Summer Fun

School starts in just a few short so we are trying to squeeze in as much fun into the next few weeks as possible. I took the girls and one of Belle's friends to the beach today. I know it's always good to be sure the kids do not outnumber you so I enlisted the help of my mom, my sister and my sister's boyfriend. We hit the beach, and then headed back to my mom's pool to cool off. The day ended with a squirt gun war. We love days like this! Hope your summer is filled with as much fun as ours :)

Belle loves the water. I'm so glad Bird was with us to play with her :)

Rose is my shell collector

Love this one! :)

I think the girls won this battle! :)

 Janessa

I have a confession to make...

I have a slight obsession with baby gifts. I love making them! In fact, I hate to admit this, but I'm being honest here, I have a stash of onesies, bibs and burp cloths in my craft cabinet just in case. Does anyone else share in this obsession? Plus, when it's a baby girl, I go a little crazy. One of my best friends at work just became a grandmother to a beautiful baby girl. The girls and I are planning to go by and visit her this week so I visited my stash and started on a project. I had to include hand-sewn felt as well because this has been my fabric of choice for the past few weeks. Here's the final result:

I used fabric paint for the lettering.

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I also happened to have a photo bag in my stash (yes, I have a bag stash too). I thought it was the perfect gift for a new grandma. It was a little plain for me so I added a flower bow. The great part is the bow is attached by a hair clip so it can be on the bag or worn as a hair clip.

The girls and I took a trip to Target this morning, and they had these stretchy headbands so I added a flower so she'd have a cute accessory to go with the outfit I made.

Then, one headband became two... I couldn't help myself! :)

I can't wait to meet this new little princess!

Janessa

My Heart is Full

Sunday's have become lazy days for us. A few months ago our church started a Saturday night service, and we love it! Although, I am still getting used to waking up on Sunday mornings and having no set schedule for the day. My girls, on the other hand, are loving these relaxed days. In fact, today they are still in their pajamas at 1:00 in the afternoon, and Barbies and dinosaurs have taken over my house! These things directly depict the personalities of my sweet girls. I have one that is girly as girly gets and another sweet girl who is tomboy to the core :) As I step over all the Barbies and dinos that have invaded every walking space in my house, I can't help but feel my heart swell. These are precious times that I know will pass quickly so I'm soaking in as much as I can.

PLUS, as an added bonus I woke up this morning to a call from my mom. My mom happens to be one of my best friends. She has been in Haiti on a mission trip for a week, and we have not talked in 7 days! That may not sound like much, but to me it was huge. I'm so glad she is home safe, and I can't wait to hear the details of her trip.

It's the little things in my life that make my heart feel so full. I am truly blessed! :)

Janessa

A Summer Favorite



I've been squeezing in lots of projects this summer. I thought I'd share one of my favorites. I made a Quiet Book for my neice's first birthday. I got some of my ideas and inspiration from some super creative and talented ladies at Apron Girls and Oopsey Daisy. My latest obsession has been hand-sewing felt. So, I gathered my supplies and after a week of late nights, here's the result:

All the letters on this page are attached with Velcro so she can move them and match the letters and colors.



All the flowers on this page can be moved and switched around.
The teacher in me loves the fine motor skill practice she'll be getting! :)

The teacher in me loves this one too.
Plus, it's so darn cute!

The three little animals are finger puppets. Juli loved this page! :)

I love it! My neice loved it too. My sweet Rose decided she wants one so I'm working on another one now. Rose is a year older than her cousin so we are making things a little different for her.

 I will post pictures when I finish.

Janessa

Diving In

For the past year I have been following craft blogs. For some reason I kept feeling the need to create a blog of my own, but of course I came up with many excuses as to why I could not possibly do it.

My daughters  have been taking swimming lessons and the other day I watched as my sweet Belle climbed the ladder to the diving board for the first time. She stepped tentatively to the end of the board, and I felt myself holding my breath. Then she did it! She just jumped! She came up for air and was grinning from ear to ear. Watching her, I couldn't help but feel that I have been standing on the edge of my "diving board" for too long. So... I decided I'm diving in! I don't know where this adventure will take me, but I hope my girls will be able to look back at this blog some day and remember some of the love, laughter, maybe a few tears, but an abundance of blessings that I hope to record here. Thanks for being part of my journey!

Janessa