Flashback Friday

I came across this video the other day - it made me smile! Kaylee has always been such a sweet, caring, tender-hearted big sister. A couple weekends ago, Brianna had a really bad tummy ache and was just crying. Well Kaylee started to tear up, too and when I asked her what was wrong she said she just wanted Brianna to feel better!

Anyway, this video is from February 2004 - Kaylee was 2 and Brianna was 7 months old.

November Word Puzzle

Here is what I have created for this month's workshop - I used the Sweet Home Workshop Guide but changed up my projects just a little, like I always do. I used the *new* Sweet Home paper, *new* Top Coats, November Word Puzzle, October SOTM Holiday Warmth, Homestead Alphabet stamp set, and White Daisy accents (crochet flower, flower brads, and bigger brads).

My workshop is going to be on Thursday, October 29th at 1:00 p.m. OR Friday, October 30th at 10:00 a.m., but if you're not able to come, don't worry - you can still complete the projects! If you purchase the Sweet Home Workshop Kit that I am featuring this month, it includes the products needed plus the cutting guides and instructions for both the layouts AND the cards so you can create them on your own - how cool is that! You can see complete kit details at the end of this post - just scroll down.

***

Click HERE for complete workshop details and pricing.

Remember, you can click on the pictures to view them larger.

***

12x12 Option

And here is mine with pictures added, and the companion page to this layout - that's the first time I've added pictures BEFORE the workshop!

6x6 Option

Card Option

Here are the layouts and cards exactly as they are created in the Workshop Guide - you can see that I changed mine a bit. I didn't get the Exclusive Workshop Kit this month, so I didn't use the Enjoy the Journey stamp set that comes in the kit on my samples. You can click HERE to request more information on this month's featured kit.

The Sweet Home Exclusive Workshop Kit that I am featuring this month is only $29.95 (retail value $35.85) and includes the Sweet Home Level 2 Kit, Exclusive B-size stamp set - Enjoy the Journey, White Daisy Mini Medleys, and a Workshop Guide. What a great deal! But there are also other pricing options for the workshop - ranging from $5 to $40, so don't forget to check out my workshop details HERE.

***

Thanks for looking!

Wordless Wednesday

Camo from Head to Toe!

Well. it seems I finally have my photobucket issues resolved - yay! So now I will attempt to play catch-up! Here is something different that I've never shared before - with a Tutorial for Tuesday - I hope you enjoy!

***

With all the snow and cold weather we've been having over the last week, I realized that Trysten doesn't have a warm winter hat that fits him anymore, so last week I whipped him out a quick hat from some fleece scraps I had in my fabric stash. He also doesn't have any shoes that fit him (love those chubby baby feet) so I broke into my yarn stash and made him his first pair of slippers to help keep his feet warm. It felt good to knit and sew again, even if it was just for a minute - but it got me excited and started on some more projects - I can't wait to share them - fun, fun!

***

Here are some pictures of Trysten and his new cozy wear - I think he looks adorable in camo - all ready for hunting season ;-)

And here is how I made his hat - super quick and easy! My SIL borrowed my regular sewing machine so all I have is my Serger, but you could use either for this project. I prefer the Serger, just because of the finished edges! I hope this makes sense - let me know if you have any questions!

***

Cut your band for the hat - make it twice as wide as you want the band and make the length long enough to fit snuggly around the head. Be sure your fabric stretches the right way - along the length that goes around the head. Fold the fabric in half and sew the two edges together to create a 'loop.'

Cut your piece for the top of your hat. You can make it as wide as you want but the length will be the same as your band - to fit around the head. I actually like to make the top a just a bit smaller than the band so they fit together nicely in a later step.

Fold that in half and sew the edges together like you did with the band. Now you have two loops of fabric - one for the band and one for the top.

Now fold your band loop in half so the seam is on the inside and will be hidden - like this:

Turn the top piece right side out. Fit your band over the bottom edge of the top piece (this is where it is helpful if the top is slightly smaller than the band) - the raw edges should be together like this:

Sew the edges together in a loop to create your hat...

Fold your band down now so the seam is hidden on the inside of the hat...

Now I like to cut the top into tassles - I like to use Pinking Shears to make it fun. You can make these tassles as wide and as long as you want - just be sure to leave enough at the top of the hat for it to fit on the head. The wider (or 'taller') your fabric is on the top, the longer you can make your tassles.

Using a coordinating piece of yarn, securely tie the top of the hat together at the bottom of the tassles you just cut.

Voila - a cute cozy hat!

Thanks for looking!

Grrr - bandwidth issues!

As you may be able to tell, I am having problems with my photobucket account. I received the following message in my inbox and then when I checked my blog, all my pictures were like this!

"You have exceeded the 10 GB monthly bandwidth limit on your freePhotobucket account. As such, your image and video links have been temporarily disabled. Your images and videos have not been deleted but will be reactivated on the 21st of the month, when your bandwidth usage resets to zero. If you'd like to re-activate your links right away, you can upgrade to a Photobucket Pro account"

I've never had this problem before and I always use a lot of photos - can someone help explain this to me, I don't get it ;-P Maybe I shouldn't use photobucket after all!

Quick Update

I have been really bad about staying updated on the family, so here is a "quick" update. I've been sharing a lot of creations lately but I should do family updates more regularly to avoid LONG ones like this - I really should be in bed! David was out of town all last week and then again this week so after the kids are in bed at nights, I've been spending my free time creating. I've got so much done - workshops, Christmas gifts, pages, cards - it's been fun! The girls are starting basketball next week, Kaylee has her first piano recital, Halloween is coming up, and then Kaylee's baptism is in exactly one month, so I'll have a lot more to share in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

***

Last month we went up to Sinks Canyon as a family for a quick afternoon outing.

This picture is blurry but it's the best we could do.

The girls love to feed the fish - they are huge!

On Saturday, in between General Conference sessions, we got some fall clean-up done around the house - the pumpkins finally came out of the garden, the sprinkler lines were cleared, the swamp cooler was drained, stuffed, and covered, and some of the leaves and flowers got cleaned up...just in time for it to start snowing on Sunday! It had completely melted off the front lawn by this afternoon but tonight it started snowing again, so we'll see what we wake up to in the morning.

Look how big those pumpkins are! We've never grown any this big before and so I've never had to worry about turning them for even color and shape, so they are not the most beautiful things, but they sure are big! At least I'll know better for next year!

Brailee had fun snuggling, posing with, and climbing on the pumpkins ;-)

Sunday morning - Brailee couldn't wait to go outside and catch the first snowflakes of the season on her tongue!

Monday morning - look at my smashed raspberries - they are usually as high as the fence! This was such a heavy, wet snow - lots of downed tree limbs and power outages around town with this storm, but luckily it wasn't that bad for us.

She couldn't wait to go out and build her snowman with T on Monday morning!

And make snow angels!

Brianna FINALLY lost her first tooth tonight! It's been bugging her for a while and when I went to tuck her in and give her kisses, she was sitting up in bed just wiggling with excitement as she finally got it out. Luckily it was AFTER school pictures instead of before, like Kaylee's was last year ;-)

Trysten is a true boy - he is fascinated with balls and cars and trucks (or anything with wheels) already! He always knows where to go to get the cars.

Tell me what doesn't belong in the following picture...we find one in there multiple times a day - it must be some sort of trade ;-)

Oh, and he LOVES my pumpkin cookies - can ya tell? Oh, and how do you like his hair - he woke up from his nap that way and I just couldn't get it to lie down for the life of me! We should call him Alfalfa!

Today was picture day and I just couldn't resist getting a picture of Kaylee - the morning light was just perfect and she looked so pretty! I will probably use this picture in Kaylee's baptism invites - I can't believe it's coming up next month! She is so excited, and I am so proud of the sweet, kind, tender hearted girl she has become. She sure is growing up fast!

Here is Kaylee practicing the piano - Trysten loves to help! Kaylee decided not to do dance this year and is taking piano lessons instead - she LOVES it! Before she started lessons she wanted to learn 'I Am A Child of God' so I taught it to her and she had it down in less than a week! At her first lesson, her teacher asked her if she could play any songs and Kaylee played it for her and she was very impressed that she had memorized such a long song. She's been taking lessons for almost a month and she has her first piano recital coming up at the end of this month - she learned her first recital song so quickly that she's been given a second one and she already has it down, too - she just needs to work on her counting a little.

Whew! So there's my "quick" update - I hope you're all having a great week - take care!

Wordless Wednesday