What Missy Calls Pretty

Remember when I made cookies for Addy?

Well, I got the idea from my friend Missy (her cookies are pictured above). She is a fabulous crafter and a meticulous sewer.

And now you can buy her goods on Etsy. Check her out at http://www.WhatICallPretty.etsy.com. Everything she does is incredibly adorable and incredibly well-made. I can say this because I have seen her wares (well, not all of them, but enough of them to know!) in person.
If for nothing else, I'd click over there to read her cute names and witty descriptions. Not only can she create, this girl can write! Congrats Missy! I wish you the greatest success with this new adventure!

Beanbags for Linus

For Linus's birthday, I made him six beanbags. I cut the little monkeys playing musical instruments out of a cute fabric scrap I had, ironed them on with Heat-n-Bond, and zigzag stitched around their edges.

Although I told him he would not like it, Rock insisted on eating one of the dried beans as I was pouring them in. It came in a bag and looked like a jelly bean so he figured clearly it was candy and I was trying to deprive him. After a moment or two in his mouth he decided that he did not like it.

Pajama Party

I'm gonna take on SewMamaSew's Pajama Party challenge! I'm thinking that I'll make some pj's for me that will last through the ninth month of pregnancy, a pair (or two!) of pj pants for Rock, and maybe even something for Fix. I'll let you know how it goes.

Comments?

This is a couple months old but I forgot that I had taken it.

Someone wrote on the sidewalk in front of our house "I love guys with good hair, pretty eyes, & big B*TTS!" Any comments?

NYR#15, Swing Arm Lamp Installation

Although I love many aspects of our bedroom, the lighting on our bedside tables has never been one of them.
I've always wanted a pair of swing arm lamps, but I could never find any I liked that were cheaper than $75.00 each and I wasn't willing to spend that much money.
But I kept looking because the state of our bedside tables kept bugging me. What? You don't think they looked that bad? Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Fix was reading by the light of a clip-on lamp he bought before he knew me.

And I kept a weak spotlight and a travel reading lamp on my side to help illuminate my late-night reading.
Then, last week, my husband (Thank you thank you thank you honey!) found the most wonderfully perfect swing arm lamps at HOME DEPOT for $35.00 each!

They are the perfect size, shape, color, etc. for our room.

By the way, I have listed this post as an NYR because I installed them all by myself.

After I hung them, I stood and looked at them for a good 5 minutes straight. Since then I've been walking around with a goofy grin on my face. I just can't help it.

My name is Rachel. And I'm addicted to my new swing-arm lamps.

Pinkalicious!

So this past weekend I squeezed in some time during all our family festivities to make these adorable cookies.

I completely copied the idea of baking with felt from my friend Missy.

Then I put them in this random bag I had in our wrapping paper box, substituted a hot pink ribbon for the boring white one the bag came with....

And added them to my birthday gift for my niece Addy. In case you haven't read it yet, Pinkalicious is an adorable book for little girls (and boys too I guess) about a girl who eats too many pink cupcakes. If only I was talented enough to make felt cupcakes.... sigh.

I also made her this adorable pink dress that probably won't fit her until her next birthday (does anyone else have as much trouble with toddler sizing as I do?!) Happy Birthday Miss Addy!

NYR #14: Embellishing A Top

I may be smiling in this picture, but that's because I didn't realize yet that I had somehow LOST half of the pictures I took of this project.
I had intended to give a detailed account/tutorial of how I took a dumpy t-shirt and gave it some cute details around the neckline and sleeves. But, again, I lost half the pictures. UGH! FRUSTRATION!

So now you can only see 'after' pictures. Sigh. I guess the good news is that I have completed another NYR...

And I still have some kickin' modeling skills.

Thursday Things I Love! (Nikon)

Was I ever happy to get my mail last week!

My beloved Nikon (which looks exactly like, but is not in fact, the one above) is BACK!!!!! And this puppy is most definitely qualifies as a T.T.I.L.

I was especially pleased that the lens repair was covered under warranty.

Look for much better pictures to come!

Quick Fix Friday (Hole in Cami)

This little hole in one of my white camisoles has driven me bonkers for months now.

And it literally took me a minute to take these pictures, pin it, and sew it.

Will I ever learn how easy these fixes can be if I just pause and do them?!

Thursday Things I Love! (Salt and Pepper)

This week, you get two Thursday Things I Love for the price of one! Okay so I'm not charging you, but you get the idea.
Let's start with these. For Mother's Day my super-fab husband bought me the salt and pepper shakers that match our New Wave dishes.

I LOVE them!

And because I have them on the dining room table, I can now leave my other shakers on the stove within easy reach of any food I need to flavor.

But this caused another problem. The pepper mill was always dropping little black bits across the top of my white stove. Frustrating!

Thankfully -- I have a friend who is a ceramics wizard. Carrie made us this fabulous tray just for us.

The glaze is actually a lot more blue-green than it appears in these pictures and it works nicely with all the other blue in our kitchen and dining room.

Best of all, it works! No more continually cleaning up pepper for me! Thank you thank you thank you Carrie!