Making Fall Happen... Inside at least.

Because fall refuses to show her pretty little self to me outside [at least for this week... there is relief coming SOON!! Like in a few days!!!!!!!!!!!!], I figured I would make fall happen inside. A big way for me to feel like it's fall is to bake, and to bake something with pumpkin in it. And, since I volunteered to bring something baked to Angelina's Halloween party/parade tomorrow at her school, I had a reason! While leasurely browsing blogland, I stumbled upon these cookies, and KNEW that's what I was going to make! So I went to the store, bought the few ingredients I needed and then went to work...



They are really good! Here is the recipe. Go make some, and enjoy some Fall indoors!

To top that off, I made homemade applesauce too!! We bought some apples at Costco a week or so ago, and they didn't taste all that great... kinda bitter. But, I hated to waste them, so today I decided to make applesauce out of them...









I just winged it, but I know you can google "Homemade Applesauce", and a million results will show up. The applesauce turned out great!! It felt good to just be in the kitchen and bake at a leisurely pace. No rushing, just me and the ingredients. I felt so domestic! While the cookies baked and the apples simmered, I was sewing. One of Zoe's dresses was getting too short, and since A. I couldn't let go of it... it's cute! and B. It's a solid color, I figured that I could add a couple inches of fabric to the bottom of the dress for length, so I did that this afternoon too...





It turned out really cute!! Now she has lots more uses for it! That was my goal. ;)

I've also really been enjoying making these lately...





Yoyo's! They are easy and fun to make. :) I added one to Zoe's dress with a button sewn on top.

Wow! I have blogged a lot lately. Seems I feel like I have a lot to say! LOL. Gearing up for Halloween tomorrow. I really can't believe it's already tomorrow! For now, I leave you with a couple more pictures... of Angelina. ;)


xoxo,

Shealynn

Betty Rae Benner

That was the name of my husband's beloved grandmother. Beloved by him, and beloved by me as well. Now you know where Zoe got her middle name. :)

Come... Walk down memory lane with me. I know I have talked about her before on the other blog. Though she passed 4 years ago, this month, I still feel like she is here with me, or better yet, in the things that I do everyday. Things that make me think of her and smile. Sewing is a big reminder of her. I've mentioned before her incredibly amazing talent, that which was sewing. If you could dream it, she could make it. [I am still looking for pictures of my wedding dress to share!] I even told my husband the other day how much I wish I had jumped at the chance to sew while she was still alive. I can't even imagine what creations I would be whipping up! I find myself thinking of her even when I just glance at my sewing machine. Not to mention when I am sewing. She's got to be up in heaven looking down at me saying, "It's about time Shealynn!!" I mean, I did show some interest in sewing while she was alive, but not that much. In fact.... for those old friends of mine that are reading this right now... remember those quilt squares you all made up for Angelina at my baby shower??? ha! That seems like an eternity ago. Well, I sewed that together into a quilt [less batting and backing and binding]... so a top of a quilt. LOL. But that was pretty much all I did with her. Maybe it had to do with being a young Mama and feeling overwhelmed by that. Afterall, I was only 21 when Angelina was born.

:::blink blink:::

Yes. You read that correctly. ;) A young mom indeed.

But looking at things now... I really wish I could travel back in time and learn from her. Oh the sewing knowledge I could have now. Ah, well. Can't do that, but I am sewing now, and learning all the time. But I can say she gave me something from her sewing extraordinariness [that is not a word... is it? Well, it is now :)]. She gave me a lifetime of inspiration. Mum [as she was called by her family & me & Angelina] was a pleathra of knowledge. Not just about sewing, but about life itself. She led a long full like afterall. ;) I carry Mum and her inspiration and her stories around with me in my mind and in my heart. As you can tell, I admired her very much, and loved her very much. Like she was my own grandmother.

So, my point is this... take advantage of the time you have with your parents and grandparents [great-grandparents too if you have them still]!! Learn from them. Here their stories. Learn new things! You never know when you could use it... and you never know when you won't have them there anymore. Though I didn't learn sewing from Mum, I did learn a lot about her. And those last few months she was alive... I pretty much took advantage of every second with her, and listened to her stories... many stories of her childhood, growing up, etc. Take the time to really learn who your family is. I know this is long, and I am rambling. Not sure what it is... must be the sudden fact that Mum has been gone for 4 years this month. But I love thinking about her, so to me, it was nice. This walking down memory lane. Thanks for accompanying me!

Leave me a comment, and tell me something memorable about your parents/grandparents/great grandparents. I would love to walk down memory lane with you as well. ;)


XOXO,


Shealynn

New Camera Strap Covers Now WITH Labels. :D

Last night I decided to sew a couple new camera strap covers and some ones I already have in my shop, except all of these now have labels. So I am updating my pictures on Etsy, and while I was at it, I thought I would share here too. As always, if you'd like to purchase a camera strap cover, go on over to my Etsy Shop. ;)



This strap is hard to photograph on white pumpkins, so I may need to re-take it... we'll see. This one is a limited edition to my shop.






Here is a NEW 2 Sided strap! Also a limited edition to my shop.













As you can see, I have been playing around with photo sizes. I really hate small pictures, and blogger's size templates are too small for my taste. So, here are some gigantic pictures for ya. ;) Not sure if they will always be this size... I may change the size again, but for now, they'll work.

I am beginning to think Christmas. So much to do. Can you believe that in LESS than a month I will be happily putting up my Christmas decorations?! I can hardly believe it! This year has more than flown by. Just kinda evaporated. Lots of projects ahead of me! One that involves pictures... I have a feeling I will be taking thousands, due to the fact that Miss Z is super hard to photograph as of late. Most of what I get is a blur. Such is life of a 2 year old. ha ha!

OK! I am outta here!! There are more giveaways coming up, which means more chances to win a free camera strap slip cover!!! 3 more giveaways to be exact. ha ha!


XOXO,


Shealynn

Now Labeled!

After Mike sold one of my camera strap slip covers to a fashion photographer last week, I decided that I needed sew on labels for them! I mean, it only makes sense! So, I ordered them, got my design proof, and then they were shipped. I got them today!!



Simple, but fabulous! Just what I wanted. :) If you want some of your own, visit her shop -- Mommie Made It. She is FAST! And does great work! So, from now on, every camera strap slip cover that is ordered gets a label! ;)


In other news... I made a chair cushion for Angelina's homework chair in her room....



Not much else... it's still hot! :(


XOXO,


Shealynn

Where'd The Weekend Go?

It's Sunday - ALREADY?! Wow. This weekend was a blur! It's still ridiculously HOT here!!!!! While I live in one of the hottest places in the U.S., the fall/winter is *not* supposed to be 93 degrees. I have been having a REALLY hard time with this weather lately. It's been a hard adjustment for me for the past few weeks. Summer isn't an adjustment... it's hot. It's hot everywhere [almost] in the Summer. But, fall to me is not supposed to be this hot. It's so depressing. Halloween is in a few days... you wouldn't know it, though. Anyway... hopefully the weather will cool down soon.


Yesterday I took Angelina & some of her friends [and their parents went too] to see the movie High School Musical 3. Of course, the girls loved it! Angelina even got a bear from Build-A-Bear to go with the theme. :)




This morning we went to Ikea and got some shelves for our living room [pictures to come when decorated], we also got more baskets for our cubby shelving unit, and I got 6 yards of the fabric below to add some finishing touches to Angelina's room -- tub covers, closet curtains, and chair cushion... and whatever else I forgot about that I need it for. 6 yards... that's A LOT of fabric, but I will use every bit of it... hopefully I won't need more!!! ;)



And, here is a random picture of "our" stray cat, Slinky. We take care of her... other neighbors give her attention, but we feed her, and give her water. This is totally random, but she was willing to be photographed today, so I thought she could make her blog debut.



We were going to go to the fair today, but we decided to just go next weekend... that way Mike can get some much needed things done around our house. How was your weekend? Do anything exciting?



XOXO,


Shealynn

A Skirt & A Song

I did it! I made a skirt for Angelina last night! So I made a dress, a skirt and 4 camera strap slip covers in 1 day!! Yay me! ;)

Angelina's skirt turned out better than I had hoped!! And she absolutely beamed when I showed it to her. She could not wait to put it on and wear it to school this morning. :) I adore this fabric!! It is so cute and whimsical.

Sorry the lighting in this picture is terrible!! That's what happens when you are trying to take picture at night. Tungsten lighting everywhere. Makes your pictures appear orange. Yuck. ;)

I didn't do elastic. Just did draw string. Mike helped me too! He knows more than I do most of the time. :) His grandmother [Mum as all the family called her] was an EXPERT seamstress... remember my amazing wedding dress? She sewed the entire thing herself. So, anyway, Mike knows so much, because he spent so much time with Mum.

Proud owner of a new birdie skirt. Going to school to show it off.

Whatcha think of the skirt?

Got my absentee ballot!! Feels good to vote! GO MCCAIN PALIN! :D

Oh, and I am currently IN LOVE with this song! I have known about Debussy for a long time, but forgot that he composed this masterpiece... it's such an amazing composition.

XOXO,


Shealynn

A Dress

Today I made my first dress. I made it for Zoe. While it's not perfect, I still like it. :) She loved it!! There were squeals of laughter as I showed it to her. She wore it with pride. Zoe is difficult [to put it mildly] to get a picture of, but I managed to get a few. So, here is the dress...




Next up! A skirt for Angelina! Hopefully it will turn out a bit better than the dress! ha ha! The pictures on blogger are looking a bit drab. The coloring seems off. I will have to check with Mike to see why that is. But, you get the gist. ;)


Been SO busy lately. I have had quite a lot of sales this week, so I have been working on those... What have you been up to?


Oh, and just a little note about the music on my blog... I love the music, but if you don't like it, go ahead and scroll to the bottom of my blog and hit *pause*.


XOXO,

Shealynn

Candy Corn & Other Things

Today was a good mail day! I did a little swap-a-roo with my friend, Erin. As you may [or may not] know, she has an Etsy shop called The Vintage Pearl. And, she makes super amazing jewelry. I highly suggest you get your tushy on over there and buy something. ;) No, she is not paying me to say this... I just love her stuff. So, anyway, I got my necklace from her today... It is so beautiful!





I put it on as soon as I ripped that package open. :) Thanks again, Erin! I know you're enjoying those camera strap slip covers. ;)


The other thing I got in the mail today was this:



Don't Judge! LOL!!! I am SO wearing this to see the movie when it comes out November 21st. I have informed Mike that he IS taking me to see it the day it comes out! :D Obsessed? Nah! I just REALLY like that book series... and I guess I happen to heart Edward Cullen. ;)


That is what I got. On Monday my girls got a treat from their Grandma & Papa in the mail... [I promised my mom I would take lots of pictures of the girls opening it, so here they are]














OK! Gotta go!!! Lots of camera strap slip covers to sew! I have had a lot of sales this week. Including the one that Mike sold to a FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER today!! WOO HOO! :)


Night!


XOXO,


Shealynn