I'm Back

I am back.

After ten days In Hawaii,

and two days driving the girls to and from Grandma's house.

I am now home.

I should take this time to tell you all about it,

but I have to pick up girls from school,

do some laundry,

and try to come up with something for dinner with out going to the store.

Which should be fun since everything spoiled while we were gone.

I will be back to tell you all about it after this house is all put back together.

I would like to tell you though that I love my husband, and can hardly wait until

the children are gone and it can just be me and him always.

Not that I don't love my girls and want them here always.

I am sure when the time comes for Baubi to leave I will be a blob on the floor.

However I am telling you this, in thirteen years when Baby Sister is gone,

 I am going to though-ally enjoy being with Good Looking.

Baby Sister's Party

As you may recall Baby Sister turned FIVE.

(I think it will be fun in ten years saying Baby Sister turned 15)

I forgot to show you what fun she had,

and the super cute things she got.

Patty from my swap wanted to send her a present.

I thought it would be something small, man was I surprised.

Look at all that orange fun.

When she came home from school, I sat her down to open her gift.

What do you think..

I think she likes it.

How cute is that?

This is her "Thank you Patty" face.

Orange five and crown.

Look even orange sparkles.

Orange hair bows.

She was not very good at making a surprised face.

Here is what else was in the box.

Just so you know. I am now in love, 

LOVE

with the chocolate covered orange slices.

If you like chocolate & orange

You must try it,

way better than orange sticks.

Look at her blissfully happy face.

She put them all in this little bucket.

Of course I had to make her a bag.

I like the orange top stitching on the yellow.

This is her birthday skirt,

It is seersucker and perfect for summer.

Look how cute it is with her shirt.

Can't even stand it.

This is what we did for her party.

I don't like throwing little kids parties.

I know I should but I don't, so we only do them 

when you turn five, eight, twelve, and sixteen. 

I made orange treat bags. 

Baby sister's bag now holds her mini lalaloopsies.

We had orange food, on the orange table cloth, with the orange

plates, and napkins. Orange punch in the orange cups.

Some of the orange things included, Cheetos, fish crackers, cheeze its,

clementines, carrots, cheese balls. and cream cookies. 

Here are all the treat bags.

The bags had an orange bottle of bubbles, 

and a pack of orange crackers.

We just ate, played, opened presents, and had orange jello cake.

(sorry no pictures of the cake)

For our activity we laid out some bubble wrap and let them go to town.

Just in case you ever want to make a lot of noise,

all you need is, bubble wrap plus 15 four and five year olds.

I think it is funny how the children have to pounce on the birthday girl.

I remember sitting quietly on the floor and watching to see what they got.

Anyway....

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Patty.

Lala is next, she is turning eight in two weeks.

I think this time we are going to do it all over again only make it all,

PINK !!!

Tissue Box Cover

Like I said before my computer died.

I was downstairs helping a friend finish her 

daughter's prom dress.

Good Looking walked in the room and said the computer just died.

I thought he was teasing, much to my fear he was not.

My in law's friend is a computer guy,

 and since we got the computer from him.

we took it back to him to get it fixed.

While we were talking and catching up, his sweet wife 

look at me and said...

"Do you sew?"

My response was... 

"To know me, is to know that I sew"

"To know me well, is to know that I sew A LOT"

She asked me if I could help her with a project.

She and her husband had gone to a craft fair,

and she wanted to know if I could make a pattern for her.

I was thinking it might be something tricky like a basket, or a doll.

Instead it was a tissue box cover.

She had bought a bunch made out of holiday fabrics.

She really likes them, and wants to make them for her kids.

So thank you Leroy for fixing the computer, 

and thank you Evelyn for always being so sweet. 

Here is how you make it.

She didn't have one for the Fourth of July,

so I made mine out of star fabrics.

Cut one piece of fabric 18" x 15". 

I had the selvage edge on the 18" side.

That way I don't need to finish the edge.

Fold it in half, and mark 2" square on each side.

Cut away the square, and the sew down the side,

 and across the bottom

Line up the side fold and the bottom seam,

sew together 

and line up the other seam to the bottom seam.

You will end up with this nice little boxed bottom.

Fold it in half again and measure down 4"

mark 1/2" 

Sew in a button hole.

The sample did not have a button hole 

just a cut to make the opening for the ribbon.

I am too anal to put up with that, 

so I am finishing the edge and putting in a button hole.

Now you are going to hem the top.

You could do this with a seam guide, but I do not. 

I get a piece of card stock, and cut it the hem width I want.

Place it on the fabric, flip it over,

and press.  Go all the way around the top.

Now stitch the hem down, 

I did it a little less than a 1/4" from the selvage edge.

Turn it over and line up the next seam 

with the top of the button hole.

Now you have a casing the same size as the button hole.

Insert you ribbon

Remember to seal of the edge of the ribbon so that it will not fray.

(Funny story. 

I was trying to get this shot and everyone was gone,

so I was pressing the camera button with my chin 

and totally singed off the edge my bangs.)

Insert tissue box 

Cinch in the ribbon and tie your bow.

Just like that you have the cutest tissue box on the block.

After all is said and done I think I might make the hem 2 1/4" or 2 1/2 " 

It looks a little saggy there on the top. 

It's up to you.

Now if you are thinking you might not want to dress up your tissues.

I was thinking you could recycle your tissue box, 

by cutting off the top of the box.

Then you would have a trinket box for the little ones to keep all their stuff.

I am thinking that way because Baby sister likes tiny things,

 and they are getting everywhere in my house. 

 To have a nice little box that she could keep 

those things in sounds like a deal to me.

The packages are in the mail and on their way.

Hopefully you will have them by the weekend.

I would first like to thank everyone for their kind words,

it really did make me feel better.

Second I would like to apologize for the label 

on your swap packages.

I took a picture and everything so you could see how uncute they are,

(The computer died on Friday and after being fixed

 it doesn't want to find my pictures.)

Anyway I made a cute little label,

sent it to the husband to print it off for me at his work.

They came back not as I designed them, but just like a man did it.

I promise it was going to be cuter.

Anyway it doesn't matter, 

all that matters is that you are getting your fabric. 

My friend Kim brown who is fabulous and was in every swap,

made her first rainbow quilt.

I am able to show you those pics,

I guess the computer likes those pictures.

Here is the front, 

I mean really what is cuter than that?

Here is the back,

the grey and yellow dots are suppose to look like moons.

Did you notice that the quilting looks like clouds.

How cute is her label.

She embroidered it and everything.

She is so good.

Here is a close up for good measure.

I LOVE IT!!!!

If you make one let us know.

I hope you have a great weekend.

I am going to the midnight showing of Hunger Games with Baubi.

She is so excited.

I am looking forward to sleeping all weekend to make up for it.

Baby Sister is FIVE!!!

It happens today,

Baby Sister turns FIVE.

I know every mother says this, but really where has the time gone.

She is definitively the craziest thing I have ever made.

Her favorite place in the world is the gas station.

She is full of fun and happiness.

Everyone is her "best friend"

Her favorite color is orange, because...

"orange is a happy color"

She is the only one I know who can turn her tongue upside down.

She is perfect, happy, fun, and awesome in every way.

Glad you are here, and you are mine.

Love you.