Date Night Blouse

I've hit my annual new year Sewing-Fever. So I went to my stash and found this great polka dot fabric. I always have turquoise/aqua on hand because it's my favorite color to wear. This is the 4th top I've made using my standby NewLook pattern, but its the first time I've done it without sleeves.Peter snuck in for the end of my photo shoot in the bathroom. So tried to take picture of him in his new haircut....there he goes!

So anyway, I barely had enough fabric for the thing so the yoke sags a little (no lining), and the inside has some rough edges.

But on the whole I'm pleased.

I like it best with the sweater.

After the "'shoot", Pete had an idea for a recipe. While I was downloading pics he got out the ingredients - scaring me to death...but the result was ok.

Ingredients:

popcorn

raisins

gummy snacks

baby carrots

He ate it all up!

More Christmas Stuff

These are the felt cupcakes I made my nephew and niece for Christmas. There are about a billion cupcake tutorials out there, like here, and a really sophisticated one here and did I use any of them? No, I didn't because I don't have a printer to print up anything. So as a result they have sort of drunken sailor early in the morning look about them. The thing that I did that's new, that I haven't seen before is simple - I didn't! No I haven't just gone crazy...I DIDN'T do something that I've seen everyone else do as the finishing touch - sew on the decorations. I cut out circles, squares, stars, spirals and one "drizzle glaze" splotch, and then put them in a baggie. Now they can be rearranged in different combinations. As an added bonus, they can be scattered all over my sister's living room floor for a post-ticker-tape parade effect! Go check out these adorable sister and my so talented sister here!

Stitchin' Time

This is an embroidery I made up to go with some chinese food I delivered to a friend with a new baby. I said that I was bringing egg rolls and we got to talking about chinese food we love. Then she mentioned that her husband loves crab rangoons. It was super easy to do, all backstitch with a couple of french knots. I did it on a flour-sack towel. I was inspired by the Pleasant Kitchen Towels on Posie Gets Cozy (they can be downloaded from a sidebar). I'm making those too! Here's Sunday:

We had a ton-ton of fun!

Annoyingly I've just realized that I didn't take pictures of most of the things I made for Christmas! I'm going to have to get my sisters and mom to take pictures of themselves with their stuff so I can post it.
And post it I will because I'm superproud to have done all this AND given birth in 2010
Fortunately my absolute FAVORITE gift is the one I did take pictures of. The idea came from a conversation between myself, my dad, and my 8-yr old son about the amazing bantha craft and the adorable jawa doll softie.
We were trying to think of a worthy addition to the world of do-it-yourself geekery.
So without further ado....
Here are two of the ton-tons I made for my dad and two brothers-in-law. I'm planning on posting the ton-tons as either a downloadable pdf or maybe even a pattern you purchase on etsy as soon as I can. As you can see from the pictures, their guts are spilling out as they did in "Empire Strikes Back" when Han Solo cuts one open to save Luke from hypothermia. There is a pocket within the "guts" so you can hide Luke in there. Or if you can't find the right Luke, just hide candy! (That's what we did) The legs and tail are weighted so they can stand up next to your computer or your linux penquin or whatever.

A Special Treat

Today Peter told me he wanted to make a "special treat" using the following ingredients:
a gummy worm
chocolate powder
some oil




So we did! There are our ingredients! (We did 3 squirts of spray oil)
We stirred them around.

The chocolate powder (we used Nestle's Quick) stuck to the oil, and the oil stuck to the gummy worm.

I took a bite. Peter took a bite. It wasn't that bad. Chocolatey, then fruity. I asked Peter what he thought it looked like. He said dirt. I think it looks like something unmentionable. I might have a lot of fun with this on April Fool's day. Hmmm....

Phillip got his first bath this week! I think Peter thought he was going to get in there with him because I heard Mark turn and say "Peter why are you naked?"
So the five of us (three clothed) were crowded into the boys bathroom to watch Phillip get his bath.
He even looks like he's smiling in this picture!

Inspiration for the Unwieldy

Here's what we've been up to.

(Note: It's really hard to see how photos are going to be displayed in blogger so you'll have to assign the appropriate caption to the appropriate picture)

First: There's James' completed tool box (I love that he attached a baseball picture of himself to the keychain. Cool handy key-chain-nail Granny!)

Second: Peter hammin it up on the back porch.

Third: (this was tonight) "No hitting, kicking and punching your brother Peter."

Fourth: James and his CubScout Den enjoying the Frankenkrispy treats that James helped make.

Fifth: What I've been working on today.

You might think I have too much time on my hands. I wouldn't say that. I still feel like Tweedle Dee trying to get around (anyone remember the clown pants with the hula hoop waistline?), and I still have to take it easy more than is good for my house or my toddler - but there is not NEARLY enough time before the baby to get all the christmas and baby sewing done! Argghh.

I can't believe Pip will be here in 19 days. I'm scheduled to c-sect at 12:30 on November 18th.

I loved the 1940's lipstick application tutorial that I found here. She has lots of inspiring looks. It's crazy - I had just been thinking today, "I wish I knew how to do vintage looking pin curls and styles." So then I find this blog! She mentions a new book that came out "Style Me Vintage." I think I'm gonna have to get myself that one for my birthday!

Christmas Making

I love pictures of little children hands.
This is P. Note the fading baby wrinkle at the wrist. Fortunately I'm getting a new one in November. New fat wrists and ankles, and no ability to stave off kisses!

I've been Christmas sewing today. My house looks horrible, floors are visibly dirty and everything else is worse. The problem is not motivation.


In an occasion which should be historic, scientists actually named a chemical after the most notable result. The chemical "relaxin" is what causes your joints to stretch more than usual while you're pregnant. And since my body always seems to have trouble with dosage amounts (do you think she'll need some serotonin to go to sleep tonight? Nah. besides we made more than enough adrenalin today let's hit the sack ourselves), I think my body has made too much relaxin. It's as though I have communist bloc hormone glands. They always make too much of the wrong things.


So my house is dirty because it hurts to move. Each step is painful, just standing up is painful, bending over hurts in 5 different places that haven't hurt since I started taking horseback riding lessons!


So instead of cleaning the house I sat still. And laid still.


All day long.


I still really wanted to be productive though, so P and I played with construction paper and a single hole punch and glue, we "ate" cupcakes (they're made of felt), and I sewed little hand-sewing things. I can't say too much about it because the recipients all read my blog. But for a teaser, they were inspired by a cheap IKEA score + a favorite illustrator + this baby book interpretation (made by my favorite blogger), which was originally in this book. And that's all I'm gonna give ya!


I will take pictures and post them after Christmas, which is no help to the rest of you - but let's face it - I know that most of the people who read my blog are my friends and they HAVE my email address. If you need hand-sewy ideas for christmas, email me.


Love to everyone!


Lissa

Toolbox!

Granny came to visit us this weekend!
I had asked her to help James complete one of the requirements for his Bear Cub Scout Badge, so she came prepared to help him build....





THE
TOOLBOX!





(I've just realized there's not a good "all finished pic" - but I have a headache and you can see it in the last picture - sort of)




He was super-proud to take it to his Den Meeting tonight. I was worried that the event would not meet up to the expectation. But all the boys were really impressed, and looked and looked at our pictures and the tools and asked questions. James got to do a little talk on what each tool was, and impressed them even more when he told them, they were all HIS!


Thank you so much Granny.
You are amazing.
You are super-cool.

Love you,
Lissa

Art and Ocean

While we were at IKEA getting dining room chairs, I found little unstained picture frames for really cheap! I bought three bundles. For the longest time I couldn't decide what to put in them...
pretty scrapbook paper?

photos of my kids?

(my favorite and I WILL do it eventually)

pictures from old children's books

finally I settled on the DIY option:

tiny painted still-lifes.

(Are they still-life if there is just one

object in the picture?)
Peter helped me paint the frames in blue, pink, and very bright yellow (in other words, what I had in the bin below my bed).

Here is Peter with his favorite painting.

I was inspired by the art in Richard Scarry books - that is - the art that is hanging on the walls of the animals houses. It's nearly always vegetables or fruit. My favorite is a still life of five or six apples that hangs on the wall in Dr. Lion's clinic (Postman Pig and his Busy Neighbors).

When the husband gets them hung I will show you how they all look together!

I'm also working on refashioning some of my clothes to be nursing-friendly. I'm really in love with the t-shirt refashions from Tea Rose Home. One dress that was already nursing-friendly needs a little spiffing up so I've been working on that.

Today was Columbus Day and J had the day off from school (unfortunately the Husband didn't). P, J, and I all drove to Galveston this morning to play at the beach. It was really perfect weather. Warm but not sultry, with a light breeze. Best of all the tide had created a tide-pool and sand-bar which you don't usually get in Galveston. It was perfect for P who is still afraid of the waves. We had an exceptionally good time!