Finally!

This came in the mail the other day and frankly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  I've held out with envy as the rest of my friends flaunted the iPhone 4 in my face.  But I was patient!

It was a good thing too, because just weeks before my phone fell 18" to the floor and when I picked it up, this was the state it was in.

Sad, isn't it?  What's worse is that I was cutting my finger on the shards of glass so I put packing tape over it.  Then the packing tape started to peel so I added more masking tape on top of it.  Be honest, you think it's trashy.  I do, too.  I promise that it wasn't on purpose but I'm sure others in my life might tell you otherwise.  (All lies!)  I'm still considering selling my phone to a place like Gazelle or Target.

I'm in the middle of making a snazzy cover for my new iPhone with inspiration from Purl Bee.  I don't have a lot of the colors that she recommended but that just gave me room to experiment a bit with what I have.

It's getting there!

Sushi Persistence

Happy Halloween everyone!  Little Mister will not stand to wear any sort of hat or headpiece so all those cute costumes on Pottery Barn and Chasing Fireflies would not suffice.  I was even willing to suck it up and not come up with something clever and handmade.  But alas, given our dilemma and that he's about as stubborn as they come, I decided to make something anyway (I'm pretty stubborn, too).

I was inspired by this guy and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Except Little Mister wasn't.  This is how the dress rehearsal the night before went:

The struggle leading up to it was even more dramatic.  Let's just say both our hands were full.  I asked him again this morning if he wanted to wear his costume and I got a resounding, "NO."

I brought it to his school anyway just in case his teachers had more luck than I did.  Thankfully, they did and for the Halloween parade, he marched around like a champ and we won First Prize!

Nap Mat - A Pinterest Inspired Project

You might have already guessed based on this post that I'm what you might call a Pinterest fiend. That's cool, I dig it. If I were to be called a "fiend" at all, I'm okay with being the Pinterest kind.

My boards are stock FULL of ideas and things to do but somehow I never manage to get around to them.  Figures, right?  Little Mister needed a nap mat for school and popular on the circuit these days coincidentally, is this handy dandy nap mat. Since necessity is the fuel for creativity, I counted on Pinterest to help me get the job done.

Image via Pinterest

Doable, yes?

I purchased the pillows from Ikea and some fabric from Fabricworm  and set to work with a few modifications here and there.

It's big and poofy and from what Little Mister's teachers tell me, he's quite comfortable at nap time. Plus, it's easy to wash when the weekend comes around.

That's what I call a success!!

C'mon Colder Weather

I want to make this:

The free(!) crochet pattern is courtesy of Vicky Howell.  I love her.  I really do.  I've admired her for years and years and not only that, she hails from Austin! 

Since I couldn't snag the coveted Missoni for Target throw, I think this is a nice alternative.  I looked on eBay and people are selling it for nearly 3 times the retail price.  Crazy.  But as much as I love to knit and crochet, it doesn't make sense to cuddle up with yarn and needles on a 100 degree day.  It just feels wrong.  So I'm hoping for a cold front.   

August Break - Day 4: GRASS

I love the texture and color of the grass. 

For the Birds

I had always wanted to attend a class at Spruce in Austin and with luck I was able to this past weekend!  Here are the fruits of my labor and I love how it turned out: 

 I think I might paint the legs a different color, but for now I must say - it's pretty fab.  The fabric was perfect for this application and I have plenty leftover for another project down the line.

My favorite part might be the buttons.  I acquired the orange fabric from one of my classmates to make the buttons and I really think it brought a real pop to the whole piece. 

Here are a few process pictures from the class: 

Thanks to Amanda and Clar who were simply wonderful instructors.  Making something with my hands was so satisfying and I hope to take advantage of the chair upholstery class next!   

Update!  Check out the post about the class on Spruce!

Little Mister Party Decor

With the Little Mister Party Edibles, you got a "taste" (ha!) of what was to come.  And I'm so excited to show you the fruits of our party planning mayhem.  I started out knowing that I wanted to incorporate the colors orange and turquoise into the festivities and I combed the blogosphere for inspiration.  I was not to come out of it disappointed and hopefully neither would Little Mister!

With big orange balloons to locate the house, my fabulous niece and cousins drew a sidewalk chalk welcome for the guests to the backyard where the party was held.  It blew us away!

Little Mister's tee comes from Rock River Tees

The pinwheels are from Paper Polaroid.

The stripey straws are from Cupcake Social I was inspired by the BABYmania Beatles-themed birthday party and the great tablecloths and balloons!  For the centerpieces, I got some white pots from Ikea and filled them with potted plants and a pinwheel.  I also had some framed pictures of Little Mister from each month scattered about.  It was amazing how much he had changed. 

We couldn't do without shade and the umbrellas were a lifesaver.  Tissue pom poms from Pretty Decor and More added just the right amount of festive flair!

Over the porch hung a fabric garland that I made based off the tutorial found on Purl Soho.  Matt and I meticulously cut each piece of fabric over a few weeks.  I love it.  It's still hanging up today as a reminder of the fun times!

For the kiddos, there were bubbles, ball pit balls, and a photo booth.  The favors were little orange moose (mooses?) from Ikea. 

See that sweet little one in the orange dress in the bottom right corner in the pictures above?  My good friend, Laurie, over at All Things B made the frock!  I love the mix of fabrics she used. 

I made the fabric cake bunting using the same fabric that was on the garland.
The plate for which Little Mister got to enjoy his first slice of cake came from Aedriel Originals.

Everyone migrated to what little shade we had in the yard and watched the kiddos play.  It was sublime chaos.  I loved every minute of it!

 It was a memorable day with gorgeous pictures (thanks again Pixie Dust Photography!)  I'm so glad he'll have this to look back on someday and I can't wait to start planning for next year!  Did someone say petting zoo?