Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

I love to sew, but I have yet to attempt to make a Halloween costume for my daughter...maybe next year. This Dorothy costume was a hand-me-down, and I LOVE IT! Madison wore it to a Halloween party a couple of weeks ago, and she will wear it again Halloween night if it is not too cold. If it turns cold, she will be JoJo the Clown (another hand-me-down).

This next picture is from Halloween 2008. Madison had just turned 1 on the 18th of October, and she started walking on the 28th. Obviously, Madison was a pumpkin and her older cousin, Sophia, was JoJo the Clown. (I had never heard of JoJo the clown, and I don't know if I am spelling the name correctly. I apologize to all of the JoJo fans.)

You can check out other adorable costumes at Kelly's Korner.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited the pumpkin patch at church for the 2nd time yesterday...and it probably wasn't the last for this season. I took lots of pics of Madison, and I don't think she smiled for any of them. I promise she smiles a lot throughout the day, but if I pull out a camera-the smile disappears. Grrrrrrrr. I still think there are some cute pics even without the smile.

From left to right: Will Anna Kathryn, Sophia, Madison

Madison
Sophia and Madison

Madison's 2nd Birthday Party

Happy birthday to my sweet Madison! I can't believe you are 2 years old. I love every breath you take. I am incredibly blessed to be your momma. As my momma always told me, God knew just which little girl I needed. Thank you, God! She is perfect!

Although Madison's birthday is today, we had her party yesterday due to the logistics of guests' Sunday schedules with church and all. Her party was so much fun. I think she really enjoyed herself. Daddy worked very hard to get her swingset ready for the kids to play on at the party. It is not finished but it is almost done. They kids enjoyed the slide and swings...they don't care if it has the finishing touches. We also rented a spacewalk. This was Madison's first time in one of these....SHE LOVED IT! As a matter of fact, she and Daddy are out there right now in 44ºF weather so she can enjoy it today as well. They will have to come in soon to get ready for church. Then, we are going to eat Mexican for her birthday lunch. She will probably fall asleep on the way home from lunch, and when she wakes up it will be time to go to her friend's 2nd birthday party! WHEW! This is going to be a busy day!

As I said already, it is currently 44ºF outside....it actually cooled off on the Gulf Coast! It was a perfect fall day yesterday. I made hot apple cider to celebrate the cooler weather. My momma, Madison's MawMaw, made her birthday cake. It was sooooo cute! Thanks, Mom! Here are a few pics from her party.

Refurbished Picture Frame

This frame was a previous gift from a family member.....sorry! I think it was given to me when I still lived at my parents' house during college. It didn't match my current decor so it had been stored away. I got the idea to paint it and add a flower like I saw on the blog, My Mama Made It. So I did it. I just painted several coats of off-white craft paint on the frame. Then, I took a scrap of brown linen to cut my petals. I simply cut a strip of fabric that was about 30"x7" and folded it in half. Then, I cut petals with the fabric still folded. Don't bother with a pattern. As you cut the petals, decrease their size a little. I ended up with 15 petals. Start layering the petals, spiraling as you go. Start with the largest petals on bottom and end with the smallest. Next, thread a needle and sew an x in the center to hold the petals in place. Fold the group of petals in half and run your needle through. Fold it in half the other way, and run your needle through again. I did this a few times. Finally, secure the thread with a knot on the back. I used a hot glue gun to attach the flower to the frame. VOILA!

Before:

After:

Check out other DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land.

Personalized Wall Hanging

I went to a few yard sales this last weekend hoping to get some crafty inspiration....it worked! I bought several items that I plan to put my touch on. I saw a neat idea for personalizing plates at320 Sycamore. I used her idea and instructions to personalize a wall hanging. I got this nifty piece for 50¢. As you can see it was painted with a picture of fruit....not really my style. So I taped of the metal work and spray painted the tile an off-white. Then, I took a personalized napkin and cut out the G. I peeled away the back two layers and used Mod Podge to adhere it to the tile. The one layer of napkin is very delicate....so be careful if you try this. Brush on a thin layer of Mod Podge on the tile under the G then carefully brush it over. I used a Sharpe marker like a rolling pin to smooth out some of the bubbles. This definitely did not turn out perfectly, but I like it. I have yet to decide where its final resting place will be.

Check out other DIY projects at A Soft Place to Land.

Decorative Pillows

I got an amazing deal on an antique sofa about a month ago. I wanted to add some pillows to pull the colors in my drapes onto the sofa. So, I went to a local fabric store, Cotton Capers, and bought some beautiful fringe, cord, fabric, and down pillow forms. My wonderfully talented grandma (AKA: Granny or GiGi) came over to give me some guidance. Here is how they turned out. I LOVE THEM...especially the ones with the fringe.

The pillows with the fringe are 18" pillows with 20" down-filled pillow forms inside. The red pillow with cording are 16" pillows with 18" down-filled pillow forms inside. For the gold pillow with fringe, you simply cut out an 18" square and sewed the fringe to the right side of the fabric. I used my zipper foot and set my needle to the far left so that I could sew as close to it as possible. The fringe can be manipulated around the corners as shown below.

Slightly overlap the ends of the fringe. You will not be able to tell where the fringe started and stopped once the pillow is turned right side out. I did not cut the fringe until I was finished sewing it on the pillow front.

For the back side of the pillow, I cut two pieces. One piece was 11"x18" and the second was 13"x18". I folded over one of the long edges about 1/4" and then about 3/4" and pinned it in place. I did this on both of the back pieces.

Then, sew as shown.

Next, lay the back flaps on top of the front piece-right sides together. Lay the smaller piece down first. Then, lay the bigger piece. The bigger piece will overlap the smaller piece by a couple of inches. This will all be a little awkward due to the fringe in between. Try your best to pin this together. You are going to sew around all of the edges following the stitch line that was created when you sewed on the fringe.

Turn the case right side out and insert the pillow. Remove the temporary string along the edge of the trim. You can slip stitch the back pieces together. VOILA!

Fall, fall, fall

I am NOT ashamed to say that I started decorating for fall on September 19th. I tried to at least wait until the 22nd-The First Day of Fall, but my little girl had spent the night with her grandmother, so I seized the opportunity. I still have to add pumpkins, but otherwise it is done. Our local pumpkin patch opened yesterday. We will make a visit soon for pumpkins and pictures.

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!

My Baby Girl & Me

The weather was FANTASTIC here Thursday! We took a few pics in the yard.