Some Russian Matryoshka Costumes

I got the idea off of Pinterest to make the girls Matryoshka, aka Russian nesing doll, costumes for Halloween this year. I followed the tutorial at The Train To Crazy. But I also found inspiration at Crooked Sister and Petit Joy. Of course I couldn't let our little Shortcake out of the action, so I added a small Matryoshka to the belly of a shirt for myself.

I used some fleece that I had in my stash for the girls' main part of the costume.

Then I added felt embellishments along with some big eyelet lace. The face holes I cut ended up being a bit too big, so  I added some elastic around them to cinch them up.
Happy Halloween!!
(I am hoping that we can get some better shots of the costumes today, tomorrow, or Saturday. These two are hard to capture!)

A Memory Rag Quilt

When we found out our good friends were moving far away, I immediately got to thinking about what we could give them that would be meaningful, thoughtful, and fun. I got the idea to make the framed state art to my friend, but now I wanted to come up with something for their daughter, Miss S, Peachy's friend since they were babies.

Since I know that they love handmade things, I went that route for both gifts. I settled on a quilt for Miss S, but a quilt with a personal touch. I had each child in our playgroup color a square for the quilt. I interspersed the drawing blocks with some fun bright flannel and made it into a rag quilt.

I hope that this quilt serves to not only warm the body, but the heart as Miss S looks back on her first four years with a wonderful group of playgroup friends.

Fall Family Picture Style: 2013

As I mentioned yesterday, I went with a mustard, grey, and navy theme for our 2013 fall family photo shoot.
I found a great pair of mustard skinnies for Peachy at Target. It appears that they are no longer selling them online, but you might be able to find them at stores yet. I paired them with a navy cardigan from Carters.

Under which I put a grey raglan sleeve shirt with sequins at the neck, also from Carters.

I also got out a pair of Keen sneakers that I had been saving for her. I don't remember where I ordered them from, but I got a really good deal when I did and I ordered a size up.

For Cream, I started with this graphic tee from Carters.

That I topped with this great cardigan with heart elbow patches! Love it!

I got her a pair of skinnies to wear as well. And she looked so cute in them.

She has been wearing her Keens for a while now, but I also love them.

I made both of the girls felt bow barrettes similar to this one on Etsy.

I wore my Old Navy skinny maternity jeans again. These are my go to pair of pants so far this pregnancy.

I wore a non-maternity Ann Taylor Loft stripe tank that is discontinued. But here is a similar one form Old Navy.

And once again the mustard cardigan made an appearance.

The infinity scarf is of my own making. I will try to do a post on it one of these days. And the boots are Old Navy.

And Mr. Cherry's outfit is from his dresser. :o)

Halloween Fabric Bunting

I can't believe that it has taken me this long to jump on the fabric bunting wagon. I have made paper buntings in the past, but finally sat down to conquer the fabric bunting. I am loving how they turned out and how quick and simple they are. I am thinking this is the start of an addiction.

Watch out, folks. There won't be a tutorial with this. The internet is already crawling with them. I just did some searches and found the one that I liked the best. I followed most of Leigh Anne's tutorial on Your Home Based Mom. 

I made my pennants a bit smaller, 7 inches long and 5 inches wide, and instead of using binding, I used twill tape simply because I had it on hand. I really liked the way Leigh Anne cuts her buntings. It made quick work. I ordered all of my fabrics from Fabric.com.

I bought a half yard of each print and that made plenty of pennants. I may have much more than I need.

Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Ah, yes, my friends. We are still on a pumpkin kick here. I promise I won't do it much longer, I think. I found this recipe at Cooking Classy and you can find it here. I brought these to a playgroup, since I needed an excuse to make them. Most friends won't turn down baked goods, I have discovered. The recipe called for topping them with whipped cream, but we enjoyed them straight from the pan, literally. And they really do have that pumpkin pie taste. So if you are looking for a little Thanksgiving preview, pop these in your oven and subsequently in your mouth and belly.

Fall Preschooler Activities

This week we had some little friends over for a Fall Art event with our moms' group. I did some searches on Pinterest to come up with the ideas. Here are the activities that we did:

Paper piece pumpkins from Frogs and Snails and  Puppy Dog Tails. I actually cut out a pumpkin shape and had the kids rip the orange paper to glue on their pumpkins.

Painted Indian corn from Spotted Canary. I cut out paper shapes and had the kids use cotton swabs to dab their paint onto their corn. I had crumpled paper bag strips that we stapled on for the husks.

Fall themed bingo dauber sheets from DLTK kids. Bingo daubers are always a big hit with the 5 and under crowd. And I like that they are a lot less messy than regular painting.

We also did a tissue paper stained glass window. I don't remember where I first saw this idea, but everyone enjoyed it. I taped contact paper to our windows with the sticky side out. The kids placed tissue paper squares onto the paper. I will definitely be doing this one again with my kiddos.

Of course, no good playgroup would be complete without snacks. We had the "traditional" fall mix of roasted peanuts and candy corn. Apples on a stick from Ellies Bites Decorated Cookies. And candy corn dipped pretzel moms from Your Homebased Mom.
What projects have you done for fall with your kids?

Appliqued Tee Shirts

I recently received an order for a few decorated baby onesies. As long as I was making a few, I figured I may as well make a few more. :) I really had fun coming up with the designs and creating the shirts. I think it really had to do with the fact that I was in a creative happy place. I didn't have to follow a pattern or read directions. It was just me, making. That makes me happy!

I got all of my designs through the Silhouette online store. I do cut my fabric using my Silhouette machine with a Heat N Bond Lite backing. After ironing the pieces onto the tops I stitch around them to add detail and add durability.

Foodie Friday: Carrot Cake Bread

We have a bumper crop of carrots in our garden this year. I love just going out to the back yard and pulling however many we need. I will miss that easy produce come winter. I had been having a hankering for something carrot cakey as of late and with a ready supply of carrots, I went for it. Since I knew I wanted something that I could legally eat at any old time, I didn't go for true carrot cake, instead I made some yummy carrot bread. The results were great! You could whip up some sort of cream cheese frosting to go with the bread, but I went lo-cal. ;)

Carrot Cake Bread 

based on the recipe from Flour On My Face
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Grease four mini loaf pans and set aside.

3) Mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until blended.

4) Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in small bowl.

5) Mix dry ingredients into wet until incorporated.

6) Add carrots, almonds, and dried cranberries. Fold in until incorporated.

7) Pour into pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, checking after 35 minutes.

8) Cool and enjoy. (I froze some of the loaves and we ate some.) 

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Creamy Tomato Soup

With the fall weather we have been having, I have been feeling the need to cook and serve soup. It is so comforting on a chilly day and something we just don't eat lots of in the summer months. This recipe is from SkinnyTaste.Com. You can find it here.

And while it did take a little bit of work, read, more than just tossing ingredients into the slow cooker and calling it a meal, it did taste really good. I coupled it with a simple recipe for cheese sticks from Roxana's Home Baking, that you can find here.

And there you have it. A delicious meal from a few simple recipes perfect for the cooler months ahead.
I am linking up with Mel for her Crock-tober linky party.

Get Pin-Spired

For some reason this pregnancy I have been having a tough time figuring out what to wear. And believe me, it is not for lack of options. I have been trying to mix and match what I already have to create a fun pregnancy wardrobe. It is always good to get inspiration from the internet. And where do we turn when we need to hunt something down on the internet? Pinterest! I have a Fashioning board, which is often where I turn to when looking for fashion inspiration. So this weekend, I turned to it for some advice and came away with this outfit.

I have been hunting and hunting for a mustard cardigan and finally found one at Target this week. I added in a navy stripe shirt that I also purchased there. (Neither of these items are maternity.) I paired these tops with some maternity skinny jeans from Old Navy. I topped it all off with a skinny belt above the bump.

Merona V-neck Cardigan

Merona Boatneck Stripe Tee

Old Navy Maternity Skinny Jeans

Ther you have it, fashion inspiration at your finger tips! Thanks Pinterest. I will be linking up with: