Wow! I can’t believe that it is already November and I haven’t posted anything on this website since…I can’t even remember. I promised so many people that I would put out an article about Kenna’s wedding dress and I’m finally getting to it. I’ve done several dresses through the years, mine included, and I’ve enjoyed the process on each one. The only snag I find with making dresses is finding a pattern that fits the vision. I have a wonderful friend that was so helpful in helping us put together a pattern for Kenna’s dress. She wanted a simple dress with a v-neck and a straight waist line that actually sat at her waist. You would think that a dress pattern would be easy to find with those parameters, but alas, they are not easy to find. Thank you Jennifer Nelson for your amazing wrapping paper pattern! I think my next creative venture needs to be pattern making, so I can turn a sketch into a beautiful gown.

How many of you moms out there have heard this request a time or two? I have three daughters, so I’ve heard it a few times. Most of the time for special dances or play costumes, and once for a wedding. This time it was for my youngest daughters Junior Prom. Her invitation came about a week before we left for New York, so I told her the dress would have to wait until we got home, which only gave us about a week and a half to find a pattern, fabric, and to construct the masterpiece. But, apparently I thrive on pushing the time limits on projects, so it was a perfect scenario. One challenge for this dress was the requested color. Kamee wanted dark green which isn’t exactly a typical spring formal kind of color. We went to the available “fabric” stores, and I used quotes because there really aren’t any fabric stores around here anymore. Joann was a bust; Walmart…NO; Hobby Lobby, again, NO; I didn’t check at Michael’s because I didn’t even realize they had fabric. I knew the quilt shops would not have satin. Then I remembered a little place I found last summer. It’s […]

A few weeks ago, they announced the Birthday celebration for the Relief Society. The Relief Society is the women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which I am a member. We are the largest women’s organization in the world, and we are celebrating the 175th birthday this month, as we were organized in March 1842. The purpose of Relief Society is to “help prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; and work in unity to help those in need. Relief Society accomplishes these purposes through Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching, and welfare and compassionate service.” (https://www.lds.org/topics/relief-society?lang=eng&old=true) As part of our celebration this year, we had a cake decorating contest. I may be just a little competitive, so I singed up and started thinking about what I wanted my cake to look like. I decided to try to incorporate the Relief Society seal somehow, and after checking pinterest for ideas, I settled on a two tiered round layer cake, with a fondant base and white on white piped writing. […]

I love to sew. I like to make clothes, and table covers, and curtains, and bags. Pretty much anything. This year, I have had the opportunity to hem choir dresses and pants for the high school choir, and band. When we lived in Ohio, and Kiah started playing in the high school band, I was recruited to be on the sewing committee. We helped with fitting and altering marching uniforms and concert attire. Then when Devon got to high school and joined the choir, I added choir robes to my repertoire. I think sewing is becoming a lost art and I’m so thankful that I learned this skill from my mom, and my 4-H leader when I was young.  I’ve made a few wedding dresses, and I’m sure I have at least a couple more to make. I’ll do another post about that later. So here I am, taking over the living room to finish a few dress hems. One of the styles is a gorgeous full dress with an organza overlay. It takes me about 30 minutes just to serge around both layers, and I have to mark them with chalk so I can see where to cut them. […]

My youngest son needed a secret Santa gift last Christmas for a girl in his choir class at school. One of her favorite animals is a Jelly Fish. I happened to see a cute jelly fish pattern on Pinterest so I thought I would give it a try. I loved it, and so did she! Then my Granddaughter came to visit for Thanksgiving and she loved it too, so I made her one for Christmas. I also have made dolly purses for quite a few years. My good friend in Ohio came home from a trip to Amish country with this cute bag that folds down into a baby bassinet. She showed it to me and asked if I could replicate it. So I took a good look at it and gave it a try. I wish I had taken pictures of all of the bags I’ve made since, but I just didn’t think about it. Anyway, I made Gwen her dolly bag to match her Jelly. Here is a picture of a doll bag turned into a “purse” and with it opened into a bassinet.