As seen on made



So remember a couple of weeks ago, I showed you this cute skirt from made?  Well, everything Dana makes is cute, and I've made a few other things from her very easy to follow tutorials...

I had yellow seersucker in my stash so I made this in a couple of evenings.  It would have been easy to do in one evening, but I didn't have quite enough seersucker in my stash and had to add one more tier a day later.

And that was even with using a coordinating linen for the connector pieces and waistband.  This picture shows that I sorely need to moisturize my hands!  Funny story (and my Mom will totally corroborate this) - I wanted to be a hand model when I was a little girl and she could get me to rub lotion on her feet endlessly by saying that hand models needed to have soft moisturized hands!

So I get the skirt completed and show it to Arden, and she says something like "ooh, pretty!" but won't wear the stinkin' thing for several days.  First it was something about wearing it only to dance class, then something about it being for a baby.  So I had to show her the picture from Dana's post with Lucy (definitely NOT a baby) wearing hers.  Arden agrees to put it on and let me take pictures, but she had to have a sucker like Lucy.  Ohhhh, what fun are three year olds!!?!

Now she's happily worn it all day, and I keep admiring how cute all those ruffled layers are.

Do you ever have to bribe your tiny people to wear the things you've made them? 

I'll be linking up to these fabulous parties:

Mondays Making the World Cuter Monday – Making the World Cuter Just Something I Whipped Up – The Girl Creative Party Blog Made By You Monday – Skip to My Lou Do It Yourself Day – A Soft Place to Land Craftastic Monday – Sew Can Do Making Mondays Marvelous – C.R.A.F.T. Market Yourself Monday – Sumo’s Sweet Stuff Creative Me Monday - The Southern Institute Tuesdays I Made It Without My Hubby – Shanty 2 Chic Sew Cute Tuesdays – Creative Itch Anything Related – All Things Related Tot Tuesdays – My Delicious Ambiguity Tute-in Tuesdays – Oops, I Craft My Pants Take a Look Tuesdays - Sugar Bee Craft Edition Shwin&Shwin Wednesdays We Did It Wednesdays – Sew Much Ado Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice - Seven Thirty Three Show & Tell – Blue Cricket Design Show Me What Ya Got - Not Just a Housewife Your Whims Wednesdays - My Girlish Whims Thursdays Strut-Your-Stuff – Somewhat Simple Make It, Wear It – The Train to Crazy It’s Stinkin’ Cute – Sew Stinkin’ Cute Show Off Your Stuff – Fireflies and Jellybeans Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now Pinspirational Thursdays - The ArtsyGirl Connection Fridays Furniture Feature Friday - Miss Mustard Seed Weekend Wrap Up Party – Tatertots and Jello Feature Yourself Friday – Fingerprints on the Fridge Friday Fun Finds – KojoDesigns Weekends Check Me Out Saturday – A Vision to Remember Show and Tell Saturday – Be Different Act Normal Sunday Scoop – I Heart Naptime Sunday Showcase Party – Under the Table and Dreaming A Pinteresting Party - Tutus & Tea Parties

I Pinned It! 3.30.12

** If you pin any images from this post, please click back to the source so it links properly to the originator **

And without further ado, here's some great things I've pinned:

My Homespun Threads

Oooh, I die!  These kimonobaby shoes are adorable!  Lovin' the turquoise polka dots with the brown ribbon ties also!  Might have to try my hand at another pair of baby shoes!

Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide

I don't know who Rufus is, but this Limoncello Tiramisu looks scrumptious!

Me Sew Crazy

Okay, enough with all this cuteness!  My to-do list is already a mile long!  Seriously, the contrast fabric on the pockets, and pleats?  Yes, please!

Simple Shapes on Etsy

You know I love me some Etsy and this chalkboard wall calendar is genious!

Fabulous Living

I had pinned this Green Velvet Cake around St. Patrick's Day - aside from the fact that I heart red velvet cake is the realization that it could be any color velvet.  Hmmm, orange, or maybe turquoise???

Butterfly House

I took the girls to our local garden's Butterfly House this morning.  Hadley started out with a little snooze in the car to build her energy for the big outing.

These big butterflys were more than willing to perch on the visitors.  Arden wanted nothing to do with it, but Hadley didn't seem to mind.

It sort of looks like a big hair bow!

Still there!

And proof that Arden went along and I exist - here's a group shot of us; butterfly still included!  One of the staff from the house went to grab her camera because it was so cute and offered to take one of all of us with my camera.  I'm still getting used to handing my DSLR to people - everyone's so accustomed to being able to preview the image on screen that going back to the eye piece requires explanation.

I have done some sewing (other than nautical flag banners!), but Arden has been reluctant to model my creation even though she says she likes it.  Maybe tomorrow...

Entering in the spring challenge at:

From Pinterest to Plate: Savory Spinach Bites

The Curvy Carrot



I had pinned these savory spinach bites quite a while ago in my Yum! I'm Married to a Vegetarian board and I made them on Saturday.  They were super tasty and made a lot - like a giant cookie sheet and a regular cookie sheet full.  Easy peasy not too time-consuming, just a lot of rolling.  Halfway through I figured that my little cookie dough scooper thingy would have been a good idea, but I didn't want to get it messy that late into the game. 

We ate them as a side with soup on Saturday because we were still recovering from the yucks.  Then I made spaghetti with meat spinach balls on Sunday and I have to say these were a great meatless meatball option!  Definitely going into our recipe book, which is the true measure of a recipe's success; I don't write down just any ol' recipe!!  I didn't bother with a picture - mine turned out exactly as pictured in the pinned photo.

A Bad Case of the Yucks...

Warning - this post contains talk of poop and puke. 

We've had a serious case of the yucks around here.  On Wednesday, I made the mistake of feeding Hadley  prunes for dinner.  Hadley only poops every two or three days (you know where this is going, don't you?).  Well, the prunes did the trick and I woke up about 3 AM intending to go pump and checking her found her half rolled over with obvious leakage from the front and back.  My first horrified thoughts were that she had somehow gotten the poop in her mouth, but thankfully discovered that she had just thrown up a little.  So, change the sheet, mattress pad, diaper, pajamas and swaddle and sit down to feed her.  About 15 minutes later, she puked all over me, the Boppy, and the futon we were on.  Boppy cover, sheet on futon, burp cloth and my underwear all go into the laundry chute.

Then last night we lost power and in the midst of this Arden begins crying and calling for us.  We've been working through her frequent wakings and don't rush right in, but after a while we heard the unmistakable sound of retching.  Change the sheets, mattress pad, pajamas, and pillowcase using a cell phone to light the way.  Arden has at times worked herself up to the point of vomiting, so we figured this was the case.  Nope.  Half an hour later she starts crying again so this time we go in pretty quickly.  She's puked again, this time all over herself and in her hair.  Dave starts to give her a bath and I change sheets, blanket, lose the pillow completely, and get out fresh jammies.  Another hour or so later, we repeated the whole process.  At least now the power is back on.  By this time I'm rummaging in the closet for blankets to put on her bed and she's wearing shortie pajamas even though it's not very warm. 

We try to settle back to sleep, but then I get up and get sick.  Ugh, though I actually felt better afterwards.

So not to leave you completely disgusted, here are a few pictures I snapped over the last week:

We live a block off the course for the annual St. Patrick's day races and parade.  The girls and I walked down and set up a picnic to cheer the runners on.  Arden rang her little cowbell we got at the Couer d'Alene Ironman and I snapped photos of the runners.  I normally run the race every year, but I've been having trouble with my foot and bone pain in my pelvis and Dave was at work anyways.  We went back after nap to watch the parade.

I bought a baby swing for Hadley to swing with Arden in the backyard.  Both girls thoroughly enjoyed swining together.

What do you do when your little ones are sick?  I remember Kate Gosling from John & Kate Plus Eight saying she set up a pallet in the laundry room, but I just don't think I can get on board with that...

I Pinned It! 3.23.12

** If you pin any images from this post, please click back to the source so it links properly to the originator **

Need an invitation to Pinterest?  Just leave a message on this post.  What have you been pinning?  Here's what I've found pin-worthy in the last week:

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

It's like two of the best comfort foods met and had a baby!  Macaroni and cheese, meet gnocchi - love at first sight...

Little Red Woods

Okay, so these little girls shoes are abso-stinkin'-adorable (and she makes them for big girls too - squeel!), but to top that off, she's part of an artist's group that is asked to donate their lovelies to actors and the like, so these are for Suri Cruise!  What an amazing opportunity!

imagine gnats

How super cute is this spinny toddler skirt - and she'll customize the fabrics used to create one to your child's interests or preferences.  What little girl doesn't love a spinny skirt?

Charla Anne

I love these little felt dollies!  It's like a paper doll chain came to life - you have to click through to see the adorable details Charla added to their sweet faces!

Singing With Birds

Mom - stop reading now or you'll spoil the surprise!

My Mom loves coconut cream pie and with Mother's Day just around the corner and a visit to coincide I thought this Impossible Coconut Pie version sounded like a great one to try to celebrate!

Miracle-Gro® Expand 'n Gro™ Planting Mix

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Unless you live under a rock you've heard of Miracle-Gro®, but maybe you haven't heard of coir, a natural material that comes from coconuts.  Well, now Miracle-Gro® has combined coir with their time-tested plant food formula to create a revolutionary product called Expand 'n Gro™ .

Expand ‘n Gro™ 

If you've been playing along, you know that we try to be environmentally friendly in our Jennuine Life - we use a biodegradable diaper system, compost, and recycle.  We also use water conservation strategies and are mindful of our impact on the watershed because we live within miles of a river and bay which empty into one of the Great Lakes.



So I am really excited to try this product - here are some of the features and benefits of Expand 'n Gro™: 

• Up to 3X the flowers or vegetables as you would get with native soil - sounds good to me!
• Improves the soil for multiple years - more bang for your buck!
• Concentrated planting mix expands 3X when water is added - this means you can easily carry a little bag that will make as much as a big bulky bag!
• Feeds your plants for up to six months - 'cuz you know I'm not going to remember to add plant food throughout the season!
• Natural coir fibers hold 50% more water than basic potting soil - that sounds like less watering to me!
• Soil amended with Expand 'n Gro™ is up to 40% lighter and contains up to 90% more air space - this makes the soil more workable and makes it easier for the plants to create strong roots! is us to 40% lighter 
• Short coir fibers from the coconut husks were previously disposed as a by-product, but are now being put to use instead of being disposed.

Do you want to try Expand 'n Gro™?  Miracle-Gro® is sending me a sample, and I'm passing it on to one lucky reader.  Just leave a comment on this post telling me how does your garden grow and I'll choose a random winner.  I'd love it if you became a follower!

Embroidery Hoop Storage Bag

Another goodie I sent in the box for my Package Pal was this embroidery hoop storage bag.

I had pinned this image which linked to an article on Always A Project.  The author was knocking off a similar project she had seen pinned from Martha Stewart.  Isn't the inspiration floating around Pinterest wonderful?

Here's a pic Ellen took after she received her package - everything looks better with yummy yarn in it!

The instructions were very easy to follow and this was a quick project - maybe half an hour?  I picked up two of the embroidery hoops (one for Ellen and one for me!  I haven't made mine yet - sad.) and they were a slightly different size than the tutorial, but it was easy to adjust.  I like the two different doodl-y scroll-y designs - as Genevieve would say, I think they play well together.

I haven't figured out what fabrics to use when I make mine - I don't have enough of either of these left.  I think neutral colors like these would be best, so I might just go pick up some more if I can still get it. 

Wouldn't a row of these like the image I pinned be wonderful?  Maybe a string of mini hoops!

Hadley: Eating and Sleeping

I Pinned It! 3.16.12

** If you pin any images from this post, please click back to the source so it links properly to the originator **
Let me know if you'd like an invitation to Pinterest - just leave a message on this post.  What have you been pinning?  Here's what I've found pin-worthy in the last week:

Perry's Plate

These Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas looked so yummy I made them for dinner last night!  They were indeed very tasty and not at all difficult to make with the exception that you first roast the vegetables and then make the layered enchilada and bake it, so I actually made this over two days; roasting the veggies on Wednesday and layering and baking on Thursday.

Crafty Cupboard via Sewing In No Man's Land

I do so little sewing for myself, but I think this skirt could just break that trend.  I think it would be pretty flattering and maybe give the impression that I have a waist?  I love the outfit she put together with the pleated chevron skirt in grey and a yellow cardi...

Giverslog

French macarons are not at all the coconut-y dense cookie we call macaroons.  I discovered them while on my first business trip to Europe and we went to Paris for the weekend.  We decided to eat at one of the only restaurants on Champs-Élysées that was air conditioned and it turned out to be the famed Ladurée.  Dinner was amazing and dessert was a selection of three amazingly light and crispy sandwich cookies which they incidentally sold at the attached bakery.  I was smitten!  I returned to Paris years later and made a special trip to Ladurée specifically to get a big old box of macarons.  They didn't last long!

Skook's Playground

Get this - hubby Dave actually OFFERED to let me take over the dining room completely and set up a cutting table.  Sometimes he's not the most supportive of my crafts, but he grew up with a quilting mother and is used to the paraphanalia that goes with it.  I think I'd need something a little taller, but I love this idea - it's a dresser and a desk back to back and then a "ridiculously large cutting mat" on top.  Plus, don't you love the in-progress quilt in the background?

The Food Librarian

Can't have a post on March 16th without a nod to St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!  This looks like a great variation of the similar strawberry dessert.

Crochet/Knitting Bag

This crochet/knitting bag I made for Ellen my Package Pal through C.R.A.F.T.s match up was one of those projects that began well, and sort of felt like it was going all sideways in the middle, but then ended up working out pretty much as I had hoped.

I started out with a sketch of the features and dimensions I wanted to make.  I know the title "Best knitting bag ever seen" sounds all self-important, but it's a phrase Arden uses a lot like "strongest girl ever seen!" or "best big sister ever seen!".  I don't know where she came up with it, but it came to mind when I started trying to sketch out what I wanted to make for Ellen because I wanted to try to include everything a knitter or crocheter would need.  Here's what it says in case you can't read my writing:

• 12" x 12" or > - I wanted it to be big enough to fit a pattern book or magazine.  I measured a few of my knitting books and that size would accommodate any of them.
• Interior full-width pocket for pattern/book - strapped at top - I was planning to have a little Velcro tab at the top but when didn't have Velcro the right size when I was sewing it. 
• Hook/needle pockets - I measured some of my largest needles and made a pocket band the whole width of one of the interior sides with a couple of bigger sections to hold stuff like double-pointed needles or other notions.
• Grommet to guide yarn - I put one on each side.  I had seen this on a bag Ashley from Cherished Bliss - one of my competitors made for One Month To Win It and thought it was very clever! 
• Zippered pocket for phone, keys, etc... stitch markers...  This was a pain in the patooty and it ended up being a little wonky after messing with it forever, but it's in and it functions.  I tried to use a tutorial from Jessica from Running With Scissors, but I didn't follow her instructions properly.

So here's the finished product - photos courtesy of Ellen since I didn't have time to take pictures during daylight.  I mailed it at the. last. possible. second. as it was.  Poor Ellen - she sent her package like the first couple of days the exchange was open, and I didn't reciprocate until February 29.

I love how she staged it for the photos with some of her needles and lovely yarn.

I'll definitely be participating for April!  This was so much fun getting to know Ellen and giving and receiving crafty goodness!