Quilts, dresses and mom life.

This last week I was able to spend 2 days sewing with my sister in law! We are doing a quilt block exchange with some friends and need to make 16, 12x12” blocks. Boston (my sister in-law) encouraged me to try a log cabin quilt, it is a more challenging than any others I have done but I am excited about it! I didn’t get much done we were having too much fun talking, eating, laughing and rocking babies. I had a great time, the best time!

 

I’ve started a Caroline dress by Mouse House creations for my nieces. The sewing has been extremely slow. It has nothing to do with the pattern and everything to do with summer and all it entails. The kids have been home and we have been busy with doing yard work (a very little, ha!) , the splash park and sport classes intermixed with whining, fighting and  tantrums from being up too late and eating too many sugary treats. It’s the finer things in life, right? ;0)

 

All this time with the kids at home has really made me think and ponder about my home, specifically the cleanliness of it and my attitude. I often wonder if I let my home be messy if I would be a happier mom. Every mom I have ever met that allows their home to be messy and not be as uptight about the messes their kids make is happy, really happy. They seem to enjoy their hobbies more often than I am able to and their kids create without fear of being in trouble or the worry of how they are going to clean it up. At the same time I am perfectly aware of my own preferences, of what I can and cannot handle. I also don’t like to compare myself to others. This thought process helps me keep balance in my life and hopefully be a better wife and mom.  It’s a tricky balance isn’t it? 

 

I found out this morning that my Grandma passed away and it has me much more thoughtful about life today. She had 10 children and her first 5 were boys, I know how she must have felt when between her 5th and 6th she had a miscarriage and a woman told her “I hope it wasn’t the only girl you’ll have” and then the joy of finally having a girl! She was a first time mom during World War 2 and had to actually buy diapers because there wasn’t enough fabric with the rations to make them. Life is hard no matter what time period you live in, apparently. And yet isn’t the hard stuff what makes life worth living? Because when it’s good you relish it even more. 

Sew Boy: Toys for the boys!

For Sew Boy this month I thought it would be fun to gather up some toy tutorials just for those boys!

With Summer comes traveling, reunions, park days, parties and many other fun yet tiring things. Here is a good list of toys and simple projects to keep boys busy. From the car to the bed there is something here for everyone!
Psstt! I have a tons of tutorials listed on my Sew Boy page so go there for even more tutorials and fun!

This would  be a fun project for in the car, waiting at the doctors or for the free summer movie (does your town do those too?), This project is pretty easy  go here for the tutorial!


Summer at our house means snakes, bugs, and frogs I find them anywhere my boys can put them! But these snakes won't scare me to death and will keep my boys happy too ;0) Go here for the tutorial!



When I was a kid I would use a broom as my horse to ride off into the sunset. These horses have the same feel but look much cuter! Check out the tutorial here.





It's no secret my boys like stuffed animals (check out here,and here) So these adorable elephants were top on my list! Go here for the tutorial.



Cars, cars and more cars! My boys and their friend usually go for the cars in our playroom first. This is a simple tutorial for making a cute car carrier! Perfect for all the trips in summer ;0)

This blog has a great list of free patterns for Quiet books I love this look of this one, check it out here!



Belt buddies what a cute idea! Preston gets so nervous about new things this would be perfect for remembering mommy is not to far away and give him something to do when hes bored! Get the tutorial here.




Broc and Carter have bought so many of the dollar store bow and arrow sets! This carrier is perfect for carrying their arrows, check out the tutorial here!

 
This isn't a sewing project but I think it would be so fun! Make your own set of nature blocks and your kids can help, check it out here!

That's it for today! Check out the other fun stuff on my pinterest page!

Visit Seemesew's profile on Pinterest.

July 4th Celebration!

Hello everyone! How was your 4th? Ours was pretty good! The weather was beautiful most the day but it did start raining in the evening, bummer I know, but it did clear up! We worked on our bathroom and are just about done, yay! Now for our 4th celebration pictures :0)

We started the evening out in our favorite spot with pizza. Little Caesars is not only good but cheap at $5 a pizza it can't be beat when feeding a crowd. Parker as you can see truly enjoyed every bite!

The boys wore their 4th outfits I made and looked so cute! I tried to get on of them altogether buuttt that didn't work out to well so I'll get later and share when I do ;0) You can see my past outfits here.

I had to share this one of Carter. Look at his eyelashes, aren't they gorgeous?!! Its really not fair that boys have such perfect lashes and eyes, is it?

Quick fact and tip: did you know if you tell Little Caesars how many kids you have when buying pizza they give you a small bag of cookies for each one? They are actually pretty good too, like a graham cookie.

Since this is my blog I suppose I ought to share one of me, so here ya go! I don't do it often (no reason its just hard to take pictures of myself) but I've made it on here a few times.

After eating it started raining and raining and then some more, in fact they delayed the fireworks for 25 minutes until there was a small break. we almost went home but we were actually having a good time

 so we stuck it out. In our cars, lol!

then the show started and the kids were so excited! I was glad we stayed :0) Oh and this picture above is the best one I did that night of them in their outfits.

Everyone in my family that came to watch the show with us minus my older 3 and husband who is taking the picture.

Tell me how was your day? Did you celebrate the 4th? Don't you just love holidays with good food, friends and family? I sure do :0)

Kids clothes week and fourth of July outfits!!

Summer has been crazy! With all the kids’ home from school and a baby that is mobile as well things have become really unorganized. I have so many plans and every day I work a bit on them only to have a small bit of progress which is swallowed by the daily happenings of four children. All that to say I meant to post this on Monday but it has taken me 3 days to get this written, I guess that means summer is in full swing and we are enjoying it!

When I first mentioned that I might make the boys a 4th of July shirt (our nation’s celebration of signing the Declaration of Independence) they asked if they could all have shirts and shorts that matched. I wasn’t sure at first but the sizing between the boys makes it impossible to buy anything matching for all 4 so make them I did!

 The shorts were made using Dana Kid shorts pattern; except for Parkers I used this one from Caila Made which I also used on these shorts. The sizing and fit of both patterns are perfect! The only change I made was I added 2 inches in length on Brocs (he’s the tall one ;0).

I love a stack of freshly sewn shorts!

For the shirts I used Rae’s flashback skinny Tee using the same measurements as I did here. For some reason my machine’s tension wasn’t working quite right and it took to the last shirt to get nice hems. Now I know what setting I like best for that weight of knit though so it’s all good! 

That wraps up this kids clothes week and my 4th clothing for the boys! You know from all the kids clothes week challenges I have participated in this outfit here is my favorite and it has since been passed onto to Preston who also loves it! That is why I try to participate each time, I like it when I make something for them that becomes a favorite and is worn out from wearing it so much. that is my motivation and my drive to keep at it even though it can be frustrating at times ;0)

 http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com,  http://www.sewcando.com, http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/, http://www.skiptomylou.org/, scatteredthoughtsofacraftymom, jembellish, apinchofjoy, huckleberrylove, http://www.emmymom2.com/, behindtheseamssewing,http://memoriesbythemile.com,  http://nap-timecreations.com, http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com, http://ladybug-blessings.com/, http://www.amynewnostalgia.com/, www.abowlfulloflemons.net, http://www.mabeyshemadeit.com/,lambertslately, ahandfulofeverything, katherinescorner, bloomdesignsonline,  http://www.thegirlcreative.com/ http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/,