Self Portrait Challenge - { childhood week 4 }

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.

Anne Frank (1929 - 1945), Diary of a Young Girl, 1952




Last week of "childhood" over at Self Portrait Challenge...

Fingerprint Friday { teeth }

Are you as amazed by the process God created for teeth as I am? Baby teeth that fall out when they're too small for the growing jaw (and appetite!) and are followed by new, bigger teeth that are somehow created within our jaws on their own without any effort on our part! Think about it - how many other body parts do we get internally-made replacements for?

Claire lost her first two teeth in the last two weeks - quite an exciting event around here...
(the yellow card has one of the teeth taped to it for the Tooth Fairy!)




There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in:

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints.

2. Be sure to link so others can find the entire list of participants! Go over to PamperingBeki's blog to add your link to the list of participants.

itty bitty dress

for Sophia...




I made this using Rae's free "itty bitty dress" pattern, which is so easy and quick!

One tip I learned a few years ago that makes easy work of clipping & turning curves, like the ones in the neck & ties of this bodice - use pinking shears to trim the entire curve, instead of trimming & then cutting in with standard scissors. I have had wonderful, easy, smooth results with turning curves ever since!

waiting.... waiting...

My dear friend's husband called late last night to let me know she was in labor!

Baby Sophia is going to make her appearance three days early...

I'm so excited I can hardly sit still...

just waiting for the phone to ring any minute...

trying to keep my mind busy with sewing for another baby shower I'm attending on Sunday...





is the phone working, anyway??

yes, it's working, there's the dial tone...

still waiting!!!


I realize they probably have so much going on that I'm not going to hear from them today, and since it's been over 18 hours since she checked into the hospital, she has more than likely delivered already (for her sake, I hope so!!)... but she is like a sister and if I lived closer I would have been there in the waiting room, not stuck here at home with no knowledge of anything whatseover... can you tell I'm sooo antsy??



Update! She was born at 11:10am, 6 lbs. 5 oz., 18.5" long.

Sophia and mom are both doing well!

I have a hot shop!

I'm currently featured as the "Hot Shop" over on the Etsy Texas Crafters blog!
Click here to go read my interview...

Thanks, teametsytx, for the compliment and the opportunity!

Fingerprint Friday { pals }

There's nothing like the love of a child... or a pet...





There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? Here's how to join in:

1. Blog with your interpretation of God's fingerprints.

2. Be sure to link so others can find the entire list of participants! Go over to PamperingBeki's blog to add your link to the list of participants.

Self Portrait Challenge - { childhood week 3 }

Today was the first day of school for us.

Since we homeschool our girls, there is really no opportunity for cute pictures with brand new backpacks & lunchboxes.

But it does bring back memories of my own first day(s) of school.





Self Portrait Challenge is exploring "Childhood"
come see what others are capturing with their cameras, and join in if you want!

a summer of reading

Our first day of school is going to be Monday, which has had me thinking back over some of the fun things we did this summer.

One of my favorite parts of summer has been reading, since my own childhood. I take the girls to our local library to participate in the summer reading program - this year, each of my girls read 115 books for their reading logs! I also like to take the time to read some longer chapter books to them - this year we read Charlotte's Web and The Great Brain.

One part of this particular summer of reading that I will treasure is Claire's reading ability literally took off! We worked hard on phonics and reading all last year in school, and it still seemed like such work for her. But suddenly in June, "the switch" flipped on and she began reading on her own... and she couldn't get enough of it! She was so proud to be able to put books on her library reading log that she read for herself (and so was I!)





And finally - I finished several books this summer myself. I enjoyed them all... having the goal prioritized reading for myself during a season when it's easy to just go go go and forget to stop to renew myself during the summer.


Here comes the schoolyear... and more reading!

I need a nap

Today I finally finished two new projects that had been sitting in my mind for a long time.
Yippee - finished!
Whew - I'm tired!!!


This shelf was inspired by another one that was not big enough for what I wanted -
holding most of the girls dolls.

I wanted something with more space, and also, well, less expensive.
The wood, screws & hanging hardware cost me about $9, and the paint was in the garage already.

Yes, I figured out the dimensions, sawed, drilled, nailed, and painted this myself. I will give credit, though, to Nicole & Chad, who took turns holding the boards still at the right angles so I could get the screws in correctly.





After I hung the shelf today, we sorted through all the dolls to put them on display - geez, they had a lot of dolls! Their babydolls and Webkinz are kept elsewhere, so we were only dealing with other random stuffed animals & such... we actually got rid of about 20 more today.






Last week I began cutting and sewing these curtains. I don't particularly enjoy making curtains. They're big, and boring to sew. But I suppose the ease of sewing straight lines keeps me from buying them when I can make them, after all!

I bought this Joel Dewberry damask print (in the curtains) before we even considered moving to this house, and it has taken 10 months since moving in to actually make these. The "pinched" fabric on the cornice came from an adventure on Harry Hines in Dallas with my mom & a friend. The whole cornice was complicated craziness that I made from scratch (bay windows are monsters)... Chad helped me hang it last night, so I went to Starbucks this morning to get a treat him for all of his (very!) hard work.

Self Portrait Challenge - { childhood week 2 }

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10!
ready or not, here I come...

Self Portrait Challenge is exploring "Childhood"
come see what others are capturing with their cameras, and join in if you want!

Modern Handmade Child...

...is a new e-zine publication put out by the hard work of the Etsy Kids Team...
I'm so excited to see my "scrumptiously plaid" dress & pant set on pp. 12/13!

Open publication - Free publishing - More autumn

:: august blue ::

newly listed over on etsy...

perfect for transitional wear (just add a top underneath!)




I'm back from some time off from sewing
with lots of great things planned for fall...
keep watching for more!

my newest etsy treasury...

what's in (my) name?

why, Sunny, of course!




go here to view & click each item (until Saturday)...

Friday afternoon update: this one made it to etsy's Front Page! Woohoo!

Self Portrait Challenge - { childhood }

Things have changed a lot since kindergarten.

I definitely have better taste in sweaters.





A closer look at the sweater:

faux short-sleeves with red longsleeves

faux keyhole neckline that ties closed with a bow

red turtleneck that sticks up behind the faux neckline

I actually had a boy who sat next to me ask if I was wearing it inside out (figures - what do kindergarten boys know about fashion???) And besides, if it really was inside out, it would have been disturbing to look at with all the faux's going on under there!!



August's theme for Self Portrait Challenge is "Childhood".
I think we're going to have fun with this one!

first monday sale!

Special Sale - ONE DAY ONLY - Monday August 3rd
Etsy Texas Crafters has a big "1st Monday" sale every month!

This month I'm offering 25-50% off all of my premade clothing
in my etsy shop for 1st Monday...
You'll find all of these items in my "sale" category, marked down to their sale price for one day only, so don't miss it!