Can't Help Myself.

August happens to be a very important month at our house, smack dab in the middle of it is Charlie's birthday. She has asked me almost every morning for the past 3 months if 'it's her birthday today', so I finally could say 'YES!'

We had a fun-filled birthday weekend filled with food, fun and presents (Charlie's favorite part) ... So I thought I would share with you what Charlie and I made for 'thank-you' cards. I 'stole' the idea from the Crafty Chica, and thought it would be a fun project to do with Charlie. Here's what we made:

How-to: the Mini-zine of Charlie

the layout for the mini-zine

We decided to do a photo in each square.

We put the photos in order and decorated with sharpies, glitter, sequins and stickers.

After the decorating was up to snuff, I scanned it and printed it out.

Finished product.

See the Crafty Chica's video on how to fold the mini-zine...

I thought this was a cute way to share how much Charlie had grown between age 3 to age 4. And she got a kick out of making her own little story book. We had such a good time making it that we just might make another mini-zine for our Christmas card this year!

I also got around to making another upcycled t-shirt dress for Charlie with a t-shirt that she hand-picked herself.

She makes me so proud.

I also dropped these new appliques off at Sweet 'N Sassy last week. If you know me, you know that I LOVE Mexican folk art. My sister's have told me that my house decor looks like a Mexican restaurant, and I take that as a compliment. So here's the new applique...

I just can't help myself!

Hanging Junk Garden how-to

My mom bought this little gem on one of the many 'treasure hunts' her and my dad have been on. Such a fun and simple idea, I had to make a few more. Luckily for me, she also picked up tons of containers to turn into hanging pots... and this is how I did it:

Grab wire cutter, needlenose pliers, wire, beads, buttons, anything else you can think of to thread, and a container.

I had my main man drill some holes into the container. A few on the bottom for drainage , and 3 around the lip of the container to thread the wire through.

Loop the wire through the holes and twist a few times.

Start threading the 'flare' onto the wire. I stole some of Charlie's plastic beads, used buttons, and some of the glass beads I had in my collection. I prefer more 'see-through' beads, they really shimmer in the sun.

Thread all 3 wires to the same length and do a twist with the wires at the bead ends. Then I just made a loop to hang and finished with more twisting.

... and here she is.

I had lots of succulents standing by from my favorite nursery.

I got around to doing three pots. I love the fuchsia plant, and my mother will be the proud owner of the hanging cup o' pearls.

I've also been working on more appliques for boys, other than ties. Don't get me wrong, I love the ties, but we wanted to spice it up a bit.

Introducing.... el luchador

I made 3 of these bad boys and delivered them to Sweet N' Sassy last week. Cooper made a special order for one, and then I have a few more ideas for boys appliques to get to. Guess I better get busy.

Rockstars & Cheetos

Wow. I'm with Robin. I thought I'd have tons of down time this summer, and would have lots of time to get to all the crafty ideas I've been storing in my brain. Not that I'm complaining, we've been having lots of fun in the sun!

I had bought the recycled t-shirt Sienna Dress Pattern from Lil Blue Boo a few months ago, and FINALLY have got around to trying it out. I've made two dresses for Charlie so far, and I can't stop looking at all the t-shirts in my closet, scheming up more possibilities.

I picked out these three shirts to start out with...

... and this is how it turned out.

We call it the 'Rockstar' dress.

Rockin' out to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'

I still had leftover t-shirt remnants, so I found another orange t-shirt to transform.

We love Cheetos!

We've also dropped off a few more items at Sweet 'N' Sassy this week... with plans for more next week. We're planning on really beefing up the collection so that there's more sizes to choose from.

These are girls tie appliques out of lace. There's ribbon or lace stitched around the neckline, with a button for a tie pin. I love these, so I'm excited to see how they do in the shop!

...and of course, some more boys tie appliques!

Hope to have some more fun things to post soon...