It's addicting!

So, I've been getting to know my sewing machine more and more since my last project. Every time I finish a project, I'm searching Pinterest for the next thing I can make. Too bad I have virtually no fabric. I made a colored pencil holder:

 I learned a lot from this project, including: I don't know how to sew straight lines and I now know that if you reach in to remove a pin, you may also sew through your finger.

Yesterday I was packing up for our trip back to my parents and the girls got out their travel pillows they got from my mom. You know those tiny airplane pillows? Yeah, they've been used quite a bit and were a little nasty:

 I decided that they were too gross for the girls to use and I decided to try my hand at some pillowcases. A little while ago I got a crib bed skirt from Goodwill for super cheap. For the pillowcases I just cut double the length of the pillow. I lined up the ends and sewed all the way around, except for the open end where the cuff is. I was lucky to have the sheet because the cuff was done for me.

One of the pillow cases was too short so I added some pink fabric from the end. The stripes weren't long enough to cover the whole pillow, but I don't think anyone will notice as they drive past us on I-80. :-)

The girls were super excited to have their travel pillows re-vamped and I'm excited to be able to wash the pillowcases when they inevitably get dirty.

So charming, aren't they.

It was a fun little project and super quick. I'm glad I can make things for the girls and gain confidence in sewing because they don't mind what things look like and they get so excited for me every time I complete a new project. Now just pray they are angels on our trip tomorrow and they sleep on their new pillowcases!

I love my church

As most of you know I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or LDS or Mormon. I just want to express my feelings about it. Of course it's great for my spirituality and knowledge, but it's so much more than that. Recently we moved across state lines to a place where we literally knew no one. Before we left Utah we called our new ward and told them we were moving in. We had 8 people there to unload the truck and they got it done in under an hour. It's just so comforting to know we aren't alone.
On Saturday we had a Relief Society breakfast on Saturday. As I sat there among all the women in the ward, I just felt so grateful. I'm not someone who thrives in social situations. If I know and feel comfortable, I can talk your ear off; but if I don't, I'm pretty shy and quiet. I wouldn't be the type of person to just get to know my neighbors for the fun of it, I'd rather keep to myself. I'm glad the church gives me the opportunity to befriend and get to know people.
Those are just two of the advantages of being a member. I just have felt so blessed lately and needed to vocalize my gratitude! Let me know if you want to know more, I know a couple of young men who would love to talk to you about what we believe.

Sewing 101

My awesome sister gave me her old sewing machine this summer and I was very excited to set it up last week. I may have had to watch a you tube video on how to thread it, but I figured it out pretty quickly. As I mentioned in my previous post, we have hardwood floors in our new place. I knew I needed a rug, with color since my couches are dark, the floor is dark, and my tables are dark. So, after two weeks of being here, I found a great rug. Now I just needed some killer accent pillows to pull it all together, right? Well, these aren't it:

Our previous pillows are terrible. There's a big marker stain and a few rips and they were just not attractive. So, I decided to cover them.

I ran to Wal-mart (I'm on a budget) and spent $10 dollars on this fabric:

I wanted a little bit bolder and brighter fabric, but got vetoed by the hubs. I'm happy with this pretty fabric though.
I got to work cutting, ironing and pinning. I followed this tutorial, which was very helpful for a beginner.

 I watched Project Runway while I did it for inspiration:

 Here's my finished project. If I had to do it over again, I would like the fabric a bit tighter on the pillows.

Here they are on the couch. As you can see, the pattern isn't super bold, but I think it goes well with the rug. I really wanted something feminine in the room with the masculine couches.

My next project will be to paint the tables in the room, but I still haven't figured out exactly how I want them to look.

 I'd say overall my first sewing experience was pretty good. I already have plans for my next project so stay tuned!!

Responsibilities

Sometimes as a parent I underestimate what my children are capable of. One thing for me is cleaning. I would much rather do it myself and not wait for the kiddos to do it. Well, when we moved here, we got hardwood floors for the first time. I absolutely love them, but they are impossible to keep clean. I got out our swiffer and shortened it for Whitney. I told her it was her new job and she has just taken off with it. Most days I don't even need to remind her. It's so fun to watch her get excited to clean! She is now making her bed and cleaning the playroom regularly. She's like an old fashioned housewife in a dress and boots. :-)

What have your kids done to surprise you lately?

Labor Day

Ty had Monday and Tuesday off from school this week, so we decided to explore our surroundings. His sister was visiting Denver so we drove up there in the morning to visit her and see Denver.
When we left, there was a balloon festival going on in Colorado Springs, so it was fun to drive past.

Here's our first glimpse of downtown Denver:

After visiting his sister we thought we'd check out the sports museum at Sports Authority Field. Mile High Stadium was pretty impressive, even for a Steelers fan.

Don't ask me why she is posing like this. Too much Project Runway I suppose.

There's a pretty cool water/running broncos feature in front of the stadium. You can see it to the right in this picture:

Well, we discovered the museum is only open Thursday-Sunday or something like that so we enjoyed the surroundings and then headed home.

Colorado is very pretty:

There's tons of evergreen trees, not many aspens in the mountains like Utah.

Since we arrived in the dark, I never got to take a picture of the welcome sign:

Here's our mountains:

Jazz fan in Colorado...oxymoron.

Also this week, we had some fun finger painting. Lindsey refused to do anything with the paint, until I got her a paintbrush. Apparently she doesn't understand the concept of "finger" painting.

I love Whitney's face in this picture:

What did you do fun over the long weekend?