Valentines Day, and a baby shower gift

Today we set to the task of making out Valentines for Sam and Eben's classes.  I had bought these Fun Dip Valentine packages a few weeks ago, and have successfully kept them hidden till today.  Sam's teacher wanted him to fill out the cards himself, and I assisted him with the spelling.  He did a great job!

So, after all the allotted amount of Valentines for the class were signed and sealed away, I gave the boys a few packages to eat themselves.  

 

Note to self: DO NOT BUY FUN DIP AGAIN! 

They loved it though, and nothing a little soap and water won't clean up

Today I go to a baby shower for a friend of mine that I have had since Girl Scout Camp in the early 90's.  We lost touch over the years, but reconnected a few years ago, and she is having a little girl in April who will be named Alexandra.  I decided to give her a few handmade gifts, and I hope she likes them.  The Going Home Dress, A matching Beret, and a pair of booties to match also leftover from our Farmers Market Sales

Julia unfortunately had to work, but sent along some AMAZING little handmade goodies as well, including a PRECIOUS little baby doll she hand made and designed, and the fantastic mobile that is adorning the basket.  She is so talented. 

 

Here I am, dressed in my finest maternity shirt, and a real bra for the occasion...LOL

Generous sister o' mine

Yesterday I was gifted with yet another kind gift from my sister Julia, a lovely camera strap for our recently resurrected camera, and I AM IN LOVE with it!

Self portraits are not my forte' but here is a picture from the Etsy store she bought it from:

Broward Patch

It is lovely, and so ME!  She really has an eye. 

Today I realized I did not take a 15 week belly picture, so being 15 W 6 D today, I think today's will be suitable for my 15-16 weeks picture. 

Okay? OKAY!

What does 2 1/2 hours of unadulterated bliss look like?

Today, I was not allowed to ski because of ticket restrictions, but my dad, and the boys could.  So I went with them to the mountain, and helped dad get the monkeys ready to ski.  When they hit the slopes, I dug into my bag of yarn and needles, and thought of what to create.  I crocheted away, and what did I make?

A baby sleep sack especially made for a blog friend of mine who is going to have a wee one in a few weeks!

A super chunky, warm as toast, V-neck, slip on, bottom tie sleep sack

Where did I get the pattern?  In my head of course, and not a paper or pen to be had, so in my head it will remain until I make another and finally write it down.  I had designed a similar gown late last year.

Yeah, I did not write that one down either.  Enter here Homer Simpson's voice "DOLT"!

I worked by feel, and the little square detail I have used before in this little vest pattern I made up last year:

I felt like this sack needed a bit of a detail to it, and so I added the box pattern to a few rows.

I think it is 0-3 months in size, but I am not sure.  

I used a VERY technical measurement you see... it is as long as my lap.  See, very technical!

I hope she likes it, and that the new babe is warm and snuggly in it.  The cord at the bottom is removable in case she was not comfortable with a cord (choking hazard), but it is well secured, and not too long. 

Later today we have Princess Eva's Sledding Birthday Party, and the boys are anxious for fun, yet apprehensive that the beautiful little birthday girl will cover them in kisses. 

Oh to hav those worries in life.  Poor kids.  LOL!

A Beret and Booties

Last night, I came across my old pattern for this precious beret. Me fingers were begging me to work, to twirl the yarn, and to go to it! I decided I NEEDED to make one for our new baby~and so I crocheted.

Find the beret pattern here

After I was done, I decided that it needed a little something extra.  AND SO I CROCHETED AGAIN...

After these little babies made it to fruition, I let out an overwhelming SIGH of relief, and smiled a HUGE smile, and my fingers thanked me! We are so excited to see them on our little one.  MAJOR PHOTO OPS ;)

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Oh, and one more thing...DO NOT TELL ELISA

(ELISA ARMSTRONG, stop reading here!) I mean it, or ruin your surprise!

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So, as I was looking over at my friend Elisa's blog, I saw that she was making a pair of slippers out of a yarn I thought looked very similar to the yarn I just made a pair of baby booties out of.

Photo from Elisa Loves:

 Baby booties I had made:

Then she posted another photo, and I KNEW it was the same yarn.  So, I had a change of mind, and decided to mail her the booties I had originally planned for our new baby.  I was going to make her another pair, but I think the stars aligned, and this was SOOOOOOO meant to be.  Matching Mama, and baby slippers for her newest baby.  I am sending them with some vintage knitting books that I hope she likes. 

Today as I pulled back the curtain to take my first of TWO daily tubs. That is right TWO!  

This baby has made it's Mama a full on bath addict!  I am not a fan of baths in general, in fact prior to being pregnant this time, I avoided them like the plague.  But since October, they are my favorite craving:

The soaking,

The warmth, 

The bubbles,

I was entertained by what I saw...

 

A slew of little bath toys, all of them beached together, abandoned hastily by last nights bathing of the boys, given by my husband while I was at work. 

I chuckled at the way that little plastic boy had landed while the water drained, draped over the dolphin, and posed in a diving fashion.  Oh, and the Zebra...he seemed a bit out of place as well.  The space guy at the forefront of the picture did not seem to faze my thoughts because he looks a "little off".

Before my tub, I posed for my 13 week belly picture.  

A little late, 4 days to be exact, but better late than never. 

Lastly I share with you a glimpse at the stunning jewelry set my sister MADE for me.  That is right...MADE!

She gifted me with this adorable nest charm with pearl eggs tucked inside the silver, and a pair of dangly, sparkly, matching earrings.  Aren't they lovely?  I think so too!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Hello friends, my sister Julia is having a giveaway on her blog this weekend for an ADORABLE doll that she designed.  

LINK: BABY DOLL

Stop over if you are interested and try your luck!

Teachers Gifts: Herbal Eye Packs

On a crafting kick I made a few herbal eye packs, thanks to Heathers awesome tutorial (found HERE).  I made one for Sam's Teacher, and Eben's Teacher as a thank you for making the boys first year of school so AMAZING! Thinking that they might need something to relax with after a LONG day with 20 or so Kindergartners, and also wanting them to have something to remember the boys by, I wanted to make 4 (one for each teacher, and one for each teachers aide), but unfortunately only had enough rice mixture for 2.

Rice and Lavender Epsom Salts (stolen from Mom...thanks!) Mixture

So I decided on making their teachers each one in the boys favorite colors.

Blue (Sam's) for his teacher, and Green (Eben's) for his teacher

Graduation is tomorrow, and I am going to be a mess...TEAR ALERT!

Bus Driver Gifts!

We have the best bus drivers on the planet for Sam.  "Mr. Dave in the morning, and George in the afternoon.  Get this...George used to be Julia's and my bus driver in our school years, how cool is that~full circle huh?

At any rate, I decided to make some thank you Peanut Butter cookies for them

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. chunky peanut butter (the chunkier the better!)

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F

Cream butter and sugar and eggs together, add in the flour and baking soda, then mix in the peanut butter

Roll into 1 in. sized balls, and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet

Crisscross with fork tines

 

Bake for 15 minutes, or until barely golden (I prefer them this way, but you can go darker if preferred)

Attach a thank you note, and pass along the love!

What a great sister I have!

Look at what my twinnie made for me!

She made one for herself a bit ago, and got he pattern from Heather (HERE!). Now ladies...these two crafty Mama's are some of the craftiest ladies I know.  

Please check out their Inspring Blogs at

Adirondack Mama (Julia)

Shivaya Naturals (Heather)

So..onto my lovely gift!

Made with love...my FANTASTIC NEW CAR ORGANIZER!

Made of the most beautiful paisley print...SHE KNOWS I LOVE MY PAISLEY!

So thanks Julia for the thought, and for the great gift.  I truly love it! You are the BEST!

A Gift For a Giver

Julia and I have had an inundation of extra old and new fabric over the past few months brought to us by our Aunts who generously cleaned out their fabric supplies. In particular came some lovely minky fabric from our Aunt Marcy, that we utilized for some tiny security blankets for our shop. We sold quite a few of these at our recent craft fair, and I was trying to come up with something to say thank you to her for her donations.

I used two of my favorite pieces from her stash, and made her a shoulder bag with a gathered top and a matching scarf.




I hope she likes them, at least I know she will like the colors because she bought them~LOL.