More Amy Butler bags.

I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned it, but these great bags are called Cosmo Bags.  

I bought Style Stitches book by Amy Butler.  The Cosmo Bag is the first one in the book.  I love giving this bag so much, I haven't moved on to any of the other fabulous bag patterns.

  I made one for my dear friend Nicole aka the worlds best hugger.  She got hurt shortly after I gave her this and has been hanging it around her neck to carry things while using her crutches.  I'm glad it is pretty and useful!

   Everyone I have given them to uses them for a different purpose.  One friend uses hers for her workout clothes, one for knitting, one for sleepovers.  (Grown women still have sleep overs, right?)

I made one for my mom.

The funnest part is selecting the fabric that I think my friends/family will love.  I'm sure I will be making more in the future.  Don't worry, I'll post pictures.

Have a great weekend.

xoxo,

Carol

Baby boots

So I whipped these up a few weeks ago.  I think I may need to make like 20 more. Aren't they so cute?

I gave them to a friend of mine, Nicole for her baby shower.  She is having a baby girl in February.  'Tis the season for babies.  She also does my hair.  What will I do while she is on 6 months of maternity leave?  

I bought the pattern from I Think Sew.  The pattern was easily downloaded and the instructions had lots of instruction and pictures.  Since I learn visually and generaly just look at the pictures to follow directions, I especially appreciated the many photos.  She has lots of great patterns for baby things and bags.  My two favorite things to sew right now.

These are size 9-12 month.

I'll post more as soon as Christmas is over and I have time to sew something other than Christmas presents.

Have a great Thursday.

xoxo,

Carol

Today is a special day!

Today is the day my son was born.  I did not give birth to him, but I got the joy of raising him, having him in my life and getting to hear the word "mom" said to me by him.  I love you Travis.  You bring so much fun, laughter and beauty to our lives.

Happy Birthday Travis.

Love, 

Mom

Christmas Decorating

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.  The music, movies, traditions, food, parties, family, friends and decorations. 

Most of my decorations were gifts from my mom.  She always makes us decorations to add to our collection.   These are my favorite of all decorations.  I just love homemade gifts.  The time and thought that goes into making something is pure love.

My boxes of Christmas decorations take up the whole ceiling storage area of my garage.  I have a LOT of boxes.  Some years I don' t even use them all of my decorations.  

This year I was especially excited to set out all of our Christmas things.  I knew Chloe would love them when she came over and saw them for the first time.

Also, Bailey and Cali were in Oregon for Thanksgiving so I wanted the house to be all dressed up when they got home.

Happy Decorating.

xoxo,

Carol

I actually did something I saw on Pinterest

Hi friends,

It's been a while since I have posted here on my blog.  I'm not sure why,  except I just feel like I have not had an extra moment.

Anyway, I found this idea on Pinterest and decided to try it.

 I figured if I didn't like how it turned out, I hadn't spent that much money on it so I wouldn't feel too guilty about it.  I have a hard time using prints in my decorating, especially if it will be a permanent item and curtains are pretty permanent.  The low cost and ease of making this curtain also encouraged me to give it a try.  If I get tired of the print or want to change it out at different seasons, it would be easy.

The thing I love about Pinterest is that most pictures take you to the original source of the photo.  I was able to do this here and was directed to the blog showing how to make this new sew roman shade.

I actually sewed mine, but it is possible to make without sewing anything.

I loved the table cloth that was used for the fabric in the above picture, but didn't think it would work well in my kitchen.  So I took a trip to Target to see if there were any other cute table clothes to use as fabric.  I found this one and it worked perfect.

I measured my window width, added 4 inches to the total measurement so I could make a nice 1" hem on each side.  I measured the length of the window added two inches to the length to also make a 1" hem to the bottom.

This is what my window above my sink has looked like for the last two years.

And here is what it looks like now.

Like I said, I wanted to be able to have options.  I found this table cloth at Target for Christmas.  You can't see it in the picture, but the grey stipes are a glittery silver.  These curtains will stay up for Christmas and then I will either put back my original curtain or make a new one.  We'll see how I feel in January.

Have a great week.

xoxo,

Carol

Thankfulness

I am thankful for these people.  They are the joy in my life.  

I am grateful for this guy.  He is still the love of my life!

Have a great Thanksgiving.

xoxo,

Carol

Link Party at Our Simple Country Life

Today I am joining Ester over at Our Simple Country Life for her Country Porch Friends link party.

Hi there.  My name is Carol.  I am married to this great guy, I'm a mother of 5 and gramma to 1 and 1/4.  We have a son and four daughters.  Our oldest daughter has a 15 month old beautiful, spunky, ever ready bunny, little girl and another baby on the way.

I never really knew blogs existed before my daughter was pregnant.  She was looking for nursery ideas and found some great inspiration on blogs.  She and I were instantly hooked.  We started reading and following different types of blogs and then decided to start our own.

At first we wrote together, but then Brittny started her own blog, so this one is all me now.  Most of the blogs I follow are written by young moms.  My kids are teenagers and adults now.  I thought it might be fun to share life with older kids and maybe impart some parenthood lessons I've learned along the way.   I am still trying to capture the special moments in every day life, it just looks different from when my kids were small.  I wish blogging had been around back then.  I would have loved to document our life this way and connect with other like minded folks.

I love to share crafting, sewing, cooking and family times on my blog.   I also like to sharing God's love with others even in the smallest ways such as sewing and crafting for others. See some of my "Craftivism Day" posts.

Well, it was nice to meet you, hope you come back soon and don't be shy, leave me a note, let's have some coffee and chat.

xoxo,

Carol

Doris Day with a 9mil.

Sooooo....

We went on a houseboat trip on Lake Shasta with a few friends.  We were told not to show up without a wig, speedo, mustache or crazy hat.  Luckily, no one opted for the speedo.

We had a blast!  The guys loved the wigs and wore them all weekend.  We played, we ate, we swam, we shot guns, we golfed, we slept under the stars.  All while on the houseboat.  

Our amazing friends from The Mermaid Ranch hosted us.  They are generous, loving and crazy hosts.  Thank you Asbe's.

It's a good thing I am not a brunette.

xoxo,

Carol