What I'm making this weekend...

There are so many things that I want to work on right now... and for some reason I keep looking at even more cool ideas.  I am really bad at finding lots of project ideas, then never getting around to actually making them.   My most recent obsession has been crochet hats and flowers :)

Despite all of the fabulous ideas out there, I really can only do so much... so here are my to-do's for this weekend.

1. Netbook Case - A friend at work asked if we (me & my DesiLea Boutique business partner) could make her a netbook case.  This was right about the time that we had come across this tutorial for an iPad Case.  I'm going to follow the basic rules of the tutorial but adjust the size to fit the dimensions of the netbook.  I promised to bring this finished on Monday, so it has to be the top priority on my craft list this weekend :)  I can't wait to see how it turns out!  Stay tuned!
2. This Sweet Hat - Awesome huh?  I've been wanting to make one of these cute brimmed hats ever since I first saw them.  I like to try a newborn size first to get a feel for the pattern, since that's the smallest size.  This first one (if all goes well) will turn into a sweet gift for a friend's new nephew who should be born any day now.  I can't wait to see how this turns out!

Realisitcally, I think that's about all that will get done this weekend.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to get a few photos of SQ in her brand new hat that I just finished...

Please excuse the cell phone photo for now... This is why I really want to get some good ones of it being worn tomorrow :)

Cute huh?  It's so super soft too!  I absolutely LOVE the cotton yarn that I used for this... I wish it came in more colors (maybe it does, and my store just didn't have them all), I'm thinking this is my new go-to yarn for anything baby/kid related.  Oh... it's I Love This Cotton Yarn in Pistachio for the main hat and Pink for the light pink flowers. The dark pink is just something extra that I had in my stash - I can't remember what it is, but it's not nearly as soft.

Anyway, it's looking like it will be a pretty busy weekend so far.  In the morning I think I'll pack up the girls and go do a little bit of shopping.  I totally need a new pair of denim capri pants to wear... my ones from last year are TOO BIG! (awesome huh?!).  While I'm out with the girls I think I'll leave my husband home to mow the yard. :)  Then hopefully the rest of the day I'll be able to get a little bit of cleaning and stuff done around the house and of course work some on the projects listed above.

Sunday will be very busy!  We'll be heading over to see both sides of the family - lunch at one house, dinner at the other.  My only concern is when will the girls get their nap?  I really didn't think it through when I committed us to go to both places.  Oh well, it will work out just fine :)

I'll be back with some updates about the projects as soon as they get finished :)

A little bit of crochet

By now you've noticed that I am fairly random with my craft projects. I try lots of different things and tend to be a little scattered. It's just something different to keep me from getting bored. :)

Last week I got a text message from a friend asking me to whip up a gift for a baby shower. So I started brainstorming and eventually decided to make a cute little crochet baby hat.

What do you think? It's super soft and I'm surprised at how cute it turned out. A little secret... I've never made a complete crochet hat before this one. I'm so happy it ended up being cute, because I was really starting to run out of alternative ideas for baby headwear. For some reason I kept focusing back on the crochet

Of course, after that I browsed around a bit more and looked to see what other free patterns I could find. I came across ravelry.com and found lots of really awesome project ideas. Revelry is a community sire for knit and crochet enthusiasts. Luckily there were tons of awesome beginner patterns to choose from.

I came across another really cute hat pattern that i decided to try for my girls. It seemed more appropriate for this time of year because it's more of an open stitched hat... I leaves a bit of breathing room. Of course, not that I'll likely have much luck getting either of my girls to keep this new hat on their heads for very long, but I've got something cute at least that maybe I can bribe them into wearing for at least a few photos.

I'll share more about that later... After I finish a second one for the other kid :). Hopefully with several. Cute photos of them actually being worn.

I finally sewed something!

Its been about a week or more since I've actually sewed anything... Or made anything crafty at all. I guess I just needed a break. Today I finally dug out a project that I had cut out a few weeks ago because it has to be finished this week. So I did make a bit of progress on that project... More about that later :)

I have been thinking about making myself a sleeve or case for my new iPad since before I ever bought it. I haven't wanted to take my iPad anywhere outside of the house because I don't have any sort of protective cover, screen protector or anything.

After a weeks worth of browsing online for the perfect protective case, I finally placed my order on Amazon last night... So that is on the way :)

So tonight since I had the sewing machine out... I decided to throw together a quick little iPad sleeve. I wasn't intended to be anything fancy, just something to protect against scratches and offer a little padding when I want to carry my iPad outside of the house.

Cute huh? I'll be making another one of these this week and I'll actually take photos to do a tutorial...so check back for more details.

This one is double lined/padded with felt and has a Velcro closure. It took probably about 5-10 minutes to make, and that was with making up the steps as I went along. So once you know the steps, you can probably make it in under 5 minutes. How's that for a simple project?

I've got a few more ideas to make this even a little more useful so maybe I'll include those with the tutorial.

On another note, I am sitting here watching Extreme Couponing for the first time. I've heard a lot about this show but hadn't seen it until now... All I can say is that this is CRAZY! Honestly, what do you need with 60 bottles of mustard when you don't even eat mustard? It is pretty awesome how you can work the system though to get all these things for practically nothing.

we went to the park

To be perfectly honest, I haven't really done any sewing this past week.  I just haven't been in the right mood.  I've got a few things started but just haven't been in the mood to continue them just yet.  Oh well, they will get done!

So instead of sharing something fun and crafty, I'm going to just share something fun :)

It's been crazy at our house this week.  The girls have taken turns being brats (usually it's just one at a time thankfully).  Mostly their moods seem to be due to lack of naps (or quality naps) during the day.  Here's hoping things work out better this next week.

Anyway, I was determined to get these girls outside during the beautiful weather we were having this weekend.  We did have to run a few errands though, and so I wasn't quite sure we would fit it all in.  We didn't make it over to the park before nap time like originally planned (they fell asleep in the car on our way to the park), so we made plans to take them back out after they napped and grab a bit of dinner to take home.

I'm so glad we made it out... and that I remembered to bring my camera :) 

NK had a great time running back and forth between the different play sets.

She loved the duck (one of those metal animals on the spring)

And looked like a movie star in my sunglasses :)

SQ spent most of her time looking like this - a little scared by all the other big kids running around. We had to hold her for the first bit of the time we were there, until Daddy took her down the slide. After that she loosened up a bit and at least walked around on her own.

THIS is my absolute favorite capture from the day. Not quite sure about what it is, but I think it turned out great. I don't usually like turning my camera crooked when I take a photo, but for some reason this just works for me.

I did eventually get both of the girls in the swings for a bit.  SQ FINALLY had a great time and spent the whole time that she was swinging, giggling :)  I'm so glad she finally got into it!

Of course, NK pitched a fit when it was time to leave - as expected.  But we made it out, and were able to make our last two stops before we headed home.

What a day!  I'm so glad we were finally able to get out of the house and let the kids run around (or at least one of them run) and do something different.  Hopefully next time SQ will be in a better mood and end up having more fun.