because she has a habit of stripping down the people she sees in concert. I don't do that. Granted Jessica Simpson is the only person I've seen in concert (don't laugh, I wasn't allowed to see NKOTB when I was younger and Shawn Mullins might not technically count since he sort of fizzled out, so I took a friend's daughter and we saw JS a few years ago - and had a blast I might add) - but still, I wouldn't strip him, promise!

I'm excited to get the scoop tomorrow! So far, all I know is no one was allowed out to go to the bathroom once they were in the concert room. Hmm... I'd have probably peed my pants when he came out, ha!

Remember when I made this quilt? Wow, it's already been a year!!! Well, THIS is sweet Miley - finally! :) Jennifer's Apple, in all her adorable cuteness:


Baby fever anyone?! She really is the cutest!!! Maybe me and Rob Chandler will have cute babies too one day!

Et cetera

Chicks & Rabbits: best. candy. ever. ... but only the yellow and blue ones. For some reason, the orange ones don't taste the same. Maybe I have a complex with orange, not sure. Seriously though, these are soooo good! I think it was completely random how I came to enjoy them so but my sister and I both go nuts over them. I found some cheap at CVS this weekend and couldn't wait to snack away...
...Finley couldn't either! I caught him with his paw IN THE BAG and then he ran off with a rabbit! ...least it was an orange one... (and no, I didn't let him eat it).

We are starting to make a lot of progress on wedding related projects - one of which will involve pictures from the past. Here are some favorites!

We also made a stop by Goodwill on Saturday and I picked up three of the ugliest frames you've ever seen, we spray painted them metallic champagne and they don't actually look too bad! I think we'll have to spray another coat to make it even but overall - I'm pretty pleased with it. We went to Walmart to find plain white kitchen towels so I could make these:

...but somehow got lost - it was an out of town Walmart that neither of us had been to, but we were both familiar with the town so it shouldn't have been difficult AT ALL. There was construction on one of the main roads so we had to detour a few times... the GPS led us to a neighborhood and said Walmart was on the left. It was HILARIOUS!

After almost TWO hours, we finally were headed out of Walmart with plenty of white towels (yay!), some sack cloth (don't ask ;)), thread, and a can of spray paint. While in line at the check out, I saw cans of silly spray for $1.47 and decided to send Chandler away to look at some bullatin board while I stashed some spray in our pile of loot. This afternoon while I was spray painting the frames, I opened the silly spray and got him - it was SO funny! I wish I'd had my camera.

Several people who were outside actually stopped what they were doing because I can only assume they had seen us painting and then saw me spray him while he was yelling and flailing about like a crazy man! It was absolutely hysterical!

We had gorgeous weather here, 79 on Saturday and 70s again today... tomorrow is an ice cream party at work, SO much fun! I cannot believe it's almost April!

Fido Bags!

You asked, now shop! :)

If you don't see something you like, let me know!

I'm planning to make child sized bags this weekend along with some laptop sleeves.

25% of ALL sales donated to Hope Aid.

Thanks everyone, for encouraging me to do this...it's been a lot of fun. Many late nights, but fun nonetheless!

...It's Tuesday...

Some things...

-Tshirt project is going rocky... I went by today to spread some sparkle news and check in on arrival and they'd not been ordered because I changed the quantity and they forgot what the new number was. Boo. Delay on that for another week. (I will talk to my partner in crime and see if we can reveal the design though!)

-D's interview was cancelled on Thursday b/c one of the interviewers can't make it. He was planning to have a phone interview. When they let him know about the cancellation they said "oh, maybe now you can come in person." Bleh. Ok. So he's flying down to VA on Sunday, has an afternoon interview the following day the will fly back up to Boston Monday evening. What a tiring trip. Poor Chandler.

-My sister is coming to spend the night on Saturday and my friend S from work is going to let us use his awesome camera to take some puppy pics. Can't wait to for that!!! Speaking of... I have cool puppy pics to share, gotta check with our photog to see how to go about doing that. BW-T, if you're reading this, check your email! :)

-Got bunches more fabric in yesterday. I love fabric days! They are all so pretty!!!

-I've finally set up my Etsy shop! Will wait to post the link b/c there's one test picture up right now.... I'm hoping B can help me get some bags made this weekend so I'll have more to post in the shop. (Shop or shoppe?)

I leave you with more from Gerry Straub...

Christ’s Friends
If you are poor or needy,
if you are despised by all,
if you are a sinner,
then Christ considers you to be his friend
and he welcomes you to his banquet table.

If you are looking for Jesus,
you’ll find Him in the midst of those
who are being crucified, rejected, alienated and oppressed.
He is in the dark corners of your neighborhood,
waiting for you to help Him.

Unless we stand shoulder to shoulder
with the poorest of the poor,
we will not find the crucified Christ,
nor experience the richness of His resurrection.

Bags, bags, bags....

I'm done until Sunday! Two of these are sold and a few are going to MyleStone Gallery -- will make another batch on Sunday. It's almost time to order some new fabrics. Next week is the goal for that! Britt will be coming to spend the night with Titan and Roxy next weekend, so she might have to suffer through a bag party. Although, that could have its benefits for her! ;)
(Girl, I don't have to work on that Saturday!)

D has an interview in VA!!! This is great news! Not as close as we were hoping but it is fantastic and we're excited!

I still need to post pics from the picnic!

Weekend progress...

...on bags! Goal is to get 16 done by the end of Thursday... made a few tonight. The first two were "orders" and the one of the far right may be sold tomorrow, but not sure yet. I'm debating keeping the third one. It's SUPER cute. I have an orange fabric that will also match the flowers and I think when I order again, I'm going to get this print in different colors because it's great for this size I think.

We had the GOAC picnic today -- it was lots of fun. Pictures will be next!

Some bags!

Some recent bags... I think I need the pink one.

...but I made this one for myself last weekend, so not sure that I'll keep the pink one...

It's midnight and I've got some reading to do...
Good night!

(Did I mention that 38 fabrics arrived at my door today?!)
LOTS of Bible bags folks... lots!

Shop now!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fidobags

More fun stuff...

...is going on! But of course, I can't chat about it yet!

Next month, promise! There are LOTS of things though! Craftiness is next to godliness, right? No? Well, it should be!

Have I ever mentioned my awesome girlfriends and how nifty they are??? We should talk about that sometime.

But since this is my blog, I'll be selfish and just remind you that my birthday is next week.

And I like presents!

Specifically... you can send checks in $8 increments to Hope Aid for mosquito nets please!!!

Hope Aid International
P.O. Box 20281
Greenville, NC 27858

Our Paypal button is not working so we can't take credit/debit right now, maybe by July we'll have that problem solved. I just have to call them back and fax our paperwork for NGO status and I can't do it from work. So.... til I get that done, it's old fashioned for us!!

So... NETS for the mamas!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!!!

Umm... ok I feel bad for not mentioning even a teeny thing. Hint: T-shirts!

Catching up...photoblog style (Part III)

We have had GREAT weather over the last couple of weekends and even though there's not enough time to get away and go somewhere fun, we've still been outside as much as possible.

I recently had 8 bag orders! Here they are, finally done. I can't decide which one I like best.
My boys have the 'rrhea. I'm going to try Immodium tomorrow and give it a day or so, if that doesn't help, it's to the vet they go. Poor babies... Finley was feeling really crummy earlier but then he found a fly in the house and was running all over the place. It's hard to tell if they feel bad or just have some minor discomfort. Oh if they could only talk...

I think I'm finally done with small updates and am back on track. In other news, I now have TWO inhalers and have been on prednisone for the past few days. That has been the only thing that has seemed to work. Let's hope everything maintains when I'm done with that small course and the two inhalers will keep me breathing regular. We'll see.....