Sparrow's Birthday Dolly: Part 2

So, the night before the party, while I was up making Sparrow's dolly some green boots, (to see Part 1 post click HERE) I noticed some pretty tule fabric in my bag from Sam's grandma.  I knew that Sparrow would be wearing a pink, girly tu-tu dress with pink, sparkly, Tiny Toms at her birthday bash.  That's when a thought was dropped into my mind by the sewing fairies! ;) She needs a ballerina outfit! YES! My girly colors where flying, as I sat there on the couch, making the cutest little vintage tu-tu with a pale blue ribbon to tie it off at the back of the waist. Then came the slippers. Sigh. After I was finished, I decided to dress her in this dancer outfit  and wrap her coat and boots separately. 

Jessie, Sparrow's mommy, is one of my dearest friends and one of the most creative people that I know. She uses pages of old story books for cards and sweet notes. I've been adopting this practice  ever since she gave me one, after Káel was born last year.  I found this connect the dot page from a children's activity book, from 1954 and thought it would be perfect! I wrote our message along the lines... *squeal* :) Next time you are at the thrift store and you see a 40 cent old children's book...grab it and try this sweet little idea out on a friend. :) 

Btw, I almost NEVER use wrapping paper to wrap a gift. I always figure using some pretty fabric is more fun and quaint. Then, whoever is receiving the gift can reuse it for a project or another gift! :) Old sheets are a great, cheap idea. That's what I used for this. 

Reading her card. Um...excuse me, but do you see what she is wearing!? Look at that little princess headdress? Paaaaaalease!!! When I walked into their house, I squealed so loud! She was her mommy's daughter. Feather funk and all! 

They meet for the first time. It was precious.

Seeing her open up her present and smile, with that sweet little miss smirk, made my heart soar to heaven. I have tears in my eyes right now, just thinking about last year and all the prayers and tears we all shared with Jessie and her family as Sparrow, the miracle baby, came out of her first surgery, strong and brave. Sparrow had another open heart surgery 3 months later and will have one more when she is around 3. She is a total kiss from Jesus and I adore her with all my heart! Many of you may remember reading my post, where I talked about her story. If you haven't read it and would like to you can click here to read the beginning of her story and HERE! This little darlin' is the toughest, sweetest sugar ever!

Happy birthday little bird. I love you so much!
xo auntie jess

Thank you for voting for us lovelies! 

Sparrow's Birthday Dolly: Part 1

Here she is! The sewing project that I was working on this past week!  A very special little baby bird, Sparrow Song Mathis, had her first birthday party yesterday and to celebrate I made her this dolly.  Not only was it a day to celebrate her birthday, it was also the 1 year anniversary of her coming out of her first open heart surgery. It was a double celebration! Every girl needs a handmade friend to have adventures and tea parties with, don't they?  ;)

I had the most enjoyable and fun time crafting this pretty little thing.  I looked around online and found a few dolls that I liked, picked out some vintage fabrics that I had in my collection and made my own pattern. The ribbons and trims are from my grandma on Sam's side of the family. She gave me a few bags full of sewing goodies last Christmas that she had from the 50's and 60's. It was fabulous! I'm thinking about making a few more of these little beauties. Maybe even a little boy one, with suspenders for Káel!? Eeee! I used to make dolls all the time, before I moved away to school, got married and became a mommy. I'm kinda thinking that it might make a comeback in my life. ;)

I took some pictures along the way, as I stitched and pinned, so you could see.  Tomorrow, I'll be posting a few more pictures of her, in another outfit that I made, especially for the birthday girl's party and some pictures of Sparrow opening her surprise!!! Enjoy beauties!

I just guessed and tweaked my drawn on pattern as I went. No mistakes in creating...just happy accidents. ;)

The easiest way to sew doll arms and legs is to trace or draw your pattern directly onto the fabric, pin and then sew along the lines...THEN cut them out. It will take you several more frustrated minutes if you cut it out before you stitch it up. 

This sewing machine has been my friend since I was 13. Kenmore's are my fav. 

Her little, long, lanky plaid legs. A yard of fabric I found several months ago at a thrift mall. 

Pin with her legs and arms inside, stitch her and then turn her right side out! I added a about a 1/3 cup of rice in her bottom so she would be weighted a little.

I added a little rosette the night before the party...She needed a flower in her hair. ;)

I have never made doll clothes from felt before, it was pretty simple. I love this little 60's style shrug! 

Fall boots...it's going to get cold soon. 

 Sparrow's  mom and dad both have tattoos and I thought it would be kinda cool to tie that in. I had seen another amazing doll have something similar and I went for it. It's one of my favorite things about her. 

I hope you enjoyed watching my creative process! I can't wait to show you tomorrow's post! Have a very pretty day. 

Our Saturday

 Yesterday was a SUPER fun day! Oh my goodness gracious! I was going to take really nice pictures with my canon, but...it was too much of a hassle in the moment. So, the faithful iPhone worked just great. I ended up going on a spontaneous trip to the heaven of antique junk yards called, "Clines." There are no words. You guys have no idea. It was AMAZING! I met two of my pretty lady friends up there, Tiffany, Rita and Rita's little boy, Justice. We explored the barns and fields of doors, windows and other old delights. After we got our fill of that wonderfulness, we went to lunch. (Rita is one of my heros in the music/worship area.  My heart was overwhelmed with smiles to get to meet and hang out with her and Tiffy!)

When that adventure came to an end, I went to baby Sparrow's 1st Birthday Party and spent the rest of the wonderful evening hanging out with all of our friends, eating ice cream and celebrating her little life! Enjoy some smiles.  

We had some great Saturday morning snuggles with our Forest boy. 

Driving down to Clines...so excited. 

Angels were singing. An outdoor antique junk yard of glory. 

One of these beauties will be my new headboard. EEEEE! 

Some finds of the day. Grand total of $15

I carried Káel in the ergo on my back while I sorted through and discovered treasures. The whole time I kept feeding him veggie chips to keep him occupied and happy. He was SO hot and worn out by the time we were done. He passed out instantly in the car on the way to lunch. 

Tiffy love.

Rita love. 

 I got lost on my way back home, which meant he got a good nap in while I had an extra 45 mins. in the car to my thoughts. 

Party time!

Birthday girl goodness!

 My fabulous friend, Jessie M. momma of the birthday girl.

When I got home, Sam had just settled in from his trip to the mountains, where he was doing a video shoot. I spent about an hour working on the pirate eye patches for Káel's birthday party, for next week. My folks are getting in on Thursday, the party will be on Sunday and my Gran arrives in at the air port a few hours before the festivities begin. Then, lots of our friends will join us to party with our little Forest boy! 

Sneak Peek Sewing Project

 

vintage trims from samuel's grandma

Here is a  little sneak peek from a sewing project that I've been working on the last couple of days...I'm SUPER excited about this! I'll show you what I made on Monday. (I don't want to spoil the surprise for the birthday girl!)  There are lots of tiny birthdays for some very special littles coming up and most of them are little girls! This means the "ribbons and bows" side of myself is going CRAZY! I haven't made time for a sewing project since the week I went into labor. It's been that long. That's kind of sad seeing that I used to burn the midnight oil, creating things on my faithful Kenmore all the time. My heart was singing like a little bird while I was cutting, pinning and stitching this project!

One thing that I have found myself running into over and over again is having SO many amazing ideas for projects and desires, to the point where creativity is oozing out of me but, it just stays stagnant. More often than not, it doesn't go anywhere. Somewhere in the slowly evolving routine known as motherhood, daily stresses, family drama, dinner, moving or a million and one other things that pop up week to week,  all those ideas, those "could have been" creations, get all dusty and become yet another pinboard of "one days" on pintrest that I browse through longingly.

 It baffles me when I'm in the middle of a belated project, why I don't make time to explore and dance with my artsy side more often? I'm at one of my happiest times and most stress free when I do, so why don't I make more time for it? I'd like to blame everything on everything but, that's just going to keep me sitting here on my couch, staring at my computer screen instead of on my deck painting, writing a song on my guitar, singing with a friend, sewing a surprise on my sewing machine or re-finishing the table that has been sitting there for months. Go buy the dang spray paint. Plug in the sewing machine. Go ahead and make steps toward checking those fabulous things off from your list, Jess. You really can. Even if you have to start small, make a hair bow or up-cycle a t-shirt, just DO something!  I have found that once I do one creative thing, it's easier for me to do another.  And soon I find myself looking at the girl I used to hang out with all the time. Sure there is extra mommy grace for myself.  It IS more challenging to find time now that I'm a mom, but it's not impossible.

The points I'm trying to make to myself are these:

• Creating things makes me happy, it's like therapy for my soul...make more time for it.
• I'm going to keep my sewing machine at a reachable distance.
• I'm not going to let my day or the stresses that might come with it, tell me what to do or dictate to me the realities of my heart or creative side.
• Just stop, and do it Jess, you can...really. 

Are there any creative mommies out there that want to give me an amen? ;)

Bungalow Dreams

I love our new little house so much, I can't even tell you! There are several things I really want to do to it to make more homey, tweaks, touch-ups and re-dos... I'm trying to organize my creativity and plan for one project at a time. But, sometimes my brain runs crazy and before you know it, I've knocked down a wall and added a second story in my head. hehe. I can't help it. Here are a few of the realistic desires of my heart for our bungalow home. You can find a ton of my ideas on my Pintrest boards HERE if you want to explore my brain a little more and find the sources to these amazing images. :) 

I'm up to my eyeballs in lists (yes, plural) today. First, I'm going to try and knock out the little Forest's bedroom today. Next, I need to do some party shopping. Once I get that done, I have many more things that are promising to be time consuming. Despite the craziness of this past month, I have to say I have had more fun than ever with my little boy. He is my happy treasure that makes me smile and laugh countless times a day. I can't imagine my life without him and the sweetness he brings to my heart. 

Have a glorious day! Oh, I wanted to share one more thing that blessed my heart SO much this morning. My friend Mandy wrote an AMAZING blog post last night on being real, and the expectations we put on ourselves as women, moms and wives. It struck such a true cord in my own heart and I wanted to share it. Click HERE to read her post on her blog She Breathes Deeply. 

The walls of our little 50's house were originally a color similar to this, thinking about taking it back instead of the now scruffed up white.  Or, perhaps I'll pick a weathered musty color instead, we'll see. 

Future project. 

I really want to find a ladder for my living room to place beside our piano. 

I'm going to make a door headboard for our bed! Who wants to go to the antique junk yard with me!? 

Probable future color of our kitchen plus I want to paint the cabinets an eggshell white color.

I found these on etsy one day and haven't been able to stop wanting them. I really would love these.

I want to do this in my back yard/deck. EEEeeeee! Mums, one of my favorite things about the up and coming fall season. 

Finally a Fit!

I did a little victory dance the other night, as I was unpacking boxes of my clothes. I found my knicker over-alls from California at the bottom of a pile.  I almost stuck them in the "later" section of the "don't fits" pile.  But, I thought to myself for a moment, why not try them on for kicks?  So, I did.  They were LOOSE! I haven't been able to wear these since right before I found out that I was pregnant! It was like Christmas for me! Just in the last 3 weeks, I've lost about an inch through my hips! Good Lordy, I can't believe it.


I've had several girls ask me what my secret is and I think, "secret?" It's been a year since I had Káel and it has taken that long for all that extra inches to slowly go away. Everyone's body is different so, what might work for some, might not work for others. I'm working on a post this week of the things that have worked for me and I'm looking forward to sharing it. With fitness and weight loss, I'm of the mindset of what works longterm. Sure, I can do a 3 week, kick butt work out program or diet and it might tone my booty down. But, all that toning and work can be undone over another few months, if you're not consistent. The reality for me is this, will I spend an hour a day sweating like a guy and doing squats until my muscles are on fire? Probably not, even though I might want too. (I actually have a slight obsession with working out when I get in the groove of it.)  I'll be honest, especially with all the transition going on in our lives these past few months, I won't do it. Having realistic goals that won't make you feel depressed, if you don't meet your quota of miles, is how I try to make my goal sticker chart. That way I won't just give up and end up on the couch with a quart of Ben and Jerry's, which I've been known to do. ;)

Anyways, I look forward to showing you my list that has evolved this past year. Maybe it will inspire you, or maybe it will make you laugh. Probably both.

Have a great day!