So, the Minnie party... (You know, I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to computer stuff, but this blogging thing just always has me a little stumped.... Anyway...)

Lots of Minnie Mouse inspired treats! Cupcakes, cookies, marshmallow pops, chocolate covered oreo truffles, and a lemon cream maryann cake just thrown in for good measure!

I got many of my cupcake supplies (like all the cute wrappers!) from Bake it Pretty! The Minnie Mouse heads and bows and buttons on my cupcakes are all from melted chocolate. The bows and buttons came from molds also found at Bake it Pretty! Check here and here! I love melted chocolate. Easy, yummy, and super cute possibilities!

I made sugar cookies too, and decorated them with royal icing. I found the Mickey-shaped cookie cutter somewhere online (I actually think I ended up buying it at the Disney store site), and my cupcake and ice cream cutters came from Crate and Barrel.

Minnie Mouse Party

My daughter just turned 3, and wanted a Minnie Mouse party. I'm not always a big fan of syndicated/character/cartoon party supplies and stuff, if you know what I mean. But she wanted Minnie, so I just went with it. Some pics here, and more to come soon. Hopefully. As you might see, I'm not so good at the blogging thing, even though I'd LIKE to be! : )

My April Snow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

check this out... so cute... and this is one of my fave blogs to stalk... grosgrainfabulous!!!!

My April Snow GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

market skirt

I'm still bad at blogging... 

Anyway, just finished up a new little skirt! The pattern came from Dana, at Made, and I love it! SUPER SUPER CUTE! Check it out, and all the rest of her great stuff. Plus, she has gorgeous photos, and I can never resist that! 

The tutorial is great, because it's easy to follow and pretty detailed. I didn't find it to be too tricky, although I did end up spending a fair amount of time with seam ripper in hand! Although, this is definitely typical for me; I do some really goofy things! 

I made a 'matching' shirt, which was a spur-of-the-moment last decision at 10pm last night. I had an extra plain red shirt sitting around, and figured, why not?!?! In daylight I can see it doesn't really match completely, and I don't necessarily like it with the skirt, but that's ok....

Let's add some more pics...

Ok, here is probably why I hate blogging. I add a pic, and it goes straight up top. Can't seem to move it. Annoyed...

Ok, I have to manually move it within the Html by cutting and pasting. Annoying...Well, moving on...

Here we go... 

I really loved Dana's choice of fabrics for her skirts! But since August is speeding by, and Fall is on the way, I opted for something a little different. Although the appliques on the skirt do show strawberries. Too bad I can't change them to apples!

I also screwed up the pocket 3 different times. The fabric I used had been fussycut, and then it ended up being too small... So, in the end I decided to just do some applique. 

It definitely has its little flaws, but it's still cute! And my Sweet Adeline loves it, so that's all that really matters. She has been playing with that little strawberry girl asian print for a year now, and I have FINALLY used some of it!!!

I think I will try this tutorial again... Maybe in corduroy!

Shirred Sundress from Weekend Sewing

From Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing. Although to be honest, you can find similar free tutorials if you do some googling... But not to dis her book; it's a lovely one! Very fun to look at and some very cool ideas!

I think I finally got the shirring thing down. A few weeks ago I spent a whole week practicing with elastic thread and NOTHING was working. So I just quit. Decided to give this dress a go, and all of a sudden, the shirring thing works! Hmmmm...I don't know, but I'll take it! 

I think I'll shorter the straps some more. And maybe even knot them! Because I don't think she'll keep them tied otherwise... Too fun to play with!

Not the greatest pics of the dress, as I did not have the most willing model that day. But it really turned out to be a cute dress! Now for some warmer weather so she can actually wear it!

thrift store shirt reconstruction!

I like the idea of reconstructing old clothing and material, and giving it new purpose! With the economy heading in a downward spiral, it just seems like a smart thing to do. Plus, it's fun! And a great way to learn to sew!

I'm relatively new to sewing, and I guess this would really only be my third attempt at something in the garment category.
I found a shirt at the thrift store that was $6.99 and 50% off! Nice! Then I decided I was going to attempt to make some kind of shirt for my 21 month old.

Here's the final product! Actually, it's not so final, as I plan to make a few little changes. But more on that later...



Now, I honestly had no clue as to where to start with this... But awhile back I had found a tutorial that I thought might be a good start...

Vegbee at Just Tutes has a tutorial for a peasant blouse that I found awhile back. Actually, she has a lot of great tutes, and is very nice at sharing!

http://indietutes.blogspot.com/2007/07/peasant-blouse.html

Her tutorial is for making a little blouse from new fabric, but I figured maybe I could at least use some of her pattern ideas to get started on reconstructing my own little shirt. Seriously, check out her site. She has some very cute ideas!

Anyway, here is the original shirt.



I figured I could maybe reuse the front bodice part, and the button down section (does this have a more technical name? I don't know!)
So, here's where I tried to figure out how to cut this thing out and start putting it together!


Trying to figure out where 

to cut this thing out!

And here is what kept me going! Ha ha ha!

Ummmm, notice the small dust bunny there too!!! And how about those seam-ripper ripped pieces of thread from a quilting project gone bad! Ahhhhh!!! 

I got the main part of the shirt put together, and then realized I wanted to make a few more changes/alterations/additions...

I decided to add a ruffle to the bottom to add a little in length. Making a ruffle is something that I have done twice now, and although I seem to screw things up every time, I figured I could still handle it! I also put some new buttons on! Now that's pretty easy! : )
Overall, I'm fairly pleased with this. It's a little big right now, but it's still too cold to wear anyway. The sleeves are a little too roomy; I may add some elastic or do some tweaking there. And actually I have some round, solid red buttons I think I am going to so on instead. Well, I have some more yellow ones though too. So, we'll see!

Here's my cutie!

Let's try this again!

I'm so bad at blogging. I think it's because I get on the computer and end up reading other people's blogs instead. They can be so interesting! Plus, there are so many crafty/artsy/design bloggers out there who share their work and ideas... I can never get enough!

So I recently finished a quilt and thought I should add some pics. The material is all Heather Bailey (well, minus the backing). It's just basic squares and is throw-size. The pictures kinda stink 'cause I took them at night. It was a gift, so I was trying to get it finished and wrapped!

awesome little tutorial!

Found a great tutorial for a little zippered pouch.... There are a few of them out there, but this one explained it in such that I just GOT it I guess... I will have to post a few pics of them later... But for now, here is the link...
http://www.twelve22.org/2006/07/zipper_tutorial.html

Cleaning Stainless Steel appliances

We have 3 stainless steel appliances in our home - oven, dishwasher and fridge. And a 1 and 2 year old... I know, I know. But 2 our of the 3 came with the house when we bought it!!! And they sure are pretty when they are clean (ok, that's almost never!)!

Anyway, so I've been testing a lot of products lately. All purchased from the local grocery store or from Target.

My personal fave would have to be the Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Cleaner Starter Kit. It comes with pads (qty of 6 I think, you can then purchase additional packs) that attach to a little hand held thingy. You wipe away with the grain, and TADA! Beautiful! NO streaks! You can also remove the pad and use it by hand to clean up harder to reach spots. I have been truly amazed by this product. It's the only one that does NOT leave STREAKS on my fridge!!! NO STREAKS! I found this at Target, in the 'laundry' aisle, NOT with the cleaning stuff... ???!?? You can also find it at Drugstore.com

And a little tip - keep the pads tightly sealed in the package as directed. Or they will dry out. 

I realize that stainless steel finishes can vary per appliance though, so sometimes I think it might be a matter of finding what works in your own home.

I have also tried Method's Spray and microfiber cloth (each sold separately). Smells great, and I really like Method's line of cleaning supplies, but I wasn't too impressed. Worked ok on my dishwasher (has a duller matte finish), but left horrible streaks on the fridge.

Let's see... What else have I used?!??!

Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes, and Weiman Stainless Steel Spray. The wipes - not so good. The spray - worked well, but only when I buffed the fridge like mad for an hour with a soft cloth after applying.  I know some will say that the 'buffing' is the key to beautiful stainless steel. But with the 2 kids running around the kitchen, who has time for that!?! 

I'll stick with the Scotch-Brite stuff! 

Product Review - Nair Shower Power

I recently saw an ad for Nair Shower Power, which apparently works while you shower. Seeing that warmer weather and shorts are on the way, and considering that I have two young children and not a whole lot of shower time, I thought I would give it a try...

I have used a few Nair products in the past and had fairly decent results... The big draw for me has always been that Nair is supposed to keep your legs smoother and fuzz free longer than just using a regular old razor. I have noticed this is true to some extent. It probably gives me an extra day, maybe 2.

The drawback is having to load your legs up with lotion/cream, and then sit around and wait for the messy stuff to work it's magic.

But Shower Power works WHILE you shower. The magic formula is supposed to stay on your skin without dissolving or washing off in the shower. When you are ready, YOU remove it with the special sponge and the hair goes with it!

So, I gave it a shot.

I used the orange side of the sponge to apply the cream to one of my legs. I let it sit for a minute before getting in the shower (per the instructions). I hopped in and enjoyed the warm shower while the cream did it's work. The instructions state to not let the cream stay on for more than 10 minutes total, so after about 9 minutes or so, I decided to see if the stuff worked...

Using the white side of the sponge, I began wiping the stuff off. I noticed that a lot of it had already washed off. Hmmmm, not good. I also noticed that my hair was not really going anywhere. Really not good.

Not super impressed.... But to be fair I decided to give it another go. I waited about a week and a half. And then I went for Round 2.

This time I let the cream sit a little longer before hopping in the shower... I also stayed way out of the water for awhile to make sure it was going anywhere. This worked out ok for me, because we happen to have a pretty large shower stall. But if that is not the case for you, you might run into problems.

I also went just a TINY bit past the recommended 10 minutes. It was more like 11.
This time I had applied the cream to both legs, from the knees on down. I noticed that it takes quite a bit of cream to cover it all. Which means that your 5.1 oz tube might not last you too long, depending on how much hair you want to remove.

Okay, so after about 11 minutes, I used the white side of the scrubby sponge to remove the hair. This time I got better results. It was coming off. I finished up in the shower, got myself ready, and then was able to take a better look at the results...

Overall, not super impressed. I don't have very thick hair, but there were some stubborn spots where I guess the cream wasn't thick enough, or it just wasn't working very well...

I also don't have very sensitive skin, and I have never had problems with Nair products in the past, but this time my legs were kinda irritated. Definitely not painful at all... But slightly red and splotchy, and my leg pores were all of a sudden VERY large and noticeable. This seemed to be the case for a few days. My legs DID feel smooth for the most part though, and these smooth areas seemed to last for a couple of days.

I didn't have much cream left in that tube, and to be honest, I threw the rest away!

I had once tried Nair's Bladeless Shaving kit and had MUCH better results. It might be worth it to try it out again.
Otherwise I might just stick to some nice shaving gel and good razors. I might have to shave more often, but at least I get nice smooth results for a day!

You need this...

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Seriously, it is MAGIC! Or close to it! We recently moved, and bought this item to try to clean up scuff marks on our walls before showing our home. Amazing! 

Great for bathrooms too! Give your tub a little love - sparkling white again! 

And today it saved me again! My toddler took a big ole permanant marker to our wood floors. Left him for a second; came back to find a HUGE disaster. I'm not sure Magic Eraser is meant for wood floors, so you might want to check before taking it to yours. But I was VERY desperate! Had to use a little arm power, but the marker is GONE! And it didn't seem to do any damage to the floor. 

Ohhhh, thank you Mr. Clean! 

When the Crayola Box can't help you...

I love colors. (And I love boxes of crayons too!)

But when you are creating things on the computer, sometimes you need a little more help. I often need to find 'hex codes' for colors. One tool I really like, is the color wheel here. It's easy to click on any color, and find the code. It's also easy to see other 'schemes' (like a color triad, or contrasting colors) and their corresponding codes. 

Another site I have seen, but don't know much about, is colourlovers.com. I know you can go on and create and share your own color pallets. I'll have to look into it some more...