Adam's Blankie Children's Boutique

Recipe {Pistachio Pomegranate Chicken Salad}

2011-12-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

I am a believer in "everything in moderation." Sure I think you should eat healthy, but I also think burger with friends and milkshakes is good sometimes, too! And, I almost always have to have dessert. Almost always. Okay, so maybe I'm not so much of a health nut, but I do {I do! I do! I do!} try to get healthy foods into me!! So when I came across this next recipe, it sounded right up my alley, and I knew I'd be making it soon!

{photo from Clean Eating Jan/Feb 2012 issue}

I recently ordered a subscription to the magazine, "Clean Eating." As I'm sure you can guess, it's all about eating healthy, or "clean," as they refer to it. I love that it's chock-full of recipes {and many are "reader recipe tested"}, and I really love that the foods are not bland, as you might presume "healthy meals" would be.

So I am glad to say I "recipe tested" this one, and it was dee-LISH-ious! And even better yet? Not much time to prep {just shell the nuts & get the pomegranate arils out earlier in the day, and it will come together in a breeze, come dinner time!}.

Hearty Chicken Salad {or as I like to call it, "Pistachio Pomegranate Chicken Salad"}
{serves 4, 20 minutes hands-on time}
4 5 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts {I used chicken tenders instead, which cook faster}
3 tbsp plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
evoo {olive oil - enough to cook chicken in ~ couple tablespoons}
8 oz fresh baby spinach
1/2 red onion, cut indo paper-thin wedges {I left these out}
1/2 cup pomegranate arils {I bought a whole pomegranate and removed arils from it; be sure to remove yellow/white pith from them, as the pith is bitter; your store may also sell these already removed from the fruit itself. Oh, and p.s., my kids LOVED to snack on these alone - and they're so, SO good for you!!}.
1 oz shelled raw unsalted pistachios {again, your store may sell already shelled for you}
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

Dressing {NOTE: I did NOT make the dressing here ~ instead I used pre-purchased Caesar dressing - sorry, couldn't be that healthy this first time around! One step at a time! Ha!}
1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tsp evoo

In a large, shallow bowl, add chicken and 3 tbsp lemon juice. Turn to coat. Sprinkle salt, pepper and cayenne on all sides of chicken. Set aside.

Put a skillet over medium heat and drizzle with a couple tbsp of EVOO. Add chicken and cook, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board to let cool. {If you cooked breasts {versus tenders}, you'll need to slice these at an angle, once they're cool enough to handle}.

Meanwhile, prepare dressing {or use store-bought Caesar, like me! So good!!}: In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice, yogurt, oil and salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss spinach, onion, pomegranate and pistachios and divide among serving bowls/plates. Top with chicken and avocado and drizzle with your dressing.

Enjoy a heart-healthy recipe {that actually tastes amazing!!}!

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DIY Tutorial: Upcycled Headband Holder Board {ART}

2011-12-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Being a creator of headbands, you can just about imagine how many headbands I have for my own baby girl! I'm not gonna lie, it's a little ridiculous! And up until now, they'd been piled up in a little wicker basket in her room for no one to see....oh, the horror!!!! Sooo....I wanted to come up with something ultra chic on which to display them in her room!

While you could always just hang hooks directly to the wall, I wanted something a bit more artsy and part of the room decor. So I decided to turn some ultra ugly old cupboard doors (yes, a plural here - we need TWO boards to hold all hers! Ha!) into awesome displays/pieces of art for her walls {yes! upcycling at its finest!}. My first step was heading to a salvage warehouse here in Phoenix. And much to my liking, I snatched up two super ugly cupboard doors for like 5 bucks each! SCORE! And while they were obviously from the same kitchen cupboards, they are NOT an exact match - one is from a horizontal opening door, and the other, a vertical. I actually love this aspect - matching but not too "matchy-matchy"!!

So here's what you need to

{create your own headband board holder}:

*old cupboard door (or maybe get a few to make at the same time - these would not only make for fantastic gifts, but also be great for your own room - I'm wishing now I would have gotten more to hold my necklaces!)
*spray paint in color/s of choice
*lace
*hot glue gun
*hammer & nails
*decorative hooks
*fabric
*sandpaper
*cloth (to wipe clean)
*newspaper/kraft paper (large) for overspray of spray paint
*mounting hook/s
*spackle (optional)

1. Once you have your {cupboard} doors, you'll need to sand them down a little. Not to completely remove the paint -- just to rough them up a little so that they can hold new paint on top. So give them a good sanding (you might want to wear gloves and a mask for this - especially if working with old doors, as it may have lead paint on it!), then wipe clean.

2.I also had to fill in a couple holes in my cupboard with some nail hole filler (a.k.a. spackle) at this point. If you found old cupboard doors, you may have to do the same, if they happened to have handles on them before. So if you do, do that now, and let dry (about 10 minutes).

3. Okay, now we're ready to {spray} paint! So I wanted to make the inset part of my boards a different color than the border {This is one reason in particular why I LOVE using cupboard doors for this project - because it already has a nice "frame" for your creation, right from the get-go!}. So since I knew I'd be painting the rest of the board after I had the inset color chosen, I didn't worry about covering the border portion of the board. I just went to town, spraying about 3 coats of a light pink spray paint on the inset portion of the board {you'll probably need to wait about 30 minutes in between coats).

4. Now you may want to add a stencil background to your inset. I thought about sponging on some damask print or using doilies as stencils {which I know would be super cute!}, but ultimately decided on doing a subtle lace backdrop. So I just cut some lace to fit the board, and then started spraying the entire board a creamy, vintage ivory color {right on over the lace}. Again, about 3 coats for full coverage, with drying time in between coats.

5. Once dry, you can remove the lace. Now it's time to distress and age our piece by sanding it down again! But this time, we're going to focus on sanding edges and parts of it that you think might naturally wear off over time if left up to nature. This is another HUGE REASON why you want to look for cupboard doors, as they have that border around the edge with grooves that make for interesting distressing points for your art!! (NOTE: You can skip this part if you do NOT want a shabby chic, distressed finish!) This will give a nice worn, vintage feel to your piece (which I just love myself!).

6. Now it's time for the most fun part: embellishing! I had just purchased some amazing fabric and KNEW it would be perfect for these boards! So I cut the fabric into a rectangle (but feel free to choose whatever shape {or non-shape}you want!), and then added some decorative stitched borders with my sewing machine to them. {NOTE: The sewing part is totally UNnecessary, but I do have the machine with the capacity to do so, so I figured, "Why not?!" Especially since I used some lace-looking borders to go with my vintage, old-fashioned feel to these lovelies!}. Then I cut some hearts from totally different fabrics and stitched around their edges, too. I love the eclectic look, so I went for the opposite of my rectangle fabric pieces here - I went bold and more geometric (versus the paler, non-patterened rectangle pieces). I also decided to use some of the lace for a part of one of the boards, too. I cut a strip from the lace as well as a heart to add some depth and texture. I also added some lace trim to the board's backdrop, as well. Feel free to GO WILD here! Add doilies, buttons, stamps, jewels ~ whatever your little heart desires, just go for it!

7. So here's my BIG TIP for the backdrop part: Layer and layer and layer and layer!! In other words, do NOT just spread it all out, without some overlapping of your elements!! It adds depth and character and really makes the piece! Also, try some ANGLES - don't just square everything up! Keep trying different layouts, and once you are satisfied with the positioning of all your embellishments, it's time to start hot-gluing them down, one by one!

8. Then you just nail in your hooks and/or knobs (I found mine at Pier I Imports, by the way, but they also have some truly amazing knobs at both Hobby Lobby and Anthropologie!).

9. And the final step (which I actually have yet to do) is to add some mounting hooks to the back of your boards, and then hang them up obviously. I love that they are pieces of art in and of themselves, too! And now her headbands just SCREAM to be worn! Love, love, love!! {and hope you do, too!} :)

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Couture Kids Clothing {Girls}

2011-12-12T06:45:00.003-07:00

I just love fashion. But particularly on the tiny pints since everything looks just ridiculously scrumptious on them!! So I set out to find some of the most off-the-hook girls' items out on the market, and wanted to share them with you! They are loaded with detail & femininity and just scream "Wear Me NOW!!!" So I hope ya'll enjoy these finds as much as I do! Treat your girly to one...I promise you'll be so glad you did when you get milestone photos back of your little dollies in these! :)

toddler fox dress from wild thing dresses

Giggle Moon "lily" dropwaist dress and leggings from pinkyscout.com

liliputians kimono cupcake dress from pinkyscout.com - can you just imagine this on the birthday girl??

luna luna copenhagen juliette dress from littlefashionsboutique.com - love its whimsy!

"florette" jacquard tights from littlefashionsboutique.com...love these!

floatimi aqua and red petal swimsuit from littlefashionsboutique.com - seriously want to buy this for my punkin!!

lemon loves lime holiday rose skirt from littlelunablue.com

have you ever seen a more adorable outfit? didn't think so. from littlelunablue.com

persnickety gray ruffled leg warmers - i must have these!!!

rosette belts for toddlers - i'm in love! from littlelunablue.com

cranberry stella jacket by persnickety. okay. i want the entire persnickety line!!!

all by persnickety...of course. ;)

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Art Turned Softies

2011-12-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

If you were like me, you made some absolutely outrageous pieces of art as a kid, did you not?! Drawings that only you and your completely creative, totally unbound mind could come up with, right??! Would it not have been the best EVER to have your drawing (creation) come to fruition in "real life"?? Well, that's exactly what Wendy Tsao at Child's Own Studio is all about: taking their drawings and turning them into tangible "softies" {sooooo clever & fabulous, I just LOVE it!!!}!!

Just take a peek at a couple of her creations {but be sure to check her site for more ~ they're quite unbelievable!}

And here is what appears to perhaps be a unicorn seal spider? Whatever it be, I love it!

The details that a child's mind can conjure up are brilliant, truly. Their ideas are completely untamed, untainted and widespread with magic! And I just LOVE that about children {Ahhh, if only we, as adults, could keep that same spirit!!}! So you can imagine my excitement when I discovered "Child's Own Studio!" I can hardly wait to send in one of my kid's drawings to be turned into something they created! Talk about a childhood keepsake!! Now just to wait for my little guy {my little girl is too little just yet!}to draw something he totally loves & identifies with ~ then I'll know it's the one to become a "real childhood playmate" for him to chat & dream away with in his room of sky-is-the-limit wonder!!

Just a tip, Wendy is no longer taking orders for Christmas, but she advises to please stop by her shop in January when things have tamed down a bit. Her creations run anywhere from $60-130 CAD....I think they'd be a super fabulous investment, myself!

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Vintage Jar Makeover

2011-12-05T06:04:00.001-07:00

I love little pretties. And I especially love when I can store my little pretties in more little pretties! And I am particularly fond of {labeling} my pretties holding little pretties....which brings me to:

Vintage Jar Makeover

I am a crafter. I am just one of a long string of women crafters in my family. My mom sews {and she is fan.TAS.tic! I learned everything I know from her, and I only can hope to some day be as good as she!}, my grandmother and aunts crocheted and knit, and who knows what my ancestors before them did {I seriously need to find out!!}! And with crafting comes supplies. You know what I'm talking about: thread, needles, buttons, beads, pearls, glue, spray paints, punches, crystals, twine, rules, cutting mats, rotaries, scissors, thimbles {wait. does anyone actually still use those?!?}, ribbon and lace, oh my! Except, actually the list goes on even more. But you get my drift, at any rate.

So the question becomes, just what do we do with all this stuff??! Now, I am not claiming I know the answer to everything to this question {if anyone wants to come help me organize the entire craft room, please be my very special guest, and I'll cook and bake for you while you do it!!}, but I do have one small solution for some items...and that is transforming every day glass jars into ever-cute storage containers. The beauty is, you're not only recycling something you might have otherwise thrown away, but these are actually pretty. So you won't mind them sitting out...in fact, I think you'll very much enjoy them sitting out ~ BONUS!!

What You Need:

*old {or new} jar {with a two piece lid}
*chalk board paint
*chalk
*spray paint {in color of choice; here I used ivory for its versatility}
*trim of choice {ribbon, twine, jute, lace, etcetera}

Okay, so this is so, SO simple! Just spray paint the flat portion of your lid with the chalkboard paint, paint the outer ring of the lid with the spray paint in your choice of color. Once dry, put it all together and label the top of your jar with your chalk, fill the jar with your goodies and embellish with trim of choice! Voila! Like I said, so ridiculously simple, but the results are impeccable! These make for such fun containers for gift-giving, too, but I utterly adore them sitting around my house myself! {Gotta find me some more cute jars!}

Not a crafter? No problem! You can use these little gems for oodles of things! Here are just a few ideas, but the sky is the limit! Get creative, and don't be afraid!! {Top left, working clockwise: pearls, beads or other pretties you just like looking at; candy or snack mix storage - perfect tokens of love to use as party favors!; herb storage - cluster herbal jars together in your kitchen - so pretty! OR give as "thank you" gifts; bracelet and/or necklace charm storage - now the container's almost as pretty as the charm itself!}

Need more ideas?
*place setting markers ~ write each guest's name on the chalkboard lid, and fill with a special goody!
*luminaries - just fill with your tealights....a bunch scattered on the table would look amazing {no lids, though!}
*note keeper - fill up with cutesy rolled up notes - these could be special sayings, special memories, or even more of an "advent calendar," where you choose one note a day, and then go out and DO it!

Have fun with these! Hope you love 'em as much as me! :)

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Shabby Vintage Christmas {Paper Doilies: Part II}

2011-12-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Alright, we're continuing ideas for having your own

"Shabby Vintage Christmas"

using paper doilies as our decorative agent. {If you missed the first post, click here to see it}.

So this time I wanted to use our paper doily snowflakes as more of a template. I knew their adorable holes & cutouts would look fabulous as a stencil, so I decided to use them as a snow-inspired backdrop for a large "NOEL" canvas art piece. Modern, yet vintage-feeling, and completely unique..."these are a few of my favorite things!"

What You Need:
*paper doily snowflakes {the best place to get paper doilies is at a craft store (JoAnn's, Michael's, Hobby Lobby) or WalMart; you can find them in the cake decorating aisle, of all places! Then, if you missed it, please see this post for how to make them into snowflakes}.
*spray adhesive
*spray paint in color of choice
*"Glitter Blast" spray paint in color of choice
*blank canvas in size of choice
*chipboard letters {I found mine for $2 each at Hobby Lobby}
* hot glue gun

Take your blank canvas and go outside so that you can do some painting. What you want to do first is position your doily snowflakes on the canvas in the pattern you want. Hang some over the edges and overlap a few to give more realistic depth. Once they're where you want them to be, you're going to take them, one at a time, and spray the backs with the spray adhesive {do this by placing the snowflake down on some newspapers or other material you don't mind getting spray paint all over!}. As each is sprayed, put back in place on the canvas and hold down a few seconds to adhere {be sure to press the edges down well!}.

Once all your snowflakes are in place, you're going to take your "Glitter Blast" spray paint and spray over the entire canvas - snowflakes, edges and all! Let it dry for about 20 minutes, and then carefully remove your doily snowflakes {p.s. do NOT throw these beauties away! they're now bee-YOO-tiful all full of glitter! Sew them together to make a garland, hang from the tree or mantle, or attach to packages!}.

{this photo does NOT do the actual item justice! the glitter spray is GORGEOUS!}

Now it's time to spray paint your chipboard letters. Do in a well ventilated area outside, and let dry about 20 minutes.

Then position them onto your canvas where you want them {you can break out the yardstick/ruler for this if you want, but I just eyeballed it}. Once they're where you want them, you're going to carefully take up the edge of one side and put hot glue (glue gun time!) all over the back of the letter, and then carefully lay the letter back down into position. You must work quickly with hot glue, as it dries fast. Be sure to *NOT* take the letter all the way up, or you'll lose the exact position you want! Just left one edge of the letter, being sure the other edge of the letter does *NOT* leave its position on the canvas! Once you've hot glued them all in place, you're ready to hang your beautiful canvas up for all to see!

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Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

2011-11-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love chocolate & cherries? This cookie has a sweet, moist texture and complements the chewy goodness of the cherries perfectly! Use either sour cherries for a zing, or regular dried ones for that super sweet tooth!

{photo courtesy of Martha Stewart's COOKIES book}.

This recipe hails from the "Cookies" book by Martha Stewart...and one thing I've noticed about pretty much all her recipes, is that she uses parchment paper on her cookie sheets. LOVE this! Makes for easy cleanup and not sure how, but somehow the cookies seem to turn out better...softer and chewier.... This woman really knows her stuff!!

Enjoy!!!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/3 C unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 C (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped {or just use chocolate chips}
1 1/2 firmly packed cups dried sour (or not!) cherries (9 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter & sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat. With a wooden spoon, fold in chocolate and cherries. (Dough can be frozen at this point, wrapped well in plastic, up to 1 month; thaw completely before baking).

4. Form balls into dough, each about 1/4 cup; place balls on prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake until puffed and cracked, 9-11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

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Shabby Vintage Christmas {Paper Doilies: Part I}

2011-11-28T14:25:00.002-07:00

I love doilies. I do, I do! It might stem somewhere from me seeing them everywhere around the house when I was little, as my Grandma crocheted them nonstop. Mix that in with the vintage style that's so incredibly "in" right now, along with the incredible femininity and intricacy of these little lovelies, and there ya go ~ we have ourselves a winner!

{paper snowflake doilies as part of Christmas package wrap}

So, I have just been totally inspired by these little lovelies, as of late. I am currently working them into the adam's blankie hair accessory line {although, they're also currently available on our highly fashionable baby bibs now, if you just can't resist the doily, like myself!}, as well as all parts of our house. Seemingly. And much to my husband's dismay. Ha!

{paper doily snowflake in our diy shabby garland...tutorial to come later on the blog!}

Naturally, I wanted to implement them into my Christmas, too, of course! So the first thought I had was making them into snowflakes. Afterall, doilies inherently already have small cuts & eyelets that resemble snowflakes themselves. So I figured I could just add my own distinct eyelets to them, and I'd end up with some "truer" looking snowflakes that are each unique to themselves...just like real snowflakes, of course.

{paper snowflake doily implemented into pre-made store garland}

To achieve this look, you gotta go back to your grade school art class. Not literally, of course. But just think back to some of your earliest crafting as a child. Remember making paper snowflakes? Yup. I thought you would. This is the same thing! You're going to take your paper doily {available for purchase in any craft store {Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, WalMart} in their cake decorating aisle} and fold it into half 4 times, until you end up with a thin wedge, like so:

Now comes the fun part: snipping! Just take a small pair of scissors and begin cutting tiny shapes along the folded edges of your wedge. You can snip off the tip, or choose to leave it there. Remember, every "snowflake" is unique, so make them all a bit different from each other!


{after all the cuts are in. you can vary them up, tho! rounded, heart half shape, etc.}

Once all cuts are done, open it up, and you'll end up with something like this!

So now we just need to flatten it. To do so, you'll need to get some cotton fabric {if you don't have raw fabric yardage laying around like me {what's that you say? you don't? whaaaaat??? kidding!}, you can just grab a plain cotton tshirt instead} and put it over your snowflake. Iron on top of the fabric for a few seconds. Then flip over your snowflake, lay the fabric back on top and iron again.

Now you should have a flat snowflake.

Now comes the real creativity! You need to decide what you want to do with this little piece of fabulousness! I had a hard time deciding...so of course I made tons so I could use them many ways! Here are just a few ideas of what you can do with your doily snowflakes:

*Hang from the ceiling in clusters, creating your own snowy dream! {Would look fabulous over a front entryway buffet table/lowboy}
*Hang onto garlands {see images at top; tutorial for the diy shabby garland to come in next "shabby vintage christmas" installment!}
*Hang from your mantle
*Attach to your stockings
*Hang on the tree
*Sew together to form its own snowflake garland
*Use as tags for Christmas packages {see image above {NOTE: One was spray painted with the ahhh-mazing "Glitter Blast" spray paint from Krylon! You GOTTA get some of that stuff! It's fabulous!!}
*Use as stencils {idea for this & tutorial coming soon!}

Enjoy! And be creative! Let me know how YOU decide to use your snowflake doilies!

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{Spotlight On}: Christina Hendrick Photography

2011-11-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Christina Hendrick for a while now.... Funny story that we actually went to the same high school, but didn't even know of each other until we met through a mutual friend over 10 years later! {That's how it can go in the "big towns," you know!?}.

If you've been a shopper of adam's blankie for any time, you've probably witnessed some of Christy's work! I frequently have her take photos of our hair couture, and we even arranged for a stylized shoot together last Spring!

{in our "raspberry waterfall" headband...available at www.adamsblankie.com}

So, as I love her work and artistry, I asked her if I could interview her and dig a bit deeper to find out a bit more about her business, how she got started in photography, and what WE, as parents, can do to get some of our own fabulous shots of our kiddos! Soooo...here we go!!!

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE YOU WERE PHOTOGRAPHING FOR A LIVING?
What haven't I done? I've done everything from being a waitress, working on an 800 number call line, to running a heating/ac store (I know right?!), but the majority of my work prior to CHP was as an Interior Designer.

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER, AND HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE THE SKILLS TO DO IT?

It sounds a little cliche, but it started when my son first joined this world. I've always had a true love for art and everything creative. I hold several degrees in the creative arts (studio arts, graphic design, interior design), but when my son arrived, I found my 'need' to document everyday moments was insatiable. I fell completely in love with photography and was compelled to capture those everyday moments for others!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL SHOOT. WAS IT A SUCCESS? DID IT GO ON WITHOUT A HITCH? WERE THERE PROBLEMS YOU HAD TO OVERCOME?

First of all, I was a nervous wreck! I put on a good act, but I'm usually pretty nervous when I'm going into a shoot - so the FIRST was especially nerve-wracking. I met this gorgeous mama who was expecting twins - we were both checking out at Tuesday Morning of all places, and I overheard her telling someone she was expecting twins, so I summoned up my courage and marched right over to her and handed her my fancy new business card. Her maternity session was my first professional shoot - it was down at the beach, so I definitely struggled a bit with the light, and we ended up with a super cloudy/foggy sky at the end and decided to do a re-shoot and captured some gorgeous images their daddy who was overseas.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIME OF DAY TO SHOOT, AND WHY?

An hour before sunset - hands down. The light is beautiful at the start, and only gets more gorgeous as it gets closer to sunset. It's also great because you don't have the hard mid-day light, so we don't have 'squinty eye shots' (as I affectionately call them) or harsh shadows - and I LOVE me a fun jumping silhouette shot!

DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN A CERTAIN TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPH OR STYLE, AND IF SO, WHAT IS IT?

To be perfectly honest, I feel as if I am finally starting to find my niche. A fellow photographer put it perfectly just the other day - I don't want to be a 'jack of all trades, master of none'. I think most photographers start out doing a variety of work, but finally seem to excel at a specific type or style or subject - whether it's because it's what they truly love, or simply because they push themselves harder in that direction. All of that to say, I'm truly loving newborn photography - it really is where my passion lies. (Although I shot my few wedding a few months ago and loved it SO much more than I expected to...so who knows where CHP will be headed next!)

{twin baby girls tied up in a pink bow! aaaagggg! to die for!!}

WHAT SETS YOUR BUSINESS APART FROM OTHER PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS?

Me! ha ha! seriously though, I have my own unique style, you get what you see - I'm real, honest, fun, goofy and truly LOVE what I do, and don't take it for granted EVER.

WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FINDING THE RIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER?

I'd say to start with selecting a few photographers based on their style - that is the main thing that sets most of us apart. There are only so many poses out there, and sure we all give each our little spin, but it comes down to the style and post-processing that defines a photographer's work. The next (and most important) thing would be personality - if you aren't comfortable with your photographer, your photos will show it. Choose someone that inspires you, 'gets' you, and produces images that you cherish.

{loooooove this photo! priceless!!}

WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CLOTHING TO WEAR FOR PHOTO SESSIONS?
I could write BOOKS on this subject {Ummm...yes, please!}. I'm constantly putting together 'What to Wear' photos - maybe I was a fashion designer in another life (ha!) - but I do have some really key suggestions. Your clothing choices should enhance rather than distract from the subject. Try to stay away from large, trendy items or patterns (those tend to date a photo rather quickly), TEXTURE is everything, as is layering - think of a great scarf, fun jacket or headband, a great hat for the guys - the possibilities are endless...and it's not necessary to all lwear the same color for a photo to feel cohesive - rather, choose an overall color pallete (such as earth tones) and then accent/accessorize with bright bold color and great textures. I love going through options and ideas with my clients before a session - I've had lots of people bring several options to their shoot and we decide there, and even mix it up throughout the shoot!

{sporting the adam's blankie "bird's nest" headband, available at www.adamsblankie.com}

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE PARENTS WHO WANT THEIR NEWBORNS OR YOUNG CHILDREN TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED?
Oh how I wish I was the 'baby whisperer', but alas, I am not. I simply do what has worked best for my kiddos, and sometimes I'm wildly sucessful, and other times I end up with a screaming newborn or shy 2 year old - it just depends on the kiddo! A few key points though:

Newborn photos - have them photographed within the first 10 days! I can't stress this enough - there's something magical about those first 10 days, baby is still very sleepy and it's so much easier to get those gorgeous 'squishy' poses that everyone wants. There is one caveat though, if mama's milk hasn't come in yet, you will have one SUPER grumpy baby - so try to find that magic window.

Babies and Kiddos - The biggest thing, get down on their level! You'll have a much better chance of having them looking at you, and not looking like little tiny people you're hovering over. ;) I wrote an entire blog post on this very subject - you can find it here: http://christinahendrickphotography.com/blog/photograhing-your-kiddos

ANY OTHER ADVICE OR TIPS FOR THE READERS?

Yes! Have your family photo taken. Period. I don't care if you get your neighbor to do it, or some passerby at the park - just make sure you capture your family on a regular basis and make them get together for a few photos - they don't have to be perfect, or posed, but I promise you, they will be cherished!

{check out the amazing lighting here ~ wowza!!}

Love, love all the advice and words of wisdom on the ever-changing and ever-challenging topic of photography! Thank you SO very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to help enlighten us all! I know you'll continue to be wildly successful in your business, creating beautiful portfolios for us to treasure!

Also, just so all my readers know, Christy also specializes in graphic design {seriously! so NOT fair for one person to be so uber-talented in so many categories!!}, so be sure to check her out for logo development, cards for special occasions, photo editing and more!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

{Perfect} Timing.

2011-10-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

You all may remember over the summer that adam's blankie hosted a "Spring into Summer" MEGA giveaway with about $1000 in giveaways going to just ONE {super duper!} lucky person! Now, I'm sure some of you were sorely disappointed that you didn't win {as I would be!}, but I think it might help to know a bit about the story behind the winner...I know that I, for one, was AMAZED and touched by the journey she is currently experiencing in life!! And honestly, I {er, random.org, that is} couldn't have "picked" a better winner!

It all started when I emailed Megan to let her know she had won the HUGE giveaway! And she said something about how this was such perfect timing and such a blessing to her family.... Curious as to what she meant, I asked her to tell me more about that. And she then told me her story.... It's a story of love, acceptance, heartache, patience, determination, guidance, obedience, perseverance, happiness & fulfillment all rolled into one beautiful making. It is the "how," "when," "why," and "where" of how Megan, her husband & her son came to adopt a beautiful baby girl from far, far away....and how that action has forever impacted their lives!


Megan and her daughter {headband by adam's blankie}

So here is an intimate glimpse into that story, as told by Megan herself {her wording is in pink, just to make it easier to distinguish my words from hers throughout the remainder of this post}.

What made you decide to adopt?

My husband and I began talking about adoption when we first started dating (in high school). We had adoption in both of our families and it was always on our hearts. However, after we got married and made the decision to start our family, adoption was in the back of our minds. After a difficult pregnancy and delivery with my son, we both knew we didn't want to try to get pregnant again any time soon...and yet we both began to have the "baby itch". It was our friends' adoption that refreshed that desire and we knew that God had arranged every detail to lead us to this decision.

{hat by Hooked by Kristen}

How did you decide on Ethiopia for adopting your child?

Back when we decided to start our family, I began having dreams about Africa. We kept brushing them to the side thinking they were just dreams...but every friend I shared them with said we were meant to adopt from Africa. =) When God laid adoption on our hearts and we began researching country guidelines, Ethiopia was one of the few countries we fit the criteria for. Suddenly those dreams seemed more like a calling. Putting in our application just filled our hearts with peace, and we just knew that we were making the right decision.

{headband by Purposed Life}

What were some of the struggles you went through in the process of getting her?

Financially this was very straining on our family, but we had great support from our family and friends. We made a couple lifestyle changes and began fundraising - we sold t-shirts, threw a garage sale, sold Ethiopian coffee, and worked with a few reliable organizations to help raise the money. It was not easy by any means, but very successful and proof that God truly funds what He favors! =)

Emotionally though, the wait took a HUGE toll on us. After we announced our adoption we watched friend after friend announce their pregnancy and welcome home their bundles of joy...all while we were still waiting to find out ANYTHING about our daughter. Twenty-two long months after we sent in our initial application, we brought our precious girl home. Apparently God had a LOT to teach me about patience. The verse I clung to during the hard times was Habakkuk 2:3.

"For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

brother and sister {custom dress by Night Owl}

How long have you had your little girl?

We have now been home with our Lil' Lady for close to three months.

How has your son responded to having a new sister?

We have a three-year-old at home and at first, it was not an easy transition for him. Despite the two years we had to prepare him for his little sister...once she got here, he didn't want much to do with her. He was never mean to her by any means, he would just ignore her and refuse to touch her. After about a two week transition...you would have never known he ever had any hesitation! The two of them are now great pals! Our Lil' Man now loves to make his sister giggle and lovingly calls her "sweetheart". And he will often cry if we don't let him run in his room and say hi before we get her up from naps! He is an AMAZING big brother!

Tell us about what a blessing your daughter has been in your lives.

Words can't express what a joy she is. The question we constantly get is, "Is she always this happy?" And in one word - YES! She has a smile that lights up the room and a laugh that just melts us. She is content and a CHARMER! Sometimes we have to hold her back a little bit from charming the whole world while she is still learning that we are her mom and dad. We know we are going to be in TROUBLE once she starts talking! =) It still feels a little surreal that she is home...but at the same time hard to remember what life was like without her! We are so in love...

{happy birthday banner by a to zebra celebrations}

What would you recommend to anyone reading this who might be considering adoption?

First of all, PRAY about it. It is not all smiles and laughter and love. It is also hard, HARD work. Yes, we have a lot of smiles...but those came after the tears, and looks of terror, and inconsolable sobs. I think in order for an adoption to be successful, it needs to be a calling.

Second, you'll want to find a good agency. For us, it was important to seek out one with high ethics, who was finding families for children....not children for families. It also really mattered to us what kind of care our child would be receiving until she was in our arms...and I truly believe that our agency's transitional home is one of the best care facilities in Ethiopia! The staff's commitment and love for those kids was WAY beyond what we could have imagined. We are SO grateful for the women (and men) who loved those children as their own.

{sign by Sassy Talk}

Thank you for sharing that AMAZING story with me & our readers, Megan! I think I speak for many others when I say that you are a true inspiration to us, and we admire your courage, spirit, & patience in this journey!

So now that we know the important stuff, next we gotta know...

How did you feel when you won our mega "Spring into Summer" giveaway?!?

I was in complete shock!!! This came right in between our two trips to Ethiopia and was such a blessing to our family. With the financial strain caused by the adoption, our budget was rather tight. And being that this is our first little girl...I had been looking forward to spoiling her with all kind of goodies. That just wasn't a reality though. But after winning this amazing giveaway...I got to pick out colorful and original headbands, dresses, hats, room decor, birthday party decor, invitations and more! Not to mention lots of goodies for mama too! =) It was/is such fun!

Megan at home {shirt by splash designs}

What was your favorite prize you won from the giveaway?

I don't think I could pick a FAVORITE since they fall under so many different categories. But I think the most meaningful is the living locket I got to pick out with Origami Owl. I designed it in honor of our daughter. It contains the birthstone for both the month she was born and the month we gained custody of her, a cross for our faith that carried us through the wait, a tiny airplane for the journey, and a stamped plate reading "forever". It is so beautiful and both my kids are drawn to it....our daughter for teething purposes...and our son just loves to look at the "baby airplane"! =)

{living locket necklace by Origami Owl}

Anything else you'd like to add?

THANK YOU! Kari, I know it takes a LOT of work to put together a giveaway, let alone one of this size. Thanks for hosting it and for choosing me as the recipient! And thank you for allowing me to share our story to our daughter. It is one that has forever transformed us, and our prayer is that God will use it to touch someone else's life as well. If anyone wants to find out more about our family or our adoption journey, feel free to stop by our blog! And don't hesitate to ask questions! =) thisdomesticateddiva.blogspot.com

Megan & her beautiful family

Thank you again, Megan, for sharing your story with us! I am so, so happy that this fortune {of getting your daughter} was laid upon you, and even more excited that you now serve in a position to help others in taking similar steps to adopt! You have a BEAUTIFUL family and much happiness to revel in! God bless!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

{Pinterest:} The Rescuing Hug

2011-08-19T06:35:00.001-07:00

Found this on Pinterest {have you become as obsessed as me?!} and just had to share! Had me near tears, for sure! {Thank you to this pinterest account for sharing!}.

{verbatim from the aforementioned pinterest page}: "This picture is from an article called "The Rescuing Hug". The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Each were in their respective incubators and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby's heart stabilized and temperature rose to normal."

Awwwwwww!! Melts my heart!!

xoxo,

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

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Peanut Butter Pie {Recipe}

2011-08-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

I made an absolutely sinful Peanut Butter Pie the other day! As some of you may already know, I have a serious weakness for anything peanut butter, and this. one. takes. the. cake! {errrr, pie!}!!

It's a very easy recipe, too, and doesn't take too much time to make!

{Peanut Butter Pie}

1 jar creamy peanut butter {the middle size one will do!}
1 cup sugar
1/2 of 8 oz original cool whip
1 8 oz package of cream cheese {let warm up to about room temperature}
1 jar of hot fudge
1 oreo or graham cracker pie crust

In a large bowl, mix the sugar, peanut butter, and cream cheese in a mixer until smooth. Fold in half of the cool whip until thoroughly mixed. Spoon the mixture into the pie crust, and refrigerate. While the pie is in the refrigerator, put aside a tablespoon each of the peanut butter and hot fudge into plastic baggies, in the corner of them. {You'll later cut a very small part of the corner and pipe onto the top of the pie!}. Then place the rest of the jar of hot fudge in the microwave to melt {check instructions on jar for how long to microwave}. Once it's smooth, pour it evenly on top of your pie, all the way to the edges. Place pie back in refrigerator. When you're ready to serve, cut the very tips {very small part!} of your baggies and pipe the fudge and peanut butter over the pie in a zig zag motion.

Mmmmmmmmmm.....dive in and savor every drop of this rich little thing!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

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Give to Bless {{Kate McRaw}}

2011-08-10T07:21:00.001-07:00

It is a story of heartache. Of compassion. Of strength, courage, hope and faith.

I'm sure many of you are already aware of this story of which I tell....of sweet Kate McRae, a 7 year-old girl who has been battling an aggressive, malignant brain tumor for over 2 years now. Millions of people from all across the world know Kate. You may have even seen her on the Dr. Phil show, or perhaps are one of the millions of people who diligently follow her caring bridge page.

I have personally known the McRae's for a few years now, as we attended the same church and share mutual friends. So when I first found out about Kate's diagnosis, I wanted to help, like so many of us do! I prayed. And cried. And brought a meal to her family, and then a blanket for Kate. But ultimately, I felt that wasn't enough. I wanted to do something special for her. Something that would honor her and her courageous battle against cancer. Something that would empower her to keep winning that battle. Something that would inspire & encourage us to live with such aspirations and faith as Kate does each and every day. Something that would remind us to PRAY for her, and to have FAITH that she WILL beat this cancer! And, so one day it dawned on me....

For a few months now, I've been working with Kate to create a headband. Not just any headband. But one made with her instruction alone. It is a headband made with her favorite textures and colors (pink and yellow). It is the one she chose from a few samples I made based on her instruction. And it is aptly named, "The Kate," in her honor.

I am so honored to announce that this headband will be available for purchase ($30) from adam's blankie, and that half of the proceeds from each sale will go directly to the McRae family to support them!! Visit our site to purchase there, OR send a paypal payment of $32.50 {includes shipping} as a "gift" to adamsblankie@gmail.com. When you purchase, please be sure to leave the age of the wearer for the headband {0-3 months, 3-6 months, 3yo, adult, etcetera}.

Below you'll find images of Kate in "The Kate" headband. These were taken just a week ago by my dear friends Jessica & Jason Williams of Session Nine Photography. You can also visit their blog to read about this recent photo shoot with the McRae family.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Back to School {Fan-tabulous Finds!}

2011-08-08T07:01:00.003-07:00

Wow. I can hardly believe it's already that time of year again ~ time to go Back to School {at least here in Arizona, it is! Some kids have already been back to school for a couple weeks now. Simple WRONG if you ask me!! Whatever happened to starting AFTER Labor Day?!??}. Now, can someone please explain to me just where exactly time goes?! Sometimes I swear it just flies right on by, and I miss it all!

So, of course, I had to go on a hunt for some awesome school supplies. Everyone gets fresh, sharp crayons, notebooks and folders {remember Trapper Keepers?! Seriously...am I that old?!??}, but I'm talkin' about finding some fan-tabulous finds! Stuff that will make all the other kids {and their Moms!} go, "Oooooh! Where did you get that?!??" So here you have it: head turners for school. ;)


Clothespins ($4) Give these to the teacher the first day, and your kid is sure to score some points!

Backpack ($38) Many delicious fabrics to choose from at this shop! {We heart ours!}

Pencil Toppers (2 for $12) Now how stinkin' adorable are these!??

Mini Crayon Roll ($14) Not bragging here, but I really do heart this product of ours! ;) + 48 fabrics to choose from!

Retro Lunch Box ($25) - many different styles from this shop.

Reusable Snack bag ($7.50) OR purchase pattern from OUR shop to DIY and make as many as you like!

Apple Jacket ($5) Let your kiddo be surprised with {love} when she opens her lunchbox to find this!

Happy "Back to School" shopping! And, pleeeeease, if you have an awesome BTS lovely you know of yourself, please pass the link along here!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Hair Accessory Sale - TODAY ONLY!

2011-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Where have I been? I tell ya, I took a blogging break, and it felt good. Not that I didn't miss it (and you all), but seriously...sometimes a break is just what you need, eh? :)

But in the meantime, I've been working diligently on getting some new hair accessories created {see images below!}. And I couldn't be happier about them ~ I'm really digging some of these new pieces! Soooo....now that I'm back, I wanted to celebrate with a HAIR ACCESSORY SALE! TODAY ONLY, score 20% off your ENTIRE hair purchase from adam's blankie! All you need to do is put HAIR20 in the "notes to seller" when checking out, and your refund will be sent via PayPal today!

Enjoy!! So happy to be back! :)

Have a product you'd like reviewed?
Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com
www.adamsblankie.com

DIY Tutorial: Marble Run

2011-06-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

So with the lazy days of summer upon us, I've been trying to come up with and/or find some crafty ideas to keep my 4 year old out of the dreadful World of Boredom...and AWAY from the t.v. as much as possible!

This is actually an idea I came across a while back, and have since been saving up our empty paper towel rolls in order to create it! I must confess that this is NOT an original idea of mine. I was first introduced to the concept at the Phoenix Children's Museum here in Phoenix {by the way, if you're a Phoenix local, and haven't been yet, you simply MUST go to the Phoenix Children's Museum -- sooooooo ridiculously creative and fun for the kids!}. At PCM they used PVC pipe for this, which I was initially going to emulate, until I came across the same idea but done with paper towel rolls instead - much easier and basically FREE! I wish I had the original link I found online, but I never bothered to bookmark it because once I saw it, I could tell just by looking at it how it was made {that's what happens when you own every type of craft and supply known to mankind - ha!}.

So it's super easy and not a huge time commitment to make - BONUS! And, once made, you can always change up the tracks, meaning your kid shouldn't get bored with it very quickly - another huge bonus, and even keep adding more tracks as you keep emptying more paper towel and toilet paper rolls! So here's what you'll need to get started:

SUPPLIES:
empty paper towel and/or toilet paper rolls/tubes
magnets
scissors
hot glue gun
duck tape
marbles
fridge OR magnetic board
stickers, markers, paint or anything you might want to decorate them with (optional)

Cut the tubes {if desired} into the sizes you want. We kept some the original length, and cut others down to different sizes ~ it's best to have a variety, I think ~ works better for more angles, tighter corners and smaller spaces.

Next, decorate the tubes however you want! My son just wanted to draw on them a little, so I let him go at it with some markers. Then I reinforced sections of the tubes with duck tape {to make them more durable}. We used plain red tape because that's what he wanted {I also bought some utterly adorable black and white houndstooth duck tape, too, but he wasn't about to have it - darn! Just have to save it for another project, I guess!}. *NOTE: I covered some of the tubes in the duck tape FIRST and then let him draw on the open/brown spaces ~ this changed order was only to "preserve" his designs.

Now you're going to cut some openings on the ends of your tubes. I cut two slants toward each other and then cut straight across to connect them. Make these slanted cuts about 1 -2" into the tube {on both ends}. *NOTE: You cut the openings ONLY on the "top" side {pick a side and go with it - either will work}. So you're cutting two openings total PER TUBE - one one either side of the tube, and both of them on the "top" side of the tube. Hopefully that makes sense....if not, just check out the images, and you'll see what I mean.

Lastly, take your hot glue and glue on the magnets onto one side of the tube. Glue them on so that your openings you cut are facing up, as imaged in the picture above. Also, I would highly recommend buying the large round magnets versus the cuttable kind, because the round ones are stronger, which comes in handy for this particular project. Use at least 2 magnets per tube and preferably near the ends {this will keep your tubes from sliding on the fridge/magnetic board -- it's important that they don't slide because you'll discover part of the fun is getting the tubes lined up perfectly so that your marble can make its way through the entire run without sliding off somewhere! And if your tube keeps sliding around, it's going to be frustrating for your kids!}

magnet glued onto the side of the tube

intersection

Set up the marble runs/rails in a pattern such that all the openings are lined up with one another. You can set these up on your fridge, a magnetic board or any other magnetic surface! {We chose the fridge for now, but we'll be moving this activity to my son's magnetic board in his room soon - that way he can have it up all the time, and I won't get tired of looking at it!} Get your marbles out, and let it go for a ride! As noted earlier, you'll probably need to adjust the angles and spacing on them to figure out just where they need to be to make it down the entire run - but this is a huge part of the fun! And once your kiddos have mastered one run, it's time to take them down and start a new one! We also discovered that you can have different runs feeding into other ones - intersections! We also decided to put a big cooking pot at the bottom of our run to keep the marble from going everywhere. {We had started with a little cup there at first, but quickly discovered it's much easier to use a bigger pot, of course!}

Have fun with this one - we're loving it at our house!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

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NEW Bridal Couture!! {insert squeal here!!}

2011-06-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Since having introduced our hair accessory line to adam's blankie, I have since been encouraged to start a bridal line of accessories. Okay You twisted my arm. I'll do it! {EEEEEEEEEK!!} I LOVE weddings! In fact, I think if I didn't enjoy creating accessories, I'd probably look into becoming a wedding planner! So the fact that I had overlooked doing a line exclusively for brides is beyond me - but alas, here I am! In full "bridal mode!"

So this past week I went shopping for some goodies (kids in tote and all!) and came home to start creating... I came up with my first four pieces this week and can hardly wait to start designing some more! After putting some thought into it, I also decided that all pieces will be completely one hundred percent original and unique! No two will be exactly the same -- because I think that's the way it should be for the beautiful bride on her most special day!

I haven't yet listed these in the shop, mainly because I'm still trying to find a vendor for small shipping boxes. {I simply refuse to send these in a flat envelope with padding...they're sooo worthy of a box!!} So once I get those figured out, I'll begin listing on Etsy {whoo-hoo!}!

I am also offering bridesmaid and flower girl hair pieces, along with garters {which can be made to match the bride's hair piece}!! And, of course, I WELCOME custom orders! So if you are a bride who would like to get the design process going for all your hair couture needs, feel free to email me at adamsblankie@gmail.com, and I'd be happy to going with you on this joyous and gorgeous adventure!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Celebrating the 4th of July {Ideas to Inspire!}

2011-06-22T14:06:00.001-07:00

Hope you all are having a fantastic week so far and are actually enjoying welcoming in summer around your parts! As I'm sure you can imagine, we do *not* welcome in summer in Phoenix {well, us "rational" ones, anyway}...we instead dread the upcoming 5 months of sheer blistering heat that torture us desert rats. For me, the start of summer is the start of my own personal countdown to the winter!

That being said, I've always enjoyed the 4th of July! Growing up in the midwest, we were able to do our own fireworks - an event that I always looked forward to! Now that fireworks are legal {to buy yourself} here in Arizona, I'm especially looking forward to introducing my kids to my own beloved childhood tradition!

So to welcome the upcoming festive holiday, I am bringing a post to you from one of my newest & inspirational friends! Heidi from cherry blossoms {be sure ya'll check out her blog - it's full of gorgeous pics and creative ideas!} is one of the most adorable, sweetest people you'll ever meet! She's highly personable and extremely down-to-earth - two traits I admire greatly! She is going to kick off a series of guest blog posts I'll be doing throughout the summer months...so please sound off a great big "hello!" to Heidi! {Here she is...}

Hello Everyone!

I'm Heidi from cherry blossoms and I am so excited to be guest blogging for Kari today! I officially met Kari a few months ago when I hosted a baby product party in my home and we both learned we are originally from North Dakota! {I know, small world!} I am also a big fan of Kari's adorable headbands {wish I had her talent} and bibs, as my little girl can often be seen debuting her Adam's Blankie couture items.

Being a first time mommy and a working mommy {I'm a school social worker} I found it's important to have outlets...one of my outlets has become blogging. I love to blog about fashion, baby product items, baking {cupcakes!}, party inspiration, and basically anything that fancies my heart at the moment.

With summer in full swing and the 4th of July only days away, I thought it would be fun to feature some inspirational ideas!

Flag banner to greet your guests

Bean bag toss for the kids

a holder for sparklers. {My favorite!}

delicious cupcakes

or how about this delicious red, white, and blue sprinkled cake via paper and cake

Wishing you all a happy and safe 4th of July holiday weekend!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

{Spring Into Summer} WINNER ANNOUNCED!

2011-06-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

A big "thank you!" to all the fans who joined in on supporting our First Annual {yep! check back again next Spring for an even BIGGER adventure!} "Spring Into Summer" giveaway! It was such a pleasure for me to work with each of the vendors {not to mention discovering some FABULOUS new products, might I add!} involved, and I can only hope that we'll work together on more future endeavors!

Soooo...onto the moment you've all been waiting for.... I drew a winner this morning, and the lucky winner is:

MamaMimi!!!

with comment:

"Liked": Hooked by Kristen, L'alfabeto, Nikki Nak, Noel's Paperie, Oh Snap Photog, and Origami Owl."

(The winner has been notified via email and has claimed the prize package.)

What a super duper special day for Miss MamaMimi!!! I can only imagine the feeling...but it's just gotta be a good one!! :) And again, thank you to all our fans for entering and supporting us! And another HUGE "thank you!" to the amazing vendors for supporting this effort, as well!

This all being said, if I could just add one thing... Would you all please continue to support these vendors by continuing to check their shops and facebook pages? They deserve your business, not to mention they offer some fabulously unique and creative products to boot, so please, please do be sure to check them out and keep them in mind for any future purchases! And, please, please, do not "unlike" them on facebook. :( It is so disheartening and will only lead to vendors not getting on board to join in on such giveaways in the future.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

adam's blankie {SPRING INTO SUMMER 2011} giveaway! {over $900 worth in prizes to ONE WINNER!!}

2011-06-08T06:42:00.141-07:00

{Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh booooooooooooooyyyyyyyyy!!!}

Today is THEE Day!!!

One of you ladies is about to win a BOATLOAD of goodies
from some spectacularly creative and wonderfully beautiful businesses!

I'm so {SO!} excited to get this thing going,
and even MORE excited for whomever one of you super duper lucky ladies is actually going to win

the adam's blankie "Spring into Summer" mega giveaway!!

{{the details}}:

22 vendors have pooled their fabulous products together to give to

ONE HAUTE MAMA!

That's right. One of you is going to win a prize package
valued at $965.00!!!

The products and/or services up for grabs are showcased below,
and the details for how to enter are at the bottom of this post!

We'll let this giveaway rock for ONE WEEK ONLY,
so be sure to get on it NOW!

Alrightee then, let's get started! {big smile!!}

A to Zebra Celebrations (shop)
A to Zebra (on facebook)
A to Zebra (on twitter)
A to Zebra (blog)

gift card to their shop {$25 value}

adam's blankie (shop)
adam's blankie (on facebook)
adam's blankie (on twitter)
gift card for hair accessories to their shop {$20 value}

Anna and Blue Paperie (shop)
Anna and Blue Paperie (on facebook)
Anna and Blue Paperie (on twitter)

gift card to their shop {$25 value}

Christina Hendrick Design Studio (shop)
CHDS (on facebook)
gift card to their shop {$30 value}

Christina Hendrick Photography (shop)
CHP (on facebook)

1 free mini photo session {$150 value}
{valid for a San Diego located shoot only!}

FotoTale Designs (shop)
FotoTale Designs (on facebook)
gift certificate to their shop {$50 value}

Fresh Dirt Photography (shop)
8x10 gallery canvas wrap {$25 value}

Hana's Handmade
Hana's Handmade (on facebook)

gift card to their shop {$15 value }

Hooked by Kristen (shop)
Hooked by Kristen (on facebook)
gift card to their shop {$20 value}

L'alfabeto (shop)
L'alfabeto (on facebook)
L'alfabeto (blog)

gift card to their shop {$20 value}

Night Owl
Night Owl (shop)
Night Owl (on facebook)
gift card to their shop {$25 value}

Nikki Nak Photography (shop)
Nikki Nak Photography (on facebook)

one vintage petti romper {size 0-9 months; $15 value}

Noel's Paperie (shop)
Noel's Paperie (on facebook)
one party package {value up to $75} including:
1 dozen custom handmade invites with envelopes
1 dozen matching favor tags
1 dozen matching thank you cards with envelopes

Oh! Snap Photography (shop)

Oh! Snap Photography (on facebook)

one free session {$200 value}

Origami Owl (shop)
Origami Owl (on facebook)
gift card to their shop {$35 value}

Purposed Life (shop)
Purposed Life (on facebook)

gift card to their shop {$35 value}

Sassy Talk (shop)
Sassy Talk (on facebook)

gift card to their shop {$25 value}

Sew Strappy
Sew Strappy (on facebook)

one free camera strap of choice {up to $25 value}

Splash Designs (shop)
Splash Designs (on facebook)
gift card to their shop {$30 value}

The TomKat Studio (shop)
The TomKat Studio (on facebook)
The TomKat Studio (blog)
The TomKat Studio (on twitter)
gift card to their shop {$25 value}

To The Nines (shop)
To The Nines (on facebook)
gift card for some amazing shoes! {$50 value}

Toile Tales (shop)
Toile Tales (on facebook)
Toile Tales (on twitter)
Toile Tales (blog)

gift card to their shop {$40 value}

Alright, so now that you're all salivating to score these mawww-velous finds,
let's start entering to win!!

Entry #1 ~ Mandatory

Visit ALL the shops, then come back here to tell me your TWO favorite products/services from any of them (no, not from each one...just two TOTAL...unless you like more, of course!) :)
Be sure to leave your EMAIL ADDRESS so that we can contact you should you win!

The following are optional entries {to score more chances to win!}. Please be sure to LEAVE ONE SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ADDITIONAL ENTRY!!

And again, please be sure to leave your email address with your comment/s.

Entries # 2 -5 ~ optional
Post ONE comment for every SIX shops you "like" on facebook {so 4 entries possible here!}. Per new facebook regulations, we cannot MAKE you leave a comment there {although if you'd like to do so, you're more than welcome to, of course!}; however, in order to claim their prizes, you must "like" their page.

Entry #6 ~ optional

Post about this giveaway on your facebook page, including a link to this page, and leave a comment here with the link to your post!

Entry #7 ~ optional

Blog about this giveaway, including a link to this page, and leave a comment here with the link to your post!

Entry #8 ~ optional

Tweet about this giveaway, including a link to this page, and leave a comment here with the link to your tweet!

Entry #9 ~ optional

Post about this giveaway on a message board, including a link to this page, and leave a comment here with the link to your post!

***

Winner will be posted on this blog on or around June 16th, 2011. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to their winning. An email will be sent to all the vendors and/or their social media managers with the winner's information, but it will be up to the winner to contact each individual shop and/or social media manager to claim his/her prize/s. (Details regarding this will be emailed to winner).

***

Please understand that each business has graciously offered their time and services for this giveaway, so let's all please be appreciative of this, and respectful of the time it might take them in getting their product/services to you.

***

Thank you all so, SO! very much for your support of adam's blankie!

I am humbled by your support and so thankful for each and every one of you!

And another Hee-YOO-ge "thank you!" to each vendor! I am proudly fond of each of you and your products and very appreciative of you providing your time and talents for this giveaway!

Much love to you all! And, last but not least, GOOD LUCK!

There is no cash value to this giveaway. Items are non-transferable. Winner assumes all risks and responsibilties associated with them. adam's blankie is not liable for any risks and/or matters concerning the products/services.
Facebook is in no way related to this giveaway or responsible for anything pertaining to it. This giveawy is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
As a participant, you are providing information solely to the vendors and not to Facebook.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

A Toy Garden {Review & GIVEAWAY!}*CLOSED

2011-05-27T07:11:00.005-07:00

A Toy Garden is an online shop owned by Sonya, a mother of two. Sonya created her business after people began showing interest in her own hand-made products she has made for her daughter when she was little. Since then, she has expanded her shop to offer many other products, as well, although most {if not all} are made from natural "waldorf-inspired" materials {think cotton, silk, wood, wool, etcetera}.

A Toy Garden recently sent us some of their "Stockmar" crayons that they carry. Stockmar crayons are a high quality crayon made from beeswax and are produced in Germany. What's so special about beeswax, you ask? Well, for starters they're environmentally friendly, so even if your little one sticks this in his or her mouth, you don't have to worry about any nasty chemicals. Secondly, the Stockmar crayons produce more brilliant colors. This means the picture little Johnny draws will be "truer" picture that's more vibrant and pleasing to the eye!

crayola (left) vs. stockmar (right)...see the vibrancy difference??

I also particularly like that they come in a tin box, that clasps shut. This way, it cannot open accidentally, and spill the crayons all over. Additionally, they are a chunky, rectangular-shaped crayon. For this reason, they are especially nice for little hands, as they're easy to grasp, not to mention, they can't roll off the table onto the ground. Plus, as they have no paper around them, no caps and no plastic tube surrounding them, no matter how the little hands scribble with them, they'll "work" for your budding artist! I tried these out with my 1 year old, who has a natural knack for wanting to color. With other crayons or markers, she gives up more quickly because of one end "not working" {due to a cap, or plastic end of a tube}. But with these, all sides of the crayon work!

my one-year old testing them out...love that any side of the crayon "works" for her!

The only drawbacks with these are that {as my 4-year old son pointed out} they 1) smell kinda funny, 2) are difficult to use for filling in coloring pages {you know, the ones with the black lines} because they are so chunky and don't have one nice sharper end, so it's hard to stay in between the lines, and 3} are pricey. But, they will last for a long time...heck, DECADES even! So you could use these for a lifetime, really, which is worth the price ticket right there.

A Toy Garden has agreed to send one of our blog readers their own box of 8 Stockmar crayons to try out! We'll rock this giveaway for two weeks! Here's all you gotta do...

Mandatory Entry

Visit A Toy Garden and come back here to tell me your TWO FAVORITE PRODUCTS they offer! Be sure to leave your email address in the comment, so we have a way to contact you, should you win! {1 entry}.
Winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be chosen. Entrants can enter through June 9th. Winner to be chosen on or around June 10th!

Extra Entries {optional}

*Subscribe to our blog via Google Friend {1 entry possible}

*Give a shout out about this on your Facebook page ~ Be sure to leave a link to this blog post!! {1 entry}

*Become a fan of adam's blankie on Facebook {1 entry}

*Email up to 3 friends about this giveaway ~ Be sure to copy me on the emails!

adamsblankie@gmail.com {3 entries}

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
WINNER: TOMOKO
Thank you to all who entered!

Please note, I was not paid to do this review.
Opinions are strictly my own, and no one or nothing else has influenced me in my review.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Facing Tragedy

2011-05-16T10:09:00.001-07:00

It was both the worst AND the best week of my life...EVER.
This was three years and three days ago, and I'll never forget it.
It has forever changed me.
It was the week we nearly lost our son to a drowning.

For any of you who have ever nearly lost (or, heaven forbid, actually lost) a child, you know the feelings of a matter such as this. You know the feeling that there is nothing you can do. You know the feeling of guilt, no matter what the particular circumstances. You know the pang of death you feel in your own heart. You know the feeling of nothingness, numbness, dizziness & depression. You know the sleeplessness, the exhaustion, the shock, panic and deep, deep sorrow...the willingness and pleading to God that you do, begging him, "Lord, please! Pleeeease!! I'll do anything, anything!, if you would just heal our child!!!"

Lucky for us, those are not the only feelings we grappled with that week. We also felt sheer JOY that week! Why? Well, obviously because we did, in fact, get our son back. And not just "back," but ALL back {Praise God!}! But even more, what forever changed us that week was really knowing that God is real. That, yes, he does still perform modern day miracles! That He has a deep mercy for us. That He is in control. That He can overcome anything. That He take even the most difficult of instances and turn it into a blessing. Most people don't get this "opportunity," if you will, but he blessed us with it! Now. Please understand, I would never ever want this to happen to me, or any one of you, for that matter. But the fact is, it did happen. To us. But through this near-devastating crisis, we pulled through...our son pulled through...and it was all because of God. His perfect plan. His perfect timing. All of it.

I know some of you are scoffing at this right now. You know who you are. You are the one sitting at your computer right now...wondering {mocking} how I can be crediting God for this. How I can be so sure there is a God. And that hurts my heart. More so for you, than for me. But. But. I'm going to notate some of the "uncanny" details from those 3 days...things that are much, much too "coincidental" to be just that, coincidental. They are God's workings....here, see for yourselves:

*My boss asked me about leaving for lunch 5 minutes before I normally go. I took this seemingly small "opportunity" to head out 5 minutes early. I shudder to think what might have actually happened had I left 5 minutes later...as it turned out I was the one who would fine my son...floating on the pool, face-down.

*My son was wearing a tshirt with a screenprinted helicopter on it that day...the only one he owned with a helicopter on it. Later that day, he'd go on his first (and only, so far) helicopter ride (from the ER to the hospital).

*My husband had been a police officer for 5 years prior to this event. In those five years, and all the tragedies he encountered in them, he had never witnessed CPR actually work. But on this day, I successfully gave CPR to my son...and got him to take a breath. I was *not* CPR-certified and had never performed it on someone before this day.

*My husband and I had to take a separate ride {we couldn't go in the helicopter with our son, as it would weigh too much} from the ER to the hospital. So instead we rode with the fire chief {he was driving, of course, as we were in no shape to drive ourselves!} in his truck. During this ride {which was the longest ride of my life EVER!}, I saw on the floor of the truck a copy of "The Family Prayer," and I also noticed on his wrist a bracelet, which had inscribed on it the word, "faith." I can't believe I was able to notice or focus on anything at all during this ride, but somehow God made me notice those two things...and nothing else...not the traffic, not the noise...not anything else...just these two things. And I held on tight to that word and that sheet of paper...and somehow, some way, felt a wave of calm then...knowing God was in this, and all I had to do was trust in Him...and have faith.

*My son, who could barely speak any words before the time of the incident to begin with, spoke his first word since the incident, the day after it happened. We were in the hospital, and he spoke the word, "Nana." He said it to his Nana, literally just as she came into his hospital room. It was as if he was saying to her, "It's okay. It wasn't your fault. Everything's gonna be just fine. God's got this."

*Thousands of people prayed for our son during this time. There were special services held just for him...even in other countries. The power of prayer is real.

*I had formed my company, "adam's blankie," before this happened. I originally came up with the name out the love my son has for his blankie...his needing it for comfort and peace. But I now know that this name is two-fold and came from God. For it speaks not only for Adam's love of his blankie, but it references God's "blankie" of love and protection that surrounded, enveloped & protected Adam during this near catastrophe.

Still to this day, retelling this story makes my eyes well up with tears. I still cry every time I have to talk about it. But I know God made this story part of our journey so that we would tell it. So that is what I'm doing. And I hope that it moves you such that you are that much more careful with your children around water, of course. But most importantly, I hope it touches your soul such that you would know God to be true to His word. That He is who he claims He is, and that you would seek Him in your journey here on Earth.

Please click this link to read the full story from that day. Please also note that adam's blankie is a supporter of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona, and donates a portion of its profits to them. You can click here to discover tips on helping to prevent drownings, or to find the address to send your own donations to them.

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Color Fad

2011-05-10T15:03:00.001-07:00

Move over, Pink, and make way for PURPLE!

Is it just me, or have you all been noticing more and more purple around {been to Target lately? They have a whole slew of purple home decorative items}? It seems that I have started to notice a trend of purple popping up here and there more and more.... From children's clothing to home decor, I think it just might be trying to give pink a run for its money! And to this I say, "It's about stinkin' time!" I mean, I love me some good pink and all, but seriously. How. long. must. "it". be. PINK!?!! {Although I'm STILL waiting for the "pink and brown" and "blue and brown" fad to leave the baby industry. C'mon now! Any day, peeps!}

So I just recently made this custom headband for a friend of mine who's brother is getting married soon. It's for her 6 month old daughter to wear to the wedding. The wedding color? Yup, you guessed it ~ PURPLE!

I'm digging it, and am find myself wondering, "Hmmm...where can I add some purple in my house?" I love plum purple with mustard yellow...so maybe once we redo the nursery, our daughter's room could be in those hues...mmmm...my mouth is almost. almost. salivating. ;)

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Duo Concept Clothing

2011-05-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

I love having versatile items of clothing, don't you? You know, that scarf that can be wrapped a zillion different ways, or used as a belt, or cinch for your bag, etcetera, etcetera? So I'm especially excited to be introducing this new little piece to the adam's blankie collection!

The idea is an adam's blankie original, that I'm pretty darn certain you won't be able to find anywhere else! {How's that for exciting?!} But, more importantly, this little baby doubles as both a skirt and a top! It's funny how I really didn't go into making this item as a double concept. My original idea was just to make an adorably cinchable skirt! Then I thought about adding an adjustable "ribbon" throughout the bottom {or top - wear it how you like! Like I said, VERSATILE!}. Then as I was designing it, I realized, this would make for an adorable bubble top, as well! That's when I got really excited! That is definitely one of the best parts of designing anything ~ when your idea just grows and gets better and better! {eeeeeeeeeeeek!}

So without further adieu, I'd like to introduce ya'll to the adam's blankie "Bubble Duo Concept!!!" Wear it low as a skirt, or wear it high as a shirt! Both ways are exceptionally cute, if I do say so myself {see pics below!}!! It's even "flippable," so that you can wear the side bow on the top or bottom! Hellooooooo! That means FOUR WAYS TO WEAR IT! :) It will be arriving to our shop soon, and be available in all our gorgeous fabrics, of course!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Teacher Appreciation {End of Year} Gifts

2011-05-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Okay. So let me just start by saying that I'm totally LAME that just his week I learned that parents are supposed to give their teachers an Appreciation Gift at the end of the school year. Now, don't get me wrong here. It's not that I didn't think they didn't deserve one ~ quite the contrary!! It's just something I totally overlooked in my crazy, hectic life!

So, now that I know this, of course, I've been trying to figure out what to give her! And I need to know NOW since there's like, what, 2 weeks of school left?! {Yikes!} Sooo....here's the deal. I absolutely prefer to give original gifts. I mean, of course, right? After all, that's what I do for a living ~ make original gifts for mamas and their precious babes! BUT. Time is of the essence here!! Besides that, I'm thinking that teachers probably get soooo many gifts for their houses, that they've probably run out of room for more "stuff" by even the third year of teaching, ya know?!?? So. That leads me to....a gift card. I know. Totally unoriginal, right? BUT. Very, very practical. Now, that's what I'm talking about!

So, now I must interject a point that all you parents just simply must read! I have enough current and former teacher friends to KNOW this. is. TRUE! As lovely and unique and brilliant as all your little kiddos are, your teacher does NOT, I repeat, does NOT want some trinkety little thing that he or she made. I'm so, so sorry to break some of your gals' hearts out there, but please refer to my previous point: they only have so much room for so much stuff in their houses!! So before you make {C'mon now. Be truthful here. You KNOW your kids do not actually WANT to make that thing for their teacher! You're totally making them!!} Little Johnny sit down and craft that googly-eyed, glittery pinecone-of-a-thing for your teacher, let it go. That's right...just let.it.go. Your teacher will thank you. Trust me. :)

So, back to the main issue at hand here... I decided on a gift card. For a coffee house. Yes. That's right. Like I said, TOTALLY unoriginal. But, please just try and tell me one gal you know who couldn't use a little caffeine boost here and there?! Seriously. Um, for me? DAILY!!! And here's the clincher: It's gonna be the cutest-little-giftcard ever! Why? Because I found this totally adorable prop it goes with! And YOU, TOO, can print yours and give it to your child's teacher!

{photo courtesy of www.eighteen25.blogspot.com}

All you need to do is visit the eighteen25 blog to download and print your very own "Thanks a latte for all you do" card. Instructions are there on what else to do with it {very minimal ~ promise}. Easy-peasy gift for your teacher that's practical and a sure-winner. :)

{Thanks, eighteen25! You ROCK!}

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

anyone want to win OVER $7000.00 worth in prizes? {yes, please!}

2011-05-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

So two of my wonderful photographer friends both have HEEE-YOUUUUUGE giveaways going on RIGHT NOW! One is over $6000 in prizes {I know! "gasp!" right?!?}, and the other, $1000!!! Aaaaaand, both giveaways will give ONE lucky gal tooooooooooons of divine goodies! I SERIOUSLY wish I could enter them myself!!! I've been LOVING checking out all the creative shops and products, and I KNOW you will, too!

So, one giveaway ends TOMORROW, so you better get your little fastly furious key-tappin' fingers over there ASAP and get your name in already! This giveaway is with Laura Winslow Photography. She is an absolutely amazing photographer, and is local for any lucky Phoenix blog readers. Be sure to check her page out and book a session! {I KNOW you won't be disappointed!}

The other giveaway, with Christina Hendrick Photography, ends Sunday night {the 8th}! But enter now, so you don't forget!!! Here is the link to that one! If you live in the San Diego area, be sure to check out her portfolio and book a session with her, too! She's also a fabulous photographer with a keen eye for detail and is very efficient and highly personable, as well!

Thanks for checking them out, everyone! ALSO, be sure to check back here frequently as adam's blankie is going to be hosting OUR OWN HUGE GIVEAWAY soon!!! {can't hardly wait!!} :)

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Fixing Clothing with Embellishments: Part I: Using Ruffles to Hide Holes

2011-05-02T06:43:00.116-07:00

I know we have all had this scenario happen at our house. Here's how the thinking goes: "Baby Jack's favorite shirt got a hole in it. It fits perfectly fine, but now we'll have to throw it away. Oh, he'll be so disappointed. I sure hope he doesn't notice it's missing from his closet." Or maybe it goes like this, "Whaaaaat? How did that happen? We JUST got this shirt, and it already has a hole! I wonder if I can return it...do I still have the receipt?" Either way, you're totally bummed. And probably about to throw the clothing (not to mention your money) down the drain. But guess what? Perhaps you do NOT need to throw it away. In fact, you mostly likely won't need to!

There are so many easy ways to fix these kinds of items. Especially when it comes to kids clothing in particular. Why? Because you can get away with a lot of more embellishing "kid-style," if you will. You know what I mean....patches, ruffles, appliques. These are all wonderful solutions for covering up holes or snags in clothing.

So, as I'm sure you've guessed, this recently happened at our house. I had purchased a tank top from Baby Gap...before our daughter was even born, in fact. I got it at the outlet, and in a size 12-18 months (yes, I like to plan ahead!). So this Spring she is finally big enough to wear it. So we tried it on, and guess what? Not just one, but TWO holes were already in it (no wonder it was at the outlet, right?!!)!

one of the two holes I found....ugh.

As I sat muttering to myself {I won't go into what I was saying...it might have even been an expletive, not sure...but let's just say I wasn't happy - ha!}, I was just about to toss it. When all of a sudden, my crafty self came through and thought,"Wait just a minute here! I can totally fix this!" With ruffles. Now how often can you say, "Ruffles to the rescue!" Seriously! I just looooooooooooove ruffles and am going to keep adding ruffles to everything for as long as they stay in style.

here it is...the fixed shirt...can i get a "thank you, ruffles!"?? :)

The other beauty of the fashions we're in right now? Raw edges. Mixing and matching. Embellishing galore. It's just the PERFECT time, style-wise (if you care about that at all!), to be able to change, upcycle and fix about anything! Whoo-hoo! (Now if this style only NEVER went away, right?!)

So, as the shirt was made in a jersey knit (as most tshirts and cotton shirts are), I decided to stick with that same type of fabric for my ruffles I wanted to add. I was ecstatic about using jersey knit, because when you cut this stuff it does NOT fray!! This means a huge short-cut and time saver because you do.not.have.to.HEM.it! Score!

So here are the steps I took to create this ruffled magic. I do apologize for not having pictures of most of the process {including a picture of the original shirt - doh!}. I wasn't planning to blog about this, but midway through my project, I thought to myself, "This is really something a lot of women should know about! Ways to embellish and create and save money!" So without further adieu...

First, I simply measured the length of the bottom part of the shirt. Then I doubled that number (to get the length of the whole way around the shirt), then doubled it again. {You always needs to multiple the total length you're going to ruffle by at least 1 1/2 times the length. I like to go twice as long because it means even more ruffles!}

Then I cut 2 strips of jersey knit fabric. One in white, and one in turquoise. I cut each piece 3 inches wide and, again, 2 times the length around the bottom of her shirt.

Then I ruffled each strip with my sewing machine (click here to see a tutorial on how to make ruffles). I did NOT secure the ruffles at this point. {You could do that now, BUT you'll end up having to sew over the entire ruffled strip twice if you do that}. So, for now, just sew on your basting stitch and gather & ruffle the strip of fabric now.

Once ruffled, I placed the end of one of my ruffled strips (the white one) on the side seam of the shirt. Then layed out the strip around the entire shirt {so that the ends of the ruffle met each other at the same side seam where I started} and made sure it fit around properly. At this point, you will probably need to either ruffle some more, or let some ruffle out, if the ruffle is not fitting onto the shirt correctly {that is, matching up at the side seam}. If the ruffle is hanging off the edge of the shirt, it's too long, and you need to ruffle your strip more. If the ruffle is too short and not reaching the side seam, you need to let out some of the ruffle. Once I got it to fit around perfectly, I used oodles of pins to secure it in place!

Go ahead and also pin the two ends of your ruffled strip together at the side seam. Sew this together. Be careful that you're sewing only the two strips together and not sewing it onto the shirt yet!


the two ends of one ruffled strip...pinned together and ready to be sewn

sewing the ends of the ruffled strip together...as you can see, NO shirt in sight here!

Now go ahead and sew that strip on. Just sew right over your basting stitch. Next up, the second ruffle. I did the same thing with this ruffle, only pinned it below the first ruffle, of course. I placed it so that the top ruffle would cover the top portion of this new one, but also so that this new ruffle would cover the bottom of the original hemline of the shirt.

here's how the ruffles look, placement-wise, on the shirt... the top (white) one is already sewn on...the bottom (turquoise) one, awaiting to be sewn.

here's how they lay when you put the ruffles down...you can see the white (top) ruffle just barely covers the bottom (turquoise) ruffle

Again, just sew the ends of it together first, then sew the entire ruffle on. Trim your threads, remove pins, and presto! Fixed shirt! And in my opinion, this ruffling made the shirt look even cuter than the original! Sa-weeeeeeeeeet!

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Hugely "Royal" PATTERN SALE!!

2011-04-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Happy "Royal" Day to you all! Sooo, did you see it? Did you stay up all night watching the royal nuptials? I have to confess that I did *NOT* -- but I saw clips of it, and it looked just gorgeous, and, well....royal!! I think they make a grand couple - and probably the only royal couple we'll see get wed and then later step into their roles as King and Queen as a couple!

To celebrate, we're having a ""royal sale" on our patterns - THIS WEEKEND ONLY! (4/29-5/1)

Here's the scoop: When you buy any TWO PATTERNS from our shop, you can choose any TWO OTHERS FREE! That's 4 for the price of 2 - royally awesome, if I do say so myself! :)

To order, please check our shop pattern section first {some sample images of patterns you can purchase are imaged below!}.Then just email me at adamsblankie@gmail.com with the 4 you want, and I'll invoice you for just 2 of them! They will then be emailed out to you within 24 hours {probably even less} of payment.

paper rosette balls pattern

doodle diddie crayon roll pattern

leg warmers pattern

burp cloth pattern

Happy sewing & crafting! :)

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Calling All Professional Photographers! {DISCOUNT!}

2011-04-28T14:33:00.001-07:00

I get contacted all the time by professional photographers who are looking for props {in my case, it's usually our hair couture} to use in their photos. They realize, after all, how much difference a fabulous prop can make in a photo {see a few samples below! I work closely with Christina of Christina Hendrick Photography, as she is amazing at what she does}! Consider props as little pieces of candy that just satisfy your soul when you see them. They are but "eye" candy, of course, but sometimes they really just make the photograph, ya know? {Afterall, why do you think there are businesses out there who thrive off of selling props alone, as their sole source of income?!}

So, in order to accommodate as many of you professional photographers as there are out there, I've decided to offer a Professional Photographer Discount to you! {Sa-weeeeeeeeeeeeet!} What this means is 25% off any of our hair couture to purchase for your prop stash! In order to qualify for this discount, you must have a live, up-and-running website, session pricing listed, with an "extensive" gallery {to show me you really are a professional photographer, and not just making the claim!} and contact info to boot.

**Please note, this offer is for a limited time only! To place your order, please visit adam's blankie first to pick out your hair couture. Then please email me at adamsblankie@gmail.com to place your order.

showcasing one of our stroller blankies and the "divine" statement headband

our "waterfall" headband in raspberry

gray and turquoise rosette from our jersey line of headbands

distressed rockstar boys newsboy hat

our "black swan" headband

So here is a big Thank you!!! to all you amazing photographers! I LOVE all you are doing for the amazing world of photography!!! :)

Have a product you'd like reviewed?

Contact me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

www.adamsblankie.com

Cupcake Liner Headband

2011-04-27T07:42:00.054-07:00

Let me just start by saying that I only wish I would have thought of doing this for my daughter when she turned one last month {darn it!}....they're super cute and a brilliantly clever idea to have your girl sport for her birthday! Why? You can match the cupcake liners from the party to her hair accessory. Go ahead now...."ohhh!" and "ahhhhh!" for me! :) But even if not for a birthday party, they're just a unique hair accessory, and are guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind, which is worth a lot in my book!

And more importantly (for some of you, at least!), did I mention you really can't mess these up? They're pretty much fail-proof and can be customized any way you like! Basically, if you can fold and either do a super easy stitch on your sewing machine OR sew a button on something, you can make these!!

So how did I come up with these? I'm not really sure.... I know I've been inspired by all the wonderful crafts I've discovered recently using cupcake liners. In fact, I've made trees, wreaths and garlands with them and posted about them just last month! But today, for some reason, it came to me...ah-ha! Let's make this into a hair accessory! And so it was. :)

Materials Required
*Cupcake liners {any will do - but an assortment of sizes is best - i.e., jumbo, regular and mini}
*Craft Glue
*Rhinestone OR button
*Felt (small piece)
*Sewing machine OR thread and needle
*alligator hair clip (optional)
*ribbon (optional)
*headband (optional)

So you're going to start by picking up the cupcake liners you want to use. I don't want you to be limited by the number I used, but let's just say it was about 16. ;) Again, feel free to use what you like...be creative! You may just want to grab a few of each size and see where it takes you.

So I started by folding 5 of my matching (regular sized) liners into fourths, as such. (Fold in half; then fold in half again).

I put them together to form a circle, overlapping each one a little bit.

Then I took 2 of that same patterned liner and folded each of them in half. I put these behind the circle of liners I had just made.

Next, I took 2 different patterned liners (again, regular size) and folded them almost in half....part of one end of each liner was slightly higher than the other end (so that they stick out a bit from the stack when added...so that you can see them!). I placed these two liners on the bottom of my stack. (Keep in mind, you're just adding as you go, and holding them all in place with one hand). Next I took a jumbo liner, and smushed it flat. This I placed to the bottom of my stack.

At this point, I decided to sew my stack together, as my flower was getting pretty thick, and I didn't want them to start sliding all over the place! So I just went to my machine and zig-zagged a stitch in the center, being sure to catch all layers with my needle.

Then I took 4 regular sized liners in yet another pattern, and folded them into fourths (fold in half, and then fold in half again). I put these on top of my cupcake liner flower.

And the last of the liner layers were 2 mini-sized liners that I stacked together, layed out flat and added to the top.

Then I stitched them all together. Next I took some craft glue and placed a large rhinestone right in the middle. If you don't have access to these, a large button would do beautifully, as well!

I decided to put mine on a hair clip so that I could use it plain in the hair, or on any number of different headbands. You just need an alligator clip, some 3/8" ribbon and some craft glue. Cut the ribbon to about 6 inches. Then secure the edges (to prevent fraying) by singing them with a lighter. Finally, glue onto your clip.

Glue the top of your clip and place onto the backside of your cupcake flower.

Then cut a small circle from felt, to fit the bottom part of your flower. Glue one side of your felt circle entirely, and place over the BOTTOM part (NOT the top!) of your hair clip, to secure the clip to the flower.

At this point you can enjoy your Cupcake Liner Flower as is! You can also attach to a headband (especially if baby doesn't have enough hair to hold in a clip yet). If you don't have any, or want a new one, we do offer them in our shop a la carte and have a large variety of colors. You can visit us here to check them out.

Enjoy!!!

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Nursing Cover Dress for Baby - DIY Tutorial

2011-04-25T07:34:00.015-07:00

So baby is "all grown up" {or so it feels...} and you're done nursing her. Now you've placed your nursing cover in the "To Donate," or "To Sell" pile, right?..........WRONG! Instead of getting a measly 5 bucks for it, you can keep it and turn it into a gorgeous dress/long shirt for baby! Afterall, it is in a fabric you must already love since you chose it as a nursing cover!! And it just takes some basic sewing skills. So if you've been waiting for a good first project to break in your sewing machine, now is your chance! And if you're a more seasoned sewer, this should take no time at all!

The real beauty of it? A lot of the steps needed are done for you already since we're not starting from a raw piece of fabric!

To get the how-to on making it, please visit our shop, adam's blankie. Here you can find a handful of easy sewing patterns. And if you click to our home page, you'll find a plethora of other handmade goodies for both you and baby...ones you don't have to sew yourself! (I'm sure that makes some of you happy!)

Enjoy! And if you do decide to try this pattern, please send me pictures (before and after would be AWESOME!) of your end results! You can email them to me at adamsblankie@gmail.com

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they're heeeeeeeeeeeeeere!! {results from our photo shoot!}

2011-04-20T06:57:00.010-07:00

You might recall me talking about an upcoming photo shoot I had arranged to take some pictures of our goodies on some cutie-patootie kids! So a couple weekends ago, it finally happened! {Our first session had forecasted rain, so we had to reschedule. This second time? Nearly 100 degree weather. Ugh. BUT. The kids are parents were amazing troopers, and we ended up having a fantastic time!} Anyway, I had arranged for this shoot with a good friend of mine, who happens to be a photographer. And a spectacular one at that! {You can visit Christy at Christina Hendrick Photography to see her portfolio, or to book a session. She is in the San Diego area}. I collaborated with a couple other girl friends of mine who also have their own handmade businesses in the Gilbert/Chandler area. I love their work, and wanted to showcase it to you, as I find it inspirational and downright fun!

Nicole of EllaJo Customs brought absolute perfection in her must-have girly tutus and shirts {she also has applique shirts for boys, too!}.

tutus and applique shirts by EllaJo Customs; hair designs by adam's blankie

tutu {LOVE the lime green, turquoise and black!} and shirt by EllaJo Customs; "Pink Swan" headband by adam's blankie

tutu and shirt by EllaJo Customs; "divine" headband by adam's blankie

Purposed Life is another business I asked to join us. They offer upcycled dresses and shirts, among a few other items. All designs are unique and original pieces of art, and all of them are created and made by my friend, Meghan. She is an insanely awesome artisan, and I just love her work!

dresses and leggings by Purposed Life; hair couture by adam's blankie

dresses by Purposed Life; headbands by adam's blankie

dress by Purposed Life; headband by adam's blankie

I brought tons of adam's blankie goodies to the set, as well, of course. A lot of them are new headband creations...but believe it or not, I have more that I haven't even photographed or listed yet! They'll make their debut soon, though! :)

rosette statement necklace and chocolate headband by adam's blankie

distressed hat and cuff by adam's blankie

dress and headband by adam's blankie

tie by adam's blankie

bloomers by adam's blankie

blanket and headband by adam's blankie

headband by adam's blankie

headband and bib by adam's blankie

headband by adam's blankie

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our day! Like I said, amazing accessories and goodies for your sweeties! So please be sure to stop by and say "hello!" to us all! Just click the links to visit us:

adam's blankie
Christina Hendrick Photography
EllaJo Customs
Purposed Life

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Cinnamon Vanilla Snack Mix

2011-04-18T07:25:00.004-07:00

One of my girlfriends {thanks, Beth!} told me about this recipe, and upon hearing it, I just knew I had to make it! And with my other pregnant friend coming into town this week, I thought I better hurry up and make. it. NOW! I'll tell you right off, it's certainly not the healthiest thing to eat, but every once in a while, I think you can do it. Plus, it's the perfect movie companion.

So upon making and tasting it, the verdict is in, and it's deeeee-licious! It's super easy, too, and doesn't take much time at all {although you must be patient and let it dry a bit at the end}. Better yet, the kids can help! With the perfect mix of sweet, salty, smooth, crunchy and a hint of spice, it's a winner all around. So go ahead ~ give it a try! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Cinnamon Vanilla Snack Mix
1 bag of pretzel sticks
1 bag of popped plain popcorn
1 bag of Fritos
Peanuts (the original recipe didn't call for these, but I thought it would be a great addition - it was!)
1 bag of Vanilla Candy Coating (or almond bark..heck, even a bag of chocolate (or any flavor you like) chips would work)
cinnamon

1. Lay out a couple pieces of wax paper on your countertop.

2. Put your Fritos (I used about 1/2-2/3 of a bag), popcorn, pretzel sticks (again, about 1/2-2/3 of the bag) in a large mixing bowl OR brown paper bag. Toss around.

3. Melt the coating.*

*I used the double boiler method because I think there's less of a risk to burn it, plus I always like to use the stove instead of microwave, if I can. As I've mentioned before in some recipes I've posted, you don't actually need a "double boiler" to do this. Do as I do, and fill up a pot with water. Find a glass bowl that fits in it, but won't fall through all the way. Put your candy in this and turn up the heat on the burner - say medium-high. Continually stir until it melts.

4. Pour the melted candy coating over the mix of popcorn, chips and pretzels. Toss around to coat (using a big wooden spatula works well for this). OR you can pour it over your chip mixture in the big brown bag and shake around to coat.

5. Pour it all out onto the wax paper. Spread it out evenly.

6. Sprinkle cinnamon over it all - do so pretty liberally.

7. Let dry about 25 - 30 minutes.

Mmmmmmmm................so good! :) Now just enjoy it with your kids, your husband or some girlfriends. Hmmm...I think this might make another feature at our first Girls' Craft Night coming up soon! :)

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Inspiration Friday

2011-04-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

I love beautiful things. They make me perk up inside and more importantly, give me inspiration! Inspiration to achieve. Inspiration to create. Inspiration to inspire others.

So, as I was telling you last week, I spent some time this last weekend attending the "Creative Estates" first annual conference. It was located at the lovely "Inspirador" in downtown Chandler (Arizona). Inspirador is a gorgeous facility that hosts lots of weddings and events. And quite fittingly, they have an "inspiration room" up front for people to, well, get inspired!

And looking in there certainly inspired me! I now have a new determination to create only more and be better in those creations! Below you'll see some of what I saw. Soooo, what do you think? What is invoked in you when you see these pictures (so sorry about their quality, by the way, but you can certainly still get a great sense of their beauty!)?

part of the "Inspiration Room"

gorgeous way to display memorable photos!

love the pearl frosting details..and how they alternate designs between cake layers

this dolled up cupcake was at "In Pockets," a shop just down the road...isn't she so pretty all gussied up?

so loving the framed grass...thinking this must make at least an annual (if not permanent) appearance in my house each Spring!

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{Creative Estates}

2011-04-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

So last night was the start of my attendance at the "Creative Estates" conference.... In case you missed it, it's a conference especially for small businesses and bloggers. And, lucky enough for me, it's being hosted right here in the Phoenix Metro Valley...although there are MANY out-of-staters here!

So last night we registered and attended the "Cocktails and Cupcakes" event as a "Welcome!" I had a fabulous time meeting lots of bloggers and moms with their own businesses, so I felt right at home! I was even lucky enough to win a $50 gift certificate to "The Vintage Pearl!"

Below are some photos from the event last night...not the best pictures, as it was pretty dark by the time I snapped these, and I'm STILL using a point-and-click camera (I know, I know...a DSLR camera is HIGH on my priority list, believe me! I'm sure it will be even more apparent how quickly I need one after my weekend at this conference is over!) If you're at all familiar, I'm sure that you can see it is the style of Kim from The TomKat Studio. Give her a shout out and let her know I sent you!

All attendees also each received a goodie box {it was shaped like a little "estate" - how fun!} upon registering...here is what was in side {a.k.a. a craft woman's dream!}:


goodies from "creative estates" conference

Included in the box were a felt headband, large memo clip {done in the black, white & yellow theme for "creative estates" this year} from Hoot Designs, Mod Podge, glitter, a "Live Creatively" necklace from "the Vintage Pearl," an absolutely adorable (business) card holder from "taradara," a "pick me up" crafting pen {you gotta google these if you haven't seen them yet! a scrapbooking, crafty one's dream tool!}, and some mini notecards and envelopes from "letterpress paper."

I will definitely be posting more about the conference, including lots of pictures, after the weekend is over! Stay tuned, and enjoy yourselves a fabulous little weekend!

xoxo,

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an ado

Owl Bookends: DIY Tutorial

2011-04-07T07:08:00.094-07:00

I've seen many different versions of these cuties around, and when I saw them, I just knew that I'd have to make them! And beyond just being used as bookends, they obviously serve as cute decor, as well. What's that mean? These are well worth your time to make. :)

{Materials Required}:
cotton fabric
felt {white, black and an additional color of choice is optional}
sewing machine
rice
fiberfill
scissors
pen
funnel

Okay, so first you need to decide how big you want your owl/s. I decided to go with two different sizes: one baby and one mama owl. (But please KEEP IN MIND: if you're using them for bookends, the bigger the better, to hold all that book weight. I decided I only needed one bookend, and am going to use my smaller one as a play, beanbag sort of toy). For the small one, I cut a rectangle about 7x8 inches, and for the larger one, a square about 11x11 inches. Then I freehanded an owl shape onto the backside of one of my smaller cotton rectangular pieces of fabric. I drew only HALF of the owl, then layed it on top of my other small rectangular pieces of fabric. Next, I folded the fabric over (length-wise), and cut along my owl shape. By using this folding & layering method, you'll get symmetrical sides for your owl and matching sides for the front and back of him, too.

half of my owl shape (the smaller owl)

how it looks folded, before cuting

Now place your two large rectangular pieces of fabric together, with the right sides facing each other. Go ahead and take your cut out owl shape and pin it onto the wrong side of your large pieces of fabric. Cut our your large owl shape, using the smaller one you already cut out as your pattern. Basically, you're just going to cut the same shape as the one you already did, but go out a couple inches from the smaller one's edges.

Now take your white felt, and cut out 2 circles (layer two small squares together, and then cut the circles from that), which will make up part of the owl's eyes. You're going to need to cut out 4 white circles altogether - one smaller pair for the baby owl, and one larger pair for the mama owl. (You can't go wrong with a size here...just eyeball what size you think looks best). HINT: use some sort of round thing you have in your house to make the perfect circle...a biscuit cutter (as I did, shown below), tupperware lid, etc.

For the eyes & beak, you're going to use your felt. Cut out two small black circles for the baby owl's pupils. Cut out two larger black circles for the mama owl. OPTIONAL: I decided to add another dimension to mama's eyes, by adding a pair of pink circles to her eyes...right in between the white & black circles for her eyes. Now you can also cut out a beak to match: for the smaller owl, I did a little triangle, and for the mama owl, I did a diamond shape - both in an orangey-yellow color of felt.

Take just one of the pieces of one of your owl bodies, and lay the eyes & beaks on it to see where you want them to be. Now pin down the beak and remove the eyes from the body. Sew the beak on - be sure you're sewing onto the RIGHT side of your fabric, and sewing onto only ONE of the body pieces!

Now take your white eyes, and pin them in place on your body, right above the beak. Sew them on. You can do a straight stitch or zigzag in a matching or contrasting color - whatever you prefer! I chose a soft pink for my baby owl, and a green thread for my mama owl (to complement her baby green owl!), and did mine in a zigzag stitch for fun.

After you've stitched on the whites, stitch on the middle color (if you chose to do so), and last, the pupils.

Here is what your owl will look like so far:

Okay, time to put the owl together! Go ahead and put the pieces of the owl's body together, being sure the "right" sides are together and matched up along the edges. Pin in place.

Sew (I chose about a 1/2" seam for my larger owl, and just 1/4" seam for my smaller one) along the edges, leaving about 2 inch opening at the bottom of your owl (be sure to backstitch when you start & stop, to secure your seams).

Clip the curves. (If you're new to sewing, this means that wherever there is a curve (at the top between the ears, and on both sides of the body), you're going to need to take your scissors and cut little slits just about to the seam. This will allow for the curves to lay right).

Now turn your body right-sides out. (You're almost there!) You're going to take some of your fiberfill and stuff this into the head part of your owl. Be sure to really get it into the ears and in their points. This will help your owl keep its shape and stay 3-dimensional.

Once you have enough fiberfill to fill the ears and about halfway down the eyes, you're going to start adding the rice. This will help weigh him down...necessary if you want your owl to be able to "stand" and definitely necessary if you're using as bookends. Use your funnel for less mess.

Once he's filled about 85 -90 percent of the way, you can stop filling. Now you just need to turn in the seams, and either sew straight across with your sewing machine, or hand-stitch it shut, along the bottom.

Now just follow the above steps for your second owl, and you're done! Enjoy!

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Easter Basket Finds

2011-04-02T06:18:00.002-07:00

I love finding little goodies to put in my kids' Easter baskets each year. I always love just a bit of candy there {just gotta do it since that's pretty much ALL I got in my own Easter basket as a kid!}, but really, I love finding the different, unique, non-sugar lovelies for them.

So here are some Easter Basket finds I found this year...be sure to check these places out! All are from Etsy, meaning hand-made goodness! {Oh, and at the bottom are some Easter finds for Mom's basket ~ tell your husband you need one, too!!}

Easter Basket finds for the Kids....

Chocolate Peony with Flower Crystal from adamsblankie

Bunny Soaps from Mr. Robinet

owl bookends from Karen Sagez. {P.S. I plan to come up with my own creation of these ~ will post pictures & tutorial for them after I've made them!}

Crocheted Owl hat from Prolesik - this one is for the pattern to DIY, but you can search Etsy and find many already made, ready for you to buy!

Mini Easter cookies from Crafted Cookies 799

Felt Macaron cookie set from treaclezoo

Felt tea bags from Gourmet Play

Bloom crayons from Gourmet Play

Easter Basket finds for Mom...

French Nougats from Kettle Confections

Mama bird & nest necklace from Ivory Cove

Pink French Macaron cookie keychain from Bit of Sugar

Repurposed vintage sewing pattern paper flowers from Montclair Made

Paper mache eggs from the Broken House

Washi tape from Pretty Tape...{I, for one, have a few of these pegged to purchase ~ lovely!}

Rosette necklace from adam's blankie

Carnival {Grapefruit, Cotton Candy, Caramel & Bourbon Vanilla} Body Whip from Alchemic Muse

Enjoy! Happy Easter, everyone!

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Spring Decor: Take Three

2011-03-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

I think I'm finally done decorating for Spring! Yay! I love all the vibrant colors this time of year, and I find it especially easy to decorate for because a lot of your inspiration and actual elements can come from the great outdoors. That's right, just trim & clip and bring it inside!

So this is my third {and probably last} post regarding Spring decor. {In case you're wondering, I have decided to decorate more for Spring {versus Easter} because it's more versatile and can stay up longer. That being said, I do have some Eastery things, of course, but it's mostly just Spring-themed}. In case you missed the last two, you can check this one out for a nice Do-It-Yourself Spring Flower Wreath, or click here to check out our DIY cupcake liner wreath, garland and trees!

So the last bits of my Spring decor include a branch centerpiece with some owl and egg images hung from it, my pink tree branch with paper butterflies {left over from our sweetie's first birthday celebration this past weekend!}, and some eggs nestled in moss.

For the Owl branches...just trim branches off your trees, and strip off most of their leaves. You can leave more or less, but I wanted mine to have just a few, to make it seem Spring-like with just a few leaves budding on it. I purchased the .pdf file from Land of Enchantment {on Etsy, but of course!}, then printed, cut, hole-punched their tops, and hung them from the branches with a thin twine. I added some moss to the bottom of the glass hurricane, as well. It's a very vibrant-colored green moss, which I LOVE ~ very Spring-like!

Here is the Butterfly Tree branch. For this one, I clipped a LARGE branch {versus a few small ones for the smaller owl tree display}. Then I spray-painted it pink. Next I found a butterfly silhouette clip art from the web, printed it out, cut it out, and then traced it onto scrapbook papers. I mod-podges two pieces of paper together to make them two-sided. While wet from the mod-podge, I also bent some of them so that they'd dry more realistically, that is, more 3-dimensional {instead of just flat}. After that, I just hot-glued them all over the branch, and then stuck the whole thing in a large glass hurricane. She's sitting in our entry-way now, but will take up permanent residence in our daughter's bird and flower-themed room after Spring.

Lastly, I got some gorgeous little eggs and set them in a basket filled with moss, and a glass flower bloom {from Michael's} on a large candlestick holder that I had purchased years ago and repainted ivory recently. {I couldn't believe how well these 2 decorative pieces fit together!} I clipped off a few of our pink twigs from our large pink butterfly tree to make it more nest-like {I think it's always a good idea to have pairings of the same elements around, but utilized differently, if you can. Makes it all more cohesive but not too matchy-matchy, if you will}.

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Organize Your Grocery Shopping

2011-03-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

So I used to purchase those long, narrow notepads to use as a shopping list. I would always end up writing in my own categories all over it so that I could better streamline my actual shopping at the store. But sometimes I wouldn't leave enough space on my sheet for a certain category, or the categories ended up being out of order with the grocery lanes, and it took too much time for this busy mama to write everything down. Then it dawned on me...there must be a better way to do this!

So as I often do when looking for a great answer to my problem, I turned to Etsy. {If you STILL haven't checked this site out, you MUST!! Seriously, whenever I "google" something, it ends up eating up too much time, and directing me to the wrong place. So, more often than not, I go straight to Etsy to do a search, and there I find what I'm looking for quickly and accurately}.

Anyway. Once I arrived at my answer on Etsy {that is, major choices for custom grocery shopping lists!}, I started perusing designs I liked. But what it ulimately boiled down to for me, was not a design, but just a streamlined, easy-to-navigate shopping list. So what did I do? I decided to make my own. Partly for saving money, but moreso, because I wanted to integrate a few different elements of the ones I saw on Etsy into one grocery shopping list that fit me just right.

Now, mine aren't nearly as cute as the ones you can find and purchase on Etsy. But, for now, these will work. Unfortunately, I'm no graphic designer...so I'm thinking I may hire my graphic designer friend to make a cute design for me later {once I actually decide what design it is that I want!}.

The main thing here is that you need to figure out which items you are purchasing over and over again. The next most important thing is knowing how your grocery store is set up, and arranging your food categories to go with the flow of your store. Once you have that figured out, it's pretty simple.

Like I said, I'm no graphic designer, so I just made simple bullet points {I actually used the "o" letter because I wanted to be able to "x" what things I needed to get at the store} with my most frequently purchased items, and then added some blanke "o" to add in anything else I might need. I also added a weekly menu section at the top. And the kicker? The phrase I used {which I admittedly "stole" from a cute one I saw!}: Time to Break Out the Fat Pants. C'mon now. How appropriate for grocery shopping, right?!

I'm proud to say I've been using my little system I set up for a few months now and am loving it! The one thing I don't like is remembering to print off my shopping list and keep it downstairs with my coupons. I wish I had a whole pad of these, ya know? So I'm contemplating laminating it {you can do this without an actual laminator, by the way...just sandwich your paper in between 2 pieces of clear contac paper}...then I'd be able to reuse it again and again with a dry erase marker. Would save paper and ink, too.

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The Kids' Birthday Parties : Celebrating 1 and 4

2011-03-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be able to handle two kids' birthday parties every March. I just did my first set of them this year, as our little guy turned 4, and our sweet girl, 1!! And, WHEW! what a crazy whirlwind of a couple weeks! I've heard from numerous moms now, who have up to 3 kids (or more!) with birthdays just weeks, or even days, apart! HOW do they do it? I'm now understanding why some kids have joint birthday parties....and it's definitely a possibility for next year. Ha! {I think the guest list likes it, too, as it's just one party to hit, instead of two in a row...at least for now, while the kids are young enough that the parents must come to the party, too. Which begs the question, when do kids go to parties by themselves, sans Mom and Dad?}. Anyway. Our birthday parties are over! Makes me relieved...but, boy, were they fun! So fun, in fact, that I already have an idea for next year! {You'll just have to wait to hear more details on that ~ PLENTY of time!}

So this year we had a Curious George and a butterfly-garden party as our themes. Lots of details went into my planning...although, I hate to admit, all were certainly not successfully executed. Now, in my defense, some of it was due to uncooperative weather {i.e., too much wind and heat}, but for the most part, I liked how they turned out. The final consensus {when comparing the two we just had} is that home parties are the way to go if you're going to have lots of decorative details. It's just too hard to transport and set it all up elsewhere. Just hope your home {or yard, as in our case} is big enough to host all the attendees!

So our first party was our Curious George party. We had it at a local Train Park, per my son's request. {Curious George and trains don't really have anything to do with each other, but these are the things he wanted, so that's what Mommy did!}. The wind was making our balloons go crazy and bump into our food, so much so that you couldn't even see the food, so I couldn't set up the table as I would have liked. Additionally, we had to place heavy items on the napkins, as they kept blowing away. Also, I couldn't put out some items, due to the heat that day {it was about 87 degrees}, which would have made them melt. But, that's okay. I'm sure I was the only one who this all mattered to, ha!

Curious George Birthday Party
{COLORS}:
*Primary colors with a twist: red, yellow, turquoise and brown

{FOOD}:
*Banana Split Bar {instead of cake and ice cream} ~ afterall, what monkey doesn't love bananas?!
*Banana Split Cupcakes. I know I said we wouldn't have cake. But my friend just opened her own cake/cupcake business {Little Sister Cupcakes}, and so she brought these! Too cute!
*Fresh-squeezed lemonade. Always refreshing...and better than processed sugars and chemicals in soda. Oh, and it's yellow...gotta match the drinks, too!
*Juicy Juice boxes. I prefer cute cups to match, but with a "destination party," if you will, sometimes, you just take the easy way out and simplify.
*Home-made Banana Bread
*Chocolate-Pops shaped like "Curious George"
*Tropical Monkey Trail mix {dried fruits, M&Ms, pretzels}

Our fresh-squeezed lemonade dispenser {from Home Goods - LOVE that store!}

Banana Split Bar

Banana Split Cupcakes

Banana Bread & Tropical Trail Mix

{DECOR & DESIGN}:
*Balloons. Always a fave for kiddos, and a key element in the Curious George movie! {If you haven't seen it yet, go rent it! George goes for a crazy balloon ride with Ted {a.k.a., the Man in the Yellow Hat}}!
*Banana bunches to hold down the balloons...and later be used in our banana splits {love it when decor can double up to be fully functional, as well!}
*Party printables, to include food labels, "thank yous" and a hangable banner

{FAVORS}:
*Favor bags: red bags tied shut with a "thank you for coming!" scalloped circle. inside were crayons {from Gourmet Play}, a hand-made Curious George coloring book {blank pages}, Curious George stickers and some monkey gummy fruit chews.


party favors

Among the many lessons learned through this one, be sure to add lots of HEIGHT to your table! It just looks so much better. Meaning, go to a local home store, and stock up on neutral-toned {ideally white or cream} cake plates, platters and serving dishes, etcetera..especially TALL ones! {Will do better next year!}

Next up was our 1-year olds Butterfly-Garden Party. We had a bit cooler weather, but still wind {and who says we never have wind in Arizona?!!}. Aside from the wind, though, this party was easier. Mainly because it was at home, so I could get everything ready in my own time. But also, since our backyard is contained and much smaller than a train park, you could give the kids a bit more freedom and not have to watch them like a hawk!

Butterfly-Garden Party
{COLORS}:
*Red, pinks {light and hot}, orange, yellow and keylime green with just a hint of black

{FOOD & DRINK}:
*Cupcakes: Chocolate and Strawberry Shortcake
*Fresh fruit salad
*Rock candy {nicknamed "Sweet Sugar Sticks" for our party!}
*Butter-fly sugar cookie "snackers" {bite-size}
*White-chocolate-covered Spring Oreo cookies
*Fresh-squeezed strawberry lemonade
*Strawberry milk for the kiddos {in Starbucks bottles with striped paper straws ~ so cute!}

bite-size butterfly sugar cookies

white chocolate-covered & drizzled Spring Oreo cookies

Rock Candy

Strawberry Milk

{DECOR & DESIGN}:
*Bloom wooden double-bowl for cookie display
*Seed bomb bags {from Anthropologie} for table decor
*Felt butterfly stickers strewn on tops of tables
*Large Tree Branch with paper butterflies attached
*Hanging Butterflies & Paper Bloom Balls {pattern available at adams blankie}
*Butterflies on Sticks {in ground by backyard gate}
*Anthropologie-inspired fabric "tulip" flowers {in ground by backyard gate}
*Cupcake liner white wreath (on backyard gate} with "Welcome!" sign
*Party Printables, including food labels, "thank you" tags, banner and cupcake toppers
*A "Wish Bowl" Time Capsule with guest-written sentiments for our sweet girl to open/read on her 18th Birthday!
*One HUGE hand-made tutu by Mama...she's gonna LAUGH at these pictures when she's older! :)

painted tree branch with paper butterflies {and you can see one of the hanging paper blooms}

Cupcake Liner Wreath

Fabric "Tulips" {with burlap butterflies} - Anthropologie-inspired

"Wish Bowl" for time capsule guests' sentiments {to open at 18th birthday!}

birthday banner...the wind blew all the letters together :(

{FAVORS}:
*Large butterfly sugar cookies in cellophane bags with "thank you for coming!" scalloped circle tags. These were basically my first sugar cookie experiment {I had done a practice set about a month ago}. You can definitely tell they weren't professionally done, but they weren't bad for my first go. And they saved me about $50 or so from ordering elsewhere!

Party Favor Butterfly Sugar Cookies

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and ideas from our parties this year. Please feel free to share your party theme ideas - would love to hear them, as I'm sure all we party-planning parents would!

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{Happy} Spring Wreath

2011-03-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say "Happy Spring!" to you all...even if I'm just a few days shy of welcoming it in! For most of you, this is a happy welcome...and for those of you like me, living in the desert, this begins a sorry farewell to our nice, cool winter weather. But I'm enjoying these last couple weeks of gorgeous weather here...hoping it can hang on through April!

So to celebrate, I made this happy, bright wreath using fabric scraps and many different methods for making fabric flowers. I used just a simple wooden picture frame I found at the thrift store for $1.50 as my form {much cheaper than buying actual wreath forms at craft stores, by the way!}. Then I made tons of different types of flowers and hot glued them on.

Happy thoughts come to me each time I pass it by in our home. {love}. So what about you? Do you decorate your home for Spring? What do you decorate with? Anything crafty? Or do you purchase it all? Would love to hear {and see!} your ideas!

Happy Spring, everyone!

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Decorating with Cupcake Liners

2011-03-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have a new obsession. It's decorating with paper. Not scrapbooking paper. But party papers. As in, cupcake liners and crepe papers. LOVE!

So the past couple weeks, I decided to do some trees, a wreath and a garland. I went with all white liners for the trees and wreath. Why? Ultimate versatility. These will be able to be used for just about any occasion! From a baby or wedding shower to Easter and Christmas, I think they'll be making frequent guest appearances in our house!


"Luck O' The IRISH" block letters are from Sassy Talk!

So the two trees above are made from two different sized styrofoam tree forms with hot-glued mini white cupcake liners all over. The glass jar on the left has some moss and one of my rosette-covered balls inside. {If you missed the post on these, the tutorial to make these are available in our shop!}. The garland is made from all kinds of cupcake liners {both regular and mini-sized} along with some wire-edge satin polka-dotted ribbon throughout. I just used a needle and thread for the garland. I turned the liners all different ways, including folding them into halves and fourths before threading through. There's no way to mess these up ~ just sew through any way you like, and the results are guaranteed to please!

{SIDE NOTE: I don't usually mix my seasonal decor, but I just decided to leave my Irish blocks in the picture for some color. I'm working with Dawn from Sassy Talk on getting a couple super cute Spring & Easter pieces of art...will show those once I get them designed and over to my house!}

And below is the wreath, which is made from the regular-sized white cupcake liners.

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Paper Easter Egg Tutorial

2011-03-17T10:42:00.001-07:00

I posted this last year around Easter time, and thought I'd repost in case you missed it. These Paper Eggs make for adorable Easter decor, and are a great crafting experience for the kids, too! Click here to get the free tutorial. Enjoy!

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Good First Books for Baby

2011-03-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

With so many books out there, it's hard to know which ones to buy. Of course, you can always just check out whatever you want at your local library, but there are some classics {and just plain old good ones not yet rendered "classics" in my humble opinion!} that you always want to have for keeps...sitting on your child's bookshelf at home, ready to read time and time again.

So I have just a few listed below that I think are fabulous for first books...a couple have a Spring theme, too, so they'd make a great addition to your kiddo's Easter basket this year, not to mention great baby shower gifts, too.

In no particular order, I would recommend "Barnyard Dance," "In My Tree," "What Makes a Rainbow?" and "Haiku Baby."

Barnyard Dance is made to read as more of a rhythmic song....it will keep you bopping and has rhyming, too. Great for learning about animals and the sounds they make, as well.

In My Tree is a finger puppet book. It's short and sweet, and baby LOVES watching the owl {that is, your finger!} move. This is probably Baby K's favorite book at our house {she's 11 months old currently}.

Haiku Baby is a beautiful book that takes a bird through the seasons. It's actually poetry, though you'd never really know it...and neither would baby. Love this peaceful, calming book.

What Makes A Rainbow? is such a great find for learning colors. It was definitely one of my son's favorites when he was about 1 to 2 years old. It has actual ribbons that show up on each page, along with a pop-up rainbow and sun at the end. Really love this one.

So, do you have a favorite baby book? Please let us know! I always love to find a fabulous baby book to pair with some of my bibs and burp cloths as a baby gift.

Happy Reading, and Happy Spring!

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How to Make a Ruffle {Paper Ribbon and Flower}

2011-03-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

I have never been a big fan of that plasticky thin type of "birthday party ribbon." You know the kind. The kind that goes on packages and is all "frizzed up" on top. It's the same kind tied to every balloon, as well. Anyway. Not a huge fan of it. But I DO love me a pretty package. Now, you could always buy pretty ribbon to atop a gift. But at about $3 or more for less than 10 feet usually, this can get spendy. Afterall, you don't want to be spending another $5 just for the gift topper, ya know?

So I came up with doing a ruffled crepe paper ribbon and flower to top your gift instead. It's super cost-effective {you can get a whole roll for just 99 cents, which would last you through OODLES of presents!} and looks just plain pretty. I'm a fan. Heck, I'm a fan of anything ruffled!!

I'm going to take you through how to make these yourself! Keep in mind, you can use these same steps to ruffle anything! From fabric and paper to ribbon and more! So here's how you do it:

Take your crepe paper and wrap it around the gift two times. Cut your paper there.

Now you're going to set your sewing machine to the loosest setting and the longest stitch {these numbers area "0" and "5" respectively, on my machine} to make our basting stitch. Be sure to leave "tails" for you to pull when you sew this, and do NOT do a backstitch ~ we do NOT want the basting stitch secured! Just sew right on down the middle of your crepe paper.

Once you've sewn all the way down the middle {length-wise, of course}, you're going to form your ruffle. Do this by using one hand to hold just one tail on one end. And use your other hand to gently {especially since we're working with crepe paper!} start pulling the crepe paper over the thread, forming a ruffle. Keep doing this until you have ruffled your entire paper length. At this point, you'll want to wrap the paper around your package to see if you need to make your paper more ruffly {meaning, keep ruffling as you were} or less ruffly {meaning, pull some of the ruffles off} to fit the package right.

Once you have it fitting around your package properly, you're going to set your sewing machine back to its "normal" sewing tension and stitch length. Sew right back over your ruffle down the middle; this time DO your backstitch when you both start and stop to secure your seams.

Once you've secured your ruffle, go ahead and trim off all the loose threads on the end. Normally, we'd remove our basting stitch {more for when working with ruffles on permanent items {i.e., curtains, clothing, etc.}, but since this is just going to be thrown away, don't even both with that extra step.

Wrap it around your package and secure with clear tape on the bottom of your gift. You could also make another ruffled ribbon to go around the other length of your gift. I just chose not to here, as these are just for my daughter's first birthday, and the less "ribbon" for her to get off, the better!

For the flower on top, you're going to do the same steps above. I cut about 30 inches for my crepe paper length for the flower. Feel free to use your judgment here, though. The longer your crepe paper, the bigger the flower will be, of course!

After you've ruffled and secured your ruffle for the flower, simply take one end and fold it 180 degrees, back onto the rest of the ruffled paper ribbon. Hold it in place there with one thumb.

Using your other hand, begin turning the paper around the center "bud" you formed with your thumb. If you're right-handed like I am, you will be holding the "bud" with your right thumb, and using your left hand to form the outer petals of your flower. Do this by just turning the remainder of the paper around and under your bud. Be sure that each layer of flowers keeps going farther away from your bud, so that you can see all the layers. Once the way you want it, head on back to your sewing machine and just tack it down {stitch in place} in a few areas to secure your flower. Then just trim off all the threads {be sure NOT to cut your paper!}, and fluff up a little.

That's it! Just put a little double-stick tape on the bottom of your flower and secure to your ruffled ribbon on your package already!

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{Tutorial}: Felt Labels

2011-03-10T14:31:00.039-07:00

I love to label things. Well, I guess I should make myself more clear...I love to organize things. From all my canned goods' labels facing forward {I know, I know....} to everything having its own place, I strive for organization in our home. Admittedly, I don't always prevail. But, alas, a girl can try, right? :)

So this past week I decided to make some labels. I had originally made some of these a few years ago, when my son was born, in an effort to organize some of his toys. I used them on his baskets of blocks then, and I'm still using them for this now. Although, of course, these could be used for multitudes of things - from boxes of pictures to drinks with "name tags," these are handy to have around. The best part? Once you make them, you can keep them forever because they're made to be interchangeable. As in, you can swap out the label and put in a new one.

So anyway, I decided to redo my son's labels {just because I wanted them in a different color!}, and thought, "Hey! I gotta put this on the blog so that everyone can have some of these!" So here we are. :)

What You Need:
*felt {1/4 yard...more if you want more squares, of course}
*cardstock {one piece of paper will do}
*sewing machine {or needle and thread}
*scissors {one for paper-cutting, and one for fabric-cutting}
*twine {or ribbon}
*stencil {optional}

Cut your felt into 8 pieces that are 4x4 inches each. Cut your cardstock into one square that's 4x4 inches.

So now you need to decide on what shape of an opening you're going to put on each label. You could just do circles, ovals or hearts, for example. For mine, I chose stars. {You want to keep the shape/design simple, because it's just a silhouette}. Now, I could have gone online to search for a "star silhouette" in Google images, but since these are for my son's room, I decided to just freehand them and make them appear more child-like. Once you know what shape you're doing, go ahead and draw {or trace if you're using a template} it onto your piece of cardstock.

Take your scissors, and poke a hole through the center of your design. Cut out the shape. {NOTE: for shapes with lots of points {like my star!}, it's easiest to cut out toward each point with your scissors first. Then cut out the whole shape.

Take your cut-out shape and pin it, centered, onto one of your felt squares.

Fold the felt square in half, and use your scissors to cut a small slit in the middle.

Now, using the same technique I referred to earlier, cut out the star shape from your felt square.

Repeat these step on 3 of your other squares, so that you have 4 squares with stars {or whatever shape/design you're doing} cut out of the centers.

Take your remaining 4 squares and cut 1/2" off one of the sides of each of them. Then take one felt square with a star and pin it to one felt square without a star. Be sure the felt piece with the one shorter side now is matched up to the top of your felt design.

{front and back of how it looks when your pieces are pinned together properly}

Sew your 2 felt squares that are pinned together. Use about a 1/4" seam, and be sure you backstitch when you start and stop to secure your seams. **NOTE: You are going to sew along the BIGGER square, that is, NOT the one we cut down an extra 1/2 inch. {If you sew along the edge of the one we cut down, you'll end up sewing your square shut and won't be able to put your label inside}.

Repeat this last step you did with all your squares (Pin them all together, and sew them all together). Once sewn together, take your scissors and trim off any excess felt on the sides that may have slid around and isn't perfectly aligned any more {this will just even up all the sides}.

Cut two little slits near the top of each your completed squares, just below your stitchline. {These are for threading through your twine to hang your label}. One slit will be just to the right of the center of your label, and the other, just to the left of your labels. Each slit needs to be only about 1/4" - 1/2" in length. {It's easiest to fold over the fabric a bit to make your slit - see below}.

Go ahead and slide your 4x4 inch squares into each label's pocket.

Write whatever label you want on each of your pieces of paper.

Cut your twine - you'll need one for each label, of course. Cut them anywhere from about 5-10 inches in length each. Then thread each one through your slits you cut earlier. Start poking the twine through from the front of your square. Then go around the back and poke from the back up through to the front again.

Tie them onto your item you label, knot it, and you're set!

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2011-03-08T10:05:00.010-07:00

My son's preschool is in our town's downtown. The downtown area is cute, quaint and rustic - I love it! So, amongst the many other shabby chic-style places next door, there sits the cutest little wedding chapel. And right outside their porch, sits this bike. A bicycle built for two {you know the song, right?!}. Soooo ridiculously cute!! But what's even cuter? The sign on the back. Don't you just love it? I wish I would have had the opportunity to take some pictures on a bicycle like this when my husband and I got married. I just know this sweet vintage bike makes for the best pictures!

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Amy Butler Girls Closet Labels - DEEP DISCOUNT!

2011-03-07T10:49:00.001-07:00

I have this adorable set of closet clothing label hangers for a little girls' room up for auction. I actually purchased them for $30, and am asking just $15 for the set (plus shipping, of course). They go from 0-2T and would make for a beautiful baby shower gift! Please note, they do NOT come with the green ribbon shown in the picture. They are hangable by the circular cuts, OR you can add your own ribbon.

Please email me if interested! adamsblankie@gmail.com

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{Tutorial:} Iron-On Art

2011-03-04T06:49:00.002-07:00

Okay, so let me just start off by saying that this particular tshirt is totally not my idea... I must admit that I saw it originally at j.crew. It was clever and ever-boyish, so of course I thought to myself, "I must have this!" Not for me, of course...but for our little guy! Afterall, what little boy isn't his own stunt man in some way?! But alas, at $29.50 a pop, I figured it looked easy enough to make a replica myself. And so began my search....

Turns out it's pretty easy to make a shirt like this! All you need is:

*tshirt
*iron-on art {flock transfers}
*iron
*ruler
*fabric dye {optional}

So once I had my supplies {you can find them all at a craft store like Joann's or Hobby Lobby}, I began to work on it. I found a heathered gray tshirt for $2.99. I decided to go ahead and purchase some tan dye {Rit brand - $3.99} to make it a bit more like the original j.crew shirt {totally unnecessary, but hey, you have options!}. You can follow the instructions on the bottle to dye the shirt, but basically I put some hot water in a bucket, poured in maybe a few tablespoons of the dye, and put my shirt in. I let it sit there a couple hours. Then I rinsed it until the water ran clear, washed it {I decided to wash it by itself in case some more dye came out of it} & dried it.

The shirt came out a nice heathered tan color {of course!}. I thought about putting it in a bucket again with some more water and a little bleach to lighten it up a bit, but decided it was good enough as is! Again, you have options here!

Then it's just a matter of peeling {carefully! They tear easily I discovered!} off your letters and lining them up where you want them on the shirt. I just eyeballed the spacing and center of the shirt {though you could use a ruler}, and then used my ruler to make sure they were straight.

Then just set your iron to the cotton setting with NO WATER in it, and press for about 20 seconds. Repeat this on all parts Then turn shirt inside out and repeat pressing, and, Presto! Insta-j.crew look-alike shirt for less than half the cost {plus I now have extra letters and dye for future projects!}!

Here's A-Train showing off his "stunt skills" with his new shirt! {love}.

I also purchased a tshirt and some white letters in a more feminine font and made a shirt for Baby K! I had a hard time coming up with a saying to put on it. I knew I didn't want to do any "princess" type print...but other than that, I was open to something witty and fun. At first I was thinking of just putting "wild woman" on it, because that is what I call her from time to time, as she is, indeed, a wild woman...well, maybe "wild child" would be more appropriate, but "wild woman" is funnier! Anyway. I ended up putting "lactose tolerant" on it, thanks to the ingenius idea of my husband! Love it!

So, how about you? Have you done one of these before? Thinking about doing one now? If so, what slogans and cute things have you used, or do you plan to use?

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{Project}: Ruffled Skirt

2011-03-02T07:49:00.006-07:00

So one of the latest clothing projects I've been working on is a new skirt {and matching shirt} for Baby K. I made it from my "juicy watermelon dots" fabric and added three rows of some hot pink ruffles on the back. Then I just bought a regular ol' plain white tshirt and added a bib embellishment with some buttons and a ruffle to match!

I actually originally had a ruffled bottom on the skirt....but it turned out too long for her to wear now. So instead of ripping it out, I decided to hem it under. The skirt is cute enough by itself without that extra ruffle...and when she gets a little older {and taller}, I'll just undo the hem, and then the ruffly part {the orange polka dot part, shown below} will show!

Here is Baby K modeling it for you...not the greatest pictures {I still have NO CLUE how people can get great pictures of little ones..they move toooooo much!!!}, but you get the idea of how it looks on. :)

I'm thinking of offering the skirt in my shop {without that ruffled bottom}...what do you think? Is this something you'd like to see offered there? If so, what fabrics do you like best for it {see below for choices}?? Also, if you're more of the crafty type yourself, would you be interested in a tutorial for this?

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