:: high on grass ::

{ the image above carries a creative commons license. you can find the original by clicking the image or going here. }

the best part of evan's day was the playground, or so he told me during dinner tonight. but the best part of mine was mowing the backyard.

when we moved we bought a reel mower and i am completely addicted. i think the last time i mowed the lawn i was 11, but if my parents'd had one of these, i'd have done it weekly until the day i moved out.

here's the thing: when you push it, you feel your muscles working. while you're mowing, it makes a gentle snick snick sound and the only other things you hear are your neighbors, your son playing at his water table, and the sun beating down on you. and it smells like grass. no gas, no motor, no exhaust. just grass.

it's amazing.

and it put me in the best mood. does that mean i was high on grass? i think it does.

:: Altered for Maternity ::

finally, some sewing for myself. i made this shirt by altering a non-maternity pattern that i've always loved. it fits fine now (at 24 weeks) but also leaves room to grow a few more months.


{ simplicity 3835 altered for maternity }

altering the pattern was easy. i basically followed the instructions here. i left the back pattern piece as is and altered only the front of the shirt pattern, adding a total of just 3" to the total width of the shirt. i did make the front 4" longer as laura suggests, although i did not add the side gathers so it was awkward hemming the shirt with the front so much longer than the back. i think when i make my next one i'll alter the back piece a little to gradually get longer towards both sides and then do the opposite for the front (so that the front sides are shorter than the very front). hopefully this will make the hemming process a little easier.



the lesson learned here is this: altering a non-maternity shirt pattern for maternity is pretty freaking easy and well worth the five seconds it takes at the beginning of the shirt-making process. now go forth and alter.

:: settling in ::

{ it's like even our backyard is welcoming us home. see the originals and a few more here. }

each day as i delve further and further into my new community, there's a new discovery and a new emotion.

when i went to check out the library (actually there are two in my new town), i was disappointed (the kids' sections at each were small and crowded; the toys left something to be desired).

at the town hall i felt frustrated (i couldn't find what i was looking for and when i asked for help the woman didn't understand what i wanted).

but this morning? when i went to target, i was thrilled (it's new, it's shiny, it's laid out just like our target back in ohio).

our neighbors keep asking if we're all settled, and of course the answer is no. we're not settled in physically, and i'm still definitely not settled in psychically. it's going to take awhile, don't you think?

:: news flash ::

this just in: 30 year old woman whined, cried, and mind-changed to death by her 26-month-old son. no news at eleven.

(p.s. is two too young for boarding school?)

:: custom labels for canning ::

i'm buried in boxes and without internet access from home and otherwise far too preoccupied to come up with coherent sentences, so how about the next installment of "here's some custom design work i did this summer," hmm?

these are labels for canning. the round ones are for lids, the rectangles for the jars themselves. they're not shown to scale, obviously.

:: awash: word.play september ::

the rules are the same: there are no rules. simply be inspired, make something by september 20th (a few extra days since i'm posting late), and share on your blog, in a comment on my blog, and/or in the new word.play flickr pool.*

the word for september is AWASH.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

* word.play flickr pool details:

• you can find it here.
• you don't have to join to see the images, but you do have to join to add images. once you join (i think i set it up so that you have to request membership in the group) you can submit your photos to the pool.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

so here we go with round 3. tell your friends!

:: "easy like sunday morning" pants (for word.play) ::

this was the easiest, quickest, cutest project i've worked on in a long time: sunday morning pajama pants for evan inspired by this month's word.play project (the word was sunday).

here's the scoop:

i made them from a pair of brian's (discarded) pajamas. i cut open the inseam of brian's pants and cut the pattern from the bottom parts of each leg (to avoid hemming at the end - so quick!). i used the huck finn pants pattern from this book and was inspired by this one to reuse my husband's pants.

i told evan that i made him pajama pants from daddy's pjs and he thought that was so cool. (i sort of glossed over the fact that because evan has them now brian doesn't have them anymore.)

if you want a super quick tutorial i can make one up after we're all settled into our new house. just leave a comment and let me know if there's interest.

:: encore: cinq ::

paper installations you won't believe

a totally amazing and thorough post on product packaging. whether you make and sell goods or whether you simply enjoy the little details that make life prettier, read this.

a pattern & instructions for making a little boy's tie, from the purl bee. i'll be using this tutorial to make evan's tie for my sister's wedding. i'm thinking brown linen for his since her wedding colors are brown and silver, but since i haven't actually bought his clothes, i guess that's up in the air.

a touch of sweetness from pat n cake.

finally, three words: cassette. tape. portraits.

:: moving announcements ::

first, an announcement from me: we're finally moving! after 8 months and one week with my mom, and after one failed attempt at closing on a new house, it's finally happening. we couldn't be more excited, even though the packing and lifting and all is less than inspiring.

second, some announcements for you: i made editable moving announcements for you to download, fill in, and print. ENJOY!

:: shower ::

my little sister's bridal shower is this afternoon. weird. her mother-in-law-to-be is throwing it, but she had me make the invitations. i thought i'd share them in kate's honor. (please excuse all the blurring. it seems only fair.)



have a lovely weekend, y'all.

:: phototherapy ::

i think phototherapy is a real word - a word referring to the use of light in treating people with seasonal affective disorder - but for me today it means something different.

for me it's a big part of how i am taking it slowly this week and trying to stay on top of all the emotions roiling around inside me like too-hot water. yesterday, during evan's nap, i went for a walk. i walked along the canal in my hometown and noticed my calf muscles with each step (i was, perhaps not brilliantly, wearing flip flops for my excursion) and enjoyed the warm air and the faint breeze. and then i took pictures.

i bawled in the car the whole way to the spot i'd chosen to park, and i worried that i'd cry through my whole walk, but once i got out of the car and put foot to footpath, the crying stopped and i felt much better.

i'm still a bit turbulent inside today, don't get me wrong. it's been a horrible week and i've been stressed out and tired and under-cared-for and there's more stress to come. but taking the pictures was surprisingly effective therapy. the walking. the pictures. the water. the air. big help.

(note: also helpful? buying chalkboard paint for evan's room at the new house. it was nice to have a little project to get me excited about the move. more good to come, i'm sure.)

:: overwhelmed ::

today i'm seeking some advice.

i read a quote on twitter recently by erica jong about advice. she said, "advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."

usually i think this is pretty right on. often i think we do ask for advice to confirm what we're not ready to admit yet.

but today i seek answers i don't have.

you see, i'm struggling a bit this week. evan got a stomach bug, which is super traumatic for me for some reason and has been ever since i was a kid. and brian was out of town for it, which made it harder, although we're still at my mom's and she was amazing. and tuesday night i didn't get any sleep. literally.

but then yesterday we found out that we'll be closing on the maybe house on monday morning at 9:30 in the morning. so we'll be moving next week. out of my mom's house (we've been here almost exactly 8 months) and into our own about 18.2 miles away.

and man oh man am i having trouble processing all of this. i'm tired and emotional and basically a big old mess.

can you help me? how do you deal with the perfect storm of emotional trauma? how do you keep it together when your life suddenly seems scary and overwhelming?

(the above image is from the each penny pretty creative commons flickr group. i thought it was appropriate for how i'm feeling... it's like all of my antennas are receiving at full strength right now.)

:: word.play august: a teaser and a reminder ::

here's a little teaser for my word.play project this month. i'll post pictures of the completed project on august 20th (this month's word.play deadline). don't forget: the word for this month is SUNDAY. find the details here.

:: last fling: custom bachelorette party invitations ::

i recently decided it was time to show off some of the custom design work i've done this summer. it's always so much fun for me to do the custom work, but it's always a little sad to send off the final product because it usually marks the end. the end of my interaction with that piece of work. the end of the road for that design and me. so i'm going to give my custom work life by sharing it here with you.

perhaps you'll be inspired to request something for yourself. or perhaps you'll just enjoy seeing me a little bit outside of my normal design mode.

either way. i hope you enjoy.



these are custom bachelorette party invitations i made recently. the client gave me carte blanche but told me she didn't want it to be stuffy or cartoony or typical. making these was an awful lot of fun.

:: cinq ::

it's a yogurt carton. it's a luggage tag. it's cool, and that's all i care about. i'm making some. [image above from craft.]

jewelry just my size. (i'm notorious for wearing the teeniest, tiniest jewelry. i own a pair of silver studs that i can actually pull through my holes if i try. for real.)

such gorgeous photography. go here, then go over three, down three. that's my favorite. it looks like whipped cream or creamy frosting or something. YUM.

speaking of yum, how about this one from the each penny pretty creative commons group?

and finally, since apparently i'm hungry and need to go have a snack, mini jello watermelon slices. beautiful and edible. and perfect for labor day.

:: we found out today ::

had the ultrasound today. unlike her big brother this prim pumpkin was a little withholding with the, uh, information and i was starting to think we might leave without finding out the all-important answer: girl or boy.

well, it's a girl.

i'd been wanting a girl up until a few weeks ago when i reflected on how much i've enjoyed raising evan so far and how well-suited i am to being a boy's mom, but despite my pulling for a boy lately i am super excited that we're having a little girl.

and brian? he's more excited than i am, even. he's been wanting a daughter.

so now the only real question is which project first? the ever-so-sweet lucy's kimono from heather ross's weekend sewing? a follow-the-lines baby quilt like the one shown in joelle hoverson's last-minute patchwork and quilted gifts? or maybe a sweet wee jacket from amy karol's bend the rules sewing. i've been poring over my sewing books ever since i got home trying to figure out what to make first.

:: printable holiday card sets ::

i bring you printable holiday card sets, from up up creative.

forget about scouring the aisles at *insert store here* looking for the right cards in the right quantities at the right price.

these are the right cards at the right price, and amazingly enough, they're the exact right quantity. because you print them yourself.

believe it or not, they're available in the shop now. look for a few other designs to debut in the next month or so.

:: owl prints and printable owls ::

evan is totally and completely into owls these days. we search any and all woods (and anything like the woods) for owls. we read the owl book twice a day every day. we look for owls in the books at the library.

so i promised him some owls. the ones pictured above are for his walls in the maybe house (just a couple more weeks now we hope!).

and these are for coloring:

evan still just scribbles in circles with no cognizance of lines or pictures or anything, so i figure for now it's no big deal that these are super detailed and require a delicate hand.

i made the coloring pages into a pdf so your kids can scribble haphazardly across them, too. just click here.

i had these two sitting in my sketchbook staring blankly at the page in front of them, so it's nice to have a use for them.