Aprons for Auction

I went out on a limb and made a couple of aprons for a fundraiser we are having for our baseball team.  I don't know why I have such a fear of "selling" my handmade items.  I even have an etsy shop that remains empty to this day.  I guess it comes from not having any formal training other than lessons from my mom or online tutorials/library books.  Maybe I just worry that they will fall apart or not last through the first washing.  Silly.  But, its something I need to get over if I want to keep creating.  I think my first ambition would be to just sell enough things to pay for my fabric addiction......especially because my friends and family are going to get sick of the same gifts for every holiday! 

I made a matching mother/daughter apron and included two rolling pins and Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious".  It's funny because I wasn't too excited about this fabric while it has been on my shelf but I love how they turned out.  Now I am going to cross my fingers that someone actually bids on this at our auction!

Cake pops

My kids' favorite treat to take to school for their birthdays are these fun little cake pops.  This week we had a half-birthday at preschool to celebrate and we had enough left over to send in for a baby "sprinkle" for another teacher.  These treats are time consuming and messy BUT, so fun to make and look at when I am done.  I do have to say that they get easier each time and I have learned several tricks to make the process smoother.   

Hoopin it up

Amid the craziness that is birthday planning, I decided that we couldn't very well have a basketball party without personalized jerseys to send home with each guest.  Due to the lack of tank top selection in early February, I ended up having to buy a couple 3 packs of Hanes tanks to get the job done.  These were not my finest work but they were fun to have hanging on the railing as the guests arrived.  They each had their own letter and we snapped a photo of each guest for my idea of turning their photo into a mini trading card to send with their thank you note (which may or may not ever happen)  These were a late night-before project with shockingly shoddy construction and most likely won't make it through more than one washing.  but they served their purpose!  

twirly skirt

I made this outfit for my little niece's birthday.  I have been looking for a good twirly skirt tutorial and found a great one here ( I used the extra twirly version)  I changed up the hem a bit and then added a fun little headband.  I was so tempted to keep going and do a fun fabric flower for the headband or some matchy-matchy bows but I am working on knowing when to stop.......THAT is the hard part.

Teacher gifts

Back in the summer, I thought it would be lovely to give handmade gifts to my kids' teachers and to a few friends.  I'm not sure what happened over the next few months but there I was, the night before, churning out 10-12 aprons in record time.  Thanks to a good friend, I had an amazing book to get ideas from, A is for Apron.  Since time was of the essence, there was no patterns being used, no measuring, just lots of eyeballing, pressing, and guesstimating going on.   These are a few of the ones we gave away.  And I am not making another apron for a while!

Delectable Desserts

I got to put together a fun dessert table for a church get together last week.  I was totally inspired by Amy Atlas.  I want to be like her, to have a reason to have a table like hers at my house permanently.  In the beginning I just was going to do everything red and white but then decided to add in a little green, per my friend Amy's advice.  I wish that I could take better pictures and just snapped a few quick ones before everyone got there......just to prove that it actually happened.    

My original plan was to buy some silk hydrangeas for the table backdrop but after pricing them out, I realized that it wouldn't be very practical for our budget.  I googled tissue paper flowers and was amazed at all the great ideas out there.  Martha Stewart had some amazing ones and after reading a ton of tutorials, these are the ones I came up with.  They were super easy and really added a pop to the table.  And at $5 total, much easier on the budget.

I found this great wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby and had to incorporate it into the table, the gift boxes added some height and color.

White fudge covered oreos on a stick

Yummy Christmas goodies in vintage style candy jars with a scoop adorned with ribbon and a large jingle bell.

Now......I just wish I wasn't so overwhelmed by decorating my house.  A table is manageable, fun, and simple to do.

another apron

I can't stop.  Apron making is apparently addictive......and the funny thing is that I don't even wear them.  (need to work on that!)  I made this one for my sister in law and I love it.  I found these fabrics by Brother Sister Design Studio at my local Hobby Lobby and I love them.  Forgive the bad pictures, it really isn't rumply like it looks.  This was actually one of those sewing projects that I finished in under an hour, nothing went wrong, and all my stitches lined up without any unpicking needed.  Yeah!  Love when that happens.