my new necklace.

i really am crazy excited about my new necklace -- not only do i love how it looks, but I MADE IT!!  i've been wanting to make some sort of necklace with a picture for a couple years.  i mean really, you'd think i would have just done it already!


i'm  always hesitant to try making new crafts though.  i hate spending money on the materials only to end up putting them in the trash, so i've just been "wanting to make it".  until now.


a couple years a go i saw a lady with a really cute necklace with a picture of her kiddos in it -- i think it was a metal frame with diamond glaze over it.  i've been looking for that necklace/frame piece since then.  i haven't found one that i love.  and then there are all these crazy cute ones out there that are soldered -- and while i would LOVE to learn to make them.  um, yikes!!  (i do own one though -- because my sweet sister in law bought me one for my birthday, and i love it)  


then i went to Arlington, TX to scrap with my girlfriends and i saw the supplies to make these. and lucky for me i was with my good pal Kelly who quickly said "i'll split the tiles with you." -- THANK YOU KELLY! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!  because of her i tried the new craft and i love the result!


so, to make a long story longer -- it was pretty easy to make and i'm ordering different sizes of glass ASAP.  the most difficult part of the entire project is the waiting.  there are seriously only a few steps and tools involved, but waiting on the glue to dry makes the whole process take longer.  however, while i was waiting, i did have time to make those cute flowers i showed you yesterday. (and there was time to do laundry and make some beds, but that's not as fun to talk about.)

the front & the back

i told you i've been busy crafting.  should i have posted pictures of the empty laundry basket, the bare hanging rack and the made beds?!  nah!

feelin' frisky ... in a crafty sort of way.

i spend a lot of time planning how i'm going to be more productive throughout my day -- and not quite as much time actually being productive.  i've been trying to do better -- and the last few weeks, i actually have.  as a result, i've had more craft!  hooray!


there are a couple projects i've wanted to get done for the past month or so -- like these pillow cases for Ally (my sister's 5 year old daughter).  they are an accent to some things we've already done in her room.

my sister is not so crafty, but one of my biggest fan when it comes to anything craft related.  she acts like she loves it all -- she may not, but she never lets on.  as a result, anytime Ally needs something girly she thinks aunt hope can make it.  that part makes me laugh.  


then there is this little ruffled booty onesie for my new niece, Reagan.  i've seen several examples of these and there are a few more i want to try, but this is my first attempt. (and a matching bow)

and these little flowers.  i've made some for myself and attached them to flip flops -- and Ally wanted some for hers -- so here they are, all ready for the drive to Oklahoma!

i had made her some fabric flowers for her flip flops but she wanted some fancier ones.  and to be honest -- any chance i get to be all girly i totally love!  

ally & reagan

emerson & jensen

i couldn't resist -- those sweet little girls are my nieces.  and with having all boys in my house (even the dog) -- i really do enjoy getting to make girly things.  now that i'm actively learning to sew...watch out!

friday follow -- i made a dress!

The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom!, Mannland5 and The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man have teamed up to cohost Follow Me, Chickadee Fridays!  Each week, simply stop by at any of these three blogs for a chance to link up and meet new and exciting bloggers out there!   




here's a fun little tidbit from last weekend.  i made a dress!  calling a real dress might be stretching it a bit -- i mean it's way way casual.  like wear around the pool or to a concert on the beach casual. (which i did -- i think Jimmy Buffet liked it.)


it was supposed to look something like this:

i'm sure there is some trick to using elastic thread that i don't know because, well because the only time i've used it is when my mother-in-law was helping me make a shirt that didn't call for it.  so, i've never actually read instructions for it.  i had a hard time getting it to gather as much as i wanted it to.

i didn't take a pic of the first result -- i wish i had, it was funny and GIANT!  and quite frankly it looked horrible.  but i had just bought a cute little dress at target and i thought maybe i could turn this mess into something similiar.

here are a couple pics -- sort of proof that i actually was sewing it.  and the side seems turned out super duper, if i do say so myself.  i had seen on some tutorial how to make them flat and i love how they ended up looking.

i should have mentioned earlier that i made a poor decision when i decided to use this t-shirty type fabric.  since i'm new at this and all.  i thought it was a little hard to work with -- hard to keep straight.  i think i cried a couple times. lol.  but i was at Hancock Fabrics and it was crazy cheap and i thought i could use it to try things on.  again, not a good decision.  

i needed it to gather around the middle to do the whole blousey thing so i turned it inside out and used some 1/4 inch elastic i had in my sewing box -- i just pulled it taught and sewed along it all the way around the dress, twice.

but here is what i ended up with.  and i like it, a lot.  i left the bottom rough -- because i like how the material rolls on it's own.  and to my surprise -- it's been washed and dried twice and now -- and it's still together.  yeah me!

is it clean yet?!

i've found this week to a little on the trying side.  my boys seem to be tired of being with each other every waking minute.  i've resorted to timing activities to try to give them a break from each other.  (note: the pics have nothing to do with anything, i just like them. we were swimming at my brother in law's house in OK -- i would love to have his pool!)

for example:
while bynum and matthias play Wii fit for 30 min, graham and sol might be playing a board game
or
while matthias and graham are building legos, sol and bynum could be playing a video game
then maybe
all 4 can go play in the sprinkler for 30 min to and hour
then 
we all eat lunch together
and
all 4 go to different rooms and read a book/rest for an hour. (this part happens every day)


you get the picture.


but my sweet angels insist on arguing about EVERY LITTLE THING.  i mean even passing each other in the hall requires a referee!  i'm pooped.  


so yesterday about an hour after lunch i was at maximum overload with the arguing -- so they cleaned their rooms. (i guess i should explain that i like the floors to be clear at night, so they have to pick up before bedtime.  that usually means toys get stuffed in totes that they don't belong in, but the floor is clear.)   i drug all the totes out from under their beds and took the lids off -- as well as the ones in their closets and they sorted.  the rule around here is "everything has a place -- if you can't find it's place mom will find a new place that is not in the middle of the floor at our house".  so, they spent the next couple hours sorting and griping about sorting, but not arguing with each other.

i (as patiently and mary poppins-like as i could) explained to them that i would love for them to play all day and not have to do chores, but i was at my wits end with the constant fighting, hitting, tattling, whining, etc.  so we talked about how we could fix it and promised we'd all have a better day tomorrow.

that tomorrow is now today.  

for the last 3 hours we've been cleaning. sigh.  today they helped me do the baseboards of the house.  that was the initial "break from fun".  i thought surely that would help them refocus and motivate them to get along.  i was wrong -- they were literally picking at each other on the way to the sink to rinse their rags!  what in the world!  so they also got to dust the furniture, doors and cabinets.

and now -- they are playing quietly, laughing, and working out little tiffs that are par for the course with 4 boys.  things are looking bright and shiny on our side of the street -- including the house!

i feel like a mean mom.  

follow me, chickadee...

i've only done the "follow me" thing a few times -- but i've found a few of my favorite blogs that way.  so i thought this would be fun!!  here's the scoop....

The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom!, Mannland5 and The Adventures of Goober Grape and Monkey Man have teamed up to cohost Follow Me, Chickadee Fridays!  Each week, simply stop by at any of these three blogs for a chance to link up and meet new and exciting bloggers out on the interwebz!  All we ask is that you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Add a main link to your blog each week (Linky will open every Thursday night at 11 p.m. EST and close at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday mornings EST)!
• Follow the first three blogs in the # 1, 2, 3 spots.
• Visit the blog above and below your listing and leave a *meaningful* comment.  Something nice and shiney to make them smile.  But make sure to tell them that you found them from Follow Me, Chickadee!
• You don't have to follow every blog that follows you...but make sure that you follow the blogs that really interest you!
• Family friendly sites ONLY.  The linky list will be monitored and anything not family friendly *will* be deleted.  We don't want to see random naughty bits or something that would make our families cringe.
• And the most important guideline?  HAVE FUN!  Make new friends, but keep the old...one is silver and the other's...ack, Girl Scouts memories shining through.  Oh, and have a Happy Friday!

i may learn to sew yet...

it's been an on-going thing for me, this learning to sew.  about 6 years ago i decided i wanted to be able to, so i asked my mother-in-law to teach me.  she patiently (very patiently) gave me a few lessons and i mastered pajama pants.  but for some reason that is all i ever made.  
i just need to say, that my mother-in-law can make ANYTHING, for real, anything.  I can say "do you think you could make me one of these?" and she can.  i'm talking sock-monkey to winter coat!  the lady is amazing and i am blessed enough for her to take time to teach me an ounce of what she knows.  i wish i would have wanted to learn when i lived 3 miles from her instead of 613 miles.


over the past year or so i've decided i want to really be able to sew, to be able to make cute little things.  why i want to make cute little thing i have no idea, because there is not a single person in my house that would appreciate that sort of thing.  however, i do have some of the most adorable nieces on the face of the earth -- enter cute little sewn things.  wink wink.


plus, what about curtains, and pillows and chair covers and and and.....i just want to sew. and thanks to my friend Jenny over at The Southern Institute for Domestic Arts and Crafts and her handy dandy tutorial for a nursing cover, i made something! a real something and no one was here to supervise.


here's proof:

i made a couple of changes. first, i forgot to buy terry cloth so i just made it reversable. also, i ended up making a loop to thread the long strap through because i was afraid that the D-rings might be rough on my sister new washing machine. all in all i think it turned out pretty good. 


i'm sure it's no secret that i'm not actually using the nursing cover -- i'm trying to show that the boning actually works like Jenny said it would.  i sure would have loved a couple of these at several different times in my life.  these cute little things are for babies Reagan Hope and Nash Victor -- my new niece and nephew.


now, i wonder if i can make a dress....

Christmas in July....

this post is actually about challenge #056 over at TWISTED SKETCHES and the twist on the sketch is RED, any way, any how.  but, i have to make a comment on something first.  i was in "the lobby of hobbies" last week and they were putting out Christmas stuff!  yes, Christmas stuff!  now i've been told it's for the crafters -- so we can start making things for craft fairs and gifts and that sort of thing.  i'm ashamed to say it made me cranky for a minute.  i thought "really?!  can we not celebrate one holiday at  time?!"  i officially apologize for thinking that.  so to you crafters -- the ones that make cute Christmasy things that i like to buy -- i'm sorry for being cranky about seeing Christmas in july.  




and here's my take on the sketch: