Just a little something I have been working on lately, I just ordered the test swatch tonight and provided it all looks good, it will be on sale at Spoonflower. Thanks Jess, Jolene and Dan for the Spoonflower gift certificate, I got to have some creative fun with no money out of my pocket!!! I just hope the colors look okay its always a challenge with working from the screen colors to print colors…

So my Etsy shop got a facelift. What do you think?

Still working away on the rest…

Ingela P Arrhenius and my son’s birthday. Even better, this will be up in my Etsy shop (Hopefully), so others can have a piece of the ideas that run through my brain. But until then…  a clue of things to come… Hopefully…. with patience….

Dress#1

This dress is from the book Twinkle Sews. It is the pattern to make the flapper camisole but modified (lengthened) to be a dress. Yes unfortunately all the fabric is synthetic, the real stuff cost to much, but thankfully still hangs great!  I love this dress and the actual pattern is simple enough that I will be using it for other dresses. Best part, NO Zippers, No Buttons!!  Just slip on, go and feel glamorous, I love dress like that!  If you like contemporary designed clothes but don’t have the heart to pay for them, I would HIGHLY recommend this book. Putting together the patterns after they print is a bit tedious, but totally worth it.

Dress #2

This dress pattern is from the Japanese Sewing book Camisole and One-piece ( this link actually has the whole book scanned so you can look at all the patterns in the book, for a beginner sewer or someone who likes something done in a day, a great book.)  That being said it has taken me over 2 years to finish this dress, and really the inner layer is still not hemmed. I made this from a shower curtain I found an loved the fabric. It cost me $4 so not bad price wise, it is a little sheer so I lined it, but I think it will make a fantastic swimsuit cover up.

That being said, I need to finish hemming it because we are off to the cabin this weekend! That and about a thousand other little things.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Bonds were renewed…

First times were had..

Babies were guarded…

Lessons about shoes were taught…

And the call of the wild was heard…

We scrambled over forest floors, played on windy beaches and stood waves. It was a wonderful vacation and further verified that yes, Art and I can handle being parents. ( Most days at least ).

We didn’t make it to the fireworks, but we went to our favorite pottery place Eckels and got a wedding present, and another coffee cup and saucer for the house. We ate homemade fudge and wine bread, went to Hauser’s Farm and did a wine tasting. Drank some wine over a supper of  fresh smoked salmon, hummus and pitta bread. In general lived the good life.

- Sleeping with a new baby next to me.

- That even though I cut A’s hair, it still looks messy.

- fresh produce to make tons of Yummy food.

-Warm Fruit Cobbler

- a stack of novels as high as my nightstand waiting to be read.

-brothers that love each other.

- a husband that understands.

-new white dining room chairs.

- that 30 mins when the house is quiet

- the 23.5 hours that the house is noisy.

- my vegetable garden.

- the fact that I know someday again I will have time to design, draw and create to my hearts content, but for now its my babies, and all the wonderful that they bring to my life.  Creativity doesn’t dissappear, youth does…

My First Print Gocco Prints, originally uploaded by hannahlaura.

So I finally got the nerve to use my Valentines Day present today. Honestly, the possibilities that the Print Gocco offered were a little nerve-racking. So telling myself to start simply, I found a sketch I had started when I was pregnant with A and decided it was time to finish it with Baby #2 D-Day(Due Day) looming 18 days away.

So sitting down during A’s naptime today, I went at it and realized why everyone gets hooked, 10 minutes later and 14 perfect prints I am in love. So on that euphoric note I am decideing to do a giveaway of at least 3 prints. These are nothing special just a periwinkle blue on white cardstock 4×6. But if you want to get a piece of fun mail, just leave a comment and your email address so I can email you to tell you, you’re a winner! Winners will be chosen by random number generator, comments will be closed April 23 @ 1PM. Good Luck!

WINNERS ARE:
Well two of the winners were already going to get one so we did a redo for two more, hope no one minds!

So the winners are:

# 5   Lyz
Um, this would be perfect with my belly photos of each of my babies. It’s lovely!

ps – captcha is “wife coaching”. If only! Although, maybe mom coaching would be more in demand?

#8 ruth stine
whooo hoooo! so cute! have you seen kate nydam’s goco prints? it’s a ink grandfather clock. nydampress on etsy!

#9 Ashlie
Such a simple and true sentiment. Love it.

COMMENTS CLOSED

_AAB0388, originally uploaded by AABIV.

If you happen to be passing through Duluth, MN and the kids are getting antsy (or your husband.) Stop at the Aquarium. We spent about 2 hours their but it could definitely be made into a 45 min stop and than on the road again, although Aidan would argue that it takes at least 4 hours to adequately explore. It is all freshwater fish, and we made it just in time for the otter feeding. Aidan also got to have a front (and only row seat) to the parrot feeding. There were ducks, turtles, and an amazing two-story lake fish tank. Believe me, its worth every cent.

http://www.glaquarium.org/

Stenciled Mug Side View B, originally uploaded by hannahlaura.

So lately I have been dabbling in painting dishware. Its easy enough to find at the thrift store, the whole process takes about two days and it is the perfect thing to do while little ones sleep since you don’t have to drag out a lot of supplies. I had done one cup already freehand… but had another cup laying around that I wanted to try this idea I had to get crisper lines .

Here is what you need:
A piece of dishware
Glass paint ( I used this brand )
A paint brush
Contact paper (white or clear)
Some images/sillhouttes
A printer
A scissors or X-acto Knife

What to do:

Using whatever imaging software you prefer layout out your sillhouttes/ images using the finest outline and not filled.
Cut your contact paper to 8.5X11 and put it into the printer. Print out the images onto the contact paper ( The reason for using the finest outline is that your ink will smear, since you are printing on a plastic. However I found using the thinnest outline, and being careful what your touch while you cut, ad you will get good results.)

Next , cut out all your shapes. Than the fun part, just start sticking on your shapes on to the cup in whatever design you like being careful to press down all the edges.

With the Glass paint, paint over all the shapes and area of cup that you want covered.

According to the paint I used I had to let it sit for 24 hours.

Remove all the contact paper from the cup, to reveal your design.
I than went through and cleaned up any uneven lines and smudges that might have happened. ( An X-acto knife or your fingernail work good for this!)

If you see any spots that need to be repainted do so and let dry for recommended amount of time again.

Bake according to manufacture’s instructions.

*My only regret with this project is that I layered the paint on heavy to try and hide some of the brushstrokes and I wish I would have just been more patient and tried to brush the strokes out…So beware the brushstokes and if anyone has a great idea on how to avoid them, please let me know!*