Cute stockings

so I made these cute little stockings for a friend of mine and think they just turned out lovely.

I adapted a pattern for the stocking and added fun embroidery.

Pillowcase bananza!

So this week I have gone pillowcase crazy.

It all started when my husband came into the fabric store with me!! He saw the new space invaders fabric and asked that something for him be made with it....so I thought pillowcase!! Then I saw the pac-man fabric and thought my boys love pac-man I can make them a pillow cases! My daughter felt left out so I let her pick out fabric and the rest well as they say is history!!

I think that my little ladybug did a good job with matching the fabric, she picked out all of those, I think she has a future in fabric crafting :) :)

I know that it is wal-mart fabric, but the tinkerbell fabric is super cute!!

This is the space invaders pillow case. My husband cracks me up.....but I was super happy to make him something!!

It is a little eye boggling, but I like it. The cool part is that is really does make our bedroom!!

This is the pillowcase for both the boys....so double this and you got the picture!! :) I didn't do the main part in the pac-man partly for money reasons and part because I found an embroidary for my machine......

This is in the center of the boys pillowcase. I think it turned out pretty cute!!

And the whole!!

I had fun and the great thing is that they are super fast to make!!

A Week of Rest

Well last week was me and my husbands week of vacation. My wonderful mother-in-law takes the four kids for an entire week. My husband took the week off of work and we just had fun.

We watched Green lantern on Monday. I went for Ryan Reynolds, he went for the comic book sci-fi! :) :). It was good, I really did enjoy it! Then my sweetie took me to the fabric store and target. He is a keeper.

On Tuesday we went bowling. It had been so long since we went. It felt like we were in college dating again. I won the first game. He won the second leaving us exactly tied on pins dropped, so of course we played a third game where he very much beat me!!

On Wed we went to a place called bullwinkles, it is a family fun center. We played miniature golf and silly ticket arcade games. We were able to 'buy' the kids a woopie cushion, a jump rope and a spikey ball with all our tickets :) :)

That night we went to the 'cheap' (second run) theater and saw the Lincoln Lawyer. It was fun, I like those who can outsmart who type of movies. The language was rough, a bit of violence, and on 'personal' scene that could of been done without, but good altogether.

We did nothing on Thursday, well we went nowhere. We played video games, watched tv (catching up on some shows) and just relaxed.

Friday we didn't do much. Although my husband isn't to into garage sales, he went with me anyway....love that man. He did take me to a cute little shop around here that has vendors of all sorts of misc stuff. Mostly older stuff redone and really cute decor. I love walking around there.

The kids came back on Saturday afternoon. I really did miss them, but had a super great time with just my love!

On a side note, I got a lot of sewing done too. I finished a quilt top, pictures to come later. I got a pair of pajamas done for my daughter and cut out a bunch of other stuff. Now, it is back to reality and life with four crazy kids :) :)

Krista's Quilt

My college roommate is having a baby!! She has two precious little girls and now she is going to have a sweet baby boy!!

So of course I had to make her a quilt, so here it is!!



The fabric was a large print so I used a large block so that you can see the cute little animals!!

I am still new to the quilting thing and this is the first time I did a border and am so in love with it!! Going to have to do that again!!

This is my stippling. Like I said earlier I have only been quilting for less then two years and the same for stippling. I do it on a basic sewing machine so it does present some challenges, but I do like the way the it turned out!

I used a stripped sheet for the back. I love using sheets for the back. So, that is the whole quilt in it's glory....

Being a military brat I didn't keep friend a whole long time (well not physically close anyway) so the fact that I have lived near and been friends with Krista for almost 15 years is just amazing to me.....

I wish her luck on this little baby. May he be happy/healthy and super sweet!!!

Teacher gift

So the end of the year is here. So, I wanted to thank my sons teacher. So, I made a banner with my embroidery machine. I think it turned out lovely....

The full effect....I love the bright colors and cheerfulness of it!

A close-up of the letters.

Another larger shot of the whole thing.

When I saw the embroidery pattern on Etsy (bigdreamembroidery) I knew that I just had to have it! It was super easy to use and it turns out just so cute. I think my daugher is going to get one next for her room!!

What do you think??

Nice day to frisbee golf!!

My boys watching the water under the bridge!








My Jojo just being himself!






Mr. Grins He just brightens my day!










My Caleb again....He looks green here which is kinda funny!








All my four babies!

Following the 'yellow brick road.'

Love it!!

My 4 angels again!

My little girls...isn't she just pretty!!?

Practicing...look at the eyes and you will see how far the disc went!!

Running after daddy!

Practice!

It was too nice of a day to not go outside and play!! So after the things that needed to get done in the morning were done, we went out to a really nice part to play frisbee golf. My husband loves to play and I took pictures!!

It was fun to just walk and talk with the kids!!

Randomness

Well normally I try to post at least every other day, but alas I got sick......

I wanted to show you some summer time fun....My two little ones doing a summer time classic.....a run through the sprinkler.

Boy that is cold....

If I just touch a little bit I can 'warm' up to it.....nope...he was soaked!!

I also wanted to show you some of what I have been up too!! I had a custom job from one of my friends (I do love custom work!!!)

She is such a thrifty buyer, but you should see her house....totally doesn't look like it. Her house is just so warm and inviting and lovely to look at!!

Well, anyway, These are some curtians that I made for her. She got four panels at a garage sale. I cut them down made a fifth and added the adorable coffee fabric to the bottom and the ric-rac. I think it turned out super cute and will look lovely in her home!!

I am blessed to have friends that trust me to do these sort of things, and I really do love doing it.

-Bethany

Where is summer??

Okay, I am so ready for my boys to be out of school and for summer to really start!!

We haven't really had good weather...very wet spring, but I will not complain because we didn't have an earthquake or tornado......

It is less then a week before my boys are out of school, and I am counting the minutes!!

So here I am wishing for summer in full swing....love to you all!!

Bethany

Wacky Wednesday!

Well we normally use that term for dinner because Wednesday is usually leftover or cereal night, but we did that last night! Why? Because we have had a small illness run through the family. I told my husband that he is cooking dinner and it can't be bought (LOL). So, it was pancakes for dinner!! :) :)

Wack Wednesday is about the choas of my mommy life. The ups and downs and all that is in between.

The ups:

My son (3rd grade) got an A on his very first 'test' about gas/solid/liquids. The average was a 5 or 6 out of 14 and he got a 12!! Go big Bro!!

My second son (1st grade) is getting better at reading. I was told by his teacher the last time I was in his class that he is almost at grade level. That is a HUGE jump from the beginning of the year and I am super super proud of him...he has worked hard.

My daughter (4yo) has been coloring pages left and right and taking tape and putting them randomly on the wall, well I just love it. I don't want to take them down. I have an art gallery all through my house!!

My youngest (2yo) well he is trouble, but there are up for him too :) :) He is going to bed much better then he use to and sleeping really well!!

The downs:

Having four kids means fights and whinning and much time in the car. Today expecially my two little ones have been fighting A LOT. My baby is finally feeling better after a couple day fever and getting into my daughters stuff.

My two olders ones I hardly see. They come home from school and get a bite to eat and run back outside to play with their friends. Now, I do love it that they are outside and that they love being with friends, but I do kinda miss them!!

For me and my husband we are looking forward to our week off. My MIL takes the kids for a whole week in the summer and we get to do WHATEVER! We normally go to the beach or something, but this year we are doing a 'staycation.' We are going to play around here this year.

I am finishing up a custom project (picture to come on the next post). I LOVE custom project.....

My life is full, but I sure do love it.

Paris anyone!

ohhappyday.com is having a giveaway to Paris France. Yeap that is right. To PARIS! I do hope that I win! But if you would like to have a chance head over there and sign up!!

Exciting stuff!

Movie Quote Friday

"She is too pure to be pink."

It is one of my favorite musicals. What could it be??


Have a happy Friday! I know that I am going to enjoy my weekend, I hope that you do to!

My 'corner' of the world!

Here is just a glimpse into my little 'corner' of the world. With four kids and a 'smallish' house I had to find a little place to call my own and this is my little place.

This is my bookshelf. It may look crazy, but it is organized. The bottom has my sheets (vintage and new) that I like to use for either practicing new things or for quilt backs. the next shelf has nice yard cuts and big scraps. The next shelf is finished small product and ribbon and tulle.

See not as unorganized as you might have thought.

This is a picture of the entire space. No it is not much but it works. I have shelves above me that house my misc stuff, patterns, and flannel. I have a magnent board in the back where I put my patterns when I am working on them. Three thread holders for sewing thread, embroidery thread and quilting thread. I have small children's hangers to hold the finished items or just to get some things out of my way.

This is on the opposite side of the tall bookself. The plastic drawers hole the small and med. scraps. Along with my interfacing and stabilizer. One drawer also has my scrap batting. All within arms reach.

I may not have a big studio, but I love my little space. I call it my cave. I can't hear the phone or the tv or anything. It is right next to the kids playroom so I can work they can play.

Tell me about your work area.

Fun Pillows for a Friend

Well after fighting with this pillows for a while (trying some new things that didn't work), I finally got them finished....

This is what all four of them look like whole. Simple, sweet and yet totally cool!!

This is birdie number one...so much fun!! I love using my machine for fun stuff like this!!

Birdie number two....don't you just want to take him home!!

Birdie number three....She is just pretty as a peacock!!

Birdie number four, sitting so contently...

So, I finally finished these for my friend. I do hope that she likes them...I know that I had fun doing them!!

I know that I do!!!

Memorial day

Well it is a great weekend. We have a four day weekend because the kids had off on Friday as well. My mom is here and we are going to have a relaxing couple of days.

But really Memorial day is about remembering. So, that is what I am going to talk about today.

I am a military brat. I moved around a lot when I was a kid, lived on base and off. I had a dad that was a career coastie (that is United States Coast Gaurd Officer). I am very proud of him. I am very proud of being an American.

We are to remember that our freedom did come come free. It still isn't free. There were men and women in the past that fought to make up free, there are men and women that are still fighting to keep us free.

Now you may not agree with everything that is going on with America right now. I know that I don't, but I will ALWAYS support our troops. Because they don't say 'no' when they are told to go. They don't complain that it is a 'stupid' war. They just go. No matter what. They do what they are told to do. They go into places that no one else would want to go. They do things that are uncomfortable for them. They carry a gun so that we can fight about whether carry a gun should be allowed. They live in tents, while we go camping. They eat prepackaged food, we eat at well prepared food. They put themselves in the line of fire, while we watch movies. I am proud of those men and women who do this every single day.

I am proud to be an American.

I enjoy the freedom to say what I want (and use it often). I enjoy the freedom to disagree. I enjoy the freedom to go to my church without fear.

My comfy life is on the backs and because of the blood of those to fought the good fight and gave the ultimate gift. I love our country. I love our service man and women.

This is a weekend of fun, but it is also a weekend to remember.

Please Remember!!

Winner Winner - Chicken Dinner

Well the winner for the anything in my shop has been choosen. It was a lot of fun to do the sewmamasew giveaway. I was even lucky enough to win.

So the winner of this May's giveaway day is Amber she writes:


Hello from Sunny New Mexico.

So Congrats to Amber and thanks to all who came and took a look at my little blog.


And now for the chicken dinner. Oh you thought that I was just being funny...nope. I am giving you my recipe for pepper jack chicken. It is a fav at this house.

First you take chicken strips or breasts (whatever you want) and marinate them in Itailian dressing for a couple of hours to all day (whatever you want)

Take them out of the dressing and put them into a casserole dish. Making sure of not take to much of the dressing with them.

Take slices of pepper jack cheese and put on top of your chicken. I usually smother them pretty good. Place the pan in the oven for 45-60 minutes on 350 until the cheese is starting to pretty golden brown color and it is bubbling good.

Serve...easy as that and so so so flavorful....hope you enjoy!!!

GIVEAWAY

So it that fun time in blog land again!! It is sewmamasew's may giveaway day!

So I am giving away one thing from my etsy shop....anything...that is right, one thing of your choice. You can see a sample of what I do on the right side of the blog. You can click here for more selections. You don't need to tell me in your comment what you want, just when you win you will need to tell me. I will be placing more stuff on here the next couple of days ( I was hoping to have them done, but sickness kept me away (Sad). So you will have more of a choices by the time the giveaway is done. Happy day and may I choice your number!! :)

Leave a comment about anything you want - Your childhood friend, you kids, your favorite color, you favorite things to make, your summer traditions....you get it, anything!

I will leave the giveaway open until the 25th of May, 8:00 pm PST! I will use a random number system. I will have my three older kids pick numbers. I will put them in a hat and let the little one pull out a number, and that will be my winner.

OH and for a little treat for EVERYONE, I am doing a 15% my shop for those who visit because of sew mama sew. The coupon code is sewfun11 and again you can get to my shop here.

Thank you all for showing up and GOOD LUCK!!!

Hopeless to hope

Well it seems that the world is either fully believing that today is the day of rapture or totally making fun of it......

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in (or sense).

Those people who do believe have hope...it will be lost after today, but for now they have hope! Hope of thier savior coming to get them. Hope to stop living in this rollercoaster life. Hope for what they have been waiting for, an eternity with Christ. They will be disappointed later today or tomorrow when they realize that they are still on this earth. But they do have hope.

I have hope. I have hope that one day my Lord will come and get me....I will live forever with him in heaven singing his praises for eternity. I have hope that He will be coming back soon. I do have hope. I don't know when that will happen. I really don't want to know when that is going to happen. It will happen all of a sudden and I will be gone.....boom!

The world is hopeless. It lives for now. The pleasures of now, the power for now, the money for now. It doesn't really think about tomorrow or the 'after-life.' It puts no stock in that, because thinking of it would be a remembrance of the hopelessness that they have. Keep running, keep making money, keep getting stuff. If their minds are occupied with this, then they don't have time to think of their soul or what happens when they die.

What are we doing? What is our purpose? Do we have hope or living a hopeless existance?

Now I will confess that a part of me is making fun of the people who believe that today is the day that the Lord returns, but really it could be. Not even Jesus knows when he will be coming only the father. I have hope. I have hope in my future, here on this earth and after. I am not scared of death or the rapture. I am secure in my 'afterlife.'

Do you have hope??

Ramblings of a tired mom

Well, I feel pulled in seven different directions and I only have four kids...funny how that works. I sat at Jojo's soccer practice yesterday eating my dinner because I had to throw the kids at my husband and get to the next event. I guess that is the typical life of Americans. Go to this, then that, then the other thing. Oh but on the way get this done and stop at this store.

Sometime I want to scream, 'stop the spinning, I want to get off.' But really I love watching my kids grow into the little (well big) people that they are. Their minds are expanding and learning. Their getting into their own groove. What they like and don't like. They are just so precious to watch. From a helpless babe to a strong thoughtful young man (or women).

I sometime worry about the world that I brought my children into....am I the only one?? Yesterday I was sitting in the car waiting to pick my boys up from school. Happily reading my book (the only time in the day that I get the luxury). Then all of a sudden screaming and cussing and all together awefulness was coming through my open window. I stopped reading and looked in the back to my two younger kids....they were blissfully unaware of the yuckiness that was taking place outside (they were watching a movie). I sat and prayed for the women that was just so angry. Why would she use that language and what could make her so angry so fast. It is times like these that I just worry about my kids and I want to keep them home forever so that they don't have to see/hear/be part of that nastiness. But God is bigger and stronger and more powerful then me, and my kids are safer with Him. It takes LOTS of prayer for the worry and anxiety to go away. But HE is always faithful to do that.

But there are times in my mommyhood that just makes me laugh and smile. When my older boys read to the little ones. When I see them pushing each other on the swings or wanting to all sleep in the same room. I am very blessed that I have four precious little kids. They are a joy and a blessing in my life. It is this reason I want to let the mama bear come out and start slashing those that would want to harm my kids. And by harm I mean physically (of course), but also with their words or attitudes. But I have to put the growl away and the claws down (in most cases).

My ramblings are coming to a close.....for now. I have silly, wonderful, talented, healthy, crazy, passionate, creative, smart, curious, happy kids....what more could I really ask for???

Being married

Today is my anniversary. We have been married 11 years today. There are times that it seems that we have been married for-ev-er, but other times it really doesn't seem like we have been married all that long.

We meet in College the first day of our freshman year. We didn't like each other at first (well not in THAT way). We were just friends. He helped me with my homework and we watched movies together. You might have noticed that I didn't help him with his, that is because he is SO smart and I am just average!! :)

I finally decided that all men deserved to die (different story, to long to tell now....but you get the idea)......that is when God decided to show me what a real man is, that is Phil. He is sweet, funny, kind and treats me with love and respect. He holds me when I cry. He holds my hand when we are walking along. He will watch a sappy movie with me and not make fun of the way I am doomed to cry every time. He makes me laugh. He is my strong rock when times get tough. He gives me space when I just need to be alone. He is a great daddy to our crazy household of children. He is a gentle leader of our home. I could not be more proud that I am his wife.

I hope that this is still the beginning of our marriage in comparision to when it will end....

I am one very lucky women to have a man like him. I hope that all other women out there get as lucky as me.

Being a mommy

Well I might be a little behind on this post, but I am getting to it. The reason I am behind is because we had a surprise visit from my in-laws this weekend (well they let us know on Thursday they needed to come down). So, it was a crazy whirlwind weekend.

Well, to the point. I am a mom of four and there are days that I think I have the best 'job' in the world and other days that I just think I am plum crazy!! Yesterday was the ladder! My two year old had squirted toothpaste over the bathroom, peed on the carpet and tried to escape the house and that was before nine in the morning. Ladybug (my daughter) was in a rare mood yesterday too. Everything that happened was the-end-of-the-world! I couldn't count how many tantrums the two year old had or crying fits of the my daughter. But today is a new day, and I am glad to be a mommy.

I was woken up by a super sweet hug, smiles and laughter. I haven't had to clean one spill or yell even once. They boys were nice to each other as I dropped them off at school. Man, the difference a day makes.

On Mother's day. I recieved many nice gifts from my crew. I got a pretty picture by Jojo, my second son. I am really impressed with it. I got a survey of why I love my mom and a couple of poems from Brother (my oldest). I am impressed with him as well.

I thought I would share some funniness with what they wrote about there mom....

My mom has a funny habit of........laughing and sewing
My mom favorite cloths.........dresses
I like it when my mom wears.......regular cloths
My mom cooks the best.......pizza

On Brothers top ten list of reasons he loves me here are a few:
She loves daddy (so sweet)
She loves the Lord (I am glad that he can see that)
She drives me crazy (uhhh?? I thought that was the other way around)
She drives to places (all the time)
She gives me chocolate (because I believe that it can cure all ills)!!

Well, being a mothers has its ups and downs...its highs and lows. But I am glad that for the most part my life is 'high.' With four kids it could be either way....and a two year old can leave you void of energy and emotionally spent.

I am proud to be a mom to Brother, Jojo, Ladybug and Tate. (The names changed to protect them). I am proud to have the little extra mommy belly, and to sacrifice my 'designer' wardrobe for sweats and t-shirts. I am proud that my life reflects that which is most important to me. I am a proud momma, not because they get good grades, make pretty pictures or pee in the toilet (the last in important), but because they try thier best. I love the 'bear' hugs and silly laughter. I even love the talks that are a bit uncomfortable because it means they feel comfortable talking to me. I even love the times I have to correct them because it means we can get back to being on good terms. I might wear many hats as a mom, but I love every single one of them.

Giveaway

Since it is Monday and spring has decided to never come here in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to lift my spirits (and hopefully yours) with a giveaway!!

On the giveaway table is one of my owl pillows! You can see the four that are available on the side of this blog! Please tell me which one that you want and if you win, I will send it to you!!

Take a peek at my etsy shop here!

Repost please...help me to get the word out!! :) :)

I will leave the giveaway open until fabulous friday at 10:00 am PST!! Good luck to all!!

I will use a random number generator to decide the winner!!

Daily tidbits

Well life as a mom is never boring!! Between soccer for Jojo and homework and church and playing board games and and and ....well you get the picture.

This weekend we had grandparents in town....that is always fun for the kids. They got to play extra games, go to the park then walk to get ice cream. It was super fun for them.

We also had the Easter production at church. After a week of long practices and four preformance I finally get my husband back. He runs the sounds (well helps anyway)! There were over 150 people involved. It was incredible.

When my in-laws were here my MIL and me did some extreme shopping. Between coupons and gift cards (and groupons) we made our like crazy. First at Fred Meyer we got a Wii game, an i-tunes gift card and lunch stuff for 9 people all for $16. Using a gift card, but still we were pretty happy. Then we went to a shoe store (dangerout). We used our groupons to get dansko's for $25 and $40 (she got sandles and I got clogs). Then I know there is more....we went to Papa Murphy's to pick up pizza and between my full stamp card and my gift card we got two family sized pizza's and bread sticks for nothing.

I am so proud of us!!

Well, that is my fun story for today!

I hope all is well in blog land. I hope to do a give away soon!

Bye!

Crazy amount of fun!

So I have been super busy lately.

1- I feel like my fingers are pincushions for all the sewing that I have been doing. My husband jokes with me that I don't need a thimble, but a whole iron hand....maybe that is true. I have done my daughters easter dress, and some stuff for the shop. I am so exctied to say that I had my first sell yesterday...very happy about that!

2-My husband has been super busy with work related stuff. So lately I have felt like a single mom....but at least I know that after this week I will not be again....there is hope, a light at the end of the tunnel.

3- The Easter production practices and set set-up are in full swing at my church. So, that means that my hubby is gone for that (he does ligthing, sound stuff) I am helping with painting of the set and whereever else I am needed. This morning came a little fast.

Here is a really bad picture of Ladybug's Easter dress:

Thanks for 'chatting' with me....till next time!

Where have I been??

Well everywhere and no where!! With four kids life is a never ending battle for time and lack there of!! :) I have been sewing some projects, quilts and cloths for my little girl....and stuff I plan on trying to sell!! Etsy is a little overwhelming to me so many vender and so many items. I have no idea how to get notice there! Also I am not very good with pictures so that will not help my sales much....anyway! Easter is coming up and I will be spending more time at the church getting ready for our big production...that should be fun! Well ta-ta for now!