Who needs sleep? It's Kansas Barn Sale Time!!!

It's our favorite time of the year and we are getting ready for the BEST craft show of the year! Burlap, thread, hot glue and twine are covering my floor and I couldn't be more excited! My friend and craft show partner, Courtney Ewertt, owner of a Rustix is ready as well! Stop by and see us Oct. 4! We surely have something you can't live without!!

Whoa Nelly!!

Wow, I am getting excited!! Now to most people it really isn't a big deal, but to me I am pumped! I was the featured crafter on The Kansas Barn Sale facebook page! Yippee, but oh my goodness that means that it is real and I had better sew faster! Now there are expectations and I can't let people down. This year there is someone else I can't let down, my crafting buddy, Courtney Ewertt! She makes the cutest signs and decor with reclaimed wood, windows and her mighty Cricut! We are teaming up this year to rock The Kansas Barn Sale!

I am super excited, but it is a lot of work getting everything done and there is NEVER enough time! In our little house I find myself taking up every nook and cranny and filling it with sacks of fabric, notions and anything else I think might be useful!

I am sure my neat-freak husband has a mini panic attack everytime he walks in mid-crafting! I am usually surrounded by a pile of fabric, threads and scraps on the floor! Basically you could call it chaos, well I would argue organized chaos!! Ha Ha! Well, enough writing for tonight, I had better get back to sewing! See you all Oct. 5!!

So Ugly It's Cute?!?

So we are on snow day 4.5! I can't believe we have been out of school so dang long! I am ready to go back and I think my kids are ready for their normal routine! They are about to drive each other and ME nuts! I have to admit I am getting stir crazy as well, so I figured it was time to create something! I have seen on a few other blogs that people have their kids draw a picture and then they make a stuffed animal based on the picture. So I thought, why not!! I got Braxton a pen and paper and told him to have at it. I did let him know that is couldn't be super elaborate because I am not that good of seamstress! He drew a picture and then the sewing began.

I found some different fabrics and let the kids pick out what they wanted. Of course I couldn't just make a new softie for Braxton so the girls each got one, slightly altered from the picture, but still the same theme! Each only took around 30 minutes or so once they were cut out! Braxton's does look pretty similar to the picture. It is ugly, but still fun. They all seem to like them and are currently napping with them!

One of those fun projects that the kids can be a part of! The best part is they seem to think they are cool! That is the most important part! Hopefully we can get back into our regular routine tomorrow! We all need it!!

My Problem

So here is my problem.......I LOVE FABRIC. I might not always know what to do with it or use it to the best of its potential, but I LOVE IT! I am that weird lady who touches every bolt of fabric in the fabric store! Today in the mail I got some new fabric. I found an online fabric store that I really like! Fat Quarter Shop is a great place to find all sorts of different fabrics and it is actually affordable too! 

 

Aren't they cute. I am starting to look at different projects to create for the craft show season and these fabrics can surely make something fun! I can't wait to get sewing.

Swirling in My Head

Now that I have had a few minutes to breathe and not just sew, new ideas for sewing projects have been swirling in my head! Here a just a few.....

-Fabric Guitars for Little Boys
-Lions
-Personalized Gifts

I am always open to new ideas and like to find inspiration from the web and then make the designs personalized by creating my own patterns! I have been thinking about making more personalized items as well. Here is a giraffe I personalized for one of my little cousins, I think it was pretty cute.

Who knows what will come next. I guess the next step is sitting down at my sewing machine and experimenting, just not at 2 a.m.!!

Worth It!!

Two weeks with little sleep and more help from friends and family than I could of ever asked, has ended in what I would call a success. My first Hillsboro Craft Fair as a vendor is now under my belt. I was nervous, pessimistic, cautiously optimistic and dog tired, but it was all worth it!

Saturday morning we pulled out of the driveway at 5:00 am, after two hours of sleep, and headed toward Hillsboro. The car was loaded with 8 totes filled with my stuffed owls, giraffes, elephants, aprons and coffee cozies. My dear husband, who needs at least 8 hours a sleep, went on the adventure with me! We got everything set up and then waited. The wait was soon to be over. Our booth was pretty busy most of the day and we got lots of smiles, kind words and thankfully SALES! By end of the day we were tired and hungry, but we did it! We packed up our things, did one last sale, loaded the car with only 3 totes of goods left and then headed home. On the way home it hit me, pure exhaustion. With only about 15 hours of sleep the entire week, my being tired finally caught up with me!

Now that the dust has settled and money has been counted, I can officially say I made a profit! Next year at Hillsboro is now a definitive maybe! I want to say thank you to all my family and friends that went above the call of duty and helped me stuff, sew, price, set-up! Because of them I had things to sell!!

Holey Moley my Dempsey is 1!!!!!!!

How time flies, a sentiment that is often stated, but not really understood until you are a parent. My sweet baby Dempsey is no longer a baby!!! Happy Birthday girl! Her real birthday is May 11 and we celebrated just with our little family and a giant cupcake. She loved it and the frosting!!

However we had our big family celebration today. When I say big, I mean just my immediate family, but as you know with my family, that means big! :) I always want a fun cake, but never know exactly what to do. So what does a girl who wants to make a fun cake do.......go search Pinterest of course! I found a few ideas and a recipe for a cream cheese pound cake. I jumbled all the different ideas together and came up with this cake......

It is a cream cheese pound cake, like I mentioned before, but made it a rainbow cake with the fun banner on it. I had never made a pound cake, had never used a bundt pan and jimmy rigged a banner using paper, tape, sharpies and small paintbrushes! To my surprise it all came together and ended up pretty cute. The inside of the cake was pretty fun to.

 

The in-laws made their famous homemade ice cream and fresh strawberries. I think that is actually why most of the family comes! Ha Ha. It really might be that good too! I love having all the family over!

Before I wrap it up I want to also say Happy Mothers Day to my own mom and my sisters! What great mothers and people they are! I can't say enough about all of them and how much I love them!