The Purple Pocket

And The Winner Is .....

2011-03-13T21:18:00.001-05:00

I would normally be very upset that only 3 people entered my give away, but it actually made it easier to to pick a winner. I didn't have to use random.com because.... All 3 that entered are the winners.
Zombie Queen, Michelle who is also my sister-in-law, and Lindsay!!!!
I just thought that with only 3 entries I can make 3 dresses, plus Michelle, we're family you can get a dress when ever you want one.

It All Started with a Dress Give Away - CLOSED

2011-03-02T22:45:00.003-06:00

One year ago on March 13th I opened my shop. A year before that I made my first dress for the Pumpkin that are like the ones I sale in the shop. So to celebrate the shops year anniversary I am doing a give away. The winner will get one dress like one one pictured. To enter leave a comment and make sure that there is a way to reach, from now on to the 13th of March.

All About the Boy

2011-02-22T13:15:00.001-06:00

Is my timing awesome or what!!! Dana over at Made and Rea at Made my Rea are celebrating the boy this month. Check it out!

The Hardest Thing I've Ever Had to Do

2011-02-22T12:58:00.000-06:00

Most women get pregnant, go nine months, go to the hospital, have their baby, and at the end, mama, daddy and baby go home.... right?
Well you can't and shouldn't always plan for things to go that way because sometimes they don't. As you all may know I had some crazy blood pressure problems. One visit my blood pressure would be normal and the next it would be high. My doc didn't like what he was seeing so he decided to induce. Most of the time they use cervidil to soften the cervix to get it ready for labor and once you've dilated they start patosin.
I wasn't so lucky, right. They did to rounds of cervadil.The first one was put in wrong, not fun. The second one gave me rather intense contractions for about 8 hours, but in the end I did NOT dilate at all.
The doc gave me 2 options- try the cervidil again or have a c section.
I did not want to punk out and have a c section. I don't really care for c sections unless mother or baby is in danger. There was no guarantee that the cervidil. would work again and I really didn't want to go through another 8 hours of "fake" labor if I wasn't even going to dilate. Not only that, people took off of work for this event, and like my loving wonderful husband said, I should be sick of people coming in and poking me. He did not use those words, but if you have had a baby before you know that you get checked... a lot. That's what he meant by "poking". So, sadly a chose to have a c section.
Ok, now this next part, although hard to see and understand at the time, only happened this way by the grace of God.
Went into the operating room, had the damn c section, the umbilical cord was wrapped tight around by babies neck, they cut it and off to the NICU with daddy he went. Turns out, he also swallowed a bunch of fluid and his lungs were a little under developed. Now I bet you are saying, "how terrible is that, where was God". Well after what I've been told and what I have read, there are many risks to having the cord around the babies neck. I know that it happens. Some of you might have had a baby with the cord wrapped around their neck. The negative effects are enough for me. Not only that, but my health was in danger. Then to make it worst, I had to leave him at the hospital when I was discharged. For the 1st couple of days he was there I couldn't even hold him. Isn't that terrible. No mother should have to sit in the hospital after having her baby and not even get to hold him.
It was a very long ordeal, but after all was said and done my baby boy came home on Thursday, February 10th the day before his due date. He just needed a little extra time to "cook" because he wasn't quite ready yet. He was 7lbs 5 oz and 19 in.

Change Of Plans

2011-01-29T20:16:00.000-06:00

So due to a sudden jump in my blood pressure and the fact that my doc thinks that this little one will be a big boy, i will be putting off the rest of the baby posts for about a week or so. I had originally thought that I had at least 2 more weeks but it turns out, I have 3 days before I welcome my son into the world. So, that also means that I'll have a baby boy to model all of the cute projects that I make.
See you soon !!! :)

Boy Stuff

2011-01-17T15:20:00.001-06:00

I have been looking for shops that feature a wide variety of little boy clothing and accessories.

Here is what I found.

We all have seen or even made a onsie or t shirt with an appliqued tie or bow tie on it. These cute little guys over at stitchesbyrachel go a step further an add a corduroy vest. I love it!

I love graphic t's and I love Micheal Scott from The Office. You can grab this one and many others like it at VicariousClothing

This is probably one of the best/easiest pants pattern I have ever used. I won this pattern in a give away Vegbee had. In fact I helped name the pattern.

Hats always look great on little boys. I am not a fan of the knitted or crochet ones- too itchy. So these ones at pink2blue are perfect. There is also a variety of little shoes too.

I love all of SeamsByGwenny 's bumper sets. They are not the conventional cutesie baby sets. They are very bold and colorful.

I love this. Its very "boy". You can see this and more at boujiandnouna.

See this one at creations4babies.

And this stuff is my favorite. I found this shop, RockerByeBaby on Etsy, and all of this stuff ROCKS. There is much more than just bumpers. There are blankets and accessories and more.

I am sure there is much more out there. If you have a shop or know of any other kick ass boy stuff send me a link and I will feature it on here.

Where's all of the Boy Stuff!!!

2011-01-12T21:20:00.001-06:00

So this up coming weekend my sister in law is throwing me a baby shower. Of course I was excited, not because of all of the gifts, I was excited to go and register for gifts. I love going to register for gifts. I have no clue why. They give you a scanner gun type thingy and you get to go and scan all of the things you think that you need. Its actually more of a want.
So naturally I scanned the basics. Bottles (even though I plan on breast feeding ), infant tub, diapers, blankets, burp clothes, you know all that stuff that we need. Then it was time for the stuff that I want!!! I love those little bumbo seats, so i scanned one of them, an electric aspirator, and a boppy. Then I went to look for a crib set because I decided that I am not in the mood to make one my self. That another one of those prego things. You think you can do all of this stuff, but when it comes down to it, you really either don't have the time or energy or you just don't give a "you know" enough. Ok, so back to the crib set. There were cute little teddy bears, and monkeys, fuzzy little farm animals, some puppies, and then I said wait!!! Little boys don't do cute. They are boys!!! I had a little brother and I have watched many other little boys . Boys play in the mud. They bring their mom bugs and stuff. They terrorize their sisters. They like to through things!!!!
There was nothing that said " a real little boy sleeps here". There were no cars and tractors, no footballs, airplanes and trucks, no bugs, nothing.
So I am on a mission find some real boy stuff.
Come back later to see what I have found.

I am Back

2011-01-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

Alright, so I know that its been awhile. Between moving 3 times now and just the basic everyday complications of being prego, its been a little hard to maintain my blog. I am sorry and I am ready to get blogging!!!

Its A Boy!!!

2010-09-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Times They Are a Changing

2010-08-29T18:25:00.000-05:00

Well I know that I promised a bunch of fun baby tutes. Don't worry that is still on. This baby has made life a little difficult. Morning sickness is not fun. There was no morning sickness with the Pumpkin, just horrible heartburn.
Now I am finally feeling better and its just in time for us to move... again. We are moving back to my home town of Las Vegas. With the new baby coming, along with new problems and complications, we think that it would better for us to be back in Vegas. So as soon as I get back I will put up the first of many tutes and baby project ideas.

I am Back

2010-07-14T18:01:00.000-05:00

So we are all moved in.Well kinda. There are a few boxes that I am not quite sure where they are going to go. Its been a busy couple of weeks. We were with out phone, Internet, and satellite TV for over a week. I mean really whats a girl to do. I think I watched The Pumpkin's Backyardigan DVDs over a 100 times... OK not really, but it was alot.

I also have some news for you all. I am preggers. Its not the greatest news. We are so broke right now but we'll make it work. You guys can help. I plan on making a ton of baby stuff and I need tutorials and ideas. I plan on doing a huge thing on baby tutes and projects. Some by me and hopefully a little showcase of some other really good ones.
So if anyone has/knows of any kick ass baby tutorials and project ideas please let me know.

Moving Day

2010-06-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

Moving day is upon us. I really hate moving. Due to our current finnantial situation we thought that it would be smart to find something cheaper. So we are leaving our yellow house that I luv and moving into a smaller more economical duplex up the road. I have been kinda packing, and sorting. I am not getting rid of any FABRIC !!!! Now for the next couple of days I will be absent from the blogging world. Hahaha its not like I've been real present lately anyways. I have something really big planned for the next couple of months tho, so be ready :)

New Dress and Design

2010-06-06T20:33:00.002-05:00

This is my latest and I think its my favorite. Its not done yet, it just needs a bow. Its for a client . She needs it for a photo shoot. I know it might seem silly for me to get excited about this, but it makes me smile just to think of my dress in a photo shoot. This design is a little more authentic to the whole rockabilly/1950's style. I love it!!! Look for soon in the shop.

there is still more to come!

I promised more and here it is. This dress is more of a cute little sundress, still totally vintage inspired. Its not quite as spunky as my other dresses. I love the fabric. It was on clearance last year at Walmart for $0.60 a yard. AWESOME!!! I wish that I would have bought more, but back then I had no idea that I would be opening an Etsy shop.

The bodice needs some tweaking. It comes up a little higher than the others and its got a small gather in the front.

And of course a twirly shot.

Well what do you think?

Looking for Inspiration

2010-05-31T09:38:00.000-05:00

I know that I have been absent from the blogging world. We have run into a snag. You all know that I do in home day care, well the 2 boys that I watch just kinda up and left. Ok , well not really. They were going to be leaving in September when the oldest one started preschool. The preschool that they are going to have 2 openings for them now, so their mom decided to enroll them now. Its kinda put a snag in all of my plans. I planned on doing a give away last month, and posting pictures of our new garden, starting a whole new "line" in the shop, as well as making a whole ton of dresses for a consignment shop in Texas. Its just been so hard to focus when you don't know where the money you so desperately need, is going to come from. Not only that my focus has been on trying to find more kids to watch.

There has been very little activity in the shop aside from custom orders. I was in the punk baby swap on craftster, and that was hard. I need some drive, some inspiration, or something to get me out of this funk. Sorry to all of my followers... all 17 of you!!! I love you all.

Maybe a give away or a contest is what I need. Some busy work would be good.

Sparkel Power Giveaway

2010-05-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

If you havent already seen this blog you should check it out. She's doing a giveaway, Good Luck!

The Girl Turns 3

2010-05-12T19:13:00.000-05:00

I am so sad now that the girl is 3. I know it sounds bad, but I wasn't ready for her to get older. Despite of grief, I managed to make the pumpkin a birthday dress. I let her pick her own fabric and she wanted a "Marty" dress. Marty? The zebra from Madagascar. I think it turned out pretty cute. I think that I want one for myself. Which, by the way I am working on a womens line for the shop.

This is her poor, poor cake. It was going to be a 3 tiered masterpiece, complete with hand painted zebra stripes by yours truly. Unfortunately when I put the last tier on, the middle tier just wasn't strong enough. If I ever do this again DO NOT USE THE CAKE MIX WITH THE PUDDING!!! I managed to clean it up a bit and hid some of the damage with some ribbon. The girl still liked it. While I was making it I swear I could have been the next Food Network Star. I made fondant, colored it, rolled it out, put it on the cake and even did the rubbing thing that the cake decorators do when they put the fondant on. Watch out Duff Goldman. LOL!!!

Outside Fun : Picking Flowers

2010-05-06T19:46:00.000-05:00

I normally do not let the children pick the flowers in the back yard. I have daffodils and tulips, along with some lilies. Lucky for them my yard has been taken over by dandelions. I don’t know why this simple past time of collecting a little yellow flower by the bunch, has small children so entertained. I see the kiddos’ walking by with fist full’s of flowers. The girls put them in their hair. Everyday the Pumpkin brings me a flower, which by the way absolutely warms my heart. Then she tells me to smell and she does too and says that it smells so beautiful. They "plant" them in their gardens. They even put them in little rows in the planter area.

My favorite thing they did with the flowers.

"Hanging Gardens"

Who would have thought that picking dandelions would provide hours of fun, free, entertainment.

New Stuff In The Shop

2010-04-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

This is a custom item.

Croc Upgrade

2010-04-14T15:11:00.001-05:00

Her 1st of 2 pairs of new Crocs arrived in the mail today.

They are extremely cute and there is plenty of growing room. I love them. But, because these will be mainly the only shoes she wears in the sticky summer months I thought an upgrade was needed. Don’t get me wrong these are just fine as they are, but there's nothing wrong with a little dazzle.

The Upgrade
First you will need to gather your supplies. shoes, velcro, ribbon, a hot glue gun, felt and anything crafty you might have lying around.

Second- you are going to need to cut your felt to size. There really isn't a right way to do this. It’s all trial and error. So you do that until you get something like this. * A great tip is to do one and use the 1st one as a template for the other shoe, just remember to flip it over when you go to the next step.

Next you will need to cut 4 strips of ribbon about 2 inches long. You'll need ribbon that’s wide enough to attach your velcro to. After you've cut your ribbon, glue one to each of the "y" ends like this.

Now you need to attach the velcro.

Here's the fun part, decorating !!!

Pom Pom's

Fabric Flowers

These tie on with ribbon insted of velcro.

The posiblities are endless. I'm gonna get some silk flowers and some fake jewels for a blinged out Croc.

Outside Fun: Grocery Bag Kites

2010-04-13T07:26:00.001-05:00

As you all may know I live up here in the frozen north- Wisconsin. It’s a place that hasn’t got the memo that it’s spring. So we’re all putting our jackets and jeans on to play outside. There have been a few warmer days but the wind is still a bit chilly. So when life gives you lemons, you make grocery bag kites. This is the easiest and fastest windy day fun creator. It’s so simple I’m not even going to give step-by-step detailed instructions on how to make them

You take a plastic grocery bag and tie yarn, string or ribbon to both handles. Then you run. It’s that simple. It’s also a great way to reuse plastic grocery bags.

Oh I got my new camera, so a better fat quarter skirt tutorial is coming soon.

Enjoy!!!

Make Baby Stuff

2010-04-09T12:52:00.000-05:00

So I was surfing around today and I found the really awesome site called Make baby stuff. There's tons of free patterns and ideas. Check it out

Her Easter Dress

2010-04-05T10:59:00.000-05:00

I've been eyeing this dupioni silk at Hancock’s for months. It made it to the value fabric section and then all value fabric was on sale for 50% off, so I knew it was time to buy. I love how it turned out. I used the same pattern from her lilac linen dress but I changed the grain of the fabric in the middle of the bodice for some visual interest. I did try to make her a petticoat to wear underneath but the banana was here and I should have known better- don’t try to sew things when there are 2 little girls running around the house. I'll fix her petti later so she can wear it under her Rockibaby dresses.

And the Winner Is....

2010-04-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

Becky Scipior!!!! You are the winner of the 1st ever Purple Pocket Giveaway!!! I did this the old fashion way put all the names in a hat and drew a name. I think next time I'll use that random.com site. Be on the look out next month for the next giveaway.

GRAND OPENING GIVE AWAY!!! CLOSED

2010-03-31T16:02:00.004-05:00

NO ONE HAS ENTERED THE GIVEAWAY.

WHO DOESN'T LIKE FREE STUFF

DOES MY DRESS SUCK :(

*UPDATE*

sorry about my little BF there. I did not realize that no one could leave post on my blog. To leave a post click on "comments" below and it should work. If it doesn't just email me and once again I'll try to fix it.

I finnally got it open. I know that I have been blogging about for ages now. To get this thing started off right I'm gonna have a give away. You can win this lovely Rockibaby dress with a little crinoline. This dress is fully lined with a gathered layer of tulle at the bottom. I kinda makes it look like is has a petticoat. The skirt is a full circle skirt and is super twirly and fits a 4t-5t.

.

I just love this picture with the Pumpkin and her buddy.

To enter the give away, you must leave a comment on the post and/or link me and let me know that you have linked me. It also helps to become a follower of my blog. It closes April 4th at 3:00 central standard time.

Good Luck!!!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!

2010-03-11T19:44:00.002-06:00

Today is my birthday. 27 years ago my mother and father welcomed their first born, me into the world. I planned on posting pictures for birthdays past but I cant they’re all back home at my mothers house in Vegas. There weren’t any pictures to post from today either. The kiddos and I made brownies and stayed indoors and colored, danced and made mosaic rainbows. It was actually a really cute project and I’ll have to put up some pics of them latter. Last night the husband took me shopping at Hancock’s. That was quite a sight to see my hubby at Hancock Fabrics. Luckily for him the Pumpkin was a little worn out from dinner at Applebee’s, so the shopping trip was cut short. So, I got a gift card instead. Gift cards are always great.

Happy Friday!!!

2010-03-05T21:25:00.002-06:00

So I know that my shop was kinda supposed to me open by now. Sorry, I am waiting on my friend who is a graphic designer to finish my logo. Once that is done the shop will be open. So while we wait why not a new dress.

It’s a lilac linen boat neck dress with a full circle skirt. Once I fine-tune the pattern this too will be in the shop.

And,

it twirls!!!

I haven't put the buttons on yet as you can see.
Its held together right now by safety pins.

Here's a close up of the hem. I was so proud of myself. I hemmed a circle skirt !!!

A dress cant really be a dress unless it twirls, and dont you just love linen. I know I do. Once again there is really bad pics... sorry.

Have a nice weekend!!!

Sneak Peek

2010-03-02T20:26:00.000-06:00

Here's a little sneak peek at what will be in my store when it opens latter this week or possibly some time next week.

Also, I may be getting a new camera for my birthday on the 11th. Lets hope, NO MORE BLURRY PICS!

Rockibaby Dresses

These one are just sweet, pretty and perfect for Easter,

and the Roxy Dress. Its kinda mod kinda Austin Powers.

Is it too Gothic?

2010-02-19T17:49:00.000-06:00

I've always liked the combo of black cord with white lace. I don't know why. So last weekend between sewing for my shop and fine tuning the dresses I put together this little number. I don’t know, is it too gothic looking. I though about adding lace to the bottom, but when I saw how good it looks with her other dress under it (she insisted on keeping the other dress on and now she wont take either of the dresses off) I thought that maybe I should make a petticoat to go underneath it. What do you think?

MAN I really need a new camera!!!

What I've been up to

2010-02-05T16:55:00.001-06:00

If been so busy lately sewing up a storm. Thread all over the carpet and fabric scraps all over the house, and its been crazy. I'm trying to get my Etsy shop up and running. There's about 3 dresses complete and I want to have 4-5 to open my shop. In between sewing for the shop I've managed to make something for the pumpkin. I've had this cute pink and black plaid in my stash forever. Then I saw a post on Craftster and decided to make a version for little one.

The Punky Pixie Skirt

There will be a tute for this one.

Lil Red Retro Dress

2010-01-20T17:31:00.001-06:00

So the other day I got this idea to make the pumpkin a little hipster/retro dress. So I got out my A-line dress pattern, shortened it and took away some of the "A". I didn't think that it would turn out ok; it was more like I’ll try it and if I like it I'll make it again. I didn't serge and I barely ironed the seams. Now I wish I would have constructed the dress better because it turned out really cute. What do you think?

I even did her hair and got her "church" shoes out just to take her picture. She wanted to stand on the chair for the pictures. I have no clue why.

The collar needs to be modified a bit as well as the sleeves. This dress will be in my Etsy shop, which, I hope, will be open by the end of this month.

Pretty Pink Birdie Britches - say that 10 times fast

2010-01-15T20:23:00.003-06:00

I won a free pattern from Vegbee. I helped her name one of her new patterns the Birdie Britches. I made these hot pink corduroy pants as a birthday present for one of the kiddos that I watch. This little peanut (that’s what we call her) has such a hard time fitting into her pants. 24-month pants are long enough but the waist is too big and 18-month pants are too short but the waist is just right. So when I won the pattern I told her mom that I would make her some pants that fit right for her birthday.

Here's a close up of the pocket. I really wanted to use a differant color for the pocket, but I figured keep it simple so that they can cordinate with her other clothes. I just added ribbon loop.

The best part about these cute little britches is that they only cost me 99 cents to make. I got the hot pink cord from Goodwill for $.99.

Quick and Easy Cowl Neck Sweater Dress Tutorial

2010-01-13T14:02:00.000-06:00

I've been playing with cowl necks lately. Some of my attempts were a complete disaster while others were not so bad. This one how ever was the easiest of all. I used a thrift store turtleneck sweater and I'm gona share with you how make this quick and easy cowl neck sweater dress.

First you will need to gather your supplies-

A turtle neck sweater the bigger the better

A t-shirt that fits loosely on your pumpkin

and regular sewing supplies

Now lay out the sweater, then lay the t-shirt on top of the sweater making sure that the neck of the t-shirt is lined up as close as you can with the neck of the sweater. You don’t want to cut these seems off, that makes for less sewing. Trace around the t-shirt and add a slight A line shape, like this

Now remove the t-shirt and cut. You should have something like this.

Next, with right sides of the fabric together, sew.

Turn the dress right side out, hem the sleeves and you are done. Quick and easy!!

*Note* My pumpkin wears about a 4t, so my guess is the dress works best up to this size.

Happy New Year

2010-01-12T13:32:00.000-06:00

I hope that everyone had a nice new year. We did. My husbands family came up to visit and we all went out and had a great time. Well, I just relized that I haven't done a Your Baby Can Read update. About a month ago we started the next set of YBCR cards, book and DVD. Due to the holiday we kinda slacked off a little but now we are back in the full swing of things. The kids seem to like it and they're learning the new words. My only problem withYBCR is that the DVD's dont seem to keep the kiddos intersted very long. After about a week or so the kids dont care for the movie. I still do the word cards and books with them, but not all of the words are on the cards. I wonder if anyone out there has any suggestions?

Sew Liberated Book GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-12-17T17:22:00.000-06:00

Sew Liberated Book GIVEAWAY!!!!

Fa La la la la !!!

2009-12-17T17:00:00.001-06:00

I finally finished her dress. I started this thing in November. I had to make a pattern, test it, tweak it, then do a practice run at it so I would ruin the pretty fabric. The fabric by the way is burgundy taffeta originally meant for curtains or home decor, but I don’t follow the rules on stuff like that. It was on sale for $5.50 a yard and I only needed one yard. I used gold satin ribbon for the trim and I sewed in an invisible zipper in the back, but I wont be showing you all that because I totally did a bad job. Whipstitch has an awesome tute on how to do one. For the most part I like how it turned out and please pay no attention to the bottom of my tree. I have no tree skirt and the kid’s mess with the bottom, so I covered it up in hoping they would leave it alone.

Nativity Craft

2009-12-17T16:33:00.002-06:00

This was one of the cutest Christmas crafts I've done. It was also 2 lessons in one- a great lesson on shapes and The greatest story ever told.

To make this you'll need -

construction paper or craft paper

popsicle sticks

glue

and cardstock paper (I used construction paper but I recommend using cardstock for stability)

Then you cut out 1 small triangle for Mary, a larger one for Joseph, rectangles for the 3 kings, circles for heads, smaller rectangles and octagons for the "gifts", triangles for the star, crowns, a trapezoid for baby Jesus’ crib (that’s what the kiddos were calling it), and a half circle for baby Jesus. Then arrange it to look like a nativity scene.

Once the shapes are glued down, glue on the popsicle sticks and you're done!

Fat Quarter Skirt Tutorial

2009-12-15T20:48:00.002-06:00

It's here. After a few weeks of procrastinating and Christmas shopping, I finally managed to get this posted. This should fit a 2t-4t, but you might have to adjust measurements for the 2t. So here we go.

1st gather your materials

1 fat quarter

about a half a yard of coordinating fabric for waist and and trim pieces or another fat quarter

1 inch wide elastic

Because my camera got the swine flu and only seems to wanna work when all of the lights are off, there are few illustration and they're made my Microsoft paint.

OK now you cut your fabric. A fat quarter is usually about 21-22 inches that will be the width of the skirt. Now cut your fabric like this.

Now with right sides of the fabric together, sew the waist pieces, the skirt, and the ruffle together. Either serge or use a tight zigzag, the raw edges and press your seams.

Next, using your favorite form of gathering, gather the skirt to the width of the waist and the ruffle to the width of the skirt.
Then sew them all together and serge or zigzag edges and press seams. Now with right sides together sew the side of the skirt and once again serge or zigzag edges along with the top of the waist.

Next fold the waist piece in half, press it down and then top stitch leaving an opening large enough for the casing.

For the elastic casing your want to use a piece about 21-22 inches long depending on your child. I have a tubby toddler with a belly. She likes to wear things below it so sometimes I need a snugger fit. OK, now attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and feed it through. Sew elastic together, top stitch the opening closed and lets hem the bottom.

The bottom of the skirt can be done whatever way you like it. You can hem it, serge it, lettuce edge it, whatever you like. Then you're done!!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Once I get a new camera I'll update the tute. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

I won !!!

2009-12-09T13:01:00.000-06:00

I've entered tons of give aways and I never even thought that I would win. This time I did and its from my favorite blog Vegbee's Blueprints. I helped her name her latest pattern the "Birdie Britches". How exciting. I won a pattern from her Etsy shop. I think that I'll pick the "Birdie Britches". My tubby 2 year old is months out of the highest size the pants go to (24 months) but its a cute pattern. I also know plenty of little ones I can sew for, and maybe one day I'll have another pumpkin of my own. If you haven't already checked out her blog you should.

First Step Photo Vinyl Wall Art $50 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY

2009-12-05T17:30:00.001-06:00

First Step Photo Vinyl Wall Art $50 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY

My last Fair Weather Jacket

2009-12-05T16:36:00.001-06:00

I hope this is the last one of these for a while. This one is her winter Fair Weather "Coat". There's 3 layers. Cord for the shell, and fleece between that and the flannel lining. It wasn't very hard, I just cut the fleece about an inch shorter all the way around and used the iron on kind. Its pretty warm too.

I love Vintage Fabric

2009-12-05T16:05:00.001-06:00

During the summer I got an awesome supply of vintage plaid fabric. Oh, how If dreaded cuting into it. I was fearful that I would messed up. So I kept it simple, and did not cut a thing. I sewed it into a tube hemed the bottom and gathered the top, them attached it to a bodice. TA DA!!! I call this the "Play Date Dress", hopefully soon I'll make enough to sale in my own store. The problem is that everything I make, I dont want to part with. I'd rather keep it for my pumpkin.

My first store bought pattern

2009-12-04T22:22:00.000-06:00

I know that it’s been ages since I've posted. It’s been a busy month in day care. We had a pig funk scare (H1N1, aka Swine Flu), and I’m so sick of hearing about it. Every one of the parents of the kids I care for was scared and worried and that was all any one talked about. In all the stupid mass hysteria of the last month or so I managed to whip out this little dress. It was the fist time I used a pattern that wasn't free off the internet, someone’s tute, home made or created by Vegbee. It's Simplicity 5478 and totally vintage, just my style. I'm not a fan of the yucky, brown, flimsy paper in the store bought patterns for the very reasons that I've just stated. It turned out ok. There was a little tweeking here and there. The collar was a bit tight. This was also the first time that I sewed in a zipper. It wasn't as hard as I thought and it was a hell of a lot easier than buttonholes.

I love the color combo of navy and red like on the Yes Man Jacket, also created by Vegbee. I have no clue what she doing in the picture.

I know that I promised a tute on the fat quarter skirt. I think my camera got the pig funk cause its not working right. As soon as I can address this issue there will be a tute on the skirt and maybe a give away.

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

2009-11-20T21:10:00.001-06:00

The Last Minute Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!! (with free bonus pattern in post)

Rae Gun Ramblings

2009-11-18T18:07:00.001-06:00

Rae Gun Ramblings
super cute go check it out

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-11-10T13:54:00.001-06:00

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Limoncello Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
for the mama's

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Lawn Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-11-10T13:51:00.001-06:00

Shabby Apple Dare to Design Lawn Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
foe tha mama's

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-11-10T13:49:00.001-06:00

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
check it out

The Handmade dress give away

2009-11-10T13:44:00.002-06:00

if you haven't already seen the wonderfully awesome dresses on the handmade dress you need to. Grossgrain is doing a give away of one of the dresses HERE

Arrrrgh!

2009-11-06T19:23:00.002-06:00

The Pumpkin and her buddy Banana wanted to be pirates for Halloween, so I made the girls matching pirate costumes. Whew!!! Thank goodness I'm done and don't have to worry until next year. I was in shirring hell. The backs of the faux corsets where shirred ... never again. I guess in the end they turned out cute. The skirts have 3 layers and they're poofy, thanx to a layer of tulle, and they're also twirly. I also made the Pumpkin a peasant top to wear underneath with fun flared sleeves. I didn't have the time to make the Banana one too. :(

Posing for Boo Fest at her Daddy's work.

Enjoying Trunk or Treat.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

2009-10-23T15:58:00.005-05:00

People must like giving me their stuff. About a week or so ago my husbands uncle brought me a box of apples. Lucky me! I've made a few pies, and they turned out ok, but the greatest creation of mine had to be Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. They where the perfect morning treat . So lets get started.

First you will need to gather you ingredients.

Apples about 4-5 cut up

Cinnamon

Brown sugar

Pancake mix

Butter

Syrup

My Raspberry Bliss Recipe

Second, we make the yummy apple topping.

This is very simple. Use the raspberry bliss recipe but substitute apples for raspberries ( of course), brown sugar in place of white sugar and add a few shakes of cinnamon. You need to let it simmer until the apples are soft but not mushy. If the skin of the apple looks kinda shriveled up then you cooked it too long. Set the apples aside.

Next, prepare pancakes according to the instructions and add a couple shakes of cinnamon to the mixture.

Last, pour apples over the pancakes along with your favorite syrup and maybe some whipped cream and enjoy!

Fat Quarter Skirt

2009-10-17T20:52:00.003-05:00

My obsession for all things purple, led me to the purchase of of 2 fat quarters, for a buck each at Wal-Mart. Once I was home I then realized, what the heck are you going to do with 2 purple fat quarters. That then led to the creation of the fat quarter skirt and matching top.

I apologize for the poor quality in the pictures. I am, how ever working on a tute for the fat quarter skirt and it will be up soon.

Our first Snow

2009-10-17T20:42:00.003-05:00

I woke up Monday morning to a light blanket of snow covering my backyard. I cant believe this, its only October.

A Classic that never gets Old

2009-10-17T20:37:00.002-05:00

I don't even need to give instructions on this one. I think everyone at some point in their life has made stamp art with either apples or potatoes. You can even use oranges, broccoli and corn on the cob . Its an easy art project that kiddos of all ages love.

Fall Fun

2009-10-02T13:48:00.005-05:00

Fall is here. The kindos and I have enjoyed spending long mornings and afternoons outside. There's leafs and sticks that have blown off the trees and how cute are munchkins when they're all bundled up. I love it. The pumpkin loves her new jacket too. I saw the awsome jacket that Zooey Daschanel wore in Yes Man and I knew that the pumpkin would have one too. I think that I'll try to make a matching one for myself. I used Vegbee's Fair weather Jacket pattern but ditched the front belt. I think that it turned out great. The best part is that it cost me less than 10 bucks to make. I got 2 yards of navy blue linen for the shell at $ 1.97 per yard and the flannel lining was $1.98 a yard for 2 yards. YEA!

The inspiration for the jacket.

My version made for a 2 year old.

Chasing the neighbors dog through the fence.

End of the Season

2009-09-29T13:38:00.010-05:00

Labor Day weekend usually ends the summer and opens another chapter in the crazy seasons that we have up "nort" here. Yes, I said nort, its a Wisconsin thing I guess. Well this year someone forgot to tell mother nature that. September is usually a month of dusting off the plastic tubs full of jackets and coats, along with mittens and scarfs, raking up leaves and preparing for the long cold winter to come. I usually have a plethora of fall crafts planned for the kidos, that coincided with many walks through the leaves and running through the fall wind. Not so much this year. The leaves changed yet the heat stayed, and the bugs were bad. Sure it was nice at the county fair, that is also Labor Day weekend. It was four days of cotton candy, livestock and deep fat fried cheese curds, YUMMY!!! I grew up in Las Vegas, NV where there are 2 seasons. Hot as Hell and kinda cool. The changing of the seasons is something of beauty to me and I guess I'm just excited to see it.

The county fair. Pumpkin called it the "fairy".

She was so excited to ride the train, until she realized that I wasn't with her. Of course she cried until I sat on the train with her. The pumpkins favorite thing had to be the animals. There was a petting zoo with camels and ponies, they even had a lemur. In the tent of champions there was pigs, sheep, goats, and a cow. Pumpkin even got to pet the pigs. As for the cow...

she wasn't too sure about that.

The girl and her boots

2009-09-19T15:14:00.003-05:00

I found the pumpkin a cute pair of boots at the thrift store here in my town. They're purple and chunky. I've always thought that it was cute when little girls in wear chunky boots with dresses or skirts . Apparently the pumpkin thinks so too because she wants to where them with everything.

4 wheeling.

Striking a pose.

Teachers Pet Cardi, Simple Tee and Poppy Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-15T07:12:00.001-05:00

Teachers Pet Cardi, Simple Tee and Poppy Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!
this is another cute outfit. her stuff is so awesome.

Indian Summer Shirt and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-09-15T07:09:00.002-05:00

Indian Summer Shirt and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!
I love this skirt! you should check it out.

Green Pretend Food

2009-09-09T12:54:00.006-05:00

I am constantly seeing tutes on how to make that cute felt food. I am also saying to myself that I should make some. Why not? I run an in home daycare and the kids would love it. Between the massive stack of started and not yet started sewing projects, and the fact that my life can be some what busy at times, I just have not gotten around to making some yet. Not to mention that I've been to Hancock's about a billion and one times, walked right on past the felt, and did not even think to buy some. So, what I do have is garbage and green play food takes very little time.

Your basic pretend juice and milk. Iwrote "Pretend Milk" on the milk because some one would think that it was real.

Some take out. I thought that the take out was awesome but the kids just called it a bucket and tried to open it.

Making green play food is very simple.
1st find or just wait until some one finished the milk or juice, make sure that you clean the container out really good. Just take my word on this.

2nd add water, you should fill it about a quarter to half way with water. Remember that children will be playing with these and you don't want their little piggies to get hurt when they accidentally drop it.

3rd add color, for apple juice you use about 2-3 drops of yellow and about 1 drop of red. If it looks like some one went to the bath room in it just adjust your color combo.
For milk I just added some white paint, and for any other kind of juice just play around with the color combo until you get the shade you were looking for. If you are making orange juice I suggest you use paint for a more authentic look.

4th glue your lid on with supper glue or a hot glue gun like I did.

Pretend juice isn't the only thing you can make. You can use cereal boxes, pasta boxes or any food box. You can use junk mail, news paper and plastic grocery bags to stuff the boxes so they wont get too smooshed. Then tape the box shut on box ends with some packing tape. I save the empty spice bottles and fill them with a little rice and glue the lid shut. It makes it feel a little more real to our little ones when they get to play with something that looks like the real deal. Not only that, its a great way the recycle and reuse what is basically garbage.

This is some of our loved and gently used pretend food, and when they get too beat up, I just stick them in the recycling bin and wait for some more trash.

Vacation

2009-08-30T17:26:00.007-05:00

In July the pumpkin and I went to visit my grandmother in Louisville Kentucky. My mom even flew in from Las Vegas to visit. Now I'm finally posting pictures of the vacation. She enjoyed tearing up her great grandmothers house. Of course she let her do and my grandma just laughed in joy. I got to see the church my mom grew up in and it's also the place my great grandfather was a minister at. It was amazing to me to be in a place that was full of so much of my families history. We went to the Louisville Zoo while we where there. The pumpkin loved all of the animals. When we where at the lemur habitat she sang "the move it, move it" song from Madagascar. Her favorite was the monkeys, but I think that all of the children like the monkeys.

She felt so grown up on the plane. The flight attendant gave pumpkin her own juice in one of those small plastic clear cups. She would even set it in the cup holder on the tray table.

Here she is tearing up great grandmas living room. She has or shall I say had the kind of living room that you walk by but don't sit in. That kind of space does not exist to the pumpkin.

She loved the zoo. It was something to see. Just about everything there grabbed her attention. That quite a feat. My daughters attention span is about as long as her pinky finger.

EWW! yuk here's a bad picture of mama and the pumpkin. ALL pictures of me are bad.

Ratatouille's Ratatoulle

2009-08-29T10:46:00.006-05:00

I was lucky enough to receive a large amount of zucchini from the garden of two of the boys I watch. When I say large I mean huge. Not only did I get quite a few zucchini but these suckers where huge. Their mother was also nice enough to give some yellow squash too. I love zucchini but the only thing I know how to make is fried zucchini. Then I remembered how yummy and delicious Remy's ratatouille looked in the Disney movie Ratatouille. So I googled the recipe, an after a few modifications I came up with my own version of Ratatouille's ratatouille.

Ingredients

1/2 red onion cut into circles

1 -2 garlic cloves chopped finely

1 cup tomato sauce

2 table spoons of olive oil

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 red bell pepper

Parsley

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Pour the tomato sauce in the bottom of a pan. It just so happened that I had an oval one like Remy used in the movie. Then pour in one table spoon of olive oil and the chopped garlic cloves. Mix it with the tomato sauce.

Thinly chop zucchini, squash, eggplant, onion, and bell pepper.

Next arrange your veggies in a circular pattern on top of your tomato sauce mixture.

Pour the remaining table spoon of olive oil on top and season with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over the top and cover with foil or parchment paper like Remy did.

Bake for 45-55 minutes and serve it over couscous or rice. It also goes well with some french or garlic bread.

Enjoy mmmm!

Update on update

2009-08-28T23:58:00.003-05:00

So this evening while searching the net, I came a across some disturbing posts on other web sites. They were completely bashing the whole Your Baby Can Read series. They were saying that it only teaches the "whole word" approach to reading not understanding that that's what sight reading is. Its words that we have remembered. I don't really see the harm in that. I believe that when my daughter goes to kindergarten that she will also learn phonics. That's the sounding out of words and the letters that make the sounds in the words. And really, does it matter how your child learns to read, if the end result is that your child knows how to read?

Your Baby can read update

2009-08-26T20:22:00.002-05:00

Well after almost 2 1/2 weeks of the starter DVD we have moved on to DVD #1. The kids know nearly all of the words in the starter one with the exception of maybe 2-3 words. They just wouldn't sit and watch it any more. I figured it must be because they've grown tired of it and need more stimulation. Ta Da ! I was right as soon as I put the new one on they all sat still and watched. You could almost hear the synapses firing off in their little heads. It's amazing, but yet it makes me wonder, if something so simple as showing babies and toddlers words followed by a picture can teach them to read, why isn't this something that is encouraged more in daycare centers ? Maybe its those doubting parents that only believe that the kids aren't really reading but simply remembering what the word looks like, or the ones who think that there's no way that a 6 month old knows what an elephant is. Now stop and think about this, us as adults aren't really reading half of the words we know. There's tons of sight words that we know because we've remembered, sense we were children, what the word looks like. Hello that's why they're called sight words and what is so bad about my toddler learner sight words when she's two. Just think how much more she'll learn when she's 5 and in kindergarten. This is a subject that I'd love to elaborate more on but the pumpkin is nagging at my side wanting to go to sleep. YES she lets me know when she's ready for bed.

Your Baby Can Read?

2009-08-19T20:28:00.003-05:00

So a few weeks back the pumpkin and I went to visit my grandmother in Louisville KY. While we were there my grandma was excited about this thing that she saw on TV. She was sure that the pumpkin would benefit greatly by this program and she decided to purchase it. This box arrived about a week ago. At first I was a bit sceptical. How could these DVD's teach babies to read? Well, what the heck we'll give it ago, and if anything the parents of the children I watch will like it too. Now I am completely sold on the "Your Baby Can Read" DVD's. Its been a little over a week and the pumpkin and her buddies have already started to recognize about 5 of the 21 key words in the starter DVD. The "reading movie" (that's what the kids call it) has replaced our morning circle time. I'm very excited about this.

The Amazing Technicolor Twirly Whirlys

2009-08-12T20:22:00.005-05:00

So Banana's mom brought me some goodies a few weeks back. Banana is my Pumpkins buddy. It was a few yards of fabric that she scored at a garage sale for 2 bucks. There was this and that, but what really caught my eye was the yard or rainbow striped fabric and the red, orange, and yellow cotton solids. I added some navy and green that I had in my stash and, viola, the birth of The Amazing Technicolor Twirly Whirly x2.One person told me that the dresses reminded them of a bag of Skittles.

Action shots!!!

Raspberry Bliss

2009-08-03T18:44:00.003-05:00

I do not have a green thumb. I grew up in Las Vegas ,NV were gardening was hard. Now I live in central Wisconsin, everything seems to grow here. I wont lie, I was trilled when the neighbors told me that I had raspberries growing in the yard, but I just don't know how to care for them. So I googled this and that until I had what I thought was enough info on growing raspberries. It did me no good what so ever. We kinda missed when we were supposed to pick them and half of them were a bit too ripe. So when life gives you too few raspberries, you make what I call raspberry bliss.

INGREDIENTS

raspberries a few hand fulls or so

about 2 table spoons of butter

half of a cup of clear liquor ( vodka or rum )

maybe a cup of sugar

skillet

Its not really a recipe that gives you cups and teaspoons, its kind of a hit and miss thing.
you start out by picking your raspberries. Pumpkin likes to "help" but its more of a grab them off the plant and eat them. If you don't have raspberries in your yard you just head on down to your local grocery store.
Then you clean the berries.
Next you add about 2 table spoons of butter to an already hot skillet. Once the butter has melted, add the raspberries, sugar and alcohol. Bring that to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer. You let that simmer for a bit and then check it. If its not sweet enough add some more sugar, if its fine don't. It should be a syrup like concoction, but not too thick. If its too think, almost like a goopy paste add some more liquor. Let it cool a little and serve over some ice cream, angel food cake, or even pancakes. YUM!

Heres Pumpkin "helping ".

Tulle Tulle Tulle!!!

2009-07-23T21:36:00.004-05:00

I've recently found a new love for tulle. I normally don't really care for things that are girly and frilly and... just girly. So naturally tulle fit into that category. Pumpkins style is kinda punky-cute and a little different. I pride myself on knowing that know one eles has the same clothes as my daughters. Its odd that I don't like girly yet Pumpkin's always in a dress, Hmmmmm.
Well when I came across this cute little number on Blueprints , who was inspired by Made , who was inspired by The Pink Picket Fence, ( whew, there I've covered everyone) I just new that Pumpkin and her BFF Banana would soon be the new owners of a tulle poofy skirt.

Each skirt is a 3 tiered skirt. The Pumpkin's is orange with white tulle and the Banana's is made with 2 differnt shades of pink fabric with white tulle on the darker pink, and pink tulle on the lighter pink. I also posted these on Crafster .

"Rockababy"

2009-07-23T12:48:00.005-05:00

I absolutely love swing dresses from the 1940's and 50's and because I never seem to make anything for myself, I decided that my Pumpkin would get her own "Rockababy" dress. Its a simple circle skirt attached to a halter top with a shirred back. This one is her sailor dress that she wore for the 4th of July. It screams Rockabilly swing.

This pink cheetah print one has to be my favorite. The fabric is the Cheetah Girls fabric that I got for 50% off. Then I added 8 yards of ribbon to the bottom to give it the ruffly look.

Isn't the bandana on her head too cute.

Welcome

2009-07-14T19:14:00.001-05:00

You might be wondering why the name purple pocket. I am a working stay at home mom... I do in home day care. With little ones around, I am constantly picking up things like binkys, hair clips, match box cars that I accidentally stepped on ( ouch), and sticking them in my pockets. When we leave the house to go on a walk to the little store on the corner, or a stroll to the play ground, every thing that we might need ends up in my pocket. That would be change for a Popsicles, a mini tube of sunblock, pacifier, and my phone. So, when I was thrilled at the idea of creating my own blog, why not call my pocket. Every thing I find through out the day ends up in there and everything I need does too.