Back from the Great Escape!

I just got back from Creative Escape! I am calling it the Great Escape tho, because you would not believe the amount of finagling it took to get out of town! Only 3 kids and whew... a lot of people needed to be in a lot of different places and different times... I am grateful for a wonderful husband to help and lots of other Mom's!

I have lots to share! I have been sewing! I have a new dress I made for Sydney. It took a little while to make because I made it the "right" way... I mean were talkin' french seams, tiny piping and hand sewn hems here!!! The ladies at the smocking shop would be proud! (and I guess all those heirloom sewing classes are paying off!)... I'll share photos of it later. (I didn't smock this one... but I do have another one of those in the works, it's half way done)

I have 3 skirts in the works this week that I can make tutorials for, I know you guys have been asking for more skirt tutorials... the wonderful thing about having a creative weekend is that it helps you with all things creative, not just paper arts! I'll start those this week... promise (see now I have too... I said it out loud!)

I, of course, have to post about the wonderful amazing time I had at creative escape...oh it was amazing... I just sat down one afternoon in a class and had an overwhelming sense of joy come over me... silly I know but... I loved it.

I'll post photos of my projects if you'd like to see them! And Lacey... if you still read this, do I have story for you!!

Memo Board Idea...

Check out my new project up at Moda Bake Shop!

Now off for a few days of R&R!

Can't Wait...

I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....I can't wait....

Can you tell I'm excited?

Project Runway starts tonight! !!! It's about time. (if I swore an expletive would be inserted there)

If you haven't watched the show before give it a chance, it's not about "designer" stuff as in Gucci, Prada, Chanel... It's about challenging your creativity and making the best of what you've got... I LOVE IT!

A couple of seasons ago I wanted soooooo bad to make an outfit with stuff from the grocery store- I did NOT, but still might one day make a skirt out of yardsticks and bottle caps (just for display... of course :-)

The Movie Room.. just about done...

When we finished our basement we wanted to put in a movie room. This has turned out to be one of my favorite rooms EVER! Our family goes in there, pops some popcorn, closes the door and it's like the whole world goes away and it's just us... I love it.

It was hard for me to figure out which direction to take with this room, my husband wanted the ceiling black (better for the picture) i wasn't so keen on that idea. Then there was the, do you go the "old hollywood glam" route or more modern movie theater route..

In the end I went for a vintage feel... The walls are red and the trim and ceiling is chocolate brown. I love how the red and brown look together, and going with brown instead of black I think gave the room a more casual, friendly feel.

We ordered the "movie chairs".. I wanted big sofas, but figured.. might as well "go for it" and order the movie chairs... we love them. I started buying the brown throws at Costco, one every grocery trip.. looks like I need two more.

You can't really see it here but the back row is about 8" taller than the front row. To do this all my contractor did was build a deck and attach a piece of plywood. That part was easier than I thought it would be.

My husband picked out the star wars pillow from PBK, and you can't see it here, but my daughter brought in her Hershey chocolate bar pillow too.

You can see the carpet in the picture above.. It was where I got all the colors for the room. I always say "start with the rug".. in this case I started with the carpet...

I found some old film reels online to hang on the walls
Framed a print of Peter Pan, which coincidentally, matched the carpet perfectly.

We hung the screen on the wall, then after the biggest argument I think I've ever had with my husband (why does home improvement do that to people?)... He did it "his" way and took crown moulding and framed out around the top of the movie screen to hide it. (I will now admit, it looks very nice, he did a great job. - oh still need to paint that air vent brown).

We saved a BUNDLE by doing all the wiring ourselves... I hooked up all the components, so we didn't have to pay an electronics guy. (yes I'm a nerd). We built in a "bump out" into the room, that we then put shelves in for the dvd, receiver etc... On the back of the bump out is a door.. From the outside it just looks like a closet door, but it's really nice because I can open the door and get to the backs of all the components. Makes it SO much easier hooking stuff up.

I'd be happy to answer questions about the electronics/equipment/wiring side of it.. It was pretty simple you just need to know what you want.

Moda Bake Shop Project

I've got my latest project up at Moda Bake Shop... go check it out!

Preserve your Family Recipes

Today while looking a book I remembered a project I did for my Mom a couple of years ago...I thought someone might like the idea so I dug up the photos to share. I can't believe I forgot about this, since it is one of my favorite projects I've ever done.

I come from a long line of fabulous cooks. My mom, her mom and her aunt (I'm sure it goes even further back than that.) After my Grandma passed away, my Mom got all of her hand written recipe cards. I was visiting a few years ago and noticed them all stuck in a box. I thought that they should be put somewhere safe. I knew that Mom still wanted to use the recipes.

They are wonderful recipes... for awesome "lost things" like Hot Milk cake or Batter Cake.. all those wonderful treats that our grandmothers used to make us, but have since gotten lost in all of our "new fangled" conveniences at the grocery store.

I put together a scrapbook/recipe book for my Mom. I used all CTMH supplies (you can order from me if you want anything).... I started with a 12x12 album.

I was ecstatic to realize the recipe cards were 4x6 so I placed them in the divided sheet protectors (you can get 12 4x6 recipe cards in each sheet- or 6 if they are written on both sides). That way they are safe from spills. I also put a protective cover on the scrapbook.

For the cover I printed an old photo of my Mom and her 2 sisters on sticky linen. Then just stuck it to the front of the album.

To keep things simple, I used 1 paper line from CTMH... along with the recipe card kit that matched. (it came with tabs too- how cool!)

To make a connection to the past - I included a few of mine and my sisters favorite recipes, that I begrudgingly took the time to hand write- someday I'm sure it will be appreciated.

I organized it by, Soups, Desserts, Main dishes etc... I interspersed the "new" recipes with Grandma's.


For a few recipes, I cut up the page protector to make a "flip" out sleeve-- this was for the recipe cards that were written on both the front and back of the card.

Add this one to the list...

LOVE Martha! This was on the crafts dept. blog this week.. gonna have to add it to my wish list!

Covered Stretchy Headband Tutorial

Okay! I'm home and catching up.. here is the tutorial for the covered stretchy headband.... and Yes, Vicki you can come over and make a bunch! Oh, my "model" thinks I was only taking pic's of her hair... so sshhh! She'd kill me for the photos :-)

You need a piece of fabric 1.5" wide (for 1/2 wide headband) by about 18" long. You can also use ribbon- which would be waaayyy cute!

Fold in half and stitch with 1/4" seam.

Move seam to center and stitch one end closed.

Lay fabric piece over headband. Pin behind ear on one side. Pull taught and pin behind ear on other side. Make sure the fabric is taught, as it will stretch a bit and if it is too big it won't work. Take off your head.

Enjoy!