In the basement of the Alamo

I was really hoping to share my completion of the refinished chair this week, but that would have required me to, oh, have completed it. 

So until my yellow/gray chair is done, check out this little embellishment I purchased from Mandy's Yellow Corner.  It will look fabulous on a gray sweater, wouldn't you agree?

A while back, I mentioned the craftiness of Mandy (um, this girl can whip up a dress - a DRESS! - out of thin air.  I'm lucky if I can whip up a piece of toast half the time).  

Last weekend, I was beyond thrilled when she asked to feature me and my shop in her Sunday Spotlight.  Check out the interview and you'll find out which movie I can recite LINE BY LINE WITHOUT SHAME. 

Here's a hint: "I know you are, but what am I?"  If you're familiar with the movie, I'll see you in the basement of the Alamo.

Sno-Caps should be a food group

While on our whirlwind tour of Vegas/Southern California last week, Beth and I pretty much ate like no calories counted.  Because on vacation, they don't. 

That's right, I said it.

For example, after a few late Vegas nights, these suddenly became must-haves:

We hit up Carl's Jr., a fast food restaurant I frequented as a teenager:

And we stopped in at the most crowded, standing-room-only In-N-Out restaurant I have ever seen:

Sno-caps and hamburgers.  Diet of champions.

Nothing says "yum" quite like this

I came across this at my local grocery store:

Someone needs to speak to Mrs. Adler about better packaging.

Out of office, Vegas style

I was out of town last week on the west coast!  My friend Beth and I went to Las Vegas for a few days and then hopped over to Southern California to attend a family reunion.

There's a lot of weirdness in Vegas, such as this ginormous Humpty Dumpty statue.  We look so cozy.

In California, I caught up with my dad and sister at the reunion party. 

Then after the reunion, a bunch of the cousins relaxed on a rooftop in Newport Beach.

It felt kind of weird to be unplugged from the internet for a week, and I'm glad to be back.  Now, to attend to this massive sunburn I've got going on...

Scalloped gift tag design

I {heart} the creativity of my clients.  I really, really do. 

The tags shown above are for a newborn (seriously, how cute is the name "Daisy?") who will receive a special quilt made by her mother's friends.  Each quilt square will feature a tag with the date written on it as the squares are collected. 

Such a sweet idea and I was happy to be a part of it.

Get the sillies out

There are two things happening here:

A) Wavey has reached a stage where she can no longer produce a natural smile when my camera is out.  For others?  Yes.  Me?  Not so much.

B) Those things on her wrist are Silly Bandz. They have served as a rapid reminder that I have become my own parents with my nose turned up at this crazy fad, much like they did with my jelly shoes, jelly bracelets and doubled-scrunchy socks.

Ah, doubled-up socks...those were the days.

A continued affair...

My love for Heat n Bond continues along with my vindication for keeping heaps of "you'll never use those" fabric scraps.

My friend's baby Bridget is now the proud owner of this monogrammed onesie: 

The design is similar to my ABC name note cards (shameless, I know).

The gray chair debate

Have no fear, the second chair I've been determined to refinish has yet to meet its demise into my basement. 

With the great help of my husband, the chair was meticulously sanded and primed:

Just one spray can of gray did the trick, but we were really cutting it close:

So, now I have to deal with the hard part: fashioning a cushioned seat.  I've reupholstered a seat before so I'm pretty sure I can do it again (just how well is the real question).  But onto more important worries, like whether or not the seat will use the reversable fabric below with yellow on gray or gray on yellow:

Any suggestions?

Get your craft on: DIY monogramed dish towels

There's a new love in my life named "Heat n Bond."  Oh, how I love thee for your no-sew qualities.

I've asked my sister to not check my blog this week so I could share with you a housewarming gift I made for her and her roommate: a monogrammed dish towel.  There seems to be no reason why the two girls must be married (not to each other, just generally speaking) in order to enjoy monogrammed towels.  Here's how it went down:

First, I printed their initials and an ampersand in reverse so I could trace it onto transfer paper.  I did the transfer after putting the Heat N Bond onto one side of my fabric.

Next, I cut out the letters...the ampersand was a killer and having tiny, sharp scissors was a must:

I peeled off the backing of the Heat N Bond, placed the cutouts where they belonged and marched over to my super ugly ironing board to finish things off:

The final results!  Cute, simple and practical.

"Say cheese!" to our yearly family photo

I was thrilled to recently receive our proofs for our yearly family photo taken by the talented Melissa Robin of Melissa Robin Photography. 

Our photo shoot was the evening of Fourth of July and it was s-t-e-a-m-y outside.  Good thing you can't see how melty we were!  Here are a few good shots from the bunch which Melissa is graciously letting me share with you:

This final photo below cracks me up because Griffin wearing the hat looks like either:

A) an old cigar roller

B) a member of the Buena Vista Social Club

C) BB King (per Kim at Frost Me!)

D) Justin Timberlake

Kind of creepy, kind of funny.

Free printable: DIY birthday train ticket favor tags

A big thanks for the emails and super-sweet comments I received about the train ticket favor tags that matched the birthday train themed invitation suite featured earlier this week. 

I've decided to make the favor tags a free DIY printable if you're in the neighborhood of hosting a train-theme party.

Click here to download, print and enjoy!

All snug in their bed(s)

I can assure you that both Gravy Kids have their own beds (and generally stay in them), but apparently Wavey needed another friend to snuggle up with. 

This is what we found the other evening:

Reminds me of this picture taken two years ago:

Train theme birthday party invitation

I'm really pleased how this train theme birthday party invitation suite came together, complete with thank you notes, address labels and party favor tags.

I haven't created many birthday boy invitations, but this train theme for Jacob's 2nd birthday turned out great and I loved his mother's idea to say "Choo-Choo for Two" on the ticket.

The party favors will be wooden train whistles, so I created a ticket tag which will tie around each favor.

And finally, let's not forget the thank you notes, complete with matching address labels to round out the theme:

Personal information has been modified for privacy.

Bathtub crayons = bain of my existence

Here's a little math equation for you:

"Washable?!"  Hardly.  Try "scrub-with-all-your-might."

And a certain someone - who admittedly can draw a decent cartoon of his children - is not exactly helping: