Wedding Prep and a Giveaway

First of all welcome to all the new readers who are visiting from Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day!  Be sure to visit their blog for lots more giveaways and to discover some fun new blogs to follow.

So lately I have been in crafting overdrive since my sister's wedding is seriously just right around the corner (less than two weeks - eek!).  I'm making lots of the decorations, and am putting together an eight and a half foot dessert table - not to mention making all of the desserts for said table.   Yes, I am the queen of taking on too much.  Anyway, here are some sneak peeks of what I've been working on.

Pom pom garlands

More free hanging pom poms

These little guys were made out of burlap and coffee filters....

....and are waiting to be strung together for another garland.  Seriously, if this wedding had a theme, it would be garlands - I'm crazy addicted.  Just check out my Pinterest boards.  All garlands.

Lollipops - in four different colors and flavors.  These are peach.

Gumpaste petals for one of the cakes.  Yes, one of the cakes - there will be four.

Of course I volunteered to make the favors as well.

Phoebe is the flower girl, so I made her this giant corsage out of eyelet trim.  Sorry for the disheveled, scraped knees, naked baby model - it got into the 80s today, and she pretty much lived in the kiddie pool/water table/sprinkler.  I have a feeling that she's going to look like this the rest of the summer.

Except for when she's wearing her flower girl dress - which is waiting to be cut out and sewn as soon as I'm done writing this post.

So.... that's what I've been up to lately, now onto the giveaway!

In keeping with last giveaway day, I scrounged up more Heather Ross scraps - they don't seem to end!  Most of them are from her most sought after first line, and to give you some perspective, I think all of those squares along the right side are 5".

And I'm throwing in a fat quarter of some Flea Market Fancy for good measure.

I'll keep it easy for you - just one comment per entry (don't you hate when they force you to follow for a vote?!  It drives me crazy.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love for you to follow - but I'll let you decide that on your own terms :)

So just say hello, tell me what you're up to, or give me some advice for writing my maid of honor speech.  Or if you write my speech for me, I might just call the giveaway over and let you win.

*Comments have been closed!  I'll be back soon to announce the winner*

Hello Kitty University of Michigan Cheerleader Cupcakes

That was my request from birthday girl Madeline - who obviously knows what she wants :)

White cupcakes with pink swiss meringue buttercream topped with a fondant Hello Kitty.  Next time I make Hello Kitty cupcakes, I'm definitely going to find a cookie cutter.  My wrist is still feeling it after cutting out each kitty head by hand.

This was the topper for the birthday girl's jumbo cupcake.  She was pretty excited when she saw it, so I think I met all of her requirements.

Make sure you stop back on Monday - I'm participating in Sew, Mama, Sew's giveaway day!  I'm not sure what I'm planning to give away yet, but I hope to keep it up to par with the last one!

Still Here!

I'm completely sorry that I ducked out on you guys for a whole week with no notice!  Unfortunately I can't promise that it won't happen again - we're in major crunch time with all things related to my sister's wedding and it has completely consumed my life.  And when things get busy, the blog is usually the first thing to go.  Personally I would rather just abandon cooking, but I don't think my toddler and husband would be very happy with that idea.  Three more weeks and I will have my life back!

So anyways, not only is my sister getting married this summer, but my sister-in-law is tying the knot as well.  Her bridal shower was this past weekend, so I can finally reveal the quilt I've been working on for her.  I apologize for the haphazard photos.  I seriously ran outside and threw the quilt on the ground at around 7:30 at night so I could get a couple of shots before wrapping it for the shower in the morning.

Basic specs: I used the Picnic and Fairgrounds line by Denyse Schmidt (the same collection that I used for Phoebe's dress), and the pattern is called Small Plates and is from Elizabeth Hartman's book "The Practical Guide to Patchwork".  FYI - This is the best darn book ever for someone who wants to learn how to quilt. 

I used a couple leftover scraps on the back, and all of the white was from a large vintage sheet.

After looking at these photos, I realized that I never ended up washing this quilt to get it to its nice, crinkly goodness stage.  For me, that's one of the most satisfying parts of quilting.  I wonder how batty I might seem if I ask for it back so I can give it a good round through the washer :)

Frothy pinkness

Dare I say that spring has finally arrived here in the Midwest?  I don't want to jinx anything....

Ever since it warmed up to a balmy 30 degrees back in March, Phoebe has been standing at the door at all hours of the day saying "outside, outside, outside".  Well, I'm finally more than happy to oblige her.

I've been puttering around the yard planting, weeding, and pruning to the best of my knowledge, but I often still find myself in a staring contest with a plant for a good 10 minutes waiting for it to tell me if it's a weed or not.

Most of all I've been enjoying all of the loveliness that the previous owners clearly put so much care into.  The absolute favorite of our family is this gorgeous weeping cherry tree that is simply covered in foamy pink.  I don't know much about it, but is it too much to hope for that it stays like this year round from now on?

It's also a clear winner in Phoebe's eyes - for she is unable to walk by it without gazing into the branches calling " Pink!  Pink!"

Happy Mother's Day

To my wonderfully amazing mother, who I never fully appreciated until I became a mom myself.

And thank you to my sweet little Phoebe - for making me your momma.

Craft supplies from the produce section

First of all - if you are my mom, mother-in-law, or grandma - STOP READING!!!  We just mailed your cards yesterday and you've probably not gotten them yet.

But for everyone else who is still scrambling around for a cute handmade Mother's Day card idea that is fun to do with toddlers or kids of any age - you're welcome to keep reading :)

First off, I cannot take credit for this sweet idea. I saw this pin on Pinterest a couple weeks back (are you as obsessed with Pinterest as I am yet?!) and stashed it away on my board of kid crafts, knowing that it would be perfect for Mother's Day.

You start off with a bunch of celery, and chop off all of the stalks, leaving the end hunk about 3 or 4 inches tall.

See how it kind of makes the outline of a rose?  Well there you go - instant stamp!

I set Phoebe to work stamping away.  Press....

.....and lift.

And voila!

I'll be interested to see what my mother's day card looks like this year.  Last year I didn't actually get a card, but instead came home to a husband and a baby who both had stained red hands, a paint covered highchair, and the apology that "crafts are hard!".

A new spring frock

Aside from Phoebe's repurposed dress, I haven't done too much sewing for her lately.  Winter clothes are just not nearly as much fun to make as bright and flouncy summer dresses.

I took a break from all of the wedding crafting I've been consumed in lately to sew up this cute little number using the perfect party dress pattern by Heidi and Finn.  You might remember another version that I made here.  The main fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's Joann line, and the sash is some older Alexander Henry.

I made a size 2T, which ended up being a little large in the waist, but the sash takes care of that problem

I made this dress in hopes of coaxing spring out of wherever it was hiding, and it seemed to have worked!  We spent a lovely afternoon picking every dandelion in sight and running through the grass.  Although this was after spending an hour and a half stuck at the store due to locking my keys in the car for the millionth time - doh!

A little fun and sunshine was much needed around here.  That second set of molars isn't fun for anybody!