Pop Garden Peonies Apron Set

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Here is an apron set that I donated for the silent auction at Denny's school carnival. Includes ruffle apron, potholder, microfiber kitchen towel set and recipe cards.

I'm posting this as a sneak preview for a tutorial I'm currently drafting for ya'll. I've had a lot of requests for instructions on making the ruffle apron, so while I was sewing this one, I took the needed tut pics. Stay tuned... it's set to launch next Tuesday!

♥♥♥♥♥

Birthdays

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We recently celebrated the kids' birthdays (Ashlyn turned 3 and Denny turned 6). My parents drove out for each kid's big day and my dad took some fabulous pictures as usual.

Our local Pottery Barn Kids was having a Star Wars event on the weekend of Denny's birthday. Denny kinda likes Star Wars (kinda, as in a lot, a lot, a lot).

Denny's cake. I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 4 days straight until it was gone. Cake is one of my many weaknesses.

I think every single one of Denny's presents was something Star Wars related... why does he look so surprised?

Denny and Ashlyn sippin' the root beer.

Ashlyn opening presents in her lovely princess dress (which was a gift from Mrs. Kathi... this totally saved me from having to sew her a Halloween costume this year... YOU ROCK, MRS. KATHI!!!)

Ashlyn tells me about 20 times a day that her favorite color is pink. Does she really think I'll forget something so obvious?

Ashlyn loves her baby dolls.

And Denny and Ashlyn adore their Nana and PawPaw!

Easy Knitting Needles Tutorial

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Ok, I know knitting needles aren't terribly expensive in the first place, but here is an uber cheap way of making your own for under 50 cents a set. Last year, the 8-year old girls at church begged me to teach them how to knit. Supplying needles for ten girls was a difference between $50 for 10 sets of store-bought needles, or only $5 (plus one hour of my labor) to make them. Well worth it to make them in my opinion. Well, this Saturday our church is doing a knitting class for the women, so I decided to make some sets to encourage more people to give it a try (and of course they get to keep the knitting needles as a perk).

Materials:

• ♥ 12" Wooden craft dowels of desired thickness (Hobby Lobby carries these for $1.99 for a pack. The 1/4 inch thickness comes in a pack of 12 dowels)
• ♥ dowel caps for your chosen size of dowel or polymer clay to make your own caps

You'll also need the following for this project:

• ♥ pencil sharpener
• ♥ fine grain sandpaper
• ♥ soft dry cloth
• ♥ wax (I used a tea light)
• ♥ wood glue
• ♥ acrylic paint (optional)

For this tutorial I used 1/4 inch dowels, which is equivalent to needle size 10 US. I think this is great size for beginners to learn on.


Step One:
Using the pencil sharpener, sharpen one end of each dowel.


Step Two:
Sand the dowels. Start by dulling the sharpened point into a nice blunt tip. Sand the entire dowel from tip to end.



Step Three:
Using a clean, dry cloth, wipe down the dowels to remove the wood dust.

Nice blunt tips and smooth dowels.

Step Four:
Wax the needles generously from tip to end. I used a cheapo tea light for convenience purposes.



Step Five:
Use a clean, dry cloth to smooth and wipe away excess wax. Rub until the cloth glides smoothly. You don't want sticky needles. The purpose of the wax is to condition the wood so it is nice and smooth.


Step Six:
Paint the dowel caps if desired.

*Note: If you can't find dowel caps to fit your dowels, then use polymer clay to form little balls. Press the balls of clay onto the flat end of the dowel to mold the dowel end. Remove clay cap from dowel and bake in oven as directed to set clay.

I wrote the needle size on the end with a fine point permanent marker.

Step Seven:
Glue the caps to the ends of the needles. Use wood glue for the wooden caps or E6000 for the polymer clay caps (just use a small dab).

Let them dry and start knitting!

I took them for a test drive to knit these hats for my 3 year old and baby girl on the way.

♥ Enjoy ♥

Girly Baby Gifts

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My awesome sister-in-law is having her first baby girl next month, which she's extremely excited about (she already has two of the cutest boys in the world). Anyhoo, here are some goods I'm sending her way:

Bambino Blocks (Set of 5)

The reverse side has shapes.

We did an etsy trade for this little newborn dress (I'm getting some of her fabulous vinyl decals).

I love baby gowns with the little fold-over mitts built in the sleeves, so I was sure to include those!

Sewing Vintage Slips

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I have a friend who has the tall, slender body of a goddess (poor girl). Consequently, a lot of dresses that would fall knee length on most of us, are much shorter on her. She asked me to make some vintage slips for her to wear with her dresses so they'd add some length to them. The cute vintage style hems are meant to peek out at the bottom of her dress when she wears them, adding a fun and feminine touch.

I love how they turned out! Check out this shop to buy really cute slips that are sure to dress up your wardrobe!