Inspired By.......The Warhol Dress @ MADE and My Love

Prudent Baby (http://www.prudentbaby.com/) does a weekly post called "Link Love."  In these post, they share AWESOMENESS from other people and of course, provide you with a link to there site.  Two reasons why this is AWESOME: 1.  If Prudent Baby thinks its great then you know it has to be GREAT and 2.  I get more GREAT project ideas.  (Like I need more but, whatever.) 

On December 31st of last year, they posted some "Link Love."  (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/12/link-love_31.html)  In this post I was introduced to Dana @ MADE. (http://www.dana-made-it.com/)  So, of course, I followed the link to her page.  I have followed her ever since.  She has GREAT posts and comes in second on the list of blogs I stalk. 

One day while checking out her posts I saw one about a DIY dress she calls "The Warhol Dress." (http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/warhol-dress-pattern.html)  This dress is SO "ADORBS" and she even gives you a pattern!!  AWESOME!!  This totally goes to the top of the list of things I want to make for Our G!!  But wait, we have a Suns game (My Love totally LOVES the Suns and every year we go to Houston to watch them play) coming up and like EVERY sports team, the clothes they have for G's age group and size are mediocre at best.  What was that??  I can make G a dress for the Suns game using Dana's "Warhol Dress?"  Oh YES I CAN!!! 

So I print out the pattern (which I didn't need since her pictures and instructions were so great) and get to making the dress.  May I just say that this was the one of the EASIEST things I have ever made.  Easy to follow instructions and SO CUTE with the yolk that ties into a bow.  It was and is JUST PERFECT!!  I cannot wait to make more dresses like this one and like the "Pillowcase Dress" @ Prudent Baby!! (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/03/diy-pillowcase-baby-dress-pattern.html)

 TOTALLY INSPIRED!! 

Here are some pics of G's dress and of course, her modeling it:



Inspired By.......My Parents

When I was younger my parents raised pigs.  I LOVED them then and I LOVE them now.  I get this from my Momma.  She also loves pigs.  She may have been one of the main reasons why we had them other that the fact that we were poor and the pigs helped provide meals for our family (we ate pork chops for a year straight).  I am not sure though. 
Now that we have G and she LOVES pigs (even though she has never seen a real one) I thought it would be good to get one.  My Love is not really into this.  He doesn't understand why I want one at all.  I tried to explain to him that he loves pork so why not buy a pig.  He says you can get it at the store, typical city boy reaction.  Even though he feels this way, he agreed to help me build a pig pen. 
I staked out where I wanted it.  My Aunt Meisha used the tractor to dig some post holes for me.  Then, My Love and I tore down an old pen for supplies.  A weekend of labor and Voila!!, we have a pig pen.  Now I need a pig.  THANK YOU MY LOVE FOR BUILDING ME A PIG PEN!!  (even though you griped the whole time you were building it, he he he...)  Here is OUR pig pen (keep in mind that it is not the best in the world but it will do and to me, because My Love built it for me, it is the BEST!!): 

Inspired By.......Our G and Prudent Baby

Our G LOVES pigs.  Well, she LOVES a lot of things but pigs are right up there on the top of her list.  There is a book we read that has a pig in it and when she points at the pig, I make a snorting sound.  We do this for hours.  I thought I would make her a pig pillow.  That way we could do it even more (what was I thinking). 
I haven't seen one on here so I just created myself.  It was super easy and I think I am going to try to do my first tutorial on it.  Okay, what was it Master Yoda told Luke in the swamp, "DO or DO NOT.  There is NO try."  So, I WILL do my first tute on this pig pillow.  Until then, here is what Our G's looks like:

After I made G her pillow, I decided to make another one.  I found this cute cow material in my stash and decided to use it.  Mainly so G would have something with a cow on it but also because it made me remimisce of when cow pattern was "in" and this makes me laugh.  I used three different cow themed materials and cut them all into a heart.  I sewed one on top of the other to make a layered look and Voila!!  you have a cow heart pillow.  After I had it made I remembered Prudent Baby's "Jingle Pillow." (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/04/jingle-pillow.html)  I love that she put bells on it and it just so happens that we had A LOT of bells around the house due to the fact that we put them on G's shoes and they do not sell a package of just two. So, I sewed three bells on the front of the pillow.  G pulled one off so in the picture there are just two on there.  She LOVES shaking it.  Thank you Prudent Baby for once again giving me an idea to make Our G happy!!  Here's the cow pillow:





Inspired By......My Momma......

I remember my parents having a garden when I was little.  They would make us pick the vegetables when they were ready (how dare they, right?!?).  I remember picking peas and HATING it.  There were ants and it was HOT.  I swore then that I would NEVER have a garden, I would NEVER plant.  That got me to now.  This year, I broke my word to myself.  It all started when my GREAT Momma came home with a truck bed FULL of flowers and plants she had picked up for my Mammaw at Lowe's.  They were selling them all for five dollars because supposedly (and say this because most of them looked good still) the freeze had got to them.  My Mammaw only took a few and my Momma only wanted a small amount also.  We gave a few more away but even after all were taken we had A LOT of plants left. 
I cannot remember why but one day I just went out there and started digging and planting.  I planted the ones Momma wanted and then I just kept going until they were all planted.  I cannot even tell you the names of the flowers and the plants.  I just planted them.  Here are a couple of them after a week or two of being in the ground:

Now, after I got all of these planted I stood back and looked.  Then I started to panic.  I wanted to plant more.  I didn't want this to be the end.  I wanted more.  I decided that I would get some vegetables. 

This was the end of February and the almanac says that there will be one more freeze before Easter so I would have to wait to plant, or would I??  A old friend of mine lives in the city and every year she plants vegetables in pots.  She grows pretty tomatoes and strawberries.  YES!!  This is the answer!!  Plant them in pots.  After all, we have a TON of pots left over from the Lowe's plants. 

My first stop was a feed store here in town for some cherry tomato plants, some TAM pepper plants and some Brother tomato plants.  Here they are after a couple of weeks:

TAM pepper

cherry tomato

Brother tomato

After I planted these, I again wanted more.  About a week later, My Love and I were at the Home Depot.  I am standing there looking at all the flowers and plants WISHING I had a million dollars to spend there.  I do not however, so some strawberry plants, some hot jalapeno plants and a calla lily had to do.  We also bought some packets of baby spinach to plant because Husband eats this stuff like candy.  We came home and I planted these in pots also (all except the spinach, I just planted it this past weekend and the calla lily went into the ground).  Here they are:

strawberry plant

calla lily

hot jalapeno pepper

I had thought that I would grow them in pots all season but I have since decided to put them in the ground.  I am not sure when this will take place (hopefully soon) but when it does I will post more pics. 

I have since also planted A LOT of flower seeds in pots.  Our KK helped with these so they are even more special.  When the spinach and the flowers break through I will post pics of those also. 

So, here I am, nothing left to plant.  I just enjoy everyday when I go out and water them.  I think they are beautiful and I say a HUGE THANK YOU to my Momma for giving me this LOVE of growing things and being outside.  I thank her for being a GREAT Momma too, but that doesn't have much to do with flowers.

Inspired By.........The Onesie Dress @ Prudent Baby

As I said in the last post, A LOT of Our G's younger clothes still fit her.  This includes her 6-9 month old onesie's.  I had them in the donation pile, thinking we were so totally through with them.  Leave it to Prudent Baby (http://www.prudentbaby.com/) to set me straight. 
After I became addicted to their site, I started browsing there older posts.  Each time I saw something I wanted to make I would add it to the list (my list is a mile long now).  This DIY tutorial (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/03/10-minute-onesie-dress-easiest-dress.html) could NOT be added to the list. It was to be done immediately. 
So, I started digging through my fabric, stacking up my fave's to use for G's onesie's transformation's.  The only thing was that I didn't really like the way the full skirt looked and because I had just read another Prudent Baby tute about gathering (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/01/layer-cake-skirt.html) (which was also added to the list) I decided to do a three piece ruffle skirt instead. 
I have 6 plain white long sleeve onesies so I transformed one of these first.  The sleeves were a little too short so I cut them off and hemmed them to make it a 3/4 sleeve.  I gathered two strips of polka dot fabric and one strip of black the sewed them on the onesie with the black in between the polka dot pieces.  Here is how it turned out:

CUTE, CUTE!!!

I had plenty of fabric left over after I made the Ruffle Heart Shirt for our KK.  This fabric went GREAT with another onesie I had also put in the donation pile.  With this one, I cut the long sleeves completely off and made a ruffle cap sleeve and put two ruffles on the bottom.  Here it is:

I LOVE them both and must THANK Jamie @ Prudent Baby (buy her book, http://prudentadvice.com/) for the idea of a onesie dress.  It is SUPER easy and SO "ADORBS!!"  Looking forward to making many more.

Inspired By......Our G Making The Prudent Baby Web Page!!!

I visited Prudent Baby (http://www.prudentbaby.com/) this past Sunday.  They usually do not post on Sunday but we had been so busy Staurday that I did not get a chance to stalk that day.  Anyways, as the page loaded up, and I saw what was on it, I about DIED from excitement (well, not really but you know what I mean). 
You see, Prudent Baby picked MY pic of Our G wearing her "Ruffle Heart Shirt" for their Project       Round-Up!!  (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/03/prudent-project-round-up-from-flickr.html) I just had so say a BIG YAY G, YAY ME!!
If THIS is not inspirtaion enough to keep sewing and creating, I do not know what is!!!  THANK YOU Prudent Baby!!    

Inspired By.......Ruffle Heart T-Shirt @ Prudent Baby.......

Our G seems to have a weight problem.  Meaning, she doesn't gain any.  When she does gain a pound or two, she gains an inch or two also.  Needless to say, she has weighed 20 pounds for about 6 months now.  Oh shes okay and all, doctor says perfectly normal for her.  I am glad she has this little "problem" for two reasons.  One, it appears she will not have a weight problem (meaning weighing to much like me) and two, her 6-9 month clothes still fit.  Well, other than the length of them that is.  This is okay though because once again, Prudent Baby (http://www.prudentbaby.com/) has a fix. 
You see, Jamie, of Prudent Baby, (buy her book-http://prudentadvice.com/) posted yet another brilliant DIY(okay, so all their post's are brilliant but oh well).  She created a "Ruffle Heart
T-Shirt" (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/02/ruffle-heart-t-shirt.html) for her daughter because she had grown taller but not bigger.   I was so excited when I saw this post.  It was just what I needed for Our G!!  So, I followed her step by step instructions and TADA, a new shirt for Our G!!  I also added ruffles to the sleeves because G's arms had grown longer too.  It looked GREAT and with Valentine's Day less then a month away, it served as a V Day shirt also.  Here's Our G posing in it:

After I made G's, I decided to make one for Our KK also.  She goes to school and I thought it would be a perfect shirt for her to wear on V Day.  She picked out her fabric and helped me make hers.  She LOVED it and wore it to school on Valentine's Day as planned!!  Here's Our KK posing in hers:

SOO CUTE if I may say so myself but then again, I am partial.  What can I say, I LOVE my girls!!!  THANK YOU Prudent Baby!!!

Inspired By......Prudent Baby Potholder Contest......

As I said in my first post, after the Zombie costume, I was OFFICIALLY hooked on http://www.prudentbaby.com/.  Maybe the correct word is stalker??  Yes, I am a Prudent Stalker.  That's totally okay, at least I think it is, and totally a good thing.  They give me SO many GREAT ideas and on top of ALL the ideas they also have AWESOME contests.
One day Jamie ( http://prudentadvice.com/) delivered to her readers another excellent DIY on how to make a "Pretty Potholder." (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/12/pretty-potholders.html)  Then Jacinda (also with Prudent Baby, http://babyblogplus.blogspot.com/) posted her "Pretty Potholder : 2. (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/01/pretty-potholder-part-2.html) There was also the "Scrappy Potholder." (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/01/scrappy-potholder.html)  The BEST thing about these potholders (other than how awesomely easy and cute they were) was that they were giving away 2, count them TWO sewing machines to whomever made the best ones.  Do you need more inspiration than this?!?
So, I got started on my potholders.  The only problem was, once I started, I could NOT stop.  They were so easy and thanks to my WONDERFUL Mammaw, Opal Pearl Seals, I have SO much fabric that was just the perfect size for these.  I made 13 in all. 
I know you will be surprised to hear that I didn't win, being that my sewing is excellent and all (wink, wink) but when you see then winners you will know why I didn't win.  The ladies that won made AWESOME potholders.  I mean, I was sitting at the computer, looking at them and my mouth was wide open.  WOW!!  Did I say mention they were AWESOME?!?  Here is the winners post- http://www.prudentbaby.com/2011/02/winners.html.  As Jamie say, "ADORBS!!" 
So here are a few of mine.  And hopefully, my sewing skills continue to improve.  : )

Inspired By......Prudent Baby Fat Quarter Apron Tute......

My next sewing inspiration also came from Prudent Baby. (http://www.prudentbaby.com/)  I know, that totally surprises you.  Anyways, Jamie (buy her book, http://prudentadvice.com/) posted a "Fat Quarter Apron Tutorial." (http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/09/fat-quarter-apron-tutorial.html)  SUPER easy and SUPER cute.  Fat quarters are so cheap and even if you do not have a fat quarter you could measure out one of your own. 
So, I emabarked on making a "Fat Quarter Apron" for my sister for her birthday.  I found the cutest material with green and brown tones that reminded me of a peacock.  I made hers out of this.  While my stitching was not the best, I think it turned out good and she said she liked it.  SCORE!! 
Because I enjoyed making it so much and it was so easy and adorable, I made one for the gift exchange at my Mammaws Christmas get-together.  I made it with some zebra striped material I bought.  My mom also paid me to make two for her bosses at work.  (WOW!!  I was paid for sewing......WHAT?!?)  One was made out of the same material I made my sisters out of and the other, out of some Christmas material my mom picked out. 
Unfortuantly, I do not have pictures of any of these.  I am now kicking myself because of this but at the time, I had no idea I would start this blog so, there you go.  Aprons made; Sewing skills improving; HAPPINESS!!!

Inspired By......Zombies and Prudent Baby......

My husband and I LOVE zombies.  It doesn't matter what type of zombie, from George A. Romero to Resident Evil, we LOVE them.  This past Halloween, our daughter G was 11 months and in need of a Halloween costume.  Since she was not able to choose a pretty princess or an animal of some sort we chose for her (Score!!). 
It all started while I was scanning over Halloween costumes and one for a Zombie popped up. (www.prudentbaby.com/2009/10/diy-baby-zombie-costume.html) At this time, I had not even heard of Prudent Baby but the thought of a Zombie costume for my baby girl was so exciting, I continued on to the website.  From this moment on, I have been a fan of Prudent Baby.  They have hundreds of DIY projects and more.  SWEET!!!
Anyway, Jamie Morrison Curtis (buy her book if you have not; http://prudentadvice.com/) is the one who did the Zombie costume for her daughter (she is founding editor at Prudent Baby; http://www.prudentbaby.com/)  She gave step by step instructions on how to do it yourself and, get this, it didn't matter how good you could sew because its a Zombie costume and it needs to be messy.  Yay me!! 
I bought some fabric, followed her instructions and TADA!!, our G was a Zombie!!  Actually, we were all Zombies (except for our 5 year old who insisted she be a bumble bee but professed she would be a Zombie when she is 10, lol).  May I add that we were SUPER happy Zombies.  THANK YOU Prudent Baby!!