Field Day

We're in the thick of my favorite time of the school year -- class parties, field day, awards ceremonies, etc. The learning is mostly done and the teachers are relaxing the rules a little and allowing some fun to be had. Last Friday all 3 girls had field day at different times and I ran back and forth between both schools to snap a few photos. Ava's activities were cancelled, unfortunately, because of the threat of stormy weather, so she didn't get to have any fun, but when you're in 6th grade it's not quite as devastating as when you're in 1st.

 

Nothing says "Field Day" like an applique tee with ribbon ties at the shoulders.

 Taking a popsicle break.

Monogrammed Beach Towels

I'm furiously working on teacher gifts before school is out next week. At the risk of any of the recipients seeing them here, I'm posting them now. Most of them are getting monogrammed beach towels, but there are several staff members and teachers the girls have had before so they already have a beach towel from us. I have no idea what they will be getting yet.

Baby Girl Items

These are some baby girl items that went out this week. Simple but classic.

These baby gowns are very popular for hospital or coming home outfits. I always think about the tiny baby that will wear this special outfit and the little feet that will be scrunched up inside. So precious.

Gifts

Between graduation, birthdays, the end of soccer season and the school year, it's the time of year for lots of gifts. Our dining room has turned into gift prep central.

 

I found these cute snack/drink dispensers for toddlers and thought they were perfect for some little friends of ours. The bottom part screws off for snack storage, the straw flips up and down and there's a handy carrying strap so it doesn't get dropped. Baby brother is too young for goldfish or cheerios so he got a personalized bib.

 These are for a sweet set of sisters.

My niece just graduated from college with a teaching degree so she got a monogrammed tote bag to carry all her important teacher stuff.

This one is for me! We have all the beach towels we need, but when I saw this at Target I grabbed it up. No more stuffing the top of my towel into the straps of the lounge chair and fighting with it while I read at the pool. It also has a side pocket for my phone, book, sunscreen, etc. I can't wait to break it in here in a couple of weeks.

I've always wanted to try a monogrammed baseball cap but was skeptical that it would work on my single-needle machine. I tested this one for Tatum, and it worked! These caps come in tons of fun colors too.

Ava and Gentry have been playing on a great soccer team for the last 2 seasons and just played their final game last weekend. The coach had a pool party at his house to celebrate the end of their season so I threw these personalized cups together at the last minute for a fun favor for all the girls. They hold a krazy straw, silly string and a ring pop, with paper shred down at the bottom, and their name adds a personal touch. Just a little something to get everybody excited about summer.

I'm wrapping up the last of my orders so I can shut down during June and July. We'll be doing lots of traveling as a family, and I'll be a chaperone on Ava's youth group mission trip, so I won't be available until August. I'll be back with more product posts soon!

Monogrammed Beach Hats

I'm seeing these monogrammed floppy hats all over Pinterest and some of the applique Facebook groups I'm in. I decided to let the women in my family be my first guinea pigs and I tried stitching some out last week. I was afraid my machine would chew up the straw and it would end badly, but they actually stitched pretty easily. My sister lives in California and she and her family go to the beach often (I'm not jealous at all) and my mom and aunt like to spend time outside in the garden, so I'm hoping these fun hats will provide shade for some of my favorite girls this summer!

Mother's Day 2013

I started this post on Monday and am just now sitting down to finish it out. It's been that kind of week. Mother's Day was spent enjoying all of my favorite things -- family, food and handmade crafts. Tye's grandmother was in town and she came to Gentry's guitar recital on Saturday. I caught this precious photo of her and Tatum holding hands crossing the street afterwards. She is our girls' only great-grandparent and she is truly a treasure in our family.

On Sunday morning I woke to a kitchen table full of homemade cards and crafts - my very favorite kinds of gifts! Ava, Gentry and Tatum spent hours the day before crafting, cutting and coloring because they know I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. Here's a sampling of some of their handiwork:

Tatum created a "timeline book" for me using the pictures on my sewing room bulletin board (she was almost thwarted by our lack of family photographs since they're all stored on the computer now). The first page says, "It all started when mom got married."

 "It was a perfect match!"

 "They had 3 kids...Ava, Gentry and me!"

 "We were all one big happy family!"

 "And did I menchane we had a dog? The End" **See how she even sewed the binding? I was very impressed!

 This is the back of Ava's colorful masterpiece:

Gentry and Tatum both stitched sentiments on cardstock using the sewing machine. Earlier last week I printed off a sewing template I found on Pinterest. The girls loved stitching on it and decided to make a custom card using the sewing machine.Tatum made a dot-to-dot that spelled "LOVE" and Gentry stitched out "MOM", completely on their own.

Gentry punched out cardstock hearts and sewed this garland for the chandelier.

I was also spoiled with a magazine, several gift cards and the anticipation of a very fun and relaxing spa day in my near future. I am blessed beyond measure with the moms and mother-figures who have influenced my life, and the 3 little girls who call me "mom" are my very heart's desire.

More Name Pillows

 

Some Vinyl Projects

My Silhouette Cameo tends to stay in the craft closet for long periods of time in between projects. When I get the urge to use it, I gather lots of items to "vinyl-ize". This time we did a cake carrier for a neighbor family (complete with red velvet bundt cake), a set of personalized water bottles for all the kids in Tatum's class, and a special drink bottle for a little friend.

 

Usually I opt for a name or 3-letter monogram when personalizing with vinyl, but I like the universality of this cheerful saying. The colorful ribbons add a festive touch. I think this would make a great house-warming gift too.

Gentry baked the red velvet cake to include in the carrier. It was for one of her best friends who live in our neighborhood and we had fun delivering it together.

Tatum is in the best little class of 1st graders this year. It's been a difficult year for her because of the knee drama and she missed many school days due to her hospital stay and recovery. Her classmates (and teacher) were so wonderful to her and the get-well letters they wrote to her in their big, typo-riddled handwriting are the sweetest sentiments I've ever read. There may have even been a marriage proposal in one of them. We don't normally give end-of-year gifts to the entire class, but I feel this year they each deserve a special thank you from Tatum. These water bottles are nothing fancy, but adding their names in a whimsical font gives them a little something extra. We may splurge a bit and fill them with treats or prizes too.

I usually recommend handwashing items with vinyl, but Tatum's has been through the dishwasher a few times already and her name hasn't budged.

I had a staging assistant for this photo shoot. Did you note the rainbow spectrum order on top? It was no accident.

I just loved this little pink water bottle and felt it needed to come home from the store with me and join my vinyl project stash. It will be a fun summer gift for one of Tatum's best friends, along with a monogrammed beach towel or tote bag.

My kitchen island is covered with more items waiting to be personalized before the Cameo goes back into hibernation, so you can look forward to seeing more fun items soon!