Bit-O-Me

John 16:21 {Coralee's Birth}

2012-02-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

Before I had children I was terrified of childbirth. Seriously thought it might be something I wouldn't survive. That is, until I witnessed a natural childbirth with a midwife in a birth center. Calm, rested, happy mommy. Alert, baby placed on mommy's chest for warmth. Quiet, comfortable atmosphere. No beeping monitors. No bright lights. Yes, please!

Coralee's birth was hard work. It was painful at times. And in the thick of it I wanted out. But all those feelings vanished the moment her warm, fresh, little body entered the world and my arms. It's a mountain top feeling. That moment when you face the most challenging task of your life and win. A rush of emotion. A swelling of relief, pride, excitement. Witnessing the miracle of birth with a clear focused, awareness and full involvement of all your sense is a ride like no other.

A few photos from the ride that was Coralee. January 1, 2012.

It's a girl!

First kiss.

A proud, and very excited big sister says hello.

Coralee Ann Evans

2012-01-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

Our new baby girl. Born January 1, 2012. 8lbs 11oz. Happy and healthy!

Old House Update {Long Overdue}

2011-12-06T15:16:00.001-08:00

Working on this old house is a perpetual practice. It seems like the projects are unending, so often times months pass and the only difference is that the projects are in a different stage. Stages aren't as exciting as completed projects, but I guess it's just a matter of perspective. A new stage means something was completed. Here's is a glimpse of the projects and stages we've been working on since June. It's actually really exciting stuff!!!! Like the girls have moved into their own room and are enjoying an adorable bedroom that I'll be sharing in another post. We've ordered and received all the fancy plumbing fixtures for the TWO marble showers and claw foot tub. Plus, we bought two NEW toilets and found valves to attach rigid supply lines to the refurbished sink/faucets in our baths. A tedious process of taking the faucet bodies to plumbing supply stores and trying each and every valve in stock to find the perfect "unique" fit. Nothing is ever simple when "restoring" the old.

Let's start with the outside. The painting was completed in June, and I've been waiting to post pics because I had my fingers crossed for the storm windows, but that's another "stage." So, while the exterior is beautiful and fresh (especially decked out for Christmas) it just won't feel complete (to me) until the storm windows are in place. It's a constant inside/outside juggle. Work on the outside to protect our home. Work on the inside to make it more enjoyable.

Part of having the exterior repainted was replacing a couple of old exterior doors and installing a NEW set of french doors that let out into the back yard. A few before and after shots:

Interior shot showing the set of three windows that were were replaced by the new french door and transom.

Exterior shot of the same windows before door installation and paint.

Doors being removed and the installation of the new doors.

New doors trimmed and exterior paint complete. Future goal is to have a porch that these two doors let out onto. Just inside the french doors is the family room and inside the door on the right will be the guest room and office. To get to this "stage" Steven had to use his dad's tractor to remove concrete steps and a portion of the side walk so that fresh siding could be installed and the paint applied under the doors to protect the wood. These doors still need to be painted black like this one:

Pretty, huh? I LOVE how beautiful the black door looks against the Woodstock brown paint! Below a shot of the old door and paint. By the way, painting a door black is not easy or fun.

I was sad to see the old door go, but the weather stripping, operation and look of the new one is SO MUCH better. No 2 inch crack at the bottom of the door. No slamming. And it's prettier. We did save the door in hopes of using it for a shop door entrance. And I have plans for the door knob.

Restoring these exterior porch lights was another project we completed this summer. A cleaning and fresh coat of paint made these puppies shine.

Heading inside. Our time has been spent working on bathroom trim. Steven built custom chair rail trim for the master bath and we finished the final coat of paint last weekend. It looks simple, but the "stages" take time. Cut the wood. Route the wood. Measure, cut and install. Spackle, caulk. Primed twice, painted twice. Touch up and cutting in. Time, time, time. So pretty and well worth the effort. Feels so good to have ALL THE trim finished in the master bath.

In November we had the second marble shower installed in the guest bath. Same company as before. A before and after shot here. Hard too really get the full effect. It's a TINY bath.

Before shower. (To get to this stage Steven had to finish the plumbing for the shower. Trim back the bead board that had been installed and painted to accommodate the new shower size. And because we decided to have the shower go wall to wall, we had to move the light and exhaust fan switches to another wall. Which meant more tearing out to rewire and re-install. (See what I mean about stages).

After shower installation. I'm excited about the smooth surface of the cultured marble and hope it will be simple to keep clean. Heck, I'm just excited about a SHOWER! Since this photo, Steven has finished installing the beadboard above the shower and trimming out the bathroom. We are currently at the caulking/spackling/priming stage.

And finally an "accessory" project we've been working on. Steven's parents sold us this old iron bed for $20. We had the bed sandblasted and primed. In October Steven made the time to paint it and cut and install 2x4 cross bracing for the box spring and mattress.

We are now enjoying the new bed in our temporary bedroom. Hope to make this the guest bed once we move into our master bedroom. I think it turned out beautiful!

Last weekend, I put the final coat of trim on the window trim in this room and Steven installed a new curtain rod and curtains. It probably seems simple to you, but curtains are a major deal in this house. So fancy!

Stay tuned for plumbing installation and moving into our Master Bedroom. Hoping this all takes place before baby #3 makes his/her arrival, but I'm okay if it doesn't. We are more comfortable now than ever and are really enjoying this old house.

Super Hero Birthday Party Invitation

2011-11-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

Designed this Super Hero Birthday Party Invitation for a friend's little boy. Below are the cupcake toppers, party favor bag toppers and water bottle wrappers that I designed to match the invitation.

Fall Fun {Trains, Fly Fishing and a Corn Maize}

2011-11-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'm behind in my blogging. But I want to archive our fall trip so forgive me for posting "fall fun" a week before Thanksgiving.

Texas State Railroad
If you've never been on the "Rusk to Palestine" train (now known as the Texas State Railroad) you're missing out. Plus this is the most perfect time of year in Texas to enjoy this relaxing outing. Our trip corresponded with their Charlie Brown Pumpkin Patch weekend, thus the "Great Pumpkin" theme-appropriate, brown shirts on the girls that frankly were hard to make "girly." Adalyn's hair bow was a must!

Beavers Bend State Park - Oklahoma

Known for it's beautiful fly fishing river, Steven was excited to make the three hour drive from Tyler, north into the edge of Oklahoma. It was well worth the drive as we all enjoyed hikes along the river plus a paddle boat ride. We spent one night in a cabin there. Definitely a place to visit again.

Danville Corn Maize
My brother and sister-n-law were accommodating hosts and offered their spare bedroom to us during this long weekend. After our Oklahoma trek we met them at the Danville Corm Maize in Kilgore, TX. Sarah and Marin had a blast navigating the maze using age appropriate clues, while Adalyn and Joshua were content to forge new trails and play peek a boo in the corn. A perfect evening of fun. Marin wasn't crazy about the dome bouncer but I think Josh, Sarah and Steven could have stayed on all evening!

Felt Mermaid Tail Costumes {Halloween 2011}

2011-11-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Marin wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween this year so to simplify things, both girls were mermaids. The tails were inspired by this pattern I saw on the Miss Pretty Pretty Etsy store. She sells a pattern if you are interested. I loved her use of colorful felt and the concept of the tails attaching around the waist with velcro. I fashioned the mermaid tails from butcher paper and then cut from felt once I was happy with the size. I bought simple shirts and leggings and attached felt shell boobs. To make the headbands I cut seaweed shapes and starfish (stuffed with cotton) from felt attaching them with hot glue. If you'd like to make your own here is a template for the seaweed and starfish.

I just had to include this last photo, as this is often how Halloween and trick-or-treating feels. Just a rushed blur of kids running from house to house. Moms reminding them to "be careful," "watch for cars," "don't go inside anyone's home" and "SLOW DOWN." Tee hee hee. I'm so grateful to my sister-n-law Christy for escorting Marin most of the night. This seven month pregnant mama was content to sit with baby Adalyn on the hay ride eating skittles.

Multi-Arm Octopus Belly Mama

2011-10-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to take the girls out trick-or-treating this evening. This Multi-Arm, Octopus Belly Mama plans on escorting two addorable mermaids to tonights festivities. A simple costume made from felt and tape. Won second place at the office costume contest.

Pumpkin Carving Party 2011 {The Invitation}

2011-10-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

Eighth Annual?! What? Amazing...
This year's invitation features a colored pencil illustration created by my sweet and creative sister, Elizabeth Kielman. A whimsical, fun, design was just the thing I needed to get in the mood for this year's party. I'm crossing my fingers for a cool front and am looking forward to an evening of fun with friends and family.

Owl Bean Bag {Free Pattern}

2011-10-04T13:31:00.000-07:00

These owl bean bags were perfect for my friend's Owl Theme Birthday Party. I helped her make them and it was such a fun, easy project I thought I'd share a free pattern here on the blog for others to use.

I've create a two page PDF file with a basic pattern and very simple instructions. Click on the link below. Enjoy!
Owl Bean Bag Pattern

Today Is...

2011-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

During my PreK curriculum search I came across many ideas for teaching the concept of days, months, years and seasons to pre-schoolers. Not wanting to invest too much money in something that would be used just a short period of time I created this poster and had the blank "canvas" printed at a local print shop and then printed the various pieces, laminated them and added velcro dots. I thought this might be useful to others and so I'm sharing my files here. This design caters to my daughter, Marin, thus primarily pink design (sorry boys).

Blank 16.5" x 23" Poster
Day, Month, Year, Season, Weather Pieces

Owl Party

2011-10-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Darci threw her girls an adorable owl theme birthday party last weekend. Here are photos from the big day.

These unique owl smores were an original creation of Amy from Living Locurto. Tasty and cute, this theme appropriate spin on an cool weather treat, was a big hit.

Darci pulled inspiration and colors from these fabrics which were used to created banners, owl bean bags and we even used the fabric to line various dishes. The Brown Owl Fabric and Fruit Trees in Cream are both Timeless Treasures fabric designed by Alice Kennedy. The Tangerine-Full moon polka dot fabric is an Amy Butler design.

Oh and in addition to cupcakes and owl smores Darci made these tasty acorn cookies. Dandelions and Lace has a helpful tutorial for making your own. The owl bean bags were used as decoration and as part of a bean bag toss game. Kids were given chances to toss these owls into holes cut from a large wooden tree (created by Darci's husband). A fun filled activity for the kids.

No opportunity for adding an owl detail was missed. Even these drinking bottles were tagged with an owl label. The orange and white paper straws and paper flags were fun and matched the theme.

Enlisting the help of her 3 year old, Darci created these owl party favors. Made from butcher paper, shaped as owls, filled with trail mix and sewn shut with a sewing machine. A sweet, hand made touch and a great way to include the birthday girl in saying thank you to her friends.

A super cute candle moment from the evening.

No party is complete without an owl pinata. A special request by the birthday girl, who wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hit the owl once it came time for the big moment.

Hand colored owl bags were used to collect "owl guts" from the pinata.
A wonderful, party filled with fun, family and fine feathered friends.

Featured! {Special Baby Shower Gifts}

2011-09-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

The always popular Hunting Themed Baby Shower has been featured on Special Baby Shower Gifts. Thank you, Jami and Caryn for the exposure on your site. So well done and helpful for anyone interested in hosting a similar shower. I'm so happy that this unique theme is inspiring others!

While I Was Away, We’ve been busy…

2011-08-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

Eating nutritious meals for the new growing baby. That’s right baby number three is due Jan 8. Above is the 20 week ultrasound photo taken yesterday. Boy? Girl? You’ll have to wait until 2012 to find out.

Attending ballet class with Marin the Ballerina. This photo is from her first class.

Spending entirely too much time on pinterest.

Learning to eat with a fork.

Researching preK curriculum for Marin. Think I’ve settled on starting with this preK Scholars curriculum.

Filling out my Belly book for baby #3. My most treasured pregnancy possessions are my belly books. I’ve made it a tradition to buy every friend family member one of these upon hearing of her pregnancy.

Vacationing with Family in Wimberly, Texas.

Studying for the Captains exam at the fire station.

Reading the book Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Going to the theatre to watch the Winnie the Pooh movie.

Cleaning the floors in my house with this dandy Bissell steam mop I borrowed from a friend.

Pink Princess Bingo Party {The Game}

2011-07-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

This custom Princess Bingo set was designed for my daughters fourth birthday. The concept is simple. Playing with a bingo game based on an object and colors helps younger children enjoy the game. I ordered spinners for the circles from Board Game Design and printed the cards and wheels out on card stock. Pink M&Ms were the Bingo chips. We played at the party and each guest had a small take home set of their own as a party favor.

Pink Princess Bingo Party {The Party}

2011-07-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

These beautiful cakes were made by Granny (my wonderful, talented Mom) and were fit for a princess! The imperfections are because the four year old princess was involved in the decorations and had preferences as to where the wafers, marshmallows and red hots were placed. It's fitting that ice cream cones were used to create the towers as ice cream cones (minus the ice cream) are Marin's favorite snack when she is at Granny's house. My mom had seen the princess cake idea below and thought Marin would love it. After visiting with Marin about what she wanted for her birthday she insisted on a castle cake. So in true "Granny Fashion" Marin had TWO birthday cakes.

Loved the tiny paper flag at the top. Perfect addition.

The sugar cookies were made with cutters we found at Hobby Lobby. Princess crowns and magic slippers.

Hand made hat and wand (smile).

Party favors were these stripped water bottles and a princess hat for each little girl. The boys that attended were given the same bottle but in blue and a foam sword.

I created a custom Princess Bingo game for the party. Above are the prizes the kiddos chose from when they won a round of bingo. Marin's favorite candy (dum dums), glow in the dark stars, princess stickers, tiny princess crowns and dress up rings.

I had a poster size print of the bingo circle printed at a local print shop and glued it to a piece of foam board. The spinner was a piece of the foam board covered in black paper attached to the board using a game size spinner that I ordered from Board Game Design. Worked fairly well. Each of the kids were also given a set of two bingo cards and their own spinner to take home for more princess bingo fun.

I splurged and purchased bottles of Lorina Sparkling Pink Lemonade from World Market. I have a serious addiction to that stuff!

Activities for the kids included this cardboard coloring castle from Hobby Lobby and the Princess Crown Pinata, also from Hobby Lobby.

It was a magical evening filled with family and close friends. What a blessing to watch my beautiful Marin grown into a lovely princess.

Pink Princess Bingo Party {The Invitation}

2011-07-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

See this little cutie? Well on Tuesday she celebrated her fourth birthday. The photo below is of her the day we delivered her birthday party invitations (above). I wanted the invitation to feel like a royal decree from Princess Marin. So we slid a red and white paper straw through the top and rolled them up securing the message with a red ribbon. Marin LOVED hand delivering the invitations. She didn't know or care that mommy had waited until the LAST minute (sheepish grin).

Pineapple Salsa

2011-07-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Dole.

Made Pineapple Salsa for the first time last week. It was a big hit and I wanted to archive it here on the blog.

Pineapple Salsa

2 cups chunk pineapple (drained)

¼ cup pineapple juice

½ cup finely chopped Red Bell Pepper

¼ cup finely chopped Green Bell Pepper

1 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion

2 Tablespoons cilantro or parsley

2 Tablespoons chopped jalapeno chilies

Custom Medicine Cabinets {The Final Product}

2011-06-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

So, I don’t even want to think about how long it took us to wrap up this project, but I AM relieved and excited to say they are finished and we LOVE them! The staining portion of the project was a nightmare. Trying to stain wood an espresso color is impossible for a novice (me) and so being the smart woman that I am, after multiple layers of stain attempts, I begged Steven to take them to a professional. In the end, “Fine Touch Refinishing” in Beaumont, Texas provided us with a beautiful, sealed, espresso finish on both cabinets. A huge relief and a lesson learned. There are some things that should be left to the experts!

Once the cabinets were returned, we had glass shelves cut and ordered these Glass retainers and glass retainer clips from Rockler to mount the mirrors. The antique knobs and hinges that we saved from the old cabinets were installed and Steven mounted the cabinets and lights to the wall.

Our custom cabinets turned out beautifully and I think this seemingly small project embodies how we approach The Old House. We want to preserve antique elements in our home, but also see the advantages to new things. Thus we saved the hinges, knobs and mirrors from the old cabinet and based the new cabinet design on old dimensions and design. Goodbye lead pained cabinet. Hello espresso stained cabinet. We invested time in cleaning and refurbishing the hinges which many called us crazy for doing. We often try to do most of the work ourselves, but we also know when we’ve given the project our best shot and we aren’t afraid to call on professionals. We have expensive taste and are willing to wait to have what we really want. We could have run down to Lowes and bought a standard vanity light for the cabinets, but we/I have an appreciation for old and refurbished light fixtures so, we saved our money and waited to buy these Rufus light fixtures from Rejuventation. We are never sad when we save and wait. It’s not easy and it takes longer, but the end result always makes us happier. That’s why a medicine cabinet project that could have taken just a few months took many months. And on a grander scheme that’s why this project of remodeling our old house takes so long. We’re picky, we prefer to pre serve within reason and we’re patient (well, that part is a work in progress). Maybe I should have said we’re learning to have patience. Next up? Trimming out the bathroom. You guessed it…custom trim!

Featured! {Karo's Fun Land}

2011-06-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

Special thank you to Karolina for the feature on her blog Karo's Fun Land. Adalyn's first birthday party is getting some great coverage in the blogosphere!

Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails {The Party}

2011-06-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

Remember the set of baby shower designs I created for the "Snakes Snails and Puppy Dog Tails" shower? Well, my friend Melinda sent me photos from the shower and so I thought I'd share a few here so that you could see the party elements in use. She did such a great job with the color scheme and coming up with a display that says "baby boy." Enjoy!

Woodstock Brown

2011-06-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

What color are we painting the outside you ask? James Hardie Woodstock brown with Cobblestone trim and black accents. Coming to this confident decision was a long time coming and NOT and easy one to make. In February of last year when I went to visit Tasha in Virginia I spotted this house and fell in love with the color.

Tasha and I tracked down their mailing address and when I got home I composed a letter to the home owner asking if they would divulge the color of their home. Well, the letter came back as "undeliverable." So, I held on to the note and when Tasha came to visit Texas in October, I asked if she would just drop it in their mail box. Then one year later in March of 2011 the home owner responded and shared with us that it was a James Hardie siding color called Woodstock Brown! Thrilled that we had solved the mystery I requested samples of the siding from James Hardie. Lucky us, the paint our contractor is using (PPG) had code numbers on file for this color. After a color match to be sure it was what we liked a decision was made!
Here is the same house in the summer. Note the color changes depending on the lighting.

And finally the drawing I did of the outside of our house so that we could play with color combinations and accent color ideas. Do you approve? Hope so, cause we ain't changin it! What if I hate it?! Yipes...

Exterior Paint {End of Day 9}

2011-06-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Brace yourself for the UGLY (wonderful) progress! Nine working days into the project they are STILL scraping and grinding. The dentil has been added to the gable ends and Steven has finished 90% of the exterior washing. Plus he's removed all the ornamental brick from around the base of the house to help with ventilation. The custom lattice work we ordered from Acurio Latticeworks will ship on Thursday and arrive next week.

Senior Portraits {All Boys}

2011-06-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

I rarely take photos of boys. Most often it's families, pregnant women or my little ladies. So when I had three male, senior photo shoots and my brother's nursing school graduation shots I was out of my comfort zone. All that said, I think the photos turned out pretty good and I had a lot of fun with these crazy, creative seniors. A few of my favorites below.

Featured! {Sara's Party Perfect}

2011-06-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Adalyn's first birthday party was featured on Sara's Party Perfect! So excited!

Exterior Paint {End of Day 2}

2011-05-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

These pictures are for Steven. Poor guy had to work a double shift at work and hasn't seen the progress here on North Street. The foreman for the job informed me today that he has bought every wire brush in Livingston, Texas. I laughed and he said "I'm serious." When I asked if he needed anything he said "well, just a big ole' bucket of patience." It's really HOT, hard work scraping the exterior of an old house when it's 95 degrees out. SO GLAD we are paying him to do the work!

Goodbye Old Paint {Time for Some Curb Appeal}

2011-05-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Four men have surrounded my house armed with paint scrapers and electric powered wire brushes. The scraping and banging is like beautiful music. “Goodbye Old Paint….”

Adalyn's First Birthday {The Party}

2011-05-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Adalyn's first birthday party was on Mother's Day. Don't ask me why I thought that was a good idea. Everything came together beautifully and all of our family was there, but it felt almost like a blur. I just tried to cram too many things in one very special day I guess.

The theme for Adalyn's birthday is depicted in the following two photos. SHE LOVES GLASSES but, isn't allowed to play with them. So what would be better than celebrating "your special day" by playing with everyone's glasses and not be scolded for it!

I purchased the polka dot, paper portion cups from In The Clear an Etsy shop with a unique selection of party supplies and filled them with red, green, blue and yellow fruits.

My friend Melinda had a stock pile of Starbucks cappuccino bottles that she let me borrow for the party. I used colored electrical tape around the tops of the bottles for people to write their names on and found color coordinating paper straws at Garnish.

Guests were asked to wear glasses to the party and if they forgot a jar full of plastic party glasses were available with a sign that read: "Make this baby smile. Wear glasses."

These traditional sweet shop paper bags came from In The Clear as well. I folded them so that they mimicked a party hat and designed stickers to seal them closed.

The cake was my design, but was executed by Bonnie Baxley of Livingston, Texas. The design was based on the party invitation and I think Bonnie did an excellent job! I made the paper faces and the tiny felt hats for the top and we used an extra pair of the glasses to accent the top. The faces were printed on edible paper at Walmart (gasp). They charged me $6.50 for a letter size sheet.

Adalyn wasn't quite sure about eating the cake and probably had more fun mashing it with a plastic spoon. After a bit of coaxing from Daddy and Aunt Christy she ate a little.

The party hats were the economy paper hats from Party City embellished with tissue paper pom poms that I made using this fabric flower pattern. This photo of Julia and Marin is one of my favorite photos from the afternoon. TOO CUTE!

Can you tell we were having fun?

Baby A and her new caterpillar from Aunt Leesa.

And finally my crazy family who enthusistically made the theme come to life. It was a VERY HAPPY birthday party for Baby Adalyn.

FREE Download: Glasses Sticker I designed for the Party are here.
I printed these on Avery 8165 full sheet lable paper and cut them out (just follow the grey outline). Enjoy!

Adalyn's First Birthday {The Invitation}

2011-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

In brainstorming ideas for Adalyn's first birthday I tried to think of things that she loves. Most things that came to mind were, digging in the trash, unrolling the toilet paper and loud squealing sounds. None of which inspired a party theme...until....I saw her reaching for Granny's glasses and the idea hit me, a "Baby Loves Eye Glasses" party. What would be better on "your special day" than being allowed to play with everyone's glasses and not get into trouble! Perfect. I found plastic party favor glasses from Party City in the 25cent party favor bin and the invitation design began to evolve.

The words around her face are lyrics from the song "Glad that You Were Born" from the play "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." The lyrics made the theme come to life by putting emphasis on her eyes and the celebration of her birth.

The top inside panel reads: "Silly or serious, shiny or flat wear glasses to the party and we'll provide a hat!" The invitations made it through the mail and yes I did have to pay a bit extra for the postage, but it was worth the effort to have something so unique, fun and colorful.

Summer Fun

2011-05-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening the girls and I spent time outside. I cleaned up in the yard and watered while the girls enjoyed a little water fun for the first time this season. Marin is much more interested in the sprinkler this year and actually jumped over it without my coaxing. And even though the pictures don't seem to show it, Adalyn doesn't mind water in her face at all. Have I mentioned that my girls are totally opposite of each other? A few pics from our evening.

Washgravel Paver Patio

2011-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Our friends had 80 wash gravel pavers that they were getting rid of and offered them to us. We've always envisioned a small patio just outside the backdoor. We've never been successful in getting grass to grow well there and also thought our summer al fresco dinners might be more enjoyable if we didn't have to trek to the front of the house and were able to go from the kitchen to the back patio in just a few steps. So my handy, talented husband borrowed his dad's tractor and spent a couple days working dirt around to fill this old hole and leveling out the patio site!

Over the next few days he loaded and unloaded the pavers, leveled and smoothed, tweaked, stood back and stared, adjusted and tweaked (did I already say tweaked? well, it's appropriate to list that twice because boy did he TWEAK).

He finished the last of the sand Wednesday just before a nice rain. All that tweaking paid off, because today, it's perfect.

Now for the fun part. Shopping for an Iron bench, planting something new in the flower bed and smoothing out the dirt around the patio so that the grass grows up to it. Looking forward to enjoying this space during the summer evenings that are upon us. Thank you, Steven. and Thank you, Ricky and Dana for the pavers!

Flower Show and Tasting Tea {Family Tradition}

2011-05-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Annual Polk County Garden Club's Flower Show and Tasting Tea were in April. Attending the event together has been a tradition Mom and I have held for years. I'm now sharing the outting with my girls. This was Adalyn's first time and Steven joined us too. Below are photos from our outting. And here is a link to Marin's first Garden Club Tasting Tea in 2009. My how much she's grown. And this year she was just as excited about the butterfly stamp as she was the first time.

Granny's arrangement. She got second place for the room her arrangement was in.

Angelina College Nursing School Graduate {My Brother Daniel}

2011-05-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

I took photos of my brother Daniel for his graduation announcements. My family and I are super proud of his accomplishment and are excited to see what the future brings for Daniel. Pictures of Daniel at this stage in life wouldn't be complete without his faithful companion, Flea. You wouldn't believe the noises I had to make to get that Dog's attention for photos. If you thought taking pictures of a kid was hard, try a dog!

Love you Daniel!

Easter Sunday

2011-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

Scenes from our Easter Sunday. Family photos in Granny's backyard. (Thank you Katherine!)

Bunny's third birthday. For a flashback moment visit this post of Marin and Bunny, Easter 2009.

Bunny cupcakes complete with cotton candy tails. Inspired by One Charming Party's Bunny Party.

Such a beautiful, blessed day full of music, worship, sunshine and family. Thank you Jesus.

Fabric Easter Basket {Moda Bake Shop Recipe}

2011-04-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Saw this adorable fabric basket pattern two years ago and thought "hey! That's cute. How hard could it be?" Let me just start by saying I love to sew and I rarely get angry when sewing, but chica, hand sewing six yards of fabric covered piping together, by hand, is FOR THE BIRDS. Yours truly began this project the Sunday before Easter. With pipping and fabric in hand I sewed together the strips of fabric from a Moda Scrap Bag that my friend Angie gave me and began wrapping the piping. Two hours later I had seven yards of fabric wrapped piping and DOUBT that I'd ever finish the project loomed in the back of my mind. Tuesday evening I pulled it out to begin hand sewing it together. About 30 minutes later I was FINSIHED. DONE. Not complete, mind you, but FINISHED. No way in the world was I going to finish the basket before Easter, so I placed everything neatly in a ziplock bag and put it in the box marked "things to give away."

Friday afternoon my mom came over and asked how the fabric basket was coming along. I sheepishly pulled the ziplock bag out of the box and told her I was DONE. After showing her the tedious process of HAND stitching the sucker she suggested hot glue. UREKA!!!!!! And there you have it, 45 minutes later we had a finished, ready for Easter, Fabric Easter basket. Ta Da. Enjoy looking at these people, because THIS blog will never feature a project like this ever again.

Easter Fun {Dying Eggs}

2011-04-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Finding time for FUN the in the week leading up to Easter was challenging. That's why I'm so super proud of having pulled this simple egg dying activity together for Marin and her friend Hannah. A special thank you to my mom for making very one of their egg decorating ideas come to life even if that meant multiple layers of dye and paint.

Marin LOVED the face stickers that I bought. It was a simple way for her to decorate the eggs. Her favorite face was the princess one below (of course).

The two eggs above were created by coloring on the egg with a white crayon before dying and then we colored between the lines with Q-tips soaked in food coloring. They remind me of a child's drawing.

Spring Vacation {Virginia and Washington DC}

2011-04-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

A few photos from our trip to Virginia and Washington DC. Spent 10 days with my parents and our friends Tasha and Steven. Amazing trip with such beautiful sites and moving historial places. Choosing just a handful of pictures was difficult, but I thought these summarized the get away.

Mt Vernon (George Washington's Home)

Shenandoah National Park

Saw all of the Washington DC monuments in one day.

Fun in Fredricksburg, VA

Gardens at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home)

Enjoyed shopping, cooking and eating dinner with our friends.

Took advantage of serendipitous moments like this outdoor carnival themed ice cream café.

And a dream come true for me...the Washington Cheery Tress in their peak blooming period.

An unforgettable family vacation...

It's Spring {Texas Blue Bonnets}

2011-03-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like snapping pics of your babies in a field of Texas Blue Bonnets. The pink dogwood tree bloom pictures are so lovely. It's Spring!

Marin's First Book {She Reads!}

2011-03-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'd like to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to place this monumental event in the timeline of my blog world and recognize the accomplishment of my eldest daughter, Marin Evans. She read her first book: "Mat" and loved it.

The Bob Books series was money well spent. Simple, stories based on simple vowel sounds that add new letters and words as you progress. Plus Marin loves the simple, silly illustrations.

Egg Theme Maternity Shower

2011-03-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm fortunate to have a good, on-going relationship with two childhood friends. We've know each other since we were six or seven and growing up we were often referred to as "the three amigos." Well the third amigo is pregnant with her first baby and in keeping with a tradition that WE created we hosted a Maternity Shower in her honor.

What's a Maternity Shower? It's the brain child of Tasha Carter Marsh who can be quoted as saying "the best thing about being pregnant is shopping for cute maternity clothes. Krystina, when you get pregnant I'm going to throw you a party so you'll be the most stylish mama on the block." And she did! My best wardrobe is my maternity collection. The first ever Maternity shower was hosted on March 4, 2007 for yours truly. Tasha's was on September 7, 2009.

Here is an overview of the small brunch gathering we had to celebrate the "Eggscellent News" that Sarah is "Eggspecting a baby."

She Finger Paints!?

2011-03-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe you don't realize what a BIG deal this is, but Marin painted with her FINGERS. My Marin, the one who has a conniption if the paint colors mix, or if she has to use a paint brush that doesn’t match the paint color, used her fingers to SMEAR paint and had a blast doing it. This gal is a painter from way back. Check out her photos from August of 2009. Amazing how much she's changed.

Felt Birthday Hat {For Miranda Panda}

2011-03-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

I created this custom, felt birthday hat for Miranda's first birthday. My best friend Tasha chose a panda theme party for her baby girl's birthday. Little ones LOVE to play peek-a-boo, so I thought it would be fun to have the panda on her hat play peek-a-boo.

This is the fourth felt birthday hat I've designed. An enjoyable craft. Can't wait to make one for baby A. Here are the other hats I've created.

Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails {Baby Shower Design}

2011-03-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

Pieces from another baby shower freelance project for a friend. Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails themed shower. Hoping she will share pics from the party

Sure! I can Shirr!

2011-03-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

I’ve been eyeing this ADDORABLE sun suit on Made By Rae. But have been hesitant because it required skills in applying snaps and shirring. After a few helpful tutorials and an evening and afternoon of sewing, this mama churned out THREE shirred outfits. Two sun suits and a dress for Marin.

The best part of shirring? Watching the fabric magically shrink when water and steam are applied (totally neato). ALMOST makes hand winding a bobbin worth it….almost.

Old House Update {Master Bath Shower}

2011-02-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

It's here! It's Up! And it's Beautiful!

After so many years of saving and waiting, it feels odd to walk in the bathroom and see a HUGE cultured marble shower in the corner. When giving friends and family the "house progress tour" I won't have to hold my arms out to the side, and spin around saying "and this is where the shower will go" because it's HERE!

Ready for the installation step by step?

Saturday Steven finished the wall prep work. Adalyn and Ricky were his supervisors.

Workers built a form from wood, added a liner and filled it with sakrete.

Marble base added.

One wall with the accessory center hole cut.

Both walls up. Only trim is lacking on the right.

TaDa!

The crew from R&D Marble in Willis Texas handled the installation. They'll be back on Monday to install the corner seat. We went back and forth about that seat. Only old people use seats in the shower right? Then I decided that shaving would be easier AND a shower might be more relaxing for my future prego self too. So, corner butt seat it is!

Next step the faucet and then the glass.

HAPPY Valentine's Day Cards

2011-02-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'd seen last Valentine’s day where these “sucker cards” were made by photographing your child with their fist outstretched. Two simple cuts later, the sucker is inserted and it gives the impression of them handing the receiver a lollipop. I was overcome by how CUTE it was and filed it away in the “maybe I'll do that next year” file. So, the morning I took Marin and Adalyn out for photos I secretly had the idea in the back of my mind. Well, none of the fist pictures turned out right so this is a variation of the idea, which in the end I think I like better. Makes Marin look like the luckiest gal in the world!!!! Lollipops the size of your head! Can you imagine?! (tee hee hee). She chose to give out Dum Dums because they are her favorite candy.

We spent Saturday evening putting these together for her friends. Cutest moment was the first cut with the exacto knife. She was SHOCKED that I was going to cut her!!!! “Oh, Mommy, don't hurt Marin!!!” It took me proceeding with the cuts and inserting a sucker to convince her that she really would like the final product.

Oh, sweet, cute, happy Marin. I love you.

Fluffy Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies {Valentine's Day}

2011-02-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the shiny food pictures. I HATE shiny food pictures. NO BODY wants to eat food that's photographed with a glare, not to mention wrapped in saran wrap. BUT, I was desperate. It was 6 a.m. and I had a nine month old supervisor carefully overseeing my efforts from her orange Bumbo seat. My photography time was limited! The project had to be complete, wrapped and ready for its recipient before he got up for the morning.

So, just imagine that the chocolate is smooth and the marshmallow cream is soft and puffy and that the oatmeal cookies (minus the raisins) are browned to perfection.

The recipe is a Paula Deen recipe so yes, the list of ingredients begins with TWO sticks of butter. A decadent valentines day desert for my valentine. Making them heart shaped was my idea. Turned out rather well. Worth all the effort (I think).

What's inside? Melted chocolate morsels, fluffy marshmallow cream and roasted pecans.

Here is my version of the recipie. You can find it on the Paula Deen website as well:

Ingredients

1 cup butter, about 2 sticks, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
Semi sweet Chocolate morsels melted
Marshmallow creme, as needed (recommended: Fluff)
Chopped roasted pecans (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 or 3 baking sheets or line with silpats.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg and the milk and beat until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add the dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating until incorporated. Stir in the oats. Form the cookies by dropping heaping 2 tablespoonfuls of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet, spacing evenly.

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 11 to 13 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread a small dollop of the fudge on the inside of 6 cookies. Spread a large dollop of the marshmallow creme on the inside of another 6 cookies. Sandwich the cookies together and transfer to a serving platter.

As a special treat for Steven, I added chopped, roasted pecans to the marshmallow cream side of the cookie before sandwiching them together.

Adalyn {Eye Candy Actions}

2011-01-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

Encase you didn't know, my husband is wonderful.

For Christmas he bought me a set of PhotoShop actions that I've been eying for a year. Sheye Rosemeyer's Eye Candy Actions. Just wouldn't let myself spend the money. Yep, that's right, he had to find the blog, figure out the name of the set, purchase, download and store the files on my computer. And that's where I found them, on my desktop with a star icon that said "Merry Christmas."

So, since Christmas I've been dying to take photos of Adalyn and Marin in early morning sun. Not easy to do with two little ones to dress (warmly). Here are Adalyn's pics. Marin's will come later. Can you believe my Baby A is almost 9 months old!?

New Releases or Lasting Investments

2011-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

One evening last week, my newly married sister called to chat. She filled me in on her life and activities while I scurried around the house picking up toys, folding clothes and putting away dinner. She was asking about destination ideas for their anniversary (she's a planner) and that lead to a conversation with me reminiscing about the first seven years of my marriage. (Let's call them the childless years.) Oh, those childless years! Steven and I were on the go! We camped, hiked, traveled and dinned. Boy did we blow some MAJOR money on food and fun. It’s those major activities that I remember so well, but what about the daily life stuff? I found myself saying to my sister “I'm not sure what I did in the evenings before we had kids!” Then I remembered: MOVIES. If there was a new release we would have seen it and most “normal” weekends were spent enjoying dinner and a movie. So I adamantly told her “Watch movies while you can because before you know it, you'll be picking up toys every evening wondering what you once did with your free time.”

That conversation has been on my mind this week.

Working from home full time, I’m here with the girls most days, but I’m working, so I ache to have FUN with them in the evenings. After a grocery store run I pulled up in front of the house and asked Marin “what would you like to do together, that’s FUN?” She contemplated this and to my surprise she asked to make a cake. That request meant that we’d have to return to the store for the ingredients, (with a sleeping baby) but I was so determined to spend a fun evening together, we did just that. Leaving the store for the second time, Marin carried a shopping bag filled with a boxed cake mix, pink icing and sprinkles. For the next hour and a half I walked her through the steps of making cupcakes. We turned the oven to 350 degrees, placed cupcake liners in the cupcake pan, measured out a cup of water and a third cup of oil. She was fascinated and excited about each step and I was having a blast watching her learn. Her enthusiasm about mixing batter, joy from licking the spoon and curiosity with the rising cupcake batter was HANDS DOWN better than any new release movie I watched during the “childless years.”

Watching a new release is still a treat I enjoy today, but investing time in the nurturing of my child or any other human for that matter is an investment with a lasting return.

Old House Update: Daddy's Helper

2011-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

January first was a fresh start on house work. Nothing much happens to this old house during the months of October, November or December. The holidays are much to fun to spend time painting. However, this year we did have the medicine cabinets professionally stained and I hope to have pictures to post once we get them hung. Just piddling with those is about all we did during the holidays.

That said, January was a VERY productive month. Steven finished ALL of the trim in the room, including the baseboards and as of Sunday, it's all painted. It's sorta shocking to be this close!

These photos of Daddy's little helper were just too cute not to share. Adalyn is the complete oposite of Marin. If there is something dangerous in the room, she goes for that first. Her next item is typically something that will make a HUGE (scary) mess. And despite being continuously told "No, no, Adalyn" she remains cheerfully, persistent!

Vegemite T-Shirt

2011-01-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

For Christmas we drew names. I drew my sister-n-law Sarah who: Loves God, Vegemite and Puns. So, I designed this t-shirt as a Christmas gift for her. She got a kick out of it and that made me very happy. Thought I'd share this for all you Vegemite fans out there! Seriously, have any of you even tasted Vegemite? If not, toast a piece of bread and slather it on. Everyone should try it once.

Oh, and here is a Zazzel model showing you how cute the shirt looks on a body. Irena (yes, Zazzel gives their online models names) was the closest I could find to matching Sarah. Plus I thought her expression was funny! "Vegemite....ummmmm"

Bit-O-Me Featured!!! {Katie Grace Designs}

2011-01-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

My Hunting Baby Shower was featured on this super fun blog last week. Visit Katie Grace Designs for unique and fun party inspiration!

What I've Been Up To: Baby A

2011-01-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

My Baby A won't be a baby much longer. It's amazing to see her grown and develop. I swear everything is happening much faster with Adalyn than it did with Marin. Why does time move so quickly? Little A is no longer content to be on all fours, she wants to stand. And stand she does! Her favorite places practice her new skills are on the outside edge of the bath tub, on Marin's chair at the table and my leg, anytime she can catch me standing still.

She has added four words to her verbal skills. The first, "aGuh" has no meaning, but she LOVES to say it over and over and over. The next word she shared with us was "Bye, Bye" and yes, she waves (warm fuzzy feelings). Next, of course, was "DaDaDaDa" because she is a daddy's girl and for the very first time TODAY, she called for "MaMaMaMa"!!!!!

During the month of December she cut seven teeth and met Santa Clause.

And this post wouldn't be complete without sharing this beautiful photo of Adalyn with her Paw Paw Benny whom she LOVES. She always has a ready smile for Paw Paw and loves to hear him sing. Not sure who loves who more, but there is a definite chemistry there and it brings me such joy to watch them.

What I've Been Up To: My Marin

2011-01-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

This blog is called "Bit-O-Me" for a reason. There are many things that make up a life and this blog is a place to share those many things in mine. Mothering is one of the bigger bits. So, the next two posts are going to be a recap on my girls. Maybe it will give you glimpse into what we've been up to during my blogging absence.

Photography
When your child's curiosity is piqued by a new hobby, it's quite hard not fill your hard drive with every crazy snap shot. I've resisted the urge to keep every blurry pic, but I'm really loving these abstract photos she captures by holding the camera too close to an object. I'll not torture you with more, but I find these bright colors inspiring.

Flower girl extraordinaire!
In December Marin fulfilled her role as flower girl for the third time this year! Yes, I said third. And yes, I made two of the three dresses. Otherwise I think we'd need to start buying stock in David's Bridal! Do you know how much people will pay for a flower girl dress! (yipes). Marin loves to dress up and is enamored with princesses, but she isn't keen on having her picture taken by a stranger in environments she isn't comfortable in. SO, needless to say, she's wonderful at wearing pretty clothes and dropping flower petals, but smiling for the camera...not so much.

September 2010

July 2010

But SEE, if I ask her to put on a dress and smile...

Or if you have cows she can look at while wearing a pretty dress...

Christmas To say Marin LOVED Christmas this year is an understatement. We listed to Kids Christmas music every time we got in the car and "Jingle Bells" was her favorite HANDS DOWN. She even wrote her own version of the second verse. Jingle Bells has a second verse? Yeh, who knew? (A day or two a grow, I taught I'd take a ride, soon this banny bod, was seated by my side, what you say is say, what you see is day, I got into a chickamix and we got outside....ohhhhhhh!!! Jingle bells, Jingle bells...)

Christmas lights were facinating to her and we spent many an evening driving around to see them. Even ride them! I bombarded her with ways to learn the real meaning of Christmas, and found the most effective were this Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set and the movie The Very First Noel. While playing with the nativity set she insists in calling Joseph "God." The father figure in the scenario can be a bit confusing. She'll learn.

Christmas morning we enjoyed the company of this smiling little lady who is thrilled with the world when she is eating pancakes and wearing anything to do with Dora the Explorer.

Advent Calendar {Spice Tins}

2010-12-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, it's December 14th. A bit late for sharing my advent calendar, but well, that's life. My blog isn't the only thing that's neglected. You should see my eye brows! But things are changing, tonight I'm updating the blog. And who knows what tomorrow might bring for my face!

My friend Angie shared this Glittered Magnetic Advent Calendar from Martha Stewart which inspired this year's advent calendar. You might remember my "Advent Forest" made of paper truffle boxes last year. The paper boxes were fun, but I was looking for something more durable. And plus, who wants to do the same thing two years in a row? Gotta change things up, people. So...this year, we went PINK. Yes, that's right, with two little girls in our world now, most everything is pink. I purchased a pink artificial Christmas tree and ornaments to match. Each of these spice tins holds about three tiny ornaments. I purchased the spice tins from Specialty Bottle. The quality was wonderful and they arrived quickly! Each day Marin opens a metal tin and adds new PINK ornaments to her PINK tree. She L.O.V.E.S it! However, her Daddy and I want to throw all 25 tins out the window each time they come clattering off of the refrigerator. Yes, that's right, these pictures make the idea look and sound perfect, which it would be IF I would have used stronger magnets for the backing. I just used magnetic tape on the back and let me tell you, it's NOT strong enough. So, modifications need to be made, but who has time for that? Until next year, we'll enjoy the sounds of Marin's excitement about opening a new "number" (as she says) and the clatter of metals tins falling to the floor each time the fridge door is shut just a tad too hard.

Giraffes and Tutus {First Birthday Invitation}

2010-12-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

I was hired by a friend to design a birthday party invitation for her daughter's first birthday. I'd never heard of a Giraffes and Tutus themed party, but LOVED the idea. The invitation design is mine, and I recommended that she order the giraffe print lined magenta envelopes from Mountain Cow. I also designed cupcake toppers and food marker cards. I asked my friend to share photos of the party and hope to post them for your viewing pleasure. Such a fun theme! Thank you, Jackie for allowing me to be a part of such an exciting milestone for your family!

Hunting Theme Baby Shower {The Main Event}

2010-12-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

The Hunting Themed Baby Shower was on Saturday. Here are photos from the day. I thought everything turned out wonderfully and I had so much fun working with the mom to be and her family! And while I was out of my "realm" working with a hunting theme, in the end I really had fun! I couldn't find ANYTHING on the internet partaining to a Hunting Themed Baby Shower, so I'm hoping that this post will inspire others looking for a similar theme. I heard one guest at the shower say "I think the camo themed party is on the up and up." I laughed to myself. Seriously? Or just in east Texas?

These mobiles were ADDORABLE and fairly simple to make, I just cut various theme appropriate shapes from paper that matched the party color and had help attaching them to the oversized embroidery hoops using fishing string and tape. It was a simple and effective way to bring the theme to the food table.

The cardboard deer head I made from a pattern that I found on the Chronical Books Blog. The cutting was tedious, but I think it was worth the effort. He added a whimsical charm to the main table.

The cake was made by a lady in our church. I thought she did a great job replicating the cake that the mommy-to-be requested. AND it was tasty!

The centerpieces were made from logs cut in various heights. I placed a candle on the top of each on and added snow since the shower was in December. The pine cones were a nice outdoorsy addition.

With all of the recent interest in this post, I've uploaded pdf files of the various printed pieces I created for this shower. They are yours to use, just please give credit to Bit-O-Me when appropriate! Please let me know if you use the files. I'd love to see your Hunting Showers!
Mobile Pattern
Onesie Pattern
Camo print Food Markers
Animal Game
Animal Game Answers

UPDATE: I've created a Flickr page so that others can share their photos of Hunting Themed Baby Showers. Please, share yours here: Flickr Hunting Shower Photos

Hunting Themed Baby Shower {The Invitation}

2010-11-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

I'm planning a baby shower for a couple at our church. They are both avid hunters and want to celebrate the anticipated arrival of their baby boy with a Hunting Themed Baby Shower. Never having spent even one second in a deer stand. And because I've never aimed a gun at an animal, I was a bit concerned about being inspired. There just isn't much on the internet in the way of Hunting Themed Baby showers (believe me, I've looked). So, I'm crossing my fingers this invitation design is a good mix of hunting lovers meets bundle of joy. What's not cute about baby onesies camo and hunter orange strung on a line in a pine forest?

Adalyn Crawling! {A New Phase Begins}

2010-11-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Just a few days shy of her sixth month, Adalyn, fascinated by a wooden alphabet puzzle, crawls!

Hello Bee, Hello Me {Adalyn's First Halloween}

2010-11-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

Adalyn's favorite book is "Hello Bee, Hello Me" so I thought it would be fun to dress her up as a yellow bumble bee for Halloween. I just sewed a strip of yellow felt around the middle of a black, long sleeve t-shirt, added elastic to the bottom and stuffed her shirt with cloth diapers. Hot glued the wings on and made a headband out of felt, yellow pom poms and elastic. Black leggings and yellow bloomers completed the look. Comfortable and cute! The glow of the sunset was beautiful and we had fun taking pictures of Adalyn and her best friend Miranda.

A Super Hero Costume for Marin

2010-11-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Marin's favorite movie is The Incredibles, so when I offered her the choice of a superhero costume or a mermaid costume, she quickly chose superhero. The cape is a modified version of this free pattern from http://www.thelongthread.com/. And the mask was a free template from http://www.armommy.blogspot.com/. Both with my own modifications and touches to personalize this for Marin. I created a belt as well, and the only picture of it is the last one, and it's just a peek. Ah well.

Pumpkin Carving Party 2010 {aka PCP '10}

2010-11-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

My family is a hoot and this year they were ALL at the 2010 Pumpkin Carving Party. All 14 of us! So, naturally we had to take a family picture and it's tradition that after the "formal posed" photo we do a crazy shot. Always entertaining! We served Taco Soup and Boudin and guests brought pies! Yum. Steven is a great cook and the soup was a tasty hit.

And the pinata for this year was a slice of pumpkin pie. Sadly this is the best photo I have of this little beauty. And if you read my post about past PCP pinatas, you'll notice I did NOT take step by step photos of my process. Maybe next year.

The outdoor showing of "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was a BIG hit with the guests (adults and kids alike)!

Did I mention that my best friend flew in from Virginia and brought her adorable pumpkin head, baby M, with her? Aren't the matching pumpkin caps too cute for words.

Another successful party. Onward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hello cooler weather and family time!

It's Not All Fun and Games

2010-10-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours, or in our case when the city's sewer main backs up it makes the grass really green. During a drought GREEN grass is a sign that something is wrong. An abandoned sewer drain line that ran under the cement sidewalk in our backyard was leaking moisture into the ground. The moisture caused the sidewalk to sink and broke the grey water drain line for our kitchen and washroom. After Steven identified the broken drain line and repaired the line we thought our troubles were over. He pumped out the hole and within hours the hole filled with water. We thought maybe it was just water leaching out of the soil, so he pumped it again and once again it filled quickly...HELLO SEWAGE! That's when we realized there was more to the GREEN grass than just our leaking grey water.

Poor Steven spent most everyday of this week, digging holes in the yard, repairing plumbing, talking to city officials about easements and sewer mains and digging around in sewage. Things could be worse. We could be living in our neighbor's house. Her home sits right on top of the City sewer main that's causing all of these problems. A crew of guys came out today and dug a swimming pool size hole in her backyard and capped the old abandoned service line from the tap that once serviced our home and out buildings. Hopefully that will be the end of our sewer fed GREEN GRASS.

I always share the fun aspect of remodeling This Old House, so I thought it only fair to share the yucky side too. Sometimes it's about choosing paint colors and custom cabinets. Other days it's about sewage, digging holes in the yard and drinking BEER, lots of beer.

So here's to here's to the adventures of remodeling an old house and having an UBER talented Handyman by your side. Thank you, Steven.

Pumpkin Carving Party 2010 {The Invitation}

2010-10-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

This little beauty is the 2010 Pumpkin Carving Party Invitation. I L.O.V.E. it!!!!! My UBER talented brother-n-law Kevin Kaleh (aka Kevin Elliott) created the fun, colorful watercolor illustration inspired by vintage pumpkin pails.

The event is just days away and I am scurrying around trying to pull the details together. Atleast the invitation was done well and sent out in a timely manner (ha)!

This invitation is a beautiful tribute to our seventh year! Thank you, Kevin.

Vinegar and Salt to Clean Old Faucet Bodies

2010-10-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

After researching ways to remove lime and mineral deposit build up from these old faucet bodies, we settled on a concoction. Five table spoons vinegar to two teaspoons salt. WORKED LIKE A CHARM. After testing a few small pieces, we made a large batch of the mixture and let the faucet bodies soak. That was the key. That and then scrubbing them gently with a wire brush. The tedious part was picking at the grooves with a set of "dentist" looking tools Steven bought for the project. After paying to have the visible parts of these faucets rechromed, we just couldn't bring ourselves to screw the new, freshly chromed pieces, to these green scummy faucet bodies. What a pleasant surprise it was when, after a little elbow grease, they came out so clean and shiny. Steven has put one faucet body back together on the fresh, refurbished porcelain sink. Will take pictures of the final product once the sinks are hanging in the bathroom. Little by little...

Pumpkin Party Piñatas

2010-10-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

In preparing for this year's Pumpkin Carving Party I thought it would be fun to do a recap of the last six years. It's fun to see each of the piñatas I've created, but it's even more fun to see the kiddos grow up right before your eyes. The kids are lined up according to age, so you'll see the same nieces and nephews in these pictures.

I create my piñatas using BIG blow up bouncy balloons as a base and then layers and layers of paper Mache (strips of news paper dipped in 1 part water to two parts flour mixture). I've found that colored tissue paper is the best for giving the final design the textured look. I brush on Elmer's glue and then scrunch pieces of tissues paper onto the surface where I've applied the glue. Hope to take pictures of my process this year and let you in on a little piñata durability secret! Stay tuned.

Pumpkin Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2004

Candy Corn Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2005

Acorn Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2006

Sucker Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2007

Corn Cob Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2008

Trick-Or-Treat Bag Piñata - Pumpkin Party 2009

Reuse or Repurpose Your Wedding Invitations

2010-10-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

Photo by Jackie Ray Photography.

My sister and I came up with a great way to reuse/repurpose her extra wedding invitations. We made fans out of them by attaching a trimmed invitation to either side of a large, wooden popsicle stick. They were perfect for her outdoor summer wedding. My brother and his wife did the same thing with their extra save the date cards for their September, outdoor wedding. By cutting off the extra text and dates, they were left with a beautiful photo and their names.

This was a simple project that family members helped Katherine complete the evening before the wedding. Guests appreciated the fans and the final product fit nicely with the rest of the wedding look and feel.

From Photo to Watercolor Painting

2010-10-07T22:14:00.001-07:00

My very talented friend, Cole Carter, painted this watercolor portrait of my brother Joshua and his wife Sarah. You might recognize the portrait as it was based on one of the photos from their engagement shoot. If you are interested in a portrait of your child or family, Cole Carter is your man. He captured them beautifully!

Flower Girl Dresses {FREE Pattern}

2010-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

In June my sister and I spent DAYs together sewing four, flower girl dresses for her July wedding. We based the dresses on a free pattern from a wonderful sewing blog: madebyrae. Obviously they were each very different in size but the pattern scaled nicely and the addition of a yellow sash was just the touch they needed to make them formal enough for the wedding.

I haven't posted anything in the sewing category in a while and didn't want you to think my sewing machine was gathering dust!

Photo credit should be given to Jackie Ray Photography.

In addition to the dresses we also made this adorable ring bearer pillow. Thought I'd add it as inspiration for anyone planning a yellow and navy wedding!

Sisters

2010-09-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Watching Marin and Adalyn this past week has been amazing. I know they are three years apart and Adalyn is only four months old, but you can see a friendship developing already! Adalyn lights up when Marin is around. Arms and legs wiggling her face reflecting the joy inside each time Marin dances, sings, or even screams. As I type this, Marin is bringing Adalyn the entire contents of her toy box. "Wow….TOYS!!!” Screams Marin, while Adalyn, content to chew on a green teething ring, studies Marin’s every move.

On Wednesday, they were in the floor together, when I heard Marin giggle. I looked down just in time to see Marin placing a plastic ring on Adalyn’s ear. She then proceeded to place rings on each of her own ears. More giggling (and cooing) commenced.

What a treasure to watch them grow to love each other. I know they’ll have squabbles (what sisters don’t) but I’m SO excited to see them become friends and the best of playmates. It's little treasures like this, watching your daughters become friends, that makes parenting such a joy. (That, and little girl giggles.)

Fabulous French Doors!

2010-09-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Reed glass in Mahogany. Ahhhhhhhhh.....Seriously I've been dreaming of these doors since we bought the house (seven-long-years-ago). Still need to be stained to match the doors in the house and the cabinets in the bathroom, but it's installed and now we can finish the trim and baseboards in the master bedroom.

View from the master bedroom (see the louver closet doors in the background?)

View from the master bath into the bedroom.

UP, The Movie Themed Rehersal Dinner Party

2010-09-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

The Spirit of Adventure was the theme for Joshua and Sarah’s Rehearsal Dinner party on Friday evening. My Mother pulled together a fun and creative party based on the “Married Life” portion of the Pixar movie “UP.” While this portion of the movie is sad, it also beautifully depicts the “adventure” of marriage. The desire for adventure in the characters of Carl and Ellie reminded us of Joshua and Sarah. Sarah has dreams of visiting far off places and Joshua is excited to go anywhere Sarah wants to be, but most of all they anticipate the joys of married life.

Here are photos from the evening. We created centerpieces for the tables that matched the "up" theme and included picture of the couple and their correspondence on their Facebook Wall posts. Each one was different. I created them in Adobe InDesign and printed them on translucent vellum paper, cut the upper portion so it looked like the balloon was floating off the page and taped them with double sided tape to create the tube. A battery powered tea light was placed inside to illuminate them. Each guests was also given a round token designed to match the theme that included menu options.

Our good friend and talented artist Cole Carter drew childlike caracturates of Joshua and Sarah which were placed on the main table along with a wooden house that Joshua made years ago. Mom added a bunch of colorful balloons to the top to create their UP home. In the movie, the destination of choice is Paradise Falls. Joshua and Sarah's next destination is Africa, so we created a similar change bottle and labeled it "Africa Fund."

It was a fun theme with endless inspiration that could be incorporated into any wedding, shower, or party. While looking for ideas I came across this BEAUTIFUL Up movie themed wedding and engagement shoot, photographed by Wildflower Photography. Visit if you are curious.

Our Yard Is Excited!

2010-09-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

This Pumpkin Vine is a Sign that It’s Pumpkin Carvin’ Time!

Found this little beauty in the yard this morning. Oh the side effects of having an annual pumpkin party in your front yard. Baby pumpkin vines springing up everywhere. Had to share our yard’s (and my) excited anticipation!

Belly Pictures {Grimes Family}

2010-09-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday morning with the Grimes family taking belly pictures. Baby Mikayla is due next week. We are all patiently awaiting her arrival. Here are my favorite pictures from the day. Isn't Darci a beautiful mommy?

Wedding Invitations {Joshua & Sarah}

2010-09-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

Joshua and Sarah's wedding is just days away. Above is the wedding invitation and RSVP card I designed for their BIG day. We carried over the "Western Meets Sophisticated" theme from their Save the Date cards. They both loved the design and have received lots of good feedback from guests about how much they love the wedding invitations. I can't wait for the BIG DAY. Let the countdown begin!

Fabric Flowers

2010-09-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

Photo by Jackie Ray Photography

My sister, Katherine, and I spent the last two weeks before her wedding sewing flower girl dresses, making a ring bearer pillow and paper cone flower girl baskets. These fabric flowers originated from a brainstorming session about ways to embellish the flower girl baskets. Katherine shared with me a magazine clipping she’d found of balls of fabric that were used as “bouquets” for a wedding. She thought something similar would be fun for her wedding, but wasn’t sure how to create them. They reminded me of the tissue paper pom poms that I created for Elizabeth’s bachelorette party. So with a little experimenting, we came up with these fabric flowers.

Photo by Jackie Ray Photography

They looked so cute on the paper cones we decided they would be perfect as corsages for all of the ladies helping serve food and drinks at the wedding. I made 10 of these beauties. I took me several evenings to complete all of them, but that was with a newborn baby in the house.
These corsages would be perfect for a mother’s corsage for a baby shower or even used as embellishments for your next sewing project.

To make your own fabric flower you’ll need:

Eight 3”-by-5” pieces of fabric, floral wire, wire cutters and a safety pin. Optional items include: felt, hot glue gun, ribbon, card stock paper, green tissue paper, green floral tape and green floral wire.

1. Stack eight 3-by-5 pieces of fabric. Make ½ inch wide accordion folds, holding fabric tightly.

2. Fold a six-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded fabric; twist.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time.

4. If using the flower for embellishment, trim wire and attach with a safety pin.

To make a corsage:

1. Cut a 3-1/2 inch circle from felt. I cut a scalloped edge on the felt, but you can leave it a simple circle as well. Snip a small slit in the center of the felt circle.

2. Tie a piece of ribbon around the wire at the base of the fabric flower.

3. Slip the fabric flower wire through the slit in the center of the felt circle and hot glue the felt, ribbon and flower together.

4. Cut a leave shape from green tissue paper and twist the green floral wire around a ball point pen to create the curly cue stem. Attach the tissue paper leaf to the floral wire stem using green floral tape. Using hot glue attach the leaf and stem to the flower between the flower and the felt backing.

5. To finish the back and hide the wire, I placed a small piece of card stock cut using a circle punch on the back of the felt.

Happy Faces

2010-09-02T20:15:00.001-07:00

Thrill of all thrills! Marin is learning to draw! Okay, so she's no Picasso, but I'm in LOVE with her happy faces. The best part is the giggle or awww she shares after each one is complete. You never know if the mouth will be happy or sad and I'm not sure if she knows what to expect either. "Oh mommy....he's SAD!" Or "He hehe it's a HAPPY Face!"

Obviously the stellar stick figure in the center is mine but the strange cloud headed person to the right is all Marin's. The shapes are dotted lines that she traces...but the GLORIOUS happy faces are totally, genuine Marin.

Sigh...have I mentioned how much fun it is to have a toddler?

Photos of a Friend

2010-09-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Angie and her husband Greg are in the process of adopting a child. They asked me to take their profile picture. You know the one that says "Hey we will make great parents because we love each other and are excited to have YOU join our world." Hope these pictures say that to the lucky little girl waiting just for them. Can't wait to take your family photos in the future!

Old House Update

2010-08-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

A little here. A little there. That's what we've been up to. There’s nothing "visually exciting" about window stops and baseboards, just more painting and spackling. Since the last house update we've installed our closet doors (which still need to be painted). Installed baseboards; installed window stops; looked for parts to finish the faucets for our sinks. Installed the rope lights in the master bedroom; and worked on facets of the Custom Medicine Cabinets.

There were two, old, built in medicine cabinets in the house when we bought it. One was removed and saved when we began the west side remolding project. The other was in our functioning bathroom, but was only useful as a mirror. We decided to take the old mirrors and hinges from these two medicine cabinets and use them in the new custom cabinets. Here are a few photos of the old cabinet, its hinges, and knobs.

While dismantling the old cabinets we discovered a date stamp on the back of each mirror. The cabinets were apparently manufactured by Binswanger & Co., Houston, Texas. One on May 12, 1927 and the other on May 13, 1927. What an exciting discovery and one that’s quite useful in “guestimating” the age of our home.

We removed the hinges, soaked them in ammonia to remove the paint, and cleaned them with steel wool and emery cloth. It was tedious work but gratifying. Below are before and after pictures of the hinge pins.

And here are photos of the new cabinets. An Escapees RV Club member Leon Culbertson built the cabinets for us from poplar wood. Steven and I have sanded them and hope to stain them soon. After many staining tests, I THINK Steven has settled on a stain mixture we are both happy with. Hope to share pictures of the final product soon.

Sweet Scoop Number Two {Baby Shower}

2010-08-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

The shower for Dan and Darci was a success! The colors were red and turquoise to match the invitations. We used a beach patio umbrella inside to give the atmosphere of a hot summer day. I made the polka dot garland by stitching the paper circles together with my sewing machine. Simple and cute!

Darci's sister Annie made this adorable diaper cake. It was a big hit. Cute and useful.

Since the invitations said that the "Grimes Family Cone is Growing" I thought it would be fun to create an actual family cone. So, I took the name and birth month and year of every member of their immediate families and created a cone. The scoops of ice cream were Jami and Mikayla. It really turned out cute and could be applied to any family. A unique take on the "family tree."

The local ice cream parlor was accommodating and everyone enjoyed the flavorful ice cream. Each shower guest was given "two scoops" of any flavor to match the "Sweet Scoop Number Two" theme.

As a shower activity, guests were given blank thought bubbles and asked to write a "thought" to Mikayla. Everyone had fun with the idea. Below are a few from the evening.

Sweet Scoop Number Two {Mikayla Rae Grimes is Due!}

2010-08-07T11:53:00.000-07:00

I'm hosting a baby shower for my friend Darci this weekend. If there was a "top ten list of people who love sweets" Darci would be on it! From sweet tea to sweet and sour candy, you can count on Darci to have a favorite place or brand. That said, I think there is one thing that she loves more than sweets and that's having babies. That's how the theme "Sweet Scoop Number Two" originated. When Jami was born it brought such sweetness to Darci's world. You could see it in her face and hear it in her voice. Sweet, tiny fingers and toes. Sweet tiny smiles. Sweet baby smells. Precious and sweet snuggle time. I think the soon arrival of Mikayla will bring that same sweetness.

So Sunday's shower is about enjoying the sweetness of a cool dish of ice cream on a hot summer evening, AND celebrating the sweetness babies bring to your life. Especially the sweetness of little Miss Mikayla Rae Grimes.

Crepe Paper Party Streamers

2010-08-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

While on vacation in June I spent most of my time nursing a newborn baby and reading old issues of Country Home and Better Homes And Gardens. It was relaxing AND educational. One little gem was this lovely party decoration. Crepe paper meets windsock.

At the time my sister-n-law was planning a rainbow inspired birthday party for her daughter and I envisioned these in rainbow colors. She took on the challenge and created six of these. Below is a picture of their final creation. They were BEAUTIFUL swaying in the early summer breeze and added a whimsical feel to the party.

This simple, inexpensive project might be just the thing for your next event!

Directions seem simple: Drape roughly 8-foot lengths of crepe paper over the inner side of an 8-inch diameter embroidery hoop. Fit the outer ring around the inner one and tighten. Hang with fishing line. I think my sister-n-law draped the crepe paper over the outer ring so that the hoop didn’t show.

Photo by Tiffany Shelton.

Custom Medicine Cabinets

2010-07-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

My favorite resource for vintage hardware and lighting is Rejuvination. If you know about my secret desire to make a living restoring old light fixtures, you understand why I love their catalogs so much. So, when it came time to buy light fixtures for our bathroom, I immediately when to their website. We purchased the Rufus fixture in white porcelain.

Steven was reluctant to have medicine cabinets above our sinks, but after much discussion about storage we agreed, they would be useful. Having come to this decision later in the game, we couldn’t accommodate recessed medicine cabinets so ours have to be wall mounted. We decided this would work well with our shelf back sinks, but were worried that if we mounted our new wall mounted Rufus fixtures above the wall mounted medicine cabinets, there would be an awful shadow; thus the Custom Medicine Cabinet concept. Steven came up with the idea of mounting the light ON the cabinet.

Using an old medicine cabinet that we removed from the old bathroom, and the new cabinets we purchased from Pottery Barn as inspiration we came up with this design.

We’ve visited with a carpenter about building them for us and are in the process of choosing the type of wood and mixing just the right wood stain concoction. We’ll be using the beveled glass from the old cabinets as well as the hinges and knobs.

Save the Date {Western Meets Sophisticated}

2010-07-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

My Brother is marrying the most wonderful girl. I love her. She is perfect for him…I knew it the first time I read their posts to each other on MySpace. She’s adventurous, funny, brave, loving and beautiful. He needs her and he absolutely adores her. I’m super excited about their wedding and had loads of fun trying to design a “Save the Date” for their wedding that was “western AND sophisticated.” The photo is from their engagement photo session. Their rings have very significant meaning to their relationship. I’m really glad Sarah chose this photo and that she chose Joshua. The count-down to September 18 begins!

Refurbished Shelf Back Faucets

2010-07-25T20:28:00.001-07:00

We are getting closer and closer everyday! Last time I mentioned plumbing was when we had the sinks and tub refinished. At that time we were still in limbo about what to do for faucets, and finally settled on the idea of refurbishing the old shelf back faucets. There were small details about the old faucets that we didn't want to sacrifice buy purchasing new ones.

Steven removed the old sets and dismantled each one carefully. We sent pictures of the faucets out for bids and finally settled on a company in Houston called Atlas Plating. They re-chromed one piece to make sure the metal would re-chrome well, sent us a picture to approve and then began the work on all the pieces. It took three weeks and we finally received the final product on Friday. They did a beautiful job. Next step: replacing the rubber washers and seats. Then the installation!

Reworking and restoring something old into something fresh and new makes me giddy!

Sources for shelf back plumbing options:

Plumbing Parts Depot

The Chicago Faucet Shoppe

Faucet Direct

Do It Yourself Plumbing and Heating (Antique Plumbing)

Reality...The Party that Never Was

2010-07-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

So I went back and forth about posting this, but decided in the end I should. I was happy with the way we celebrated Marin's third birthday, I think it's something she'll remember for a long time. However, encase you were wondering, yes, I did have a party idea in mind and even had the invitation design complete! True confessions time: Poor Marin didn't have a REAL birthday party because her Aunt Kay Kay got married and her new baby sister cried ALOT and her Mommy, just couldn't pull together the energy or desire to host a party.

So, there it is. The truth. Krystina the party lover felt no love for planning a party for her daughter's third birthday. At times I feel bad that I didn't just muster up the energy and make it happen and then other times I tell myself there will be more birthdays. But what does this mean for our future? With each child will I have less energy? Will Marin even HAVE a 16 birthday party? Who knows.

Above is the invitation design for the Party That Never Was. It was just so adorable I had to share it. My good friend Cole created the illustration of Marin and I think it's perfect.

(To Marin: Mommy loves you so much. I'm sorry we didn't have a real birthday party for you. I hope that your time with Daddy at the Fire fire fire house will be a memory you'll enjoy. Here's to many, many parties in our future. Forgive me?)

Evening Summer Sun

2010-07-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

I started back to work full-time this past week. So grateful that it's summer time and that after work we still have daylight hours to enjoy together as a family. Here are a few shots from Friday evening. The girls and I took pictures of each other while Daddy painted base boards. Marin is quite the photographer and Adalyn enjoys the feeling of grass on her feet.

Marin's 3rd Birthday {A Visit to the Fire Station}

2010-07-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

Marin turned 3 today. To celebrate we visited Daddy at the Fire fire firehouse. No, I didn't stutter and that's not a typo...that's how Marin begins anything fire related. The word fire, must be said three or four times before the rest of the topic. Fire fire firehouse. Fire fire firefighter. Daddy's fire fire fireengine. TOOOOOOOO Cute. Love it. :)

As you can see from the pictures we had a wonderful time. Marin enjoyed her one-on-one time with Daddy. At the end of the day today she told me "I not 3 mommy. I 2." Oh, how I wish that were so. Time goes by too fast.

Happy happy happy birthday, my beautiful Marin.

Blanco, Texas Lavender Festival

2010-06-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

We love the Texas Hill Country and will find any excuse possible to visit the area. Every year in June, the town of Blanco hosts their Annual Lavender Festival. This is our second year to attend the event and it was a much needed get away for all of us. Marin and I experienced cutting lavender from the plant for the first time ever. She was especially excited about carrying the purple basket and using the scissors "all by herself." Adalyn was content to ride on Daddy's chest and sleep during most of our adventures in lavender fields. During our time at the festival we enjoyed lavender ice cream, lavender honey and sampled lavender margarita mix. A highlight of the festival was eating at the Redbud Cafe and listening to live music while there. Marin and Adalyn both enjoyed it. After the festival we spent three days with Steven's parents in their cabin near the Frio river. We all came back refreshed and relaxed.

Birth Announcements for Kayakers

2010-06-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

Adalyn will be six weeks old on Tuesday. Sending birth announcements by mail almost seems silly with today's technology. Most everyone knew about her birth and had seen photos of her within hours of her arrival. That's why I wanted to create something silly and unique but something that also depicts our new family unit.

Kayaking is something we all enjoy and are anxious to include Adalyn in our family hobby as soon as she is interested. Marin was 15 months old when she first fell in love with the sport. As you can see from the photos above, Marin wasn't thrilled with our kayaking adventure in the backyard and fell to pieces when we went we went inside to cool off instead of launching the "boat" in water. The photos were taken by my mom when Adalyn was just one week old. It was no small feat to put makeup on, get Marin dressed, the kayak and paddles set up in the yard AND keep Adalyn asleep. I was just giddy when we accomplished all of these seemingly impossible steps. The final product was just what I wanted. Bazaar, fun and I hope it makes recipients smile.

But wait there is another one...the traditionalist in me couldn't resist creating a traditional announcement using this picture of Marin and Adalyn. It was just too sweet a moment not to share. So, Adalyn has two announcements. I wish I could blame my indecisiveness on post partum emotions, but unfortunately that's me all the time, just can't seem to ever make up my mind and just choose one.

Ice Cream Parlor {Wedding Shower}

2010-06-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

The Ice cream parlor wedding shower was a tasty success! Below are pictures from the event and sources for the unique elements. Enjoy!

Handmade Oreo truffles, chocolate dipped strawberries and brownies.

In the center of the table was a display showing black and white pictures of the bride and groom's parents and grandparents when they were dating or newly married. Because the theme was "love and ice cream the old fashion way" I thought it would be neat to incorporate the love relationships in each of their families.

As guests arrived they were asked to sign the ice cream maker, guest book. Permanent markers were available for adding words of advice a comparison to love and ice cream or congratulations. Guests were clever with their messages. My favorite comment was "I recommend spooning."

The happy couple.

Wooden spoons from Garnish. Handmade labels created for the ice cream cups using Avery 5293 labels. Green and white striped paper straws purchased from Garnish.

And finally a glimpse into my brain. This is how I prepare for parties and keep my ideas in order. I'm always curious to see if the ideas and layout come to life.

The Many Musical Modes of David Coburn

2010-06-04T07:05:00.001-07:00

My brother, David, is an extremely talented musician. He plays the violin, piano, organ and hand bells. A recital was recently held to showcase his talents. The invitation design above is something I came up with for the event.

The design was inspired by an Old Navy brand, grey and black, hooded jacket David wears as often as possible. It's been worn so much he has begun sewing the worn spots together with yellow thread. Sure hated that mom didn't let him wear the jacket during the recital (wink, wink). There were about 100 guests at the recital and David's performance was phenomenal. My favorite portion of the event was when David played the song he composed on the piano and was accompanied by his violin teacher. The emotion and feeling that went into writing that piece of music could be felt so strong. Bravo David...Encore!

Wedding Invitations {Jesse & Katherine}

2010-05-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

A true test for any designer is to create something for a family member; more specifically a sister (grin). Mid way through the brainstorming and invitation drafts for Katherine and Jesse's wedding I began to think that everyone was lying when they told me I had talent. I just couldn't seem to grasp Katherine's look and feel. That's when she sent me her inspiration board...And oh how inspiring it was!

The final invitation design was inspired by her compellation of images. In the end I think she and Jesse were happy with the invitation design. The invitations are in the mail and RSVP cards arrive every day. The wedding is in less than a month and Katherine is giddy with excitement. Thank you, Katherine and Jesse for letting me be such a big part of preparing for your wedding. It really was fun working together to create something so unique to celebrate your nuptial.

She Has Eyes!

2010-05-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Just realized that all of the photos I've posted of Adalyn she has her eyes closed! Not a common phenomenon. She is a very alert baby and fights sleep like she might miss something if her eyes are closed for too long.

I loved that the photo below captured her profile in the shadow. How CUTE is that nose!?

And yesterday was a big day! Adalyn said goodbye to her umbilical cord. Hello cute little beboo.

Love & Ice Cream {Wedding Shower}

2010-05-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hosting a wedding shower for my sister and her Fiancé next Sunday. Inspired by Lauren Carter we've planned an Ice Cream Sundae Shower. Above is the invitation I designed for the event. Looking for inspiration for your own sundae celebration? Visit Eat Drink Chic for the most beautiful ice cream display ever! You'll love Amy Moss and all of her creative ideas! I was strongly inspired! Will post pictures and sources after the event!

Finally...a Picture with Mommy

2010-05-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I promise...posts with creative ideas an updates about the house will return...right now the source has her hands full. For now there is only time for pictures.

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

2010-05-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Adalyn Update

2010-05-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Adalyn Christine Evans

2010-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

Born this morning @ 3:39 am 7lbs 13oz 21 inches tall. Already home….healthy and well. Overwhelmed with joy!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T07:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. Your path of motherhood has always been one I've felt comfortable to follow. The choices you made, the actions you took and the love that you gave unfailingly.

Today I recognize and am thankful for your patience, sacrifices and joy.

I love you, Krystina

The 40 Week Belly

2010-05-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

Steven had to work on Monday and I was just sure that labor would start that evening. So, Katherine, Marin and I rushed out to take belly pictures. What a pair we are; my 40 week pregnant mommy hormones and an almost three year olds rambunctious silly nature. Thank you Katherine, for your perseverance and love. Life is fun.

It's Thursday. I'm still pregnant. My due date has come and gone. But Steven is home now. So we wait...patiently for Adalyn to arrive.