kate is eight.

(so what? i wanted something rhymey, but "katie turns eighty" didn't work!)


a still-groggy katie eating her b-day breakfast.


katie with her birthday posse.


the cake.


making a wish.


opening presents.


austin and megs.


hard to believe, but this may have been the last party that these guys will be the "babies" at.

this year katie decided to raise money for PAWS of bremerton, a local animal welfare organization. this is also the organization that helped us re-home our kitty, mosely, shortly after moving to WA. she raised $61.00 to donate to this deserving organization. i am so pleased with the fact that she has a cause she is passionate about (that happens to be the same as her mama's!)

wow it's been over a month since my last blog post. sorry to all 3 or so of you regular readers out there LOL as always, thanks for reading! (and if you REALLY want to make my day, feel free to comment!)

Valentine's wreath.

i used the same tutorial for this wreath as i did for my st. patty's day wreath that i did a couple years ago. scored the heart-shaped wreath form at joann's with a 40% off coupon for just over $3, and 10 sheets of felt at 3 for $1 is $3.33. don't recall exactly how much the maribou trim was, but it wasn't more than a couple bucks, so the entire cost for this project was under $10.







i attached a long ribbon to the back and tied the bow at the top cause i liked how that looked. the maribou doesn't really show that much looking at it from the front, but it does hide the edges of the wreath were the felt rosettes stopped.

PSA: when a project calls for a specific number of items (like 8 sheets of felt), it's probably a good idea to buy a couple extra. i ran out of felt tuesday night when i was about 80% done with the wreath, the same night that our snow hit. i didn't venture out anywhere that was not absolutely neccessary the next couple days, and it would have been really nice to finish this project up during one of those long, boring snow days. as soon as the snow started melting, i hurried my butt on over to pacific fabrics for some more felt.

thanks for looking!

robot love.

i just love this robot template. you may remember i've used it before to applique a shirt for sam. well, i decided to use it again for the little's valentine shirts for this year, i love it so much. the template is from Lil Blue Boo.



i used the "poor-man's method" of screen-printing, otherwise known as freezer-paper stenciling. it is so fun, and i love the results. i'm thinking of pairing katie's with a pink and silver tulle skirt that i saw at target last time i was there....watcha think?

side note: Ashley, the creator behind "Lil Blue Boo", is such an inspiration. i've been following her blog for years and she is one of the most talented and creative women i've seen. she was recently diagnosed with cancer, and she CONTINUES to be such an inspiration with her positive, joyful outlook as she follows her mantra, "choose joy". definitely check out her blog if you are so inclined.

thanks for looking!