gifts...

Let me start by saying that I am equally proud of each of my children's talents. :o)
Tessa took this photo with an inexpensive digital camera this past year while riding across a bumpy bridge. LOL
This girl has a knack for buildings, people and animals. The photos of the kids that I want to put into sepia tones and on the dining-room wall have all been taken by her. She comes by it naturally. I love those types of gifts...ones that are ingrained but we can polish up.I would love to be able to get her the Rebel camera she has drooled over for the past several years but don't see that happening anywhere in the near future. After her last year of home schooling (my first graduate) this next year we have talked about her taking the CAD program at the local college.
The cat photo was taken to show off the pretty kitty collars she crochets for Etsy.
Can't wait to see where this girl goes with this in the future.

I made it to the finals...

One of my Giddy-Up skirts made it to the finals!



Yes, I am yelling....and too bad I didn't have one of my new Giddy-Up sets dreamed up and sewn before this contest. But still....woohoo! I am so excited.
If you have a spare minute and want to humor me pop over there and put in a vote for me will ya?
I always said it doesn't take much to make me happy!

And in the way of added incentive from the great Etsy people, you will be entered in a drawing for a $350 shopping spree just for voting.
Isn't that just keen of them?

Yep, I used the same link twice just to make sure no-one misses a chance to vote for me. LOL

random photo...

Well yesterday I got a bunch accomplished even though I still don't feel the best. You know that point you get to when you decide "I have been sick long enough, I have things that need to get done?" Well, I reached it yesterday but it sure is no fun to wander around cleaning and being Mom while continuously feeling nauseous and having a headache.

I almost forgot to blog today and started cleaning some more but then.....I remembered. LOL

I decided that I would go to the photo files and pick a random unnamed photo...phew! sure am glad it wasn't a morning hair photo of me.

Today--
laundry is on the line
kids are doing chores
the sun is shining....
it's getting better.

I am still working through stuff (personal thoughts with God and major financial stuff) so I still feel a bit heavy but am working on it!

If you haven't had a chance to see the new outfits pop on over there and you can see the cutest models ever too. :o)

Not a bit biased am I?

On my flippy calendar...

To love a person is to learn
the song that is in their heart,
and to sing it to them when they
have forgotten.

That says a lot, doesn't it. I have spent the better part of the morning cleaning up a very dirty kitchen from having a few sick kids this weekend and not feeling the best myself. ..it seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r just to tame the dishes.I am sure there are mama's nodding in agreement to how long it takes to clean up after sickness runs its course in a family. While cleaning I have been rolling the above saying over and over in my mind.

I am blessed.

For the most part I have several women in my life who support me and sing back to me how strong I am when I am feeling weak. Sometimes, I am the one singing to them.Life can just get hard, can't it? I cannot imagine walking through it without support and my faith.

The other day the flippy calendar said this-

Happiness is a sunbeam...
When it strikes a kindred heart,
like the converged lights upon a
mirror, it reflects itself with
redoubled brightness. It is not
perfected until it is shared.
Jane Porter

I am hoping today that you have a friend encourage you and you in turn get to encourage another whether by smile, hug or an encouraging word.

Candy colored ponies in the shop!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that after some serious sewing there are some pretties of the pony variety in my shop. It was quite fun lassoing up this kind of pony!
Hope you enjoy them as well!

the sun has shown up again...

yummy eatin'--
Sophie decided she wanted to make a pie the other day. Tessa and I played along. Tes made an impromptu gluten free crust by using her Grandma's crust recipe but swapping out flours and I helped Sophie simmer strawberries and mash em, adding a thickner and sugar for the filling.

It turned out so yummy and the girl is soooo proud. outside fun--
I think for the most part Western Washingtonians feel jipped of a summer. At least that is the consensus in Southwest washington. But today...well, the sun may redeem itself.
We are packing up snacky foods, blow up toys and a friend to tag along and heading to the lake.
And yep Mom, we are stopping in at Louie's to give another big hug and lots of kid chatter to cheer his ole bones. He says Hi by the way.an order from this week on my inspiration wall

creativity--
After finishing up a few orders this week, I have been working non stop since yesterday afternoon on a few new designs for Giddy Up skirts and my first Giddy Up skirt with a matching shirt.

Boy, once those ideas wake you up it's hard to do anything else until they are out of your head and onto fabric all cut out and sewn up. Others who dream and sew who are visiting here can attest to that. :o)
craziness....but in a good way!
a custom order Giddy Up from this week
Have a GREAT weekend!

throwback to the 80's...

We had a late birthday party for Aliss. Since we don't know if it will rain or not from one week to the next here in Washington it is safe to say Rollerskating parties make me feel very happy instead of planning a park party and being rained out.

I am almost to the point of trying out the skates again. Hey, back in the day (LOL!) I was pretty darned good. Anyone else remember rollerskating in their Jr. High years? Madonna and Michael Jackson blaring on the speakers as you went round and round then round again?

Well, I was able to delay it because I would push Sophie around in one of those toy cars but now she skates. hmmm...

We went to the chiropractor today. It was the first time in two years and two months that I haven't been there weekly. sigh...it's been a long road. I finally went three weeks in between visits. I really am sold on the benefits of physical therapy and exercise now. It is just a coincidence that when I started walking with my friend that I started needing adjustments less. I think not.
I think that my back got some serious blood circulation to it and helped keep the muscles loose and then they didn't pull out the bones from alignment. Just my opinion.
I called a local lawyer firm today that is Christian...in fact, several of my friends know the particular man we are contacting and say he has very good integrity. I just want who God says is right for us but I sure hope we find whoever it is soon. My time is running out to close my case. 10 months left.
Anyway, sooo glad I seem to be on the final mend I was getting a bit worried for a while.

Hope you are enjoying the tail end of summer!

to the lake...

Some much needed fun in the sun happened this past week at the lake

visiting with friends...eating junk food...

cooling off...heading home...

Summer nights...

One night this past week after the heat of the day had passed and the kids were settled in for the night I stepped out onto the back deck and found it so peaceful. It was as though even the neighborhood dogs were aware of the stillness and kept quiet.
The air was so crisp, and the dark so dark and then I looked to the left and up and the moon was so white shining through the best little fluffy clouds that I have ever seen. The clouds were spaced so perfectly apart.
ahhhh....

gifts from the heart...

There has been some house cleaning going on around here...woohoo! One of the younger girls's friends was over a couple of weeks ago and helped Tessa take TONS of stuff into the A-frame attic off of her bedroom. Tessa now has her own *studio* in there.
She really wanted to show her appreciation for all of the help Leslie gave her so we devised a trade: my skills for her manual labor. Tes did some extra housework for me and I made a Giddy-Up pillow for Leslie from her.

The Giddy-Up pillow has been in my thoughts for a bit now. This was the trial run and I think it turned out very cute. The picture really stinks, I know. The horseshoe has Leslie's name embroidered on it. I put the pictures of it in my Etsy Shop to see if anyone else would like a personalized Giddy-Up pillow for the little cowgirl or cowboy in their life. :o)
Sophie & Hannah personalizing wrapping paper
Hannah and Sophie were invited to a friend's birthday party this past week. The girls both wanted to give an individual gift to their friend instead of sharing one. Sophie gave some fairy toys (theme of the party) that we found at the Factory Outlet store that cost under $6 total. Love that!
Hannah decided that she would like me to make a monogrammed skirt for Esther. I kick myself that I didn't take a picture of it, it turned out so cheerful. I made the main part of the skirt in bubblegum (almost typed bumblebee....oops) pink with sparkles in it, down each side went a sunshine yellow stripe with polka dots in it, then there was a large E at the bottom left corner and orange grosgrain ruffled up all the way around the bottom. so cute!
Esther's mom (a good friend of mine) called to say that Esther had worn her skirt several times and people loved it-that was within a week of her party. LOL! Little girls love candy colored skirts...especially ones that have their initial on it.

Have a great day!

P.S. Aliss and I are holding our Dolly & Me day camp today and tomorrow for 3 hours a day with Sophie, Hannah and one other little girls. I will show pictures as soon as I get em.
Lori

friends, family & fire...

ahhhh, nothing like the draw of a boy to fire is there? :o) the progression of manhood is very clear in my son and I sure don't mind. I am amazed at how he naturally comes into the manly things while he lives surrounded by 5 girls and his Dad isn't in the home. I guess it is bloodlines...his Dad is a very manly man and so are all of his uncles.

This past week one of Zack's friends was allowed to dig a small hole in his back yard and roast a hotdog in it. I am not so big at my house at allowing a boy to man a fire hole unchaperoned so I made a deal with Zack. You CANNOT dig a hole and I have to say when. I guess that would be two deals huh?
He did a great job in finding a 1x1 foot spot in the back yard that the grass seed didn't take sprout this past spring and made it there. We had a talk before that about how close fire needs to be to wood things, as I watched him pick his firespot from the kitchen window I could see our conversation playing in his mind as he looked at overhead tree branches and backed away. I think he did a great job picking out material...cinderblocks (I think they are called that anyway) and redbrick topped off by the grill off of the propane barbecue.

It was soooo nice to sit by a fire watching it while the kids gorged themselves on smores and hotdogs. We are already looking forward to the next firenight. I love it when an idea presents itself for a family memory and it works out great.

I even got the memory of going down the street and picking suitable branches for the roasting sticks with Zack. Mom's can be good for some of these things afterall. ~grin~

14...

favorite food chosen for a birthday dinner...
thick, fried ham, mashed potatoes and gravy...family sitting around the table
birthday dessert-banana cream pie; made from scratch
breakfast served in bed-made and served by an older sister...
(I asked the culinary chef why the carrots and dip? Her answer was to the point "Aliss likes carrots and dip".
I should have known, I have told the kids for years to stop thinking in the box about certain foods belonging to certain meals of the day)
I love you birthday girl.

Final Sewing Day Camp photos...

Tessa was a great assistant all week at the Day Camp. She could help any of the kids with pretty much any question that they had while I was helping another.

The girls made the cutest shirts...too bad the detail of the fabric doesn't show up in these photos. I like when you have to trouble shoot and kids can learn real life sewing. The pattern I bought for the peasant blouses wasn't in one of the girls sizes so she got to fiddle faddle with me. Fiddle the edge this way while cutting it larger and faddle with it while sewing it trimming it here and there to make a new seam. Turned out great and now she knows she can design and create something in her own size even if the pattern doesn't show it.

Hannah and Sophie came the last day too and made a couple of pillows. The girls that were taking the class were impressed with Sophie and Han's sewing abilities, especially Sophie over in her corner using one of the remnants, embroidery thread and large needle.

Very productive week.

Design It! Sewing Camp...

We had a BLAST this past week from 10:00-12:00 every day. the kids learned how to cut patterns, read the pattern and sleeve and cut the fabric according to the pattern.
The particular peasant blouse pattern we used ended up being just along the top of the waistline and the kids decided they liked my idea of adding a contrast stripe to their shirts.

There was three girls and one boy. They all made pajama pants and he designed and made a patriotic pillow instead of the peasant blouse like the girls.

Good choice.

Tomorrow I will show some of the finished stuff.