Kyoko dresses and tunics

I have been sewing a lot of the Modkid Kyoko dresses and tunics this year. The pattern is Wonderful. I love how it comes together and the flexibility for sizing if your daughter is skinnier or heavier than normal. The only thing I recommend changing is extending the top downwards towards the waist another inch or two so the Obi Belt better covers the seam/waist if the belt slips down a little.

Easter Coloring Binders

For Easter the past few years we taken a trip to Moab. We leave home on Easter day when everyone else is leaving the park. So it has become a tradition for me stuff the baskets with car activities. This year we decided to switch up the scenery and head to Lava Hot Springs at the beginning of the break, before Easter. Alas I came down with a viscious Flu that has left me in bed for the last 5 days. So our trip was cancelled. Yesterday we went to a movie and breakfast. Then I came home and tried to nap (did not work) Awoke miserable today so Chad has kept the kids occupied for me. Given the circumstances the kids have had good attitudes.
Anyhow..back to the binders. I decided to stick with the car activities theme (we will atleast be able to use them this summer on our trip to Montana). I have been making a lot of binder organizers for my Etsy shop and thought they would be great coloring arts organizers. I made slots for twist up crayons and a zippered pouch for erasors, pens etc. The Edges of the front inside curl up due to the width of the crayons so next time going to have to allow for that issue. Since I had cut out all 3 binder fabrics at once though I figured the kids would not notice the eye-sore though. And well lets face it Suffering from the flu half a week before Easter-it'll just have to do.

Scrapbooking

Besides sewing, scrapbooking and papercrafts are my major hobby. I have been published in numerous magazines and been on a few design teams. I recently realized it has been a long time since I have done a page for my kids, so I am making a goal to get 2 pages done for each in the next month and a half. (I am posting my goal here because I think it will help me to do it if I put in writing ;) ) I have not posted to scrap galleries in ages so these are all older pages but here is my scrapbook.com gallery. http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/13853/list/-1/0/1.html

A summer Quilt

Last year for mothers day I received a large Hammock. I dreampt of the days I will lazy days around reading on it with a light quilt. I love gnomes so thought Michael Millers Gnome fabric would be perfect. It also gave the advantage of making for a quick quilt because I did not want the fabrics scene of gnomes playing instruments to be too broken up. So I made 3 strips for the main part and had fun mixing primary squares for the edges. The result was what I had envisioned. Fast forward to 10 months later..I still have not spent a lazy day reading as I had envisioned. All 3 children were home sick from school and we had a wonderfully warm spring teaser day outside. I was delighted when the 2 youngest decided to go outside and read. My youngest son spent a couple hours looking at books and just sitting in a chair peeling oranges and nibbling. My daughter grabbed a quilt and when I popped out to check on them was in the exact scene I had made the quilt for. She ended up spending 3 whole ours outside reading! Doesn't it just warm your heart when you see the kids reading on their own accord?

Hoodies

Boys are hard to sew for. My youngest feels left out because he does not get nearly as many handmade goods from me as my daughter. I have finally found something he can actually use though. I used a Burda pattern for some hoodies for both sons (and yes my daughter..can't resist girly fabrics). This pattern sewed up like a dream. Straight forward and easy to understand. I was afraid of using knits but this pattern made it easy.

My latest project- Elastic free panties /dundies for my children. My daughter is sensitive to the elastic used in most store-bought undies so I decided to try my hand at making her some. She Loves them and I am very happy with the fit and comfort of the pattern. These homemade undies are sure to last a long time too, no more cheap thin fabric underwear for us. Now I want to make some for myself. They are so cute and fun with different fabrics. I also experimented with a tshirt that was going to be thrown out. It had a hole in the stomach area but such a cute dog print. So I upcycled it into a fun pair of underwear.

Recipe Binders

Continuing my getting organized kick-I have decided it is time to get my 3 binders of recipe clippings at least down to 2 binders. So of course, I need a pretty home for the recipes to better motivate me. I made a fabric binder cover a year ago to keep my calenders and to do lists in. I take it everywhere with me. I decided to make fabric covers for my recipe binders and add decorative Dividers. I also made a couple for some swaps while I was at it. Here are the swap binders.

Getting Organized...

A new year is here which means I am motivated to get organized and set goals. I saw some cute little scratch pad/ grocery list organizers on Etsy and decided I needed one. I put it on my "To craft" list. It would of probably sat there forever if I had not been lucky enough to be a part of a swap where someone else wanted one. I get a lot more motivated when I am making something for someone else rather than myself. So here they are-they fit 4x6 notepads and smaller. I literally went to 5 stores looking for 4x6 pads. I finally found ONE style. They are pricey so I will likely either buy in bulk at an office store or use 3x5 pads in the future. Besides the 4x6 pad they also have a hold a pen and have area for coupons or extra papers and a business card etc. Heavily interfaced and it closes with a velcro tab. I was going to do a button but figured out that if you want to be able to use both sides for writing the button prevents doing that easily.