What"s Happenin'

After my little guy spilled the dregs of my coffee on my keyboard my space bar ceased to function all together and pressing my Enter key put my computer into standby mode and the pressing the Backspace key shut the entire thing down. I searched for hours for a solution.
My husband woke up, looked at it for about a minute, unplugged the keyboard and headed to Office Depot.
My poor keyboard was killed by a few errant dribbles of coffee! Impossible!
30 minutes later I have a shiny new Keyboard that cost $9 and works beautifully and the "E" key is still entirely visible even!
So now I can type again. It's weird though, getting used to a new keyboard. This is one of those fancy ergonomic numbers and my fingers are not fancy ergonomic numbers. They are incompetent-don't-know-how-to-type-like-every-other-adult-in-the-free-world numbers and they are having issues with our shiny new friend.
Other than that, I am trying to get some projects done for Christmas, I am working on a stocking for Little Guy. Momo's felt donuts are cut out, and I am trying to recreate bark out of felt for the "logs" in Princess' felt campfire set. I am making I-Spy mug rugs for teacher gifts and I joined a card swap to help get me back in a creating and creative mode and I have a great idea for those, if I can pull it off! (If only I had one of those dandy Silhouette machines!)
Plus, I really want to make one of these for my dad who is getting ready to retire -

Julie from Joy's Hope guest blogging at Infarrantly Creative

(Oh, and I just may have to do a "test run" and make one for myself! Isn't it the greatest?!)

What"s Happenin'

After my little guy spilled the dregs of my coffee on my keyboard my space bar ceased to function all together and pressing my Enter key put my computer into standby mode and the pressing the Backspace key shut the entire thing down. I searched for hours for a solution.
My husband woke up, looked at it for about a minute, unplugged the keyboard and headed to Office Depot.
My poor keyboard was killed by a few errant dribbles of coffee! Impossible!
30 minutes later I have a shiny new Keyboard that cost $9 and works beautifully and the "E" key is still entirely visible even!
So now I can type again. It's weird though, getting used to a new keyboard. This is one of those fancy ergonomic numbers and my fingers are not fancy ergonomic numbers. They are incompetent-don't-know-how-to-type-like-every-other-adult-in-the-free-world numbers and they are having issues with our shiny new friend.
Other than that, I am trying to get some projects done for Christmas, I am working on a stocking for Little Guy. Momo's felt donuts are cut out, and I am trying to recreate bark out of felt for the "logs" in Princess' felt campfire set. I am making I-Spy mug rugs for teacher gifts and I joined a card swap to help get me back in a creating and creative mode and I have a great idea for those, if I can pull it off! (If only I had one of those dandy Silhouette machines!)
Plus, I really want to make one of these for my dad who is getting ready to retire -

Julie from Joy's Hope guest blogging at Infarrantly Creative

(Oh, and I just may have to do a "test run" and make one for myself! Isn't it the greatest?!)

A give-away that would make my family light up like the tree!

This is such an over-the-top fabulous giveaway you really should check it out!
(I know my husband would die if I surprised him with this win!)

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop  (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
I want everyone to be happy and safe. I want to remember the fun and the giving and not concentrate so much on the receiving. I want my little ones to enjoy the magic of the season with songs and crafts and baking and car rides to see lights and visits to Santa.
2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?
The kids are not allowed to even look in the room where the tree is until mom or dad has checked to be sure Santa has come. (it extends the excitement and helps the over-excited 3am early birds get back in bed and to sleep again quickly!)
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? 
A family vacation in Hawaii with a stop at Disneyland on the way. That, or a fully decked out Honda Odyssey.
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
We take car rides to look at Christmas light displays in our area. We decorate with pictures and crafts the kids have created. We dance and sing to Christmas songs on Pandora or the radio. We read Christmas stories all snuggled in bed.
5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Uno, Boggle, Battleship
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
Kids are not allowed to peek out at the tree until Mom or Dad has checked to see if Santa has come. Tracking Santa on Christmas Eve.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? 
Hawaii would be my choice, but the kids would probably choose Disney
8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
Playstation Eye (and all necessary connectors), EyePet game, DSi
To enter, link to your Mama’s Holiday Wish List post using the Mister Linky box below.
BUT WAIT. Did you think we were done? Oh, you must not know us at all.
We have another stockpile of gifts from GameStop that you can enter to win with our extra entry options.

• Runner Up #1 will receive a XBox 360 250 GB with Kinect and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #2 will receive a Nintendo Red DSi XL Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #3 will receive a Nintendo Red Wii Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.

Extra Entry Options include:

• “Like” Gamestop on Facebook
• Follow @gamestop on Twitter
• Head back to the tippy-top of this post and hit that “Retweet” button.

The deadline to post your meme and comment is Friday, December 10th (same deadline applies for extra entry methods).
* For an example of a Mama’s Holiday Wish List entry post CLICK HERE.

A give-away that would make my family light up like the tree!

This is such an over-the-top fabulous giveaway you really should check it out!
(I know my husband would die if I surprised him with this win!)

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop  (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
I want everyone to be happy and safe. I want to remember the fun and the giving and not concentrate so much on the receiving. I want my little ones to enjoy the magic of the season with songs and crafts and baking and car rides to see lights and visits to Santa.
2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?
The kids are not allowed to even look in the room where the tree is until mom or dad has checked to be sure Santa has come. (it extends the excitement and helps the over-excited 3am early birds get back in bed and to sleep again quickly!)
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? 
A family vacation in Hawaii with a stop at Disneyland on the way. That, or a fully decked out Honda Odyssey.
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
We take car rides to look at Christmas light displays in our area. We decorate with pictures and crafts the kids have created. We dance and sing to Christmas songs on Pandora or the radio. We read Christmas stories all snuggled in bed.
5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Uno, Boggle, Battleship
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
Kids are not allowed to peek out at the tree until Mom or Dad has checked to see if Santa has come. Tracking Santa on Christmas Eve.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? 
Hawaii would be my choice, but the kids would probably choose Disney
8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
Playstation Eye (and all necessary connectors), EyePet game, DSi
To enter, link to your Mama’s Holiday Wish List post using the Mister Linky box below.
BUT WAIT. Did you think we were done? Oh, you must not know us at all.
We have another stockpile of gifts from GameStop that you can enter to win with our extra entry options.

• Runner Up #1 will receive a XBox 360 250 GB with Kinect and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #2 will receive a Nintendo Red DSi XL Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.
• Runner Up #3 will receive a Nintendo Red Wii Bundle and a $250 GameStop gift card.

Extra Entry Options include:

• “Like” Gamestop on Facebook
• Follow @gamestop on Twitter
• Head back to the tippy-top of this post and hit that “Retweet” button.

The deadline to post your meme and comment is Friday, December 10th (same deadline applies for extra entry methods).
* For an example of a Mama’s Holiday Wish List entry post CLICK HERE.

Contemporary Kids

A little while ago I discovered that the Contemporary Museum here in town has a free program called Wednesday Morning Play Date for kiddos age 3-5 on the first Wednesday of the month from 10 - 11:30am, perfect for my girls.
I had never been to the museum, but I was really excited to check it out. (I am a museum kind of girl!) So onto the calendar it went. I figured we could try it out and see how it went.
To sum it up - the program is great! The museum staff is warm, friendly, welcoming and they really seem psyched that the kids are there and the projects are unusual and stretch your child's creativity and lead their art exploration in new directions.
The programs are led by local artists who link their work to the work being displayed at the museum.
For the first program the kids viewed photos by Elad Lassry, one of the featured artists at the museum. The work is color saturated and very intimate in it's scale (not subject matter! LOL). The visiting artist specialized in found-object art so she had the kids create little stories within brightly colored boxes and photographed them.
The girls had a huge number of little things to choose from to create a story diorama inside the wine crate. It was fun to see what they chose and how they put it together. The crates were available in various colors and sizes.(surprise, surprise, my girls both wanted PINK - only because there was no yellow for Momo )
After they created their scene the artist took a Polaroid of it (the girls LOVED the instant film! (Shake-a shake-a) After the film developed  the kids created a collage frame for their photo.
When we finished the collage frames we went upstairs for storytime. The storyteller was INCREDIBLE!!!! Honestly, I would go just for her she is that good! (I'll have to get her name, but I know she's with the St. Louis Public Library)
Oh, and I didn't even mention the snacks- a full spread from Companion bakery with beverages! Can you say YUM! (and follow that with "What diet?)
Oh, and you leave with project pages to use with your kids later!
Oh yes and it is all FREE!
So if you have kids who love to create and explore art in new ways definitely join us because we will be there!

Contemporary Kids

A little while ago I discovered that the Contemporary Museum here in town has a free program called Wednesday Morning Play Date for kiddos age 3-5 on the first Wednesday of the month from 10 - 11:30am, perfect for my girls.
I had never been to the museum, but I was really excited to check it out. (I am a museum kind of girl!) So onto the calendar it went. I figured we could try it out and see how it went.
To sum it up - the program is great! The museum staff is warm, friendly, welcoming and they really seem psyched that the kids are there and the projects are unusual and stretch your child's creativity and lead their art exploration in new directions.
The programs are led by local artists who link their work to the work being displayed at the museum.
For the first program the kids viewed photos by Elad Lassry, one of the featured artists at the museum. The work is color saturated and very intimate in it's scale (not subject matter! LOL). The visiting artist specialized in found-object art so she had the kids create little stories within brightly colored boxes and photographed them.
The girls had a huge number of little things to choose from to create a story diorama inside the wine crate. It was fun to see what they chose and how they put it together. The crates were available in various colors and sizes.(surprise, surprise, my girls both wanted PINK - only because there was no yellow for Momo )
After they created their scene the artist took a Polaroid of it (the girls LOVED the instant film! (Shake-a shake-a) After the film developed  the kids created a collage frame for their photo.
When we finished the collage frames we went upstairs for storytime. The storyteller was INCREDIBLE!!!! Honestly, I would go just for her she is that good! (I'll have to get her name, but I know she's with the St. Louis Public Library)
Oh, and I didn't even mention the snacks- a full spread from Companion bakery with beverages! Can you say YUM! (and follow that with "What diet?)
Oh, and you leave with project pages to use with your kids later!
Oh yes and it is all FREE!
So if you have kids who love to create and explore art in new ways definitely join us because we will be there!

I Love my Mailman and His Packages!

Yes I do! 

Especially the big squishy ones!

I received two in the mail this week!

The first contained my much-awaited I-Spy squares!
SQUEE! (picture me doing a little happy dance)
Thanks so much to Care over at her blog Obsessively Stitching  , for all her hard work organizing this I-Spy extravaganza and and all the participants for sending such amazing fabrics!
You guys ROCK!

 here is a pic of most of the bundle all laid out so I could admire it 
please pretend you don't notice the dirty carpet 
or my god-awful lighting
or my inability to get all the squares in the frame
 

There was SOOO much fabulous Boy fabric in this bundle, I was over the moon!  My little guy will soon be cuddling with his own I-spy blanket!

The girl fabric was adorable too, and I am loads closer to enough for another blanket.
I think I've decided to start collecting for a Hawaii/beach/summer/ocean themed I-Spy for my youngest girl since she was my Hawaii-born baby. There were some fantastic ones in this collection to start me off .

And then today I received this from Fabricworm

 I was beyond excited! I had just received the email that it had shipped (though I had ordered it a few days before) and a couple of hours later I had it in my hands!
It is a custom bundle called "Walk in the Woods". Isn't it just gorgeous?!!!
I am using these for the Urban Lattice quilt-a-long that Cara (a fellow slmqg member and all around amazing quilter and mom) is hosting on her blog,  Me?A Mom?.
I was really glad I waited to receive the fabric to choose my two main quilt fabrics, because I thought the two fabrics on the left were a burgundy color and they are actually much more brown. (a good thing!)
I am still debating what colors to use for the strips and the main color of the quilt. I may go easy and just go with the Taupe Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen (second from the end on the right) for the strips and the Kona Coal (on the end) for the main fabric. They really do look lovely! I just need an additional 1/2 yd of the taupe and lots of the Coal and figure out the backing part.

I Love my Mailman and His Packages!

Yes I do! 

Especially the big squishy ones!

I received two in the mail this week!

The first contained my much-awaited I-Spy squares!
SQUEE! (picture me doing a little happy dance)
Thanks so much to Care over at her blog Obsessively Stitching  , for all her hard work organizing this I-Spy extravaganza and and all the participants for sending such amazing fabrics!
You guys ROCK!

 here is a pic of most of the bundle all laid out so I could admire it 
please pretend you don't notice the dirty carpet 
or my god-awful lighting
or my inability to get all the squares in the frame
 

There was SOOO much fabulous Boy fabric in this bundle, I was over the moon!  My little guy will soon be cuddling with his own I-spy blanket!

The girl fabric was adorable too, and I am loads closer to enough for another blanket.
I think I've decided to start collecting for a Hawaii/beach/summer/ocean themed I-Spy for my youngest girl since she was my Hawaii-born baby. There were some fantastic ones in this collection to start me off .

And then today I received this from Fabricworm

 I was beyond excited! I had just received the email that it had shipped (though I had ordered it a few days before) and a couple of hours later I had it in my hands!
It is a custom bundle called "Walk in the Woods". Isn't it just gorgeous?!!!
I am using these for the Urban Lattice quilt-a-long that Cara (a fellow slmqg member and all around amazing quilter and mom) is hosting on her blog,  Me?A Mom?.
I was really glad I waited to receive the fabric to choose my two main quilt fabrics, because I thought the two fabrics on the left were a burgundy color and they are actually much more brown. (a good thing!)
I am still debating what colors to use for the strips and the main color of the quilt. I may go easy and just go with the Taupe Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen (second from the end on the right) for the strips and the Kona Coal (on the end) for the main fabric. They really do look lovely! I just need an additional 1/2 yd of the taupe and lots of the Coal and figure out the backing part.

My First SLMQG Meeting!

I am headed to my first Saint Louis Modern Quilt Guild Meeting today! I can't wait! I am hoping for some advice and inspiration to get me off my planning-but-never-actually-making-it mode. I need a kick in the pants!

My First SLMQG Meeting!

I am headed to my first Saint Louis Modern Quilt Guild Meeting today! I can't wait! I am hoping for some advice and inspiration to get me off my planning-but-never-actually-making-it mode. I need a kick in the pants!

Happy Birthday Baby!

My husband celebrated his birthday yesterday! Several weeks ago he talked about the chocolate cake with peanut butter icing that his mom would make every year for his birthday and I set out to make one for him. I went with this recipe from Keeper of the Cheerios but instead of cupcakes, I made a layer cake, and I forgot the chocolate chips. There was so much batter I could have easily made the cake 3 layers!

 And here is a pic of little guy sneaking a taste.

 

the cake was so delicious! It will definitely be a go-to recipe!

                                                           Make one as soon as possible!

Happy Birthday Baby!

My husband celebrated his birthday yesterday! Several weeks ago he talked about the chocolate cake with peanut butter icing that his mom would make every year for his birthday and I set out to make one for him. I went with this recipe from Keeper of the Cheerios but instead of cupcakes, I made a layer cake, and I forgot the chocolate chips. There was so much batter I could have easily made the cake 3 layers!

 And here is a pic of little guy sneaking a taste.

 

the cake was so delicious! It will definitely be a go-to recipe!

                                                           Make one as soon as possible!

Winter Hugs & Kisses Scarf - A Dollar Store Creation!

So this is my first mini tutorial!
I recently discovered the amazing blog lightbluegrey and besides being titled with my favorite color it is bunches of gorgeous inspiration. Recently she made this scarf and I realized it was the perfect solution to the Dollar Store scarf I scored a few weeks ago. I loved the color,

but the fringe was - shall we say- lacking a bit and in need of a solution.

So I removed the fringe. It was just slip knotted so this was super easy.

 Then I was left with this~

Enter a bit of super chunky remnant stash yarn (thanks Mom!) I used a piece about 36" long for this scarf .

Then to stitch. I found a needle with a super big eye so my yarn would go through without a battle.

I butted together the two short edges of the scarf creating a big circle. I was careful not to twist the scarf as I did this because I wanted a circular scarf in the end, but a single half twist would give you a cool mobius scarf (especially cool if the scarf you are using is short!)
Next I started stitching the two sides together. I made my stitches in one direction all the way to the end. You can make your stitches as large or small as you want and you can choose how close together you place them depending on the yarn you are using and the effect you want. I was using a super bulky yarn and I chose to make just a few large stitches pretty far apart so they would have more impact.

Then I took one big straight stitch across from the side I just finished stitching to the opposite side of the scarf and I went back up that side, creating big Xs with my yarn.

If you are like me and not so successful at keeping them the same size, they are super easy to adjust if you leave your tails a little long to start with.

I was finished, but it wasn't quite what I wanted... I didn't like the bow so I decided to tie it off at the back and weave in the ends.
It still needed something... I could still see too much of the serged edge and it was bugging me.
Then I had an idea -  Kisses are good - but Kisses and HUGS-  Now that's even better...
So I added some vintage really old random buttons to be the Os for hugs

Now I am feeling it! If only it would cool off enough for me to need a scarf!

Winter Hugs & Kisses Scarf - A Dollar Store Creation!

So this is my first mini tutorial!
I recently discovered the amazing blog lightbluegrey and besides being titled with my favorite color it is bunches of gorgeous inspiration. Recently she made this scarf and I realized it was the perfect solution to the Dollar Store scarf I scored a few weeks ago. I loved the color,

but the fringe was - shall we say- lacking a bit and in need of a solution.

So I removed the fringe. It was just slip knotted so this was super easy.

 Then I was left with this~

Enter a bit of super chunky remnant stash yarn (thanks Mom!) I used a piece about 36" long for this scarf .

Then to stitch. I found a needle with a super big eye so my yarn would go through without a battle.

I butted together the two short edges of the scarf creating a big circle. I was careful not to twist the scarf as I did this because I wanted a circular scarf in the end, but a single half twist would give you a cool mobius scarf (especially cool if the scarf you are using is short!)
Next I started stitching the two sides together. I made my stitches in one direction all the way to the end. You can make your stitches as large or small as you want and you can choose how close together you place them depending on the yarn you are using and the effect you want. I was using a super bulky yarn and I chose to make just a few large stitches pretty far apart so they would have more impact.

Then I took one big straight stitch across from the side I just finished stitching to the opposite side of the scarf and I went back up that side, creating big Xs with my yarn.

If you are like me and not so successful at keeping them the same size, they are super easy to adjust if you leave your tails a little long to start with.

I was finished, but it wasn't quite what I wanted... I didn't like the bow so I decided to tie it off at the back and weave in the ends.
It still needed something... I could still see too much of the serged edge and it was bugging me.
Then I had an idea -  Kisses are good - but Kisses and HUGS-  Now that's even better...
So I added some vintage really old random buttons to be the Os for hugs

Now I am feeling it! If only it would cool off enough for me to need a scarf!

8am 11-4-10 making beds

8am 11-4-10 making beds
Originally uploaded by Milasue

Making beds and getting ready to start the day!

8am 11-4-10 making beds

8am 11-4-10 making beds
Originally uploaded by Milasue

Making beds and getting ready to start the day!