Fabrics on the Table

I can't believe we are wrapping up our fall crafts and heading into the winter season already. The girls (of course) wanted to put up a few decorations to fill in the gap between Halloween and Christmas.

A few weeks ago I found these fun vintage fabrics and decided to make placemats. I placed some batting between each side, and they look fancy as ever.

I love reading articles about upcyclyng. I always try to be mindful and do it when I can.  I found a vintage tablecloth at our community yard sale a few years ago that I was super excited about. However, it just didn't fit well with our table. I decided to cut it up and make some cocktail napkins for a friend of mine. 

I was happy with the results. I know I'll be on the lookout now for more vintage sheets and tablecloths to add to my files.

In the upcoming weeks we will dive into our mass production of neighborhood gifts and become more consistent with our older kids craft club. I love this time of year!

Felt & Other Fun Fibers

The best thing I heard all day was Marlee stating she considers late fall the start of "sewing season".

Lately, it's just the three of us girls home together after dinner. Things are quite low key for us at 7pm this time of year. A month ago there were random kids running through the yards or we were going on post dinner hikes or bike rides. We have been setting aside roughly an hour a few days a week to craft together.

Since I visited Maine a few summers back, I've had a great interest in wool. We stayed with folks who sheared their sheep, dyed the wool with plant based color, and spun their yarn. As I watched this process, I loved the awareness it gave me. Kind of like the farm to table awareness, I am now constantly wondering where all these finished projects originated. 

My goal for the upcoming months is to work with wool often. I have many cute projects in mind and I also want to learn as much I can about sustainable products.  The girls have quite a few awesome projects and gifts in mind with felt. Maybe I'll write a blog series about it. I thought of "Felt Up" but maybe I may attract a crowd other than crafters ;)

Anyway, here's some finished, half finished, and some neat ideas:

Marlee and Mya are diggin' the fall

September and October just blew by and I just realized I've been on quite a hiatus from my blog.  We've been rolling along, feeling the fall rhythm,  Here are some highlights of our past few weeks:

We said good bye to some of our oldest and dearest Asheville friends who moved to Portland

A send off party that turned a little crazy later on

 



A visit with our favorite girlfriends in Atlanta



Apple picking at Sky Top Orchard

 

 

Finally got to the American Girl Store in Atlanta

 

Waterfall tour at DuPont State Forest

 



Virginia Creeper Trail



 



Celebrating the last year of my 30's



 

pumpkin carving

 

What little girl doesn't want to be Daddy Warbuck's bodyguard?

 

Ready for Halloween!

 

 

This weekend we started our month of thanksgiving.  We still use the same board (click here) that we made a few years ago. I forgot that we kept the old notes of gratitude in the pockets from years past.  It was great fun to read the old ones.  It's also cool to see how the girls focus of gratitude changes over the years. 

 

We are also planning our homemade gift list.  It seems our lists grow with so many more caring people that enter our lives each year. The girls and I will post our finished products and hopefully some tutorials and/or recipes.

 

The girls will be focusing on the Nutcracker rehearsals for the next few weekends.

I will be focusing on making better choices with my free time and staying current with our blog! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savoring these last few days

We took our traditional Labor Day weekend trip to Hilton Head Island last week. In our minds, this weekend officially ends our summer season, despite the start of school two weeks earlier. As the girls get older, our annual trip becomes more adventurous.  More exploring, less napping. More time to spend together and discover the joy of travel. The weather was perfect for our little 3 day weekend as we enjoyed early morning beach walks and late night swims. We were reluctant to leave or mini vacation, but we feel rejuvenated and ready to step into our fall rhythm.

Easing Back

As our laid back summer is winding down we are slowly returning back to a routine that will carry us through our fall and winter days.

Currently we are easing into:

1st grade

3rd grade

Working in 2nd grade

Finishing an MBA

Piano lessons

Dance classes

5:30am runs

6:25 alarms (for those who don't run at 5:30)

After school play dates 

Early dinners

Early bedtimes 

We are sad to see summer come to an end, but are excited for a change, a new way to spend our days, taking away fun memories we made the past few months.

Hope you are enjoying every last bit of these long, warm days.

Happenings in my bedroom

...with decor, of course.

Many people know I'm minimalist. I've been working on getting more lenient over the years with the sight of clutter here and there around the house. (Something about having kids did that to me ;) ) However, the room where I turn in and expect a good night's rest must be free of mess and knick knacks. It's not that difficult of a task, being that these bedrooms are too tiny to hold much of anything.

A few weeks ago we purchased a new bed. We decided to forgo the headboard since most of them looked like they would take up half the room. Our wall above the bed was looking rather bare and I wanted something with a simple style. 

I decided to try an idea from Pinterest that involved embroidery hoops and fabric. Of course I had two helpers more than willing to lead the task.

The results were a simple look that compliments the existing colors and shows off my fancy fabrics. The girls enjoyed the measuring and cutting. They are looking forward to adding this style when we redo their rooms next summer.

Fun & Fabric

We are getting used to this heavy rain all day thing, somewhat.

With Marlee at an afternoon play date and Mya by my side all day, I had to keep her busy while I attended to a few matters.

My trusty box of fabric scraps never fails. I keep a large box stored away and use it for a variety of reasons. 

Roughly 2 hours of measuring and cutting with "fancy scissors", each dollhouse family has: their own bath towel & blanket. Each table has a tablecloth and each family shares one washcloth (??!!)