halloween illustrated

with halloween around the corner, it's been a crazy madhouse around here. which is both good news and bad news. the crafting/designing bug is back after a super long hiatus. nothing like my love of the holiday to do that to a girl. but it does look like a crafting bomb exploded all over the house. creating costumes, planning and decorating for a party, and keeping after an active toddler has got me burning the candle at both ends.

once again we're doing our annual pumpkin carving party. this year the party is a little bigger and a whole lot better. at least i'm planning more than i did last year. tonight i spent some time working in illustrator, probably more time than i should have, making labels. i'm pretty happy with the way they turned out but it took me a whole lot longer than i expected. i'm so out of practice it's pathetic. hopefully i'm back in the game cause even though it took me long, i actually enjoyed it. yay graphic design!

i'll post pics after the party so you can see them in action as well as all my other creepy food and costume creations. happy halloween everyone!

bella on board

this past weekend we had irina's baby shower. (she's due august 7th, so baby bella's arrival is just around the corner.) i just wanted to share some of the craftiness i did for the shower.

the invites:
it was decided we'd do a beach-themed shower. (if you couldn't tell by the decor in the first pic.) i was able to find a hibiscus image that sorta seemed girly but not too girly. and since the colors of the invites were brown and pink, my first diaper cake followed suit.

diaper cake:
ideally i would have loved to have used brown hibiscus flowers but i don't think there is such a thing. in the end i had to settle for these gerber daisies. i used about 70 size 2 diapers and one bottle to make the innards of the cake. tissue paper, 2 different ribbons, a feathery boa and gerber daisies contribute to the "icing" on the cake. all in all i was really happy end result of my first diaper cake!

the shower was a great success and my brother and sister-in-law are very well equipped for bella's arrival.

meet me in san antonio

awes and i returned from our long weekend in san anton yesterday. let's just say we had an absolutely fabulous time. it was so great seeing everyone from the patch. i didn't realize how much i missed everyone. it was like old times, back with a vengeance. i'll be posting a link soon to all the fun that was had by all.

sneeze catcher

this week's project: tissue cozies. they're really simple to make and i can use small pieces of leftover fabric to make them. i've learned that i have to plan a little when making projects sans pattern. especially if i want to make any modifications, like adding a key ring. it took a few tries to figure out what i was doing. always a live and learn experience. hopefully with time it'll all become second nature.

i was thinking about adding credit card holders to to the checkbook design. not sure if i want to revisit that project so soon. maybe in a few months. i really need to keep a sewing journal of some sort. with measurements, steps, etc. i have been downloading tutorials and printing them out for reference, so that's a start.

we've been getting a little bit of snow. not much to write home about. we were hoping to get some sledding in today, but so far not enough to cover the little bit we got last week. we need to break in the super sled dad got us for christmas. we might have to save it for tomorrow.

we're hitting the slopes tuesday. first time to actually go skiing since we've been here. i'll need a refresher for sure. i might end up taking snowboarding lessons instead. i want to give it a go. although watching the people trying over christmas break, i have a feeling i'll be spending most of my time on my butt. you gotta start somewhere.

a little over a week before we head to san antonio for the AAD (american academy of dermatology) meeting. i'm so excited to go. i can't wait to see everyone and there's gonna be so much to do while we're there. TONS of pictures to come, i can almost guarantee it! i'm so glad it's in a warm place this year. i'll have to bust out the shorts that have been packed away for months now. we're even going to do a little geocaching while in town. jamie wants to try it and i'll need to help her get the hang of it. she's planning on getting a gps when they get back to washington state. aaron and i have found it's a fantastic way to see the area. and all the ones i've downloaded are along the riverwalk so it should be fun!!