Wow - it's been awhile...

It's literally been years since my last post.  That last post I was just getting ready to set up my sewing room in Grand Junction, CO.  Well, shortly after that we found out we were moving, again, to Austin, TX.  At that point I decided I needed to put everything to a halt.  I stopped sewing, stopped unpacking, stopped everything.  It's kind of crazy how life works sometimes.  Looking at my last post gave me that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach again that happens every time we find out we are moving.  This past month I got out my machine and started making a few things.  It felt good to make and create something from scraps of t-shirts.  I know that I'll be doing more in the future and am excited to see what happens!  I don't think I'll fire up my etsy shop again, or sell in boutiques.  It will be just for fun and any custom gifts that people may want.  I made a few items for an auction at my kiddos school, St. Louis Catholic School.  Like I said - it felt good to get that creative side out again!

So, what have I been up to?  I started a part time job that I absolutely LOVE!  I am a group exercise instructor and teach BODYPUMP, BODYFLOW, and BODYATTACK.  It is such a blast and such a feeling of service.  I am helping others learn to love exercise and maybe learn a little along the way.  I'm also very involved in my kids school doing different volunteer activities.  Lastly, I've been teaching and learning more about essential oils these past 2 years.  I've been using them for almost 5 years now, but have taken it one step farther.  I have such an amazing team of people who share my passion for spreading health and wellness. 
You can check out my "shop" at www.mydoterra.com/mountainoils


What do I hope to post in the future?  Maybe more crafts, oils, health, fitness... a little of all the things I love.  I'll slowly start updating my links, so be patient!

Peace out!

Caps, Caps for Sale! 50 cents a cap!

Well, not 50 cents (darling classic kids book if you don't have it), but I do have a very, very limited supply of hats for sale on Etsy!  As I have been unpacking I came across a box with a few of the hats I had left before we moved from Jackson, WY to Grand Junction, CO.  I have been so flattered with so many requests lately for hats that I decided to put what I have left on Etsy and the cutest kids store in Grand Junction, Kairos.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mountainsoleil

 

Kairos children's boutique

533 Main Street

Grand Junction, CO  81501

(970)241-0460

 



 Hopefully in the near future I'll have my sewing room set up and ready to take orders...it's a little overwhelming at the moment...I don't even know where to begin!  It is exciting to have a whole room that will be MINE and not the corner or my bedroom or the dining room (my husband is even more excited about this!).

I wish I could hire someone to just make this all functional.  It's actually gotten worse since I took this picture.  I keep adding boxes and then closing the door! 

 

Hopefully there is a hat out there that will work for you and your little one!  Thank you all for your support and motivation to keep going with this! 

 

 

"Unless someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not."

Happy Halloween!

We just loved the Lorax and have read the book and seen the movie a million times.   One night after our bedtime reading we decided it would be fun to dress up for Halloween!  Super simple and couldn't be cuter - introducing the Lorax, protector of the Truffula Tree!

 

 

For the Truffula tree, I just used fabric markers on white legging and shirt to make the stripes.  Then I took a hat, covered it with a shower cap and stuffed it.  I used 5 feather boas and glued them on with FabricTac.  For the Lorax, all I did was pin felt eye brows on an orange hat, glued an elastic with FabricTac between 2 pieces of felt for the moustache, then stuffed an orange shirt.  Cute, easy, fun!

 

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

 

 

The 100th Day of School "tree"

Last year when my daughter was in Kindergarten, we had to come up with a collection or something to bring in for the 100th day of school.  We decided to make a pom pom tree with 100 pom poms!  It was so much fun.  We found a few branches with good "y" shapes at the top and stuck them in some air clay.  We used the color blue since that is the school color.  Then we counted out assorted sizes and shades of blue of the pom poms, 100 to be exact!  We glued on the big ones first to give it a good base and then filled in with the small ones.  The best glue to use is Fabric Tac (can buy it at Michaels - don't by the generic kind - you'll regret it).  Hot glue is too hot on the fingers and tacky glue takes way too long to dry.  Once you try fabric tac you'll never go back!  It's amazing (but stinky).  Anyways, the finished product came out better than I imagined.  Almost looks like a giant truffala tree from the Lorax!

Hoppy Easter (yes, I know it was in April - I'm a little behind)

Here is a cute project that I did for the kids for Easter.  Since all our Easter stuff was in storage I decided to make some little crates rather than go buy new baskets.  I still haven't antiqued them yet, which is on my to-do list (vinegar, coffee, steel wool), but they are still cute until that happens.  This was another project inspired from www.littleblueboo.com  It was pretty fast and easy to do.  Reese's crate has a horse on the side, and James' crate has a tractor (kind of hard to tell in the picture).  All my supplies I got at Michaels and the Martha Stewart farm stencils were on sale.  I'll definitely be using them again since I have a major horse crazy girl and a tractor crazy boy.  It's been forever since I stenciled anything.  I was quite the crafter in middle school: painting wood objects, stencling, cross stitching, baskets...brought back memories.

 

The sock bunnies were from Little Blue Boo, too.  I got the socks at Target.  Aren't they adorable?  I was able to use the sock scraps and make rice bags with them (the ones you can heat up in the microwave or put in the freezer!)

And here we are in Denver for Easter weekend at Red Rocks.

American Girl dreamin'

Yes, the American Girl craze has hit our household.  At first I was pretty against it - seriously, over $100 for a doll?  And the fact that an "American" Girl doll that is made in China didn't make me too happy.  I think the AG thing hit a few years after my time since I had never heard of them growing up, yet I have a few friends who are a couple of years younger and they all seem to have or remember the "Samantha" doll.  I never played with dolls much growing up.  Sure, I had Barbies and Cabbage Patch dolls, but they still look like new (my parents saved EVERYTHING).  I would dress them up occasionally, move them around, but I had much more fun playing with my brother's stuff and boy cousins.  I was the oldest of the cousins, then it was all boys, and then the youngest cousin was a girl.  Anyways, back to American Girl...

Santa brought Reese an American Girl doll last year.  It was one of the "My American Girl" dolls and it kind of looks like her.  She named her Lily.  Since then, the more we play, read the books, and even play with the virtual "Lily" on the computer, the more I really like these dolls.  They are great quality and what I like most is the message.  They are so positive, teach great lessons about being a good caring person, friend, daughter, student, etc.  After we got Lily (and the foal horse), she decided that she had to go to one of the stores.  There is a store in Denver, where my brother lives, so we celebrated her 6th birthday there.  That's when Julie arrived (and the mare horse).  Julie is one of the "Historical" characters from the 70s with super long blond hair.  I think she looks like my mom back in the 70s:)

Reese gets a kick out of dressing like her doll.  We have a few matching outfits, but then I decided that I would try making something for the start of school.  It was total trial and error and if I have to do it again I'm sure it will come out much better.  The stitching is pretty rough looking (definitely getting my serger out of the box the next time around!).  So, for the first day of school Reese, Lily, and Julie were ready to go in their uniforms!  (Lily's skirt may not be regulation length...)

Here's Reese and Lily in their matching outfits for her birthday (from the American Girl store - I did not make these but plan on making more outfits once I get my "Carrie Room" set up in our new house!).

Reese and Lily look a little wiped after a long day of partying and shopping.  I'm in line paying for "Julie" to be added to the AG family.

 

Here's one more thing I made, inspired from one of my favorite blogs, www.littleblueboo.com  Reese really wanted Lily to be a mermaid one day and I thought, why not?  Then I went a little crazy and made a bunch for her friends and cousin in all different sparkly material.

 



And to end, the American Girl Pledge (love this!):

I can be myself, follow my dreams,

and always do my best.

I can reach for the stars, lend a

hand to others, and be a good friend.

I can make a difference.

I promise to try.

Gwen, the Tooth Fairy

Last spring, my daughter lost her first tooth, so of course we needed something to put the tooth in.  I made a little pillow that is soft and flat to fit perfectly under her pillow.  We found out her tooth fairy's name was Gwen after she lost her second tooth...she made a little picture and Gwen wrote her back a cute little note!  Yesterday, September 8, she lost her 3rd tooth!  She's getting so big...