This first shot just KILLS me!
Doesn't it look like an old-fashioned football helmet?
Lucy is moderately amused.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Hat
Sometimes my very generous and thoughtful friend Heather sends us delightful hand-me-downs from her beautiful daughter Sammy. This white hat happens to be my favorite so far! Here are some photos from Christmas Day 2009.
This first shot just KILLS me!
Doesn't it look like an old-fashioned football helmet?
Lucy is moderately amused.
This first shot just KILLS me!
Doesn't it look like an old-fashioned football helmet?
Lucy is moderately amused.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Last One
We decided to take one final photo of our family in front of our house in Nashville just before we left for the airport. Tomorrow (Friday), papers will be signed and it won't be our house anymore. Thanks for the great memories!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Today..
We're in Nashville right now packing up our house so that we can move to warmer weather (which sounds REALLY nice right now, but not so nice in the summer). Phoenix, here we come!
Amidst all of the mess, I noticed how pretty all of these knick knacks looked on the bookshelves. I had tried to group them together so that they would be easy to pack, and then it hit me how pretty they were :).
AND.. Elizabeth Foster came by today so that we could take a look at more of her art. It's my belated birthday gift from Dave! We just LOVE the art we bought from her awhile back (which I posted about here and here), and we decided that we would like more please. It was so hard to choose, but these were the ones we decided on.
I mean... how could we resist flying whales?
... and a horse wearing a Victrola?...
Amidst all of the mess, I noticed how pretty all of these knick knacks looked on the bookshelves. I had tried to group them together so that they would be easy to pack, and then it hit me how pretty they were :).
AND.. Elizabeth Foster came by today so that we could take a look at more of her art. It's my belated birthday gift from Dave! We just LOVE the art we bought from her awhile back (which I posted about here and here), and we decided that we would like more please. It was so hard to choose, but these were the ones we decided on.
I mean... how could we resist flying whales?
... and a horse wearing a Victrola?...
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Lucy's Party
This morning I was setting up for Lucy's party and I decided that there was a shortage of festive decorations. So.. I made a little pink and purple birthday banner, which cheered everything up in a hurry!
I've never been a big fan of buttercream frosting, so I made some whipped cream and added some fun pink sprinkles.
Here's my little birthday beauty in her home-made crown! Boy, was she cute :)
We tried to coax her to blow out the candle, but she just kept reaching for the pretty fire with her hand. We ended up helping her extinguish the flame.
I thought there would be cake and whipped cream everywhere, but Lucy was very composed about the whole thing. I think she was just trying to take it all in.
I was so thrilled to see how much she loves Lilly the doll!
She just kept hugging her and nuzzling her face. Oh what good it did a mama's heart!
Happy Birthday my darling girl.
I've never been a big fan of buttercream frosting, so I made some whipped cream and added some fun pink sprinkles.
Here's my little birthday beauty in her home-made crown! Boy, was she cute :)
We tried to coax her to blow out the candle, but she just kept reaching for the pretty fire with her hand. We ended up helping her extinguish the flame.
I thought there would be cake and whipped cream everywhere, but Lucy was very composed about the whole thing. I think she was just trying to take it all in.
I was so thrilled to see how much she loves Lilly the doll!
She just kept hugging her and nuzzling her face. Oh what good it did a mama's heart!
Happy Birthday my darling girl.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Introducing...
...Lilly the doll!
I can't believe how long it took me to make her, but she's finished!
I had to learn how to backstitch and satin stitch with embroidery floss to make her face :).
It was fun to add my own little touches like:
... a ruffle on the bottom and velcro to the back of the tunic instead of a button...
.. pockets and a button on the pants..
... a felt flower to her hair...
... and finally, a little heart to show Lilly's affection for her new best friend! I bought that fabric with little hearts all over it a long time ago not sure what I would use it for. I'm so glad I bought it now! It was the perfect finishing touch for a home-made doll for Lucy's first birthday. I can't wait to give it to her.
A big thank-you to hop skip jump for making such a charming little pattern.
I can't believe how long it took me to make her, but she's finished!
I had to learn how to backstitch and satin stitch with embroidery floss to make her face :).
It was fun to add my own little touches like:
... a ruffle on the bottom and velcro to the back of the tunic instead of a button...
.. pockets and a button on the pants..
... a felt flower to her hair...
... and finally, a little heart to show Lilly's affection for her new best friend! I bought that fabric with little hearts all over it a long time ago not sure what I would use it for. I'm so glad I bought it now! It was the perfect finishing touch for a home-made doll for Lucy's first birthday. I can't wait to give it to her.
A big thank-you to hop skip jump for making such a charming little pattern.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Random Highlights
There have been so many things going on! I made twenty of these gift bags for our visit to K-LOVE. Each one had a copy of our Christmas EP along with some yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Lucy also started to ride in a shopping cart like a big girl (instead of in her car seat).
AND I found this baby backpack at a yard sale for $10!!! It's so fun to go hiking when I can bring my favorite little person along.
Lucy also started to ride in a shopping cart like a big girl (instead of in her car seat).
AND I found this baby backpack at a yard sale for $10!!! It's so fun to go hiking when I can bring my favorite little person along.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Poppy Doll In Progress
Lucy's first birthday is coming up in less than a week, and I decided to make her a doll! I saw this pattern
And I could not get over the cuteness of it all. I went over to Hop Skip Jump and purchased a pattern of my very own.
This is what it's supposed to look like when I'm done...
But we'll see what actually happens :). I've had a lot of fun making it, but I'm beginning to realize why she sells the already-made dolls for $95.. it's so much work!
This is what I have so far... sorry for the creepiness!
And I could not get over the cuteness of it all. I went over to Hop Skip Jump and purchased a pattern of my very own.
This is what it's supposed to look like when I'm done...
But we'll see what actually happens :). I've had a lot of fun making it, but I'm beginning to realize why she sells the already-made dolls for $95.. it's so much work!
This is what I have so far... sorry for the creepiness!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Itty Bitty Dress
I used some birthday money to buy a pattern for this sweet little dress, and it's so great! It's quick and simple and only requires a small bit of fabric and some 1/4 inch elastic. I've made two so far. The one in the photo is made from a sheet that I bought from Saver's (I bought so many awesome sheets and pillowcases from there to use as fabric!). I love how it looks with little leggings (I'm totally obsessed with leggings on her, by the way).
Please ignore the giant crease down the middle :).
Please ignore the giant crease down the middle :).
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Radio Interview
Dave and I had a chance to visit the K-LOVE studios this Friday. We spent an hour in the studio with afternoon DJ's Scott and Kelli. It was A LOT of fun. I hope you enjoy listening:)
The interview segments are at the beginning, 7:17, 27:58, and 44:19.
The interview segments are at the beginning, 7:17, 27:58, and 44:19.
JJ Heller 11/20/09 KLOVE Interview from The Secret Life Of Kat on Vimeo.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Finally!!!!
For basically her entire life, Lucy has not had a friendly relationship with food. When she was a few weeks old, she almost stopped eating completely. We found out that she had acid reflux, and she began taking medication which worked pretty well, but it was a continued struggle to get her to eat enough milk.
Then we added baby food to her regimen, and she hated it. We FINALLY started to feed her real, grown-up food, and she loves it! She can't get enough. Whenever Dave and I are eating, Lucy always crawls over to us and whines as she opens and closes her hands until we share some of our food with her. I'm SO relieved that she likes eating now! Avocados are her favorite (as pictured below :).
Then we added baby food to her regimen, and she hated it. We FINALLY started to feed her real, grown-up food, and she loves it! She can't get enough. Whenever Dave and I are eating, Lucy always crawls over to us and whines as she opens and closes her hands until we share some of our food with her. I'm SO relieved that she likes eating now! Avocados are her favorite (as pictured below :).
Monday, November 16, 2009
If You Want to Make One
A friend of mine just wrote with some questions about the birthday crown I just made for Lucy, and just when I was about to send off the email, I thought some of you might be interested in some crown-making tips as well!
If I was really ambitious, I would take photos of all of these steps and post them next to each instruction, but... I just spend 8 hours traveling from Abilene, TX to Phoenix, AZ, and I'm really tired :).
Here's what I wrote to my friend....
To answer some of your questions.. I did use elastic in the back. I chose black because I knew white would start to get dingy over the years. The felt part of the crown is 12.5 inches and the elastic part is 4.5 inches (I actually made the elastic about 2 inches longer to start with, but it was too big for lucy's tiny head, so I just tacked it on both sides to make it 4.5 inches. It ended up working out great because when she gets older, I can just take out those few stitches and lengthen the elastic back to it's original length).
I used a medium weight stabilizer in between the two layers. I'm not sure if there's a difference between stabilizer and interfacing, but mine doesn't have any sort of fuzibility (if that's a word).
I would also probably recommend using real wool felt so that it's more durable. They didn't have the colors I wanted in the wool felt at Joann when I went, so i just chose synthetic. When I was working with it, though, it left this weird film on my hands. It's not a big deal, but I probably would choose a higher quality material next time.
Also, for the trim... make sure there's no lead in it. I originally chose a different trim, but when I was taking up to the counter to get cut, I noticed a warning on it that it contains lead! Needless to say, I chose a different one.
It was definitely easy to draw the outline of the crown onto the felt, then sew through all three pieces. Then I just cut it out along the seam line, and it was all set.
For the numbers, I cut out 2 pieces of gold felt, and 1 piece of pink for each number. I used the bottom of a can of corn as my template, and traced around the can onto the pink felt with a regular pen. While the felt pieces were still in the shape of squares (before cutting out the circles), I sewed 2 pieces of velcro onto one of the gold pieces of felt. I used a disappearing ink pen to draw the number onto the pink felt, then I put the pink felt on the top, the plain gold one in the middle, and the velcro one on the bottom. I used the regular pen marking as a guide and sewed a seam with the right side of the presser foot lined up with the pen mark. Then I sewed a seam tracing the number that I drew on the pink felt. Then I cut out the circle getting close to the seam, and then very carefully cut out the pink felt from inside the number.
Adding a little princess patch is a great thought. I was toying with the idea of making a separate crown just for dress up. I thought the birthday crown might get worn out if it was used all year. There's also a pattern out there for a princess hat. Did you see that? That could be fun too. (you know.. a cone-shaped hat with tulle coming out of the top).
.... So that's it. Lots of words, but hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!
Happy crown-making!
If I was really ambitious, I would take photos of all of these steps and post them next to each instruction, but... I just spend 8 hours traveling from Abilene, TX to Phoenix, AZ, and I'm really tired :).
Here's what I wrote to my friend....
To answer some of your questions.. I did use elastic in the back. I chose black because I knew white would start to get dingy over the years. The felt part of the crown is 12.5 inches and the elastic part is 4.5 inches (I actually made the elastic about 2 inches longer to start with, but it was too big for lucy's tiny head, so I just tacked it on both sides to make it 4.5 inches. It ended up working out great because when she gets older, I can just take out those few stitches and lengthen the elastic back to it's original length).
I used a medium weight stabilizer in between the two layers. I'm not sure if there's a difference between stabilizer and interfacing, but mine doesn't have any sort of fuzibility (if that's a word).
I would also probably recommend using real wool felt so that it's more durable. They didn't have the colors I wanted in the wool felt at Joann when I went, so i just chose synthetic. When I was working with it, though, it left this weird film on my hands. It's not a big deal, but I probably would choose a higher quality material next time.
Also, for the trim... make sure there's no lead in it. I originally chose a different trim, but when I was taking up to the counter to get cut, I noticed a warning on it that it contains lead! Needless to say, I chose a different one.
It was definitely easy to draw the outline of the crown onto the felt, then sew through all three pieces. Then I just cut it out along the seam line, and it was all set.
For the numbers, I cut out 2 pieces of gold felt, and 1 piece of pink for each number. I used the bottom of a can of corn as my template, and traced around the can onto the pink felt with a regular pen. While the felt pieces were still in the shape of squares (before cutting out the circles), I sewed 2 pieces of velcro onto one of the gold pieces of felt. I used a disappearing ink pen to draw the number onto the pink felt, then I put the pink felt on the top, the plain gold one in the middle, and the velcro one on the bottom. I used the regular pen marking as a guide and sewed a seam with the right side of the presser foot lined up with the pen mark. Then I sewed a seam tracing the number that I drew on the pink felt. Then I cut out the circle getting close to the seam, and then very carefully cut out the pink felt from inside the number.
Adding a little princess patch is a great thought. I was toying with the idea of making a separate crown just for dress up. I thought the birthday crown might get worn out if it was used all year. There's also a pattern out there for a princess hat. Did you see that? That could be fun too. (you know.. a cone-shaped hat with tulle coming out of the top).
.... So that's it. Lots of words, but hopefully you can learn from my mistakes!
Happy crown-making!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Fit for a Queen
I LOVE it! It's always surprising (and wonderful) to me when a project turns out the way I envisioned it. I changed the design a bit from the inspiration crown, because I wanted to make it look a little more like a tiara. It kind-of reminds me of Princess Aurora :).
I think the detachable number idea is going to work really well. I haven't sewn all of the other numbers (for future birthdays) yet, but number one is ready!
I love the sparkly trim and the rhinestone buttons... ummm... did I seriously just type that? It's amazing what having a little girl can do to a person :).
I REALLY wanted to post a photo of her wearing it, but decided to wait until her actual birthday.
I think the detachable number idea is going to work really well. I haven't sewn all of the other numbers (for future birthdays) yet, but number one is ready!
I love the sparkly trim and the rhinestone buttons... ummm... did I seriously just type that? It's amazing what having a little girl can do to a person :).
I REALLY wanted to post a photo of her wearing it, but decided to wait until her actual birthday.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Almost Party Time
I am SO excited to make Lucy her very own birthday crown! The big day is coming up in less than a month (I can't believe it!), so I'm starting to make my plans. I was totally inspired by this design (pictured below) over at Skip to My Lou.
Isn't it so cute? I love the shape. I just bought supplies to make a dark gray and pink one for my soon-to be one-year-old. I want to attach the number with velcro so that we can swap it out with other numbers for future birthdays. I can't wait to get started!
Isn't it so cute? I love the shape. I just bought supplies to make a dark gray and pink one for my soon-to be one-year-old. I want to attach the number with velcro so that we can swap it out with other numbers for future birthdays. I can't wait to get started!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
I'm In LOVE
Awhile back I made this changing mat for lucy and blogged about the process.
Since then, I've kept my eye out for pretty oilcloth to make another changing mat, or possibly a bib or two for lucy. I have a bib for her that's wipeable and has a little pocket at the bottom to catch slippery food :). Ours kind-of looks like this one...
But I would LOVE to make one with pretty oilcloth! Imagine my delight when I ran across this post by Anna Marie Horner. Look at HOW BEAUTIFUL this fabric is!!!!
It's $17.50 per yard, so I'll have to decide just how much a love it :).
Since then, I've kept my eye out for pretty oilcloth to make another changing mat, or possibly a bib or two for lucy. I have a bib for her that's wipeable and has a little pocket at the bottom to catch slippery food :). Ours kind-of looks like this one...
But I would LOVE to make one with pretty oilcloth! Imagine my delight when I ran across this post by Anna Marie Horner. Look at HOW BEAUTIFUL this fabric is!!!!
It's $17.50 per yard, so I'll have to decide just how much a love it :).
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Making it Mine
I found this dress for Lucy at a consignment shop a week or two ago (I think it was $3). It was cute enough, but I decided to improve upon it a little bit to suit my (and therefore Lucy's) style.
First, I knew I wanted to cover up the embroidery on the pockets.. but then it took me a long time to figure out what kind of applique to use to cover up the design on the top.
I finally remembered this owl design that was a free download from one of my favorite blogs (called Lil Blue Boo). Isn't it so cute? This gal is so talented and you need to go check out her blog right now :).
This dress is so cute with little leggings underneath. Perfect for fall!
And believe it or not, this was the best photo I could get of Lucy wearing the dress. She moves like the wind these days!
First, I knew I wanted to cover up the embroidery on the pockets.. but then it took me a long time to figure out what kind of applique to use to cover up the design on the top.
I finally remembered this owl design that was a free download from one of my favorite blogs (called Lil Blue Boo). Isn't it so cute? This gal is so talented and you need to go check out her blog right now :).
This dress is so cute with little leggings underneath. Perfect for fall!
And believe it or not, this was the best photo I could get of Lucy wearing the dress. She moves like the wind these days!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
My Little Unicorn
My plan was to go to Target on Halloween because I knew the baby costumes would be on sale. Lucky for me, they had ONE infant-size costume left... a beautiful pink unicorn.
We took our little unicorn to the Arizona State Fairgrounds to see a Jars of Clay concert (which was great, by the way :). She made SO many people smile!... can you blame them? The cuteness is overwhelming.
We took our little unicorn to the Arizona State Fairgrounds to see a Jars of Clay concert (which was great, by the way :). She made SO many people smile!... can you blame them? The cuteness is overwhelming.
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