penny carnival

Elves and fairies and dirt, oh my!

A conversation between friends, circa 1995:

Boy 1: Megan reminds me of something you'd find in the forest.

Boy 2: What, like dirt?

Boy 1: No, like a wood sprite or a fairy.

In my twisted way, I took that as a compliment. I've always loved woodland things, like squirrels and mushrooms and moss and elves. So I'm living vicariously through my youngest child and working on her woodland-themed first birthday party right now.

First on the to-do list is to make enough of the Amy Karol elf hats to serve as party favors for the kids. One down, several to go.

 

If you're familiar with the Bend the Rules Sewing elf hat and this looks a little off to you it's because I tried to enlarge the pattern by hand, without a photocopy machine. I'm heading to Kinko's later today.

Here's the birthday elf herself:

Babies and birthdays

Birthdays and babies have caught up with me in the last week or so. I'm about a month behind on gifts for two babies that were born to friends in September, my niece's sixth birthday was yesterday and all she got so far was a phone call, and then there's the planning for Magpie's first birthday (which will be celebrated next Sunday) that has hardly begun. 

I made a dent in my to-do list over the last couple of days with these bibs for the babies.

I followed the amazingly talented Amy Karol's instructions in her "Bend the Rules Sewing" book, which I highly recommend. The first time I picked it up I wasn't blown away by the projects, but upon closer inspection I am pretty much in love with everything she has in there. I don't know why I didn't click with it right away, but I'm already scheming to do more, including making the elf hats as favors for Magpie's woodland-themed birthday party (which I mentioned is a week away, right?).

The bibs still need snaps, but they're otherwise done. They're cotton on the front and flannel on the back and I love how they turned out. Thanks, Amy Karol. You're a magician.

I'm also still toying with the whole Etsy shop thing. I ended putting the rainbow dress I made recently up for sale--my first product! Bo rejected it because every time I suggested she wear her "rainbow dress" she thought I meant the hoochie-mama dress she wore on her birthday this year (which has mysteriously vanished ... hmmmm ... bad mom). 

I'm working on dress #2 for the shop. You can see my progress here:

It's made from a super-soft, somewhat thick grey flannel (I'd call it "mouse grey" if I worked for J. Crew) and a sweet little orange and silver polka dot cotton fabric. The opolka dot fabric was a find in the remnant section. It inspired the dress. I should have lined the inside with it, though, so I might make a different version before I list it. I also will use white thread on the trim (see below) instead of grey next time. I thought it would look cool but, well, it doesn't.

And I need some buttons for the top--should I go with grey or orange?

My plan for the shop definitely includes clothes for babies and kids, but I'm working on developing a more "signature" item that will be the main offering. Stay tuned ...

Oop. Almost forgot the pumpkins. The garden is done. Here are some shots of the last crop to be harvested:

Yearbook yourself

Klay, you are in trouble. I can't stop doing this.

www.yearbookyourself.com

I would pee my pants if everyone did this and then e-mailed me one of their "yearbook" photos as an attachment. I'll post them here for mindless endless entertainment.

When it's not hip to be square

I've griped about this before, but seriously--T-shirt makers should be arrested for making women look like cereal boxes. We are not just smaller versions of men! 

J often brings me home T-shirts from school and I usually either turn them into bags or hang them in the back of the closet. He gave me one yesterday, though, that I really wanted to wear. The football team at his school takes on a community cause once a year and this year they're "tackling" breast cancer. They're raising money for research and at this Friday's game they're hoping to paint the center line (stripe? centerfield? help me out here) pink. Breast cancer took the life of a dear friend's mom and another friend is winning her battle against it now. The least I can do is buy a pink T-shirt and wear it!

But not in its original form.

So I performed some T-shirt surgery today. 

I'm sorry my photos haven't been up to par lately. Magpie used to be my cooperative little crafter, but lately she just wants hugs and kisses and diaper changes, so the first "after" photo was rushed and shot in the basement--not exactly stellar lighting down there.

Here's the boxy "before" (do you like the please-don't-fall-off-the-deck-before-the-self-timer-goes-off look on my face?):

Here's the "after":

So I turned the top into a tank, hemmed the neck and armholes, shortened the length at the shoulders, took in the sides of the shirt so it had more of an hourglass shape, and added the black triangles (snipped from the bottom of a different T-shirt so I didn't even have to hem them) to make room for my post-baby hips. Who am I kidding? The hips have more to do with chocolate chip cookies than babies.

The triangles look kind of goofy there, but they don't poke out like flippers when the shirt is on.

If you're looking for some T-shirt reconstruction inspiration, check out this flickr group.

Acoustic play

About this time last year we cancelled cable. Yes, it was the start of football season and amazingly it was J's idea. Our friends commended me for the decision and then when I was out of the room the guys would smack J upside the head. One less venue for Monday Night Football, I guess, and it was the venue with a kegorator in the garage. (That reminds me--we need to have a moment of silence for the kegorator, which died this summer with beef from 1/4 of a grassfed cow inside. That's right, several pounds of organic beef went bad along with a half-consumed tank of Bud Light. In lieu of flowers, please send beef and beer.)

I thought the TV thing was going to be permanent, but after four months without the boob tube we realized it was a handy tool to be able to use--just not abuse. It's not like it was a torturous time. At all. It was really nice, but there just are moments when nothing else but Caillou will do.

We try to do as little TV as possible, so it's always great to stumble upon lists like this one by Steve Gerber. I found it via a post on Ohdeedoh, which summed things up nicely here: 

"Does this scenario sound familiar to you? It's 3:30 in the afternoon. Your two-year-old has just woken up from her nap, but it'll be at least a couple of hours before your partner is home from work. You've officially entered that long, dark teatime the soul knows as the Post-Nap-Pre-Dinner Stretch. What to do, what to do. Fortunately, Instructables contributor Steve Gerber has drawn on several years of experience as a childcare provider to come up with a list of 24 things to do when time hangs just a little bit heavy on your hands..."

We do a lot of the things he suggests already but some of my favorite new ideas are to put the kids on an animal safari (hide their stuffed animals in the shrubs outside and help them find them) and pop popcorn in a popper with a clear lid so they can see it (Value Village, here I come). And tip #24 is fabulous (send your kids to someone else's house).

One idea we've implemented already didn't come from the list directly but from "jglitter" who left a comment on Ohdeedoh's post about two things she does with her kids: '80s dance parties (check! that's one of our morning routines) and throwing blankets over the dining room table to create a cave. We implemented her latter suggestion here this morning:

Hopefully those links will bring you a few moments of unplugged sanity, too.

Freshy fresh

I dream about the day when I can one day shower by myself again. Instead, I share a standard-size tub/ shower with my two daughters every day and trade in my privacy for the convenience of bathing everyone at one time.

Bo almost made me forget my troubles when she said this as I was stepping out of the shower today (yes, naked):

"Mommy, you're hot. You're sooooo hot."

If I'm being honest with myself, I know she was referring to the steam that was circulating around me. But instead I'm opting to take it as a major compliment after several months of running my arse off.

What's not hot is the forecast. They're calling for a low of 31 degrees later this week, so Bo and I scrambled to harvest as much as we could from the garden tonight. Here's the result after much rinsing and scrubbing:

The patty pan squash are going straight to preschool with her tomorrow for other families to enjoy. We still have a bunch in the fridge and I'm desperately trying to come up with new ways to prepare it. 

Here is one of my favorite autumn-ish recipes for vegetables, courtesy of the lovely Nigella Lawson. Enjoy! 

1 large sweet potato

1-2 large red potatoes

1 onion

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1/2 head of garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

black pepper

125 g halloumi cheese (I use slices of fresh mozarella because what in the world is halloumi?)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the vegetables into 1-2 inch pieces. 

Separate the cloves of garlic.

Throw everything into a pyrex dish, toss it around with your hands. 

Cook for 45 minutes until vegetables are fork tender.

Top with the cheese and broil until brown.

Serve it right out of the pan at the table. I like to make a sandwich out of it with a whole wheat roll. 

My most hideous sewing project to date ... and a rainbow dress

I can't even blame this one on Halloween. 

About a month ago, J asked me to sew three cheer costumes for Bo and two of her little friends. The plan is for the girls to wear them to his school's football games when he has to be there to supervise. "Has to be there" isn't accurate. "Is thrilled to be there." That's better.

The only problem is that the school's mascot is the pirate and the colors are yellow and purple. Nothing against UW at all, but I never realized how hideous purple and yellow are together. And there was no shortage of skull and cross bone motifs at the fabric store, but talk about tacky. I apologized to the woman who cut my fabric for me. Worse yet, I overestimated how much I needed so now I have more pirate fabric in my stash than anything else. 

Ironically, this was also the most technically advanced thing I've ever sewn. Fancy pleats. Zippers. Oh my. Update: I followed McCalls 2849.  

Now I just need to campaign to change the school colors and mascot. Maybe there's a chance ... I've been sleeping with the assistant principal for years.

In the meantime I threw together this rainbow dress for Bo, but if you look closely in the third photo you can see her dress of choice these days--a giant pink sparkly tutu I bought her (why, God, why?) from her dance studio's costume sale. How many times have I used the word hideous in this post? Once more won't hurt anyone, right? 

Glory for girls

I tend to have all sorts of good ideas that never turn into reality. A long time ago I said I was going to start a magazine for middle school-age girls that was about being unique and quirky and strong instead of being about celebrity heart throbs and improving your smooching skills. Never happened. I've had all sorts of ideas for things I wanted to sell on Etsy. That hasn't happened either. (Yet.) Oh, and there's a wall in the kitchen that has been half painted for a month now.

Then there's Amy, my fabulous babysitter who inspired the name of this blog. She's a doer. (And she's hilarious. She's married to the Nicest Man on Earth, but she also marries her best girlfriend once a year in Mexico.) Just to clarify: I'm 34 and no longer need a babysitter. Amy babysat my sister and me when we were wee.

Somehow between weddings, Amy and another friend created a product line called Glory for Girls. It's an all-natural, made in the U.S.A. line of lotions, sunscreens, body wash and other goodies for pre-teens. Not body glitter. Just pure, yummy smelling skin care stuff.

Amy sent me a box of samples last week--the same media kit she's sending to all the big magazines. The products are geared for girls older than 3 and 1, but that didn't stop Bo and Magpie from digging right in. Bo applied deodorant to her pits. Magpie thought a bottle of lotion was a bottle of milk (no worries--the cap was on tight). I loved the packaging and the little extras they created, like a cootie catcher with messages like "your beauty shines from within" and the beautifully designed business cards. Oh, and the cherry lip balm makes me feel 13 again. Love it.

Congrats on the launch, Amysan! You've taken your penny carnivals to a whole new level.

So I'm inspired to do some doing. I started sewing a dress a couple of days ago that I think will be the first product I list in my Etsy shop. Stay tuned, and check out Glory for Girls in the meantime.