Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Journey Road Thursdays

So often we create a New Year's resolution, stick to it for a couple of months (if you're really good) and then just forget about it. The most common reason for failure is accountability. Having someone or someones to share your Journey with is important and essential for suceeding. 

I am creating Journey Road Thursdays to be a place where I can talk about my New Year's  resloution's progress. How it works: each week I will post a goal, a question, or an activity (titled: Where to?). In the same post I will talk about how the previous weeks' goal/question/activity went (titled: Destination).

My journey this year is INSPIRATION. I want to explore what/who inspires me, and how to inspire others. Inspiration is something that provokes you in thought or into action. It affects you to an end, and it is that end that I want to discover in myself.

I would love for you to join me on this Journey Road.

Where to?
So the New Year is just around the corner, and now is a great time to reflect on 2011. Was there any event in your life, or just in general that inspired you last year? How did it change you or did it encourage you to do something?

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Family Christmas Project

Wow. I don't know how all the mommy bloggers do it, but writing a post during the Christmas season has been next to impossible. Hubby took the girls for a walk because I was lamenting about not having time to write. Thank you Lord for an amazingly supportive husband.

I have been trying to write this post since Thanksgiving, but time has eluded me. Chistmas is my most favorite time of the year. I love all the beautiful decorations and twinkling lights. Every where I go I am reminded of the beauty that entered the world, Jesus Christ. I wanted this year to really be about him, so I started searching for ideas. I saw some amazing ideas this year for keeping Christ in Christmas. My favorite series was CHRISTmas at I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar and DIY Advent Calendars at  I Heart {Nap} Time. All of the pieces inspired me to create a project for my family to do together and bring the focus back to Jesus.

I designed an 18ft nativity garland for our tree. Since My Girl is only 3 and Lil Bell is 18months, I realized the project couldn't be too dificult. Here is a picture of the designs I drew:


I used felt, craft glue, glitter sticks, pipe cleaners, gems,  xsmall and small white poms, foam and 18ft ribbon. The foam was cut into the same basic shapes as the felt character to give each one more weight and stability.

After I cut all the pieces from the felt, every one help glue and decorate. My Girl had a great time gluing the pieces together and even more fun using the glitter sticks. We used the poms for the hands and to make the sheep look puffy.






We all seemed to have a great time, and our tree looks Beautiful. Our Nativity tree is decorated with our garland and every angel ornament we own. Even the tree skirt is a Nativity. 

Have a Merry Christmas!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Giving Thanks

After a day of cooking, eating with and loving on my family and friends, I couldn't help but think about how beautiful life is.

I know if I let it, everyday could swollow me whole, but I have my hope keeing me afloat.

I recently realized thankfulness is the key, that a greatful heart builds hope. It reminds me of what I've been through, and helps me to put things into perspective, seeing all the things I do have and not what I don't. Sometimes it feels silly, but giving thanks for even the littlest things helps (the shoes on my feet, or milk in the fridge). The more thankful I am, the easier it is to work through hard circumstances.

I want to encourage you, as Thanksgiving passes us by and Christmas comes all too quickly to take time to give thanks for something or to someone.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Beauty of Parenthood

I was watching Parenthood the other night. One of the characters was dealing with her post baby body self-esteem issues, and I was totally feeling her.

I remember looking at myself in the mirror wondering, will I ever feel beautiful again? After having a baby let alone two or more, it seems like your body just doesn't want to cooperate and quite frankly having breast bursting with milk is just uncomfortable. I know eventually, I got used to my new body, but that hasn't stopped me from trying to get the old one back at least a little. 

I suppose this had to happen to the poor girl, in the middle of a really nice party her milk lets down and she leaks all over her dress. If you have never had this happen, lucky you. It can be very embarrassing. Along comes Her husband to comfort her (good man). He is telling her that she is beautiful and that he wants her, but she shrugs it off.  Instantly, some thing began to bother me about this scene. I wasn't sure at first what it was but then it hit me. It was her reaction to her husband. There she is dealing with her insecurities, when the man she loves comes in to rescue her from her pity party. What she do? Blow him off.

It got me thinking about how often we, women, want to be pursued, wooed, and told we are beautiful, but when the men we love do we roll our eyes. We say "whatever" or you have to say that you're married to me. I realized that our own insecurities prevent us from enjoying the thing our heart wants most, to be treasured.

Beauty begins with knowing that you are valuable, worthy of another's devotion. Beauty does lie in the eye of the beholder, but the only eye that matters is yours. I have had help in recognizing my own beauty. My husband taught me to just agree with him whenever he tells me I'm beautiful. It has taken years, too many shrugs and eyes rolls for me to count, before I actually began to believe him. I know I am beautiful, because I believe it.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Falling for Fall

I love Fall.

Growing up in California, I never really got to experience a real Fall. Califonia Fall is always cool crisp mornings, followed by warm sunny afternoons with occasional showers. Being surrounded by a multitude of evergreen trees, the changing colors never dominated the scene. I didn't truly fall for Fall untill I spent my college years in the quaint little town of Fulton, Missouri. The rolling hills of the country side being blanketed by greens, browns, and oranges were a midwest comfort that this coastal girl embraced.




Last year I found this multicolored yarn which I had a major failure with. I tried to make a beanie that looked more like a really sad nome hat. So I hid the yarn and completely forgot I had it. Determined to try again to make something darling for My Girl, I pulled it from the bottom of the pile of yarn, along with a gorgeous forrest green. I tried my hardest to write the pattern out, but I kept having to start over to get the sizing right.

Oh Fall, if only you could blaze across the Nor Cal scenery, but alas I will be will just have to settle for my ever green scenery.


Monday, October 17, 2011

Beautiful Eats: Christmas Quiche


As I prepared a much desired quiche, I couldn't help but think of my father repeating the adage, “You are what you eat." It's funny to think now how incredibly picky of an eater I was as a child. My poor parents tried every trick in the book to get me to eat things, nothing short of begging, bribing or threatening. But back then, if the food didn't look good, I wasn't going to eat it. I suppose my desire for beautiful food was birthed then and became the catalyst for learning how to cook.



Looking at all my ingredients, I love how beautiful food can be and can make me feel. I love all the colors, the vibrancy, the rich aroma of fresh ingredients. Mmmmm.



This is my Christmas Quiche. It gets its name from the colors of the food and the placement of tomatoes in a wreath pattern. (I know very original name! *smile*)



The ingredients are:

1 pie crust
8 eggs (realized I needed 2 more after I poured the 6 into my pie dish)
1C milk
1C shredded cheese
1 tomato (The one pictured is from my garden. *smile*)
1C lightly steamed & chopped asparagus
1C spinach
1 clove garlic or 1/2tbsp garlic powder
salt & pepper



I layer my veggies, less the tomatoes, and sprinkle cheese around with each layer. Next I pour my well beaten eggs and milk mixture into the dish. Finally, I carefully place my tomatoes around the edges.








About 45minutes later,  a beautiful Christmas Quiche!






Oh Dad, how right you were.

I am what I eat, and I am beautiful!





Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Birthday Party Pinafore for My Belle

 What in the world is a pinafore? you ask.
It is an apron with a shaped bodice, open back, and a button or tie in back worn over a dress. Many women and little girls in olden times would wear a pinafore to keep clean, since constant washing could damage a dress. Now a days, it is worn with or without a blouse or dress, and makes for a beautiful summer top for little girls.

I decided to see just how hard a pinafore would be to make. My Belle turned one in April, and I wanted a unique party dress for her. I rummaged through my collection of materials and vintage table cloths, and found a beautiful lace table cloth and white cotton to line it with. I stopped by Britex Frabrics in San Francisco and found the most beautiful ribbon to trim it with.

Measurements
Before I got started I measured My Belle's chest (just under the arms), length just under arm to ankle, shoulder (chest at under arm to bottom of shoulder blade) and distance between shoulder blades. I added 1 inch for seam allowance. For the ribbon, use the chest measurement plus 2" for a clasp clouser or 6" for a bow clouser, and the straps are the shoulder measurement plus 2".

For the bloomers I used the techniques I learned from Whitney Sews on how to make your own underwear. Here is the link for the video: http://youtu.be/7T5iIcc-gZ4 (by the way she is an awesome resource and has all kinds of fablous ideas, so check her out there is a link to her blog under blogs I follow.)

Things You Will Need to make Pinafore and Bloomers:
  • 2yrds of fabric (cotton will be the easiest to work with, but I used a heavy lace and cotton. When cutting the fabric, add 1-2 inches to the bottom of the dress,otherwise it will look like a tube with  that has only been attached at the top. It will look like a trapazoid)
  • 1.5-2yrds of 1" wide of coordinating ribbon be sure to cut  the ribbon according to your measurements. (I got 1yrd, but wished I had gotten more. The shortage of ribbon caused me to clasp closed the back, where as a little more would have made for a bow tie back and possibly a matching head band.) 
  • 1/4" wide elastic  (The length of the elastic is determined by bloomers you base your pattern on.)
  • 1/2" wide elastic
  • Sewing machineThread
  • Sewing maching
  • Sewing needle
  • Tape measure
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Iron and Ironing board
  • pins
 Making the Pinafore
1.Iron seam allowance for top and bottom. Using a staight stich sew seam allowance 5/8". Then,using a zigzag, sew over the raw edge. This will give it a cleaner look, and help prevent fraying.

2. Repeat Step 1, for the sides.

3. Fold fabric in half to find the middle of the top, mark with a pin. Fold chest ribbon in half and mark middle. Line up the middle of the fabric and ribbon with right side of farbic to wrong side of ribbon and pin together.

Here is an up close shot of the ribbon.

4. Using the distance btwn the shoulder blades, devide by 2. Using that number measure from the middle of fabric/ribbon to place the shoulder straps for the front. Again, using the same number measure from the edges to place straps for the back. Pin straps under the chest ribbon, so that it is completely under the chest ribbon.

5. Sew straps in place with a backstich on top and bottom.

6. Sew chest ribbon in place with a straight stich as close to the edge as possible. (using a zipper foot will allow you to see the edge better.)

7. Finally, if you are using a closure back, you will need to hand sew it in place. If you are using a ribbon closure, you will need to sew the ribbon across the fabric edge with a  backstich, and fold the ends of the ribbon and sew in place to give them a finished look.

All done. I hope you have fun making the adorable dress/top for your girls.

Being Creative
SnP

 

Friday, April 22, 2011

Recreating a bOLD NEW Necklace

I was browsing youtube last night, when I ran across an old video by Bobbie Thomas on the Today Show.  She was recreating runway pieces that actually are really beautiful in regular life. Bobbie demonstrates how to make really fun bold necklaces by reusing several pieces from your own collection or by making inexpensive purchases at  H&M or Forever XXI. 

I decided to try my hand it. I went through my jewelry box and found three pieces I hadn't worn in a while.I used a faux pearl choker, a silver/white/glass single strand necklace, and a layered teal, white and brown ball and rhinestone necklace.  I intertwined them then used a green ribbon (it was the only one I had on hand, but  I am going to switch it out for a sheer white one later. I really did use what I had lying around the house. lol) It took me a couple of tries to discover what I think worked best, and the final outcome is rather lovely. Wouldn't you agree? I am going to wear it for Easter with a skirt I made.


 If you want a really great tutorial on how to do this, check out the youtube video:  http://youtu.be/YSFHkJXUZC0

Being Creative,
SnP

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Beginning

Hi There!

Welcome to my blog. I'm Cari, a mother of 2 girls, a wife, an adventurer, an artist, and a dabbler. I first learned to sew when I was about 11years old, but hadn't touched a sewing machine till my husband got me one for Christmas in 2009. Ever since then I have been making as many different types of clothing and items as possible. I taught myself how to crochet last Fall (you can learn how to do almost every thing on youtube.com ...LOL) I don't have any training in design, but I love being creative and playing with thing. I'm on an adventure and would like to invite you to join me.

Journey with me on the road to becoming a DIY'er. If you love flipping through the pages of unique clothing, accessories, and home decor on Etsy.com or the countless DIY blogs and think I want to make stuff like that...I want to create my own style...I wish I could make stuff like that...then you and I have something in common. I am an average gal, aiming to create what these amazing people are creating.

My hope is to be a place where you can come to to learn techniques, find fun stuff to make, a safe place to fail and rejoice in success together.

Being Creative,
SnP