Cross stitch

A couple of weeks ago I finished the cross stitch project I had been working on since Christmas. 

I absolutely love the colors!

The pattern I used is from the book Anna Maria's Needleworks Notebook.

Allison of Little Lovelies is also doing a piece from this book, check out her progress here.

As the finishing touch I painted the hoop purple.

 P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

Simple Dress: A tutorial

I had been itching to get my sewing machine out lately but had no projects in mind. So I started going through my stash. When I came upon this cute owl fabric I instantly thought 'Dress'! 

S wears dresses EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

And it happens to be a rotation of the same 4-5 dresses. 
So I thought giving her another option wouldn't be a bad idea.

I started out with a white long sleeve shirt and the fabric (measuring 18x21 inches).

I folded the fabric in half and stitched up the side to make a hoop of fabric. 

Then I hemmed along the bottom.

Along the top I hand sewed a gathering stitch leaving excess thread at both ends.

I then pulled on the thread to gather in the fabric and pinned it to the shirt. 

(Right sides together, with the skirt going up towards the top of the shirt)

I sewed the skirt onto the shirt, cut off the excess shirt and serged it.

Flip it right side out and you should have a dress.

I went a step further and sewed on sash so that the waist could be tightened.

I think she likes it, she wore it two days in a row!

Happy Tuesday!

insta-pics #44

 
1. Rice and Veggie burgers (adapted from this recipe) and an amazing salad using double crunch honey garlic chicken. YUM!  
2. I shared my instagram poster in Tuesdays post. I am so happy I got it!
3. The house is nearing completion. Our family has been slightly carpet deprived in the last couple houses so the girls love visiting daddy at work just to play on it.
4. Jello for dessert while out for a family supper. Messy yet worth it!
5. Bible study and coffee, a great way to start the day.
6. Another drawing by S.
7. A bit of silliness, 3D glasses are cool.
8. Miss Independent never needs any help when we are out walking. Last week she actually sat in a puddle rather than taking my hand to walk through it. She is such a character!
9. Happy mail day to me, got some new washi tape. Already made a project I'll share soon.

Speaking of projects, I haven't been doing to many these days (other than staining and painting for the house) but luckily I have some posts scheduled of some stuff that I had done a couple weeks back.
Happy Sunday!

Organized: the pantry

 In preparation for the big move (hopefully happening in the next week or so) I have been going through the house and organizing random stuff. My plan is that it can just be moved right over into whichever closet/drawer/shelf it needs to be in without having to really go through it again. 

Anyways I just had to share with you my new organized pantry!
(I had given a sneak peek in my insta-pics, but I wanted to share more.)

Although it will be perfected at the new place, I am just so happy with how it turned out! I used my cricut with the vinyl paper to label all my containers. It was so easy and looks great! (I used the Close to my Heart Art Philosophy cartridge)

Have a closer look.

The above containers I got at Dollarama and below I reused baby 'puff' containers (you know those really soft baby cereal snacks, we went through a ton). I had been using these unlabeled for the last 8 months or so...it is sure nice to not have to look in every single one to find what I'm looking for!

The spice rack lazy suzanne was a wedding gift and the small jars on top are from Dollarama. The big serving platter (dubbing as my bread bowl) was a  wedding gift as well and I like it too much to have it stored somewhere for only special occasions. The glass containers with the stainless steel lids are also from Dollarama and the red containers are Tupperware.

Looking forward to seeing it all at the new house.

Happy Thursday!

lovin this.

In the mail a few weeks back I was pleasantly surprised to recieve a parcel I had been waiting for. 

You know how much I like Instagram (hence all the Insta-pics)...

 well there is a company who will take your Instagram photos and make really cool stuff with them. 

When I originally saw Little Pink Monsters post about Printstagram, I knew I had to order.

 I couldn't help myself!

I decided to order the tiny books. 

A group of three with 25 photos in each.

I picked 75 pics total and they were randomly put in each book.  Kind of a fun surprise to see which pictures were in each book. They have magnetic closure so they stay together nicely and since I don't want to lose them they are stuck on the fridge, bonus!

I also got this,

Awesome right?! 

I love looking at it and I can't wait to hang it up at the new place.

I titled the poster 'our year in pictures 2012'. 

So, have you found any thing lately that you love? Please share.

P.S. As for some fine print...This post was in no way sponsored by Printstagram or Social Print center. Just wanted to share something with you that I thought was super cool!

insta-pics #43

1. I have a sweet new background on my computer, I don't think I'll ever change it. Want your own? Get free monogram images from Wedding Chicks.
2. I've been doing a lot of pre-move organizing. Post coming on Thursday featuring the pantry.
3. One of our many visits to the new house. The girls chillin in the cupboards. 
4. Poor little T was sick last week. I got a lot of cuddles in.
5. S is drawing people now and I think they are awesome!
6. Our niece came for a sleepover last weekend.
7. All three girls enjoyed playing outside in the nice weather we were having.
8. Blue eyes, rosie cheeks.
9. While shopping S spotted these adorable disney princess little people. Both girls still had some Christmas money left over so they got a set each. They are so stinkin' cute!

Happy Sunday!