Kicking off summer...

in a long-sleeve shirt and pants kind of way.

Just thought I'd pop in to share a few pics from our recent trip to the cabin at Pt. Roberts. This is the stuff that memories are made of.

FYI, baby wipes are brilliant for getting marshmallow out of hair. Just so you know.

The anniversary tree

I was so honoured when my colleague, Kim, asked me to create something special he could give his wife on their ten year anniversary. What was really fun was that he didn't have any specific ideas when he first approached me. That problem was solved with a couple of quick scans through the Fresh Modern Quilts group on Flickr. In the end, we settled on the notion of doing a wall hanging with a tree and birds.

I finished the piece a while ago, but wanted to wait until after the actual anniversary to post about it. Here is the finished project in all its glory! Each bird represents one member of their family [and bare an unintentional liking to the Twitter bird].

Throughout the process, Kim kept asking if I was taking photos of "the build" [this is a guy who's recently built himself a movie quality stormtrooper costume...for fun.] so here you go...these pics are for you Kimu!

Each leaf, bird and tree trunk were cut by hand and appliqued on...one. at. a. time.

Stitching leaf number 37...I think.

I just used a regular old zig zag to secure each piece.

A special message from husband to wife [don't tell Angie, but it was my idea!]

Not bad considering this is only the second time I've attempted applique!

Fingers crossed that Angie likes it!

Party favour pouches

Saw a cute little tutorial to make little treat bags on Prudent Mama a while back and filed it away to try out for Abner's birthday. I can't tell you how wrong it felt to sew paper on my sewing machine! But, the results are so adorable!

I filled each pouch with a small handful of Mike & Ikes (and then proceeded to eat the remaining enormous bag I'd bought all by myself!). If you're planning to try this out yourself, be forewarned that you don't need much to fill each pouch! These were great for the little kids because they can easily open the pouches by themselves and you can use any paper that tickles your fancy!

The gift of a name

Life is a bit crazy at the moment, so just a quick pop in to show you all a little handmade giftie I whipped up for our little friend Cole who recently turned three. I love this idea for decorating with a name. Besides, any sewing project where I get to use a hammer is a winner in my book!

The idea was borrowed from a friend [who I think borrowed it from somewhere else...my apologies if you originally created this idea...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.]

Birthday and letter bags

We celebrated Abner's birthday this past weekend. With all the crappy weather we've been having, it was a gamble whether we'd be in the park or in the party room (again). Thankfully, we had fantastic weather and the kids were able to run around like crazy chickens before feasting on nummy lunch and cake (carrot cake made by TDSH, of course!) and opening gifts (sort of).

True to form, I chose to make party favours for each of Abner's little friends rather than buying things from the dollar store or wherever. I used this great little tutorial from Kim of Retro Mama that I found on Craft Snob to make up custom monogrammed tote bags for each party guest.

I'm not going to lie...it took a while to prepare all of the bags I needed (thank goodness some kids weren't able to make it!) Choosing the corresponding fabrics for each bag was the best part, especially since all of the fabrics came from my scrap bag.

The finished bags were each stuffed with a colouring book and a few little treats and hung from a tree. They looked beautiful hanging in the bright sun and were as much a decoration as they were a party favour.

I'm not sure about the other kids, but I know Abner has already been getting a lot of use out of her little "A" bag.