PYT

My Pretty Young Thing, all sassed up!

Wowzers, it has been one busy week! A few days ago I had the pleasure of doing an Upcycling table at a local Environmental Expo. I displayed some of the upcycled items I have made, and talked to people about how upcycling is a great and simple option to bring a little green into one's lifestyle. 

There were a lot of cool presentations from different types of composting, to a model house that you could walk through and get tips in each room (not like one or two...more like 30+ tips and example products!) about how to conserve and live in a very environmentally friendly way. There were lots of activities for the kiddos, and 8th grade students were also selling organic starter veggie and herb plants (hello, pizza garden planter?! A planter with onions, tomatoes, basil, oregano and more...I should have nabbed one when I had the chance!). However, Bean now has a flat of oregano,basil, chamomile, thyme, cherry tomatoes, green peppers and mixed lettuce out on the back porch that we will be planting soon (fingers crossed they will not die, as this is Bean's project. She remembers to tend to her plants. I, however, manage to kill anything that grows in the ground).

Last night Bean and I attended a Mother Daughter dance with some girl friends of ours.

why yes, we did the hokey matchy thing!

We had a complete blast! Bean had her friends to dance, giggle, and hop around with, and I had my mama friends to chat with (when we weren't tearing up the dance floor with our girls!). 

Bean was a serious dancing machine!

This was our second year going to the dance, and we both look forward to many more years. It seems like everywhere has Father Daughter dances, but it's not often that us Mamas get to have a special event night just for ourselves and the little ladies in our lives. Whoever over at the Junior League headed up this event a few years ago, bravo!

Love Ya!

*Alive*

 
Happy Easter! What a wonderful day of celebration.    Since Bean was on a visit, I was really looking forward to breakfast at church this morning before our service. Well, that ended up being a no go. I woke up early enough to sip some coffee, take a shower, and not have to rush to church with only half of my makeup on. Before I got out of bed I grabbed my laptop, checked my email quick, looked at the time and thought "hmm, I def have enough time to just lay back down for a couple of minutes and keep warm."  That couple of minutes turned into 3 1/2 hours! Next thing I knew, I heard the dog barking because the cutest nephew in the entire universe (I call him Nugget) came for an Easter visit. I hopped out of bed, ran down stairs to smooch my Nugget, then looked at the clock. 11:30am. WHATTT?!  Not only had I missed my delicious Easter breakfast, but I also missed the entire church service. Sadness.

I guess i may have been a little tired because of the upcycling craftiness that went on until wee hours last night. (I blame the Lifetime Movie Network and all of their foolish movies that I simply cannot turn off. ever.) I got a little crazy with some fabric flowers I had previously made, but hadn't actually done anything with. Seeing as I was glued to LMN, I just kept plugging away at mostly headbands and a few other fun little guys.

flower band I sported today. Made from an old T shirt

Grammy's mumu flowers, old t-shirt and old skirts

More Mumu flowers.

 (scarf, pillowcase and dress) flowers

rosette bib style necklace (Bean's old dress)

 So, even though my day did not start at all how I planned, I was still able to get a few things done before Bean got home. Once she was home we went to a yummy dinner with family, came home and relaxed. She got to enjoy goodies from her basket while watching "Tangled" (which she got from the Easter Bunny) and I got to finish out my weekend with one more project. Yet another skirt for Bean, and my first attempt at pockets and ric rac.

a little Sunday Funday skirt for the Bean with a perfect sized pocket to take some Peeps for the road

my first pocket. ain't she cute?!

I'm such a blessed girl. Crazy Great family, my Snuggle Bean, and so much more. I am so thankful for all that God has given me and that I am able to celebrate Him being Alive. That creates delight in my heart.

Tomorrow

No sewing went on this weekend, but more fabric flowers,springy jewelry and pretties were created (All made from a scarf I got for a whopping 19 cents!). I made a necklace for myself, so naturally Bean wanted one "that matches, but not exactly the same".
She got to wear her special baptism dress again today to church. She is on a visit for Easter this year, so she wanted to look extra special for Palm Sunday. I absolutely love this precious little dress that I had custom made for her last year. Adding some pops of color with her new necklace and headband were a perfect combo to give her dress a new twist.

checking things out in the rock garden (the only area that was full! hehe)

isn't that face just so smoochable?!

Although it is mid April, we are in Upstate NY. That means spring has only sorta sprung (well..it basically means we have less than a 50% chance of snow each day!) and we get to deal with lots of unpredictable weather. We were lucky enough to get about 45 minutes of sunshine after church, so we swung by a local botanical garden to take a walk.  Little girl in a cute dress + sunshine + camera in Mama's bag = impromptu photos of little girl skipping, climbing, and singing her version of "Tomorrow".

"Tomorrow, Tomorrow, catch a bottled hour in tomorrow!"

After a few minutes things got windy, less sunny, and we started freezing our butts off. We ran to the car and came home for a nice picnic lunch. In our living room. In front of the fireplace.  Ah, spring in NY.

Leapin' Lizards

Bean approves of her new knot dress!

 Not much went on after Bean got home yesterday. Lots of cuddling and a girl's night watching Annie. I swear, I feel like I'm 5 all over again each time I watch that movie. I still know every word to each song, all the dialogue, and I still get nervous at the end when she is climbing up those scarey tracks!
Anyhoooo, Bean loved her new dress, and some other things I made her as well. I like when I get the Bean seal of approval (and believe me, not everything I make for her gets that approval!). 

showing off the back

 Besides the knot dress and sundress I upcycled from my old sundress, I also made this skirt. Bean has loved this fairy tale fabric for quite some time, so she was pleasantly surprised to come home to it actually being made into something.

fairy tale skirt

 There was no crafting for me today. However, there was a kids craft event at one of our local libraries this afternoon, so Bean got to let her creative juices flow a bit.

Crafternoon at the Library. Bean loves crafts, just like her Mama!

Knot a lot going on today

What is a Mama to do while waiting for Miss Bean to come home from a few days away?? Sew, of course!

I can't wait for my Bean to come home. Spring break visits are super fun for her, but I don't always know what to do with myself for all of those hours!  I'm not really the sit-and-enjoy-a-glass-of-wine-because-I'm-kidless-for-a-bit kinda girl. And, let's face it, rockin' out to The Biebs alone isn't nearly as appealing as when a 5 year old is involved.

I settled for a day of HGTV and tackling a new sewing project. This time I attempted the knot dress.

front of knot dress

I couldn't find any fun matching buttons in Grammy's button bin, but a little nail polish took care of that.

back of knot dress

I am counting down to when Bean gets home. Cuddles and snuggles, then she can try on her new dress. And, well... a little Bieber Fever dance party might be involved.

Movin' on UP

I've always been big into recycling, Leave No Trace backpacking/hiking/camping, reusable water bottles rather than disposable, etc. I like the earth. I try to do my part, and teach Bean a way of life that shows respect to our environment.  You won't catch this kid letting the water run when she's brushing her teeth (she even scolds me if I forget from time to time!) and I love that she hands me the teensiest pieces of trash to put in my pocket if we aren't around a trash bin, so that she doesn't litter.  A girl after my own heart.

Bean, loving our Earth

My newest interest has been Upcycling. Wikipedia defines upcycling as "the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or higher environmental value." Thus far, my upcycling has consisted of making accessories and cute clothes for Bean from reclaimed clothing or fabrics. I really get a kick out of creating something from materials that otherwise would be seen as useless. I also like that Bean can have some unique pieces of clothing that would sell on Etsy for $35-$60, yet cost me only a few bucks. Score one for Mama!

Here are a few of my recent projects:

plain T that Bean wore last year, embellished with another T cut into flower petals. Plain T- maybe $4 from Target. Cut T- hand-me-down.  for $30 Mini Boden sells this similar shirt

Pillowcase dress (and also my first adventure on the sewing machine!) made from an actual pillowcase that I picked up at the Goodwill for a whole $.69. thats right...CENTS!

Apron dress. The only thing I actually purchased for this was the pink doily. I got 3 of them at a flea market for under $1 total. white T was a hand-me-down. skirt was made from one of Grammy's shirts, and the buttons were from Grammy's button bin. The fabric was purchased from a local fabric shop, but I had a gift card from my birthday (thanks, Ma!)

Bean, saying "hurry up Ma! No more pictures!" This little dress was compliments of Half-off day at Salvation army. T was under 50 cents, and the skirt part was made from a Maternity T that was $1.50. Cha-Ching!

Meet my sundress. although I love this Loft dress, and once paid a pretty penny for it, alas it does not cover the goods up top..at least not to my satisfaction. Even putting a cami or tank under it was too revealing for my conservative style. Instead of taking it to the next Mama clothing swap (which I am still hoping to get a larger group together!) I decided to snip it up, and make it into a mini dress for my Mini Me.

 Meet Bean's new sundress. I cut off the bodice, took out a bunch of elastic, and created flutter style sleeves. I think this dress is going to be a Grassroots Festival must have for this summer. Breezy, twirly, and perfect for Bean to dance barefoot in :o)

Now I just have to find something as perfect for me to wear this summer!

piggies, pretties and flowers, oh my!

"Mama, can you make something for me and Lulu with this?"....How many of my projects begin:  Bean holding Lulu (her favorite baby doll) under one arm, and pointing to (choose one) a bolt of fabric/ mumu from Grammy's closet/ item hanging at a thrift shop.  Suuuuuure! Any reason to bust out the sewing machine (or, these days, any reason to not put it away) then watch my little cupcake twirl with pride once a project is finished and she gets to wear it around the house for the first time.  Who needs a trip to Disney?! Psshh, this is what happiness is made of!

One Happy Kid, I tell ya!

Since Bean sported a mohawk for pretty much the first year of her life, then took an additional year growing a complete head of hair, I was ecstatic when she finally had enough hair to put up in a clip or a little piggy tail.

(barely enough hair for piggy tails!)

I went to the mall and bought every cute bow that I could get my hands on. After getting home and looking at them, I decided I could make the same thing...but cuter. Thus began my preoccupation of making "pretties" for my girl, and every stinkin' outfit she had. I started with fluffy boutique bows, then maribou bows, then stacked and character bows.

a few basic bows

 

Thankfully Bean shares a love for embellishments with her Mama, otherwise she would have been one unhappy camper!

Cousin Mini Bean and Bean as happy campers 

In the past year she has gotten more into headbands. With that, I have really gotten into making felted flowers.

First I made some for her headbands

...then I loved making them so much...

                                               

I made a boat load for seasonal wreaths and other crafts. 

 

 

I think I'm in need of a springy wreath now!

 Until tomorrow...try to get your' hands a little dirty

 and Create Delight!