The making of a masterpiece

We were hit with the "big one" yesterday. The major snow storm that they have been warning us about for days. We decided to hunker down & get into the Christmas spirit a little. We put on the Christmas tunes and set about to build a gingerbread house together. Now before you think I am some sort of domestic diva, you should know that we bought the gingerbread house prebaked & precut & ready to assemble. However, even looking at the box I was like, "there is no way I'm going to be able to get that thing to stay together" so I stepped out of the project to save Reilly the trauma of seeing his little gingerbread house collapse into a pile of yummy, sticky, sugary rubble. It was fun to sit back & snap shots of these two getting increasingly giddy with each stolen sugary treat they consumed. After the job was done, I sent them outside to work off some of that sugar. Reilly supervised while Greg dug out the walk. Can you believe we have so much snow!

WisteriaLane's Ice Princess Launch

I was very excited for this launch. It gave me an opportunity to showcase a little something different. "Snow Petal" features a sweet hooded cape with snowflake applique & tons of little details (trust me my fingers are still sore from sewing on all those buttons!). I paired this with a crochet cap with a cute dangly tassel & knit mitties. The yarn used for the hat & mittens is so soft! I have an extra ball of it & want to make myself a scarf. Those darn ones from the store are always so scratchy.

Check out the other gorgeous offerings from the girls of WisteriaLane.

Remember October?

Such a short time ago but what a change in weather. Just over a month ago Reilly was running thru the sprinklers. Today it was a sledding! I cannot believe that we have so much snow already! I am praying that this means an early spring. Five months of winter is too much, even for us Canucks!

A great gift idea

I found this site last Christmas and I just love what they do. Not only do they provide great products but the proceeds help children around the world.

Check out Angel Covers.

Another Year Gone

Reilly just had his 4th bday on Nov 14th. I can't believe 4 years have passed since this little bundle of joy (& sleeplessness) came into our lives. He had a blast at his birthday party. We did a Scooby Doo theme and we had a very fun game in which we left clues around the house that the kids had to solve in order to find their goodie bags. Here are 2 of my favorite pics from the party since it catches the whir of present unwrapping.

My latest...

Here are my two latest designs. I really love how these two turned out. They just project fun!

A new idea!

I've come out with a line of whimsical nap bags for baby using some of my favorite fabrics. Available on Etsy!

I've been so neglectful!

My poor blog has had no attention over the last month. Life has been hectic around here but things are finally & thankfully slowing down. :) Here are some pics from our last month:

Reilly in his Batman halloween costume. He thought he was so cool.

Reilly on skates. His skating instructor actually got a smile. Was much better than his first lesson where he sat on the ice & cried the whole time. :(

A walk in the woods.

Our little guy, Genghis. Yep, he needs a haircut!

A balmy October day ??????

We have had some unseasonably warm weather here and we are lovin' it! Today is supposed to be 87 degrees! Here are some pics of Reilly in the sprinklers yesterday. We will be looking at these pics in a month when we have the fireplace going, longing for the warm weather. :( :) .

A Day at the Fair

We had such a blast this weekend at the fall fair in the town I grew up in. It was great to get back to see family and old friends. I'm not sure if Reilly loved the animals or the rides more. Actually, I think it might have been the candy floss - the blue one tastes the best according to him. :)

Petting the sheep.

Ridin' the carousel.

Hangin' out with papa.

Folklore

Here is my newest set "Folklore". I just loved this japanese import! In searching for fabric I kept coming back to this one again and again. It just seemed a perfect fall celebration fabric! Tessa loved this one too and had a great time modeling it.

Here is a great site called Children's Folklore. It has ryhmes retold by kids from around the world, but the best are the games & the info on different customs from around the world. Reilly loves this site. I think he is meant to be a world traveller.

My Baby's A Big Boy Now!

We went for our meet & greet with Reilly's Junior Kindergarten teacher yesterday. It was a very emotional day for mom (& I think dad too). I was so proud. Reilly went right away & picked his name out of the cubby holes & then picked his name out of all the name tags. I must have taught him something, lol! I was also happy to learn that there are alot of other late in the year birthdays in his class so he won't be the only 3-yr old. I came away feeling so much relief. It just went so well and we both love his teacher!

Reilly & Daddy

Reilly & Mrs. Scott

One little story: on the way into school all the kids were out for recess. Our school goes up to grade 8 so there were some big kids out there. Reilly had big eyes & then asked us "Are they going to laugh at me because I'm so small". Greg & I looked at each other and I could tell we both felt our hearts break a little. We assured him that his class was going to be full of children just his size. So it begins....

A great find!

Ok, not to push a product but I have to rave about this new shampoo I found. I like to buy natural/organic/pure things (as much as I can afford) but the shampoos I buy that leave out sodium lauryl sulfate always seem to not suds up very well & leave my baby fine hair looking less than desirable. I sound like an ad here don't I, lol? Well, the answer to my prayers is this great everyday Shampoo by Shikai. I had suds everywhere! I was in heaven! It is also fairly reasonably priced so that makes it even better!

Ok better get back to more meaningful activities then raving about my new, wonderful shampoo by Shikai (and no they aren't paying me for the advertising).

I'm no longer on the merrygo round...

I just had to let it go....

Next week will be the one year anniversary of the day I left my "other" career to follow my passion. I was driving today and John Lennon's song "Watching the Wheels Go Round" came on and it just seemed to capture my mindset. Although people may have thought Greg & I crazy to make the changes that we have over the last year, I just feel so content that we decided to stop competing in the rat race & follow a path to happiness. I really feel more content than I ever have in my life. Ok, I was pretty content laying on the beach in Thailand for a month, but this is pretty darn close....

A New Fall One

Just listed this fall number today. This is my favorite Amy B. fabric from the Belle line & I am so happy fall is here so that I can use it!

Click here if you would like to check out the listing.

In other news, I forgot to share that I am now a member of the Cerises! Great group of gals. What makes it even better is that Brooke from Willow Tree Boutique has decided to join me there. Yeah!

We are enjoying the last few weeks of summer here. I am trying to relish every single moment before my little baby starts JK. I still can't believe it. Shouldn't your stretch marks fade before they are off to school, lol?

"The world is full fo people....

...who will go their Whole live and not actually Live one day. She did not intend on being one of them...

Thanks to my friend Dawn for this inspiration today! She sent me this great magnet from curly girl design . I am putting this on my mirror so that I read it every morning & remember the path that I am supposed to be on.

You have to check out curly girl design. I want every one her cards & magnets.

Confessions....

I was just speaking with my friend Brooke on the phone & made the big confession. Here it is.....yes, I was a sorority girl. Not only a sorority girl but the president of my sorority in my last year. Brooke, I'll leave you to your own confessions (hee!hee!). Now I don't regret it at all. I made amazing lifelong friends. I just find that now, almost 10 years later, people kind of jump to a conclusion about who you are (or were) when you say that.

The one thing I loved about being part of a sorority was the close bonds I built - there is always someone there to watch your back. Although there are both positives & negatives about the whole sorority system, there are very few organizations in college that encourage young women to support one another.

I'm thinking about this because I have now been groupless for about 2 months & although I needed that time to breath & reassess, I have to say that I am definately missing the support of a group. Hugs to Brooke & Lesa for being my mini group over the last few months. :)

Harry Potter Mania

We had such a blast at the Harry Potter Festival my town & the neighbouring town held last weekend. On Friday night there was a tour of Ballycastle (Hogwarts Academy) in our town:

We met all all the characters, including Harry himself! My little guy looked so cute in his little wizard hat but of course I FORGOT THE CAMERA! There were all kinds of little Harry's running around the place. It was so much fun!

You can read all about it in The Daily Prophet!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at my parents. Sometimes it's nice to just be pampered by mom for a bit. I can't remember the last time I slept in until 8:30 am. Thanks Mom!

Mom & I are busy working on our fall designs so we hope to have lots listed over the next month. I have mom in the sweat shop out back working day & night! And here is our other new set for the week "Little Bear" . Tessa was in a great mood so we have lots of good pics!

Oh Yeah! And here's my new listing this week...

Great fabrics imported from the UK. Love 'em! Not back to work on the other two sets I want to list over the next week.....

Summer Reading!

I love travel books. My husband & I met while we were both teaching ESL in South Korea & after that we backpacked thru parts of Asia. Our honeymoon was 2 weeks backpacking thru Costa Rica. So, I have read many a travel book. A friend, knowing this, gave me this hilarious take on travel books. Get it "Fake Tan". I loved it!

Practice Makes Perfect

Ok, I've been reading & reading on photography & recently joined an ebay photography group. Trying some stuff out today.

Here is my first pic:

Ok J is a little bit off centre but the background blurred nicely. We would also need to ignore the snotty nose, lol.

Here's my next one:

And here's one of Genghis:

Colours could pop a little more but I'm workin on it! Any tips????

Black Goo & Other Spiderman Stories...

Ok, so things were pretty quiet this morning so I should have known something was amiss. I am actually getting some sewing done, and my house looks neat & tidy & I'm feeling pretty good. Then I walk into the den & look down at our shi tzu's bed & it is covered in this black goo. What the h*ll! I recognize this substance as something Reilly & his daddy created in their "science experiments". Genghis (the shi tzu) is sitting at the door looking pretty forlorn & is also covered in the "substance". Again, what the h*ll! A sheepish looking Reilly Quinn rounds the corner. I almost again say "what the h*ll" but keep my composure & simply ask, "Why is Genghis covered in goo?". The answer is simple. Genghis was being attacked by a simbiote (sp?) just like Spiderman. Ok again, older cousins are just a plethora of knowledge. What games will he come up with when he is actually watching these movies himself! Almost blew a gasket until I remembered the story on Ambrosia Couture's blog about her sister's run in with a boy who liked to wipe poop on his toys. Ok, counting my small blessings. I also could be this mom:

Yes, counting my blessings.

Lazy Days of Summer - it's officially here!

Although, it has felt like summer for weeks with this HOT weather!

Wanted to share some pics of the kids from our Father's Day BBQ. We had such a great time roasting doggies & marshmellows. The kids loved it.

Here's one of the man of the day himself!

That day Reilly found a toad that became his new "pet" for the day. I actually have a secret pride that my little guy is not afraid of anything. I myself am terrified at the thought of a toad touching me. I hope his fearlessness carries over into the way he will lead his life as an adult....although let's hope recklessness won't come into that. Thinking on it, I better guide him on the difference between the two....... :).

And, yes, you'll notice he's traded Superman in for Spiderman. I have to ensure each night that I have the costume washed and dried for the next morning. He wears it everywhere. Playdates, grocery store, to grandma's. My thinking is that he starts JK in September and will have 20 more years in school conforming so let a 3-yr old have fun. BTW, he is no longer my little Reilly. We must address him as "Spidey" when he is in costume or "Peter Parker" when he is in his jammies at night. Who knows how he knows so much about Spiderman - he's never even seen the movie. Older cousins are a plethora of knowledge! Have a great one!

Two New Sets & A Busy Week!

Was able to get my listing up for the JM Refashion launch along with a new set using some LaZagala I have had for a bit but just couldn't decide what to do with it.

I am very happy with how both sets turned out. Now for a bit of a breather...listed some sample sets...before MiaGrace's debut launch next week. Now to finish some customs in time for us to take Reilly to the Zoo this week.

Kids! Kids! Everywhere!

We had such a fun week! We are so lucky to have such a close circle of family & friends...and many came to play this week. Check out the fun!