So Much Fun!

What a day! What a weekend! If I'm not careful I'm going to ruin all the surprises here. Let's see, let's see ... today our family is going to receive a HUGE surprise. I can't wait. Hubby and I are in countdown mode, but it's still too early to spill the beans here. You'll have to check back tonight to follow along.

In the meantime, I'm also so excited to take this class tomorrow with a dear friend. We'll drive out to Heber tomorrow morning where we'll get to meet the lovely Eva and Kirk Jorgensen and their letterpress. I can't tell you how much I love getting my hands into a new craft. I'll admit, I'm a little teeny bit of an addict. (hubby would argue the 'little teeny' point) I just can't help myself. It's completely therapeutic to me and keeps the wheels turning. Besides, I'll get to spend the afternoon meeting some wonderful new people, learn the basics of letterpress printing and come home with 50 Christmas cards that I will have printed all by myself. Yay!After all this, it will be our little one's birthday on Sunday. He's turning seven ... SEVEN? How is this possible? It's like I blink and another year has passed. We'll have a big birthday breakfast for him and a fiesta in the afternoon, complete with sombrero and little black mustaches for everyone.

Now I should really get back to my regularly scheduled morning sneakiness before the other kidlets wake up. Stay tuned for the photo play-by-play and have a wonderful Black Friday.

Ssshhhh ....

I have a secret and it's a good one! I've zipped my lips and no one will know until this Friday. The end.Until then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families. We're spending the day in Sandy with hubby's parents and two of his sisters. I've been assigned mashed potatoes and pearl salad. That works for me. Cooking the actual 'big bird' still makes me a little nervous. When we're done, we'll come home and set up the tree and other decorations. How do you spend your Thanksgiving?

Ten out of Tenn Tour

Last week I got a fun little email from Katie Herzig (& co) letting me know that she is coming to SLC! She will be on a Christmas tour with the Ten out of Tenn bunch featuring: Butterfly Boucher, Erin McCarley, Matthew Perryman Jones, Trent Dabbs, Jeremy Lister, Andy Davis, Tyler James, Andrew Belle, KS Rhoads. You can find out more about the artists and specific tour dates here. In the meantime, here's some ear candy for you.
If any of you are in the area go get your tickets now. I'll meet you there!

De-Stash Craft: Pillowcases

If you own a sewing machine, then you probably have at least a few piles of leftover fabric stashed somewhere in your house. It's time to dig them up and do a little good. This project is quick and easy and is a great one for teaching your kids how to sew. I made these as sleepover cases, but the next batch will be donated to Primary Children's Medical Center here in Salt Lake.

All materials 45" wide cotton woven
Body - 3/4 yard
Cuff - 1/4 yard
Trim - 2-4" based on preference

1 - Press cuff and trim pieces in half, wrong sides together.
2 - Pin all three pieces together matching raw edges, right sides together.3 - Sew with 5/8" seam allowance and press the trim and cuff down.
4 - Topstitch seam allowance to the body of the pillowcase.5 - Fold in half, right sides together matching side seams.
6 - Sew the 2 unfinished edges at 5/8", zigzag raw edges to finish.
7 - Turn corners and press if you like.The second one I made was flannel from last year's PJ scraps. I cut a front and back for the body that measured 20" x 27" and cut a 14" wide piece to make a 7" cuff, then used some coordinating grosgrain ribbon for trim. Both cases worked out great, adjust the size to meet your own needs. These are great for donations to hospitals and homeless shelters, but would also be perfect gifts for almost anyone. Great for kids to take to sleepovers, or just to have a holiday specific/birthday/camp/get better soon pillowcase. You name it. It would be fun to make a stack for Grandma's house too where kidlets may sleepover. Oh ... the possibilities are endless! :D

A Few Days Late

I really wanted to post these pictures on Veterans' Day, but my scanner was having a fit. And, I have to admit, that after an hour or so of looking at old pictures ... I had a small emotional breakdown. I miss my dad; I missed him a lot this week. He passed away when I was 14 after a long battle with lymphoma. I missed out on a lot with him. Driving. Dating. Graduations. Moving out. College. Marriage. Babies. Baptisms ... Somehow I was reminded over and over again this week of all the things he wasn't here for and it made me just ache. I know I'll see him again. It's just been such a long time already that I needed a good cry. And now I've had one. Wasn't he so handsome though?