min-myinnersoul

The regular school routine has set in, and things seem to be moving along just fine. It has taken this mommy a little more adjusting than these two kiddos.  They were both pumped and ready to go. Me, not so much. I miss them. The first day back broke my heart and I might have sobbed like a baby...in front of my baby...who is now a kindergartner. My kindergartner might have shed a few tears because her mother lost it in front of her, but waited for her to leave. Such a strong little girl. My first grader was a brave and happy little soldier. He's an old pro at this sort of thing now; in his mind's eye. It does my heart good to see how happy they are with their teachers and their classmates. My favorite part of the day is when they get in the car at the end of the school day, smiles beaming, ready to tell me every detail of their day...competing to see who can tell the most. Yes, I know these days are very short lived, and there will come a time when they won't say two words ...

Summertime is in full swing around here, and boy are we busy! Between VBS, swim lessons, piano lessons(which start next week), play dates, and visiting family, there isn't a whole lot of crafting going on here lately. I have been able to sneak in some cute little applique outfits for S.R. though:o) She loves all of the new outfits that I have made her...thankfully! For all of these shirts, I googled the images, and found the ones I felt would be easiest to stitch. I copied the images, pasted in Word, printed them out, and used them as the templates.  Super quick and easy.  Crab with coordinating shorts. Anchor with coordinating skirt  Butterfly with coordinating shorts  Octopus  Watermelon (which will have coordinating skirt)...I found this idea on Pinterest. This one is my fave! I have received permission from E to make him some shirts, so I will share those as soon as I get them made.  I hope you all are having a great start to your summer break!

I am chomping at the bit to start working on some summer clothes for the kids. I have permission and promises from E that he will wear what I make for him...I just have to run my ideas by him first:o) Thankfully, it's a lot easier to please S.R. As long as it's girly and comfortable, she's all in! I got really lucky the other day while in Hobby Lobby. They NEVER, and I mean NEVER have regular chevron in stock. They usually have a few duck cloth selections, but the apparel chevron is always sold out. It was a sign...a sign that it was my chance to make a cute dress for S.R. And here it is. A sweet little apron dress with a ruffled bodice. She loves it, and that makes me smile. The back is gathered and the straps button on the inside of the dress. I had so much fun creating this dress, and I am ready to start working on some more!! Time for a fabric run!!

I shared with you guys the other day S.R.'s Easter dress , and today I wanted to give you a closer look at E's vest and bow tie. This has to be the easiest thing to sew for little boys, and it looks so cute!  I purchased the vest pattern last year when the kids' were in my uncle's wedding . I lost the instructions somewhere in my craft closet, but thankfully found the right pattern pieces to make the vest..and to answer your question, yes, my craft closet is a disaster, and no, I never put anything away where it belongs. I work in total chaos;o)  The fabric was purchased from Hobby Lobby. I bought 1 yard, and after using my coupon, it came in at just under $5. Not bad, eh? The bow tie has velcro on the ends to keep it closed around the neck.  I really need to do a tutorial on how to make a bow tie. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to make these things!!  Little man loved this outfit, and it always makes me proud when they get excited about what I make for them:o...

We had a wonderful Easter. A time of catching up with family and friends, eating way too many delicious foods...courtesy of my mother, and remembering the resurrection of our Lord and Savior:o)  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well.   I gave a sneak peak on Facebook last Friday of the kids' Easter outfits. This week I will be sharing what I made for both of them. Today's focus is on S.R.'s dress.  Thankfully I had all the materials on hand, so this dress was completely free. Yay, for free!!  This dress is extra special...  All of the bead work, which was hand-sewn onto the dress(ugh!), came from my mother's wedding gown. I took extra care in making sure that this dress will last, so that we can hopefully pass this on to my brother and sister's "someday" children:o) The bead work went across the bodice... and across the bottom of the skirt.  Here's a quick look at the back. An extra long sash for the finishing touch.  My children are c...

My sweet S.R. is turning 5 in just a few days. She asked for a special dress for her fairy tea party (a Queen Clarion dress to be exact). The dress has been made, and she squealed when she saw it...the reaction every mother wants when she's worked so hard to make her little girl happy:o) When I was searching for the fabric for the fairy dress, I came across some fairy knit fabric in purples and pinks. S.R.'s two favorite colors. I was slightly hesitant about purchasing it because my last experience with knits was quite disastrous.   I will have to say, this little skirt was much easier than I expected:o) The hopscotch skirt is now my new favorite skirt to make...I think I'll be making one for myself now:o) I followed a super easy tutorial, and you can find it over at  iCandy handmade . I can't wait for the celebration:o) It's going to be so much fun!! I just hope that the snow they are calling for will hold off until after our guests return home safely:o)  ...

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We surely did!! We got back home on Friday, so there was plenty of time to get settled and relax a bit before starting the work/school week. The holiday baking has begun, so I have to make sure I keep my running shoes broken in, or I'll be asking Santa for the next dress size up;o)  Our first Christmas craft was peppermint Christmas trees.  Thing 1 & 2 worked very hard at unwrapping many many peppermint discs...most made it on the trees...a few ended up in their bellies:o) We started with tacky glue, but that was a bust..wet glue and sugary candy aren't a good mix..so we had to pull out the hot glue gun.  I did all of the gluing, but this was a craft that required all hands on deck, so they didn't get bored with me doing the work. We had a lot of fun crafting, snacking, and listening to Christmas music. Oh yeah, there was a wedding over Thanksgiving holiday:o) Here are a few shots of the kids in their outfits I made.  I am...

A day late, I know, but here is E's vest and bow tie.  I used a pattern for the vest, which was very confusing by the way. That's one of the reasons I like making my own patterns. I can piece the puzzle together quicker than I can read instructions and try to make sense of what they're trying to tell me:o) Anyway, I am glad to have it done!  The bow tie took about 35 minutes to make from start to finish. I think I will be making more of these. It's so stinkin' cute! The hubs even said he wanted some bow ties:o)  Tomorrow is the big day. The kids are pumped, and the hubs and I are reeeally nervous:o) Not about the kids being the flower girl and ring bearer...they'll be fine...the hubs is playing the music and I am taking the wedding pics...no pressure..no pressure at all..ahhh! I hope you all have wonderful Thanksgiving. Make sure to treasure every moment with your family, (no matter how annoying you might think they are, for those of you dreading it). You never ...

Brrr! It's cold today! I can't believe how easily the cold wind can cut through you. I'm so very thankful for a warm home to shelter me from this frigid weather! Speaking of being thankful, I have some wonderful news that my family and I are very thankful for. My uncle is getting married! He is engaged to a fabulous woman, who is absolutely perfect for him. We are all overjoyed for the both of them. They are getting married on Thanksgiving Day, and my little ones are part of the wedding party.  If you are a follower of my Facebook page , you saw the inspiration dress I shared yesterday. This is my version.  For seven straight hours, I sewed away.  Drowning in ruffles, constantly back and forth from my machine to the ironing board. Blood, sweat, but thankfully no tears:o) (Stinkin' stick pins!) I accidentally figured out how to make the ruffles quicker by loosening the thread tension...it could have been longer than 7 hours if I hadn't stumbled upon that!  The neckli...

Sewing for a little girl is so easy. There are so many cute inspirations out there for girls, but there really isn't a whole lot to choose from for little boys. Sometimes I feel guilty when I make something for S.R. because for every 3-4 things I make for her, I make 1 for E. Sad, I know. It's a fine line when sewing for boys because some things out there are border-line ridiculous. You have to take great care in not making your boy look like a girl.  So anywhoodles, I went to Heart and Home Fabrics  on Etsy, and  let E pick out some really cute fabric from the "Children at Play" line by Sara Jane.  I made this cute little bean bag ottoman from it. If I ever get around to it, I will do a tutorial because S.R. wants one as well:)  I also made him a cute little vest out of the same fabric. Yes, it coordinates with his ottoman, but how often is he going to be wearing that vest while sitting on the ottoman? ;o) I'll have a tutorial on how to make a vest very so...

Since I have been lagging on posts, I never told you guys what my kids were for Halloween this year.  E, once again, wanted to be something related to Star Wars. I'm not sure if he was a clone trooper or a storm trooper, (I get confused) but I most definitely knew that making that costume for him was next to impossible. I hate buying store bought costumes, but I know my limitations people:o) Thankfully S.R. wanted to be something easy, Pocahontas. The Disney Pocahontas costumes aren't exactly modest, so I decided that we would go for a less flashy, more coverage kind of dress:o) E didn't get to wear his Star Wars costume to school, but they do have book character day, and get to dress up for that. He chose to be Peter Pan. It doesn't get much easier than that! I purchased 2 t-shirts from Hobby Lobby. The lighter color in his size, and the darker color in an adult large. I turned the adult shirt into pants using a pajamas pant pattern, and used the sleeves of that same s...