Just Wasting Time

I should be cleaning up because I have a friend coming over on Thursday. I need to get laundry done and put some things away. I need to put my sewing machine and fabric away. Just things that require a few minutes each but add up to a fair amount of work when I have the girls to look after. I can not leave the room without them messing up something I just cleaned up.

Here is yet another card that I have made recently. Making cards for James has certainly taken over most of my craft time and I don't mind. It is forcing me to think of new designs and to use up my large stash of supplies. This card is made using Jenni Bowlin papers and mini Bingo card. The base of the card is Stampin' Up cardstock. The ric rac is from Maya Road and the twine that is wrapped around it came off the hang tag of the girls new jeans. I am glad I saved it and I like the look it gave the card. That would probably be my favorite feature. I used a Fiskars border punch again and then stitched around the edges and across the ribbon with my sewing maching.

I am working on completing an album all about me! I was so excited to start this class but find that it is much harder writing about me or people and things that are important to me. This is something I hope my daughters want to read about when they are older and that has put alot of pressure on me to make sure this book is a true relection of me, right now. So I keep typing away and remain very grateful for the message boards over at Big Picture Scrapbooking that keep me inspired to complete this project.

Another Try

Everytime I try to take pictures of the girls it is a huge ordeal because they don't like to cooperate with me! They run off, reach for the camera or cry! I am so glad we got a digital SLR camera because I can take many shots very quickly and can usually get at least 1 good photo of each girl.

Frame is from House of 3.

Kinder Karnival

Today I took the girls out to post so we could check out the Kinder Karnival that was going on. I am always a little hesitant to do such things on my own because the girls can be a handful but things went well and the girls ended up having fun. The crowd was very small and super easy to get around. There was a couple of bouncy castles, a ball pit, games, face painting, balloons, small merry go round, karaoke and snacks. Aub and Lolo loved the merry go round and the bouncy castle on the second try. The first time I put them in the bouncy castle they both bailed out really quickly but I gave it another try before we left and they loved it! I couldn't Lolo to come out so I had to lean in and pull her out! I am so glad they had a great time because they really needed it. They played hard and were asleep in about 20 minutes once they settled into bed. I wish this was something they could do more often.

Frame is from House of 3.

Getting Caught Up!

I have certainly felt busy this past week even though I really haven't accomplished much. A few trips out to post to check the mail and get groceries and a bit of time making James a card to send off. Yesterday the girls and I went to go visit my dear friend Stephanie. How exciting for us that she moved so close! So we spent several hours chatting while the girls played and made themselves right at home...Aub even raided Steph's fridge and tried to walk off with a DVD! It was so nice to sit and chat with a great friend.

After we left Stephanie's house we went to the Grafenwohr Px to do some shopping. The Px here is small and generally doesn't have what I want so we have to drive to places with a better Px. I picked up Grey's Anatomy Season 5 so I can finally get caught up. We had dinner at Subway and then came home. It is fun spending quality time with my girls (especially when they are well behaved).

I had alot of fun making this card. I used my Slice to cut the birds, border and heart punches and my sewing machine. The patterned paper and yellow inside is Basic Grey.

This is one of my favorite cards that I have made...so simple. The papers are from Jenni Bowlin.

Fishy Project

I have spent some time looking for projects that I can do with the girls. I found a cute project kit online that involved fish and tissue paper but the shipping was outrageous so I set out to create my own version of the project. I cut fish out from construction paper, cut some double sided adhesive sheets to fit on the middle of the fish and then cut up some bits of tissue paper. Easy...took me maybe 20 minutes to prepare. I put the girls into their high chairs and we got to work decorating our colorful fish. Lolo tossed her bits of tissue paper onto her fish and Aubrey took longer putting each piece down. I grabbed crayons to draw on eyes and Aubrey wanted to do that part on her own. I think we ended up with a really cute and easy craft that held their attention just long enough for the activity to be fun. We hung the fish up on our arts and crafts wall so they can check out their pieces of art.

Busy!

For the past week and a half I have been doing a lot of sewing. I have completed 2 tote bags, a Christmas tree skirt, 3 table runners, 1 crayon roll and 2 crayon notebooks! I am tired just thinking about it. I have 1 more tote bag to make and a cover for a book. Once I get my sewing machine put away I don't think I will pull it out again for a long while. I have some pictures I need to be scrapbooking so I can attempt to get caught up on the girls albums.

James and I just installed Skype on our computers so we can make video calls. We tried it today and it is great. Lolo was so happy to see her daddy. She sat in my lap saying "daddy" and waving to James! It was so stinking cute. I love that she was so excited to see him.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. The girls and I just hung out at home. The weather was chilly and Lolo has come down with a bit of cold which Aubrey and I have now. I hope this passes soon and we don't start a vicious cycle of continually being sick.

In case anyone is wondering about the fabric on the bag...it is Amy Butler. I just love it and I am so proud of my bag.

***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***

The baby pigeon has disappeared. I have no idea where he went and I am a little sad. Really. I seriously am. I really wanted him to be ok and the girls loved watching him out the window. I hope I don't have to worry about pigeon babies ever again! They are creepy little buggers.

James has been gone 6 weeks now and time has actually gone by pretty quickly. Not fast enough but quicker than I imagined it would and for that I am grateful.

I have been doing a few sewing projects and am glad for the distraction. I have completed a cute little tote bag (minus a button) and a Christmas tree skirt in the past 2 days. I know it is early for Christmas projects but I really wanted to get it taken care of so I wouldn't feel stressed to finish it on time. I hope to post pictures of the tote bag once I get the button sewn on tomorrow. It is cute and I am so proud of the way it turned out. I also ordered some prints from Shutterfly and once they get here I need to spend some time getting caught up on my scrapbooks. They have really taken a back seat lately to card making and now sewing. I am so happy I have great hobbies.

Finally, the cute picture of Lolo was taken earlier in the month. I just love this picture for a couple reasons. First, look how blue her eyes are! How gorgeous! Next, her perfect round face. Finally, I love how I was able to capture Aubrey way in the back of the picture. I just love it when I am able to capture such perfect photos of my girlies!