Quickest clothing I've ever sewn!

I bought this tiered denim skirt last year and have hardly worn it. It was just too long, dusting the tops of my toes. Back in my svelter days, that look was ok. Now, it's horrid. So last Sunday, I ran upstairs before church and serged off the bottom ruffle/tier. Then quickly folded over & sewed that serged edge and the skirt was perfect. Please ignore the fact that I'm desperately in need of a pedicure...

No, that's not what the title is about.

So yesterday, I was up there to iron shirts before my children's piano recital (Sage, Trey and Adam were all amazing, btw!!!) and saw that ruffle just lying in a heap on my tracing/cutting table. I pulled out some cute fabric and hollered for Sabrina. I held it up to her to find a decent length, snipped and tore a strip. Then I wrapped it around for a measurement (using that word very loosely, because I didn't really measure anything), snipped and tore crosswise to make a rectangle. Then I did the same for Sydney (though twins, they're vastly different sizes). Because I'd serged the ruffle off above the seam, it was still nicely gathered. I pinned to a rectangle and serged it together just above that previously sewn hem, cutting it off in the process to remove bulk. Flipped it and topstitched. Serged the top edge and side seam, folded over a casing and quickly ran elastic through. Tada! Two skirts made in less than 20 minutes. They wore them last night and again today to church.

The funny part was after getting dressed in the matching skirts and matching white tops, they were standing together admiring their new skirts. Sydney pointed down at them and said, "Look Mom, we're twins!" LOL!

New photos of my gorgeous kiddos

A few years ago, I had some professional photos taken of my children. I blew them up in black and white and have them each in a simple black frame, all in a row in a hallway. I love them and people comment on them all the time. But alas, my children are growing up. And there are now 6 of them, instead of 5. So I need to find a matching frame for Spencer. And I took some new photos of them. It's rained for weeks. But we finally had some decent weather the other day. I hauled them all out, in about 50 degree weather, sans coats. Oh, the horrid things we do for our children, for the sake of photography. My mom sort of scolded me when I told her. But she cried when she saw the photos. And it was only for about 15 minutes. So I guess it was all worth it. I love them, but what do you think?

Business is building!

It may not seem like a lot, but I've had 3 sales off Etsy, then sold a few more around town. My dentist ordered one, for instance. And I made business cards and have gotten more confident in talking about my business. I'm not good at self-promotion. Even with my digi designs, it's a weakness of mine. With my carseat covers, it helps to have my super cutie, Spencer. He's an icebreaker. People stop to talk to me all the time because of him, then comment on his carseat cover. "Thanks," I say now. "I make and sell them." It's usually enough of an opening for people to ask me more about them, and sometimes enough to give them a business card. This lousy weather is in my favor, too. They see how cozy he is even though it's a rainy, blustery day. With any luck, this will help business to really blossom soon. Here's my latest one (identical to the one I have on Spencer). And I have 4 more in various stages of progress... red, bright orange, and 2 pink.

Huge Sale at Digital Freebies!!!

The store is 55% off just about everything right now. It's a fabulous time to snag some great deals, so check it out... HERE

Blog train with a great Christmas idea

I love cookbooks and it's so fun to create new little ones for Christmas Gifts. The last couple of years, I've used bragbooks to create little presents for stocking stuffers. Here's a chance to get some great recipe cards, fun new recipes, and a lovely kit to boot!

Download has now expired, sorry.

Audra's Little Scraps: http://audraslittlescraps.blogspot.com
Busy Mama Designs: http://somuchtoscrapbook.blogspot.com/
Designs by : http://scrappingwithangel.blogspot.com
Designs: http://diellesdarlings.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!
Digital Compilations by Cinda: http://blog.digitalcompilations.com
Digital Designs by Lisa: http://www.digitaldesignsbylisa.blogspot.com/
Moore: http://eyeletsscrapsdesigns.blogspot.com/
Mazy: http://www.Scrapwarrior.com/blog
Cardall: http://meredithcardall.blogspot.com
Robin Willson: http://robin-giftsyoucanfeelgoodabout.blogspot.com
Scrap Quest: www.scrapquest.com
Sweet Tomato Designs: http://sweettomatodesigns.blogspot.com
TMA Designs: http://themathematiciansassistant.com
Wilro&co Designs: http://willrownco.blogspot.com/

Burp!

For the last few days I've been feeling like I might be getting an ear infection. I just had lots of fluid in my ears that was really bugging me. On the way home from taking Adam to soccer practice, I was telling him that every time I sneezed, coughed or burped, my ear hurt. "Burp!?! I never heard a girl burp before!" It wasn't that my ear was really hurting that he noticed, but that Mom, a girl, would actually burp. Luckily, laughing didn't hurt my ear!

Spencer is getting to be so much fun! At 3 months old, babies just seem to come alive. He smiles, giggles, "talks" back when you talk to him, has discovered the toys on the end of his feet (otherwise known as toes) and has the greatest dimples! Oh, and he's rolling! He first did it a few days ago. We'd fallen asleep in the recliner and when I woke up to go to bed, I needed to use the bathroom. I laid him on his back on a blanket on the floor. When I came back out, he was on his tummy. In just about 4 days, he's totally gotten the hang of the rolling thing. He goes both front to back and back to front and rolls both directions. And suddenly he's a lot happier baby. I've seen this with all of my children. Right before they're going to meet some developmental milestone, they tend to get kind of cranky. Like they know they should be able to do something, but can't quite manage it... so it ticks them off. Now it's so much fun to play with him!

I don't have a picture of him rolling over, but I do have one with the darling dimples. So here's his smile, to make you smile...

Hangin' out on Facebook... and Etsy

So I decided to join the 21st century and create a fan page on FB for my designs. I've put up a few pictures of my latest scrapbook designs. Come be a fan and get a 50% coupon off my designs. I also have pictures of the carseat covers I've got for sale on Etsy.

Oh, I guess I never posted about that. When my son Adam was a baby, my wonderful mother-in-law made him a carseat cover. It was brilliant! Made of fleece and flannel, it was cozy and warm, which was wonderful for a baby born in November. But better than that, I no longer had to wrestle with keeping a blanket over him in the wind, rain and snow. And a bonus was that it was an extra barrier to keep random strangers from touching my cutie. Shortly after that I borrowed her pattern and started making them for friends. Immediately people started telling me I should sell them. I've used them with 3 more children, making a light one of chambray and flannel for Spencer who was just born in May. Through the years, I've sold a few, when someone commissioned one. But now after years of making these carseat covers, I've opened up an Etsy shop to sell them. They're a little different than that first one Margie made me, but based on that pattern. For summer babies or ones in warmer climates, I also make them of lighter fabrics. And I have some other great items in progress that I'll be putting in, soon. So check it out...