Canada bound {and some cuteness}.

Just wanted to share some cuteness with you.
This is Knuckles. My brother Kevin's puppy.
Isn't he just the most adorable bundle of fur you've ever seen?
He is so cute - I wanted to sneak him into my carry on and bring him home.
He is part chihuahua and part cocker spaniel.
My kids went crazy over him when we were on vacation.
And so did I.

Going away again this weekend to take the kids to see Peter Pan at the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Canada.
I am just as excited as the kids - I LOVE plays.

Then we are off to Chicago next week for my cousin's wedding.
Whew. It's been one heck of a busy summer.
I promise lots of pictures when we get back.

And another giveaway for back to school.

Meet Nelly.

Nelly

Do you remember my first sewing project? I am proud to say that I bravely tackled the sewing machine (finally!) and produced this sweet doll.



Her face and hair are made out of felt and her body from fabric. I got the tutorial from here - but changed it up just a bit.


I made her a cute little pillowcase dress without a pattern so it is far from perfect. I'll do better next time now that I know the proper way to do it.


Nelly's little maryjane shoes are made from felt too but again, you can see the imperfections. Sigh.


But one little girl thinks Nelly is PERFECT. And that's my sweet girl Skylar. She brought her to bed and here they are in the morning. Nelly will be loved - I am sure of that.

On vacation!

Which Happy Place does this attraction belong to?

Hooray for summer! The kids and I are on vacation visiting my family for the next two weeks!

Lots of pictures coming soon! In the meantime, let's have a little contest.

Take a look at the picture above and guess which attraction it is and what theme park it belongs to.

Hint: Don't be too scared to take a guess.

The first person who guesses right wins something new from the Fall collection of Skylar's Candy Clips!

WINNER! WINNER! WINNER!

Congratulations to #53

Robyn

for winning the
Rosey Corner Creations Giveaway!

Enjoy your beautiful new diaper tote!!!

My first sewing project.

Black Apple Dolls from marthastewart.com

A friend is coming over today to give me my first ever sewing lesson. Do you remember the sewing machine that I bought a few months ago? Yep - still in the box, unopened, untouched. Until today. Yikes - I am excited and nervous at the same time. I've been drooling over these dolls for the longest time and today, I will actually try to make them. TRY. I will post some pics when they are finished. BE NICE when you see them - they will not be perfect.

If you want to try them yourself, you can find the FREE tutorial here. And watch the video featuring the Etsy artist who created these adorable dollies.

* And don't forget to join the giveaway!

Rosey Corner Creations Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Meet Carol from RoseyCornerCreations. She is a mommy to five (yes, five!) children and runs a successful shop on Etsy. She started sewing when she was five years old.


(from Carol's blog:)

"I'm a wife and a mother of 5 energetic children. I enjoy a clean house, sparkling kitchen, well ordered closets, freshly laundered linens, and floors free from small building blocks, doll shoes & muddy shoes. But that's my life only part of the time. Most of the time it's peanut-butter cookie crumbs and strawberry jam fingerprints and my favorite sticky kisses. I love my life,sticky fingerprints and all. I started sewing with my mom when I was 5. So, yes, that means I've been sewing for a few decades. Being creative makes me smile, I love to smile. I'm excited to have the chance to make you smile too. Maybe you'll find a chuckle or two in my shopping/sewing/family/life experiences. And hopefully something I create will make you smile too."

And make me smile it did. I looked at her shop and my, oh my, does she have some beautiful pieces. Just look at the description of each one and you can tell that a lot of love and detail go into each piece. Here are some of my faves:

Changing Pad Clutch $22

Card Keeper $8

Perfect Small Tote, $16

Plastic Bag Holder, $11

Her items are not only beautiful, they are all affordable - which is a big deal to most people nowadays. Start thinking Christmas gifts, everybody. Seriously, the plastic bag holder is genius, especially if you, like me, like to recycle plastic bags.

But I saved the best for last. This one is my favorite item of all:

Amy Butler Diaper Tote $25

Take a look at this little beauty. Aren't the colors lovely? I started to drool as soon as I saw this one under her featured listings.

Now for the good news: you guessed it - this is the giveaway prize!!! One lucky (VERY LUCKY) reader will win this beautiful diaper tote.

Here is how you can enter (please leave a different comment for each entry):

1. Visit RoseyCornerCreations on Etsy and pick your favorite item.
2. Become a follower of Carol's blog.
3. Become a follower of my blog (if you already are, please state that in a comment)

4. Grab my pretty button for your blog
5. Become a fan of Skylar's Candy Clips on Facebook (if you already are, state that in a comment). Click on the Facebook Page Badge at the top right of my blog.

6. And for extra credit, who are you trying to win this diaper tote for (and it's perfectly okay to admit that you want it for yourself!)?

* if you don't have your email on your blog profile, please include it in one of your comments.

Good luck everybody! The winner will be picked through random.org

on Sunday, July 18, 2010.

This giveaway is now closed.
Thank you for all the entries!!!

Pssst... giveaway happening tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow if you want to win this lovely!