New in the shop

(From top to bottom, Left to Right

Apple pear, Amy butler temple garden,

Heather Bailey Sway in Peach, Michael Miller dandy Damask in Chocolate Brown)


$ 7.50
I have wanted to make these cute zipper pouches for awhile and finally sat down during this long Labor Day Weekend and Labored!! I made a few of these for my Etsy shop and thought I would share them with you first. If you would like to order one I will send it to you with FREE shipping. Cause I am nice like that and I wanted to do something nice for my fellow bloggers. I am putting them in the shop sometime this week so if you want one just email me with the one you would like and I will get it in the mail to you. I will send you a Paypal invoice if that works for you.

These zipper pouches are lined with coordinating fabric and they also have a thick interfacing between the layers. They are approx. 5.5" by 5.5"

Ideas for these pouches

* put a gift card in them and give to your favorite teacher, friend, or relative

* Put your Ipod and earbuds in it to keep it safe from the rest of the things in your purse

* Put your spare change in it

* Put your makeup in it

* Give it your your daughter to keep personal things in it in their backpack

Giveaways

I love Giveaways and I came across Vanilla Joy who is hosting several fantastic giveaways. Can you say Cricut??

Party Favors

Last week when Abigale celebrated her birthday we handed out Gumball Goodie bags. I had made these in May for the teachers but was only able to find the small gumballs at Walmart. I lucked out and our Sams Club had the cases of large gumballs in stock the week I was there. I put two cups of gumballs in a clear bag and printed out round stickers that had the Princess graphic on them. ( I had scanned in Abigale's Blank Birthday invitation and shrunk it to fit on the sticker)

This is what I put on the sticker.
"Thank you for celebrating Abigale's Birthday. I hope you had a Ball"

I tied them with ribbon and put them in a big red tub to take to the pool.

School ideas

The kids have enjoyed being back in school. I am not sure how long that will last though!! They brought First Day of School Happies for their teachers. I made notepads with the teachers name on them.

Wordless Wednesday- First Day of School

Go here for more Wordless Wednesday.

Happy Birthday

It's hard to believe that five years ago today Abigale was born. She is the youngest of four children and I think that she will forever be known as the baby of the family. She starts Pre-school tomorrow and is so excited. She celebrated her birthday Sunday night with a pool party and tonight we will sing Happy Birthday to her and let her open her presents from us.

I asked her what she would like for dinner and she immediately asked for Aunt Polly's Pasta.

Happy Birthday Sweet Little Girl! We Love you very much!

Aloha Friday- Can you Sew?

As most of you know I have my own Business J Designs. I make baby gifts and other things. I have tried several times to make clothes but just can never get the hang of the patterns and all the instructions. Remember, I had great plans to make this cute Amy Butler Messenger bag? Too many pattern pieces and not enough time.



Well, I ordered this kit to make Abigale the Parisian dress with Amy Butler fabric. It arrived yesterday and I made it immediately. Abigale loved it and will probably wear it for her pre-school orientation on Monday.

(the cute clips were included as a gift from the seller)

So my question for today is....



Do you sew? Do you think you could make this dress that comes in a kit?

Book Giveaway

************UPDATE**************


The winner of the giveaway is Stacey at The Truest thing. Email me with your info Stacey and I will get this out to you!



I love to read and I have recently discovered Audible books that I can load on my IPOD. This was wonderful when I took the kids to Vermont. I was able to listen to one of my favorite authors and the trip did not seem as long.





One of the books that I did read while on vacation was Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews. It was a good read and instead of listing it in my Paperback Swap bookshelf I thought I would send it to one of you. Just tell me one of your favorite books you have read this summer and leave it in the comment section.!!

Crafty Picture Frame

This is a quick and easy craft that you or your children might like to do.

It is a picture frame that you decoupage with scrapbook paper and then add magazine cutouts that represent the picture or the friend you are giving it to.

My daughter Rebecca made this for her friend Maria as one of her Birthday Gifts.

This is what you will need.
Mod Podge, Scrapbook paper, plain frame that is smooth and has at least an inch of wood or plastic edge and magazines.

Cut out cute and fun sayings from the magazines. I cut out the scrapbook paper and glued it to the frame first and let it dry. I then put a coat of mod podge on top of the paper and had Rebecca add the magazine clipart to the frame. We let it dry for just a little bit and then put a coating of Mod Podge on top of the entire frame. Let dry completely, add your photo and give as a gift.

What's for Dinner?

I had the best dinner last night!! My Aunt Polly in New Hampshire made it for me when we visited last month. I had her email the recipe and made it last night.

Summer Pasta with Tomatoes, Basil and Brie

Here are the main ingredients.

(tomatoes, Olive oil, Basil and Brie)

This is all of the ingredients after I chopped. It needs to marinate for awhile.


Here is the finished pasta.


My little Abigale wanted a second helping and kept telling me over and over how yummy it was!

Thanks Polly for the great recipe. You can download a copy by clicking here. IT is from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

School Supplies

Today started our Tax Free Weekend here in Missouri! So we headed to the Mall to pick up some much needed jeans and then to Walmart for all the school school supplies and socks and underwear. School starts August 20 here in our town.

When we got home all the craziness began. Sorting the folders, binders, pencils, erasers, and highlighters. With four children we had a ton of supplies.

***********Aloha Friday questions****

Have you bought your school supplies yet? When does your school start? Do you have a Tax Free Weekend in your state?