Animal Shirts

Pinterest, a blog, not sure where, but somewhere I saw the idea of putting a white animal on a patterned shirt...instead of a patterned animal on a white shirt.  Genius. 

When these stripe shirts went on clearance at the Gap, I grabbed them up.  Project time!!!

I had some extra white linen at home, so I got busy making some fun shirts for Burl.  Despite the picture, the white does not glow.

Here are the shirts before.
I washed them before I started, covering them in a little layer of lint.

Niiiiice.  

Here's what I used:

Shirt
Extra material, this time being linen

Scissors 

Sharpie
That iron-on stuff to adhere the linen to the shirt
Card stock animal stencil

Sewing machine (not pictured)
6-month pregnant baby bump (Can't not be pictured)

Here's a little tip about getting cute animal shapes:  The turtle is actually from my cousin.  One night when she was babysitting, I asked her to draw me a few animals for another project.

For the whale I typed "whale" in pinterest, picked out a cute one, then held my paper to the computer screen and traced them.

I have a friend who goes to a local boutique, takes a picture secretly with her phone of cute animals on shirts, then goes home and copies them.

No need to be an artist.  Just a great copycat.  

After I got some cute animals copied, I traced them on the linen with the iron-on-adhesive, then ironed the animal on the shirt.  I don't have much luck with the iron projects staying on completely, so I went around the edges with a sewing machine.  It was an extra 5 minutes, but well worth it.

And wa-la.  Two shirts {from me. with love. for Burl.} that say, "my mom likes to craft.  Please tell her to stay away from my clothes."

Jenny's Bridal Shower

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: I love a good shower.  Jenny's bridal shower was no exception!  Instead of having the typical morning brunch or afternoon snack shower, we went full out-Saturday night cocktails and desserts!  Something about having a shower on a weekend night added to the hype and festivity.  It's almost as crazy as going to see a movie on a school night!  It's called living on the edge.  Very wild.

It was so festive and fun, that I didn't spend much time taking pictures.  I hate being that girl who takes pictures at things but I LOVE having the pictures when it's all said and done.  I casually tried to take some by pointing and shooting and this is what happens...blurry, off-centered pictures. 

There were four hostesses, and we each made two desserts:

Mini chocolate cheesecakes 

Flourless chocolate cloud cake

Coconut cake, tres leche style

Fresh fruit

Fruit tart

Blum's coffee toffee pie*

Pound cake with fresh peaches

*this pie might be my favorite dessert of all time!  Coffee whipped cream topping...yes, please!

For the drinks we served:

Tap water

Decaf
Punch (raspberry lemonade + ginger ale = my favorite punch!)Pink summer beer (that was yellow this time, but still well received)
Bourbon slushy

For the decorations, we stuck to candles, flowers and the moss letters.  Simple.  Not much fuss.  Easy-peasy.  In keeping with the theme from the invitation, all the flowers were placed in blue mason jars.  The colors were the same as well.  Aqua, pink, and gold.  Perfect for a summer bash!

Above all the preparations, it was really fun to watch Jenny.  She is a friend who I've become very close to in just a few years.  I couldn't be more happy for her and her upcoming marriage.  Andrew loves her well, makes her feel comfortable, and the relationship is great!  I love when my friends find great guys who treat them well...and I love when we get to together with our other girlfriends to celebrate!

Children Are Great

I love it when I think I have it all figured out, then something comes along and knocks me off my feet.  

Now that I'm a parent (just a year and a half into this), I feel like it's my responsibility to teach, train, and model for Burl how to behave and interact with people.  There are the normal please and thank-you's, the hello and goodbyes, but also there is another thing that I hope he learns.  I hope that he learns how to love people and how to be loved by people.  Lofty goals for him, especially since I'm still learning how to do that myself.  I try to model for him how to do those things, but also, I try and talk to him about people.  

"Oh, you get to play with your cousins today and it's going to be so much fun!"

"That lady was very nice, wasn't she?"  

Things like that.  Me teaching him.

Then, I realize that kids have a lot to teach me.

We have some family in from France-my husbands family to be exact, but being married to him, I get to claim them as my own.  I absolutely love being with people from other countries.  Most of the time, I'm in their country, experiencing their community, and soaking it up like a sponge.  

Now that they are here, I'm introducing them to the States, and asking them about their town in France.  Trying to develop relationships.  Trying to love on them and them love me back.  There is a bit of a language barrier, but we're trying to work through that.  {Props to Google Translate.}

Recently, we went to a local cafe for drinks and snacks.  We pulled two tables together and gathered around.  Then, my niece and French cousin, 9 and 10, went to sit by themselves.  She doesn't speak French and he doesn't speak English.  But, just like that, they enjoy each other's company.  No words necessary.  Because kids are awesome and they are great at adjusting and going with the flow.

And a loud belch needs no translation.  It's funny no matter where you're from.

And just like that, these kids teach me.  They teach that a. it's good to be able to go with the flow  and b. I don't have it all together and they have a lot to teach me.

Blue Mason Jar Invitations

My friends and I are a little obsessed with blue mason jars right now.

Allison used them in her wedding, and Jenny is going to use them in her farm wedding in just a few weeks.  Naturally, they were the inspiration for Jenny's bridal shower this past weekend.  

When I saw these invitations on minted, I new I had to figure out a way to incorporate them into the shower invitations.  The ones on minted.com were cool, but I wanted something more colorful for Jenny.  Grey just doesn't suit her.  She's a pretty colorful dresser, a great hairstylist and probably owns more Anthro products than anyone I know.  Color had to be part of the shower invitations!

So I started hunting a mason jar rubber stamp.  Rubber stamps get a bad wrap sometimes.  Mostly because I think we were introduced to them in elementary school stamped on papers saying "great."  Lame.  These days, rubber stamps have come a long way.  For me, I love them. Since I have no idea how to do graphic design and come up with my own mason jar, I rely heavily on art stores to supply cool rubber stamps.  

I called my local stationary shop first.  They didn't sell any, but they told me to check Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  So, I started calling around.  (Calling around is faster and easier than shopping around-especially being 6 months pregnant, toting around a 1-year-old, and enjoying record high temperatures).  

This is where I would like to give a shout out to Michael's and Hobby Lobby who were quick, knowledgeable, and didn't treat me like I was calling to see if they sold aliens like JoAnn's did.  Michael's had one.  They saved it for me.  I got it and I found a great blue ink pad.  Then, I found a firefly-ish stamp with gold ink.  

First, I printed them on my computer.  This took a few times to get the spacing correct, but I got it.  (Tip: when deciding spacing with a stamp, I select "view," then "zoom," then "100%."  Then, I hold the stamp to the screen to see how I like things.)  After they were printed, I cut them, rounded the edges, and stamped away.  The fireflies were a bit light, but I went with it.  

I just love the aqua/pink/gold color combination.  We carried that color combination on to the shower decorations.  I grabbed a few pictures and will be sharing them later.  Most of all, I love that stamp.  Now I'm wondering what else needs a blue mason jar stamp?

{The first three pictures were from The Vintage Daughter on Etsy.  She has some cute stuff!}