Love: Easy Blanket and Pillow

During the month of February, I've decided to create a series of posts based on the different real life love stories that inspire me. I'll be featuring friends and family, and their different types of love.

In keeping with my February theme if love, my month has been filled to the brim with loved ones. Here's my post from this week, LAST week's is coming soon.

Jeremy has two sisters. When we first started dating, they both lived far. Now Michelle's family lives near, by Jeremy's parents. Liz's family lives far, in Houston. Since we went to see Liz's family over the (long) weekend, this week, I want to write about my love for my "other" family (Jeremy's side) and especially Liz's cute little family's love for each other.

We got into Houston on Thursday night. Liz came to get us, and besides a sleepy, beaming Ava who woke when we got to the house, we had to wait to see everyone else until Friday.

Geoff had to go into work, and Jacob had school, so we were left to hang out with the ladies of the family. Ava is four years old, and she led the way. We did a lot of walking/bike riding, swinging, picking flowers, painting nails, and looking for turtles and, as Ava puts it, crocodiles (alligators). Ava gave us a tour of their house, looked at our shoes and bathing suits, and tried on most of my jewelry. It was a very enjoyable day.

When Jacob and Geoff returned, we went to a Mexican restaurant nearby and began Jacob's 7th birthday celebration with a bang! (Actually a huge brownie volcano with a huge sparkler.)

Liz is reading Harry Potter to Jacob, which I LOVE. Jeremy and Ava also enjoyed being read to. 

On Saturday morning, we took off for San Antonio. There was lots of backseat fun and hotel room cuddles.

We also snuck in sometime at the Riverwalk.

  
And the Alamo.

Sunday was Jacob's actual birthday. We let him decide between exploring caverns or going on an "Africian Safari". He chose the safari, and we were off!

We were headed through Texas hill country, and the adults decided that we should stop at a wine tasting or two (the kids weren't as thrilled about this idea, but were good sports).

Liz and Geoff know Jeremy and I well, so our last stop of the day was The Salt Lick, an awesome (and famous) BBQ joint right outside of Austin. We had fun sampling wine and playing on the playground while waiting for our table.

We ate and celebrated Jacob's birthday. It was delicious and the company couldn't have been better.

Geoff got us home safe and sound. We spent Monday opening Jacob's gifts, taking Jacob shopping for our gift (a mini shopping spree at Target), and enjoying each other's company.

Jeremy and I headed home yesterday. We had such a wonderful time and enjoyed watching the love of this cute little family.

And now, the craft that goes with the trip.

At Christmas, I made Ava and Jacob blankets and pillows. It was fun to see that Jacob uses his on his bed, and they both brought them to San Antonio with them. You can see glimpses of them on the hotel bed and in the car.

These were seriously easy and fun to make. They make a great gift and a good beginning sewer project.

You will need:
1 1/2 yards colorful fleece fabric
2 yards plain fleece fabric
stuffing

Start by lining up the two fabrics. Mosby REALLY loves Ava, and wanted to help.

Cut off the extra half yard of fabric.

   
Sew the "wrong sides" of the two fabric together using a sewing machine. Sew each side individually. Snip off the extra in each corner.

Stop when you have just enough of an opening on one side to pull the fabric through to make right sides be facing out. Hand stitch the opening.

  
The pillow is just as easy. Cut the remaining 1/2 yard in half.

Then follow all the same steps as the blanket. Before you hand stitch closed, just stuff the pillow.

And, there's your finished project.

I'll be back in a couple days with another craft!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB   

Love: Conversations and Hearts

During the month of February, I've decided to create a series of posts based on the different real life love stories that inspire me. I'll be featuring friends and family, and their different types of love.

My whole life. I've been exceptionally lucky in finding wonderful friends. When I moved to Chicago, I found these women.

Lindsay, Lizzy,  Casey, and I

Last night, we celebrated Casey's 30th birthday. While we were all excited to dress up and celebrate with Casey's closest friends and family, the real anticipation came from knowing we would be meeting someone very special to Casey.

This summer, Casey was set up on a blind date by a co-worker and her husband. The mystery man was the husband's work friend.

Casey and Eric hit it off. They began spending time together nearly every day. When they couldn't be together, they spoke on the phone for hours each evening.

Casey spoke to us about Eric. Lizzy, Lindsay, and I couldn't believe how happy she sounded. Casey  seemed so at ease with him and he sounded so wonderful.

As the months progressed, they have continued to spend more time discussing everything from their days, to their families, to their future.

Lindsay, Lizzy, and I continued to be amazed and thrilled with how happy Casey was and how great Eric was.

Through the past six months, we have seen Casey be as happy as we had ever seen her. And all this has happened because of Casey and Eric's inspiring commitment to each other.

The commitment is even more inspiring because Eric lives right outside of Paris. As in France.

Casey and Eric met this summer when Eric was in Chicago on business for a few weeks. They dated for about two weeks while on the same continent.

Since then, they have spoken almost daily, via phone or Skype. They wake up early or stay up late to speak to one another.

Casey travelled to see Eric over New Year's and they had a wonderful time being together and exploring Paris.

Last night, we all met Eric. He was charming and sweet. He made a slideshow celebrating Casey. He made a scrapbook of the slideshow so we could all sign it, so Casey would have a memory of her birthday.

As great as Eric is, the best part of the evening was watching them interact.

Cheers to you, Casey and Eric. Enjoy this month together.

Inspired by Casey and Eric, I made a wreath with conversation hearts. (Get it?!? Conversations, ha)

Here's what I did.

Start with a 12 inch wreath, 3 bags of conversation hearts, and hot glue.

Mosby REALLY wanted those candy hearts.

Glue the hearts on in a row.

Flipping the hearts every other row helped to decrease the amount of styrofoam showing through.

Keeping going until the whole wreath is full. This will take about two hours.

Pin a ribbon to the wreath.

Hang and enjoy!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Easy Infinity Scarf

Happy Hump Day, All! I wanted to share a quick mid-week post to share a quick five minute project with you.

I have many fabulous fashionistas in my life. On Saturday, I went out with some of my favorite fashionistas from work to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorites, Nicolle.

We had an awesome time being together outside of work, away from kids, and with drinks in our hands.

After a beer or two, we all agreed that we HAD to surprise Nicolle with a fish bowl full of punch accompanied by a huge sparkler. Silliness ensued.

After seeing these very fashionable ladies outside of work, I decided that I need a little wardrobe up date myself.

I have been seeing a lot of infinity scarfs this winter. I am knitting myself one, but decided I couldn't wait for some cold weather fashion.

I started with an old scarf I had laying around. My friend's mom made it for him, and he decided it wasn't quite masculine for him. He passed it on to me, and it was a little too long to become a favorite of mine.

Pardon the picture. I had just returned from the gym. 

So, I decided it was the perfect candidate for my project.

I cut off all of the fringe but three pieces. 

Before and After

Then, I trimmed off all of the fringe on the other side.

I matched up the two sides (making sure the scarf wasn't twisted) and used the fringe to sew the two sides together using a darning needle. You can find darning needles where knitting supplies are sold.

1. matching the sides 2. beginning to sew 3. tying off one of the strands 4. the finished product "wrong side"

Then, just flip it off to hide the sewing.

 Wear it and enjoy!

One last note. Speaking of fabulous fashionistas, Kelle Hampton, the writer of one of my favorite blogs, Enjoying the Small Things is having a fundraiser in honor of her daughter's third birthday. Her daughter, Nella, was born with Down Syndrome. Click here to pop over to add a bit of sunshine to your day. If you feel so inclined, click here to donate to her fundraiser. All donates go directly to the National Down Syndrome Society. 

As you may have guessed (based on my career), children, especially children with special needs, hold a special place in my (and Jeremy's) hearts. The National Down Syndrome Society is a cause we both felt great about donating to this month. 

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB 

Year of Fulfillment

There are certain years I will always remember. "Big years" in my life.

2003 will always be the year that opened my eyes to the world. I graduated from high school. It's the year I went to college, met Maggie, and truly realized the world didn't revolve around my friends and me.

208 will always be my year of growth. At the beginning of that year, I had just returned from living in Germany. I moved four times that year, from my parent's house (where I was storing all my stuff) back to Kalamazoo to finish my student teaching, within Kalamazoo, and finally to Chicago. In Chicago, in a matter of a week, I moved into my first and only apartment where I lived alone, started teaching, and started dating the man I would marry. It was scary, stressful, overwhelming, and exciting. Looking back, I was entirely unprepared and overly confident. 

2011 was a year of change. In January, we lost my Grandma to Alzheimer's. She was an intelligent, kind, and crafty lady. There's not a time when I use her hand me down sewing machine that I don't think of her. In April, Jeremy and I got engaged. In July, we moved in together. In August, we picked up our little guy, Mosby. In December, my sister and Tony got engaged, were about to move back to Chicago, and were quietly pregnant.

As you all may have guessed, 2012 was a big one. Jeremy and I got married. My sister had Sofia. Emily and Tony got married.

To remember that year, I made a Christmas ornament for Jeremy & I, and also one for Em & Tony.

I started with clear glass ornaments and our wedding invitations. 

Then, I cut the invitations into strips. I made sure to preserve the writing by cutting horizontally following the lines of print.

Then, starting with the most important lines of print, I rolled each line around my pinky.

And placed them inside the ornament.

Then, I placed the colored paper of the invitation into the ornament and placed the top back on.

Both Emily and Tony's and Jeremy and my invitation had ribbon. So, I used the ribbon as a way to hang the ornaments.

Here's a look at Emily and Tony's finished product.

And at Jeremy and my finished product.

I used small bulbs, because they were the only ones available. The larger bulbs would work too. I'm really pleased with the result. It was be a wonderful way to remember 2012, our very important year.

Which brings us to 2013. There's no way that 2013 can compete with the significance of 2012. I knew I wanted to make 2013 an important year, in it's own way.

I was introduced to a "New Year's Resolution" form by one of my fellow teachers. She was using it with her 4th graders, but I loved the idea.

The idea is to start with a word. One word, for the whole year.

I chose "fulfillment". I chose this because too often, I find myself "going through the motions". I go to work, come home, eat dinner, and watch TV. I find myself unhappy and dreading work. While work is an important part of my life, where I spend a lot of time, when I start to make work, and the problems there too important to me. They start to become my WHOLE life. And when things are tough at work (like this school year), I begin to feel unfulfilled.

So, here's where the rest of the resolution sheet comes in.

You have four sentences to finish, to help support your word of the year.

It looks something like this:

Word of the Year: fulfillment

What I want in 2013 is: to feel comfortable in my skin, by exercising and eating portion controlled, healthy foods.

What I need in 2013 is: to watch less TV.

What I will share in 2013 is: my blog with more people.

In 2013 I will succeed at: making a least one Etsy sale.

So, little by little, I am working towards feeling more fulfilled by using my goals.

I have been seeing some more of this:

Sorry for the blurry picture. I was trying to be sneaky, no one likes their picture taken at the gym.

And even when it's a little more effort, I've been saying 'yes' to seeing friends and family, instead of hunkering down in front of the TV.

1. Mom with besties Sofia & Mosby, 2. & 3. Phil Vasser concert with Lindsay, Lindsey, & Lauren  4. game night with Kenny, Rachel & baby Evie 5. night out with Stefanie & Mark

As for my other two goals (blog and Etsy), I'm working on making the time and gaining some confidence to share my blog more. A special thanks to those of you who give me such encouraging words & pass my blog on to others. 

I may have overdone the "getting off the couch" part, as I was sick all week. I'm a little behind on my blog, and hope to be back with another post later this week. I have an idea that I'm excited to work on and share.

Until then, keep crafting!

SB

Cork Boards & Memories

Memories

I have had a very important person in my life for a very long time. 17 years, to be exact. She has seen me through all stages of my life, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and now adulthood. 

My best friend, Haley, is the kind of friend that everyone should have. In elementary school, she was already a wonderful, caring, nurturing sister to her two younger siblings. In middle school, she and I shared countless weekends watching movies, including our favorite, Newsies. (If you haven't seen it, do it. A young Christian Bale is the lead newsie, and can sing and dance with the best of them). In high school, she was just as boy crazy as I was, and we spent hours in my over memorabilia filled bedroom looking at yearbooks and talking about boys. In college, we visited each other and drank way too many beers.

Now, as adults, we live states apart. We have stood up in each other's weddings, still know each other's families and siblings' personalities almost as well as our own (think, "of course your sister said that, Hilary's always been like that"), and Haley still holds the title as the person who I've logged the most hours on the phone with.

So, when her husband, Colt, invited me out to their home in Pennsylvania, I jumped at the chance.

Things went pretty much as you would expect. 

I watched Haley be a wonderful, caring, nurturing mom to her two boys.

1. Haley and Colin cuddling 2. playing Operation 3. Connor eating breakfast 4. Colin with model train

We drank way too many beers while looking at yearbooks and talking about people from high school.

And, of course, we watched Newsies.

But this time, instead of watching the VHS in Haley's mom's basement while drinking Faygo Red Pop, we were in New York City, watching it on Broadway!

And it was AMAZING.

What I didn't mention before was that Colt invited me out to their home as part of Haley's Christmas present. The other part was that we were going to NYC to see the musical together.

Haley cried when she opened her gift.

I have never been to New York City and Haley and Colt only live about an hour and forty-five minutes from the city.

Haley and I took off on Saturday morning. We made the drive through the mountains and Jersey.

We had some time to kill before the show, so we decided to see "a few" sights.

1. Haley & I in Times Square 2. NY Times 3. H & I at Rockefeller Center 4. Radio City Music Hall 5. NBC studios 6. Tree at Rock Center 7. Inside of St. Patrick's Cathedral 8. NY Ruben & NY cheesecake for lunch 

After the show, we took in a couple more sights and had a delicious dinner.

1. H in the subway 2. H & I 3. Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty at a LONG distance 4. Ground Zero 5. Central Park 6. Empire State Building 7. Times Square at night 8. creative beggar 9. dinner

Haley and I decided to call that day my "speed date with New York City". We had such a wonderful time.

The whole trip to see them was just perfect. I love that even though Haley and I haven't spent more than 24 hours at a time together in years, we can always pick up right where we left off. We are already planning her trip out to see us in Chicago.

So, now that I have shared a virtual "cork board", I want to share a literal cork board that I made for my wonderful mother-in-law, Pat. She had admired a similar cork board my mom had made for their bar. I decided to make one for her for Christmas.

I started with the back of an old picture frame I wasn't using. It made a good base, plus it already had nice hooks for her hang it vertically or horizontally. I used hot glue to glue the corks onto the board. I made a two vertical, two horizontal pattern.

I kept the pattern going until I had covered the entire board.

I really liked the way it turned out. I hope she did too!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB