IT WORKED!

I spent a lovely weekend with friends. You can read all about it over at julie-k. In the meantime, I’m still repeating my mantra. We’ve got a busy week ahead. No time to be sick!

Last Sunday was so incredibly fun. There were lots of treats, wrapping paper and bows, and squeals of excitement! I’ve uploaded pics to the gallery here.

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new on julie-k: two new tote bags!

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new on julie-k: formula one applique

I love driving in the Midwest. It started with a trip T and I took across country while we were dating. Our country is so beautiful. There is so much to discover here and driving is the best way to find it. I especially love how each state has its own beauty: rocky and hilly, lush green grasses, golden fields. The latter really helps you understand the line “amber waves of grain.” Watching the wind blow through them is really wonderful.

When we headed out to Hastings last week, I got that same giddy feeling. The drive was less than two hours, but it filled me such happiness. I could feel the stress of daily life just melt away. The sky out here is so big and blue. You can see so far! I know there are places that have bigger skies and longer horizons, but this was enough for me. I feel so lucky that this is practically in my backyard. I also feel lucky to have the peace and quiet to soak it in. Road trips during nap time are especially nice.

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new on julie-k: coffee sleeve of the month giveaway: spring flowers

Last year we colored and put stickers on blank cards. This year we made cards out of M’s existing artwork. She’s been drawing with her magic markers on a stack of make ready sheets T brought home from work and one looked particularly valentine-y.

You can download my heart template here and if you print it at 100%, the cards will fit in standard invitation size envelopes. I also used the template to cut out some hearts for a garland. I always try to hang something in this window for holidays and birthdays. You can see it from both the living room and kitchen and it’s right behind our table. That little touch always makes our house feel festive.

I also made some quick gifts for T and M. After falling in love with the ball I made for Brady, I felt like M needed one of her own. I made it with leftover fabric from her bibs.

I also whipped up a quick sweater sleeve scarf for T, complete with a roundel. I’m not sure if he really likes it or was being polite. There is a fine line between cool and too crafty for T. I think the scarf is sitting on that line! (I really like it, though!)

We had a really nice day. M played in the snow, I did some sewing, and T cooked up some awesome Valentine’s chili for dinner. The best part of the day was watching M open her gifts and give her dad his Valentine.

Her awesome eco-friendly tea set could have used an awesome eco-friendly tote or basket, though. And it would have been great if her cute wooden “paper” doll set came with a cute wooden lid. Plus, there is the growing collection of matchbox cars and Thomas trains. I needed to get control over all these bits and pieces, so I sewed up a bunch of drawstring bags last weekend.

These were super easy and economical. I bought the set of fat quarters from Michael’s with my 50% off coupon, the ribbon came from a thrift store and the muslin lining came from one of my amazing garage sale fabric scores last summer. Total for all of the bags: about $4. The design is a slightly modified version of this tutorial from happythings, which I found through the sew, mama, sew blog. I love these so much, I’m thinking of making some for my knitting projects. M thinks they’re pretty cool, too.

Kind of makes me wish I had made more! Today I sold one of my Halloween cards and in the comments, she mentioned that she found me on Mighty Junior. Sweet!