Hello from Chicago

Again, have no idea why these pictures are acting so crazy... but here we are...

Day started out kind of rough, I think we were all tired, but ended better. Tomorrow we are off to the aquarium or the zoo, haven't decided yet.

Toodles!

The Many Faces of Grace's

Oh, Grace's many faces...here are but a few. (The spacing is driving me crazy...but I can't figure out how to even it up.)

Got Scraps?

Last week I worked on a project that ended up being a little more labor intensive than I had originally anticipated. In the end, it was worth it, because Grace loves them. If you have any fabric scraps on hand that you want to use up, this is a great way to do so!

This is my first attempt at a lined zipper pouch using THIS tutorial and I think it turned out really well. The only thing I did differently was that I vinylized the fabric before sewing using Heat-n-Bond iron on vinyl. (This was not the labor intensive part of the project, the pouch took me about 30 min from start to finish)

The letters take a lot of time. (Cutting 4 of each letter, one template, one top fabric, one interfacing, and one bottom fabric; fusing them with heat-n-bond lite between each layer so the layers don't slip as you are sewing, and finally using your machine to stitch around each letter to permanently hold everything in place.)

I think they turned out well and were worth the trouble! I made doubles (or triples) of several key letters, but will probably have to make a couple more for phrases such as Happy Birthday, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas etc... But after making 36 letters, I need a little break. I think I will also make a set of numbers for Grace also... another day. :)

Just because....

she is such a beauty...

Garage Sale Power Hour

I saw 5:30am this morning... on purpose. I fed Harper, had some coffee, ate some hearty oats, planned my route and I was on my way. I decided to shop mainly in Brentwood today. The first 5 sales I went to were complete duds. Nothing to speak of.... Boo, I was sad. There were 2 that I planned to stop at on the way home, but they didn't open till 8am. I stopped at an unadvertised sale on the way to my last 2, and came across this awesome slip cover for our chair... unopened, in the package for ONE DOLLAR!
I was pretty happy about this find. Next sale, I came across a family with another Nemo fan, so I got Grace some Nemo 'go fish' cards with all the characters on them and a tiny baby nemo for 25 cents. She was thrilled.
Last sale of the day and look what I found: A cute potting table for the girls AND....

THIS!!! The crazy awesome deal of the day! Those of you from the area know what I am talking about when I say that this piece was originally bought at PD's in Franklin. I drool over their stuff every time I go in, but can't afford any of it! This is a HUGE piece, 70 in wide and 5o inches tall. I guess it would have been sold originally for anywhere from $700-$1200. I paid $150 for both this AND the pink potting table! This will be perfect for all my fabric and sewing stuff, which is currently housed in Tupperware containers in the laundry room. SO HAPPY!
Oh, and see the old bird cage on top? Scored that at the goodwill outlet for less than $2~ Cool, huh? I am currently thrilled with myself.

Also, this was a big day for Grace Ann too! I took her to her first garage sale and she got to spend her 'moneys.' (After I got home with the big furniture though...)

We went to 2 church sales. She picked out a 'shaky shaky' bracelet (one with tiny purple bells, 2 barrettes, a toy for Borbin, a toy for Harper and a couple little toys for herself! I was so proud that she bought things for a friend and her sister without being prompted! So sweet! She spent a whole dollar. I think she liked it. I told her that I wanted her to become a garage sale diva like mama. She replied "OOOOO-kay..."

Trash to Treasure

When I saw this summer series, I knew I wanted to post some of the projects I've been working on.

You all know my kick with reinventing things lately. Here are a couple of projects I've finished this week. I don't have tutorials drawn up yet, though I possibly could, but for now I will post the before and after pictures. If anyone is wondering about the nitty gritty, just email me (lovelynestdesigns@comcast.net).

All of the materials used (except the thread, of course) I found at the goodwill outlet, garage sales, or possibly had on hand.

1. The Men's Shirt reinvented
2. Girls shirt reinvented

before: A size xl girls top; a little stretched out at the neck and sleeves

after: sparkly knit skirt!

3. worn ladies knit top

before: ladies knit shirt too short for my torso with some armpit stains (ewww)

after: soft knit dress for Harper

And here are some of my favorite refashions that I have already posted about:

1. Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair

2. 70's sheet and other various and sundry re-do's

Hope yall enjoy these little projects! I've got a particularly hideous blue old-lady shirt that I am going to remake... I am just waiting for the perfect inspiration. It has a very interesting texture to it, and I think there's something fabulous in there just waiting to come out! Here is a preview of the shirt in all it's glory:

4th and 5th festivities

We had a fun 4th this year! Our day started at the Hot Chicken Festival in East Nashville. We met a good friend from college who we hadn't seen in a while, which is always fun. Grace enjoyed the free watermelon and the park, Harper went into a heat coma, and we caught up with some good friends. I did bring my camera, but unfortunately, the battery was dead so I couldn't capture any of the festival.
After naps, we ate out and caught the Franklin fireworks on the way home. Last year Grace was absolutely petrified by the noise of the fireworks, so this year we watched from a mile away, in the car.

Here, she was still a little nervous about the sound, but it wasn't too long before she really enjoyed the 'farkles' (sparkles).
Soon she was so happy! Harper, not so much... but Grace was happy.

Isn't this a sweet picture of Harps? I love the drool drop on her chin, and the look on her face is just so innocent and sweet.
On the 5th of July we had a cookout at the Burton's house. It was pouring rain, and Grace decided that it would be fun to run around and scream like a banshee, so that's what she did!
And then she got so wet that we had to lose the clothes. Overall it was a great weekend.

Harper is half-a-year!

I can't believe it. Harper is half a year old. Where does time go? She is really coming into her own these days. She's started babbling a few consonant sounds... blah, blah, blah, da da da, ma ma ma and ba ba are the few that she says regularly. Grace has a translation for each thing Harper says. Sometimes it leads to a 'fight' between them: For example: "Mom, Harper said that I like pink... but I don't like pink, I like purple" and that conversation continues on and on until Grace is mad and annoyed with Harper. Grace translated this to Chris last night: "Daddy, Harper is saying that she doesn't like you right now and she wants Mommy." It's really amusing, but gets old quick when she won't stop arguing back and forth with herself.

Harps wants desperately to move. She rolls, and has even scooted on her back a couple of times... she's becoming more stable in the sitting position. She still isn't that much a fan of baby food, vegetables, especially. She shudders and gags continuously when a bit is placed on her tongue. I have resorted to burying the veggies under a bite of fruit and she'll usually tolerate it. She can reach for toys, transfers them from hand to hand, puts them in her mouth and works to get a toy that's out of reach.

Here are her stats: 16 pounds (around 50th percentile) 27 inches long (above 75th percentile)

Still a very charming and snugly baby; most of the time she is laid back, easy and in a good mood. I still think Grace is her favorite person (besides me at feeding time) and it's so adorable to see them interact.

Oh, and I am almost certain she will be a 'hand talker.' This is a trait that runs in the family...my grandmother (JoJo) and I both talk with our hands. Funny to notice little things like that.

Here's little Harps in all her glory!

I've got several more cute pictures to post, but they are on mom's camera, so I'll have to do that later! Happy 4th!