Adventures in Sewing: Episode 1 ~ Inital Taggie

So if you recall I was recently given a Singer Sewing Machine so that I could practice one of my new hobbies :)
I wanted to make something special for my new Nephew but couldn't decide what to do until I was looking through some of the 2E's baby photos and noticed their taggie blankets. Both kiddos always loved their taggies so I knew this would be the perfect thing for my first project. However, Me being Me, I wanted to put another spin on things so I decided to do an initial instead of a plain old square.

Since this was my first project of this type there was lots of trial and error to say the least haha but hopefully this little tutorial makes sense.

Initial Taggie 

Materials:

• Colorful Fabric
• Ribbon is various colors, widths, textures.

Step 1: Decide how large you want the letter to be. 

Step 2: Choose your font in a Word program, print it, and cut it out.

(I free handed mine because I was too impatient to wait for my new ink to arrive so please ignore the pencil marks)

Step 3: Place two pieces of fabric face to face and pin the cut out letter where you want it on the fabric.
Step 4: Cut out the letter leaving a 1/4 inch or so extra fabric around the letter.

Step 5: Cut ribbon into 4-5 inch lengths. *Sorry I forgot to snap a pic when the ribbons were piled up :-/
Step 6: Fold ribbons in half and pin around the edge of the face of one of the cutout letters.

Step 7: Place letters face to face again and pin in place.
Note: I removed my ribbon pins at this point simply because I only had long ones and was running out of room haha

Step 8: Sew around the outside of the letter and leave a 1.5 inch wide space for turning.

Step 9: Unpin and turn inside out.
Step 10: Top Stitch place you use to turn inside out to finish the letter.

Final Step: Ohh & Ahhhh and be very impatient until you can give to Little Mr.Adorable for whom you made it. :) :)

It may not be perfect, I won't point out the mistakes, but I am happy with it and as soon as I get a pic with Zach and his taggie I will share it.

I do believe I am going to LOVE this new sewing hobby plus I feel pretty good at already working on one of my resolutions with it only being 8 days into the New Year :) :)

How are you going on your resolutions or changes so far?

Be All You Can Be

If your like me you want your blog to be all it can be. Well since we can't send our blog to the Army I love that Inspire Me Heather is having a blog hop so we can check out each others blogs and give some tips & hints on making our blogs the best they can be!

Check it out

If your like me you enjoy writing your own blog but you also love reading other blogs and seeing what sorts of ideas others have. I know certain things bother me(like music that auto plays and weird fonts) but other things make me smile(great photos and funny writing). It is always cool to see what others like or dislike when reading blogs so feel free to comment below and let me know what you think about my blog as I would love to make it better and reader friendly.

   Hope your having a great weekend!

Sneak Peek: Adventures in Sewing

It seems that someone was listening to my not-to-subtle hints about wanting a sewing machine because my MIL gave me one for a Christmas surprise!!*Thanks Honey for listening and passing it along :)*

I have always wanted to learn to sew and have been doing all sorts of "research" via Pinterest the past few weeks. Then today I finally set up the machine and then found a project that looks simple enough for me to start out on.
**UPDATE 1/7** I have decided that I need an upgrade on machines so I am doing lots of research to see which one will work best :) :)

Here is a Sneak Peek of what I am attempting, hopefully everything will go well and I can share it in full detail tomorrow :)

I am very excited about my new toy and am looking forward to doing all sorts of projects.

Did you get a new toy or creative outlet recently? If so what sort of projects are you planning on working on?

New Directions

No I am not having a Glee moment :) even if that did totally make me LOL to myself!!

With the New Year upon us everyone seems to be either making resolutions or resolving not to make any. However, I have decided to set my sights upon a few New Directions. There are changes that need to be made in my life & our home and 2012 will be the year that they will be accomplished. I know that if I have a specific list out in the www then I will be more apt to look at it often and know that I want to mark items off this To-Do-List.

I know it sounds like a cliche but in 2012 I will get healthy! I have actually got a little jump start back on November 4th when I made some changes in my diet. I now drink only water and surprising like it. I was a SweetTeaAholic and so I was worried about cutting it out cold turkey but I have had no issues at all and can tell a major different from that change alone. I am not dumb though and knew that it wasn't only Sweet Tea that made me fat so I have cut out sweets, I rarely eat anything fried and am eating more fruits each day as well. I am also cooking more dinners at home for our family which is benefiting all of us. I am adding exercise to this as well and since I can already wear jeans that I couldn't even button two months ago it is giving me the boost to know that I can be successful at this!! :)

I want to be more organized in our home. We have a small cabin which we love but it also doesn't have an over-abundance of storage space so I want to go through everything, toss out what we don't need/use and then organize the rest. I know that once things are organized that it will help our everyday lives all the better. Being Organized = LESS STRESS :) Now to get everyone else on board haha.

 I want to get a better handle on our budget. We went through the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University a few years ago and have not been very good graduates. One of the top priorities this year is to start making a serious dent in our debt and to have more of a savings for unexpected things. We know that we can do this as long as we stick to it and that is one thing we intend to do more this year.

Personally I want to explore my creative side more in the upcoming year. I received a sewing machine for Christmas and I am excited about learning to use it. I have all sorts of projects Pinned that I want to make once I can figure out how to use the machine haha. I also want to learn to quilt. I have always had a love for quilts and am looking forward to making one for our bed and for the kids as well.  I am a firm believer in doing things for others but you also have to take time to do something for yourself as well and this year I will make more of an effort to have this ME time :)

 I want to spend more time with The HandyMan and the 2E's. Sure we spend time together almost daily but I want to take more outings and such as a family. There are a few places we have not been in ages and they are on our calendar to go explore. Family is a major part of our lives and as the 2E's get older it is even more important to spend time with them. Yesterday was Emma's 13th Birthday and it still amazes me that she is already a teenager when it seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital.

These are just a few of the New Directions in which I want to go this year. There are changes in the house I want to do like a shower added in our bathroom and a kitchen cabinet overhaul to name a few. There are also more personal changes I would like to make that I have been praying about. There are some things that need to be changed in order to benefit our family as they are the most important people. Life is not a race and not a competition. You must take time for your family, your friends and for yourself there is no other way to say it -- take the time to LOVE! Your body, mind, and soul will thank you for it <3 <3

I know that 2012 is going to be a very prosperous and blessed year for us and I am looking forward to seeing what all it holds!

What direction are you headed for this year? Or will be you trudging down the same road as always?

It was a very Pinterest Christmas

I have always been one to make Christmas presents for the family but this year the whole family decided to get into the crafting spirit thanks to a little help from Pinterest. It was neat to see what everyone and I believe that this was one of the best Christmas's ever as we all got to see how good it feels to give something that you make instead of something you simply go to a store a buy.

These first three were given to Em from her Aunts :)

Chalkboard

It's your life, color it! - Crayon Melt and Scrabble Tile art

Magnetic Board with her Initial

 This pretty ornament was compliments of my Mom. :)

Loove the colors!

Painted Ornaments

 My contribution was photo blocks which I am so in love with! However doing 42 of those babies(yes I did them for everyone in all our families!) was a little much but well worth all the work!!

Photo Blocks

 Snowflake I made for my sci-fi loving Son!

Storm Trooper Snowflake

 One of our gifts from Nana - a painted Christmas Tree on canvas.

I received this from my sisters. I love it and can't wait to hang it in the office!

Burlap wreath with Initial on an antique window

I have to admit as awesome as each gift was and as proud I am of the family for what they did my favorite gift of the evening was the Aprons that Nana had made from my Papa George's button down shirts. Needless to say we were all surprised and emotional when we opened them! Each family member received one and my new nephew got a bib that matches his Mom's apron --LOVE!!

Here are the kiddos modeling the ones TheHandyMan and I received.

Memory Aprons from Papa Georges Shirts

We had a fantastic Christmas and I hope each of you did as well.

What was something unexpected you received this year?

I have some great things lined up for the New Year and can't wait to see what 2012 holds for everyone!

DIY Monthly Calendar

Do you remember dates/appointments well? If so please teach me how you so it!! I am the worst at writing down appointment dates and such so I decided that I needed something that was INMYFACE each morning to remind me. I only had one criteria for it - it needed to be pretty and reusable. I have never been a fan of standard plain old calendars so I made me something that I liked and that I would be able to change as needed.

To start off with I found a blank printable calender page on where else? - {Pinterest of course!} 

Love the vintage look!!(it is actually a lighter color, this photo turned out darker than it is)

Then I took am empty frame that I already had...

and simply added the printable into the frame.

Once the frame is put back together you can write the Month and Days on the outside of the glass which enables you to change them each month. 

Here is my December one. 

I used a permanent marker instead of a wipe-off one because it will not smear as bad and the permanent marker can be wiped off at the end of each month using glass cleaner. This calendar sits on the counter beside my fridge so I see it numerous times during the day. Hopefully it will keep me more on schedule :) :)

What kind of calendar is your favorite?

Tomorrow I am will be showcasing our Pinterest Christmas that we had at my Nana's and I am so excited so be sure to stop by and check it out!

Pass the Popcorn

It's that time of year again, when kids and parents alike snuggle up on the sofa with yummy popcorn & snacks to watch their favorite Christmas movies. There are so many good ones out there but my family has a few favorites that we have to watch each year. These are the movies we watch over and over each Christmas and at times even in July or August if we get the notion to. :)

I am will not be numbering them as to keep from inadvertently playing favorites over the others in my family haha. Sooo in no particular order here are the Top Christmas Movies complements of the Not So Modern Family.

I watched this yesterday and couldn't stop laughing. Buddy is my Hero :)

Seriously the BEST Christmas Classic ever!

It's a Wonderful Life is such a heartwarming story that everyone should watch.

We simply adore Charlie Brown and his awesome Christmas Tree!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer(Here with cute little Hermey) is always the First movie we watch!!

 

Home Alone and Home Alone 2 are family favorites for sure around here. I think it is because we can totally see our two kiddos pulling some of those stunts.

I admit Christmas Vacation is MY Fave! Every single scene is hilarious. I do believe John Hughes was a fabulous writer! Heck 2 of the movies on this list are his :)

The many adventures of Ralphie in A Christmas Story never fail to make us laugh! 

Last but not least is The Grinch. Jim Carrey plays the part perfectly and the colorful people of Whoville make us smile!

What are your families favorite Christmas movies or do you have a special tradition you do every Christmas?