serious bookbinders avert your eyes

       The kids found this phone in the basement the other day and it became an instant hit.  Ava has been wandering around the house with it having hilarious conversations and scribbling down random numbers on any little piece of paper she can find....she actually panic whispers to me "get me some paper quick!" on a regular basis.  A little tired of picking up these papers with phantom phone numbers on them I decided that we would make a few notebooks using this fantastic video tutorial by angry chicken (an awesome blog!).
    
 We got to work on them right after dinner tonight and I must say that I am totally impressed...they came together very easily and Ava's art work on the cover put it over the top adorable.

I chose this picture to not only showcase her notebook but look at those TIGHTS...

Ava chose to add an envelope to the back of her book as suggested by Amy just in case she had some "secret numbers".....really!?!

Since the kids have gone to bed I have made 5 more notebooks.....obsessive? creative? inspired? PROCRASTINATOR!!!!

Word of warning to family and close friends: she is asking for phone numbers to write in her book and she intends on using them...luckily she hasn't found out how to make her phone functional yet...YET!

Sewing for fish

We have been doing a ton of swimming these last few weeks.....the weather has been so hot and humid I don't know how we would have coped without swimming.  Both kids love the water and Ava has gone from depending on water wings to snubbing them entirely.
I have loved spending  my nights sewing for both of my little fish.

Sun hats were tops on the list of course.  I used the same patterns as here with the necessary adjustments to size (I still made Anthony's too small) and interfacing and the kids seem to love them.  They are so quick and easy I don't mind when they get lost and left all over the place (well I guess I mind a little).

Next on the list was swimwear.  I was so inspired by Angry Chicken   when she created swimsuits for all 3 of her girls I thought I should give it a try for Ava.

I think it turned out pretty good.  I used a vintage Butterick pattern and some swimwear fabric from Fabricland.  It was relatively easy to construct but I must admit that my inside seams don't look very nice.  It was not a cheap endeavour (you could probably buy one at a fraction of the cost) but it was fun and I love the feeling of "beating the system" and making it myself.

A bee in her bonnet

Each Easter I make Lady A a dress and matching bonnet.    I love making them because they are so easy and look totally adorable on everyone....including my husband.   My darling child never wants to wear her bonnet and always kicks up a royal fuss just before we have to leave for Easter dinner.  Every year she ends up looking adorable and my family always talk about how comfortable it would be to wear a bonnet and how Little House on the Prairie it would be of us to start sporting these 

in our daily lives.  My cousin Laura suggested making one for Lady A with a bee in it.  It took me a while to get the joke...ha ha ha a bee in her bonnet.   So of course I decided it had to be made.... so I made one for Laura.  Above is a picture of Lady A modelling a too big for her unfinished bonnet (she was making all attempts at getting out of going to bed and knows the way to her mama's heart is to say" can I just try it on so you can "camera" me ").

The little bee on the brim is especially cute and I think can also be interpreted as "queen bee" on days when Laura doesn't have a "bee in her bonnet".

Here's hoping she loves it because I am mailing it off today.