Show me all that I could be

It's no secret that I love a good female singer/songwriter. So we can go ahead and add Lissie to the ever growing list of favorites, her voice is incredibly soulful and rich.  When I hear one of her songs on Pandora - as most artists are only background music while I work - I stop whatever I'm doing to really enjoy her sweet tunes.

Take a listen...
Lissie - Everywhere I go (acoustic)




  (Joey - if you're reading, thanks for the music recommendation, she's pretty stellar)

It's HOT Ya'll

100+ temperatures call for only one activity outside the air conditioned house: swimming.

Lots and lots of swimming. 
And snacking.

And then some more swimming.

Then last night something magical happened, IT RAINED!  I sort of wanted to cry. 

Out for Drinks

It's been one of those weeks.
You know, the busy, can't keep up with which day it is, kind of week. 

Nothing bad by any means, just busy, and one where we didn't see much of each other for the most part.  So I bought a new dress (it has stripes AND the color purple, I couldn't pass it up) and Ryan changed from his work clothes to end the week on a great note together. 

::whispers::  we've never had "drinks" out before, just the two of us, which is kind of sad... but maybe also says that we like the simplicity of going out for dinner and beverages all in one. 

Hope you all are enjoying your Friday night too!

Freezer Paper Stencils

My friend Stacy came over for a crafting party last Friday.  We made up a few designs for Baby Ella (here are the lil' booties I made last month for her too) and got to work on her painted onsies.  We wanted to take something extra special to her baby shower on Saturday.   Also, I had way too much fun with the freezer paper stencils last week that I had to share the fun with someone else! 

Tutorial: Freezer Paper Stenciling 

We decided on 4 different designs that all turned out pretty cute!  (well, we think!)  The baby elephant was clip art I found online, but the rest we free-handed. 

A few things we learned (that were not mentioned in the tutorial)

• X-acto knife cutting is hard for everyone and sometimes it takes a couple tries
• We used a hair dryer to speed up the drying process between paint layers
• Glitter fabric paint is AWESOME
• The "big reveal", when you peel the stencil from the shirt, is entirely terrifying.  But don't be scared because it really works!

For gifting, Stacy thought it would be fun to string the onsies together, like clothes on a clothesline, so when our friend pulled on the string hanging outside the bag, they would all come out together...

It worked perfectly too!

We are so excited to for the mom-to-be and can't wait to meet Baby Ella in a few weeks!

Sunglasses Needed a Home

A copycat story...

I saw this sunglasses case while I was window shopping in Dallas last weekend.  It was only $10, but I really wanted to take a stab at it myself.. and hope that I could possibly make it cheaper! 

Materials:
Freezer paper - $4.99
Paint - already owned
Paint brushes - $3.99
Leftover fabric - already owned
Iron - already owned
X-acto Knife and Scissors - already owned

Tutorial I used: Freezer Paper Stenciling  

1. trace image onto the freezer paper - use the dull side, 2. cut out image with X-acto knife, 3. iron the freezer paper to the fabric - shiny side to fabric, 4. paint!, 5. pull off freezer paper and marvel at your new creation, 6. iron over stencil with cloth between your fabric and iron (not pictured, but still important)

I then went on to sew the painted piece of fabric and a softer, fleece fabric to form a little pillow case shape for the sunglasses.  No tutorial for this part, I kind of made it up.  But you could use the previous steps for all types of things that require no sewing: t-shirts, baby onsies, tote bags, scarves, or place mats.

Now Ryan's sunglasses have a scratch-free home

Hey, not bad!  I only saved a dollar, but I had a lot of fun and have plenty of materials leftover for more freezer paper stencils in the future.  Oh the possibilities!

Taste of Dallas

I made a quick trip to Dallas, TX last weekend to spend time with friends, shop a bit, and EAT.  Saturday evening we made our way to the Taste of Dallas, a festival of foods with live bands and plenty of people to watch.  People watching is my favorite.  We paid $5 to get in and it was only a few more $$ to sample the food - a great deal if you ask me.  We were stuffed silly!

4th of July Weekend

The weekend was filled with family, FOOD, friendly gatherings, dinner dates, drinks with the girls, naps, badminton, fireworks, and red/white/blue attire.

It seems I only had my camera handy for 2 days; we had even more fun during the weekend than I was able to capture!

 

Never too many skirts

I've had this floral material in my fabric bin for over THREE months.  Along with plenty other projects backlogged due to my sewing rut.  With summer trips plus 10 hour working days, I've had little desire for much more than making dinner and going on bike rides.  So, I thought a simple skirt was just the trick to get me back in the game.  Probably needless to say, but I'm already thinking about which sewing project I will take on next!

Tutorial: World's Easiest Skirt
(My first skirt made with this pattern, plus pocket success)