memories & a birthday!

this week-end we celebrated my little xanders b-day (THANKS, melissa for hosting such a wonderful birthday again this year)!! i can't believe he is already three, where has the time gone!! i made him and ashton some new tees to go with their HR doggie shorts i had from when my other ones were little. it was so fun to see these adorable outfits be worn again, and i just can't help to think they are so cute!!




i went on my family blog to find this picture of when all my little ones wore matching doggie outfits and the memories were so emotional for me.

to see all the pictures of my kiddos from a couple years ago was really surprisingly hard. why? maybe with that chapter gone, and knowing it won't return. even though i still have little ones, i won't have an infant again. i'm hoping this is a normal feeling of saddness, as you see stages in your life pass that you know won't return.

right after ashton came home from the hospital after being in the nicu for almost a month.

my sweet little xander


my sweet little guy Jacob

cute little Ethan!

my sweet and pretty savannah

my little angel, maya! (not so little anymore though, and I couldn't find a picture of her with me :(

i think at times like this i need to try to cherish the times i had but focus on the moments now to create more lasting memories for the future.

and the winner is...

thanks so much for everyone who attended my party!! it was a blast!! :) without any further delay... the lucky winner is...

...number 61

Jessica said...

I love my stoneware pizza stone, I use it for everything! Thanks for the opportunity!

jessica, contact me by friday with your address and i'll get the lovely fabrics out to you, or i'll choose another winner.

motivated

i love how my sweet online friends are constantly motivating me by all the fabulous creations i see daily!! yesterday i was completely inspired by all the lovely photos in the savy seasons group, that unfortunately i had decided to skip this round because of so many other obligations. oh, boy am i wishing i would have just plunged right in!! well at least i can still have fun sewing up some cuties as i recently got this new shinzi katoh little red riding hood fabric in the mail. it's now one of my favorite christmas fabrics!! just trying to decide what would be the best project/projects for it. any ideas?? :)




also, after seeing my dearest friend, heather's fabulous little christmas homes i just had to play around with layouts to see which i liked best for my gnome homes!! these are all from my sweet friends from the bee imaginative group!! aren't they all so lovely!!

which layout do you like best, 1 or 2?

now to decide what i should start working on? a christmas project with my lovely new little red riding hood fabric, or put together my cute little gnome homes. hmmm, decisions!!

a virtual pampered chef party & a GIVEAWAY!!

Welcome to my virtual Pampered Chef party!! I've had quite a list of items I've wanted to order for some time now with Pampered Chef, and who better to have a P A R T Y with than all my sweet online friends. First, let me tell you that I am not much of a cook, chef or baker. Usually it is my dear hubby who does most the cooking in our home. Though, with many of The Pampered Chef items it has gotten me to enjoy cooking more. Here are a few of my favorite items

The Food Chopper

Stoneware ~ The Large Bar Pan

The Medium Cookie Scoop

and a few items that are on my wish list~ :)

The Classic Batter Bowl

Stoneware ~ The Rectangular Baker

The Bamboo Knife Block Set is on my hubbies list!! ;)

That is just a small glimpse to what I love!! Now, what is a party without a GIVEAWAY!! You can't have one without the other, right? :) And what would a Pampered Chef Party be without a little Domestic Diva!! Would'nt it be the cutest as an apron, pot holder or oven mitt, to compliment your wonderful Pampered Chef items!! I think so.


I also would love to giveaway some of my new favorite fabrics from the Bliss Collection!! Doesn't it looks so cute as a tulip bundle!! :)


Would you like to participate in my PARTY and have a chance to win these fabulous fabrics? Here is what you do~

For your required entry visit Pampered Chef and share with me what your favorite item is. If you have any Pampered Chef items, I'd love to hear what you wouldn't be able to live without. Maybe I'll need to add it to my wish list. :)

You can have 3 extra entries by doing any of the following. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each.

1. Buy a Pampered Chef item that counts towards my party
2. Follow my blog or subscribe to my blog
3. Follow me on twitter
4. Have commented on blog in the last month
5. Have bought from my Etsy shop
6. Blog about my party & giveaway

The giveaway ends on Sept. 26th and I'll choose the winner using Random.org. I will announce the winner soon after!!

THANKS so much for coming to my virtual Pampered Chef Party!! :)

little red riding hood~ a sewing machine cover!

lookie, lookie!! I received the most A D O R A B L E sewing machine cover from the oh so talented and sweet Aneela!! I was really crossing my fingers that this was the one that would arrive at my door step, and it did!! Yippee!! Not only does it fit perfectly, it looks sooo cute and adds that special touch to my sewing space!!

I love the interactive piecing!! You did such a spectacular job, Aneela!!

and some extra goodies!! A lovely hedgie pincushion that is sooo adorable, a super sweet mushroom needle book, some cute tulips from bliss, and some oh so cute pins!! THANKS so much, Aneela!! i LOVE it all!!

For shop news, I've received an abundance of yummy fabrics lately!! These are the ones you will see popping up in the shop!! Getting ready to list them now! :)

Modas, Bliss by Bonnie & Camille in red, aqua and pink!! so pretty!!

Cosmo Cricket, Girl Friday, dashed lines and grids!! oh, i LOVE these!!

Riley Blakes, Domestic Diva!! The recipes and red damask will be arriving soon. :)

Riley Blakes, Hooty Hoot!! So cute!!

Riley Blakes, Be Merry!!

A couple basics that I couldn't pass up!! The grey circles and red circles!

Little Red Riding Hood fabric on linen!!

Pom Pom trim! EEK!! it is soooo yummy!!

Bakers twine from the Twinery! mmmmm, look at all those colors!!

Better get to listing!! ;)

simply starburt~ a pillow!

For my main project in the Urban Home Goods Swap I made a sweet pillow using the starburt block. I used Ashely's lovely tutorial, but made a 12 inch block. I then added a couple solid borders and then a fun scrappy border to make it an 18 inch pillow. I love this pattern with the dream on!! Isn't it so pretty!!

All the projects together!! I love how they coordinate!! I hope you like them partner, you should receive them any day!! :)

Hope you have a magical Monday!!

today i...

...made a cute little patchwork embroidery hoop for my urban home goods swap partner (still finishing up my main project).

and saved a couple scraps of batting by stitching them together! was so glad to not have to cut off the large roll if i didn't have to. :)

these were my settings for the zig zag stitch.

hope you are having a terrific thursday!

embellishing with hexies!

eek!! i can't believe it has been over a week since i posted last! we had a fun filled labor day week-end with family and now it is back to all the busy work!! :) i have to say it is wonderful having 4 of my kiddos back in school. i've been able to work on my urban home goods projects, and a few smaller crafts with some of the red and aqua hexies i had on hand.

first, a couple cute little tea towels. after seeing my bestest friend heather make a couple tea towels, it went straight on my list! i have a couple more in the works too! i just love the cute addition they are to the kitchen!!

then i embellished a red tee that had a stain on it with a grandmothers flower! isn't it cute!! jeni had made a bright and cheery one awhile back, and i thought it was the CUTEST!! i think i need a couple more! :)

better get back to my urban home goods projects as the deadline is friday!! :)