One Pagers

Do you do one page layouts? My scrappy friends think I am crazy for doing one page layouts. They all do 2 related page layouts everytime. Sometimes I just don't have enough quality pictures for two pagers or I am trying to conserve space. For example, I have gone to every tball game of my nephew in the last two seasons--if I did a two pager for each game my book would be so much thicker--it's already thick enough! And I like to do each game chronologically instead of doing like a two pager to show the whole season.

Anyway, here are a few of one pagers that I have completed in the last few weeks. It took me forever to remember to take a picture during the day when it wasn't raining!

My niece's visit to Santa at the zoo.

My silly niece and nephew rolling down the hill. This one seems a little incomplete to me but I just don't know what it needs!

My niece playing in a fun little house at the zoo. I just love all of her facial expressions on this page!

Yum, frozen yogurt! Too bad I called it ice cream--same thing right???

Sometimes I just think one pagers are cute!

Scrapping Away

I have been dragging lately...reasons too numerous to list...but I did manage to get a few more layouts done. I got the rest of 2011 pictures printed so I have been working on a few Christmas layouts along with finishing up the rest of the year.

A few pictures from my hubby's family Easter last year.

Last year we did pumpkin painting at our family Halloween party. The kids loved it and it was so fun to see their creative side!

These are pictures from a 4th of July celebration at my father-in-laws job/farm that he manages. It was a lot of fun!

Love these pictures of my niece riding the carousel at Wildlights at the zoo. I didn't have anything carousel-related so I kept it simple. Love that little girl and the pictures do the talking!

Going scrapping with my friends today...hopefully they will give me some motivation!!

Pleated Penny Shirt

Recently Shwin & Shwin offered a free pattern download to everyone and asked for pattern testers. I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it up and try it on my niece in the time frame but I did download the pattern and get started on it. It took me a week to find the perfect buttons that matched the colors and were "fancy" enough for the shirt!

Isn't it a cutie!?! I wish I had some pics of it on my niece but I just finished it today. I'll probably see her in a week or two so I will have to get some pics of her wearing it.

Love those pleats! I just think it feels fancy!

This color of pink is not all that common in the button section apparently. I went to a big Joann's and walked up and down the button aisle for like 10 minutes! I found these buttons and another one that actually matched perfectly. The other ones were $4 each and $8 just seemed to be too much for buttons! I like how these ones look on the shirt though so I am happy.

I made the simple little tie so it can be cinched at the waist. She is a scrawny little thing and I was afraid she would get lost in the shirt without the tie belt.

One last picture that shows the shape a little better. It's so hard to photograph clothing without my little model.

If you want to see more options on this shirt or would like to purchase the pattern, check this post out.

Ladybug Cake

Recently I was asked by my cousin's wife to make a cake for their daughter's 1st birthday. I have only ever made cakes for my niece's birthdays:

I was a little nervous. The only thing she said was that she wanted it tiered and the theme was ladybugs. Instantly, I sketched up some ideas, found a few inspiration cakes on Pinterest and started thinking about it. I was quite excited. I decided on a round cakes, covered in fondant and decorated with some cute fondant grass, flowers and ladybugs. I have the beautiful red Cricut cake that barely gets used and couldn't wait to get started.

Problem #1: Big rain/wind/thunder/lightning storm hit my county HARD. Most of the county was without power starting on Friday night--party was the following Sunday (9 days later). Wasn't sure that I would be able to pull this off if we didn't get our power by Tuesday/Wednesday at the very latest. Mom gets power back on Sunday--devise a Plan B that would allow me to go to her house and do my cake. However, my power comes back on Monday so I can stay home! Yay!

Problem #2: Record heat (think 100s with heat index in 110s) and no central A/C. Heat and fondant/icing don't mix. Did most of my work in the middle of the night when it was merely 85 degrees in my kitchen.

Problem #3: 1 hour drive to deliver cake in said heat. It "broke" to mid 90's on party day so that was a relief.

Problem #4: A goopy cream cheese icing recipe. I really need to practice/devise a better cream cheese icing that is the consistency of buttercream.

So despite all of the problems that I faced, I was able to make a cake that I was mostly proud of. It doesn't have grass or flowers, but it does have ladybugs!

I wanted the 1 to stand on the top...couldn't make that happen, but all in all, it's decent. You can see the fondant buckling on the top tier--that's because of the cream cheese icing on the red velvet cake.

She also wanted a smash cake for Miss Ella.

I was pretty proud of my ladybug! I baked the cakes in Pyrex bowls, then just shaped the head and decorated.

She smashed it! But didn't take one single bite! It was such a yummy strawberry cake! :)

I am my own worst critic, but everyone else thought it was great! And the birthday girl is such a doll--so no one was really looking at the cake!

Modeling the 4th of July Skirt

Recently I showed a ruffle skirt that I made for my niece. On Wednesday, she was able to wear it and I think she looked adorable!

She was holding a "flower" for her picture! It thrills me to no end to see her wear something that I stressed over and ripped seams and re-did! She remembered trying it on the week before and couldn't wait to put it on!

It looked great with her Old Navy tank and red flip flops. It was perfect for twirling and sparkler-ing!

So yeah, this is my niece in a nutshell. She has sass and attitude for days!

And look how cute she looks with little neffie! Even though his outfit isn't handmade with love, he is just as adorable!

Even though the power outage caused a cancellation of our local fireworks and my cookout, I still had a great time with my family at their local show. The fireworks were great and we all had a lot of fun!

Scrappy Summer...

2011 was a great year, filled with many happy memories. Now if I could only get them all scrapped!

Like many zoo trips. First one is a day that I went with my sister, aunt and grandma.

Then 2 layouts from a zoo trip with my nieces, brother, sister-in-law and their family friend's daughter. They have lived out of state (North Carolina and Florida) since my oldest niece was just a few years old, so we don't get to see them often. They live in Germany now and we likely won't see them for 3 years!! So I cherish this day with them!

Finally finished up the big family Easter get together.

And just daily life...

More to come...

3/4 Sleeve Tunic Top

75 hours without power...I greatly appreciate being able to cook dinner, drink a cold beverage, take a hot shower and sleep in a/c. It was hot, it was boring and I had to through away so much food. Very depressing. I literally have 3 bottles of hot sauce, mustard, a half of a bottle of sangria and 2 Smirnoffs left in my refrigerator. Wow.

But it's back and live can resume to normal.

I made this adorable little shirt for my niece a few months ago but I was too chicken to try to make a button hole. Last week before the power went out, I was working on another top and decided it was time to finish this one!

I love how it turned out. I love the retro-inspired fabric and the shape of the shirt. I tried it on her once when she was here and it will look so adorable with leggings.

The original pattern from the One Yard Wonders book has these giant bell sleeves--I didn't really like them and I didn't really have enough fabric for them anyway. Apparently some of the "one yards" are 60 inch and some of 44 inch wide and I didn't look before I started and  I was supposed to use a bigger width. So I modified.
 

I cut a straighter sleeve. Well then I thought it just looked a little unfinished. So I hacked it off to 3/4--my personal favorite sleeve length! Then I wasn't crazy about the plain hemmed sleeved, so I folded it a few times and then put on a faux tab. It doesn't come undone but it looks cute! I struggle with seeing the inside of the fabric and I think it looks okay. Maybe if I make it again, I'll put in some cute contrast lining fabric.

Now for the button holes...

I originally wanted to put one big button on the front, but it would have been a faux button because I apparently used too big of a seam allowance on the tab part. And when I tried it on my niece, she wounldn't have been able to get it over her head without the button being functional. So I used 2 smaller buttons, read about making a button hole, practiced once and just went for it! I think they turned out really good and I like the look of the white button with the pink thread.

You may have noticed that under the buttons, there is an opening. This is the "O Tunic" from the book and it calls for that opening. I don't know how I feel about it. Yes, she is only a little girl and has no boobs--but should I be promoting that kind of outfit? Hmmm, I don't know. Wonder what my sister will think?

Welll she needed a matching hair bow. Duh.

I made a cute flower and attached it to a wrapped headband. I haven't seen her wear a headband like this one and she refused to put it on her head last time so hopefully she will wear it!