Malani's Baby Quilt

This baby quilt is on its way to California for my cousin's new baby. 

I couldn't get the colors hot pink and navy out of my head, so I rolled with it.  I also included black and pale yellow. 

I noticed on my cousin's family website that there were polka dot curtains in the baby's room, so I incorporated some dots into this quilt!  :-) 

I saw the quilt on Pinterest and took some wild guesses as to what sizes to cut the fabric.  Once I did all of that and pieced it together, I got the novel idea to follow the pin's link...which led to a Flickr page...which led to another page...which finally led to Elizabeth Hartman's Charm Squares baby quilt pdf pattern.  :-P 

Turns out, I nailed it!  Although, I added another row of color. I followed Elizabeth Hartman's dogwood pattern for free-motion quilting.  I just love this free-motion pattern.  If I kept this blankie, I think I would run my fingers all over it all day long. :-)

Momma, can I?

Yes, Sweetie, you may.

Marin tested...

...and Marin approved!

Like all of the marker on Marin's face? :-)

I just *know* this quilt is for me. I'm way over due for a quilt.

Our New Bathroom

Back when I made my new shower curtain...I said I wasn't going to get new paint for the bathroom.  But, after we discovered a leaky toilet and a bit of rotten flooring underneath of it...wellllllll....you get new paint.  And a new toilet.  And a new floor!

View from the hallway.  Eeeeep!

The tile, vanity cabinet and counter top, and wall cabinet are from Home Depot.  The paint is Behr Premium Plus Ultra from Home Depot in the color of Grass Cloth.  Must be some pretty sweet paint to have that many awesome words in its title.  Actually...it is!  I don't think I will ever use paint for walls again that doesn't have the primer in it.  And, bonus, Home Depot's paint + primer was significantly less smelly than Lowe's.

The toilet is from our local hardware store.  Get out!  A special order toilet (no one seems to stock the color biscuit in a round toilet!) for $150 CHEAPER than what Home Depot or Lowe's offered. Awesome.  I've asked Nick several times, "What's your favorite thing about the bathroom?" and as any guy would respond, he answers me, "The toilet."

I keep hoping he will say, "The peacock!" because that is my favorite new thing. :-)

View from inside the shower...hopefully not too creepy that the bird is looking at me!

Here's looking at you, Kid.

Anyways, the peacock is from Old Time Pottery along with the mirror and other bathroom accessories.  My friend Heather and I went to OTP and somehow survived a home goods store with Emory and Marin.  :-) And then she had her baby the next day!  I like to think that I can take credit for that somehow...but I still haven't figured out how. Bumpy car ride on the interstate?  The Arby's we ate because *I* wanted mozzarella sticks?

Kudos to Heather for saying, "You could put a candle on that!" when I was about to put the bar soap dish back on the shelf.  We don't do bar soap at the sink, but I can certainly do pumpkin-scented candle on top of the toilet!

I wasn't sure which towel colors to go with, but since the peacock had orange and blue in his feathers, in addition to green, I tried that.  I'm taking the blue towels back to the store. Ha!

But, the bright blue towels would have matched this feathered friend tea light/ring holder...

I knew as soon as Nick put his wedding ring in there he'd forget to put it on the next day. He did. :-P

Evander installed these little cup jobbies himself.  They are something I bought at IKEA a year and a half ago, but hadn't put on the walls, yet, thinking I was going to paint soon. Actually, I was just waiting for my six-year-old to install them for me.  I'm thinking we'll put the kids' toothpaste in them?  As soon as the cups get glued down so they don't shatter everywhere when the kids inevitably pull them off the wall and drop them on the floor...

We are loving the new tile Nick put in.  And look!  That extra toilet paper roll holder thingy already came in handy.

The wall cabinet is deeper than the medicine cabinet we had before...so I am digging that.

I used Heat N' Bond to iron on this pretty fabric to the back of the cabinet:

Many many hearts of love to Heat N' Bond!  I was a little scared the hot iron would do something bad to the cabinet...but it did not.

Another special touch is this old step stool of ours that I painted:

Just a little reminder...

Nick did a wonderful job on the whole thing.  He definitely gets it done.

Although, his style of completing projects will forever conflict with my style of completing projects. Ha.

And who can resist a mirror?  Really.  You know you cannot.

Forgive me.

Oh, and in case you wanted to look at some eh and blah:

Before.  It was good for a while...but it was time for change!

Apron #7

Here is the apron I made for Carrie A., who won my blog giveaway.

Are you feeling orange?

Or flowery?

I don't know...but I certainly felt like prancing around my back yard in an apron.

Each apron I make, I think...I want to keep this one!

I really like making these. If I ever were to sell them, I'd probably have to charge an arm and a leg, though. :-( I've never actually been able to finish one from start to finish in one sitting (hmmmm...I wonder why), so I can't even estimate how much time they take to make.

Fabric up close

Fabric up close

And then this little guy gave me an idea for a picture...

I hope you cook lots and lots of yummy things while wearing your apron, Carrie!  :-)

Eggs 2012

Each year I paint three eggs, one for each child.  This year, we couldn't all agree on a single theme, so everyone got something different!

I chose Dora for Marin.  Emory picked Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Evander chose Blades from Transformers Rescue Bots.

Every time I paint eggs, I remember just how much I love painting.  I definitely spend a lot more time sewing and sometimes scrapbooking.  Painting is just so quiet and peaceful.

Jake got a little big on me...

But he definitely has his pirate boots and sword...

I still can't get over that for all the years we painted eggs growing up, my mom blew out the guts of the eggs. Wow.  I'm thankful I discovered the nasal aspirator technique!

For last year's and 2010's eggs...see here!

Another Way to Share the Easter Story

I love this.  You will need an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.  Not sure how well I can explain this...

Fold down the top left corner so that you see a triangle...and some extra paper at the bottom.

Take the top point and fold to meet the bottom left point of the triangle.

Fold in half from the left side.

Fold in half from the right side.

Cut down the middle.

Ta-da!  

The story goes there was a man thrown in jail for telling people about Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his forgiveness of sins.  A jailer challenged the man to make the cross that he talked so much about with one cut with the scissors.  After he made the cut and revealed the cross, the other pieces fit into the story as well.  

Two small right angles were braces that held the cross upright in the ground.  Two "L's" were the thieves hung beside Jesus.  The one who asked Jesus to remember him is turned towards Jesus.  The one who was unrepentant is turned away from Jesus.  Two small squares represent the soldiers who cast lots for Jesus' clothes.  A sign mocking Jesus hung over Jesus' head.  And then, after Jesus died, he was pierced with a spear to double check.  

But, that's not all folks!  Using those pieces...

Because of Jesus'

...you can have 

...everlasting!

Romans 2:4 ...do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 

John 3:15 ...whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

Resurrection Eggs

I actually laugh when I say, "Resurrection Eggs" out loud...only because of some Christians' hoopla surrounding the word Easter.  I am okay with the word "Easter" since I know that I don't personally worship any pagan gods...but these really are accurately called Resurrection Eggs since they tell the story of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

Evander had *loads* of fun collecting the items for these eggs.  It was like a scavenger hunt for him.

My good friend has her version of these on her coffee table each year.  My little children's hands always seemed attracted to the nail and the thorns...ha.

These eggs provide a great reminder of what happened to Jesus on his way to the cross where he took on our sins and the sins of the world.  It is finished! Amen.

Hmmmm...what's inside?

Bread - Matthew 26:26 - As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it, for this is my body."

Coin - Matthew 26:14-15 - Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, "How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?" And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.

Purple cloth - Mark 15:17 - They dressed him in a purple robe, and they wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head.

Thorns - Matthew 27:29 - They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, "Hail! King of the Jews!"

Scourge - Mark 15:15 - So to pacify the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Cross - John 19:17 - Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).

Nail - John 19:18a - There they nailed him to the cross.

Sign - Luke 23:38 - A sign was fastened above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews."

Sponge - Matthew 27:48 - One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.

Spear - John 19:34 - One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

Rock - Matthew 27:59-60 - Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left.

Empty - Matthew 28:6 - He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

I really will need to remember to take that cracker out after Easter...... ....... ...... ...... ........ ......that's an ant trail right there! :-P