Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Penelope!

Posted on March 23, 2012

March 16th was Penelope’s 2nd birthday! I can’t believe my little buggy has grown up so fast! She is so much fun these days.  Lately she has realized that she was on the cusp of the big #2 and has been insisting she can do everything on her own. “no help mama! no help!” she will reply when I try to help her with any number of things including getting dressed, changing her diaper, going down steps. It’s really fun to see her growing in to such an amazing little girl, but at the same time she doesn’t realize that she still is very little and still does need mama’s help.  The most ironic thing to me is how once you are older (such as myself) and want the help from your mama, she may no longer be there to  give it.  Try explaining that to a 2 year old.

Her actual Birthday

Penelope spent her actual birthday with her Dada and I. We headed out to Red Robin for lunch, The Learning Palace for a gift of her choice (she chose these amazingly cute little Meerkat babies by Calico Critters) , Ikea for an art table and chairs for her room… then on to frozen yogurt! We ended the exciting trip with a trip to Safeway where she picked out a giant Hello Kitty balloon larger than her whole body! It was a super fun day full of spoiling my favorite little girl.

Her Birthday party

On Saturday the 17th we threw her a giant birthday party. It was held at Cory’s work, which is a super awesome, open loft-type of space. There were so many people there that I felt a bit overwhelmed but it was fun and all worked out in the end.  Penelope chose Dinosaur Train (PBS cartoon) as her theme.  If you know me well, I LIVE for things like planning themed birthday parties! Once she decided on her theme, I sat down and got right to work.

The Dress

 

The birthday girl MUST look very special on her big day. Since I enjoy sewing so much, I couldn’t buy a store bought outfit to put her in…and I wanted to follow the birthday theme to make it fun for her, so I made her a Buddy the T-Rex dress!  I even made her baby doll a matching dress for her birthday photo session.

The Decorations and Food

Everything at the party had to follow suit with the dinosaur theme!  I made paper flag buntings with dinosaur train pictures on them and strung them up around the venue. They were super easy to make! I simply cut out some triangles of scrapbook paper, glued on the printed out pictures that I purchased from a wonderful seller on Etsy and then sewed all the flags together to form a bunting.

I used my paper folding skills to create little red conductor hats that resembled the Train Conductors hat on the show. The kids looked so cute in them, although they didn’t keep them on for long!

I purchased plain orange paper bags from Party City and using some glue, scissors and scrapbook paper I transformed them in to cute little Buddy the T-Rex characters and filled them full of dino themed goodies such as finger puppets, stickers, bubbles and tattoos.

The food was just light finger foods, but I made sure to keep the theme up! The toddler friendly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were cut into Brontosaurus shapes using my friend’s awesome sandwich cutter.

The cupcakes were the funnest idea to come up with! I had some basic green frosted cupcakes that had white dots and some with spikey blue dinosaur-esque spines, and the most elaborate being little orange Buddy the T-Rex shaped cupcakes!  I used a round cake donut, cut off one of the edges, adhered it to the cupcake with frosting then dipped the whole thing in orange tinted, melted frosting.  I then used mini oreos, frosting and chocolate chips for the eyes and finished off with blue frosting stripes.  I was left with a cute little Buddy face staring back at me!

The Activities

Being that it was Penelope’s 2nd birthday, and small toddlers have the attention spans of an amoeba on a gnat, I decided to keep the games and activities light.  My awesome friend baked off tons of plain, yummy sugar cookies and I set up a table where the kids could decorate them with frosting and sprinkles. I pretty much had to pry Penelope away from the cookie table!

Next to the cookies I set up a coloring station with tons of crayons and printed pictures of Dino Train characters that I found on the PBS website.

Lastly, I found plastic bones at Party City and I hid them around the venue and told kids to hunt for dino bones while they were playing at the party.

That’s a Wrap!

In all, the party was a major success. Lots of fun was had, many presents were opened and Penelope was pooped by the end of the day. I can’t wait to see what challenge she has in store for me next year!

 

Posted in activities, Crafts, Paper crafts, Parenting, sewing, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Easter is hopping closer!

Posted on February 27, 2012

The sun is out, the birds are chirping and I can feel that Spring is near. Sure, it’s still much too cold to really play outside, but going to the store you can see that it is rather apparent….Easter will soon be here!

Along with the eggs, chocolate bunnies and ham dinners, parents everywhere are swarming to photographers for those springtime photo opps. I was lucky enough to receive a super fun custom order on my etsy shop for a little boys Easter picture outfit.  I adore making custom items. It’s so fun to have a client explain what they want and then make it come to life for them!  When I received the order for today’s work I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was going to give me creative freedom to pick out the right color choices for her. I gave her several options and she chose my favorite: bubble gum pink, butter yellow and a mod sky blue print.

I got to work and (thanks to Penelope’s long nap today) am almost finished up!

If anyone out there is looking for a cute spring themed outfit for their little one, please visit my shop! I have pages of ready to ship, adorable children’s clothing sizes 12 month-6years. I’m also able to custom make an item that you see on my page in colors of your choosing.  Check it out and have a wonderful March ;)

Posted in sewing | Leave a comment

Earth to Keelie….

Posted on January 26, 2012

“It’s your blog calling! I am feeling rather neglected as you haven’t came to visit me in such a long time?”

That’s right…once again I dropped the ball on blogging regularly. I admit full fault for it and as always I have a fabulous excuse (besides being a mommy to an almost 2 year old Penelope).  I was busy working! Yes, that’s right! WORK! Before you get too confused, yes, I am still a SAHM. However, I found a way to bring in a little extra income and have a lot of fun doing it.

Crafty Wonderland

Marmalade Forest booth

In December I had the honor of being chosen as a vendor for Portland’s “weird” craft bazaar, Crafty Wonderland.  I found myself busily sewing up a storm of winter hats, dresses and little vest and bowtie sets. There was little time for much else other than family care, household duties and sewing.

The event went swimmingly and I am pleased to say that my items (hats especially ) were a big success!  I plan on applying for the upcoming Spring show as well as next years shows.

So….what am I doing now?!?

Great question! I am currently gearing up to start my spring and summer line of kidswear and accessories. I am so excited to get a start on them.  I will be introducing some new designs such as a super fabulous and chic sunhat, a fun animal themed sunhat  and a nautical inspired line of beachy kids clothes that you won’t be able to resist! (or at least I hope you won’t…)  I am also currently looking to get my childrens wear into different local shops.  It seems to be a heavy and daunting task and I’m trying to figure out the best way to start. Sewing up racks upon racks of clothing while trying to enjoy the spring, and prepare for my daughters 2nd birthday and keep myself in good health, and, and, and….well you can see how that would be a little stressful. So, I am thinking that I may start with hats. Hats seem to be my biggest seller. They are fun, needed and the perfect price point for a little splurge. I figure if I can get my hats into some stores then perhaps as time passes by I will be able to go ahead and extend my line into clothing. It seems much more realistic and attainable for a busy mama like myself.  I have some great leads on shops, but I need to put together a wholesale packet before approaching them. I want to do this the right way, so I’m trying to be steady about it and not feel the pressure to do it NOW! Of course, that’s hard for my personality type, but I’m working on it.

That’s great but how do we buy your cute kids clothes RIGHT NOW?!?!

I am glad you asked! You see that link up at the top of my blog titled “shop”?  Just put your little mousey clicker on that word and clickety-click away. You will be taken to a magical land of Etsy shopping goodness where you can pick up adorable mod dresses, one of a kind vests and bowties and sparkly horned unicorn hats for your little ones(3 months to 6 years of age). I’m even going to sweeten it up for you more by letting you use my awesome 20% off coupon code good through March 15th.  All you have to do is shop and then type in CRAFTYW at checkout in the coupon code box provided. Simple!

The Princess has awoken from her nap and is beckoning me….until next time!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Super mom…or just super fortunate?

Posted on October 10, 2011

I am a busy stay at home mom.  Sure, I only have one kid and she is still only 18 months old and extremely manageable.  Yes, I have a small house that doesn’t take an abundant amount of time to clean. It’s even true that I have a wonderful husband who works hard every day so that I can stay home and not worry about trying to earn money and make ends meet. (He even goes so far as to say he doesn’t expect all the housework to be done everyday and that he will help with it once he gets home! I’m lucky right?)   All of the above could make me a very lazy person. I have all the time in the world to sit in front of the TV, to talk on the phone and to surf the internet.  I’m not saying that I’m never tempted to do those things, or that I don’t do them in moderation.  Heck! I even allow myself a lazy day once in a while, but I am just not the personality type to sit.  I am a stander, a do-er, a creator, a maker.  If you give me the time I will fill it up with something, whether it is something that NEEDS to be done or something that I FIND to do, it doesn’t matter. I like to stay busy!

I often hear from family and friends that I am amazing. (okay, before I go on I must type out this disclaimer: I am in no way trying to say myself that I think I am amazing. I am not one to gloat, in fact I am often told by people close to me that I am overly modest, so please note that as I write this post I feel very uncomfortable talking about myself in such a light. rant done.)Anyhow, I am told that it makes people tired to even read about all the stuff I do in a day. I am often given the title of Super Mom. (thanks everyone! It is maybe a little dramatic, but I really do appreciate that people notice how much I love my little girl).  Well I would just like to set the record straight!

I am not amazing. I am not Super Mom.  Here is a list of what I do believe I AM:

  • A woman who took four years, lots of doctors, a surgery and tons of stress to finally get pregnant.
  • A pregnant woman who injected a needle in my swollen belly every twelve hours for an entire year so that I could make sure my little girl was safe and would make it out into the world okay.
  • A mother who is so completely grateful for her little sweet girl because I thought I would never be able to have a child of my own.
  • A mother who realizes that every second of every day spent with my baby is the best way that I could be spending it.
  • A mother who wants the best for her child and will do all kinds of tiring work all day long to make that happen.
  • I am also a wife that loves her husband
  • A wife that understands how much he sacrifices to make our family life a good one
  • I am a wife that strives to be even half as wonderful as my husband is to me

I am the way that I am because I love my family. I want to give them the best of me.  I really appreciate all of the kind comments from people. I just hope others realize they are also Super Moms, just with their own list of reasons and their own way of showing their families how much they care. <3

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

In my shop…

Posted on September 22, 2011

I’ve always had a sort of love affair with the 1960s and it shows up in a lot of my work.  I like to create one of a kind pieces that can be cherished and passed along.
I try to use vintage and recycled fabrics as often as I’m able and because of this and the way I prefer to work, I don’t often offer up the exact same dress, outfit or accessory all that often. I like to change up the fabric choices and design details to make a truly special item.
With that said, I am not against taking orders for similar or like items to what you have seen in my shop.
Although making child sized frocks is my favorite pass time, I find myself being drawn to other art forms once in a while. Because of this you may find an array of accessories, paper art, plush toys and other odds and ends when my mind gets to cookin’!
Whatever you are searching for, I’m confident you will find whimsy in all that I create.

please click on “shop” in my menu to be taken directly to my store. =)

Posted in sewing | Leave a comment

The great hummus adventure!

Posted on August 16, 2011

I have been trying to find the perfect homemade hummus recipe for a while. I like my hummus to be light on the lemon and heavy on the garlic and I have yet to find that perfect balance, however with a little tweaking here and there I have stumbled upon a recipe that will get me by in the meantime.

Keelie’s current hummus recipe

You will need:

  • 1 can of garbonzo beans drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • dash of salt to taste
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic minced and/or roasted (I use more than this to really make it garlic ridden)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon parsley ( I use dried from my garden but you can use whatever)
  • 2 tablespoons of water (use what you need)

Directions:

in a food processor blend the garlic and garbonzo beans together until chopped up well. Add in the tahini and blend well. add in the lemon juice and dash of salt and blend well. Add in water carefully to get your desired consistency. If you are serving your hummus right away then you can plate it and drizzle the olive oil and parsley flakes on top. If you are making it to store then you can go ahead and blend in the olive oil and the parsley one last time through the food processor until it is creamy and smooth.

I like to bake some  cut up flour tortillas sprayed with cooking spray at 400 degrees for 4-5 minutes on each side and then I use them as the fancy little boat that sails the hummus into my mouth ;)

The great thing about hummus is that by tweaking one or two ingredients and/or adding in random things (ie kalamata olives or feta cheese) you can make it your own.  Eat up!

Posted in Cooking | Leave a comment

Lets monkey around!

Posted on August 15, 2011

I love crafting of all kinds and I am always super excited when I get a strange request to commission something out of the box.  I have done fabric dog Elizabethan collars, flower girl dresses made from heirloom wedding gowns and paper flower bouquets. This time however, the request was a bit more playful.  I was commissioned to make a jean jacket for a stuffed monkey.  A friends marathon team was themed as “Hangover 2″ after the movie, and they planned on running around with a monkey on their back (literally!) but they needed this monkey to wear a rolling stones jean jacket like the live monkey on the movie. This is where I come in….

Hangover 2 monkey

I took a look at the movie monkey to see what I had in store.  He wore a jean jacket with the sleeves cut off and frayed with silver studs and a rolling stones logo on the back. Not only did I get to make up a pattern and sew it together but I also got to embellish, draw and paint. It’s always a lot of fun when I use several different mediums in one project.

First I quickly drafted a pattern out of plain white paper and cut out my jacket pieces.

Next, I sewed all the pieces together to form the base jacket. Once this was done, I put on the studs and fur on the sleeves and did a quick freehand drawing of the Rolling Stones logo.

Once the logo was drawn on, I used acrylics to paint in the color.

Here is the monkey modeling his new duds!

My friend and her teammates were so pleased with the jacket that they have requested another one….so, here we go again!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Homemade Enchilada Sauce!

Posted on July 28, 2011

There are a few things that are “go to” recipes. It seems I usually always have the ingredients to make them, but sometimes I find that I am missing just one key ingredient and it drives me bonkers! One of these meals are enchiladas and the fleeting culprit is always the enchilada sauce.

It seems like I can never find the brand I want at a decent price when I want it and I must admit that I am a little bit of an enchilada sauce snob. There are several canned varities that I just can’t stomach, especially at the high prices they are charging.  Because of this, I went on aventure to find a homemade version and I was pleased to see how easy it was to make and how simple the ingredients were.

I tested out the new homemade concoction two nights ago and is passed with flying colors. Before you pick up the overpriced cans at the store again, think of trying out this recipe to spice up your meal!

Enchilada Sauce Recipe

  • 3 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1/8-1/4 cup chili powder (depending on the spicy level you desire)
  • 2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth for a vegetarian variety)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions:  heat oil in a saucepan. whisk in cornstarch and cook for one minute until its smooth. add chicken broth and cook over medium heat whisking all the while to ward off lumps. next add the spices and tomato sauce and continue to whisk until blended well. Bring to a boil for one minute then let simmer uncovered until sauce thickens.

I hope you all enjoy this sauce as much as we did! You can make it your own by adding more spices, green chiles, whatever your heart desires! I even made some homemade healthy tortilla chips to go along with! Look below for a quick rundown on how to make this side dish.

Healthy baked tortilla chips

preheat oven to 400.  take a pile (desired amount) of wheat, flour or corn tortillas. Cut them in to sixths (triangles). spray each side with cooking spray (or brush with oil) and lay flat on a baking sheet. Season as desired (I used seasoning salt) and bake for 5-6 minutes. They will turn slightly golden brown and the edges may curl a little. There ya go! delicious!

Posted in Cooking, Dinners, Saving Money | Leave a comment

A fish out of water!

Posted on July 26, 2011

Don’t worry, I will get back on track and start talking coupon talk again soon. I was a little distracted by family stuff, crafty stuff and of course Penelope. Not to mention that the stores are rewriting their coupon policies, making it difficult to get as good of deals as I was hauling in. All is not lost though…I’ll continue the coupon deal posts soon!

Today I wanted to give an update on my little buggy Penelope. She is growing so fast (16 months old now) and is changing every day. She has recently gotten four molars in and is chomping away on all kinds of new foods. Her favorite at the moment are frozen grapes.  They always remind me of my grandma. When my sister and I were small we would go to spend the night at her house and she would always have frozen red grapes in her freezer for us.  I’m happy to share that with Penelope now.

In addition to her new teeth she has also started spouting out all kinds of new words. She very politely says please (but it sounds like “peez”) and also asks for her juice by saying “Jush”.  Some other words she now says are: Yeah, No, Doggy, dada, mama, grape, snack, kitty cat, book, doll, baby, broccoli….honestly she says so many now that I can’t even remember them!  We recently started a swim class at the local community center. I felt it was very necessary to get her in the water on a regular basis as she seems to have an aversion to water on her face.  Last Friday was the final day and she was awarded an “Angelfish” certificate. The class went quite well. She still isn’t sold on having water on her face and she wouldn’t do a backfloat if it killed her, but I am super proud to say that she went down the waterslide on her own TWICE and didn’t cry!

Summer is just about half over and it has been a whirlwind of excitement so far. Between playdates, trips to the zoo and playing at our own house with sidewalk chalk, balls and bubbles we have found plenty to keep ourselves entertained. Off to some more summer adventures, catch ya later!

Posted in activities, Parenting, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Coupon deals! week 6/26- July 2nd

Posted on June 26, 2011

Okay! I’m back! So sorry that I missed a week of deals, but I was a vendor at Blythecon last Monday and the week got away from me a bit.

Albertsons

(in order to get these prices you must buy 10 participating mix and match items specified in their ad. here are a few good deals that you can use towards the 10. you must also be able to use a doubler for these deals)

Life cereal $1.99 w/ card -.75 ss coupon -.75 doubler = .49 cents

Cap n crunch or life cereal (must buy 2) $3.98/2 – $1.00  coupon (off box) – $1.00 doubler= $1.98/2 ($1.49 each)

Bulls eye BBQ sauce .79 w/ card -.50 ss coupon -.50 doubler = free plus YOU EARN .21 cents!!

Danimals dan-o-nino yogurt packs $2.00 each w/ card – $1.00 ss coupon -$1.00 doubler = FREE!  Buy 4 of these and get free gallon of milk! you can only use 3doublers in a transaction which means you cant double one of the 4 dannon coupons…so your total will look like this: $1.00 total for 4 dannon 6ct packs of kids yogurt and one gallon of milk  =)

 

Walgreens

blue diamond almonds BOGO $3.59 -.60 ss coupon -.60 ss coupon = $2.39/2 ($1.19 each)

Wonka cvandy bar $3/2 w/ card – BOGO coupon ss = $1.50/2 (.75 each)

Scotch packaging tape $3/2 -.50 ss coupon -.50 ss coupon= $2.00/2 ($1 each)

Scotch magic tape $3/2 -$1.00 coupons.com -$1.00 coupons.com = $1/2 (.50 each)

Little swimmers diaper $6.99 w/ card – $1.50 ss coupon = $5.49

Safeway

Colgate advanced total toothpast 4-6 oz $1.99 w/ card and 6/26 store ad coupon -$1.00 ss coupon -.50 doubler = .49 each!

Sweet baby rays BBQ sauce  $2.97/3 -$1/3 RP coupon -.50 doubler= $1.47/3 (.49 cents each!) must buy 3 for this deal

Rite Aid

Coppertone sunscreen $8.99 w/ card – $2.00 in ad coupon 6/26 – $1.00 ss coupon = $5.99

Xtra laundry detergent 68.75 oz  $3.98/2 – $1/2 ss coupon = $2.98/2 ($1.49 each)

Excederin 20-24 ct $1.99 w/ card -.75 = $1.24 each  then get $1 +UP back for next purchase so its like paying .24 cents each! (do this order first then use the $1 off towards your other rite aid purchases on this list)

Target

BIC disposable Flex 4 razors $4.49 on sale – $3 ss coupon= $1.49 each!

now get out there and get your deals on!!!

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment