She's crafty.

I have been in a creative mood this week.  The cleaning may be suffering, but I did two little projects.  First one is pinterest inspired.  Burlap in all forms seems pretty popular.  I have a friend who put burlap panels in her den windows about 10 years ago.  Needless to say, she is way ahead of the trends...  very stylish lady!  I am kinda on the fence about how much I like this burlap wreath.  I tied a red tulle (that's all I had on hand) bow to hang it, but it may need something else.  A big "T" or some fall flowers maybe?  I don't know...  I am a copier, not a thinker upper.  It did turn out just like the pic of the one here.  Super easy, but I have way too much burlap left over and it makes a mess when you are cutting it.

My second project I am pretty proud of, if I do say so myself.  I have never taken an art class, but I have been a couple time to those painting/drinking events.  I think that made me less intimidated of a blank canvas.  I bought 2 small canvases and some acrylic paint to make something for Ashley's room.  I took my inspiration from her bedding set and painted these two side by side masterpieces.  This is totally freehand, no stencil or tracing. 

 Below is the quilt, which I pretty much copied with paint instead of fabric.

I made this last week but didn't have time to blog it.  Not that blogging it is much different to putting the pics on facebook, which I did do.  The dawgs are sucking big time, but that doesn't mean baby girl can't look good cheering them on anyway.  She already has a cheerleader outfit, but I wanted to make her a little dress and decided on a knot dress.  I didn't use a pattern, just kind of fit it to her body.  It fits but there is definitely room to grow.  I am hoping that maybe next year I can add a trim to the bottom and she can wear it again, or just wear it as a shirt.  Here she is:

It is getting kinda cool, so maybe a shirt underneath and some leggings or pants.

A girl can never have enough shoes!

For my latest craft, I made Ashley some baby shoes.  I have made several pairs of shoes for the boys with a pattern similar the the Robeez brand, but this new pattern seemed a little more feminine.  Plus, with pink flowers, you can't get girlier than that!  This was scrap material I had and wanted to try this out to see how hard these shoes were.  I wouldn't say they are easy, but I like the way they turned out.  (at least one of them, one seems really wonky).    

 That is the cutest fat baby foot ever! (The good one, not the wonky one)

She got tons of compliments on these shoes tonight at the mall, so I guess I will make a few more pairs.

Lessons learned on this 1)use a solid fabric for the sole, or at least not a pattern that will look funny if it isn't on the shoe straight. 2) Attach the sole to the top starting at the toe and going to the back, not the back to the toe. 3) Don't forget to top stitch the layers after ironing...  oops.

My first pinterest baked item.

Yes, it has been a while.  Summer really kept me busy with the kids home and a new baby.  Plus, I did a ton of organizing (post pregnancy nesting) which is not very interesting.  I do frequent pinterest and have a TON of ideas for things to make.  This is my first cooking post as I really do not enjoy cooking.  I am a jar spaghetti sauce, taco dinner kit, box cake mix and frosting kinda mom.  Honestly, breakfast is my best meal so I tried a breakfast wreath.  Now it does include crescent rolls from a can, but the rest is "outer aisle" food.  (BTW, I am kinda sick of coupon nay-sayers going on how they are "outer aisle" shoppers and coupons are only for junk.)  Besides, the canned rolls are on an "outer aisle," too.  I digress...
My family really liked this and it reheated well the next morning.  I need some practice wrapping the crescent rolls around, but I think I did ok for a novice. 

Arrange the crescent rolls and layer bacon, cheese, scrambled eggs, and more cheese.  Wrap the crescent roll points to the middle and sprinkle more cheese.  Bake and voila!

See what I mean about wrapping the crescent rolls better? 

Fruity Birthday "Cake"

Happy Birthday to my mom!  Well, it is actually in a week, but we are celebrating today.  She had been working the new Weight Watchers plan and fruit is one of the things you can eat for "free."  (In moderation of course)  Anyway, she didn't want regular cake and I am working on losing the rest of my baby weight, too.  This is what I came up with...  a cake made entirely from fruit.  Well, as my blog title indicates, I copy ideas and don't usually come up with them on my own.  I initially saw a watermelon shark on pinterest.  (If you have never seen pinterest, stay away.  You will find your self pinning ideas for hours... addicting and fabulous!)  Then I went here and there are lots of carving ideas and instructions.  It is pretty easy.  I used a cookie cutter on the pineapple to make flowers.  Melon baller to do cantaloupe plus strawberries and grapes.  Take some bamboo skewers and start arranging.  Voila!

Cow appreciation day.

Every year Chick-fil-a offers a free meal to anyone who comes in dressed up as a cow.  It is kind of a madhouse and I didn't think Andrew would go for it, but he wanted to go get some free food.  I love a good bargain, so I was pumped and the kids were very excited, too.  I literally threw together a couple of costumes in a little over an hour.  I pulled apart a sheep costume and re-used the felt to make 2 kid cow costumes with black felt spots.  I decided baby Ashley could use a costume, so I took a onesie and added felt spots.  To make the bottom cute, I added islet lace around the leg cuff.  I saw the idea on pinterest and thought it actually turned out super cute.  I may need to try this again.  Last, I cut off the sleeves.  Baby Ashley is kinda big, so the only white onesie that fit was long sleeved.  I didn't have enough lace, so I just took some ribbon and tied bows on the shoulders.  I was trying to make it look summery and not an unraveled mess.  I have also seen a few pics of friends kids with ribbons tying up the sleeves on their t-shirts...  so maybe that is the style these days.  Seems like with little girls, you can add a ribbon just about anywhere and it works!

Finished product...  the boys didn't want to pose for pictures.

The lace with super chubby leg.

At Chick-fil-a.

Ginormous bow and tutu!

Happy 4th of July!  I had some girl time with Ashley and made some accessories for her outfit while she napped.  Mom got her this cute onesie and I decided to spruce it up super girlie.  I made a stacked bow to match and a white tutu.  The bow was a little heavy so I clipped it to a headband.  I think she like the feel of the tutu.  I cut a 6 inch spool of tulle into 12 inch long strips.  I folded each one in half and sewed a pocket for some 1/2 inch elastic.  I threaded the elastic through the tulle and cut it to size on Ashley's waist.  Stitched the elastic together and fluffed.  Tutus are super easy to make and can be knotted instead of sewn.  Anyone can make these!  Look how cute baby girl is!