Have I missed your birthday?

Sneak peek
Originally uploaded by cebbtn

I am in bad shape. Try as I might, I cannot keep up with birthday. I like to think that, by being late with gifts and well wishes, you will realize that I am thinking about you all the time, as I'm constantly reminding myself to finish up with so and so's gift. I'm thinking good thoughts about you though, only cursing myself. So this is a gift for someone whose birthday has come and gone. At least it was for a 2008 birthday. I'm not going to go into any details on it now, and will post a complete picture once the gift has been given. Just a little sneak peek.

These t-shirts? Another belated birthday gift. I will not even tell you how late these are, but you'll get an idea, when I tell you that I am worried that they will no longer even fit the recipient. I decided to press ahead though, and keep my fingers crossed. These are my first (and second) attempt at freezer paper stencils . I read about them online a while ago and wanted to try my hand at it, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I did these this weekend and they were pretty straight forward and easy to do. The wagon design took some time, as I kept drawing it with too much detail, but the dinosaur was a breeze. I used textile paint by Jacquard and it is absorbed into the fabric very nicely - the shirts don't feel stiff at all. The possibilities are endless with this and you can check out lots of amazing things going on over at the Flickr group for freezer paper stencils. So many ideas, so little time!

Care for some snails?

We have a snaily yard. It's really quite odd, and at times, unnerving, as I worry that I will squish one, possibly one of the girls favorites of the moment. When I do hear a crunch, I try not to call attention to it. This was Sarah's collection from today. They are all deemed to be mommies, daddies, or babies. She wanted to bring these in to play with, but I have to draw the line somewhere with the snail play and for me, that line is the front door. Thankfully, my girly girls seem to draw their own line at snails and no other bugs or creepy crawlies bring them any sort of entertainment or amusement. In fact, I believe that our pediatrician's ears may still be ringing from the scream Sarah let out when she saw a fly on the floor when we were there in January. It really took him off guard and it appeared that he had not fully recovered before we left. Flies and ants...those scare the begeebies out of her, but a handful of crawling snails is all good.

This guy crawled out of the woods while we were outside as well. He must have been hanging with the snails until we stumbled up on him. He's made from a wool sweater that I ran through the wash a few times to felt. It felted up really well and this was a good one evening project. Instant gratification, my kind of project! The inspiration came from the book Plush-O-Rama, which someone was very sweet to give me for Christmas. In return, this is for her son's third birthday, which is just around the corner. Wow, a birthday that hasn't passed yet and I have the gift already!

Twirly skirt

Twirly skirt
Originally uploaded by cebbtn

Well the twirly skirt is done and I am happy. It wasn't without struggle though. First off, this was going to be for Rachel, but is now Sarah's. I spent Tuesday night all excited that it came together so easily and whoo hoo, let's make ten more. That was all before I put the drawstring and elastic in. That was a struggle that involved a lot of brute force, several pin pricks and in the end, a waist band that was gathered so much that it was almost bullet proof. I knew it would be deemed "not comfy" and left to hang in the closet. That's also about the time that I realized that this was entirely too short for Rachel. So, I did a lot of seam ripping, took 20" off the side, put it all back together again and now Sarah has a new skirt. Since Rachel has already heard the words "twirly skirt", another will have to be made soon.

This fabric came from Ikea moons ago, when Misty and I made a trip to the Ikea in Chicago. That was back before children even existed in our lives. We bought such pretty fabrics that day, I wish now that I'd bought more. I'm vaguely remembering her buying some palm tree fabric that I'd love to get my hands on now!

I'd love to share a picture of Sarah sporting her new skirt for you, but today has been deemed a pajama day. I did get her to slip it on so that I could get the elastic where I wanted it, but the pajamas had to put on promptly afterwards.

Next up....I'm tearing into some wool sweaters that I've run through the wash twice now. On purpose. Not like the other ones, that were not on purpose. Lucky Rachel now has a JJill cardigan that fits her perfectly. The shrinkage was amazing I tell you!

Outgoing Mail

A certain family has some mail coming their way tomorrow. Yesterday Rachel and I worked on drawings from Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals . She was really having fun with it and I was getting such a kick out of watching her animals come to life. I think my favorite is the "shaggy dog". I love his sweet face. We've decided that this book and others by Ed Emberley will be the go to birthday gift this year.

I started a twirly skirt tonight and in just an hour and a half, I'm on step 16 with hopes of finishing it tomorrow night. Since one of the last steps is to have the person it's intended for try it on before finishing it for good, and that person is now asleep, I won't feel badly about not finishing it tonight. Since the recipient's main concern with clothes is the amount of twirl they have, I'm hoping this skirt will be a hit and more may follow. Well, one more will follow for sure, as I'm sure that Sarah will want one as well and I don't want her to feel left out. Pictures of the skirt will follow when it's done (and if it turns out alright).

Happy "Valentart's Day"

Valentart's Day is Sarah's word for Valentine's Day. Since she sees hearts associated with Valentines, it only seems appropriate that she incorporate hearts into the word. Here's wishing you a happy day!

Debut

I figured it would be appropriate for the girls to make their debut along with me. Here they are last Friday morning, having chosen their outfits all on their own and dressed themselves. Nothing says style like a cowboy themed sweater with a plaid skirt, or a nightgown with patent leather mary janes!