Halloween Costumes

Star Wars Characters! My two little girls are Obi Wan and Yoda this year for halloween. I managed to crochet a hat but my mother-in-law, Lydia, made the adorable ears. Julia and Lydia helped with the brown robe and I just made up the pattern by looking at photos of the original characters. I bought the fabric, ribbon and yarn. Basically it would have been cheaper to just buy costumes. 

I wanted to do a photo-shoot that was super star-warsey, but alas, babies seem to despise halloween costumes so this was the best I could do. for now... :) 

Obi Wan & Yoda!

Miniature Picnic Tables

I got the plans for these here to make tables for my nieces/nephews & my own kiddos when they're a bit bigger. They loved them! This was our first real wood building experience. Two take homes:

1. You can build just about anything with a Kreg Jig. 

2. The more time you spend sanding and staining, the better it looks. Don't plan on doing anything like this in one day because you need at least four hours per layer of stain/spar urethane. Maybe next time I will just paint them... :)

Don't be fooled- These are only about two feet tall!

Handprints! and footprints...

I saw this adorable picture of a babies handprint inside of a parent's handprint. So, we tried to model it. Only problem? Babies hands just clench up. Alas, we made a foot print :). Turned out pretty cute in my opinion - and whatever I saw on the internet probably was photoshopped... 

Apron for a 3 yr old : My First Sewing Project

I started blogging to give me motivation to start and complete (keyword!)  projects. Being a professional momma is a constant 'work in progress' - and today I did my first sewing project since, I don't know, Girl Scouts? One of my friend's daughters is turning the big 3. Apparently that is when kiddos start imagining - so she is getting a kitchen set and I made her an apron to go with it. Julia taught me some valuable lessons with sewing - mainly, if you want to do it, have someone who knows what they're doing show you how to thread the machine from cutting corners to pockets! Also, patience is key. To make this apron we used some scrap curtain fabric, leftover wedding ribbon, pink ruffles & a iron-on kitty. 

Giraffe Mosaic : W.F.B. Creative Outlet #5

Waiting For Baby Creative Outlet #4. 

My wonderful mother-in-law Lydia came out to help with the new baby! But, no baby. Instead she taught us how to make mosaics so we decorated a mirror and some pots for the safari baby room. 

We bought old plates, mirror & board at a thrift shop. Lydia brought a tool to break up the plates - but dropping them in clothe bags and using a hammer worked pretty well. Adhesive, dry 24 hours, and grout, 24 or so more hours + sealant and done!

Rocking Zebra Makeover: W.F.B Creative Outlet #4

Waiting For Baby Creative Outlet #4. 

I made this to go with my elephant/safari baby room. 

What you'll need:

- An ol' rocking horse. Preferably one that hasn't seen any love for a long time

- Black and white Acrylic Paint, Green for the base

- Black and White Yarn

- Acrylic Sealer (Although we skipped this and three years later it looks fine)

Pull off yarn-hair, saddles, bridles - basically strip the horse down to the wood. Paint the horse white. Look at a picture of a zebra and copy strip patterns with black acrylic paint. The end of the nose is black, and the stripes curves around the eyes - so pay attention to the picture if you want it realistic looking. (Or copy ours)

To create the mane - Cut yarn into about12 inch pieces. Chunk about twenty pieces together and then lay down a white chunk next to a black chunk on a long strip of news paper. Alternate the colors until you have about two feet (depend on size of your horse) of yarn laid out. Sew through the yarn and sewing to the newspaper, and then remove the newspaper (so it sewed together). Fold the piece in half and sew again. Glue to the horse and trim as needed. For the tail I just tied a knot and braided the yarn and glued it.

My nieces and my sista made this amazing elephant collage - so to match we refurbished this broken ol' rocking horse to be a rockin' zebra!  

Cake Bouquet: W.F.B Creative Outlet #3

Waiting For Baby Creative Outlet #3.

I have been wanting to make one of these delicious cupcake bouquets and there are tons of tutorials online - so look 'em up if you're interested. :) My only advice? Don't try to transport the thing.

sprinkles = birthday!

I didn't have a fancy Styrofoam ball, so I just glued a bunch of Styrofoam bowls together. It kinda worked...

Anniversary Project: W.F.B. Creative Outlet #2

Waiting For Baby Creative Outlet #2. No baby yet.  

My way to cope today was to do a photo shoot of my sister in her wedding dress. This year is her ten year anniversary - so I thought it would be cute to get one of her, and then one with the kids.  

Six kids and STILL fits in her wedding dress! 

Photography Project

My sister Julia wrote beautiful journal entries to each of her children comparing them to "Fruits of the Spirit" - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness & self control. Pairing black and white photos of them made for a great photography project.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Galations 5:22-23

To Heidi

When I think of you I think of kindness. You are always kind to others and try to love them despite how they act toward you. You are sensitive to anger and know how to dissolve an argument. I have to think twice about getting angry, and try to be kind for your sake.

To Wendy

When I think of you, I think of love. You care so much for your little toys and always make good things happen to them. Before you were born, I had the mothers thought,"Will I ever be able to love this child as much as the first?" And the answer was yes, and your heart only gets bigger. So you taught me about love and I am reminded of the love I have for all my children when I see you.

To Frank

When I think of you, I think of joy and gentleness. You are a joy by smiling at seemingly not funny things. Your prancing around always lifts me up, and I also enjoy getting to see a glimpse of what your dad was like when he was a boy. I say gentleness also because of how you handle the girls. Yes, you attack and play with them, but you are careful with Mary Lou and do not attack back when she goes after you.

To Mary Lou

You teach me patience. Not only
because you are demanding, but
because you are always patient with
me. Many times I cannot meet your
needs with so many other kids
around, but you always love me in
the end. I am proud of you for
working so hard to articulate and
make yourself known. When I am
patient with you I am rewarded by
your happiness.

You teach me peace. It is partly because of your gentle, easy going manner, how you can be happy in any situation. But partly because you have helped me be at peace with who I am, and who God wants me to be. When you smile I remember that I didn't want another pregancy, but God gave me you anyway. I remember that all trials will be over soon, and the rewards for them are much greater than the temporary cost. I thank God for your special characteristics and for the wisdom I have gained from them. I pray that I can be a good mother to you always.

To Ginger

You teach me joy and contentment. You are always joyful and content. I would forget to feed you because you never complain. You are such a role model in that way even though you are only 4 months old. When I see you I am thankful for all my children, content with my surroundings and filled with a happy peace. Thank you for that. Love, Mom