We Have a Winner!

From twelve comments, random.org gave me lucky #11...Elizabeth G. over at Home Musings!

  I'm pleased as punch for her, and so Congratulations Elizabeth!  (FYI, her blog will play music.  It's gorgeous, it's Saint-Saens "The Swan" but make sure you're ready for it :o)  

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:11

Write back and we'll talk shop :o)

In the Which We Discover the Buffet

Alright, maybe not a "buffet" per say, but definitely and indication of why this guy is hanging around the neighborhood.

Do you see him?

Here, look a little closer.

Hello Thumper. Good bye garden. (Looks like I have some work to do before planting!)

How are your garden plans coming? Any particular critters or bugs you're on the watch for this year?

***Have you entered the giveaway yet? Look for a winner tomorrow night!*****

Beautiful Life: Easter Finery and a Giveaway

It's time for Melissa's Beautiful Life linky fest once again! I've learned a lot of new skills over the past year, but I believe one of my favorites is something that I've always known how to do, but didn't do very often. I love to make tiny skirts for my daughters and nieces- you don't need much in the way of pattern, fabric, or even time but they are so cute and the girls love them. So there you go: I'm making our lives more beautiful one Easter skirt at a time.

I told y'all about the fabulous fabric stash I came into, however curious the circumstances. I showed you the first stash-busting project . Meet projects 2 and 3.

The smaller skirt was meant for Ernie, but I didn't take into account that her back side CURVES, which means knee-length in front is definitely a little more party in the back than Easter Sunday would generally dictate. So it's been assigned BBJ status, and BBJ's to Baby Aurora (as Ernie calls our newest niece.) When I tried Ernie's original skirt on her, she said "Too small Mommy! My legs cold!" So, Ernie's was lengthened somewhat. Quite a lot, actually. I made it after she went to bed, and we might hem a little bit. *smile*

Lucky for you guys, I am in love with these skirts and have extra fabric!

So, the giveaway: one custom spring skirt for your little girl!

Who would you put this skirt on. A daughter? A doll? An infant? Would you just zip some elastic in and whiz up a side seam and call it a day like I did? Smock the top and put should straps for a tiny sun dress? Something else?

Leave a comment with your ideas, and if you're the winner THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO (if I can :o) Make sure you leave an e-mail address or blog address so I can reach you, and have a measuring tape handy because I'll need measurements :)

I'll choose a winner on Tuesday, March 31st to get this in the mail, so it will be in your hands in time for Easter.

Good luck everybody!

Beautiful Bedding

I remembered the other day I'd never showed you guys a few things. They're in Ernie's room, so it's a rare day that favorable picture conditions (sunny, kids are awake, her room is clean, and I have a few minutes to sneak away and snap photos) happen.



My exceptionally talented mother-in-law (Nana) made a gorgeous bedding set for Ernie when the baby was born. She found the pattern in a picture online, and then free handed it from there. What an amazing act of love! Ernie loves her pillowcase and blanket, and the wall hanging with her name on it.

Ernie also needed new sheets, so I picked up an inexpensive white set at Ikea before Christmas, and gussied them up a bit. (Are these upside down? I wanted her to be able to see them when she laid down...but they look a bit odd. What do you think?)

I fell in love with Sublime Stitching patterns last year, and was thrilled when I got an entire book of iron-on transfers for my birthday last Fall. I simply trace them, though- it's easy enough on white fabric, and makes them last longer. (I also appreciate disappearing ink when my stitches aren't so straight as they ought to be!)


I thought it would be funny to put sweets on her sheets...you know, "sweet dreams"?


She didn't get quite as big a kick out of them as I did, but I really enjoyed stitching these up. So yummy!

Why I Can't Have Chickens

Guess who I found in my back yard this afternoon?

He left when he saw me in the window.

So we have coyotes sunning themselves in the Spring, and racoons and squirrels hanging upside down from the plum tree in the summer (eating all the plums.)

I'd really love to have a compost pile and a small flock of chickens, but I don't want to ENCOURAGE these critters to come around . Any suggestions? Advice?

Easter Skirt for the Babe

My Dad chuckled when he saw this- "Whose doll is this for?"

Mine of course! One skirt down, three to go. We are going to look sharp on Easter!
This is based on the "Swing Your Partner" tiered skirt in the fabulous and often blogged-about "Sew What! Skirts" book, although in a MUCH smaller form *grin*

This is my first serging project, and I'm loving it. I received a Brother 1034D as a Christmas gift from my (very kind) parents, and it's taken me until now to break it out. I'm glad I spent a week reading the manual, researching online, and watching the two DVD's that came with the machine. I know it sounds like overkill, but I like to know ALL the rules before I start a game, and there are a lot of rules to serging! At least, there are a multitude of things the serger can do, and I wanted to know about a good chunk of them before I started.

The serger came with a gathering foot, which I love. I was able to put one layer under the foot, feed another through a slot in the foot itself, and gather the bottom layer while serging it to the upper straight layer AT THE SAME TIME. The mind reels. All the layers and seams are serged, and the elastic is sewn to the waist using a sewing machine elastic/zig zag stitch. (Speaking of which, WHY did I never notice in the manual that there is a special zig zag stitch for elastic? It works so much better than the regular zig zag!)

I have all the pieces cut out for two more Easter skirts, for my daughter and niece, and then need to sew up something cute for my nephew and find measurements for my other niece...and we'll all match, which is fun considering we're in three different states!

It Needs To Be Said

I wasn't going to say anything, was just going to let it slide by. But I can't. I've been having heart burn all week, and something must be said.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm a Mormon, if you will. Besides the Muslim faith, I'm not aware of many other churches or faiths on this green earth that elicit such strong reactions. People love us- we're good neighbors, we're Boy Scouts, we make casseroles. People hate us- we stick to our own, we have a weird religion, we don't vote like they do. Are any of those stereotypes true? Yes. No. Maybe. Depends. It's hard to characterize over 10 million people based on a handful of people you happen to have met in your life.

We've gotten a lot of publicity the last year. Mitt Romney, Proposition 8, Big Love, among others. Three things that have very little to do with the Church and what we believe, but rather more to do with individuals who have joined or left our church.

And so, as a favor to me, can you do this? Next time you hear something you don't understand or think is wrong...go find someone to ask. Shoot me an e-mail. Flag down a missionary- they'll answer any question you can throw at them, and have fun doing it. Heck, you'll make their day if you just make eye contact!

Most of what's smeared around out there is just gossip, half-truths, misunderstandings, or just lies. And it hurts to see something that I believe in and love so strongly bandied around like playground gossip.

And for the record, I don't make casseroles. *smile*

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are a few links if you have questions.

The Church's response to Big Love preparing to air an episode showing our most sacred and holy temple ordinances. Things that we promise Heavenly Father himself that we'll never share, outside of the temple. What they're doing quite honestly makes me cry.

If you're curious about temples, those beautiful buildings all over the world, check out this 3 minute video regarding why we build them.