A day out at the Fair...

Yes, this is me... 

Last weekend I was able to steal away for one night and head to Columbus, OH to the Country Living Fair... My partner-in-crime, Traci and I have been trying to scheme a way into going for about 3 years now... This year about a week before we decided for sure.. We were going!

We packed up the SUV, kissed our kiddos and husbands goodbye and made the short drive up to Ohio...(oh, I also grabbed my June bag, wearing it in the photo... see it's perfect for this kind of stuff, you can get the pattern here).

The first day was HOT, like 95 degrees HOT and windy, so we made a quick pass through and left. We came back the next day and realized that we TOTALLY missed half of the booths the day before! It pays to look at a map sometimes!

The event was WONDERFUL, many many many talented artists all in one place. I could have spent a week there easy... The only complaint I had was that Saturday it was sooooooo crowded!  You could not even get into some of the booths! But I don't know what anyone could do about that... you just expect it at this kind of thing.

We stayed as long as we could handle the crowds, then headed home, after stopping for some yummy food.

Here are some of my photos, I've linked up the vendors for the ones I know of.. I asked permission before I took the photos, so enjoy! I hope your a bit inspired, I know I was...

oh.. we are TOTALLY going back again next year...

Chick's Picks

so much cool Halloween stuff for sale! I wanted to buy it all!

A pillowcase dress made from a pillowcase!  I need to try that one next!

Traci at the Fair

The cutest Lemonade Stand

The HomeGirl booth.. A favorite!!

Entertainment

I didn't go crazy, but I was able to buy a few things I was really excited about. One of them I could not wait to hang up when I got home.

It's this great piece made from barn wood and roofing tiles.  5 birds, just like us... Mama & Papa and 3 little birdies!  

pretend there is not junk all over the kitchen table

I hung it up in my kitchen, it looks great there and now I don't have to feel guilty I haven't made drapes for those windows yet!

Is our favorite orange bouncing tiger to blame?

File this one under the "holy cow that's me!" moments....  I was asked to participate in the LG TextED Program in conjunction with BlogHer... and TODAY they are featuring an article I wrote about "Decoding your Teens Texting Lingo".... Yep me... You may ask as did my daughter "why'd they pick you?" Well I'm not sure, but I'm honored to be included...

You see...

I wonder sometimes… did Tigger start it all?  Who remembers his famous line, “TTFN, ta ta for now!” Was that the beginning of all of this texting talk? Conversations that occur only in abbreviations?

I write a little about our family's experience with texting, as this is our first teenager we are navigating this a step at a time.  I even pose a few questions, like ...

Do you think that this new lingo language is going to have some long term effect on our kids?

Read the rest of the article and what other Mom's have to say here....

Doodle Bugs Paper Winner!!

We have a winner!!!!

Thanks so much to Doodle Bugs for sponsoring this giveaway!!

Congrats to:

 Staci J said...

I LOVE the silly spider folded notes!

September 18, 2010 7:52 PM

Inexpensive Tablecloth Idea!

It's getting to be the "party" time of year! With Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner there will be a lot of opportunities to throw a party!

I just wanted to share a quick tip for an inexpensive table decoration!

For my daughter's Alice in Wonderland birthday party this year I knew I wanted something more than just a plastic tablecloth on the table but didn't want to spend the money on fabric or a tablecloth.

So I used wrapping paper as a table runner over the top of the plastic tablecloth! I like the idea that it is disposable (it's a kids party.. bound to get messy).

I was really happy with how it turned out! I think it gave the table a little bit more pizazz!  This wrapping paper came from Target but I have seen super cute wrapping papers at the dollar stores too! I think this would be a great idea to jazz up a table for a Halloween or Christmas party too!

I did a similar thing for a Christmas Party I had last year. This is a terrible photo and the table needs a better centerpiece, but you can get an idea of how to use the papers on a long banquet table.

I just cut the wrapping paper in half lengthwise to make it skinnier and alternated the patterns on the table.

Guest Blogging at Spooktacular September!!

I'm honored to be guest blogging at eighteen 25 today as part of their Spooktacular September series!

I'm sharing how to make this fun Halloween count down calendar!

Go check out !!

LG Text Ambassadors

Notice the photo above? See the teenager with a lit firework in one hand a cell phone in the other? Yeah, that's my kid.

Lovely... (well she is quite lovely actually, but the constant texting is sometimes not so lovely).

I guess she is quite adept at multitasking..

If you have a teen who texts like I do, I'm sure that you worry about what they are talking about all the time.

I'm excited to be participating with LG as a "LG TextEd Ambassador".  They have teamed up with BlogHer to provide a great forum to discuss some of the concerns we have with teens and texting.

The first topic is "Mobile Meanness: Is your child taking part?"  

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more topics related to teens and texting! I'm very excited to be able to contribute!

Do you have teens? Do they text all the time? Do you wonder what in the world they are talking about all the time?

Go check it out and join in the discussion!

Remember the skirt??

Remember the twirly dolly skirt tutorial???

Well, I guess it fit's Bitty Baby too...

Quite the get up wouldn't you agree??? But isn't that half the fun of playing with dolls? Trying on all different combinations of clothes!

Oh and of course Lilly had to come and see what was going on... We call her the velcro dog.

Need some ideas from Blogland!!

My Grandmother's Creche

I need a little help from you guys!

This year at church our Stake (all of the congregations in our area) is putting on a Creche Exhibit.  We will have an exhibit of Creche's (Nativity sets) of church members in the area and a live Nativity!

I'm in charge of the decorations (including how to exhibit the Creche's) and food for this exhibit, and the children's activity room. I'm starting to get a bit overwhelmed. So I need some help.

If you have done this activity and blogged about it or seen someone who has blogged about it can you please send me the link? I really need ideas for how to decorate! Also any ideas that you may have from decorating for a Christmas Church activity would be great too! I really need to figure out how to make the gym at the Church not look like a gym at a church :).

Thanks so much!!

It's Spooktacular!!

Traci has been a busy bee getting new pendants ready our shop!  There are still more to come but you should go check out what's new at may & mae!!

We are now offering the "Keep Calm and Carry On" message with ANY INITIAL!

and...

You can get the "Keep Calm" in one of 4 colors, Red, Blue, Pink or Black!

AND the price includes a 22" chain!!  Wouldn't these make wonderful Holiday Gifts???

Speaking of the Holidays, I'm totally saliviating over all of the new Halloween Charms Traci made.
Here are just a few:

Each one is double sided, comes with a chain, and they look great layered with other charms!!

Oh and my FAVORITE ones of all by FAR!!!

Pendants with Fabric between the glass!! Oh my 2 of my favorite things together, fabric and jewelry!! These also come WITH a chain!

Go check it out!! And keep an eye on the side bar over there ------------------->

We'll be adding more all week!

Pillowcase Shirt Tutorial

Today I'm very excited to be guest blogging as part of Sew Chic and Unique's "Inspire to Create Series".  Mayya of Sew Chic lives in Oman! How cool is that!! I love how blogging helps me meet and share ideas with people all over the world!

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for a little girls pillowcase shirt.

Those of you that have been following my blog this summer may know that I've been experimenting with sewing pillowcase dresses.  The pillowcase dress is not a new thing and I'm sure there are a lot of different ways to make one, I've just been sharing a few ways that I've figured out to make them.

After I made the first pillowcase dress I got a lot of questions wondering if there was a way to make it in a shirt size instead of a dress. This week I sat down and decided to see if I could figure it out. I'm happy with how this one turned out. I think it looks adorable with skinny jeans and could easily be layered under a long sleeved t-shirt so that it could be worn into the winter.

This shirt is EASY to make. It is made using ONLY 3 fat quarters.  2 for the front and back and 1 for the trim. This one fits my daughter who is about a size 8. My guess is that this shirt would fit from size 5-8. You can shorten it if needed.

For this project you will need:

-3 fat quarters

-1/2" wide elastic

-2" wide ribbon

To begin, take your fat quarters for the front and back and square up any uneven edges and cut off the selvages. You want to leave the fat quarters as close to their original size as possible.

On the 18" side of the 2 fat quarters measure down 5" and over 2". Cut a J shaped hole out of both sides of both pieces of fabric.

From your 3rd fat quarter cut 2 pieces 4"x 18". Stitch to the uncut 18" side of your other 2 fat quarters. Press seam towards 4" piece of fabric.

Place shirt front and back pieces together and stitch 2 side seams of shirt with 1/4" seam. Zigzag or serge.

Turn under raw edge of shirt band 1/4" press. Fold over so that folded edge of fabric is even with the seam of the shirt/shirt band. Stitch in place. Press.

Cut 2 pieces, 2" wide on the bias from your 3rd fat quarter.

Pin right side of bias pieces to right side of underarm seams. Stitch with 1/4" seam.

Fold under raw edge 1/4" and press. Fold again and pin in place. Stitch & press.

Turn under top edges of shirt 1/4" and press. Turn under again 3/4" and stitch close to folded edge. This will create the elastic casing.

Thread your 1/2" elastic  through the front shirt casing.  Adjust the width of the elastic based on the size of the shirt you are making. The smaller the size the more gathering,  the larger the size the less gathering. Feed end of ribbon into the casing, it will only go in about 1/2".  Stitch so that the elastic and ribbon both stay in place.  Repeat for other side of shirt.

Enjoy!

also I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave me suggestions this summer for the pillowcase dress construction!  That's where I got the idea to use elastic in the top instead of ribbon!!

linking up to these fab parties!!