Make It Work

Ok. I've been watching too much Project Runway...as if THAT is possible. :) Recently I stumbled across an adorable Minnie onesie that did not come in Evareaux's size. (Probably because she no longer wears baby sizes...sigh, pout.) But it was just too adorable to pass up and on sale so the price was right. I thought, couldn't I make it work? So I bought a couple of tshirt options in her size that would correspond nicely with the colors....

I cut around the design in a big circle...and then pinned it onto the pink polka shirt. I used simple hand stitching just 1/4 inch inside of the border. And it turned out like this...

Ok. You caught me. I forgot to take a proper "after" photo (BAD blogger!) But I figured you'd get the idea with this one. :)

And this one...

Besides, these photos show just how much this little girl missed her biggest bro while he was at his Mom's house for the past month. He couldn't wait to tickle and play with her too.

BFF's

This one is for my Nakiah and his Gram Gram. I swear the two of them are like best friends. Even a move to Chicago (good one Gram Gram) couldn't tear them apart. :)

Gaggles of Giggles

Not much going on around here lately. My hand hurts pretty bad and my foot is taking it's sweet time to heal after sad summer dryness and cracking...so not even a lot of running going on. Just a lot of the same chores over and over and over. Dishes, laundry, vacuum, repeat.

But to break up the monotony of summer to-do's there is Evareaux. She is cuter by the day and always engages us in hours upon hours of gleeful giggles. I swear her sweet happiness is contagious and it spreads like wild fire around the house.

Every morning and every night she makes her way into our giant California King to play for awhile. This usually consists of...rolling over the top of up back and forth like a baby steam roller...hiding under the covers....dancing Minnie's around us...flinging her legs around as hard as possible...and jumping up and down like a lunatic.  All the while giggling her fool head off.

I have to say I enjoy every single second of this time (even though sometimes I DO get kicked in the face). I would gladly do mountains of dishes, laundry and vacuuming if it meant spending all of my spare time giggling with this little girl.

Random Acts of Scrappiness...

Here is some recent random-ness...

This is one of my layouts featuring adorable Pebbles Inc. products...

 I just love the felt embellishments from Pebbles. 

Here is a couple of the layouts I made for American Crafts design team submission...

Loving the Delights stickers and of course Thickers (you can NEVER have too many Thickers!).

I also get really excited to use American Crafts ribbons. They co-ordiante so well with the different patterned papers...

I've been figuring out how to take better and more detailed photos of my projects. Hopefully this will help me when submitting to magazines and for design teams. I have a lot of really cool things(in my humble opinion) I've been creating lately. I will share them with you in the near future. 

Here is an American Crafts card...

I wanted to do something on the funny side. I'm not gonna lie it was my first card ever. And I get a little freaked out when the submissions ask for a card. But it was a lot of fun to make...and I have some ideas for more. Besides, who wouldn't love to receive a hand made card?

And here are some recent random photos...

I just love how much he adores his little girl.

 Here are some from my Iphone that I edited with the handy dandy Instagram app (Free!).

Lately I've been feeling it's a good time to attack potty training. (Shoot me now!) So that means I have been reading any and everything I can get my hands on in the subject....Needless to say that as much as I thought she was ready and I made myself ready it turns out she is not. So now I feel like I failed as a Mom....but really, she is 2 and 3 months, not 13. So, I have to slow my roll a little and focus on more enjoyable things...

I've also been gearing up for my upcoming half marathon. I have about a month of training left and am just beginning to get my confidence back after a nine mile run on Sunday....better late than never.

Ok. Thats enough randomness for one day....

Free is a Very Good Price

Thought I would share a couple of free scrapping "events" with you all.

The first one is on Club CK (also free). It's the ....

Five days of inspiration, downloads, and chances for prizes. Yes, please!

Even the icons they use for the differently themed days are adorable...

So next week...

Another thing I have signed up for is...

It's a 12 day festival. Each day there is a new instructor with an different inspirational word. Big Picture offers a template for mini layouts. The registration is free but a kit is available for purchase as well if you like...

So it's going to be a busy month. Care to join me?

PS- It's shark week which means I am inevitably glued to the TV. This morning's episode was all about shark attacks on the west coast (where I live)...recent (within the last 3 years)...one less than 10 miles from the beach we go to (YIKES!)...by a great white (AHHHH!) I am officially freaked out. Great White!? Shark attacks?! HERE?!?! Now I'm wondering if the beach access pass we just purchased was a complete waste of money. Maybe I will be too "busy scrapbooking" to go. I feel like being stung by a sting ray at our beach was already enough drama. No more Discovery channel in this house!!! 

Wait For It

There are two things I look forward to most when having a baby, and this might seem silly to some. The first is when they are finally old enough to sit down and enjoy Disney movies. Finally Evareaux is at this stage. It is so wonderful to be able to show her different ones and watch her eyes light up at hearing the songs and seeing the fun characters for the first time.

The other thing I wait, and wait, and wait for is hearing those three magical words. Of course when your baby starts talking it's lovely and nice to hear them say "Mama," or "Daddy,"....or their siblings names. And this was especially nice with Ev because for some odd reason she chose to start calling me "Pretties" very early on instead of Mom or some variation of it. But then that moment happens, around 2 years old, when they catch on to the whole "love" thing.

It finally clicked with her today. As I was changing her diaper I said, "I love you," in a sing-songy voice. (Hey, we've got Disney going on in the background here) Then she stood up threw her arms around me and said....

 "I wuuuuuuub eeeeeeeeeewe."

Be still my heart.

THAT was worth the wait.

(Then I did the only natural thing I could think of and ran immediately in to tell my husband that she told me she loved me and laughed when she wouldn't say it to him.....hahaha, and we thought HE was her favorite!)

Unique Indeed

I was lucky enough to attend Unique LA yesterday. It's a huge independent design & gift show. Local designers of everything from baked goods to clothing to furniture and everything in between show there. The show was SO inspiring and cool. Cool is really the only word to explain it. The people are cool, the music is cool, the goods are cool. I felt cooler for just having been there.....

Ok. Let me show you some of the Unique eye candy. Here is one of the first booths we stumbled upon...

It drew us in...the name of the company was Enchanted Leaves. I ended up buying 2 necklaces.

There were a lot of really beautifully decorated booths and tables. It was great for people like me who are aspiring to become a vendor in shows like this...

VERY cool dangling thingies. I have a lot of ideas for variations on this.

And there were booths with seriously cool and innovative product ideas. Like these bracelets made out of vintage book spines.... 

After a full basketball game and a lengthy drive to Santa Monica Nakiah was begging for lunch. So we made a quick stop at this pizza food truck...food trucks are a "thing" now....

The food was yummy. It was nice to sit outside and eat while we grooved to the DJ music in our chairs.

After we filled our bellies I was able to talk him into some more shopping. I think he actually like walking around with me and finding treasures like this...

We Love Citrus. Super cute stuff, right up my alley. The Divine Twine mini spools were calling my name.

Isn't this set up cooooool?

 We also spent some time at Hi Tree. The little tree stumps were actually pin cushions...

I had to tear myself away before I could buy everything on the table. Ok, Ok, maybe I did buy ONE little thing. It came in the most adorable bag, another great idea.

 Aren't these trees fantastic? I can think of so many different ways to use my scrap stash for something like this. They were sold in themed packets.

Of course I also had to swing by the Amy Tangerine booth. But I was too caught up chatting with the wonderful people there to take any photos. It was great to actually be able to see her amazing work up close and personal. Turns out she was planning on showing her new AC line but was missing the mini books...DANG! I was this close to getting my hands on it!!! I also didn't get to meet Amy since she was out of town....but that is probably for the best because I would have definitely geeked out, sounded like a stalker, and embarrassed myself. 

Unique LA was such a cool and inspiring event that I am planning to make an effort to attend it each year. Maybe I'll even save some money for it because I had a serious desire to blow my savings. Hey, you never know, maybe one day I'll be selling my own wares in this show. THAT would be a fantastic opportunity for sure. 

After the show Nakiah and I had a lot of time before we needed to be back to pick up the rugrat. (And that is NEVER the case!) So we stole the opportunity to have a mini date (don't tell him I call it a "date', he hates that). So we went to....

 He was so excited that he wanted to have it documented....

 He loves the idea of choosing his own yogurt and DIY toppings...

His: Cookies&Cream yogurt, gummy worms, oreo, fruity pebbles, gummy bears.

Hers: Tart yogurt (oops! I wanted Vanilla), cookie dough, and more cookie dough...

 He liked his AND mine.

But did rethink his strategy since the gummy worms weren't gummy any more.

Aren't the containers adorable?

What a great way to spend a Sunday.